We have previously reported that PET with 18F-fluoride (NaF PET) for assessment of osseous metastatic disease led to changes in intended management in a substantial fraction of patients with prostate or other types of cancer participating in the National Oncologic PET Registry. This study was performed to assess the concordance of intended patient management after NaF PET and inferred management based on analysis of Medicare claims. Methods: We analyzed linked post–NaF PET data of consenting National Oncologic PET Registry participants age 65 y or older from 2011 to 2014 and their corresponding Medicare claims. Post–NaF PET treatment plans, including combinations of 2 modes of therapy, were assessed for their concordance with clinical actions inferred from Medicare claims. NaF PET studies were stratified by indication (initial staging [IS] or suspected first osseous metastasis [FOM]) and cancer type (prostate, lung, or other cancers). Agreement was assessed between post–NaF PET intended management plans for treatment (surgery, radiotherapy, or systemic therapy) within 90 d for lung and 180 d for prostate or other cancers, and for watching (the absence of treatment claims for ≥60 d) as compared with claims-inferred care. Results: Actions after 9,898 scans were assessed. After NaF PET for IS, there was claims agreement for planned surgery in 76.0% (19/25) lung, 75.4% (98/130) other cancers, and 58.9% (298/506) prostate cancer. Claims confirmed chemotherapy plans after NaF PET done for IS or FOM in 81.0% and 73.5% for lung cancer (n = 148 and 136) and 69.4% and 67.5% for other cancers (n = 111 and 228). For radiotherapy plans, agreement ranged from 80.0% to 84.4% after IS and 68.4% to 74.0% for suspected FOM. Concordance was greatest for androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) (86.0%, n = 308) alone or combined with radiotherapy in prostate cancer IS (80.8%, n = 517). In prostate FOM, the concordance across all treatment plans was lower if the patients had ADT claims within 180 d before NaF PET. Agreement with nontreatment plans was high for FOM (87.2% in other cancers and 78.6% if no prior ADT in prostate) and low after IS (40.7%–62.5%). Conclusion: Concordance of post–NaF PET plans and claims was substantial and higher overall for IS than for FOM.


In this paper we summarize present trends and controversies in the use of beta-blockers in cardiovascular diseases. Beta-blockers are catecolamine competitive inhibitors and act through alpha and beta adrenergic receptors blockade. Different agents have a dose-dependent affinity for different beta adrenergic receptors (beta 1, beta 2, beta 3) which is less with higher doses. The most important therapeutic effects of beta-blockers are on cardiovascular system, where they act as negative chronotropic and inotropic agents, lowering cardiac work and improving oxygen demand /supply ratio. Clinical indications are numerous. For their anti-ischemic activity beta-blockers are used as anti-anginal drugs and in acute and previous myocardial infarction for preventing total and cardiovascular mortality. Combined use of beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors slows down heart failure progression and reduces cardiovascular mortality. Beta-blockers are useful in treating focal atrial tachycardia and supra ventricular paroxysmal tachycardia, by reducing sinus node automaticity and delay atrio-ventricular conduction; they also prevent sudden cardiac death and ventricular tachycardia associated with increased sympathetic activity. There is no indication in treating primary non-complicated hypertension with beta-blockers as first-line drugs. Different metabolic effects of selective and non-selective beta-blockers are actually debated. In conclusion, beta-blockers have indication in the treatment of many cardiovascular diseases. Further studies are needed for better understanding the differences in cardiac and peripheral beta-blockers effects depending on their selectivity.


Objective. To assess the community structure of helminths and parasitic crustaceans in the splittail bass Hemanthias peruanus (Steindachner, 1875) from northern Peru. Materials and methods. 75 specimens (34 males and 41 females) of H. peruanus were captured from Puerto Cabo Blanco, Piura, Peru. Total length and sex data of the fish were recorded. For the analysis of the parasitic community, the ecological parasitological indices, aggregation indices, alpha diversity indices and association between the biometric parameters of the fish and the parasitological indices were calculated. Results. The percentage of total prevalence in maidens infected with at least one parasitic metazoan species was 65.33%, that is, 49 parasitized hosts. The community component of the parasitic eumetazoan fauna in the evaluated fish was dominated by the presence of ectoparasites (three species of monogeneans and one species of isopod). Endoparasite abundance (two species of trematodes, one species of tapeworms and one species of acanthocephalan) was comparatively low. Biotic factors such as fish length and sex were not found to be related to parasitological indices of any parasitic species. The lack of association is probably due to the influence of other biotic or abiotic factors. The most prevalent parasites presented an aggregate type distribution. The Chao-1 estimator indicates that the expected richness was eight. Conclusions. We registered H. peruanus as a new host for Ceratothoa gaudichaudii, Corynosoma australe, Parancylodiscoides signifer, Pronotogrammella scholzi and Scolex pleuronectis.


Abstract The predominately Mexican endemic genera Ficinus Distant, 1893 and Jornandes Distant, 1884 are revised. Rhinocapsidea Reuter, 1908 is treated as a junior synonym of Jornandes. Two species of Ficinus are recognized, including one new species from Guerrero. Twenty-five species of Jornandes are recognized, including 20 new species, predominately from the southern edge of the Transmexican Volcanic Belt near the conjunction of the Balsas Basin and the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero, Puebla, and Oaxaca. The new combinations, Jornandes albipes (Kelton, 1969) (Scalponotatus), Jornandes genetivus (Distant, 1884) (Rhinocapsidea), Jornandes sinaloa (Carvalho, 1987) (Rhinocapsidea) are proposed. Jornandes dissimulans Distant, 1983 and J. nordestina (Carvalho and Wallerstein, 1978) (Rhinocapsidea) are considered species incertae sedis. Keys to all recognized species are included. Illustrations of the male genitalia, dorsal habitus color photographs of both sexes (except for J. championi Distant, 1884), and new distributional records of all species are provided. Host records, where known, are listed. Scanning electron micrographs are presented to document the cuticular sculpturing of the corium, lateral view of the head, thorax, mesothoracic spiracle, and metathoracic scent-efferent system of representative species. The female genitalia of F. sagittarius and three species of Jornandes are documented with photographs.


Although substrates play an important role upon crystallization of supercooled liquids, the influences of surface temperature and thermal property have remained elusive. Here, the crystallization of supercooled phase‐change gallium (Ga) on substrates with different thermal conductivity is studied. The effect of interfacial temperature on the crystallization kinetics, which dictates thermo‐mechanical stresses between the substrate and the crystallized Ga, is investigated. At an elevated surface temperature, close to the melting point of Ga, an extended single‐crystal growth of Ga on dielectric substrates due to layering effect and annealing is realized without the application of external fields. Adhesive strength at the interfaces depends on the thermal conductivity and initial surface temperature of the substrates. This insight can be applicable to other liquid metals for industrial applications, and sheds more light on phase‐change memory crystallization.


Federated learning is a privacy-preserving machine learning technique that learns a shared model across decentralized clients. It can alleviate privacy concerns of personal re-identification, an important computer vision task. In this work, we implement federated learning to person re-identification (FedReID) and optimize its performance affected by statistical heterogeneity in the real-world scenario. We first construct a new benchmark to investigate the performance of FedReID. This benchmark consists of (1) nine datasets with different volumes sourced from different domains to simulate the heterogeneous situation in reality, (2) two federated scenarios, and (3) an enhanced federated algorithm for FedReID. The benchmark analysis shows that the client-edge-cloud architecture, represented by the federated-by-dataset scenario, has better performance than client-server architecture in FedReID. It also reveals the bottlenecks of FedReID under the real-world scenario, including poor performance of large datasets caused by unbalanced weights in model aggregation and challenges in convergence. Then we propose two optimization methods: (1) To address the unbalanced weight problem, we propose a new method to dynamically change the weights according to the scale of model changes in clients in each training round; (2) To facilitate convergence, we adopt knowledge distillation to refine the server model with knowledge generated from client models on a public dataset. Experiment results demonstrate that our strategies can achieve much better convergence with superior performance on all datasets. We believe that our work will inspire the community to further explore the implementation of federated learning on more computer vision tasks in real-world scenarios.


This study aims to narrate the context that shaped the competition assessment of the last wave of mega-mergers in the agrochem sector. It first focuses on the propertization of nature and the shrinking of the public domain, before exploring the important game-changer of the gene-editing revolution, and the way its regulation may determine the boundaries of possible competition in this sector. Having defined the broader legal and technological context, the next Section focuses on the main trigger for merger assessment, the increasing consolidation of the agrochem industry. This takes various dimensions, although the strict confines of the merger control assessment led competition authorities to ignore some dimensions (common ownership) for which there is still uncertainty as to their welfare effects, in particular in view of the lack of definitive consensus on what is the optimal market structure for innovation. As previously mentioned, in view of their broader socio-economic implications the agrochem mergers raised the thorny issue of integrating in the merger analysis broader concerns than just price effects. Competition authorities were confronted to the choice between, on one side, a more conventional model focusing on consumer welfare, not one limited to price effects but also taking into account other parameters of competition, such as innovation, and, on the other side, that of a model focusing on the broader public policy effects of the merger transactions. Although, competition authorities made the choice of not directly considering public policy concerns, the approach they adopted in assessing innovation effects hints to an effort to surpass the strict boundaries of the relevant market concept in analysing the effect of these mergers.


This paper constructs two longitudinal datasets that record students' test scores in a national standardized exam in Mexico and track students from the end of primary (Grade 6) to the end of lower (Grade 9) and upper (Grade 12) secondary school, then to university and labor market participation up to two years after graduation from upper secondary. The results show that test scores are a strong predictor of future education and labor market outcomes. Using a large sample of twins in the data, the paper shows that the relationship between Grade 6 test scores and future education outcomes goes beyond family background. Finally, the paper exploits the within-individual correlation between subject test scores and finds evidence that this standardized assessment captures in a meaningful way the specific skills that it is designed to measure. These results show that, despite their limitations, large-scale standardized tests can capture skills that are important for future individual wellbeing.


Background There are little data on the incidence of chemotherapy-induced myocardial dysfunction in long-term survivors of high-risk (HR) neuroblastoma. Our aim was to investigate the incidence of myocardial dysfunction in patients with high-risk (HR) neuroblastoma. Method We performed a retrospective case-control study between 2003 and 2012 of HR NBL patients treated according to the SIOPEN HR-NBL clinical trial at Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Dublin. Inclusion criteria were patients enrolled on the trial with an echocardiogram prior to commencement of chemotherapy and a subsequent echocardiogram on follow-up. Comparative echocardiograms were obtained on age-matched healthy controls. Results 36 patients met inclusion criteria. 53% were male (n = 18). All patients received rapid COJEC induction, 83% received busulfan/melphalan (n = 30) and 61% topotecan (n = 22). 21/40 Over half received doxorubicin (n = 21). Most recent echocardiography follow-up was an average of 22 months from initial study. There was no difference in fractional shortening (FS) pre- and post-treatment (36% and 34%) (p = 0.13). Last measured FS in survivors and non-survivors (33% and 35%, respectively) was not significantly different (p = 0.18). FS in older survivors (aged 8–15) reached significance when compared to controls (p = 0.0037). There was also a significant difference between cases and age-matched controls when divided into quartiles by time since diagnosis (p = 0.079, p = 0.01, p = 0.07, p = 0.04, respectively). There was no dilation in left heart internal diameter at end diastole at any age between cases and controls. Conclusion Reduction in left ventricular fractional shortening is seen in older patients treated for HR neuroblastoma and this finding holds true when corrected for time since diagnosis. The mechanism of ventricular dysfunction is not due to progressive dilated cardiomyopathy, as indicated by preserved left ventricular internal diameters in diastole between cases and controls. Further study is warranted.


McDonagh is arguably one of the most celebrated yet most controversial of contemporary Anglo-Irish playwrights. His plays have received mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike, mostly for featuring graphic violence and obscene dialogues. Even though comedy is mostly seen as an inferior genre compared to tragedy, McDonagh, among many contemporary Anglo-Irish writers, makes use of the malleability of the grotesque to address myriads of serious issues. In his most recent play A Very Very Very Dark Matter (2018), McDonagh juxtaposes both comic and grotesque elements to create a black comedy that manages to represent the painful memories of colonial history. This comic mediation of pain and suffering is only one of the several aspects of the grotesque that are present in Dark Matter . Through a nuanced examination of the features and functions of the grotesque in Dark Matter , this articles aims to illustrate how, by means of the grotesque, McDonagh manages to address the seminal issues of colonialism and social justice. The article shows that by recurring to the shocking, the repugnant, and the fantastical, McDonagh manages to remind his audience of the ugliness of colonial realities. A careful examination of the play reveals that McDonagh employs the grotesque to undermine the power and arrogance of Europe and to remind the audience of the atrocities committed against Africa and other colonized nations in the name of white supremacy.


In the present article we analyze a series of studies designed to detect the caries preventive effect of Duraphat by means of meta-analysis. Meta-analysis is a collection of statistical methods designed to investigate and to summarize a series of investigations. It may be a valuable tool to complement traditional narrative reviews. During the last years meta-analysis has attracted increasing interest in sociology, psychology and medicine. In order to find previous studies concerned with the clinical effects of Duraphat we applied a systematic literature search. Papers were included independent of results when they fulfilled a checklist of well defined methodological selection criteria. In order to aggregate the results of the Duraphat-studies we used different complementary statistical approaches: Firstly, the so-called file drawer problem is considered. This may help to get a better insight into the problem of underreporting non-significant results or publication bias. It was found to be very unlikely that underreporting of non-significant results could reverse the conclusion into an overall null-result. After that, the inhomogeneity between studies is investigated. The overall variation of caries reduction R is separated into two components: A between study component of variance and a variance pertaining to the individual studies (random effects model). It was found that the overall variation is dominated by the between studies variation and not by the sampling variation. Due to the pronounced variation between studies the confidence interval of the overall effect size (R = 0.38) is quite large (95%-Cl: 0.19-0.57).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


We investigate the asymptotic behaviour of solution of dierential equation with state-independent perturbation. The dierential equation studied is a perturbed version of a
globally stable autonomous equation with unique equilibrium where the diffusion coefficient is independent of the state.

Perturbed differential equation is widely applied to model natural phenomena, in Finance, Engineering, Physics and other disciplines. Real-world processes are often subjected
to interference in the form of random external perturbations. This could lead to a dramatic effect on the behaviour of these processes. Therefore it is important to
analyse these equations.

We start by considering an additive deterministic perturbation in Chapter 1. It is assumed that the restoring force is asymptotically negligible as the solution becomes
large, and that the perturbation tends to zero as time becomes indefinitely large. It is shown that solutions are always locally stable, and that solutions either tend to zero or to infinity as time tends to infinity. In Chapter 2 and 4, we each explore a linear and nonlinear equation with stochastic perturbation in finite dimensions. We find necessary and sufficient conditions on the rate of decay of the noise intensity for the solution of the equations to
be globally asymptotically stable, bounded, or unstable. In Chapter 3 we concentrate on a scalar nonlinear stochastic differential equation. As well as the necessary and sufficient condition, we also explore the simple sufficient conditions and the connections between the conditions which characterise the various classes of long-run behaviour. To facilitate the analysis, we investigate using Split-Step method the difference equations both in the scalar case and the finite dimensional case in Chapter 5 and 6. We can mimic the exact asymptotic behaviour of the solution of the stochastic differential equation under the same
conditions in discrete time.


For automatic speech translation (AST), end-to-end approaches are outperformed by cascaded models that transcribe with automatic speech recognition (ASR), then trans- late with machine translation (MT). A major cause of the performance gap is that, while existing AST corpora are small, massive datasets exist for both the ASR and MT subsystems. In this work, we evaluate several data augmentation and pretraining approaches for AST, by comparing all on the same datasets. Simple data augmentation by translating ASR transcripts proves most effective on the English–French augmented LibriSpeech dataset, closing the performance gap from 8.2 to 1.4 BLEU, compared to a very strong cascade that could directly utilize copious ASR and MT data. The same end-to-end approach plus fine-tuning closes the gap on the English–Romanian MuST-C dataset from 6.7 to 3.7 BLEU. In addition to these results, we present practical rec- ommendations for augmentation and pretraining approaches. Finally, we decrease the performance gap to 0.01 BLEU us- ing a Transformer-based architecture.


The deformation process of the metal pipes, accelerated by underwater shock wave resulting from the underwater detonation of explosive inside the metal pipe, was investigated by means of both the optical observation experiment and the numerical calculation. The expanding deformation of metal pipes was experimentally viewed by both framing and streak photographic means. A computer code based on the arbitrary Lagrangian and Eulerian (ALE) method was used to perform the numerical simulation on this problem. It has confirmed that the deformations of the metal pipes obtained from the streak photographs agree quite well with those obtained by the numerical calculation. The experimental and numerical results both show that the expanding velocity along the radial direction in aluminum pipe is larger than that in copper pipe, under the same loading conditions: and also, the time needed to reach the maximum radial velocity is shorter in aluminum pipe than in copper pipe. The calculations clearly indicate that the metal pipes are able to acquire a maximum expanding velocity along the radial direction in a very short time after the beginning of the action of underwater shock wave, and also this maximum velocity value only decreases a little in the later time period.


Video game development is currently a very labour-intensive endeavour. Furthermore it involves multi-disciplinary teams of artistic content creators and programmers, whose typical working patterns are not easily meshed. SAGA is our first effort at augmenting the productivity of such teams.
Already convinced of the benefits of DSLs, we set out to analyze the domains present in games in order to find out which would be most amenable to the DSL approach. Based on previous work, we thus sought those sub-parts that already had a partially established vocabulary and at the same time could be well modeled using classical computer science structures. We settled on the 'story' aspect of video games as the best candidate domain, which can be modeled using state transition systems.
As we are working with a specific company as the ultimate customer for this work, an additional requirement was that our DSL should produce code that can be used within a pre-existing framework. We developed a full system (SAGA) comprised of a parser for a human-friendly language for 'story events', an internal representation of design patterns for implementing object-oriented state-transitions systems, an instantiator for these patterns for a specific 'story', and three renderers (for C++, C# and Java) for the instantiated abstract code.


Discovered more than 40 years ago, the biological features of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) were progressively compared first with hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and, more recently, with embryonic stem cells (ESC). Although these comparisons have been crucial in helping to clarify their nature, there is now a robust amount of data indicating that MSC in vitro represent an independent and heterogeneous group of progenitors with distinct self-renewal properties and established differentiation potentials. However, research developments both in humans and animals have progressively revealed the limits that MSC may face in vivo. To recognize these issues and challenge MSC stemness may seem to be a step backward. Nevertheless, it might also represent the beginning of a phase in which the introduction of novel preclinical approaches could provide better characterization and standardization of the in vivo factors influencing cell engraftment and survival, allowing a more successful impact of mesenchymal progenitors in several clinical settings.


Development of distributed generation, energy efficiency and demand-side management measures, economical and technical constraints to meet the performance targets fixed by the regulatory bodies are just some of the new challenges facing distribution system operators in the smart grid development context. Simulation capabilities are playing a major role in the distribution business improvements needed to meet these new objectives. For instance, simulation is providing support to develop the functionalities associated with the self-healing grid concept. This article describes a roadmap for fast simulation and modeling tools applied to distribution systems. A survey of key industry experts was conducted to identify the main drivers for improving simulation and modelling functionalities and to determine the most likely path that evolution will take. The results of this roadmap are intended to provide a high level view of the functionalities that will be needed in the next 10 years to enable smart grid operation. These functions will be enabled by developments in various technical areas, providing solid foundations to build on. This roadmap identifies technological gaps and new software/hardware solution needs, It is focused on the future developments in these areas.


Clinical investigators within the Canadian and international communities were shocked when the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) announced that their funding for the MD/PhD program would be terminated after the 2015-2016 academic year. The program has trained Canadian clinician-scientists for more than two decades. The cancellation of the program is at odds with the CIHR's mandate, which stresses the translation of new knowledge into improved health for Canadians, as well as with a series of internal reports that have recommended expanding the program. Although substantial evidence supports the analogous Medical Scientist Training Program in the United States, no parallel analysis of the MD/PhD program has been performed in Canada. Here, we highlight the long-term consequences of the program's cancellation in the context of increased emphasis on translational research. We argue that alternative funding sources cannot ensure continuous support for students in clinician-scientist training programs and that platform funding of the MD/PhD program is necessary to ensure leadership in translational research.


This paper proposes the automatic aerial photogrammetry procedure optimized for Micro UAV that has ability of autonomous flight. The most important goal of our proposed method is the reducing the processing cost for fully automatic reconstruction of DSM from a large amount of image obtained from Micro UAV. For this goal, we have developed automatic corresponding point generation procedure using feature point tracking algorithm considering position and attitude information, which obtained from onboard GPS-IMU integrated on Micro UAV. In addition, we have developed the automatic exterior orientation and registration procedure from the automatic generated corresponding points on each image and position and attitude information from Micro UAV. Moreover, in order to reconstruct precise DSM, we have developed the area base matching process which considering edge information. In this paper, we describe processing flow of our automatic aerial photogrammetry. Moreover, the accuracy assessment is also described. Furthermore, some application of automatic reconstruction of DSM will be desired.


– A 10 MW-class high-precision power supply was developed for the electromagnets of a large proton accelerator (J-PARC). This power supply consists of an advanced self-commutated current-source type converter (ACSC) using IEGTs and a hybrid filter. The current ripple was less than 1×10 -6 , and the tracking error was less than ±0.5×10 -4 . With this power supply, the proton beam was successfully accelerated to 30 GeV, which is the target energy of the first stage of J-PARC.


This study examines different approaches to determining the chip failure rate that occurs due to dielectric cracking under C4 sites during chip joining. We show that testing of the strength of individual C4s by a single bump shear technique gives a strength distribution that is well described by a Weibull distribution with a Weibull modulus that lies in the range 10-20. Simulations of the spatial distribution of failing C4s during a chip joining test using this distribution, however, are found to be inconsistent with those observed experimentally. From this observation we conclude that the observed fails arise from a defect population that is not well characterized by single bump shear tests. We propose an alternative to SBS testing in which we directly count the number of fails that occur at a given stress level by comparing the location of the fails observed in multiple sonoscan images of chips to the C4 stress map calculated from a finite element model. An example is presented where the strength distribution of the defect tail is characterized from the analysis of C4 fails induced by an accelerated chip joining test. From this distribution we show how it is possible to project chip failure rates that arise from a manufacturing chip joining process.


The rheological properties of conventional polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins are not particularly suitable for low density extrusion foaming with physical blowing agents; as a result, chemically modified resins through chain extension/branching reactions are often used. Such resins have overall higher melt viscosity and higher melt strength/melt "elasticity" than unmodified materials. In this work, following a review of the prior art on PET chemical modification, an unmodified and a chemically modified resin were selected and characterized for their melt viscoelastic properties including shear and dynamic complex viscosity over a broad shear rate/frequency range, storage and loss modulus, and die swell. Certain rheological models were found to provide better fits of the entire viscosity curve for the unmodified vs. the modified resin. Foamed extrudates having variable densities (from about 1.2 to 0.2 g/cc), were prepared by carbon dioxide injection in monolayer flat sheet extrusion equipment. Foams with increasingly lower density, below 0.5 g/cc, were obtained by increasing gas pressure only in the case of the chemically modified resin. The effects of variables such as concentration of the physical blowing agent, resin rheology, resin thermal properties and choice of process conditions are related to product characteristics including density, cell size and crystallinity.


Heavy metals in groundwater were analyzed and their sources and impacts were identi- fied using multivariate statistical tools and risk assessment. Three significant factors were extracted by factor analysis (FA), explaining 75.69% of total variance. These factors were in turn described by the clusters C3, C2 and C1, respectively, resulting from the cluster analysis (CA). Factor analysis and cluster analysis revealed significant anthropogenic contributions and water-rock interaction effects of the metals in groundwater. The mean values of heavy metal evaluation index (HEI) and degree of contamination (C deg ) indices indicated that the groundwater samples were contaminated with high degree of pollu tion by cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb). The hazard quotients (via ingestion) of Cd and Pb were found to be higher than the safe limits, posing threat to the consumers. However, no risk related to the dermal contact was associated with the measured metal levels.


Extracellular vesicles (EV) are membrane-enclosed microstructures released from the cell. EV can transport cargo—such as DNA, RNA, and proteins—into the extracellular space and act as a form of intercellular communication. Matrix vesicles (MV) are a unique type of EV produced by mineralizing cells. In previous studies, utilizing in vitro models of pre-odontoblasts and vascular smooth muscle cells, it was determined that phosphate induces the release of MV and alters MV composition. We hypothesized that elevated phosphate alters the composition of MV through the alteration of gene expression. To determine whether this hypothesis holds true or not, 17IIA11 cells, a pre-odontoblast cell line, were exposed to elevated phosphate for 24h, 48h, and 72h. RNA and MV were then collected for further analysis. Using nanoparticle tracking analysis, we determined that the size distribution of the MV was not altered by the phosphate. Next, to evaluate a possible mechanism driving MV composition change, we compared the effect of phosphate on gene expression to the effect of phosphate on MV composition. No correlation was identified between changes in gene expression and changes in MV composition. These findings suggest that phosphate does not alter the composition of MV through altered gene expression. Future studies should focus on other mechanisms that may drive MV composition changes.


Digitization offers significant opportunities for the formulated product industry to transform the way it works and develop new methods of business. R&D is one area of operation that is challenging to take advantage of these technologies due to its high level of domain specialisation and creativity but the benefits could be significant. Recent developments of base level technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML), robotics and high performance computing (HPC), to name a few, present disruptive and transformative technologies which could offer new insights, discovery methods and enhanced chemical control when combined in a digital ecosystem of connectivity, distributive services and decentralisation. At the fundamental level, research in these technologies has shown that new physical and chemical insights can be gained, which in turn can augment experimental R&D approaches through physics-based chemical simulation, data driven models and hybrid approaches. In all of these cases, high quality data is required to build and validate models in addition to the skills and expertise to exploit such methods. In this article we give an overview of some of the digital technology demonstrators we have developed for formulated product R&D. We discuss the challenges in building and deploying these demonstrators.


The clinical outcome of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in 63 patients with gallbladder dyskinesia (GD) and 60 patients with proven gallstone (GS) disease was compared. Patients were contacted to determine the extent of symptom relief and satisfaction after surgery. Patients with GD underwent significantly more diagnostic procedures than patients with GS and were found to have higher prevalence of other gastrointestinal motor disorders. Only 47% of patients with GD became completely asymptomatic after surgery, compared with 81% of patients with GS (p = 0.002). This was reflected in the satisfaction scores, which were 79% and 91%, respectively (p < 0.01). There was a significant difference in pathologic findings among the two groups; chronic cholecystitis was more frequently found in the GS group and the incidence of normal gallbladder was higher in the GD group. It is concluded that patients with GD have a good response to laparoscopic cholecystectomy, but they commonly experience continuing gastrointestinal symptoms related to other gastrointestinal motor disorders.


A purposed semi-cylindrical hyperlens is designed for nanolithography, which can form 20nm (or less) line width patterns with 193nm working wavelength. The hyperlens employs aluminum (Al, @193nm wavelength) and magnesium oxide (MgO, ) as the materials of alternating metal and dielectric thin layers. Taking aluminum instead of silver is a more economic solution for manufacture, and the dielectric coating acts as an anti-reflectivity of aluminum to enhance transmission. The optimum thickness of aluminum for best image fidelity has been found based on two 20nm wide slits with 40nm spacing. Incorporated with phase shifting mask (PSM) technology, the image contrast is much better than that of ordinary mask (Chrome on Glass, COG). The full wave simulations are executed and the results validated our approaches. The semi-cylindrical hyperlens made of aluminum and magnesium oxide gives potential for nano-scale manufacture, optical information storage and biomedical imaging.


ObjectiveThe authors determined whether untreated breast cancer patients have elevated plasma levels of transforming growth factor-β1, (TGF-β1). Summary Background DataIncreased plasma TGF-β1 levels recently were found after chemotherapy in patients with advanced breast cancer. However, it currently is unknown whether this elevation in plasma TGF-β1 is caused by chemotherapy-induced normal tissue damage or whether it results from the presence of the tumor. MethodsAn enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure plasma TGF-β1 levels in 26 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients before and after definitive surgery. Patients were grouped by postoperative tumor status: 1) negative lymph nodes (group 1); 2) positive lymph nodes (group 2); and 3) overt residual disease (group 3). The site of TGF-β1 production in the tumors was localized by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. ResultsPlasma TGF-β1 levels were elevated preoperatively in 81% of the patients; TGF-β2 and TGF-β3 were undetectable. The preoperative TGF-β1, levels in the three patient groups were similar; however, the postoperative plasma TGF-β1 levels differed by disease status. The mean plasma TGF-β1 level in group 1 (n = 12) normalized after surgery (19.3 ± 3.2 vs. 5.5 ± 1.0 ng/mL, p < 0.001). In contrast, the mean plasma TGF-β1 levels remained above normal in both group 2 (n = 9) and group 3 (n = 5) after surgery. Transforming growth factor-β1 expression was found to be preferentially increased in the tumor stroma. ConclusionsBreast tumors result in increased plasma TGF-β1 levels in 81% of patients. After surgical removal of the primary tumor, the plasma TGF-β1 level normalizes in the majority of patients; persistently elevated levels correlate with the presence of lymph node metastases or overt residual tumor.


Due to a lack of data and practical models, few studies have extracted tailings pond margins in large areas. In addition, there is no public dataset of tailings ponds available for relevant research. This study proposed a new deep learning-based framework for extracting tailings pond margins from high spatial resolution (HSR) remote sensing images by combining You Only Look Once (YOLO) v4 and the random forest algorithm. At the same time, we created an open source tailings pond dataset based on HSR remote sensing images. Taking Tongling city as the study area, the proposed model can detect tailings pond locations with high accuracy and efficiency from a large HSR remote sensing image (precision = 99.6%, recall = 89.9%, mean average precision = 89.7%). An optimal random forest model and morphological processing were utilized to further extract accurate tailings pond margins from the target areas. The final map of the entire study area was obtained with high accuracy. Compared with the random forest algorithm, the total extraction time was reduced by nearly 99%. This study can be beneficial to mine monitoring and ecological environmental governance.


Natural and anthropogenic disturbances are changing coral reef systems at local and global scales. In Mo'orea, French Polynesia, it is unsure whether a Pocilloporid-and Poritid-dominant reef represents either a transitional, recovering community or a new, stable community (Pratchett 2010). Understanding the species-specific associations between coral-symbionts and their coral hosts will provide a more precise look at how symbionts contribute to their relationship. To better understand this mutualism, this study combined field surveys with phylogenetic analyses to examine the species-specific association between Trapezia crabs and their Pocillopora coral hosts and ask more broadly if there is an association between environmental variables and a morphological phylogeny of Trapezia. There was a significant association between certain species of Trapezia and Pocillopora (Likelihood ratio, x 2 =84.49, df=16, p=<0.0001*), whereT. rufopunctata was found most frequently withP. edyouxi (80.75%) andT. serenei onP. meandrina (63.4%) andP. verrucosa (37.50%). Discriminant analyses support that differences between crab communities are largely attributed to the morphological features (coral size and branching depth) of coral hosts. Field observations paired with a morphological phylogeny support a trend where similar sized corals were found to be associated with more closely related crab species. Understanding the degree of species-specific associations allows us to better grasp how coral communities and their symbionts will change with natural and anthropogenic episodic changes


The present study was designed to examine factors that could facilitate or impede adherence to proper hydration. Forty volunteers (20 male, 20 female) were randomly assigned to one of two groups: Informed Group (n = 20) and Uninformed Group (n = 20). Bioelectrical impedance was used to measure intracellular (ICW) and extracellular (ECW) body water at Time 1 and 2. Personality, health beliefs, and health behaviors inventories were administered at Time 1. A health information brochure on proper hydration and consequences of poor hydration was given to the Informed Group. All participants were given six 1-liter bottles of water and drank two bottles per day. Both ICW, F(1,38) = 4.79, p < .05, and ECW, F(1,38) = 10.12, p < .005, significantly increased for both groups, and females had significantly greater changes than males in ECW, F(1,38) = 4.43, p < .05, and ICW, F(1,38) = 4.48, p < .05. Health information had no significant effect on female adherence but was a significant predictor of male adherence, β = .266, p < .05. Agreeableness, r = .36, p < .05, and social desirability, r = .33, p < .05, were the only personality factors related to change in ECW for the group as a whole. Health beliefs were unrelated to adherence, but general health concern, β = –.053, p < .05, was a significant predictor of change in ECW for males, although it was an inverse relationship.


Fluorinated amorphous carbon films (a-C:H:F) were deposited by plasma source ion implantation (PSII) with precursor gas of CH2FCF3 + C2H2 + H2 with various radio frequency (r.f.) power. Structures and properties evolution varied with r.f. power was discussed in detail. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectrum, X-Ray reflection(XRR), atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to analyze composition, chemical state, sp2 cluster structure, density and surface morphology of prepared films. Nano-indentation test was used to get hardness and modulus. The results show that with the increase of r.f. power, the size and amount of sp2 cluster increase, so does the surface roughness; however, the density and the hardness of films decrease.


This paper focuses on the implementation of sequential algorithms for the simulation of parabolic equation in solving the thermal control systems. The platform of the temperature behaviour prediction is based on printed circuit board. The numerical finite-difference method (FDM) is used to design the discretization of these partial differential equations. The results of finite-difference approximation are presented graphically. Numerical methods that are used in solving the problem are the method of Jacobi, Gauss-Seidel, Red-Black Gauss-Seidel, Successive Over Relaxation (SOR) and Red-Black Successive Over Relaxation. The numerical analysis is treated done in terms of time execution, computation complexity, number of iterations, accuracy and convergence rate.


Hantaviruses cause persistent infection, upregulation of regulatory responses, and downregulation of proinflammatory responses in reservoir hosts. To determine whether hantaviruses suppress the inflammatory activity of antigen presenting cells, we infected bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) from Norway rats with Seoul virus (SEOV). The expression of MHCII and CD80, production of IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α, and expression of Ifnβ were attenuated after infection. Stimulation of BMDMs with poly I:C prior to SEOV infection increased the expression of activation markers and production of inflammatory cytokines and suppressed SEOV replication. Infection with SEOV also suppressed LPS-induced activation of BMDMs, including NF-κB signaling and production of proinflammatory cytokines. Because inhalation is a major route of hantavirus transmission between rodents, with alveolar macrophages providing the first line of defense against inhaled pathogens and playing a pivotal role in the initiation of infection-induced inflammatory response, we are currently investigating whether rat alveolar macrophages response to SEOV infection in a similar manner as BMDMs and whether SEOV infection of alveolar macrophages enhances regulatory responses, including TGF-β production. Hantavirus-induced inhibition of inflammatory responses of macrophages may be one mechanism contributing to the persistence of virus in reservoir hosts.


A phenomenon called parallel-output misalignment (POM), which intrinsically occurs in ring-type time-to-digital converters (TDCs) like gated-ring oscillator (GRO) or Vernier-ring TDCs, is discussed in this paper. We found that the phase noise caused by POM error may be larger than that due to quantization error by up to 22 dB or even more. Thus, the overall phase noise contribution is dominated by the POM effect rather than the quantization error. This paper proposes a conjoined-ring Vernier (CRV) TDC with a POM error correction circuit that can eliminate the POM error and its consequent corruption on phase noise performance, making quantization error as being the only contribution of the overall phase noise. Meanwhile, the proposed TDC implementation maintains competitive performance in terms of fine time resolution (3 or 0.8 ps) and a flexible large time-length detection range (12 ns) capability in 40-nm CMOS technology. The CRV structure operates like a phase cutter, which separates the time interval into segments with an identical length of about 160 ps, except the residue segment (<160 ps), which will be the only part that needs to be measured at the finest time resolution. The POM error correction circuit is created by embedding a couple of switches into the CRV structure to form a short-time window (<15 ps). This time window is expected to distinguish the occurrence of the misalignment of the parallel outputs between the loop counter and the Vernier core. The corresponding compensation scheme, including the $N$ -calibration circuit, is developed to correct the linearity.


An attempt to utilize the agricultural by-products is getting interested from many researchers and factory owners. Corn cob is one of an agricultural by-product that can be found generally in Thailand and contains valuable phenolic acids such as ferulic acid and coumaric acid. Extraction of phenolic compounds for food application is an alternative way to add value of the agricultural by-products due to its physiological functions on human health and can be used as functional ingredient. However, a research paper related with stability of corn cobs extract in different forms during storage time is limited. Therefore, this research was to study on the stability of corn cobs extract in powdered form (by freeze drying) and concentrated form (by vacuum evaporation) during storage for 12 weeks at 4°C. Corn cobs were extracted using alkaline treatment prior to lignin and hemicellulose precipitation by using ethanol. The samples were taken every 2 weeks to analyze the physical and chemical properties including color measurement, antioxidant activity using DPPH method, and total phenolic content using Folin-Ciocalteu method. The results showed that all properties of those corn cobs extract in powdered and concentrated form significantly changed during storage (P≤0.05). Compare to an initial week (week 0), total phenolic content started changing at week 2 which the powdered sample decreased about 2.26% (ranged from 2.26 to 12.58% until week 12) and concentrated sample decreased about 3.95% (ranged from 3.95 to 6.50% until week 12). In terms of the antioxidant activity, IC50 started changing at week 4 which the powdered sample decreased about 21.41% (ranged from 20.75 to 36.08% until week 12) and concentrated sample decreased about 14.39% (ranged from 13.68 to 24.03% until week 12). It can be concluded that the decreasing trend during 12 weeks of storage of the powdered sample showed higher than that of concentrated form. Therefore, for further use of the corn cobs extract as a functional ingredient, it was no need to make the extract solution in the powdered form.


The article is aimed at identifying the role of women in the gender structure of the Soviet merchant marine and reconstructing gender stereotypes about women seafarers within and outside the professional community in the 1960s and 1970s. To reach the goals the authors employ the approaches of microhistory and oral history. The main primary source for the research is the series of 19 interviews with the veterans of the Far Eastern Shipping Company collected from June 24, 2019 to January 20, 2020 as a part of the research project "Marine Vladivostok: Daily Practices and Professional Culture of Merchant Marine Seamen of the Late Soviet Period". The interviews were supplemented by a wide range of published sources such as statistical data, regulations, press, memoirs, fiction, and films. The authors characterize the range of positions occupied by women on merchant marine vessels most often and the responsibilities associated with them as well as analyze the motives for choosing a seafaring profession. Special attention is paid to identifying scenarios for the formation of stereotypes about Soviet women seafarers placed against the wider background of the gender order of post-war Soviet society and its transformations.


Raloxifene (RAL), a selective estrogen receptor modulator, is indicated for the prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. RAL, by decreasing bone turnover, pre- vents bone loss and microarchitecture damage, reducing the incidence of osteoporotic fractures. Our previous in vitro data demonstrated that RAL modulates osteoclast activity by, at least in part, an IL-6- and TNF- (cid:1) -dependent mechanism. In this study we evaluated the effects of RAL treatment (60 mg/d) on circulating levels of these cytokines in 14 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Lumbar bone density (determined by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry) and IL-6 and TNF- (cid:1) levels were measured before and after 6 and 24 months of therapy. After 24 months, RAL increased bone density. IL-6 and TNF- (cid:1) expression, elevated before treatment, signifi- cantly decreased (50% and 30%, respectively) after 6 months. This effect was sustained up to the end of the treatment (75% and 35%, respectively). Thus, our data show that RAL can


The Clinical Care Classification (CCC) System, a national nursing standard, is a respected resource for documenting patient and nursing care plans for the electronic health record (EHR). It provides a set of standardized, coded patient care terminologies for EHR input in nursing diagnoses and outcomes, as well as in nursing interventions in both acute and ambulatory settings. This new edition of the "Users Guide," written by one of the founders of the CCC System, has been modified into an abridged, easy-to-use version to help nurses learn quickly about the CCC System Version 2.5 and expedite their development of CCC-based plans of care. It clearly explains how to use the CCC System, including a description of the CCC model and examples of patient/nursing plans or care templates with their EHR screens and brief explanations. Key Features: Clearly explains how to implement the CCC Version 2.5 terminologies and protocol Updates, revises, and reformats the first edition of the "Users Guide" for ease-of-use In use, or soon to be in use, by 100 hospitals including the Veterans Affairs system


The isolated arterially perfused rabbit interventricular septum was used to study the relationship between flow (F) and myocardial uptake and subsequent clearance of bolus injections of 13N-labeled ammonia (13NH3). Multiple 13NH3 injections were delivered to a total of 19 septa at perfusion rates (F/g) ranging from 0.2-4.0 ml.min-1.g-1. Ten septa were studied at 37 degrees C and nine were studied at 28 degrees C to obtain uptake and clearance data at different metabolic rates. The septa were perfused without recirculation with a modified Tyrode solution. Analysis of the time-activity curves generated by the injections of 13NH3 revealed that the data was best described by three components. The first two components exhibited short clearance times (t1/2s less than 7 min) in contrast to prolonged clearance times (30-500 min) for component 3. Component 1 was consistent with a freely diffusible 13NH3 compartment. Component 3 persists and permits myocardial imaging 15 min or more after 13NH3 injection. At each perfusion rate the extraction fraction of component 3 was twice as large, and the clearance time of component 3 was twice as fast at 37 as at 28 degrees C, implying that the extraction and washout of this third component are dependent on enzymatic reactions. The total myocardial extraction into component 3 from a systemic injection is determined by multiplying the extraction fraction by the perfusion rate (EF(3) X F/g) and was directly related to the perfusion rate at both 28 and 37 degrees C.


The purpose of this study was to analyze by echocardiogram left ventricular (LV) geometry in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Echocardiographic study, systolic blood pressure and heart rate were obtained in 114 male, 4-month old rats, 73 SHR and 41 Wistar (W). Left ventricular mass index (LVMI), relative wall thickness (RWT), stroke volume, and mid ventricular shortening were calculated with echocardiographic parameters. Normal LV was defined considering the mean plus 2 SD of LVMI and RWT in W. Patterns of abnormal LV geometry were: LV concentric remodeling, LVMI < 2.06 mg/g - RWT > 0.71; eccentric, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), LVMI > 2.06 mg/g - RWT < 0.71; and concentric LVH, LVMI > 2.06 mg/g - RWT > 0.71. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and cardiac output (CO) were used to obtain total peripheral resistance (TPR). twelve % of SHR had normal LV geometry; 18% LV concentric remodeling; 33% concentric LVH and 37% eccentric LVH. LV concentric remodeling showed the smallest CO and highest TPR of any group. Eccentric LVH presented similar SBP as the other SHR groups and high CO with lower TPR. Our findings in SHR exhibit different patterns of LV geometry like in humans. These results strengthen the similarities between SHR and human essential hypertension.


A series of oriented rutile TiO2 nanorod-array films are in-situ grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrates from a mixed acid solution containing titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP), hydrochloric acid (HCl), acetic acid (HOAc), and water (H2O) by means of hydrothermal reaction at 150 °C. The effect of HOAc in the titania growth solution on the structure and micro-morphology of TiO2 nanorod array films, as well as the photoelectric conversion properties in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) has been fully investigated. It is found that HOAc can facilitate the formation of uniform, dense, and vertically oriented TiO2 nanorods and hence improves the dye adsorption, electron diffusion coefficient, and the photovoltaic performance of DSSCs, typically in short-circuit photocurrent and power conversion efficiency. A power conversion efficiency of 4.03% has been achieved on a DSSC based on a 2.3 µm-long nanorod array film obtained from a mixed acid solution with the TTIP:HCl:HOAc:H2O ratio of 0.8:4:8:8 by volume.


This paper investigated the influence of tangible resources on the performance of county health services in Kenya using resource based view approach. The research collected secondary data of all counties from ministry of health records and reports regarding current tangible resources owned by county health services departments as well as data on performance indicator achievements (over the last three years) then analyzed the relationship between the two variables to identify tangible resources associated and most useful to performance. The findings of this study confirm that there is tangible resource heterogeneity across Kenya's county health departments that explain performance indicator achievement differentials. Not all resources contribute to superior performance. It's just some specific resources that are responsible for superior performance. These are the critical strategic resources that the study suggests may be currently needed for improved performance in given health indicators. The study makes a recommendation for an improved approach that uses a composite performance index, a single measure of overall health performance, upon which resources are evaluated. This study that relates health resources with performance has the potential of advancing resource based theory from being a mere theoretical framework to being a practical framework for practicing managers, policy makers and planners in the health sector.


The belief that immigrants are crossing the border, in the stealth of night, with nefarious desires to bring violence, crime, and drugs to the United States has long been part of the public imagination. Studies and statistics overwhelmingly establish the falsehood of this rhetoric. The facts are that non-citizens commit fewer crimes and reoffend less often than citizens. But facts do not stop the myth. Even supporters of immigration reform often will point out that they will help deserving immigrants but will deport those with criminal convictions, or at least those who committed violent crimes. My Article counters that there will be — and should be — an end to crime-based deportation. It is already happening quickly and quietly in federal courts. Beginning in 2013, the Supreme Court decided United States v. Descamps, and in 2016, Mathis v. United States. These cases are highly technical decisions relating to the federal Armed Career Criminal Act ("ACCA") and immigration law's Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act ("IIRIRA"). This Article draws upon empirical data to show that, as predicted by the Justices, a faithful adherence to Descamps and Mathis will be eliminating numerous offenses from having ACCA and IIRIRA consequences on a case-by-case, statute-by-statute basis. As a normative matter, I contend that this result is the proper one. Prosecutors, judges, and policy makers are embracing this reality in the ACCA context, in part because the federal court can tailor the sentence to the type of conduct underlying the offense without regard to prior crimes. The same result should be embraced in the immigration context. IIRIRA's reliance on crimes to serve as immigration grounds is too arbitrary, too unjust, and simply out of proportion to how the criminal courts considered the seriousness (or lack thereof) of the crime. For example, a man who had been in the United States with a green card for 40 years was deported over stealing a $2 can of beer. Although a federal court reversed the deportation, the case illustrates that figuring out who is dangerous and who is not based on a criminal record is not an efficient or effective method of immigration enforcement.


Strange, Nathan J. Ph.D., Purdue University, August 2016. Analytical Methods for Gravity-Assist Tour Design. Major Professor: James M. Longuski. This dissertation develops analytical methods for the design of gravity-assist spacecraft trajectories. Such trajectories are commonly employed by planetary science missions to reach Mercury or the Outer Planets. They may also be used at the Outer Planets for the design of science tours with multiple flybys of those planets' moons. Recent work has also shown applicability to new missions concepts such as NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission. This work is based in the theory of patched conics. This document applies rigor to the concept of pumping (i.e. using gravity assists to change orbital energy) and cranking (i.e. using gravity assists to change inclination) to develop several analytic relations with pump and crank angles. In addition, transformations are developed between pump angle, crank angle, and v-infinity magnitude to classical orbit elements. These transformations are then used to describe the the limits on orbits achievable via gravity assists of a planet or moon. This is then extended to develop analytic relations for all possible ballistic gravity-assist transfers and one type of propulsive transfer, v-infinity leveraging transfers. The results in this dissertation complement existing numerical methods for the design of these trajectories by providing methods that can guide numerical searches to find promising trajectories and even, in some cases, replace numerical searches altogether. In addition, results from new techniques presented in this dissertation such as Tisserand Graphs, the V-Infinity Globe, and Non-Tangent V-Infinty Leveraging provide additional insight into the structure of the gravity-assist trajectory design problem.


Thumbnail image of graphical abstract Reflective binary Fresnel lenses fabricated so far all suffer from reflections from the opaque zones and hence degradation in focusing and lensing properties. Here a solution is found to this problem by developing a carbon nanotube Fresnel lens, where the darkest man-made material ever, i.e., low-density vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays, are exploited.


The success of a robust vertebrate inflammatory response is in part because of the migratory potential of its haematopoietic components. Once these cells converge at an inflammatory site, they interact with each other as well as non-immune tissues and infectious agents to help manage both the scale and the duration of any ensuing response. Exactly how these blood cells, that constitute the innate and adaptive immune systems, contribute to such immune responses remain largely unknown. Traditionally, assessing these contributions relied upon histological analysis of fixed tissue sections complemented with in vitro dynamic data. Although informative, translating results from these studies into the multicellular whole-animal setting remain difficult. Recently, non-invasive live imaging of the immune system in animal models is providing significant insights into how immune cells function within their intact natural environment. Although the majority of these studies have been conducted within mice, another vertebrate, the zebrafish Danio rerio is being recognized as an ideal platform for non-invasive live imaging applications. The optical transparency, rapid development, genetic tractability and highly conserved innate and adaptive immune systems of this well-established developmental model have been exploited in a number of recent studies evaluating the immunocompetence of fluorescently tagged blood cells. In addition, similar live imaging studies are helping to dissect the ontogeny of blood-cell development by tracking various haematopoietic precursor cells to assess their contribution to different blood lineages. This review will examine some recent advances that have helped D. rerio emerge as a live imaging platform as well as its potential to offer valuable insights into the genetics behind diseases associated with immune cell dysfunction.


The complex nature of magnetic ordering in the spinel Co2TiO4 is investigated by analyzing the temperature and magnetic field dependence of its magnetization (M), specific heat (C-p), and ac magnetic susceptibilities chi' and chi ''. X-ray diffraction of the sample synthesized by the solid-state reaction route confirmed the spinel structure whereas x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows its electronic structure to be Co2TiO4 = [Co2+][Co3+ Ti3+]O-4. From analysis of the temperature dependence of the dc paramagnetic susceptibility, the magnetic moments mu(A) = 3.87 mu(B) and mu(B) = 5.19 mu B on the A and B sites are determined with mu(B) in turn yielding mu(Ti3+) = 1.73 mu(B) and mu(Co3+) = 4.89 mu(B). Analysis of the dc and ac susceptibilities combined with the weak anomalies observed in the C-p vs T data shows the existence of a quasi-long-range ferrimagnetic state below T-N similar to 47.8K and a compensation temperature T-comp similar to 32 K, the latter characterized by sign reversal of magnetization with its magnitude depending on the applied magnetic field and the cooling protocol. Analysis of the temperature dependence of M (field cooled) and M (zero field cooled) data and the hysteresis loop parameters is interpreted in terms of large spin clusters. These results in Co2TiO4, significantly different from those reported recently in isostructural Co2SnO4 = [Co2+][Co2+ Sn4+]O-4, warrant further investigations of its magnetic structure using neutron diffraction.


While standard laser range finders use modulation signals, such as sharp pulses, the method we devised employs laser diode's frequency noise, and a frequency discriminator, to produce the intensity noise signal, which we use to generate fast physical random numbers. Observed through a frequency discriminator, beams traveling along two different paths share intensity noise patterns, i.e., the same fast physical random numbers, but with a time lag. We compared the two, and calculated their cross-correlation. By sweeping their time lags, we confirmed the length of the two optical paths, up to 50m.


ABSTRACTThe authors propose and empirically test a causal model to understand how the availability of fair-trade information and consumer knowledge about this issue affect consumers' attitudes and intentions toward fair-trade products. The model is built upon the attitude-behavior paradigm and the premises of agency theory. It is tested through structural equation modeling with a sample of 292 Spanish consumers. The findings are that consumers do not have good knowledge about fair trade and that this is significantly determined by the lack of information about this in the market. It is also observed that consumers' perceptions about the availability of fair-trade information have negative effects on their concern about this issue and that such information as is available is not effective in reducing consumer skepticism. The research represents an extension of previous fair-trade literature because the role of information and communication in improving consumer attitudes and buying intentions has rarely be...


Stability and disintegration of natural polyelectrolyte complex microspheres for protein drugs delivery have been extensively investigated because of their great influence on the drug release patterns. In this study, we tested stability of microspheres with alginate (Alg) core layered by either chitosan (Chi) or glycol chitosan (GChi) by examining release profiles of fluorophorelabeled bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysozyme (Lys) from the microspheres. While GChi shell was disintegrated quickly, Chi-shell microspheres showed good stability in PBS. Disintegration of the coated layer induced the core material instable. The results indicated that while the charges of the shell material provided additional diffusion barrier against the protein release, the key factor to hold the proteins inside the microspheres was the integrity of the outer coating layer.


Purpose
This study aims to examine the impact of technological turbulence on employee resilience based on cognitive dissonance theory and through a process of consonance and dissonance. First, the study investigates employee openness to represent cognitive consonance and then resistance to change to represent cognitive dissonance processes. Such processes mediate the relationship between technological turbulence and employee resilience. Second, this study proposes that the above associations will be moderated by crisis leadership efficacy.

Design/methodology/approach
The study uses multi-source data from service employees and their immediate superiors in hospitality, including a two-phase data collection process. Moreover, the study conducts a two-step structural equation modeling.

Findings
This study finds that employee openness and resistance to change mediate the association between technological turbulence and employee resilience. Furthermore, results reveal that crisis leadership efficacy strengthens the relationships (direct and indirect, through openness and resistance to change) between technological turbulence and employee resilience. The study discusses the implications for theory and practice for tourism scholars and practitioners.

Research limitations/implications
This study provides empirical evidence showing the importance of employee resilience and the underlying mechanisms in responding to technological turbulence in the hospitality industry.

Originality/value
Resilience research in the hospitality and service context is timely and necessary to cope up with the changing market and turbulences. This study extends the extant literature that mainly examined the crisis and dynamic conditions. The study contributes to crisis management, marketing and leadership literature concerning technological turbulence and employee resilience in the hospitality context.


Aim: To discover how male students of nursing in Wales, articulate how they learn in the college pre-registration nursing environment Epistemological framework: The language of hegemony, hegemonic masculinity, complicity, marginalization and subordination from ConnelFs (1995) masculinities framework was revised to create what is called Ryan's model, which guided this study. Ryan's model was developed pre-analysis and post analysis. Pre-analysis, hegemony was interpreted as 'dominance and male positioning' and post analysis became 'dominance reduced/ mutual and neutral appreciation of nursing undergraduate peers'. Pre-analysis hegemonic masculinity was interpreted as 4Men: their gendered practice in society' and post analysis 4Men: their gendered practice in undergraduate nursing'. Pre-analysis - complicity was termed as hidden maleness and post analysis 'Maleness surfaces through the articulation of learning needs and demonstration of their learning'. Pre-analysis marginalization was interpreted as 'Imposed feelings of marginalization on learning opportunities' and post analysis 'Exclusion and being excluded feelings of inferiority when learning and visualising procedures in clinical practice. In the pre-analysis, Subordination was interpreted as 'gendered subordination' and post analysis as scenarios that captured the principles behind the 'in and out groups' and scenarios 'looking at inferior and superior knowledge'. The main ethos that gender is socially constructed connects to the analytical approach of Charmaz (2006). Methodology and methods: Thirteen participants took part in the two pilot studies and eleven in the main study. The research data consisted of tape recorded speech from focus groups and individual interviews. The analysis of fieldnotes contributed to triangulation. The aim was to develop a grounded theory based on how male students articulated how they learnt in the classroom and in clinical practice. Their implicit actions and speech were analysed using the contructivist grounded theory approach by Charmaz. Results: Four categories, along with a core category were developed. The core category, Voice: never hidden, released by masculinity captured the essence of the four categories. The act of coming together allowed a vocal space to discuss learning and how they see themselves in relation to the numerically dominant group. The male students retained their socially perceived masculinity by being able to voice how they learn through the dominance of their speech. Relationships within the classroom were de-gendered and a small number of participants assumed a neutral identity, 'the student nurse'. Limited opportunities resulted through discriminatory attitudes and the disability of dyslexia. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggested hegemonic masculinity was rarely practised through the medium of voice, but male students could openly call on the complicit nature of masculinity to voice how they learnt in college and in the clinical area. Their preferred route to acquire skills was through the visual route however, even the complicit nature of masculinity could not triumph in clinical practice to achieve learning with regards intimate care. Overall, the male student of nursing possesses masculinity, which is conducive with the nature of nursing and a sound ability to voice how they learn.


A Strategy for Holistic Disciple-Making at Victory's Crossing Church Arlie Whitlow Doctor of Ministry School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary 2013 The purpose of this ministry project is to help Victory's Crossing Church (VCC) develop a solid plan for making disciples for Jesus Christ through a self-multiplying network of life groups that focus on three areas – personal spiritual growth (reaching up), fellowship (reaching in), and outreach through welcoming the stranger (reaching out). Such a ministry focus is needed in the life of Victory's Crossing Church. After experiencing some strong initial growth initially, the church has recently declined and plateaued after ten years of ministry. The realization of this project will enable VCC to be faithful to the biblical mandate to go and make disciples and will stimulate ministry revitalization. Using Mark's account of Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler, this study highlights in a renewed way the true nature of discipleship. The study shows that discipleship is a universal call for every believer, and that it can only be realized in selfsurrender to Jesus and in community with others. It also focuses on the hospitality Jesus modeled in this account. This study will help build a theological foundation for discipleship through life groups at VCC. Many in the surrounding area are much like the rich young ruler – successful, self secure, spiritually empty, and alone. A pilot group will be assembled to help launch the new ministry initiative, and will be comprised of core members and future leaders. As the pilot groups meets for training, a series of sermons on the rich young ruler will be prepared and presented to the congregation. Each week a new discipleship theme will be discussed. At the conclusion of the series, new leaders will be presented and members will have an opportunity to join. Life groups will be monitored to ensure they are meeting the goals of spiritual growth, fellowship, and outreach. Assistance will be given as needed. Theological Mentor: Kurt Fredrickson, PhD.


For generations, fishing and mangrove cutting have been an integral part of the
lives of the communities around Chwaka Bay in Zanzibar. However, overexploitation due to
heavy demand, as well as the open access nature of these resources, has led to their dramatic decline, threatening the social and economic wellbeing of these communities. Fish catches have decreased from 950 metric tonnes in 1990 to about 200 metric tonnes in 2001 and mangrove wood harvests have similarly declined. Formal management measures have failed to arrest the decline. Local communities have so far only been partially involved in the management of their reserves. It is proposed that an integrated management structure that encourages full participation of local communities in resource management be set up to help avert further decline of the mangroves and fisheries of Chwaka Bay. Keywords : common property resources, mangroves, fisheries, overexploitation, community management West Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science Vol. 3 (2) 2004: pp. 221-226


Recognition of unconstrained, handwritten connected numerals based on a dual cooperative neural network (DCN) is presented. First, a sequence of connected numerals is segmented into regions of interest by a group of windows moving along the horizontal axis of numeral sequence. The windows of the group are distributed in position in such a way as to achieve transition invariance. Since DCN combines both Cartesian and log-polar representation of numerals, robustness to transition as well as to rotational and scaling variations can be achieved. Introduced also are the multiple matching schemes from different types of correlation between the input and templates, to handle multiple numerals overlapped or captured by a window. A two-stage supervised self-organization process is implemented for the automatic generation of templates of each numeral. A set of templates thus generated provides robustness to pattern variations due to distortions. A multilayer backpropagation network generates outputs with its trained weights based on a sequence of multiple matching scores from individual numerals. An experimental result is shown.


This study used Probit model to analyze factors influencing probability of household willingness to pay for non-marketed benefits (NBS) of cattle in Mozambique. The primary data from 184 agro-pastoralist households were collected using a structured questionnaire. Data collected comprised information relating to household demographic, household livelihoods and non-marketed benefits of cattle. The result showed that the probability of household willingness to pay (WTP) was influenced by both animal and household related characteristics. Animal related characteristics that had a significant influence on the probability of households WTP for NMB's of cattle included: Animal age (ANAGE), herd size (HERDSIZE) and cattle breeds (INDBRED). Household related characteristics that had significant (p<0.05) influence on probability of household WTP for NMB's of cattle, comprised: Dependant ratio (DEPRAT), household size (HHS), off-farm income (OFFINC) and distance to the market (DISTMK). As expected, however, the OFFINC had a negative influence on probability of household WTP for NMB's of cattle. The study concluded that non-marketed benefits of cattle were highly valued among agro-pastoralist in Mabalane district and thus were willing to pay for them.

 Key words: Non-marketed benefits, cattle, probit, probability, households, willingness to pay.


The introduction and application of computer as a resource in teaching and learning process in education has contributed to the achievement of educational objectives. Students at all levels of education use computers for specified purpose. Do computers really help students to achieve academic excellence? The study investigated the perception of students on computer utilization and academic performance. It is a descriptive research with emphasis on survey design. The population comprised all Colleges of Education in North Central geopolitical zone of Nigeria: made up of six states and FCT-Abuja; out of which six colleges were selected as sample. A 20-item questionnaire (CUSAPQ) was designed and validated through expert judgment and reliability co-efficient of 0.86 was obtained. The null hypotheses were tested using Chi-square and ANOVA statistical analysis at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that there was positive perception of computer utilization on students' academic performance in the selected zone. Based on the findings, recommendations were made; seminar and workshops on computer utilization should be organised for the lecturers and the students to facilitate active and effective learning.


Rhizobia are symbiotic bacteria able to invade and colonize the roots of legume plants, inducing the formation of nodules, where bacteria reduce atmospheric nitrogen (N 2 ) to ammonia (NH 3 ). Riboflavin availability influences the capacity of rhizobia to sur-vive in the rhizosphere and to colonize roots. In this study, we identified the RL1692 gene of Rhizobium leguminosarum down-stream of a flavin mononucleotide (FMN) riboswitch. RL1692 encodes a putative transmembrane permease with two EamA domains. The presence of an FMN riboswitch regulating a transmembrane protein is usually observed in riboflavin transporters, suggesting that RL1692 may be involved in riboflavin uptake. The product of RL1692 , which we named RibN, is conserved in members of the alpha-, beta-, and gammaproteobacteria and shares no significant identity with any riboflavin transporter previously identified. In this work, we show that RibN is localized in the membrane cellular fraction and its expression is downregulated by riboflavin. By heterologous expression in a Brucella abortus mutant auxotrophic for riboflavin, we demonstrate that RibN possesses flavin transport activity. Similarly, we also demonstrate that RibN orthologues from Ochrobactrum anthropi and Vibrio cholerae (which lacks the FMN riboswitch) are able to transport riboflavin. An R. leguminosarum ribN null mutant ex-hibited lower nodule occupancy levels in pea plants during symbiosis assays. Thus, we propose that RibN and its homologues belong to a novel family of riboflavin transporters. This work provides the first experimental description of riboflavin transporters in Gram-negative bacteria.


Production of honey is the main marketable and profitable in the beekeeping sector of the study area. However, high production does not always imply higher profits. The key for the profitability of bee product is the existence of efficient market. The aim of the study was to present the honey marketing behavior in Jima and West shewa zones of Oromia region. The focus of the study was, to characterize the demand and supply pattern of honey production through evaluating structure-conduct-performance of honey marketing. The data were generated by individual interview from producers, traders, input suppliers, services, product processors, and consumers. Traders were categorized under whole sellers, collectors, retailers and tej makers. Producers were those produce honey since five years to date, but data depends only one year production. Purposive and stratified simple random sampling was employed to pick up total sample size of 132 honey producers, and for other marketing actors, snowball sampling was employed to contact 59 market participants:  21 traders, 30 consumers, 2 services, 3 input suppliers, and 3 processors. The data collected was analyzed using SCP model, SPSS and Microsoft Excel. From the result total honey supplied to market was 29,307.5 kg at 2016/17 production year, which was about 90.4% of total production. The result of SCP indicated that the structure of honey market in the study area characterized with an existence of oligopoly with four firms' concentration ratio of 40.7%. The honey market conduct was inefficient in that some traders were price makers and the price was affected by individual firms. From marketing margin analysis it was observed that large profit was going to processors and variations in profit share across the actors was observed. Hence from the result of market structure, conduct and performance analysis it is possible to conclude that honey market in the study area is inefficient. Keywords : Honey, Market structure, Market conduct, Market performance DOI : 10.7176/JMCR/57-01 Publication date :June 30 th 2019


This article presents a new methodology for testing economic restrictions on the price schedules offered in a limit order book that are based on (i) break-even conditions for marginal limit orders and (ii) rational updating conditions for order book revisions over time. Using order flow data from the Stockholm Stock Exchange, I find strong evidence of insufficient depth in the limit order books relative to the theoretical predictions. An extended model, which allows the model parameters to depend on market conditions, captures some of the systematic variation in the observed order book depth. Article published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Financial Studies in its journal, The Review of Financial Studies.


Chelonians are among the animal groups with the poorest conservation status. Since tortoises are long-lived species that need very long time to reach sexual maturity, they are extremely vulnerable to human pressure. Despite their endangered status, there are no common strategies for the development of conservation actions. At the "Mediterranean workshop to develop tortoise conservation strategies", scientists, conservation associations, environmental managers, IUCN advisers and CITES inspectors met in October 2019 in Alicante (Spain). The aims were to update the diagnosis of the conservation status of the Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni) and the spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca) and to suggest strategies that guarantee their preservation at the Mediterranean Region. The main conclusions are summarized by:
i) Mediterranean tortoises are wild endangered species that must be protected in, and together with, their natural habitat. Their main threats are habitat loss and fragmentation and pet trade, but we should also pay attention to wildfires, spread of diseases, the introduction of exotic species or lineages and climate change.
ii) Long-term efforts and stablished protocols are needed to accurately diagnose and monitor the conservation status of wild populations, as well as flows among captive and wild animals.
iii)  Tortoise trade should be banned because it threatens the conservation of wild populations of tortoises. Illegal practices related to tortoises should be decidedly persecuted. People should consider tortoises as wild animals that are endangered and deserving of protection. It is possible to enjoy them by responsibly observing them in their habitat.
iv) Tortoises may carry pathogens or parasites and their sanitary status cannot be fully assessed. They should always be considered potential vectors of tortoise diseases and of zoonosis. Hygiene protocols should be implemented when managing them.
v) The researchers attending this workshop aimed to develop a scientific network for the long-term monitoring of graeca and T. hermanni populations in the Mediterranean Region. They will need the support from public administrations.


Fan-Out Wafer-Level Packaging (FO-WLP) holds immediate promise for packaging semiconductor chips for mobile consumer electronics applications. FO-WLP enables size and performance capabilities similar to Wafer-Level Chip-Scale PAcakging (WLCSP), while extending the capabilities to include multi-device system-in-packages. With lower costs than 2.5D interposer technologies, FO-WLP can support applications that integrate multiple die and devices from heterogenous processes. FO-WLP also provides a path for shrinking die geometries without driving printed circuit boards to smaller interconnects. Industry challenges in handling cost, yield, and the requirement for high die location accuracy after placement and molding have driven innovative approaches, such as Adaptive Patterning. Adopting these new technologies for single-die and system-in-packages will require more advanced design methodologies and tools than traditionally used in semiconductor packaging. This paper describes a new technology, called Adaptive Patterning, for overcoming the die-shift challenge. In this manufacutring process, an optical scanner is used to measure the true position of each die after molding, and a uniquely generated fan-out design is applied to each package. One design technique, adaptive alignment, shifts and rotates the first via and RDL layer to match the die location. Another technique, adaptive routing, utilizes a fan-out RDL design with sections removed near vias that contact the die. The final RDL connections to the die are generated by an auto-router after the true die locations are known. This technique requires that the design is routable for all permutations of die-shift and rotation. For designs containing multiple die or devies such as system-in-packages, both design techniques can be combined. In one example, two sections of via and RDL paterns were separately aligned to two die. Connections between the RDL patterns were completed by an auto-router to handle simultaneous worst-case shifts from both die. In all techniques, the design rules are parameterized by the radial shift, a value combining the X, Y, and rotation shift components into a single magnitude. The radial shift depends on the design technique, package size, and the offset of the die from package center. During the design process, this value can be computed from empirically gathered data. This paper details these design techniques and the parame-terization of design rules using the radial shift.


Hyperthermia (HT) means using controlled temperatures of 40-45°C for cancer treatment. HT is applied with different methods e.g. superficial-HT, locoregional deep-HT, interstitial- HT, intracavity-HT, and whole body-HT. HT can apply in different tumor sites such as breast cancer, melanoma, head and neck, cervix cancer, and glioblastoma. Literatures show that addition of HT to radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or both, will result better tumor response rate, local control, and survival rate; without increasing toxicity. HT can also improve palliative effects in patient. In recent years, due to substantial technical improvements made in achieving selected increase of temperatures in superficial and deep-seated tumors, thermometry, and treatment planning; HT is becoming more clinically accepted in Europe and the USA. HT, as an adjunct cancer treatment modality, is certainly a promising approach; however, it is not well known yet worldwide. Therefore, it seems there is need to know more about that. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview on the application of HT combined with conventional cancer treatment modalities, mainly radiotherapy. The article also introduces mechanism of HT, heating delivery modes, thermometry, and it summarizes results of randomized trials form Western research groups.


Triethyltin (TET) has been shown to be neurotoxic when injected on postnatal day (PND) 5. In the present experiment we examined the toxicity of a single exposure to TET at several postnatal ages. Rat pups were injected ip with 0 (saline), 1.5, 3.0, or 6.0 mg/kg TET bromide on PND 1, 5, 10 or 15. In agreement with our previous data, PND-5 exposure to 6 mg/kg TET produced behavioral toxicity and decreased adult brain weight. High dose pups were less successful in descending on a rope at 20 and 21 days of age, and were hyperactive in figure-eight mazes at 29-30 and 57-58 days of age. The spatial distribution of activity was also altered: photocell counts were increased primarily in the figure-eight area of the maze. The size of the milk bands was reduced in 6 mg/kg pups injected on either PND 1 or PND 5. Preweaning growth was decreased following all injection ages; this reduction was most pronounced for pups exposed to TET on PND 1 and PND 5. Mating behavior was disrupted in 6 mg/kg males irrespective of age at exposure. These data demonstrate a differential sensitivity to the toxicity of TET during postnatal life, with maximal susceptibility on PND 5.


We live our lives against an extensive backdrop of legal rights and responsibilities, yet a growing number of studies indicates low levels of public legal literacy. In the context of opposite-sex cohabitation and marriage law, this study employs new survey data from the United Kingdom to explore, in detail, how many and which people are ignorant of the law, and what are the nature and origins of erroneous beliefs. We find that people's beliefs about both cohabitation and marriage law are frequently wrong. They are also strikingly similar, and reflect the divergence of social attitudes from the law. Our findings are consistent with the notion that legal literacy links to salience of issue. They are also consistent with recent public legal education initiatives that affected public understanding of cohabitation law, but we argue that social attitudes and the intransigence of erroneous beliefs generally present significant challenges to such initiatives.


Flash memory is a nonvolatile computer memory comprised of blocks of cells, wherein each cell is implemented as either NAND or NOR floating gate. NAND flash is currently the most widely used type of flash memory. In a NAND flash memory, every block of cells consists of numerous pages; rewriting even a single page requires the whole block to be erased and reprogrammed. Block erasures determine both the longevity and the efficiency of a flash memory. Therefore, when data in a NAND flash memory are reorganized, minimizing the total number of block erasures required to achieve the desired data movement is an important goal. This leads to the flash data movement problem studied in this paper. We show that coding can significantly reduce the number of block erasures required for data movement, and present several optimal or nearly optimal data-movement algorithms based upon ideas from coding theory and combinatorics. In particular, we show that the sorting-based (noncoding) schemes require O(n log n) erasures to move data among n blocks, whereas coding-based schemes require only O(n) erasures. Furthermore, coding-based schemes use only one auxiliary block, which is the best possible and achieve a good balance between the number of erasures in each of the n+1 blocks.


Water and energy are both major challenges in rural areas of developing countries, including in the sub-Saharan Africa Region. This study assessed water and energy needs, challenges, and costs in order to produce a body of knowledge and further explore ways in which the water-energy synergies could be utilised. A mixed-mode survey method consisting of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, observations and focus group discussions involving participants in the rural areas of Chiradzulu District in Malawi was employed. The study findings show that water access is generally inadequate, caused by high population, low yield, disparity in the distribution of water sources, and non-functionality. Using the contingent valuation method, logistic regression showed the only predictor of willingness to pay for drinking water was income and the predictors to pay for irrigation water were occupation, age and household size. Sustainable energy access was also found lacking for cooking and basic energy services such as for lighting, mobile charging and for radios. Biomass remains the main source of cooking energy, whereas battery powered torches have replaced paraffin for lighting. Overall, the household survey results imply that there is need for more sustainable water and energy provision. To address both challenges, the study recommends solar PV water pumping systems which can be designed in such a way that they can be simultaneously used for providing basic energy services. Further research is needed to address cooking energy choices.


Biodegradable plastics are that kind of plastics that will decompose naturally, when environmental microorganisms metabolize and break down the chemical bonds present in the structure of biopolymer. Bio-plastics offer an advantage to earth by reducing carbon footprint and use of fossil fuel. Bio-plastics are completely biodegradable and can be recycled. The focus of the study was to produce green bioplastics by utilizing the sugar hydrolysate of Hemp fibers. Producing of Bioplastic was pursued in fermentation experiments, where HEMP was utilized as feedstock to produce PHB. Hemp fibers were initially pretreated, and then enzymatically hydrolyzed to produce PHB. Hemp can produce PHB (poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) when the environmental conditions are controlled. The objective of the study was to optimize simple sugar availability from hemp for Ralstonia eutropha. Powedered hemp with the contration of 5% NaOH, and 1.5g/ L of enzyme addition was found to yield the best restluts in the production process of Bioplastics as the fractional insoluble solids (FIS) of ≃ 61 % was significantly better compared to other combinations of pre-treatments studied. The enzyme hydrolysis yield of 10.9 % and PHB yield of ≃ 43 % were also found in this study.


Red blood cell indices, hemoglobin, and hematocrit reflect rapidity of HIV disease progression. This study aims to determine red blood cell indices and CD4 count in HIV-positive reproductive women. This study was a cross sectional study conducted at AIDS outpatient clinic at Haji Adam Malik General Hospital, Medan Indonesia. All seropositive reproductive women within antiretroviral therapy consented for blood count and CD4 examination. Data were collected and analyzed with SPSS 19. In subjects with CD4≤350 mm3, mean hemoglobin was 10.95 ± 2.01, hematocrit was 31.83 ± 5.04%, MCV was 84.17 ± 11.41, MCH was 25.98 ± 2.65, and MCHC was 32.18 ± 2.17. Mean hemoglobin, hematocrit, and MCH value was significantly lower in subjects with CD4 ≤350 mm3 (p=0.014; p=0.001; p=0.01; respectively). Lower Hb, Ht, and MCH associated with thelower CD4 count.


textabstractExtrahepatic portal vein thrombosis (EPVT) is the most common cause of portal hypertension
in non- cirrhotic patients. EPVT has been defined as an obstruction of the
extrahepatic portal vein with or without involvement of the intrahepatic portal veins.
Although the portal vein accounts for two third of the total hepatic blood flow, interruption
of the portal vein has few clinical consequences. This could be explained by two findings.
First a compensatory mechanism so called arterial 'buffer' response, which consists
of immediate vasodilatation of the hepatic arterial bed in response to a decreased portal
vein blood flow. This mechanism has been well demonstrated experimentally, but also
in patients following portal vein clamping at hepatic surgery. The second compensatory
mechanism is a rapid development of collateral veins bypassing the thrombosed
portion of the portal vein. As a result of the arterial buffer response and development of
collaterals, total hepatic blood flow is minimally reduced. Portal pressure, however is
increased. This increase in portal pressure can be viewed as a compensatory mechanism
allowing portal vein perfusion to be maintained through the collateral veins. So, portal
perfusion is maintained at the expense of portal hypertension.
The etiology of EPVT is diverse and can be divided into local risk factors such as cirrhosis,
hepatobiliary malignancies and pancreatitis, and systemic risk factors such as
inherited and acquired prothrombotic disorders. In at least one third of the patients a
combination of thrombotic risk factors is demonstrated.