Objective: To use statistical control charts in a series of audits to improve the acceptance and consistant use of guidelines, and reduce the variations in prescription processing in primary health care. Methods: A series of audits were done at the main satellite of King Saud Housing Family and Community Medicine Center, National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, where three general practitioners and six pharmacists provide outpatient care to about 3000 residents. Audits were carried out every fortnight to calculate the proportion of prescriptions that did not conform to the given guidelines of prescribing and dispensing. Simple random samples of thirty were chosen from a sampling frame of all prescriptions given in the two previous weeks. Thirty six audits were carried out from September 2004 to February 2006. P-charts were constructed around a parametric specification of non-conformities not exceeding 25%. Results: Of the 1081 prescriptions, the most frequent non-conformity was failure to write generic names (35.5%), followed by the failure to record patient's weight (16.4%), pharmacist's name (14.3%), duration of therapy (9.1%), and the use of inappropriate abbreviations (6.0%). Initially, 100% of prescriptions did not conform to the guidelines, but within a period of three months, this came down to 40%. Conclusions: A process of audits in the context of statistical process control is necessary for any improvement in the implementation of guidelines in primary care. Statistical process control charts are an effective means of visual feedback to the care providers.


Objectives: To investigate whether serological titres of species-specific IgA and IgG antibodies in patients with rectal chlamydial infection could discriminate between infection with serovar L2 lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) and infection with non-LGV serovars. Methods: A total of 39 male patients with chlamydial infection of the rectum were tested for titres of IgA and IgG antibodies within 14 days after detection of the infection and 6 and 12 months after adequate treatment. Data were collected regarding demographics, sexual orientation, HIV serostatus, history of chlamydial infection, concomitant sexually transmitted infection (STI) or HIV infection, hepatitis C virus antibodies and new STIs during follow-up. Results: Between May 2003 and November 2005, 24 men with confirmed L2 proctitis and 15 men with non-LGV rectal chlamydial infection were recruited. In multivariable analyses, both high titre of IgA within 14 days after detection of the infection and older age of the individual were found significantly associated with L2 proctitis (p<0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). A total sum score of seven times IgA titre and individual's age ⩾50 years resulted in an overall sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 100%. This total sum score was highly accurate for detection of LGV proctitis, with an area under the curve in a receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.989. Conclusions: An increased IgA antibody response and the age of the infected individual are of possible diagnostic value for (early) detection of LGV proctitis.


Pentylenetetrazole induces a bursting activity accompanied by intracellular movement of calcium toward the cell membrane in the snail neuron. The calcium appears to originate from the dense lysosome-like granules in the cytoplasm. Pentylenetetrazole markedly depletes the granules of calcium and alters them ultrastructurally from dense granules to lamella type granules.


– The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the value of French School Regulation theory for questions of relevance to researchers and practitioners working in the field of information policy in general and public librarianship in particular., – The paper is divided into two parts. Part one outlines Regulation theory's twin analytic tools of Fordism and post‐Fordism and its value for questions about the evolution of the public library. Part two provides an example of the approach's explanatory potential when applied to a series of public library planning documents produced by the Government of Ontario, Canada from the 1950s., – An interpretation of the evolution of the identity of the library user from patron to customer to information producer‐consumer is proposed at the intersection of the neoliberal state's austerity in social spending, the ubiquity of the new information and communication technologies, and fundamental changes in libraries as sites of waged‐work., – The research facilitates the development of a political economy of the contemporary public library of potential value to the international public library community. Also, conceiving of the public library as first and foremost a site of productive work forces one to re‐engage with the meaning of shifting relations between the library user and the institution on working conditions., – The applicability of a relatively under‐utilized theoretical framework is modelled that enables one to ask new questions of relevance to the field of library and information science.


In 1977, Muhammad Ali was the world heavyweight champion and at the peak of his prime. Johnny Walker was a painter and decorator living in South Tyneside, a world far removed from the 'king of boxing'. However, Johnny possessed a long-held dream, which was labelled as impossible at the time. He wanted to convince the then highest paid and most famous sportsman of his time to come to Tyneside. Johnny had no major funds, only a dream; Ali had earned $6 million for his last paid forty-five minutes of work against Ken Norton. But Johnny hoped his purpose was enough to convince his hero to travel to somewhere he had never heard of before on the other side of the globe for no personal fee. So, one day in 1977, Johnny Walker put aside his daily working tools and travelled to America to see if he could track down the champion boxer and turn his dream into reality. He left the UK as a stranger, without invitation and armed only with a few American dollars and a dream. He returned with a legend.


Entrepreneurship is largely considered to be a positive force, driving venture creation and economic growth. Critical Perspectives on Entrepreneurship questions the accepted norms and dominant assumptions of scholarship on the matter, and reveals how they can actually obscure important questions of identity, ideology and inequality.

The book's distinguished authors and editors explore how entrepreneurship study can privilege certain forms of economic action, whilst labelling other, more collective forms of organization and exchange as problematic. Demystifying the archetypal vision of the white, male entrepreneur, this book gives voice to other entrepreneurial subjectivities and engages with the tensions, paradoxes and ambiguities at the heart of the topic.

This challenging collection seeks to further the momentum for alternate analyses of the field, and to promote the growing voice of critical entrepreneurship studies. It is a useful tool for researchers, advanced students and policy-makers.


Some may wonder why a comparative immunologist would knock on the door of the controversial field of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The field is replete with problems associated with beliefs, disbeliefs, shaky concepts and ill-defined experimental approaches at solving fundamental questions. Yet there is a measure of order in that miniscule, infinitesimal corner of phenomena that begs for clarification and solid attempts to create order from the chaos. Such was the world of comparative immunology in the early 60s when the parent field of immunology was budding into the giant sequoia of a discipline that it is today. There was essentially one model the eternal mouse whose spleen seemed to provide the essence of immunology! How did it all get started and how did that somewhat fortuitous birth provide succor for a field that could approach CAM. Entering CAM with an evidence-based approach was therefore as much of a fruitful and fulfilling challenge as trying to probe convincingly the existence of innate immunity in earthworms (1,2).


Abstract We introduce a new class of two-stage stochastic uncapacitated facility location problems under system nervousness considerations. The location and allocation decisions are made under uncertainty, while the allocation decisions may be altered in response to the realizations of the uncertain parameters. A practical concern is that the uncertainty-adaptive second-stage allocation decisions might substantially deviate from the corresponding pre-determined first-stage allocation decisions, resulting in a high level of nervousness in the system. To this end, we develop two-stage stochastic programming models with restricted recourse that hedge against undesirable values of a dispersion measure quantifying such deviations. In particular, we control the robustness between the corresponding first-stage and scenario-dependent recourse decisions by enforcing an upper bound on the Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) measure of the random CVaR-norm associated with the scenario-dependent deviations of the recourse decisions. We devise exact Benders-type decomposition algorithms to solve the problems of interest. To enhance the computational performance, we also develop efficient combinatorial algorithms to construct optimal solutions of the Benders cut generation subproblems, as an alternative to using an off-the-shelf solver. The results of our computational study demonstrate the value of the proposed modeling approaches and the effectiveness of our solution methods.


Abstract Ad hoc studies of the compositions of bird communities at dispersed sites and bird-banding data have failed to reveal the timing, destinations and movement patterns of most Australian migratory bird species. The analysis of national atlas and count data, on the other hand, has the potential to provide information on the species undertaking migratory movements, the timing of these movements, and their sources and destinations. This study examines atlas data of 407 species for evidence of movements by these species in eastern Australia. Atlas and bird-count data were brought together to form the most extensive collection of bird observations in Australia. Mathematical, statistical and graphical tools were used to examine these data for evidence of temporal changes in the spatial distributions of each species. Examples are provided of the application of these tools to four speices (Dollarbird, Eurystomus orientalis, Noisy Miner, Manorina melanocephala, Grey Fantail, Rhipidura fuliginosa and the Budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus) that exhibit varying movement patterns. A standardised analysis applying these indicators across 407 species found strong evidence of migratory movements for 101 of these species and suggestive evidence for a further 45 species. These results indicated 19 distinctive patterns of migration among the birds of eastern Australia.


This research examines how self-construal (i.e., independent vs. interdependent) and goal type (i.e., attainment vs. maintenance) are conceptually linked and jointly impact consumer behavior. The results of five experiments and one field study involving different operationalizations of self-construal and goal pursuit activities suggest that attainment (maintenance) goals can be more motivating for participants with a more independent (interdependent) self-construal and that differences in salient knowledge about pursuing the goals are one potential mechanism underlying this effect. This interaction effect was found within a single culture, between cultures, when self-construal was experimentally manipulated or measured, and when potential confounding factors like regulatory focus were controlled for. The effect was also found to impact consumer behavior in real life—self-construal, as reflected by the number of social ties consumers had, impacted the likelihood that they opted to reduce versus maintain their bodyweight. Further, after setting their goal, consumers who were more independent exhibited more (less) motivation, as measured by the amount of money they put at stake, when their goal was weight reduction (maintenance). These findings shed light on the relationship between self-construal and goal type, and offer insights, to both consumers and managers, on how to increase motivation for goal pursuit.


Domestic violence against pregnant women exists in Malawi but its magnitude was unknown due to scanty published data on the subject. The aim of the study was to determine the magnitude of Domestic Violence against pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Nsanje District Hospital in the Southern Region of Malawi. The study design was descriptive quantitative using a random sample of 292 pregnant women. A structured questionnaire was administered to each pregnant woman that consented to participate in the study. The findings indicate that the majority (59%) of women was psychologically, physically and sexually abused during pregnancy. There was a significant association (P 0.05) between domestic violence and other demographic variables of age, low education level and low income. Community awareness creation on domestic violence, strengthening of the victim support unit and training of health workers to screen and counsel victims of domestic violence during antenatal care education is recommended.


The work of Henry A. Murray at the Harvard Psychological Clinic played a major role in shaping the face of American psychology. In particular, he was instrumental in broadening the scope of academic psychology to include such topics as personality, abnormal, and clinical psychologies as viable areas of research. However, by reason of his background and education, Murray had virtually nothing in common with his specialist-trained professional colleagues. This article details Murray's education and conversion to psychology and briefly analyzes the controversies surrounding the establishment of the Harvard Psychological Clinic and its relationship with the Department of Psychology.


The quality of Natural Gas Piping Systems (NGPS) must be ensured against any manufacturing defects. For this purpose, we develop a special testing machine (STM) constructed at the lab to test (NGPS). The proposed (STM) function is based on testing the weak points at the pipe connections e.g. pipe bends, and intermediate connections. For more than 1500 pieces of (NGPS), crack propagation simultaneously followed up and monitored on the output screen at the critical positions of the pipelines connections. The control system utilizes the LabVIEW tools for various signals acquisition and monitoring also for designing the control system strategy.


The inclusion of group assignments as part of teaching and learning in the education of health professionals is an expectation of registration bodies and health care stakeholders. Effective teamwork skills are seen as essential for productive working relationships in multidisciplinary teams and contributing to better health outcomes for staff and health care consumers. The translation of traditional approaches to teaching health care professionals to the online learning environment requires course coordinators to re-examine the relevance, design and assessment of group work. This presentation showcases the development of online group assessments that applies these education principles to the development of an assessment initiative in a multidiscipline health curriculum. It is anticipated that this translation of group work in higher education to the online learning experience will enhance the learning outcomes and experience for health care professionals and better meet the needs and expectations of students and key stakeholders.


Supersonic spherically symmetric vacuum-arc plasma jets are considered using a two-liquid model. The jet starts from a radial distance of 3/spl times/10/sup -3/ m from the cathode surface with a radial directed electric current of 50-1000 A. Joule heating of the electron component and heat transfer to the ion component were calculated. The spatial distribution of plasma density, velocity, and electron and ion temperatures were obtained by numerically solving the equations of conservation of mass, energy, and momentum. The mean free path for the ion-ion collisions and the Mach number for the ion component of the plasma jet were also calculated as a function of the radial distance. The Knudsen number (Kn) for the ion component of plasma was calculated as a criterion of applicability of the hydrodynamical approximation. It was found that if Kn/spl Lt/1 at the starting radial distance, it remains much less than unity, in spite of the decrease in the plasma density during the radial plasma expansion.


Taking precautions before a disaster to reduce the causalities and losses engendered by natural disasters is relatively cheaper, and more importantly, better than cure. The authors propose a conceptual framework with the consideration of all stakeholders related to the disaster management to have a better risk management, and to guide the design, implementation and integration of the 3D urban modeling tools into disaster risk visualization. In this study, a new indoor LoD hierarchy is proposed for building objects. The LoD definitions of CityGML are only for the external parts of the city structures and the indoor is modeled in one LoD only. Similar to the outdoor definitions of CityGML, the proposed indoor LoD definitions aim to achieve robust definitions. This framework allows visualization in all the possible 3D urban disaster situations.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the prevalence of physical inactivity and associated factors among high school students from state's public schools in the city of São Paulo, state of São Paulo, Brazil.

METHODS
Sixteen state's public schools were randomly selected according to the geographic areas of the city (North, South, East, and West). The sample consisted of 3,845 high school students in 2006. Physical inactivity was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (short IPAQ) and was defined as practicing moderate and/or vigorous physical activity for a period of less than 300 minutes per week. The independent variables analyzed were: gender, age, socioeconomic level, geographic area of the city, awareness of the Agita São Paulo program, participation in physical education classes, smoking, alcohol intake and time spent per day watching television. Three-level Poisson regression was used for assessing the variables, with a significance level of p < 0.05.

RESULTS
The general prevalence of physical inactivity among adolescents in São Paulo was 62.5% (95%CI 60.5-64.1). The factors associated with physical inactivity were gender, age, socioeconomic level, geographic area of the city, awareness of the Agita São Paulo program, non-participation in physical education classes, smoking, alcohol intake and time spent per day watching television.

CONCLUSION
It was concluded that the prevalence of physical inactivity among adolescents in São Paulo was high in all the geographic areas evaluated, and that sociodemographic and behavioral factors contributed significantly to physical inactivity.


India was the centrepiece of the British Empire, "the chief jewel in the imperial crown". After the mutiny of 1857–8 it came under direct British rule, and was a major source of national pride.Queen Victoria had an almost obsessive interest in the subcontinent. Although she never visited India herself, her various homes were full of Indian memorabilia and she employed many Indian servants, some of whom were said to exercise an undue influence on her. In 1876, at her express wish, an act was passed at Westminster which declared her "Empress of India". A whole department of the British government was devoted to Indian administration, and many people worked there all their lives. The military presence was strong; there were never less than 60 000 soldiers of the British army stationed there, and in addition there was a large Indian Army staVed by British oYcers. Many oYcers in the Royal Medical Corps served in India (fig 1), and other doctors joined the Indian Medical Service and worked in hospitals and academic institutes. In the 19th century India was an unhealthy place in which to live. Malaria, cholera, dysentery, and smallpox were endemic, and there were periodic outbreaks of other infectious diseases. Syphilis reached the subcontinent in the 16th century and soon became widespread. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have always been a problem in armies and by the middle of the century it became clear that the army in India was severely aVected. In many of the principalities the average annual admission of British troops to hospitals for venereal infections, predominantly syphilis and gonorrhoea, was over 200 per 1000; by 1895 this reached over 500 per 1000. In those days treatment was usually prolonged, and the loss of eVective manpower was enormous. The authorities were seriously concerned. One viceroy, writing to the secretary of state for India, acknowledged that "the strength of the British Army in India as a fighting machine has been much impaired by these diseases". The explanation of the problem seemed obvious at the time. The majority of British soldiers were aged less than 30 years; most were unmarried, and those who were married had left their wives at home. The men were inexperienced, in unfamiliar surroundings, and often underoccupied and bored. Recourse to prostitutes, the source of infection, was inevitable and understandable. Among Indian soldiers the reported incidence of venereal diseases was lower; in 1866, for example, the rates of infection for British and Indian troops were respectively 218 and 54 per 1000. The doctors did their best to explain this diVerence away. It was suggested that native troops concealed their condition or resorted to quacks, or possibly, that they had become partially immune through frequent exposure. Nobody would entertain the idea that Indian soldiers might be less promiscuous than the British. The management of STDs was the responsibility of medical oYcers in the Royal Army Medical Corps. It usually required inpatient


Understanding the behavior of concrete under dynamic loading conditions is an issue of great significance in earthquake engineering. Moisture content has an important influence on the strain-rate effect of concrete. In this study, both tensile and compressive experiments were carried out to investigate the rate-dependent behavior of concrete. Tensile experiments of dumbbell-shaped specimens were conducted on a MTS810 testing machine and compressive tests of cubic specimens were performed on a servo-hydraulic testing machine designed and manufactured at Dalian University of Technology, China. The strain rate varied in a wide range. The analytical formulations between the dynamic strength and strain rate were proposed for both compressive tests and tensile tests. It was concluded from the results that with the increasing strain rate, strengths of specimens with both moisture contents tended to increase and the increase seemed to be more remarkable for the saturated specimens; based on the experimental observation, a better explanation for the dynamic behavior is presented.


Study on natural fibers as reinforcing fibers in composite materials has started to gain
interest as engineering materials due to renewability and excellent specific strength.
Bolted joints requires introduction of hole that susceptible to stress concentration that
leads to strength reduction, more complex when exposed to elevated temperature.
Strength prediction tools are still lacking, limited success was found in semi-empirical
and numerical approach. More recently, extended finite element method (XFEM)
formulation has been reported in the literatures but there is no work has been carried
out to incorporate the strength prediction exposed to elevated temperature. Present
work predicted the notched strength and bearing stress at failures in open-hole and
single-lap bolted joints woven fabric kenaf composite coupons respectively using
XFEM by implementing traction-separation relationship. Strength prediction work of
2-D open hole and 3-D bolted joint models were then validated against experimental
datasets tested under room and elevated temperatures as specified in the testing series.
Research work concentrates on opening mode (Mode I) fracture associated with stress
raisers ahead of notch tip. The experimental results showed increasing trend of notched
strength and bearing stress under elevated temperature (120℃) due to matrix
toughening. XFEM results were in good agreement with experimental datasets results
where discrepancy less than 20% in notched coupon and within 8 – 35 % in bolted
joint, better strength predictions were found in thicker and cross-ply coupons. It was
found that XFEM techniques implemented able to predict the notched strength and
bearing stress at failure by using thermal coefficient and specified temperature under
elevated temperature with reasonable precision.


Agriculture needs solutions for adapting crops to increasing salinity globally. Research on physiological and molecular responses activated by salinity is needed to elucidate mechanisms of salinity tolerance. Transcriptome profiling (RNA-Seq) is a powerful tool to study the transcriptomic profile of genotypes under stress conditions. Persimmon species have different levels of tolerance to salinity, this variability may provide knowledge on persimmon species and development of salt--tolerant rootstocks. In this study, we conducted a physiological and transcriptomic profiling of roots and leaves in tolerant and sensitive plants of persimmon rootstock grown under saline and control conditions. Characterization of physiological responses along with gene expression changes in roots and leaves allowed the identification of several salt tolerance mechanisms related to ion transport and thermospermine synthesis. Differences were observed in putative H+/ATPases that allow transmembrane ionic transport and chloride channel protein-like genes. Furthermore, an overexpression of thermospermine synthase found in the roots of tolerant plants may indicate that alterations in root architecture could act as an additional mechanism of response to salt stress. These results indicate that Diospyros lotus L. exhibits genetically-controlled variability for salt tolerance traits which opens potential opportunities for breeding salt-tolerant persimmon rootstocks in a Mediterranean environment challenged by drought and salinity.


This report presents the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) radiative transfer modelling activities conducted to use Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) brightness temperature observations for Numerical Weather Forecast (NWP) applications. The Community Microwave Emission Modelling Platform (CMEM) is used as the ECMWF SMOS forward operator to simulate L-band brightness temperatures (TBs). In a first part, simulated brightness temperature are compared to the observed SMOS near real time reprocessed brightness temperature product for 2010-2011 for several configurations of CMEM using different set of parameterisations. We show that simulated brightness temperatures are more sensitive to the choice of vegetation opacity and soil roughness models than to the dielectric model. Best configurations of CMEM are shown to be those using the so-called Wigneron vegetation opacity model with the simple empirical Wigneron soil roughness model. The Wang and Schmugge and the Mironov soil dielectric models perform similarly and lead to better agreement with SMOS observations than the Dobson dielectric model. Based on this intercomparison the configuration of CMEM retained for ECMWF SMOS forward modelling activities is the one based the Wang and Schmugge dielectric model, the Wigneron simple roughness model and the Wigneron vegetation model. In a second part, this paper presents the SMOS brightness temperature bias correction developed and used at ECMWF. It is a monthly Cumulative Distribution Function bias correction based on SMOS and ECMWF re-analysis-based brightness temperatures for the period from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2013. Results show that it efficiently corrects for systematic differences between observations and model, with global root mean square differences (RMSD) and global mean bias for 2010-2013 for 30, ◦40 ◦, 50 ◦incidence angles decreasing from 16.7 K and -2.1 K before bias correction to 7.91K and 0.0016 K after bias correction, respectively. The monthly approach allows to correct for seasonal cycles systematic differences, with correlation values improved from 0.56 before bias correction and 0.62 after bias correction. Residual differences remaining after bias correction correspond to random differences between the model and observations which provide relevant information for monitoring and data assimilation purposes. Finally, in a third part long term monitoring of SMOS brightness temperature monitoring is presented covering a 7-year period 2010-2016 at both polarisations, at 40 degrees incidence angle. RMSD, correlation and anomaly correlation statistics show that SMOS and ECMWF reanalysis-based brightness temperature agreement steadily improves between 2010 and 2016, indicating improvement of SMOS products quality through the SMOS lifetime.


Abstract The effect of added biomass (dried leaves) of tithonia (Tithonia diversifolia [Hemsley] A. Gray), soil pH, and soil calcium (Ca) saturation on the dissolution of Minjingu phosphate rock (MPR) was examined in two incubation experiments in a Kenyan Oxisol. Anion exchange resin (AER) and mixed anion-cation exchange resin (ACER) were used to estimate plant-available P. Selected treatments at 2 and 16 weeks of incubation were sequentially extracted with 0.5 M NaHCO3, 0.1 M NaOH and 1 M HCl. AER-P from triple superphosphate (TSP) treated soil was initially higher than that from MPR treated soils (p < 0.001), but by the end of the incubation AER-P from the two P sources were not significantly different. Dried tithonia leaves at 10 tonnes/ha in combination with MPR (150 kg/ha) caused a significant (p < 0.01) reduction in AER-extractable P. Sequentially extracted NaHCO3-P and NaOH-P were lower in MPR + tithonia treatment compared with MPR only treatment, while HCl-P was higher in treatments containing tithonia. ACER-extractable P concentrations were higher than those of AER-P, and ACER-P from MPR was greater than that from TSP at all dates (p < 0.001). Calcium additions, either as CaCO3 or CaCl2, reduced AER-P significantly (p < 0.001) at all sampling dates. However, while CaCl2 addition reduced ACER-P, CaCO3 addition increased ACER-P. Sequential P extraction indicated that CaCO3 reduced MPR solubility more than CaCl2 did. The results indicate that Ca exerts a significant control on PR dissolution, with pH as an additional effect.


We adopt the soakage extracting method and ultrasonic extracting method to extract insecticidal and antimicrobial active ingredients from Artemisia sieversiana, Artemisia annua and Artemisia scoparia. The result show that the best solvent for extraction is 95% ethanol solution for these three species of Artemisia, the best extraction method is ultrasonic extracting method. The lethal concentrations in the contact toxicity of the three species of Artemisia extracts to the 3rd instar larvae of Lymantria dispar were 6.0392, 7.6075 and 11.2561mg/ml. It also has antibacterial effect on Fusarium sporotrichioides, Cytospora chrysosperma, Guignardia laricina and Bipolaris maydis. And the inhibition ratio of growth of the four kinds of pathogenic fungal hyphae is over 50%, when the solution concentration is ≥ 40mg/ml.


This study proposed a seemingly unrelated regression model to investigate the predicting capability of the structure model and test the capital structure theories. The model considered dynamic property of the structure model and characteristics of farm records. FBFM data are used in empirical analysis. The regression results provide new supportive evidence on capital theories.


We live in a world of digital and computer technologies. With elements of Informatics we meet in various spheres of our social lives, including fields of academic studies and education. For achieving the desired education degree and to fulfill their study obligations, students often need to take the advantage of the Internet and ICT. Utilizing information and communication technologies opens up new ways to obtain information which can lead to independence in the field of study, self-improvement and communication competencies. On the other hand, too much time spent at the computer has a negative impact on physical and mental health. It can lead to addiction, formation of diseases of various kinds and even to the violation of the law in greater or lesser extent.
In this paper we focus on the generation of young college students. For the reason that the statistics in this area are not very developed and broader overview is more a matter of conjecture and speculation, our aim is to carry out such statistics and focus not only on the study time but mostly on the time spent for non-educational activities. Here, of course, we are interested in the reason for which students spend time at the computer in connection with potential addictive symptoms. In the paper we compare our survey with the published current state of the discussed topic, also highlight the potential risks and describe negative consequences resulting from them. Part of the research result will build such a questionnaire for teachers on the basis of which they will manage to designate the symptoms of addiction to the computer or the Internet. There will be important to determine the boundary of the average period of time spent at the computer for educational and non- educational purposes and for purposes unrelated to rest and regular entertainment.
The survey was conducted between the two universities in the Slovak Republic, the statistical sample was represented by students of teacher training courses as well as students of engineering studies. In addition, this survey was conducted on a sample of Slovak -speaking students, and a sample of Hungarian -speaking students. To confirm the authenticity and demonstrability of results, they are subjected to statistical analysis.


Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common cause of anemia in children. Iron deficiency (ID) is the most common cause of nutrient deficiency in the pediatric population. ID has various etiologies including decreased iron intake and absorption, increased iron requirement and loss. ID and IDA have been associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcome in children. Anemia in children has been related with increased mortality. The prevalence of ID and IDA in children in the general population is 6.6% to 15.2% and 0.9% to 4.4% respectively in the USA according to one study. IDA and ID treatment includes iron supplementation and correction of anemia with this therapy can take several weeks. Anticipating treatment of iron deficiency anemia due to blood loss in the perioperative period seems intuitively an important issue to reduce blood transfusion in this setting. Since the latter has been shown to be predictive of adverse postoperative outcome in children. Evidence concerning reduction of blood transfusion requirements perioperatively when IDA and ID were diagnosed, prevented and treated preoperatively is lacking in the pediatric population.

Objective: This narrative review was undertaken to determine the impact of preoperative management of ID and IDA on perioperative blood transfusion in children.

Methods: Narrative review of the litterature.

Conclusion and Results: There are no randomized controlled studies concerning the impact of preoperative management of ID and IDA on perioperative blood transfusion in children. There is evidence that ID and IDA diagnosis, prevention and treatment in the general pediatric population increase hemoglobin levels.


Observational efforts to image the immediate environment of a black hole at the scale of the event horizon benefit from the development of efficient imaging codes that are capable of producing synthetic data, which may be compared with observational data. We aim to present RAPTOR, a new public code that produces accurate images, animations, and spectra of relativistic plasmas in strong gravity by numerically integrating the equations of motion of light rays and performing time-dependent radiative transfer calculations along the rays. The code is compatible with any analytical or numerical spacetime. It is hardware-agnostic and may be compiled and run both on GPUs and CPUs. We describe the algorithms used in RAPTOR and test the code's performance. We have performed a detailed comparison of RAPTOR output with that of other radiative-transfer codes and demonstrate convergence of the results. We then applied RAPTOR to study accretion models of supermassive black holes, performing time-dependent radiative transfer through general relativistic magneto-hydrodynamical (GRMHD) simulations and investigating the expected observational differences between the so-called fast-light and slow-light paradigms. Using RAPTOR to produce synthetic images and light curves of a GRMHD model of an accreting black hole, we find that the relative difference between fast-light and slow-light light curves is less than 5%. Using two distinct radiative-transfer codes to process the same data, we find integrated flux densities with a relative difference less than 0.01%. For two-dimensional GRMHD models, such as those examined in this paper, the fast-light approximation suffices as long as errors of a few percent are acceptable. The convergence of the results of two different codes demonstrates that they are, at a minimum, consistent.


This innovative case study review for community health nursing students features a unique format that facilitates active learning through the use of unfolding case studies. Unlike other content review books, it builds content right into vivid case studies to foster greater retention of the material. Additionally, because these case studies evolve over time, they mimic real-life situations and help students to develop critical thinking and organisational skills. The review features, in great depth, the spectrum of requisite community health nursing information with the inclusion of current Quality & Safety Education (QSEN) competencies. It covers patient-centred care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics. The review is enhanced by such mobile device resources as PubMed and AHRQ guidelines to simulate the method nurses currently use to access clinical information. These web links and resources are incorporated into the unfolding cases to further replicate realistic clinical situations in which the point-of-care/point-of-need access to information is used for decision support. Community Health Nursing Test Success will serve as both a course review and NCLEX-RN review with embedded links to access further information. It includes over 200 NCLEX-style questions in a variety of formats. Key Features:Uses unfolding case studies to mimic actual practice situationsEmbeds content into unfolding case studies to facilitate active learningUses mobile device resources to simulate a true clinical environmentServes as both a course review and an NCLEX-RN reviewBuilds web links and resources into unfolding case studies to replicate realistic clinical situations


White collar (wc) mutants of Neurospora crassa are thought to be regulatory mutants blocked in the photoinduction of carotenogenesis. Eight new wc mutants have been isolated after UV mutagenesis; their morphology and linear growth rate are not altered, although blue light-induced carotenogenesis is completely blocked. All of the wc mutations fall into two complementation groups corresponding to the already-known wc-1 and wc-2 loci. It is shown that the wc mutations impair another blue light effect, the photoinduction of protoperithecia formation, as well as the low constitutive production of protoperithecia in the dark. These effects are not due to the lack of carotenoids since the albino mutants show a normal sexual development. The pleiotropic effects of the mutations in the wc genes indicate that they play a key role in the mechanisms of regulation of the blue light-induced responses of N. crassa.


Self-determination theory (SDT) has become one of the most frequently used and well-validated theories used in HCI research, modelling the relation of basic psychological needs, intrinsic motivation, positive experience and wellbeing. This makes it a prime candidate for a 'motor theme' driving more integrated, systematic, theory-guided research. However, its use in HCI has remained superficial and disjointed across various application domains like games, health and wellbeing, or learning. This workshop therefore convenes researchers across HCI to co-create a research agenda on how SDT-informed HCI research can maximise its progress in the coming years.


We describe a hypothalamus-specific mRNA that encodes preprohypocretin, the putative precursor of a pair of peptides that share substantial amino acid identities with the gut hormone secretin. The hypocretin (Hcrt) protein products are restricted to neuronal cell bodies of the dorsal and lateral hypothalamic areas. The fibers of these neurons are widespread throughout the posterior hypothalamus and project to multiple targets in other areas, including brainstem and thalamus. Hcrt immunoreactivity is associated with large granular vesicles at synapses. One of the Hcrt peptides was excitatory when applied to cultured, synaptically coupled hypothalamic neurons, but not hippocampal neurons. These observations suggest that the hypocretins function within the CNS as neurotransmitters.


The article is devoted to the general purpose of the study of the etymological composition, functional differentiation and chronological stratification of the thematic group of Middle English names of farm-workers (herdsmen). Middle English occupational terms are distributed into two classes – common names (in their nominating function) and proper names, especially family names (in the function of identification of the person as the component additional to the personal name in the personal nomination formula). Within each etymological group of vocabulary we distribute the lexical material according to the functional principle and distinguish three groups of occupational terms: those functioning as common nouns as well as the proper names; those functioning exclusively as the proper names in the personal nomination formulas; those functioning exclusively as common names. It was found out that the thematic subgroup of Middle English names of herdsmen is represented by 157 words comprising 6.5 % of the total number of Middle English occupational terms; 90 % of them are English words (24 % of them are loan-blends), 10 % are loan-words. Functional differentiation of the vocabulary is different in English and borrowed occupational terms. Chronological stratification of the lexical-thematic subgroup indicates their predominance in the thirteenth century (42 %), as well as in the XIVth century (54 %). Data obtaiOED in the study under review are valuable as the constituent part of the comprehensive study of the etymology and usage of the Middle English vocabulary. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sal.0.30.17556


Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) is an exotoxin that is produced by many strains of Staphylococcus aureus, and an important virulence factor. A PVL-positive S. aureus infection leads to rapid and severe infections of soft tissue and necrotizing pneumonia in healthy adolescents, and has a high mortality. This case report included a 12-year-old male patient who admitted for fever, respiratory distress and hip pain and was identified with necrotizing pneumonia with septic pulmonary embolism, psoas abscess, cellulitis and osteomyelitis. The PVL positive methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) was isolated in the patient blood culture.


Abstract. Growing monoculture impacts not just soil properties and biodiversity but also local hydrology including evapotranspiration (ET). The Midwest region of the U.S. is known for its monoculture trend by growing and producing corn, which commonly replaces other crop types. In addition to large areas covered with corn, the photosynthetic adaptations of corn, being the C4 crop, affects ET differently than other C3 crops such as soybean, wheat, and alfalfa. This study aims to model and compare ET for C3 and C4 crops using remote sensing (Sentinel-2 data) and the Boreal Ecosystem Productivity Simulator (BEPS) model, modified to consider C3 and C4 crops. The study explores the ET rate trend for corn and soybean in an agriculture area situated in the Western Lake Erie Basin, where the balance between evapotranspiration, groundwater level, and surface runoff may play a role in agricultural runoff and Lake Erie's algal blooms caused by runoff pollution. The results suggest that the monthly average ET rates for both soybean (C3) and corn (C4) reach its maximum at the mid-to-late growing season. However, the ET rate for corn is higher than for soybean in the early season (June) (ET = 121 mm month−1 for corn; ET = 105 mm month−1 for soybean), while the ET rate for soybean becomes higher than for corn soon after (July) and becomes considerably higher in August (ET = 181 mm month−1 for corn; ET = 218 mm month−1 for soybean). It is surmised that the higher ET rate for corn in the early growing season is due to nitrogen-based fertilizer commonly applied to corn parcels at that time, whereas soybean growth is based on biological nitrogen fixation.


We previously reported that nrITS sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed at least four cryptic species within Brachycladium nummularium (syn. Oreophilus nummularius ). Sequencing of additional species in the genus revealed two major clades within Brachycladium , the "nummularium"-complex plus B. stalactites and Luer's section Amplectentes . Since the relationship of Brachycladium to Andinia had been noted earlier, a number of Andinia species were also included. Two clades were observed, a clade containing A. lappacea, A. pensilis, and A. vestigipetala that was closely related to Brachycladium and a second, more distantly related clade containing A. dalstroemii, A. pogonion , and A. schizopogon .  Samples of two additional genera, Masdevalliantha Szlachetko & Margonska and Xenosia Luer, were included in the analysis based upon morphological similarity to Andinia. These two genera formed a clade that was sister to both Brachycladium and Andinia. Only the node subtending clades of all four genera had a high level of bootstrap support, whereas nodes subtending clades of Brachycladium plus Andinia, or Brachycladium alone, had much lower support. If future chloroplast sequencing produces phylogenies congruent with nrITS, this would indicate that Andinia, Brachycladium (syn. Oreophilus), Masdevalliantha, and Xenosia should all be placed in the same genus.


The target of this work is the comparison of different approximation thechniques for the evaluation of the level of interference, and the consequent errors on data frames transmitted on the channel, generated by the sum of interfering signals. The interference, also known as MAI (Multiple Access Interference), is caused by presence of other users in the same cell of the reference user or in neighboring cells. The system considered is a generic spread-spectrum communication system, whose spreading technique can be described as CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), with of without rake receivers, with a direcr or indirect spreading technique. Although the analysis techniques considered are extremely "broad" in their application, mainly as a consequence of their high level of abstraction and approximation, all the examples and numerical evaluation are done in the context of the UTRAN (UMTS-Terrestrial Radio Access NEtwork) interface, which uses a DS-CDMA (Direct Spreading CDMA}) technique with a superposition of spreading and scrambling codes. The analisy of behaviour of DS-CDMA system is done with different approximation: SGA, IGA, SEIGA and Fourier Series Expansion. The SGA (Standard Gaussian Approximation) is the most diffused approximation: it considers one useful signal while all the others are considered as white Gaussian noise over the band in exam. This algorithm is based on Central Limit Theorem: a sum of a large number of independent and identically distributed (iid) variables is a Gaussian variable. Is a rough approximation, but it allows easy and fast computation. The IGA (Improved Gaussian Approximation) is based on Central Limit Theorem too. In this case the MAI is a Gaussian variable conditionally to users states, defined by delay and phase. The SEIGA (Simplified Expression of Improved Gaussian Approximation) is similar to IGA and introduces simplification in the integral computation using Taylor Series and differences rather than derivatives. The Fourier Series Expansion is not based on Central Limit Theorem and does not use Gaussian Approximation for the MAI. In this case the hypothesis of a big number of users in a cell is not necessary and the approximation allows to study multi-service systems. The algorithms that use Gaussian approximation can not be used for multi-service systems because the hypothesis of iid variable can not be satisfied. These approximations allow to define parameters as SIR (Signal to Interference Ratio) and BER (Bit Error Rate}) to estimate performances of communication on up-link channel. For each of these approximations two different channel models are considered: no-fading (AWGN, Additive White Gaussian Noise) one and fading one.For each of these channel models three different classes of power control are considered: perfect one, imperfect one and absent one.


This report analyzes the experiences of welfare "cyclers," a group that has received relatively little attention in previous research on welfare dynamics. For this study, "cycling" is defined as receipt of welfare benefits during three or more discrete spells during a four-year observation period. The goals of this report are to understand the incidence of cycling and the types of families who cycle on and off the rolls, and, if possible, to shed light onto why they repeatedly return to assistance. The report also considers whether welfare cyclers appear to be more advantaged or more disadvantaged than other welfare recipients in the labor market. One view of cycling is that cyclers move on and off welfare, repeatedly, during transitional periods as they attempt to leave welfare. Eventually, cyclers may attain stable employment and leave assistance more permanently. An alternative view of cycling is that cyclers may work for pay only briefly and return to welfare for longer spells with little progress toward self-sufficiency.


We propose a state-dependent method for allocating and sharing resources based on the least busy algorithm for a wireless system consisting of several overlaid wireless networks. The model is an approximation that utilizes capacity, reservation and different degrees of mobility of users to characterize the system as a network of queues. We use the network net revenue to compare reservation policies. We show how the use of reservation improves network-wide performance.


Forgiving is not pardoning, excusing, condoning, forgetting, or reconciling, nor is forgiving just about a change in emotions on the part of a victim. This paper pursues a virtue-theoretic account of the human person in the context of the theology of Thomas Aquinas, arguing that human forgiveness is the form love takes by an offended toward her offender. The paper argues, first, for the priority of the offended person's self-love and, second, for such self-love's extension into love of the offender as another self. The paper explores in depth the challenges of seeing one's enemy as "another self." Forgiving, the paper argues, is the most important act a person performs, because it is an act no one else can perform for us. This has negative implications for its possibility in the criminal law. The argument is developed, in part, in dialogue with contemporary theorists such as Jeffrie Murphy, Joanna North, Charles Griswold, Timothy Jackson, and Gaelle Fiasse.


Isoelectric fractionation of the two major proteins of soy is characterized. Fractions are acid precipitated and centrifugally collected at pH 6.0 (glycinin) and pH 4.8 (B-conglycinin). Two extremes in the speed of acid addition (rapid, with no mixing, and slow, via acid dialysis, with complete mixing) are compared to determine their effects on the properties of the precipitate. Total protein yield, fraction composition, and aggregate microstructure do not depend significantly on the method of acid addition. Particle size distribution and hindered settling behavior do differ and are explained using a model of aggregate strength. The rapid acid addition produces larger primary particles, because of higher supersaturation, and yields larger aggregates, because of higher interparticle potential and stronger aggregates. Further aggregation in lowshear hindered settling is faster for the slowly precipitated aggregate because few of these bonding sites could survive the high-shear precipitator, whereas more can contribute to aggregation during hindered settling.


Soot released from fires not only causes danger to lives and property damage, but also effects fire spread by altering the radiation characteristics of fire effluents. In many situations, it is the soot concentration that controls the fire development. Therefore, soot modelling is of great importance in fire safety science. This necessitates the development of a global and general soot model within fire field models that can simulate the amount of soot generated and transported in large-scale fires in order to obtain an accurate soot concentration distribution within the building.

A soot transport model, called Multi-Particle-Size (MPS) model, has been developed in this study to improve the prediction of soot particle behaviour during transportation by considering the uneven soot mass size distributions and gravitational settling force on soot particles. The efficiency of the MPS model was investigated by simulating soot movements in three real experiments. The first two validation experiments were cable fires in a large-scale enclosed corridor and the third experiment analysed the soot produced from a soot generator in a warehouse with a high ceiling. The soot layers predicted by the MPS model matched the measurements/observation better than that from the Conventional Model in which the soot generation is modelled with a constant soot yield (CY) value and soot particles are treated as a gaseous combustion product.

A global soot generation model, called Beta soot generation (BSG) model has also been developed for non-premixed laminar flames. By making use of the characteristics of the beta function, the model has been extended to turbulent flames in the pre-scribed probability density function (PDF) approach with low cost in terms of computational resources. The model was validated by two turbulent methane and ethylene pool fires. The simulation results demonstrated that the soot volume fractions produced by the BSG model were in good agreement with the experimental data.

Further, the two new models have been integrated into a single soot model called BSG+MPS model. The performance of the model was examined by predicting the soot generation and transport in a large-scale enclosed corridor. The BSG+MPS model improved the prediction of soot concentration distribution in the corridor compared with the CY +MPS model.

Finally, the entire work is summarised and future work is suggested.


We present a new algorithm, multigrain, for modelling the dynamics of an entire population of small dust grains immersed in gas, typical of conditions that are found in molecular clouds and protoplanetary discs. The multigrain method is more accurate than single-phase simulations because the gas experiences a backreaction from each dust phase and communicates this change to the other phases, thereby indirectly coupling the dust phases together. The multigrain method is fast, explicit and low storage, requiring only an array of dust fractions and their derivatives defined for each resolution element.


The Arabian Nights is a composite work consisting of popular stories originally transmitted orally and developed during several centuries and ever since its translation into European languages in the 19th C. or perhaps even before, it has been adapted and appropriated into different forms and mediums and thus has reached the different corners of the world. The medium that this paper is concerned with is the screen adaptations of the nights into film and television. Among the earliest popular albeit free adaptations of 1001 Nights stories we can mention Douglas Fairbanks' silent Hollywood golden era swashbuckling film The Thief of Baghdad (1924) or Bugs Bunny's 3rd movie 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982) and of course Disney's Aladdin (1992). What has inspired this project is the popularity or the level of popularity of 1001 nights or the Arabian Night in the world today. Although only a very little number of people might have read all the tales, we can safely assume that most people do have an idea of what the Nights are. And a few could even name one or two films, series, or cartoons that they think are based on the Nights. Indeed, only a very limited number of stories included in editions of the Nights have been adapted for films or TV series. However, there are two main characteristics to the Nights that help identify adaptations and adoptions in popular culture: embedded storytelling using a frame tale, and the 'feminist', emancipating heroine Shahrazad. The popular Turkish TV series 1001 Nights (Binbir Gece, 2006-09) that this paper focuses on, does not only makes use of these two popular features. It also offers a fresh and contemporary adaptation of the frame story of Shah Shahriyar and Shahrazad and elements from many other tales from the Nights such as emphasising the importance of education for women or the evil of cunning women etc. After analysing the degree of adaptation of the frame story in this soap opera, the paper will shed light on its reception and popularity.


This paper examines the generalisation properties of various types of neural network, such as radial basis function systems and the multilayer perceptron (MLP). It is concluded that their behaviour can be explained in terms of lowpass interpolation in which discrete training examples of a function are implicitly convolved with the impulse response of a lowpass filter to produce an estimate of the function for previously unseen arguments. A different form of neural network, in the form of a single-layer lookup perceptron (SLLUP), is described, and this type of perceptron is shown to also generalise by lowpass interpolation. However, the SLLUP can learn reliably and rapidly compared to the multilayer perceptron and experiments are described which show that it compares well with the MLP on problems such as speech recognition and text-tospeech synthesis.


Card-based design toolkits are growing in popularity to support more inclusive and creative design processes. They are also adopted in educational contexts to promote rich and playful learning experiences. Most toolkits are used in co-located workshops where the design process unfolds in the context of the multi-faceted face-to-face interaction among participants. However, recent restrictions have set strong limitations to co-located workshops and forced many to think about digital alternatives. This paper describes DigiTiles, the digital transformation of Tiles, a Card-Based Design Toolkit for augmented objects in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This transformation is building on an existing commercial shared whiteboard tool and evaluated through 5 design workshops involving 16 participants. The results contribute to increased knowledge about the transformation of card-based design tools from the physical to the digital. The findings from the evaluation suggest that DigiTiles was fun to use and that the prototype supported creativity in digital idea generation workshops. However, some concerns emerged in terms of cooperation within the team. The paper reflects on this experience identifying areas for further research.


A study was made of the mechanisms of discrimination of geometrical figures and their angles by fish and of the influence of repeated presentation of stimuli on recognition time. The experiment was made by the conditioning method with the use of two variants of food-procuring technique: simultaneous and successive choice of stimuli. It was shown that discrimination of geomentrical figures is achieved at the fist stage by the mechanism of selection, and after long training, by the mechanism of camparison with a chosen standard. The selection mechanism is also used for recognition of angles by their size. Certain combinations of angles differentiated not by size, but by orientation of their sides, are recognized by the mechanism of comparison with a standard.


Cytoarchitectural and hodological evidence is given which supports the contention that the large-celled, intermediate zone between ventral posterior lateral (VPL) and ventral lateral (VL) nuclei is an independent thalamic nucleus, designated as the ventral intermediate nucleus (Vim), in the thalamic ventral tier of Galago senegalensis. Observation of Nissl-stained sections indicates that Vim contains cells which are larger than those in VL and more scattered in appearance than those in VPL. Fink and Heimer stained brains show that after cord hemisection the spinothalamic degeneration in Vim is sparse in amount and scattered in organization as opposed to the 'bursts' of dense degeneration in VPL. Following cortical injection of horseradish peroxidase, thalamocortical relay cells in Vim are distinct from those in VPL in both size and organization. Consequently, this study corroborates previous results on another primate and suggests that a distinct VPL-VL transitional nucleus, Vim, is present in the ventral tier of the prosimian primate Galago senegalensis. The functional significance of Vim and its possible role in the evolution of primate locomotor behavior are discussed.


Introduction: With estimated 85 million unintended pregnancies, currently occurring annually worldwide, half of which end in abortion and 13% in miscarriage, the need of an effective, long-lasting, devoid of side effects and complications male contraceptive is evident. The aim of the present study was to summarize the various methods and techniques currently applied in male contraception; to evaluate their pros and cons, and to compare them with those of Vasalgelâ"¢ - a male contraceptive recently developed in the US. Materials and Methods :  A comprehensive PubMed search using the keyword ` male contraception ` was performed. Articles, published in full text, as well as published in the official journals of EUA, AUA and SIU, were extracted and analysed. Special attention was given to Vasalgelâ"¢. Results:  Various methods and techniques for male contraception are described in the current literature: from male condoms, spermicides, periodic abstinence and withdrawal to hormonal contraceptives and vasectomy. However, they have their limitations and side effects. The demand for a non-hormonal, highly effective male contraceptive is increasing, to reduce the incidence of unplanned pregnancies and their related sequelaes. Our study shows that appears to be effective by blocking sperm from passing through the vas deferens as its primary mode of action. The product might be easily flushed from the vasa deferentia to restore the sperm flow, if necessary. Conclusion: The present review confirms that Vasalgelâ"¢ is a perspective, highly effective, novel non-hormonal male contraceptive that has the potential to gain wide popularity among men in the near future, especially in developing countries. Further studies on animals and humans, however, assessing the safety and durability of the Vasalgelâ"¢ block, as well as the success in flushing the gel from the vasa deferentia to return sperm flow, are sorely needed.


Author(s): Shantanu Tripathi; Doyle, Fiona M; Dornfeld, David | Abstract: During copper CMP, abrasives and asperities interact with the copper at the nano-scale, partially removing protective films. The local Cu oxidation rate increases, then decays with time as the protective film reforms. In order to estimate the copper removal rate and other Cu-CMP output parameters with a mechanistic model, the passivation kinetics of Cu, i.e. the decay of the oxidation current with time after an abrasive/ copper interaction, are needed. For the first time in studying Cu-CMP, microelectrodes were used to reduce interference from capacitive charging, IR drops and low diffusion limited currents, problems typical with traditional macroelectrodes. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to obtain the equivalent circuit elements associated with different electrochemical phenomena (capacitive, kinetics, diffusion etc.) at different polarization potentials. These circuit elements were used to interpret potential-step chronoamperometry results in inhibiting and passivating solutions, notably to distinguish between capacitive charging and Faradaic currents. Chronoamperometry of Cu in acidic aqueous glycine solution containing the corrosion inhibitor benzotriazole (BTA) displayed a very consistent current decay behavior at all potentials, indicating that the rate of current decay was controlled by diffusion of BTA to the surface. In basic aqueous glycine solution, Cu (which undergoes passivation by a mechanism similar to that operating in weakly acidic hydrogen peroxide slurries) displayed similar chronoamperometric behavior for the first second or so at all anodic potentials. Thereafter, the current densities at active potentials settled to values around those expected from polarization curves, whereas the current densities at passive potentials continued to decline. Oxidized Cu species typically formed at 'active' potentials were found to cause significant current decay at active potentials and at passive potentials before more protective passive films form. This was established from galvanostatic experiments.


Both acquired and natural resistance to chemotherapy agents have proved problematic in the treatment of neoplasia. Thymidylate synthase, which catalyzes the synthesis of thymidine precursors, has been shown to be amplified in response to a variety of chemotherapeutic agents. The detection of such amplification could prove beneficial in the development of alternative clinical protocols. In this study we report the use of existing enzymatic amplification methods in order to detect incipient amplification of the thymidylate synthase gene upon resistance to cisplatin. The assay utilizes a modification of the polymerase chain reaction in which a sequence of the thymidylate synthase gene is amplified including two flanking oligonucleotides acting as primers for DNA synthesis. This method exhibits greater sensitivity than conventional nucleic acid detection methods and requires less than 100 ng of total RNA from patient tumors and no in vitro culturing of patient cells.


We explore the limits of petitions and public protests as mechanisms to aggregate dispersed information. We show that if citizens' signals are not sufficiently precise, information aggregation is impossible, even if the conflict with the policy-maker is small, no matter how large is the population of informed citizens. We characterize the conditions on conflict and the signal structure that guarantee information aggregation. When these conditions are satisfied, we show that full information aggregation is possible as population grows to infinity. When they are not satisfied, we show that information aggregation may still be possible if social media are available.


Large-area graphdiyne film is constructed by heat treatment, including thermally induced evaporation and a cross-coupling reaction process. The growth mechanism is proposed based on the observation and characterization that the heating temperature plays an important role in the evaporation of oligomers and in triggering the thermal cross-coupling reaction, whereas the heating duration mainly determines the execution of the thermal cross-coupling reaction. By controlling the heat-treatment process, a graphdiyne film with uniform morphology and good conductivity is obtained. The improved GDY film based electrodes deliver good interfacial contact and more lithium storage sites; thus leading to superior electrochemical performance. A reversible capacity of 901 mAh g-1 is achieved. Specifically, the electrodes exhibit excellent rate performance, with which a capacity of 430 mAh g-1 is maintained at a rate as high as 5 A g-1 . These advantages mean that the uniform graphdiyne film is a good candidate for the fabrication of a flexible and high-capacity electrode material.


Rodolosse, Annie, Alain Barbat, Isabelle Chantret, Michel Lacasa, Edith Brot-Laroche, Alain Zweibaum, and Monique Rousset. Selecting agent hygromycin B alters expression of glucose-regulated genes in transfected Caco-2 cells. Am. J. Physiol. 274 (Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 37): G931–G938, 1998.—Incorporation into plasmids of genes conferring resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics such as hygromycin B is currently utilized for selection in experiments involving gene transfer in eukaryotic cells. Using a subclone of Caco-2 cells stably transfected with an episomal plasmid containing the hygromycin resistance gene, we observed that transformed cells subcultured in the presence of hygromycin B exhibit, compared with the same cells subcultured in antibiotic-free medium, a sixfold increase in the rates of glucose consumption and lactic acid production and dramatic changes, at mRNA and protein level, of the expressions of sucrase-isomaltase and hexose transporter GLUT-2, which are downregulated, contrasting with an upregulation of hexose transporter GLUT-1. This occurs without significant modifications of the differentiation status of the cells, as demonstrated by the normal expression of villin, ZO-1, dipeptidyl peptidase IV, or Na1-K1-ATPase. The plasmid copy number is, however, the same, whether or not the cells are cultured in the presence of hygromycin B. These results draw attention to the need to consider antibiotic-dependent alterations of metabolism and gene expression in transfection experiments.


As women's expectations about their own future fertility tend to deviate systematically from realizations, these expectations cannot be used directly for forecasting purposes. This paper discusses a partial‐adjustment approach for deriving forecasts from the expectations. The sensitivity of the results to various assumptions is examined. Empirical results obtained for the Netherlands seem promising.


We have been developing a new-generation accelerator named high-temperature superconducting skeleton cyclotron (HTS-SC), an extremely compact and high-intensity accelerator capable of producing 211At for targeted alpha-particle therapy, which is expected to be effective in treating advanced cancer. The coil system for HTS-SC consists of multiple air-core REBCO coils that create a magnetic field of high intensity and precision required for particle acceleration. The HTS-SC needs high-precision magnetic field distribution and temporal stability in the particle acceleration plane. However, the magnetic field induced by the screening current in the REBCO tape (SCIF: Screening Current-Induced magnetic Field) deteriorates the quality of the generated magnetic field spatially and changes it temporally. Therefore, in this paper, the SCIF is evaluated based on numerical analysis for a full-scale REBCO coil system designed for targeted alpha-particle therapy. In addition, the effect of the overshoot method, which is one of the current waveform control methods used to reduce the effect of SCIF on temporal stability, is investigated.


Reaction of 7-carbomethoxy-cycloheptatriene with benzyne resulted in the formation of only one benzhomobarrelene isomer, {\bf 5A}. Theoretically, four addition products, {\bf 5A-D}, can be formed from this reaction. Certain molecular mechanic calculations (MM2 force field) have been undertaken on these isomers. It has been shown that the isomers {\bf 5A} and {\bf 5C} have the lowest energies. The non-existence of {\bf 5C} has been discussed in terms of a benzyne approach to a norcaradiene structure. Furthermore, MM2 calculations on two different conformers of {\bf 5A} have revealed that the bisected conformer {\bf 5AE} has the highest strain energy. However, AM1 semiempirical calculations of those conformers have shown that the conformer {\bf 5AE} possesses a lower heat of formation than the isomer {\bf 5AA}.


The Ichawaynochaway Creek is a major tributary to the Flint River, which flows through one of the most important and productive agricultural lands in southwest Georgia. Understanding the basin's hydrologic response to natural perturbations such as precipitation, and artificial impacts of surface and groundwater withdrawal is important to the environmental and economic well being of the basin. An HSPF hydrologic model has been formulated to simulate the system's behavior upon such perturbations. The model has been calibrated against two independently observed in-stream flow data sets at two different locations. The "goodness of fit" is reasonably good, with the Correlation Coefficient, the Coefficient of Determination, and the Nash-Sutcliffe Model Efficiency Coefficient all being satisfactory. Upon satisfactory calibration, the model can be used to generate unimpaired incremental in-stream flow, which will be fed into a surface water hydrologic model accessing artificial effects on both water quantity and water quality.


BACKGROUND
To determine the composition of skin pigmentation in chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) and other less common vascular conditions of lower limbs.

METHODS
Forty-five skin biopsies were obtained from 17 patients. Samples were taken from pigmented regions and compared with control non-lesional samples from the same patient. Perl's Prussian Blue was used to identify haemosiderin and Schmorl's for melanin.

RESULTS
Seven patients presented with CVI, one with concurrent livedo vasculopathy (LV). One patient had LV only. Two patients had acroangiodermatitis (AAD). Six patients had post-sclerotherapy pigmentation (PSP), one with concurrent post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH). One patient had PIH only. The predominant pigment in CVI samples was haemosiderin. C5-C6 patients showed increased epidermal melanin. LV, AAD, and PSP samples showed dermal haemosiderin but no increase in epidermal melanin. PIH samples showed prominent epidermal melanin whilst no haemosiderin was detected.

CONCLUSION
The predominant pigment in CVI and other vascular conditions was haemosiderin. Melanin was present in later stages of CVI (C5-C6) and in PIH.


Oral cancer is a major health crisis worldwide; despite the substantial developments made in its treatment, oral cancer remains a source of significant morbidity and mortality. Due to the late diagnosis, most cancers of the oral cavity are rendered untreated, but what after that? Terminally ill cancer patients nearing the end of life faces an array of problems like excruciating pain, difficulty in consuming food, maggots, fungating wounds, etc. Apart from these problems, there are emotional issues like disfigurement, speech problems, emotional and spiritual issues. The answer to it is effective palliative care.Palliative care focuses on living well with a serious illness, it about care than cure. Most oral cancer cases are present in the undeveloped or the developing countries with a lack of hospice and palliative care setting, hence the care should be such that it can be replicated by the caregivers and can be done with fewer resources available.


Exploding the curious myth that the ocean is a barrier rather than a highway for communication, this unusual interdisciplinary study examines the English Atlantic context of early American life. From the winterless Caribbean to the ice-locked Hudson Bay, maritime communications in fact usually met the legitimate expectations for frequency, speed, and safety, while increased shipping, new postal services, and newspapers hastened the exchange of news. These changes in avenues of communications reflected--and, in turn, enhanced--the political, economic, and social integration of the English Atlantic between 1675 and 1740. As Steele deftly describes the influence of physical, technological, socioeconomic, and political aspects of seaborne communication on the community, he suggests an exciting new mode of analyzing Colonial history.


Four major agricultural insect pests, Bemisia tabaci, Myzus persicae, Plutella xylostella and Tetranychus urticae, were irradiated with 30, 50, 70, or 100 Gy electron-beam. Longevity, egg hatching, emergence, and fecundity of the test insects were measured. Hatchability of B. tabaci, P. xylostella and T. urticae declined with increasing irradiation doses, and all B. tabaci and T. urticae eggs were dead at 100 Gy. When eggs of B. tabaci, P. xylostella and T. urticae were irradiated, hatch was inhibited. B. tabaci adults grown from 70 Gy irradiated eggs did not lay eggs. Fecundity of P. xylostella from the 100 Gy irradiated eggs decreased. When B. tabaci, P. xylostella, M. persicae and T. urticae nymphs/larvae were irradiated, the results were similar as those of the hatched eggs. When P. xylostella pupae were irradiated with 100 Gy, fecundity of emerged adults decreased and no eggs hatched. When B. tabaci, P. xylostella, M. persicae and T. urticae adults were irradiated with 70 and 100 Gy, fecundity decreased and egg hatch of B. tabaci was inhibited. However, the longevity of adults did not change and electron-beam irradiation of all developmental stages had no effect on the longevity of adults.


The aim of this paper is to examine the characteristics of guesthouses ( GH ) in the inner city and to discuss their impact on the local community and real estate market. Company X, which runs eight GH buildings in Osaka City's North Nishinari area, is used as an example, and based on a sample of 30 residents the business strategy for this area was analyzed. Because of its poor reputation and the low living quality standards, North Nishinari is not popular among younger residents and is turning more and more into a welfare district for elderly people. Against this background, Company X initiated its GH business, in order to bring younger residents into the area. The comparatively simple-to-start GH business is a new business model for landlords with little private capital unable to participate in the welfare business. GHs provide a living environment and services that encourage foreigners to move in, appealing especially to people who stay for a fixed period of time in Japan, like working holiday makers and foreign stu-dents. The characteristics of these GH residents are that most of them are foreigners from Asian countries, more than half of them are male, and they are employed in part-time jobs. These find-ings show that by following a clear business strategy in line with the conditions of the inner city, Company X attracts a distinctive type of residents, differing from guesthouse residents in other areas. However, this inner city business strategy influences the GHs capability to contribute to the local community. Its effect in solving the increasing social isolation in the local community is low, because the GH residents are not original members of this community. Furthermore, inter-active events between guesthouse residents and members of the local community, necessary for a wider contribution to the local community, were stopped, because they had no direct effect on profits. The example of Company X shows that the guesthouse business in the inner city has the capacity to revitalize the real estate market by making effective use of old vacant housing, but its impact on the social issues of the local community is quite limited.


The article deals with 30-year experience of the Burdenko Facultative Surgical Clinic in surgical management of generalized myasthenia. The analysis is based on 2,500 cases. This complex disease was worked out in stages, taking into account the advancements of the medical science in the given stage. It is noted that the immediate and late-term results of surgery improved after introduction of the newest methods of examination and treatment of patients with myasthenia into practice. Among these methods are CT and MRT, immunohistochemical study, and treatment with steroids and immunodepressants. The role and significance of sorption methods and splenectomy in combined treatment of serious forms of myasthenia are pointed out. The elaboration of the clinico-immuno-morphometric criteria allowed the authors to prognosticate the results of surgical treatment with high authenticity and distinguish two types of myasthenia, as a result of which the indications for surgery could be determined more precisely. The authors direct the way to further research in this field for improvement of the diagnosis and the results of treatment of generalized myasthenia.


Since the ascendance of CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) as the generally accepted multiple access technology of choice for next generation networks, the rate of development of the wireless cellular communication industry has been phenomenal. Next generation wireless cellular networks offer a myriad of voice, video, data and text based information services for the future multimedia and information society. This mixed service scenario implies that the same [mite resource i.e. the air interface must be shared amongst different classes of user, each with a specific quality of service. With multiple services competing for the same resource and with the inherent soft capacity nature of CDMA, call admission control becomes a formidable task. The problem is further compounded by the introduction of priorities between classes. Call admission control is an essential component of these next generation networks and the open nature of the current standards, such as UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) allow for vendor implementation of different call admission control policies. The main area of focus in this dissertation is on a proposed downlink, load-based, mixed service call admission policy. In a CDMA environment with symmetrical service and equal bandwidths in each direction, the uplink is commonly considered to be the bottleneck. Based on the asymmetric nature of the expected traffic in next generation networks the downlink is envisaged as the future bottleneck. Some of the more common choices for downlink call admission control include number based as well as power based call admission policies. A load-based call admission policy has been chosen as the maximum load threshold that can be supported varies with the state of the system and thus effectively models the behaviour of a soft capacity CDMA network. This dissertation presents a teletraffic performance analysis model of a load-based call admission control policy for downlink mixed service CDMA cellular networks. The performance analysis yields customer oriented grade-of-service parameters such as call blocking probability which is essential for network planning. In our analysis we incorporate a Birth-Death Markov queuing model. This mathematical model is verified though computer simulation.


Using human U937 cell culture, we studied the expression of the RNA polymerase III-directeci genes--tRNAi(Met)1, tRNA(His) and Alu-repeats belonging to the youngest subfamilies AluY (AluYa5 and AluYb8) - du- ring camptothecin-induced apoptosis. The level of tRNAiMetl increased 1.5-fold, tRNAHis level did not change, and the level of AluY-RNA increased 4-10-fold after 6 hours of CAM treatment compared to control (non-apoptotic) cells. We also studied the level of AluYb8 DNA methylation at apoptosis U937. We have shown that the level of AluYb8 DNA methylation does not change at different stages of apoptosis, and does not differ in apoptotic and control cells. We assume that the increase in gene expression of young AluY repeats and tRNAi(Met)1 plays a role in the apoptosis pathway realization in the cell.


We analyze here the influence of gravitomagnetism upon fast moving particles and we find a physical mechanism for the lifetime dilation of mesons at very high velocities. One of the later arguments in favor of the Special Relativity Theory (SRT) was the discovery of a lifetime dilation of high velocity mesons. However, it has also been found that the observed lifetime dilation didn't correspond to SRT predictions. Moreover, SRT neither General Relativity Theory (GRT) ever explained any physical mechanism. When using gravitomagnetism, it becomes clear that not a time delay, but an self-inductive gravitomagnetic compression component is responsible for a delayed decay of the meson. We also find that relativistic mass doesn't exist, but that only the gravitational field gets accumulated to high values when the object's speed is close to the speed of light.


Concentric microelectrodes were used to voltage-clamp spinal motoneurons. With depolarizing voltage steps, current transients often appear, with some latency and in all-or-none fashion. Voltage-current relations indicate a two- to threefold reduction in resistance between inside and outside when the cell fires. These results suggest that activity does not involve the whole soma-dendritic membrane.


T-400 is an elastic fiber developed by Dupont. It was commended as one of the best developing prospect chemical fiber in the 21 century. In this paper, the elasticity of spun silk/T-400 interlaced fabric was studied. The elastic characteristic of the spun silk/T-400 interlaced fabric with different warp density, weft density, fabric intensity and fabric weave were tested and analyzed. And the stress relaxation was studied. It shows that elastic reversion at certain elongation of the fabric is correlative directly with the warp density, weft density, intensity and weave. The elastic reversion at certain elongation decreased following the warp density and weft density increased. And it was increased following the ratio of weft intensity to warping intensity and the fabric average float increased. The time of stress relaxation is longer if the warp density is larger. The time is shorter when the warp density and the fabric average float is larger. And the correlative curve was pictured and the correlative formula was built.


difference from placebo. Response and remission rates were higher in the seltorexant 20and 40-mg groups compared with placebo. Most treatment-emergent adverse events were mild to moderate in severity. Abnormal dreams, sleep paralysis, and nightmares were more common among participants receiving seltorexant, but the incidence of any of these events was no greater than 3% in seltorexant patients. The researchers concluded that adjunctive seltorexant has potential to generate antidepressant effects with minimal safety concerns. [Savitz A, et al. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2021; published online Jul 29; doi: 10.1093/ijnp/pyab050] ▪


A new global nonlinear predictor with a particle swarm-optimized interval support vector regression (PSO-ISVR) is proposed to address three issues (viz., kernel selection, model optimization, kernel method speed) encountered when applying SVR in the presence of large data sets. The novel prediction model can reduce the SVR computing overhead by dividing input space and adaptively selecting the optimized kernel functions to obtain optimal SVR parameter by PSO. To quantify the quality of the predictor, its generalization performance and execution speed are investigated based on statistical learning theory. In addition, experiments using synthetic data as well as the stock volume weighted average price are reported to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed models. The experimental results show that the proposed PSO-ISVR predictor can improve the computational efficiency and the overall prediction accuracy compared with the results produced by the SVR and other regression methods. The proposed PSO-ISVR provides an important tool for nonlinear regression analysis of big data.


In era globalization, majority of urban areas in Malaysia are looking forward to live in stratified unit compare to other types of housing. Because of limitation of land and increasing property values has contributes more development on high rise residential. Moreover, this type of residential is more economical than landed
property. The purpose of this research was to investigate the residential satisfaction in high rise buildings. It presents the study of factors influencing residential satisfaction in high rise buildings of a sample of subjects in a chosen residential area in Selangor. There are two methods to achieve this research which are primary data and secondary data. It is started with the introduction of
this research which that has been discussed in the literature review. In literature review has shown the meaning of the strata high rise residential, the maintenance in high rise residential and also statutory requirement there.To get the primary data, there three case studies has been chosen. From the questionnaire survey, the context is provided by focusing on the determinants
which affect residential satisfaction such as safety and security, management personnel, maintenance charge, respondents behavior and managementservices. The study employed by questionnaire to obtain the residents demographic, residents satisfaction with management personnel and scope of work, and their participation as an individual and member of JMB. The data
obtain has been analyzed in order to achieve the objective. After that, the data collected will be analyzed by using the Microsoft Excel in order to get the total mean score for three (3) case studies. Total mean score from three case studies for managing personnel is 3.44, participation as an individual is 3.29 and participation as a JMB member is 3.71.


One of the main drivers of the rapid growth of corruption research the last 20 years is the easy access to empirical data via corruption rankings and composite indices that can be used for large-N analysis. It is also these indicators that mainly are used to place countries in the comparative literature (and elsewhere) and in analyses of the relationship between corruption and, among else, democracy, economic output and growth and institutional performance. Without doubt this literature has contributed to the field but there are also problems. In focus here are the effects of the habitual treatment of corruption as a single-dimensional phenomenon, and often tantamount to bribery, and as spatially constant within a country. I argue that the effects of this on our estimations and understanding of corruption are particularly well illustrated by established democracies with highly developed market economies placed in the category of "least-corrupt" countries (as manyWest European states), as corruption in these countries on theoretical grounds can be assumed not to centre on bribery. In the article I use Sweden, almost always referred to as a least corrupt case, to unveil what we see using various corruption indicators but also what we do not see when we employ the standard comparative measurements and legal data. Although we would expect corruption types other than bribery to be important in such a case (a least corrupt one), not least conflict of interest, this is missed out when we use the indicators that have become the standard in the literature. I conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for the accuracy of corruption measurement and by arguing for studies that nuance our picture of corruption, and also bring in conflict of interest.


Gata6 Controls Peritoneal Macs Macrophages seed tissues throughout the body and are shaped both phenotypically and functionally by the microenvironment they inhabit. Despite such heterogeneity, most tissue macrophages self-renew by local proliferation. How this is regulated, however, is unclear. Rosas et al. (p. 645, published online 24 April) used gene expression analysis to show that the transcription factor Gata6 is specifically expressed in peritoneal macrophages. Gata6 was critical for maintaining the transcriptional signature of peritoneal macrophages and for their proliferative renewal during homeostasis and under inflammatory conditions. The major self-renewing population of peritoneal macrophages is under discrete tissue-selective transcriptional control. Tissue-resident macrophages are heterogeneous as a consequence of anatomical niche–specific functions. Many populations self-renew independently of bone marrow in the adult, but the molecular mechanisms of this are poorly understood. We determined a transcriptional profile for the major self-renewing population of peritoneal macrophages in mice. These cells specifically expressed the transcription factor Gata6. Selective deficiency of Gata6 in myeloid cells caused substantial alterations in the transcriptome of peritoneal macrophages. Gata6 deficiency also resulted in dysregulated peritoneal macrophage proliferative renewal during homeostasis and in response to inflammation, which was associated with delays in the resolution of inflammation. Our investigations reveal that the tissue macrophage phenotype is under discrete tissue-selective transcriptional control and that this is fundamentally linked to the regulation of their proliferation renewal.


ABSTRACT A series of dual curable polyurethane methacrylate-based oligomers were synthesized by changing the NCO:OH ratio and then were included in adhesive formulations using trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate and tricyclodecane dimethanol diacrylate (TCDDA) as reactive diluents. The effects of NCO:OH ratio and reactive diluent type on the structural properties of UV-cured free films and adhesion properties between polyester cord/rubber surfaces were studied. The highest adhesion strength of the 103 N cm−1 was obtained when the NCO:OH ratio was set as 4 and the TCDDA was used as a reactive diluent. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


BACKGROUND/AIM
Studies comparing health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) between patients who underwent radical cystectomy (RC) and those who underwent a different form of urinary diversion has not reached yet univocal and reliable conclusions. The aim of our study was to evaluate bladder-specific long-term HR-QoL after radical cystectomy and ileal conduit.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A multicenter study was carried out on 145 consecutive patients (112 males and 33 females) undergoing RC and ileal conduit (IC). HR-QoL assessment was conducted using Italian versions of European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 and EORTC BLM-30 questionnaires.

RESULTS
Our data showed that women who underwent IC presented greater problems than men in cognitive functioning (mean score±SD: 77.3±27.9 vs. 87.8±18.6) as well in future perspective (score: 42.4±34.4 vs. 21.9±24.6). Nevertheless, men undergoing IC had more problems in sexual functioning than women (score: 23.3±24.5 vs. 7.0±20.3) (all p<0.05).

CONCLUSION
In our series, female patients presented a greater burden than male patients in cognitive functioning as well in future perspective, but lower concerns with regard to sexual function.


High-cycle fatigue tests were conducted to investigate the effects of temperature, stress ratio (R), specimen orientation, welding and specimen size on the fatigue behavior of type 316L stainless steel. The high-cycle fatigue test results indicated that the fatigue limits significantly decreased when the stress ratio (R) decreased. The corresponding fatigue limits were reduced to lower values when tests were conducted at 300 C, compared to those obtained at room temperature. The fatigue behavior and fatigue limits of standard and subsize specimens were observed to be consistent at both room temperature and 300 C. The constant life diagram was established from the S–N curves acquired. The fatigue limit strongly depended on the materials strength, which was a function of specimen orientation, test temperature, and welding processes. The dimension of the fatigue damaged area on a fracture surface increased as the stress ratio decreased. In the case of R 1⁄4 1:0, the fatigue damaged region extended over the whole fracture surface. The subgrain boundaries after high-cycle fatigue tests were clearly demonstrated by their diffraction patterns, which were related to the dynamic recovery of multiple dislocations.


In the following clinical case of infantile juvenile polyposis syndrome (JPS), administration of a pharmacologic agent sirolimus was associated with reduced disease burden without need for bowel resection. The positive impact included improvement in protein-losing enteropathy, decreased intestinal blood loss, and improved weight gain. In addition, the number of polyps resected per unit time and frequency of upper and lower endoscopic evaluation needed dropped after initiation of sirolimus. This case report describes a positive clinical outcome and discusses the use of sirolimus with aggressive polypectomy as a potential treatment for the rare disease entity of polygenic infantile JPS. Through this case, we aim to emphasize that while administration of this drug may mitigate many sequelae of infantile JPS, it does not appear to eliminate the need for aggressive polypectomy.