We consider the problem of creating oscillations with respect to a part of state variables in underactuated mechanical systems. The main contribution is a modification of a recently proposed control strategy, exploiting passivity to shape the energy of the system with respect to a subset of the state variables and neglecting the dynamics of the other ones. We propose a way to design an additional control action, which guarantees boundedness of the motion of these other degrees of freedom, which otherwise almost always evolve without any bound. The idea is presented on the well-known two-degrees-of-freedom benchmark example of inverted pendulum on a cart


Summary: The transmission dynamics of S. mansoni was studied in the Metehara Sugar Estate for 12 months. The prevalence of human infection ranged from 7.4% to 71.3% for 6 villages in the Estate. The infection rate was highest in the 10-14 years of age while the intensity reached peak in the 5-9 years. There were significant variations in the focality and seasonality of transmission. Biomphalaria pfeifferi which was persistent year round, was most abundant during the dry season. Absence of potable water supply and sanitary facilities, proximity to irrigation canals, and overcrowding are some of the most important factors influencing transmission of schistosomiasis in Metehara Sugar Estate. Mass chemotherapy and mollusciciding should be launched in Awash and Chore farm villages to control transmission, while treatment of children under 15 years is believed to control morbidity in other villages. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 199-;0(0): 0-00]


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of stretching and/or resistive exercise, followed by detraining, on the functional status of older people.

METHODS
Forty-five subjects were divided into four groups: control (CG; n=13; 66±6 years), stretching (SG; n=10; 69±6 years), resistive exercise (RG; n=13; 69±5 years), and resistive exercise and stretching (RSG; n=9; 66±5 years). The CG did not perform any exercise. The SG, RG, and RSG had warm-up sessions prior to performing lower-body exercises twice a week. The SG performed 4 repetitions of stretching. Resistive exercise was performed at a load of 65% of 10 repetitions maximum (RM) for five weeks, 70% for the next four weeks, and 75% for the last three weeks of the program. The RSG performed both exercises. Cardiorespiratory capacity was evaluated using the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) at baseline, at the six- and 12-week follow-ups, and after a six-week period of detraining. Lower limb muscle strength was assessed using the stand up from a chair and sit down test (SUCSD), and blood pressure was measured using a sphygmomanometer and a stethoscope. The results were analyzed using ANOVA (p<0.05).

RESULTS
Six weeks of training increased walking distance (6MWT) in the RG and decreased SUCSD time in the SG. However, detraining increased systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the RG compared to the SG. Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) decreased after six weeks in the RSG and 12 weeks in the SG.

CONCLUSIONS
Six weeks of stretching or resistive training can improve the functional status of older people. Nevertheless, DBP decreased after six weeks with the combination of resistive exercise and stretching. Detraining increased SBP when resistive exercise alone was used.


Herb supplements are widely used by Asian athletes; however, there are no studies evaluated the co-effects of exercise and herb supplements on hepatic failure. In this study, D-GalN/LPS-induced fulminant hepatic failure was used to examine whether there are synergistic or antagonistic effects of exercise and Cordyceps sinensis (CS). Mice were randomly divided into eight groups: control, swimming exercise for four weeks, D-GalN/LPS challenge, swimming exercise plus D-GalN/LPS, 20 mg/kg or 40 mg/kg CS pretreated for four weeks plus D-GalN/LPS, and swimming exercise combined with 20 mg/kg or 40 mg/kg CS pretreatment plus D-GalN/LPS. Either exercise or 40 mg/kg CS pretreatment alone significantly decreased D-GalN/LPS-induced TNF-α, AST, NO, apoptotic-related proteins, and hepatocyte apoptosis. Exercise or 40 mg/kg CS alone increased the IL-10 and D-GalN/LPS-suppressed Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) level. However, no protective or worse effect was observed in the mice treated with exercise preconditioning combined 40 mg/kg CS compared to those receive exercise alone or CS alone. TNF-α, AST, NO level, caspase-3 activity, and hepatocytes apoptosis were not significantly different in the exercise combined with 40 mg/kg CS compared to mice challenged with D-GalN/LPS. The IL-10 level was significantly decreased after D-GalN/LPS stimulation in the mice received exercise combined with 40 mg/kg CS, indicating the combination strongly reduced the anti-inflammatory effect. In summary, preconditioning exercise or CS pretreatment alone can protect mice from septic liver damage, but in contrast, the combination of exercise and CS does not produce any benefit. The antagonistic interactions between exercise and CS imply taking CS is not recommended for people who undertake regular exercise.


This article examines the use of alternative texts to represent the Holocaust and to teach secondary students about this event. An alternative text is anything other than a traditional textbook. Alternate texts may include poetry, novels, graphic novels, films, or plays. By using alternative texts, teachers can engage students in multiple perspectives to stimulate critical thinking in their classrooms. Alternative texts, furthermore, can shift the paradigm of how teachers and students think about morally and ethically complex subjects. In order to facilitate such a shift, teachers, scholars, and students should view different ways of representing difficult subjects in the classroom. The Holocaust is a difficult subject to teach due to the scale of moral issues and scope of this crime against humanity. Traditional means of teaching the Holocaust, using maps, textbooks, and primary source documents are important but fail to create changes in students perspectives because there is little space for students to become more empathetic and apply history to current world events. Providing students with texts including narratives, poetry, and first-person accounts can add humanity into what some view as one of the most inhumane events in history and thus shift the paradigm for high school students.


An outpatient antimicrobial stewardship program (O-ASP) was developed and implemented to promote appropriate antibiotic therapy in outpatient settings. As active patient involvement is a critical component of an effective O-ASP, this study aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire addressing patient awareness for appropriate antibiotic therapy and the need for pharmaceutical care services (PCS) in the O-ASP in Korea. The questionnaire was drafted based on ASPs and PCS guidelines and validated for content and construct validity using the item-content validity index (I-CVI) and Cronbach's alpha, respectively. The estimated I-CVI and Cronbach's alpha were considered excellent or adequate (≥0.8 and 0.70–0.90, respectively) for most of the survey items (17 out of 23 items). The validated questionnaire was utilized in a pilot survey study, including 112 individuals (37% male) with the mean ± SD age of 37 ± 13 years. Among the survey participants, 68% responded that antibiotics had been prescribed appropriately; however, ≥50% showed a lack of knowledge regarding their antibiotic therapy. The participants expressed the need for PCS as part of an O-ASP in the questionnaire (average Likert score ≥3.4/5). In conclusion, our newly validated questionnaire successfully measured patient awareness and knowledge of antimicrobial use and the need for PCS in the O-ASP.


Interleukin-2 (IL-2) activates the receptor-associated Janus family tyrosine kinases, Jak1 and Jak3, which in turn phosphorylate and activate specific STAT proteins (signal transducers and activators of transcription), such as STAT5. Activation of Jak and STAT proteins by IL-2 is transient and the mechanism for the subsequent down-regulation of their activity is largely unknown. We report here that IL-2-induced DNA-binding activity and tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT5 are stabilized by a proteasome inhibitor MG132; however, no detectable ubiquitination of the STAT proteins is observed. This sustained STAT5 activation can be blocked by protein kinase inhibitors, which is consistent with the ability of the proteasome inhibitor to stabilize IL-2-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Jak1 and Jak3. These results suggest that proteasome-mediated protein degradation modulates protein-tyrosine phosphatase activity that negatively regulates the Jak-STAT signaling pathways.


From an analysis of actual cases, three categories of bias in computer systems have been developed: preexisting, technical, and emergent. Preexisting bias has its roots in social institutions, practices, and attitudes. Technical bias arises from technical constraints of considerations. Emergent bias arises in a context of use. Although others have pointed to bias inparticular computer systems and have noted the general problem, we know of no comparable work that examines this phenomenon comprehensively and which offers a framework for understanding and remedying it. We conclude by suggesting that freedom from bias should by counted amoung the select set of criteria—including reliability, accuracy, and efficiency—according to which the quality of systems in use in society should be judged.


Introduction Alcohol use is a major public health concern in global settings. It is very common among people living with HIV/AIDS, leading to physical and mental complications. Objective To assess the magnitude of alcohol use and factors among HIV/AIDS positive adults visiting ART clinic at Mizan Tep University Teaching Hospital (MTUTH), Southern Ethiopia from October 2017 to December 2017. Methods A facility based cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 332 HIV positive adults who came to ART clinic at MTUTH using systemic random sampling technique. Data were entered into EPidata 3.1 version and then analyzed by SPSS version 20. Binary logistic regressions have been used to identify the association between an independent variable with the dependent variable. Result A total of 332 participants were enrolled in the study with the prevalence of alcohol use disorder (AUD) of 18.4%. Factors associated with alcohol use disorder were sex AOR=3.48 (95% CI: 1.27, 9.59), cigarette smoking AOR=5.12 (95% CI: 4.02, 8.61), "khat" chewing AOR=3.23 (95% CI: 2.06.6.89), and CD4 count of 0–200 AOR = 19.49 (95% CI: 1.74, 218.4). Conclusion The prevalence of alcohol use disorder was high. It is independently associated with male patients, cigarette/tobacco smokers, khat chewers, and low CD4 count.


Alpine regions in Europe, in particular, face demanding local challenges, e.g., the decline in the agriculture and timber industries, and are also prone to global changes, such as in climate, with potentially severe impacts on tourism. We focus on the Visp region in the Upper Valais, Switzerland, and ask how the process of stakeholder involvement in research practice can contribute to a better understanding of the specific challenges and future development of mountainous regions under global change. Based on a coupled human-environment system (HES) perspective, we carried out a formative scenario analysis to develop a set of scenarios for the future directions of the Visp region. In addition, we linked these regional scenarios to context scenarios developed at the global and Swiss levels via an external consistency analysis. This method allows the coupling of both the scenario building process and the scenarios as such. We used a functional-dynamic approach to theory-practice cooperation, i.e., the involvement of key stakeholders from, for example, tourism, forestry, and administration, differed in type and intensity during the steps of the research process. In our study, we experienced strong problem awareness among the stakeholders concerning the impacts of global change and local challenges. The guiding research question was commonly defined and problem ownership was more or less balanced. We arrived at six multiscale scenarios that open up future trajectories for the Visp region, and present generic strategies to cope with global and local challenges. The results show that local identity, spatial planning, community budget, and demographic development are important steering elements in the region's future development. We suggest that method-guided transdisciplinary processes result in a richer picture and a more systemic understanding, which enable a discussion of critical and surprising issues.