Introduction: The disruption of the healthcare system by the COVID-19 pandemic impacted colorectal cancer (CRC) screening crucial for detecting and preventing CRC. To identify vulnerable populations, we compared patients' indications for colonoscopies before and during the pandemic. Methods: Single-center, retrospective study of colonoscopies for patients 40-85 years between July 1 and December 31 of 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2020 (during the pandemic). Procedures were categorized by indication and totals were compared using SPSS Statistics 28. Results: 1284 colonoscopies pre-pandemic and 1396 during the pandemic were identified. 718 (2019) and 688 (2020) were conducted for screening and surveillance (56% vs 49%, P, 0.001). From 2019 to 2020, the number of patients presenting for first-time screening decreased by 36% for those at average risk (23% vs 15%, P , 0.001) and by 63% for those with family history of CRC or advanced adenoma (2.2% vs 0.87%, P50.041). Average-risk first-time screening for patients aged 45-49 years was minimal, 13 in 2019 and 6 in 2020. Follow-up colonoscopies for patients with family history of CRC or advanced adenoma increased by 30% (10% vs 14%, P 5 0.042). There was no change in follow-up for average-risk screening or positive stool-based test and surveillance for personal history of polyps, CRC or inflammatory bowel disease. Conclusion: There was a significant decline in first-time screening during the pandemic. This may be a result of fewer primary care visits and referrals. Individuals without previous establishment in gastroenterology are unlikely to be contacted for an appointment when a backlog of non-emergent surveillance procedures exists. There were few 2019 and 2020 patients presenting for first-time screening aged 45-49 and no evident significant increase in use of stool-based testing. These trends could continue in the post COVID-19 era. While endoscopy units are trying to clear the backlog of patients and likely scheduling those with surveillance colonoscopies whose procedure was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to attend to patients who need first-time screening but are not established in the GI outpatient clinics and are unlikely to be prioritized after the pandemic by their primary care physicians. Patients aged 45-49y should be encouraged to schedule colonoscopies or to use stool-based testing. To minimize life years lost indirectly from the pandemic, increased accessibility and adherence to CRC screening recommendations is essential.


With current concern over climate change, forests are acknowledged as a vital component of climate change initiatives, translating to an economic subsidy worth billions of dollars. However, continuous deforestation and land development threatens protection and conservation of forests as well as the sustainability of this natural resource. Public participation then becomes important, as it is not only a key requirement of sustainable development, but also an important aspect of a democratic society. However, the overall neglect of the social aspect of sustainability in previous initiatives as well as examples of failed public participation processes highlights the question: How do we understand the process of public participation? What determines the success or failure of a public participation process? One of the ways to explore this issue is by considering the different dimensions of environmental justice and how they can be incorporated in a public participation process. The use of environmental justice provided an alternative perspective to study public participation. Using Malaysia as a case study, four cases of forestry management conflict were examined in peninsular Malaysia. These cases illustrated the interaction between different actors and how invited and uninvited public participations were constructed within permanent reserved forest governance. Application of environmental justice principles to both invited and uninvited participation processes highlight both social subordination of the public and unjust public participation mechanisms in a governance system that was supposedly built on the ideologies of sustainability. Interviews with multiple actors showed not only a disconnected perception amongst the actors regarding permanent reserved forests, but also a flawed forestry system that allowed domination by elite actors, rendering it unsustainable and ensuring public participation remained meaningless. However, the use of uninvited participation as a community based response to meaningless participatory mechanisms highlights the need for social capital, a resource that is available only to the affluent. Environmental justice has proven useful as an analytical lens, and the discovery of unjust and economic-centric forestry governance is indicative of a failed sustainable forestry management system, one that must be rectified.


Although, the particular section described by Mr. Durham has not been examined by me, I have had considerable opportunities of making myself acquainted with the general characters and relations of the igneous rocks of the district where it is exposed. In the year 1876, I spent some months in examining the volcanic rocks of Angus and Fife, under the guidance of the late Sir Charles Lyell, who had such an intimate acquaintance with the geology of the district; and the general conclusions at which I arrived with regard to the relations and ages of the different types of igneous rocks in that area correspond very closely with the views which Mr. Durham has enunciated in the foregoing paper. Among the rocks which Mr. Durham has from time to time sent me for determination, there are several which, from the remarkable state of their preservation and the light which they seem to throw upon some very important petrological problems, appear to me to be worthy of detailed description. I am greatly indebted to the author of the paper, not only for the loan of his own collection of rock-sections, but for the readiness with which he has supplied me with ample materials for further study. Three of the rocks referred to in this paper are particularly interesting in their characters, and may be regarded as noteworthy additions to British petrography. The remarkably fresh rock of Northfield (see Plate XIII. fig. 1) has a specific gravity of 2·68. It is a very


In Lamentations, well-known theologian Harvey Cox draws on a wide array of sources including poetry, novels, films, paintings, and photography to offer a contemporary theological reading of Lamentations which is provocative and sure to stir numerous theological reflections and responses. The biblical book of Song of Songs has historically been seen as a book pointing to Christ's love for the church and has been interpreted in allegorical ways. Author Stephanie Paulsell suggests that the Song can still have profound meaning for us, teaching us "to love not only what we can see shining on the surface but also those depths of the other which are out of our reach."


Personal identification is one of the most important requirements in all e-commerce and criminal detection applications. In this framework, a novel palm print representation method, namely orthogonal line ordinal features, is proposed. The palm print registration, feature extraction, palm print verification and palm print recognition modules are designed to manage the palm prints and the palm print database module is designed to store their palm prints and the person details in the database. The feature extraction module is proposed to extract the ordinal measurements for the palm prints. The verification module is designed to verify the palm print with the personal identification record. The recognition module is proposed to find out the relevant person associated with the palm print image. The proposed palm print recognition scheme uses the intensity and brightness to measure the ordinal measurement. The ordinal measures are estimated for the 4 x 4 regions of the palm print images. Keywords: Biometrics, Palm Print, Recognition, Ordinal Measures, Feature Extraction.


In this study, vitro-derived plantlets of 'Carrizo' citrange were inoculated with Glomus intraradices during the acclimatization phase, from in vitro to in vivo. Plantlets were grown in presence (+M) and in absence of inoculum (-M) and in addition, in sterile and non-sterile substrate. After three months of culture, some vegetative parameters and the level of infection, varied greatly in the different theses. In particular, the highest formation of new branched roots has been observed in inoculated plantlets cultivated in sterile substrate. Good results were observed also in non-inoculated plantlets cultivated in non-sterile substrate, in presence of endemic inoculum. The same trend was observed analyzing the mycorrhizal infection. In fact the highest level of mycorrhization was observed both in inoculated plantlets in sterile substrate and non-inoculated plantlets in non-sterile thesis. Although the symbiosis induced a better growth of the rooting apparatus, results confirmed the low mycorrhizal-dependence of citrange, also regarding in vitro-derived plantlets.


This study presents the results of a historic reconstruction based upon documentary sources of precipitation and floods during the last fifty years of the 16th century in Central Spain. We used data from primary sources contemporary to the events rather than compilations or secondary references. These documents belong to the institutions that administered the study area during the time period of interest and consist of municipal or monastic minute books and administrative texts from properties belonging to the nobility and royal family. Direct data that explicitly describe meteorological or flood-related events are haphazardly distributed throughout personal correspondence and various reports, and the sizes of floods or precipitation events can also be deduced from indirect data. We analysed the qualitative data by transforming them into numerical indices of intensity/duration for precipitation and intensity/area for floods. We differentiated three sets of years that presented different hydrological patterns. The first period, from 1554 to 1575, exhibited regular precipitation patterns associated with low-intensity floods. The second, from 1576 to 1584, was characterised by low precipitation levels and few floods. The third, from 1585 to 1599, showed intense precipitation with large floods interspersed with long-lasting droughts. We interpret these results in the context of the environmental and land-use patterns of the time period studied, which coincided with a period of low temperatures.


The SNF2-like chromatin-remodeling ATPase SPLAYED (SYD) was identified as a co-activator of floral homeotic gene expression in Arabidopsis. SYD is also required for meristem maintenance and regulates flowering under a non-inductive photoperiod. SNF2 ATPases are structurally and functionally conserved from yeast to humans. In addition to the conserved protein features, SYD has a large unique C-terminal domain. We show here that SYD is present as two forms in the nucleus, full-length and truncated, with the latter apparently lacking the C-terminal domain. The ratio of the two forms of endogenous SYD differs in juvenile and in adult tissues. Furthermore, an SYD variant lacking the C-terminal domain (SYDDeltaC) rescues the syd null mutant, indicating that the N-terminal ATPase AT-hook-containing region of SYD is sufficient for biological activity. Plants expressing SYDDeltaC show molecular and morphological phenotypes opposite to those of the null mutant, suggesting that the construct results in increased activity. This increased activity is at least in part due to elevated SYD protein levels in these lines. We propose that the C-terminal domain may control SYD accumulation and/or specific activity in the context of the full-length protein. The presence of the C-terminal domain in rice SYD suggests that its role is probably conserved in the two classes of flowering plants.


This study uses data from the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia program to investigate the prevalence of GHB and phenmetrazine use among police detainees. Fifteen percent (n=75) of police detainees surveyed reported using GHB in the past 12 months. GHB use was also most prevalent among respondents in their 30s. Methamphetamine use (90%, n=27) and polydrug use (77%, n=23) were also common among those who had recently used GHB. One percent of detainees (n=4) had used phenmetrazine in their lifetime and none tested positive to the drug.


As world reserves of conventional oil keep decreasing, there is greater incentive to further develop the Athabasca oil sands of Alberta (Canada). Oil sands being composed of coarse sand, silt and clay solids (8085%), bitumen (515%) and water (15%), complete extraction of bitumen from such heterogeneous mixtures is not easy. Studies have shown the adverse effects of some types of mineral solids on bitumen recovery. Quantitative analysis of the elemental composition of mineral solids in ores is then of great importance to the oil sands industry. Two calibration protocols were developed here and implemented for accurate determination of major and minor elements in oil-sand solids by wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF) analysis using a fusion-based procedure. Commercially available standards do not span the ranges of element concentrations found in the mineral solids from oil sands. As such, calibration standards for seventeen elements were then designed by mixing pure synthetic oxides or geological reference materials, in order to mimic the elemental concentrations of oil-sand solids fractions. Measurement conditions were optimized to ensure best signal-to-background ratio and minimum line overlap. The limit of detection, calibration ranges and uncertainty errors of the resulting calibration curves are reported, showing excellent precision and accuracy even without matrix-effects correction. Application to analyze a suite of oil sands samples showed that the elemental concentrations of Ti and Zr in problematic solids components correlated well with the concentration of these elements in the entire mineral solids content present in the ores. This observation might be relevant for the development of elemental compositions-based processability markers to identify problem ores yielding poor extraction performance in commercial operations.


Ultrasound vascular imaging based on ultrafast plane wave imaging and singular value decomposition (SVD) clutter filtering has demonstrated superior sensitivity in blood flow detection. However, ultrafast ultrasound vascular imaging is susceptible to electronic noise due to the weak penetration of unfocused waves, leading to a lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at larger depths. In addition, incoherent clutter artifacts originating from strong and moving tissue scatterers that cannot be completely removed create a strong mask on top of the blood signal that obscures the vessels. Herein, a method that can simultaneously suppress the background noise and incoherent artifacts is proposed. The method divides the tilted plane or diverging waves into two subgroups. Coherent spatial compounding is performed within each subgroup, resulting in two compounded data sets. An SVD-based clutter filter is applied to each data set, followed by a correlation between the two data sets to produce a vascular image. Uncorrelated noise and incoherent artifacts can be effectively suppressed with the correlation process, while the coherent blood signal can be preserved. The method was evaluated in wire-target simulations and phantom, in which around 7–10-dB SNR improvement was shown. Consistent results were found in a flow channel phantom with improved SNR by the proposed method (39.9 ± 0.2 dB) against conventional power Doppler (29.1 ± 0.6 dB). Last, we demonstrated the effectiveness of the method combined with block-wise SVD clutter filtering in a human liver, breast tumor, and inflammatory bowel disease data sets. The improved blood flow visualization may facilitate more reliable small vessel imaging for a wide range of clinical applications, such as cancer and inflammatory diseases.


Aluminium based metal matrix composites discover different types of applications in defence, aerospace, automobile equipment because of their desirable properties of great strength, light in weight, and coefficient of thermal expansion. In the current research, Al 7075 alloy composites reinforced with 2, 4 and 6% of Al2O3 are
developed using the stir casting technique. Specimens are setup according to the worldwide measures and tensile, hardness, wear and impact tests are led to evaluate
the mechanical properties. It was presumed that WCI powder up to 6% can be added to Al effectively by stir casting course to create a hybrid composite Evaluation reveals
an improvement in the hardness and strength values with the amount of Al2O3 addition. The frictional and wear force increased with decrease in concentration of Al2O3 in the aluminium matrix. Impact strength variation is marginal with an increase in weight % of Al2O3.


Background

It is recognised that routine assessment of quality of life (QoL) can improve detection of patients' problems but little evidence exists which suggests that it impacts on patient management and well-being. It is acknowledged that clinicians may not have the tacit knowledge to fully address QoL issues, and therefore we aim to develop a training programme to assist oncologists in the interpretation and response to patient-reported QoL data.

Method

We outline the theoretical and empirical approaches informing the development of this training programme. In a previous study, oncologists were presented with patient-reported QoL data, resulting in an increase in the discussion of these issues in the consultation and a significant improvement in patient well-being. However, the underlying mechanisms linking the use of patient-reported data in clinical decision making to outcomes were unclear. A further literature review revealed a dearth of evidence linking communication skills training to improvements in patient QoL. Therefore, underlying mechanisms are further explored using qualitative and observational analyses of previously recorded oncology consultations where patient-reported QoL data were used.

Results

Based on patient-centred and shared decision-making theories, along with the empirical evidence on doctor-patient communication, a framework for the training program is outlined and preliminary findings of the consultation analysis will be presented.

Conclusion

Patient-centred communication is widely promoted but with vague definition and little understanding of underlying mechanisms. This study attempts to redress this imbalance and provide clinically-relevant evidence which will inform a future training program.


Abstract Sudan experienced two inspirational popular uprisings that brought down military dictatorships, but the 'Arab Spring' passed it by. This paper analyses social movements and armed resistance within the dualistic structure of Sudan's centre and periphery. A pattern of alternating military and parliamentary government has been superceded by a militarised political marketplace, in which patrons and clients bargain over temporary loyalties, alongside secessionist movements and a residual urban civic activism. The paper examines the popular uprisings of 1964 and 1985, examining their short-term success but long-term failure, and reviews the last 20 years' of abortive efforts to stage a 'third intifada', noting the difficulties of simultaneously pursuing civic uprising and armed insurrection, and of aligning the objectives of liberal democracy and ethnic self-determination.


This thesis attempts to complicate our perspective on politics and intellectuals of colonial Korea (1910-1945). Accordingly, the task of this thesis is threefold. Firstly, it tries to revise the meaning of politics so as to reconsider the political indifference of certain intellectuals in the period. In addition, it broadens the range of politics so that it can refer not only to such prevalent interpretation of Japanese colonial politics as coercive and oppressive rule over Koreans, but also to such possible or secondary explanation as consensual politics, or the persuasion of the colonized to voluntarily accept the colonial order and system. Finally, the thesis rethinks the at-once opposing and collaborating relationship between Japanese colonialism and Korean nationalism based on the establishment of the interstate economic structure between Japan and Korea, in order to see how it was maintained and what it purported. Specifically, Chapter 2 discusses Gramsci's theory of intellectuals in Prison Notebooks to show how his theoretical work is pertinent to the study of intellectuals and politics. Chapter 3 discloses the Korean modern writer Yisang's unseen politicality in his writing of the essay "Ennui." Chapter 4 shows how Yanagi Muneyoshi, a Japanese folk-art critic and the leader of the mingei movement in prewar Japan, successfully produced Koreans as a modern nation under the so-called Cultural Rule of the Japanese colonial government in the early 1920s.


Underwater exploration requires mobility and manipulation. Underwater robotic vehicles(UR y) have been employed for mobility, and robot manipulators attached to the underwater vehicle(i.e., rover) play the role of manipulation. Usually, manipulation mode happens when the rover is stationary. URV is then modeled as a passive joint and the joints of the manipulator are modeled as active joints. URV motions are determined by inherent dynamic couplings between active and passive joints. Furthermore, the control problem becomes complex since there should be considered many hydrodynamic terms as well as intrinsic model uncertainties. To cope with these difficulties, we propose a disturbance observer-based robust control algorithm for underwater manipulators with passive joints. The proposed control algorithm is able to treat an underactuated system as a pseudo active system in which passive joints are eliminated. Also, to realize a robust control method a nonlinear feedback disturbance observer is applied to each active joint. A four-jointed underwater robotic system with one passive joint is considered as an illustrative example. Through simulation, it is shown that the proposed control algorithm has good position tracking performances even in the presence of several external disturbances and model uncertainties.


Current antidepressant treatments for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) have limited efficacy and effectiveness. While measurement of response and remission is typically based on overall symptom reduction, the utilization of a dimensional approach, involving mood, cognitive and neurovegetative symptoms, may be more effective in predicting response to different antidepressant classes. In addition to these dimensions, evaluation of function is increasingly recognized as an important patient indicator of antidepressant efficacy. This paper reviews the efficacy of second generation antidepressant classes across the proposed symptom dimensions, and explores the potential benefits of agomelatine. While further research is required, agomelatine generally performed well in the mood dimension including measures of depressed mood, anxiety and anhedonia without inducing emotional blunting. Improvements in daytime alertness and clear thinking, combined with measures of subjective and objective sleep differentiate agomelatine from other currently available antidepressants, and likely contribute to favourable functional outcomes.


The microtasking capabilities of two computers are examined. Microtasking is a loop-based form of multitasking on MIMD (multiple-instruction, multiple-data-stream) computers in which much of the synchronization and control of parallel tasks in a user's program is managed by vendor software. Differences in the microtasking features of Cray X-MP/4 and Alliant FX/8 are described, the processes of applying them to different types of partial differential equation software are compared, and performance results from several experiments are presented.<<ETX>>


Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of gas-phase chemical reactions are typically carried out on a small number of molecules near thermal equilibrium by means of various thermostatting algorithms. Correct equipartitioning of kinetic energy among translations, rotations, and vibrations of the simulated reactants is critical for many processes occurring in the gas phase. As thermalizing collisions are infrequent in gas-phase simulations, the thermostat has to efficiently reach equipartitioning in the system during equilibration and maintain it throughout the actual simulation. Furthermore, in non-equilibrium simulations where heat is released locally, the action of the thermostat should not lead to unphysical changes in the overall dynamics of the system. Here, we explore issues related to both obtaining and maintaining thermal equilibrium in MD simulations of an exemplary ion-molecule dimerization reaction. We first compare the efficiency of global (Nosé-Hoover and Canonical Sampling through Velocity Rescaling) and local (Langevin) thermostats for equilibrating a system of flexible compounds and find that of these three only the Langevin thermostat achieves equipartition in a reasonable simulation time. We then study the effect of the unphysical removal of latent heat released during simulations involving multiple dimerization events. As the Langevin thermostat does not produce the correct dynamics in the free molecular regime, we only consider the commonly used Nosé-Hoover thermostat, which is shown to effectively cool down the reactants, leading to an overestimation of the dimerization rate. Our findings underscore the importance of thermostatting for the proper thermal initialization of gas-phase systems and the consequences of global thermostatting in non-equilibrium simulations.


INTRODUCTION
This study was designed to describe the landscape of oncology pharmacy practice at patient facing institutional healthcare organizations throughout the United States. Methods: The Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) Practice Outcomes and Professional Benchmarking Committee conducted a multi-organization, voluntary survey of HOPA members between March 2021 and January 2022. Four overarching domains were targeted: institutional description, job function, staffing, and training/certification. Data were evaluated using descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 68 responses were analyzed including 59% and 41% who self-identified their organization as academic and community centers, respectively. The median number of infusion chairs and annual infusion visits were 49 (interquartile range (IQR): 32-92) and 23,500 (IQR: 8300-300,000), respectively. Pharmacy departments reported to a business leader, physician leader, and nursing leader 57%, 24%, and 10% of the time, respectively. The median oncology pharmacy full-time equivalents was 16 (IQR: 5-60). At academic centers, 50% (IQR: 26-60) of inpatient and 30% (IQR: 21-38) of ambulatory pharmacist FTEs were dedicated to clinical activities. At community centers, 45% (IQR: 26-65) of inpatient and 50% (IQR: 42-58) of ambulatory pharmacist FTEs were dedicated to clinical activities. As many as 18% and 65% of organizations required or encouraged certification for oncology pharmacists, respectively. The median number of Board-Certified Oncology Pharmacists was 4 (IQR: 2-15). Conclusion: As the number of patients with cancer rises, the oncology workforce must grow to support this expanding population. These results describe the practice landscape of oncology pharmacy at US healthcare institutions to serve as a foundation for future research evaluating metrics and benchmarks.


The immense size of the wire transfer orders that occur in the Eurocurrency market are integral to the operation of the international monetary system. Private international law should ensure the smooth facilitation of such transactions – yet both the common law and statutory provisions enacted in some jurisdictions do not definitively determine nor allocate liability in certain claim-conflict situations. The specific focus of this article is the determination of the point at which a wire transfer order is completed, resulting in the discharge of an underlying debt obligation between a payor and payee. Determining the point at which a payment order is complete is not within the purview of the payor or payee; rather, the internal processes of a beneficiary's bank dictate the time at which a wire transfer order is complete. This requires the payor to rely upon the payee's bank to complete payment and discharge an underlying debt obligation. This article will outline the common law decisions applicable to such transactions, and the statutory provisions of Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code that attempted to further refine liability. The conclusion of the article is that there is no predictable legal method to determine the point of completion of payment, resulting in payors making wire transfer orders at their own risk.


We report a flexible technique for threshold reduction and output power enhancement in synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillators (SPOPOs) based on synchronized retroreflection of the undepleted pump using a collimating system and a delay line, which allows easy and independent adjustment of the spatial and temporal overlap of the retroreflected beam in the nonlinear crystal. The method permits initial synchronization of the forward and retroreflected pump by interferometry, providing threshold reduction before oscillation is initiated. We demonstrate the technique in a femtosecond SPOPO based on BiB3O6, where a threshold reduction of 22% and an output power enhancement of 70% are achieved compared with single-pass pumping, with no detrimental effect on the spectral and temporal characteristics of the output pulses.


The objective was to determine the growth responses of Black Neck ostrich chicks to different dietary levels of L-carnitine in pre-starter diets. Thirty-two day-old ostrich chicks were randomly divided into four treatments with four replicates, each containing two chicks. All birds received the same basal diet supplemented with 0 (T0, control), 125 (T125), 250 (T250) or 600 (T600) mg L-carnitine per kg. Responses were monitored over three growth phases, 0 - 15, 16 - 30 and 31 - 60 days, the total period being 60 days. T600 had the lowest live weight (LW) and live weight gain (LWG) over the 60-day treatment period. Live weight and LWG values of T125 and T250 did not differ from those of T0. T600 had the worst feed conversion ratio (FCR) during the different stages (0 - 15, 16 - 30 and 31 - 60 days) and over the total 60-day period. Feed intake (FI) was reduced significantly in the T125 and T600 treatments compared to T0 and T250 treatments over the total period. The treatment, T125, showed the lowest FI and FCR responses over the total period, whereas there was no difference between T0 and T250. The results suggest that supplementing the pre-starter diet with 125 mg/kg of L-carnitine can improve the performance of ostrich chicks by decreasing the FCR. In contrast, the suppressive effect of a high inclusion level (T600) might indicate that ostrich chicks are sensitive to a high level of inclusion that could cause adverse effects.


Huston Smith offers his passionate, vital message about the suffocation of the human spirit in a world dominated by materialism, consumerism, educational elitism, and a governmental and legal system without morality. Despite the widespread opinion that these are halcyon days for religion, Smith shows how current popular spiritual trends merely mask a deeper disease. In the tradition of Stephen Carter's THE CULTURE OF DISBELIEF, this compelling social critique probes the three major historical periods - traditional modern and postmodern - that have brought us to our current spiritual crisis. Illustrated with stories from Huston Smith's personal experience and encounters with many of the leading scientific and religious thinkers of our time, WHY RELIGION MATTERS is a highly original and thought-provoking read that will generate debate for years to come.


This paper reports that the tunable self-phase-stabilized infrared laser pulses have been generated from a two-stage optical parametric amplifier. With an 800 nm pump source, the output idler pulses are tunable from 1.3μm to 2.3μm, and the maximum output energy of the idler pulses is higher than 1 mJ at 1.6μm by using 6 mJ pump laser. A carrier-envelope phase fluctuation of ~0.15 rad (rms) for the idler pulses is measured for longer than one hour by using a home build f-to-2f interferometer.


This article reports the results of an ongoing experimental research on the behavior and performance of CLOS, the COMMON-LISP Object System. Our purpose is to evaluate the behavior and performance of the 3 most important characteristics of any dynamic object-oriented system: class instantiation, slot access and dynamic dispatch. This paper describes the results of our experiments on instantiation. We evaluate the efficiency of the instantiation process in both C++ and LISP under a combination of parameters such as slot types or classes hierarchy. We show that in a non-optimized configuration where safety is given priority on speed, the behavior of C++ and LISP instantiation can be quite different, which is also the case amongst different LISP compilers. On the other hand, we demonstrate that when compilation is tuned for speed, instantiation in LISP becomes faster than in C++.


The paper is about a new routing protocol suggested for Cognitive Radio Networks (CRN) called Head Cluster IP Spectrum Aware Geographic (HC-IPSAG) and the associated performance. The protocol is an extension of the formerly advanced IPSAG routing protocol, for the case of larger CRNs. Splitting of the CRN domain into clusters is considered here. Each cluster is represented by a head node and the inter-cluster routing is done by using the IPSAG routing concepts within the virtual network created by the cluster head nodes. A CRN simulation model has been developed to study the performance of HC-IPSAG. Our results show that the protocol is performing well in the case of high mobility as well as the performance decreases with the growth of the cluster number.


Passive modeling of movements is often used in movement therapy to overcome disabilities caused by stroke or other disorders (e.g. Developmental Coordination Disorder or Cerebral Palsy). Either a therapist or, recently, a specially designed robot moves or guides the limb passively through the movement to be trained. In contrast, action theory has long suggested that effective skill acquisition requires movements to be actively generated. Is this true? In view of the former, we explicitly tested the latter. Previously, a method was developed that allows children with Developmental Coordination Disorder to produce effective movements actively, so as to improve manual performance to match that of typically developing children. In the current study, we tested practice using such active movements as compared to practice using passive movement. The passive movement employed, namely haptic tracking, provided a strong test of the comparison, one that showed that the mere inaction of the muscles is not the problem. Instead, lack of prospective control was. The result was no effective learning with passive movement while active practice with prospective control yielded significant improvements in performance.


By employing attenuated total reflection geometries, we have numerically analyzed optical switching due to local Kerr nonlinearity by the coupled mode theory for a lossy polydiacetylene waveguide and explored the possibility of realizing the observation of optical attenuated total reflection (ATR) switching. We have adopted a Gaussian incident beam and have taken into account beam spread. It has been found that the choice of a proper beam spread of the incident Gaussian light leads to a considerable decrease of the critical light power and the critical light intensity required for the optical switching. Moreover, the effect of the incident beam width and guided layer thickness on the critical incident intensity and the critical incident power has been discussed.


The preventive effect of the extracts of Dunaliella Salina (EDS) on NSAR-induced squamous cell cancer of proventriculus in mice was investigated. Results showed beta-carotene (BC) and DEC could significantly inhibit NSAR-induced carcinogenesis. The greatest inhibition effect was achieved in high-does- EDS group, with an inhibitory rate of 55.6%, but not significantly different from that in BC group (P > 0.05). The proliferation of spleen cells and production of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) by the peritoneal macrophages markedly enhanced in both BC and EDS groups of mice. These findings suggested the prevention of NSAR-induced cancer of proventriculus in mice may be resulted from enhancement of cell immunity.


The aim of this case is to describe an example of cutaneous manifestations caused by COVID-19 infection, helping to better understand the disease and support an early clinical suspicion. This case addresses a 36-year-old patient with COVID-19 infection, symptomatic, with mild complaints. Seven days after the start of the clinic, she exhibited dermatological lesions in the acral areas bilaterally on her hands. The presence of erythematous-violet papules/vesicles was found in the dorsal extensor zones of the fingers, with local inflammatory signs, skin rash, flushing, edema, local burning sensation, itching and pain. Pseudo-chilblains were assumed as diagnostic hypotheses. She underwent symptomatic treatment, having achieved complete resolution at 10 days, with no subsequent sequelae.Attention should be paid to the fact that COVID-19 may present only with cutaneous manifestations, therefore these may serve as an indicator of the disease in suspected cases.


Since 1996, a handful of closed-end equity funds have issued non-convertible preferred stock to raise additional capital. Because of favorable long-term interest rates and a 1989 tax ruling stipulating that distributions of investment company income and capital gains must be allocated proportionately to preferred and common shareholders, this form of leveraging has become particularly appealing. This article review the different ways close-end funds can raise capital. It analyzes the concept and risks of leverage, examines the history of leveraged close-end municipal bind funds, and then focuses on the use of leverage by equity funds. While preferred leverage can enhance long-run returns, it also increases risk and may pose problems for manager in bear markets. S&P 500 rolling five-year returns are analyzed over the 1945-1998 period to determine the potential impact of leverage during favorable and unfavorable markets.


Assessing the hydraulic parameters of karst aquifers is a challenge due to their high degree of heterogeneity. The unknown parameter field generally leads to a high ambiguity for flow and transport calibration in numerical models of karst aquifers. In this study, a distributed numerical model was built for the simulation of groundwater flow and solute transport in a highly heterogeneous karst aquifer in south-western Germany. Therefore, an interface for the simulation of solute transport in one-dimensional pipes was implemented into the software COMSOL Multiphysics ® and coupled to the three-dimensional solute transport interface for continuum domains. For reducing model ambiguity, the simulation was matched for steady-state conditions to the hydraulic head distribution in the model area, the spring discharge of several springs and the transport velocities of two tracer tests. Furthermore, other measured parameters such as the hydraulic conductivity of the fissured matrix and the maximal karst conduit volume were available for model calibration. Parameter studies were performed for several karst conduit geometries to analyse the influence of the respective geometric and hydraulic parameters and develop a calibration approach in a large-scale heterogeneous karst system. Results show that it is possible not only to derive a consistent flow and transport model for a 150 km 2 karst area but also to combine the use of groundwater flow and transport parameters thereby greatly reducing model ambiguity. The approach provides basic information about the conduit network not accessible for direct geometric measurements. The conduit network volume for the main karst spring in the study area could be narrowed down to approximately 100 000 m 3 .


Correct innervation of the main respiratory muscle in mammals, namely the thoracic diaphragm, is a crucial pre-requisite for the functionality of this muscle and the viability of the entire organism. Systemic impairment of Sema3A-Npn-1 (Npn-1 is also known as NRP1) signaling causes excessive branching of phrenic nerves in the diaphragm and into the central tendon region, where the majority of misguided axons innervate ectopic musculature. To elucidate whether these ectopic muscles are a result of misguidance of myoblast precursors due to the loss of Sema3A-Npn-1 signaling, we conditionally ablated Npn-1 in somatic motor neurons, which led to a similar phenotype of phrenic nerve defasciculation and, intriguingly, also formation of innervated ectopic muscles. We therefore hypothesize that ectopic myocyte fusion is caused by additional factors released by misprojecting growth cones. Slit2 and its Robo receptors are expressed by phrenic motor axons and migrating myoblasts, respectively, during innervation of the diaphragm. In vitro analyses revealed a chemoattractant effect of Slit2 on primary diaphragm myoblasts. Thus, we postulate that factors released by motor neuron growth cones have an influence on the migration properties of myoblasts during establishment of the diaphragm.


Some device design issues of the impact-ionization MOS (I-MOS) device are discussed in terms of the junction depth of the source extension region and the substrate doping concentration. It is found that the source extension region is needed to be as shallow as possible in order to minimize the avalanche breakdown voltage. Furthermore, it is observed that the dependence of the threshold voltage of the I-MOS device on the substrate doping concentration is contrary to that of the MOSFET, which is an interesting phenomenon. It is related to the junction abruptness between the channel and the i-region, which is explained by using the concept of maximum lateral electric field.


This articles examines the requirement that a merger be "statutory," or conducted pursuant to the corporation laws of a state, to be tax-free. The statutory merger requirement for "A" reorganizations is an anachronistic remnant of the 1930s belief that state corporation laws are effective regulators of corporate combinations and bulwarks against abuse of the tax-free reorganization provisions. This reliance on state corporate law standards is not only inconsistent with the recently adopted check-the-box regulations and no longer much of a regulator of any kind, but also is counterproductive in that it introduces disparities of treatment between parties based on their location. Ironically, the statutory merger requirement could conceivably prevent de facto mergers and mergers involving single-member limited liability companies, but permit mergers under nouveau corporate law statutes that do not require the parties to "merge" under any conventional sense of the word. Form is elevated above substance in a way that is both irrational and unproductive. In light of the failed efforts to remove the A reorganization from the Code altogether, the Article concludes that the statutory merger requirement should be eliminated from the A reorganization so that a more uniform standard can be applied by the courts and the IRS.


Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and epidemiological features and the treatment outcome of confirmed cases of avian flu and swine flu admitted in Abbassia Chest Hospital between 2006 and 2010. Patients and methods This was a retrospective study that included 213 patients PCR-positive for influenza A H1N1 and 23 patients PCR-positive for influenza A H5N1, who were admitted to Abbassia Chest Hospital during the period from March 2006 to December 2010. The following data were collected by retrospective reviews of hospital records for each patient: epidemiological data through interview with the patient or their relatives, full history data, complete clinical examination data, full laboratory investigations, chest radiograph film at the time of admission and during the hospitalization period, a nasopharyngeal swab, ECG, and arterial blood gases. Statistical analysis of the data was then carried out. Results Regarding swine flu cases, there was no statistical difference with regard to the age distribution, the sex distribution, the presence of comorbidities, and the time of presentation among the studied patients. The results showed that 170 patients recovered, whereas 43 died, with a mortality rate of 20.2%. Among the avian flu cases, seven patients recovered, whereas 16 died, with a mortality rate of 69.5%. The mortality rate was high in renal patients, patients having bilateral complicating pneumonia, and in the patients who needed mechanical ventilation. Conclusion Some comorbidities, such as diabetes mellitus, cardiac illness, and chronic chest illness, have no implication on mortality. In contrast, renal conditions and the need of mechanical ventilation were associated with a high mortality rate.


Purpose: To evaluate the MR signal intensity characteristics in Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease on fat-suppressed (STIR) images and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted spin-echo images, and to develop criteria for the administration of contrast material. Material and Methods: Twenty children with Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease underwent conventional radiography and MR imaging of the hip utilizing fat-suppressed (STIR) sequences and T1-weighted spin-echo sequences before and after i.v. contrast administration. The signal intensity characteristics of the femoral head and the proximal femoral metaphysis were assessed retrospectively by two pediatric radiologists. Results: Evaluation of the MR images revealed six different signal patterns within the femoral head: 1) isointense signal on all images; 2) complete signal void on all images; 3) hyperintense signal on STIR images with; or 4) without contrast enhancement on T1-weighted spin-echo images; 5) isointense signal on STIR images with; or 6) without contrast enhancement on T1-weighted images. Within the metaphysis three different signal patterns were differentiated. Conclusion: Combination of fat-suppressed (STIR) sequences and T1-weighted pre- and post-contrast sequences allows an accurate evaluation of Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease. In patients without signal alterations or complete signal loss on fat-suppressed and T1-weighted spin-echo images, administration of i.v. contrast is not necessary. In case of bone marrow edema on fat-supressed images, contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images are required to identify viable osseous fragments.


Introduction: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is associated with cardiovascular risk factors. The aim of our study was to determine whether carotid intima–media thickness (CIMT) and carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity (cf‐PWV), as surrogates of cardiovascular disease and arterial stiffness, are increased in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. Methods: Forty patients with CTS and 40 gender‐ and age‐matched controls underwent cf‐PWV assessment, CIMT measurement, and nerve conduction study. Results: CIMT and cf‐PWV were increased significantly in patients with CTS. They correlated positively with median sensory and motor nerve distal latency. Whereas both CIMT and PWV related to CTS, only CIMT independently predicted CTS. Conclusions: There is both increased pulse wave velocity and CIMT and a positive correlation between these parameters and median nerve sensory distal latency in patients with CTS. CTS appears to be associated with arterial stiffness and atherosclerotic burden, but the underlying mechanisms require further study. Muscle Nerve 47: 872–877, 2013


: There is a wide range of disorders in which plasma volume may be contracted. This may either be due to a primary reduction in plasma volume, or secondary to a reduction in the volume of the vascular compartment. In the former there may be a salt and water deficit as the cause or a loss of plasma volume due to a capillary leak. Reduction of the vascular compartment is usually due to increased adrenergic activity reducing the circulatory capacitance volume. Plasma volume is reduced to compensate for the overfilling of the central circulation. The causes and clinical significance of plasma volume contraction are discussed, with particular emphasis on the pathophysiology and implications for therapy. The controversial subject of stress polycythaemia is addressed and a theoretical analysis of its pathophysiology presented.


Acorn production varies considerably among species, locations, and years with potential effects on populations of acorn‐consuming wildlife, oak (Quercus spp.) regeneration, and forest ecology. Methods to estimate annual acorn crop size include acorn‐trapping (quantitative) or visual surveys (indices or ranks). Forest managers need a tool for converting visual survey data to quantitative estimates of acorn yield within specific years and areas. I used 7 years (2006–2010, 2012, 2016) of visual acorn survey data with acorn trap data from the same individual trees of 5 common eastern oak species in the Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, USA, to determine whether a known within‐year relationship between the proportion of oaks bearing acorns (PBA) and acorn density using trap data (PBA‐trap) could be used to predict quantitative (no. of acorns per oak), within‐year acorn crops using visual survey data (PBA‐visual). At the individual tree level, visually determined percent crown with acorns (PCA‐visual) and number of acorns/m trap or per crown were correlated for all oak subgroups (species, subgenera, and all oaks combined). At the population level, mean PCA‐visual was correlated with the mean number of acorns/m trap or per crown for black oak (Q. velutina). Both PBA‐visual and mean PCA‐visual, and PBA‐visual and PBA‐trap were correlated for all oak subgroups. At the population level, PBA‐visual was a strong predictor of the mean number of acorns/m trap or per crown for most oak subgroups. Model results can be used as an index of crop size by comparing number of acorns/m trap or per crown among years or applied to oak inventory data to quantitatively estimate annual acorn crop sizes at the stand level or landscape level. This method enables users to estimate and compare the number of acorns produced within specific years and landscapes, rather than rely on qualitative hard‐mast indices. Published 2020. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.


Outcrops of the Upper Cretaceous Rosario Formation along Arroyo San Fernando, Baja California Norte, Mexico, expose a continuous cross-sectional view through a submarine-fan valley-levee complex that is similar in scale to many modern submarine-fan valleys. This unusually complete exposure provides an opportunity to compare an ancient turbidite sequence with modern submarine-fan systems and to test some aspects of submarine-fan facies models. The Arroyo San Fernando submarine-fan valley fill is 670 m thick and 5.5 to 7.5 km wide perpendicular to paleocurrent direction. The valley fill is bordered by >500-m thickness of levee deposits; these levees aggraded with the valley maintaining positive relief over the surface of the fan. The valley fill consists of coarse-grained channel deposits that alternate with fine-grained interchannel deposits. The channel deposits within the valley fill consist of both single (0.25-2 km wide and 10-50 m thick) and amalgamated (as much as 5 km wide and 45-210 m thick) channel deposits. The levee deposits that border the valley fill consist of interbedded sandstone and mudstone beds that are commonly slumped. These slumps slid both toward and away from the valley axis, indicating that slumping was due to positive relief and not solely to undercutting by channels within the valley. The valley system records an overall aggradation, with very little down-cutting of the valley floor or undercutting of the levee walls by channels. The Arroyo San Fernando submarine-fan valley has dimensions comparable to those of modern submarine-fan valleys. The channels within it are comparable in size to many inferred ancient submarine-fan valleys described in the literature and are the same size as channels within modern submarine-fan valleys. These data, together with facies relationships, may indicate that many ancient deep-marine deposits interpreted as submarine-fan valley fill only represent channels within a submarine-fan valley.


The induction of arthritis in DBA/1 mice usually requires immunization with the antigen type II collagen emulsified with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in oil. Here we describe that interleukin 12 (IL-12) can replace mycobacteria and cause severe arthritis of DBA/1 mice when administered in combination with type II collagen. Immunization of DBA/1 mice with type II collagen emulsified in oil alone resulted in a weak immune response, and only a few animals (10-30%) developed arthritis. Administration of IL-12 for 5 days simultaneously with each immunization strongly enhanced the anti-type II collagen immune response. Collagen-specific interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) synthesis by ex vivo activated spleen cells was enhanced 3- to 10-fold. IFN-gamma was almost completely produced by CD4+ T cells. Furthermore, the production of collagen-specific IgG2a and IgG2b antibodies was upregulated 10- to 100-fold. As a consequence, the incidence of arthritis in the group of mice immunized with collagen plus IL-12 was very high (80-100%). The developing arthritis was severe, involving approximately 50% of all limbs with strongly increased footpad thickness in most cases. Furthermore, histological examination revealed massive, mainly polymorphonuclear cell infiltration, synovial hyperplasia, cartilage and bone destruction, as well as new bone formation. In many cases, this resulted in the complete loss of joint structure. Neutralization of IFN-gamma in vivo prevented the development of arthritis in collagen-immunized and IL-12-treated mice. In conclusion, our data show that in vivo administered IL-12 can profoundly upregulate a T helper I-type autoimmune response, resulting in severe joint disease in DBA/1 mice.


This paper proposes a novel reversible image data hiding (RIDH) scheme over encrypted domain. The data embedding is achieved through a public key modulation mechanism, in which access to the secret encryption key is not needed. At the decoder side, a powerful two-class SVM classifier is designed to distinguish encrypted and non encrypted image patches, allowing us to jointly decode the embedded message and the original image signal. Compared with the state-of-the-arts, the proposed approach provides higher embedding capacity, and is able to perfectly reconstruct the original image as well as the embedded message. Extensive experimental results are provided to validate the superior performance of our scheme.


Abstract We estimate the blank carbon mass over the course of a typical Ramped PyrOx (RPO) analysis (150–1000°C; 5°C×min–1) to be (3.7±0.6) μg C with an Fm value of 0.555±0.042 and a δ13C value of (–29.0±0.1) ‰ VPDB. Additionally, we provide equations for RPO Fm and δ13C blank corrections, including associated error propagation. By comparing RPO mass-weighted mean and independently measured bulk δ13C values for a compilation of environmental samples and standard reference materials (SRMs), we observe a small yet consistent 13C depletion within the RPO instrument (mean–bulk: μ=–0.8‰; ±1σ=0.9‰; n=66). In contrast, because they are fractionation-corrected by definition, mass-weighted mean Fm values accurately match bulk measurements (mean–bulk: μ=0.005; ±1σ=0.014; n=36). Lastly, we show there exists no significant intra-sample δ13C variability across carbonate SRM peaks, indicating minimal mass-dependent kinetic isotope fractionation during RPO analysis. These data are best explained by a difference in activation energy between 13C- and 12C-containing compounds (13–12 ∆E) of 0.3–1.8 J×mol–1, indicating that blank and mass-balance corrected RPO δ13C values accurately retain carbon source isotope signals to within 1–2‰.


In his article on Creating Around Copyright, Joseph Fishman argues that the constraints imposed by copyright law promote the creativity of subsequent follow-on authors. He suggests that by limiting creative choices, copyright exclusivity may actually enhances the output of follow-on authors by requiring them to "create around" existing works. Yet embedded in Professor Fishman's theory is a paradox that threatens to disable the putative benefits of creating around. Specifically, the conditions that are necessary for creating around are the same conditions that we would expect to lead to licensing of previously existing works, rather than to the creation of new ones. In other words, it appears that creating around can only occur when we would expect it not to occur. In this essay I illuminate this problem, showing how the logic of Fishman's argument leads inevitably to this paradox, and I offer several suggestions as to how one might escape the creating around paradox.


This paper contributes to the empirical evidence on the gender differences in agricultural productivity. Using detailed household and individual data from the Uganda LSMS-ISA (2009-10; 2010-11) we estimate the value of productivity of crops grown per acre of harvested land at the household level, based on the gender of the land manager. Results from the Tobit model with fixed effects confirm the findings of the existing literature: controlling also for socio-economic variables and plot characteristics (soil quality, topography, distance from the homestead), as well as for the use of inputs (both labour and other inputs than labour) female managed plots are less productive than plots managed by men. Better individual agricultural data disaggregated by gender may allow to better identify the reasons of such productivity gap.


Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are established as a useful research tool to investigate the structures and reactivity of biological systems; however, their high computational costs still restrict their applicability to systems of several tens up to a few hundred atoms. Recently, a combined quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) approach has become an important method to study enzymatic reactions. In the past several years, we have investigated B12-dependent diol dehydratase using QM/MM calculations. The enzyme catalyzes chemically difficult reactions by utilizing the high reactivity of free radicals. In this paper, we explain our QM/MM calculations for the structure and reactivity of diol dehydratase and report key findings with respect to the catalytic roles of the active-site amino acid residues, computational mutational analysis of the active-site amino acid residues, assignment of the central metal ion, and function of the central metal ion. Our QM/MM calculations can correctly describe the structures and activation barriers of intermediate and transition states in the protein environment. Moreover, predicted relative activities of mutants are consistent with experimentally observed reactivity. These results will encourage the application of QM/MM research to the mechanistic study of enzymatic reactions, functional analysis of active-site residues, and rational design of enzymes with new catalytic functions.


To effectively characterize the nature of paraphrase pairs without expert human annotation, we proposes two new metrics: word position deviation (WPD) and lexical deviation (LD). WPD measures the degree of structural alteration, while LD measures the difference in vocabulary used. We apply these metrics to better understand the commonly-used MRPC dataset and study how it differs from PAWS, another paraphrase identification dataset. We also perform a detailed study on MRPC and propose improvements to the dataset, showing that it improves generalizability of models trained on the dataset. Lastly, we apply our metrics to filter the output of a paraphrase generation model and show how it can be used to generate specific forms of paraphrases for data augmentation or robustness testing of NLP models.


Under the current IDBG Corporate Results Framework (CRF) 2020-2023 (https://crf.iadb.org/en), the IDB committed to reach 30% of the total amount approved (including all lending operations) of climate finance during this period. In 2020, the IDB Group - composed of the IDB, IDB Lab (formerly the Multilateral Investment Fund) and IDB Invest - approved US$3.9 billion in climate finance as per the MDB climate finance tracking methodology. This resource is aimed at development activities carried out by the public and private sectors that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and thus mitigate climate change, and/or that reduce vulnerability to climate change and contribute to an adaptation process. This amount represented 19.5% of the IDB Groups total approved amount for 2020. The IDB only climate finance in 2020 was 15%, equivalent to US$ 2 billion. If the COVID-19 related investments are excluded, the IDB climate finance reached 30%. Changes in demand from countries to respond to the pandemic affected the overall climate finance results by shifting the priority to social and fiscal sectors and to projects that could provide faster liquidity.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a modified atmosphere (5% and 10% of CO2) and calcium lactate treatment on the respiratory metabolism of minimally processed persimmon. A static system to measure changes in the composition of the headspace was used. Composition, texture and colour were also analysed. Persimmon slices were evaluated immediately after the washing treatment and after the O2 composition had decreased to 17% to avoid changes in the metabolic pathway. All samples were stored at 4 ℃. The results showed that modified atmosphere did not affect compositional properties, although there was a slight increase in pH values at the end of each treatment. Calcium lactate treatment reduced the respiration rate, in terms of O2, in samples kept in air. Additionally, a calcium lactate effect was immediately observed on mechanical properties after the washing stage. On the other hand, luminosity and b* coordinate decreased in unwashed and calcium lactate samples kept in 5% CO2.


Objectives: To determine the prevalence of major congenital anomalies at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital from January 2010 to December 2015. In addition, to estimate types of congenital malformations, risk factors, association with chromosomal abnormalities, and to assess potential factors that are either causative or preventative. Methods: This single-centre retrospective cross sectional study was conducted in department of obstetrics and gynecology at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital. A total of 23408 obstetrical ultrasound examinations were performed for 12765 patients from the period of January 2010 to December 2015. All patients with antenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies were included. Results: Total number of patients seen at fetal medicine clinic and Obstetric ultrasound unit during the study period were 12765. A total of 216 fetuses were diagnosed with major congenital anomalies, including 162 (75%) fetuses with isolated major anomalies and 54 (25%) fetuses with non-isolated major anomalies. The antenatal prevalence of congenital anomalies was 16.8 per 1000 pregnancies. The mean maternal age was 30years. The mean gestational age at diagnosis was 24wks (range 16-35). Fifty-nine cases (27%) had history of previous fetal anomalies. Genitourinary system were the most common abnormalities while thoracic anomalies were second in rank. The consanguinity rate was 41% (89 of 216 cases), first cousin account for 72% (64 of 89). Conclusions: Congenital anomalies are one of the most important causes of fetal deaths. The present study showed a high incidence of congenital malformations in the advanced maternal age group and among multi-gravida woman. The commonest associated risk factor was consanguineous marriage the frequency of which may be reduced by creating awareness regarding the avoidance of consanguineous marriages. The most commonly diagnosed anomalies involved the genitourinary system followed by thoracic anomalies.


In some visualization systems, the data and computational resources are distributed globally and users need to interact with these resources easily and efficiently. Real-time rendering for massive datasets is a computation intensive task. one solution is to distributes the rendering tasks over a set of computation units to achieve high rendering performance. This paper presents a recursive sort-first partitioning algorithm named Dynamic Pixel Bucket Partition (DPBP) for parallel rendering alone with their implementation and performance in a distributed rendering environment. This algorithm distributes rendering work loads evenly to individual rendering units to achieve fast, high quality rendering of massive data. Test results in a multi-cluster environment demonstrate the practicality of this rendering algorithm.


Excommunication as a punishment for violating church rules on marriage and family relations was repeatedly imposed on members of Welsh dynasties during the 12th century. The aim of the research is to define the true reasons of such strict measures by means of analyzing historical sources: Welsh and English chronicles, including the Chronicle of the Princes, Annales Monastici, the corpus of Welsh native law texts known as the Law of Hywel Dda, the Historical Works of Gerald of Wales, some legal acts and official correspondence concerning Wales, including Thomas Becket's letters. The Welsh native law was considered as a "barbarian" one by the Church. Undoubtedly, Welsh native customs contradicted canon law to some extent, allowing marriages between relatives, permitting divorces without reference to ecclesiastical procedures, and tolerating extramarital relationship. Incest marriages between members of major Welsh dynasties were a widespread phenomenon in Wales till the 13th century. Such marriages seemed to be an inevitable part of creating native political alliances in the face of danger from the Norman invaders. Welsh dynasties were often closely interrelated through marriages, but far not always this fact drew attention of the church. Owain Gwynedd and the Lord Rhys, who are believed to be the most powerful Welsh leaders of the 12th century, were both married to their first cousins. Owain Gwynedd was excommunicated for refusal to have his marriage annulled on the grounds of consanguinity. Meanwhile, the same circumstances of the Lord Rhys' marriage went unnoticed. It must be taken into account that Owain Gwynedd's canonically unacceptable marriage became a subject of the Pope's attention only when the question of the Bishop of Bangor's election and subsequent conflict with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, erupted. The Lord Rhys suffered the penalty of anathema just before his death not because of his scandalous marriage or immoral relationship but on account of disrespectful treatment of the Bishop of St. David's, Peter de Leia. Obviously, conflicts between the Welsh rulers and the Anglo-Norman senior clergy as an essential part of Anglo-Welsh confrontation were the underlying reasons for such measures as excommunication. It is noteworthy that both of the aforementioned great Welsh princes were buried with due honor in the consecrated land despite the fact of excommunication, which demonstrated that the Welsh native clergy were loyal to their Welsh patrons rather than to the supreme ecclesiastical authorities.


being by the cultural programmes is also described, ironically challenging the businessmen's grandiose ambitions in their own everyday terms of efficiency and utility. Finally, Horowitz traces the appraisal of artists themselves before concluding her study with an assessment of the more general diffusion and emancipation of cultural activities through city life in the period preceding World War I. Despite the alternative views of the relationship of culture to society, the vital topics of Horowitz's study remain the twin Beaux-Arts instruments by which the leaders of society in Chicago saw that city transformed into a resemblance of 16thcentury Florence-lhe White City of the World's Columbian Exposition and, 16 years later, Daniel Burnham's City Plan. Yet, ofcourse, the paradox was that the patrons ofthese monumental projects, who, in a contemporary critic Montgomery Schuyler's words were 'willing to play the part of Maecenas to the fine arts. only they insist that they will not play it during business hours', were, in fact. responsible for providing structures of lasting cultural impact precisely 'during business hours'-in the steelframe skyscrapers of the Chicago Loop. This study hardly touches upon this fact, nor upon the equally startling one that this same society. at the same time, was harbouring and patronising in Chicago's suburbs one of the world's most original architects, Frank Lloyd Wright. I t seems a strange omission that this phenomenon, explored by Colin Rowe in his well-known essay entitled Chicago Frame: Chicago's Place in the Modern Movement, [Arch. Rev., p. 285 (Nov. 1956)] does not form a part of Horowitz's book. Her list of Chicago patrons, for example, contains none of those businessmen who commissioned Wright to build them houses in Oak Park and River Forest. One of the few names that is familiar in this context, Harold F. McCormick, was indeed, through his eventual cancellation of Wright's commission, responsible in the eyes of one of Wright's biographers. G. C. Manson, for the destruction of the Chicago School. That this and similar ironies. which pervade the serious-minded attempts of the leading citizens of Chicago to acquire 'cuiture', are not explored in Horowitz's study is surely a geat pity, since in other respects this is a thorough and valuable analysis of the patronage of the arts at a critically important time and place in the U.S.A.


A refined coal tar pitch with softening point of 33oC was obtained by a mixed solvent extraction method. The pitch was carbonized at 500oC to get micrometer carbon material with needlelike structure. The carbonized produce was further calcined at 1500oC for 30h. The resultant product was characterized by SEM, OM, EDS and XRD. Experimental results indicated that a mixed solvent extraction method could effectively get rid of primary quinoline insoluble (QI). SEM and OM examinations showed that there were more than 70% fibrous structures and a small amount mosaic structures. The size of the fibrous structure was greater than 150μm in length and less than 30μm in width. The result of EDS exhibited that the material mainly consisted of carbon. XRD analysis revealed that there was a sharp diffraction peaks at 26.5oC, which was corresponded to the (002) plane of graphite structure.


: The purposes of this research are to study the effect of different natural antimicrobial agents and to evaluate their functional groups inhibition reactivity on bacterial growth. The investigated antimicrobial agents were aloe vera powder and citric acid. The evaluation of antimicrobial activity was done by using agar well diffusion method. The bacteria used for the assessment were Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The functional groups were investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Only the antimicrobial agent citric acid showed significant inhibition towards both bacteria growth. The diameter of inhibition zone for S. aureus was larger compared to E. coli. The FTIR spectra showed the presence of functional groups only in citric acid agent. Citric acid has potential to be used as an alternative antimicrobial agent in the many applications including biomedical.


There is controversy over whether increased breast-feeding duration has long-term benefits for language development. The current study examined whether the positive associations of breast feeding on language ability at age 5 years in the Western Australian Pregnancy (Raine) Cohort, were still present at age 10 years. The Raine Study is a longitudinal study of 2868 liveborn children recruited at approximately 18 weeks gestation. Breast-feeding data were based upon information prospectively collected during infancy, and were summarised according to four categories of breast-feeding duration: (1) never breast-fed, (2) breast-fed predominantly for <4 months, (3) breast-fed predominantly for 4-6 months, and (4) breast-fed predominantly for >6 months. Language ability was assessed in 1195 children at the 10 year follow-up (mean age = 10.58 years; standard deviation = 0.19) using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - Revised (PPVT-R), which is based around a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. Associations between breast-feeding duration and PPVT-R scores were assessed before and after adjustment for a range of sociodemographic, obstetric and psychosocial covariates. Analysis of variance revealed a strong positive association between the duration of predominant breast feeding and PPVT-R at age 10 years. A multivariable linear regression analysis adjusted for covariates and found that children who were predominantly breast-fed for >6 months had a mean PPVT-R score that was 4.04 points higher than children who were never breast-fed. This compared with an increase of 3.56 points at age 5 years. Breast feeding for longer periods in early life has a positive and statistically-independent effect on language development in middle childhood.


Terminal No. A of Kunming International Airport (TA) is a complex steel-concrete hybrid structure. The airport is located in Kunming, China; the seismic fortification intensity is 8 degree. After multi-analysis, base-isolation technique is applied to the structure, and the terminal will be the biggest base-isolated monomer building in the world after its accomplishment. By using ANSYS, the structural FEM model, which is mainly composed of linear beams elements, linear shells elements and nonlinear isolator elements, was established. Demonstration of isolation schemes and influence of isolator's layout to the isolation efficiency were firstly introduced. And the selection processes of earthquake waves were introduced. Finally, the elastic time history analysis was carried out to study the seismic performance and isolation efficiency of the structure under the frequently and rarely occurred earthquakes. The results showed that not only the expected shock-absorption goal of 'reduce 1 degree'under frequently occurred earthquakes is achieved, but also the maximal shear displacement of isolation layer under rarely occurred earthquakes can meet the Chinese code requirements. It is concluded that the design of isolation layer is appropriate; the isolation efficiency of the structure after applying base-isolation technique can meet the challenge.


The response of cells to toxins is commonly investigated by detecting intracellular markers for cell death, such as caspase proteins. This requires the introduction of labels by the permeabilization or complete lysis of cells. Here we introduce a non-invasive tool for monitoring a caspase protein in the extracellular medium. The tool is based on highly sensitive optical micro-devices, referred to as whispering-gallery mode biosensors (WGMBs). WGMBs are functionalized with antibodies for the specific and label-free detection of procaspase-3 released from human embryonic kidney HEK293 and neuroglioma H4 cells after introducing staurosporine and rotenone toxins, respectively. Additional tests show that the extracellular accumulation of procaspase-3 is concomitant with a decrease in cell viability. The hitherto unknown release of procaspase-3 from cells in response to toxins and its accumulation in the medium is further investigated by Western blot, showing that the extracellular detection of procaspase-3 is interrelated with cytotoxicity of alpha-synuclein protein (aSyn) overexpressed in H4 cells. These studies provide evidence for procaspase-3 as a novel extracellular biomarker for cell death, with applications in cytotoxicity tests. Such WGMBs could be applied to further identify as-yet unknown extracellular biomarkers using established antibodies against intracellular antigens.


Certain conceptual issues persist stubbornly in philosophy, changing form and focus over time. Analysis of historical and philosophical development of concepts can help us to understand the contemporary conceptual issues we face. In this thesis, I examine conceptual change in the case of a historically slippery concept in the philosophy of biology – the species concept. Broadly put, a species concept answers the question, "What is it to be a species?" The work of Charles Darwin in the nineteenth century had interesting consequences for the species concept in terms of conceptual development. Here is an interesting claim: Darwin is a species realist. It is a contentious one, debated throughout the historical and philosophical literature on Darwin. I wish to raise and resolve a new concern: Darwin is a species realist, even though he denies certain properties which, on the views of his peers, make species real. This apparent contradiction gives rise to two questions: first, how can Darwin resolve this issue and be a species realist? Second, why is he motivated to take such a stance? Then, with answers to these two questions in mind, I ask, what is the structure of this conceptual shift? I give historically motivated answers to the first two questions, and then sketch a philosophical framework which incorporates the first two questions and answers the third.


Multi-person pose estimation aims to detect human keypoints from images with multiple persons. Bottom-up methods for multi-person pose estimation have attracted extensive attention, owing to the good balance between efficiency and accuracy. Recent bottom-up methods usually follow the principle of keypoints localization and grouping, where relations between keypoints are the keys to group keypoints. These relations spontaneously construct a graph of keypoints, where the edges represent the relations between two nodes (i.e., keypoints). Existing bottom-up methods mainly define relations by empirically picking out edges from this graph, while omitting edges that may contain useful semantic relations. In this paper, we propose a novel Dynamic Graph Convolutional Module (DGCM) to model rich relations in the keypoints graph. Specifically, we take into account all relations (all edges of the graph) and construct dynamic graphs to tolerate large variations of human pose. The DGCM is quite lightweight, which allows it to be stacked like a pyramid architecture and learn structural relations from multi-level features. Our network with single DGCM based on ResNet-50 achieves relative gains of 3.2% and 4.8% over state-of-the-art bottom-up methods on COCO keypoints and MPII dataset, respectively.


Mechanisms for localization of radionuclides in soft tissue tumors are discussed in relationship to a sequential observation of the label from the time it enters the intravascular space until the time it can be identified in a tumor in greater concentration than in surrounding normal structures. In the case of soft tissue lymphoma identification with gallium or other labeled compounds, it appears that the degree of positivity on a scan will depend upon the characteristic features that the tumor has which differ from the normal surrounding structure. These features include the relative blood volume in the tumor, the transcapillary transport of labeled protein within the tumor, the relative pinocytotic activity of tumor cells in relation to normal tissue, the relative affinity for the label of intracellular proteins in tumor cells vs. normal tissue, and finally the capacity of the tumor to retain the radioactive label due to poor lymphatic drainage or interstitial pressure different from surrounding tissue. By appreciating these possible mechanisms, we may now be able to search for those features which would lead toward positive tumor scans and predict the characteristic features of tumors which will make it possible to detect them by tracer methods. In recognizing these features, we may be able to develop tracer techniques to improve the identification of soft tissue neoplasms.


To investigate the suppressive effect of human recombinant TIMP-1 (rh-TIMP-1) on tumor proliferation using an in vivo xenograft system, HT29 was suspended in 0.1 ml phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and then subcutaneously injected in the back of female mice (BALB/C nu/nu). The mice were divided into 2 groups an and the tumor diameter was measured after rh-TIMP-1 (2 mg/kg) (rh-TIMP-1 group) or PBS (control group) was administered injections according to the following schedules. Schedule 1 : Beginning 2 weeks after the subcutaneous injection of HT29, an intraperitoneal injection of rh-TIMP-1 or PBS were performed twice a day (every 12 h) for 14 consecutive days. Schedule 2 : Beginning 1 week after the subcutaneous injection of HT29, an intraperitoneal injection was performed twice a day for 14 consecutive days. Schedule 3 : Intraperitoneal injections were started simultaneously with the subcutaneous injection of HT29, and then performed twice a day for 21 consecutive days. The mice were sacrificed and the tumors extirpated for immunohistochemical investigation. In addition, gelatin zymography and a cell proliferation assay were performed. With Schedule 1, the changes in the tumor diameter in the rh-TIMP-1 group followed the same course as those in the control group, and no suppressive effect on tumor proliferation was observed. However, with Schedule 3, a remarkable suppressive effect was observed throughout the treatment period. In immunostaining, more cases negative for MMP-9 were observed in the rh-TIMP-1 group than in the control group. Cases negative for CD34 were significantly more observed in the rh-TIMP-1 group than in the control group with Schedule 3. All of the results were obtained through the suppressive effect of rh-TIMP-1 on angiogenesis.


Background: Doxorubicin
(DOX) is an effective treatment for many cancers across the age spectrum, but
its therapeutic potential is limited because of dose-dependent relation to both
progressive and irreversible cardiomyopathy leading to congestive heart
failure. While decreases in cardiotoxicity have been reported with liposomal
doxorubicin, the long-term cardiac effects are not known. Orotate salts of
cytotoxic drugs have been shown to confer antitumor effects with a better
safety profile than unconverted drug, and therefore may offer an improved
approach to cancer treatment. Materials and Methods: Male, athymic NCr-nu/nu mice with subcutaneously implanted
CAKI-1 human renal tumor xenografts were treated with DOX and its orotate salt
(DOX-O) to evaluate antitumor activity, measured by median tumor mass doubling
time and tumor weight. Nontumored male, athymic NCr-nu/nu mice were treated with DOX, DOX-O
and liposomal doxorubicin formulations to determine DOX concentration in liver
and heart; and to evaluate their effect on body weight. Non-tumored female,
athymic NCr-nu/nu mice
were treated with daunorubicin and daunorubicin orotate to evaluate tolerance.
Results: DOX and DOX-O exhibited significant, similar levels of antitumor
activity. Mice treated with DOX-O had a lower percentage body weight loss. In
the animals treated with DOX, DOX-O, or liposomal doxorubicin, liposomal
doxorubicin was associated with the lowest percentage of body weight loss, but
the highest concentration of DOX in heart. In daunorubicin tolerance
experiments, animals showed a better tolerance for daunorubicin orotate as
measured by a smaller percentage change in body weight. Conclusions: DOX-O is
effective as an antitumor therapy and may offer a less toxic alternative to DOX
for maintaining therapy. The lower percentage of body weight loss in animals
treated with DOX-O and daunorubicin orotate is a measure of improved tolerance
and may translate into better patient outcomes.


The Government of Morocco has been ambitious in carefully designing policies and regulations that can promote greater ICT penetration and the provision of ICT services to different sectors of the economy, including the agriculture sector. The country's EBA ICT scorei of 6 out of 9 indicates a strong enabling digital environment with regards to laws, regulations and policies, while its score of 58 in the GSMA Mobile Connectivity Index (MCI)ii highlights its strength to adopt and use mobile internet. This achievement is largely due to the government's commitment at institutional and programmatic levels to creating an enabling environment for digitalizing its economy, including the agriculture sector.


: Combined urodynamic investigation, including uroflowmetry, cystomanometry and intraurethral pressure profile (IPP) assessment, was carried out in 25 patients with prostatic adenomas and carcinomas, selected to undergo transurethral electroresection (TUR). The same combined investigation was repeated 2 months after TUR in 14 of 25 patients. The study of lower urinary urodynamics made use of Diza-2100 (Denmark) measuring system, recording maximum and mean volumetric urinary flow rate, volume and duration of micturition. The quantity of residual urine was also determined; the bladder was filled with CO2 at the rate of 50 ml/min for retrograde cystomanometry. In IPP assessment, the rate of catheter removal from the bladder was 1 mm/sec, and the rate of gas perfusion was 10 ml/min. Post-TUR follow-up revealed an increase of volumetric micturition rate to normal values, a drop in maximum intravesical pressure, and a reduction of functional length of the urethra and its prostatic segment, demonstrating that TUR is a very effective method of treatment for prostatic adenomas and carcinomas, involving little injury, and that the examined parameters of lower urinary urodynamics are objective indicators of treatment efficiency.


Abstract The problem of an arbitrary medium probing by use of radiation flux on the bases of the monoenergetic transport equation is considered. The medium is assumed to comprise some bodies, which radiation characteristics differ from ones of the medium. The outgoing radiation density flux is assumed to be measured at a plane nonintersecting the bodies whereas the boundaries of the body projections (shadows) on the plane are to be found. The case when the direct imaging of the objects is embarrassing owing to a strong scattering and absorption within the medium. The current work is being carried out under a special project so the limitations imposed have a specific character. More definite, these limitations are adopted to the problem of the world ocean near-bottom zone probing.


We propose a novel fiber sensor utilizing a thermomechanical MEMS element at the fiber tip. Owing to its Parylene/Titanium bimaterial structure, the MEMS membrane exhibits an out-of-plane displacement with changing temperature. Together with the MEMS element, the embedded diffraction grating forms an in-line interferometer, from which the displacement as well as the temperature can be deduced. The fabricated detector is placed at the single-mode fiber output that is collimated via a graded index lens. This novel architecture allows for integrating MEMS detectors on standard optical fibers, and easy substitution of the MEMS detector element to alter the measurement range and the response time of the sensor. Temperature and time-constant measurements are provided and verified with reference measurements, revealing a temperature sensitivity better than 20 mK and 2.5-ms response time, using low-cost laser source and photodetectors.


The authors compared the results of dipyridamole myocardial-SPECT (D-ECT) with dipyridamole electrocardiogram (D-ECG) in detecting coronary artery disease (CAD). According to the result of coronary artery angiogram. We analysed the results of D-ECT and D-ECG in 62 patients. In detecting CAD, the sensitivity and specificity of D-ECT were 89%, and 92%, while those of D-ECG were 54% and 76% respectively. In detecting single double, triple vessel diseases, the sensitivity of D-ECT was 76%, 100% and 100% respectively. The sensitivity of D-ECG was 35%, 73% and 67% respectively. In identifying left anterior descending, left circumflex and right coronary artery, the sensitivity of D-ECT was 73%, 80% and 80% respectively, while that of D-ECG was 54%, 20% and 25% respectively. The results showed that D-ECT was better than D-ECG in diagnosing CAD.


Introduction The hybrid procedure (HP) is an alternative first step palliation in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). Following the HP, patients undergo one of two pathways: 'three-stage' - the comprehensive stage II operation (CSII) followed by the total cavopulmonary connexion (TCPC); or 'four-stage': the Norwood procedure, the hemi-Fontan operation (HF), and finally TCPC. Decision to proceed depends on physiological and imaging determinants. This study describes changes in somatic growth observed in patients in both operative pathways. Methods 55 patients with HLHS who underwent HP as first stage palliation were included. Weight-for-age z-score (WFAZ) and height-for-age z-score (HFAZ) were measured at each operative stage. Results Weight (Figure 1): Three-stage: Patients were of low-normal weight at time of HP (WFAZ -0.3 ± 1.0). Weight decreased to time of CSII (WFAZ -0.8 ± 1.2), then increased significantly to TCPC (WFAZ -0.6 ± 1.4, p = 0.014). Abstract YI-2 Figure 1 Weight: Four-stage: Patients were also of low-normal weight at HP (WFAZ -0.8 ± 1.2). Weight decreased significantly from HP to Norwood procedure (WFAZ-2.8 ± 1.7. p = 0.03). Weight stabilised between Norwood and HF, and then increased significantly to TCPC (WFAZ -1.1 ± 0.8, p = 0.036). Height (Figure 2): Three-stage: Height declined steadily from HP to TCPC. Significant decrease in height was observed between CSII and TCPC (p < 0.01). Abstract YI-2 Figure 2 Height: Four-stage: Height decreased from HP to Norwood, then to HF. Height increased from HF to TCPC. The changes were non-significant. Conclusions Patients who undergo HP have poor weight gain prior to their superior cavopulmonary connexion (SCPC), as evidenced by decline in WFAZ scores. This was more prominent in the 4-stage group. Weight returned to baseline levels by time of TCPC. The early decline in weight may result from the volume overloading, cyanosis, increased myocardial work of the single ventricle and additional energy expenditure, factors which are corrected at SCPC. The changes in weight are similar to the somatic growth pattern observed in patients undergoing Norwood procedure as first stage palliation. Study of growth data identifies key time points for optimising interventions to address poor growth, a known risk factor for morbidity, prolonged hospitalisation and worse neurodevelopmental outcomes.


We present 2 cases of advanced juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) to illustrate the advantages of endoscopic Coblation-assisted resection of intranasal extensions of these masses. Both patients—an 11-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy—presented with a large, extensive mass (Radkowski stage IIIb and Fisch stage IVb in both cases). After embolization was performed on each patient, his JNA was partially ablated via an endoscopic approach with the Coblator II Surgery System with an EVac Xtra Plasma Wand in conjunction with an image-guided navigation system. Both patients experienced resolution of their nasal obstruction with removal of the intranasal extension of the tumor. Coblation allowed for a controlled debulking of the tumors with less blood loss and without the need for multiple instruments. To the best of our knowledge, our report is one of the first to describe image-guided endoscopic Coblation of advanced JNA tumors. Future studies in adequately sized populations are needed to determine the safety and effectiveness of Coblation-assisted endoscopic removal of both advanced and lower-stage JNAs.


In order to investigate the effect on manufacturing quality of focus position misalignment between laser beam and powder convergence in laser metal deposition shaping (LMDS) processing, several experiments including single-track monolayer, straight thin-wall and ring thin-wall were made. The measurements and analysis on shape, size and surface quality of the experiment parts were carried out. An omnidirectional detecting method to check the misalignment of focus position was brought forward and tested. The results indicate that the misalignment of focus position directly affects the quality of shaping parts and shows the regularity, the detecting method can easily detect the focus position misalignment on random direction and angle and guide the adjustment on them.


With the rapid growth of the world population and water contamination, nanofiltration membranes with extraordinary permeance and high salt rejection are eminently desirable for addressing global water scarcity. Here, an innovative approach to design thin film composite (TFC) membranes with ultrahigh permeance via hydrogel assisted interfacial polymerization is reported. The hydrogel containing piperazine (PIP) monomers serving as an aqueous phase in interfacial polymerization enable homogeneous interfacial polymerization, reducing the diffusion rate of the PIP monomers, and providing mechanical strength to the thin polyamide (PA) selective layer. As a result, the synthesized advanced TFC membranes have ultrahigh high permeances of 52.8 and 62.9 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 while maintaining satisfactorily high rejections of 96.4% and 93.5% for Na2SO4, demonstrating a desalination performance superior to the PA TFC nanofiltration membranes reported so far. Moreover, the mechanism behind the exceptional high permeance is delineated by exploring theoretical hydrogel assisted interfacial polymerization via simulation. Most importantly, the fabrication process of the hydrogel-TFC membranes is simple, enabling cost-efficient and scalable manufacturing.


The author presents, in an easily accessible generative framework, a reference on the Tibeto-Burman language Meithei. The grammar is divided into nine chapters which deal with phonology and morphology (phonemic contrasts, tone, the interaction of phonology and morphology, a word syntax for the description of the agglutinative morphology of Meithei) and syntax (the structure of root sentences, nominalization and other dependent clauses, case marking, the marking of grammatical relations). A functional perspective dealing with the signalling of evidentiality and indirect speech acts is given in the final chapter. The interaction of phonology and morphology is described in terms of the theory of Lexical Morphology and Phonology. It is shown, that while this theory is effective in describing the morphophonological facts of Meithei, it makes wrong predictions about word level semantics. The author argues that an appropriate grammar Meithei should allow for autonomous semantic and morphophonological representations. The book is rich in data: both elicited and naturally occurring speech acts are used in the analysis. Included are texts with interlinear translation, a Meithei word glossary, a subject index, a comprehensive bibliography of Meithei Linguistics, maps and pictures of consultants. Written primarily for the linguist, this grammar should also be of use to teachers and students of Meithei.


Since the beginning of 2002, European law requires selective waste collection in urban areas. The aim of the paper is to present ways of efficient waste management in urban areas according to European regulations. Data will be presented from the urban waste management (City of Timisoara) for 2008, 2009 and first half of 2010, for the following categories of waste: municipal waste, waste paper / cardboard, tires, car batteries, spent oils, waste from wood processing, plastic waste, hazardous medical waste, glass, textile waste, electrical and electronic equipment waste. Research methods used are statistical collection and interpretation of results and the materials used consist of questionnaires completed by businesses and environmental agency reports. The novelty of the paper is a presentation of the urban image of an efficient management of waste, not just those of the municipal recyclable but also the valuable recyclable, in the context of sustainable development. The research is limited to providing waste collection methods and amounts for each category of waste, without getting into the processes of recycling / recovery of waste. From a practical point of view, the research shows the degree of education with the population and with the economic agents at the urban level regarding waste collection as shown by the data regarding the amount of waste collected already. The importance of the research is mainly in respecting the principles underlying the waste management activities: the principle of primary resources protection, the principle of using the best available techniques, the principle of prevention, the polluter pays principle, the principle of substitution, the principle of subsidiarity, the principle of integration proximity and of integration. The originality of this paper is given by combining the methods of waste management conditions with the conditions that have to be complied under environmental legislation in force and interpretation of existing data on the types of waste to provide a complete picture of the urban waste management efficiency.