In this paper, we consider the problem of minimizing a nonconvex quadratic function, subject to two quadratic inequality constraints. As an application, such a quadratic program plays an important role in the trust region method for nonlinear optimization; such a problem is known as the Celis, Dennis, and Tapia (CDT) subproblem in the literature. The Lagrangian dual of the CDT subproblem is a semidefinite program (SDP), hence convex and solvable. However, a positive duality gap may exist between the CDT subproblem and its Lagrangian dual because the CDT subproblem itself is nonconvex. In this paper, we present a necessary and sufficient condition to characterize when the CDT subproblem and its Lagrangian dual admits no duality gap (i.e., the strong duality holds). This necessary and sufficient condition is easy verifiable and involves only one (any) optimal solution of the SDP relaxation for the CDT subproblem. Moreover, the condition reveals that it is actually rare to render a positive duality gap for the CDT subproblems in general. Moreover, if the strong duality holds, then an optimal solution for the CDT problem can be retrieved from an optimal solution of the SDP relaxation, by means of a matrix rank-one decomposition procedure. The same analysis is extended to the framework where the necessary and sufficient condition is presented in terms of the Lagrangian multipliers at a KKT point. Furthermore, we show that the condition is numerically easy to work with approximatively.


Traction testing of passenger car and truck tires in adverse environments (snow, ice, mud, and sand) has become an increasingly important segment of most new tire development programs. This increased emphasis is due to the continued refinement of the all-season design, consumer desires for more effective on-and off-road recreational vehicle tires, and the greater amounts of test documentation required for government agencies. This paper reviews testing and engineering techniques currently used in traction testing in adverse environments and discusses problems specifically related to the traction testing of small, lightly loaded tires under winter conditions. In addition, overall test course preparation is discussed, including the increasingly important concept of reconditioning of snow test surfaces to overcome unfavorable weather conditions. Typical instrumentation and data acquisition systems are presented. The paper concludes with a review of current industry efforts to standardize test methodology in the winter environment, and suggestions for further improving tests in all of the adverse environments.


Sexual and reproductive health issues continue to generate concerns in contemporarysociety because it is essential to individuals, couples and families, as well as the social andeconomic development of communities and nations. The concept of sexual andreproductive health (SRH) provides a comprehensive and integrated approach to healthneeds related to sexuality and reproduction when viewed from the lens of lifespandevelopment theory. It is a public health concern, human rights issue and is indispensableto the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals because three out of the eightgoals are directly related to SRH, while the others have a close relationship with health.The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo provided animpetus for program planners, family planning researchers, service providers, policymakers and other stakeholders to recognize the importance of SRH internationally.Nonetheless, the global situation depicts clear inequities between developed anddeveloping regions. Also, women bear the major share of the burden of sexual andreproductive ill health compared to men. It is essential to close these regional and gendergaps since SRH is vital to our quality of life, as other major aspects of health. This paper,which is an exploration of the literature, highlights the (a) importance of SRH across thehuman lifespan, (b) determinants of SRH in Ghana, and (c) challenges associated withSRH issues in Ghana. Also, implications of SRH for public health education, policy,practice and research are discussed.


Abstract We report changes of deep-sea ostracod fauna during the last 370,000 yr from the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Hole 704A in the South Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. The results show that faunal changes are coincident with glacial/interglacial-scale deep-water circulation changes, even though our dataset is relatively small and the waters are barren of ostracods until mid-MIS (Marine Isotope Stage) 5. Krithe and Poseidonamicus were dominant during the Holocene interglacial period and the latter part of MIS 5, when this site was under the influence of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). Conversely, Henryhowella and Legitimocythere were dominant during glacial periods, when this site was in the path of Circumpolar Deep Water (CPDW). Three new species (Aversovalva brandaoae, Poseidonamicus hisayoae, and Krithe mazziniae) are described herein. This is the first report of Quaternary glacial/interglacial scale deep-sea ostracod faunal changes in the Southern and South Atlantic Oceans, a key region for understanding Quaternary climate and deep-water circulation, although the paucity of Quaternary ostracods in this region necessitates further research.


This paper describes the use of angular position control approaches for a flexible robot manipulator with disturbance effect in the dynamic system. A nominal characteristic trajectory following (NCTF) controller is used to actively control the vibration of flexible structures. The controller design, which is comprised of a nominal characteristic trajectory (NCT) and PI compensator, is free from exact modelling and parameter identification. The NCT is determined from an open-loop response and the PI compensator is used to make the manipulator motion to follow the NCT. The effectiveness of the NCTF controller is evaluated and compared with proportional-derivative (PD) controller and fuzzy logic controller as a benchmark. A complete analysis of simulation results for each technique is presented in time domain and frequency domain respectively. Moreover, performances of the controller are examined in terms of vibration suppression and disturbances cancellation.


The structure of the genetic code implies strict Watson-Crick base pairing in the first two codon positions, while the third position is known to be degenerate, thus allowing wobble base pairing. Recent crystal structures of near-cognate tRNAs accommodated into the ribosomal A-site, however, show canonical geometry even with first and second position mismatches. This immediately raises the question of whether these structures correspond to tautomerization of the base pairs. Further, if unusual tautomers are indeed trapped why do they not cause errors in decoding? Here, we use molecular dynamics free energy calculations of ribosomal complexes with cognate and near-cognate tRNAs to analyze the structures and energetics of G-U mismatches in the first two codon positions. We find that the enol tautomer of G is almost isoenergetic with the corresponding ketone in the first position, while it is actually more stable in the second position. Tautomerization of U, on the other hand is highly penalized. The presence of the unusual enol form of G thus explains the crystallographic observations. However, the calculations also show that this tautomer does not cause high codon reading error frequencies, as the resulting tRNA binding free energies are significantly higher than for the cognate complex.


Purpose: Tocopherols are lipophilic antioxidants present in vegetable oils. Although the antioxidant and anticancer activities of α-tocopherol (vitamin E) have been studied for decades, recent intervention studies with α-tocopherol have been negative for protection from cancer in humans. The tocopherols consist of four isoforms, which are the α, β, γ, and δ variants, and recent attention is being given to other isoforms. In the present study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of a tocopherol mixture rich in γ- and δ-tocopherols against mammary tumorigenesis. Experimental Design: Female Sprague Dawley rats were treated with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (NMU), and then fed diets containing 0.1%, 0.3%, or 0.5% mixed tocopherols rich in γ- and δ-tocopherols for 9 weeks. Tumor burden and multiplicity were determined, and the levels of markers of inflammation, proliferation, and apoptosis were evaluated in the serum and in mammary tumors. The regulation of nuclear receptor signaling by tocopherols was studied in mammary tumors and in breast cancer cells. Results: Dietary administration of 0.1%, 0.3%, or 0.5% mixed tocopherols suppressed mammary tumor growth by 38%, 50%, or 80%, respectively. Tumor multiplicity was also significantly reduced in all three mixed tocopherol groups. Mixed tocopherols increased the expression of p21, p27, caspase-3, and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ, and inhibited AKT and estrogen signaling in mammary tumors. Our mechanistic study found that γ- and δ-tocopherols, but not α-tocopherol, activated peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ and antagonized estrogen action in breast cancer. Conclusion: The results suggest that γ- and δ-tocopherols may be effective agents for the prevention of breast cancer.


Abstract. The exchange of ammonia between crop canopies and the atmosphere depends on a range of plant parameters and climatic conditions. However, little is known about effects of management factors. We have here investigated the stomatal ammonia compensation point in response to cutting and fertilization of a grass sward dominated by Lolium perenne. Tall grass had a very low NH3 compensation point (around 1 nmol mol−1), reflecting the fact that leaf nitrogen (N) concentration was very low. During re-growth after cutting, leaf tissue concentrations of NO3−, NH4+, soluble N and total N increased along with apoplastic NH4+ concentrations. In contrast, apoplastic pH decreased resulting in largely unaltered NH3 compensation points. Nitrogen fertilization one week after cutting caused the apoplastic NH4+ concentration of the newly emerging leaves to increase dramatically. The NH3 compensation point peaked between 15 and 25 nmol mol−1 the day after the fertiliser was applied and thereafter decreased over the following 10 days until reaching the same level as before fertilisation. Ammonium concentrations in leaf apoplast, bulk tissue and litter were positively correlated (P=0.001) throughout the experimental period. Bulk tissue NH4+ concentrations, total plant N and soil NH4+ concentrations also showed a positive correlation. A very high potential for NH3 emission was shown by the plant litter.


Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the degree of school children's internet addiction and to explicit the relationship among the internet addiction, family environment and school adjustment. Method: The subjects of the study were 640 students from 5th and 6th year children of five elementary schools in G city. The data were analyzed by SAS program with frequency, percentage, means, standard deviation, χ² -test, ANOVA and Pearson's Correlation Coefficient. Result: In the degree of the internet addiction were 10.0% of addiction group, 58.0% of intermediate group, and 32.0% of nonaddiction group. There were significant differences in family environment score(F=25.09, p=.0001) and school adjustment score(F=34.46, p=.0001) regarding internet addiction degree. The relationship among internet addiction score, family environment score and school adjustment score revealed a significant inverse correlation(r=-0.32, p=.0001, r=-0.35, p=.0001). And the relationship between family environment score and school adjustment score revealed a significant correlation(r=0.52, p=.0001). Conclusion: The degree of school children's internet addiction has been found to be very high and correlated to the family environment and school adjustment. Therefore, programs should be developed in order to improve this situation.


The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of Wenshen Xiaozheng Tang (WXT) on the development of endometriosis in a rat model. Sprague-Dawley rats in which endometriotic implants were induced were divided randomly into 3 groups. The rats in the low-dose and high-dose WXT groups were administered WXT 8.57 and 17.14 g/kg/d, respectively. The rats in the control groups received an equal volume of dissolvent, as did the sham-operated rats. After treatment for 4 weeks, WXT significantly decreased the mean lesion size as well as the peritoneal fluid and serum levels of tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 1β. Cyclooxygenase-2, matrix metalloproteinase 9, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were downregulated, and the mRNA expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 was upregulated in the endometriotic lesions of WXT versus control group. Our data suggested that WXT may suppress the development of endometriosis by inhibiting the production of proinflammatory cytokines and regulating the expression of invasion-related genes in the endometriotic lesions.


Poisson's equation is found in many scientific problems, such as heat transfer and electric field calculations. Although many different techniques are involved in solving Poisson's equation, we focused on the Monte Carlo method (MCM). We preferred the MCM not only because of its simple algorithm but also for its excellent parallel efficiency. Parallelization is one of the most effective techniques for reducing computation time. Among many parallelization paradigms, such as OpenMP (open multiprocessing), MPI (message passing interface), and PGAS (partitioned global address space), we adopted the PGAS-based Coarray Fortran (CAF). In this paper, we demonstrated that parallelization of Poisson's equation solver with CAF was quite painless. After parallelization, we solved Poisson's equation for a nonrectangular domain. We started with a workstation that consisted of 8 cores and we continued with a Cray supercomputer of up to 512 cores. The results of the parallel solvers were validated using exact solutions. We demonstrated that the error was less than 1.6%. Additionally, solution times and speedups of the CAF-based solver were compared with a solver that utilized MPI or OpenMP. OpenMP was not able to compete against CAF and MPI because of the "while" loop restriction. The CAF-based solver performed slightly better (7.5%) than the MPI provided that core numbers were between 2 and 32. However, CAF and MPI performed similarly for higher numbers of cores.


Technology is an indispensable part of the educational curriculum, and large budgets have been allocated to provide technological infrastructure in secondary education institutions in Turkey. It is important that teachers have the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) to successfully integrate technology into their courses. The aim of this study is to examine the development of the TPCK of a mathematics teacher who participated in in-service training course organized for the use of Geogebra software in geometry teaching. The in-service training is designed in accordance with the Technology Integration Model stages, and Geogebra software is used taking into account the learning outcomes of 9th and 10th grade secondary school geometry. The case study method has been employed, and data was collected through interviews, observation, self-assessment forms, and field notes. The findings show that the in-service training helped the maths teacher integrate technology in the teaching and developed the knowledge of curriculum, students' understandings and learnings, and instructional strategies and methods. With regard to research recommendations and results, professional development programs that will provide TPCK development can be organized so that teachers can use the ever-evolving technologies in their classes along with the appropriate pedagogical approaches.


One difficulty in using artificial agents for human-assistive applications lies in the challenge of accurately assisting with a person's goal(s). Existing methods tend to rely on inferring the human's goal, which is challenging when there are many potential goals or when the set of candidate goals is difficult to identify. We propose a new paradigm for assistance by instead increasing the human's ability to control their environment, and formalize this approach by augmenting reinforcement learning with human empowerment. This task-agnostic objective preserves the person's autonomy and ability to achieve any eventual state. We test our approach against assistance based on goal inference, highlighting scenarios where our method overcomes failure modes stemming from goal ambiguity or misspecification. As existing methods for estimating empowerment in continuous domains are computationally hard, precluding its use in real time learned assistance, we also propose an efficient empowerment-inspired proxy metric. Using this, we are able to successfully demonstrate our method in a shared autonomy user study for a challenging simulated teleoperation task with human-in-the-loop training.


This study was done in the period of January 2007 to December 2007, among the Oncologists working in different hospitals of Dhaka city. The oncologists were interviewed with a set questionnaires regarding Non Small Cell Lung carcinoma in different clinical stages. The total number of respondent was thirty. It was found from the study that 50% (15) of oncologist recommended post operative radiotherapy and 40% (12) both chemo and radiotherapy in T 2 N 1 M 0 stage of post pneumonectomy patients. 80% (24) oncologist preferred both chemo-radiotherapy in T 2 N 3 M 0 stage. Key Words: Non small cell lung carcinoma, attitude and practice of Bangladeshi Oncologist (Bang. Onc. J. 2009; 4 (2) : 51-53)


The distribution of the P-type calcium channel in the mammalian central nervous system has been demonstrated immunohistochemically by using a polyclonal specific antibody. This antibody was generated after P-channel isolation via a fraction from funnel-web spider toxin (FTX) that blocks the voltage-gated P channels in cerebellar Purkinje cells. In the cerebellar cortex, immunolabeling to the antibody appeared throughout the molecular layer, while all the other regions were negative. Intensely labeled patches of reactivity were seen on Purkinje cell dendrites, especially at bifurcations; much weaker reactivity was present in the soma and stem segment. Electron microscopic localization revealed labeled patches of plasma membrane on the soma, main dendrites, spiny branchlets, and spines; portions of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum were also labeled. Strong labeling was present in the periglomerular cells of the olfactory bulb and scattered neurons in the deep layer of the entorhinal and pyriform cortices. Neurons in the brainstem, habenula, nucleus of the trapezoid body and inferior olive and along the floor of the fourth ventricle were also labeled intensely. Medium-intensity reactions were observed in layer II pyramidal cells of the frontal cortex, the CA1 cells of the hippocampus, the lateral nucleus of the substantia nigra, lateral reticular nucleus, and spinal fifth nucleus. Light labeling was seen in the neocortex, striatum, and in some brainstem neurons.


Background: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant neurocutaneous disorder, characterized by multiple café-au-lait macules, axillary and inguinal freckling, tumors of the nervous system, and iris hamartomas. More than 3,100 different pathogenic variants have been reported in the NF1 gene, including missense, nonsense, frameshift, in-frame, splicing, and large deletions. Aims: To determine the NF1 mutational spectrum in patients with NF1 from the Republic of North Macedonia. Study Design: A cohort study. Methods: Molecular analyses included reverse transcription and cDNA sequencing of the NF1 gene and next-generation sequencing using the TruSight Cancer panel, along with the multiple ligation probe amplification method to detect single nucleotide variants and copy number variations. Direct DNA sequencing was also used for the family member analysis. Results: Our 9-year study of patients suspected of having NF1 in the Republic of North Macedonia encompassed molecular characterization of 30 cases of the disease. We identified 28 unique pathogenic NF1 variants (NM_001042492.3), of which ten were novel: c.208delA; c.341_364del; c.1480_1481delTT; c.2325+1G>C; c.2495_2496dupAC; c.2533_2541del; c.4517delC; c.5844C>G; c.6971delA; c.7605_7606delGAinsAT. In addition to the variant spectrum analysis, our research revealed two positive genotypephenotype correlations. One between the clinical manifestation of cognitive impairment and gross deletions in the NF1 gene, and the other between cognitive impairment and truncating variants located in the RAS-GAP functional domain. Conclusion: This is the first study of NF1 patients in the Republic of North Macedonia, and it contributes ten novel variants to the global spectrum of pathogenic NF1 variants. It also corroborates the crucial importance of NF1 genetic testing for a prompt and precise diagnosis, particularly in younger patients.


Multi-photon excitation microscopy (MPEM) offers several advantages over conventional confocal imaging. One of these advantages is the improved in-depth imaging performance that is due to the comparatively long excitation wavelength and the reduced photo damage to the sample. Using fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) the potential of MPEM can be further extended. This combination turns out to be particularly useful for quantitative imaging in thick specimens. The pulsed light source required for MPEM makes the implementation of FLIM in MPE microscopes simple. We employ a simple time-gating scheme. The FLIM module exists of 8 computer controlled gated photon counters. Each gate is opened sequentially after an excitation pulse. This makes the method very efficient and comparatively insensitive to photobleaching effects. Comparisons with time-correlated single photon counting measurements show that accurate results can be obtained for fluorescence decay times greater than 0.5 ns. FLIM can be employed for the quantitative imaging of ion-concentrations and offers several advantages compared with conventional methods such as emission- and excitation-ratio imaging. We present results of pH imaging in thick dental biofilm.


The small amount of published research into construction project meetings demonstrates some of the principal difficulties of investigating such sensitive business environments. Using the Bales Interaction Process Analysis (IPA) research method, data on group interaction were collected. A project outcome, namely whether the project was within contract budget, was used as a basis of enquiry between interaction patterns. Analysis was concerned with the socio-emotional (relationship building) and the task-based components of communication and the positive and negative socioemotional interaction characteristics. Socio-emotional interaction was found to be significantly greater in the projects completed within budget. Socio-emotional interaction is used to express feelings in relation to tasks and it serves as the flux that creates and sustains the group's social framework, which is crucial in a project environment. The data provides an indication of the importance of informal communication in the maintenance of relationships within project meetings.


Women empowerment has become a catchword today and has got a significantplace in socio-economic development programs of the government. Microfinance is theprovision of sustainable financial services to low-income people. The Micro-creditsummit held in Washington D.C. in 1997 defined micro-credit programs as those that"extend small loans to poor for self employment projects that generate income, allowingthem to care for themselves and their families". The objectives of this research paper were to take a brief review of the role ofMicro-finance in the empowerment of rural women, to examine the perception andattitude of women towards Micro-finance through Self Help Groups, to examine therole and effectiveness of SHGs in improving socio-economic status of rural women andto identify the problems of SHGs in empowering rural women and to make suggestivemeasures for the future. The present study is an empirical and analytical investigation based on primarydata collected through well designed questionnaires and personal interviews of therespondents. It consist 150 sample beneficiaries of SHG members from 10 villages ofKhultabad and Gangapur Taluka of Aurangabad District from Maharashtra, India. 15respondents from each village were selected as samples, which forms the total samplesize of the study. The data collected from them through various sources has beenprocessed and analyzed by using percentage and common size statement. The major findings includes– Micro-finance is playing vital role in empoweringthe rural women. Out of the 150 sample beneficiaries, 98 beneficiaries has started theirown small business. 28 beneficiaries are working in a group to sell the Dairy products,like – Milk, Curd, Pure Ghee, etc. and remaining 24 beneficiaries, as an SHG member,has taken the micro finance for agricultural purpose to cultivate their own land. This allindicates an effective role of Micro-finance in empowering rural women. Key words: SHG, Micro-credit, Women Empowerment, Micro-fund


Abstract The Reformatsky reaction is a venerable named reaction that was introduced more than 120 years ago. Diastereoselective variants based on the use of chiral auxiliary and enantioselective protocols, based on the employment of stoichiometric amount of chiral ligands, have been successfully applied in organic synthesis during the years. However, a facile and general catalytic enantioselective variant was still a difficult task. Recently, we have established a new general and straightforward methodology for catalytic enantioselective Reformatsky reaction based on different concepts. In this paper, we present our general finding in catalytic enantioselective Reformatsky reaction of ketones, imines, and aldehydes. Our simple methodologies could become benchmark reactions for testing new synthesized chiral ligands for asymmetric transformations.


This paper considers multiaccess control for the uplink in orthogonal frequency division multiple access wireless networks. To avoid the extensive information exchange associated with centralized approaches, we formulate the decentralized access control problem with the contention power constraint as a Bayesian game, mapping time-varying channel state information into contention strategies. By exploiting the problem structure, a strategy where users access the channels with probability one if the observed channel gain is above a predetermined threshold is shown to be optimal. It is also shown that the energy consumption of the threshold strategy will not exceed that of randomized strategies. The game is then equivalently reformulated as one of finding the threshold value in a distributed manner, and the existence and uniqueness of Bayesian Nash equilibria is established. A distributed algorithm based on Lagrange duality is proposed to approach the unique equilibrium, and the algorithm is shown to be globally stable. In a homogeneous system, the performance loss of the proposed scheme is proved to be bounded compared with a centralized channel allocation scheme. Contrary to other proposals, our method allows for heterogeneous channel state information and achieves a comparable throughput with reduced power. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


What happens when a group traditionally defined as lacking the necessary capacities of citizenship is targeted by government programs that have made 'citizenship inclusion' their main goal? Combining theoretical perspectives of political philosophy, social theory, and disability studies, this book untangles the current state of Western intellectual disability politics following the replacement of state institutionalisation by independent and supported living, individual rights, and self-determination. Taking its cue from Foucault's conception of 'biopolitics', denoting the government of the individuals and the totality of the population, its overarching argument is that the ambiguous positioning of people with intellectual disabilities with respect to the ideals of citizenship results in a regime of government that simultaneously includes and excludes people of this group. On the one hand, its members are projected to become ideal-citizens via the cultivation of citizenship capacities. On the other, the right to live independently and by their own choices is curtailed as soon as they are seen as failing with respect to the ideals of reason and rationality. Therefore, coercion, restraints, and paternalism, which were all supposed to end with deinstitutionalisation, are still ingrained in services targeting the group. In equal parts a theoretical work, advancing debates of critical disability theory, social theory, and post-structural philosophy, as well as an empirical engagement with the history of intellectual disability politics and the ways in which present day politics target the group, this book will be of interest to all students and scholars of disability studies, disability politics, and political theory. (Less)


Abstract The most usual polyhedra with large numbers of triangular faces are geodesic domes, having non-regular triangles chosen so that the polyhedron approximates to a sphere. If the faces are equilateral triangles more interesting forms result, particularly if there are no planes of mirror symmetry, and the polyhedron has a twisted appearance. Some techniques for producing such polyhedra are described, and illustrated with examples.


Stories shape how we understand ourselves and the world around us. They inform our sense of belonging, and connect us to our past. Stories are our lives. And we are our stories. Given their undeniable weight, we ought to question what their form and content teaches us. Increasingly, stories are shared as interactive digital experiences; a
reshaping that impacts their configuration, their reach and their outcome. For Indigenous peoples, who continue to resist the colonial paradigm, digital storytelling can represent a weapon of subtle yet pervasive colonialism or be a tool to talk back.

Virtual Aamjiwnaang is an interactive platform that integrates Indigenous storytelling practices in recounting the lived realities of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation online. Inspired by the Two-Eyed Seeing approach, which encourages embracing multiple perspectives, and building on previous digital experiences, Virtual Aamjiwnaang proposes methods for creating digital territories that honour Indigenous ways of knowing.


During 2002–2003 increased numbers of notified salmonellosis due to S. enterica serovar Agona were observed in Germany. In order to understand the recent spread of this serovar and to trace the route of infection to its source, a new phage-typing scheme and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were used to analyse these isolates. By using 14 bacteriophages, 52 phage types were distinguished among the S. Agona strains. PFGE also differentiated 52 different patterns. A combination of both methods generated 94 clonal types among 165 S. Agona strains originating from Germany and other countries including the United States, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, India, Austria and Finland, indicating a great biological diversity within this serovar. However, 36 recent S. Agona isolates from infantile gastroenteritis in Germany, from an untreated batch of aniseed imported from Turkey and from fennel-aniseed-caraway infusion (packed in tea bags) revealed clonal identity indicating their epidemiological relatedness as a new source of infection. It is suggested that strains of S. Agona will continue to be of public health concern, and that phage typing together with PFGE typing should be applied as reliable and rapid tools for epidemiological subtyping and future monitoring.


the needles as frequently as they get blunt. As most diabetics in Nigeria do not have fridges, I just tell them to replace the syringe with the attached needle in the packet and put it, as well as their insulin, in a clean container or pot that is properly covered. The pot is then stored in a hole in the ground, dug as deep as one's hand can reach. Since 1974, when I started running the diabetic clinic in this hospital, I have carefully observed the insulin-requiring diabetics without coming across any case of infection with this technique. As the authors noted, the advantages to the patients are considerable. This is even more so in a developing country like Nigeria, where most diabetics are responsible for the cost of their treatment. J M OLI University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu


Commercial relationships between Autonomous Systems (ASes) regulate the inter-domain routing dynamics. Identifying these relationships and properly interpreting them can help understand inter-domain routing dynamics and explore routing anomalies where ASes are not following standard transit policies. Most studies in this domain use Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) data to study inter-domain routing dynamics. In this study, we use IP-level topology data to complement these studies. More specifically, we use traceroute tool to collect end-to-end path traces. Then, we map our data to an AS-level topology map. We do this mainly by using the existing BGP based topology maps and AS-level neighborhood data to come up with several new heuristics to identify false AS-level links and missing AS hops in our dataset. In addition, we infer relationships for those AS-level links in our IP-level data that do not appear in the existing BGP based topology maps. We evaluate the accuracy of our heuristics by comparing their findings to that of the existing state-of-the-art techniques. Finally, we use AS-level paths along with AS relationships dataset to infer potential inter-domain routing anomalies and classify them according to their suspected causes.


This paper presents a pulse doubling technique in a 36-pulse ac-dc converter which supplies direct torque-controlled motor drives (DTCIMD's) in order to have better power quality conditions at the point of common coupling. The proposed technique increases the number of rectification pulses without significant changes in the installations and yields in harmonic reduction in both ac and dc sides. The 36-pulse rectified output voltage is accomplished via two paralleled eighteen-pulse ac-dc converters each of them consisting of nine-phase diode bridge rectifier. A transformer is designed to supply the rectifiers. The design procedure of magnetics is in a way such that makes it suitable for retrofit applications where a six-pulse diode bridge rectifier is being utilized. Independent operation of paralleled diode-bridge rectifiers, i.e. dc-ripple re-injection methodology, requires a Zero Sequence Blocking Transformer (ZSBT). Finally, a tapped interphase reactor is connected at the output of ZSBT to double the pulse numbers of output voltage up to 72 pulses. The aforementioned structure improves power quality criteria at ac mains and makes them consistent with the IEEE-519 standard requirements for varying loads. Furthermore, near unity power factor is obtained for a wide range of DTCIMD operation. A comparison is made between 6-pulse, 36-pulse, and proposed converters from view point of power quality indices. Results show that input current total harmonic distortion (THD) is less than 3% for the proposed topology at variable loads.


Formed via aqueous carbonation of Mg2+ ions, the crystallization of magnesite (MgCO3) is a promising carbon capture and reuse technology, albeit limited by the slow precipitation of MgCO3. Although magnesite is naturally abundant, forming at low temperature conditions, its production is an energy-intensive process due to the temperatures required to prevent the formation of hydrated phases. The principle difficulty arises from the very strong Mg2+···H2O interaction, raising barriers to dehydration. Using atomistic simulations, we have investigated the influence of thirty additive anions (Xn–, n = 1–3), ranging from simple halides to more complex molecules, on the first two steps of MgCO3 aggregation from solution: Mg2+ dehydration and Mg2+∙∙∙CO32– pairing. We have computed the thermodynamic stability of solvent shared ion pairs, Mg2+···H2O···Xn–, and contact ion pairs, Mg2+···Xn–, with Mg2+ to reveal the propensity of solution additives to inhibit Mg2+∙∙∙CO32– formation. We have determined the stabilization of undercoordinated hydrated Mg2+ states with a vacant coordination site to which CO32– can bind, subsequently initiating MgCO3 nucleation or Mg2+ incorporation into the crystal lattice. Extensive molecular dynamics simulations of electrolyte solutions containing Na2CO3 with different sources of Mg2+, MgCl2, MgSO4 and Mg(CH3COO)2, further shows that the degree of dehydration of Mg2+ and the structure of prenucleation MgCO3 clusters changes depending on the type counterion. Through a fundamental understanding of the role of solution additives in the mechanism of Mg2+ dehydration, our computational study can rationalize previously reported experimental observation of the effect of solvation environments on the growth of magnesite. This understanding may contribute to identifying solution composition conditions that could promote the low-temperature CO2 conversion into MgCO3.


Although liposomes have many outstanding features such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, low toxicity and structural diversity, and are successfully applied in many areas of chemistry and biotechnology, a lack of characterization standards and quality control tools are still inhibiting the translation of liposome technology into clinical routine. The greatest obstacle to clinical scale commercialization is the inability to ensure liposome formulation stability because small size variations or altered surface chemistries can significantly influence in vivo distribution and excretion kinetics that could in turn lead to unpredictable therapy outcomes. To enhance the product development process we have developed a microfluidic biochip containing embedded dielectric microsensors capable of providing quantitative results on formulation composition and stability based on the monitoring of the unique electric properties of liposomes. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations confirmed that microfluidics offer reproducible and well-defined measurement conditions where a moving liposome suspension within a microchannel behaves like a bulk material. Results of this study demonstrate the ability of microfluidics, in combination with dielectric spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis methods, to identify nine different liposomes. We also show that various liposome modifications such as membrane-bound surface proteins, lipid bilayer soluble drugs, as well as protein and dye encapsulations, can be detected in the absence of any labels or indicators. Since shelf-life stability of a liposome formulation is regarded of prime importance for regulatory approval and clinical application, we further provide a possible practical application of the developed liposome analysis platform as a high-throughput tool for industrial quality insurance purposes.


The kinetics of the selective CO oxidation was studied in a fixed-bed microreactor at atmospheric pressure over Pt-Co-Ce/Al2O3 catalyst, which was prepared using the incipient to wetness co-impregnation technique. Intrinsic kinetic data were obtained in the initial rate region using 8 different sets of CO and O2 concentrations, each at 2 space times, i.e. 2 catalyst loadings, at 110 °C. The kinetic models based on elementary reaction steps were constructed and tested using nonlinear regression analysis with Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. The alternative models proposed for the similar catalytic systems in the literature were also tested. It was found that Pt-Co-Ce/Al2O3 acts as a bifunctional catalyst (assuming ceria and cobalt sites are identical) and the reactions proceed via a Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) type mechanism. However, no further discrimination could be made among the models based on bifunctionality and L-H kinetics. An empirical power law model was also tested and the results were found to be quite satisfactory.


Huxley. NAL, 1948, SOc. Included in this popular set of observations on man from the evolutionist's point of view are thirteen of Huxley's essays published between 1927 and 1944. Nine of them are from Man Stands Alone (1941), and four from On Living in a Revolution (1944). Huxley is an apostle of scientific humanism. His essays here range from eugenics to religion, from Darwin to war, pausing a.t many varied and provoking way-stations in between. 1960 REVIEWS 85


Decomposition pathways of S-nitroso-l-thio-β-D-glucose tetraacetate were studied at physiological pH (pH 7.4) and compared with other low molecular weight S-nitrosothiols. Three large differences in reactivity were observed. A larger than expected rate of reaction for the thermal decomposition and reaction with cysteine was found. The second order rate constant obtained for the copper catalysed decomposition was very small compared with other more reactive S-nitrosothiols. The decomposition pathways of the S-nitrosated derivatives of two 1,4 dithiols and a vicinal dithiol were studied. Rate of reaction via the thermal decomposition pathway v/as found to be much greater for the dinitrosated 1,4 dithiols than the dinitrosated vicinal dithiol. The mononitrosated 1,4 dithiols were found to be reasonably stable in acidic solution suggesting that an interaction between two S-nitroso groups on the same molecule could lead to a rapid decomposition. Conversely the mononitrosated vicinal thiol was found to decompose more rapidly than the analogous 1,4 dithiol compounds in acidic solution and at pH 7.4. The mononitrosated vicinal dithiol decomposed to form quantitative amounts of ammonia at pH 7.4. An interesting feature of the reactivity of the vicinal dithiol towards the i'-nitrosothiol functional group was that the thiol form appeared to be an effective nucleophile as well as the thiolate ion forms. Other thiols have a negligible reactivity, except when deprotonated. It has been found that 5-nitrosothiols can transfer NO to an iron(+2) dithiol complex and iron dithiocarbamate complexes at pH 7.4. The iron complexes all have a high affinity for NO in aqueous solution. Primary S-nitrosothiols were found to be able to transfer directly NO(^+) to the iron(+2) dithiol complex. However when S-nitrosoglutathione reacted with iron dithiocarbamate complexes NO appeared to be transferred. Evidence was also obtained that tertiary S-nitrosothiols could transfer NO to the iron(+2) dithiol complex. Clearly whether NO or NO(^+) is transferred depends on the nature of the S-nitrosothiol and the iron complex. Currently iron(+2) dithiocarbamate complexes are used to detect NO, these findings suggest that the presence of 5-nitrosothiols may compromise this experimental procedure.


In this paper we study the impact of relevant factors, such as individual characteristics, wages, living areas, on individual migration decisions. We have been using data from Labor Force Survey 2014 from Genaral Statistics Office of Vietnam (LFS 2014). We are going to evaluate how these above factors affect the status of "short-term migration" and "long-term migration" compared to "nonmigration". The well-known model in this field is the multinomial logistic model. However, the multinomial logistic model does not control the latent factors that have different effects on migration decision. This would result that the estimated coefficients of the variables would no longer be reliable (biased estimates due to lack of important variables). Hence, we have selected a multilevel multinomial logistic model. The levels we choose to control latent factors are province and region levels. As the results, the potential factors of different provinces and regions show different impacts on migration decisions. To sum up, a multilevel multinomial logistic model gives more reliable estimates, so it is more suitable for migration analysis compared to conventional multinomial logistic model.


Application of single-molecule fluorescence detection has led to the development of light microscopy techniques that make it possible to study fluorescent samples at spatial resolutions significantly improved upon the diffraction limit of light. The biological and materials science applications of these "super-resolution" microscopy methods are vast, causing current demand for them to be high. However, implementation, execution, and interpretation of these techniques, particularly involving biological samples, require a broad interdisciplinary skillset, not often found in a single laboratory. Those already used to interdisciplinary work as well as navigating communication and collaboration between more pure forms of physics, chemistry, and biology are well-positioned to spearhead such efforts. In this Perspective, we describe various aspects of single-molecule super-resolution imaging, discussing, in particular, the role that physical chemistry has so far played in its development and establishment. We also highlight a selection of some of the remarkable recent research achievements in this vibrant field.


Vision may play a central role in sperm whale predation. Two complementary hypotheses regarding the detection and capture of prey items are presented, based on a review of mesopelagic ecology. The first hypothesis postulates that sperm whales locate their prey visually, either silhouetted against the midwater "sky," or by searching for bioluminescence produced by the movements of their prey. The second hypothesis postulates that sperm whales create a zone of stimulated bioluminescence around the mouth, which attracts squids and other visual predators. Studies of midwater fishes and invertebrates document the importance of vision in mesopelagic communities. If sperm whales search for silhouetted prey, they should be oriented upside-down to improve visual coverage and to facilitate the transition from search to prey capture. Prey capture events should be marked by excursions toward the surface. If they lure their prey, they should swim at a steady pace, with little rapid acceleration, and spend most of their time foraging at depths with the greatest potential for stimulated bioluminescence.


AIM
Laryngeal cancers are redoubtable because they are still diagnosed in advanced stages which results in poor survival and the decline of life quality. The authors intend to identify if the tumor topography influences clinical behavior, the morphological profile and therapeutic strategy.

PATIENTS, MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study group included 188 patients with laryngeal malignancies diagnosed and treated in an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Department. The patients have been divided into four groups according to the tumor topography and extension. Three categories of parameters were defined (epidemiological, clinical, and morphological) and analyzed comparatively between the four groups using filter scales and the χ² (chi-squared) correlation test.

RESULTS
Epidemiological parameters (sex, age, socio-economic status) showed no significant differences between the four groups. Clinical parameters (symptoms, lymphadenopathies, surgical procedures, and hospitalization) instead registered significant differences between the four groups. Morphological parameters (longitudinal diameter, transverse diameter, shape, gross aspect, histopathological aspect, grade, local invasion - pT, lymph node invasion - pN, metastases - pM and tumor stage), excepting shape, registered too significant differences between the four groups. The analysis of the whole set of parameters in each group revealed different, distinct profiles for each of the topographic groups, especially for glottic and large tumors. Our results concerning the entire series of tumors ranged in the limits of variation of each of the parameters observed in the literature.

CONCLUSIONS
Our study revealed that tumors placed in different regions of the larynx have distinct profiles from epidemiological, clinical, and morphological points of view. However, the profile of our entire group of tumors proved to be comparable with the literature data.


Background Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is an increasingly common, under-recognized, and under-treated health concern in older adults. Its prevalence is expected to reach unprecedented levels as the Canadian population ages. In response, Health Canada commissioned the Canadian Coalition of Seniors' Mental Health to create guidelines for the prevention, screening, assessment, and treatment of AUD in older adults. Methods A systematic review of English language literature from 2008–2018 regarding AUD in adults was conducted. Previously published guidelines were evaluated using AGREE II, and key guidelines updated using ADAPTE method by drawing on current literature. Recommendations were created and assessed using the GRADE method. Results Twenty-two recommendations were created. Prevention recommendations: Best advice for older adults who choose to drink is to limit intake to well below the national Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines. Screening recommendations: Alcohol consumption should be reviewed and discussed on an annual basis by primary care providers. This type of discussion needs to be normalized and approached in a simple, neutral, straight-forward manner. Assessment recommendations: Positive screens for AUD should be followed by a comprehensive assessment. Once more details are obtained an individualized treatment plan can be recommended, negotiated, and implemented. Treatment recommendations: AUD falls on a spectrum of mild, moderate, and severe. It can also be complicated by concurrent mental health, physical, or social issues, especially in older adults. Naltrexone and Acamprosate pharmacotherapies can be used for the treatment of AUD in older adults, as individually indicated. Psychosocial treatment and support should be offered as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. Conclusion These guidelines provide practical and timely clinical recommendations on the prevention, assessment, and treatment of AUD in older adults within the Canadian context.


A state wide Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus (HRSV) surveillance system was implemented in Florida in 1999 to support clinical decision-making for prophylaxis of premature infants. The research presented in this paper addresses the problem of fitting real data collected by the Florida HRSV surveillance system by using a periodic SEIRS mathematical model. A sensitivity and cost-effectiveness analysis of the model is done and an optimal control problem is formulated and solved with treatment as the control variable.


Aim and objectives: To examine how stable the sense of coherence (SOC) is over a five-year period among residents of nursing homes (NH) who are not cognitively impaired and whether components of social support influence SOC.Background: Many studies have investigated the stability of SOC, and the findings have been inconsistent. Social support is a crucial resource in developing SOC. Few researchers have studied the stability of SOC and how various social support dimensions influence changes in SOC among older NH residents who are cognitively intact.Design: The study was prospective and included baseline assessment and five-year follow-up.Methods: The sample comprised 52 cognitively intact NH residents (Clinical Dementia Rating score ≤0.5). We obtained data through direct interviews using the Social Provisions Scale and Sense of Coherence Scale.Results: SOC increased statistically significantly from baseline to follow-up. The social support subdimension reassurance of worth predicted change in SOC after adjustment for sociodemographic factors. When controlled for baseline SOC, attachment was associated with change in SOC, but reassurance of worth was not.Conclusions: The study indicates that the change in SOC over time during the 5 years of follow-up and the social support dimension attachment appear to be important components of change in SOC. Nursing personnel should be aware of the residents' individual needs for attachment and the importance of emotional support for personal strength and ability to cope.


Learning complex manipulation tasks in realistic, obstructed environments is a challenging problem due to hard exploration in the presence of obstacles and high-dimensional visual observations. Prior work tackles the exploration problem by integrating motion planning and reinforcement learning. However, the motion planner augmented policy requires access to state information, which is often not available in the real-world settings. To this end, we propose to distill a state-based motion planner augmented policy to a visual control policy via (1) visual behavioral cloning to remove the motion planner dependency along with its jittery motion, and (2) vision-based reinforcement learning with the guidance of the smoothed trajectories from the behavioral cloning agent. We evaluate our method on three manipulation tasks in obstructed environments and compare it against various reinforcement learning and imitation learning baselines. The results demonstrate that our framework is highly sample-efficient and outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithms. Moreover, coupled with domain randomization, our policy is capable of zero-shot transfer to unseen environment settings with distractors. Code and videos are available at https://clvrai.com/mopa-pd


Pioglitazone HCl, a widely prescribed anti diabetic drug belongs to class IΙ under BCS and exhibit low and variable oral bioavailability due to its poor aqueous solubility. Its oral absorption is dissolution rate limited and it requires enhancement in the solubility and dissolution rate for increasing its oral bioavailability. The objective of the study was to screen various oils, surfactants and cosolvents and to formulate and evaluate self emulsifying drug delivery system (SEDDS) with selected vehicle. The highest solubility was observed in labrafac, tween 80 and propylene glycol. Then the feasibility of formulating Pioglitazone HCl SEDDS was evaluated and the effect of dilution on the dissolution rate and dissolution efficiency of Pioglitazone HCl was analyzed. A comparative release study was carried out in SGF and 1 % SLS. Pioglitazone dissolution was rapid from SEDDS and was higher when compared to pure drug. The rate and extent of release of Pioglitazone HCl from stable SEDDS (F1) was high in 1% SLS when compared to SGF. The FTIR spectra proved that there was no chemical interaction between excipients and drug.


We introduce a facile and convenient method to isolate more than 80% carbon quantum dots (CQD), for the first time. The proposed method substitutes a lengthy conventional dialysis process. An organic solvent, n-butanol is used to extract CQD in a high yield with the cumulative particle size distribution at 2.6 nm. The polymer films were fabricated as a function of increasing content of CQD, and shielded full-band UV light. It is found that the presence of surface functional groups in the CQD creates a high level of dispersion in the polymer matrix and it can block >99% of UV light with just 10 mg of CQD. A plausible mechanism is proposed to explain the superior UV shielding properties of the polymer film and is confirmed by protection of a photo-degradable model dye. Due to being non-toxic and environmentally friendly, the CQD dispersed polymer film could be a promising material in the food packaging industry to protect UV sensitive foods.


The formulaic language in focus in the present paper is collocations. The 'intrinsic' as opposed to 'extrinsic' features of collocations related to Frame Semantics and Lexical Functions are proposed to best reflect their unit-hood status. The paper primarily discusses the lexical status and identification of collocations from different theoretical frameworks, and also reports on a study examining the collocations in English essays written by native and non-native writers. The results show that the non-native group (English students at Stockholm University) have a relatively good command of collocations, but also that that their collocational range is reduced and that non-target collocations do occur. The paper concludes with a review of the implications for foreign language teaching more generally.


Seaweeds of various species have been studied as nutrient biofilter for treating effluents from enclosed mariculture system since mid 1970's. This study was conducted to determine the Euchuema spinosum (also known as E. den- ticulatum) effectiveness in reducing NH3+NH4+, NO2- and NO3- concentrations in the waste water of marine fish hatchery flow-through system. Four rectangular treatment tanks (0.5 x 0.55 x 0.5 m) were used in the experiment for 30 days. Each treatment tank planted with two E. spinosum cuttings with initial wet biomass of 50.28 ± 0.24 g and the waste water from the tank holding L. calcarifer juveniles flowed into each treatment tank using PVC pipe (ID = 25 mm) with an average flow-rate of 0.05 ± 0.01 L sec-1. The first treatment tank contained only seaweed (Swd) cut- tings, while the second and the third tanks were added with 8 kg substrate. The two substrates used were sand (S) and coral rubble (CR) with respectively sizes of 0.2 to 0.5 mm and 10 to 25 mm. A combination substrate of S+CR was added into the fourth treatment tank. Results showed that the water temperature ranged from 29.15 ± 0.86 to 29.31 ± 0.76 oC, pH ranged from 8.16 ± 0.13 to 8.22 ± 0.19 and salinity ranged from 30.135 ± 0.087 to 30.145 ± 0.091. The variance analyses of interaction factors (four treatment tanks X inflow-outflow) showed significantly different values (p<0.05) in terms of NH3+NH4-N concentrations. The NO2-N was also significantly different (p<0.05) in terms of inflow-outflow factor. This proved that the treat- ment tank efficiently removed the NH3+NH4-N and NO2- N. The highest removal of NH3+NH4-N and NO2-N was recorded in the CR+Swd treatment tank. No significant difference (p<0.05) of specific growth rate and yield of E. spinosum in the four treatment tanks was recorded. The average growth rate and yield of E. spinosum were 0.42 ± 0.12 % day-1 and 1.13 ± 0.30 g day-1 m-2, respectively in the Swd tank, 0.42 ± 0.13 % day-1 and 1.13 ± 0.32 g day-1 m-2, respectively in the Swd+S tank, 0.40 ± 0.13 % day-1 and 1.08 ± 0.31 g day-1 m-2 respectively in the Swd+CR tank, and 0.36 ± 0.11 % day-1 and 0.95 ± 0.27 g day-1 m-2 respectively in the Swd+S+CR tank. Besides, the new thal- lus of E. spinosum was slightly small and thin. Other algae such as Melosira sp. and Vaucheria sp, were noted to grow on the surface of four treatment tanks. This study sug- gested that a combination of coral rubbles and E. spinosum 26 are suitable for use in a hatchery seawater remediation of dissolved inorganic nitrogen.


We previously reported that manidipine, a new dihydropyridine type calcium channel blocker, produced chylous peritoneal dialysate being visually indistinguishable from infective peritonitis in 5 patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) [Yoshimoto et al. 1993]. To study whether such an adverse drug reaction would also be elicited by other commonly prescribed calcium channel blockers in CAPD patients, we have conducted postal inquiry to 15 collaborating hospitals and an institutional survey in International Medical Center of Japan as to the possible occurrence of calcium channel blocker-associated non-infective, turbid peritoneal dialysate in CAPD patients. Our diagnostic criteria for drug-induced turbidity of dialysate as a) it developed within 48 h after the administration of a newly introduced calcium channel blocker to the therapeutic regimen, b) absence of clinical symptoms of peritoneal inflammation (i.e., pyrexia, abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting), c) the fluid containing normal leukocyte counts and being negative for bacterial and fungal culture of the fluid, and d) it disappeared shortly after the withdrawal of the assumed causative agent. Results showed that 19 out of 251 CAPD patients given one of the calcium channel blockers developed non-infective turbid peritoneal dialysis that fulfilled all the above criteria. Four calcium channel blockers were suspected to be associated with the events: benidipine [2 out of 2 (100%) patients given the drug], manidipine [15 out of 36 (42%) patients], nisoldipine [1 out of 11 (9%) patients] and nifedipine [1 out of 159 (0.6%)] in descending order of frequency. None of the patients who received nicardipine, nilvadipine, nitrendipine, barnidipine and diltiazem (25, 7, 2, 1 and 8 patients, respectively) exhibited turbid dialysate. In conclusion, we consider that certain dihydropyridine type calcium channel blockers would cause turbid peritoneal dialysate being similar to that observed in patients developing infective peritonitis. To avoid unnecessary antibiotic therapy the possibility of this adverse reaction should be ruled out whenever a CAPD patient receiving a dihydropyridine type calcium channel blocker develops turbid dialysate.


Although subject matter knowledge and skills for teaching are widely acknowledged as a central component of what teachers need to master, the design of teacher education curriculum in colleges of education and universities seems to ignore the fact that prospective teachers need to master the relevant subject matter knowledge and skills in order for effective teaching to take place. This paper is based on a study which examined the products and curriculum of the English Language Teacher Education curriculum of a Zambian university whose curriculum was designed without consideration of the relevant knowledge and skills that are necessary for teaching in secondary school. The study endeavoured to find out what happens to the products of a professional curriculum such as that of teacher education when it is developed without conducting a job analysis to indentify the relevant knowledge and skills for inclusion in the curriculum. Using data from interviews of ten lecturers, questionnaires and tests that were administered to final year student teachers enrolled on a four year English Language Bachelor of Arts with Education programme, this paper explains why conducting a job analysis at the beginning of the curriculum design process is important for teacher education curriculum design. The main findings from this mixed method study indicated that student teachers were not being fully prepared for their future job of teaching English language because they had not acquired relevant knowledge and skills since the teacher education curriculum that they followed did not exposed them to the skills and knowledge found in the secondary school syllabus that they had to teach upon graduation.


Aspergillus flavus is the main species from section Flavi responsible for aflatoxin accumulation in stored peanuts. Rapid methods to detect A. flavus could help to prevent aflatoxins from entering the food chain. A real-time polymerase chain reaction (RTi-PCR) assay was standardized for rapid, specific, and sensitive detection of A. flavus in stored peanuts. A. flavus was detected in 53.6% and 50% of peanut samples by RTi-PCR and A. flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus agar culture, respectively, with 95% agreement between them. Twenty-two A. flavus isolates were screened using high-performance liquid chromatography for their capacity to produce aflatoxin AFB1 (B1). B1 was produced by >72% of the isolates. Sixteen isolates produced B1 at concentrations ranging from 1.64 to 109.18 μg/mL. Four aflatoxin biosynthetic pathway genes (aflD, aflM, aflP, and aflQ) were evaluated using PCR and reverse-transcription PCR in 22 A. flavus isolates from peanut kernels with the aim of rapidly and accurately differentiating toxigenic and atoxigenic isolates. The PCR amplification of genes did not correlate with aflatoxin production capability. The expression of aflD and aflQ was a good marker for differentiating toxigenic from atoxigenic isolates.


In virtualization technology, cloud computing offers software, platform, and infrastructure as a service. The cloud offers services to the users is on-demand basis via the Internet. In the infrastructure cloud, efficient resource provisioning is a challenging issue. An efficient virtual machine (VM) placement algorithm can address this while maintains QoS in terms of satisfying users request within the deadline. In this work, we propose a new QoS-aware VM placement for infrastructure cloud, referred as vScale. The aim of the proposed algorithm is to minimize the service level agreement (SLA) violation penalty especially for users' applications such as transactional and non-interactive applications. A clever migration strategy with minimum migration time is applied to manage VMs. Through simulation, we demonstrate vScale performs better than the existing algorithms in terms of various performance metrics.


In this study, the seasonal fatty acid and amino acid amounts in the muscles of the zander from Beysehir Lake, Turkey, and their important indices for human health were evaluated. It was found that aspartic acid, glutamic acid and lysine levels in zander were dominant among the amino acids. The ratio of essential amino acids (EAA) to non-essential amino acids (NEAA) was between 0.69 and 0.78. In all seasons, the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA, 89.85-109.11 mg/100g) amount in zanders was higher than saturated fatty acids (SFA, 55.08-81.89 mg/100g) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA, 29.16-78.89 mg/100g). It was determined that EPA, DHA and omega-3 rates were high. The fatty acid quality indices (AI, TI, FLQ, w6/w3, h/H) were found at proper levels for human health. Summing up the results, it was found that seasons influenced both the compositions of amino acids and fatty acids of zander.


The synthesis of isomeric, functionalized 4-vinyl-1,2,3-triazole and 5-vinyl-1,2,3-triazole monomers is demonstrated using heterogeneous copper (copper-in-charcoal)-catalyzed azide−alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) or homogeneous ruthenium (Ru)-catalyzed azide−alkyne cycloadditions (RuAAC) "click" protocols. These reactions are regiospecific, exclusively forming 1,4- and 1,5-disubstituted triazoles as determined by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and X-ray crystallography analysis. Polymerizations were performed using living free radical procedures to yield materials with divergent properties. In the case of the 1,5-triazole materials, glass transition temperature were significantly higher that for the 1,4-derivatives while solubility was decreased.


Background: Human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) may have multiple therapeutic applications for cell based therapy including the treatment of pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH). As low survival rates and potential tumorigenicity of implanted cells could undermine the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) cell-based therapy, we chose to investigate the use of conditioned medium (CM) from a culture of MSC cells as a feasible alternative. Methods: CM was prepared by culturing hUCB-MSCs in three-dimensional spheroids. In a rat model of PAH induced by monocrotaline, we infused CM or the control unconditioned culture media via the tail-vein of 6-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats. Results: Compared with the control unconditioned media, CM infusion reduced the ventricular pressure, the right ventricle/(left ventricle+interventricular septum) ratio, and maintained respiratory function in the treated animals. Also, the number of interleukin 1α (IL-1α), chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5 (CCL5), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1)–positive cells increased in lung samples and the number of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling technique (TUNEL)–positive cells decreased significantly in the CM treated animals. Conclusions: From our in vivo data in the rat model, the observed decreases in the TUNEL staining suggest a potential therapeutic benefit of the CM in ameliorating PAH-mediated lung tissue damage. Increased IL-1α, CCL5, and TIMP-1 levels may play important roles in this regard.


Background – Job satisfaction aspect was the important nurses paid attention because has impacted to behavior in giving health services. Society claimed the services with the concept of 'quality one step services', it is requirement of service in health care as a whole. Purposes – The aims of study is to scrutinize association between job satisfaction (based on the Maslow theory) and nurse performance, and to explore how nurse performance is affected by a number of sociodemographic and within different rural hospital and public hospital. Methods – This correlational study addressed among clinical nurse associates (CNAs) in Surakarta Central Java. The respondents of the study were hospital nurses in remote areas of Surakarta. The data was collected using self-administered questionnaires. Findings – A total of 190 nurses participated on this study. The result of the study shows 60.5 per cent of clinical nurse performances were high level. Regarding the nurse satisfaction, 65.6 per cent said they satisfied with their safety need, both self esteem and self actualization need has the same percentages, while other needs still lower. Self actualization was the predictor independent of nurse performance.


This study analyzes the integration of the Japanese into the politics of race and nation in Peru during the period from 1899 to 1942. The first generation of Japanese immigrants arrived in Peru at the apex of debates on national racial identity and popular challenges to the white oligarchy's exclusive hold on national political and economic power. This dissertation examines how not only elites, but also working- and middle-class movements advocated the exclusion of the Japanese as a way of staking their claims on the nation. In this study, I argue that Peru's marginalization of the Japanese sprang from racist structures developed in the colonial and liberal republican eras as well as from global eugenic ideologies and discourses of yellow peril that had penetrated Peru. The Japanese were seen through Orientalist eyes, conceptualized and homogenized as a race that acted as a single organism and that would bring only detriment to the Peruvian racial whitening project. Eugenics conflated women with their reproduction, leading racial science advocates to portray Japanese women in Peru as the nation's ultimate danger and accuse them of attempting to conquer Peru through their wombs. The Japanese men and women who settled in Peru, however, were also actors in their Peruvian communities. Many Japanese laborers, largely Okinawan, were participants in rural labor movements in Peru. Policymakers, hacienda owners, and local power holders, however, undermined class-based challenges to their authority by demonizing the Japanese as a cultural, racial, and political threat to the Peruvian nation. In stepping out of their rung on the racial hierarchy, the Japanese shop keepers also provoked resentment both among their fellow Peruvian business owners and elements within the urban labor movement. The deeper the Japanese Peruvians sank their roots into Peru, the more shrill became the accusations that they were inassimilable. Finally, opportunistic politicians played upon the Peruvian elites' deepest fears by accusing the Japanese immigrants of joining with Peru's indigenous people to launch a race war.


Measurements of global radiation above, and net solar radiation below, the roof of a glasshouse were both highly correlated on a daily and hourly basis with the water loss from a flowering rose crop as measured with a weighing lysimeter. The relationship can be used for an automatic system of irrigation control. Under local glasshouse, soil, and crop response conditions such a system would require an application of 6 liters of water per square meter of bed for every 730 cal cm2 global radiation above the glasshouse. Alternatively, a foliage spray irrigation system to ensure that the upper part of the canopy is kept continuously moist, would require applications of at least 0.4 liters per square meter at radiation intervals between 15 and 4 cal cm2 of global radiation outside the greenhouse, the exact figure depending mainly on the rate of air movement around the foliage. The latent heat equivalent of the crop water loss was 87% of the global radiation incident on the canopy, a figure similar to those listed for other, tall glasshouse crops.


SETTING
Gaborone, Botswana.

OBJECTIVE
To determine if starting anti-tuberculosis treatment at clinics in Gaborone without co-located human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) clinics would delay time to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) initiation and be associated with lower survival compared to starting anti-tuberculosis treatment at clinics with on-site HIV clinics.

DESIGN
Retrospective cohort study. Subjects were HAART-naïve, aged ≥ 21 years with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), HIV and CD4 counts ≤ 250 cells/mm(3) initiating anti-tuberculosis treatment between 2005 and 2010. Survival at completion of anti-tuberculosis treatment or at 6 months post-treatment initiation and time to HAART after anti-tuberculosis treatment initiation were compared by clinic type.

RESULTS
Respectively 259 and 80 patients from clinics without and with on-site HIV facilities qualified for the study. Age, sex, CD4, baseline sputum smears and loss to follow-up rate were similar by clinic type. Mortality did not differ between clinics without or with on-site HIV clinics (20/250, 8.0% vs. 8/79, 10.1%, relative risk 0.79, 95%CI 0.36-1.72), nor did median time to HAART initiation (respectively 63 and 66 days, P = 0.53).

CONCLUSION
In urban areas where TB and HIV programs are separate, geographic co-location alone without further integration may not reduce mortality or time to HAART initiation among co-infected patients.


A mixed infection with rotavirus and 3 different Campylobacter jejuni strains was analysed in Caco-2 cells, a cell line highly susceptible to these pathogens. The results obtained showed no influence of the virus preinfection on the Campylobacter jejuni adhesion or internalisation in Caco-2 cells. Confocal laser scanning microscopy of mixed infected cells confirmed these results. The data from the present study indicate that specific rather than nonspecific mechanisms are involved in the interaction between rotavirus, campylobacter and host cells.


: Quantitative methods were applied to the study of the interaction of albumins, fraction I of Plague bacilli, diphtheria toxoid fractions differing by mol wt, flagellin of typhoid bacilli, 19S- and 7S-fractions of normal human, cholera horse, and paratyphoid B donkey sera with erythrocytes, fixed by 10 different methods. Fixation with acetaldehyde proved to be optimal for the binding of all the proteins, including flagellin, but the latter sensitized erythrocytes formalinized after Vainbach better. The significance of the method of erythrocyte fixation and of the nature of sensitin in the process of the erythrocyte loading without any utilization of the conjugating agents was demonstrated.


ABSTRACT The majority of neoantigens arise from unique mutations that are not shared between individual patients, making neoantigen-directed immunotherapy a fully personalized treatment approach. Novel technical advances in next-generation sequencing of tumor samples and artificial intelligence (AI) allow fast and systematic prediction of tumor neoantigens. This study investigates feasibility, safety, immunity, and anti-tumor potential of the personalized peptide-based neoantigen vaccine, EVX-01, including the novel CD8+ T-cell inducing adjuvant, CAF®09b, in patients with metastatic melanoma (NTC03715985). The AI platform PIONEERTM was used for identification of tumor-derived neoantigens to be included in a peptide-based personalized therapeutic cancer vaccine. EVX-01 immunotherapy consisted of 6 administrations with 5–10 PIONEERTM-predicted neoantigens as synthetic peptides combined with the novel liposome-based Cationic Adjuvant Formulation 09b (CAF®09b) to strengthen T-cell responses. EVX-01 was combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors to augment the activity of EVX-01-induced immune responses. The primary endpoint was safety, exploratory endpoints included feasibility, immunologic and objective responses. This interim analysis reports the results from the first dose-level cohort of five patients. We documented a short vaccine manufacturing time of 48–55 days which enabled the initiation of EVX-01 treatment within 60 days from baseline biopsy. No severe adverse events were observed. EVX-01 elicited long-lasting EVX-01-specific T-cell responses in all patients. Competitive manufacturing time was demonstrated. EVX-01 was shown to be safe and able to elicit immune responses targeting tumor neoantigens with encouraging early indications of a clinical and meaningful antitumor efficacy, warranting further study.


An APC8-like protein regulates leaf petiole angle by modulating establishment of pulvinus in soybean. Leaf petiole angle (LPA) is an important plant architectural trait that affects canopy coverage, photosynthetic efficiency, and ultimately productivity in many legume crops. However, the genetic basis underlying this trait remains unclear. Here, we report the identification, isolation, and functional characterization of Glycine max Increased Leaf Petiole Angle1 (GmILPA1), a gene encoding an APC8-like protein, which is a subunit of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome in soybean (Glycine max). A gamma ray-induced deletion of a fragment involving the fourth exon of GmILPA1 and its flanking sequences led to extension of the third exon and formation of, to our knowledge, a novel 3′UTR from intronic and intergenic sequences. Such changes are responsible for enlarged LPAs that are associated with reduced motor cell proliferation in the Gmilpa1 mutant. GmILPA1 is mainly expressed in the basal cells of leaf primordia and appears to function by promoting cell growth and division of the pulvinus that is critical for its establishment. GmILPA1 directly interacts with GmAPC13a as part of the putative anaphase-promoting complex. GmILPA1 exhibits variable expression levels among varieties with different degrees of LPAs, and expression levels are correlated with the degrees of the LPAs. Together, these observations revealed a genetic mechanism modulating the plant petiole angle that could pave the way for modifying soybean plant architecture with optimized petiole angles for enhanced yield potential.


The geological and palaeontological records of climate change and evolutionary events reflect Earth's widely fluctuating climate systems. Past climates hold the clues to understanding future developments. In this context, research on linked climate, biodiversity and sea-level fluctuations of the Devonian contributes to the general knowledge of deep-time climate dynamics. A fruitful co-operation between the International Geoscience Programme IGCP 596 and the International Subcommission on Devonian Stratigraphy (SDS) addressed the complex succession of climate-linked Devonian global events of varying magnitude. The primary goal of IGCP 596 was to assess mid-Palaeozoic climate changes and their impact on marine and terrestrial biodiversity using an interdisciplinary approach. The focus of SDS includes a revision of the eustatic sea-level curve and the integration of refined chrono- and biostratigraphy with modern chemo-, magneto-, cyclo-, event- and sequence stratigraphy. This enabled the much improved dating and correlation of abiotic perturbations, evolutionary changes, organism and ecosystem ranges. Results by 37 authors are presented in 14 chapters, which cover the entire Devonian.


OBJECTIVES
To prospectively examine the excess incidence of pancreatic cancer among cigarette smokers and to examine the influence of smoking cessation on the risk of pancreatic cancer.

METHODS
We obtained data on cigarette smoking and other risk factors for pancreatic cancer from 118,339 women aged 30 to 55 years and 49,428 men aged 40 to 75 years who were without diagnosed cancer. During the 2,116,229 persons-years of follow-up, pancreatic cancer was diagnosed in 186 participants.

RESULTS
The multivariate relative risk of pancreatic cancer for current smokers was 2.5 (95% confidence interval, 1.7-3.6). A significant, positive trend in risk with increasing pack-years of smoking was observed (P for trend = .004), although this association was confined to cigarette consumption within the past 15 years. Compared with participants who continued to smoke, former smokers had a 48% reduction in pancreatic cancer risk within 2 years of quitting. Ultimately, the relative risk of pancreatic cancer among former smokers approached that for never smokers after less than 10 years of smoking cessation. Overall, the proportion of pancreatic cancers attributable to cigarette smoking was 25%.

CONCLUSIONS
Cigarette smoking is associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. The rapid reduction in risk associated with quitting suggests that smoking cessation could eliminate 25% of the 27,000 deaths from pancreatic cancer occurring annually in the United States.


Practising psychologists across a range of disciplines are known to frequently work with individuals who have complex emotional difficulties. Excessive job demands and lack of resources are known to impact on the well-being of these professionals (Hannigan, Edwards, & Burnard, 2004) with consequences for the individual, clients, and organisations at a wider level. This thesis examines some of the factors which can affect wellbeing in psychologists. Section 1 presents the findings from a systematic literature review including 22 papers that looked at the experience of burnout in practising psychologists (e.g., clinical, counselling, and school psychologists). Psychologist burnout was within the moderate to high range in at least half of the studies examined. Variables including gender, practice setting and level of experience were related to burnout, as were several psychosocial variables. Methodological quality of studies varied hugely and compared to other professions, the literature on burnout for psychologists was generally lacking. Relevance to clinical practice and implications for future research are discussed. Section 2 comprises the quantitative research study, which explored whether job demands predicted psychological well-being in clinical psychologists, and whether the quality of the supervisory relationship was capable of moderating that relationship. A total of 194 clinical psychologists participated in the online study consisting of a questionnaire gathering demographic information and information on job characteristics, and five standardised self-report measures including a measure of job demands, a measure of the supervisory relationship, and three measures of psychological well-being. Job demands significantly predicted psychological well-being, but that relationship was not moderated by the strength of the supervisory relationship. A discussion of the findings, including possible reasons for the lack of moderation, are presented, along with suggestions for further research. Section three presents a critical appraisal of the research. It discusses the findings of the literature review and research study, as well as a critique of the methodology. Reflections on the research process are given and implications for clinical practice are discussed.


We use a large and unique administrative dataset fr om Italy, covering the period 2009-2014, to investigate opportunistic behavior (moral hazard) a nd the effectiveness of monitoring policies related to insurance against illness-related income losses. The analysis is based on the outcome of mandatory medical visits aimed at verifying the health status of employees during sickness spells. We find that employers are more effective t han the public insurer in selecting sickness episodes to monitor. However, a reduction in the nu mber and a better targeting of visits with the support of appropriate statistical tools may cl ose the gap. We discuss the impact of using direct measures of health, such as the outcome of a medical visit, on the study of the determinants of opportunistic behavior and argue th at simply looking at days of work lost, without appropriately controlling for health status , may lead to misleading conclusions if the goal is studying moral hazard.


Adolescent self-harm is a growing international concern. As the parent-child relationship and parental support can influence adolescent self-harm this review aimed to synthesise existing qualitative research on parents' experiences of young people who selfharm. A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted, identifying 15 qualitative papers for the metasynthesis. Five concepts emerged: the turmoil of discovery and beyond; searching for certainty; the ultimate blame; vigilant parenting: treading carefully; and the ripple effect. Findings demonstrated the impact of adolescent self-harm on parental wellbeing, the challenges of understanding self-harm and how this behaviour influenced their ability to support their child. This understanding provides a framework for clinical services to offer support to parents of young people who self-harm. The second section of the thesis is the empirical paper. The aim of this research was to understand the experiences of young people who engage in self-harm whilst living in residential care. Five young people participated in semi structured interviews. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, four themes were identified: 'The black hole of selfharm', 'Seeking genuine care through a protective mask', 'The cry to be understood' and 'Loss of control to the system'. Young people who self-harm in residential care are exposed to new experiences, boundaries and support networks, all of which can influence their selfharming behaviours. Clinical implications and future research recommendations are also discussed. Finally, the critical appraisal captures the journey throughout this research, including why the topics were chosen, the challenges with recruitment and reflections on the research process as a whole.


Active electromagnetic (EM) armor is a new type of active defense system, which can intercept invading objects effectively. When hit by interception projectiles, the invading object will deviate from its trajectory or be destroyed totally. A steerable EM launcher system using two separate pancake coils is introduced in this paper and its 3D model is built. With finite element analysis code acceleration process of the interception projectile is simulated and laws of acceleration force acting on the projectile, its velocity and displacement versus time are also investigated. Experimental installation is introduced and experimental data are well matched with simulation results.


Standard theories of insurgency hold that marginalization from centers of power provide insurgents with social space to develop coherent organizational and ideological challenges to authority. Insurgents in recent cases of state collapse, however, do not develop ideological or organizational alternatives. This is due to the particular nature of state collapse, especially where rulers had used informal institutional networks to control populations. As formal bureaucratic institutions collapse, remnants of patronage networks coopt would-be ideological fighters. Strongmen use armed fighters to control fragments of the old patronage economy. This empowers enterprising fighters interested in personal wealth at the expense of ideologues. This dynamic is illustrated with reference to vigilante groups in Nigeria, especially the Bakassi Boys of Anambra State, which initially develop as anti-corruption and antiregime fighters, then become incorporated into the strategies of the politicians whom they fight. The course of internal warfare in Sierra Leone and former Yugoslavia provide further illustration of this process. Looting, banditry, greedy, self-interested warlords and well-heeled arms traffickers dominate images of warfare in places like Congo, Liberia, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Colombia and Chechnya. Recent international attention to the problem of "conflict diamonds"—gems that warring groups mine and then trade for arms—has brought this economic dimension of warfare to a broader audience. Even in Côte d'Ivoire, where mass protests in October 2000 were initially lauded in the international press as a sequel to Serbian democrats' overthrow of Milosevic, closer examination reveals the considerable influence of elite factional struggles for power and control over patronage resources. That combatants fight for loot and personal profit in the midst of warfare is hardly new. What is new about post-cold war internal wars and rebellions, especially in Africa, is the extent to which economic interests appear to predominate, crowding out those who organize followers around ideologically motivated reform and revolutionary appeals. I argue that this is because these wars and rebellions constitute a special category of conflict. They are the consequence of the collapse of state institutions. This change in the nature of violence presents ideological leaders with much greater difficulties in organizing collective action. The failure of opposition groups to build alternative mass-based political movements or to develop indigenous strategies for addressing the pressures and chal――――――――――――――――― * Department of Political Science, Northwestern University, 601 University Pl. Evanston, IL 60208, U. S. A.


With The Complete Idiot's Guide to Kickboxing, there's a new way to get the body sweating. This guide covers the ancient art and modern kickboxing, Kickboxing gear, and how to build leaner legs and a better butt. Learn power punches--cross, hook, upper cut, overhand, as well as the spinning back fist, stabs and slashes. Idiot-proof steps guide you through footwork, target practice, and stretches, allowing you to tailor beginner, intermediate, and advanced workouts. Covers every level in the ring--lightweight, middleweight, heavyweight, super heavyweight.


Ribonuclease P (RNase P) is involved in the processing of the 5′ leader sequence of precursor tRNA (pre-tRNA). We have found that RNase P RNA (PhopRNA) and five proteins (PhoPop5, PhoRpp21, PhoRpp29, PhoRpp30, and PhoRpp38) reconstitute RNase P activity with enzymatic properties similar to those of the authentic ribozyme from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3. We report here that nucleotides A40, A41, and U44 at helix P4, and G269 and G270 located at L15/16 in PhopRNA, are, like the corresponding residues in Esherichia coli RNase P RNA (M1RNA), involved in hydrolysis by coordinating catalytic Mg2+ ions, and in the recognition of the acceptor end (CCA) of pre-tRNA by base-pairing, respectively. The information reported here strongly suggests that PhopRNA catalyzes the hydrolysis of pre-tRNA in approximately the same manner as eubacterial RNase P RNAs, even though it has no enzymatic activity in the absence of the proteins.


We consider the problem of embedding unweighted, directed k-nearest neighbor graphs in low-dimensional Euclidean space. The k-nearest neighbors of each vertex provide ordinal information on the distances between points, but not the distances themselves. Relying only on such ordinal information, we recover the coordinates of the points up to arbitrary similarity transformations (rigid transformations and scaling). We make existing approaches scalable by using an instance of a local-to-global algorithm based on group synchronization, recently proposed in the literature in the context of sensor network localization, which we augment with a scale synchronization step. We show our approach compares favorably to the recently proposed Local Ordinal Embedding (LOE) algorithm even in the case of smaller sized problems, and also demonstrate its scalability on large graphs. The above divide-and-conquer paradigm can be of independent interest to the machine learning community when tackling geometric embeddings problems.


Objective: To review the incidence, indications, characteristics, and clinical outcomes of classical Caesarean section at a regional hospital in Hong Kong. Methods: This was a retrospective case-series study of all women who underwent a classical Caesarean section over an 8-year period from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2015 in our unit. Epidemiological data, indications for classical Caesarean section, and maternal and neonatal outcomes were analysed. Results: There was an increasing trend of performing classical Caesarean section, both in our unit and other obstetrics units in Hong Kong under the Hospital Authority. Three main indications for classical Caesarean section were identified in our patients, including vascular lower segment, lower segment not well formed or inaccessible, and lower-segment uterine fibroids. The most common indication in our cohort was vascular lower segment due to placenta praevia with or without accreta. Compared with the groups of lower segment not well formed or inaccessible and lower-segment uterine fibroids, the total blood loss, need for subsequent secondary measures including compression suture and uterine artery embolisation, and admission to intensive care unit were statistically significantly highest in the vascular lower segment group. Conclusion: Classical Caesarean section remained in its role in modern obstetrics for indications of placenta praevia, preterm delivery, as well as fibroids complicating pregnancies as demonstrated in our cohort study. As such, obstetricians should become adept at performing a classical Caesarean section because many cases will not have been predicted or will be required as an emergency procedure. With active involvement of consultants, a multidisciplinary approach and continuous training, the clinical outcome of classical Caesarean section can be reasonably good. Hong Kong J Gynaecol Obstet Midwifery 2017; 17(2):86-93


The accrual and analysis of genomic sequencing data have identified specific genetic variants that are associated with major depressive disorder. Moreover, substantial investigations have been devoted to identifying gene-drug interactions that affect the response to antidepressant medications by modulating their pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic properties. Despite these advances, individual responses to antidepressants, as well as the unpredictability of adverse side effects, leave clinicians with an imprecise prescribing strategy that often relies on trial and error. These limitations have spawned several combinatorial pharmacogenetic testing products that are marketed to physicians. Typically, combinatorial pharmacogenetic decision support tools use algorithms to integrate multiple genetic variants and assemble the results into an easily interpretable report to guide prescribing of antidepressants and other psychotropic medications. The authors review the evidence base for several combinatorial pharmacogenetic decision support tools whose potential utility has been evaluated in clinical settings. They find that, at present, there are insufficient data to support the widespread use of combinatorial pharmacogenetic testing in clinical practice, although there are clinical situations in which the technology may be informative, particularly in predicting side effects.


Suppressing unwanted background sound is crucial for aural communication. Public spaces often contain a particularly disruptive background sound, called informational masking (IM). At present, IM is identified operationally: when a target should be audible, based on suprathreshold target/masker energy ratios, yet cannot be heard because perceptually similar background sound interferes. Here, behavioral experiments combined with functional near infrared spectroscopy identify brain regions that predict individual vulnerability to IM. Results show that tasked-evoked blood oxygenation changes near the superior temporal gyrus (STG) and behavioral speech detection performance covary for same-ear IM background sound, suggesting that the STG is part of an IM-dependent network. Moreover, listeners who are more vulnerable to IM show an increased metabolic need for oxygen near STG. In contrast, task-evoked responses in a region of lateral frontal cortex, the caudal inferior frontal sulcus (cIFS), do not predict behavioral sensitivity, suggesting that the cIFS belongs to an IM-independent network.


Mathematical models of ion transport in electrodialysis process is reviewed and their basics concept is discussed. Three scales of ion transport reviewed are: 1) ion transport in the membrane, where two approaches are used, the irreversible thermodynamics and modeling of the membrane material; 2) ion transport in a three-layer system composed of a membrane with two adjoining diffusion layers; and 3) coupling with hydraulic flow system in an electrodialysis 2D and 3D cell, where the differential equation of convectivediffusion is used. Most of the work carried out in the past implemented NP equations since relatively easily coupled with other equations describing hydrodynamic conditions and ion transport in the surrounding solutions, chemical reactions in the solutions and the membrane, boundary and other conditions. However, it is limited to point ionic transport in homogenous and uniformly - grainy phases of structure. © 2008 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reserved. [Received: 21 January 2008, Accepted: 10 March 2008] [How to Cite : F.S. Rohman, N. Aziz (2008). Mathematical Model of Ion Transport in Electrodialysis Process. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering and Catalysis , 3(1-3): 3-8. doi:10.9767/bcrec.3.1-3.7122.3-8 ] [How to Link/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.3.1-3.7122.3-8 || or local: http://ejournal.undip.ac.id/index.php/bcrec/article/view/7122 ]