During metal bulk-forming in microscale the so-called size effect, making changes in the material deformation process should be taken into account. One of the factors having a significant influence on the flow mechanics is a die roughness. Paper contains results of numerical analysis of the cylindrical sample compression between anvils with sinusoidal profile of roughness and with zero friction factor at the tool-workpiece interface in dry conditions. Two models of dies were used: parallel and conical one. Obtained data were compared to analogous, conventional models of compression tests with flat dies and with constant friction factor – equivalent to sinusoidal wave. Sinusoidal curve modeling the die roughness was determined from the surface roughness profile and using the motifs method. Presented analysis revealed increase in value and in variability of stress and strain in layers flowing in the vicinity of the wave – size effect. No impact of the wave presence on the compression forces values was obtained. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.mech.22.6.13574


Ce1%, 2% and 3% doped Gd3(Ga,Al)5O12 (GAGG) single crystals were grown by the Cz method. Luminescence and scintillation properties were measured. Light yield change along the growth direction and effects of Ce concentration on scintillation properties in Ce:GAGG were studied. Ce3+ 5d-4f emission within 520-530 nm was observed in the Ce:GAGG crystals. The Ce1%:GAGG sample with 3×3×1 mm size showed the highest light yield of 46000 photon/MeV. The energy resolution was 7.8%@662 keV. With increasing solidification fraction, the LY were decreased. It is proposed that the increase of Ga concentration along the growth direction is the main cause of the decrease of LY. The scintillation decay times were accelerated with increasing Ce concentration in the Ce:GAGG crystals. The scintillation decay times were 92.0 ns, 79.1 ns and 68.3 ns in the Ce1, 2 and 3% GAGG, respectively.


This Resource Letter provides a guide to the literature on research in problem solving, especially in physics. The references were compiled with two audiences in mind: physicists who are (or might become) engaged in research on problem solving, and physics instructors who are interested in using research results to improve their students' learning of problem solving. In addition to general references, journal articles and books are cited for the following topics: cognitive aspects of problem solving, expert-novice problem-solver characteristics, problem solving in mathematics, alternative problem types, curricular interventions, and the use of computers in problem solving.


The article presents the results of photobiological studies aimed at determining the preferred requirements for the spectrum of combined spectrum LED phytoradiators for the light culture of cucumber plants, variety Liliput F1. The studies were conducted in the artificial climate laboratory of FSBEI HE N.P. Ogarev Moscow State University, using an experimental research hydroponic plant. The results are presented and the effect of the spectral compositions of phytoradiators based on LEDs on the growth and development of Liliput F1 cucumber plants is estimated. The studies (the first vegetation) made it possible to preliminarily identify the most favorable radiation spectrum, which provides the best biometric characteristics and productivity of plants of Liliput F1 cucumbers.


The paper describes a neural network method for optimal design of a switched reluctance motor (SRM). The approach maximizes average torque while minimizing torque ripple, considering mainly the stator and rotor geometry parameters. Before optimization takes place, an experimental validation of the SRM model, based on the finite-element method, is performed. The validation predicts average torque and torque ripple characteristics for several motor configurations while stator and rotor pole arcs are varied. The numerical results are highly nonlinear, and a function approximation of the data is therefore difficult to implement. We therefore interpolate the data by using a neural network based on a generalized radial basis function. The computed results allow us to search for optimum motor parameters. The optimum design was confirmed by numerical field solutions.


This creative, experimental contribution blends written words and sketches depicting our crip bodies engaging with various mobility technologies, including crutches, walkers, prosthetic limbs, and manual and power wheelchairs. By picturing and describing our crip bodies with varieties of technologies that we use, we use these pictures and corresponding narratives about disabled bodies in technology to tell a larger story about the constitution of disability with technologies, as well as the modes of mobility available to disabled bodies. Our visual and narrative elements serve to argue that disabled bodies have a wider array of mobilities and ways of being than are afforded to non-disabled bodies. We resist super-crippery and insist on cripborgery. Crip bodies are taken as sites of possibility, adaptation, and creative reflection.


The Postcolonial Body in Queer Space and Time examines the ways in which the notion of the postcolonial correlates to Judith Halberstam's idea of queer space and time, the non-normative path of Western lifestyles and hegemonies. Emphasizing authors from Africa and Southeast Asia in the diaspora in London from the mid-1960s through 1990, the reading of both postcolonial lands and subjects as "queer counterproductive" space reveals a depiction of bodies in these texts as located in and performing queer space and time, redefining and relocating the understanding of the postcolonial. The first wave of postcolonial literature produced by diasporics presents the body as the site where the non-normative is performed, revealing the beginnings of a corporeal resistance to the re-colonization of the diasporic individual residing in England from the Wilson through the Thatcher regimes. This study emphasizes the ways in which early postcolonial literature embodies and encounters the topics of race, gender and sexuality, proving that a rejection of subjectifying processes through the representation of the body has always been present in diasporic postcolonial literature. Reading through postcolonial theory as well as the works of Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari, Hardt and Negri, Homi Bhabha, and Giorgio Agamben, as well as Halberstam and queer theory, The Postcolonial Body in Queer Space and Time discusses the poetry and journals of Arthur Nortje, Hanif Kureishi's The Buddha of Suburbia and his film Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, and Tayeb Salih's Season of Migration to the North, tracing a geographic arc from homeland to London to the return to the homeland, traveling through the queer space and time of the postcolonial.


UNLABELLED
Argentina is an important worldwide wine producer. In this country, there are several recognizable provinces that produce Sauvignon blanc wines: Neuquén, Río Negro, Mendoza, and San Juan. The analysis of the provenance of these white wines is complex and requires the use of expensive and time-consuming techniques. For this reason, this work discusses the determination of the provenance of Argentinean Sauvignon blanc wines by the use of UV spectroscopy and chemometric methods, such as principal component analysis (PCA), cluster analysis (CA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The proposed method requires low-cost equipment and short-time analysis in comparison with other techniques. The results are in very good agreement with results based on the geographical origin of Sauvignon blanc wines.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION
This manuscript describes a method to determine the geographical origin of Sauvignon wines from Argentina. The main advantage of this method is the use of nonexpensive techniques, such as UV-Vis spectroscopy.


The error distribution of residual stress tested by X-ray diffraction on 7050 aluminum alloy was studied. In this paper, residual stress was measured, independently and repeatedly, many times on 7050 aluminum alloy with X-ray diffraction, then the errors about 50 stress values within the range of 30MPa were analyzed by the hypothesis testing. The results indicate that the errors of the residual stress measurement on 7050 aluminum alloy were followed the law of normal distribution about and the errors can be estimated by the least square calculator. The research lays the foundation to subsequent researches on the inherent law of the residual stress measurement with X-ray diffraction and the residual stress distribution and accuracy of stress of material surface.


Purpose of review This article describes the processes for identifying high-risk patients at the time of ambulatory procedure scheduling, enabling the implementation of multidisciplinary collaborative pathways for prehabilitation and optimization, allowing for risk mitigation and improvement in outcomes. This review is particularly relevant because of the current proliferation of ambulatory surgery with more complex procedures being performed on an outpatient basis on patients who may be American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status 3 or greater. Recent findings Increased longevity and rising prevalence of obesity have resulted in patients with a wide variety of comorbidities presenting for complex ambulatory procedures with the expectation of rapid recovery and same-day discharge to home. Recent literature highlights the importance of patient preparation, value-based healthcare, patient outcomes, and the role of anesthesiologists as perioperative physicians. Summary The focus of this article is on general principles and establishment of best practices based on current evidence and a brief description of anesthetic management of specific comorbidities. This review will provide guidance to the practicing anesthesiologist on identifying, stratifying, optimizing, and managing high-risk patients in the ambulatory setting.


Skills shortages have developed in certain fields and regions in recent years. Earnings premiums for people in some professions, notably health, engineering and skilled trades have increased. And vacancy rates have risen for skilled trades, with the increase being particularly large in Alberta and Saskatchewan. While reforms have been implemented to strengthen adjustment so as to overcome these shortages, there is still room to go further by improving labour market information, increasing responsiveness of the education and training system to labour market demand, making the immigration system more reactive to current labour market conditions and reducing regulatory barriers to inter-provincial labour mobility. This Working Paper relates to the 2014 OECD Economic Review of Canada (http://www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-canada.htm).


Idiopathic facial aseptic granuloma (IFAG) is a recently described disease that affects the paediatric age group. It is characterised by the development of one or more nodules in the cheeks and the differential diagnosis must include other facial nodules acquired in childhood, including pilomatrixomas, dermoid cysts, bacterial infection by Leishmania or mycobacteria and vascular malformations. For this reason, it is probably underdiagnosed. We conducted a retrospective observational study of all cases of IFAG diagnosed in our hospital over a 12-year period. Table 1 summarises the characteristics of these cases. The mean age of the patients was 3 years. Three of the patients had multiple lesions. Five of the patients received oral antibiotherapy: 2 amoxicillin--clavulanic acid, 1 cefuroxime, 1 clarithromycin and 1 amoxicillin--clavulanic acid followed by azithromycin with no clear evidence of improvement. The disease tended to resolve spontaneously by a mean of 13 months. Two patients underwent surgical removal of the lesions. None of the patients experienced complications or recurrence during the follow-up. The histological examination revealed a granulomatous reaction of the dermis, with lymphocyte and plasma cells and negative results of staining for detection of microorganisms (Fig. 1C). In one of the cases, the examination found remnants of an epidermoid cyst. The ultrasound scan revealed hypoechoic oval structures in the dermis with the longest diameter parallel to the skin surface. There were no calcium deposits. The posterior edge was even except in 1 case in which it exhibited mildly rolled edges (Fig. 1D). The posterior hypodermis was hyperechoic. The presence of peripheral fluid was variable, and there was no fluid within the lesion in any case. Idiopathic facial aseptic granuloma is characterised by the development of a painless, hard red or purple nodule in


The Kaos spectrometer is maintained by the A1 collaboration at the Mainz Microtron MAMI with a focus on the study of (e,e'K+) coincidence reactions. For its electron-arm two vertical planes of fiber arrays, each comprising approximately 10000 fibers, are operated close to zero degree scattering angle and in close proximity to the electron beam. A nearly dead-time free DAQ system to acquire timing and tracking information has been installed for this spectrometer arm. The signals of 144 multianode photomultipliers are collected by 96-channel front-end boards, digitized by double-threshold discriminators and the signal time is picked up by state-of-the-art F1 time-to-digital converter chips. In order to minimize background rates a sophisticated trigger logic was implemented in newly developed Vuprom modules. The trigger performs noise suppression, signal cluster finding, particle tracking and coincidence timing and can be expanded for kinematical matching (e'K+) coincidences. The full system was designed to process more than 4000 read-out channels and to cope with the high electron flux in the spectrometer and the high count rate requirement of the detectors. It was successfully in-beam tested at MAMI in 2009.


According to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), Countdown Pedestrian Signals (CPS) shall only be displayed during the clearance interval (FLASHING DON'T WALK — FDW) of pedestrian signals. The primary purpose of this CPS display is to inform pedestrians of the remaining time for crossing a road controlled by the signal, to discourage them from starting, and to inform those who are already on the way of the remaining time before the beginning of the DON'T WALK (DW) interval. The general literature on CPS is conclusive that CPS is better understood than the conventional pedestrian signals. In the District of Columbia the CPS display starts at the onset of the Steady WALK (SW) interval and continues through the FDW interval. It is not certain whether this CPS display has any advantage over the standard display as prescribed by the MUTCD. In this research a comparative field study of both types of countdown displays at twenty-five (25) intersections in the District of Columbia was conducted. The results of the evaluation showed that at the majority of the intersections studied, there were no statistically significant differences in pedestrian crossing behaviors (using 5% significance level) due to the type of CPS display.


Knowledge acquisition is the essential first step of any Knowledge Graph (KG) application. This knowledge can be extracted from a given corpus (KG generation process) or specified from an existing KG (KG specification process). Focusing on domain specific solutions, knowledge acquisition is a labor intensive task usually orchestrated and supervised by subject matter experts. Specifically, the domain of interest is usually manually defined and then the needed generation or extraction tools are utilized to produce the KG. Herein, we propose a supervised machine learning method, based on Transformers, for domain definition of a corpus. We argue why such automated definition of the domain's structure is beneficial both in terms of construction time and quality of the generated graph. The proposed method is extensively validated on three public datasets (WebNLG, NYT and DocRED) by comparing it with two reference methods based on CNNs and RNNs models. The evaluation shows the efficiency of our model in this task. Focusing on scientific document understanding, we present a new health domain dataset based on publications extracted from PubMed and we successfully utilize our method on this. Lastly, we demonstrate how this work lays the foundation for fully automated and unsupervised KG generation.


Companies are continuously under pressure to innovate their products and processes. In Portugal, there are already several examples of enterprises that have chosen research groups, associated to universities, to straighten collaboration seeking the development of new materials and advanced technological processes, to produce components with complex shapes, high surface quality, and others, at low cost, for continuously more demanding applications. Unfortunately, these cases are still a very small number, and many efforts have to be done to enlarge the collaboration university-companies. Ti and other reactive alloys are important groups of metals that are under intense and continuous research and development. For example, the high mechanical properties, low density, osteointegration behavior, corrosion resistance to fluids and tissues of the human body, the ability to be sterilized, and the possibility to obtain complex shapes, makes Ti a very attractive material for medical applications. The investment casting process, using lost wax or lost rapid prototyping models, allows designers a great amount of freedom and capacity to quickly produce castings of high dimensional accuracy and excellent surface quality suitable for different applications. Many of the castings obtained by this process are immediately ready for use, avoiding costly machining operations and joining processes, making the process very attractive to produce precision parts in Ti and other reactive alloys. However, the high reactivity of the Ti raises several compatibility problems with the traditional materials employed on the ceramic shells for casting steels and non ferrous alloys. The fragile surface layer obtained on the interface Ti-ceramic shell, result of the Ti reaction with oxygen and nitrogen of the shell, significantly reduces the mechanical properties of the cast parts, making them useless. The aim of the present work is the study of the interface properties of the Ti-ceramic shell, in order to be able to manufacture ceramic shells of low chemical reactivity for the investment casting process of reactive alloys, namely; titanium alloys, inconel, aluminotitanates, and others. Ceramic shells manufactured with calcium and yttria stabilized zirconia and other non reactive ceramics were employed and the metallic interface characterized in terms of microscopic and microhardness properties.


This research proposes a vigorous methodology based on the fuzzy set theory to improve the facility layout process. Using natural language, the fuzzy set theory is an appropriate tool for controlling complex systems such as facility planning. The closeness rating between departments in a plant depends on qualitative and quantitative factors. Some of these factors may have a greater effect on the closeness rating. Thus, analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is used to find the weight of these factors. In this paper, a computer program, called FDARC, is developed to generate quantitative activity relationship charts. These charts are used by FLAYOUT to develop the layouts. The procedure is compared with two other recent methods. Computational results are used to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the method proposed.


This American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) 2018 Practice Guidance on Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) is an update of the PBC guidelines published in 2009. The 2018 updated guidance on PBC includes updates on etiology and diagnosis, role of imaging, clinical manifestations, and treatment of PBC since 2009. The AASLD 2018 PBC Guidance provides a data-supported approach to screening, diagnosis, and clinical management of patients with PBC. It differs from more recent AASLD practice guidelines, which are supported by systematic reviews and a multidisciplinary panel of experts that rates the quality (level) of the evidence and the strength of each recommendation using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. In contrast, this guidance was developed by consensus of an expert panel and provides guidance statements based on formal review and analysis of published literature on the topics. The quality (level) of the evidence and the strength of each guidance statement are not rated. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Starting with the Heisenberg-Weyl algebra, fundamental to quantum physics, we first show how the ordering of the non-commuting operators intrinsic to that algebra gives rise to generalizations of the classical Stirling Numbers of Combinatorics. These may be expressed in terms of infinite, but {\em row-finite}, matrices, which may also be considered as endomorphisms of $\C[[x]]$. This leads us to consider endomorphisms in more general spaces, and these in turn may be expressed in terms of generalizations of the ladder-operators familiar in physics.


— Consumer demand for products with low fat or sugar content and low levels of food additives, as well as cost factors, make exopolysaccharides (EPS) a viable alternative. EPS remain an interesting tool to modulate the sensory properties of yoghurt. This study was designed to evaluate EPS production potential of commercial yoghurt starter cultures (Yo-Flex starters: Harmony 1.0, TWIST 1.0 and YF-L902, Chr.Hansen, Denmark) and their influence on an apparent viscosity of yoghurt samples. The production of intracellularly synthesized EPS by different commercial yoghurt starters varies roughly from 144.08 to 440.81mg/l. Analysing starters' producing EPS, they showed large variations in concentration and supposedly composition. TWIST 1.0 had produced greater amounts of EPS in MRS medium and in yoghurt samples but there wasn't determined significant contribution to development of texture as well as an apparent viscosity of the final product. YF-L902 and Harmony 1.0 starters differed considerably in EPS yields, but not in apparent viscosities (p>0.05) of the final yoghurts. Correlation between EPS concentration and viscosity of yoghurt samples was not established in the study.


We explore the stellar structure of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) disk using data from the Survey of the MAgellanic Stellar History and the Dark Energy Survey. We detect a ring-like stellar overdensity in the red clump star count map at a radius of ∼6° (∼5.2 kpc at the LMC distance) that is continuous over ∼270° in position angle and is only limited by the current data coverage. The overdensity shows an amplitude up to 2.5 times higher than that of the underlying smooth disk. This structure might be related to the multiple arms found by de Vaucouleurs. We find that the overdensity shows spatial correlation with intermediate-age star clusters, but not with young (<1 Gyr) main-sequence stars, indicating the stellar populations associated with the overdensity are intermediate in age or older. Our findings on the LMC overdensity can be explained by either of two distinct formation mechanisms of a ring-like overdensity: (1) the overdensity formed out of an asymmetric one-armed spiral wrapping around the LMC main body, which is induced by repeated encounters with the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) over the last Gyr, or (2) the overdensity formed very recently as a tidal response to a direct collision with the SMC. Although the measured properties of the overdensity alone cannot distinguish between the two candidate scenarios, the consistency with both scenarios suggests that the ring-like overdensity is likely a product of tidal interaction with the SMC, but not with the Milky Way halo.


We prepared double-sided Tl/sub 2/Ba/sub 2/CaCu/sub 2/O/sub 8/ (Tl-2212) thin films on large area sapphire substrates (up to 3 inch) for high frequency filters, which are intended to be used in future communication systems. For high frequency operation one demands film thicknesses three or four times the penetration depth /spl lambda/, but the thin film preparation process has several limits for the film thickness. Beside the crack formation on sapphire substrates due to different thermal expansion coefficients the surface morphology with parameters as roughness or the formation of precipitates depend on the film thickness. We show results of an optimization process to achieve the best suitability of the films for high frequency devices. The investigations were done in terms of SEM and AFM surface inspections as well as the measurement of electrical film parameters as critical temperature T/sub c/, critical current density J/sub c/, or surface resistance R/sub s/.


The Class 0 protostar IRAS 16293-2422 Source A is known to be a binary system (A1 and A2) or even a multiple system that processes a complex outflow structure. We have observed this source in the C34S, SO, and OCS lines at 3.1 mm with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. A substructure of this source is traced by our high angular-resolution observation (0.″12; 20 au) of the continuum emission. The northwest–southeast (NW–SE) outflow on a 2″ scale is detected in the SO (J N = 22–11) line. Based on the morphology of the SO distribution, this bipolar outflow structure seems to originate from the protostar A1 and its circumstellar disk, or the circummultiple structure of Source A. The rotation motion of the NW–SE outflow is detected in the SO and OCS emissions. We evaluate the specific angular momentum of the outflowing gas to be (8.6–14.3) × 10−4 km s−1 pc. If the driving source of this outflow is the protostar A1 and its circumstellar disk, it can be a potential mechanism to extract the specific angular momentum of the disk structure. These results can be a hint for the outflow launching mechanism in this source. Furthermore, they provide us with an important clue to resolve the complicated structure of IRAS 16293-2422 Source A.


Collegiate sports have become increasingly popular in recent years with college football seeing, arguably, the greatest rise in popularity. This has led to an increased number of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) bowl games, which now culminate in a college football playoff. Universities are constantly developing new and innovative ways to increase revenue. One potential solution receiving increased consideration is the option of selling beer throughout stadiums. Previous research has separately focused on aspects of beer consumption and factors that influence collegiate sport attendance, but not in the same study. Thus far, studies focusing specifically on the topic of how beer sales affect attendance have been lacking. The purpose of this study is to examine whether or not the sale of beer inside FBS collegiate stadiums affects attendance. Our results indicate there is a negative correlation between beer availability and attendance. No significant difference was found as to whether or not stadium location, on or off campus, affects attendance figures.


Despite innovative developments in research in-and-through the arts in the past decade, the emergent field of artistic research remains controversial, and is accepted with varying degrees of enthusiasm in academic institutions. It is our contention that the challenges and opportunities presented by this burgeoning discipline may be better understood by re-emphasising the centrality of the artist. Through a study of the interrelationship between artistic fields and theories of knowledge, and through some consciously metaphorical readings, we examine the contexts within which artistic research has developed. Using this information as a means of interrogating both scientific and artistic research paradigms, and case studies concerning specific artist-researchers, the case is set out for a fresh paradigm " an ˜artistic turn. The aim is to create a field of meaning that may illuminate the most promising, though correspondingly problematic, aspects of artistic research: the essential ineffability of artistic creativity, and the consequent insufficiency of verbal and written accounts " something which inevitably impacts upon the text presented here. Accordingly, the discourse articulated in this volume does not propose definitive approaches, but charts a constellation of ideas that outlines the new discipline and points to its manifold and open-ended possibilities.


PURPOSE
Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) mutations were recently found at a high frequency in well-differentiated urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC). We investigated the relationship between FGFR3 status and three molecular markers (MIB-1, P53, and P27kip1) associated with worse prognosis and determined the reproducibility of pathologic grade and molecular variables.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
In this multicenter study, we included 286 patients with primary (first diagnosis) UCC. The histologic slides were reviewed. FGFR3 status was examined by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism and sequencing. Expression levels of MIB-1, P53, and P27kip1 were determined by immunohistochemistry. Mean follow-up was 5.5 years (range, 0.4 to 18.4 years).

RESULTS
FGFR3 mutations were detected in 172 (60%) of 286 UCCs. Grade 1 tumors had an FGFR3 mutation in 88% of patient samples and grade 3 tumors in 16% of patient samples. Conversely, aberrant expression patterns of MIB-1, P53, and P27kip1 were seen in 5%, 2%, and 3% of grade 1 tumors and in 85%, 60%, and 56% of grade 3 tumors, respectively. In multivariate analysis with recurrence rate, progression, and disease-specific survival as end points, the combination of FGFR3 and MIB-1 proved independently significant in all three cases. By using these two molecular markers, three molecular grades (mGs) could be identified: mG1 (mutation; normal expression), favorable prognosis; mG2 (two remaining combinations), intermediate prognosis; and mG3 (no mutation; high expression), poor prognosis. The molecular variables were more reproducible than pathologic grade (85% to 100% v 47% to 61%).

CONCLUSION
The FGFR3 mutation represents the favorable molecular pathway of UCC. Molecular grading provides a new, simple, and highly reproducible tool for clinical decision making in UCC patients.


It has been argued that populist communication only appeals to a specific group of citizens, who are higher in political distrust and perceived relative deprivation. At the same time, however, extant research has exclusively studied the effects of populist communication in forced exposure media environments. Responding to this discrepancy, we conducted two experiments ( N = 562 and N = 558) in which we manipulated the core idea of populist messages – attributing blame – in forced and selective exposure media environments. Our results demonstrate that citizens higher in relative deprivation are indeed most likely to select populist messages. Irrespective of selective exposure, citizens' populist attitudes are only positively affected if the populist message is congruent with their prior feelings of relative deprivation. These results provide important insights for the polarizing potential of media populism in a fragmentized media environment.


ABSTRACT The adequate time for carrot seed harvest influences its physiological quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate physiological, anatomical and histochemical changes in carrot seeds harvested at different stages of development and to establish the most appropriate harvest time. Secondary umbels were harvested at 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56 and 63 days after anthesis (DAA). For seed anatomical and histochemical characterization, sections were stained with Toluidine blue stain, Xylidine Ponceau, Lugol's iodine, Sudan Black B and submitted to polarized light. Seed moisture content, seed dry matter, germination, first count, emergence percentage and emergence speed index of seedlings were evaluated. Cultivar Brasilia carrot seeds at 14 DAA are in cell division and expansion. In addition, as lipids were identified in the endosperm, despite the seed low dry matter. At 21 DAA, reserve substances such as protein and starch were also identified. Along the seed development process, deposition of lignin occurs in the endocarp cells, and this collapsed lignified layer represents the resistance layer of the seeds. Physiological maturity, represented by the maximum dry matter accumulation, occurs at 35 DAA, with the endosperm occupying almost all volume of seeds, the embryo occupying a small cylindrical region and the integument showing a single layer of cells. At this time, the seeds presented 56% moisture content and the color of the pericarp is green-yellow. Maximum seed germination and vigor occurred at 30 DAA, just before physiological maturity was reached (35 DAA). Thus, the ideal time to harvest the seeds of cultivar Brasilia is from 30 DAA, where the seeds have maximum physiological quality.


OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation is more effective than microfracture in the repair of articular knee defects. STUDY DESIGN: Review of three English language primary studies published in 2009 and 2010. DATA SOURCES: Randomized controlled trials comparing Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation and Microfracture found using PubMed, MedLine and Cochrane Database. OUTCOMES MEASURED: Clinical outcome measured by the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). The primary measure of outcome was evaluated using the KOOS questionnaire with subdomains of ADL's, pain, symptoms, stiffness and quality of life. KOOS data was compared between treatment groups for patients with symptom onset less than 2 years vs more than 2 years and less or more than 3 years. Serial MRI scans were scored using Magnetic resonance Observation of Cartilage Repair Tissue (MOCART) system. A rehabilitation protocol was implemented where components were evaluated pre surgery and at 6, 9, 12 and 24 months post surgery. Patients are followed up 8-12, 22-26, 50-54 weeks post operatively for efficacy and safety evaluations. RESULTS: Three randomized controlled trials were included in this review. The study by Basad indicated ACI as having significantly more effective outcomes over 2 years compared to microfracture. Saris' study provided similar conclusions, offering improved outcomes with ACI after 36 months. However, Van Assche's study had similar overall functional outcomes for both ACI and MF. CONCLUSIONS: Based on findings upon analysis of three RCT's, Autologous chondrocyte implantation provides significant improvement in articular knee defects allowing improved function, mobilitiy and activity as compared to that of microfracture.


AIM
To study the (functional) relevance of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes encoding matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-1, -2, -3, -9, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP)-1, -2 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha in the etiopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), that may enhance susceptibility and/or disease severity.

METHODS
Genomic DNA from 134 Crohn' s disease (CD), 111 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and 248 control subjects was isolated from resected intestinal tissue or blood. Allelic composition at SNP loci was determined by PCR-RFLP or tetra primer ARMS PCR.

RESULTS
The TIMP-1 genotype TT in women and T in men at SNP +372 T/C was found to increase CD susceptibility (39% vs 23.8%, P = 0.018 and 67.9% vs 51.6%, P = 0.055, respectively), while women with this genotype were less prone to development of fistulae during follow-up (41.4% vs 68.3%, P = 0.025). Male IBD or CD patients carrying the TIMP-1 +372 T-allele expressed lower levels of TIMP-1 in surgically resected macroscopically inflamed tissue (0.065 < P < 0.01). The 5T5T genotype at MMP-3 SNP -1613 5T/6T increased the chance of stenotic complications in CD during follow-up (91.2% vs 71.8%, P = 0.022) but seemed to protect against colonic involvement of this disease at first endoscopic/radiologic examination (35.3% vs 59.5%, P = 0.017).

CONCLUSION
Allelic composition at the examined SNPs in genes coding for TIMP-1 and MMP-3 affect CD susceptibility and/or phenotype, i.e., fistulizing disease, stricture pathogenesis and first disease localisation. These findings reinforce the important role of these proteins in IBD.


The present paper reports the whole rock and mineral chemistry, textural relations and the mineral reactions under greenschist to amphibolite facies conditions of the Aluminum-Phosphate and -Borosilicate (APB)-bearing Mesoproterozoic quartzite of the Itremo Group (central Madagascar) and discusses the genesis of the protolith as well as the metamorphic P-T-conditions. The Itremo Group consists from bottom to top of a micaschist formation (metapelite and metasiltstone) (approximate to 500 m), a quartzite (approximate to 1000 m), and a stromatolitic dolomitic marble formation (> 1000 m). In the quartzite cross bedding and ripple marks document a deposition in a shallow continental shelf environment. Lazulite, augelite, trolleite, svanbergite, goyazite, crandallite, berlinite, tourmaline, apatite, celestine, anhydrite, muscovite and dumortierite with the minor constituents zircon, monazite and xenotime in addition to quartz are the rock-forming minerals. Boron and Sr have been supplied to the protolith of the quartzite by submarine hydrothermal fluids or by rivers fed by B and Sr-rich thermal springs. Using textures, stability data for augelite, trolleite, berlinite, lazulite, scorzalite, dumortierite, muscovite, kyanite and temperature data from the literature the P-T conditions of Panafrican metamorphism, which produced the prograde APB-parageneses can be approximated as 3.8 kbar and about 475 degrees C. Deposition and metamorphism of the protolith can be summarized as: i.) deposition of clay-bearing sand in a shallow continental shelf environment, ii.) chemical precipitation of phosphates and of phosphorus-rich iron hydroxides by oxidizing marine pore waters, iii.) reductive dissolution of the Fe-oxyhydroxides with crystallization of authigenic Al-phosphates in early diagenesis, iv) metamorphic overprint and crystallization during the Panafrican tectonothermal event, v) hydration reactions, element mobilisation and consequent retrograde resetting of prograde mineral equilibrium by postorogenic fluid circulation at the end of the Panafrican tectonothermal event.


A new mononuclear ruthenium(II) complex, [Ru(dmbpy)(tptz)(Cl)](PF6) (where dmbpy = 4,4′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine and tptz = 2,4,6-tris(2-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine), has been prepared and characterized by spectroscopic methods, cyclic voltammetry (CV), and single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The electrocatalytic activity of the Ru(II) complex was investigated for the reduction of CO2 to CO in acetonitrile by cyclic voltammetry under different reaction conditions including temperature variation, CO2 concentration, catalyst concentration, and the scan rate. A detailed mechanism for the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CO by the Ru(II) complex has been investigated in the gas and solution phases using DFT calculations. These calculations indicate that the first catalytic step involves two sequential one-electron ligand-based reductions, followed by a CO2 coordination reaction and a concerted two-electron transfer from tptz2− to the coordinated CO2 ligand to give a metallocarboxylate intermediate (Ru–CO22−). The HOMO and LUMO of this intermediate are still polypyridyl-based and the next two electrons enter molecular orbitals with tptz- and dmb-character. These two one-electron reductions result in the formation of an intermediate which can be targeted by free CO2 to release a CO molecule. The calculations provide detailed mechanistic information in agreement with the experimental results.


The research objectives aimed to study 1) Customers credibility toward the online marketing 2) Factors influencing customers' credibility toward the online marketing. The qualitative research methodology approached by in-depth interviewing, the population represented consumers who used online market regularly. The 30 samples were selected by purposive sampling method. The research instrument represented the interviewing form, data collection was made by face-to-face interviewing with the focus group through constructed interviewing form. The data analysis was made by data classifying and extracted information to be relevant information for answering research questions. The finding found consumers had the shortage time and low attention span on various digital contents that influenced the creating attractive websites. Consumers required seconds to decide whether to stay or leave from that website that dilemma made the turning point of gaining or losing customers. The credibility of websites made the longer attention span of the customer and staying on websites especially the E-commerce. The marketers should beware of the customers' credibility on the personal data securities that consumers expected on the reliable and data protection, therefore, designing a credible website contributed consumers relied on personal data for websites.


Index modulation (IM) techniques appear as competitive candidates for next-generation (5G and beyond) wireless networks due to the attractive advantages they offer in terms of spectral and energy efficiency as well as hardware simplicity. IM is a highly spectrumand energyefficient yet simple digital modulation technique, which utilizes the indices of the building blocks of the corresponding communication systems to convey additional information bits. IM systems provide alternative ways to transmit information in contrast to traditional digital modulation schemes that rely on the modulation of the amplitude/phase/frequency of a sinusoidal carrier signal for transmission, as widely considered in the field of communications over the past 50 years. Radically, IM schemes have the ability to map information bits by altering the on/off status of their transmission entities such as transmit antennas, subcarriers, radio frequency (RF) mirrors, transmit light emitting diodes, relays, modulation types, time slots, precoder matrices, dispersion matrices, spreading codes, signal powers, loads and so on. In other words, IM creates completely new dimensions for data transmission. Since the initial skepticism of both academia and industry on the potential and applicability of IM technologies has now gone away, we strongly believe that IM is not another simple digital modulation alternative, but rather can be a game-changing communication paradigm whose time has come!


The identification of relevance with little textual context is a primary challenge in passage retrieval. We address this problem with a representation-based ranking approach that: (1) explicitly models the importance of each term using a contextualized language model; (2) performs passage expansion by propagating the importance to similar terms; and (3) grounds the representations in the lexicon, making them interpretable. Passage representations can be pre-computed at index time to reduce query-time latency. We call our approach EPIC (Expansion via Prediction of Importance with Contextualization). We show that EPIC significantly outperforms prior importance-modeling and document expansion approaches. We also observe that the performance is additive with the current leading first-stage retrieval methods, further narrowing the gap between inexpensive and cost-prohibitive passage ranking approaches. Specifically, EPIC achieves a MRR@10 of 0.304 on the MS-MARCO passage ranking dataset with 78ms average query latency on commodity hardware. We also find that the latency is further reduced to 68ms by pruning document representations, with virtually no difference in effectiveness.


The tumour-promoting agent thapsigargin has been shown to inhibit the microsomal Ca(2+)-ATPase and cause Ca2+ mobilization in a variety of cell types including exocrine acinar cells [Bird, Obie and Putney (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 18382-18386]. When applied to acutely isolated lacrimal acinar cells, thapsigargin caused a slow biphasic activation of both the Ca(2+)-dependent K+ and Cl- currents measured using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. If the only action of thapsigargin is to inhibit sequestration into Ca2+ pools, then Ca2+ mobilization following exposure to thapsigargin indicates that there is a significant 'leak' of Ca2+ into the cytoplasm, which is normally countered by Ca(2+)-ATPase activity. In the present study, we introduced the Ins(1,4,5)P3 receptor antagonist heparin (200 micrograms/ml) into lacrimal acinar cells via the patch-clamp pipette. Following a 5 min preincubation in the presence of heparin, neither acetylcholine (1 microM) nor thapsigargin (1 microM) caused any significant increase in either Ca(2+)-dependent current. Caffeine has been shown to suppress basal Ins(1,4,5)P3 levels in exocrine acinar cells [Toescu, O'Neill, Petersen and Eisner (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 23467-23470]. Preincubation with caffeine (10 mM) also inhibited the response to subsequent exposure to thapsigargin. These data suggest that, in acutely isolated lacrimal cells, the source of the Ca2+ leak which gives rise to Ca2+ mobilization following inhibition of Ca2+ re-uptake by thapsigargin is Ca2+ release, from Ins(1,4,5)P3-dependent Ca2+ pools, caused by resting Ins(1,4,5)P3 levels.


Background Progressive realisation of universal health coverage is a widely accepted goal for the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals and the "Grand Convergence" of health envisioned by the Lancet's Commission on Investing in Health. Yet the means to pay for it is a subject of intense debate. We investigated how alternative tax systems affect the breadth, depth, and height of coverage by public health systems and associated child and maternal health outcomes. Methods Cross-national fixed effects models were used to assess the relationships between tax revenue, tax systems, and health system coverage in 89 low- and middle-income countries from 1995–2011. Results We identified tax revenue as a major statistical determinant of progress towards universal health coverage. Each $100 per capita per year of additional tax revenues corresponded to $9.86 yearly increase in government health spending (95% CI 3.92, 15.8). This association was particularly strong for taxes on capital gains, profits and income ($16.7, 95% CI 9.16–24.3), compared with those on goods and services (-$4.37, 95% CI -12.9, 4.11). In countries with low tax revenues (<$1000 per capita per year), an additional $100 tax revenue per year substantially increased the proportion of births attended by a skilled attendant by 6.74 percentage points (95% CI 0.87, 12.6) and the extent of health coverage by 11.4 percentage points (95% CI 5.51, 17.2). However, in contrast, $100 per capita increase in regressive forms of taxation, such as taxes on goods and services, which may reduce the ability of the poor to afford essential goods, was associated with higher rates of post-neonatal mortality by 0.17 (95% CI 0.065, 0.28), increases in infant mortality rate (1–5 years) by 0.18 per 1000 live births (95% CI 0.05, 0.32) and increases in under five mortality rate by 0.43 per 100,000 population (95% CI 0.14, 0.72). Conclusion Increasing domestic tax revenues is a key element of a strategy to achieving universal health coverage, particularly in countries with low tax bases. Pro-poor taxes on profits and capital gains appear to support expansion of health coverage without the adverse effects on health outcomes of higher taxes on goods and services.


Abstract Background Linezolid was recently re‐classified as a Group A drug by the World Health Organization (WHO) for treatment of multi‐drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR‐TB) and extensively drug‐resistant tuberculosis (XDR‐TB), suggesting that it should be included in the regimen for all patients unless contraindicated. Linezolid use carries a considerable risk of toxicity, with the optimal dose and duration remaining unclear. Current guidelines are mainly based on evidence from observational non‐comparative studies. Objectives To assess the efficacy of linezolid when used as part of a second‐line regimen for treating people with MDR and XDR pulmonary tuberculosis, and to assess the prevalence and severity of adverse events associated with linezolid use in this patient group. Search methods We searched the following databases: the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Specialized Register; CENTRAL; MEDLINE; Embase; and LILACS up to 13 July 2018. We also checked article reference lists and contacted researchers in the field. Selection criteria We included studies in which some participants received linezolid, and others did not. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of linezolid for MDR and XDR pulmonary tuberculosis to evaluate efficacy outcomes. We added non‐randomized cohort studies to evaluate adverse events. Primary outcomes were all‐cause and tuberculosis‐associated death, treatment failure, and cure. Secondary outcomes were treatment interrupted, treatment completed, and time to sputum culture conversion. We recorded frequency of all and serious adverse events, adverse events leading to drug discontinuation or dose reduction, and adverse events attributed to linezolid, particularly neuropathy, anaemia, and thrombocytopenia. Data collection and analysis Two review authors (BS and DC) independently assessed the search results for eligibility and extracted data from included studies. All review authors assessed risk of bias using the Cochrane 'Risk of bias' tool for RCTs and the ROBINS‐I tool for non‐randomized studies. We contacted study authors for clarification and additional data when necessary. We were unable to perform a meta‐analysis as one of the RCTs adopted a study design where participants in the study group received linezolid immediately and participants in the control group received linezolid after two months, and therefore there were no comparable data from this trial. We deemed meta‐analysis of non‐randomized study data inappropriate. Main results We identified three RCTs for inclusion. One of these studies had serious problems with allocation of the study drug and placebo, so we could not analyse data for intervention effect from it. The remaining two RCTs recruited 104 participants. One randomized 65 participants to receive linezolid or not, in addition to a background regimen; the other randomized 39 participants to addition of linezolid to a background regimen immediately, or after a delay of two months. We included 14 non‐randomized cohort studies (two prospective, 12 retrospective), with a total of 1678 participants. Settings varied in terms of income and tuberculosis burden. One RCT and 7 out of 14 non‐randomized studies commenced recruitment in or after 2009. All RCT participants and 38.7% of non‐randomized participants were reported to have XDR‐TB. Dosing and duration of linezolid in studies were variable and reported inconsistently. Daily doses ranged from 300 mg to 1200 mg; some studies had planned dose reduction for all participants after a set time, others had incompletely reported dose reductions for some participants, and most did not report numbers of participants receiving each dose. Mean or median duration of linezolid therapy was longer than 90 days in eight of the 14 non‐randomized cohorts that reported this information. Duration of participant follow‐up varied between RCTs. Only five out of 14 non‐randomized studies reported follow‐up duration. Both RCTs were at low risk of reporting bias and unclear risk of selection bias. One RCT was at high risk of performance and detection bias, and low risk for attrition bias, for all outcomes. The other RCT was at low risk of detection and attrition bias for the primary outcome, with unclear risk of detection and attrition bias for non‐primary outcomes, and unclear risk of performance bias for all outcomes. Overall risk of bias for the non‐randomized studies was critical for three studies, and serious for the remaining 11. One RCT reported higher cure (risk ratio (RR) 2.36, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.13 to 4.90, very low‐certainty evidence), lower failure (RR 0.26, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.70, very low‐certainty evidence), and higher sputum culture conversion at 24 months (RR 2.10, 95% CI 1.30 to 3.40, very low‐certainty evidence), amongst the linezolid‐treated group than controls, with no differences in other primary and secondary outcomes. This study also found more anaemia (17/33 versus 2/32), nausea and vomiting, and neuropathy (14/33 versus 1/32) events amongst linezolid‐receiving participants. Linezolid was discontinued early and permanently in two of 33 (6.1%) participants who received it. The other RCT reported higher sputum culture conversion four months after randomization (RR 2.26, 95% CI 1.19 to 4.28), amongst the group who received linezolid immediately compared to the group who had linezolid initiation delayed by two months. Linezolid was discontinued early and permanently in seven of 39 (17.9%) participants who received it. Linezolid discontinuation occurred in 22.6% (141/624; 11 studies), of participants in the non‐randomized studies. Total, serious, and linezolid‐attributed adverse events could not be summarized quantitatively or comparatively, due to incompleteness of data on duration of follow‐up and numbers of participants experiencing events. Authors' conclusions We found some evidence of efficacy of linezolid for drug‐resistant pulmonary tuberculosis from RCTs in participants with XDR‐TB but adverse events and discontinuation of linezolid were common. Overall, there is a lack of comparative data on efficacy and safety. Serious risk of bias and heterogeneity in conducting and reporting non‐randomized studies makes the existing, mostly retrospective, data difficult to interpret. Further prospective cohort studies or RCTs in high tuberculosis burden low‐income and lower‐middle‐income countries would be useful to inform policymakers and clinicians of the efficacy and safety of linezolid as a component of drug‐resistant TB treatment regimens. 26 March 2019 Up to date All studies incorporated from most recent search All eligible published studies found in the last search (13 Jul, 2018) were included and six ongoing studies have been identified (see 'Characteristics of ongoing studies' section)


Some aspects of the reproductive biology of Cobitis keyvani (Mousavi-Sabet, Yerli, Vatandoust, Ozeren and Moradkhani, 2012), an endemic Loach fish species from the Talar River in the southern Caspian Sea basin, in north of Iran was studied by regular monthly collections throughout a year. Fecundity, condition factor, gonado-somatic, modified gonadosomatic and Dobriyal indices were estimated. Regression analyses tested the dependence of fecundity on fish length, weight, gonad weight and age. Significant differences were observed between the total number of females and males, females being more abundant. The mature females and males were longer than 49 and 45 mm in total length, and +2 and +1 in age, respectively. The average egg's diameter was 0.56 mm. The spawning of Cobitis keyvani from Talar River took place from May to late July, when the water temperature is between 18.7 to 24.0°C. At the beginning of the reproduction period, the average GSI values were 10.09%, ranging from 6 to 25% in ripe mature females. The absolute and relative fecundity were 2211 and 586 respectively. The absolute fecundity was significantly related to body weight and gonads weight. Based on the gonado-somatic and Dobriyal indices, it was concluded that the fish has a prolonged active reproductive period. Their long reproductive activity and high range of fecundity are types of adaptation by short-lived small fishes to environmental conditions.


: In Amazon River dolphins, bottle-nosed dolphins and white whales, comparative studies have been made on cardiac electrical activity using electrocardiographic and telemetric techniques. In all the species investigated, certain dependence of cardiac cycle duration on the phase of respiratory pause was observed. A pronounced bradycardia was noted in diving animals which reflects the level of their adaptation to hypoxia and hypoxemia. Autocorrelation functions of the dynamic sequences of cardiac intervals were calculated. The presence of "slow" waves in cardiac cycle was shown which were considerably increased during diving.


Cells are the entities of life and they at least consist of one aqueous compartment separated from the environment by a membrane. Lipids and proteins are important constituents of membranes and the interactions between these components are the subject of this thesis.
The studies were performed using the model organism Escherichia coli and membrane fractions derived thereof, as well as with pure biochemical model systems comprising phospholipids and as a model membrane protein: Leader Peptidase.
Leader Peptidase (Lep) is an integral membrane protein of E. coli and it catalyses the removal of signal peptides from translocated precursor proteins. In chapter 2 of this thesis, the number of Lep molecules per E. coli cell was determined using western blot techniques. Different strains were found to contain approximately 1000 Lep molecules per cell during exponential growth.
In this thesis (Chapter 3) it is furthermore shown that when the membrane spanning segments of Lep are removed in vivo , the remaining catalytic domain can bind to inner and outer membranes of E. coli. The purified catalytic domain binds to inner membrane vesicles and vesicles composed of purified inner membrane lipids with comparable efficiency. It is shown that the interaction is caused by penetration of a part of the catalytic domain between the lipids. Penetration is mediated by phosphatidylethanolamine, the most abundant lipid in E. coli, and does not seem to depend on electrostatic interactions. A hydrophobic segment near the catalytically region of Lep is required for the interaction with membranes.
The orientation of many membrane proteins is determined by the asymmetric distribution of positively charged amino acid residues in cytoplasmic and translocated loops. The positive-inside rule states that loops with large amounts of these residues tend to have cytoplasmic locations. In chapter 4, orientations of constructs derived from the Lep were found to depend on the anionic (negatively charged) phospholipid content of the membrane. Lowering the contents of anionic phospholipids facilitated membrane passage of positively charged loops. On the other hand, elevated contents of anionic phospholipids in the membrane rendered translocation more sensitive to positively charged residues. The results demonstrate that anionic lipids are determinants of membrane protein topology and suggest that interactions between negatively charged phospholipids and positively charged amino acid residues contribute to the orientation of membrane proteins.
In chapter 5 a cell-free system based on a lysate and membrane vesicles from E. coli is used to study characteristics of the membrane integration reaction of Lep. Integration into inverted inner membrane vesicles was detected by partial protection against externally added protease. It is concluded that integration is most efficient when coupled to translation but can also occur post-translationally and depends on the action of the proteinaceous Sec machinery and availability of anionic phospholipids. Lep is the first example of a membrane protein without cleavable signal sequence which requires anionic lipids for integration in vitro .
In chapter 6 a structural models is proposed for the action of Lep, in this model the interactions of the various domains of Lep with precursor proteins in the phospholipid bilayer, are visualised. Chapter 6 also proposes models for the interactions between anionic lipids and membrane proteins in initial stages of insertion.


In the long controversy over the failure of the United States to extend early recognition to the People's Republic of China, the story of American efforts to maintain an official presence in the Communist-controlled areas of China until 1950 has been largely neglected. Moreover, the often bitter partisan strife over Sino-American relations during this period has obscured important facts or so distorted them that making an independent judgment is difficult indeed. In this book, Edwin Martin seeks to set the confused record straight by providing a well-documented, detailed account of American responses to the policies and actions of the victorious Chinese Communists from their capture of Mukden in November 1948 to their intervention in the Korean War and rejection of U.N. cease-fire offers. Uniquely, Martin provides also a parallel account, based on recently released Foreign Office documents, of Sino-British relations during this period, shedding useful light on the course of American policy. Significantly neither the British nor the American approaches were successful; both governments overestimated their power to influence events in China and the vulnerability of the Sino-Soviet relationship. Only at the Geneva meetings in 1954 did the Chinese Communists reverse policy positions they had steadfastly maintained during 1949-1950.This corrective view of early American relations with the People's Republic of China will be welcomed by all concerned with Asian history and diplomacy.


Objective
To explore the effects of shear stress on morphology, adhesion and proliferation of human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells(hUC-MSCs).

Methods
The hUC-MSCs were cultured in vitro until confluence and then placed in a flow system.The cells were subjected to different shear stress (1, 2, 3, 4 dye/cm2) for 2 hours and 6 hours, and no shear stress treatment cells served as a static control.The morphological changes of hUC-MSCs in different groups were analyzed by phase contrast microscopy and immunofluorescence.The mRNA expression levels of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and Ki67 were detected by real-time PCR.

Results
Compared with the static control group, the hUC-MSCs cells were arranged in the direction of fluid after treated with shear stress.The immunofluorescence results showed that the cytoskeletal protein F-actin filaments was prolonged after shear stress.The cytoskeleton was further elongated in the 2 dye/cm2 for 6 hours group when compared with 2 dye/cm2 for 2 hours group, and the cytoskeleton was loosened when time extended to 6 hours.Real-time PCR results showed that the relative expressions of ICAM-1 mRNA and Ki67 mRNA in the static control group and different gradient shear stress groups were significantly different, with significant differences among them (F=17.141, P=0.000; F=11.336, P=0.001). The relative expression of ICAM-1 mRNA in the 1, 2, 3, 4 dye/cm2 shear stress group was 2.74±0.32, 9.77±1.19, 6.70±0.92 and 5.69±0.72, respectively, which was significantly higher than 1.00±0.28 in the static control group, with significant differences between them (all at P<0.05). The relative expression of Ki67 mRNA in the 3 dye/cm2 and 4 dye/cm2 shear stress group was 0.39±0.09 and 0.04±0.02, respectively, which was significantly lower than 1.00±0.24 in the static control group, with statistically significant differences between them (both at P<0.05).

Conclusions
After treated with fluid shear stress, hUC-MSCs are arranged in the direction of fluid.Shear stress can promote the adhesion of hUC-MSCs.As the increase of shear stress intensity, cell proliferation is inhibited.

Key words:
Fluid shear stress; Human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells; Corneal endothelial cells; Intercellular adhesion molecule-1


Recent research has suggested that individuals with dyslexia rely on explicit visuospatial representations for syllogistic reasoning while most non-dyslexics opt for an abstract verbal strategy. This paper investigates the role of visual processes in relational reasoning amongst dyslexic reasoners. Expt 1 presents written and verbal protocol evidence to suggest that reasoners with dyslexia generate detailed representations of relational properties and use these to make a visual comparison of objects. Non-dyslexics use a linear array of objects to make a simple transitive inference. Expt 2 examined evidence for the visual-impedance effect which suggests that visual information detracts from reasoning leading to longer latencies and reduced accuracy. While non-dyslexics showed the impedance effects predicted, dyslexics showed only reduced accuracy on problems designed specifically to elicit imagery. Expt 3 presented problems with less semantically and visually rich content. The non-dyslexic group again showed impedance effects, but dyslexics did not. Furthermore, in both studies, visual memory predicted reasoning accuracy for dyslexic participants, but not for non-dyslexics, particularly on problems with highly visual content. The findings are discussed in terms of the importance of visual and semantic processes in reasoning for individuals with dyslexia, and we argue that these processes play a compensatory role, offsetting phonological and verbal memory deficits.


An ill-defined number of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) receive an incorrect diagnosis. Numerous diseases are rather unspecific in terms of clinical appearance and histological characteristics, particularly hereditary kidney diseases. Autosomal dominant tubulointerstitial kidney diseases (ADTKD) can be seen as a paradigm of the diagnostic challenge, where only molecular genetics can assure the diagnosis.
We report a young lady with CKD who historically received a diagnosis of "biopsy-proven" IgA nephropathy (IgAN). She received 8 months of oral steroids, with side effects but further renal deterioration. Despite a positive family history with CKD over at least three generations, this clue was not considered. We established a doubtless diagnosis of MUC1-associated ADTKD by a heterozygous frameshift-causing mutation by SNaPshot minisequencing in our index patient and her affected father. Furthermore, the mucin 1 frameshift protein was readily detectable in the 10 year old kidney biopsy. We hypothesize that similar diagnostic failures are frequent in the current routine. Interestingly, the misdiagnosis of IgAN may be an underestimated problem since a substantial fraction of the healthy population may show mesangial proliferation and IgA deposition. The correct diagnosis of hereditary diseases has several clinical implications and should be the ultimate aim of precision nephrology.


This study examined inorganic nutrition in tridacnids to address the question of nutrient limitation of their zooxanthellae, and the influence of elevated nutrient concentrations on calcification. Experiments consisted of three-month-long exposures of cultured Tridacna gigas in outdoor tanks and indigenous T. maxima in situ to increased levels of ammonia (N) and phosphate (P), alone or in combination (N+P). Following the incubation experiments, biomass and nutrient-depletion of the symbiotic partners were measured. In addition, a more detailed study was carried out on the effect of elevated P on the zooxanthellae, both in situ and in culture.

Major findings from the outdoor experiments were confirmed in the field study, while laboratory experiments elucidated host involvement in nutrient limitation of the zooxanthellae. In particular, zooxanthellae are N-limited in vivo, as demonstrated by the increased zooxanthellae density in N-supplemented clams. The decrease in ammonium-depletion by zooxanthellae isolated from these clams demonstrates that zooxanthellae have access to increased N in sea water. N-limitation of zooxanthellae, therefore, is a function of sea water concentrations of inorganic N, particularly ammonia, as this nutrient can diffuse across cell membranes depending on its concentration gradient.

Also, zooxanthellae are P-limited in vivo. Regardless of ambient phosphate concentrations in sea water, zooxanthellae inside the animal host were not affected, and they exhibited N:P ratios (>30:1) and P-depletion rates similar to those of P-starved cultured zooxanthellae. Host involvement in P availability to the zooxanthellae is strongly implicated by: (1) the unaffected acid phosphatase activity (P-liberating enzymes) and undetectable polyphosphates (P reserves) in zooxanthellae, regardless of the clams' P environment; and (2) rapid growth, decreased N:P ratio, and decreased P-depletion by zooxanthellae grown under P-sufficient culture conditions. Host influence on the algae's P environment in vivo is further substantiated by the consistently low levels of inorganic phosphate (< 0.1 pM)) in the haemolymph surrounding the zooxanthellal tubes, despite the clams' uptake and assimilation of P from sea water (i.e., decreased N:P ratio). P-limitation of zooxanthellae, therefore, is independent of ambient sea water concentrations of phosphate, which cannot passively cross cell membranes. The host's role in P availability to its zooxanthellae is either: (1) a natural consequence of the morphological and spatial relationships between the symbiotic partners, with the host retaining phosphate for its own use before the nutrient can reach the zooxanthellae; or (2) through active P restriction by the host to control its algal population.

Investigation of calcification demonstrated that increased ambient levels of N and P modified shell formation in T. gigas as follows: (1) enhanced shell-extension rates, but reduced shell weights at equivalent size; (2) changes in crystal lattice parameters based on X-ray diffractometry on the shells; and (3) structural alterations in the outer shell layer, with misshapen aragonite crystals, irregular crossed-lamellar orientation, and increased porosity. Such skeletal weakening has adverse implications for calcifying organisms in eutrophic reef waters.


Perinatal health professionals are in key positions to either promote or dissuade the use of Natural Family Planning (NFP). The purpose of this article is to describe a survey conducted with perinatal physicians and nurses on their knowledge and professional use of NFP. Four hundred and fifty physicians and nurses (150 MDs and 300 RNs) were sent a questionnaire on the use of and knowledge of NFP. One hundred sixty-six (or 37%) returned the completed questionnaires. Fifty-two percent of the nurses who returned the questionnaires and 48% of the physicians indicated they were taught about NFP in basic (generic) medical or nursing school. The average lecture time spent on the subject in either nursing or medical school was less than one hour. The majority learned about NFP through self-education or on-the-job training. Only four (1 RN and 3 MDs) are certified to teach NFP. Fifty-three percent of the nurses and 44% of physicians would not advise the use of NFP to avoid pregnancy. The most frequent reasons given for not promoting the use of NFP to either avoid or achieve pregnancy were that it is not effective, not natural, too difficult to learn, better methods are available, and it only works for highly motivated educated women.


Manufacturing systems are today developed as engineer to order solutions tailored to producing a specific product or a limited product mix. Such dedicated systems are not consistent with market demands for rapid product changes, product variety, and customisation, which require flexibility and responsiveness of manufacturing systems. A Reconfigurable Manufacturing System (RMS) is aimed at possess such flexibility and responsiveness and is said to be the manufacturing paradigm of tomorrow. RMS is, though, not yet fully developed. A similarity between RMS and modular product families, known from Mass Customisation (MC), is seen and based on this similarity a potential to maturing RMS further by applying MC methods and techniques is identified. Based on literature surveys this paper analyses this potential by diagnosing gabs for RMS to succeed as a MC product. For each gab MC theory holds related methods and techniques, which indicates a potential and, herby, an area of interest for further study.


An analysis to show the capability of moving mesh strategy to predict dynamic crack growth phenomena in 2D continuum media is proposed. The numerical method is implemented in the framework of the finite element method, which is coupled with moving mesh strategy to simulate the geometry variation produced by the crack tip motion. In particular, a computational procedure based on the combination of Fracture Mechanics concepts and Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian approach (ALE) is developed. This represents a generalization of previous authors' works in a dynamic framework to propose a unified approach for predicting crack propagation in both static and dynamic frameworks. The crack speed is explicitly evaluated at each time step by using a proper crack tip speed criterion, which can be expressed as a function of energy release rate or stress intensity factor. Experimental and numerical results are proposed to validate the proposed approach. Mesh dependence problem, computational efficiency and numerical complexity are verified by comparative results


This paper provides survey evidence on firms' subjective uncertainty about future sales growth from a new representative panel data set of the German manufacturing sector. The main finding is that uncertainty reflects change: firms report more subjective uncertainty after either high or low growth realizations. In the cross section of firms, subjective uncertainty differs from statistical measures of uncertainty such as volatility: fast-growing and large firms report lower subjective uncertainty than fast-shrinking and small firms, respectively, even if they face shocks of similar size. In contrast, the substantial time variation in firm-specific subjective uncertainty resembles that in conditional volatility: both measures of uncertainty are mildly persistent and rise more when growth is temporarily low.


What does reading mean in the twenty-first century? As other disciplines challenge literary criticism's authority to answer this question, English professors themselves are defining new alternatives to close reading and to interpretation more generally. Further Reading brings together thirty commissioned essays drawing on approaches as different as formalism, historicism, neuroscience, disability, and computation. Contributors take up the following questions: What do we mean when we talk about "reading" today? How are reading techniques evolving in the digital era? What is the future of reading? This book foregrounds reading as a topic worthy of investigation in its own right rather than as a sub-section of histories of the book, sociologies of literacy, or theories of literature. As our knowledge of reading changes in step with the media and the scholarly tools used to apprehend it, a more precise understanding of this topic is crucial to the discipline's future. This collection therefore seeks to introduce new ways of conceptualizing the term's forms, boundaries, and uses. Its contributors bring varied vocabularies to bear on the contested nature and continued importance of reading, within the academy and beyond.


Initial results of evaluation of a new highly sensitive readout system for use with ionization chamber environmental low level radiation detectors are presented. The designed readout provides low noise shaping and filtering of the signals from the individual ionization events in such detectors, and also provides interface to the external continuously running Data Acquisition system. A dedicated analog to digital converter operating at a sampling rate in the range of 50 to 200 kHz and the developed data processing algorithms allow extraction of the ionization event signals from the data flow and measurement of the ionization value for each event in the detector. Such measurement provides an opportunity to roughly characterize the energy spectrum of the observed environmental radiation field. The new readout was installed in a commercial Reuter-Stokes High Pressure Ionization Chamber. The Data Acquisition system was assembled using the M-Audio Audiophile 192 High-Definition 24-bit/192 kHz audio PCI card installed in a PC computer operating under LINUX OS. The ionization chamber with installed electronics was tested in operation in several locations around the site at the CEBAF accelerator for continuous monitoring of very small, less than 0.2 murem/h, dose variations correlated to the accelerator operations. The results indicate feasibility of using this technique in setups where a very high sensitivity and stability of environmental radiation dose measurements is required and there is a need for detecting small man-generated signals in the presence of larger and variable natural radiation background.


Background: Inflammation is known to promote tumor formation and progression; however, we found a natural anti-inflammatory factor, interleukin (IL)-1 receptor antagonist (IL1RN), in a mouse transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP)-C1-derived tumor microenvironment (TME). We sought to characterize the functions of the IL1RN-secreting cells in the TME. Methods: We compared tumors collected from two syngeneic mouse models and isolated tumor-infiltrating leukocytes (TILs) with different cluster of differentiation 11b (CD11b) statuses. We examined the proliferation functions of the TILs and the IL1RN using several approaches, including a colony-formation assay and DNA synthesis levels. Results: We demonstrated that CD11b-deficient TILs (TILs/CD11b−) secreted the IL1RN and promoted proliferation by analyzing conditioned media. In addition to mouse TRAMP-C1, proliferation functions of the IL1RN were confirmed in several human castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) cell lines and one normal epithelial cell line. The androgen-sensitive lymph node carcinoma of the prostate (LNCaP) cell line showed cytotoxic responses to IL1β treatment and androgen-dependent regulation of IL-1 receptor type 1 (IL1R1), while the C4-2 CRPC cell line did not. IL1RN rescued LNCaP cells from the cytotoxic effects of IL1β/IL1R1 signaling. Conclusions: Our results support TILs/CD11b− cells being able to protect androgen-dependent cells from inflammatory damage and promote the malignant progression of prostate cancers partly through the IL1RN in the TME.


Background: Video instruction as a form of education has steadily increased over the past two decades (Whatley & Ahmad, 2007). Current research supports the use of web-based video learning as an adjunct to traditional education to increase knowledge and competency of skills. Despite the many studies showing the effectiveness of video based learning into traditional based learning methods, there are few web-based anesthesia specific platforms with reviewable audiovisual outlets for student registered nurse anesthetists (SRNA) to increase clinical skill competency and confidence. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a newly developed webbased clinical simulation education for SRNA's, with specific emphasis in the areas of perceived confidence and knowledge enhancement in bag-valve-mask (BVM) ventilation video education. Methods: A single group pre-test post-test design was used to compare the perceived effectiveness of video simulation education. A convenience sampling approach was used obtain student volunteers in their second year of graduate school as SRNA's at NorthShore University HealthSystem School of Nurse Anesthesia in Evanston, Illinois. Results: Eighteen SRNA's participated in the single group pre-test post-test design to compare the perceived effectiveness of video simulation education. Using a paired t test the results suggest web based simulation video intervention significantly increased the SRNA's perceived knowledge (p=.01) and confidence (p=.013), as well as their opinion on video learning (p=.05). The SRNAs gained an average of 4.44 points (95% confidence interval, 1.171, 7.718) on overall mean test scores after watching the web based simulation video on BVM ventilation. Conclusions: Implementation of the BVM ventilation video increased SRNAs knowledge and confidence on the BVM ventilation skill, and improved their opinion on video learning in the educational setting. Web-based anesthesia specific platforms with reviewable audio-visual outlets for student registered nurse anesthetists increase clinical skill competency and confidence.


Many studies have explored the individual differences, including differences in IQ, higher order thinking skills, and divergent thinking (DT), between gifted and nongifted students. However, little is known about individual differences between gifted and nongifted students in terms of problem finding (PF) ability. Moreover, previous works on gifted students have never explored the association between PF and evaluative thinking. This study examined individual differences in the PF abilities of gifted (N = 175) and nongifted students (N = 188) and tested the relationship between PF and evaluative thinking, which include the individual ability for self-reflection and the ability to evaluate problems.Keywords: gifted, nongifted, problem finding, divergent thinking, evaluative thinking


Integrated Circuit (IC) manufacturing consists of four major phases - wafer fabrication, wafer probe, IC packaging, and final test. Wafer fabrication and wafer probe belong to front-end process, while IC packaging and final test belong to backend process. In this research, integrated capacity planning system (ICPS) is proposed for IC backend manufacturing by taking into account the capacity and capability of resources. This study develops integrated infinite capacity planning integrating the capacity planning of both IC packaging and final test processes to minimize the standard deviations of machine utilization and kit utilization as well as the total extra capacity requirement (as a percentage) exceeding the capacity limit of machine and kit. ICPS applies the concept of workload leveling and infinite capacity planning on dual resources. ICPS consists of five modules: Work-In-Process (WIP) Pulling Module, Lot Release Module, Resource Selection Module, Workload Accumulation Module, and Workload Balance Module. WIP-Pulling Module pulls WIP from the end of the process route to meet the master production schedule (MPS). If WIP cannot meet the MPS requirement, Lot Release Module is executed. ICPS will use Resource Selection Module to accumulate the required resource capacity along its routine at different time buckets. Workload Accumulation Module simultaneously accumulates the workload of the major resources. Workload Balance Module levels the loading of resources by adjusting the lot's start time using these resources. ICPS is developed in Microsoft Visual Basic and industrial data are used to test its performance. The results show that ICPS is effective and efficient to balance the workload of resources for IC backend factories including packaging and final test.


In order to test conventional wisdom about modern Satanists, an online questionnaire was used to gather data from 140 respondents. Based on this data, a demographic and ideological profile was constructed which indicated that the statistically-average Satanist is an unmarried, white male in his mid-twenties with a few years of college. He became involved in Satanism through something he read in high school, and has been a self-identified Satanist for more than seven years. Raised Christian, he explored one non-Satanist religious group beyond the one in which he was raised before settling into Satanism. His view of Satan is some variety of non-theistic humanism and he practices magic. The length of average involvement and the often reflective responses to open- ended questions indicates that, far from being confined to adolescent rebels, many Satanists are reflective individuals who--despite the fact that youthful rebellion was usually a factor in the beginning--have come to appropriate Satanism as a mature religious option.


Abstract The CCCH-type zinc finger (ZnF) containing ZC3H12 ribonucleases are crucial in post-transcriptional immune homoeostasis with ZC3H12A being the only structurally studied member of the family. In this study, we present a structural-biochemical characterization of ZC3H12C, which is linked with chronic immune disorders like psoriasis. We established that the RNA substrate is cooperatively recognized by the PIN and ZnF domains of ZC3H12C and analyzed the crystal structure of ZC3H12C bound to a single-stranded RNA substrate. The RNA engages in hydrogen-bonded contacts and stacking interactions with the PIN and ZnF domains simultaneously. The ZC3H12 ZnF shows unprecedented structural features not previously observed in any member of the CCCH-ZnF family and utilizes stacking interactions via a unique combination of spatially conserved aromatic residues to align the target transcript in a bent conformation onto the ZnF scaffold. Further comparative structural analysis of ZC3H12 CCCH-ZnF suggests that a trinucleotide sequence is recognized by ZC3H12 ZnF in target RNA. Our work not only describes the initial structure-biochemical study on ZC3H12C, but also provides the first molecular insight into RNA recognition by a ZC3H12 family member. Finally, our work points to an evolutionary code for RNA recognition adopted by CCCH-type ZnF proteins.


ABSTRACT Intensive agriculture in China over recent decades has successfully realized food security but at the expense of negative environmental impacts. Achieving green transformation of agriculture in China requires fundamental restructuring of cropping systems. This paper presents a theoretical framework of theory, approaches and implementation of crop diversification schemes in China. Initially, crop diversification schemes require identifying multiple objectives by simultaneously considering natural resources, limiting factors/constraints, and social and economic demands of different stakeholders. Then, it is necessary to optimize existing and/or design novel cropping systems based upon farming practices and ecological principles, and to strengthen targeted ecosystem services to achieve the identified objectives. Next, the resulting diversified cropping systems need to be evaluated and examined by employing experimental and modeling approaches. Finally, a strategic plan, as presented in this paper, is needed for implementing an optimized crop diversification in China based upon regional characteristics with the concurrent objectives of safe, nutritious food production and environmental protection. The North China Plain is used as an example to illustrate the strategic plan to optimize and design diversified cropping systems. The implementation of crop diversification in China will set an example for other countries undergoing agricultural transition, and contribute to global sustainable development.


While the Internet is evolving to the Internet of Things, all other technologies that are related to it are also advancing in a way to contain and support concepts like device-to-device networking, proximate discovery, energy efficiency and security. One of the fastest thrives can be seen in mobile communication technologies. This became more obvious after 4G spread out. In our study, we present a review of a new and revolutionary mobile technology under development: LTE Direct; which runs on licensed radio spectrum and is claimed to be energy efficient and secure, while enabling new approaches for the Internet of Things. We state why and how LTE Direct should replace existing systems, by making an analysis considering provided features, resource consumption, possible use cases and security concerns, as well as comparisons with the conventional technologies. Lastly, we provide ideas for the areas where further research should be made to have this system be a reality.


Introduction: Methanol is a clear, colorless, and highly toxic liquid which is a common component of antifreeze solutions, paints, varnishes, gasoline mixtures, and various solvents. Even though methanol is used only in industry, when ingested accidentally or for suicide it may cause methanol intoxication which has high mortality rates. Methanol intoxication is generally seen after accidental or suicidal oral intake. Methanol can be absorbed by inhalation or through the skin, which rarely leads to clinical toxicity.Case Report: Herein, we present a case of methanol intoxication associated with absorption through the skin which is one of the rare ways of poisoning. We aim to emphasize that methanol intoxication rarely occurs after dermal exposure.Conclusion: Emergency department physicians must consider methanol intoxication in patients of high anion gap metabolic acidosis with visual symptoms even if the patient has no history of oral intake


Mobile phones are powerful image and video processing device containing the other various features like high-resolution cameras, display color, and hardware-accelerated graphics. The various applications give rise to a key technique of daily life visual object recognition. On premise sign is a popular form of commercial advertising, widely used in our daily life. The OPSs containing visual diversity associate with complex environmental conditions. Observing that, today"s in most of existing image data set OPSs characteristics are lacking. In this, first proposed an OPS-62 data set, in which totally 4649 OPS images of 62 different businesses are collected from Google"s Street View. For addressing the problem of real-world OPS learning and recognition, was developed a probabilistic framework based on the distributional clustering, in order to exploit the distributional information of each visual feature. Learning OPS images for more accurate recognitions and less false alarms. Main approach is simple, linear, and can be executed in a parallel fashion, making it practical and scalable for large scale multimedia applications.


Wireless sensors have been widely suggested as a technology to extend the capability of Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) on rotorcraft. Free from the constraints of hard wiring, wireless systems not only appear to offer a cost-effective solution, but in cases of instrumenting rotating or hard to reach parts, sometimes the only solution. Wireless data connections can be implemented using a range of mature technologies, however to be a truly wireless system, power cabling must be also be eliminated. This requires either local energy storage in a battery, energy harvesting (where power is generated from the ambient conditions of the sensor node), or a form of wireless power transfer. Of these solutions, only batteries can be considered mature. In this paper the power requirements of a wireless HUMS sensor node, designed to be mounted directly on the rotor head, are described and the possible power solutions considered. The very best energy-dense batteries currently available could power this node for many 100's of flight hours (for a reasonable battery volume) but it is unlikely these chemistries would be acceptable in the high stress rotating environment; battery technologies that are proven for high g environments would power this node for just a few 10's of flight hours. A vibration-powered generator is described which can produce up to 50mW average power during flight, potentially providing the 1000+ flight hours desirable for whole lifetime monitoring of rotor head parts.


Objectives

To describe the record linkage system that is currently implemented at the Provincial Health Data Centre (PHDC) in the Western Cape, South Africa
To assess its output to date with respect to types of matches and duplicates trends
To describe the errors affecting patient matching

ApproachWe apply a stepwise deterministic record linkage approach to link patient data that are routinely collected from health information systems in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Variables used in the linkage process include South African National Identity number (RSA ID), date of birth, year of birth, month of birth, day of birth, residential address and contact information. Matching records are established from sequentially running the data through multiple passes formed by various combinations of linkage variables. Descriptive analyses are used to estimate the extent of mismatches and duplication in the provincial patient master index (PMI).
Results

The proportion of duplicates dropped from approximately 16.8% in December 2015 to 9.6% in October 2020, indicating improved data linkage over time.
Duplicates mainly arise from spelling errors, and surname and first names carry most of the errors, with different first names and surname for the same individual in approximately 22% of duplicates.
Linkage is also affected by completeness, with less than 30 % completeness for the South African national identity (RSA ID) number which is mainly because RSA ID is not mandatory when seeking healthcare.

ConclusionLinkage improvement could be due to improved registration practices. Further improvements are possible by repeating data linkage where patients register before creating a new patient record following a failed search. This could use the PHDC linkage approach whilst leveraging all data in addition to search terms used by the clerk.


Three Gram-positive, aerobic, non-motile, non-acid-alcohol-fast strains, designated I05-00051, I05-00074T and I03-00808, were isolated from different soil samples in Beijing and Sichuan, China. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and DNA-DNA hybridization experiments revealed that these three isolates represented the same genospecies. These three strains showed <97.0 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with the type strains of recognized species of the genus Saccharopolyspora, with the exception of Saccharopolyspora hirsuta subsp. hirsuta DSM 43463T (98.1 % gene sequence similarity) and Saccharopolyspora spinosa DSM 44228T (98.0 % similarity). Chemotaxonomic data, including meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid, arabinose and galactose as predominant sugars, iso-C15 : 0, iso-C16 : 0, iso-C17 : 0 and anteiso-C17 : 0 as major fatty acids, MK-9(H4) as predominant menaquinone and polar lipids dominated by diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol, supported the affiliation of these three organisms to the genus Saccharopolyspora. The genomic DNA G+C contents of the three isolates were 68.2-69.9 mol%. The results of DNA-DNA hybridization experiments among these three isolates and S. hirsuta subsp. hirsuta DSM 43463T and S. spinosa DSM 44228T, in combination with chemotaxonomic and physiological data, demonstrated that the three new isolates represent a novel species of the genus Saccharopolyspora, for which the name Saccharopolyspora antimicrobica sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is I05-00074T (=CCM 7463T=KCTC 19303T).


Computational intelligence (CI) tools have been successfully applied in different fields with superior performances. Neuro-fuzzy system (NFS) is one the approach which combines the benefits of two powerful CI tools known as artificial neural networks (ANN) and fuzzy logic. Although NFS has attracted researchers in many areas of study, few of its applications have been undertaken in hydrological modeling. Adaptive Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) is so far the most established NFS technique and this study is an application of ANFIS in river stage prediction by using rainfall and stage antecedents as inputs in the tropical catchment of Bekok River in Malaysia. To evaluate the performance of the ANFIS model, it was compared with a traditional modeling technique known as autoregressive model with exogenous inputs (ARX). The results of this study were evaluated based on several statistical measures such as coefficient of efficiency (CE), coefficient of determination (r2), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Mean Absolute Error (MAE). The results showed that ANFIS can successfully predict the river stage and it outperforms ARX model significantly. ANFIS was also found better in estimating peak river stages comparing to ARX model. This study demonstrates the auspicious potential of ANFIS in river stage modeling.


Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been increasingly accepted as a major external risk factor for neurodegenerative morbidity and mortality. Recent evidence indicates that the resultant chronic neurobiological sequelae following head trauma may, at least in part, contribute to a pathologically distinct disease known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). The clinical manifestation of CTE is variable, but the symptoms of this progressive disease include impaired memory and cognition, affective disorders (i.e., impulsivity, aggression, depression, suicidality, etc.), and diminished motor control. Notably, mounting evidence suggests that the pathology contributing to CTE may be caused by repetitive exposure to subconcussive hits to the head, even in those with no history of a clinically evident head injury. Given the millions of athletes and military personnel with potential exposure to repetitive subconcussive insults and TBI, CTE represents an important public health issue. However, the incidence rates and pathological mechanisms are still largely unknown, primarily due to the fact that there is no in vivo diagnostic tool. The primary objective of this manuscript is to address this limitation and discuss potential neuroimaging modalities that may be capable of diagnosing CTE in vivo through the detection of tau and other known pathological features. Additionally, we will discuss the challenges of TBI research, outline the known pathology of CTE (with an emphasis on Tau), review current neuroimaging modalities to assess the potential routes for in vivo diagnosis, and discuss the future directions of CTE research.