This study is aimed at optimizing the design of surface facilities of an early production scheme for an onshore Abu Dhabi oil field. The current design of separation facilities is modular, and thus improvements in performance are possible with a better understanding of PVT properties of the oil produced. This is performed by optimizing the multistage separator process for the range of properties of oil processed by the facilities.This paper describes the characterization of the crude oil processed by the facility using the 3-parameter Peng-Robinson Equations of state to describe the phase behavior and fluid properties using reservoir fluid data and an analysis of production data. After characterizing the fluids from each production well in the reservoir, the streams are mixed and the overall characterization of the total reservoir crude oil is used to optimize the design of the current facilities. This overall characterization of the crude oil is checked and compared to field analysis from the current operating facility.Current production facilities consist of one production separator followed by a free water knockout tank. Results show that optimum separation requires a multi-stage scheme versus the two-stage scheme being used now. Up to 2-3% increase in oil volumes produced may be achieved by using an optimized 3-stage separator design consisting of high and medium pressure production separators followed by the free water knockout tank.


Long-term transitions in the composition of Earth's marine biota during the Phanerozoic have historically been explained in two different ways. One view is that they were mediated through biotic interactions among organisms played out over geologic time. The other is that mass extinctions transcended any such interactions and governed diversity over the long term by resetting the relative diversities of higher taxa. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that macroevolutionary processes effecting biotic transitions during background times were not fundamentally different from those operating during mass extinctions. Physical perturbations at many geographic scales combined to produce the long-term trajectory of Phanerozoic diversity.


An increase in trunk diseases (due to esca, Agrobacterium, rugose wood virus, leaf roll viruses, phytoplasma
etc.) leading to young vines death is a very serious worry in vineyards in Hungary, as it is in other countries. In
response to a demand expressed by grapevine growers, a method was tested for the direct treatment of pathogens in
wood tissue. An experiment based on trunk injection was carried out in an esca infected vineyard. The various
fungicides (propiconazole, difenoconazole, thiabendazole; propiconazole+ thiabendazole) were injected into the trunk
before the beginning of the xylem sap flow at high pressure. As a result the number of symptomatic plants was
decreased, and the vigour of the plants was not impaired by the fungicide ingredients. The combination difenoconazole+
thiabendazole showed the best result.


We use the Hough transform to analyse data from the second science run of the LIGO interferometers, to look for gravitational waves from isolated pulsars. We search over the whole sky and over a large range of frequencies and spindown parameters. Our search method is based on the Hough transform, which is a semi-coherent, computationally efficient, and robust pattern recognition technique. We also present a validation of the search pipeline using hardware signal injections.


We derive a sufficient condition for a generating set of an ideal in the free (non-associative, non-commutative) algebra to be a Grobner basis. Using this we formulate an algorithm for computing a basis of a finitely presented Lie algebra. At the end of the paper we discuss the practical implementation of the algorithm.


A linear cumulative exposure model (LCEM) is used to analyze data from a step-stress accelerated-life-test, in particular, those with failure-free life (FFL). FFL is characterized by a location parameter in the distribution. For the 2-parameter Weibull distribution, the Nelson cumulative exposure model is a special case of LCEM. Under LCEM a general expression is derived for computing the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) of stress-dependent distribution parameters under multiple censoring. The estimation procedure is simple and is illustrated by a set of experimental data using the 3-parameter Weibull distribution.


Development of an engine with good fuel economy is very important for successful implementation of long endurance miniature UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). In the study, a 4-stroke glow-plug engine was modified to a gasoline-fueled spark-ignition engine. Engine tests measuring performance and friction losses were conducted to tune a simulation program for performance prediction. It has been found that excessive friction losses are caused by insufficient lubrication at high speeds. The simulation program predicts that engine power and fuel economy get worse with high altitude due to increasing portion of friction losses. The simulation results suggest quantitative guidelines for further development of a practical engine.


Health technology assessment (HTA) agencies have spread throughout Europe in the past twenty years. The study examined the governance structures for those agencies comparatively, both through cross-national comparison (it looks in detail at HTA agencies for pharmaceuticals and other health treatments in three major European countries- Britain, France and Germany) and through cross-sectoral comparison, notably with economic regulatory agencies in network industries. It examined nine key institutional aspects of governance: legal definition of an agency's objectives and duties; formal ministerial powers over agency decisions; the appointment of agency members; agency budgets and staff; procedures for experts; decision-making procedures concerning transparency and participation; mechanisms to seek accountability and scrutiny; appeal and legal challenge mechanisms against agency decisions; European networks of regulatory agencies. It found that although there are important differences between network industries and healthcare, comparison of HTA agencies with those regulating network industries in Britain, France and Italy, a European 'model' or common set of institutional features has emerged over the last c20 years for the governance of agencies.


To evaluate the safety of chicken breast extract containing plasmalogen, the following three tests were conducted: i) chromosome aberration study with mammalian cells; ii) bacterial reverse mutation test; and iii) 90-day repeated oral dose study in rats. The chromosome aberration study showed that there was no statistically significant increase in the structural aberration rate and the polyploidy aberration rate between the group that was treated with chicken breast extract and the negative-control group. Under the present test conditions, chicken breast extract did not induce chromosomal aberrations. Similarly, in the reverse mutation test, there was no increase in the number of revertant colonies in all of the bacterial strains that more than doubled the negative-control value related to the dose, regardless of the presence or absence of metabolic activation. In other words, chicken breast extract did not exhibit a gene mutation–inducing effect under the present test conditions. No effects were observed in the 90-day repeated oral dose study with the administration of chicken breast extract. Under the present test conditions, the no-observed-adverse-effect level for both male and female rats was 1000 mg/kg/day.


When a long duration of untreated illness (DUI) is correlated with an unfavourable progression of schizophrenia in the same way as that of a long duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), the characteristics of patients with a long DUI are of particular interest for early recognition and early intervention programmes. With this background, demographic data and early symptoms were collected from 82 first time in-patients with schizophrenia using the IRAOS (Interview for the Retrospective Assessment of the Onset of Schizophrenia). In the total sample, the average DUI was almost 5.9 years. On the basis of the DUI median (5.2 yrs), the random sample was divided into two groups: one with long (n = 41) and one with short (n = 41) DUI. When comparing both groups in terms of socio-demographic data, no significant differences could be found (with the exception of age at first admission: 28 - 32 yrs). On a psychopathological level, patients with long DUI were prone to depressive moods, anxiety, compulsive symptoms and showed early signs of disturbances in bodily perception. An educational campaign should sensitize both employees working in primary care and experts who diagnose and treat psychological illnesses, to the fact that these symptoms could point to a prodrome even when the patient has passed the typical age of being at risk from schizophrenia.


Industrial Ethernet has been widely used in Modern HighSpeed Train Communication Networks (HSTCN). The reliability of HSTCN influences train safety. And time-oriented reliability is an important part of the HSTCN reliability. In the situation of node dependency, it is a difficult problem to analyze delay propagation for HSTCN. In order to solve the problem, we have done the following work. First, a delay analysis model is built based on discrete-time queuing theory and queuing delay and time-oriented reliability on each switch port can be calculated. Second, the delay propagation model of HSTCN is proposed. The propagation delay on each port can be calculated, and then we evaluate the influence of the "ripple effect", which leads to the propagation of these delays, and causes other ports queuing delay to increase. Third, an efficient algorithm for computing queuing delay, time-oriented reliability and propagation delay is developed, and we can calculate results quickly for HSTCN with complex topology. Last, simulation verification using OPNET for delay analysis modeling is completed. The results show that the proposed methodology is useful and effective in design engineering of HSTCN.


The pernicious vomiting of pregnancy, acute yellow atrophy of the liver, and eclampsia, are generally grouped together as manifestations of the toxemia of pregnancy. While eclampsia is admittedly a toxemia, it seems unwise to class it with the other two conditions, from which it differs widely in symptoms, pathology, and prognosis, if not in other respects. For this reason it seems to me that eclampsia should be studied entirely apart from the other two types. I wish it to be understood, therefore, that wherever the term toxemia is used in the present article it refers only to the toxemia responsible for pernicious vomiting and acute yellow atrophy and not to eclampsia unless so stated. The most pronounced lesion to be found postmortem in a case of toxemia of pregnancy is a degeneration and necrosis of the parenchyma of the liver. While this lesion is characteristic of the toxemia of pregnancy,


Background Supported self-management for asthma reduces acute attacks and improves control. The internet of things could connect patients to health care providers, community services, and their living environments to provide overarching support for self-management. Objective We aimed to identify patients' and clinicians' preferences for a future internet-of-things system and explore their visions of its potential to support holistic self-management. Methods In an exploratory sequential mixed methods study, we recruited patients from volunteer databases and charities' social media. We purposively sampled participants to interview them about their vision of the design and utility of the internet of things as a future strategy for supporting self-management. Respondents who were not invited to participate in the interviews were invited to complete a web-based questionnaire to prioritize the features suggested by the interviewees. Clinicians were recruited from professional networks. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed thematically using PRISMS self-management taxonomy. Results We interviewed 12 patients and 12 clinicians in the United Kingdom, and 140 patients completed the web-based questionnaires. Patients expressed mostly wanting a system to log their asthma control status automatically; provide real-time advice to help them learn about their asthma, identify and avoid triggers, and adjust their treatment. Peak flow (33/140, 23.6%), environmental (pollen, humidity, air temperature) (33/140, 23.6%), and asthma symptoms (25/140, 17.9%) were the specific data types that patient most wanted. Information about asthma and text or email access to clinical advice provided a feeling of safety for patients. Clinicians wanted automated objective data about the patients' condition that they could access during consultations. The potential reduction in face-to-face consultations was appreciated by clinicians which they perceived could potentially save patients' travel time and health service resources. Lifestyle logs of fitness regimes or weight control were valued by some patients but were of less interest to clinicians. Conclusions An automated internet-of-things system that requires minimal input from the user and provides timely advice in line with an asthma action plan agreed by the patient with their clinician was preferred by most respondents. Links to asthma information and the ability to connect with clinicians by text or email were perceived by patients as features that would provide a sense of safety. Further studies are needed to evaluate the usability and effectiveness of internet-of-things systems in routine clinical practice.


Following Kiernan and Aizawa [1], and Thornton and Houser [2] among others, I have in a separate paper [3 J explored the use of cell phones and SMS in the classroom as a means of exploiting what really constitutes an immediately available form of ubiquitous computing, to facilitate second language acquisition. In order to gain information of Korean college students prior to conducting research specifically addressing their language learning strategies used in accessing online resources [4], [5], I conducted a preliminary survey, the results of which are presented here. I surveyed their use of cell phones, electronic dictionaries, SMS, Email, Computers and the Internet, investigating their use of their target second language of English (L2), and questioning whether they used such resources for L2 learning, and to what extent they did so in the target L2 language of English. It is intended to refine and repeat this survey in forthcoming semesters.


Affective heritage embracement, a collective narrative of nostalgia, is identified at two popular music festivals. "MusicFest" embraces a tradition of "Red Dirt" country music through performance (music festival), whereas the "Walnut Valley Festival" embraces a bluegrass/folk musical heritage through performance and participation (musicians' festival). The symbolic importance of musical interaction is explored to highlight the experienced emotionality that leads to the affective ties that bind these otherwise temporary communities. This collective narrative reveals the various functions of nostalgia wherein collective sentiment both reflects and creates the perceived authentic experiences of festival attendees.


Standardized instruments are often used to monitor one's progress in tinnitus relief although they were developed to screen and diagnose tinnitus. The need for the development for a tinnitus outcome assessment tool is high in the field of audiology and otolaryngology. The purpose of this study was to develop a tinnitus outcome questionnaire for sound management (listening to sound stimuli for tinnitus relief) and assess its content validity. A total of 32 questions with six domains (Tinnitus characteristics, the impact of tinnitus, tinnitus and hearing issues, handedness, tinnitus management, and sound management outcome) were generated after closely investigating major tinnitus questionnaires used worldwide (i.e. Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire) as well as literature. Ten healthcare professionals evaluated the appropriateness of the questionnaire items on a five-point Likert scale, where 1 is strongly inappropriate and 5 is strongly appropriate. Content relevance was assessed by computing the content validity index with the cut-off value of 0.75. Each response was first weighted as follows: 1 = 0; 2 = 0.25; 3 = 0.5; 4 = 0.75; and 5 = 1.0. The weighted average was then calculated. Items with a content validity index less than 0.75 were discarded and some items were revised according to the experts' feedback. As a result, 31 out of the 32 items had the content validity index higher than 0.75, indicating that the items are appropriate to obtain information about the six domains. Reflecting the experts' feedback, some questions were revised to be more specific. The study provides a baseline structure regarding potential questions to be included in a tinnitus outcome questionnaire for sound management. Development and standardization of such questionnaire would be a pathway to validating tinnitus relief via sound therapy.


At the phagosome level, Mycobacterium spp. alters activation and recruitment of several "Ras gene from rat brain" proteins, commonly known as Rab. Mycobacterial phagosomes have a greater and sustained expression of Rab5, Rab11, Rab14 and Rab22a, and lowered or no expression of Rab7, Rab9 and Rab6. This correlates with increased fusion of the phagosomes with early and recycling endosomes acquiring some features of early phagosomes, allowing the bacteria to gain access to nutrients and preventing the activation of anti-mycobacterial mechanisms. The expression of constitutively active mutants of Rab from the early stage endosomes prevents the maturation of phagosomes containing latex beads or heat-inactivated mycobacteria. Silencing of these mutants by interference RNA or dominant negative forms induces the maturation of mycobacterial phagosomes. The mechanisms have not been established by which mycobacteria alter the expression of these GTPases and thereby shift the phagolysosomal maturation. The problem can be explained by alterations in the recruitment of proteins that interact with Rab, such as phosphoinositide 3-kinases and early endosomal antigen 1. Identifying the mechanisms used by Mycobacterium spp. to disrupt the cycle of Rab activation will be essential to understand the pathophysiology of mycobacterial infections and usefully to potential drug targets.


Background. Recent studies have suggested that subjects with depression suffer a diagnosis-specific motivational deficit, characterized by an abnormal response to negative feedback that endures beyond clinical recovery. Furthermore, it has been suggested that negative feedback may motivate non-depressed controls, but not depressed patients, to improve their performance in neuropsychological tests. Methods. We describe two studies. The first compared performance on the simultaneous and delayed match to sample (SDMS) task from the CANTAB neuropsychological test battery, in 20 patients with severe depression with 20 with acute schizophrenia, 40 with chronic schizophrenia and 40 healthy controls. The second examined the performance of depressed patients with diurnal variation in symptoms and cognitive function. Results. All patients groups showed impairments on the simultaneous and delayed match to sample task compared to controls. Depressed patients did not show an abnormal response to negative feedback. Controls did not show a motivational effect of negative feedback. Depressed patients with diurnal variation showed no variation in their response to perceived failure. There was no evidence of abnormal response to negative feedback in any patient group using the 'runs test' or of a motivational effect in controls. Conditional probability analysis was not independent of the total number of errors made in the SDMS task. Conclusions. Further studies are suggested to examine whether an abnormal response to negative feedback characterizes particular subgroups of patients suffering from depression.


Karuna Dahlberg (2018): e-Assessed follow-up of postoperative recovery – development, evaluation and patient experiences. Örebro Studies in Medicine 182. The majority of all surgeries are performed as day surgery. After discharge, patients are expected to take responsibility for their postoperative recovery themselves. Recovery Assessment by Phone Points (RAPP) is an e-assessment developed for assessing and providing follow-up on postoperative recovery, which includes the Swedish web-version of the Quality of Recovery questionnaire (SwQoR). It also enables the patient to get in contact with the day surgery unit. The overall aim of this thesis was to further develop and evaluate a systematic follow-up of postoperative recovery using a mobile app in adult persons undergoing day surgery, as well as to describe their experiences of postoperative recovery when using the mobile app. Study I: This study included three steps. Equivalence testing between the paper and app versions of the SwQoR showed agreement (n=69). The feasibility and acceptability evaluation showed that participants (n=63) were positive towards using a mobile phone application during postoperative recovery. Content validity of the SwQoR reduced the original 31 items to 24. Studies II and III: A multicentre, two-group, parallel, single-blind randomized controlled trial including 997 participants was conducted to investigate the effect of e-assessment on postoperative recovery (II) and cost-effectiveness (III) in a RAPP group compared with a control group. The RAPP group reported significantly better quality of postoperative recovery on postoperative days 7 and 14 compared with the control group. Moreover, RAPP may be cost-effective as it provides low-cost care. Study IV: Explored experience of postoperative recovery in participants using a mobile phone app during their postoperative recovery. Qualitative inductive semi-structured interviews (n=18) were performed. Findings showed that feeling safe is important during postoperative recovery. This feeling can be created by patients themselves, but sufficient support and information from health care and next of kin is needed. Overall, this thesis showed positive results for RAPP, suggesting that RAPP is a solution that may benefit patients after day surgery.


With inequality returning to historically high levels, intergenerational mobility has attracted growing attention from policy makers and academics. The authors use recently published county-level data to study the determinants of intergenerational mobility, measured by income levels and teen birth rates. Following Solon's mobility model, the authors study the impacts of public investment in human capital, returns to human capital, and taxation. The results show that better school quality and higher returns to education increase adult incomes and reduce teen birth rates for children from low-income families. By comparing counties within or adjacent to metropolitan areas to other counties, the authors find that urban upward mobility is sensitive to parents' education, while nonurban upward mobility is sensitive to migration opportunities.


This paper investigates the position of the Phillips curve in a single currency area, when the countries have different levels of unemployment. We will use the aggregation hypothesis to show that allowing for the dispersion of unemployment is essential to quantifying the level of inflation corresponding to any given unemployment rate. Next, we point out that the EMU countries have attained increasingly similar unemployment rates since the creation of the single market and the adoption of the single currency. This observed synchronisation in countries' labour markets in the 1990s has reduced the effect of the aggregation hypothesis. This implies that the level of inflation is now lower for any given level of unemployment, which eases the choices of monetary policy makers.


The Application Service Provider (ASP) has started to use Web services to expose data sources and adopted Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) to build data integration infrastructure. XML data integration and mediation in SOA is a complex task. The existing mediation technologies and commercial tools take XSLT as the standard to transform and merge XML documents from various Web services with the intension to deliver a unified view of data. As the number of involved data Web services increases, the XSLT transformation programs lead to poor modifiability and are difficult to reuse.

After a systematic evaluation on the existing XML query and transformation languages based on the defined selection criteria, we propose a services oriented architecture in which a declarative rule-based technique is introduced for XML data transformation. At design time, we reuse and adapt Xcerpt as our integration language that represents integration rules in a declarative and reusable manner. At runtime, the mediated software architecture provides the support of automatically generating the definition and the construction of the service connectors that mediate data from various Web services involved in integration flows. We found through working examples that the software architecture improves the modifiability of the data integration architecture.


Background : Ageing is a natural process, always associated with physiological and biological decline. Global population is ageing; the proportion of older persons has been rising steadily, from 7% in 1950 to 11% in 2007, with an expected rise to reach 22 % in 2050. With improving knowledge and awareness the health care seeking behavior has shown an increasingly positive trend. With increasing age, morbidity,   especially those arising from chronic diseases also increases. On the contrary, health care delivered at household level has definitely   gone down due to financial constraints and increasing cost of living, thus posing a problem for the elderly.  Aims & Objective : To find out the prevalence of chronic morbidity and health care seeking behaviour amongst the elderly in rural areas of Uttarakhand. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in rural areas of Uttarakhand to assess the chronic morbidity amongst elderly population. All the persons above the age group of 60 years of the eight villages were interviewed using a pre-defined, pre-tested, semi-structured and indigenously developed questionnaire. Results : The study group suffered from various chronic morbidities like hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases. Men were greater in number (158, 62.2%). Participants belonging mostly to nuclear families (156, 61.9%). Below the poverty line were (98, 38.9%). Half of the study population had one or the other chronic morbid condition. Majority of the elderly men contacted the health care facility whereas majority of the elderly women chose to use remedies. Conclusion: There is definitely a need of   provision of health care services for poor geriatric population. In addition to this government should take up some program for social security of this population along with creating an awareness about the same.


Photosynthesis of vitamin D is an endocrine function of the skin. Unfortunately this function can be affected by several factors, such as seasonal changes, clothing, melanin in the skin, sunscreens, and age. Vitamin D deficiency can be prevalent in the elderly, especially those whose lack of mobility prevents them from having adequate sun exposure. Although many foods in the United States are fortified with vitamin D, the elderly individual may need to receive daily supplements.


At present day pipe mill engineers have to deal with challenging technological problems of heavy-wall and high strength line pipe manufacturing. Numerical analysis of welded large-diameter pipe manufacturing stages is the most efficient way to solve these problems. Corresponding computational technologies and applied software was developed at Physical & Technical Center. Numerical structural analysis of steel plates at various stages of line pipe manufacturing is performed by the finite element method accounting for geometric and material nonlinearities. The only thing to be done by the engineer in such analysis is to specify required input parameters. All the further process is software-controlled. The discrepancy between the numerical analysis results and measured data in the overwhelming majority cases did not exceed 1%.


Large tracts of the European rural land, most frequently in the Less Favoured Areas (LFA) are devoted to low- input and Large Scale Grazing Systems (LSGS) under severe environmental constraints. A small part of the rural popula- tion strives to make a living under a risk of abandonment. Paradoxically, these areas harbour a great part of the European High Nature Value (HNV) farmland. We argue that government intervention on these LSGS can only be devised after proper knowledge of technical, structural and social constraints. LSGS may deliver environmental and social benefits but current European Union (EU) schemes of support do not fit the requirements and spatial scale of HNV farming systems. A new methodological approach and research agenda is described based on inter-disciplinary environmental and eco- nomic research, stakeholders' participation and differential diagnosis. The results summarise the main findings of the EU- funded LACOPE research project in seven study-areas and broadly enlarge the analysis to other European LSGS with the experience of collaborative experts. The LACOPE research project advanced the research agenda in the identification of major LSGS and diagnosis of the seven study-areas. In most of these latter, grazing and biodiversity showed compatible features, but severe structural and social constraints were identified, which require public intervention or enhancement of social cohesion. Delivering of potential environmental assets is linked to economic and social viability of these LSGS. Poor economic performance was more common than social fragility, with some LSGS well entrenched and supported by local social values and cultural traditions. The core objectives of the proposed Rural Development Policy (RDP) of the EU for the years 2007-2013 are compatible with the differential diagnosis proposed in the research agenda. However, the ar- ticulation of environmental, economic and social analysis under current schemes of policy support (Natura 2000, LFA, and agri-environment measures), can be questionable. A single space-scale of HNV farmland and system research can be better suited to reach the core objectives of the RDP guidelines for environmental and economic convergence, program- ming, monitoring and financial controls.


While the electrical waveforms and basic approach to electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation are similar for pediatric and adult patients, some important differences must be recognized to provide appropriate care for infants and children. Maturational changes that occur over the early childhood years result in differences in normal heart rates, interval durations, and ventricular dominance. Any arrhythmia seen in adults can occur in the pediatric patient; however, the most common variations from normal rhythms are sinus arrhythmia, bradycardia, and supraventricular tachycardia. Nurses caring for infants and children must recognize the important similarities and differences in rhythm strip interpretation between the adult and the pediatric patient.


This article describes a systematic approach used by a statewide pediatric sexual assault nurse examiner program to ensure the quality of forensic medical examinations it provides in child sexual abuse investigations. Seven strategies for enhancing quality are described: (a) hiring experienced professionals, (b) effective training, (c) comprehensive protocols, (d) ample support for pediatric sexual assault nurses, (e) management oversight, (f) a clinical coordinator to provide ongoing training and technical assistance, and (g) a quality assurance process in which expert child abuse pediatricians review each statewide pediatric sexual assault nurse examination. To show the evolution of quality care over time, the program's experience from 2004 to 2010 is reviewed, and quality assurance data are analyzed.


European primary law doesn't provide an explicit precedence rule, but the draft of a European constitution, which was rejected by the referendum votes in France and Ireland, contains the priority rule. The European Constitution of 2004, which never came into force, provided an article on the primacy of European law. The Treaty of Lisbon, which does not differ essentially from the proposed European Constitution, does not contain a precedence rule. But different declarations are attached to the treaty. And declaration No. 17 to the TFEU declares the primacy of European law. In this paper I critically examine this hierarchical model and suggest that a network model is more appropriate.


The aggregation characteristics of red blood cells (RBCs) are known as important factors in the microvascular flow system, and increased RBC aggregation has been observed in various pathological diseases, such as thrombosis and myocardial infarction. This paper describes a simple microfluidic device for measuring the RBC aggregation by integrating a microfluidic slit rheometry and laser-backscattering technique. While a decreasing-pressure mechanism was applied to the microfluidic rheometry, a syllectogram (the light intensity versus time) showed an initial increase and a peak caused by the high shear stress-induced disaggregation, immediately followed by a decrease in the light intensity due to RBC aggregation. The critical shear stress (CST) corresponding to the peak intensity was examined as a new index of the RBC aggregation characteristics. The CST of RBCs increased with increasing aggregation-dominating protein (fibrinogen) in the blood plasma. The essential feature of this design was the combination of the rheometric-optic characterization of RBC aggregation with a microfluidic chip, which may potentially allow cell aggregation measurements to be easily carried out in a clinical setting.


BACKGROUND
Coronavirus is an enveloped positive-sense RNA virus and is characterized by club-like spikes projecting from its surface which is commonly associated with acute respiratory infections in humans but its ability to infect multiple host species and multiple diseases brings it to a complex pathogen group. The frequent interactions of wild animals with humans it is more prevalent a common source of such infections and SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV are the zoonotic pathogens among the leading cause of severe respiratory diseases in humans.

AIM
The major purpose of this study was to study the gene expression profiling for those human samples which are infected with coronavirus or uninfected and compare the differential expression patterns and its functional impact.

METHODS
For this purpose, the previously studied samples have been collected from public database and the study had been performed and it includes gene expression analysis, pathway analysis, and the network-level understanding. The analysis presents the data for the differentially expressed genes, enriched pathways and the networks for the potential genes and gene sets. In terms of gene expression and the linkage of COVID-19 with type-2 diabetes.

RESULTS
We observe that there are a large number of genes which show altered gene expression pattern than the normal for coronavirus infection while in terms of pathways it appears that there are few sets of functions which are affected due to altered gene expression and they infer to infection, inflammation, and the immune system.

CONCLUSIONS
Based on our study, we conclude that the potential genes which are affected due to infection are NFKBIA, MYC, FOXO3, BIRC3, ICAM1, IL8, CXCL1/2/5, GADD45A, RELB, SGK1, AREG, BBC3, DDIT3/4, EGR1, MTHFD2, and SESN2 and the functional changes are mainly associated with these pathways TNF, cytokine, NF-kB, TLR, TCR, BCR, Foxo, and TGF signaling pathways are among them and there are additional pathways such as hippo signaling, apoptosis, estrogen signaling, regulating pluropotency of stem cells, ErbB, Wnt, p53, cAMP, MAPK, PI3K-AKT, oxidative phosphorylation, protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum, prolactin signaling, adipocytokine, neurotrophine signaling, and longevity regulating pathways. SMARCD3, PARL, GLIPR1, STAT2, PMAIP1, GP1BA, and TOX genes and PI3K-Akt, focal adhesion, Foxo, phagosome, adrenergic, osteoclast differentiation, platelet activation, insulin, cytokine-cytokine interaction, apoptosis, ECM, JAK-STAT, and oxytocine signaling appear as the linkage between COVID-19 and Type-2 diabetes.


Introduction: The burden of diabetes mellitus is increasing in low-income and middle-income countries, and it is a major contributor to premature mortality. The care of patients with diabetes mellitus is multidisciplinary and involves a number of healthcare personnel. Effective communication between diabetic patients and healthcare personnel influence selfmanagement and health outcomes. Aim: The study evaluated the diabetic patient's assessment of the communication skills of the healthcare providers, as well as an assessment of the patients' understanding of the health information. Method: The study is a cross-sectional design using primarily a quantitative methodology. The study population consisted of 101 diabetic patients. A 14-point interviewer administered questionnaire was used to solicit information on socio-demographics, medical history, rating of provider communication, and the evaluation of specific health care workers and information sharing. The data was analysed using SPSS version 17.0 and Microsoft Excel 2007. Descriptive statistical analysis was applied with a 95% confidence level and a precision ± 5%. Results: The findings revealed that 45.5% of diabetic patients rate the level of communication with regards to health worker sharing information about diabetes mellitus and its management as 'very good' (45.5%) with a the mean score was 2.79 ± 0.86. Descriptive analysis revealed that 52.5% of respondents were generally satisfied with the providers' communication, while 47.5% was not (mean score obtained 9.6 ± 2.77). There was no association between total satisfaction and gender (p = 0.065), neither with age (p = 0.813), education level (p = 0.153) or employment status (p = 0.701). Conclusion: The findings from this study revealed that the level of communication of information by the healthcare personnel about diabetes mellitus and its management was very good. Just about one-half of the respondents were generally satisfied with the provider's communication. The multidisciplinary approach to care of diabetic patients by healthcare professionals should be structured to promote better communication by maximizing the presentation and exchange of information, and better understanding of diabetes care. ReseaRch aRticle


There are many things need motivated married woman to work. Indonesian woman show high performance in education and working word. People have psychologist pressing from environment. It causes problem in family position (her role) and duty in his job and family as mother. This research has done to know the effect of organization commitment, self efficacy to role conflict and her performance as an employment at PT. Sampoerna, Tbk. Variabel use in this research are organization commitment, self efficacy, role conflict and performance as production employment in PT. Sampoerna, Tbk. Purposive Sampling is used to find sampel. We have 150 sampel. We ask  200 people to fill questioner form. Data analyze by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The statistic analyze show that organization commitment has negative effect and significant to role conflict and performance, Self efficacy has positive effect and significant to role conflict and performance, and Role conflict has negative effect and significant to performance  in production department employment of PT. Sampoerna, Tbk. Keywords : Organization Commitment, Self Efficacy, Role Conflict, Performance


SIR,-In a recent leading article (12 February, p. 375) the following two sentences appear: "The days of major discoveries in medicine by a few talented men using simple equipment are now largely over. Today's elaborate techniques and equipment need large staffs and laboratories." In the opinion ,of the writer, the first of these sentences might be challenged and the second might be qualified. It seems probable that, despite the monumental increase in medical knowledge and, indeed, in all of science in the past five decades, the ratio of the unknown to the known is still approximately infinity. Furthermore, the seeds of most significant advances have been germinated in the minds of individuals and not as a result of group thinking. On the other hand, the exploitation of ideas has unquestionably been enormously implemented by the "elaborate techniques and equipment" which demand interaction between groups of individuals trained in a variety of disciplines. It is the writer's conviction that original concepts of great importance will continue to be the product of the ideas and observations of individuals and that in many instances simple experimental methods will continue to furnish proof of validity. If individual investigators become progressively more dependent upon group endeavour, with everincreasing reliance upon advanced technology, it is conceivable that this kind of mass endeavour may result in the " atrophy through disuse " of those inimitable habits of thought and observation which characterize the gifted individual and which have been the well-spring of the advance of science.-I am, etc.,


This study was structured to challenge the hypothesis that nano-sized particulates could be molecularly targeted and bound to the prognostic and predictive HER-2/neu cell membrane receptor to elicit detectable changes in ultrasound response from human breast cancer cells. SKBR-3 human breast cancer cells were enlisted to test the efficacy of the particle conjugation strategy used in this study and ultimately, to provide conclusive remarks regarding the validity of the stated hypothesis. A characterization-mode ultrasound (CMUS) system was used to apply a continuum mechanics based, two-step inversion algorithm to reconstruct the mechanical material properties of four cell/agarose test conditions upon three independent test samples. The four test conditions include: Herceptin® conjugated iron oxide nanoparticles bound to cells (HER-con), Herceptin® bound to cells (HER), iso-type matched antibody conjugated iron oxide nanoparticles bound to cells (ISO-con), and Cold Flow Buffer mixed with agarose (CFB). The statistical analysis of these ultrasound results supported the ability to differentiate between HER-2/neu positive SKBR-3 cells that have been successfully tagged with Herceptin® conjugated iron oxide particles to those that have not demonstrated particle binding. These findings serve as promising proof-of-concept data for the development of a quantitative histopathologic evaluation tool directed towards both in situ and in vivo applications. The ultimate goal of this research is to exploit the molecular expression of the HER-2/neu protein to offer rapid, quantitative ultrasound information concerning the malignancy rating of human breast tissue employing tumor targeting nanoparticle based ultrasound contrast agents. When fully developed, this could potentially help 32,000–63,000 women efficiently find their proper treatment strategy to fight and win their battle against breast cancer.


Over the past two decades, with the advancements in the World Wide Web and Internet, there has been an exponential increase in the amount of online information causing difficulties in retrieving the precise and necessary information quickly. The solution to this problem is the Automatic Text Summarization, one of the important domains of Natural Language Processing (NLP) which is being extensively focused by the research community. Text Summarization helps to shrink the size of the source document and presents only the key features without compromising the overall context of the input document. Summarization is broadly classified into two types - extractive and abstractive summarization depending on how the original content is structured in the final summary. In the past, the researchers concentrated widely on extractive approaches and now there has been a gradual shift in the research trend towards abstractive methods and fusion of both extractive and abstractive ones. Consequently, in this paper, we propose a novel Combined Extractive Abstractive Text Summarization (CEATS) model which integrates the benefits of both extractive and abstractive approaches to achieve more concise, logical and human readable summaries of the online product reviews collected over a period of time. The extractive stage includes word frequency based sentence feature extraction, graph based sentence ranking algorithm whereas the abstractive phase involves deep artificial neural network approach. It consists of sequence to sequence encoder decoder model made of RNN LSTM networks.


predictable but valid. Kathleen Foley's chapter on the 'Assessment of Pain' is disappointing, but Ian Clarke's critical review of nerve blocks is refreshingly honest, humble and clear. The contributions of radiotherapy, hormonal and chemical therapy are authoritatively and sensibly addressed to all save the specialists in the field. The heart of the book, however, lies in the drug control of pain, and the vast experience of Hanks and Twycross gives a clear exposition of what can be achieved. Pain relief in cancer is largely a solved problem. As always in medicine there remain difficulties, disappointments and failures, but the real contemporary problem is how to bring our existing knowledge more frequently to the bedside. This book will help that vital enterprise.


One of the essential factors that influence the rate and success of learning a foreign language is motivation. The present study was an attempt to consider the relationship between demotivation factors and gender among Iranian EFL students and teachers in academic contexts. To this end, 40 EFL students and 15 teachers at Islamic Azad University, Ahwaz Branch (IAUAB) were selected based on available sampling. They were females and males and their ages ranged from 25 to 50. The Demotivation Questionnaire was given to the students to explore the sources of demotivation and also if there were any relationship between demotivation factors and gender among the Iranian EFL students. Additionally, the Teacher Demotivation Questionnaire was distributed among 15 teachers to understand the reasons for their demotivation. After administrating the questionnaires, an interview was conducted with 10 volunteer teachers (5 males and 5 females) and 15 students (8 males and 7 females) to extract a detailed description of their demotivation factors. For analyzing the collected data, Independent sample t-test was employed to consider the relationship between demotivation factors and gender. The results indicated that males and females were different significantly and males were more demotivated than females. Moreover, teachers and students were demotivated because of the methods of teaching, lack of facilities, working, and physical conditions. The findings of this study may help students, teachers, and syllabus designers to eliminate the demotivation factors in the academic contexts and raise motivation to facilitate the learning process.


We have investigated the photophysics in neat films of conjugated polymer PBDTTPD and its blend with PCBM using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. This material has very high efficiency when used in organic solar cells. We were able to identify a THz signature for bound excitons in neat PBDTTPD films, pointing to important delocalization in those excitons. Then, we investigated the nature and local mobility (orders of magnitude higher than bulk mobility) of charges in the PBDTTPPD:PCBM blend as a function of excitation wavelength, fluence and pump-probe time delay. At low pump fluence (no bimolecular recombination phenomena), we were able to observe prompt and delayed charge generation components, the latter originating from excitons created in neat polymer domains which, thanks to delocalization, could reach the PCBM interface and dissociate to charges on a time scale of 1 ps. The nature of the photogenerated charges did not change between 0.5 ps and 800 ps after photo-excitation, which indicated that the excitons split directly into relatively free charges on an ultrafast time scale.


Like other clinical disciplines, psychiatry has been met with increasing demands to document the scientific foundations for its treatments. The introduction of evidence-based medicine has contributed to this. Psychiatry holds a unique position compared to other medical specialties because it deals not only with physical or biological matters, but also with questions of meaning and mental phenomena. The scientific and clinical approach to psychiatry must incorporate both these aspects. This cannot be accomplished through a purely hermeneutic or a purely relativistic position. In isolation, these approaches cannot contribute to bridging the gap between research and clinical practice. Evidence-based medicine, on the other hand, through a stronger emphasis on empirical scientific evidence as the basis of treatment methods, enables us to secure better and safer therapies for our patients and augment the professional status of psychiatry. A critical attitude towards established "truths" will prevent stagnation in static or dogmatic positions, and thereby promote continuous development. Quality assurance and scientific validation is basically a question of ethics, hence we cannot avoid attending to these issues.


Objective—Infrared laser–evoked gene operator is a new microscopic method optimized to heat cells in living organisms without causing photochemical damage. By combining the promoter system for the heat shock response, infrared laser–evoked gene operator enables laser-mediated gene induction in targeted cells. We applied this method to the vascular system in zebrafish embryos and demonstrated its usability to investigate mechanisms of vascular morphogenesis in vivo. Approach and Results—We used double-transgenic zebrafish with fli1:nEGFP to identify the endothelial cells, and with hsp:mCherry to carry out single-cell labeling. Optimizing the irradiation conditions, we finally succeeded in inducing the expression of the mCherry gene in single targeted endothelial cells, at a maximum efficiency rate of 60%. In addition, we indicated that this system could be used for laser ablation under certain conditions. To evaluate infrared laser–evoked gene operator, we applied this system to the endothelial cells of the first intersegmental arteries, and captured images of the connection between the vascular systems of the brain and spinal cord. Conclusions—Our results suggest that the infrared laser–evoked gene operator system will contribute to the elucidation of the mechanisms underlying vascular morphogenesis by controlling spatiotemporal gene activation in single endothelial cells, by labeling or deleting individual vessels in living embryos.


Comprehensive socio-hygienic study of the health status and communal conditions carried out in the families in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) which is characterized by specific economic and geographic features, uneven density of population in various regions, and peculiar medico-demographic tendencies brought the authors to a conclusion that a staged approach is needed to transfer to the family doctor organization of therapeutic and prophylactic care of the population. Language: ru


Most theorem provers and proof assistants are written in imperative or functional programming languages. Recently, the claim that higher-order logic programming languages might be better suited for this task was revisited and a new interpreter, as well as new proof assistants based on it, were introduced. In this paper I follow these results and describe a concise implementation of a prototype for a semi-automated proof assistant for first-order modal logics. The aim of this paper is to encourage the development of personal proof assistants and semi-automated provers for a variety of modal logics.


The research was conducted at Bayero University Research Farm, Kano, Kano State. The site is located in the Sudan savanna agro-ecological zone of Nigeria. The experiment was to study the response of celosia (Celosia argentea L.) to sowing methods and nitrogen fertilization. The treatments consisted of four levels of nitrogen (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg N ha-1) and three sowing methods (Broadcasting, Drilling and Dibbling). The treatment was laid out using Split Plot Design and replicated three times. The results showed that application of nitrogen fertilizer at the rate of 150 kg N ha-1 significantly increased one thousand seeds, panicle weight and grain yield. Dibbling sowing method proved to be superior to other sowing methods. The significant interaction between nitrogen and sowing methods were observed on 1000 seeds weight, panicle and seed yield. Thus farmers in Sudan savanna zone of Nigeria could be advised to use the dibbling method at 150 kg N ha-1 for high grain yield of Celosia.


The purpose of this study is to examine the views of nine years old students about media literacy and media literate. Phenomenology approach was used qualitative research designs in the research. The study group consisted of 12 (7 girls, 5 boys) third grade students from two different primary schools in Bayrakli, Izmir, Turkey. Research data were collected through interviews. In these interviews, a semi-structured interview form was used. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Research findings are grouped under three themes: The meaning of media literacy, Characteristics of media literate and Being able to define themselves as being media literates or not. The findings showed that students mostly defined media literacy as "having a time limit in the use of media tools" and "critical view to the media". According to students, the media literate is " the one who uses the media for educational purposes" and as "critics".


Higher Education faces a revolutionary opportunity for change created by the confluence of pressures from economic and societal changes along with opportunities for new modes of education offered by the advancement and widespread availability of Information and Communication Technology. Advances in learning technologies are creating opportunities to improve education in 21st century competencies such as critical thinking, complex problem solving, collaboration, and systems thinking, as well as to more effectively assess these competencies. But in order to realize these benefits we need to move beyond models of content "delivery" and think afresh about the characteristics of stimulating and engaging learning environments. I examine ways in which technologies such as intelligent tutoring systems, and simulation environments, can help to address some of the pedagogical challenges we face as educators. I illustrate with case studies from the work of my research group in the area of intelligent clinical training systems.[1]


Aero/hydrodynamics plays a critical role in swimming. Studies estimate that over 90% of the swimmer's power output is spent overcoming aero/hydrodynamic resistance. Recently, swimsuits have been aggressively marketed, principally as a means for reducing the skin friction component of the total drag, thereby conferring a competitive advantage over other swimmers. Some manufacturers have claimed significant reduction of drag, but it is difficult to find independent research in the open literature that supports these claims and counter claims. In fact, it is not at all clear that swimsuits in reality reduce skin friction or other forms of drag. At present, there is no standard methodology for the evaluation of swimsuits performance. The primary purpose of this work is to conduct a comparative study of three competitive commercially manufactured swimsuits.


Pipelines have been a vital component of the energy supply chain in India; have to be laid in harsh surroundings; crossing mountain ranges characterized by unstable grounds; where seasonal soil texture changes increase the probability of hazards and uncertainties. Therefore, pipeline monitoring systems for leakage, ground movement, and intrusion detection are part of new pipeline projects. Leakage detection using distributed fibre-optic sensors can be a comprehensive solution for continuous, in-line, real-time monitoring of various pipelines. The monitoring of temperature profiles over long distance by means of optical fibres represents a highly efficient way to perform leakage detection along pipelines. Different techniques have been developed taking advantages of the fibre geometry and of optical time domain analysis for the localization of the information. Raman-based systems have been envisaged for one of the very first projects of India where leakage detection using Distributed Temperature Sensing has been envisaged. The paper presents and discusses the possibility to actively and automatically monitor leakages using distributed fibre optics sensing techniques. The second part of the paper focuses on the monitoring of leakage and third party intrusion detection of petroleum product pipelines. The key features and performances of the technology are reviewed in this paper.


Investing in real estate markets overseas means venturing into the unknown, where you meet unfamiliar political and economic environments, unstable currencies, strange cultures and languages, and so although the advantages of international diversification might appear attractive, the risks of and constraints on international real estate investment must not be overlooked. However, capital markets are becoming global markets and commercial real estate markets are no exception accordingly despite the difficulties posed by venturing overseas, no investor can overlook the potential international investment holds out. However, what strategies are appropriate for capitalising on this potential? Three issues must be considered: (1) the potential of the countries real estate market in general; (2) the potential of the individual market sectors; and (3) the investment process itself. Although each step in foreign real estate investment is critical, the initial assessment of opportunities is especially important. Various methods can be used to achieve this but a formal and systematic analysis of aggregate market potential should prove particularly fruitful. The work reported here, therefore, develops and illustrates such a methodology for the 51 real estate markets analysed by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) in their Real Estate Transparency Index (RETI) 2004.


Objective The aim of this study was to gain insights into the lived experience of a chronic disease, Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS). Selecting the most effective methodology to reflect the life span proved challenging. However, the life history approach proved to be a data‐rich methodology for this study and is explored in detail in this paper as a qualitative nursing tool. Setting This study recruited participants through a state based Multiple Sclerosis organisation in the community. Subjects Thirteen participants living with RRMS were purposively recruited, ten female and three male, to discuss their lived experience. Participants were from diverse backgrounds and were at various stages of disease progression. Primary argument Ethnography and life history is an under‐utilised methodology in nursing research. However, the life history approach was used effectively to collect data to explore the life trajectory of living with a chronic illness. Semi‐ structured interviews and Braun and Clarke's (2006) method of thematic data analysis ensured a systematic, robust exploration of the lived experience of RRMS. The study developed eight key themes and over 70 subthemes, providing clarity into the experience of living with RRMS. Conclusion Employing the life history approach to living with RRMS reflected the ebbs and flows of life, themes intertwining and changing positions of importance according to life events, whether directly or indirectly related to RRMS. Life history proved to be an effective method to gain a greater understanding of chronic illness and although often overlooked in nursing research, may represent an excellent methodology choice for nurse researchers working in other areas of chronic illness.


Background: We determined the risk thresholds above which statin use would be more likely to provide a net benefit for people over the age of 75 years without history of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods: An exponential model was used to estimate the differences in expected benefit and harms in people treated with statins over a 10-year horizon versus not treated. The analysis was repeated 100,000 times to consider the statistical uncertainty and produce a distribution of the benefit–harm balance index from which we determined the 10-year CVD risk threshold where benefits outweighed the harms. We considered treatment estimates from trials and observational studies, baseline risks, patient preferences, and competing risks of non-CVD death, and statistical uncertainty. Results: Based on average preferences, statins were more likely to provide a net benefit at a 10-year CVD risk of 24% and 25% for men aged 75–79 years and 80–84 years, respectively, and 21% for women in both age groups. However, these thresholds varied significantly depending on differences in individual patient preferences for the statin-related outcomes, with interquartile ranges of 21–33% and 23–36% for men aged 75–79 years and 80–84 years, respectively, as well as 20–32% and 21–32% for women aged 75–79 years and 80–84 years, respectively. Conclusions: Statins would more likely provide a net benefit for primary prevention in older people taking the average preferences if their CVD risk is well above 20%. However, the thresholds could be much higher or lower depending on preferences of individual patients, which suggests more emphasis should be placed on individual-based decision-making, instead of recommending statins for everyone based on a single or a small number of thresholds.


The Les Houches Workshop on Physics at TeV Colliders took place from June 8-18, 1999. One of the three working groups at Les Houches concentrated on QCD issues, both at the Tevatron Collider and at the LHC. Besides the interest in QCD in its own right, QCD dynamics plays an important role in the production mechanisms for any new physics process that might be observed at either collider, as well as any processes that may form backgrounds to the new physics. This writeup serves both as a pedagogical overview of QCD as well as an update on the current status of the field.


This is a beginner's guide with clear step-by-step instructions, explanations, and advice. Each concept is illustrated with a complete example that you can use as a starting point for your own work. If you are an engineer, scientist, mathematician, or student, this book is for you. To get the most from Sage by using the Python programming language, we'll give you the basics of the language to get you started. For this, it will be helpful if you have some experience with basic programming concepts.


We analyze the interest rate and savings effects of fiscal policy in an overlapping generations framework that accommodates two observations: (1) The interest rate on consumption loans exceeds the rate of return to household savings. (2) Private intergenerational transfers are widespread and primarily occur early in the lifecycle of recipients. The wedge between borrowing and lending rates in our model arises from the asymmetric tax treatment of interest income and interest payments. Intergenerational transfers are altruistically motivated. Under the assumption that altruistic transfers occur in at least some family lines and other plausible conditions, we prove the invariance of capital's steady-state marginal product to government expenditures, government debt, the labor income tax schedule, and the tax rate on capital income. In contrast, we find that the tax treatment of interest payments has powerful effects on capitals? marginal product and aggregate savings in life-cycle and, especially, altruistic linkage models. Our theoretical analysis also generates new testable implications for empirical work on how tax policy effects aggregate savings and on the connection between the age distribution of resources and the age distribution of consumption. Simulations of our model suggest that the 1986 Tax Reform Act's elimination of interest deductibility on consumer loan repayments will significantly increase per capita savings.


Deep excavation is very important problem in geotechnical engineering and use in construction of tunnel and underground structure. This paper study the deep excavation using Plaxis V8.2 engineering program and simulation the soil behavior by Hardening soil model (HSM) that very sensitive to descript the stress path of deep excavation and the model distinguishes between loading and unloading stiffness compares to The Mohr-Coulomb Model (MCM). The parametric study adopt the variation of sand density (loose, medium, and dense), and excavation width (B = 10, 20, 40, 60, and 80 m). The result conclusions this parameter it's very important on horizontal wall deflection, bending moment of wall, interface stress between soil and wall, heave, and settlement of near ground surface, to make the deep excavation and don't failure and reduce of on horizontal wall deflection, bending moment of wall, heave and settlements of near surface and contort on the near building to attainment the safe design and easy construction with optimum dimensions.


Compensation management literature highlights that employees who actively participate in pay systems may have increased job satisfaction. A careful observation of such relationships shows that employee participation in pay systems indirectly affect job commitment via interactional justice. The nature of this relationship is less emphasized in compensation management models. The evidence is used as a foundation to develop conceptual schema for this study. A survey research method was used to gather 917 usable questionnaires from employees who have worked in Malaysian Institutions of Higher Education (MIHE). Outcomes of testing mediating model using a stepwise regression analysis showed that the inclusion of interactional justice in the analysis had increased the effect of participation in pay system features (i.e., participation in pay allocation and participation in pay procedure) on job commitment. Further, this result confirms that interactional justice does act as a full mediating variable in the compensation system models of the organizational sector sample. In addition, the implications of this study to compensation theory and practice, methodological and conceptual limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.


We developed the world's first web-based public database for the storage, management, and sharing of fragment molecular orbital (FMO) calculation data sets describing the complex interactions between biomacromolecules, named FMO Database (https://drugdesign.riken.jp/FMODB/). Each entry in the database contains relevant background information on how the data was compiled as well as the total energy of each molecular system and interfragment interaction energy (IFIE) and pair interaction energy decomposition analysis (PIEDA) values. Currently, the database contains more than 13 600 FMO calculation data sets, and a comprehensive search function implemented at the front-end. The procedure for selecting target proteins, preprocessing the experimental structures, construction of the database, and details of the database front-end were described. Then, we demonstrated a use of the FMODB by comparing IFIE value distributions of hydrogen bond, ion-pair, and XH/π interactions obtained by FMO method to those by molecular mechanics approach. From the comparison, the statistical analysis of the data provided standard reference values for the three types of interactions that will be useful for determining whether each interaction in a given system is relatively strong or weak compared to the interactions contained within the data in the FMODB. In the final part, we demonstrate the use of the database to examine the contribution of halogen atoms to the binding affinity between human cathepsin L and its inhibitors. We found that the electrostatic term derived by PIEDA greatly correlated with the binding affinities of the halogen containing cathepsin L inhibitors, indicating the importance of QM calculation for quantitative analysis of halogen interactions. Thus, the FMO calculation data in FMODB will be useful for conducting statistical analyses to drug discovery, for conducting molecular recognition studies in structural biology, and for other studies involving quantum mechanics-based interactions.


Peas suffer from several diseases, and there is a need for accurate, rapid in-field diagnosis. This study used proteomics to investigate the response of pea plants to infection by the root knot nematode Meloidogyne hapla, the root rot fungus Fusarium solani and the downy mildew oomycete Peronospora viciae, and to identify potential biomarkers for diagnostic kits. A key step was to develop suitable protein extraction methods. For roots, the Amey method (Chuisseu Wandji et al., 2007), was chosen as the best method. The protein content of roots from plants with shoot infections by P. viciae was less than from non-infected plants. Specific proteins that had decreased in abundance were (1->3)-beta-glucanase, alcohol dehydrogenase 1, isoflavone reductase, malate dehydrogenase, mitochondrial ATP synthase subunit alpha, eukaryotic translation inhibition factor, and superoxide dismutase. No proteins increased in abundance in the roots of infected plants. For extraction of proteins from leaves, the Giavalisco method (Giavalisco et al., 2003) was best. The amount of protein in pea leaves decreased by age, and also following root infection by F. solani and M. hapla at six weeks post-inoculation. F. solani caused a decrease in abundance of isocitrate dehydrogenase, glycerate dehydrogenase, carbonic anhydrase, oxygen evolving enhancer protein 2 (OEE2), phosphoglycerate kinase, chloroplastic and one unknown protein. Some leaf proteins increased in abundance, and included heat shock-related proteins (HSP70) and two unknown proteins. Proteins that decreased in leaves following root infection by M. hapla six week post-inoculation were RuBisCo large subunit, fructose bisphosphate aldolase 2, carbonic anhydrase, OEE1, OEE2, OEE3, RuBisCo small subunit and a 28KDa ribonucleoprotein. Some proteins increased in abundance, such as HSP70, fructose bisphosphate aldolase 1 and trypsin. In contrast to the decrease in protein observed at six weeks post-inoculation, the amount of protein increased in leaves three weeks after inoculation of roots with M. hapla.
Root infection by both M. hapla and F. solani caused a reduction in leaf area, and also a reduction in fresh and dry weight of the shoot and root systems.
The use of digital imaging and visible and infra-red light to study the changes in leaves was explored in this study. A clear difference was visible between leaves from healthy plants and between those from M. hapla and F. solani infected plants when imaged using a normal digital camera. In contrast, no clear differences were noticed between leaves of healthy, M. hapla and F. solani infected plants when using an infra-red camera with 850 nm wavelength light.
This study indicates that specific proteins are altered in abundance in leaves following root infection, and provides the basis for future studies to develop rapid diagnostic tests.


ABSTRACT Iran is expected to be one of the main beneficiaries of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China and Iran had a track record of cooperation long before the announcement of BRI, developing a highly asymmetric Great Power-Middle Power partnership over the course of three decades. This article asks whether BRI will enable China and Iran to transcend the limitations faced by most Great Power-Middle Power relationships on the basis of Iran's enhanced strategic economic and geographic value. It is argued that while BRI could benefit from stronger China–Iran ties, Iran's international posturing has proven a significant hindrance to China, highlighting that entrenched patterns of engagement in Great Power-Middle Power relations are not easily shifted, even in the face of immense economic incentives.


Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a corporate commitment to include social and environmentalaspects into every operation. Thus, corporate responsibility is not longer confined tothe company's financial responsibility towards the shareholdernya, but more broadly tostakeholders as a whole. The main concept of CSR is sustainable development, which means anactivity carried out more than just philantropy or charity events. Since made regulationsregarding the activities relating to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), ie in Act No. 40 year2007 regarding Limited Liability Companies, CSR has now become a liability law for thecompany in Indonesia. Therefore, now many companies those carry out those activities.Nevertheless, in accounting there has been no clear rule regarding the reporting of CSRactivities. IAI itself, in SFAS No. 1, implicitly conveys that the company can also provideadditional reports on matters which is added value in their financial statements. This study aimsto analyze and compare the various CSR activities undertaken in education by several leadingcompanies in Indonesia. The method used is the method of Library Studies (Library Research).Therefore, the object of research include the Annual Report and Sustainability Report (if any),and other articles related to that can be obtained online or through other sources. Ten companieshave been used as a sample research report or include elements of CSR into the company'sAnnual Report, although the actual reporting on matters such as CSR is still highly voluntary. Theresults obtained showed that each company has a flagship program different associated with theirCSR activities to the field of education. Keywords:corporate social responsibility, education, annual report, sustainability report


Abstract This paper scrutinises the educational knowledge requirements of craft, technical, and reflective professional conceptions of teaching, as recently outlined by Winch, Oancea, and Orchard. Drawing on Bernsteinian sociology of knowledge we identify the different requirements each conception makes of educational knowledge, and how it is envisaged that this knowledge will be used in educational practice. While craft conceptions dismiss the value of educational knowledge per se, they nevertheless value other forms of disciplined knowledge. Arguing that technical conceptions of teaching may be either narrowly instrumental or autonomous, we suggest that an advanced technical knowledge base requires a disciplinary aspect, while knowledge for purely instrumental purposes offers a reductive view of educational practice. Moreover, the varying notions of reflection suggested by reflective professional conceptions require certain forms of engagement with educational knowledge, which are challenged by contemporary reforms in teacher education globally. It is suggested that there are often interdependencies between forms of educational knowledge and conceptions of teaching, with potential implications for the trajectories of educational reforms. The argument is briefly illustrated with reference to the national contexts of Germany, England, and Finland.


Bacteria of the genus Brucella cause brucellosis, one of the world's neglected zoonotic diseases. The infection of the disease cause lifetime sterility in human beings. In recent time, there is an in-infection rates between and within the species. Lacking in the resources, poor management and lack of awareness are major factors in the spread of the disease. Abortion in the last trimester is a predominant sign, of the disease in cattle. Besides this, reduced milk yield and high temperature is also observed in the affected animals, while in humans it is characterized by undulant fever, general malaise, and arthritis. While the clinical picture of brucellosis in humans and cattle is not clear and often misleading. In this review, several aspects of management, diagnosis, control, treatment, and preventive aspects are reviewed.


This study examines representations of suicide in film. Based upon original research cataloguing 350 films it considers the ways in which suicide is portrayed and considers this in relation to gender conventions and cinematic traditions. The thesis is split into two sections, one which considers wider themes relating to suicide and film and a second which considers a number of exemplary films. Part I discusses the wider literature associated with scholarly approaches to the study of both suicide and gender. This is followed by quantitative analysis of the representation of suicide in films, allowing important trends to be identified, especially in relation to gender, changes over time and the method of suicide. In Part 11, themes identified within the literature review and the data are explored further in relation to detailed exemplary film analyses. Six films have been chosen: Le Feu Follet (1963), Leaving Las Vegas (1995), The Killers (1946 and 1964), The Hustler (1961) and The Virgin Suicides (1999). These films are considered in three chapters which exemplify different ways that suicide is constructed. Chapters 4 and 5 explore the two categories that I have developed to differentiate the reasons why film characters commit suicide. These are Melancholic Suicide, which focuses on a fundamentally "internal" and often ill- understood motivation, for example depression or long term illness; and Occasioned Suicide, where there is an "external" motivation for which the narrative provides apparently intelligible explanations, for instance where a character is seen to be in danger or to be suffering from feelings of guilt. Chapter 6 considers films that seek to elaborate upon the lasting effects of suicide on another character and these narratives are considered in terms of the type of effect that the suicide provokes. These films are situated within their generic traditions (the French Nouvelle Vague; the alcohol addiction film; film noir, neo- noir, "serious" drama; and the teenpic), allowing a rounded examination of representations of suicide and gender. Film sequence analyses and character traits and states are included in the Appendices. As a thesis, it is demonstrated that gender and generic conventions significantly influence the ways in which suicide has been represented and utilised narratively in the cinema.


Graft‐versus‐host disease (GvHD) is a major complication of allogeneic stem cell transplantation. High‐resolution in vivo histology of the intestine by confocal endomicroscopy (CEM) detects acute GvHD (aGvHD) with high sensitivity. This pilot study aims to evaluate the diagnostic value of CEM for intestinal chronic GvHD (cGvHD). The study included 20 patients with gastrointestinal symptoms and confirmed cGvHD in other organs as well as 20 patients with clinically suspected acute GvHD for control. Confocal endomicroscopy was performed as gastroscopy followed by sigmoidoscopy after intravenous injection of fluorescein (10%) and topical application of acriflavine (0.05%). Histopathology from H&E‐stained biopsy samples throughout the intestinal tract complemented the survey. All histological features of intestinal cGvHD were predominantly mild to moderate. Stroma fibrosis detected by standard histology (16/20 patients) was not seen by CEM. Apoptosis assessed by histology in 12/20 patients was concordant with CEM (8/12 patients). Confocal endomicroscopy revealed esophageal manifestation of cGvHD in 3 patients. For each biopsy site, CEM correlated with intestinal histology (r = 0.64). Classical histology from intestinal biopsy samples taken under CEM monitoring confirmed the final diagnosis of cGvHD. The sensitivity of CEM with 40% in cGvHD was significantly lower compared to 70% in patients with aGvHD. Confocal endomicroscopy detected acute features of cGvHD and contributed to the diagnosis of esophageal cGvHD but failed to display stroma fibrosis in vivo. Although CEM represents a useful noninvasive tool in routine diagnostic of intestinal aGvHD, the method is not sufficient to fully establish the diagnosis of cGvHD within the intestinal tract. Confocal endomicroscopy allowed acquisition of targeted biopsies in patients suspected of having cGvHD.


Natural carbon sinks currently absorb approximately half of the anthropogenic CO2 emitted by fossil fuel burning, cement production and land-use change. However, this airborne fraction may change in the future depending on the emissions scenario. An important issue in developing carbon budgets to achieve climate stabilisation targets is the behaviour of natural carbon sinks, particularly under low emissions mitigation scenarios as required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. A key requirement for low carbon pathways is to quantify the effectiveness of negative emissions technologies which will be strongly affected by carbon cycle feedbacks. Here we find that Earth system models suggest significant weakening, even potential reversal, of the ocean and land sinks under future low emission scenarios. For the RCP2.6 concentration pathway, models project land and ocean sinks to weaken to 0.8 ± 0.9 and 1.1 ± 0.3 GtC yr−1 respectively for the second half of the 21st century and to −0.4 ± 0.4 and 0.1 ± 0.2 GtC yr−1 respectively for the second half of the 23rd century. Weakening of natural carbon sinks will hinder the effectiveness of negative emissions technologies and therefore increase their required deployment to achieve a given climate stabilisation target. We introduce a new metric, the perturbation airborne fraction, to measure and assess the effectiveness of negative emissions.


We compared the expression patterns in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) of two chimeric genes: a translational fusion to β-glucuronidase (GUS) and a transcriptional fusion, both with the same promoter and 5′-flanking sequences ofHa hsp17.7 G4, a small heat shock protein (sHSP) gene from sunflower (Helianthus annuus). We found that immediately after heat shock, the induced expression from the two fusions in seedlings was similar, considering chimeric mRNA or GUS protein accumulation. Surprisingly, we discovered that the chimeric GUS protein encoded by the translational fusion was mostly inactive in such conditions. We also found that this inactivation was fully reversible. Thus, after returning to control temperature, the GUS activity was fully recovered without substantial changes in GUS protein accumulation. In contrast, we did not find differences in the in vitro heat inactivation of the respective GUS proteins. Insolubilization of the chimeric GUS protein correlated with its inactivation, as indicated by immunoprecipitation analyses. The inclusion in another chimeric gene of the 21 amino-terminal amino acids from a different sHSP lead to a comparable reversible inactivation. That effect not only illustrates unexpected post-translational problems, but may also point to sequences involved in interactions specific to sHSPs and in vivo heat stress conditions.


In our previous work ,we introduced the Wigan Peer-to-Peer database server, which is based on the popular BitTorrent file-sharing protocol. In Wigan, users (peers) cache the results of queries they receive and make these available to future users. A central component, known as the Tracker, keeps a record of which users have submitted which queries and uses this record to provide a new user submitting a query with a list of one or more peers that already have these query results. In this paper, we describe the query matching process which occurs at the Tracker, thus highlighting the differences between query matching in a P2P database and file matching in a P2P file-sharing system and the challenges these differences posed.


— Selection of the best possible set of suppliers has a significant impact on the overall profitability and success of any business. For this reason, it is usually necessary to optimize all business processes and to make use of cost-effective alternatives for additional savings. This paper proposes a new efficient context-aware supplier selection model that takes into account possible changes of the environment while significantly reducing selection costs. The proposed model is based on data clustering techniques while inspiring certain principles of online algorithms for an optimally selection of suppliers. Unlike common selection models which re-run the selection algorithm from the scratch-line for any decision-making sub-period on the whole environment, our model considers the changes only and superimposes it to the previously defined best set of suppliers to obtain a new best set of suppliers . Therefore, any re-computation of unchanged elements of the environment is avoided and selection costs are consequently reduced significantly. A numerical evaluation confirms applicability of this model and proves that it is a more optimal solution compared with common static selection models in this field .


In this study, we investigated the effects of futuristic pH because of climate change on the growth and reproductive viability of the Pacific oysters. The futuristic pH levels to which adult oysters were exposed are 7.5 and 7.8 (as extreme case) and 8.1 (as moderate case), with pH 8.2 serving as the control. We monitored growth and reproductive viability over a four-week exposure period. The reproductive viability of the oysters exposed to each pH level were assessed based on the sperm motility and egg viability. Throughout the exposure period, the induced acidified nature of each treatment aquaria was maintained. Data obtained from this investigation revealed significant decrease in weight of oysters exposed to pH 7.5 and 7.8 compared to the groups exposed to pH levels 8.1 and 8.2 (p < 0.05). Groups of oysters exposed to pH 7.5 recorded as much as 10.49% decrease in weight, with specific growth rate (SGR) of -0.4 %/day. Reproductive viability was significantly compromised in groups exposed to pH 7.5 and 7.8 as evident with reduced sperm motility and percentage of ruptured eggs in these groups of oysters. We therefore postulate that climate change will have significant impact on the recruitment of oysters in coastal waters as growth and reproduction will be impaired at extreme levels of futuristic ocean acidification. Keywords : Ocean acidification, climate change, growth, reproductive viability, Crassostrea gigas


Background Patients with COPD might not report mild exacerbation. The frequency, risk factors, and impact of mild exacerbation on COPD status are unknown. Objectives The present study was performed to compare features between mild exacerbation and moderate or severe exacerbation in Japanese patients with COPD. Patients and methods An observational COPD cohort was designed at Keio University and affiliated hospitals to prospectively investigate the management of COPD comorbidities. This study analyzes data only from patients with COPD who had completed annual examinations and questionnaires over a period of 2 years (n=311). Results Among 59 patients with mild exacerbations during the first year, 32.2% also experienced only mild exacerbations in the second year. Among 60 patients with moderate or severe exacerbations during the first year, 40% also had the same severity of exacerbation during the second year. Findings of the COPD assessment test and the symptom component of the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire at steady state were worse in patients with mild exacerbations than in those who were exacerbation free during the 2-year study period, although the severity of the ratio of predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second did not differ between them. Severe airflow limitation (the ratio of predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second <50%) and experience of mild exacerbations independently advanced the likelihood of an elevated COPD assessment test score to ≥2 per year. Conclusion The severity of COPD exacerbation seemed to be temporally stable over 2 years, and even mild exacerbations adversely impacted the health-related quality of life of patients with COPD.


Although students' understanding of the concept of function has been studied by quite a number of researchers internationally, there has not been a l ot of research on the subject in Sweden. This paper is an attempt to analyse what the students are offered to learn about the concept of function both in the classroom and in textbooks and what the students actually learn. The presentation is based on data collected while t e same object of learning is treated in two classes, and it includes two teachers and 45 students. Among other things, the data consists of video-recordings of le ssons and tests. In the analysis, concepts relating to va riation theory have been used as analytical tools. From thi s perspective a fundamental role of teaching is to br ing critical aspects of subject matter into focus. The study focuses on what the individual is doing and express ing in relation to the object of learning. The new way of understanding the relation between learning and teaching made it possible to find that some of the critical aspects in students' learning are i nduced by teaching and textbook exposés. One of these crit ical aspects is the argument of the function, namely whe ther it is presented implicitly (y) or explicitly (f(x)).


The optimal management of menorrhagia among women with abnormal laboratory haemostasis is uncertain. In a crossover study, 116 women with menorrhagia [pictorial blood assessment chart (PBAC) score >100], negative gynaecological evaluation and abnormal laboratory haemostasis were randomly assigned to either intranasal desmopressin (IN‐DDAVP) or tranexamic acid (TA) therapy for two menstrual cycles. The subjects then crossed over to the second study drug for two additional cycles. Menstrual blood loss (MBL) was measured by PBAC scores at baseline and after each menstrual cycle. Quality of life (QOL) was assessed with four validated instruments. There was a statistically significant decrease in PBAC scores for both treatments. On average, the estimated decrease in the PBAC from baseline was −64·1 [95% confidence interval (CI) = −88·0, −40·3] for IN‐DDAVP and −105·7 (95% CI = −130·5, −81·0) for TA. The decrease in PBAC score was greater for TA than IN‐DDAVP (a difference of 41·6, P‐value = 0·0002, 95% CI = 19·6, 63·6). The test for treatment‐type effect was significant (P < 0·0001) suggesting a greater reduction in PBAC score with TA. Use of both IN‐DDAVP and TA improved QOL by all four instruments. We conclude that both medications reduced MBL and improved QOL among females with menorrhagia and abnormal laboratory haemostasis, but TA proved more effective.


Due to the industrial transfer in globalization and information, a new economic form—the headquarter economy gradually formed and became one of important development strategies for central city. In this paper, Jiahai enterprises headquarter park( JEHP) is as a study case, which located in development zone of Jinxia, Changsha. Based on the analysis of regional socio-economic, aiming at the sustainable development of society and create an ecological environment, the planning concept has been proposed, which is co-development of enterprises, park and social; sharing-plat of enterprises; co-create of natural environment and construction. A Paradigm has been provided in this paper, which is based on the concept of Ecology and sustainable development for the construction of headquarter economic park in new period.


Objective— To establish a registry of diabetes patients and to determine the point prevalence of diabetes in the St. Regis Mohawk New York community at the end of August 1989. Research Design and Methods— Participants in this study consisted of residents of the St. Regis Mohawk reservation in New York state, who were registered for health care at the St. Regis Mohawk Clinic. This study was a survey of diabetes cases using the National Diabetes Data Group criteria for diagnosis with comparison with the U.S. rates determined from the 1987–1982 National Health Interview Survey and Canadian Mohawk Indian rates from other studies. Results— The age-adjusted prevalence of 48.8/1000 Mohawk population was two times (95% CI 1.2–3.2) the U.S. rate. Although precise comparisons with Canadian studies are difficult because of differences in study design, rates for Quebec Mohawks aged 45–64 yr were similar. Conclusions— A high prevalence (21%) among New York Mohawk Indians <45 yr of age, compared with 17% of diabetic patients in that age-group in the U.S. population, means that complications resulting from diabetes will occur at a relatively young age, placing an increased burden on the health-care system with costs of patient care associated with diabetes increasing accordingly. The registry system is being used to gather information on the prevalence and incidence of diabetic complications and risk factors for developing diabetes. These data will be used to evaluate programs.


The present study applied system dynamics modelling to assess the competitiveness between airlines from Germany to Asia. Legacy airlines like Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific who traditionally served a majority of travellers between Europe and Asia have come under pressure through airlines from the Gulf region, but also other European airlines, like Turkish Airlines or Finnair who position themselves as gateway. Some of these airlines offer lower airfare than their competitors, but a similar or even better product and according to their financial statements are in a sound condition. Therefore tools and processes were necessary to assess the internal resources of the airlines in scope, namely Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines and later model the competition. Consequently, an exploratory-descriptive case study approach was chosen to set the scene and take this data into the system dynamics modelling. Due to the identification of key resources, changes to them were modelled to evaluate the dynamics of the system. It was found that system dynamics guides the researcher through the different tasks and forces to rethink and reapply certain steps to get to the notion, which resources contribute to the success of the airline.


Studying the Mountain Meadows Massacre is difficult because of the conflicting collective memories held by the groups involved"€"Mormons, anti-Mormons, descendants of the perpetrators, and descendants of the victims, for example. Walker discusses the merits of pursuing such a difficult topic and the importance of remembering the tragic event. He argues that having knowledge of the truth, admitting fault, and remembering the event lead to a healthier psyche and help serve justice by memorializing the victims. Walker outlines the ways participants in the Mountain Meadows Massacre violated Mormon beliefs while at the same time asking readers to try to comprehend the historical context of the events. He explains that modern readers cannot always fully understand the conditions of the past. He concludes that the Mountain Meadows Massacre was a tragedy resulting from flaws readers may recognize in themselves. Those who study the massacre may come away with pity and a greater understanding of human nature.


Combining personal memoir, philosophical essay, and historical analysis, Svetlana Boym explores the spaces of collective nostalgia that connect national biography and personal self-fashioning in the twenty-first century. She guides us through the ruins and construction sites of post-communist cities-St. Petersburg, Moscow, Berlin, and Prague-and the imagined homelands of exiles-Benjamin, Nabokov, Mandelstahm, and Brodsky. From Jurassic Park to the Totalitarian Sculpture Garden, Boym unravels the threads of this global epidemic of longing and its antidotes.


A new form of a measurement setup for shielding gaskets at microwave and millimeter-waves is proposed. Parallel metal plates separated by a center dielectric rod is used as a transmission line in which the gasket sample is placed to block wave propagation. The shielding effectiveness is determined by the transmitting power through the sample. By this setup, the shielding evaluation can be made over the frequency range from 13 to 110 GHz. The field distributions along the sample calculated based on a dielectric antenna theory and the measurements results for some gasket samples are described.


Heme is a porphyrin ring complexed with ferrous iron and protoporphyrin IX. Heme is an essential prosthetic group in proteins that is necessary as a subcellular compartment to perform diverse biological functions like hemoglobin and myoglobin. Other enzymes which use heme as a prosthetic group includes cytochromes of the electron transport chain, catalase, and nitric oxide synthase. The major tissues for heme synthesis are bone marrow by erythrocytes and the liver by hepatocytes.


Mucormycosis is a  life-threatening  fungal  (Black  Fungus) and mould infection of the order Mucorales (Rhizopus, Mucor, Rhizomucer, Absidia, Saksenaea) especially affecting mune compromised or diabetic patients, patients with neutropenia or with malignancy and recently patients suffered with COVID-19 infection or In severe cases it may reach the brain and prove to be fatal in such cases. Mucormycosis presents with rhino-orbito-cerebral, pulmonary, disseminated, cutaneous or gastrointestinal involvement. Mortality rates can approach 100% depending on the patient's underlying diseases and form of mucormycosis. Early diagnosis along with treatment of the underlying medical condition, surgery and an Amphotericin B (anti-fungal) product are needed for the treatment. This review paper provides an update of therapy management and medication and treatment of mucormycosis. New approaches assessing relationships between host, fungi and antifungal drugs, and new routes of administration such as aerosoles could improve mucormycosis treatment.