This study aims to uncover how Organization's vision (OV) can affect Knowledge Acquisition (KA). Qualitative research method is implemented to investigate a case of KA in technology-based Start-Up, namely e-Fishery. This study's data is collected by performing semi-constructed interviews several prominent figures in the company. Data analysis is done by thematic analysis to identify emerging themes and the interrelation between them. Findings of this research suggest that OV indirectly affects KA through influencing the way organizations interact with the customers, which in turn affects KA performance. Furthermore, this study argues the positive influence of customer oriented OV to KA success. This study contributes to KA literature by providing elaboration on OV influence and its role in the interaction inside organization-customers settings.
Keywords: knowledge acquisition, organization's vision, interaction, digital start-up, innovation


Early in 2002, members of two Producer Organisations (POs), the North Sea Fishermen's
Organisation in Britain, and the Dutch Cooperative Producentenorganisatie Oost Nederland,
realised that their quotas of plaice and sole were insufficient to last until the end of the quota
period. Vessels have in the order of 70-80% of their needs for sole but only 50-60% plaice.
In response they voluntarily tied up their vessels periodically early in the year. This was
repeated in 2004 and 2005.
The objective of this study, which was part-funded by the European Commission Directorate-
General for Fisheries and undertaken by the two POs and a firm of economists, was to
identify whether the expected improved price stability for plaice and sole on the Urk auction
market where most of the fish is sold, was achieved, and to estimate the amount of the
improvement in revenues and cost-savings for the fleet.
Inverse demand functions were calculated for lemon sole, dover sole, and plaice and the
results suggest that revenue is maximised by spreading supplies evenly across any given time
period. This was confirmed by simulations of the estimated model which were run to predict
what would have been the revenue in the period that the tie up scheme was in force against an
alternative scenario of the scheme not being in force. The aggregate gains in earnings are
calculated to have been up to 18%.
From a sample of vessels' costs and earnings accounts statistical evidence emerged that the
profitability was higher in the years when the tie-up scheme was in place, though no
significant change in revenue and crew share was found. While individually the evidence of
the econometrics and statistical tests is not conclusive (and that of the statistical tests need not
be attributable to the tie-up scheme), combined, the two pieces of evidence do suggest that the
tie-up scheme did result in the intended higher revenues and profits, and a more stable market.


A pure triphasic testicular Wilms' tumor, without teratomatous elements, was studied using multiple techniques. Carcinoma in situ (CIS), the characteristic precursor of testicular germ cell tumors of adults (TGCTs), was found in the adjacent parenchyma. Flow cytometric analysis showed a single hypotriploid tumor stem line. Karyotyping of the tumor revealed some numerical and structural abnormalities, including an i(12p), the chromosomal marker of TGCTs. In situ hybridization supported the karyotypic findings, and showed a similar numerical distribution in CIS and the tumor. Molecular analysis of the tumor illustrated that all short arms of chromosome 12, including i(12p), were of maternal origin. No 12q deletions were detected. In spite of complete loss of the paternal 11p13 band, the zinc finger regions and exons 2 and 6 of the WTI gene contained no aberrations. Therefore, this tumor suppressor gene is not inactivated due to aberrations in the studied regions. In addition, all four WTI alternative transcripts were expressed in the tumor. No aberrations were found in chromosomal bands 11p15.5, 16q22.1, and 16q24. Both parental alleles of the human imprinted genes H19 and IGF2 were expressed in the tumor. This is the first report on the chromosomal and molecular characterization of an extrarenal Wilms' tumor. Its germ cell origin was unequivocally demonstrated.


TAK1 kinase activates multiple transcription factors and regulates the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We have previously reported that ablation of TAK1 in keratinocytes causes hypersensitivity to ROS-induced cell apoptosis. It is known that some tumor cells produce ROS at higher levels compared with normal cells. We used inducible epidermal-specific TAK1 knockout mice and examined whether ablation of TAK1 in preexisting skin tumors could cause an increase in ROS and result in tumor cell death. Deletion of tak1 gene in skin tumors caused the accumulation of ROS and increased apoptosis, and skin tumors totally regressed within 5 to 10 days. Normal skin did not exhibit any significant abnormality on tak1 gene deletion. Thus, TAK1 kinase could be a new and effective molecular target for ROS-based tumor killing.


This reprise of Harry Magdoff's 1969 "A Note on the Communist Manifesto" remains as relevant as ever—perhaps even more so. While capitalism by its very nature lives by accumulation and geographic expansion, it does so in a most unequal fashion. Even though nothing in economics follows strict mathematical rules, there are notable tendencies produced by the inner springs of capitalism. An outstanding example of such a tendency is found in the distinct and marked widening of the gap between a handful of rich nations and the rest of the world. The accelerating globalization of our times demonstrates this polarization in no uncertain terms.


Parents who experience great amounts of legal conflict as they dissolve their relationship and arrive at their parenting arrangements require an outsize proportion of courts' time and resources. Additionally, there is overwhelming evidence that conflict has a deleterious effect on their children. We partnered with the family court to conduct a study comparing the effectiveness of two programs for families deemed by their judge to be high conflict and thereby mandated to a program. Both involved one 3-hour session; the existing program, Parent Conflict Resolution (PCR), used exhortational lecture and video; the newly designed experimental program, Family Transitions Guide (FTG), based on motivational interviewing, employed exercises attempting to get parents to decide for themselves what they needed to do for the sake of their children. Parents were assigned at random to one of the two programs (the literature often terms this a randomized clinical trial) and were interviewed just before it began and 9 months later, as was a child. Results showed that child's report of their own well-being was significantly improved by FTG as compared to PCR and that these effects were mediated by children feeling less caught in the middle. On several variables, parent report showed that parents in PCR as compared to FTG felt decreased problems in co-parenting and less interparental conflict, although the effects were not consistent across mother and father report. There was also evidence of diminished legal conflict over 9 months in FTG as compared to PCR.


Improving the reversibility and energy efficiency of Li–CO2 electrochemistry would help in developing practical Li–air batteries capable of providing stable power supply in the presence of CO2. However, it is hard for most existing electrodes to convert CO2 effectively (high discharge capacity) and efficiently (low charge potential). Herein, we have, for the first time, identified the potential of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as porous catalysts in CO2 electrodes, taking advantage of their high capability for CO2 capture and monodispersed active metal sites for Li2CO3 decomposition. In particular, eight porous MOFs (Mn2(dobdc), Co2(dobdc), Ni2(dobdc), Mn(bdc), Fe(bdc), Cu(bdc), Mn(C2H2N3)2, and Mn(HCOO)2) and two nonporous materials (MnCO3 and MnO) were investigated. Among them, Mn2(dobdc) achieves a remarkable discharge capacity of 18 022 mA h g−1 at 50 mA g−1, while Mn(HCOO)2 retains a low charge potential of ∼4.0 V even at 200 mA g−1 for over 50 cycles. The Li–CO2 electrochemistry on MOF electrodes was investigated with an arsenal of characterization techniques, including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and in situ differential electrochemical mass spectrometry. The findings provide useful design principles for improving the reversibility and energy efficiency of Li–CO2 electrochemistry and will herald the advent of practical technologies that enable energy-efficient utilization of CO2 for electrochemical energy storage and supply.


The title of this thesis infers the scheme of my subject matter. The term "Stopping the World" is referring to the capture of a moment of time, and also equally important, the capture of the emotional vibration which is immanent of that subject. The style of the painting is representational as interpreted with an exaggerated palette. The application and the quality of the paint is of a primary importance to me, as well as interesting and unique subject matter and composition. In some cases the handling of paint and its intrinsic qualities become more important than the subject or design. Once the idea or impression is established, I draw- it directly on the canvas with little preliminary sketching before I begin working on the painting. The drawing on the canvas is usually done with a small or short bristle brush, in Thalo Blue, or a mixture of Cadmium Red, and Burnt Umber, rather than chalk or charcoal. After the composition is set up, I wash over the major areas with the appropriate colors. In my recent works I have begun utilizing this under painting With its quick and fresh qualities along with the building up of the pa.int, and \painterly\ application of t he medium. That medium which can be best used to my advantage is the water base acrylic paint. It facilitates my method of quick application of paint, and style of working, through its fast drying ability. This fast drying allows thick impasto technique to be accomplished in a short amount of time, which is a manner I sometimes employ. Within the realm of representational work my most common theme is that of a landscape. In this general area I sometimes choose just straight scenery for my compositions, but in many cases the landscape becomes merely a prop or structural device for the part of the painting which is of principal interest. Such has been one treatment of my dragonfly paintings where the focus is centered on them, rather than a landscape with dragonflies in it. For me there is a duality in my endeavor, each part having equal importance. One, is the search for technical improvement and the extension of my skills as a painter and as an artist to construct images which are whole and complete entities, and the other is, to create images for myself which spark remembrances of special things which I have experienced, which become like time capsules returning the feeling along with the visual imprint of that state of consciousness.


Sentence compression is one of the most challenging tasks in natural language processing,which may be of increasing interest to many applicationssuch as abstractive summarization and text simplification for mobile devices.In this paper, we present a novel sentence compression model based on first-order logic, using Markov Logic Network.Sentence compression is formulated as a word/phrase deletion problem in this model.By taking advantage of first-order logic, the proposed method is able to incorporate local linguistic features and to capture global dependencies between word deletion operations. Experiments on both written and spoken corpora show that our approach produces competitive performance against the state-of-the-art methods in terms of manual evaluation measures such as importance, grammaticality, and overall quality.


The question of whether fluid intelligence can be differentiated from general intelligence in older adults is addressed. Data indicate that the developmental pattern of performance on fluid tasks differs from the pattern of general intelligence. These results suggest that it is important to identify changes in fluid cognitive functions associated with frontal lobe decline, as they may be early indicators of cognitive decline.


Device size scaling of pseudo-vertical diamond Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) has been characterized for high-power device applications based on the control of doping concentration and thickness of the p- CVD diamond layer. Decreasing parasitic resistance on the p+ layer utilizing lithography and etching makes possible to get a constant specific on-resistance of less than 20 mOhm-cm2 with increasing device size up to 200 µm. However, the leakage current under low reverse bias conditions is increased markedly. Due to the increase in the leakage current, the reverse operation limit is decreased from 2.4 to 1.3 MV/cm when the device size is increased from 30 to 150 µm. If defects induce an increase in leakage current under the reverse conditions, the density of the defects can be estimated to be 104–105/cm2. This value is 5–10 times larger than the density of dislocations in single crystal diamond substrate.


Microalgae accumulate lipids in response to nutrient deprivation, and these lipids are a biodiesel fuel stock. Algal cultivation with secondary wastewater effluent is one proposed platform for biofuel production, which provides nutrients to algae while further polishing wastewater effluent. Algal bioreactors were tested using a feast-famine feeding regiment in simulated secondary wastewater effluent to evaluate the effects on lipid content and algal community structure. Algal polycultures were inoculated into reactors fed with synthetic secondary wastewater effluent at pH 7.5 and 9 and operated under a feast-famine nutrient (N, P, and BOD) supply regime in sequencing batch reactors. Fatty acid methyl ester contents of the reactors were assessed, which showed a decrease in lipid content after the feast-famine cycling (from 12.2% initially to 5.2% after four cycles at pH 9). This decrease in lipid content was not correlated with an increase in carbohydrate storage within biomass, nor an increase in bacterial biomass abundance relative to algal biomass in the reactors. The eukaryotic microbial communities from reactors operated at pH 9 diverged from reactors operated at pH 7.5 during cycling, with the pH 9 reactors becoming dominated by a single Operational Taxonomic Unit aligning to the Scenedesmus genus. These results suggest that high pH and feast-famine nutrient cycling may select for a less diverse algal community with a lower lipid content within a secondary wastewater polishing scheme.


Quantitative mass spectrometry (MS) in combination with affinity purification approaches allows for an unbiased study of protein-protein and peptide-protein interactions. In shotgun approaches that are based on proteolytic digestion of complex protein mixtures followed by two-dimensional liquid-phase chromatography, the separation effort prior to MS analysis is focused on tryptic peptides. Here we developed an improved offline 2-D liquid chromatography-MS/MS approach for the identification and quantification of binding proteins utilizing reversed-phase capillary columns with acidic acetonitrile-containing eluents in both chromatographic dimensions. A specific fractionation scheme was applied in order to obtain samples with evenly distributed peptides and to fully utilize the separation space in the second dimension nanoLC-MS/MS. We report peptide-protein interaction studies to identify phosphorylation-dependent binding partners of the T cell adapter protein ADAP. The results of the SILAC-based pull-down experiments show this approach is well suited for distinguishing phosphorylation-specific interactions from unspecific binding events. The data provide further evidence that phosphorylated Tyr 595 of ADAP may serve as a direct binding site for the SH2 domains of the T cell proteins SLP76 and NCK. From a technical point of view we provide a detailed protocol for an offline 2-D RP-RP LC-MS/MS method that offers a robust and time-saving alternative for quantitative interactome analysis.


In recent decades, new modes of governance have emerged in which an array of non-nation-state actors (NNSAs) drive norms and behaviors related to the production and consumption of goods and services with potentially large environmental and social impacts. These modes of governance are evident in the governance of biofuels, where intergovernmental organizations, national and subnational governments, corporations, and civil society organizations have recently developed an array of standards, metastandards, and codes of conduct attempting to define the conditions in which crops can be grown, processed, and used as fuel. Although the field is populated by dozens of efforts, a few binding state-sponsored regulations appear to dominate the major markets for biofuels in the United States and European Union. Nevertheless, existing regulations were heavily influenced by NNSAs. Further, several state-derived modes of governing take the form of metastandards that permit standards developed by NNSAs to be used in their place, resulting in a hybrid system of state and nonstate governance regimes. The regimes taking shape attempt to minimize the negative impacts of biofuel production in numerous ways; for example, by introducing penalties for production associated with direct and indirect land use change, crediting for the coproduction of livestock feed, and encouraging biofuel production on marginal lands. However, these issues are plagued by contradictions, raising questions about how sustainability is defined and assessed in the context of biofuel governance.


We consider the differential microwave imaging for continuous monitoring of hemorrhagic brain strokes where our aim is to determine the change of bleeding in sequential time frames. The scattered electromagnetic field is measured in two different time steps, and the difference in the scattered field is used as the data of the inversion scheme. The imaging is performed via contrast source inversion. However, since the data of the inversion scheme consists of the difference of the scattered field measurements, the algorithm produces a differential contrast function instead of a complete reconstruction. This function carries information about the difference in the electromagnetic parameters of the brain, that is the relative size of the blood region, between two measurements. The numerical simulations with a realistic head model demonstrate that the method is capable of detecting changes in multiple blood regions, and provides information about the locations and the types of these changes.


Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is associated with increased stroke risk and mortality post-discharge. POAF is often considered transient; however, recurrence is likely under-recognized as symptoms are an unreliable guide. Surveillance post-discharge may identify asymptomatic POAF recurrences in patients discharged in sinus rhythm. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies investigating POAF recurrence post-discharge, in patients with new-onset POAF following cardiac surgery who reverted to sinus rhythm prior to discharge. Two independent reviewers searched medical databases, clinical trial registries, reference lists and the Internet. After screening from 6525 studies, 8 studies were identified (n = 1157 participants, mean age 66 ± 10 years and 73% men). Monitoring methods included the following: telemetry during twice-daily exercise sessions (n = 2), continuous telemetry for 3 weeks (n = 1), daily 20-s electrocardiography (ECG) using wearable event recorder (n = 1), 30-s single-lead ECG, 4 times/day (n = 1) and implanted continuous monitoring (n = 2). The incidence rate of POAF recurrence identified through non-invasive monitoring in the first 4 weeks post-discharge was 28.3% [confidence interval (CI) 23.0-33.6%]; recurring 12 ± 5 days (mean ± SD) post-surgery. The incidence rate identified through implanted continuous monitoring was 61-100% within 2 years. Between 40% and 93% of episodes were asymptomatic. In one small study reporting stroke risk, 8 of 10 patients with recurrence were guideline-indicated (CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥2) for oral anticoagulation for stroke prevention. Monitoring for POAF recurrence post-hospital discharge identifies significant numbers of early asymptomatic recurrences in patients at high risk of stroke who may benefit from anticoagulation for stroke prevention. More intense monitoring is more likely to identify POAF recurrence. Future research is required to investigate the prognostic significance of POAF recurrence, especially stroke and mortality risk.


Importance
The initial assessment of pertuzumab use for treatment of metastatic breast cancer by health technology assessment agencies suggested that pertuzumab was not cost-effective. In Ontario, Canada, pertuzumab became funded in November 2013 based on the substantial clinical benefit. To date, there is a paucity of analysis of pertuzumab using real-world data for cost-effectiveness.

Objective
To assess the cost-effectiveness of pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and chemotherapy vs trastuzumab and chemotherapy for patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Design, Setting, and Participants
A population-based retrospective economic evaluation was conducted in Ontario, Canada. Patients who received first-line treatments for metastatic breast cancer from January 1, 2008, to March 31, 2018, were identified. Patients were followed up from the start of treatment up to 5 years, with maximum follow-up to March 31, 2019. Patients were identified from the Ontario Cancer Registry and linked to the New Drug Funding Program database to identify receipt of first-line treatment (N = 1158).

Interventions
Treatment with pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and chemotherapy after public funding (November 25, 2013) compared with treatment with trastuzumab and chemotherapy before funding.

Main Outcomes and Measures
Cost-effectiveness, from a public payer perspective, was estimated from administrative data with a 5-year time horizon, adjusted for censoring, and discounted (1.5%). Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for life-years gained and quality-adjusted life year (QALY) with bootstrapped 95% CIs were calculated. Sensitivity analysis with price reduction of pertuzumab alone or in combination with trastuzumab was conducted.

Results
A total of 579 pairs of matched patients receiving pertuzumab and controls were included. The mean (SD) age of the matched study cohort was 58 (12.97) years; 1151 were women (99.4%). Pertuzumab resulted in 0.61 life-years gained and 0.44 QALYs gained at an incremental cost of $192 139 (all costs measured in Canadian dollar values, CAD) with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $316 203 per life-year gained and $436 679 per QALY. The main factors associated with cost included the cost of pertuzumab (60%), outpatient cancer treatment delivery (24%), and trastuzumab (15%). With 100% price reduction of pertuzumab, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $174 027 per QALY. When the price of pertuzumab and trastuzumab were both reduced by more than 71%, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio decreased below $100 000 per QALY.

Conclusions and Relevance
The findings of this population-based study suggest that pertuzumab may increase survival for patients with metastatic breast cancer but would not be considered cost-effective, even after 100% price reduction, under conventional thresholds.


Based on the theory of grinding temperature field and the grinding forces obtained from the experiment, the heat flow during grinding of SiCp/Al composites was calculated. The temperature distributions have been simulated during grinding process in the case of diamond wheel and SiC wheel. The effects of grinding wheel, workpiece speed and grinding depth on the grinding temperature field were discussed. The results show that the grinding temperature with SiC wheel is much higher than that of diamond wheel in the same grinding condition, and the grinding temperature gradually decreases with the increasing of the workpiece speed or the decreasing of the grinding depth for both the diamond wheel and SiC wheel.


OBJECTIVES
To determine the adequacy of care received from general practitioners by patients with sexually transmitted diseases or genitourinary symptoms.

DESIGN
Prospective study.

SETTING
Hong Kong.

PARTICIPANTS
Diagnoses and drug data obtained from logbooks submitted by doctors studying for the Diploma in Family Medicine and candidates for Fellowship examinations between 1999 and 2002.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Diagnosis or symptom of a sexually transmitted disease and prescribed treatment.

RESULTS
Sexually transmitted diseases and genitourinary symptoms accounted for 1.1% of the workload of these community doctors in Hong Kong. The majority of patients were young adult males. The overall standard of treatment was inadequate: both multi-pharmacy and inappropriate treatment was common; in up to 30% of cases, doctors ignored local or international guidelines.

CONCLUSION
Primary care doctors play an important role in the diagnosis and management of sexually transmitted diseases or genitourinary symptoms in Hong Kong. A high index of suspicion should be maintained and continuing education made available if doctors are to provide an equally high standard of care.


Neutron imaging (NI) is an alternative non-destructive inspection technique compared to the well-known X-ray method. Although neutron imaging data look at a first glance similar to X-ray images it must be underlined that the interaction mechanism of the sample material with neutrons differs fundamentally. X-ray interaction with matter occurs with the electrons in the atomic shells whereas neutrons interact only with the atomic nuclei. Hence, both methods have a different and to great extent complementary contrast origin. Neutron imaging allows for a higher penetration through heavier elements (e.g. metals) whereas a high contrast is given for light elements (e.g. hydrogen). By the use of neutrons instead of X-rays exhaust after-treatment systems can be successfully examined non-destructively for their soot, ash, urea and coating distributions. The big advantage of neutron imaging is that detailed, high-contrast images can be obtained even in canned substrates (silicon carbide or cordierite). Neutron imaging can be applied to substrates of passenger cars, trucks and even heavy duty vehicles. We can offer a maximum field of view up to 400mm × 400mm and a spatial resolution down to 13,5 μm/pixel. The paper briefly outlines the method of neutron imaging and its advantage and complementary character compared to the conventional X-ray method. We present neutron tomography results of diesel particulate filter (DPF) and gasoline particulate filters (GPF) concerning: (i) Soot, ash, metallic particle and coating distributions in a canned passenger car DPF. (ii) Urea distributions in passenger car DPF. (iii) Ash distribution in a canned passenger car GPF. (iv) Ash residuals of a truck DPF after cleaning with different techniques. A Non-Destructive Testing Method to Investigate Canned Exhaust After-Treatment System Components for the Three Dimensional Soot, Ash, Urea and Coating Distributions,"


Two major procedures for establishing the monetary value of a plan for reparations for Black American descendants of US slavery are considered in this paper: 1) Enumeration of atrocities and assignment of a dollar value to each as a prelude to adding up the total, and 2) Identification of a summary measure that captures the dollar amount of the cumulative, intergenerational effects of anti-Black atrocities. Under the first approach, the itemization strategy, we assess wage costs to the enslaved of bondage; financial gains to the perpetrators of slavery; damages to Black victims of post-Civil War white massacres and lynchings; losses from discrimination in the provision of the home buying supports from the Federal Housing Administration and the G.I. Bill; and income penalties due to racial discrimination in employment. Under the second approach, the global indicator strategy, we calculate the present value of providing 40 acres of land to freed slaves in 1865 and the current wealth gap between Black and White Americans. We conclude that the latter standard, the racial wealth gap, provides the best gauge for the size of the bill for Black reparations.


This paper describes a case study of the development and testing of a prototype system to support condition-based maintenance of the door systems of airport transportation vehicles. Every door open/close cycle produces a ¿signature¿ that can indicate the current degradation level of the door system. A combined statistical and neural network approach was used. Time, electrical current and voltage signals from the open/close cycles are processed in real-time to estimate, using the neural network, the condition of the door set relative to maintenance needs. Data collection hardware for the vehicle was designed, developed and tested to monitor door characteristics to quickly predict degraded performance, and to anticipate failures. The prototype system was installed on vehicle door sets at the Pittsburgh International Airport and tested for several months under actual operating conditions.


This paper presents an agent process simulation to control and monitor the Electric Vehicle charging process, using existing power distribution limitations and microgeneration capacity. The goal is to simulate the consumers' energy consumption and their unexpected behavior, using past experience and taking into account distribution network and home power limitation to find an intelligent charging pattern. This paper proposes a novel approach for this problem based on an agent-based simulation platform where stochastic process is adopted to perform unexpected user behavior. This simulation tool can be used to determine the capability of the actual electrical distribution network for supply energy to the final consumers and for charge the bank of batteries of electrical vehicles, which can occur simultaneously.


Due to the malicious attacks and software errors cause faulty nodes to exhibit arbitrary behavior, a byzantine agreement (BA) is increasingly important. A novel solution for the BA problem is presented. We propose the use of an artificial neural network (ANN), a back propagation network (BPN), to help reach a common value in a fully connected network (FCN), and as a substitute for storing messages in each processor. There are several significant advantages: (1) using ANN to store messages, the memory space required in previous approaches is no longer needed; (2) the characteristic of the learning ability can help other new applications of the BA reach an agreement; and (3) parallel processing can be achieved in each processor.


An algorithm for the dosimetric planning of intracavitary multiposition irradiation of corpus uteri cancer patients is proposed making use of some elements of the inverse problem solution and permitting one to calculate without computer. The algorithm is used for irradiation planning for the Soviet ANET-B unit with 252Cf sources. Conditions for the inverse problem solution applied to the dosimetric planning of intracavitary multiposition irradiation in case of the use of two dosing points have been formulated. The algorithm makes it possible to calculate a biologically isoeffective dose of mixed gamma-neutron 252Cf radiation.


Restructuring in the electric power industry will result in power system operation at higher levels of loading, increasing the potential for voltage instability due to saddle node bifurcation. In this paper, the authors present a computationally efficient method for emergency system control following such an event. The method only needs information typically available from a state estimator; it does not require the user to supply detailed models of power system dynamics.


Two hundred strains of Bacillus megaterium recently isolated from soil were tested for an antagonistic effect on a phage-resistant strain of the same species. Fifty-one strains gave a zone of inhibition on a lawn of the indicator strain. This effect was increased by a small dose of ultraviolet radiation which also caused 41 other strains to show an antagonistic effect. Sixteen strains which were completely lysed after u.v. irradiation also produced confluent lysis of the indicator strain. When grown in liquid media, these strains gave irregular growth curves owing to partial lysis during the exponential phase. Lysis was almost complete when such cultures were incubated after exposure to small doses of u.v. radiation. Lysis was always associated with accumulation of the antibacterial principal previously named 'megacin'. Irregular growth in liquid media and production of megacin were strictly correlated. However, only 2 megacinogenic strains were lysogenic and liberated phage. Populations of megacinogenic strains were examined by replicaplating for the presence of non-megacinogenic mutants. Spore suspensions of 4 megacinogenic strains contained non-megacinogenic mutants in various proportions depending on the strain and the particular sample. Non-megacinogenic mutants could not be made to lyse by exposure to u.v. radiation; did not produce any antibacterial effects; and all showed normal patterns of growth in various liquid media. It is supposed that megacinogeny and aberrant growth, as well as inducibility by u.v. radiation, of some B. megaterium strains are governed by a single hereditary unit (gene). It cannot be decided at present whether or not this unit is a highly defective prophage.


Abstract Evidence shows that children and young people with disability experience violence, abuse, and neglect at rates considerably higher than their peers. Despite persistent efforts to address it, these rates do not appear to be declining over time. As Australia moves towards implementing a national policy of personalised disability support, new opportunities and risks arise concerning personal safety in young people's lives. This paper reviews the existing evidence on abuse and neglect of children and young people with disability to help identify the nature of these risks and potential ways of thinking about and responding to these. Applying a social ecological lens, the discussion points to the importance of working productively with the multidimensional realities of these children's lives at a time when the policy and services designed to support them are also in a state of flux. The paper invites and challenges researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to engage critically with the knowledge already available and to question more deeply why abuse and neglect continue to diminish the lives of children and young people with disability.


This article addresses a number of issues regarding post-sentence detention order regimes in the context of an analysis of a collection of publicly available judgments made under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003 (Qld). The article raises concerns regarding the accuracy of the psychiatric evidence presented to the court. However, it suggests that the way in which the psychiatrists conduct their prisoner assessments, and the way in which judges have applied the main rules of expert evidence, have combined to ensure that the potential for unjust outcomes has been minimised. The article also suggests that judges have struck a fine balance between community protection and prisoner liberty, by in most cases making supervision orders which allow prisoners to be released into the community under strict conditions, rather than making detention orders. As no prisoner released under a supervision order is known to have committed a further sex offence, it is the conclusion of this article that the judges' approach to cases under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003 (Qld) has been highly successful, and may represent a solution to the serious problem of recidivist sex offenders within the community.


This study is to find problems in pattern of care, pattern of medical illnesses on admission to hospit al, complications while hospitalized including mortality in bedridden patients in Makkah region of Saudi Arabia in a secondary care hospital in order to fin d alternative modes of care like home care. This is a retrospective study conducted during the calendar years 2007-2008 and included 217 bedridden patients. The patients admitted in medica l wards of the hospital were enlisted. Those with terminal illnesses like malignancy were excluded. T heir degree of disability was assessed using the Katz index of the activities of daily living. Total of 184 patients fulfilled the study criteria of bed ridden cases. A proforma was developed, including variab les such as age, sex, diagnosis at admission, area of residency, presenting complaints and condition o n admission, attending persons accompanying to hospital, type and presence of caregiver at home, duration of hospital stay, reasons of refusal for discharge from hospital and complications and cause of death.


For decades, Thailand has had a strong labor market in both supplying and demanding labor resources. Since the 1970s, Thailand has sent workers to the Middle East, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia, among others. Based on the Socio-Economic Survey, emigrant workers come from households with low income and wealth; therefore they are heavily indebted. It can be concluded that poverty and indebtedness are push factors that had forced the migration of Thai labor, while higher income and better lives in destination countries were pull factors.


The achievement of coordination activities and the creation of university networks are considered to be fundamental mechanisms to bring together the different higher education systems as well as to promote synergies between less developed regions and more developed ones. ODISEAME (Open Distance Inter-University Synergies between Europe, Africa, and Middle East) is an interdisciplinary and intercultural e-learning project whose main goal is to create a EuroMediterranean network of universities for the cooperation in the design and development of tele-learning experiences. This four-year project ended in June of 2006 with its final phase when several multilingual and multicultural learning experiences were carried out in an efficient way. These experiences were developed in all the official languages of the participant countries, as well as in English, using a Web-based multilingual virtual space. This article describes the ODISEAME project and the e-learning experiences derived from it and presents some conclusions from their evaluation. It finally shows the importance of university networks in the process of establishing the European higher education area.


We investigated the level and characteristics of "low Km" 3'–5' cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity in adult and embryo chick spinal cord. The DEAE cellulose chromatography elution profile of Triton X‐100 extracts showed a single peak of calmodulin‐dependent cAMP/cGMP PDE activity. After two additional purification steps, this activity showed a five‐fold activation by calmodulin (Ka = 1.5 nM) for cGMP hydrolysis, and a linear kinetic behaviour with a Km of 1.3 μM. Conversely, the activity showed a biphasic behaviour for cAMP hydrolysis, with Km values of 3.1 and 18.5 μM. The enzyme showed a Stokes radius of 4.5 nm. Western blot analysis of the purified enzyme revealed two immunoreactive bands with molecular mass of 59 and 65 kDa, respectively. Immunohistochemical staining showed motoneuron decoration both on cell soma and fibres. The developmental pattern of Ca2+‐calmodulin‐dependent PDE expression in spinal cord was also studied; the hydrolytic activity for both substrates has been found to increase constantly from E5 to post‐hatching stages, when it appears 5.6–fold higher as compared to the early embryo levels. Furthermore, in cultured spinal cord neurons from E8 embryos, muscle extract has been shown to induce a two‐fold increase of Ca2+‐calmodulin‐dependent cGMP activity. In conclusion, the studies reported here present three relevant findings: (1) the presence in adult and embryo chick spinal cord of PDE activities with characteristics similar to those of the mammalian PDE I enzyme; (2) its localization in the ventral horn motoneurons; (3) its regulated expression during embryogenesis that is possibly related to soluble epigenetic factors produced by the target cells. J. Neurosci. Res. 49:186–196, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


A 12-GS/s 8-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC) enables 24 Gb/s signaling over conventional backplane channels. Designed in a 90-nm CMOS process, the circuit occupies an area of 670 mum times 350 mum and achieves INL and DNL of 0.31 and 0.28LSB, respectively. Measured SNDR and SFDR are 41 dB and 51 dB at 750 MHz and 32.5 dB and 35 dB at 1.5 GHz. Measured SDR and 3-dB bandwidth using 12 GS/s random data are 32 dB and 7.1 GHz, respectively. The power dissipation is 190 mW from 1-V and 1.8-V power supplies.


Patients and health professionals differ in their understanding of the meaning of confidentiality. We investigated this by sending a postal questionnaire to 1000 patients asking their opinions on who does and who should have access to their medical records. Analysis of 756 replies showed that patients have clear opinions as to who should have access to their records, with a substantial minority wishing to restrict it.


The elasticity of a single polymer chain has been widely investigated in last decades. However, the direct meas-urement of the single polymer elasticity in an unperturbed state ( i.e. inherent elasticity) remains a challenge. The main obsta-cle in this regard is that most force measurements are carried out in a liquid environment. The single polymer elasticity may be strongly affected by the complex interactions between solvent molecules and polymer such as van der Waals (vdW) forces, hydrogen bonds and/or thermal motions. For instance, the single-chain elasticity of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) in water is different from that in nonpolar organic solvents, since hydrogen bonds can be formed between PEG and water molecules. In this study, the single-chain elasticity of PEG is investigated in high vacuum by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS). Solvent molecules and surface adsorbed water are removed thor-oughly under high vacuum so that the situation is greatly simplified. PEG is dissolved in DI water to a concentration of 50 μ g/mL, which is used for the polymer physisorption on a quartz substrate. Then, the sample is rinsed with abundant DI water to remove the loosely adsorbed polymer and dried by air flow. After that, the AFM chamber is pumped down to ca. 7.0 × 10 - 4 Pa to achieve high vacuum, where almost all adsorbed water molecules can be removed from the environment. The results show that PEG maintains its inherent elasticity in high vacuum, which can be well described by an elastic model of a single polymer chain (QM-FRC model) when F > 100 pN. In a nonpolar organic solvent (nonane), since there are only vdW forces between solvent molecules and PEG, PEG presents an elasticity virtually identical to that in high vacuum. However, a slight difference can be observed in the low force region ( F < 100 pN) in different environments. The long plateau ( ca. 45 pN) observed in high vacuum can be attributed to the adsorption/desorption force (mainly vdW forces) of PEG on the substrate. It is greatly anticipated that the method used in the current study can be applied to investigate the inherent elasticity of other pol-ymers in the future.


Using energy generated with fossil fuel causes global warming due to the greenhouse effect, which threatens our environment. One of the challenges for New Generation Networks (NGN) is then the reduction of energy consumption, in particular at the BSs (Base Stations) which use about 85% of the total network energy. We contribute to the research with a mathematical model that calculates the total power consumption of a BS and enlightens the way to minimize it. First, we analyze the power consumed at every different component of the BS. Second, based on the cost incurred in turning off the BS's power amplifiers, we show how to decide whether it is convenient to keep the BS idle during those intervals in which no traffic has to be sent, or to turn off the amplifiers. Our model is evaluated by means of numerical examples, and shows that interesting power gain can be obtained under a large spectrum of load conditions.


The aim of this paper is to discuss different definitions and usages of concepts of nation, state, nation state, race and ethnie. For example, race is generally agreed to be a social construction, but the Swedish word "ras" has stronger biological connotations than the English "race". Racial discourses contain a complicated and changing relationship between nature and culture, which makes differentiation between "race" and "ethnie" a hair-splitting activity. The concepts of nation, state and nationalism have also proven difficult to define. Furthermore, there are no simple criteria defining Europe's geographic or symbolic borders, since there has never been one Europe. For example, when Estonians or Poles say are pleased to be part of Europe again, what does it mean? Did they at some point stop being European? Or, does the word "European" only signify "member of EU"? Richard Dyer, in his book White (1997), asks if the white man really knows he is white. Dyer makes a distinction between white as color, skin color and symbol. The conflation of the different meanings of whiteness enables images of white supremacy and distinctions or ranking between different white ethnicities. Popular culture and media in general play an important role in discourses about origin, human nature, culture, in-groups and out-groups. Some whites are clearly whiter than other whites, just as some Swedes are more Swedish than other Swedes.


Introduction: Given the lack of clarity in the literature related to the impact of breastfeeding intentions on sleeping practices, the current research aimed to investigate the relationship between co-sleeping or bed-sharing and breastfeeding intentions among a sample of pregnant adults, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials and Methods: Pregnant adults from a large nationally representative sample, responded to a one-time, online Qualtrics survey between October and November 2020. Pregnant adults (n = 544) were asked closed and open-ended questions about their family characteristics, sociodemographic factors, sleeping and breastfeeding habits, and intentions. This protocol was approved by the Wesleyan University Institutional Review Board. Results: Bed-sharing (odds ratio [OR] = 2.47) and co-sleeping (OR = 3.52) intentions doubled and tripled, respectively, intentions to breastfeed at 3 months. Additionally, income at some higher levels (i.e., $150,000+/year) significantly increased breastfeeding intentions at 3 months compared with the lowest income category (OR = 5.74, p = 0.011). There was also a significant relationship between intentions to bed-share (OR = 2.96, p = 0.012) and co-sleep (OR = 3.62, p < 0.001) with breastfeeding at 6 months. Prior breastfeeding experience was significantly associated with breastfeeding intention at 6 months (OR = 1.88, p = 0.035). Based on the qualitative findings, breastfeeding ease was by far the most common motivation for co-sleeping or bed-sharing, followed by security/safety, closeness, and past experience. Conclusion: Plans to bed-share and co-sleep, significantly increased the odds of breastfeeding intentions up to 6 months postpartum. Supporting breastfeeding should include conversations about parent-infant sleeping modality, style, and preference. Future research is necessary to understand the directional impacts of these decisions and the predictive role of prenatal intentions on postpartum behaviors in this context.


The cross-sectional growth and development of the long bone diaphysis is strongly influenced by in vivo mechanical loading. An analytical approach was developed to model these mechanobiologic influences. First, human growth under normal loading conditions was modeled. Our model predictions were validated by comparison to human data obtained during adolescence. Next, skeletal adaptation during growth under altered loading conditions was examined using an animal model. Rat hindlimb suspension experiments were performed and femoral adaptation to reduced loading during growth was measured and compared to normal controls. Then our model predictions of adaptation during growth were compared directly to our experimental data.


In this chapter, we review the monetary and fiscal history of Argentina for the period 1960?2017, a time during which the country suffered several balance of payments crises, three periods of hyperinflation, two defaults on government debt, and three banking crises. All told, between 1969 and 1991, after several monetary reforms, thirteen zeros had been removed from its currency. We argue that all these events are the symptom of a recurrent problem: Argentina?s unsuccessful attempts to tame the fiscal deficit. An implication of our analysis is that the future economic evolution of Argentina depends greatly on its ability to develop institutions that guarantee that the government does not spend more than its genuine tax revenues over reasonable periods of time.


Attenuation of the pesticide fipronil and its major degradates was determined during conventional wastewater treatment and wetland treatment. Analysis of flow-weighted composite samples by liquid and gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry showed fipronil occurrence at 12–31 ng/L in raw sewage, primary effluent, secondary effluent, chlorinated effluent, and wetland effluent. Mean daily loads of total fipronil related compounds in raw sewage and in plant effluent after chlorination were statistically indistinguishable (p = 0.29; n = 10), whereas fipronil itself was partially removed (25 ± 3%; p = 0.00025; n = 10); the associated loss in toxicity was balanced by the formation of toxic fipronil degradates, showing conventional treatment to be unfit for reducing overall toxicity. In contrast to these findings at the municipal wastewater treatment, both parental fipronil and the sum of fipronil-related compounds were removed in the wetland with efficiencies of 44 ± 4% and 47 ± 13%, respectively. Total fipronil concentrations in plant effluent (28 ± 6 ng/L as fipronil) were within an order of magnitude of half-maximal effective concentrations (EC50) of nontarget invertebrates. This is the first systematic assessment of the fate of fipronil and its major degradates during full-scale conventional wastewater and constructed wetland treatment.


Glasses containing metallic nanoparticles are promising materials for technological applications in optics and photonics. Although several methods are available to generate nanoparticles in glass, only femtosecond lasers allow controlling it three-dimensionally. In this direction, the present work investigates the generation of copper nanoparticles on the surface and in the bulk of a borosilicate glass by fs-laser irradiation. We verified the formation of copper nanoparticles, after heat treatment, by UV-Vis absorption, transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction. A preferential growth of copper nanoparticles was observed in the bottom of the irradiated region, which was attributed to self-focusing in the glass.


Farmers' fields where cucurbit crops were grown in seven Local Government Areas LGA) of Ogun state were surveyed in 2009 and 2010 for incidence and severity of virus symptoms and the identity of the viruses infecting the crops were determined using DAS-ELISA. Six viruses including Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV), (WMV), (PRSV), Watermelon mosaic virus Papaya ringspot virus Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus Cucumber mosaic virus Melon necrotic spot (CGMMV), (CMV), and virus (MNSV) were indexed for in the leaf samples. A total of 14 farms were visited and 130 leaf samples were collected. The incidences of virus symptoms on the field were between 41.0 and 100.0% while the mean severity score were between 1 (apparently healthy) and 5 (severe symptoms and death) in some locations. The incidences of virus symptoms such as mottle, chlorosis and yellowing, mosaic, leaf distortion, puckering, vein banding and vein clearing were 20.0, 19.2, 18.5, 16.2, 11.5, 3.1 and 3.1%, respectively in the collected leaf samples. However, 8.5% of the leaf samples were apparently healthy. Serological analysis of the leaf sample showed the presence of ZYMV, PRSV, WMV, CMV, MNSV, and CGMMV. The most widely distributed virus was MNSV which occurred in 9 out of 14 (64.3%) of the locations. This was followed by WMV and CGMMV occurring in 8 out of 14 (57.0%) of the locations. PRSV and CMV occurred in 50.0% of the locations. ZYMV occurred in 5 out of 14 (35.7%) of the locations. The viruses detected are among the viruses reported to limit the production of cucurbit crops world-wide.


APIs are the building blocks of digital platforms, yet there is little quantitative evidence on their use. Do API adopting firms do better? Do such firms change their operating procedures? Using proprietary data from a major API tools provider, we explore the impact of API use on firm value and operations. We find evidence that API use increases market capitalization and lowers R&D expenditures. We then document an important downside. API adoption increases the risk of data breaches, a risk that rises when APIs are more open or place less emphasis on security. Firms reduce API data flows in the month before a hack announcement, consistent with a conscious attempt to limit breach scope. In the same period, however, the variance of API data flows increases, consistent with heterogeneity in firms' ability to detect and shut down unauthorized data access. Our findings highlight a fundamental paradox of openness: It increases upside value and downside risk at the same time. We document that firms respond to these trade-offs in logical ways and conclude that the benefits of opening APIs exceed the risks for firms situated to adopt a platform strategy.


Canadian household prescription drug expenditures are studied using different years of the Statistics Canada Family Expenditure Survey. Master files are used, expanding the number of available years and permitting provincial rather than regional identifiers. Nonparametric Engel curves are estimated. Difference-in-difference mean and 80th percentile regressions examine budget shares by low-income and high-income households before and after the introduction of provincial prescription drug programs. The evidence is consistent with the view that unlike senior prescription drug subsidies, nonsenior prescription drug subsidies are probably more redistributive than an equal-cost proportional income transfer.


cDNA clones of RNA-2 of two isolates of squash mosaic virus (SqMV) were constructed and sequenced, revealing 87% sequence similarity. In Northern blot hybridization analyses, DNA probes made from these clones defined two SqMV hybridization subgroups. This grouping was verified by reciprocal hybridizations of purified RNA from five SqMV isolates, as probed with cDNA made from a member of each subgroup. Comparison of the RNA-2 sequence among the two SqMV isolates, and the reported sequence of other comoviruses, showed that SqMV constitutes one of four major branches in a phylogenetic tree of the genus. Analysis of the terminal noncoding sequences showed that although potentially similar folding patterns may form, neither nucleotide sequence nor secondary structural elements are highly conserved among comoviruses. In vitro translation products from purified RNA-1 of each subgroup (encoding the viral proteases) were found to process the polyprotein generated by in vitro translation of purified RNA-2 from either subgroup.


Context: Hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) is mainly characterized by massive infiltration of bone marrow by activated macrophages and often presents with pancytopenia. Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is also present with thrombocytopenia and renal involvement. Both conditions could coexist with each other and complicate the condition. Evidence Acquisition: Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), EMBASE, Google Scholar, PubMed, EBSCO, and Web of Science with keywords relevant to; Hemophagocytic syndrome, macrophage activation syndrome, interferon-gamma and thrombotic microangiopathy, have been searched. Results: Viral infection, rheumatologic disease and malignancies are the main underlying causes for secondary HPS. calcineurin inhibitors and viral infections are also the main underlying causes of TMA in transplant recipients. In this review, we discussed a 39-year-old male who presented with pancytopenia and renal allograft dysfunction. With the diagnosis of HPS induced TMA his renal condition and pancytopenia improved after receiving intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and plasmapheresis therapy. Conclusions: HPS is an increasingly recognized disorder in the realm of different medical specialties. Renal involvement complicates the clinical picture of the disease, and this condition even is more complex in renal transplant recipients. We should consider the possibility of HPS in any renal transplant recipient with pancytopenia and allograft dysfunction. The combination of HPS with TMA future increases the complexity of the situation.


Author(s): Wu, Guoyuan; Ye, Fei; Hao, Peng; Esaid, Danial; Boriboonsomsin, Kanok; Barth, Matthew J. | Abstract: Eco-driving strategies based on connected and automated vehicles (CAV) technology, such as Eco-Approach and Departure (EAD), have attracted significant worldwide interest due to their potential to save energy and reduce tail-pipe emissions. In this project, the research team developed and tested a deep learning–based trajectory-planning algorithm (DLTPA) for EAD. The DLTPA has two processes: offline (training) and online (implementation), and it is composed of two major modules: 1) a solution feasibility checker that identifies whether there is a feasible trajectory subject to all the system constraints, e.g., maximum acceleration or deceleration; and 2) a regressor to predict the speed of the next time-step. Preliminary simulation with microscopic traffic modeling software PTV VISSIM showed that the proposed DLTPA can achieve the optimal solution in terms of energy savings and a greater balance of energy savings vs. computational efforts when compared to the baseline scenarios where no EAD is implemented and the optimal solution (in terms of energy savings) is provided by a graph-based trajectory planning algorithm.View the NCST Project Webpage


Based on cataract research data obtained from the Scopus database, it is comprehended that 3673 (3.93 % global share) researched articles from India on cataract had been published till 2017, which place India on 6 position in the world in terms of research paper output. About 62.13 % of the Indian publications appeared during the period 2008-2017. L.V. Prasad Eye Institute India and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi was the most productive as they had been publishing the highest number of papers, i.e., 424 and 385, respectively. About 38.71% Indian publications are a result of international collaboration with 116 countries.


Generally speaking, with rapid international travel, it is very common to diagnose infectious diseases in areas where they were not known before. Nowadays, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is documented in Egypt mainly in Al Agamy, Alexandria. Another case of infantile visceral leishmaniasis was identified in an adult farmer (unusual host) in Banha. Other studies all over Egypt (based on clinical and or serological diagnosis rather than demonstration of the parasites) raised the possibility of adult affection with visceral leishmaniasis. The point is that visceral leishmaniasis, shares many clinical manifestations with other diseases known in Egypt as schistosomiasis mansoni, hepatic amoebiasis, toxoplasmosis, and malaria. In the present study, out of 22 human cases with hypersplenism and suggesting manifestations, four gave seropositivity for VL, by the indirect haemagglutination tests (128 & more). Two of these four patients gave seropositivity by dot-ELISA (1:8000). Amastigotes of Leishmania parasite were demonstrated in the splenic smears obtained during splenectomy. One culture obtained from these two cases grew promastigotes. Typing is ongoing. It was concluded that visceral leishmaniasis should be in mind and considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with hepatosplenomegaly or hypersplenism in Egypt.


Purpose of the article: The paper draws on the results of previous studies recoverability of creditor's claims, where it was research from debtor's point of view and his/her debts on the Czech Republic financial market. The company, which fell into a bankruptcy hearing, has several legislatively supported options how to deal with this situation and repay creditors money. Each of the options has been specified as a variant of a decision-making tree. This paper is focused on finding the upper limit for worth of reorganization through the eyes of creditors. The heuristic based on partially unknown probabilities on chance nodes replaced by intervals of probabilities variants. The result is then focused on the comparison and evaluation of the possible best variant for creditors to keep promoting reorganization as the solution for indebted company. A realistic case study is presented in full details. Further introduction of decision making with uncertainties in insolvency proceedings.
Methodology/methods: Solving within decision tree with partially ignorance of probability using sensitive analyze.
Scientific aim: Find the upper limit worth of reorganization within the process of insolvency.
Findings: Predictions of future actions in dealing with insolvency act and bankruptcy hearing, quicker and more effective agreeing on compromises among all creditors and debtor.
Conclusions: Finding a best way and solution of repayment and avoiding of termination for both of interested parties (creditor and debtor).


Introduction Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide with over 70% of patients presenting with incurable disease and few effective treatments. We previously demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells transduced to express TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL), will home to and induce apoptosis of tumour cells in vitro and reduce tumour growth in multiple in vivo models. A key unknown of cellular therapy is the location and duration of cells following intravenous delivery. 111Indium-oxine is established for lymphocyte tracking but it has low sensitivity and is toxic to cells. 89Zirconium-oxine is a novel PET tracer which has better sensitivity and lower toxicity. Our study aimed to label MSCTRAIL with 89Zr with the aim of tracking cells in patients enrolled in the TACTICAL trial – an early phase trial delivering MSCTRAIL to patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. Methods MSC-TRAIL cells were incubated with multiple doses of 89Zr-oxine and label retention measured using a gamma counter. Cells were assessed for cell viability using cell proliferation assays, TRAIL expression was determined using flow cytometry and ELISA and apoptosis was determined using co-culture experiments with luciferase expressing cancer cell lines and bioluminescent readout. DNA damage and cellular stress was assessed using western blotting. To determine whether radiolabelled cells could be detected in vivo, 2 × 105 89 Zr-Oxine MSC-TRAIL cells were delivered intravenously and imaging was performed at multiple time points (Mediso PET-CT, AMI-X). Results 89Zr-oxine labelling at clinically relevant doses did not affect cell proliferation and therapeutic efficacy was maintained in co-culture experiments. There was no evidence of DNA damage and cell stress response and cellular phenotype was maintained. CT/PET imaging after labelling and delivery of the cells into mice showed good correlation with bioluminescent signal confirming its use a high sensitivity tracking tool. Conclusion 89Zr-oxine can be used to successfully radiolabel genetically modified stem cells without effecting cell viability or therapeutic efficacy. We are currently performing in vivo studies to enable further translation into a clinical trial and will ultimately track MSC-TRAIL after patient administration via radiolabelling with 89Zr-oxine.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for understanding, predicting and analyzing how future service technologies can lead to value co-creation at different stages of a value chain.

Design/methodology/approach
For organizations, future service technologies are growing in importance and will become a crucial means to survival. It is clear that future service technologies will increase the opportunity to reduce costs and create efficiency, but it is not equally clear how future service technologies enable value creation for customers and users. On this premise, the study proposes a conceptual framework.

Findings
The framework illustrates how future service technologies can lead to value creation for customers. The paper also portrays opportunities and potential pitfalls with future service technologies for organizations.

Originality/value
Several researchers are focusing on innovative technologies. Many business companies are talking about how to implement them and increase their profit. However, less attention is devoted to the ways in which future service technologies will lead to benefits and the experience of service for customers and users using them. This paper represents an original attempt to illustrate that.


This research report represents the seventh year of a ten-year research effort focused on quantifying urban mobility. This study contains the facility information for 50 urban areas throughout the country. The database used for this research contains information on vehicle travel, system length, and urban area characteristics from 1982 to 1992. Various federal, state, and local agencies provided the information used to update and verify the primary database. The primary database and original source of most of the information is the Federal Highway Administration's Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS). Vehicle travel and system length data were combined to develop Roadway Congestion Index (RCI) values for 50 urban areas including the seven largest in Texas. The RCI values provide an indicator of the relative mobility level within an urban area. An analysis of the cost of congestion was also performed using travel delay and increased fuel consumption as estimated quantities. The impact of congestion was also estimated by the amount of additional facility capacity required to provide urban mobility. Congestion costs were estimated on an areawide, per registered vehicle, and per capita basis.


Study Design. Mendelian randomization (MR) study. Objective. To examine whether antihypertensive medications (beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors) and statins can be repurposed to prevent or treat spinal pain (back or neck pain). Summary of Background Data. Observational studies and a recent MR study have found associations between elevated blood pressure and a greater risk of back pain. Observational studies have found associations between hyperlipidemia and statin use and greater risk of back pain. No prior MR studies have examined the effects of antihypertensives or statins on spinal pain. Materials and Methods. This was a two-sample MR study using publicly available summary statistics from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Sample sizes in exposure GWASs were n=757,601 (systolic blood pressure) and n=173,082 (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), and n=1,028,947 for the outcome GWAS of spinal pain defined as health care seeking for any spinal pain-related diagnosis. Genes and cis-acting variants were identified as proxies for the drug targets of interest. MR analyses used inverse-variance weighted meta-analysis. The threshold for statistical significance after correction for multiple testing was P<0.0125. Results. No statistically significant associations of these medications with spinal pain were found. However, findings were suggestive of a protective effect of beta-blockers on spinal pain risk (odds ratio [OR] 0.84, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.72–0.98; P=0.03), and calcium channel blockers on greater spinal pain risk (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02–1.24; P=0.02). Conclusions. A protective effect of beta-blockers on spinal pain was suggested in the current study, consistent with findings from observational studies of various other pain phenotypes. The detrimental effect of calcium channel blockers on spinal pain suggested in the current study must be interpreted in the context of conflicting directions of effect on nonspinal pain phenotypes in other observational studies. This Mendelian randomization study examined whether antihypertensive medications (beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors) and statins can be repurposed to prevent or treat spinal. This was a two-sample MR study using publicly available summary statistics from large-scale genome-wide association studies ranging size from 173,082 to 1,028,947 adults. While no statistically significant associations were found, a protective effect of beta-blockers on spinal pain was suggested (odds ratio [OR] 0.84, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.72 to 0.98; p= 0.03), as was a detrimental effect of calcium channel blockers on spinal pain (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.24; p= 0.02).


Sustainable production of orchids may be achieved with the use of symbiotic microorganisms that improve resistance of plants to pests and diseases and reduce the need of substrate fertilization. In this study, one fungus (F1), one yeast (Y1) and one grampositive bacteria (B+) were isolated from the roots of the orchid Oncidium varicosum and used in the cultivation of protocorms and plantlets obtained from seeds of this species. Cultivation of protocorms in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium enriched with sucrose and inoculated with microorganisms did not result in better development of protocorms. However, the use of plantlets in the rooting phase in MS medium without sucrose and inoculated with B+ resulted in plantlets with more leaves and roots and longer shoots and roots, suggesting synergism between microorganism and plant when sucrose is absent. The major benefits of co-cultivating plantlets and these microorganisms were observed in the acclimatization in the greenhouse. Plantlets obtained with oat meal agar medium and B+ showed the highest pseudobulb diameter, number of roots, height and fresh weight among treatments. We concluded that the application of rooting-derived microorganisms in the in vitro culture and plantlet acclimatization of Oncidium varicosum is beneficial.


Single inheritance has been widely accepted in the current programming practice to avoid the complication that incurred by multiple inheritance. Single inheritance enhances the reusability of codes and eliminates the confusion of identical methods that possibly defined in two superclasses. However, the mechanism of inner class in Java potentially reintroduces the problems encountered by multiple inheritance. When the depth of Java inner class is increased, the problem becomes severe. This paper aims at exposing the problems of inheritance at the Java inner class. In addition, a measure is proposed to evaluate the potential problem of inheritance for Java inner class


The management of identities, particularly stigmatized identities, represents considerable challenge. This article considers some of the issues around the decision to conceal or reveal a stigmatized or potentially stigmatizing identity. The potential consequences of "telling or not telling" are examined. There is a need for all individuals to monitor behaviours, attitudes, systems and structures that convey disrespect, discrimination, and derogation towards those with a stigmatized identity (concealed or otherwise).


The Challenge of Blackness examines the history and legacy of the Institute of the Black World (IBW), one of the most important Black Freedom Struggle organisations to emerge in the aftermath of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A think tank based in Atlanta, the IBW sought to answer King's question ""Where do we go from here?"" Its solution was to organise a broad array of leading Black activists, scholars, and intellectuals to find ways to combine the emerging academic discipline of Black Studies with the Black political agenda. Throughout the 1970s, debates over race and class in the Unites States grew increasingly hostile, and the IBW's approach was ultimately unable to challenge the growing conservatism. By using the IBW as the lens through which to view these turbulent years, Derrick White provides an exciting new interpretation of the immediate post-civil rights years in America.


The work of doctor Manuel Martínez Baéz (1894-1987) is very vast and it is clearly related to three different areas of medicine: parasitology, public health and medical sociology, and history of medicine. This work studies an aspect of his ideology concerning public health and social medicine which is related to tropical diseases. The contribution of Martínez Báez to this area was important because he adapted to the reality of underdeveloped countries concepts concerning tropical diseases originated in countries foreign to this problem.


The paper examines emerging trends in child fostering and adoption practices among the Igbo in time perspective. It discusses traditional practices that served as alternatives to child adoption in the pre-colonial period, child adoption practice which is one of the legacies of British colonial administration and the various dimensions of illegal child adoption practices among the Igbo. The first section of the paper is an introduction comprising related literature on child adoption process in Nigeria. The second section provides a conceptual framework linking this with the place of children in Igbo society and why the lack of it is a major factor fuelling illegal adoption. The third section focuses on trends in child adoption practices from the colonial period to present times. The paper concludes by proffering solutions to curb and eliminate the menace of illegal child adoption among the Igbo. These include a nationwide implementation of Child Rights Act 2003, effective monitoring of child adoption services by appropriate agencies, the promotion of legal child adoption and medical treatment options for infertility by medical practitioners and in particular church leaderswhose views hold sway in Igbo land. Key Words: Igbo, Child Adoption, Fostering, Baby factories, Legal adoption, Illegal adoption


Survey analysis of the major North American rose producers provided a profile of industry marketing and postharvest management practices. The role of the wholesaler in product distribution has diminished, as more than half of the firms now utilize some form of retail distribution. Although most firms perceived little industry-wide uniformity in rose grading, packaging procedures were uniform, with most firms packaging roses in units of 25. The use of floral preservatives has been widely adopted, as nearly 80% of the firms used preservatives in their production operations, but postharvest storage practices have not been optimal, as nearly 45% of the firms stored roses at non-optimal temperatures levels. Most firms indicated that roses last between 5 and 6 days; however, 47% of the firms indicated that rose vase life should extent to 8 days or longer.


Who will the United States fight against and who will fight with it? Where will these future conflicts be fought? What will future conflicts look like? How will they be fought? And why will the United States go to war? This report is the overview in a series that seeks to answer these questions about the future of warfare in 2030.


In this study, two UCAV planforms are considered based around generic 40° edge-aligned configurations. One configuration has a moderate leading and trailing edges sweep of Λ = 40°, while the other configuration is highly swept with a leading-edge sweep of Λ = 60° and trailing edges sweep of Λ = 40°. The objectives of the present study on UCAV configurations are two-fold: first to predict aerodynamic performance particularly the maximum-lift characteristics of two flying wing planforms; second to control the flow by inserting leading-edge and chordwise slots and analysing the viscous flow development over the outboard sections of a flying-wing configuration to maximise the performance of control surfaces.
The first part is demonstrated using a variety of inviscid Vortex Lattice Method (VLM) and Euler, and viscous CFD Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) methods. The computational results are validated against experiment measured in a wind tunnel. The VLM predicts a linear variation of lift and pitching moment with incidence angle, and substantially under-predicts the induced drag. Results obtained from RANS and Euler agree well with experiment.
For the second part, a novel optimised design using chordwise slot is implemented on a highly swept Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) configuration to maximise the lift over trailing edge control surfaces. More airflow over the control surfaces will result in enhanced lateral control of the air vehicle at medium to high angles of attack. Four parameters describing the chordwise slot are identified for the numerical optimisation. They are: location, width, length and angle of trajectory of chordwise cavity relative to freestream. The angle of trajectory of chordwise slot is measured with respect to the trailing edge of the air vehicle. The results of CFD optimisation are compared with a clean configuration and verified with experiment. The configuration with chordwise slot has shown higher mass flow rate over the control surfaces of the air vehicle in comparison to baseline clean configuration. It is demonstrated that higher mass flow rate results in higher lift. Leading-edge slot method is considered, but the method improves the flow control for the low angles of attack regime, and is found to be ineffective for a highly-swept UCAV configuration at medium to high angles of attack.


Individuals involved with the criminal courts are exposed to a minefield of fees. In fiscal year 2016, the (state) trial courts of Massachusetts collected over $99 million in fines, fees and court costs. Much of that amount came from the state's poor residents, poor communities and communities of color, because those groups are dramatically over represented in criminal courts. Individuals who do not make criminal court ordered payments can be jailed. As a public defender in Boston, I see my clients burdened by these fees everyday.
In this article, I detail the way in which these criminal court fees are exacerbating the stark racial and economic inequalities that persist. The statistics are alarming. With great enthusiasm though, I argue that the Supreme Judicial Court's (SJC) 2016 decision in Commonwealth v. Henry provides powerful legal tools for addressing the unjust imposition and collection of criminal court payments. In Henry, the SJC 1) barred judges from ordering defendants on probation to pay restitution amounts that are beyond their actual ability to pay and 2) barred the very common practice of extending a person's probation for the sole purpose of collecting more restitution payments. These rules extend beyond what exists in most jurisdictions. In the article, I analyze Henry closely. I then argue that Henry's rules should be formally extended to all criminal court payments. Doing so could render Henry a watershed case regarding the criminalization of poverty in Massachusetts and beyond. These rules will bring us a bit closer to actualizing the fundamental principle that no individual should be incarcerated for his poverty or treated more harshly by the courts based on his poverty.


In view of repeated impact condition, developed a repeated impact test machine. This study focuses on using MCU (Micro Controller Unit) to control output of electromagnetic valve what is the core of the machine. The square wave signal , what is issued by AT89s52 and whose cycle and duty cycle can be adjusted, is used to control relay, thereby to control electromagnetic valve of the machine, and ultimately to realize multi-frequency repeated impact under the control of MCU system. A MCU control circuit system is designed at the aim of relay response, including control circuit of hardware, process design of software and anti-jamming design.


Solar elemental abundances, or solar system elemental abundances, refer to the complement of chemical elements in the entire Solar System. The Sun contains more than 99% of the mass in the solar system and therefore the composition of the Sun is a good proxy for the composition of the overall solar system. The solar system composition can be taken as the overall composition of the molecular cloud within the interstellar medium from which the solar system formed 4.567 billion years ago. Active research areas in astronomy and cosmochemistry model collapse of a molecular cloud of solar composition into a star with a planetary system and the physical and chemical fractionation of the elements during planetary formation and differentiation. The solar system composition is the initial composition from which all solar system objects (the Sun, terrestrial planets, gas giant planets, planetary satellites and moons, asteroids, Kuiper-belt objects, and comets) were derived.
 Other dwarf stars (with hydrostatic hydrogen-burning in their cores) like the Sun (type G2V dwarf star) within the solar neighborhood have compositions similar to the Sun and the solar system composition. In general, differential comparisons of stellar compositions provide insights about stellar evolution as functions of stellar mass and age and ongoing nucleosynthesis but also about galactic chemical evolution when elemental compositions of stellar populations across the Milky Way Galaxy is considered. Comparisons to solar composition can reveal element destruction (e.g., Li) in the Sun and in other dwarf stars. The comparisons also show element production of, for example, C, N, O, and the heavy elements made by the s-process in low to intermediate mass stars (3–7 solar masses) after these evolved from their dwarf-star stage into red giant stars (where hydrogen and helium burning can occur in shells around their cores). The solar system abundances are and have been a critical test composition for nucleosynthesis models and models of galactic chemical evolution, which aim ultimately to track the production of the elements heavier than hydrogen and helium in the generation of stars that came forth after the Big Bang 13.4 billion years ago.


Groundwater flow entering closed contiguous underground coal mines may be strongly influenced by leakage across inter-mine barriers. This study examines a complex of multiple closed and flooded mines that developed into a nearly steady-state groundwater flow system within 10 to 50 years after closure. Field water-level observations, mine geometry, barrier hydraulic conductivity, recharge rates, and late-stage storage gains were parameterized to match known pumping rates and develop a fluid mass balance. Vertical infiltration (recharge and leakage) estimates were developed using a depth-dependent model based on the assumption that most vertical infiltration is focused in areas with <75 m of overburden. A MODFLOW simulation of the nearly steady-state flow conditions was calibrated to hydraulic heads in observation wells and to known pumping rates by varying barrier hydraulic conductivity. The calibrated model suggests significant head-driven leakage between adjacent mines, both horizontally through coal barriers and vertically through inter-burden into a shallower mine in an overlying seam. Calibrated barrier hydraulic conductivities were significantly greater than literature values for other mines at similar depths in the region. This suggests that some barriers may be hydraulically compromised by un-mapped entries, horizontal boreholes, or similar features that act as drains between mines. These model results suggest that post-mining inter-annual equilibrium conditions are amenable to quantitative description using mine maps, sparse observation-well data, accurately estimated pumping rates, and depth-dependent vertical infiltration estimates. Results are applicable to planning for post-flooding water-control schemes, although hydraulic testing may be required to verify model results.


The symptoms of restless legs syndrome (RLS) are associated with reductions in patients' quality of life (QoL) and mental heath. Sleep disturbance, which is often the most troublesome symptom of RLS, may have a negative impact on patients' daytime cognitive abilities. Research has established a relationship between the symptoms of RLS and mood symptoms, but causality is unclear. Some studies have indicated that the symptoms of RLS precede those of depression or anxiety, and others relate the severity of mood symptoms to the severity of RLS symptoms. Associations between the sleep disturbance produced by RLS and patients' mood symptoms have also been demonstrated. The impact of RLS symptoms and their treatment on QoL, mental health, and cognition are reviewed herein.


Background: Previous studies of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in infants have incompletely characterized factors associated with severe illness or focused on infants born to mothers with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Here we highlight demographics, clinical characteristics and laboratory values that differ between infants with and without severe acute COVID-19. Methods: Active surveillance was performed by the Overcoming COVID-19 network to identify children and adolescents with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2–related illness hospitalized at 62 sites in 31 states from March 15 to December 27, 2020. We analyzed patients >7 days to <1 year old hospitalized with symptomatic acute COVID-19. Results: We report 232 infants >7 days to <1 year of age hospitalized with acute symptomatic COVID-19 from 37 US hospitals in our cohort from March 15 to December 27, 2020. Among 630 cases of severe COVID-19 in patients >7 days to <18 years old, 128 (20.3%) were infants. In infants with severe illness from the entire study period, the median age was 2 months, 66% were from racial and ethnic minority groups, 66% were previously healthy, 73% had respiratory complications, 13% received mechanical ventilation and <1% died. Conclusions: Infants accounted for over a fifth of children <18 years of age hospitalized for severe acute COVID-19, commonly manifesting with respiratory symptoms and complications. Although most infants hospitalized with COVID-19 did not suffer significant complications, longer term outcomes remain unclear. Notably, 75% of infants with severe disease were <6 months of age in this cohort study period, which predated maternal COVID-19 vaccination, underscoring the importance of maternal vaccination for COVID-19 in protecting the mother and infant.


Afghans have consistently been one of the largest groups of refugees arriving in Europe, with more than 600,000 Afghan asylum applications in European countries over the past ten years, second only in number to Syrians. Afghan migration to Europe is a response to both the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and protracted displacement in countries hosting the vast majority of Afghan refugees, including Iran, where there is a well‐documented lack of protection, rights, and opportunities. Drawing on interviews undertaken in Turkey and Greece during the last three months of 2015, this article examines the experiences of Afghans who travelled to Europe from Iran, where they had been living for many years, and in some cases had been born. Their experiences, particularly when seen in the context of Afghan mobility historically, complicate dichotomies between "forced" and "voluntary" migration, and "origin" and "destination" countries, which underpin the Common European Asylum System. It is clear that mobility forms an important survival strategy for Afghans and others living in situations of protracted displacement, for whom efforts to provide durable solutions have been largely unsuccessful. Harnessing this mobility by facilitating and supporting—rather than preventing—onward migration is the key to unlocking protracted displacement.


We describe an encapsulation and dehydration procedure for the cryopreservation of cork oak (Quercus suber L.) somatic embryos that resulted in at least 90% survival. Genetic stability of the regenerated material was assessed by flow cytometry (FCM), amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) and simple sequence repeats (SSR). Cryopreservation of embryogenic clusters involved encapsulation of each cluster in an alginate bead, followed by a 3-day culture in 0.7 M sucrose and subsequent desiccation to 25 or 35% water content (WC), followed by freezing in liquid nitrogen. Thawed, cryopreserved somatic embryos had high viability and exhibited long-term survival. No morphological differences were observed between somatic embryos desiccated to 25 and 35% WC. Analysis of DNA ploidy stability of control (i.e., encapsulated and dehydrated but not frozen) and cryopreserved material by flow cytometry showed no significant differences. Similarly, DNA-marker analyses (AFLPs and SSR) revealed no significant differences between control and cryopreserved samples at the DNA-sequence level. Nonetheless, because polymorphisms were found between control material and samples cryopreserved and desiccated to 25% WC, the 35% WC method is recommended for cryopreservation of this tissue type. Cryopreservation of Q. suber somatic embryos by this encapsulation-dehydration procedure has potential for use in long-term conservation programs.


Recently, it has been proposed that drug permeation is essentially carrier-mediated only and that passive lipoidal diffusion is negligible. This opposes the prevailing hypothesis of drug permeation through biological membranes, which integrates the contribution of multiple permeation mechanisms, including both carrier-mediated and passive lipoidal diffusion, depending on the compound's properties, membrane properties, and solution properties. The prevailing hypothesis of drug permeation continues to be successful for application and prediction in drug development. Proponents of the carrier-mediated only concept argue against passive lipoidal diffusion. However, the arguments are not supported by broad pharmaceutics literature. The carrier-mediated only concept lacks substantial supporting evidence and successful applications in drug development.


Investigations aimed at the study on the state of environment from the point of pollution by organochlorine pesticides and their metabolites (HCH, DDT, DDE and DDD), as well as on possible unfavorable impact due to carriage of mentioned persistent organic pollutants (POPs) towards reproductive health and cytogenetic status of organism were done. In parallel, monitoring of possible mutagenic components of the environment was also conducted. As to obtained data, residues of organochlorine pesticides are continually determined with high frequency both in environmental media, agricultural foodstuffs and biomedia of rural population of observed region (Aragatsotn marz, Armenia). No changes in mutagenic background were registered. The represented results of the study make fragment of complex social-hygienic, monitoring investigations on environmental quality that would further serve as a platform for working out the recommendations on reduction of environmental pollution and improvement of health protection issues in Armenia.


In an attempt to enhance educational quality, the Province of the Punjab introduced District Teachers Educators (DTE) into schools (mainly primary) with the aims of offering support and mentoring to teachers, providing professional development opportunities along with a monitoring role based mainly on monthly student- testing. The main objective of this study is to explore the problems the DTE face in fulfilling their roles in schools. A sample was selected by using convenient sampling technique. The qualitative approach was used to collect data through interviews in this study. This study reveals problems related to the ownership of the process by teachers and head-teachers, the lack of resources often hindering effective work, and the entire process of monitoring by means of student testing facing great difficulties. The conflict in the roles of the DTE is discussed as they seek to integrate a supportive role with that of monitoring, whereas the basis of monitoring is questioned in the light of consistent international research evidence. The study recommends that the conflicts among the monitoring teachers should be resolved. Moreover, their time would be better spent in the supportive-enhancement role, leaving the monitoring role aside. It is suggested that DTEs should be given time to read, and collate evidence from the wide range of literature to learn new insights in education


A new method to improve the water-resistance of magnesium oxychloride composites (MOCs), with the addition of nano rice-husk ash (RHA), was studied. The related properties of samples were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Brunauer Emmett and Teller (BET). The phase composition of MOCs was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The water-resistance of MOCs was estimated by calculating softening coefficients. The experiments show that the particles size of nano RHA prepared is about 50nm, and the SiO2 content is 92.30 %; a suitable amount of nano RHA to MOCs obviously increases the water-resistance without reducing the bending strength of MOCs, and increases the softening coefficient from 0.29 to 0.78.


Summary 1. Drylands support over 2 billion people and are major providers of critical ecosystem goods and services across the globe. Drylands, however, are one of the most susceptible biomes to degradation. International programmes widely recognize dryland restoration as key to combating global dryland degradation and ensuring future global sustainability. While the need to restore drylands is widely recognized and large amounts of resources are allocated to these activities, rates of restoration success remain overwhelmingly low. 2. Advances in understanding the ecology of dryland systems have not yielded proportional advances in our ability to restore these systems. To accelerate progress in dryland restoration, we argue for moving the field of restoration ecology beyond conceptual frameworks of ecosystem dynamics and towards quantitative, predictive systems models that capture the probabilistic nature of ecosystem response to management. 3. To do this, we first provide an overview of conceptual dryland restoration frameworks. We then describe how quantitative systems framework can advance and improve conceptual restoration frameworks, resulting in a greater ability to forecast restoration outcomes and evaluate economic efficiency and decision-making. Lastly, using a case study from the western United States, we show how a systems approach can be integrated with and used to advance current conceptual frameworks of dryland restoration. 4. Synthesis and applications. Systems models for restoration do not replace conceptual models but complement and extend these modelling approaches by enhancing our ability to solve restoration problems and forecast outcomes under changing conditions. Such forecasting of future outcomes is necessary to monetize restoration benefits and cost and to maximize economic benefit of limited restoration dollars.


It is known that feasible regular muscle training of an aerobic nature helps to reduce platelet activity of people with high normal blood pressure. At the same time, the physiological reaction of platelets to regular physical activity of the second mature age people with already formed arterial hypertension remains not entirely clear. Purpose of the study is to find out the possibilities of regular moderate aerobic physical activity of the second mature age people with newly developed arterial hypertension. The platelets functional activity of physically exercising and avoiding physical exercises people of the second mature age with arterial hypertension was traced by using optical aggregatometry and cytometry with an assessment of P-selectin level and GP IIb-IIIa on the platelet surface. The platelet aggregation activity and the number of GP IIb-IIIa molecules and P-selectin on platelet membranes of patients who took aspirin and had low physical activity and under the control were comparatively high. Platelet aggregation of patients, who trained physically, was not expressed, and under the ADP action on platelet membranes, the amount of GP IIb-IIIa and P-selectin did not change significantly. The paper shows the possibility of weakening the platelets activity of patients with recent arterial hypertension under the influence of regular physical activity. The results obtained give a reason to consider regular dosed physical activity as an obligatory component of the treatment of this category of patients to minimize the development of their thrombotic manifestations.