Why are states jointly members in certain intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) but not others? Despite the proliferation of IGOs and renewed interest in this topic, we lack systematic research to answer this question. Our theory of political community explains why dyads of states are likely to be common members in particular types of IGOs. We analyze and compare functionalist and Deutschian communitarian perspectives about IGO memberships. We test our theory using newly available data on IGO mandates and institutional structure, which allows us to make specific predictions about the types of IGO to which dyads become members. We show that dyads that are economically dependent, and/or democratic and enjoying enduring peace, are more likely to join those IGOs that possess high levels of institutional structure. Militarized interstate conflicts reduce the likelihood of states sharing membership in common IGO, but not substantially, whereas development and alliances also increase IGO memberships between states. Trade ties, however, are the most important determinant of joint membership between states in the most institutionalized IGOs, which is congruent with security communities.


Power Grid is facing a tremendous change characterized by many challenges. Future grid will definitely be a complex system hard to study, analyze and design with traditional, analytical and rule based approaches. In this context it is clear that in the design of future smart-grid, simulation in support of design and Hardware In the Loop methods will have a key role. In this paper we present the actual structure of the Automation of Complex Power System laboratory and future planned expansion to support the development of new automation concepts for future smart grid.


AGREEMENT has not yet been reached regarding the treatment of foreign bodies of the airway in infants. 1-3 The smaller the child, the greater the technical difficulties and frequency of complications arising from removal of foreign bodies. The reduced tolerance of infants and their particular susceptibility to anoxia requires careful bronchoscopy with delicate manipulation of instruments. Our bronchological experience in childhood are based on more than 3,000 bronchoscopies and over 1,000 bronchographies in children ranging from under 1 year to 14 years of age during a ten-year period. Some 1,800 bronchoscopies have been performed with intravenous barbiturate narcosis and succinyl muscle relaxation, including about 200 infants, the youngest being 4 days of age. 4-6 Both the barbiturate narcosis and succinyl muscle relaxation were well tolerated by all the infants and the respiratory depressive action of the barbiturates was balanced by continuous oxidation. This method of anesthesia proved to be safe


Preventing violent conflict is a central goal of the United Nations and a clear priority for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. It is generally recognised that for prevention to be effective, the UN must act earlier, often in non-mission settings where the UN is led by a Resident Coordinator (RC). Recent reform of the UN Development System has been geared at making the RC system more capable of addressing prevention challenges, including by aligning political, development and humanitarian work of the UN. In the context of these reforms, the Sahel presents an immediate challenge, given the inter-related security, humanitarian and political risks facing the region as a whole. In recognition of these risks, the UN has prioritised the Sahel, undertaking a wide array of new initiatives, channelling resources, and working in innovative ways with a range of partners in the region. This policy paper was developed to directly support the UN's understanding of the situation in the Sahel, and of the ways in which the UN system in non-mission settings can better respond to current and emerging risks. Acknowledging that the UN reforms are still in early phases of rollout, the paper identifies emerging practice in the UN's prevention efforts across the Sahel. It finds that, while often the UN plays a minor and/or supporting role in conflict prevention, some of the new approaches arising from the reforms have enabled potentially greater impact and certainly stronger synergies that could be further leveraged into even more effective responses in the future. The project has been carried out with the support of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany. The project builds on past research by UNU-CPR about Resident Coordinator -led conflict prevention.


Sir, Guiscafre et al have reported two cases of meningitis due to Haemophilus influenzae type b tesistant to ampicillin and chloramphenicol.' In their report they say 'since 1980 eight cases of meningitis. have been reported'. This is not true. In previous reports we have drawn attention to the explosive increase of multiply resistant strains of H. influenzae type b causing invasive and non-invasive infections in Spain.' From January 1981 to December 1984 we have seen over 364 consecutive cases of culture proved bacterial meningitis, 35 of which (9-6'%0) were caused by H. influenzae type b. In 20 cases (57'%o) strains were found to be resistant to ampicillin and chloramphenicol. As this problem has also been described in other parts of Spain we arc led to the conclusion that in our country resistance of H. influenzae b to ampicillin and chloramphenicol could be endemic. Uncontrolled and widespread use of antibiotics in Spain over many years played a role it the emergence of these multiply resistant strains. We cannot use ampicillin and chloramphenicol as initial treatment ol meningitis caused by H. influenzae b and we are currently using cefotaxime as the treatment of choice until susceptibility tests become available. The report from Mexico, like others, remind us of the possibility of emergence of strains resistant to both antibiotics in every country.


The work we've done in the world's developing regions has been immensely rewarding and helped make us all strong advocates for technology. The first reward is simply the experience of these countries, their surprising happiness, and the technology insights that come from being there. The deeper reward is of course actually helping people by creating new options through technology. However, we encountered a wide range of technical, environmental, and cultural challenges that are outside the scope of typical computer science research. In this article, we share some of our experiences with the hope of increasing understanding of these issues. We also hope to help others, particularly researchers from outside these regions, to avoid our mistakes. We document real challenges, try to generalize them, and suggest steps that might at least mitigate the problems.


Recently, the efficiency of diesel–electric marine vessels has been subject for discussion with focus on improving fuel efficiency, reducing the environmental footprint from emissions, as well as reducing running hours and maintenance costs. This paper presents an analysis of load profiles extracted from three different vessels during operation: 1) a ferry; 2) a platform supply vessel; and 3) a seismic survey vessel. The analysis of the extracted data shows that the loadings of the diesel engines are typically quite low, and do not fall within the optimal loading range of diesel engines' specific fuel oil consumption curves. Furthermore, three different power plant configurations are proposed and compared, which include fixed-speed (diesel engine generators) and variable-speed gensets and the implementation of an energy storage system. Moreover, energy management system (EMS) algorithms based on mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) are proposed as a suitable strategy for optimal unit commitment in the power generation. The results yielded from the MILP algorithms are compared with those from the EMS algorithms based on logic such as if/else statements. The results indicate that optimal EMS algorithms in combination with a revised vessel configuration can increase the operational efficiency, in terms of fuel savings and reduction in genset running hours.


Critical perspectives on economic growth have laid bare the fragility of the assumed link between material growth and socio-ecological wellbeing. The appeal of economic growth, however, goes beyond the economic sphere. As a societal goal, growth is often mobilized to pre-empt and/or co-opt opposition around issues of social justice and redistribution. Not only does the constitution of growth as a collective goal serve to unite the internally fragmented sphere of the social and brush aside (class-based) distributional conflicts, but it also enables the distribution of material concessions to subordinate classes for eliciting their consent. The degrowth proposal should thus more broadly tackle the material and discoursive ways in which growth enables the reproduction of contemporary political-economic systems. This paper argues that the notion of growth functions as a powerful ideal that shapes state–society relationships and social-collective imaginations. It demonstrates this by discussing the making of state in Turkey through a Gramscian perspective, where the notion of economic growth is deeply imprinted in the broader practices of the state to legitimize its existence and dominates the social imaginary in a way that cannot be easily dismissed. Against this backdrop, the possibility of not only effectuating, but also imagining and desiring degrowth would call for a radical reconfiguration of state–society relationships. Within this context, the Kurdish Freedom Movement's project of Democratic Economy emerges as an alternative, both to the nation-state paradigm and to the imperative of economic growth.


Distant metastasis is common in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and typically associated with poor prognosis. Aggressive local therapy including surgery and/or radiation for limited metastatic disease from colorectal cancer and sarcoma is associated with survival benefit and has become part of the standard of care. In this article, we review the literature and ongoing studies concerning surgery, radiation, and radiofrequency ablation for oligometastatic NSCLC.


The Energy Savings Insurance Program seeks to promote investment in energy efficiency and distributed generation in Latin America, primarily through small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It focuses on developing an innovative scheme of guaranteed energy performance that mitigates project risk and generates investor confidence (ESI Model). The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) facilitates the development of the ESI Program in alliance with the National Development Banks (NDBs). The ESI Model includes a contract for the supply, installation, and maintenance of equipment for generating a stipulated amount of energy or energy savings over a specific time period; validation by an independent body; insurance coverage that backs the savings or the guaranteed energy generation; and project financing. This paper describes the main attributes of the ESI Model (the contract, the insurance, validation and financing), evaluates market potential and the most attractive technologies, and identifies the priority sectors for implementing projects in Chile. The most promising economic sectors were found to be the hospitality industry, food processing industry, grape growing/wine production, and the fishing industry, and the technologies of electric motors, boilers, air conditioning systems and photovoltaic solar generation. In each of these sectors, estimates were made of financing requirements as well as CO2 emission reductions that could be achieved.


The use of venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is increasing worldwide. These patients often require noncardiac surgery. In the perioperative period, preoperative assessment, patient transport, choice of anesthetic type, drug dosing, patient monitoring, and intraoperative and postoperative management of common patient problems will be impacted. Furthermore, common monitoring techniques will have unique limitations. Importantly, patients on venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation remain subject to hypoxemia, hypercarbia, and acidemia in the perioperative setting despite extracorporeal support. Treatments of these conditions often require both manipulation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation settings and physiologic interventions. Perioperative management of anticoagulation, as well as thresholds to transfuse blood products, remain highly controversial and must take into account the specific procedure, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation circuit function, and patient comorbidities. We will review the physiologic management of the patient requiring surgery while on venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.


The factors influencing the amount and composition of produced milk can be divided into two groups, namely internal and external factors. This is  very important to remember when evaluating the milk quality and in the improvement of milk yield and composition in  a dairy enterprise. Of the external factors it is possible to mention a few:  litter size, duration of dry period and  stage of pregnancy. The present discussion explores the significance of litter size, duration of dry period  and pregnancy on milk yield and composition in dairy production. In goats and sheep dams  bearing twins or triplets had  higher milk yield than single bearing dams, and this significant increase in milk production in these dams  that carried twins and triplets was followed by an increase  in lactation length. Due to the amount of milk animal produce, the drying-off process is often more complicated for dairy animals (cattle, goats and some sheep). However, this period is essential to enables dams to regain the body condition needed to support the subsequent pregnancy and lactation. The majority of dairy animals dry off spontaneously because of the aforementioned natural decrease in daily milk production. The length of dry period influences milk production in the subsquent lactation, with shortening  of the dry period showing a markedly negative effect on milk performance of dams. Lactating animals should have an opportunity to rest and regenerate mammary tissue between lactations. F or optimal dairy animal performance in the next lactation, lactating animals should have an opportunity to rest and regenerate mammary tissue between lactations. The amount of produced milk and its composition are influenced by the stage of pregnancy: in the first half of pregnancy it is not possible to observe any pronounced changes while in the second stage of pregnancy can observe a gradual decrease in milk production as well as an imcrease in levels of individual milk components. During pregnancy and the first few days postpartum, milk supply is hormonally driven – this is called the endocrine control system . This implies that in the course of lactation, changes in milk production are caused by changes in activities of the endocrine system that are caused by hormones sectreted by pitiutary gland (hypophysis cerebi) and placenta. During the latter part of pregnancy, the mammary gland is  making colostrum, but high levels of progesterone inhibit milk secretion resulting reduced milk yield.  Progesterone influences the growth in size of alveoli and lobes; high levels of progesterone inhibit lactation before birth. Progesterone levels drop after birth; this triggers the onset of copious milk production. Estrogen  stimulates the milk duct system to grow and differentiate. Like progesterone, high levels of estrogen also inhibit lactation, while the hormone prolactin must be present for milk synthesis to occur.


Plasma lipoprotein[a] (Lp[a]) is associated with atherogenesis and thrombogenesis. We examined how plasma Lp[a] in healthy young men was affected by fats high in stearic (C18), palmitic (C16), and lauric+myristic (C12+ C14) acid (experiment I, 15 subjects), and by fats high in myristic (C14) and palmitic (C16) acid (experiment II, 12 subjects). Strictly controlled isocaloric diets with 36% of energy from test fats were served in random order for 3 weeks separated by wash-out period(s). Diets high in C18 gave significantly higher levels of Lp[a] (51(12-560) mg/L) than diets high in C16 (38(12-533 mg/L) (P = 0.020) and C12 + C14 (34(12-534) mg/L) (P = 0.002). These differences were observed in several of the subjects in experiment I. In experiment II we saw no difference in plasma Lp[a] after diets high in C16 and C14. Our observations suggest that a fat high in stearic acid might affect Lp[a] in a different way than fats high in palmitic and myristic+lauric acid. Lp[a] concentrations were not associate with changes in tissue-plasminogen activator (t-PA) activity, factor VII coagualant activity, or plasma LDL cholesterol.


In present work, first the multi-storeyed building was analysing taking medium site condition in zone II. Sa/g and Base shear for that building was calculated from IS 1893:2002 (Part 1).After that site specific ground response analysis is carried out for Amravati and Nagpur region soil sites. For development of site specific response spectrum ProSHAKE software is used ProSHAKE is based on one dimensional geotechnical site response model. Site response study is usually carried out using the geotechnical data or Geophysical data (shear wave velocity). Basic aim of present work is to study local site effects on seismic analysis of multi-storeyed Buildings, for this purpose local soil conditions are considered. In the present work various local sites in Amravati and Nagpur region are studied.


Family-centered practices are the key to successful early intervention (EI) service delivery. University faculty members should help preservice teachers develop awareness and initial understanding of family-centered practices through course content and practicum. The current study focuses on preservice teachers' attitudes towards family-centered practices in EI service delivery. Eighty-seven preservice teachers participated in the study and wrote pre- and post-essays about their beliefs of family-centered service delivery before and after they took the Introduction to Early Intervention course. Pre- and post study was compared using the inductive content analysis and grounded theory and the effectiveness of the course content and instruction in influencing preservice teachers' understanding and belief about family-centered practices were discussed. Results show that after taking the course the participating preservice teachers have a deeper understanding of the importance of family-centered practices in EI, the roles families played in service delivery as well as the collaboration families set up with professionals in the transition process. In addition, they also have a better understanding of the special challenges families and professionals may encounter in delivering family-centered practices.


Title of dissertation: HAMILTONIAN PATHS AND STRANDS FOR UNIFIED GRID APPROACH FOR COMPUTING AERODYNAMIC FLOWS Yong Su Jung Doctor of Philosophy, 2019 Dissertation directed by: Professor James D. Baeder Department of Aerospace Engineering A solution algorithm using Hamiltonian paths and strand grids is presented for compressible Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) formulation as a unified grid approach. The hidden line-structure is robustly identified on the general unstructured grid with mixed elements which provides a framework for line-solvers similar to that with a structured grid solver. A pure quadrilateral/hexahedral mesh is a prerequisite for the line identification and enables approximate factorization along the lines on the unstructured grid. Among various methods, subdivision is the easiest way to obtain a pure quadrilateral/hexahedral mesh from the general unstructured grid. Strand based grids have been employed to extend to three-dimension by extruding the surface mesh. As a result, Hamiltonian paths on the surface mesh represents two distinct surface coordinate directions and the strand grids represent the wall normal direction. These structures are analogous to the grid coordinate directions in a structured grid solver, therefore the current method is directly applicable on the typical structured grid. The numerical accuracy and convergence rate are investigated under various flow conditions. The numerical efficiency was improved with a line-implicit method compared to a point-implicit method on the unstructured grid. Both stenciland gradient-based reconstructions are available on the unstructured grid and the numerical accuracy for each method was evaluated on both structured and unstructured grids. The combined reconstruction method was also proposed for the current mesh system which uses both stenciland gradient-based reconstructions simultaneously but for different grid directions. The solution convergence rate has been improved further using Generalized Minimum Residual (GMRES) method. GMRES requires a preconditioning step which is performed using the line-implicit method. GMRES provides better convergence rate than the pure line-implicit method at various flow conditions. Both parts of mesh generation and flow solver are parallelized to be executed in parallel using METIS and MPI. During the mesh generation, two different domain partitioning methods are suggested for the strand grid and the unstructured volume mesh, respectively. The capability of the flow solver has been extended for rotary wing simulations: time-accurate method, turbulence model, moving grids, and overset meshes. The flow solver is also integrated into a multi-mesh/multi-solver paradigm through a Python framework which enables a more efficient solution algorithm than a single-solver. The integrated framework has been applied to various practical problems, such as wind turbine, rotor hub, and elastic rotor blades. HAMILTONIAN PATHS AND STRANDS FOR UNIFIED GRID APPROACH FOR COMPUTING AERODYNAMIC FLOWS


Yersinia adhering at the surface of eukaryotic cells secrete a set of proteins called Yops. This secretion which occurs via a type III secretion pathway is immediately followed by the injection of some Yops into the cytosol of eukaryotic cells. Translocation of YopE and YopH across the eukaryotic cell membranes requires the presence of the translocators YopB and YopD. YopE and YopH are modular proteins composed of an N‐terminal secretion signal, an internalization domain, and an effector domain. Secretion of YopE and YopH requires the presence of the specific cytosolic chaperones SycE and SycH, respectively. In this work, we have mapped the regions of YopE and YopH that are involved in binding of their cognate chaperone. There is only one Syc‐binding domain in YopE (residues 15–50) and YopH (residues 20–70). This domain is localized immediately after the secretion signal and it corresponds to the internalization domain. Removal of this bifunctional domain did not affect secretion of YopE and YopH and even suppressed the need for the chaperone in the secretion process. Thus SycE and SycH are not secretion pilots. Instead, we propose that they prevent intrabacterial interaction of YopE and YopH with proteins involved in translocation of these Yops across eukaryotic cell membranes.


SIR: Girling & Berrios (Journa!, December 1990, 157, 888—893) report on an uncontrolled study of 146 elderly patients with clinical evidence of Alzheimer's disease and find a correlation between cognitive impairment, frontal lobe signs, including primitive reflexes, and extrapyramidal signs. We have carried out a pilot study of 133 female patients above the age of 55 in a large psychiatric hospital in order to see if primitive reflexes were associated with cognitive impairment. The mean age of our population was 78.6 years, similar to the psychiatric ward population of Girling & Berrios, which had a mean age of 80.0 years. We found the following frequencies of primitive reflexes: glabellar tap 8 1.2%, grasp reflex 52.6%, sucking reflex 30.8%, forced grasping 33%, palmomental re flex 23.3%, snout reflex 26.3%. These reflexes were found more frequently in patients with severe global dementia. When reflex frequency was plotted against age in the severely demented group, there appeared to be a bimodal distribution with a dip in frequency in the 75—79age range. These preliminary findings are compatible with those of Girling & Berrios and with the existence of two subtypes of Alzheimer's disease, as postulated by severaluthors. However, the experiment should be replicated in a controlled study of a much larger population of patients with clinical evidence of Alzheimer's disease tominimise thepossibility ofanageeffect. PAULCRICHTON Charing Cross Hospital FuTha,nPalace Road London


OBJECTIVES
We identified factors associated with child bullying in the United States.

METHODS
We used the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health to examine associations among child, parent, and community factors and bullying perpetration among children aged 10 to 17 years, using bivariate and stepwise multivariable analyses.

RESULTS
African American and Latino children and children living in poverty and who had emotional, developmental, or behavioral (EDB) problems had higher odds of bullying, as did children of parents who felt angry with their child or who felt their child bothered them a lot or was hard to care for; suboptimal maternal mental health was associated with higher bullying odds. Children who always or usually completed homework and had parents who talked with them and met all or most of their friends had lower bullying odds.

CONCLUSIONS
Assessing children's EDB problems, maternal mental health, and parental perceptions may identify children at risk for bullying. Parent-child communication, meeting children's friends, and encouraging children academically were associated with lower bullying odds; these protective factors may be useful in designing preventive interventions.


'Riawunna' is an Aboriginal word meaning 'a place of learning' for Aboriginal people, from entry level to tertiary studies, at the University of Tasmania (UTAS) and operates on Hobart, Launceston and Burnie campuses. The Riawunna Centre was established to encourage Aboriginal people to aspire to higher levels of education, and to support them to be successful in their chosen course of study. One strategy developed to support the participation, retention and success of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is the Murina program. During the four year period between 2010 and 2013 every student at UTAS who graduated from the Murina program and chosen to enrol in undergraduate studies has been successful in completing their courses. One of the tools used to achieve this result is the strong use of narrative and images in our teaching. This whole-person approach to teaching resonates culturally with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but is also applicable to any student of any culture, especially those who come to university tentatively and with low expectations of what they can achieve.


Surveys in six areas along the Gulf of Boothia produced large collections of radiocarbon samples from raised beaches that yield six new relative sea-level curves and information on Holocene bowhead whale ranges. In addition, on the lower beaches, we documented 482 Paleoeskimo dwelling features spanning about 3500 years (4200–800 14 C years BP). Spatial densities of sites are only about half those reported by us from adjacent regions, but other attributes are remarkably similar. On the basis of feature elevation, corroborated by radiocarbon dates, Paleoeskimo occupation appears to have passed through a series of boom-and-bust cycles, the first being the most prominent. After the first peopling about 4200 BP, populations rose between about 3900 and 3600 BP to their all-time maximum, which was followed by a dramatic crash. Population recoveries after the initial crash were small and perhaps temporary. A final increase between 1900 (1500) and 800 14 C years BP was followed by the disappearance of the Paleoeskimo. No compelling evidence yet points to the cause of the population declines; climate change and resource over-exploitation are equally plausible. The frequency distributions of dwelling sizes and numbers of dwellings per site closely resemble those in adjacent regions, suggesting similar social dynamics. Specifically, dispersed nuclear families or small extended families characterized Paleoeskimo settlement patterns for most of the year, but annual aggregations involved 100 or more people. The only significant architectural change coincides with the arrival of Late Dorset people bringing distinctive triangular midpassages and soapstone lamp supports.


The Membrane Invasion Culture System (MICS) assay was adapted for relatively rapid screening of compounds and used to identify anti‐invasive drugs that inhibit human and murine tumor cell migration through a reconstituted basement membrane in vitro. Cell lines demonstrating low and high invasive and metastatic potentials were tested with all compounds for tumoricidal effects prior to evaluation in MICS at non‐cytotoxic doses. The effect on invasive potential in the MICS assay was determined in 3 categories: (1) 48 hr drug pre‐treatment prior to seeding in the MICS (exceptions: 90 min pre‐treatment with pertussis toxin and, for some studies, continuous exposure for 2‐7 days); (2) peptide or prostaglandins 2 hr after seeding and attachment to the membranes in MICS followed by continuous exposure; and (3) cells receiving neither drug nor peptide treatment and serving as controls in each MICS chamber. Since invasion involves cellular motility and deformability, some cytoskeleton disrupting agents were selected. Of these, vincristine, colcemid and colchicine inhibited invasion but taxol did not. Pre‐treatment with cAMP agonists produced conflicting results: dibutyryl cAMP and 8‐(4‐chloro‐phenylthio) cAMP resulted in 50% and 38% reduction in invasion, respectively, whereas 8‐bromo cAMP stimulated invasive potential by 30%. Forskolin and cholera toxin both significantly reduced invasiveness. Pre‐treatment with 5‐azacytidine and araC, to consider the role of methylation and proliferations decreased invasive ability. Anti‐metastatic drugs such as γ‐interferon and razoxane inhibited invasive potential but to varying degrees. Treatment of cells with prostaglandins E2, F2α, A2, and D2 were ineffectual; however, indomethacin mildly inhibits invasion (< 30%). With respect to the cell surface and metastatic potential, pre‐treatment with tunicamycin did not alter invasiveness; whereas pre‐treatment with swainsonine blocked invasion by approximately 50% at 0.3 μg/ml. The inhibition caused by swainsonine was enhanced (to 92%) if cells were continuously exposed to drug and was reversible. Several RGD‐containing peptides which inhibit attachment to various substrates did not modify invasion in the MICS if added after cell attachment was completed. The peptide which inhibits laminin attachment, CDPGYIGSR, inhibited invasion by 48%. Two peptides from the fibrinogen gamma chain were mildly inhibitory and peptides from TGF‐α inhibited invasion >60%. Collectively, these results demonstrate the potential utility of the MICS for prescreening compounds for anti‐invasive potential, and ultimately anti‐metastatic therapy.


Problems related to environmental carcinogenesis have begun to surface with increased industrial activity and diffusion of hazardous chemicals. Cancer Registries maintained in some of our cities can help in retrospectively analysing incidence and related aetiology. Even a casual analysis of the existing data related aetiology. Even a casual analysis of the existing data belies the oversimplicity of the WHO model used in developing countries to asign lower priority to cancer prevention and control than to communicable diseases. Exposure data to environmental inducers of cancer, radiations, chemicals and other stresses is urgently needed. Prevention strategy should be more and more on a scientific base for an early detection and risk estimates of chemical exposures. Sustained environmental monitoring for inducers and cofactors are required. The Factory Act must make provision for appropriate health surveillance of workers over a long period.


Wireless sensor networks are widely adopted in target tracking applications. Wireless sensor nodes are battery-powered devices. These low-cost communication devices have high failure rates and are vulnerable to attacks. To maintain network connectivity and to ensure large network coverage, excessive wireless sensor nodes are usually deployed to provide redundancy. However, these extra wireless sensor nodes would dissipate more power. This problem can be relieved by proper scheduling and putting unnecessary sensor nodes into sleep mode. In this paper, an energy-aware scheduling scheme for wireless sensor networks is proposed. The proposed scheme is a kind of an adaptive/periodic on-off scheduling scheme in which sensor nodes use only local information to make scheduling decisions. The scheme is evaluated in terms of target hit rate, detection delay, and energy consumption per successful target detection. Simulation results show that when comparing with other generic scheduling schemes, the proposed scheme can significantly reduce energy consumption.


Open access: www.balimedicaljournal.org and ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/b j The effect of purple sweet potato (Ipomea batatas L) ethanol extract on Estrogen Receptor Alpha (ERα) and SOD mRNA expression in the menopause-liver animal model I Wayan Sugiritama1*, Ida Ayu Ika Wahyuniari1, I Gusti Ayu Dewi Ratnayanti1, Ni Made Linawati1, I Gusti Nyoman Sri Wiryawan1, Ni Luh Gede Yoni Komalasari1, I Gusti Kamasan Nyoman Arijana1 Background: Aging and estrogen deficiency in menopause women increase susceptibility to liver diseases. In postmenopausal women, the change of ERα expressions and oxidative stress is related to liver diseases' pathogenesis. Phytoestrogens have been shown to protect and repair the liver organ due to estrogen deficiency. Purple Sweet Potatoes contain anthocyanins, a subgroup of flavonoids that have been shown to have antioxidant and phytoestrogen activity. This study aims to evaluate the phytoestrogen and antioxidant activities of purple sweet potato in a liver animal model of menopause through Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and ERα expressions. Method: A true experimental study by randomized post-test-only control group design was conducted among 28 female Wistar ratsaged 10-12 weeks with a bodyweight of 180-220 gram, which underwent bilateral ovariectomies. These animals were divided into 4 groups, with 7 rats in each group. On day 7, Group T0, as control was given aquadest, ethanol extract of purple sweet potato was assigned to Group T1, T2, and T3 with doses 1, 2, and 4 mL/day, respectively, during 30 days. The SOD and ERα mRNA expressions were evaluated by qRT-PCR with specific primers. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 for Windows. Results: The mRNA expressions of ERα were not significantly different among groups (p>0.05), while SOD expressions were significantly different among groups (p<0.05). The expression of SOD in Group T1 (504.39±231.4 pg/μL), T2 (2,147.92±417.1 pg/ μL), and T3 (405.30±224.1 pg/μL) showed a significantly higher than Group T0 (15.34±15.27) (p<0.05) Conclusion: Oxidative stress could be prevented by purple sweet potato in the liver through the SOD mRNA expression but not ERα.


BACKGROUND: Body weight (BW) is widely used to evaluate and manage clinical situations therefore assessment errors can influence the ichosen therapies. OBJECTIVE: To assess the variability in values of BW obtained by using different equipment (weight scales). METHODS: A cross sectional study was performed to assess BW of 360 adult patients in eight units including clinical and surgical specialties Three types of scales were used: a portable domestic model and a fixed platform model, both from the units and a portable digital model previously calibrated and used as standard reference equipment. Self-reported weight (SRW) was also compared to weight assessed with the reference equipment. The values were compared trough paired-samples t-test using SPSS software. RESULTS: The difference between weights assessed by the reference equipment and SRW was 445±3.359g (P=0.015), it was -182±2.323g (P=0.140) for portable domestic scales and 137±2.412g (P=0.218) for platform fixed scales. Values obtained from SRW, portable domestic scales and fixed platform scales were strongly correlated to the mean value of weight assessed by the reference equipment (r=0.973, r=0.987 and r=0.986, respectively). Nevertheless, considering analyses of each patient, errors of magnitude greater than 500g occurred in 78.8% of SRW, 80.6% of the portable domestic scales and 40% of the fixed platform scales. CONCLUSION: In general, the scales tested were neither accurate nor precise for measuring BW, considering the percentage of error in the evaluation of each patient and the variability observed.


Transport rates of five sediments were measured in a laboratory flume. Three of these sediments had the same mean size, the same size distribution shape, and different values of grain size distribution standard deviation. The critical shear stress for incipient motion of the individual size fractions within these sediments was estimated as that shear stress that produced a small dimensionless transport rate. The sorting of the sediment mixture had little effect on the critical shear stress of individual fractions, once the median size (D50) of the mixture and a fraction's relative size (Di/D50) are accounted for. Our data, combined with previously published data, show a remarkably consistent relation between the critical shear stress of individual fractions and the fraction's relative grain size, despite a broad variation in the available data of mixture sorting, grain size distribution shape, mean grain size, and grain shape. All fractions in a size mixture begin moving at close to the same value of bed shear stress during steady state transport conditions. This result is apparently true for transport systems where the transport rates of individual fractions are determined solely by the flow and bed sediment (recirculating systems), as well as for systems where the fractional transport rates are imposed on the system (feed systems). This equivalence in initial-motion results is important because natural transporting systems often show attributes of both types of behavior in an unknown combination.


Abstract The limitations of asymptotic methods for numerically solving highly forward peaked scattering (HFPS) problems are reviewed before resorting to a discrete ordinates solution for such problems based on biased angular quadrature formulas to increase the precision of the angular representation and on source evaluation from cell-averaged angular fluxes to reduce memory requirements. Also, a twice-collided source is introduced to avoid numerical representation of singularities in the solution. As an example the propagation and spreading of a collimated particle beam in an HFPS medium has been calculated with a discrete ordinates diamond-differenced numerical solution of the transport equation in two-dimensional curvilinear cylindrical coordinates. The calculation was carried out for a strongly forward peaked Henyey-Greenstein scattering law for which Fokker-Planck asymptotic models are not valid. The results show promise for numerically calculated reference solutions based on accurate spatial representations for checking the accuracy of standard asymptotic models for these types of problems.


A weakened immune system and increased exposure to germs make us vulnerable to diseases in the cold season The cold season brings health problems for everyone, especially for the elderly Therefore, it is important to take precautionary measures before you get sick Via a new study, the different segments of the genome of the virus may exist in distinct cells, but may work together to cause an infection It has been suggested that a virus genome enters a single cell and multiplies, and then moves to other cells to reproduce again Viruses that have the ability to multiply are intriguing viral systems because their genome is divided into more many segments, and each is enclosed in a distinct particle of the virus In the past, they believed that all segments of the genome must move together from cell to cell to cause an infection However, the current study shows that this is not the case Viruses are among the simplest and smallest microorganisms that infects the human body They are made up of a nucleocapsid or virus core, the account holding the material nuclear cell (RNA or DNA), and the envelope of the virus that has specific molecules through which the microorganism attaches to the surface of certain cells - so -called ligands In this way viruses have specificity for a certain type of cell, a property called tropism So, all herpes viruses have tropism for epithelial cells


In this cross sectional and descriptive study, secondary school students trom the city of Santa Rosa were questioned about their beliefs about cannabis and their risk perception derived from it. The sample consisted in 83 male and 71 female 17 year-old teenagers. On the one hand, it was found that the highest risk perceptions were related to the legal issues that might arise due to cannabis consumption, and to its effects on neurons. On the other hand, the lowest risk perceptions were associated with the belief/ idea that smoking tobacco affects the lungs more than smoking cannabis, which might create dependence, and its use can cause mental disorders. Several significant differences were found as regards gender, since the female students noticed more risk than male students in that the consumption of cannabis can develop mental disorders, amotivational syndrome, lack of enthusiasm and less satisfaction with life. The teenager's risk perception about cannabis is variable.


Context: The majority of problems during the early neonatal period are causally related with the fetal life or the birth process; while most problems during late neonatal life are acquired. Aims: This study aims to assess the determinant factors of neonatal mortality among newborns admitted to neonatal intensive care unit of Adama Hospital Medical College (AHMC). Setting and Design: An institutional-based retrospective case–control design was conducted at AHMC. Subjects and Materials: A total of 300 neonates study participants were recruited. Medical record review was employed to collect data. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were entered, cleaned, and analyzed by SPSS version 20 statistical package. Descriptive summaries using frequencies and proportions were used. Binary and multivariable logistic regressions were used. Results: Antenatal care, gravidity, and parity were significant factors to neonatal death. It was found that neonates who were born from mothers who had no antenatal care No single visit) had 2.7 times at risk of death (crude odds ratio = 2.7 95% confidence interval = 1.3, 5.6 adjusted odds ratio = 1.5 P = 0.008). Neonates who were delivered by assisted vaginal delivery were 5.9 times at risk of death than neonates who were delivered by singular value decomposition. It was found that asphyxia and neonatal death have a strong association. Conclusions: Antenatal follow-up, assisted vaginal delivery, cesarean delivery, gestational age, birth weight, sepsis, and asphyxia were significant neonatal risk factors for neonatal death. Most of these factors may be prevented and manageable by good antenatal care, intrapartum care, and neonatal care.


Antagonism by neostigmine of neuromuscular blockade produced by pancuronium or its metabolites was studied in the cat anterior or tibialis muscle-peroneal nerve preparation using constant infusions of muscle relaxants. The ED50 of neostigmine (dose which caused a 50% antagonism) was 16, 11, 29, and 26 micrograms/kg for pancuronium, 3-hydroxypancuronium, 17-hydroxypancuronium, and 3, 17-hydroxypancuronium, respectively. Times of onset of neostigmine action were shorter when antagonizing 17-hydroxypancuronium neuromuscular blockade. Duration of neostigmine action when antagonizing 17- or 3, 17-hydroxypancuronium blockade was shorter than with pancuronium or 3-hydroxypancuronium. We conclude that more neostigmine is required to antagonize 17- or 3,17-hydroxypancuronium neuromuscular blockade than is required to antagonize pancuronium. Conversely, less neostigmine was required to antagonize 3-hydroxypancuronium blockade.


A fundamental requirement during organogenesis is to preserve tissue integrity to render a mature and functional structure. Many epithelial organs, such as the branched tubular structures, undergo a tremendous process of tissue remodelling to attain their final pattern. The cohesive properties of these tissues need to be finely regulated to promote adhesion yet allow flexibility during extensive tissue remodelling. Here, we report a new role for the Egfr pathway in maintaining epithelial integrity during tracheal development in Drosophila. We show that the integrity-promoting Egfr function is transduced by the ERK-type MAPK pathway, but does not require the downstream transcription factor Pointed. Compromising Egfr signalling, by downregulating different elements of the pathway or by overexpressing the Mkp3 negative regulator, leads to loss of tube integrity, whereas upregulation of the pathway results in increased tissue stiffness. We find that regulation of MAPK pathway activity by Breathless signalling does not impinge on tissue integrity. Egfr effects on tissue integrity correlate with differences in the accumulation of markers for cadherin-based cell-cell adhesion. Accordingly, downregulation of cadherin-based cell-cell adhesion gives rise to tracheal integrity defects. Our results suggest that the Egfr pathway regulates maintenance of tissue integrity, at least in part, through the modulation of cell adhesion. This finding establishes a link between a developmental pathway governing tracheal formation and cell adhesiveness.


Introduction: This paper describes principles of a promising method for medical data analysis called recurrence analysis, which is based on the chaos theory that better describes processes in the living organisms.
Methods: Phase space reconstruction and recurrence analysis are explained in brief. The main part of the work focuses on recurrence plot, which is a basic tool for recurrence analysis.
Conclusion: Possible clinical applications of recurrence analysis in the field of medicine are discussed and a short overview of pilot projects performed by our team on this topic is given.


A Walrasian Market can be modeled as a distributed system consisting a set of independent buyers and sellers. The Walrasian equilibrium theorem proves the existence of the optimal price that results in the market clean state or Walrasian Equilibrium where the sum of absolute excess demand is zero. It is proved that finding this equilibrium price is an NP-hard problem. In this paper, we present an efficient distributed control-theoretic approach for finding the Walrasian equilibrium in an exchange economy. We have modeled the price adjustment process as a closed-loop control system where the sum of absolute excess demand is measured as the system error that is fed to commodity moderators in a distributed schema simultaneously, and then each commodity moderator adjusts the price of its related commodity. We devised a controller algorithm with low complexity and fast convergence that iteratively moves the error value to zero. The proposed scheme, finds the equilibrium price and Pareto efficient allocation without knowing the shape of user utility functions or their preferences. It is scalable and is usable for exchange economies with multiple goods and many types of users.


This report examines environmental services staff (ESS) experiences when using Clorox Bleach Wipes compared to OxyCide™ Daily Disinfectant Cleaner (a non-bleach, peroxide-based sporocide) for disinfection at an academic medical center. Other studies focus on examining the efficacy of health-care disinfection products with little to no assessment of impact on the user. We found that ESS perceives better tolerability for non-bleach, peroxide-based sporocides compared with bleach-based products. Future studies should consider end user perceptions and experience when examining disinfection products.


The pressure on forests in Indonesia increases as population growth continues, together with the rise of higher demand for land for development purposes. This study was conducted in South Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. The objectives of the study are: (i) to analyze changes in land use and land cover in forest areas, (ii) to model changes in land use and land cover, focusing on production forests, the area of forest where land cover should be maintained, and (iii) to formulate policy recommendations based on the two previous objectives. Changes in land use and land cover were analyzed using a series of Landsat imageries from 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2014. The supervised classification imagery analysis was performed using image interpretation software. The results of the image analysis were then overlaid with the Forest Area Status map, which outlined a delineation of production forest in the forest area. The results of the quantitative data were used as inputs for dynamic system modeling, which was performed using Powersim Constructor 8.1. Descriptive policy recommendations were compiled based on interviews with experts which then analyzed using interpretative structural modeling. The result showed an increasing shift trend inside production forest, from forest land cover towards non-forest land use and land cover. An analysis using dynamic system models can predict a decrease in forest cover if land use policies in forest area are functioning under the assumption of business-as-usual. The main factors causing pressure on production forest areas are minimal law enforcement, high intensity of illegal loggings and the high number of development permits given to mining and plantation sectors. Several recommendations can be made according to the study results.


Most health care systems are characterised by both purchasers (insurers, health authorities), who buy health care for a particular population, and providers (hospitals, primary care physicians), who supply health care services. In circumstances where the purchasers or providers bear any of the financial risk associated with covering a population, incentives to prefer to 'risk select' are present; i.e. purchasers will prefer to provide cover for people who are likely to require relatively little health care. In order to reduce these incentives to risk select, many countries have introduced risk adjustment mechanisms. Van de Ven and Ellis (1999) have defined risk adjustment as 'the use of information to calculate the expected health expenditures of individual consumers over a fixed interval of time (e.g., a month, quarter, or year) and set subsidies to consumers or health plans to improve efficiency and equity'. However, Van de Ven and Ellis are concerned only with competitive health plan markets. In the current monograph, the discussion of risk adjustment will be extended beyond competitive health plan markets, to include National Health Service (NHS)-type systems. Within an NHS-type system, the principal purchasers of health care are non-competing health authorities (or their equivalents), fully responsible for a regionally defined population. The health authorities are allocated an annual budget from central government funds, and are required to purchase health care for everybody within their area of jurisdiction. The health authorities are government agencies, and do not bear any financial risk. Therefore, there is no incentive for them to risk select. However, there is likely to be a large degree of diversification concerning the demographic and socio-economic structure of the numerous regionally defined populations within any particular country. Therefore, on grounds of fairness, or equity, it may be appropriate for government to adjust the resource allocations to health authorities on the basis of population characteristics that proxy health care need. Throughout this monograph, it is assumed that a person is in need of health care if they would experience an improvement in their health status on receiving further health care. As stated above, Van de Ven and Ellis' definition that risk adjustment is 'the use of information to calculate the expected health expenditures of individual consumers over a fixed interval of time … and set subsidies to consumers or health plans to improve efficiency and equity', is applicable specifically to competitive insurance systems where the aim is to remove the incentives to risk select. In this monograph, the definition is broader, namely - 'the use of information to calculate the expected health expenditures or health care need of individual consumers over a fixed interval of time … and set subsidies to consumers or health plans to improve efficiency and equity', in order to accommodate considerations of equity in NHS-type systems. Thus, there are two principal reasons why a government may want to introduce a risk adjustment mechanism into the health care financing system, with the specific reason being largely a function of the structure of the health care system - (i) To promote some form of equity that accounts for the fact that people have differential levels of health care need. (ii) To discourage risk selecting activity. In this monograph, the principle of equity that was the stated motivation for introducing risk adjustment in England is outlined. Also, the reasons why it is considered important to discourage risk selecting, and how risk adjustment may achieve this, are detailed. An in-depth description of the mechanisms of all of the countries that have introduced risk adjustment is beyond the scope of this monograph. Moreover, the practical application of risk adjustment has been developing quite rapidly, and, consequently, published reports are soon dated. The author of this monograph had contact with people intrinsic to the practical application of risk adjustment in England, The Netherlands and Germany, which facilitated an up to date description of these systems at the time of writing. Thus, the health care financing structures and risk adjustment mechanisms currently in operation in England, The Netherlands and Germany, three European countries with a strong, historical commitment to providing good, universal health care coverage, are discussed. The discussion is conducted with reference to the principal reasons for introducing risk adjustment in these respective countries. Finally, whether England, The Netherlands and Germany have anything to learn from each other with respect to risk adjustment, and how the various mechanisms might be improved, is considered.


Paran\'a Ra'anga (the image of Paran\'a, in Guaran\'i) is the name of a cultural and scientific expedition that traveled the rivers: R\'io de la Plata, Paran\'a and Paraguay, from Buenos Aires to Asunci\'on, during March 2010. The project brought together some forty scientists and artists from three countries in a slow and enriching cruise, putting in active contact actors from different backgrounds and disciplines -which usually run separately- in the framework of an unusual space-time experience. The project recovers the historical tradition of the trip as an instrument of knowledge and collaboration between the arts and sciences, necessary to build new ways of seeing and understanding the river and its banks. This article reports on the motivations of this project and its projection.


IntroductionInfection of the central venous catheter (CVC) is a major complication seen among patients undergoinghemodialysis. Identifying CVC related infection (CRI) and its risk factors and causative organisms is important for better implementation of preventive strategies.MethodsA prospective study was conducted at Chitwan Medical College for a duration of 2 years from January 2017to December 2018 among the patients undergoing hemodialysis via CVC. The data collected were related topatients' demographics, site of catheter insertion, and duration, microbiological data including cultures fromcatheter sites, blood, and catheters' tips and antibiotic sensitivity. Catheter related infection was divided intocatheter related local infection (CRLI) and catheter related blood stream infection (CRBSI). Data was analyzedusing IBM SPSS Statistics version 21.0.ResultsA total of 41 cases of CVC related infection (CRI) were documented with an incidence rate of 6.94 episodesper 1000 catheter days at risk. Out of the total CRI, 39.02% were CRLI and 60.98% were CRBSI. Fever with chillsand rigor were the most common clinical presentation. Risk factors for the development of CRI were durationof catheter in situ, repeated change of CVC and the use of CVC for indications other than hemodialysis (HD).Staphylococci and Klebsiella were the most common organisms isolated in culture.ConclusionThe rate of CRI among Nepalese patients undergoing hemodialysis is high. Prolonged duration of CVC usage,recent change of catheter and the use of the HD catheter for the purpose of institution of intravenous medication have been found as the risk factors for CRI.KeywordsCatheter related infection, central venous catheter, hemodialysis


Exposure to extreme environments is both mentally and physically taxing, leading to suboptimal performance and even life-threatening emergencies. Physiological and cognitive monitoring could provide the earliest indicator of performance decline and inform appropriate therapeutic intervention, yet little research has explored the relationship between these markers in strenuous settings. The Rim-to-Rim Wearables at the Canyon for Health (R2R WATCH) study is a research project at Sandia National Laboratories funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency to identify which physiological and cognitive phenomena collected by non-invasive wearable devices are the most related to performance in extreme environments. In a pilot study, data were collected from civilians and military warfighters hiking the Rim-to-Rim trail at the Grand Canyon. Each participant wore a set of devices collecting physiological, cognitive, and environmental data such as heart rate, memory, ambient temperature, etc. Promising preliminary results found correlates between physiological markers recorded by the wearable devices and decline in cognitive abilities, although further work is required to refine those measurements. Planned follow-up studies will validate these findings and further explore outstanding questions.


Interfacial testing generates physical information about the fiber matrix interface in a variety of forms. In recent years, there has been considerable discussion about the reliability of the tests and the compatibility of the data generated. One question that has only marginally been addressed is what is required from interfacial test methods to support the rest of the composites community in the understanding and development of fiber-reinforced composite materials. In this paper, the requirements of composite developers and designers are evaluated and related to the information generated by existing test methods. Data are presented demonstrating the significant influence that interface has on macroscopic properties. The relationship of this type of data to interfacial test techniques currently used is also addressed. Those interfacial test methods in use fall into three basic types and each generates information under different loading conditions. An attempt has been made to correlate these conditions to failure processes that occur in full-scale composites. This has clarified where there are deficiencies in both the test methods used and the type of data required. If interfacial property evaluation in composite materials is to become an integral part of composite design, then there needs to be an improved correlation between data generated and end-user requirements.


OBJECTIVE In subjects with NIDDM, diabetic women have a greater relative excess of CHD relative to nondiabetic women than do diabetic men relative to nondiabetic men. This excess in diabetic women is explained partially by the particularly atherogenic pattern of lipoproteins in this group. We hypothesize that diabetic women also may have a higher incidence of hypertension than diabetic men. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We examined the effect of NIDDM and IGT relative to NGT on the incidence of hypertension separately in men (n = 844) and women (n = 618) in the 8-yr follow-up of the San Antonio Heart Study, a population-based study of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. RESULTS Women had a greater risk of hypertension with worsening glucose tolerance (RR NIDDM/NGT = 2.65 and RR IGT/NGT = 1.94) compared with men (RR NIDDM/NGT = 1.61 and RR IGT/NGT = 0.91). Controlling for other possible confounding variables such as age, obesity, body fat distribution, and fasting insulin concentration did not alter the interaction of sex and glycemia on incidence of hypertension. CONCLUSIONS The especially increased risk of hypertension in women with abnormal glucose tolerance may explain partly the high risk of CHD in this group.


Background The maternal microbiome is a key contributor to the development and outcomes of pregnancy and the health status of both mother and infant. Significant advances are occurring in the science of the maternal and child microbiome and hold promise in improving outcomes related to pregnancy complications, child development, and chronic health conditions of mother and child. Objectives The purpose of this study was to review site-specific considerations in the collection and storage of maternal and child microbiome samples and its implications for nursing research and practice. Approach Microbiome sampling protocols were reviewed and synthesized. Precautions across sampling protocols were also noted. Results Oral, vaginal, gut, placental, and breast milk are viable sources for sampling the maternal and/or child microbiome. Prior to sampling, special considerations need to be addressed related to various factors including current medications, health status, and hygiene practices. Proper storage of samples will avoid degradation of cellular and DNA structures vital for analysis. Discussion Changes in the microbiome throughout the perinatal, postpartum, and childhood periods are dramatic and significant to outcomes of the pregnancy and the long-term health of mother and child. Proper sampling techniques are required to produce reliable results from which evidence-based practice recommendations will be built. Ethical and practical issues surrounding study design and protocol development must also be considered when researching vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and infants. Nurses hold the responsibility to both perform the research and to translate findings from microbiome investigations for clinical use.


Powder is the one of cosmetic product that serves to cover the shortfall on the face. Powder consumption continues to increase from year to year to follow trend of cosmetic and lifestyle that happened to people. It makes producer to be more creative and innovative to produce or developing their product to keep consumers interested. To help producer to know and understand the consumer preference on combinations of attributes in the powder, it can be used conjoint analysis. Beside that, conjoint analysis is used to get the concept of products that comply with the consumers want and can be developed as a combination of new products. In this thesis conjoint analysis is used by using presentation method of full-profile. There are four attributes used in this analysis, they are powder types, form of packaging, aroma, and glass facility. From the results of the analysis that obtained by the respondents, the most importance attribute in selecting a face powder is the package attribute (34,338 %), the second is a kind of powder (33,667 %), the third is glass facility in the powder (16,397 %), and the last is the scent of powder (15,598 %). The combination of desired respondents in choosing or use a powder is a powder that have the type of compact powder, circular packaging forms, has no aroma, and there is no glass. Keywords : powder, consumer's preference, conjoint analysis, full-profile


Simulating magnetism out of equilibrium A major goal of quantum simulation is to help us understand problems that are difficult to describe analytically or solve with conventional computers. This goal has been very challenging to reach experimentally, requiring, for example, extremely low temperatures to determine the effects of quantum magnetism in equilibrium. Brown et al. studied a nonequilibrium system of ultracold 87Rb atoms in a two-dimensional optical lattice. They monitored the atoms' dynamics after a sudden change in the lattice parameters and were able to reach a regime where the magnetic interactions dominated the dynamics. Science, this issue p. 540 A tunable checkerboard optical lattice filled with rubidium atoms is used to simulate demagnetization dynamics. The interplay of magnetic exchange interactions and tunneling underlies many complex quantum phenomena observed in real materials. We study nonequilibrium magnetization dynamics in an extended two-dimensional (2D) system by loading effective spin-1/2 bosons into a spin-dependent optical lattice and use the lattice to separately control the resonance conditions for tunneling and superexchange. After preparing a nonequilibrium antiferromagnetically ordered state, we observe relaxation dynamics governed by two well-separated rates, which scale with the parameters associated with superexchange and tunneling. With tunneling off-resonantly suppressed, we observe superexchange-dominated dynamics over two orders of magnitude in magnetic coupling strength. Our experiment will serve as a benchmark for future theoretical work as the detailed dynamics of this 2D, strongly correlated, and far-from-equilibrium quantum system remain out of reach of current computational techniques.


To determine the possible role of DNA polymerase alpha, beta and gamma during the repair period following ultraviolet (lambda max : 254 nm) irradiation of monkey CV-1 cells, we measured the three enzymatic activities by using specific tests, either in crude extracts or after fractionation by sucrose gradient (5--20%) centrifugation at high salt concentration. When compared to the unirradiated control, we could not detect any significant variation in the levels of activity of DNA polymerases alpha, beta and gamma at any time (0, 12 to 48 h) after ultraviolet irradiation of the cells with doses ranging from 9 to 52.5 J.m-2.


As one of the tools that can be applied in teaching and learning process, a graphic organizer is the most effective strategy that recommended by researchers not only in improving students' English necessary skills but also in reducing students' negative attitude on learning English. This study was conducted to find out the positive and significant influence of graphic organizer as the delivery strategy towards the students' reading ability as well as to figure out the positive and meaningful interaction between graphic organizers, language aptitude and students' attitude towards students' English learning achievement. Quasi-experiment with a nonequivalent control group design was applied by involving 160 students as the subject of the study. The results showed that there was a positive and significant effect among Graphic Organizers and language aptitude as the main effect, and there were significant interaction effects among them in improving students' reading ability.


Running complex test suites against a financial transaction system produces huge amounts of responses, both expected and unexpected. In this article, we outline our experience of using ML for reliable automatic extraction of "that" unexpected response from a big number of same type messages produced a by system under test. We describe classification approaches and data manipulations we have tried, and explain the final choices. Also we outline business constraints and final design decisions for the resultant tool.We also address the task of classifying difference patterns between expected and actual responses in attempt to provide automated pre-judgement on a reason for test failure. We outline clustering considerations and results achieved.


Psychosocial environments impact normative behavioral development in children, increasing the risk of problem behaviors and psychiatric disorders across the lifespan. Converging evidence demonstrates early normative development is affected by the gut microbiome, which itself can be altered by early psychosocial environments. Nevertheless, these relationships are poorly understood in childhood, particularly beyond peri- and postnatal microbial colonization. To determine the gut microbiome's role in the associations between childhood adversity and behavioral development, we conducted a metagenomic investigation among cross-sectional sample of early school-aged children with a range of adverse experiences and caregiver stressors and relationships. Our results indicate that the taxonomic and functional composition of the gut microbiome links to behavioral dysregulation during a critical period of child development. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that both socioeconomic risk exposure and child behaviors associate with the relative abundances of specific taxa (e.g., Bacteroides and Bifidobacterium species) as well as functional modules encoded in their genomes (e.g., monoamine metabolism) that have been linked to cognition and health. We also identified heretofore novel linkages between gut microbiota, their functions, and behavior. These findings hold important translational implications for developmental psychology and microbiome sciences alike, as they suggest that caregiver behavior might mitigate the impact of socioeconomic risk on the microbiome and modify the relationship between subclinical symptoms of behavioral dysregulation and the gut microbiome in early school-aged children.


It is well known that microstructure evolution during rapid solidification depends on the rate between undercooling and solidification velocity. Microstructural evolution in a nonequilibrium solidification process depends critically on the melt undercooling and growth (solidification) velocities of competing phases. One way of obtaining metastable structures is by Thermal Spray Technology. Metastable coatings can be produced starting from microstructured powders through Atmospheric Plasma Spray (APS) technique, followed by a quenching route. The initial powders are melted during the spraying and deposited over a substrate that is quenched with nitrogen feeders, producing metastable coatings. The obtained coatings were characterized using XRD, SEM, FESEM and TEM in the Thermal Spray Centre (CPT) of the University of Barcelona. The properties of such coatings were studied by hardness, obtaining promising results.


OBJECTIVES
To demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of mifepristone 600mg with misoprostol 800 mg, for termination of pregnancy at 9-14 weeks gestation.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
This prospective study included 105 women at 9 to 14 weeks gestation given 800 mg of vaginal misoprostol, 2 or 3 days after a single dose of 600 mg of mifepristone for pregnancy termination. Outcomes measures included mean expulsion time, the interval between fotal and placental expulsion, adverse effects, vaginal bleeding, requirement for analgesia, and hospital stay, analyzed by parity and gestational age.

RESULTS
Pregnancy termination was successful in 92.4% of the patients without requirement for surgery. The mean time to expulsion was 6 hours. The fetus and placenta were expelled together in 79% of the cases. In 15% the conception products were retained in the cervical canal, and removed with a ring forceps. Additional misoprostol doses were necessary in 33% and analgesia (nalbuphine sublingually, mean dose was 10mg) in 56%. Significant bleeding was observed in 7.5%, leading to curettage in 2 patients. No statistically significant differences were found between the rate of success and term (9-12 versus 12-14) or parity.

CONCLUSION
Combining oral mifepristone and vaginal misoprostol is a successful alternative to surgical termination of pregnancy, even after 9 weeks' gestation. The use of nalbuphine for analgesia improves acceptability; sublingual administration helps avoid invasive procedures. Before 14 weeks gestation, the legal limit for termination of pregnancy in France, the choice between the surgical and medical alternatives should be left to the patient.


Inhaled antibiotics are frequently used for treating infections associated with cystic fibrosis (CF) and are under development for other uses including hospital-acquired pneumonias. However, the long-term efficacy of inhaled anti-infectives depends largely on the uniformity of pulmonary drug deposition, which is variable in diseased lungs. In surfactant replacement therapy (SRT), premature infants who lack adequate levels of surfactant receive a bolus of exogenous surfactant through an endotracheal tube. The success of this therapy is due to the pulmonary dispersion of surfactant from convective flows generated by surface tension gradients along the airway surface. Based on this same mechanism, aerosolized surfactant drug carriers have been proposed as a potential means of augmenting drug distribution in diseased lungs. However, little experimental evidence exists to support this. The goal of this study was to assess the potential for aerosolized surfactant drug carriers to improve the dispersion of medications in the lungs following aerosol deposition. This study included the design of an aerosol delivery system that produced an aerosol of respirable size that was delivered onto two realistic in vitro models of the airway surface. The first model incorporated porcine gastric mucin (PGM) and the second utilized human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cell cultures, including CF and non-CF cells. Differences in the dispersion of various surfactants (cationic, anionic, and non-ionic) vs. saline (control) were quantified using fluorescence microscopy and different sized fluorescent tags acting as drug analogs. The tags spanned a size range from the molecular level to a 1.0 micron polystyrene sphere. On the PGM model, surfactants enhanced dispersion by 2-20 fold vs. saline with fairly uniform dispersion for all sized tags. When sufficiently hydrated, the HBE cell cultures, both CF and non-CF, also demonstrated significant surfactant spreading compared to saline, with similar areas and patterns for all sized tags. This study demonstrates the potential for aerosolized surfactant carriers to improve the uniformity of pulmonary drug distribution following deposition. Further studies are required to demonstrate their efficacy in these in vitro models and for in vivo drug applications.


Most of the Earth's mass is solid. The crust and mantle of the Earth extend
down almost 3000 km and support seismic shear waves, a standard test
for solidity in the earth sciences. The inner core, with a radius of 1200 km,
is believed to be solid for the same reason. It is less often noted that in
large regions, this solid mass is actually a two-phase or multiphase medium,
containing varying amounts of fluid (usually liquid) interspersed throughout
the granular solid. Processes in fluid-rock media play an essential role
in many important geological phenomena. It is percolation through such
a medium (a partial melt) that permits melts to escape prior to volcanic
eruptions and other igneous emplacements. Nearer the Earth's surface,
the migration of aqueous or hydrocarbon fluids in the crust is of interest
in metamorphic and sedimentary geology as well as in hydrology and
hydrocarbon exploration. Fluid migration at all levels within the Earth
can profoundly influence heat flow and material transport. The layering
of the Earth, including the existence and nature of the core and the
stratification of the mantle and crust, is likely to be due in part to the
behavior of fluid-rock systems.

There are many different fluid-rock systems in geology, and this review considers only a subset of these. The primary emphasis is on two geologic
environments where the coupling between fluid flow and rock deformation
is important: high-temperature systems where a melt coexists with a solid
matrix that can deform by creep as the melt migrates; and low-temperature
systems where a fluid, usually aqueous, saturates a matrix that has varying
degrees of cohesion and fracturing.

We do not consider suspensions (e.g. crystals in a convecting magma
chamber or rock fragments carried in the plume of a volcanic eruption).
At the opposite extreme, we exclude solidlike systems where fluid is present
but little or no fluid movement occurs (e.g. fluid inclusions in crystals).
Minor consideration is given to systems where the fluid moves but the
solid is essentially rigid (e.g. the flow of oil, water, and gas in hydrocarbon
reservoirs). We also limit ourselves to processes where inertia is negligible:
Both the microscopic motion of fluid through cracks and pores and the
macroscopic motion of the solid matrix are assumed to be characterized
by a small Reynolds number. For example, we do not consider seismic-wave
propagation in poroelastic media.

Even with these restrictions, more important geodynamic phenomena
are covered than can be effectively reviewed in detail. Our goal is rather
to identify common ground between studies of different geological environments,
and to demonstrate to practitioners of fluid mechanics the interesting
range of phenomena that fluid-rock systems exhibit. We have divided
the main body of this review into three sections: theory, material properties,
and modeling and applications. The latter section is necessarily eclectic
but encompasses studies ranging from laboratory experiments on analogue
systems to computer simulations of large-scale processes in the crust and
mantle.


A significant threat to mental health emerged in children during COVID-19. This study aims to identify the effects of COVID-19 on the mental health of children in Bandung while studying at home. The cross-sectional study was conducted online from August 28 to September 4, 2020, among 426 parents who had at least one child aged 5 to 15 years. Moreover, K-means clustering was used to group 4 categories based on mental health disturbances, and confirmation factors analysis was performed to identify the relationship between parenting behaviour and children's mental health, then assessed by the chi-square test. Children were divided into four groups, in which 52% had sub-threshold mental disorders (mean Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)-10; 2.45), 32% had a mild (mean MDD-10; 5.31), 13% had a moderate (mean MDD-10; 12.5), and 3% of the children had severe (mean MDD-10; 15.3). The percentage of mental disorders in children is higher in children with a higher educational level of the parents, families contracted COVID-19 and abnormal behaviour of the parents. This paper shows the low proportion of children suffering from mental disorders in Bandung during the pandemic. Applying psychological intervention strategies and improving household financial conditions, parenting literacy, childcare and job security can all help improve children's psychological status.


Malicious domains host Command and Control servers that are used to instruct infected machines to perpetuate malicious activities such as sending spam, stealing credentials, and launching denial of service attacks. Both static and dynamic analysis of malware as well as monitoring Domain Name System (DNS) traffic provide valuable insight into such malicious activities and help security experts detect and protect against many cyber attacks.

Advanced crimeware toolkits were responsible for many recent cyber attacks. In order to understand the inner workings of such toolkits, we present a detailed reverse engineering analysis of the Zeus crimeware toolkit to unveil its underlying architecture and enable its mitigation. Our analysis allows us to provide a breakdown for the structure of the Zeus botnet network messages.

In the second part of this work, we develop a framework for analyzing dynamic analysis reports of malware samples. This framework can be used to extract valuable cyber intelligence from the analyzed malware. The obtained intelligence helps reveal more insight into different cyber attacks and uncovers abused domains as well as malicious infrastructure networks. Based on this framework, we develop a severity ranking system for domain names. The system leverages the interaction between domain names and malware samples to extract indicators for malicious behaviors or abuse actions. The system utilizes these behavioral features on a daily basis to produce severity or abuse scores for domain names.

Since our system assigns maliciousness scores that describe the level of abuse for each analyzed domain name, it can be considered as a complementary component to existing (binary) reputation systems, which produce long lists with no priorities. We also developed a severity system for name servers based on passive DNS traffic. The system leverages the domain names that reside under the authority of name servers to extract indicators for malicious behaviors or abuse actions. It also utilizes these behavioral features on a daily basis to dynamically produce severity or abuse scores for name servers.

Finally, we present a system to characterize and detect the payload distribution channels within passive DNS traffic. Our system observes the DNS zone activities of access counts of each resource record type and determines payload distribution channels. Our experiments on near real-time passive DNS traffic demonstrate that our system can detect several resilient malicious payload distribution channels.


This paper presents an operating characteristics of the 5-phase 5kW with developed the surface permanent magnetic synchronous generato (SPMSG) in order to make a study of a polyphase ac motors keeping hold of more advantages. There are shown a amplitude and waveform of the generated electromotive force, in FFT analysis of harmonics, within output voltages, and reviewing a experiment results in no-load test, resistive load, and inductive load using 5-phase induction motor by variable output frequency. The operating characteristics of the developed manufacturing generator include voltage regulation, efficiency, power factor, THD, and so on at rated load.


This thesis investigates the vibration of beam for computing its natural frequency with uncertain-but-bounded parameters i.e. interval material properties in the finite element method. The problem is formulated first using the energy equation by converting the problem to a generalized eigenvalue problem. The generalized eigenvalue problem obtained contains the mass and stiffness matrix. In general these matrices contain the crisp values of the parameters and then it is easy to solve by various well known methods. But, in actual practice there are incomplete information about the variables being a result of errors in measurements, observations, applying different operating conditions or it may be maintenance induced error, etc. Rather than the particular value of the material properties we may have only the bounds of the values. These bounds may be given in term of interval. Thus we will have the finite element equations having the interval stiffness and mass matrices. So, in turn one has to solve by the problem by interval generalized eigenvalue problem. This requires the complex interval arithmetic and so detail study of interval computation related to the present problem has been done. First homogeneous beam with crisp values of material properties are considered. Then the problem has been undertaken taking the material properties as interval. Initially, Young's modulus and density have been considered as interval separately, and then the problem has been analyzed using both Young's modulus and density properties as interval. Next, similar investigations for non-homogeneous beam have also been done. Although the non-homogeneity makes the problem more complex but this may be the actual representation of a general beam. The considered interval material properties are in term of , where is called the uncertainty factor. Using interval computation the interval generalized eigenvalue problem has been solved by a new proposed method. Solution of the interval eigenvalue problem gives the interval eigenvalues which are the natural frequencies in each cases of the beam as above. The computed results are shown in terms of table and plots.


Lead-free polycrystalline material Sr(Bi0.5V0.5)O3 was prepared using a hightemperature solid state reaction technique (calcinations and sintering temperature =850 and 950 o C, respectively) using high-purity ingredients. The formation of the material in the monoclinic crystal structure was confirmed by preliminary X-ray structural analysis with room temperature data. The nature of microstructure obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows that the compound has well defined grains which are uniformly distributed throughout the surface of the sample. Detailed studies of dielectric and impedance properties of the material carried out in the frequency range of 1 kHz –1MHz at different temperatures (30 0 C to 455 0 C) have provided many interesting properties. Detailed studies of dielectric properties of the compound showed an existence of diffuse phase transition around 258 0 C. The temperature dependence of electrical parameters (impedance, modulus etc.) of the material exhibits a strong correlation of its microstructure with the electrical parameters. The negative temperature coefficient of resistance (NTCR) behavior also was observed in the material. The complex electric modulus analysis indicates the presence of hopping conduction mechanism in the system with non-exponential type of conductivity relaxation. The nature of variation of dc conductivity with temperature confirms the Arrhenius behavior of the material. The ac conductivity spectra show a typical signature of an ionic conducting system, and are found to obey Jonscher's universal power law. Copyright © 2014 VBRI press.


Background: Clinical presentations of uterine leiomyomas include pelvic masses, pelvic pain, infertility and obstetric complications. Many fibroids are asymptomatic, but in 30-40% of cases, they show a variety of symptoms, depending on the location and size. Fibroids can cause heavy menstrual bleeding with subsequent anemia, which could be life-threatening. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in the Department of Anesthesiology of MGM Medical College, Navi Mumbai. The Doctors and nurses theatre record of patients who had surgeries for fibroid were retrospectively reviewed for 5 years. The Nurses' and Doctors' theatre records were reviewed for Socio demographics, type of anaesthesia, type of surgery and uterine size. Results: 53.6% patients had Regional anaesthesia (spinal 30.3%, combined spinal/epidural, 23.3% versus 41% for General anaesthesia. It shows a sustained increase in the use of combine spinal epidural anaesthesia, sustained decrease in the use of general anaesthesia while there was a marginal increase in the use of spinal anaesthesia. Conclusion:There was a yearly increase in the use of RA, and a yearly decline in the use of GA. Regional Anaesthesia is the more commonly used mode of anaesthesia for fibroid surgeries in our institution.


Irish people in England are identified by the English largely through the way they speak. This is homogenised by English hearers into the simplified description of an "Irish accent", prioritising differences in pronunciation, although in reality the Irish use a variety of regionally-varied English dialects.3 Collapsing Irish dialects into a monolithic category is paralleled by stereotyping the speakers in long-established, negative ways. In fact these stereotypes rely heavily on language, including
grammar and vocabulary, presenting "substandard English" as evidence of "stupidity".4 In contrast to the role of "visibility" in signalling the difference of non-white groups, which has no relationship to cultural content and can clearly be discredited as a signifier of inferiority on rational grounds, the "audibility" of the Irish appears to reinforce legitimate grounds for racialisation. Constructed markers
of difference are never fixed, of course, and at present sharply changing economic and political
circumstances are altering ways in which younger and more prosperous Irish-accented populations in
England are perceived. However they remain deeply embedded in English culture, available to be drawn on in specific contexts.


Blood antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, ceruloplasmin) were investigated in gestational ages and diseases. Low activity of blood superoxide dismutase and catalase were observed in premature babies and in newborns after acute and chronic hypoxia. In hemolytic disease the activity of antioxidant enzymes of newborns was significantly higher than in healthy infants. This work demonstrates advantages of haemosorbtion compared to exchange blood transfusion. So the antioxidant activity in blood, decreased after blood transfusion, remained at a high level after haemosorbtion. Any deficiency of antioxidant enzymes in newborns may lead to toxyc oxygen effects. Antioxidants are potential therapeutic agents in the above mentioned conditions.


We give an exact solution of the quadratic gravity in D dimensions. The solution is a plane-fronted wave metric with a cosmological constant. This metric solves not only the full quadratic gravity field equations but also the linearized ones which include the linearized equations of the recently found critical gravity. A subset of the solutions change the asymptotic structure of the anti-de Sitter space due to their logarithmic behavior.


The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-dependent, basic helix-loop-helix Per-Arnt-Sim (PAS)-containing transcription factor that can bind and be activated by structurally diverse chemicals, including the toxic environmental contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Our previous three-dimensional homology model of the mouse AhR (mAhR) PAS B ligand binding domain allowed identification of the binding site and its experimental validation. We have extended this analysis by conducting comparative structural modeling studies of the ligand binding domains of six additional high-affinity mammalian AhRs. These results, coupled with site-directed mutagenesis and AhR functional analysis, have allowed detection of the "TCDD binding-fingerprint" of conserved residues within the ligand binding cavity necessary for high-affinity TCDD binding and TCDD-dependent AhR transformation DNA binding. The essential role of selected residues was further evaluated using molecular docking simulations of TCDD with both wild-type and mutant mAhRs. Taken together, our results dramatically improve our understanding of the molecular determinants of TCDD binding and provide a basis for future studies directed toward rationalizing the observed species differences in AhR sensitivity to TCDD and understanding the mechanistic basis for the dramatic diversity in AhR ligand structure.


ABSTRACT In this paper, we propose a method of iterative proportional-integral-derivative parameter tuning for mechanical systems that possibly possess hidden mechanical resonances, using a parameter chart which visualises the closed-loop characteristics in a 2D parameter space. We employ a hypothetical assumption that the considered mechanical systems have their upper limit of the derivative feedback gain, from which the feasible region in the parameter chart becomes fairly reduced and thus the gain selection can be extremely simplified. Then, a two-directional parameter search is carried out within the feasible region in order to find the best set of parameters. Experimental results show the validity of the assumption used and the proposed parameter tuning method.


The surface ozone (O3) in non-urban areas can be strongly influenced by transported regional air pollutants from distant urban agglomerations. Comprehensively using the polar plot graphical technique, and backward trajectory and potential source contribution analyses, the variations of surface O3 and its potential source regions at an island site of Zhejiang, China, were analyzed based on data from June 2013 to October 2016. Relatively high hourly O3 levels (max.: 154.0 ppb) were often observed, with the total number of hourly O3 exceeding the national standard (75 ppb) being 583, indicating high health risks from O3 exposure. An obvious time-lag for the diurnal O3 peak was observed, with the daily maxima often occurring at 16:00. A decreased O3 level was observed in summer, which was probably due to the comprehensive influence of intense rainfall, high relative humidity and clean marine airmasses during this season. The transport of external air pollutants played a dominant role in affecting local O3, with relatively high O3 concentrations (> 50 ppb) being observed under high wind speeds (> 5 m s–1). Based on all the source identification analyses, the major regions contributing to the surface O3 lay to the north and northwest of the study area. Long-range transported air pollutants from the coastal provinces of the North China Plain may have significantly enhanced surface O3 at the study site, while contributions from local areas and areas to the south of the study site were rather small. A high incidence (64.3%) of O3 pollution was accounted for by the inflowing airmasses from outside of Zhejiang, which quantitatively confirmed the significant background transport of O3 to this province. Coordinated inter-regional control on pollutant emissions should be carried out to reduce O3 in Zhejiang Province.


Bridging the gap between new evidence and practice is an ongoing struggle for physicians.

To help them stay on top of things, a team from the Ottawa Cardiovascular Centre (www.ottawacvcentre.com) has created an electronic resource to provide clinicians with accessible, up-to-date distillations of the latest cardiovascular research, along with patient information and evidence-implementation tools.

Dr. Joel Niznick, deputy chief of cardiology at the Riverside Site of the Ottawa Hospital and a managing partner at the Ottawa Cardiovascular Centre, is principal author of the Cardiovascular Toolbox (www.cvtoolbox.com).

He says there is no shortage of data and guidelines for reducing cardiovascular mortality. "Unfortunately, the evidence shows that we are far from accomplishing optimal therapy. There is a huge gap between what we know and what we do. I'm trying to bridge this gap using these online tools."

He developed the Toolbox from his own collection of working documents and resources, which he and his colleagues have been using in their practices.

The site, which is supported by unrestricted education grants from several pharmaceutical companies, provides access to a wide variety of tools and information aimed at physicians and patients. The content ranges from diabetes-management resources to a section on cholesterol and a CV-risk checklist that forms the core of what Niznick calls a "virtual cardiac prevention clinic."

"For a long time we've been focused on having experts produce appropriate and applicable guidelines, but that's not enough. We need to make them accessible, and that's what we're trying to with this site." — Michael OReilly, ten.ylliero@ekim


A technique is presented for carrying out relatively low-cost numerical simulations of the interaction between
three-dimensional microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)- and mesoscale actuators and a laminar boundary
layer. The jet-type actuators take the form of a diaphragmlocated at the bottom of a cavity. When the diaphragm
is driven by piezoceramic, for example, it de� ects, reduces the cavity volume, and drives air out of an ori� ce as
a jet into the boundary layer. In an attempt to avoid an in� ow phase into the cavity, we study the effects of a
"puff-like" jet produced when the diaphragmis driven by a short-duration constant force, or the cavity pressure is
suddenly increased by providing air from a microvalve. The theoretical model for the actuator is based on classic
thin-plate theory for the diaphragmdynamics andmodi� ed unsteady pipe-� owtheory for the � uid dynamics in the
ori� ce/nozzle leading to the boundary layer. The cavity � uid dynamics is not modeled in detail; the compressible
� owinit is neglected, and the instantaneouspressure there is determined viathe perfect gas law.A velocity–vorticity
method is used to compute the perturbation � ow� eld created in the boundary layer. This method is capable of
full direct numerical simulations, but for the present results the governing equations were linearized. The cavity
and boundary-layer � ow� elds are linked by requiring continuity of velocity and pressure at the ori� ce exit. The
computational methods are used to investigate such questions as the need for fully interactive computations and
the differences between meso- and MEMS-scale actuators.


Degradation of [125I]-LH-RH by peptidases of hypothalamus, liver and heart of the rat and the effects of LH-RH, LH-RH antagonist D-Phe2-Phe3-D-Phe6-LH-RH, LH-RH5-10, oxytocin, bradikinin, thyrotrophin-releasing hormone, melanocyte-inhibiting factor, luteinizing, follicle-stimulating, lactogenic and growth hormones were studied. It was shown that the degradation was inhibited with maximal efficiency by non-labelled LH-RH (Ki = 1,7--2,0 . 10(-6) M). This observation is indicative of peptidase specificity for LH-RH. It is assumed that specific peptidases of liver and heart are involved in the reglation of LH-RH concentration in these organs.