The anticellular and antiviral effects of human leukocyte interferons were studied in vitro in the transformed human embryonic cell lines. RSa and RSb. The growth of these cells was inhibited and they began to deteriorate about 48 h after treatment with 500 units/ml of interferon. When interferon was washed out within 48 h, their growth recovered gradually. The effects of interferon on cell growth depended on the amount of interferon added per cell. A subline, named IFr, was isolated which grows in the presence of 2000 units/ml of interferon, whereas growth of vesicular stomatitis virus in these cells is suppressed by 10 units/ml of interferon, just as in the parent cells. The anticellular and antiviral effects of interferon on IFr cells are discussed in relation to cell surface receptors.


We propose a novel method to detect events involving multiple agents in a video and to learn their structure in terms of temporally related chain of sub-events. The proposed method has three significant contributions over existing frameworks. First, in order to learn the event structure from training videos. we present the concept of a video event graph, which is composed of temporally related sub-events. Using the video event graph, we automatically encode the event dependency graph. The event dependency graph is the learnt event model that depicts the frequency of occurrence of conditionally dependent sub-events. Second. we pose the problem of event detection in novel videos as clustering the maximally correlated sub-events, and use normalized cuts to determine these clusters. The pIincipal assumption made in this work is that the events are composed of highly correlated chain of sub-events. that have high weights (association) within the cluster and relatively low weights (disassociation) between clusters. These weights (between sub-events) are the likelihood estimates obtained from the event models. Last, we recognize the importance of representing the variations in the temporal order of sub-events. occurring in an event, and encode the probabilities directly into our representation. We show results of our learning, detection, and representation of events for videos in the meeting, surveillance, and railroad monitoring domains.


The authors present structural and resistivity studies of the melt-spun Al-Mn (10-20 at.% Mn) alloys which contain more than 50 vol.% of the quasicrystalline (QC) phase. Using a two-phase Landauer model, they estimate the electrical resistivity of the QC phase to be of the order 150-200 μΩ cm. The same magnitude of resistivity was measured in Al75Mn20Si5 which is almost entirely `mono' quasicrystal. The authors discuss the electronic structure and argue that electrical resistivity and high (meta)stability of quasicrystals can be understood within a framework of the Friedel model of virtual bound states


Plants and trees make our cities more attractive and provide many ecosystem services but some of these also cost society harm in the form of pollen allergy. According to an estimate, 60-70 percent of the trees in  Islamabad are of Paper mulberry. Thirty percent of the people are affected each year from pollen allergy in Islamabad. This study evaluated age and gender-wise effects of Pollen Allergy on health followed by proposing options for Paper Mulberry as an alternative. The economic and environmental costs and benefits of Paper mulberry and its alternative plants were also quantified. The annual benefits and costs of Paper  Mulberry and its alternative plants were estimated through "The National Tree Benefits Calculator".  Descriptive statistics along with expert opinion method was used for the analysis of the data. The pollen allergy affects children more as compared to other age groups and more on female as compared to male.   Urban respondents were affected more by pollen allergy as compared to rural respondents. Most of the respondents were found affected in the month of March. The average monthly health expenditures of the respondents from pollen as Rs. 879. Pine Rexburg and Kachnar are viable alternatives for Paper Mulberry from both economic and environmental viewpoints. Based on the findings it is concluded that Pine Rexburg and Kachnar are the best alternative for Paper Mulberry in Islamabad. The Capital Development Authority should replace Paper Mulberry with Pine Rexburg and Kachnar in the city. Besides, Government should arrange awareness program especially in the pollen month (March) and should provide free of cost treatment and preventives for the pollen patients.


Discussion on the Cotard delusion often focuses on the patient's delusional belief that he/she is dead. Of interest to this paper, however, is the little referred to claim made by some Cotard patients that they are immortal. How might one explain the juxta- position of death and immortality evident in patients sharing the same clinical diagnosis, and how might these delusional beliefs inform our understanding of patient phenomenology, particularly regarding experiences of existential change? This paper sets out to explain delusions of death and immortality in Cotard patients with reference to changes in their experience of being, owed in part to a conflict in recognition evident in other delusional disorders such as the Capgras and Fregoli de - lusions. This experiential change is positioned within an interactionist framework of bottom-up and top-down processing that is also compatible with explanationist and endorsement approaches to delusions.


This article takes issue with Gert Biesta's lecture and my interpretation that his argument brings to the conclusion that the world is essentialist in nature. Thus, in this text, I will argue that existence "in the world" necessarily demanding the belief that many other worlds consisting of diverse identities and communities have long been present. It also counters the view that children must be taught to adjust to life in the world—i.e., submit and compromise—by promoting philosophical communities of inquiry that place children's doubts and uncertainties at the centre of their focus, thereby promoting Tikkun Olam (social justice or the establishment of godly qualities throughout the world) in its broadest sense.


When market intermediaries unlawfully acquire market power, vertically related market participants may sue under the antitrust laws to recover damages. Their ability to recover depends upon an intricate set of doctrines that define private standing, including the indirect-purchaser rules set down by the Supreme Court most notably in Illinois Brick. In Apple Inc. v. Pepper, the Court decided the application of the indirect-purchaser rules to a particular kind of intermediary, a platform in a two-sided market. The Article explores private antitrust standing doctrines as they apply to market intermediaries, using Apple to frame the exposition. The Court there held that iPhone owners are not barred by Illinois Brick from recovering damages from Apple for monopolizing the distribution of iPhone apps. The Article argues that the Court may have reached the right result, but not for the right reason. The dissent and Apple reached the wrong result, or at least did not offer the right reason. Apple imposed an ad valorem charge for using its platform in a two-sided transaction market, and in these circumstances, whether iPhone users had a right to sue for damages depends on whether the marginal costs of distribution were positive, a condition that was not addressed.


Initiatives on the sustainable intensification of agriculture have introduced improved technologies tailored to farmers' local conditions by trial demonstration with free provision of improved seeds and fertilizers. It is not clear, though, whether smallholder farmers would be willing to pay for these technologies, and what factors determine their informed demand. Using a contingent valuation experiment, combined with information at baseline among 400 households in Northern Tanzania, this study measured farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for hybrid maize seed and local inorganic fertilizer. Farmers' WTP was estimated using a dichotomous contingent valuation with follow-up model. Results showed that the average WTP was 61% higher for hybrid maize seed, and 15% lower for inorganic fertilizer, than their respective average local market prices during the reference period, suggesting that farmers were willing to pay a premium for hybrid maize seed, while they did not seem to be interested in fertilizer purchase at current market price. Moreover, since improved access to extension services was found to positively affect farmers' WTP, strengthening extension services could be a suitable policy intervention to increase farmers' demand for improved technologies. On the other hand, farmers' risk aversion was negatively correlated with WTP for both technologies. This result suggests that encouraging risk reduction options, such as agricultural insurance, could be a useful policy strategy for boosting farmers' demand for improved agricultural technologies.


Objective: The aim of this pilot study is to compare the effectiveness of a supervised exercise program using the Nintendo Wii tennis game, to Cyriax cross friction massage in the treatment of lateral epicondylitis. Methods: 10 subjects participated in the study (5 males, 5 females; mean age 50.4 (SD 3.5). Six subjects followed the Wii exercise program and four subjects received cross-friction massage according to the Cyriax method. Subjects in the Wii exercise group (Wii) received 25 min. and the Cross friction massage group (CF) received eight min. of treatment. Both groups were treated twice a week during six weeks. Using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), pain levels were assessed at baseline and after completion of the program at six weeks. Outcomes were analyzed using the independent, dependent and paired sample t-test. Results : The difference in pre and post VAS scores was only significant within the Wii exercise group (p=.02), there was no significant difference found in pre and post VAS scores between the two intervention groups. Conclusion : The Nintendo Wii exercise program had a significant effect on pain reduction in treatment of lateral epicondylitis.


Encryption is used to secure data before it is sent to cloud storage. It is done by data owner in order to protect data from misuse. However, there are issues when the encrypted data needs to accessed or searched for. The traditional search operation is not suitable for searching encrypted cloud data. Many researchers contributed towards providing search mechanisms on encrypted and outsourced cloud data. Xia et al. focused on secure multi-keyword ranked search on the encrypted and outsourced data to public cloud. They supported search operations and data dynamics as well. In this paper we proposed a methodology for performing flexible multi-keyword based optimized search scheme for encrypted cloud storage with user revocation feature. Users who are no longer supported by the system are revoked in order to ensure that the system remains secure. A model is built in order to have dynamic queries possible. Towards this end TF/IDF measure is used for flexible search operations on outsourced cloud data. We built a prototype application that shows multi-keyword ranked search with user revocation feature. The results revealed that the proposed system is flexible, secure and supporting optimized search over encrypted cloud data.


We carried out this study to assess iodine deficiency disorders among school children of 6-12 years age group in Aligarh district of India. The prevalence of goiter was 5.2%. Median Urinary Iodine Excretion level was 150 ug/L; 22.5% of students had biochemical iodine deficiency. 50.4% households were consuming adequately iodized salt.


Background: Oral direct factor Xa inhibitors (FxaIs) are renally eliminated; thus, acute kidney injury (AKI) may increase the risk for drug accumulation and bleeding. There is minimal data describing the effects of AKI on FxaI anti-Xa levels or clinical outcomes. Objective: To compare anti-Xa level monitoring with standard monitoring in patients who experience AKI on apixaban or rivaroxaban. Methods: This retrospective study included patients admitted within a large hospital system from May 2016 to October 2020. Patients were included if they received apixaban or rivaroxaban prior to AKI. Patients were stratified into 1 of 2 groups: those with anti-Xa level monitoring or those who received standard monitoring. The primary outcome was major bleeding as defined by the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. Results: A total of 196 patients were included in the final analysis. Major bleeding occurred in 2 patients who received anti-Xa level monitoring, compared with 14 patients who received standard monitoring (2.1% vs 14%; P < 0.01). Variables identified as predictors of major bleeding included a documented history of liver disease (adjusted odds ratio = 3.17; 95% CI = 1.04-9.67; P = 0.04) and antiplatelet use (adjusted odds ratio = 4.18; 95% CI = 1.28-13.7; P = 0.02). Conclusion and Relevance: This is the first study to demonstrate that anti-Xa level monitoring was associated with a significant reduction in major bleeding compared with standard monitoring in patients with AKI who received apixaban or rivaroxaban. The optimal management of antithrombotic medications in patients with AKI and recent exposure to an FxaI requires further investigation.


In this paper the authors report on a qualitative investigation into service mathematics carried; out in Irish universities against a backdrop of major concerns nationally and internationally; embodied in the so-called "Mathematics problem‖. The enquiry involved a close inspection of; how service mathematics is perceived, planned, delivered, evaluated, assessed and experienced; by both lecturers and students in selected service mathematics courses in all seven Irish; universities. Murphy (2002) used Brousseau"s concept of didactical contract to uncover the; implicit contract present in Irish second level classrooms. The authors emulated this work to; discover the hidden learning contract in university service mathematics lectures in Ireland.; Major outcomes of the study include insight into the nature of the didactical contract at work in; the service mathematics courses surveyed, and the development of a preliminary; characterisation of service mathematics in Irish universities. Service mathematics is also an; issue for adult mathematics education and impacts on it.


The introduction of renewable generation to South Africa's grid has introduced challenges to the management and regulation of power quality (PQ). These have been addressed by establishing PQ compliance criteria in line with local circumstances and by the introduction of a Power Quality Guideline for renewable power plants (RPPs). A key challenge to RPPs has been meeting emission limits for harmonics. This has been addressed in South Africa's RPP Guideline by the development and introduction of a Group Harmonic Distortion limit which provides some flexibility to RPPs in making individual harmonic emission limits. The use of 95th percentile harmonic impedance envelopes is discussed and recommendations for impedance envelopes are made for different voltage levels within the South African Grid, based on actual network data. A lesson learnt is that using international standards and guidelines provides a starting point for compliance rules when introducing renewable generation. Developing countries that share economic and electricity network characteristics with South Africa should tailor the PQ rules and guidelines for RPPs to meet local conditions.


A fixed-parameter, discrete-time, first-order, feedback control system is described for regulating grasp during electrical stimulation of paralyzed muscles of the hand. The stiffness of the grasp (the relationship between grasp force and grasp opening) is kept constant by linearly combining force and position feedback signals. Thus, a single continuous command signal can control the size of the grasp opening prior to object acquisition and both grasp and opening after contact. The controller achieves this change in controlled variables by scaling and summing the force and position feedback signals, rather than by a discrete switch in control strategy. Experimental tests of the control system in quadriplegic subjects show that control can be obtained over conditions ranging from unloaded position regulation is isometric force regulation as well as in the transition between these conditions. The robustness of the control system was evaluated during force regulation with isometric loads. Step response rise time and overshoot were much more dependent on system gain than on the location of the controller zero. Responses with a rise time of less than and 2 s an overshoot of less than 30% were obtained over a gain range up to 10, indicating good robustness to muscle gain reductions such as might be caused by fatigue.<<ETX>>


BACKGROUND
Few studies have evaluated the associations between the metabolic syndrome (by any definition) and mortality. This study examined the age- and sex-specific prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its association with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in nondiabetic European men and women.

METHODS
The study was based on 11 prospective European cohort studies comprising 6156 men and 5356 women without diabetes and aged from 30 to 89 years, and had a median follow-up of 8.8 years. A modification of the World Health Organization definition of the metabolic syndrome was used. The subjects were considered to have the metabolic syndrome if they had hyperinsulinemia and 2 or more of the following: obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or impaired glucose regulation; however, other definitions were also studied. Hazard ratios for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality were estimated with Cox models in each cohort. Meta-analyses were performed to assess the overall association of the metabolic syndrome with mortality risk.

RESULTS
The age-standardized prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was slightly higher in men (15.7%) than in women (14.2%). Of the 1119 deaths recorded during follow-up, 432 were caused by cardiovascular disease. The overall hazard ratios for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in persons with the metabolic syndrome compared with persons without it were 1.44 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17-1.84) and 2.26 (95% CI, 1.61-3.17) in men and 1.38 (95% CI, 1.02-1.87) and 2.78 (95% CI, 1.57-4.94) in women after adjustment for age, blood cholesterol levels, and smoking.

CONCLUSIONS
The overall prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in nondiabetic adult Europeans is 15%. Nondiabetic persons with the metabolic syndrome have an increased risk of death from all causes as well as cardiovascular disease.


The article summarizes the current state of understanding of the concept of inner speech and evaluates the role of the internal language in the speech generation process. First, the available definitions of inner speech are presented and its features are briefly characterised. Subsequently, the inner voice is compared to overt speech and the main differences between those two planes of speech: the internal and the external one are outlined. Since the aim of the paper is to show the role of inner speech in overt speech production, a speech generation model which coalesces Levelt's (1993) assumptions with the stratifi cational approach to language is presented. Different stages of linguistic processing are described and the impact of internal languaging on linguistic output is discussed. It is claimed that inner speech plays a threefold role in overt speech production: (1) provides an inter-nal draft for external speech, (2) is vital for the self-monitoring system, and (3) supports working memory. Any impairment in the functioning of inner speech may thus lead to speech errors and slips of the tongue phenomena.


Hoarding patterns can be classified into two general types: scatter-hoarding and larder-hoarding, but there are intermediate types. Various factors affect hoarding patterns. Animals hoarding identical seeds in different habitats may use different hoarding patterns to adapt to habitat variation. We used a sample-plot investigation method to study cache features and recovery rate of seeds of Arolla pine ( Pinus cembra ) by Eurasian red squirrels ( Sciurus vulgaris ) in 2009 and 2010 in two subalpine forests with different tree-species composition in the Italian Alps. Hoarding patterns of red squirrels varied among habitats: the typical scatter-hoarding pattern with most caches including 2-6 seeds is found in spruce ( Picea abies ) dominated forest, while a combination of few large caches (≥10 seeds) and many small caches (less than 10 seeds) is found in Arolla pine dominated forest. Consequently, average number of seeds/cache was higher in the latter habitat. Among five microhabitats, shrubs, grass, moss, fallen leaves, and stone, Eurasian red squirrels preferred fallen leaves and moss as hoarding substrate. Cache recovery investigation indicated that recovery rate was 62% in spruce forest and only 21% in Arolla pine forest. A lower availability of suitable hoarding microhabitat resulted in changes in hoarding patterns of red squirrels in Pinus cembra dominated forest. We suggest that the main factor influencing differences in recovery rate was a higher cone production per tree in Pinus cembra forest. Download the complete issue.


The paper is devoted to the phenomenon of the legal regime investigated through the prism of business law. The authors give a brief description of the main legal regimes. They examine the concept, types, content, features and discuss the legal regimes' classification using various grounds.In particular, they supplement the list of special legal regime features with not only possible specificity of an industry or field of entrepreneurship, but also with activities of certain categories of subjects. Following the traditional classification of legal regimes into general, special and specific, the authors determine the place of legal regimes that have appeared recently, namely: the high alert regime, preferential legal regime, and experimental legal regime — in the system of legal regimes for implementation of business activities. The authors describe the preferential legal regime as the specific legal regime, and, with regard to the experimental legal regime, they highlight that it tends to a specific legal regime, although it may claim to stand alone in a system of different legal regimes.The analysis of the high alert legal regime can lead to classifying it as a special legal regime, as well as to highlighting its distinctive features. Taking into account the spread of a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in Russia, a separate emphasis in the paper is placed on the measures of state support taken in order to restore the economy after a nearly three-month stoppage. The authors highlight key measures of state support for business and underline that, despite the temporary nature of the majority of support measures, some of them have been introduced without determining the period during which measures under consideration will remain in force.The paper provides links to numerous useful Internet resources, referring to which one can obtain comprehensive information on measures of state support approved and adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic.


This study discusses the reason behind the Chinese hastened engagement in Africa. The study particularly emphasizes debates surrounding such massive involvements from the African, European and Chinese point of view focusing on the main tenets of Washington and Beijing consensuses. The study shows that Beijing consensus has been perceived cynically by traditional western power contending that Chinese involvement in Africa has been built on china's narrow, and parochial interest of grabbing African's resources on one hand, and reversing of democratization and human rights improvements taking shape on the continent. The pro- Chinese narratives, on the other hand, argue that Chinese involvement in Africa has been built on the continent's historical relations with China when fighting colonial imperialism and apartheid system. In addition, it is their shared experiences of humiliation and subjugation at the hand of western imperialist colonial power that coach China and Africa to free their relationship from western style of involvements in one another's domestic affairs. Africans view Chinese engagement in Africa optimistically as a relief from century-old "civilizing mission" of the former colonial powers. This article argues that besides Chinese soft and non-conditional loans and aids and its commitment to neutrality in its relation to African countries' domestic affairs, the historical legacies of western influence on Africa, their post-colonial military presences on the continent and their cultural imperialism through imposition of western values and norms has been increasing Africa's discontent with the western approach. These phenomena have been contributing enormously to Chinese engagement in Africa.

 Key words: China, Africa, Washington consensus, Sino-phobia, Beijing consensus.


Informatics knowledge and skills are essential if clinicians are to master the large volume of information generated in healthcare today. Thus, it is vital that informatics competencies be defined for nursing and incorporated into both curricula and practice. Staggers, Gassert, and Curran have defined informatics competencies for four general levels of nursing practice. However, informatics competencies by role (eg, those specific for advanced practice nursing) have not been defined and validated. This article presents an initial proposed list of informatics competencies essential for nurse practitioner education and practice. To this list, derived from the work of Staggers et al., 1 has been added informatics competencies related to evidence-based practice. Two nurse informaticists and six nurse practitioners, who are program directors, were involved in the development of the proposed competencies. The next step will be to validate these competencies via research.


The effect of biological pretreatment on the rapeseed straw was evaluated by solid-state cultivation of white rot fungi Phanerochaete chrysosporium. P.chrysosporium degraded the lignin during the pretreatment, with enzymatic hydrolysis ratios increasing in the pretreated straw (3-fold after a 15 day pretreatment). The samples were identified by XRD, FTIR and SEM. X-ray analysis showed that pretreated samples had higher crystallinity than untreated samples (39.47% for a pretreated sample compared to 33.17% for untreated samples) and FTIR spectroscopy demonstrated that the content of lignocellulose also decreased during the biological pretreatment process. The surface characterization study showed morphological changes in pretreated samples. Moreover, the biological pretreatment slowed a plunge in hydrolysis rate during enzymatic hydrolysis.


BACKGROUND
It is unclear how the amount and intensity of physical activity (PA) are associated with cardiovascular fitness (CVF) and body fatness in children.

OBJECTIVE
We aimed to examine the associations of total PA and intensity levels to CVF and fatness in children.

DESIGN
A cross-sectional study of 780 children aged 9-10 y from Sweden and Estonia was conducted. PA was measured by accelerometry and was expressed as min/d of total PA, moderate PA, and vigorous PA. CVF was measured with a maximal ergometer bike test and was expressed as W/kg. Body fat was derived from the sum of 5 skinfold-thickness measurements. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the degree to which variance in CVF and body fat was explained by PA, after control for age, sex, and study location.

RESULTS
Lower body fat was significantly associated with higher levels of vigorous PA, but not with moderate or total PA. Those children who engaged in >40 min vigorous PA/d had lower body fat than did those who engaged in 10-18 min vigorous PA/d. Total PA, moderate PA, and vigorous PA were positively associated with CVF. Those children who engaged in >40 min vigorous PA/d had higher CVF than did those who accumulated <18 min vigorous PA/d.

CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that PA of vigorous intensity may have a greater effect on preventing obesity in children than does PA of lower intensity, whereas both total and at least moderate to vigorous PA may improve children's CVF.


Any operation scenario for unmanned aerial vehicles also known as drones in real world requires resilient wireless link to guarantee capacity and performance for users, which can only be achieved by obtaining detailed knowledge about the propagation channel. Thus, this study investigates the large-scale channel propagation statistics for the line of sight air–to–air (A2A) drone communications to estimate the path loss exponent (PLE). We conducted a measurement campaign at 5.8 GHz, using low cost and light weight software defined radio based channel sounder which is developed in this study and then further integrated on commercially available drones. To determine the PLE, frequency-based, time-based and time–frequency based methods are utilized. Accuracy of the proposed method is verified under ideal conditions in a well-isolated anechoic chamber before the actual measurement campaign to verify the performance in a free space path loss environment. The path loss exponent for A2A wireless drone channel is estimated with these verified methods.


Background: Plants are rich in bioactive compounds with various pharmacological properties, and they can be used effectively to treat various diseases. The ability of Annona muricata, preventing progression of cancer cells by initiating programmed cell death, was focused in the present study. Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine the antioxidant and anticancer potential of A. muricata ethanolic extract (AME) of leaves. Materials and Methods: The antioxidant potential of AME was determined by 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethyl-benzothiozoline)-6-sulfonic acid ammonium salt (ABTS) radical cation scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, phosphomolybdenum assay, and the cytotoxic potential of AME over N2a cell lines (neuroblastoma cells) was determined using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and measurement of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) assay. Results: The 50% scavenging ability of the extract in DPPH assay was found to be 14 μg/mL. The ABTS radical scavenging potential was measured to be 10507.3 mg/g of extract. The FRAP was found to be 10.38 mM Fe(II)E/mg extract. The effective phosphomolybdenum reduction was measured at a concentration of 53.33 mg ascorbic acid equivalents/g extract. The in vitro cytotoxicity of AME with escalating concentrations (5–85 μg/ml) was first screened, and it was shown to inhibit N2a cells with IC50 value of 55 μg/ml. A significant increase in cytosolic enzyme LDH confirms the cell membrane damage. The extent of cell damage was confirmed by a significant increase in the level of intracellular ROS and a decrease in MMP. Furthermore, to characterize and identify the major active constituents present in AME, Fourier-transform infrared and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis were carried out. Conclusion: The present results demonstrated that AME could be a promising candidate for developing anticancer agents which helps further to combat neuroblastoma with an effective treatment strategy


OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: In combination with 3 waves of individual-level data on children age 5–18 from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we exploit exogenous variation at the level of the state to determine whether SNAP generosity modifies the effect of SNAP participation on overweight/obesity status. We do so using a newly created and powerful data set including information on state-level SNAP generosity between the years 1996 to 2011. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Data and sample. We drew individual-level data from the Child Development Supplements of the Panel of Income Dynamics (PSID), a nationally representative longitudinal study gathering data since 1968 on US individuals and the families in which they reside. Aged 0–12 years in 1997, these children of PSID sample members were surveyed roughly every 5 years through 2007. The total number of observations over the study period is just over 8093, representing 3563 children. We drew state-level data from the State Welfare Generosity Index. This is a decomposable index of State welfare generosity capturing state policy variation across 4 programs (TANF, SNAP, Unemployment Insurance and Medicaid/CHIP) and 2 dimensions (eligibility requirements and benefit levels). Measures. Child weight status was determined using the Center for Disease Control (CDC) body mass index (BMI)-for-age gender-specific growth charts: underweight (BMI <5th percentile), healthy weight (BMI >5th percentile and BMI <85th percentile), overweight (BMI >85th percentile and BMI <95th percentile) or obese (BMI >95th percentile). From this, we constructed an indicator for overweight/obese Versus normal or underweight status. SNAP participation is a dichotomous indicator based on the head-of-households or their spouses reported receipt of SNAP benefits during the previous calendar year from the interview. SNAP generosity is scored on a scale of 0–100, with more generous states receiving higher scores than less generous states. Covariates include sex, race, age, head-of-household years of education and a continuous measure of household income adjusted for family size. Estimation techniques. We merged the child, parent/caregiver, family and main PSID files to obtain the most comprehensive data on each sample child. We first generated, descriptive statistics for the Wave 1 sample of 3563 children. We then present the mean, standard deviation and the ratio of the 2 (coefficient of variation) for state-level variables. We present χ2 tests of difference for non-SNAP compared to SNAP participants in terms of overweight/obesity, and pairwise correlation coefficients among the 3 state-level variables. Next, we conducted a series of simple and multivariate logistic regressions estimating the odds of being overweight or obese. As we are assessing the risk of adverse weight status, those of normal or underweight status are the reference group for all regression analysis. Because height and weight reports are known to be unreliable below the age of 5, regression analyses impose an age restriction of greater than 5 years old. We include adjustment for the clustered nature of data. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The individual-level statistics indicate that roughly one-third of the CDS sample is overweight or obese at Wave I in 1997. About a fifth of them live in families receiving SNAP. The mean SNAP generosity score is 10 on a possible range of 0 to 1 (observed range of 0.037 to 0.290 not shown). Variation across state-years is greatest for the SNAP participation variable, as reflected by the coefficient of variation. In the period 1997–2007, the proportion of children who are overweight or obese is 5% higher among those in families receiving SNAP program benefits than among those in families not receiving SNAP benefits. Similarly, SNAP participation is positively, moderately and significantly (with an α of 0.05) correlated with overweight/obesity. Examines the relationship between overweight/obesity and the SNAP measures using individual-level data on overweight/obesity and SNAP participation and state-level data on SNAP generosity. Model 1 estimates and exponentiates the log odds of overweight/obesity based on individual-level SNAP participation. Model 2 does the same using state-level SNAP generosity as the predictor. Results indicate that both variables are positively associated with a child's chance of being overweight/obese. But only in the case of SNAP participation is the SNAP variable statistically significant. Children living in families receiving SNAP benefits are more likely to be overweight/obese by a factor of 1.23. A set of potential confounders to the analysis and tests for interaction effects between SNAP participation and SNAP generosity (Model 3). Controlling for a variety of demographic and socio-economic factors, the positive effect of SNAP participation on overweight/obesity is rendered negative. The nonsignificant effect of SNAP generosity remains. In Model 3, the interaction effect for SNAP participation and generosity is positive and marginally significant. This suggests that the generosity of benefits changes the basic relationship between SNAP participation and overweight/obesity among children in families receiving benefits. To help convey the meaning of this coefficient, we generated marginal effects of SNAP participation based on SNAP generosity, setting all covariates equal to their means. This figure shows a small negative effect of SNAP participation at the lowest levels of generosity (a score of around 4, the sample minimum). This negative effect crosses 0 at a score of around 12, then becomes positive. The magnitude of the positive effect grows up to the sample max (index=28), although with widening confidence intervals. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: The focal interest of this study lies in the potential interaction effect between SNAP generosity and SNAP participation on overweight/obesity. Although the effects were only marginally significant, we find that SNAP generosity does interact with SNAP participation. More specifically, the effects of SNAP participation appear negative at lower levels of generosity, becoming positive as generosity scores exceed the sample mean (index=10). In other words, state-level SNAP generosity appears to exacerbate the adverse effects of SNAP participation on overweight/obesity. Although we submit that our current findings contribute to the literature on the SNAP-health link, we intend to strengthen our analysis in several ways. First, we will fit models that exploit the strengths of the PSID and the welfare generosity index in terms of causal inference. We will use fixed effects models to control not only for potential unobserved confounders related to the child but also observable baseline characteristics. Leveraging the fact that PSID samples up to 2 children from each family, we will further refine our estimates towards a causal interpretation with the use of sibling fixed effects, in which we additional account for unmeasured time-invariant family-level variables that encapsulate a variety of factors including learned behaviors, cultural influences, genetic predispositions that contribute to child health outcomes. Second, research has clearly shown that compared with higher-SES individuals, lower-SES individuals have higher BMI regardless of welfare program participation. These selection effects are addressed somewhat by the PSID's intentional over-representation of low-income individuals. But we can much more convincingly address these potential problems with endogeneity by refining our analyses to compare SNAP participants to SNAP-eligible nonparticipants, thereby isolating the effect of the SNAP "treatment." Lastly, we intend to include a wide array of state-level covariates that may be related to our independent and dependent variables of interest, such as poverty rate, unemployment rate, and racial/ethnic composition.


This paper proposes an improved design of micro-machined tuning fork gyroscope (M-TFG) to better decouple the cross talk between the driving and sensing directions and to increase resolution. By employing dual-folds spring suspension, the drive mode and the sense mode are mechanically decoupled. Through careful layout design of the location of the dual-folds spring suspension and the drive combs, the mechanical coupling effect is further decreased by isolating the unwanted excitation from detection. The peripheral circuit is also the important part to realize the function of the gyro system. Since the analog circuit has some inherent shortcomings, which has limited the accuracy of the gyro. In this paper, a digital control system for micro-comb is introduced.


Every year more than 5 million people lose their lives because of diseases caused by tobacco. That's 14,000 people every day in the whole world, one in every 8 seconds. The increasing use of cigarettes and other tobacco products has reached the level of threatening public health worldwide. Tobacco feature in this case is the first international treaty created to deal with the strategy developed by the tobacco industry and to prevent Framework Convention on Control (FCTC) has been implemented, signed by Turkey. With this contract, it is aimed to control the tobacco epidemic, which is an epidemic disease. At the same time, the World Health Organization is also undertaking a variety of initiatives to tackle tobacco companies' market-building strategies and to control the spread of tobacco use. The increase in cigarette prices in the world and in our country, however, has led to the use of different tobacco products by cigarette addicts. Especially water pipe, e-cigarette comes with the most common use of raw tobacco is wrapped drink. Raw tobacco differs from other tobacco products in that it is presented at the end of its life without having to undergo the necessary fabrication processes. During the fabrication process, the heavy metal, fertilizer, agrochemical, insecticide, pathogen, toxin, etc. on the harvested tobacco. substances are being tried to be purified. Tobacco that has not been fabricated bypasses this process when it is delivered directly to the end-of-life. In addition to the harm caused by tobacco products on human health alone, the harmful effects of heavy metals, fertilizers, agrochemicals, pesticides, pathogens and toxins which can be contained in them are added. Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury can usually be detected in open tobacco. In other words, it is known that these and similar heavy metals have different and harmful effects on human health during acute and chronic periods. This compilation focuses on the harmful effects of heavy metals, which can be found extensively in open tobacco, to human health and to raise awareness about it in our society.


Flow boiling in micro channels is attracting large attention since it leads to large heat transfer area per unit volume. Generated vapor bubbles in micro channels are elongated due to the restriction of channel wall, and thus slug flow becomes one of the main flow regimes. In slug flow, sequential bubbles are confined by the liquid slugs, and thin liquid film is formed between tube wall and bubble. Liquid film evaporation is one of the main heat transfer mechanisms in micro channels and liquid film thickness is a very important parameter to determine heat transfer coefficient. In the present study, liquid film thickness is measured under flow boiling condition and compared with the correlation proposed under adiabatic condition. The relationship between liquid film thickness and heat transfer coefficient is also investigated. Pyrex glass tube with inner diameter of D = 0.5 mm is used as a test tube. Working fluids are water and ethanol. Laser focus displacement meter is used to measure the liquid film thickness. Initial liquid film thickness under flow boiling condition can be predicted well by the correlation proposed under adiabatic condition. However, measured liquid film thickness becomes thinner than the predicted values in the cases of back flow and short slugs. These are considered to be due to the change of velocity profile in the liquid slug. Under flow boiling condition, liquid film profile fluctuates due to high vapor velocity and shows periodic pattern against time. Frequency of periodic pattern increases with heat flux. At low quality, heat transfer coefficients calculated from measured liquid film thickness show good accordance with heat transfer coefficients obtained directly from wall temperature measurements.Copyright © 2010 by ASME


The former planned economies among the new EU member states are performing quite well in terms of growth. But is there a potential to improve economic growth more visibly? If yes, where are the sources or impediments to increased long-term growth? This discussion paper puts a special emphasis on microeconomic conditions for growth. This approach is often neglected in commercial market analysis. Macroeconomic stability is a necessary, but not sufficient, precondition for sustainable good growth. Improved microeconomic and institutional conditions can lead to desirable increases of the potential growth rate. All this will be necessary to meet growing global competition which also companies in EU8 countries increasingly will have to tackle.


This series of short volumes, each devoted to a theme which is the subject of contemporary debate in archaeology, ranges from issues in theory and method to aspects of world archaeology. If 'all property is theft', then cultural property is nothing less than the theft of culture. The term 'cultural property' is widespread in the field of heritage management and is a particularly powerful concept in legal approaches. The term and the concept it represents are never discussed, however. The idea that material that comes to us from the past should be considered 'property' accordingly seems to be taken for granted by those charged with its care. Any debate that does take place is limited to comparing private with state ownership, often under the pretence that the latter represents a form of 'stewardship'. This radical work seeks to challenge the dominance of these limiting ideas by looking for alternatives. Taking as a starting-point the four different types of property relation generally recognised by lawyers and economists, the book explores the implications for cultural objects of different property regimes. In presenting an argument that the concept of 'property' is inappropriate for the heritage, the book challenges much that is taken for granted and undiscussed in the field of heritage management.


Purpose: To evaluate the MOLES system for identifying malignancy in melanocytic choroidal tumors in patients treated for choroidal melanoma. Methods: Records of 615 patients treated for choroidal melanoma between January 2017 and December 2019 were reviewed. Patients were excluded if iris and/or ciliary body involvement (106 patients), inadequate fundus photography (26 patients), no images available for review (21 patients) and/or treatment was not primary (11 patients). Demographic data and AJCC TNM Stage were collected. Color fundus and autofluorescence photographs (FAF), optical coherence tomography (OCT) and B-scan ultrasounds were prospectively reviewed. MOLES scores were assigned according to five criteria: mushroom shape, orange pigment, large size, enlarging tumor and subretinal fluid. Results: A total of 451 patients (mean age, 63.9 ± 13.9 years) were included. At treatment, mean largest basal tumor diameter (LBD) and thickness were 10.3 ± 2.8 mm (range, 3.0–23.0) and 4.3 mm (range, 1.0–17.0). All but one (0.2%) had MOLES scores of ≥3. Eighty-two patients were treated after surveillance lasting a mean of 1.5 years. Initially, most (63/82; 76.8%) had a MOLES score ≥ 3. Importantly, none of the 451 tumors had a score of <2, and as such, the MOLES protocol would have indicated referral to an ocular oncologist for 100% of patients. Conclusion: The MOLES scoring system is a sensitive (99.8%) tool for indicating malignancy in melanocytic choroidal tumors (MOLES ≥ 3). If the examining practitioner can recognize the five features suggestive of malignancy, MOLES is a safe tool to optimize referral of melanocytic choroidal tumors for specialist care.


In this study, the performance of the internal audit department (IAD) and its contribution to a company under enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems was examined. It is anticipated that this will provide insight into the factors perceived to be crucial to a company's effectiveness. A theoretical framework was developed and tested using the sample of Taiwanese companies. Using mail survey procedures, we elicited perceptions from key internal auditors about the ERP system and auditing software, as well as their opinions concerning the IAD's effectiveness and its contribution within a company. Data were analysed using the partial least square (PLS) regression to test the hypotheses. Drawing upon a sample of Taiwanese firms, the study suggests that a firm can improve the performance of the IAD through an enterprise-wide integrated, effective ERP system and appropriate auditing software. At the same time, the performance of the IAD can also contribute significantly to the company. The results also show that investments in computer-assisted auditing techniques (CAATs) are crucial due to their tremendous effectiveness in regard to the performance of the IAD and for the contributions CAATs can make to a company.


We use anonymised transaction and bank data from France to document the evolution of consumption and savings dynamics since the onset of the pandemic. We find that consumption has dropped very severely during the nation-wide lockdown but experienced a strong and steady rebound during the Summer, before faltering in late September. This drop in consumption was met with a significant increase in aggregate households' net financial wealth. This excess savings is extremely heterogenous across the income distribution: 50% of excess wealth accrued to the top decile. Households in the bottom decile of the income distribution experienced a severe decrease in consumption, a decrease in savings and an increase in debt. We estimate marginal propensities to consume and show that their magnitude is large, especially at the bottom of the income and liquidity distributions.


The study aims at evaluating the impact of precipitation variance on the productivity of wheat in Nineveh under various rainfall levels during the wheat planting season 2008 2009. Large areas of land in this region depend on rain for their irrigation and thus affecting the income of a large number of farmers. The standard of living of those farmers approaches poverty during the dry seasons. This means that there is no strong correlation between the average rainfall and the production of wheat but between the distribution of rainfall patterns and the production a fact assured by the statistical distribution. The increase of rainfall in the lands which are classified as rainfall assured by 1% will lead to the increase in production by 29% while in the same level of increase the productivity will increase by 35% and 55% respectively under a statistical significant accepted level, while the variances in semi-assured land were not significant. Thus, the land use, for this purpose, must rely solely on rainfall, especially in the lands that are classified as rainfall assured, but complementary irrigation must also be used and in this case will increase the productivity per unit of land planted with wheat and may increase the well beings of these


This paper is a comparative wood anatomy study of four species of the genus Maytenus living in Northwest Argentina: Maytenus vitisidaea, M. viscifolia, M. spinosa and M. cuezzoi. The specimens were collected in Santiago del Estero and Salta, Argentina and wood samples are safeguarded in the collection of the LAM (Laboratory of Wood Anatomy), Faculty of Forestry of Santiago del Estero University (UNSE), Argentina. The terminology used followed the IAWA List of Microscopic Features for Hardwood Identification. The diagnostic features of wood anatomical characters were evaluated by employing statistical methods such as Cluster Analysis (CA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). PCA showed vessel diameter, fibre wall, and ray width to be significant variables. CA showed M. cuezzoi and M. viscifolia to have the highest affinity.


The text presents an updated proposal for a Health Science, Technology and Innovation Policy in Brazil, following the huge political tur-moil in the country since 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020. The proposal is presented in five sections: Scientific Research; Productive Innovation; Health Technology Assessment and Incorporation; Intellectual Property in Health; New challenges posed by the Pandemic. The authors take part in the Advisory Committee in Science, Technology and Innovation of the Brazilian Association of Collective Health.


A novel technique capable of inferring wave amplitudes from low-altitude electron measurements from the Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) spacecraft has been previously proposed to construct a global dynamic model of chorus and plasmaspheric hiss waves. In this paper we focus on plasmaspheric hiss, which is an incoherent broadband emission that plays a dominant role in the loss of energetic electrons from the inner magnetosphere. We analyze the sensitivity of the POES technique to different inputs used to infer the hiss wave amplitudes during three conjunction events with the Van Allen Probes. These amplitudes are calculated with different input models of the plasma density, wave frequency spectrum, and electron energy spectrum, and the results are compared to the wave observations from the twin Van Allen Probes. Only one parameter is varied at a time in order to isolate its effect on the output, while the two other inputs are set to the values observed by the Van Allen Probes. The results show that the predicted hiss amplitudes are most sensitive to the adopted frequency spectrum, followed by the plasma density, but they are not very sensitive to the electron energy spectrum. Moreover, the standard Gaussian representation of the wave frequency spectrum (centered at 550 Hz) peaks at frequencies that are much higher than those observed in individual cases as well as in statistical wave distributions, which produces large overestimates of the hiss wave amplitude. For this reason, a realistic statistical model of the wave frequency spectrum should be used in the POES technique to infer the plasmaspheric hiss wave intensity rather than a standard Gaussian distribution, since the former better reproduces the observed plasmaspheric hiss wave amplitudes.


In the years ahead, development efforts aiming at reducing vulnerability will increasingly have to factor in climate change, and social protection is no exception. This paper sets out the case for climate?responsive social protection and proposes a framework with principles, design features, and functions that would help Social Protection (SP) systems evolve in a climate?responsive direction. The principles comprise climate?aware planning; livelihood?based approaches that consider the full range of assets and institutions available to households and communities; and aiming for resilient communities by planning for the long term. Four design features that can help achieve this are: scalable and flexible programs that can increase coverage in response to climate disasters; climate?responsive targeting systems; investments in livelihoods that build community and household resilience; and promotion of better climate risk management.


OBJECTIVE: To examine factors associated with therapeutic regimen complexity of drug prescriptions for elderly people in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. METHODS: A household survey of elderly people selected by simple random sampling from Brazil's social security register. The medication complexity index (MCI), a direct measurement of actions required to administer medication, was derived from information in the latest prescription. Univariate and bivariate analyses were performed to identify factors associated with the MCI. RESULTS: Of the 667 interviewees, 56.5% had prescriptions meeting the inclusion criteria; most (69.2%) were females aged 72.4 years (mean); 35.5% self-rated their health good or very good; and 37.4% reported five or more diseases. In the 15 days prior to interview, 1873 drugs were used (mean=5.1), of which 942 appeared on the prescriptions examined (mean=2.5). Over the same period, 22.3% of interviewees failed to use some prescribed drug. The MCI ranged from 1 to 24 (mean=6.1). Number of drugs prescribed (>2), less schooling, worse perception of health and a lower benefit payment associated positively with greater complexity (p<0.05). An association was observed between regimen complexity and failure to use some drug in the preceding 15 days (p=0.034). CONCLUSION: Elderly people in worse socio-economic and health conditions seem more likely to receive more complex therapeutic regimens, which are associated with non-compliance to the proposed treatment. This is an important consideration in the healthcare of elderly. Simplification of therapy could aid self-care among the elderly.


Growing environmental concerns coupled with the complex issue of global crude oil supplies drive automobile industry towards the development of fuel-efficient vehicles. Due to the possible multiple-power-source nature and the complex configuration and operation modes, the control strategy of a military vehicle is more complicated than that of a conventional vehicle. Furthermore, military vehicles often have heavier weights and are used to operate multiple functions such as engaging weapons, turning on sensors, silent watch, etc., which results in big load fluctuation. In this paper we present our research in optimizing power flow in a heavy vehicle for a given mission plan. A mission plan consists of a sequence of operations and speed profiles. The vehicle architecture will be modeled based on Stryker power system which consists of a diesel engine, a main battery pack, an auxiliary battery pack, and an APU. The APU can supply power to the auxiliary loads and auxiliary batteries only during silent watch mission. We will use PSAT (Powertrain System Analysis Toolkit) construct the vehicle model along with the power system specified above. PSAT is a high fidelity simulation software developed by Argonne National Laboratory under the direction of and with contributions from Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. PSAT is a "forward-looking" model that simulates vehicle fuel economy and performance in a realistic manner — taking into account transient behavior and control system characteristics. It can simulate a broad range of predefined vehicle configurations (conventional, electric, fuel cell, hybrid electric, light and heavy trucks). We developed a dynamic programming algorithm to optimize the power flow during a given mission. The cognitive knowledge we explored including roadway type prediction and potential load requests associated with specific mission plan.


Social markers in language and speech are cues conveyed through verbal and nonverbal means that serve to identify individuals to the groups to which they belong. Social markers can be linguistic, paralinguistic, or extralinguistic in form, and can range from intentional and purposive (e.g., language selection or dialect accentuation) to unintentional and uncontrollable (e.g., vocal features that mark age or sex). They help to provide context for social organization. Extralinguistic cues are those that may be conveyed through gesture and physical appearance (i.e., skin color). However, social markers in language and speech focus on the paralinguistic (i.e., vocal cues such as pitch and tone) and linguistic cues (i.e., language choice, language style, accent, dialect, code-switching, and multilingualism) that mark social categories. Relevant social categories that are made distinctive through language and speech markers include age, sex and gender, social class, ethnicity, and many others. Scholars across disciplines of psychology, social psychology, linguistics, and communication have approached the study of social markers from different perspectives, resulting in theoretical (e.g., communication accommodation theory, ethnolinguistic vitality theory, linguistic intergroup bias) and methodological (e.g., matched-guise technique and ethnography of communication) advancements.


Multiphase machines have been reemerged for high-power as well as fault-tolerant applications such as electric vehicles and wind turbines. Nevertheless, these types of machines are typically built only for industries for specific purposes. Therefore, the availability of multiphase machines in the market for academic research work, for instance at universities, is limited due to they require special construction processes and involve high initial costs for the companies. For that reason, the aim of this paper is to present a step-by-step design of a six-phase induction machine (IM) from a commercial three-phase IM for academic research use. The obtained results will be first analyzed by using the ANSYS Maxwell simulation environment. Then, a model-based current controller will be performed to validate the proposed design and the electric parameters of the six-phase IM.


'Moments before the Flood', is a visual and photographic investigation into how we will handle a possible flood. Within the text Carl De Keyzer wonders how Europe is preparing itself for a possible rise of our sea levels and how insufficient these measures appear to be. The author doesn't want to photograph the disaster, but the 'waiting for the disaster to happen'. In his photographs he captures the obscurity of the unknown and the unsure. The photographs presented in this book are monumental, both in beauty and in resolution. Carl De Keyzer used the latest technique (65 million pixels) to create intriguing images, with a high David Lynch-like atmosphere.


In computer security service, cryptographic algorithm is used to ensure adequate security of the systems or of data transfers. Symmetric encryption block cipher is an important cryptographic algorithm and the quest of enhancing data security is crucial due to the heavy usage of internet and mobile devices worldwide. As stated
in the Malaysian National Strategy ICT Roadmap, security is one of the pressing needs and critical infrastructure in Malaysia by 2020. As for Malaysia, it is an advantage if we can develop our own symmetric block cipher for our national security interest. Hence, it is necessary to research a secure symmetric block cipheralgorithm. This thesis proposes to design a secure symmetric encryption block ci-
pher inspired by human immune system called the Three Dimensional Advanced Encryption Standard (3D-AES). The thesis identifies the similarity elements and highlights the essential computation elements, namely the antigen-antibody interaction, somantic hypermutation model, Levinthal's paradox, and protein structure that can be applied in symmetric block cipher that fulfills Shannon's confusion and diffusion properties. The empirical findings presented the randomness of the output in the 3D-AES block cipher as compared to the AES block cipher, for the number
of iteration rounds reduced by four, from seven to three. The avalanche effect or bit independence analysis has been carried out using correlation coefficient, bit error and
key sensitivity in experiments and satisfies the confusion property in non-linearity transformation and sensitivity of the ciphertext generated in the third round of the
block cipher. It also measures the diffusion property in linear transformation using branch number in estimating the possible success of differential and linear attacks.
 There are no three-round linear trails with predictable input-output correlation of above 2-3x34=2-102 and no three-round differential trails with predictable prop-
agation ratio of above 2-6x34=2-204 and thus, sufficient to resist differential and linear attacks. It is proven that the 3D-AES block cipher has successfully passed very demanding security analyses and justified that the 3D-AES block cipher is a secure block cipher. Therefore, it will increase the protection of the national information infrastructure and will also contribute as one of a symmetric block cipher in computer security research.


Necrosis is a form of cell death that is often associated with highly aggressive forms of cancer, is of prognostic value in treatment planning. Mass Spectrometry (MS) is a highly sensitive analytic platform capable of providing a molecular profile of cancer on the basis of mass to charge (m/z) ratio of tissue constituent molecules. MS analysis of ex vivo tissue slices from metastatic murine xenograft tumors from LM2-4 cell line with Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (DESI-MS) allowed direct comparisons with histology images to determine the molecular profile of necrotic tissues. The necrotic tissue is characterized by the presence of a ceramide absent from the viable cancer regions. The spatial distribution of this ion fully correlated to necrotic areas from pathology in additional independent tumor samples examined. The same ion was detected from in situ necrotic tissue using tissue aerosols generated by hand-held ablation probes coupled to evaporative ionization interface in only a few seconds of sampling. These developments further establish MS as a novel tool for rapid pathology that is highly complementary to current histology based methods widely used in characterization of cancer in both imaging mode (to provide spatial information on cancer border) and profiling mode (to provide information on cancer type and subtype); all based on unique molecular profile associated with each cancer type and subtype. Current efforts in creating cancer molecular profile libraries will facilitate translation. Citation Format: Arash Zarrine-Afsar, Bindesh Shrestha, Alessandra Tata, Michael Woolman, Manuela Ventura, Nicholas Bernards, Milan Ganguly, Howard Ginsberg, Jinzi Zheng, Emma Bluemke. Rapid detection of necrosis in breast cancer with ex vivo and in situ mass spectrometry analysis methods [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 741. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-741


Modeling age of exposure in L2 learning of vowel categories Meghan Clayards McGill University Joseph Toscano University of Iowa Abstract: Age of exposure is known to be an important indicator of second language proficiency. Native-like phonological proficiency is attained only by learners exposed at the earliest ages. This paper examines one account of age-of-exposure effects. Two computational models (a mixture of Gaussians and a neural network) were trained without supervision on F1 and F2 tokens based on production data from two different vowel systems (Quichua and Spanish; Guion, 2003). Both models learn the individual phonological systems when trained on monolingual distributions. When exposed to bilingual data, both models also achieve varying degrees of success depending on when the second language (Spanish) is introduced in training, paralleling data from bilingual speakers with different ages of acquisition (Guion, 2003). This demonstrates that learners may be restricted in learning a second language not because of a biological critical period, but by the commitments that the system has already made to the first language.


Physiological and yield traits such as stomatal conductance (mmol m-2s-1), Leaf relative water content (RWC %) and
grain yield per plant were studied in a separate experiment. Results revealed that five out of sixteen cultivars viz. Anmol, Moomal, Sarsabz, Bhitai and Pavan, appeared to be relatively more drought tolerant. Based on morphophysiological results, studies were continued to look at these cultivars for drought tolerance at molecular level. Initially, four well recognized primers for dehydrin genes (DHNs) responsible for drought induction in T. durum L., T. aestivum L. and O. sativa L. were used for profiling gene sequence of sixteen wheat cultivars. The primers amplified the DHN genes variably like Primer WDHN13 (T. aestivum L.) amplified the DHN gene in only seven cultivars whereas primer TdDHN15 (T. durum L.) amplified all the sixteen cultivars with even different DNA banding patterns some showing second weaker DNA bands. Third primer TdDHN16 (T. durum L.) has shown entirely different PCR amplification prototype, specially showing two strong DNA bands while fourth primer RAB16C (O. sativa L.) failed to amplify DHN gene in any of the cultivars. Examination of DNA sequences revealed several interesting features. First, it identified the two exon/one intron structure of
this gene (complete sequences were not shown), a feature not previously described in the two database cDNA sequences
available from T. aestivum L. (gi|21850). Secondly, the analysis identified several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), positions in gene sequence. Although complete gene sequence was not obtained for all the cultivars, yet there were a total of 38 variable positions in exonic (coding region) sequence, from a total gene length of 453 nucleotides. Matrix of SNP shows these 37 positions with individual sequence at positions given for each of the 14 cultivars (sequence of two cultivars was not obtained) included in this analysis. It demonstrated a considerable diversity for this gene with only three cultivars i.e. TJ-83, Marvi and TD-1 being similar to the consensus sequence. All other cultivars showed a unique combination of SNPs. In
order to prove a functional link between these polymorphisms and drought tolerance in wheat, it would be necessary to conduct a more detailed study involving directed mutation of this gene and DHN gene expression.


The present study examined the costs and benefits of native language similarity for non-native vocabulary learning. Because learning a second language (L2) is difficult, many learners start with easy words that look like their native language (L1) to jumpstart their vocabulary. However, this approach may not be the most effective strategy in the long-term, compared to introducing difficult L2 vocabulary early on. We examined how L1 orthographic typicality affects pattern learning of novel vocabulary by teaching English monolinguals either Englishlike or Non-Englishlike pseudowords that contained repeated orthographic patterns. We found that overall, the first words that individuals learned during initial acquisition influenced which words they acquired later. Specifically, learning a new word in one session made it easier to acquire an orthographically similar word in the next session. Similarity among non-native words interacted with native language similarity, so that words that looked more like English were easier to learn at first, but they were less effective at influencing later word learning. This demonstrates that although native language similarity has a beneficial effect early on, it may reduce learners' ability to benefit from non-native word patterns during continued acquisition. This surprising finding demonstrates that making learning easier may not be the most effective long-term strategy. Learning difficult vocabulary teaches the learner what makes non-native words unique, and this general wordform knowledge may be more valuable than the words themselves. We conclude that native language similarity modulates new vocabulary acquisition and that difficulties during learning are not always to be avoided, as additional effort early on can pay later dividends.


This research aimed to analyze the fee, revenue, and profit of
manufacturing instant star fruit exertion in CV. Tirta Indah Sentosa, identify the
internal and external environment condition those are strength, weakness, chance
and threat, also to know the alternative of development strategy that can be used
in manufacturing instant star fruit in CV. Tirta Indah Sentosa. Basic method used
in research was descriptive method and conducted with case study technique.
Location determining method was purposively, that was CV. Tirta Indah Sentosa
in Depok City. Kind of data used in this research were prime data and second
data. Data analyze method used were (1) exertion analyze, (2) SWOT analyze, (3)
IE matrix, and (4) SWOT matrix analyze. Research result shows that: total fee on
July 2009 in the amount of Rp. 15,102,496, revenue in the amount of Rp.
21,600,000, and profit in the amount of Rp. 6,497,504. Main internal strengths
owned by CV. Tirta Indah Sentosa are: a). relatively achieved sale and b).
Motivate from the leader; main internal weaknesses are; a). simple monetary
accounting system, and b). no promotion yet; main chances are: a). technology
development, and b). open market; main threats of CV. Tirta Indah Sentosa are:
wider distribution net of competitor. Alternative strategy that can be used in
manufacturing instant star fruit in CV. Tirta Indah Sentosa is increasing the use of
technology to obtain high production capacity in order to fulfill market demand,
maintain and construct a good relationship with official employee, constructed
women farmer group and supplier to guarantee the better quality of instant star
fruit product, exploit the construction and training from the government to
improve the taste and packing of instant star fruit, increase the capability of
manufacture in fruit beverage industry with training to fulfill the high customer
demand; exploit the given training by government to improve the packing of
instant star fruit product also add exertion capital, improve monetary accounting
system through training given by government; maintain the achievable product
sale for all customer to winning the competition of producers, determine the
entrepreneur mindset so the product quality become the main stuff in production,
expand the distribution net of instant star fruit marketing; promote more
effectively, to expand the distribution net, increase the capability of manufacture
management to improve the competition power, increase the capital to overcome
the price fluctuation problem that causing fluctuation product quality


The development and implementation of post-quantum cryptosystems have become a pressing issue in the design of secure computing systems, as general quantum computers have become more feasible in the last two years. In this work, we introduce a set of hardware post-quantum cryptographic primitives (PCPs) consisting of four frequently used security components, i.e., public-key cryptosystem (PKC), key exchange (KEX), oblivious transfer (OT), and zero-knowledge proof (ZKP). In addition, we design a high speed polynomial multiplier to accelerate these primitives. These primitives will aid researchers and designers in constructing quantum-proof secure computing systems in the post-quantum era.


Human CMV (HCMV) encodes multiple genes that control NK cell activation and cytotoxicity. Some of these HCMV-encoded gene products modulate NK cell activity as ligands expressed at the cell surface that engage inhibitory NK cell receptors, whereas others prevent the infected cell from upregulating ligands that bind to activating NK cell receptors. A major activating NKR is the homodimeric NKG2D receptor, which has eight distinct natural ligands in humans. It was shown that HCMV is able to prevent the surface expression of five of these ligands (MIC A/B and ULBP1, 2, and 6). In this article, we show that the HCMV gene product UL142 can prevent cell surface expression of ULBP3 during infection. We further show that UL142 interacts with ULBP3 and mediates its intracellular retention in a compartment that colocalizes with markers of the cis-Golgi complex. In doing so, UL142 prevents ULBP3 trafficking to the surface and protects transfected cells from NK-mediated cytotoxicity. This is the first description of a viral gene able to mediate downregulation of ULBP3.


The objective of this study was the translation and validation of a health consciousness scale in order to provide an economically and empirically confirmed measurement of health consciousness, which is associated with health-related behavior. We evaluated this translation on the basis of psychometric testing in a German convenience sample. A cross-sectional online survey (n = 470) was carried out using a translated version of the health consciousness scale, oriented on the basis of international guidelines. As previous studies have not consistently confirmed the factorial structure of the health consciousness scale, we conducted a Confirmatory Factor Analysis to verify its factorial structure. Furthermore, we cross-validated the questionnaire with other scales in order to verify convergent and discriminant validity. The results indicated a two-factor solution for the Health Consciousness Scale-German (HCS-G). The criterion validity was confirmed on the basis of a significantly positive correlation between the HCS-G and health literacy. Furthermore, strict measurement invariance was able to be verified, indicating that the HCS-G is an applicable measurement, regardless of gender. In practical research, this questionnaire can help to assess health consciousness and its influence on health-related constructs. Future studies should consider possible mediating variables between health consciousness and health outcomes.


The aim of this work was to study the microbiological and physico-chemical changes throughout three cheesemaking replicates of Italian Formaggelle di capracheese made from raw goat milk. Therefore, during the process, three samples of milk, curd and cheese at 3, 7, 11, 14, 21 and 30 days of ripening old cheese were taken from three cheesemaking replicates. The average of total mesophilic bacteria and Enterobacteriaceae count in raw milk was 5.27±0.57 and 3.8±1.02 Log cfu/mL, respectively. Lactic acid bacteria was the predominant bacterial group during the process, and they developed in different ways in each of the media used (M17 and MRS agar). Variability of microbial concentrations was observed between three cheesemaking replicates. A correlation between the presence of higher levels of Enterobacteriaceae in milk and the presence of other contaminants bacteria such as Escherichia coli β-glucuronidase-positive and coagulase-positive staphylococci was observed. In cheesemaking replicate n. 2, E. coli level was 5.07±0.03 Log cfu/mL and increased by about 1 log until the last week of ripening, when the level decreased to 5.69±0.2 Log cfu/mL. The milk used for the cheesemaking replicate n. 2 was found to be contaminated also by coagulase-positive staphylococci (3.18±0.06 Log cfu/mL), but the behaviour of this group appeared to be very variable. In this study a first step of process control and microbial groups study was performed and the cheesemaking process was registered in the website www.ars-alimentaria.it, the Italian site supported by the Italian Board of Health.


A layer of sword-like super-hydrophobic film was fabricated on wood surface through an alkaline hydrothermal method. The super-hydrophobic property of the wood surface was measured by contact angle measurements (CA). The microstructure and chemical composition of the super-hydrophobic film was analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Analytical characterization revealed that the micro-scale roughness sword-like particles uniformly erect on the wood surface and create the rough surface. Also, a monolayer of stearic acid was adsorbed on the rough surface which contributes to reduce the surface energy. With the combination of roughness and low surface energy of wood surface, the wood has turned its wetting property from hydrophilic into super-hydrophobic with a water contact angle 151o, and the sliding angle is about 5o.


The coral reef ecology of the Natuna Islands has been studied over 10 years. However, none of those studies produced a coral reef map. Maps of coral reef ecosystem are important for planning, management and monitoring tool. The present study integrates the 115 field data and the ALOS satellite data, using depth invariant index algorithm to generate coral reef ecosystem classes. Those classes are: life corals, dead coral and rubble aggregates, mixing of substrates and sand. The algorithm that composed of three visible bands is applicable at clear water rather than at turbid water environment. Hence, vegetation coverage as well as seagrass, seaweed and macro algae which are in small extent and usually covered by fine sand materials and associated with turbid water, cannot be classified.The aim of this research, which is funded by Critic Coremap – LIPI, is to produce map of coral reef ecosystem in the Natuna Islands.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the differences in consumers' preferences to food safety label (FSL) on vegetables in central and south central Chile in terms of sociodemographic characteristics, consumers' food safety knowledge and frequency of vegetables consumption.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was applied to 1,201 consumers in charge of buying vegetables for their households. The questionnaire measured consumer preference for FSL using tomatoes as a case study.

Findings

The most important attributes for consumers were price (57.3 percent), FSL (19.7 percent), point of sale (11.86 percent) and production system (11.07 percent). Cluster analysis was used to differentiate three types of consumers. The majority (50.5 percent) are consumers oriented to price of tomatoes more than other attributes. A second group (30.1 percent) considers it important to purchase tomatoes at the lowest price with the existence of a FSL. A minority (19.4 percent) was oriented to purchasing tomatoes with a FSL. The groups differ according to sociodemographic characteristics, food safety knowledge and frequency of vegetables consumption.

Research limitations/implications

The study was conducted in country in South America. The results revealed that the majority of consumers choose price over FSL. Nevertheless, a potential market niche was identified that was motivated by FSL as a potential risk-reduction strategy when making choices about fresh vegetables purchase.

Practical implications

FSL is a marketing tool to help the consumers about food decisions.

Social implications

To avoid problems associated to unsafe vegetables, FSL is used as a potential risk-reduction strategy when making choices about fresh vegetables purchase.

Originality/value

The research provides information about a market niche of consumers interested in the existence of an explicit FSL, due to their awareness of the risks associated with the consumption of vegetables. This topic has received little research in Latin American developing countries.


MRSA is a common nosocomial pathogen that causes the infections in the intensive care units and other parts of the hospital it is important we screen our staff for nasal carriage of MRSA as it could help to control the spread of this pathogen from the health care workers to the patients as reported in some studies world over. Determine the prevalence of nasal MRSA colonization in health care workers in our institution and to determine the effectiveness of mupirocin in decolonizing the MRSA. The ethical committee permission was taken for conducting this study, and all study participants were provided with informed and written consent. The health care workers, included nurses, physicians, and technicians from each person nasal swabs were collected from anterior nares and subjected to culture, biochemical testing and susceptibility testing with the oxacillin disc by disc diffusion method as per the CLSI guidelines. We measured the proportion of health care workers testing positive for nasal MRSA colonization and calculated 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by using the epi info biostatic software. The prevalence of nasal colonization with MRSA was 5.8% (95% confidence interval 2.54% to 11.10%). with MSSA was 10.87% (95% confidence interval 6.21% to 17.29%).Sex wise: males 6.06% , females 5.71% .Profession wise: Nurses 62.5% followed by Technicians 37.50%., After treatment with mupirocin repeat three swabs were negative . Surveillance for MRSA and eradication of the carrier state reduces the rate of MRSA infections and mupirocin was found to be effective in decolonizing nasal MRSA colonization in our study.


The Upper Palaeogene-Lower Neogene succession represent subsurface sections from Kirkuk, Bai Hassan, and Khabaz oilfields were divided to many reservoir units dependent on information derived mainly from petrographical description, well log analysis, and related microfacies. In Khabaz oil Field, the hydrocarbon reservoir includes three reservoir units covered the Jeribe Formation, Anah Formation with its interfingering zone with Azkand Formation and Azkand Formation, the total thickness of this reservoir reaches up to (128 m) with net pay thickness of about (85.7 m) and net average porosity of (0.096) while the net water saturation is (0.185), the volume of shale is (7.130). The hydrocarbon reservoir in Bai Hassan was represented by three reservoir units comprised from the Bajwan and Baba formations, the total thickness of this reservoir is (178 m) with net pay thickness of (154.2m) and net average porosity of (0.121) while the net saturation is (0.156), the volume of shale is (36.837). Four reservoir units comprised the hydrocarbon reservoir in Kirkuk Field where they covered the Bajwan, Baba, Shurau and Sheikh Allas formations. The total thickness of these reservoirs is (136 m) with net pay thickness (124.5m) and net average porosity (0.178) while the net water saturation is (0.159), the volume of shale is (5.82). Many types of porosity were associated with these reservoirs such as the interparticles, intraparticles, intercrystaline, fracture, channel, moldic, vug, and cavern porosities. These porosities are attributed to a combination of dolomitization, fracturing, and dissolution.


ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 8 Number 11 (2019) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Bakanae disease is becoming a serious threat to basmati production and had been reported to cause 20-50% loss in total production. Bakanae disease caused by Fusarium moniliforme is an emerging and very serious problem of basmati rice. It occurs in both upland and low land rice field. The typical symptoms of the disease are abnormal elongation of seedlings, foot rot and seedling rot of rice. The pathogen survives mainly in seed and in soil also. Therefore seed treatment for the management of seed borne pathogen is most effective method of disease management. Seed treatment with bio-agent for the management of diseases is an ecofriendly method of disease management. Keeping this in view in present investigation different isolates of Trichoderma were tested in the management of bakanae disease of basmati rice as seed treatment. Trichoderma powder was applied for seed treatment @ 6 g/kg seed alone and in combination with different fungicides 2 g/kg seed. Experiments were conducted in pot condition. The observations were recorded on seed germination, number of tillers and disease incidence after 30 days `of seed sowing. Two fungicides (nativo, saaf) and two isolates of Trichoderma (S1, and S7) were tested in pot condition against Fusarium moniliforme. Maximum (90%) germination was recorded in case of seed treatment with Trichoderma-S7 followed by 83.33% in Trichoderma S7+nativo. Minimum (22.85%) disease incidence was recorded in case of the seed treated with Trichoderma-S7. Maximum disease incidence (76.6%) was recorded in case of control. Among the fungicides and bio-agent, seed treatment with Trichoderma-S7 was most effective for the management of bakanae disease of rice. The selected fungicides and bio-control agents were evaluated as seed and seedling treatment for controlling bakanae disease under field conditions. Among three fungicides evaluated as seed treatment, minimum disease incidence (0.0%) was observed in seed treatment with Tricoderma-S1 followed by seed treatment with Tricoderma-S1+saaf (0.1%). Maximum disease incidence was observed in the case of control (0.75%) followed by seed treatment with Trichoderma (0.49 %). Maximum yield (40 q/ ha) was recorded in case of treatment of Trichoderma-S1 which was found most effective for the management of bakanae disease of rice. K e y w o r d s

https://www.ijcmas.com/8-11-2019/Sanchita Pal, et al.pdf


BACKGROUND
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved health claims for 2 dietary fibers, beta-glucan (0.75 g/serving) and psyllium (1.78 g/serving), on the assumption that 4 servings/d would reduce cardiovascular disease risk.

OBJECTIVE
We assessed the efficacy of this dose of fibers in reducing serum lipid risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

DESIGN
Sixty-eight hyperlipidemic adults consumed a test (high-fiber) and a control low-fat (25% of energy), low-cholesterol (<150 mg/d) diet for 1 mo each in a randomized crossover study. The high-fiber diet included 4 servings/d of foods containing beta-glucan or psyllium that delivered 8 g/d more soluble fiber than did similar, unsupplemented foods in the control diet. Fasting blood samples and blood pressure readings were obtained at baseline and weeks 2 and 4, and the subjects' weight was monitored weekly.

RESULTS
Compared with the control diet, the high-fiber diet reduced total cholesterol (2.1 +/- 0.7%; P = 0.003), total:HDL cholesterol (2.9 +/- 0.8%; P = 0.001), LDL:HDL cholesterol (2.4 +/- 1.0%; P = 0.015), and apolipoprotein B:A-I (1.4 +/- 0.8%; P = 0.076). Applying the Framingham cardiovascular disease risk equation to the data confirmed a reduction in risk of 4.2 +/- 1.4% (P = 0.003). Small reductions in blood pressure were found after both diets. The subjects reported no significant differences in palatability or gastrointestinal symptoms between the diets.

CONCLUSIONS
The reduction in serum lipid risk factors for cardiovascular disease supports the FDA's approval of a health claim for a dietary fiber intake of 4 servings/d. Although relatively small in terms of patient treatment, the reduction in cardiovascular disease risk is likely to be significant on a population basis.


: The objective of our study is twofold: on one side, to complement earlier analyses that estimate the spatial density of livestock holdings using different methods; on the other, to show that by combining different data sources—the 2009/10 Uganda National Panel Survey (UNPS) and the 2008 Uganda National Livestock Census (UNLC)—and applying the Small Area Estimation (SAE) technique, it is possible to provide a finer spatial disaggregation and representation of missing livestock measures in the census. First, we combine our livestock population and density figures with those from the UNLC. Second, we fit an estimation model of livestock income and share on the UNPS to generate an out-of-sample prediction of the missing information in the UNLC, mapping livestock income and share at the local level. Our results suggest that the integrated use of multiple data sources, such as household surveys, censuses, and administrative data, together with spatial analysis techniques, such as SAE, can provide reliable, coherent, and location-specific insights to guide policy and investment. This work shows a useful method that allows for a reliable spatial livestock analysis, whenever sectorial databases offer greater coverage of the population of interest, but more limited information than specialized surveys. This method can be applied in all countries where there is a similar livestock information system, and common support between livestock census and household surveys with detailed agricultural/livestock modules. Cross-validation across data sources provides clearer insights into livestock-related policy and a better springboard for effective poverty-reduction strategies.


The effects of the vasodilator hydralazine (HYD) on microcirculatory function and hyperthermic response were studied in early generation isotransplants of a spontaneous C3Hf/Sed mouse fibrosarcoma (FSall). Red blood cell flux (RBC flux) in superficial tumor regions was assessed using laser Doppler flowmetry. A differential microcirculatory response was seen between tumor and normal skin after 0.25 micrograms/g i.p. HYD, the tumor showing a transient increase in flow and the skin remaining almost stable. At 1.0 micrograms/g i.p., the differential response continued, this time with a transient fall in tumor blood flow but again no change in skin flow. High dose hydralazine (10.0 micrograms/g i.p.) was associated with a dramatic and prolonged decrease in tumor blood flow but a lesser and only transient decline in skin flow. Identical doses of hydralazine were given 30 min prior to heat treatment (43.5 degrees C for 15, 30, or 60 min). Tumor growth was measured daily and compared to controls (HT without hydralazine). Hydralazine at 0.25 micrograms/g i.p. did not affect heat induced growth delay. At 1.0 micrograms/g i.p., it significantly increased growth delay upon heat exposures of 15 min, but not after 30 or 60 min HT. Hydralazine at 10 micrograms/g i.p. increased growth delay for all heat doses (P less than 0.05). Hydralazine alone had no influence on growth delay of sham-heated tumors. The results obtained clearly indicate that tumor and normal tissues have microcirculatory differences in the time-course, degree and/or direction of response after hydralazine, and that hydralazine has potential for increasing the response of tumor to HT.


Thank you very much for downloading basic technical systems simulation. As you may know, people have search numerous times for their favorite books like this basic technical systems simulation, but end up in harmful downloads. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, instead they cope with some malicious virus inside their computer. basic technical systems simulation is available in our digital library an online access to it is set as public so you can download it instantly. Our book servers hosts in multiple locations, allowing you to get the most less latency time to download any of our books like this one. Kindly say, the basic technical systems simulation is universally compatible with any devices to read.