Secondary growth technique was successfully applied for the synthesis of nanostructure sodalite membranes with vacuum seeding on tubular α-Al2O3 supports. In the seeding process, a thin, uniform and continuous seeding layer was closely attached to the support external surface by the pressure difference between the two sides of the support wall. The final nanostructure sodalite top-layers were synthesized on the seeded support into a stainless steel autoclave with a Teflon holder. The effect of seeding time on the microstructure of the synthesized sodalite top-layers was investigated at four different levels 60, 120, 180 and 240 s. The synthesized membranes were characterized by XRD, SEM and mercury porosimetry. The obtained results showed that sodalite zeolite was synthesized on the membranes top-layers with uniform surfaces. But, the top-layers thickness increases by increasing the seeding time and tends to reach a plateau. Further, increasing the seeding time causes dense top-layers to form. Also, the performance of the manufactured sodalite membranes was evaluated by permeations of single gases (H2 and N2) under different pressure differences at a temperature of 283K. It is found that the membrane permeability shows a maximum value at seeding time 180 s with a constant permselectivity (H2/N2) of about 2.5. The permeability results were confirmed by SEM micrographs which showed a thick and low-dense toplayer in the membranes manufactured with the optimum seeding time (180 s).


Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) is a well-known technology that relies essentially
on the design and fabrication of a concentrator optic part and with the use of
Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) as a basic shape. However, common
drawbacks of the 3-dimension (3-D) CPC are the decreasing geometrical
concentration ratio which leads to the reduction of the optical and cell output
performance. The aim of this research is to perform comparative studies of the
Rectangular Compound Parabolic Concentrator (RCPC) by combining reflective
surface and refractive dielectric materials. The proposed concentrator model was
designed by intersecting two 2-dimension (2-D) compound parabolic concentrators
(CPC). A basic formulation characteristic of CPC shape was used to create RCPC
design configuration with a geometrical concentration ratio of 4 and a maximum half
acceptance angle


The semantic Web enables business-to-business in new ways. In this context, organizations need to make use of the new opportunities that the semantic Web technology provides. However, this should be done without major requirements on the organization. To this aim, we propose an agent-based model for integrating the usage of the semantic Web (represented as Web services) into an organization's work routines (represented by workflows). Further, we describe a possible architecture for our approach, and briefly show its feasibility with an implemented prototype.


Some Christian political theorists and theologians counter calls for greater generosity toward refugees by appealing to the prerogatives of state sovereignty, the preferential love for fellow-citizens, and the priority of loving nearby neighbours over distant strangers. This article responds to each argument, arguing that the right to exclude outsiders is not an immutable aspect of sovereignty, the construction of a social contract among fellow-citizens does not justify abandoning duties to non-citizens, and, in a highly globalized world, the obligation to love one's neighbour is not rightly circumscribed by geography. It further argues that Jesus's parable of the good Samaritan serves as a foil through which it can be seen that many sovereign states not only fail to love the displaced neighbour by providing refuge, but, like the priest and the Levite, go out of their way to keep refugees at a distance—and, like the robbers, even contribute to their vulnerability and suffering.


The natures of quantum gravity and graviton are reviewed and explored from the non-mainstream perspectives. It turns out that quantum gravity is likely manifestation of quantum entanglement and mediated by wave-functions of elementary particles as nonlocal objects. Thus, each elementary particle has its corresponding gravitons comprised of its external and internal wave-functions as nonlocal objects. This new understanding allows one to reconcile quantum mechanics with general relativity and explain dark matter and dark energy as nonlocal effects on the cosmic scales. To make the transition from quantum gravity to general relativity, it is theorized that: (1) Ricci scalar R and metric tensor g m n are originated from and determined by the collective internal and external wave functions of the matter present; (2) in the absence of nonlocal effect of remote matter through quantum entanglement, R and g m n are only correlated to momentum-energy tensor of the local matter; (3) in the presence of nonlocal effect of remote matter through quantum entanglement, R and g m n are also influenced by the nonlocal effect of the remote matter currently interpreted (or seen) as dark matter and/or dark energy. Some of the important consequences of this theory are the following: (1) gravitational fields (gravitons as nonlocal objects comprised of internal and external wave functions) may not carry localized or directly detectable momentum and energy; and (2) there may be no gravitational wave since gravity is nonlocal and instantaneous.


The transition of telemetry from link-based to network-based architectures opens these systems to new security risks. Tools such as intrusion detection systems and vulnerability scanners will be required for emerging telemetry networks. Intrusion detection systems protect networks against attacks that occur once the network boundary has been breached. An intrusion detection model was developed in the Wireless Networking and Security lab at Morgan State University. The model depends on network traffic being filtered into traffic streams. The streams are then reduced to vectors. The current state of the network can be determined using Viterbi analysis of the stream vectors. Viterbi uses the output of the Hidden Markov Model to find the current state of the network. The state information describes the probability of the network being in predefined normal or attack states based on training data. This output can be sent to a network administrator depending on threshold levels. In this project, a penetration-testing tool called Metasploit was used to launch attacks against systems in an isolated test bed. The network traffic generated during an attack was analyzed for use in the MSU intrusion detection model.


Geriatric Medicine is concerned chiefly with the care of frail elderly people, especially when they become ill. Physicians face special challenges in dealing with such patients, who tend to have multiple interacting medical and social problems, impaired function, altered pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, atypical disease presentations and to be affected by polypharmacy. The joy of geriatrics is in systematically meeting each of these challenges, but the techniques that geriatricians use to do so must not be kept secret. More must be done to encourage all physicians to use these techniques in caring for frail elderly people who are ill.


The conventional theory of superconductivity says that charge carriers in a metal that becomes superconducting can be either electrons or holes. I argue that this is incorrect. In order to satisfy conservation of mechanical momentum and of entropy of the universe in the superconductor to normal transition in the presence of a magnetic field it is necessary that the normal state charge carriers are holes. I will also review the empirical evidence in favor of the hypothesis that all superconductors are hole superconductors, and discuss the implications of this for the search for higher Tc superconductors.


For fans without cooling it is possible to determine the hydraulic efficiency measuring the pressure and the temperature rise through the fan. The shaft work can be determined according applying the first law of thermodynamics for an open system. Without any losses the change of state would be isotropic and the work done equal to the specific heat at constant pressure of the fluid times the isentropic temperature rise in the impeller. Due to the losses, however, the real temperature at the exit of the impeller will be higher than the isentropic temperature since the real process is polytropic. The isentropic temperature at the exit of the impeller can be computed by the isentropic relations with the inlet temperature and the pressure rise. The hydraulic efficiency can be computed as the ratio of the isentropic temperature rise divided by the real temperature rise.
 In order to verify this thermodynamic approach for the determination of the hydraulic efficiency CFD simulations of a radial fan were performed. In the CFD simulation the hydraulic power, the shaft power, the pressure rise and the temperature rise can be read out and computed directly. In such a way the hydraulic efficiency computed by the ratio of the hydraulic power by the shaft power can be compared by the thermodynamically computed efficiency. In this work this comparison has been performed and the results and the precision of the thermodynamically predicted efficiency are presented and discussed in detail.


Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder characterized by abdominal pain or discomfort that is associated with disturbed bowel function and often accompanied by bloating, distension and difficult defecation (1). IBS has a global prevalence of 2–25%, depending on the criteria used and the population surveyed (2).


Background: Although many Latinos in the United States smoke, they receive assistance to quit less often than non-Latinos. To address this disparity, we recruited Latino couples into a randomized controlled trial and provided a smoking cessation program during a teachable moment, when men's partners were pregnant. Methods: We compared two interventions: (i) written materials plus nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to (ii) materials, NRT, and couple-based counseling that addressed smoking cessation and couples communication. We recruited 348 expectant fathers who smoked via their pregnant partners from county health departments. Our primary outcome was 7-day point prevalence smoking abstinence and was collected from November 2010 through April 2013 and analyzed in February 2014. Results: We found high rates of cessation but no arm differences in smoking rates at the end of pregnancy (0.31 vs. 0.30, materials only vs. counseling, respectively) and 12 months after randomization (postpartum: 0.39 vs. 0.38). We found high quit rates among nondaily smokers but no arm differences (0.43 vs. 0.46 in pregnancy and 0.52 vs. 0.48 postpartum). Among daily smokers, we found lower quit rates with no arm differences but effects favoring the intervention arm (0.13 vs. 0.16 in pregnancy and 0.17 vs. 0.24 postpartum). Conclusions: A less intensive intervention promoted cessation equal to more intensive counseling. Postpartum might be a more powerful time to promote cessation among Latino men. Impact: Less intensive interventions when delivered during teachable moments for Latino men could result in a high smoking cessation rate and could reduce disparities. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 24(2); 379–85. ©2014 AACR.


Brizolis asked the question: does every prime p have a pair (g, h) such that h is a fixed point for the discrete logarithm with base g? The first author previously extended this question to ask about not only fixed points but also two-cycles, and gave heuristics (building on work of Zhang, Cobeli, Zaharescu, Campbell, and Pomerance) for estimating the number of such pairs given certain conditions on g and h. In this paper we extend these heuristics and prove results for some of them, building again on the aforementioned work. We also make some new conjectures and prove some average versions of the results.


MyPyramid symbolizes the federal nutrition policy, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, replacing the 1992 Food Guide Pyramid. This Internet-based educational tool, available at http://MyPyramid.gov , provides general guidance for food selection from 5 food groups (grains, vegetables, fruit, milk, meat and beans). Additionally, MyPyramid addresses the obesity crisis by placing a strong emphasis on reducing calorie consumption and increasing physical activity. Although some experts praise this new, interactive pyramid, many believe that the government missed an opportunity to direct Americans toward healthier diets. Furthermore, the information available at MyPyramid.gov is not likely to be accessed by the populations that need it most: the underprivileged. Because obesity prevention programs structured only to educate and inform have generally been unsuccessful, the federal government must take the next step and revise agriculture policies and programs to promote healthy eating.


Abstract When preservice teacher candidates write their philosophies of education, the results are often relatively superficial statements filled with well‐intentioned truisms. As a result, the exercise does little to clarify beliefs about teaching and learning or direct future professional growth. The suggestions that follow grew out of an ongoing attempt to both guide and deepen the reflection that should go into a philosophy statement and, at the same time, connect the philosophy statement to the content of a social foundations course in a way that makes that content more relevant to classroom practice.


The (third-order in time) JMGT equation is a nonlinear (quasilinear) Partial Differential Equation (PDE) model introduced to describe the acoustic velocity potential in ultrasound wave propagation. One begins with the parabolic Westervelt equation governing the dynamics of the pressure in nonlinear acoustic waves. In its derivation from constitutive laws, one then replaces the Fourier law with the Maxwell-Cattaneo law, to avoid the paradox of the infinite speed of propagation. This process then gives raise to a new third time derivative term, with a small constant coefficient τ , referred to as relaxation time. As a consequence, the mathematical structure of the underlying model changes drastically from the parabolic character of the Westervelt model (whose linear part generates a s.c, analytic semigroup) to the hyperbolic-like character of the JMGT model (whose linear part generates a s.c, group on a suitable function space). It is therefore of both mathematical and physical interest to analyze the asymptotic behaviour of hyperbolic solutions of the JMGT model as the relaxation parameter τ ≥ 0 tends to zero. In particular, it will be shown that for suitably calibrated initial data one obtains at the limit exponentially time-decaying solutions. The rate of convergence allows one then to estimate the relaxation time needed for the signal to reach the target. The interest in studying this type of problems is motivated by a large array of applications arising in engineering and medical sciences. These include applications to welding, lithotripsy, ultrasound technology, noninvasive treatment of kidney stones.


In this paper, we propose a determinist mathematical model for the co-circulating into two circulating recombinants forms (CRFs) Of HIV-disease in Mali. We divide the sexually active population within three compartments (susceptible, CRF-1 infected and CRF-2 or CRF-12 infected) and study the dynamical behavior of this model. Then, we define a basic reproduction number of the CRF-2 or CRF-12 infected individuals R0 and shown that the CRF-2 or CRF-12 infected-free equilibrium is locally-asymptotically stable if R0 1 (thus the CRF-2 or CRF-12 infected invade in the population). Fur-thermore, we prove that under certain conditions on the parameters of the model the controllability of CRF-2 or CRF-12 infected with regard to the CRF-1 infected. Numerical simulations are given to illustrate the results.


The plasma membrane oxidoreductase (PMOR) activity, which mainly utilises ascorbate as intracellular electron donor, represents a major mechanism for cell-dependent reduction of extracellular oxidants and might be an important process used by the erythrocytes to keep a reduced plasma environment. We previously reported that in human erythrocytes, myricetin and quercetin act as intracellular substrates of a PMOR showing a novel mechanism whereby these flavonoids could exert beneficial effects under oxidative stress conditions. Here, we evaluated the ability of different flavonoids (quercetin, myricetin, morin, kaempferol, fisetin, catechin, luteolin, apigenin, acacetin, rutin, taxifolin, naringenin, genistein) and of two in vivoO-methylated metabolites of quercetin (isorhamnetin and tamarixetin) to be substrates of PMOR, by comparing their antioxidant capacity (i.e. direct interaction with the oxidant ferricyanide or with the free radical 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil) with their ability to penetrate the erythrocytes and donate electrons to the PMOR. The results obtained indicate that, although most of the flavonoids display significant antioxidant activities, only those (quercetin, myricetin, fisetin) that combine the cathecol structure of the B ring (responsible for the reducing activity) with the 2,3 double bond and 4-oxo function of the C ring (responsible for the uptake by erythrocytes) can act as intracellular substrates for PMOR. It is of note that the metabolites of quercetin enter erythrocytes and donate electrons to the PMOR as the parent compound. The present data show a relationship between the flavonoid structures and their ability to provide electrons to the PMOR, suggesting an additional mechanism whereby dietary flavonoids may exert beneficial effects in man.


Author(s): Landdeck, Kevin Paul | Advisor(s): Yeh, Wen-hsin | Abstract: This dissertation examines the state-making and citizenship projects embedded within the Nationalist (KMT) government's mobilization of men to serve in the army during World War Two. My project views wartime conscription as a fundamental break with earlier modes of recruitment, the gentry-led militarization of the late-Qing dynasty and the mercenary armies of the warlords. Nationalist authorities saw compulsory service as a tool for creating genuine citizen-soldiers and yet, while conscription was a strategic success, it proved to be a political failure. Despite the expansion of the institutional structures to extract men from their villages, conscription work was always dependent on local community elites. The result was a persistent commercialization of conscription, as men were hired as substitute draftees or literally bought and sold The draft became a stark lesson in political alienation from the government: individuals evaded; rural communities shielded their residents and preyed on outsiders; and Chongqing's densely packed urban institutions defended, sometimes violently, their human resources from the state's agents. In contrast to this political debacle, the Intellectual Youth Volunteer Movement (1943-45) was a triumph. Deracinated refugee youth - students, teachers, petty professionals and civil servants - who were already dependent on the state and ravaged by inflation, volunteered to serve in the Intellectual Youth Army. An elite force that was ironically militarily irrelevant, the Youth Army had a political mission to legitimize the Nationalist state by embodying, and publicizing themselves as, model citizens and elite soldiers. This study not only contributes to the history of the war in China, which remains only partially understood, but also to debates on Nationalist state-making and issues of political culture. It tackles the relatively neglected area of Nationalist-held interior society, rather than revolution in communist base areas or collaboration in Japanese occupied areas. It challenges the conventional narrative of wholesale disintegration in the KMT-held interior, a perspective which grew out of America's involvement in China during the war and subsequent scholarship's focus on the revolutionary growth of the Communist Party. And it offers new and nuanced perspectives on the institutional expansion of the Nationalist state, its connection to the war, and the responses (both rural and urban) to state demands. The picture that emerges is one of uneven state growth, combined with political alienation in the countryside. On the citizenship front, my project again shows a degree of vitality in the Nationalist state that has not previously been appreciated in the literature. The Youth Army and its prolific autobiographical propaganda are analyzed to uncover the socio-economic bases of volunteerism, the careful bargain struck between the state and the volunteers, and their complex self-identities as loyal citizen-soldiers. A close analysis of the political techniques to inculcate those identities and an excavation of the material object of the rifle, which stood at the center of the Youth Army's political symbology, outline the nature of Nationalist citizenship, not as a position endowed with "rights" but as an affirmation of the fundamental myth of the Nationalist state itself: that the state was coterminous with the people.


BRIDGES Mathematical Connections in Art, Music, and Science "Volution" refers to a series of shell-like modular sculptural elements embedded in a cube. They all have similar edge-patterns consisting of quarter-circles on faces of the unit cube, and on the inside they exhibit several, possibly warped, saddles and tunnels. This paper discusses the origin of these designs and their evolution and development into constrained minimal surfaces and into potentially large-scale, freestanding sculptures. Figure 1. (a) Volution_O, (b) stack of two mirrored Volution_l, (c) Volution_5.


A collection of works authored by leading scientists from the US and Russia, Human-Computer Interaction and Operators Performance: Optimizing Work Design with Activity Theory describes applied and systemic-structural activity theory as it is used to study human-computer interaction, aviation, design, and training. Important from a theoretical and practical perspective, the book describes new analytical and experimental methods in the study of human work. The book facilitates the exchange of ideas between scientists working in ergonomics, human factors, human-computer interaction, industrial/organizational psychology, economics, management training, and other related areas. Drawing on their theoretical perspectives, the authors provide a comparative analysis of the various schools working in activity theory and a new approach to the study of human work derived from applied and systemic-structural activity theory. They cover special topics such as functional analysis of attention and classification of professions developed utilizing applied activity theory methods. In addition the book presents comparative analysis of work activity theory and applications. Representing the next significant step in the development of applied and systemic-structural activity theory, the book offers a balanced picture of theoretical and applied issues in the study of human work from general, applied, and systemic-structural activity theory points of view. It provides state-of-the art information and emphasizes its application to the study of human work while interacting with advanced technology.


Resolving intermittent performance problems in computer systems is made easier by pinpointing when a change occurs in the system's perforrnance-determinin g factors (e.g., workload composition, configuration). Since we often lack direct measurements of performance factors, this paper presents a procedure for indirectly detecting such changes by analyzing performance characteristics (e.g., response times, queue lengths). Our procedure employs a widely used clustering algorithm to identify candidate change points (the times at which performance factors change), and a newly developed statistical test (based on an AR(1) time series model) to determine the signficance of candidate change points. We evaluate our procedure by using simulations of M/M/1, FCFS queueing systems and by applying our procedure to measurements of a mainframe computer system at a large telephone company. These evaluations suggest that our procedure is effective in practice, especially for larger sample sizes and smaller utilizations. We further conclude that indirectly detecting changes in performance factors appears to be inherently difficult in that the sensitivity of a detection procedure depends on the magnitude of the change in performance characteristics, which often has a nonlinear relationship with the change in performance factors. Thus, a change in performance factors (e.g., increased service times) may be more readily detected in some situations (e.g., very low or very high utilizations) than in others (e.g., moderate utilizations). A key insight here is that the sensitivity of the detection procedure can be improved by choosing appropriate measures of performance characteristics. For example, our experience and analysis suggest that queue lengths can be more sensitive than response times to changes in arrival rates.


In southern Africa, HIV/AIDS is considered to be a critical factor conditioning rural economic development , exacerbating already difficult problems with climatic variability and poverty. In their efforts to use household surveys to obtain information on rural adult mortality and morbidity and their effects on rural household livelihoods, Michigan State University researchers and their local collaborators in the Ministries of Agriculture of Rwanda (MINAGRI) and Mozambique (MADER), have learned various lessons. Using household surveys to estimate the impact on the households requires careful attention to detail as well as skilled use of econometric tools. The difficult modeling issues involved in such estimation is not be discussed in this paper. Rather, we focus on the basic data collection required and the formulation of effective survey questions. Based on the survey instruments used in these two countries, suggestions are made to improve the ability of researchers to estimate mortality rates, evaluate changes in demographic composition of the households, and elicit information from households regarding incidence of illness and death, their effects on household livelihoods, and the households' response strategies. This paper provides recommendations for future survey instruments to improve the knowledge base so critical for the design of interventions.


The current understanding of anterior eye shape in humans is limited due to available technology and its accessibility. Accurate curvature metrics of specific areas of the peripheral cornea, corneo-limbal junction and anterior sclera have remained obscured by the limits of the palpebral aperture, since the upper and lower eyelids cover most of the vertical aspect.

This thesis starts by comparing the 'gold standard' keratometry measurements to commonly used topographic systems. Keratometric analogues were found to be significantly different and in addition provided spurious vertical anterior ocular surface (AOS) profiles. These findings revealed a need to establish an accurate model.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) potentially offers the best opportunity to image the entire AOS structure. However, preliminary studies in this thesis demonstrated that the use of a 3-Tesla MRI scanner was unable to obtain sufficiently resolute data to meet requirements.

As an alternative, ocular impression taking techniques were adopted during the remainder of this work to acquire the AOS data. Eye casts from impression moulds were scanned using active laser triangulation and virtual 3-dimensional surfaces rendered. Further investigations defined the most suitable material for impression taking and the amount of deformation of the AOS caused by the procedure. The ocular impression casting and scanning process was examined for accuracy and reliability.

This protocol was used to sample a population of normal white European eyes in order to establish a database and define wide-field AOS variability. Volumetric and 2-dimensional topographic profiles were extracted from the digital 3-dimensional representation obtained, allowing for the analysis of point-to-point curvature differences. For the first time, the entire AOS shape has been defined with known accuracy. In addition, effects of myopic refractive error and gender are presented. This data is of potential importance to ophthalmic surgeons, ocularists, contact lens practitioners, vision scientists and researchers, in the form of a digital archive of normal white European wide-field AOS topography as a reference source.


Abstract The reactivity of soils and sediments is often described by parameters such as the specific surface area (SSA) and the cation exchange capacity (CEC). Both, however, are bulk values controlled by the presence and crystallinity of different phases, e.g. clay minerals and iron oxides. Amongst the latter, ferrihydrite and goethite are the most abundant minerals. Goethite gradually forms from a ferrihydrite precursor, a process involving a decrease in surface area. Today the BET gas adsorption technique is the most common method to measure SSA. In this study, BET surface areas of synthetic and natural ferrihydrite and goethite of variable crystallinity were compared to (a) mineral-specific measurements, including infrared analysis (IR), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and (b) bulk methods, such as cation exchange capacity and oxalate-soluble iron. Correlations showed that the SSA can be indirectly inferred from all methods. There is no general correlation between IR and BET measurements due to the variability of adsorbed water, which depends on drying and ambient conditions. DTA, particularly using the dehydroxylation peak at 300ºC, allows quantification of the goethite content, and hence the SSA, because adsorbed water does not affect this peak. The data set of the present study enabled us to estimate either SSA and/or the content of iron oxides, even in natural mixtures, e.g. those in which smectites determine the SSA.


During the present study in Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve (BRT), nine species of small carnivores viz., Jungle Cat  Felis chaus , Rusty-spotted Cat  Prionalilurus rubiginosus , Leopard Cat  Prionailurus bengalensis , Small Indian Civet  Viverricula indica , Asian Palm Civet  Paradoxurus hermaphroditus , Striped-necked Mongoose  Herpestes vitticollis , Ruddy Mongoose  Herpestes smithii , Common Mongoose  Herpestes edwardsii  and Smooth-coated Otter  Lutrogale perspicillata , were recorded using camera-trapping technique, transect walks, and night surveys. Vegetation type strongly influences the presence and abundance of each species. The most sightings of small carnivores occurred in dry deciduous forests. Among all the species, the Asian Palm Civet was the most abundant and was followed by the small Indian Civet. Compared to many other forests or regions in India, the sight records of the Rusty-spotted Cat were relatively higher in BRT. Although we were unable to use statistical methods to search for higher levels of interdependencies between forest types and small carnivore abundance, our study sheds light on patterns of small carnivore distribution in this unique habitat which bridges the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats.


Aim: To compared the efficacy of Metformin and NAC on clinical, metabolic, hormonal, sonographic and fertility aspects among PCOS patients. Material and methods: A prospective, comparative study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, NSMCH, Bihta, Patna, Bihar, India, for 1 year. 120 women with PCOS (diagnosed by Rotterdam criteria) of age group 18–37 year were included in this study. Serum TSH, serum prolactin, serum follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone (mIU/L), LH/FSH ratio, serum fasting insulin, serum fasting glucose level, serum fasting glucose/insulin ratio and serum total testosterone were measured by enzyme immune assay(EIA). Ultrasonography examination (TAS and TVS) was done preferably on day 2 or 3 of menstruation. Subjects were randomly assigned into two treatment groups. Group M received metformin 500 mg three times a day. Group N received N acetyl cysteine, 600 mg three times a day. Results: Out of 120 cases, 20 were lost to follow-up. In remaining 100 cases, 50 were in Group M, 50 were in Group N. The cases in Group M received tab metformin 500 mg three times a day, and Group N received tab N acetyl cysteine 600 mg three times a day. After 24 weeks of treatment with either metformin or NAC clinical characteristic, metabolic parameter and hormonal profile were re-evaluated. There was no significant reduction of weight in both the group after treatment, while a significant reduction of BMI, WC and WHR was found in Group N receiving NAC. Fasting glucose and fasting insulin were reduced in both groups significantly. There was a significant improvement of fasting glucose/insulin ratio in both groups. Total testosterone was significantly reduced in Group N. Conclusion: we concluded that the better improvement of metabolic and hormonal profile was observed in N acetyl cysteine group. Because of its less side effect comparing to metformin, NAC can be used as a substitute for insulin-sensitizing agent in treatment of PCOS.


Abstract. Three offshore rainbands associated with nocturnal coastal fronts formed near the Israeli coastline, the Gulf of Genoa and on the northeastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, are simulated using version 3.3 of the WRF-ARW mesoscale model in order to study the dynamics of the atmosphere in each case. The simulations show coastal fronts producing relatively high (in comparison with some other similar rainbands) 1 and 10 h accumulated precipitations that formed in the Mediterranean Basin. According to these simulations, the coastal fronts that formed near the Israeli coastline and over the Gulf of Genoa are quasi-stationary, while the one that formed on the northeastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula moves away from the coast. For the three events, we evaluate and intercompare some parameters related to convective triggering, deceleration induced by the cold pool in the upstream flow, and the blockage that the cold coastal front offers to the warmer maritime air mass.


We characterise the basic far-IR properties and the gas mass fraction of massive (⟨log(M*/M⊙)⟩ ≈ 11.0) quiescent galaxies (QGs) and explore how these evolve from z = 2.0 to the present day. We use robust, multi-wavelength (mid- to far-IR and sub-millimetre to radio) stacking ensembles of homogeneously selected and mass complete samples of log(M*/M⊙)≳10.8 QGs. We find that the dust to stellar mass ratio (Mdust/M*) rises steeply as a function of redshift up to z ∼ 1.0 and then remains flat at least out to z = 2.0. Using Mdust as a proxy of gas mass (Mgas), we find a similar trend for the evolution of the gas mass fraction (fgas), with z > 1.0 QGs having fgas ≈ 7.0% (for solar metallicity). This fgas is three to ten times lower than that of normal star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at their corresponding redshift but ≳3 and ≳10 times larger compared to that of z = 0.5 and local QGs. Furthermore, the inferred gas depletion time scales are comparable to those of local SFGs and systematically longer than those of main sequence galaxies at their corresponding redshifts. Our analysis also reveals that the average dust temperature (Td) of massive QGs remains roughly constant (⟨Td⟩ = 21.0 ± 2.0 K) at least out to z ≈ 2.0 and is substantially colder (ΔTd ≈ 10 K) compared to that of SFGs. This motivated us to construct and release a redshift-invariant template IR SED, that we used to make predictions for ALMA observations and to explore systematic effects in the Mgas estimates of massive, high-z QGs. Finally, we discuss how a simple model that considers progenitor bias can effectively reproduce the observed evolution of Mdust/M* and fgas. Our results indicate universal initial interstellar medium conditions for quenched galaxies and a large degree of uniformity in their internal processes across cosmic time.


In the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales the diets of sympatric foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and dogs (Canis lupus) were determined from analysis of oportunitically collected scats. Mammalian prey dominated the diet of both species but foxes had a more diverse diet than dogs. The red-necked pademelon (Thylogale thetis) had the highest occurrence in both predators. the northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus) was the second most common prey of the fox but did not occur in dog scats. Swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) was more common in dog scats than fox scats.


This short paper for one of the world's leading bioethics journals introduces readers to medical tourism - the travel of patients from their home country to another for the primary purpose of seeking medical treatment. The paper divides medical tourism into three types: (1) Medical tourism for services illegal in both the patient's home and destination countries (e.g., organ transplant tourism); (2) Medical tourism for services that are illegal in the patient's home country but legal in the destination country (e.g., some forms of fertility tourism, euthanasia tourism, experimental drug tourism); (3) Medical tourism for services legal in both the home and destination country (e.g., traveling abroad for a heart valve or hip replacement). The paper then discusses several difficult ethical and regulatory challenges posed by each type of medical tourism. This paper outlines my larger research project on medical tourism, one piece of which (focusing on patient-protective concerns) can be found here http://ssrn.com/abstract=1523701.


Two isolates of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) submitted to multiple passages in tissue culture associated with ultraviolet irradiation were evaluated as vaccine virus candidates. The attenuation of the modified viruses was assessed in calves and in pregnant ewes. Intramuscular inoculation of the viruses in four seronegative calves produced only a mild and transient rise in body temperature, followed by the production of high titers of neutralizing antibodies. The viruses were not detected in nasal secretions or in the blood following inoculation. However, intramuscular inoculation of these viruses in four pregnant ewes resulted in transplacental transmission and infection of all fetuses. To assess fetal protection conferred by immunization, pregnant ewes immunized twice with the modified viruses were subsequently challenged by intranasal inoculation of BVDV-1 (SV-126.8, n=6) or BVDV-2 (SV-260, n=5). At the day of challenge (134 days after the second immunization), all ewes had high titers of neutralizing antibodies (256 to >4096) to the vaccine viruses and variable titers (8 to >4096) to Brazilian BVDV-1 and BVDV-2 field isolates. Fifteen days after challenge, the ewes were euthanized and fetal tissues were examined for infectivity. All fetuses from non-vaccinated, challenged ewes (n=4) were infected. In contrast, none of the fetuses from the immunized dams (n=11) were positive for virus, indicating that the immunological response induced by immunization with the vaccine candidate viruses was capable of preventing fetal infection. These results indicate that it is possible to achieve fetal protection to BVDV by induction of a strong immunological response using modified live vaccines.


Retarded injection is used to control NOx emissions. Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) is also an effective means of reducing NOx emissions from compression ignition engines. Higher fuel injection pressure may improve the combustion. EGR can be combined advantageously with other emission reducing measure such as retarded injection timing and performance improvement measures such as higher fuel injection pressure to have a good effect. The methyl ester of jatropha oil, known as biodiesel, is receiving increasing attention as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. Biodiesel is a non-toxic, biodegradable and renewable fuel with the potential to reduce engine exhaust emissions. The jatropha oil methyl ester was obtained through transesterification process. Various properties of the biodiesel thus developed were evaluated and compared in relation to that of conventional diesel oil. In the present investigation neat jatropha oil methyl ester (JME) as well as the blends of varying proportions of JME and diesel were used to run a CI engine with standard conditions (No EGR, No Injection Retard and 20 MPa Fuel Injection Pressure) and with combination of 20 % EGR, 4° retarded injection timing and 30 MPa fuel injection pressure. The addition of jatropha oil methyl ester (JME) to diesel fuel has significantly reduced HC, CO and smoke emissions but it increases the NOx emissions slightly with standard conditions. The NOx emission was drastically decreased with modified conditions. Further the smoke and unburned hydrocarbon emissions were decreased with modified conditions as compared to standard conditions. The brake thermal efficiency was improved with modified conditions at various loads. Exhaust gas temperatures were similar. The maximum cylinder gas pressure and heat release rate were lowered.Copyright © 2006 by ASME


We report observations of a remarkable major axes alignment nearly parallel to the Galactic plane of 5σ significance for a subset of bulge "planetary nebulae" (PNe) that host, or are inferred to host, short-period binaries. Nearly all are bipolar. It is solely this specific PN population that accounts for the much weaker statistical alignments previously reported for the more general bulge PNe. It is clear evidence of a persistent, organized process acting on a measurable parameter at the heart of our galaxy over perhaps cosmologically significant periods of time for this very particular PN sample. Stable magnetic fields are currently the only plausible mechanism that could affect multiple binary star orbits as revealed by the observed major axes orientations of their eventual PNe. Examples are fed into the current bulge PN population at a rate determined by their formation history and mass range of their binary stellar progenitors.


Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is considered to be a frequent complication of liver cirrhosis. However, unlike PVT in patients without cirrhosis, very few data are available on the natural history and management of PVT in cirrhosis, despite its association with potentially life-threatening conditions, such as gastroesophageal bleeding and acute intestinal ischemia. Moreover, no consensus regarding PVT in cirrhosis exists. Suggested causes of PVT in cirrhosis include reduced portal blood flow velocity, multiple congenital or acquired thrombophilic factors, inherited or acquired conditions, and derangement of liver architecture. However, the understanding of PVT in cirrhosis is incomplete. In addition, information on the management of PVT in cirrhosis is inadequate. The aims of this review are to: (1) assemble data on the physiopathological mechanism, clinical findings, diagnosis and management of PVT in cirrhosis; (2) describe the principal factors most frequently involved in PVT development; and (3) summarize the recent knowledge concerning diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.


Many firms in emerging economies invest in information technology primarily with the objective of protecting their cost advantages. This paper presents a framework for evaluating information technology investments by integrating the value chain model with activity-based costing. The proposed four-step approach is illustrated with a numerical example of a hypothetical manufacturing company seeking improvements in its cost structure.


Bacterial adaptation to suboptimal nutrient environments, including host and/or extreme environments, is subject to complex, coordinated control involving many proteins and RNAs. Among the γ-proteobacteria, which includes many pathogens, the RpoS regulon has been a key focus for many years. Although the RpoS regulator was first identified as a growth phase-dependent regulator, our current understanding of RpoS is now more nuanced as this central regulator also has roles in exponential phase, biofilm development, bacterial virulence and bacterial persistence, as well as in stress adaptation. Induction of RpoS can also exert substantial metabolic effects by negatively regulating key systems including flagella biosynthesis, cryptic phage gene expression and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Although core RpoS-controlled metabolic functions are conserved, there are substantial differences in RpoS regulation even among closely related bacteria, indicating that regulatory plasticity may be an important aspect of RpoS regulation, which is important in evolutionary adaptation to specialized environments.


This study takes an affordance perspective to examine visibility in open workspaces and its relationship to organizational identification. Spatial visibility—the possibility for members' behaviors to be visible to others in organizational space—was investigated in a Finnish organization following a transition to open workspace. Interview and survey data revealed that spatial visibility highlighted similarities among workers' facilities and enhanced exposure and company branding, making attachment to the organization more salient. Visibility also afforded perceptions of inequality by exposing some workers' space limitations and other constraints in the sociomaterial context, diminishing their feelings of inclusion. Implications for theory and practice about spatial visibility and organizational identification are discussed.


An analysis of the work of African American artists during the Depression and the war years (1929-1945), when government-sponsored programmes such as the WPA led to a general resurgence in artistic production throughout the United States. The catalogue features the work of Robert Blackburn, Raymond Steth, Horace Woodroff and Dox Trash, among others, with a smaller selection of paintings and watercolours by such notable artists as Horace Pippin, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and Bill Traylor. Included are essays on the work in its cultural context and on printmaking techniques. Most of the works in this volume are acquisitions of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.


Along a 300 km transect in northern Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan, the area1 coverage of Spodosols and spodic horizon development increases markedly from south to north. This study elucidated those aspects of climate that promote podzolization in this region. through an examination of the geographic correspondences between Spodosol development and soil climate. Climatic data (195 I-1991) from 21 sites along this transect were processed by a hydrologic model developed to output data on (1) soil temperatures for 0.05 and 0.5 m depths for 20 minute intervals, including data on soil freezing, (2) snowpack thicknesses under forest cover, and (3) daily water fluxes, runoff, and soil water contents at several depths. Spodosols dominate the landscape in areas where soil frost and freeze-thaw activity are minimal and where soil temperatures rarely exceed 16-17°C. Podzolization is strongest where snowpacks are thickest an association that holds at both regional and meso scales. Thick snowpacks inhibit soil frost and allow large fluxes of snowmelt water to infiltrate into already moist profiles. This type of flux (slow, steady, cold water) may be particularly effective in the podzolization process. In the southern part of the transect. where Spodosols are rare, snowmelt fluxes are l/3 as large as in the northern "snowbelt" areas. The southern areas also have a small autumn infiltration peak that usually reaches to = 0.3 m depth; this flux is absent in areas of strong podzolization. Mean soil water contents are low and fluxes of water into the soil are small along the entire transect during summer, underscoring the belief that the bulk of pedogenesis (i.e., translocation), in Spodosols in the study area, occurs during snowmelt. Keywor&; soil genesis; snowpack; snowmelt; Spodosols * Corresponding author. Phone: + I(5 I7)353-7726: Fax: + I(5 171432.167 I; E-mail: schaetzl~pilot.msu.edu 0341.8162/96/$15.00 Copyright


Elettaria cardamomum, commonly known as green cardamom in traditional system of medicine has antibacterial, antioxidant, antiasthmatics and digestive properties. The present study was designed to assess the effect of hydroethanolic extract of Elettaria cardamomum fruit on learning and memory, brain cholinesterase levels and associated altered brain oxidative stress markers in scopolamine treated mice. The extract was administered orally in three doses (250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg p.o) for a period of 15 days. Piracetam, 500mg/kg p.o, was used as standard treatment. Scopolamine was administered in the dose of 1.0 mg/kg intraperitoneally. The Morris water maze and elevated plus maze were used to assess cognitive functions. At the end of the study, effect of extract was assessed on brain cholinesterase levels and oxidative stress markers like lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione, catalase and superoxide dismutase in the brain tissue of mice. The Scopolamine-treated group (negative control) showed significantly impaired acquisition and retention of memory as compared to the saline treated group (vehicle control). Pre-treatment with Elettaria cardamomum extract (500 and 1000 mg/kg) for 15 days significantly reversed Scopolamine induced amnesia as evidenced by increased time spent in target quadrant in Morris water maze test and decreased transfer latency in elevated plus maze test compared to the negative control. Scopolamine administration caused significant increase in brain cholinesterase levels which were attenuated by Elettaria cardamomum treatment. Pre-treatment with Elettaria cardamomum extract (500 and 1000 mg/kg p.o.) resulted in a significant decrease in lipid peroxidation and increase in reduced glutathione, catalase and superoxide dismutase levels as compared to the negative control. These results suggest that Elettaria cardamomum may improve learning and memory of amnesic mice and this effect can be attributed to decreased oxidative stress and reduction in brain cholinesterase levels.


African children who care for sick or dying adults are receiving less than optimal support due to confusion about whether or not young caregiving constitutes a form of child labour and the tendency of the authorities to play it "safe" and side with more abolitionist approaches to children's work, avoiding engagement with support strategies that could be seen as support of child labour. To challenge this view, and move from policy paralysis to action, we present a study from western Kenya that explores community perceptions of children's work and caregiving as well as opportunities for support. The study draws on 17 community group conversations and 10 individual interviews, involving 283 members of a Luo community in the Bondo District of western Kenya. We provide a detailed account of how integral children's work is to household survival in the context of poverty, HIV and AIDS as well as community recommendations on how they and external service providers can work together in supporting children faced with excessive caregiving and income-generation responsibilities. We use our findings to call for less restrictive regulations of children's work and to develop a plan for policy and action for young carers that identifies key actors, their roles and responsibilities, and how they might best collaborate—in a way that is sensitive both to concerns about child labour as well as community strengths, resources and apprehensions about the stigmatisation of children targeted by agencies.


This paper presents a summary of the initial findings from a research project carried out between January 2014 and November 2015. In the UK, the work was carried out in association with the Charity 'Music in Hospitals', whilst in Japan, the research was arranged through independent musicians with significant experience in providing music concerts in care facilities. In total, 30 concerts were included in the project which took place in a total of 6 care facilities; 3 in Japan and 3 in the UK. The research method involved a series of interviews with service users, service providers and their family members as well as both open and systematic observations of clients' responses to musical elements. Initial results suggest that musical events can be a worthwhile and important non-pharmacological intervention in promoting wellbeing. In this paper, we argue that music can play a significant role in improving the care of the elderly and in particular those with early to mid stage dementia as well as providing significant benefits for their family members and their service providers.


PURPOSE Of THE STUDy The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical and functional results for a series of patients undergoing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) at mid-term follow-up. MATERIAL AnD METHODS This study included 32 patients with isolated medial compartment arthritis who underwent unilateral UKA. Outcomes were assessed using pre- and postoperative Western Ontario McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores and Knee Society Score (KSS) metrics. RESULTS On physical examination at a follow-up of at least 5 years, mean knee flexion was 121° , mean knee extension was 2°, and mean varus angulation was 2°. At post-operative evaluation, the mean WOMAC score was 96.12 and the mean KSS score was 93. Pre- and postoperative WOMAC and KSS scores were evaluated by paired Student's t-tests; p < 0.001 determined a highly significant difference. DISCUSSIOn Early UKA designs had poor outcomes. newer implant designs and specific patient selection criteria have been reported to be associated with improved outcomes. This study examined mid-term outcomes (mean duration of follow-up, 5 years). COnCLUSIOn The clinical and functional results of UKA at 5-year follow-up were shown to be satisfactory. Longer follow-up is needed to determine whether UKA provides satisfactory long-term outcomes.


Experimental results of an optical binary phase-only correlator using both visual and IR imagery are presented. The inputs to the correlator originate from actual aerial imagery containing aircraft and a variety of distortions. Filters used as a database for the system are derived from models of aircraft. Digital image processing techniques are used on images before being input into the optical correlator to enhance the performance of the system. Both noise removing and segmentation techniques are investigated. Input images to the correlator are displayed on a 128 x 128 magnetooptic spatial light modulator (SLM). Experimental results are presented which show that the system performs well with images which are easily segmented from the background.


Abstract The analysis of 3D seismic data in the near-seafloor interval is a useful speciality in deepwater exploration and production. In addition to the well-established benefits of 3D seismic data, the higher frequency content of near-seafloor data has a variety of applications throughout the life cycle of deepwater plays. These benefits include: (1) depositional process modelling, (2) stratal architectural information for building reservoir models, and (3) drilling hazard assessment. Detailed mapping of well-imaged 3D seismic intervals in the near-seafloor interval is providing new insights to deepwater depositional processes and architectures. Depositional patterns are more confidently identified in near-seafloor settings, enabling the investigation of testable relationships between stratal stacking patterns, gradient changes and accommodation. These relationships as well as spatial and geometric information from these data are useful for building and constraining reservoir models, linking key observations from subsurface data at prospective levels with fine-scale outcrop analogue data. In particular, near-seafloor 3D data can image surfaces related to episodes of aggradation, starvation, bypass, and/or erosion that are typically hard to recognize or map at exploration depths, but are critical in controlling reservoir bed-length and connectivity in three dimensions. Near-seafloor 3D seismic data can supplement or even replace traditional 2D-based site surveys for assessing potential drilling hazards. Although usually lower in vertical resolution than 2D site survey data, 3D data have the distinct advantage of better imaging of 3D geometric bodies, providing insight into complex stratal stacking patterns, and allowing data volume manipulation and perspective.


All kinds of mining enterprises prefer to use computer-aided design (CAD) in drawing figures of mining reserves. CAD is convenient to operate and ensures the creation of intuitive and beautiful figures. However, CAD causes data error easily due to human intervention. Moreover, CAD wastes time and is prone to omit records. To reduce the incidence of such errors, the current paper examines the transformation of CAD-drawn reserves' figures and databases into "block" form. This paper also aims to realize the conversion of figure blocks and databases using Visual Basic (VB) in CAD and database applications. To achieve this result, the circle and text are first extracted from CAD form. Then, a series of changes is implemented. Lastly, figure blocks are endowed with new properties. Using this approach can quickly transform figure elements into block properties, achieving good application effects.


Objectives : To investigate the effects of substituting strontium for calcium in fluoroaluminosilicate glass on the handling variables and setting reaction of high-viscosity glass ionomer cements. Design : An exploratory, laboratory-based study. Setting : Dental biomaterials research laboratory, Dental Physical Sciences Unit, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London. Subjects : A series of five glasses in which strontium substitutes for calcium and based on the general formula: 4.5SiO 2 - 3Al 2 O 3 – 1.25P 2 O 5 – xSrO - ySrF,sub>2 – zCaO - yCaF 2 , where x = 0, 0.5, 1.5 or 3; y = 0, 1 or 2; and, z = 0, 1.5, 2.5 or 3 were synthesized, ground, sieved and the powders characterised by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), particle size analysis and thermal analysis. Thereafter, they were mixed with poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) and aqueous tartaric acid to form glass ionomer cements, whose properties were investigated at different time points: working and setting times were determined by rheometry;  and, the setting reaction was studied by Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Results : XRD confirmed the amorphous nature of the glasses, while thermal analysis showed a mixed alkaline/entropic effect on the glass transition temperature. Working and setting times did not vary significantly with strontium content but the shortest times were recorded for the cement with the smallest particle size. Conclusion : The results suggest that substitution of strontium for calcium has insignificant effects on the manipulation and setting reaction of the cement; therefore, substitution can be optimised to produce restorative materials with beneficial anticariogenic properties.


Crutch-induced arterial aneurysm is a rare event and there are no descriptions in the literature of cases with concomitant venous aneurysms. We report the case of a patient who, after prolonged crutch use, presented with acute ischemia of the upper limb secondary to brachial artery aneurysm thrombosis, associated with the incidental finding of brachial vein aneurysms. Although the main cause of acute upper limb occlusion is embolization of cardiac origin, consideration should be given to the possibility of arterio-arterial embolization due to an aneurysm induced by prolonged use of crutches. Venous aneurysms should also be suspected since they can be sites of thrombosis, and a source of pulmonary embolism.


This paper studies outlier detection and robust estimation for nonparametric regression problems. We propose to include a subject-specific mean shift parameter for each data point such that a nonzero parameter will identify its corresponding data point as an outlier. We adopt a regularization approach by imposing a roughness penalty on the regression function and a shrinkage penalty on the mean shift parameter. An efficient algorithm has been proposed to solve the double penalized regression problem. We discuss a data-driven simultaneous choice of two regularization parameters based on a combination of generalized cross validation and modified Bayesian information criterion. We show that the proposed method can consistently detect the outliers. In addition, we obtain minimax-optimal convergence rates for both the regression function and the mean shift parameter under regularity conditions. The estimation procedure is shown to enjoy the oracle property in the sense that the convergence rates agree with the minimax-optimal rates when the outliers (or regression function) are known in advance. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed method has desired performance in identifying outliers under different scenarios.


The neocortex receives information about the environment and the rest of the brain through pathways from the thalamus. These pathways have frequency-dependent properties that can strongly influence their effect on the neocortex. In 1943 Morison and Dempsey described "augmenting responses," a form of short-term plasticity in some thalamocortical pathways that is triggered by 8- to 15-hertz activation. Results from anesthetized rats showed that the augmenting response is initiated by pyramidal cells in layer V. The augmenting response was also observed in awake, unrestrained animals and was found to be dynamically modulated by their behavioral state.


Background Differential expression (DE) analysis of transcriptomic data enables genome-wide analysis of gene expression changes associated with biological conditions of interest. Such analysis often provides a wide list of genes that are differentially expressed between two or more groups. In general, identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) can be subject to further downstream analysis for obtaining more biological insights such as determining enriched functional pathways or gene ontologies. Furthermore, DEGs are treated as candidate biomarkers and a small set of DEGs might be identified as biomarkers using either biological knowledge or data-driven approaches. Methods In this work, we present a novel approach for identifying biomarkers from a list of DEGs by re-ranking them according to the Minimum Redundancy Maximum Relevance (MRMR) criteria using repeated cross-validation feature selection procedure. Results Using gene expression profiles for 199 children with sepsis and septic shock, we identify 108 DEGs and propose a 10-gene signature for reliably predicting pediatric sepsis mortality with an estimated Area Under ROC Curve (AUC) score of 0.89. Conclusions Machine learning based refinement of DE analysis is a promising tool for prioritizing DEGs and discovering biomarkers from gene expression profiles. Moreover, our reported 10-gene signature for pediatric sepsis mortality may facilitate the development of reliable diagnosis and prognosis biomarkers for sepsis.


This paper discusses the way in which we constructed a framework for the publication on the web of historical sources at the Institute of Netherlands History (ING) in The Hague (The Netherlands). The framework is built using the web application platform Zope and is flexible because of its modular construction. This makes it possible to publishing heterogeneous researchdata with their own requirements for accessibility and usability, while maintaining uniformity in presentation and access whenever possible. Because a number of different approaches were used in its design, it is not the end solution to a problem, but ready to grow and evolve as new features are required.


Colours of individuals are one of the more current morphological clues linked to overwintering adaptations. We studied morphological and physiological differences between colour morphs of Aphidius rhopalosiphi mummies in relation to possible adaptation to winter survival. Aphids Sitobion avenae were parasitised and placed in a controlled temperature room at 10degreesC, under a photoperiod of L9:D15. Mummies were sorted by colour. Volume, fresh mass, water content, development time and cocoon thickness were recorded individually. Differences in development time were observed between dark and white forms, cocoon thickness and water content. We could not relate these difference to diapause status. However, these features are very likely linked to distinct cold resistance patterns and may be indications of a quiescence state.


Poster Presentation Objective To identify safe practices for management of chronic pain in pregnancy. Design Retrospective chart review. We studied three commonly used opioid analgesics, compared neonatal outcomes for each of the agents, and identified potential contributing factors to the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Sample Neonatal outcomes were evaluated for all singletons delivered full term during a 42‐month period, whose mothers met inclusion criteria and were taking codeine, hydrocodone, or oxycodone at any dosage three or more times per week. Methods The first phase was the retrospective chart review. Charts for every patient delivered by the perinatology practice for the specified time frame were individually reviewed for appropriateness for the study. Data were manually gathered onto an individual data sheet and de‐identified. Once all charts were reviewed and data collected, data were coded and entered into a spreadsheet and analyzed for trends in neonatal outcomes using descriptive statistics. The second phase was to use the information collected combined with available data from other studies to create practice guidelines. Implementation Strategies Outcomes examined included gestational age at delivery, birth weight, APGAR score, admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), diagnosis of NAS, length of stay, and treatment required. Maternal demographics were evaluated for any potential impact on neonatal outcome trends. Results Thirty‐one charts met criteria for the study. Nine neonates required a NICU admission. Length of NICU stay ranged from 2 to 10 days with an average NICU stay of 5 days. Two neonates required medical management with methadone. They were the only two with a diagnosis of NAS. Six of the nine were admitted for transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN) and one was diagnosed as a poor feeder. Baseline data indicated that there is no association between NICU stay and agent used or between specific dosages or use of more than one agent. The study was limited by small sample size and multiple potential contributing factors to observed neonatal outcomes. Conclusion/Implications for Nursing Practice Obstetric and neonatal nurse and practitioners must become knowledgeable about the use of opioid analgesics in pregnancy. The findings of this study indicate the need for further research but support the judicious use of opioid analgesics at minimum effective doses. Thorough evaluation of the neonate at delivery for signs of NAS and TTN is warranted, and supportive care in a NICU environment can ease the transition to extrauterine life without opioid exposure.


Known variously as African studies, black studies, African American studies, Afro-American studies, and Africology, the academic study of the African diaspora as a holistic discipline is a relatively new phenomenon. University programs have been created with reference to a disciplinary matrix, retarding the development of appropriate theory and methods throughout Africana studies. Fifteen leaders in the field of Africana studies provide the conceptual framework for establishing the field as a mature discipline. The focus is on four basic areas: administration and organizational structure; disciplinary matrix; Africana womanism; and cultural aesthetics. The work examines both the theory and the method of scholars in African and African-diaspora studies.


People are currently facing high unemployment rates, and one of the main causes is financial literacy. Financial literacy is critically important for people as it enables them to effectively manage their money and decide whether to invest or save. Furthermore, everyone must be educated from an early age about financial issues because they will be taught about how to save, invest, budget, and borrow. The purpose of this article is to investigate the scientific literature on financial education and employment. To this end, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of financial literacy and the relationship between financial literacy and employment. The research methodology included a bibliometric analysis conducted with the VOSviewer software. The results highlight low rates of financial literacy in terms of knowledge, behaviour and attitude. The main determinants of poor financial literacy include poor financial education in schools, disinterest of people in the subject, limited accessibility to financial resources, and insufficient involvement of people in financial issues. Policy makers must take into account this unfavourable situation with respect to the state of financial literacy and implement actions to address it.


The harmonic performance of the slim dc-link adjustable speed drives has shown good performance in some studies but poor in some others. The contradiction indicates that a feasible theoretical analysis is still lacking to characterize the harmonic distortion for the slim dc-link drive. Considering the shortcomings of the present harmonic analysis methods, such as the time-domain simulation, or the Fourier analysis, this paper proposes a Harmonic State Space model to study the harmonics performance for this type of drive. In this study, this model is utilized to describe the behavior of the harmonic variation according to the switching instant, the harmonics at the steady-state condition, as well as the coupling between the multiple harmonic impedances. By using this model, the impaction on the harmonics performance by the film capacitor and the grid inductance is derived. Simulation and experimental results of the slim dc-link drive, loaded up to 2.0 kW, are presented to validate the theoretical analysis.


An adaptive loss evaluation algorithm for power transmission systems is proposed in this paper. The algorithm is based on training of artificial neural networks (ANNs) using backpropagation. Due to the capability of parallel information processing of the ANNs, the proposed method is fast and yet accurate. Active and reactive powers of generators and loads, as well as the magnitudes of voltages at voltage-controlled buses are chosen as inputs to the ANN. System losses are chosen as the outputs. Training data are obtained by load flow studies, assuming that the state variables of the power system to be studied take the values uniformly distributed in the ranges of their lower and upper limits. Load flow studies for different system topologies are carried out and the results are compiled to form the training set. Numerical results are presented in the paper to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in terms of accuracy and speed. It is concluded that the trained ANN can be utilized for both off-line simulation studies and on-line calculation of demand and energy losses. High performance has been achieved through complex mappings, modeled by the ANN, between system losses and system topologies, operating conditions and load variations. >


Every finitely presented group is the fundamental group of the total space of a Lefschetz fibration. This follows from results of Gompf and Donaldson, and was also proved by Amoros-Bogomolov-Katzarkov-Pantev. We give another proof by providing the monodromy explicitly. We then define the genus of a finitely presented group Γ to be the minimal genus of a Lefschetz fibration with fundamental group Γ. We also give some estimates of the genus of certain groups.


Abstract Cybercrime is an increasing area of study in the field of criminology. With the advancement of technology and the growing use of social media, people are connected all over the world more than they have ever been before. It is not the invention of new crimes but technology has allowed old crimes to be committed through a new medium. This paper explores the realm of cyberspace and how old crimes are being committed in new ways by different countries and people.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify details of technological, organizational and people (TOP) factors affecting maintenance technicians' use of computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) in manual collection of asset data.

Design/methodology/approach
In addition to TOP factor details, results from six case studies in Finland, India and the Caribbean are presented. Interviews and observations clarify the role of TOP factors in CMMS use in industrial maintenance.

Findings
In total, 17 detailed TOP factors are identified and criteria for analyzing CMMS contexts with them are defined. Analyzing the cases with these factors reveals that technicians who collect good quality data have received good training and instructions for the CMMS, are competent, and understand how manually collected data benefits them in their own work. However, even these sites struggle with the usability of the CMMS.

Research limitations/implications
The 17 TOP factors and the criteria for CMMS evaluation extend understanding on context and usability in manual data collection. Case study method does not imply the relative importance of the TOP factors, which calls for future research using quantitative methods.

Practical implications
Management can use the criteria to analyze the context of manual data collection for improvements, e.g., in CMMS usability.

Originality/value
Insights from industrial environments and a new way of studying contextual factors of CMMS use are presented. The results extend a data quality research framework with details to manual data collection and define the TOP factors in CMMS context.


Radar targets with moving components (engines, propellers, etc.) are well characterized in the frequency domain so that the estimation of spectral parameters can be used in the process of extracting features for their classification. With non-imaging scanning radars the application of spectral parameter estimation for target classification is limited by a short time on target and other radar parameters. To alleviate these limitations, artificial neural networks have been used bringing with them the long training time issue. This paper suggests a neural network approach that capitalizes on the prescence of spectral components and reduces the training time. This approach divides the training of the multilayer perceptron (MLP) in two steps: pretraining and final training. Pretraining guides the MLP to recognize the Fourier basis set of signals. The final training for target classification is then facilitated.


Abstract We present pollen and stable isotope (δ13C, δ18O, δ15N) data from a ∼4 m core (TNF-1) of primarily mangrove peat taken from Turneffe Atoll, Belize. Radiocarbon (accelerator mass spectrometry) dates show that the record represents ca. 5000 years of sediment accumulation. Vegetation composition varied between dominant mangroves (primarily Rhizophora mangle) and Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae, most likely Salicornia bigelovii. The pollen data, along with inferences from stable isotope analyses of bulk peat and fossil leaf fragments, indicate that marked environmental changes occurred at this location over the past ca. 5000 years. There was a transition between ca. 4100 and 2900 cal yr BP, from vegetation dominated by relatively tall mangroves (R. mangle) to one dominated by Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae and then Myrica, most likely wax myrtle (M. cerifera). These changes bracket a period centered at ca. 3500 calibrated years before present, where there is a peak in the δ18O of mangrove leaf fragments. This timing corresponds with other paleoenvironmental records of climate drying in Central America and increases the geographic and habitat scope (i.e., mangrove habitat) of records documenting these changes. Interpretations of shifts in mangrove habitat, however, require consideration of additional environmental influences, including changes in groundwater hydrology and relative inputs of seawater and freshwater (i.e., precipitation) during the Holocene.


Coastal dunes can protect communities and infrastructure against storm surge and wave attack. They provide a natural barrier of granular material that erodes during storm conditions and dissipates wave energy in the process. Vegetation is abundantly present in most coastal dunes and may enhance the capability of the dune to withstand erosion. However, reliable data allowing quantification of the erosion process of dunes are sparse, in particular, data involving live plants. In this study, physical model experiments in a moveable-bed wave flume were carried out to investigate the effect of live plants on the wave-induced dune erosion process. The dune grass Sporobolus virginicus was grown in pots with dune sediment, transplanted into test dunes and subjected to both regular and irregular wave attack. Measurements of hydrodynamics and profile evolution show that the vegetation does affect the eroded dune volume and the dune scarp retreat rate. During wave flume testing vegetation density ranged from 0 to 80 plants per square meter and plant maturity (i.e. age) was varied between 0 and 12 weeks but further tests are necessary to substantiate the observed trends. The maturity of the plants' root system yielded the most significant impact on dune erosion as plants with more developed roots were able to reduce the eroded dune volume more than plants with less mature root systems.


The Borg CR100 Scale® is a general intensity scale suitable formost kinds of experiences and symptoms. On the scale verbal labels are placed in congruence with a ratio scale from 0 (nothing at all) to 100 ("Maximal" and anchored in a previously experienced perception of, for example, perceived exertion), with, for example, "Strong" at 50 and with the possibility to exceed 100 in extreme situations. For instruction and training the blackness of 5x5 cm cardboard squares (varying from 5% to 95% blackness NCS) have previously been used with an exponent in the psychophysical power function of between 0.9 and 1.2 (obtained both for Magnitude estimation and previous versions of Borg CR scales). For practical reasons it is important to be able to use a Powerpoint presentation of blackness stimuli, for example when running classroom experiments. Two different randomized orders of 18 (2x9) blackness stimuli were presented in a classroom setting to 47 participants (16 men and 31 women, students of psychology). Microsoft Powerpoint for Apple was used with the 9 different greys preset in the program (5, 15, 25, 35, 50, 65, 75, 85, 95% blackness) and scaled with the Borg CR100!R Scale. Two orders of presentation were used, the second being the reverse of the first. The responses obtained with the Borg CR100 scale!R ranged from 2 to 90 (median values) showing that blackness worked well across the whole subjective dynamic range. This is of importance for a good training material. The group exponent, computed from geometric means, was n = 1. 3 (r = 0. 994) and thus a little higher than previously obtained. For a subgroup of 14 subjects who were retested after approximately 15 minutes the exponent for both occasions was n = 1. 1 (r = 0. 985 and r = 0. 965, respectively). From graphs it was obvious that there was a slight "dip" with relatively lower responses for 35%, 50% and 65% blackness, especially for the first presentation order. This might in part explain why the exponent was a little higher than obtained with the older cardboard presentations. If this "dip" was mainly due to design, the blackness stimuli, or the scale, remains to be tested. However, as a training material, this would have less consequence. As a conclusion, a Powerpoint presentation of blackness works well, and may be recommended as a training material for the Borg CR100 scale®.


Competition and the Ratchet Effect The 'ratchet effect' refers to a situation where a principal uses private information that is revealed by an agent's early actions to the agent's later disadvantage, in a context where binding multi-period contracts are not enforceable. In a simple, context-rich environment, we experimentally study the robustness of the ratchet effect to the introduction of ex post competition for principals or agents. While we do observe substantial and significant ratchet effects in the baseline (no competition) case of our model, we find that ratchet behavior is nearly eliminated by labor-market competition; interestingly this is true regardless of whether market conditions favor principals or agents. JEL Classification: C91, D23, D82, J24, L14


Objectives To describe our experience with chronic ambulatory peritoneal dialysis in children with the prune belly syndrome (PBS). Design From our peritoneal dialysis (PD) program we were able to review the medical records of 6 boys with PBS. Data were collected on potential complications such as infections, hernias, growth, and problems encountered with PD catheter insertion. Results The ages of the 6 boys ranged from 10 months 17 years. The dialysis duration was from 9–22 months, with a total of 76 patient-months on PD. There was one death, possibly as a complication of an exit-site infection. Five received a renal transplant, and 4 have functioning grafts. Peritonitis occurred once in every 10.8 patient months, and exit-site or tunnel infection was diagnosed every 7.6 patient-months. Four patients required PD catheter replacement because of tunnel infection in 2, persistent exit-site infection in 1, and fluid leakage in 1. Of a total of nine catheters, three were inserted using a laparoscopic technique. There were no leaks in these three; however, there was one exit-site infection. Two patients had inguinal hernias that required surgery. Conclusion Deficiency of abdominal musculature in PBS poses potential problems for the use of PD, in particular, catheter anchorage, exit-site healing, and leakage. In our patients the most serious complications were infections of the exit site or catheter tunnel. Our experience suggests that a laparoscopic technique may provide improved catheter placement. PD offers a potentially successful form of dialysis for patients with PBS.


This paper investigates strength characteristics and stress-strain behaviors of unreinforced and reinforced lightweight soils. Lightweight soil, composed of dredged soil, cement, and air-foam, was reinforced by a waste fishing net, in order to increase its compressive strength. Test specimens were fabricated by various mixing conditions, such as cement content, initial water content, air content, and waste fishing net; then, unconfined compression tests were carried out on these specimens. From the test results, it was shown that reinforced lightweight soil had different behavior after failure, even though it had similar behavior as unreinforced lightweight soil before failure. The test results also showed that stress became constant after peak strength in reinforced lightweight soil, while the stress decreased continuously in unreinforced lightweight soil. It was observed that the strength was increased due to reinforcing effect by the waste fishing net for most cases, except high water content greater than . In the case of high water content, a reinforcing effect is negligible, due to slip between waste fishing net and soil particles. In reinforced lightweight soil, secant modulus (E50) was increased, due to the inclusion of waste fishing net.


Does attracting or losing jobs in high paying sectors have important spill-over effects on wages in other sectors? The answer to this question is central to a proper assessment of many trade and industrial policies. In this paper, we explore this question by examining how predictable changes in industrial composition in favor of high paying sectors affect wage determination at the industry-city level. In particular, we use US Census data over the years 1970 to 2000 to quantify the relationship between changes in industry-specific city-level wages and changes in industrial composition. Our finding is that the spill-over (i.e., general equilibrium) effects associated with changes in the fraction of jobs in high paying sectors are very substantial and persistent. Our point estimates indicate that the total effect on average wages of a change in industrial composition that favors high paying sectors is about 3.5 times greater than that obtained from a commonly used composition-adjustment approach which neglects general equilibrium effects. We interpret our results as being most likely driven by a variant of the mechanism recently emphasized in the heterogenous firm literature whereby changes in competitive pressure cause a reallocation of employment toward the most efficient firms.


A novel 2, 4-dichlorophenol imprinted TiO2-SiO2 catalyst was prepared by molecular imprinting technique in combination with sol-gel method. The prepared material was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (IR), scanning electron-microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and N2 adsorption measurement. The effect of the preparation condition on the degradation behavior, the photo-catalytic ability and selectivity of the prepared material were evaluated. The results show that the imprinted material has good photo-degradation capacity and selectivity toward the target pollutant, which was shown to be promising for selective removal of 2, 4-dichlorophenol from environmental samples. Copyright © 2010 VBRI press.


In order to mitigate climate change, more attention every year is being given to wind energy. However, despite minimal impact of wind turbines on the environment, there is a negative side as well. Wind speed variations are a stochastic process, and it is difficult to predict wind power accurately. Therefore, unpredictable power can disbalance the power grid; besides, huge power reserves are necessary. Wind energy can be forecasted based on statistical, physical or hybrid methods and models. However, all methods and models generate power prediction errors during different time horizons. The paper presents an analysis of wind power prediction errors determining factors based on statistical, physical and hybrid approaches. Investigation revealed that combination of statistical methods – nonlinear regression, model output statistics, the most suitable power curve and wind speed correction methods – reduced wind power prediction errors up to 1.5%. A detailed evaluation of relief variations and surface roughness increased wind power accuracy by 2%. Considering the local conditions of the western part of Lithuania, the best suitable tool for a short-term wind power prediction is a hybrid model including a detailed description of topographical conditions and the most precise statistical methods.


Novel micromachined optical waveguides useful for sensing applications are proposed. The waveguide is designed as hollow-core antiresonant reflecting optical waveguide (ARROW) and can be easily fabricated using standard silicon micromachining techniques. The hollow structure permits to use the core to confine simultaneously the light and the substance to be probed, leading to an increase of the interaction efficiency. Numerical simulations, performed using finite element method technique, show that with a suitable design these waveguides can be used in sensing applications, where the substances under test can be gases or liquids.


OBJECTIVE To investigate expression of the endogenous antagonist of interleukin 18 (IL-18) bioactivity, IL-18 binding protein isoform a (IL-18BPa), in fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS). METHODS Long-term cultured FLS from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA) and spondylarthropathy patients were analysed for spontaneous and cytokine-induced IL-18BPa expression. Messenger RNA and release of IL-18BPa were assessed by semi-quantitative and quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) as well as immunoblot analysis, respectively. RESULTS All investigated FLS cultures expressed low amounts of IL-18BPa transcripts. However, there was no detectable release of IL-18BPa from unstimulated synoviocytes. Of the investigated cytokines, only interferon (IFN)-gamma markedly up-regulated IL-18BPa mRNA levels. Induction was accompanied by release of IL-18BPa immunoreactivity from FLS. Conditioned media from IFN-gamma-stimulated FLS cultures reduced IL-12/IL-18-dependent IFN- production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells. CONCLUSION The present data imply that IFN--activated synoviocytes mediate a negative feedback loop via IL-18BPa, which may limit IL-18 biological activity in arthritis.


The objective of this study was to explore the prevailing complications of diabetes mellitus and to explore some of the associated factors among Qatari patients previously diagnosed as having diabetes mellitus. A random sample of Qatari diabetic patients attending outpatient clinics (8 am to 12 pm) attached to Hamad General Hospital, between May 2001-2002 were included in the study. The total sample was 225, 74 males, and 151 females. The results revealed that retinopathy was the most prevailing complication (43.6%), followed by nephropathy (40.9%), hypertension (36.9%), neuropathy (28.9%), hyperlipidemia (26.7%), coronary heart disease (18.7%), foot ulcer (4.4%), and thyroid problems (3.6%). A significant association between development of hypertension and high body mass index (BMI) was found. Neuropathy and thyroid problems were significantly higher in females. (56.9%) of the patients were obese (BMI >30 kg/m2), and 28.9% were overweight (BMI 25-29.9). Two thirds of the patients had positive family history of the disease, and females who had diabetic fathers were significantly higher than males.


We propose a radically novel approach to analyze speech signals from a statistical physics perspective. Our approach is based on a new framework, the Microcanonical Multiscale Formalism (MMF), which is based on the computation of singularity exponents, defined at each point in the signal domain. The latter allows nonlinear analysis of complex dynamics and, particularly, characterizes the intermittent signature. We study the validity of the MMF for the speech signal and show that singularity exponents convey indeed valuable information about its local dynamics. We define an accumulative measure on the exponents which reveals phoneme boundaries as the breaking points of a piecewise linear-like curve. We then develop a simple automatic phonetic segmentation algorithm using piecewise linear curve fitting. We present experiments on the full TIMIT database. The results show that our algorithm yields considerably better accuracy than recently published ones.


Although interests are obviously part of inter-regional relations, the European-Latin American partnership is not mainly interest- but value-driven. Since the early 1980s, when nearly all Latin American countries abandoned military regimes, democracy and human rights have had a prominent place in EU-Latin American relations. Today, the mutual commitment to democracy and human rights is stressed in all official documents and cooperation accords between the EU and Latin America. Nonetheless, other regional priorities and the return to electoral democracy began to undermine the common values discourse and marginalize the political role of the EU in Latin America. This article is based on three major arguments: First, the EU's democratic engagement in Latin America still focuses on traditional authoritarian regimes (Cuba) and has not developed into a strategy towards the new political challenges of democratic backlash; second, the substance of democracy promotion mainly consists of technical governance issues and socio-economic support; and third, Spain is still a major actor in EU policy and its low priority of democracy promotion influenced the EU's profile. Based on these assumptions and following a short discussion on underlying principles, this article will address EU's priorities in democracy assistance in Latin America, particularly with regard to the most problematic countries in terms of democracy, such as Cuba, Colombia, and Venezuela.


Previous empirical studies have shown that solo entrepreneurs benefit from having balanced skills: Jacks-of-All-Trades (JATs) are better entrepreneurs than specialists are. Nowadays however, the majority of entrepreneurs start up and run ventures together in teams. In this paper we test whether the effect of more balanced skills is also positive in a team of entrepreneurs. We also explore whether (a lack of) individual balanced skills can be substituted by combining the skills of various specialists within one team. Our field experiment studies teams of children participating in an entrepreneurship education program. Based on pupils' precisely measured level of verbal and mathematical ability, we exogenously compose 179 teams separated into four different types: JAT teams, mathspecialist teams, verbal-specialist teams and mixed specialist teams. Our results show that balanced skills are beneficial to team performance, and that it is hard to substitute individual balanced skills by combining different specialists within one team.


Anaemia is one of the predisposing factors to poor patient outcome in cancer treatment. More than 50% of cancer patients will receive either Radiotherapy or Chemotherapy or both in the course of their treatment. It has been difficult to establish global or National benchmark on the baseline haemoglobin of patients selected for cancer therapy at different stages of the tumours. Various centers use different levels but there is a need to establish a national cut-off point. Establishing a uniform benchmark will inform a global best practice and increase the patient's outcome and quality of life. The acceptable value of anaemia varies from centre to centre but Hb level of 10 g/dL in both male and female are usually acceptable in most Radiation Oncology Centers in Nigerian Hospitals. Haemoglobin level of 10 g/dL is a borderline value and administration of Radiotherapy or Chemotherapeutic agents however without adequate hematological support may tilt the patient into clinical anaemia. This prospective study was done to determine the pattern of anaemia in cancer patients undergoing Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy in Nigeria using 201 cancer patients enrolled in National Hospital Abuja with histopathologically confirmed malignancies (solid cancers). The prevalence of anaemia in the study was 63%. The impact of Chemotherapy on Hb level was more significant than in other treatment arms, hence Chemotherapy – 9.60-10.62 g/dL, Radiotherapy 11.52-12.13 g/dL, and Chemoradiation 10.98-11.36 g/dL. The HB level continually decreased in all arms of treatment. We recommend a benchmark of 11 g/dL minimum for any patient being selected for Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy and Chemoradiation in Nigeria.


Understanding the interfacial properties of catalyst/substrate is crucial for the design of high-performance catalyst for important chemical reactions. Recent years have witnessed a surge of research in utilizing MoS2 as a promising electro-catalyst for hydrogen production, and field effect has been employed to enhance the activity (Wang et al 2017 Adv. Mater. 29, 1604464; Yan et al 2017 Nano Lett. 17, 4109–15). However, the underlying atomic mechanism remains unclear. In this paper, by using the prototype MoS2/Au system as a probe, we investigate effects of external electric field on the interfacial electronic structures via density functional theory (DFT) based first-principles calculations. Our results reveal that although there is no covalent interaction between MoS2 overlayer and Au substrate, an applied electric field efficiently adjusts the charge transfer between MoS2 and Au, leading to tunable Schottky barrier type (n-type to p-type) and decrease of barrier height to facilitate charge injection. Furthermore, we predict that the adsorption energy of atomic hydrogen on MoS2/Au to be readily controlled by electric field to a broad range within a modest magnitude of field, which may benefit the performance enhancement of hydrogen evolution reaction. Our DFT results provide valuable insight into the experimental observations and pave the way for future understanding and control of catalysts in practice, such as those with vacancies, defects, edge states or synthesized nanostructures.


Social scientists who have estimated the relationship between a mother's work hours and the probability that her children care for themselves are often limited by cross‐sectional data and use of a small number of control variables. This study uses the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and a fixed effects logit model to ask if maternal work hours are related to the probability that adolescents spend some time at home alone after school. Results demonstrate that the relationship exists and is nonlinear: only the adolescents of mothers who work more than 30 hours per week are more likely to spend time after school with no adult present, compared with the adolescent children of mothers who are not working. This finding suggests that if social welfare policies encourage low‐income mothers to work full‐time, these policies may increase the probability that their adolescent children spend some time at home alone after school.