In both sickle cell (SS) anemia and beta-thalassemia (beta-thal), an increase in fetal hemoglobin (HbF) ameliorates the clinical symptoms of the underlying disease. Several pharmacologic agents have been used to elevate HbF levels in adults; however, concerns regarding adverse effects of the prevailing drugs raise an urgent need for other agents capable of stimulating HbF production. We show here that sodium phenylacetate (NaPA) and its precursor, sodium 4-phenylbutyrate (NaPB), can enhance HbF production in cultured erythroid progenitor derived from normal donors and patients with SS anemia or beta-thal, when used at pharmacologic concentrations. Treatment resulted in (1) reduced cell proliferation, (2) elevated hemoglobin (Hb) content per cell (mean cellular Hb [MCH]), and (3) an increased proportion of HbF produced, associated with elevated levels of gamma-globin mRNA. Moreover, the active phenyl-fatty acids, with NaPA as a prototype, potentiated HbF induction by other drugs of clinical interest, including hydroxyurea (HU), sodium butyrate, and 5-azacytidine (5AzaC). Efficacy could be further enhanced by introducing chlorine substituents at the phenyl ring to increase drug lipophilicity. Our findings indicate that NaPA and NaPB, both already proven safe and effective in treatment of children with urea cycle disorders, might benefit also patients with severe hemoglobinopathies. The two-phase liquid culture procedure used in this study should prove valuable in further studies exploring the mechanisms of HbF induction by these agents, and might provide an assay to predict patient response in the clinical setting.


The journal is an official journal of CRF focused upon diseases of the heart valves, myocardium, pericardium, and great vessels as well as congenital heart disease. Structural Heart publishes peer-reviewed clinical and experimental manuscripts on all aspects of these cardiovascular diseases. The Journal will emphasize the important role of the heart team in diagnosing and treating these disorders. Topics covered include diagnostic techniques, percutaneous interventional procedures, cardiovascular surgery, drug treatment, findings from the laboratory, and clinical trials. Symposia, clinical reviews and updates, editorial commentary, and letters are regular features, with occasional publication of opinion pieces and commentary. Structural Heart also publishes consensus documents and white papers with recommendations on current topics in cardiovascular disease. STRUCTURAL HEART 2017, VOL. 1, NOS. 1–2, 1 https://doi.org/10.1080/24748706.2017.1326241


How might ADHD symptomatology influence adults' ability to process and recall the actions of others? University undergraduates observed a woman packing a suitcase by advancing through a self-paced slide show of still images extracted from a digital video, and were then asked to recall as many actions as possible. Results showed that lower self-reported retrospective ADHD symptomatology was associated with a) longer overall dwelling on images from the slideshow, r(91) = -.315, p=.002, and b) recall of more actions r(85) = -.237, p=01. Further, exploratory analyses indicated that ADHD symptomatology modulated the specific linkage between dwell time patterns and stronger recall: Attention to fine-grain details within activity improved recall for those reporting higher ADHD symptomatology; those reporting lower ADHD symptomatology displayed stronger recall when prioritizing attention at a more coarse-grain level, F(1,83) = 4.19, p=.04. These findings offer suggestive novel evidence that ADHD has implications for event processing.


The recent drive for use of performance-based methodologies in design and assessment of structures in seismic areas has significantly increased the demand for the development of reliable nonlinear inelastic static pushover analysis tools. As a result, the adaptive pushover methods have been developed during the last decade, which unlike their conventional pushover counterparts, feature the ability to account for the effect that higher modes of vibration and progressive stiffness degradation might have on the distribution of seismic storey forces. Even in advanced pushover methods, little attention has been paid to the Unsymmetric structures. This study evaluates the seismic demands for three dimensional Unsymmetric-Plan buildings determined by the Displacement-based Adaptive Pushover (DAP) analysis, which has been introduced by Antoniou and Pinho [2004]. The capability of DAP procedure in capturing the torsional effects due to the irregularities of the structures, is investigated by comparing its estimates to the exact results, obtained from Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA). Also the capability of the procedure in prediction the seismic behaviour of the structure is discussed. Keywords—Nonlinear static procedures; Unsymmetric-Plan Buildings; Torsional effects; IDA.


Aim: To report the incidence, injury mechanisms and assessment of concussion in two levels of amateur senior rugby league over 2008-2011. Methods: A prospective observational study of competition injuries in a New Zealand rugby league domestic club with two levels of participation (amateur representative, amateur premier domestic) between 2008-2011. All injuries were recorded on a standardised injury reporting form. Players were evaluated with the SCAT in 2008, and SCAT-2 in the 2009-2011 seasons as part of the health practitioner assessment. Differences were assessed by player level (club, representative), history of concussion (new, recurrent) and type of play (match, training). Results: There were 43 matches and 434 training sessions resulting in 1,849 matches and 18,279 training exposure hr. There were 40 match-related and seven training-related concussions recorded. Concussion incidence was higher for the amateur representative players (37.2 per 1,000 match-hr) than the amateur premier domestic players (16.1 per 1,000 match-hr). The most common injury mechanism for a concussion was during the tackle to the ball-carrier. When compared with the tackler (5 per 1,000 match-hr), the ball carrier (13 per 1,000 match-hr) recorded three-fold more concussions. Highest concussion incidence occurred in the fourth quarter (38.9 per 1,000 match-hr) of matches. Most concussion injuries occurred in the fourth-quarter and second half of matches. Discussion: Future studies should consider a longitudinal review incorporating recovery time, repeat concussion intervals, and differences in recovery time, for players with recurrent concussions in the same year against repeat concussions over the longitudinal period. What is known about the subject? • The number of concussions that occur in rugby league have varied depending upon the level of participation and the injury definition utilised, • Concussion epidemiology is limited by the lack of empirical data as most studies are typically on one team for a limited period, • Concussion is typically reported as part of wider studies reporting on the incidence of injuries in match and training rugby league studies. What this study adds to existing knowledge? • At the amateur rugby league level of participation, the incidence of concussion is higher than professional rugby league, • Inclusion of symptom indices can assist with the identification of the distress the concussed player is undergoing as a result of the concussive injury.


This paper analyzes the effect of the introduction of a flat tax schedule on capital income on the progressivity of the German personal income tax, with a particular focus on top income groups. The reform-induced change in net incomes is proposed as a measure for progressivity changes at the top. Changes in vertical and on horizontal equity are analyzed and broken down by reform component. The analysis is based on a micro-level panel dataset of income tax returns between 2001 and 2006 that is particularly representative for the top of the income distribution. The panel structure is used to construct a permanent reform effect that is less prone to annual volatility in income composition. The reform is found to be regressive. It is shown that the reform included substantial loopholes. Within the top of the distribution, the gain in net incomes is spread widely, but is not negative under plausible assumptions on reporting adjustments.


Many experimental procedures require drastic alterations of muscle fibers, such as cutting the fiber or injecting molecular probes through microelectrodes. We report the ultrastructure of similarly altered muscle fibers and the intracellular distribution of injected horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Cut fibers appear structurally normal at distances greater than 500 microM from the cut end, however, the structure deteriorates nearer to the cut. HRP diffuses longitudinally about 2,000 micrometer from the cut end and the concentration is uniform over the fiber's cross section. If HRP is introduced intracellularly either by pressure injection or through a nick in the sarcolemma, it distributes in a C-shaped annulus extending approximately 2,000 micrometer longitudinally and 1-20 micrometer radially. The ultrastructure of injected or nicked fibers appears normal. The HRP freely entered the junctional gap between T-system and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) but was excluded from either structure. Occasionally, a light pillar could be seen between T-system and SR; the space of these pillars suggest they are the central area of the "feet" appearing light against the dark marker.


Creating semiconductor nanocages The surface area of nanomaterials can be increased by creating open cage structures. Now it seems that the shape of nanocrystals can be used as a tool to manipulate crystal structure in nanocrystals. Wu et al. show how single nanocrystals of copper oxide are converted through anion exchange reactions to multiply twinned open cages of a copper sulfide in a process that changes the crystal lattice symmetries. These structures were then converted into cadmium sulfide nanocages through cation exchange. Science, this issue p. 1306 Copper oxide nanocrystals can be converted in copper sulfide and cadmium sulfide nanocages via exchange reactions. The crystal structure of ionic nanocrystals (NCs) is usually controlled through reaction temperature, according to their phase diagram. We show that when ionic NCs with different shapes, but identical crystal structures, were subjected to anion exchange reactions under ambient conditions, pseudomorphic products with different crystal systems were obtained. The shape-dependent anionic framework (surface anion sublattice and stacking pattern) of Cu2O NCs determined the crystal system of anion-exchanged products of CuxS nanocages. This method enabled us to convert a body-centered cubic lattice into either a face-centered cubic or a hexagonally close-packed lattice to form crystallographically unusual, multiply twinned structures. Subsequent cation exchange reactions produced CdS nanocages while preserving the multiply-twinned structures. A high-temperature stable phase such as wurtzite ZnS was also obtained with this method at ambient conditions.


Big-data computing is a new critical challenge for the ICT industry. Engineers and researchers are dealing with data sets of petabyte scale in the cloud computing paradigm. Thus, the demand for building a service stack to distribute, manage, and process massive data sets has risen drastically. In this paper, we investigate the Big Data Broadcasting problem for a single source node to broadcast a big chunk of data to a set of nodes with the objective of minimizing the maximum completion time. These nodes may locate in the same datacenter or across geo-distributed datacenters. This problem is one of the fundamental problems in distributed computing and is known to be NP-hard in heterogeneous environments. We model the Big-data broadcasting problem into a LockStep Broadcast Tree (LSBT) problem. The main idea of the LSBT model is to define a basic unit of upload bandwidth, r, such that a node with capacity c broadcasts data to a set of [c/r] children at the rater. Note that r is a parameter to be optimized as part of the LSBT problem. We further divide the broadcast data into m chunks. These data chunks can then be broadcast down the LSBT in a pipeline manner. In a homogeneous network environment in which each node has the same upload capacity c, we show that the optimal uplink rate r* of LSBT is either c/2 or c/3, whichever gives the smaller maximum completion time. For heterogeneous environments, we present an O(nlog2n) algorithm to select an optimal uplink rater* and to construct an optimal LSBT. Numerical results show that our approach performs well with less maximum completion time and lower computational complexity than other efficient solutions in literature.


Synthetic aperture radar in the application of remote sensing technology is becoming more and more widely because of its all-time and all-weather operation, feature extraction research in high resolution SAR image has become a hot topic of concern. In particular, with the continuous improvement of airborne SAR image resolution, image texture information become more abundant. It's of great significance to classification and extraction. In this paper, a novel method for built-up areas extraction using both statistical and structural features is proposed according to the built-up texture features. First of all, statistical texture features and structural features are respectively extracted by classical method of gray level co-occurrence matrix and method of variogram function, and the direction information is considered in this process. Next, feature weights are calculated innovatively according to the Bhattacharyya distance. Then, all features are weighted fusion. At last, the fused image is classified with K-means classification method and the built-up areas are extracted after post classification process. The proposed method has been tested by domestic airborne P band polarization SAR images, at the same time, two groups of experiments based on the method of statistical texture and the method of structural texture were carried out respectively. On the basis of qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis based on the built-up area selected artificially is enforced, in the relatively simple experimentation area, detection rate is more than 90%, in the relatively complex experimentation area, detection rate is also higher than the other two methods. In the study-area, the results show that this method can effectively and accurately extract built-up areas in high resolution airborne SAR imagery.


Mixing is an essential, yet challenging, process step for many Lab on a Chip (LOC) applications. This paper presents a method of mixing for microfluidic devices that relies upon electroosmotic flow. In physical tests and in computer simulations, we periodically vary the electric field with time to mix two aqueous solutions. Good mixing is shown to occur when the electroosmotic flow at the two inlets pulse out of phase, the Strouhal number is on the order of 1, and the pulse volumes are on the order of the intersection volume.


Chronic prurigo is defined as a distinct skin condition characterized by a chronic pruritus, for at least 6 weeks, with localized or generalized multiple skin lesions like papules, nodules and/or plaques, associated with signs of repeated scratching.
Data from literature list several forms of chronic prurigo, the most common being prurigo nodularis. The diagnosis in chronic prurigo is made only based on clinical criteria.
The pathophysiological mechanisms are still in debate, but according to the current hypotheses, it seems that these skin manifestations are the consequence of a neuronal sensitization.
Different causes can trigger pruritus, which results in scratching. In time, this repetitive process leads to neuronal sensitization and to the development of papules, nodules, plaques and/or umbilicated lesions.
For chronic prurigo workup there are recommended investigations to identify the different causes of pruritus and to rule out other diseases with a poor prognosis, which are taken into account for differential diagnosis.


The local government bodies of Bangladesh have always been dominated and controlled by men––the traditional power holders. Bangladeshi rural women are mostly confined to household chores and engaged in subsistence agricultural activities due to the patriarchal social system and a rigid gender division of labour. Moreover, women's lives are controlled by cultural and religious gender norms which limit their mobility in public spaces and political participation. Hence, women's participation in local government has always been a symbol of tokenism up until the introduction of a direct election system for women. Given this context, this study explores how Bangladeshi rural women have proved themselves to be the change-makers in the rural society and what influencing factors supported them in reconstructing their traditional gender identities despite social and structural constraints. The study was conducted through a qualitative inquiry by adopting a case study approach. Data and information for the study were collected through 12 in-depth (IDI) interviews of elected female Union Parishads (lowest local administrative unit) (UP) chairpersons, UP members and Upazila (subdistrict local administration council) female vice chairpersons along with four focus group discussions and five key informant interviews from four selected districts of Bangladesh. This study concluded that these female leaders are enormously motivated and committed to reshaping their traditional gender identity and altering unequal gender power relations that predominantly factor in the rural social fabric of Bangladesh.


ABSTRACT Bovine tuberculosis remains one of the most damaging diseases to agriculture, and there is also a concern for human spillover. A critical need exists for rapid, thorough, and inexpensive diagnostic methods capable of detecting and differentiating Mycobacterium bovis infection from other pathogenic and environmental mycobacteria at multiple surveillance levels. In a previous study, Seth et al. (PLoS One 4:e5478, 2009, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005478) identified 32 host peptides that specifically increased in the blood serum of M. bovis-infected animals). In the current study, 16 M. bovis proteins were discovered in the blood serum proteomics data sets. A large-scale validation analysis was undertaken for selected host and M. bovis proteins using a cattle serum repository containing M. bovis (n = 128), Mycobacterium kansasii (n = 10), and Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (n = 10), cases exposed to M. bovis (n = 424), and negative controls (n = 38). Of the host biomarkers, vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) showed the greatest sensitivity and specificity for M. bovis detection. Circulating M. bovis proteins, specifically polyketide synthetase 5, detected M. bovis-infected cattle with little to no seroreactivity against M. kansasii- and M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis-infected animals. These data indicate that host and pathogen serum proteins can serve as reliable biomarkers for tracking M. bovis infection in animal populations.


PURPOSE
Active tobacco smoking has been associated with the incidence of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. However, the impact of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on EGFR mutations has been unknown. We investigated an association between ETS exposure and EGFR mutations in never smokers with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS
We enrolled 179 consecutive never smokers who were newly diagnosed with NSCLC. The history of ETS exposure was obtained with a standardized questionnaire that included exposure period, place, and duration. The nucleotide sequences of exons 18 to 21 on EGFR gene were determined using nested polymerase chain reaction amplification.

RESULTS
The incidence of EGFR mutations was significantly lower in patients with ETS exposure than in those without (38.5% v 61.4%; P = .008). In a logistic regression model that adjusted for sex and histology, an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for the risk of EGFR mutations with exposure to ETS was 0.40 (95% CI, 0.20 to 0.81; P = .011). In quartile groups based on total smoker-year, the AORs for the lowest- to highest-quartile groups were 0.59 (95% CI, 0.23 to 1.49), 0.50 (95% CI, 0.17 to 1.50), 0.48 (95% CI, 0.20 to 1.18), and 0.22 (95% CI, 0.08 to 0.62; P(trend) = .028). Among the types of ETS exposure, adulthood ETS and household ETS were significantly associated with the incidence of EGFR mutations. Patients with ETS exposure showed a lower response rate to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors than did patients without ETS exposure (24.6% v 44.8%; P = .053).

CONCLUSION
ETS exposure is negatively associated with EGFR mutations in never smokers with NSCLC.


Background Functional neurological disorder is defined by symptoms not explained by the current model of disease and its pathophysiology. It is found in 8.4% of patients presenting as acute stroke. Treatment is difficult and recurrence rates are high. We introduced hypnotherapy as a therapeutic option in addition to standard stroke unit care. Methods This is an observational study of successive patients with functional neurological disorder presenting as acute stroke treated with hypnotherapy between 1 April 2014 and 1 February 2018. The diagnosis of functional neurological disorder was confirmed by clinical examination and computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging. Hypnosis was delivered by a hypnotherapy trained stroke physician using imagery for induction. A positive response was defined as a National Institutes of Health Stroke score reduction to 0 or by ≥4 points posthypnotherapy. Costs were calculated as therapist time and benefits as reduction in disability/bed days. Results Sixty-eight patients (mean age 36.4 years, 52 (76%) females, mean baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke 5.0 (range 1–9)) were included. Two patients (3%) could not be hypnotized. Fifty-eight 58 (85%) responded, 47 (81%) required one treatment session, while 19% needed up to three sessions for symptomatic improvement. No adverse events were observed. Disability (modified Rankin Scale) reduced from a mean of 2.3 to 0.5 resulting in an average cost saving of £1,658 per patient. Most (n = 50, 86%) remained well without recurrence at six-month follow-up. Conclusions In this case series, hypnotherapy was associated with rapid and sustained recovery of symptoms. A prospective randomized controlled study is required to confirm the findings and establish generalizability of the results.


There has been a growing realisation that almost 2 decades of diuretic prescribing in hypertension have not been evidence based. A recent meta-analysis confirmed that low-dose thiazides—hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) 25 mg in most of the world—achieve only small falls in ambulatory blood pressure (BP),1 and the 2011 revision of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE's) guidance for hypertension concedes lack of outcome data to support HCTZ 25 mg or bendroflumethiazide 2.5 mg.2 NICE does a U-turn on previous UK and all other international guidelines by dropping diuretic from first to third choice in most patients (unless deemed at 'high risk of heart failure'), and NICE seems to jump out of the frying pan into the fire by recommending formulations which are either not available in the UK (chlortalidone 12.5–25 mg) or have been used in only one outcome trial in hypertension, which was too small to achieve its primary outcome benefit (indapamide 1.25–2.5 mg). How did this mess come about, and what should now be done?

### Sodium (Na+) retention causes hypertension; diuretics developed to reverse Na+ retention

The thiazides were developed in the late 1950s as effective diuretics. In the next decade, they entered use as antihypertensive drugs, and over the next 3 decades, numerous outcome trials demonstrated their efficacy, alone and in combination, in preventing strokes and heart failure, being superior to placebo and non-inferior or equivalent to other antihypertensive classes. The doses used in such trials were those shown to be effectively natriuretic, for example, HCTZ 50 mg in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT), Medical Research Council (mild hypertension and elderly trials) and International Nifedipine GITS Study: Intervention as a Goal in Hypertension Treatment (INSIGHT).3–5 Lower doses were effective in combination with renin–angiotensin system (RAS) blockers, and such combinations are indeed effective natriuretic treatments, as is apparent from their widespread …


Previous research found genetic influences on the age at which people have their first child, the total number of children ever born and on childlessness. From an evolutionary perspective one might not expect genetic influences on childlessness to exist since genes that are deleterious for human reproduction would decrease in appearance and in the long run disappear. However, one reason for this counterintuitive finding could be that different genes influence male and female fertility and for that reason these genes will be passed on to the next generation. In this study we examine to what extent genetic factors influence childlessness and if different genes play a role for men and women. Data from the Swedish Twin Register, including genotyped same sex and opposite sex twin pairs is used to answer these questions. Results from the twin method and the extended GREML method indicate that 20% to 48% of the individual differences in childlessness is explained by genetic variation and that different genes influence childlessness in men and in women. These findings provide insight in the causes of why people remain childless, and might explain the evolutionary counterintuitive finding of genes influencing fertility.


Abstract. This study evaluates the applicability of the distributed, process-oriented Ecomag model for prediction of daily streamflow in ungauged basins. The Ecomag model is applied as a regional model to nine catchments in the NOPEX area, using Bayesian statistics to estimate the posterior distribution of the model parameters conditioned on the observed streamflow. The distribution is calculated by Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis. The Bayesian method requires formulation of a likelihood function for the parameters and three alternative formulations are used. The first is a subjectively chosen objective function that describes the goodness of fit between the simulated and observed streamflow, as defined in the GLUE framework. The second and third formulations are more statistically correct likelihood models that describe the simulation errors. The full statistical likelihood model describes the simulation errors as an AR(1) process, whereas the simple model excludes the auto-regressive part. The statistical parameters depend on the catchments and the hydrological processes and the statistical and the hydrological parameters are estimated simultaneously. The results show that the simple likelihood model gives the most robust parameter estimates. The simulation error may be explained to a large extent by the catchment characteristics and climatic conditions, so it is possible to transfer knowledge about them to ungauged catchments. The statistical models for the simulation errors indicate that structural errors in the model are more important than parameter uncertainties. Keywords: regional hydrological model, model uncertainty, Bayesian analysis, Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis


The goal of this paper is to revisit Kernel Principal Component Analysis (KPCA) through dualization of a difference of convex functions. This allows to naturally extend KPCA to multiple objective functions and leads to efficient gradient-based algorithms avoiding the expensive SVD of the Gram matrix. Particularly, we consider objective functions that can be written as Moreau envelopes, demonstrating how to promote robustness and sparsity within the same framework. The proposed method is evaluated on synthetic and real-world benchmarks, showing significant speedup in KPCA training time as well as highlighting the benefits in terms of robustness and sparsity.


The ability to store and manipulate information is a hallmark of computational systems. Whereas computers are carefully engineered to represent and perform mathematical operations on structured data, neurobiological systems perform analogous functions despite flexible organization and unstructured sensory input. Recent efforts have made progress in modeling the representation and recall of information in neural systems. However, precisely how neural systems learn to modify these representations remains far from understood. Here we demonstrate that a recurrent neural network (RNN) can learn to modify its representation of complex information using only examples, and we explain the associated learning mechanism with new theory. Specifically, we drive an RNN with examples of translated, linearly transformed, or pre-bifurcated time series from a chaotic Lorenz system, alongside an additional control signal that changes value for each example. By training the network to replicate the Lorenz inputs, it learns to autonomously evolve about a Lorenz-shaped manifold. Additionally, it learns to continuously interpolate and extrapolate the translation, transformation, and bifurcation of this representation far beyond the training data by changing the control signal. Finally, we provide a mechanism for how these computations are learned, and demonstrate that a single network can simultaneously learn multiple computations. Together, our results provide a simple but powerful mechanism by which an RNN can learn to manipulate internal representations of complex information, allowing for the principled study and precise design of RNNs.


Triclosan is an antimicrobial drug that is widely used in products for human hygiene, beauty and home cleanliness. It is a common compound in toothpaste that have showed efficacy on the control and treatment of gingivitis. However, during the last decade, the triclosan has been extensively investigated because of its cytotoxicity, its ability to disturb cellular mechanisms on endocrine-system cells, and because of its cancerogenic in vitro and in vivo properties. Moreover, public opinion has paid attention to the toxic action of the triclosan. Thus, the dentist should know the state of the art about the detrimental effects of triclosan on patients' health. This review explores the triclosan on its cytotoxicity, in vitro and in vivo cancerogenic effects, absorption in humans, and the toxic effects caused by triclosan toothpaste.


The war in former Yugoslavia (1991-95) exposed hundreds of thousands of children and adolescents to very intensive, often multiple traumatic experiences, followed by a chain of chronic and increasing problems in exile. This paper describes the theoretical framework, implementation and evaluation of Youth Clubs, a community-based psychosocial intervention implemented during the war years with the aim of supporting the psychosocial recovery and reintegration of young refugees in Serbia. The evaluation study confirmed that Youth Clubs are an efficient intervention that reduces suffering and prevents a negative outcome of traumatic experience in the majority of adolescent refugees. The author discusses the hypothesis that the 'healing' effect of the Youth Clubs intervention might be due to providing norms and context for the interpretation and understanding of traumatic events, offering young people opportunities to master the reality and find some new, meaningful goals that they can identify with and fight for. Thus, their pre-existing "conceptual maps", which were destroyed or profoundly shaken by the traumatic events, could be replaced by new ones enabling the young to give meaning to past and present experience and to pave the way towards the future.


Population differentiation during the ice ages, followed by range expansions has significantly contributed to the geographic distribution patterns of the genetic diversity in Europe. In this regard, the Iberian, Italian, Balkan peninsulas and Anatolia comprise important glacial refugia. In different parts of Anatolia, suture zones, where lineages that diverged in the different glacial refugia met again, were observed for several species. In this study, we investigated the mitochondrial genetic differentiation of the greater horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum in southeastern Europe and Anatolia. The mitochondrial DNA analyses indicated a suture zone in central Anatolia, similar to those recorded in other animal species, showing the presence of more than one refugium within the region. The time of the split of these lineages that diverged in allopatry was dated to the Pleistocene. However, the location of this suture zone did not coincide with the Sea of Marmara, not supporting a recent hypothesis, based on microsatellite data, which states that this water body might be an impediment to post glacial gene flow in this species.


Pure and Mn2+ doped CuInSe2 thin films (Mn content: 1 to 5 mole%) were deposited on indium doped tin oxide (ITO) glass substrates by a single step electrochemical deposition method at low temperature (358 K). The as-deposited pure CuInSe2 thin films were irradiated with Au8+ ions (100 MeV) at room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature with an ion fluency of 1 × 1014 ions per cm2. Glancing angle X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the as-deposited pure and Mn2+ doped CuInSe2 thin films and the irradiated thin films have a tetragonal crystal structure without any trace of secondary phases. Mn2+ doping does not alter the tetragonal structure of CuInSe2 thin films except for a strong (112) plane preferred orientation in all the doped thin films. The absorption coefficient's fall is sharper for 5 mole% Mn2+ doped and irradiated CuInSe2 thin films than for pure and 1 to 4 mole% Mn2+ doped CuInSe2 thin films due to better crystallinity. Magnetic measurements reveal that Mn2+ doping into the CuInSe2 lattice induces ferromagnetism. The electrical studies of Mn2+ doped and irradiated CuInSe2 thin films show that hole mobility and hole concentration increase with a slight decrease in resistivity. Mn2+ in CuInSe2 thin films acts as an acceptor and the original p-type conductivity is retained. The new antistructural modeling for describing the defects in the CuInSe2:Mn system shows that the dissolution of the Mn cations in the chalcopyrite matrix increases the hole concentration. Solar light irradiation with an intensity of 100 mW cm−2 on Mn2+ (5 mole%) doped and LNT irradiated CuInSe2 thin film-based cells resulted in a power conversion efficiency of 6.38 and 4.57%, respectively.


Abstract Cover crops are increasingly being used for weed management, and planting them as diverse mixtures has become an increasingly popular strategy for their implementation. While ecological theory suggests that cover crop mixtures should be more weed suppressive than cover crop monocultures, few experiments have explicitly tested this for more than a single temporal niche. We assessed the effects of cover crop mixtures (5- or 6-species and 14-species mixtures) and monocultures on weed abundance (weed biomass) and weed suppression at the time of cover crop termination. Separate experiments were conducted in Madbury, NH, from 2014 to 2017 for each of three temporal cover-cropping niches: summer (spring planting–summer termination), fall (summer planting–fall termination), and spring (fall planting–subsequent spring termination). Regardless of temporal niche, mixtures were never more weed suppressive than the most weed-suppressive cover crop grown as a monoculture, and the more diverse mixture (14 species) never outperformed the less diverse mixture. Mean weed-suppression levels of the best-performing monocultures in each temporal niche ranged from 97% to 98% for buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) in the summer niche and forage radish (Raphanus sativus L. var. niger J. Kern.) in the fall niche, and 83% to 100% for triticale (×Triticosecale Wittm. ex A. Camus [Secale × Triticum]) in the winter–spring niche. In comparison, weed-suppression levels for the mixtures ranged from 66% to 97%, 70% to 90%, and 67% to 99% in the summer, fall, and spring niches, respectively. Stability of weed suppression, measured as the coefficient of variation, was two to six times greater in the best-performing monoculture compared with the most stable mixture, depending on the temporal niche. Results of this study suggest that when weed suppression is the sole objective, farmers are more likely to achieve better results planting the most weed-suppressive cover crop as a monoculture than a mixture.


Double-walled carbon nanotube (DWNT) fibers are of great interest due to their electrical properties and light weight, making them attractive for industrial applications including their potential use in power transmission lines. We present here a detailed study of the mechanism by which hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) treatment improves the electrical transport of DWNT fibers. These fibers were immersed and sonicated in H2O2 for several hours. Experimental results suggest that residual H2O2 could be intercalated within intertube channels inside the bundles of DWNTs, and the oxidation treatment could also result in the removal of small diameter carbon nanotubes (CNTs). In addition, an increase in the fiber density resulted in a decrease of the electrical resistivity. The H2O2 treatment of the DWNT fibers resulted in a metallic-like temperature dependent resistivity behavior with a transition to a semiconducting-like behavior below 30 K. We compared the effects of H2O2 with other well-known solvents and additives commonly used to reduce the carbon nanotube fiber electrical resistivity and found that the electrical conductivity values observed in our study are as good as those obtained with thionyl chloride and iodine additives. The H2O2 method was also used to treat other forms of carbon, where only the multi-walled carbon nanotubes doped with nitrogen exhibited a decrease in electrical resistivity. The fabrication method presented here is simple, efficient and low cost, thus making it an ideal process to be applied in the fabrication of electrically conducting carbon nanotube fibers.


Owing to the lack of information in the literature about the ideal feeding frequency adopted by feedlot systems, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of different feeding frequencies on performance, carcass traits, feeding behavior and rumen morphometrics of Nellore cattle. Forty-eight yearling bulls were housed in individual pens with an average initial body weight of 358.2 kg. The experiment was designed as a completely randomized block and the treatments were the feeding of cattle one, two, three, or four times daily (n = 12 per treatment). Orthogonal contrasts were used to assess linear, quadratic and cubic relationship between feeding frequency and the dependent variable. As feeding frequency increased, final body weight (p = 0.03) and average daily gain (p = 0.01; one: 0.98 kg d–1; two: 0.96 kg d–1; three: 1.18 kg d–1; four: 1.14 kg d–1) increased linearly and the feed:gain ratio decreased (p = 0.02). Also, as feeding frequency increased, hot carcass weight was affected cubically (p = 0.01; one: 246.9 kg; two: 243.0 kg; three: 263.1 kg; four: 258.1 kg). During the adaptation period dry matter intake variation was affected cubically (p ≤ 0.05; one: 16 %; two: 23 %; three: 14 %; four: 16 %). Increases in feeding frequency affected papillae height (p < 0.01) and papillae surface area (p < 0.01) cubically, as well as producing increases in the mitotic index (p = 0.05; one: 9 %; two: 11 %; three: 13 %; four: 13 %) and cells in proliferation (p = 0.05) linearly. Thus, Nellore yearling bulls should be fed three times daily in feedlot operations.


The purpose of this work was to study the effect of indolylacetic acid (IAA) on the strains of Rhizobium leguminosarum, effective and noneffective with respect to symbiotic nitrogen fixation (L4 and 245a, and 14--73, respectively). IAA at a concentration of 50 mcg/ml and higher inhibited the growth of the bacterium, temporarily delayed celular division, and induced intensive formation of elongated bacteroid-like cells, predominantly Y-shaped or having a clavate shape. Many bacteroid-like cells were capable of division after a certain delay.


To assess efficacy and tolerability of axamon (ipidacrine) in the complex therapy of patients with cranial-brain injuries, 40 patients have been studied. Patients of the main group (20 persons) received, along with traditional therapy, axamon in dose 0,02 g 3 times daily during 2 months and patients of the control group (20 persons) received only traditional therapy. Clinical examination and assessment with NIS, Autonomic Symptoms Questionnaire, Hamilton anxiety scale, electrophysiological study (magnetic diagnostics, electroneuromyography with investigation of somatosensory evoked potentials, brain CT (MRI) have been conducted at the beginning of treatment and 1 and 2 months after. Axamon demonstrated the highest efficacy (p<0.05) in stopping anxiety symptoms in patients of the main group in the 1st month of treatment. After 2 months, a significant improvement of patient's state in the main group assessed by NIS and Hamilton anxiety scale (p<0.05) was found. Data of electrophysiological and neuroimaging study revealed significant positive changes reflected in the normalization of intracerebral conductance and resolution of structural changes of brain substances in the injury. Side-effects of the drug were brief and did not lead to stopping treatment.


Home ownership rates increased in most countries after World War II. In a sample of 13 industrialized economies, home ownership rates increased from 56 percent in 1970 to 65 percent in 1990. However, in most countries analysed for this article it appears that home ownership rates have not changed significantly after 1990. Most governments have supported the home ownership sector with various policy measures such as interest subsidies, building grants, income support, etc. This article presents a unique compilation of data on home ownership rates for the majority of the more industrialized countries, presents a model of the determinants of home ownership rates and attempts to explain the increase in home ownership rates, especially the role of government support. Data on government support policies has been collected by questionnaires completed by researchers in a large number of countries. A panel data set consisting of thirteen developed countries was developed and analysed with and without a fixedeffect model. The results indicate that there may be a positive correlation between home ownership rates and government support systems. Moreover, it appears that government policies to support home ownership implemented in non-anglophone countries may have been more effective than policies in anglophone countries. However, the sample size only allowed a preliminary evaluation of any patterns between the included variables. Growth Management and Sustainability: A Challenge for Spatial Planning and Property Development


۱ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University P.O. Box ۶٧٨, Amol, Mazandaran, Iran E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com ۲ Department of Mechanical Engineering, K.N. Toosi University of Technology Mollasadra Street, Vanak Square, Tehran, Iran E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com _____________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract: In the latest our work, the possibility of application of the advanced hypertrochoid curve in the inner surface of the stator of fixed displacement hydraulic balanced vane pump, theoretically, was studied. By considering the properties of this curve, sealing action between pressure and suction sides of the pump can be improved. One of the important characteristics of a new profile must be improving of the inertial reaction of the vanes in each position where these vanes have a radial movement because it causes a smooth sliding motion of the vanes, and hence, a higher performance of the pump while attaining a longer life of it. Then in the present paper, the effect of the inertial force of the vanes on the performance of the pump with this curve will be studied. The regular motion of the vanes on the inner surface of the stator with smooth profile suppresses the lateral reactional force applied to the vanes and results to diminish local wear of the vanes tip and noise.


: From 1956, when filariasis control was first listed in our national program, up to 1991, a cumulative total of 677,931,521 person-time blood examinations and 217,472,045 person-time diethylcarbamazine treatments were made in the whole country, and 835 (96.6%) out of the 864 endemic counties achieved the criterion for control of filariasis. Surveillance data collected in various provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities starting from the second year after they reached the criterion for control of filariasis demonstrated that in 1991 the microfilarial rate in human populations and natural infection of filarial larvae in mosquito vector populations in previous endemic areas had already declined to a very low level, even zero, without resurgence in quite a number of villages. In some places where filariasis was brought under control relatively early, the anti-filarial antibody positive rate of the human population has fallen to a level the same as or similar to that in nonendemic areas. Therefore, the data suggest that in most places where filariasis has been controlled, the transmission of bancroftian filariasis and periodic malayan filariasis has been interrupted. However, filariasis is still endemic in 29 counties in China at present, the danger of introduction of sources of infection by the floating population hasn't been extinguished yet, and there are still a few areas with weak links in filariasis control. Therefore, control work still needs to be strengthened and systematic surveillance must be pursued until the elimination of filariasis in the whole country.


A method for extraction of nontype-specific antigens of the group A streptococcus cellular wall from whole microbial cells is described. Potassium thiocyanate was used as an extracting agent. Nontype-specific antigens of the thiocyanate extract purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation were examined by immunodiffusion in agar gel. The thiocyanate extracts were found to contain several nontype-specific protein antigens part of which were absent from the HCl-extracts. No group A streptococcal polysaccharide was found in the thiocyanate extracts.


Streptomyces species are aerobes and chemoorganotrophic bacteria. These microorganisms produce a wide range of industrially significant compounds, specifically antibiotics and anti fungal substances. The objective of this study was to characterise soil-borne Streptomyces isolates using morphological and molecular traits in order to identify them to species level, and leverage from their potential to suppress the growth of Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium oxysporum and Penicillium italicum. Twenty-seven soil-borne putative Streptomyces, which elicited comprehensive antimicrobial activity against Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium oxysporum and Penicillium italicum, in a previous study, were evaluated. On the basis of morphology, the bacteria resembled the genus Streptomyces. Initially, colonies phenotypically appeared to have a relatively smooth surface but as growth progressed the bacteria developed a weft of aerial mycelium granular, powdery or velvety in appearance. Bacteria produced a wide variety of pigments which in turn were responsible for the colour of the vegetative and aerial mycelia, colour ranged from white to cream or buff shades and yellow to orange or brown. Microscopic analyses and morphological characteristics generated sub-groups of the isolates and clustered them according to their similarities. One bacterial strain was randomly selected from each cluster and investigated using molecular characteristics. Partial 16S rDNAs from the selected representative isolates from each subgroup, were sequenced and phylogenetic analysis performed. The 16S rDNA sequences of the isolates indicated that they were related to  Streptomyces species: S. bungoensis, S. thermocarboxydus, S. corchorusii and S. lasaliensis, that are known secondary metabolite producers possessing antimicrobial activity against plant pathogens.


The chapter introduces the steps to achieving proper wound care in immunobullous disease. It describes the clinical characteristics and nature of "wounds" formed in pemphigus versus pemphigoid diseases. Namely, pemphigus diseases typically result in acantholysis in the epidermis and the formation of flaccid blisters. In contrast, bullous pemphigoid presents with basal keratinocyte hemidesmosomes in the dermoepidermal junction, which results in a split at the dermoepidermal junction and clinically forms tense blisters. Therefore, there is a separate protocol for treating the wounds in each of these diseases, which must take additional patient specific factors into consideration.


Importance
Obesity increases the incidence and mortality from some types of cancer, but it remains uncertain whether intentional weight loss can decrease this risk.

Objective
To investigate whether bariatric surgery is associated with lower cancer risk and mortality in patients with obesity.

Design, Setting, and Participants
In the SPLENDID (Surgical Procedures and Long-term Effectiveness in Neoplastic Disease Incidence and Death) matched cohort study, adult patients with a body mass index of 35 or greater who underwent bariatric surgery at a US health system between 2004 and 2017 were included. Patients who underwent bariatric surgery were matched 1:5 to patients who did not undergo surgery for their obesity, resulting in a total of 30 318 patients. Follow-up ended in February 2021.

Exposures
Bariatric surgery (n = 5053), including Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy, vs nonsurgical care (n = 25 265).

Main Outcomes and Measures
Multivariable Cox regression analysis estimated time to incident obesity-associated cancer (a composite of 13 cancer types as the primary end point) and cancer-related mortality.

Results
The study included 30 318 patients (median age, 46 years; median body mass index, 45; 77% female; and 73% White) with a median follow-up of 6.1 years (IQR, 3.8-8.9 years). The mean between-group difference in body weight at 10 years was 24.8 kg (95% CI, 24.6-25.1 kg) or a 19.2% (95% CI, 19.1%-19.4%) greater weight loss in the bariatric surgery group. During follow-up, 96 patients in the bariatric surgery group and 780 patients in the nonsurgical control group had an incident obesity-associated cancer (incidence rate of 3.0 events vs 4.6 events, respectively, per 1000 person-years). The cumulative incidence of the primary end point at 10 years was 2.9% (95% CI, 2.2%-3.6%) in the bariatric surgery group and 4.9% (95% CI, 4.5%-5.3%) in the nonsurgical control group (absolute risk difference, 2.0% [95% CI, 1.2%-2.7%]; adjusted hazard ratio, 0.68 [95% CI, 0.53-0.87], P = .002). Cancer-related mortality occurred in 21 patients in the bariatric surgery group and 205 patients in the nonsurgical control group (incidence rate of 0.6 events vs 1.2 events, respectively, per 1000 person-years). The cumulative incidence of cancer-related mortality at 10 years was 0.8% (95% CI, 0.4%-1.2%) in the bariatric surgery group and 1.4% (95% CI, 1.1%-1.6%) in the nonsurgical control group (absolute risk difference, 0.6% [95% CI, 0.1%-1.0%]; adjusted hazard ratio, 0.52 [95% CI, 0.31-0.88], P = .01).

Conclusions and Relevance
Among adults with obesity, bariatric surgery compared with no surgery was associated with a significantly lower incidence of obesity-associated cancer and cancer-related mortality.


Background: The Czech Republic belongs to countries with high coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality. The aim was to analyze age, period and cohort specific CHD mortality in men from the Czech Republic.
Design and Methods: National data on mortality of men (30-74 yrs.) in the Czech Republic in 1980-2004 were explored. The Poisson regression model was applied to evaluate age, period and cohort effects on mortality.
Results: An adequate fit of CHD men's mortality provided the age-period-cohort model (p=0.121). The ratio of mortality of the age group 45-49 to 40-44 was by 17 % lower than that of the age group 40-44 to 35-39. The ratio of the relative risk of period 1995-1999 to 1990-1994 was by 19 % lower than that of the period 1990-1994 to 1985-1989. The ratios of the relative risks between adjoining birth cohort-groups were close to 1.
Conclusions: The fatal CHD risk in Czech men was significantly depended on age (the risk increasing with age), calendar period (the risk reduced in the recent years), and birth cohort (the risk decreasing with birth cohort). The crucial positive change in the CHD mortality trend was observed after the collapse of communism in 1989, and in men past age 40 years.


Stroke causes cell death but also birth and migration of new neurons within sites of ischemic damage. The cellular environment that induces neuronal regeneration and migration after stroke has not been defined. We have used a model of long-distance migration of newly born neurons from the subventricular zone to cortex after stroke to define the cellular cues that induce neuronal regeneration after CNS injury. Mitotic, genetic, and viral labeling and chemokine/growth factor gain- and loss-of-function studies show that stroke induces neurogenesis from a GFAP-expressing progenitor cell in the subventricular zone and migration of newly born neurons into a unique neurovascular niche in peri-infarct cortex. Within this neurovascular niche, newly born, immature neurons closely associate with the remodeling vasculature. Neurogenesis and angiogenesis are causally linked through vascular production of stromal-derived factor 1 (SDF1) and angiopoietin 1 (Ang1). Furthermore, SDF1 and Ang1 promote post-stroke neuroblast migration and behavioral recovery. These experiments define a novel brain environment for neuronal regeneration after stroke and identify molecular mechanisms that are shared between angiogenesis and neurogenesis during functional recovery from brain injury.


Curriculum mining is research area that assess students' learning behavior and compare it with the curriculum guideline. Previous work developed sequence matching alignment approach to check the conformance between students' learning behavior and curriculum guideline. Considering only the sequence matching alignment is insufficient to understand the patterns of group of students. Another work proposed an approach by aggregating the students' profile to represent students' learning behavior and investigate the impact of the learning behavior to their learning performance. However, the aggregate profile approach considers the entire period of study rather than segmented period. This study proposes a methodology to assess students' learning path with segmented period i.e. the semester of the related curriculum. The segmented-period profile generated would be the input for sequence matching alignment approach to assess the conformity of students' behavior with the prior curriculum guideline. Real curriculum data has been used to test the effectivity of the methodology. The results show that the students can be grouped into various cluster per semesters that have different characteristic with respect to their learning behavior and performance. The results can be analyzed further to improve the curriculum guideline.


The last three decades have witnessed a sharp increase in the number of states with spilt Senate delegations, featuring two senators of different parties. In addition, there is evidence that senators of different parties do not cluster in the middle: they are genuinely polarized. We propose a model which explains this phenomenon. Our argument builds upon the fact that when a Senate election is held, there is already a sitting senator. If the voters care about the policy position of their state delegation in each election, they may favor the candidate of the party which is not holding the other seat. We show that, in general: (1) a candidate benefits if the non-running senator is of the opposing parry; (2) the more extreme the position of the non-running senator, the more extreme may be the position of the opposing party candidate. Our 'opposite party advantage' hypothesis is tested on a sample including every Senate race from 1946 to 1986. After controlling for other important factors, such as incumbency advantage, coattails end economic conditions, we find reasonably strong evidence of the 'opposite party advantage.'


"Watermarking" is the process of computer-aided information hiding in a carrier signal. Digital watermarks may be used to verify the authenticity or integrity of the carrier signal. In video watermarking, the watermark can be added either to uncompressed data or compressed video streams. Practical video storage and distribution systems store and transmit the video sequences in compressed format, such as using a video on demand (VoD) service to avoid the process of fully decoding and encoding. Most video watermarking applications require the watermark to be embedded and detected in real time. Video watermarking scheme should be robust to geometric distortions, including rotation with cropping, scaling, aspect ratio change, frame dropping, and swapping. Both the Real-time performance and resistance to geometric distortions are important requirements. Discrete Wavelet Transform is invariant to rotation, scaling, and other geometric distortions and Discrete Cosine Transform coefficients Which are subsequently used to construct one-level DWT. This reduces the computational cost and meet the real-time requirement. An additional encryption and decryption keys were used to enhance the security without affecting the quality of video is proposed.


This guide will help get users started on Art History research. It is a collection of links to databases, reference works and museums.


This qualitative and exploratory research project focuses on the way in which culturally appropriate care is being provided to older immigrants in ethno-specific longterm care settings in the Greater Toronto Area. Key Informant interviews with administrators of ethno-specific long-term care facilities were utilized in order to gather data on best practices and lessons learned for addressing the cultural needs of older immigrants living in long-term care. The research findings reinforce the need for ethnospecific long-term care programs, as well as culturally sensitive care in all programs, which alleviate the environmental stressors of institutional care and aging. Research recommendations point to a need for greater knowledge sharing within the long-term care sector, as well as increased education to service providers as to the historical context of the immigration and life experiences of ethno-specific groups in care. As well, there is a need for a shift in design of long-term care that addresses systemic issues of inequality that restrict how cultural care is delivered.Multiculturalism.


This paper aims to explain the observation (not previously reported) that -wa obviates Negative Island effects in Japanese degree questions. The explanation offered ties this obviation to epistemic implications associated with -wa, deriving the latter in a (Neo-)Gricean framework. The explanation relies on Fox & Hackl's (2006) view that Negative Islands in degree questions are due to the necessary failure of a Maximality Presupposition, but it abandons their proposal that such presuppositions must be calculated under the assumption that scales of degrees are invariably dense.


In this study, we focused on the lift generation with a thin
rotating plate. The objective of this study is to understand the appropriate
shape and the role of vortex for rotating thin plate. We determined the shape
of the plate through free-flight tests of paper strips and investigated the
aerodynamic characteristics of the rotating plate with the selected shape. The
rectangular plate with an aspect ratio 7 was relevant from moment of inertia
and bending stress. An endplate on a wing tip increased the stability on the
lateral vortex structure behind the rotating plate. Velocity field measurement
by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) showed that the lift force was generated
twice in a rotating cycle.


It is striking how development priorities have aligned over the past five years. Countries of all income levels are prioritizing their transition to digital and 'green' economies, in parallel. This dual transition reflects a double imperative. On the one hand, the clock is ticking for countries to reach their Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. On the other, countries are convinced that their future economic competitiveness will depend upon how quickly they transition to digital societies. This seventh edition of the report monitors the development path that countries have been following over the past five years from the perspective of science governance. It documents the rapid societal transformation under way, which offers new opportunities for social and economic experimentation but also risks exacerbating social inequalities, unless safeguards are put in place.


A systematic research is carried out on obliquely ( co- ) evaporated media for magnetic recording applications. The investigated materials concern Co-alloys, being Co-Cr, Co-Ag and Co- Ta. The re1ations between deposition parameters, morphology , texture and rnagnetic behaviour were swdied. The accent was put on understanding and tm1oring the compositional separation. This in turn provides better understanding of the micromagnetic behaviour of the media. The oblique deposition promotes the growth of a columnar morphology. Growth proceeds according to a competition between the shadowing mechanism and surface diffusion. If one vapour direction dominated during deposition then the columns that developed incline towards that direction. In the Co-Cr films the hcp Co lattice ensures a strong crystalline anisotropy. This is not the case in the, in majority, cubic structures of the Co-Ag and Co- Ta fi1ms. In these films the anisotropy is not strong enough to overcome the film demagnetization and their coercivities are small. The Co-Ag and Co- Ta fi1ms therefore form no suitable magnetic recording media. In the (low temperature) obliquely co-evaporated ftlms, where the two vapour beams of different materials arrived at the deposit surface from opposing directions, a chemical inhomogeneous distribution of the two materials arose. We have called this geometry effect the process-induced compositional separation. Preheating of the substrate is thus not necessary to create chemical inhomogeneities in the 1atera1 fi1m direction. The occurence of process-induced compositional separation is proved by several measurement techniques, both direct and indirect, and by simulations of ftlm growth. The process-induced compositional separation can be exploited to tailor a magnetic particulate behaviour in thin ftlm media, as has been shown in this work for the obliquely co-evaporated Co-Cr samples (stand still substrates during deposition). The opposing vapour directions of the ferromagnetic Co and the non-ferromagnetic Cr induce separated Co- and Cr-rich regions in the films, where the Cr-rich parts are in majority present at one side of the columns. This favours discoupling of adjacent columns. Also the open regions in between the columns, that arise due to the shadowing mechanism, promote this discoupling. An enhanced energy product (MsxHc.J is the result. The existence of a certain degree of discoupling of the columns yields a columnar shape anisotropy that, together with the hcp crystalline anisotropy, contributes to the total out-of-plane anisotropy. This out-of-plane anisotropy could be tailored to be stronger than the film demagnetization. If the substrate was rotated during deposition the media lost their enhanced perpendicular coercivities, whereby they became unsuitable for high density recording. The discontinuities, being the open regions between the columns and the chemical inhomogeneities, i.e. the Cr-rich regions which were formed due to the process-induced compositional separation, further provide energy barriers for domain wall movement. The reversal of the magnetization is most likely to proceed through either rotation or domain-wall movement with largely hindered displacement of domain walls.


Purpose: This study attended to investigate the impact of currency fluctuations on equity and debt markets. Furthermore, the study deals with investments in equity considering the currecy as rupee vs. dollar relationship. The European Central Bank has been considered for the external debt market investments considering the euro as the currency. The study mainly focused on the impact of rupee vs. dollar on equity and the euro impact on ECB for debt market investments. Design/Methodology/Approach: The tools applied are Bivariate Correlation, Ordinary least square method, ARCH model and Vector autoregressive model. Findings: The study reveals that from 2008 to 2019, the bivariate correlation result indicates that equity investments have a significant relationship with the rupee vs. the dollar. It has been observed that the euro has also a moderate relationship with the debt investments and the OLS result indicated that the euro impact on debt investments is observed to be insignificant. The ARCH result stated that the currency is having a significant effect on the fund's volatility. The VAR estimated that future equity and debt markets are expected to go up shortly. Practical Implications: The present study result stated that the rupee vs. dollaris having the impact on the equity investments but the euro impact is observed to be insignificant. Therefore, the equity investors should focus more on the rupee vs. dollar fluctuation, so that inflows and outflows of FII funds in to Indian equity market can be identified. Originality/value: The present study added the scholarly value to the equity markets with regard to the currency fluctuations effect on the equity and debt market investments. The investors of equity and issuers of ECB's investments can consider this study for their decision making.


Globally, the sheen of coal-based energy production is slowly wearing, with few exceptions of developing novel technologies that aid in coal gasification and gas clean-up. Underground coal gasification (UCG) is one such tool that can be used for extracting energy contained in otherwise inaccessible reserves. UCG involves the injection of steam and oxidant directly in the seam of coal, which is ignited through different methods. Post-ignition, coal reacts with steam and oxygen to produce a combustible synthesis gas (syn-gas). This syn-gas can be used to generate electricity or utilized as feedstock to take different routes to manufacture chemicals. This paper seeks to briefly outline some aspects in the deployment of underground coal gasification in the Indian subcontinent, along with a discussion on the current status of research in the field. The different stages of identifying and understanding key features and potential roadblocks, based on which decisions on the implementation of large scale UCG in a potential site in India are taken, are briefly outlined. We share our thoughts and experiences on the methodology, to model and understand the process and put forth our suggestions on the path forward.


The development of tidal energy technologies has progressed to where devices can be deployed, operated, maintained, and recovered with some level of assurance that they will and produce adequate levels of power. Equally important to further the tidal energy industry is the ability to site and gain regulatory permission to deploy and operate these devices. This paper sets out a framework for reaching preliminary siting of tidal devices, drawing from case studies from three locations in the US where research studies have provided information in support of tidal deployments.
Through the TEAMER funding opportunity in the US, tidal energy device and project developers were able to engage US Department of Energy national laboratory scientists and engineers to provide technical assistance for investigating potential tidal deployment sites within US waters. The bodies of water of interest had already been determined by the proponents at the start of the project and constraints and opportunities within those bodies of water were examined to optimize siting capabilities for the developers. Using numerical models and field observations, we characterized tidal resources at a scale that will allow for optimization of energy extraction. We examined the natural and human infrastructure constraints for deploying and operating tidal devices and arrays including channel widths, bathymetry, vessel traffic, ferry lanes, and grid interconnects, in order to narrow siting options. We also examined the biological resources in the water bodies of interest, with a focus on populations of endangered marine mammals and fish, and the critical habitats that support them. The biological resources were then related to the applicable regulatory requirements in place in US for federal and state statutes in areas where the tidal applicants wish to deploy. Based on these analyses, preferred deployment locations were delineated and processes for meeting regulatory requirements laid out, including post-installation monitoring plans that will be needed. This initial assessment of logistical, regulatory, and environmental conditions for the deployment of a tidal technology is a first step toward the achievement of regulatory compliance for tidal energy projects.
Three locations were considered for tidal energy development in the US. The first one included the area around an archipelago of islands in the northern portion of Washington State, near the US-Canada border, with the intent of installing one or more floating tidal devices to add energy resilience and independence for the single utility that services the isolated islands. The second location was in the coastal waters of Maine where tidal power would be added to the local electrical grid. The third location was in Cook Inlet, Alaska, where the applicant seeks to deploy multiple floating tidal devices to provide renewable energy in place of conventionally generated power for the city of Anchorage.


In this paper the constitutive compressive behaviour of nearly parallel spread-tow textile reinforcement is studied. The striking result of our analysis is that the spread-tow type of reinforcement should obey linear relation between force and deformation. This is in contrast to standard textile reinforcements that obey a power-law type of behaviour. To support the theoretical investigation we have developed an test rig who's chief purpose is to achieve compression between nearly perfectly parallel surfaces. This is achieved using a mechanical arrangement consisting of a ball-joint.


OBJECTIVES
To determine which of two methods of case note review--holistic (implicit) and criterion-based (explicit)--provides the most useful and reliable information for quality and safety of care, and the level of agreement within and between groups of health-care professionals when they use the two methods to review the same record. To explore the process-outcome relationship between holistic and criterion-based quality-of-care measures and hospital-level outcome indicators.

DATA SOURCES
Case notes of patients at randomly selected hospitals in England.

REVIEW METHODS
In the first part of the study, retrospective multiple reviews of 684 case notes were undertaken at nine acute hospitals using both holistic and criterion-based review methods. Quality-of-care measures included evidence-based review criteria and a quality-of-care rating scale. Textual commentary on the quality of care was provided as a component of holistic review. Review teams comprised combinations of: doctors (n = 16), specialist nurses (n = 10) and clinically trained audit staff (n = 3) and non-clinical audit staff (n = 9). In the second part of the study, process (quality and safety) of care data were collected from the case notes of 1565 people with either chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or heart failure in 20 hospitals. Doctors collected criterion-based data from case notes and used implicit review methods to derive textual comments on the quality of care provided and score the care overall. Data were analysed for intrarater consistency, inter-rater reliability between pairs of staff using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and completeness of criterion data capture, and comparisons were made within and between staff groups and between review methods. To explore the process-outcome relationship, a range of publicly available health-care indicator data were used as proxy outcomes in a multilevel analysis.

RESULTS
Overall, 1473 holistic and 1389 criterion-based reviews were undertaken in the first part of the study. When same staff-type reviewer pairs/groups reviewed the same record, holistic scale score inter-rater reliability was moderate within each of the three staff groups [intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) 0.46-0.52], and inter-rater reliability for criterion-based scores was moderate to good (ICC 0.61-0.88). When different staff-type pairs/groups reviewed the same record, agreement between the reviewer pairs/groups was weak to moderate for overall care (ICC 0.24-0.43). Comparison of holistic review score and criterion-based score of case notes reviewed by doctors and by non-clinical audit staff showed a reasonable level of agreement (p-values for difference 0.406 and 0.223, respectively), although results from all three staff types showed no overall level of agreement (p-value for difference 0.057). Detailed qualitative analysis of the textual data indicated that the three staff types tended to provide different forms of commentary on quality of care, although there was some overlap between some groups. In the process-outcome study there generally were high criterion-based scores for all hospitals, whereas there was more interhospital variation between the holistic review overall scale scores. Textual commentary on the quality of care verified the holistic scale scores. Differences among hospitals with regard to the relationship between mortality and quality of care were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS
Using the holistic approach, the three groups of staff appeared to interpret the recorded care differently when they each reviewed the same record. When the same clinical record was reviewed by doctors and non-clinical audit staff, there was no significant difference between the assessments of quality of care generated by the two groups. All three staff groups performed reasonably well when using criterion-based review, although the quality and type of information provided by doctors was of greater value. Therefore, when measuring quality of care from case notes, consideration needs to be given to the method of review, the type of staff undertaking the review, and the methods of analysis available to the review team. Review can be enhanced using a combination of both criterion-based and structured holistic methods with textual commentary, and variation in quality of care can best be identified from a combination of holistic scale scores and textual data review.


PURPOSE: Since about ten years a new modality for whole body hyperthermia, a compact and userfriendlyinfrared (IR) 'sauna' has become available. Patients with musculoskeletal disorders report positive effects.RELEVANCE: Until now hardly any research was done in this field. Therefore in this study the short-termphysiological and clinical effects in healthy subjects and patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) andAnkylosing Spondylitis (AS) were investigated. SUBJECTS: 17 RA patients (3 male, 14 female), 19 AS patients (12 male, 7 female) and 21 healthy subjects (11 male, 10 female) with a mean age (sd) of 47 (13), 45 (10) and 45 (7) years respectively were included in the study.METHODS AND MATERIALS: Patients with RA or AS and healthy subjects were treated with whole-body hyperthermia by means of a 30 minutes stay in a IR sauna cabin at an adjusted temperature of 55°C. Before and directly after the sauna treatment in both RA and AS patient groups pain and stiffness and were measured on a 10 centimetres Visual Analogue Scale. Besides that in all groups body weight was measured before and after treatment. Additionally during the treatment heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, skin surface and core temperature were continuously monitored. Also general wellbeing during and after treatment was investigated. RESULTS: Pain and stiffness improved significantly duringtreatment; mean between 40% and 60%. The mean weight loss during treatment due to transpiration was significant (p<0.001) in all groups, but it was significantly higher (p<0.001) in healthy subjects (-0.5 kg) than in patients (both RA and AS -0.3 kg). During treatment mean heart rate, skin and core temperature increased significantly p<,0.001) in all groups, while blood pressures showed small but significant declines. No significant differences between groups were observed. On average all subjects felt comfortable during and especially after treatment. CONCLUSION: Infra red whole body hyperthermia has statistically significant positive direct effects upon pain and stiffness in RA as well as in AS patients. Looking at the physiological effects, RA and AS patients do not respond differently from age and gender matched healthy controls.


Dynamic programming algorithms embody a widely used programming technique that optimizes recursively defined equations that have repeating subproblems. The standard solution uses arrays to share common results between successive steps, and while effective, this fails to exploit the structural properties present in these problems. Histomorphisms and dynamorphisms have been introduced to expresses such algorithms in terms of structured recursion schemes that leverage this structure. In this paper, we revisit and relate these schemes and show how they can be expressed in terms of recursion schemes from comonads, as well as from recursive coalgebras. Our constructions rely on properties of bialgebras and dicoalgebras, and we are careful to consider optimizations and efficiency concerns. Throughout the paper we illustrate these techniques through several worked-out examples discussed in a tutorial style, and show how a recursive specification can be expressed both as an array-based algorithm as well as one that uses recursion schemes.


Objectives To validate a set of leading health and safety indicators that organisations can use to assess and improve their health and safety performance in the province of British Columbia. This project evaluated the OPM, an 8-question health and safety practice questionnaire developed by IWH for use as an OHS leading indicator tool in BC and how well it correlated with retrospective and current claim rates of participating firms. Method The IWH OPM was used in two sectors – residential long-term care and the food processing and manufacturing. Firm contact information was provided by safety associations in each sector. Firm responses were collected via an online survey (2 surveys per firm, with management and labour respondents). Survey psychometric properties were evaluated. Item-to-scale correlation, factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha assessment were conducted. Results Respective response rate for the long-term care and Food and Manufacturing Sector were 37% and 11%. Each of the eight questions showed variability in OHS practices across firms, with firms reporting doing least well on involving their employees in OHS decision-making (50% of the sample indicating need for improvement). 65% of the sample indicated they were doing well on most items, and 35% indicated need for improvement in 4 or more areas. Factor analysis showed that the OPM items capture a single measure of occupational health and safety performance, while Cronbach's Alpha indicate that all items contribute information to the scale. Overall there were no differences in average assessment of scale items by management or labour or by those with OHS responsibility versus none. Conclusions The IWH OPM appears to be a valid tool for measuring OHS outcomes in BC. It can be used as a leading indicator scale to help reduce occupational injury; however, efforts need to be taken to improve firm willingness to answer the survey.


Microalgae represent a potential strategy for flue gas mitigation as they capture CO2 at high rates. Flue gases can also supply certain nutrients and, as a result, it can be valorized through biomass conversion into value-added compounds. The objective of this study was to characterize growth and analyze transcriptome, lipidome and cellular structure and composition of Desmodesmus abundans under continuous flow of cement model flue gas (MFG) in a 1 L photobioreactor using two strains adapted for nine years to atmospheres of 50% CO2 and air, referred to as HCA (high CO2 acclimated) and LCA (low CO2 acclimated), respectively. Controls with the LCA strain were also evaluated in air, CO2 and CO2+cement kiln dust (CKD). Higher initial growth rates were observed with strain HCA; however, at the end of the run (5 days) similar biomass productivity was reached by the two strains (0.30-0.34 g d.w. L d). As expected, the CO2 control presented the highest growth rate (1.7-fold higher than under MFG), and when CKD was incorporated a slightly decreased (14 %) in growth was observed. Transcriptome analysis by RNA-seq, performed at day 4, resulted in a de novo assembly of 70 458 contigs with a N50 of 1 677 bp. Strain comparison under MFG resulted in 16 435 up-regulated and 4 219 down-regulated genes for strain HCA. Most of these genes were related with nucleotide, amino acid and carbon metabolisms; specifically, C3 and C4 cycle, glycolysis and gluconeogenesis, and TCA cycle, where almost all the contigs were up-regulated. In accordance, cell component GO terms upregulated were in cell wall, chloroplast and photosystems. Likewise, starch and TAG metabolism were up-regulated. Cell structure analysis by SEM and TEM showed that most cells of both strains under MFG were unicellular contrary to typical Desmodesmus morphology; under air, some cells still preserved a grouping morphology. Strains cell size under MFG was similar (17-37 μm), while under air cells were significant smaller (7-13 μm). Both strains under MFG possessed high content of starch granules, a disorganized chloroplast and several lipid bodies, while a thicker cell wall was only observed in strain HCA. Biomass composition at the end of the run (day 5) showed no differences in proximate analysis between strains under MFG. A 1.8 to 2-fold higher protein content in strain LCA was found in complete medium (BG-11) than under MFG (BG-11-N-S). Under MFG, LCA presented the highest starch content (47.2 ± 22.3 % d.w) followed by HCA (23.1 ± 4.5 % d.w). On the contrary, HCA showed a higher content of pigments compared to LCA but the highest values were found in the control with only CO2. Lipidome analysis resulted in 663 detected features. Under MFG no many differences were found between strains by day 5; however, clear differences were observed at day 4 when both strains were in exponential growth. Particularly, 12 glycerolipids (GL) and 18 glycerophospholipids (GP) increased, and 27 GL and 3 GP decreased in HCA compared LCA. Still, most differences were found when strain LCA under MFG was compared with CO2+CKD (incomplete vs complete culture medium) that showed changes in GL (42 increased and 27 decreased) and GP (58 increased and 42 decreased), possibly attributed to low N in MFG. The results presented in this study show significant differences between strains HCA and LCA under MFG. However, most differences were observed at the transcriptome level (day 4), while biomass production was comparable at the end of the experimental period (day 5). Morphological changes appeared to be induced by the high CO2 condition at the moment of growth, with no significant differences between acclimated strains, except for a thicker cell wall in the HCA strain. Overall, both strains presented a high content of starch that represents a high value compound under MFG. Further studies could contemplate continuous cultures under MFG with longer experimental periods (>5 days) to validate differences between strains. Also, explore differences between strains at the genome level such as synonymous mutation rates by sequencing and studies of epigenetic changes. Additionally, metabolome and proteome analysis to better understand differences under the different control conditions.


Introduction Pseudomonas aeruginosa has the ability to acquire plasmids and other mobile genetic elements that confer resistance to antibiotics. Bacterial genes encoding different β-lactamases (bla), such as metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) and extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL), can confer resistance to multiple classes of β-lactam antibiotics. Case presentation An 83 year old female was admitted in 2012 to the Peruvian Naval Hospital, Centro Médico Naval 'Cirujano Mayor Santiago Távara' (CEMENA), in Lima, Peru. A midstream urine sample was collected and sent to the local CEMENA laboratory for routine urine culture. P. aeruginosa was isolated and initial antibiotic susceptibility testing showed it to be sensitive to imipenem. The clinicians started a course of meropenem, but the patient did not improve. After 5 days, a second urine culture was performed and a P. aeruginosa was isolated again, but this time the strain showed resistance to imipenem. The treatment course was changed to fosfomycin and the patient improved. Phenotypic and molecular laboratory testing to characterize the antibiotic resistance were performed, demonstrating the presence of both MBL and ESBL genes. Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first report of a P. aeruginosa XDR clinical isolate that co-expresses an MBL (VIM-2), OXA-1 beta-lactamase and the ESBL (GES-1) in Peru. It is also the first report of a VIM carbapenemase in Peru.


In 1980, the Cold War was in full bloom. The Soviet father of the hydrogen bomb and Nobel Peace Laureate turned dissident physicist, Andrei Sakharov, had been exiled to Gorki by the Soviet authorities. Called "senile" and under heavy Soviet censorship, Sakharov had a hard time communicating his latest scientific results to readers outside of Gorki. Some smuggled results reached the author, Harry Lipkin, who then realized that he and Sakharov were both pioneers in a new revolution on our understanding the structure of matter. The particle physics community had resisted their revelation that the accepted building blocks of matter, neutrons and protons, were composed of tinier building blocks called "quarks". What followed was a remarkable adventure in which both scientists fought the Soviet censors, smuggling postcards and manuscripts into and out of the Soviet Union while trying to further scientific progress. Against a backdrop of politics, suppression, and genius, Andrei Sakharov, Quarks and the Structure of Matter details the search for the basic building blocks of matter, the path to understanding the forces that bind them together, and how scientific knowledge is learned, communicated and passed from one group of investigators to another.


Objective. Systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD) are associated with an increased risk of premature cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality. We examined the potential survival benefit of statin use among patients with SARD in a general population setting. Methods. We conducted an incident user cohort study using a UK general population database. Our population included patients with a SARD as determined by Read code diagnoses of systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, Sjögren syndrome, dermatomyositis, polymyositis, mixed connective tissue disease, Behçet disease, or antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies-associated vasculitis between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2014. We compared propensity score–matched cohorts of statin initiators and noninitiators within 1-year cohort accrual blocks to account for potential confounders, including disease duration, body mass index, lifestyle factors, comorbidities, and medication use. Results. Of 2305 statin initiators, 298 died during the followup period (mean 5.1 yrs), whereas among 2305 propensity score–matched noninitiators, 338 died during the followup period (mean 4.8 yrs). This corresponded to mortality rates of 25.4/1000 and 30.3/1000 person-years, respectively. Statin initiation was associated with reduced all-cause mortality (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.72–0.98). When we compared the unmatched cohorts, the statin initiators (n = 2863) showed increased mortality (HR 1.85, 95% CI 1.58–2.16) compared with noninitiators (n = 2863 randomly selected within 1-year cohort accrual blocks) because of confounding by indication. Conclusion. In this general population–based study, statin initiation was shown to reduce overall mortality in patients with SARD after adjusting for relevant determinates of CVD risk.


In this study the interrelations among locus of control, social support and communication skills and their relationship with assertiveness were investigated by means of a path model. Nursing students ( N = 105) participated in the study by completing questionnaires. Path analysis showed that the interrelations among locus of control, communication skills, and perceived peer support and their relationship with assertiveness are explained to a certain degree by the proposed model. The only variable that directly influenced assertiveness was communication skills. Perceived family support had no direct or indirect effect on assertiveness. The findings point to several considerations for nursing curricula including that faculty heads should plan and provide opportunities for learning activities that increase students' assertiveness.


In this study, we aimed to precisely localize the hyperintense signal that is generated at the osteochondral junction when using ultrashort echo time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to investigate the osteochondral junction using sweep imaging with Fourier transformation (SWIFT) MRI. Furthermore, we seek to evaluate what compositional properties of the osteochondral junction are the sources of this signal. In the study, we obtained eight samples from a tibial plateau dissected from a 68‐year‐old male donor, and one additional osteochondral sample of bovine origin. The samples were imaged using high‐resolution ultrashort echo time SWIFT MRI and microcomputed tomography (μCT) scans. Localization of the bright signal in the osteochondral junction was performed using coregistered data sets. Potential sources of the signal feature were examined by imaging the bovine specimen with variable receiver bandwidths and by performing variable flip angle T1 relaxation time mapping. The results of the study showed that the hyperintense signal was found to be located entirely in the deep noncalcified articular cartilage. The intensity of this signal at the interface varied between the specimens. Further tests with bovine specimens indicated that the imaging bandwidth and T1 relaxation affect the properties of the signal. Based on the present results, the calcified cartilage has low signal intensity even in SWIFT imaging. Concomitantly, it appears that the bright signal seen in ultrashort echo time imaging resides within the noncalcified cartilage. Furthermore, the most likely sources of this signal are the rapid T1 relaxation of the deep cartilage and the susceptibility‐induced effects arising from the calcified tissues.


Antioxidant defense mechanisms are crucial for plants to survive under stress conditions. We investigated the capacity of a wild fern species, Nephrolepis biserrata, growing in the vicinity of industrial land to accumulate heavy metals, and assessed its antioxidative response under metal stress. The soils in this particular area were highly contaminated with zinc followed by lead and copper. As control, N. biserrata located 10 km away from the industrial area were collected and assessed. N. biserrata from the contaminated sites accumulated metals in their tissues in similar descending order of zinc>lead>copper. The values of bioaccumulation factor between 0 to 0.1 indicate N. biserrata as a moderate accumulator for the tested metals. For the enzymatic antioxidant assays, the activities of catalase and ascorbate peroxidase were significantly higher in N. biserrata from contaminated soil compared to control, while the activity of superoxide dismutase was not differ significantly in plants from both sites. We also detected higher contents of total phenolics and total flavonoids in N. biserrata collected from contaminated site compared to control. Our HPLC analysis revealed higher levels of myricetin and kaempferol in plant samples from the contaminated area. Our study verified the capacity of N. biserrata to scavenge oxygen radicals when exposed to heavy metal stress. Such ability to tolerate stressful condition suggests that the plant is a potential metal phytoremediator


We report an unusual case of biliary obstruction secondary to adenomyoma of the common bile duct. Adenomyomas are benign tumors, found infrequently in the biliary tree. Clinical presentation, biochemical, radiographic, and endoscopic investigations do not distinguish adenomyomas from malignant or other lesions; diagnosis requires histological examination. The natural history and optimal treatment of these tumors have not been established.


The intensification and specialisation of agriculture has contributed to farmland wildlife decline, including farmland birds. Grey partridge is a farmland species which has experienced a significant decline across Europe in recent decades. Chick survival rate is a key determinant of grey partridge population change and depends essentially on the availability of insect food. In this study, ground-dwelling and canopy-dwelling insects were collected using pitfall trapping and sweep netting methodologies, respectively, on different strip types in an area established for the conservation of grey partridge. The aim was to further our understanding of the value of different vegetated strip types in providing insect-rich habitats for grey partridge chicks. Overall, wildflower strip (WS) provided the greatest insect abundance. Significantly more ground-dwelling insects were found on WS, natural regeneration (NS) and leguminous strips (LS) than on grass strip (GS). Canopy-dwelling insects were also significantly more abundant on WS compared to all other strip types. This study highlights that WSs may represent important habitats in providing insect-rich food for grey partridge chicks and sowing these strips may therefore play a key role in decreasing chick mortality and supporting grey partridge conservation. It also demonstrates that other different vegetated strip types may still provide strip-specific insect taxa, in addition to other valuable resources. This study recommends a complex mosaic of different strip types to provide key resources for grey partridge, such as insect and plant food, nesting habitats and overwinter cover.


Gyroscopes are used as rotation rate sensors. Conventional gyroscopes are heavy and bulky, which creates important problems regarding their usage in different applications. Micro-gyroscopes have solved these problems due to their small size. The beam micro-gyroscope is one of the popular types of inertial sensors. Their small dimensions and low energy consumption are key reasons for their popularity. In this investigation, the model of an electrostatically actuated beam-based micro-gyroscope is used to study the effect of design parameters on pull-in voltage and fundamental frequency. The micro-gyroscope includes a rotating cantilever beam and a tip mass attached to the free end. DC voltages are applied to both sense and drive electrodes to actuate the system. The tip mass is actuated by an AC voltage in the drive direction to produce oscillations in the sense direction. Equations of motion are solved numerically to study different pull-in and vibrational parameters. Eigenvalues of the uncoupled system are computed to obtain the fundamental frequency of the micro beam for different values of DC voltages and design parameters. The frequencies are computed and validated with those in the literature. The results are beneficial for the design process of micro-gyroscopes.


Age at the initation of pubertal development was estimated for 401 Black (212 boys) and 206 White (100 boys) urban South African adolescents born in Soweto-Johannesburg in 1990. Average age at the initation of puberty, assessed by age at the transition from Tanner stage 1 to Tanner stage 2 for breast/genitalia or pubic hair development ranged between 9.8 and 10.5 years. There were no statistically significant differences in age at initiation between genders or ethnic groups. Age at the initation of pubertal development has remained stable over the last 10 to 15 years, with the exception of pubic hair in boys which has declined on average 1.3 years over a decade. There is evidence to suggest that the tempo of pubertal maturation is increasing in girls born in the Soweto-Johannesburg area, however, the evidence is less clear for boys.