Pancreatic necrosis (PN) develops in 5% to 40% of patients with acute pancreatitis despite adequate treatment in the early phase. According to its location, PN can involve the pancreatic parenchyma, the peripancreatic parenchyma, or both. The most important factor in determining invasive treatment for PN is the presence of infection in the necrotic tissue. In cases with asymptomatic sterile PN, conservative management is the treatment of choice. However, when infection of PN is diagnosed by a positive aspirate, surgical necrosectomy has been the standard treatment for decades, based on the surgical dogma of removing the necrotic or dead tissue that is prone to infection. From the 1980s to the early 1990s, infected PN had been regarded as an indication for immediate (within 24 hours) open surgical necrosectomy. Since then, however, the concept of minimally invasive intervention and the notion of postponing intervention have been supported by a variety of studies. The latest evidence-based guidelines recommend a "staged," "minimally invasive," "step-up" approach for patients with infected necrotizing pancreatitis (Table 1). In clinical practice, infected PN is diagnosed when gas is found in the necrotic collection in an imaging study and/or when unequivocal clinical signs of infection are present without another infectious focus (i.e., pneumonia). However, gas may also occur in the necrotic collection as a result of a fistula to the stomach/intestine. The use of fine needle-aspiration (FNA) for diagnostic purposes alone is limited in a state-of-the-art practice. When infected PN is suspected, the recommended treatment is administration of broad spectrum antibiotics with optimal penetration, as antibiotics may postpone or even obviate the need for invasive intervention. If antibiotics fail to ameliorate clinical deterioration, the next consideration is catheter drainage of the necrotic collection, as drainage of the infected fluid may stabilize the patient's clinical condition and provide time for further encapsulation. Gram staining and culture of the fluid obtained during initial drainage may also guide the use of appropriate antibiotics. Many patients can be successfully treated with catheter drainage alone, without the need for additional necrosectomy; therefore, necrosectomy can be reserved for those cases in which infected PN cannot be managed with catheter drainage. Compared with open surgical necrosectomy, minimally invasive necrosectomy induces a smaller proinflammatory response and a lower rate of new-onset organ failure, thereby resulting in lower mortality and morbidity. Invasive intervention for infected PN should ideally be postponed until the necrotic collection has partially liquefied and has become encircled by a well-defined inflammatory wall. This walled-off necrosis (WON) usually occurs >4 weeks after the onset of necrotizing pancreatitis and can allow a safer and more effective intervention. The interventions used to drain and/or debride pancreatic/peripancreatic necrosis can be categorized into: (1) endoscopic approaches–endoscopic drainage with/ without subsequent endoscopic necrosectomy; (2) percutaneous approaches–percutaneous catheter drainage with/without subsequent minimally invasive retroperitoneal surgery (i.e., videoscopic-assisted retroperitoneal debridement or sinus tract endoscopy). Open surgical approaches are seldom used any more. The treatment modality is chosen by multidisciplinary consensus based on the center's expertise, facilities, and clinical experience, as well as the location of the PN. In this issue of Gut and Liver, the Virginia Mason Medical


Successful vendor-vendee relationship is viewed as an important ingredient for maintaining competitiveness in the current marketplace. This calls for a careful and comprehensive approach in selecting vendors. The cost of quality or better phrased as the cost of "unquality" resulted from imperfections of a vendor's incoming input materials is one component of the total costs in the evaluation of vendors. The purpose of this paper is to show that looking at only one dimension of the quality cost is not sufficient and to highlight the importance of having a high quality internal process. We explore the relationship between the vendor's quality cost, the vendor's input quality, and the imperfections of the manufacturing process. We analyze the properties of the resulting quality cost model, and draw managerial implications in the selection of vendors.


1. This document is ENH-92, one of a series of the Environmental Horticulture Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date December 1992. Revised September 2010. Visit the EDIS Web Site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu. 2. Timothy K. Broschat, professor, Environmental Horticulture Department, Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Center (FLREC), Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611.


Use of wire for signal transmission has endured all of aviation history without major changes. Present investment in cable technology yields only minor improvements in performance. Emphasizing system level optical interconnects improves cost versus benefit.


Free bone flap,silicone rubber,acrylic,bone cement,titanium net are the materials that often used in the operations of skull patch repairing.Different repair materials have their advantages and disadvantages.The method of using titanium net is easy and it can always shorten the time of operation.It is easy to model and fixed and it has the strong function of resistance,good tissue compatibility and very few complication.There is no adverse effects after the implantation,it made the patients so satisfy because of raising their living quality and it is very good material that worth popularizing and using.


The study aimed to assess the effects of pre-harvest gibberellic acid (GA3) and Parka applications on fruit quality and bioactive components of jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill. cv. 'Li') fruit during the storage. Fruit were kept at 0±0.5 °C and 90±5% RH for 45 days. Parka and GA3 applications delayed weight losses and respiration rate in the cold storage. While the effect of the Parka application on the decrease in fruit firmness values depending on the storage time was not significant, it can be said that GA3 application was effective in maintaining the fruit firmness in the cold storage. The increase in soluble solids content (SSC) during cold storage was less with GA3 application. The decrease in titratable acidity with ripening in the cold storage was similar in the Parka and control applications. It can be said that GA3 application was effective in maintaining the titratable acidity during storage and this effect increased with the combination of Parka+GA3. The highest vitamin C at the end of the storage was recorded in fruit treated with Parka. Total phenolics, total flavonoids and antioxidant activity decreased in all applications during the storage. GA3 and Parka applications retarded the losses in total phenolics, total flavonoids and antioxidant activity in the storage. As a result, it can be said that the pre-harvest GA3 and Parka applications give positive results in maintaining the quality properties of jujube fruit in the cold storage.


This study had 3 goals: (a) to identify the raters who could find adolescent girls in need of mental health services, (b) to identify the raters who could find adolescent girls eligible for special education services, and (c) to determine the relation between behavior problems and competence for hospitalized and comparison samples of girls. We obtained the ratings of parents, teachers, and youth for 16 girls who had been treated in a psychiatric hospital and 16 girls who had not been treated, for total behavior problems and competence, according to Achenbach's Child Behavior Checklist (1991a), Child Behavior Checklist Teacher Form (1991b), and Youth Self-Report Form (1991c). We found that parents identified their hospitalized daughters as clinically disturbed and in need of mental health services, and that parents of hospitalized girls were the only raters who had any significant agreement with teachers and could contribute to finding girls eligible for special education. We also found, within and across ...


ABSTRACT Motivation is the driving force within people which spurs them to overcome the many obstacles present with loss of physical, sensory and mental abilities. The medical rehabilitation team alone cannot motivate people to participate; the motivation must come from within. From a lifetime of service as a medical rehabilitation practitioner, this physician consistently observed sincere belief and faith in God to produce the motivating force when all else failed.


Nowadays, the creation of SMEs draws the attention of decision makers as the main source of employment and regional development. Indeed, youth entrepreneurship in particular contributes positively in regional development and is perceived to be the driving force of any economic system on both the regional and the national levels. This paper is interested in the entrepreneurial motivation of young entrepreneurs in the Souss-Massa-Daraa region. It seeks to examine their motivation factors for setting up their own employment opportunities after graduation. A survey of 100 entrepreneurs was conducted. The results indicate that risk aversion and entrepreneurship education are the factors that affect entrepreneurial motivation.


In Sweden, the training of secondary physics teachers generally consists of three parts: subject-specific courses in the physics department, pedagogical core courses in the education department and ...


Objective
To evaluate dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) with Patlak model for depicting the perfusion and permeability characteristics of lesions and normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) regions in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Methods
Twenty-three patients with clinical confirmed RRMS were retrospectively analyzed, who had underwent conventional MRI and DCE-MRI using a 3.0 T MR scanner . The clinical characteristics and imaging data were collected. Post-processing was performed using the Patlak model. Volume transfer constant (Ktrans), fractional plasma volume (Vp) and perfusion parameters including cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral blood volume (CBV) were represented as median and interquartile range(IQR). The four parameters of non-enhanced(NE) lesions, NAWM regions located close to NE lesions(NAWM close) and NAWM regions located far from NE lesions (NAWM far) were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis H rank sum test. Artificial color mappings were also proceeded.

Results
MR imaging biomarkers Ktrans was 0.132(0.064, 0.233) min-1 for NE lesions, 0.111 (0.060, 0.233) min-1 for NAWM close and 0.077(0.044, 0.185) min-1 for NAWM far, respectively. CBV was 10.660(5.555, 22.193) ml·100 g-1 for NE lesions, 9.359(4.883, 16.290) ml·100 g-1 for NAWM close, 6.814 (4.699, 13.623) ml·100 g-1 for NAWM far, respectively. Ktrans and CBV of NE lesions was significantly higher than that of NAWM far(χ2=7.582, P 0.05).

Conclusion
DCE-MRI with Patlak model can measure perfusion and permeability characteristics and hemodynamic abnormalities of NE lesions and NAWM regions in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Key words:
Multiple sclerosis, relapsing-remitting; Magnetic resonance imaging; Diagnosis, differential


In recent years, multimodal underwater wireless sensor networks (M-UWSNs) have attracted widespread concern in academia. Due to the complex underwater communication environment and the increasing marine applications, it is a crucial issue for M-UWSNs to design an energy-efficient routing strategy that can satisfy multiple transmission latency requirements of different marine applications. Reinforcement learning (RL) approaches with distributed dynamic optimization ability provide a prospective way to solve the aforementioned problem. Therefore, we propose an improved RL framework and then design an energy-efficient multilevel routing strategy (MLRS-RL) based on this framework for multiple transmission latency requirements. In MLRS-RL, a method of model knowledge collection based on the time backoff principle is proposed to preliminarily learn the network environment information before network operates. The convergence speed of the RL framework can be accelerated by utilizing the model knowledge. Then, underwater nodes use the improved RL model to calculate the transmission rewards that data packets with different transmission latency requirements are sent to different candidate relay nodes. Finally, a cooperative transmission strategy using multiple relay nodes is designed to further improve the reliability of data transmission. We verify the effectiveness of the MLRS-RL strategy in terms of packet delivery ratio, transmission latency, energy efficiency, network lifetime, and delivery quantity.


Chemical costs can be a significant part of semiconductor manufacturing materials cost. True chemical cost consists of raw chemical price, handling expenses and disposal of used chemicals. Some of this usage can be cut back by recycling the chemicals for re-use. This paper describes the work done to establish the use of recycled chemical for etch processing during Gallium Arsenide Hetero-junction Bipolar Transistors (GaAs HBT) fabrication.


An attachment is described which permits the use of a single crystal goniometer head with the Philips powder camera (114.59 mm in diameter). Use of the attachment does not require any modification of the powder camera beyond removal of the cover. This device permits accurate determination of the Bragg angles of the reflections obtainable in a zero layer Weissenberg photograph with only small orientation corrections.


This study aims to determine the increase in student learning outcomes through the application of the learning model Number Head Together (NHT) on the material natural conditions of Indonesia, Public Middle School 5 Ternate City in 2013/ 2014. This type of research is classroom action research that follows the stages of research that start from action planning, implementation, observation, and reflection. The results showed that the Number Head Together learning model succeeded in improving student learning outcomes. this can be seen from the acquisition of student grades, namely there are 20 students (80%) who have not yet reached The Minimum Completeness Criteria and there are only 5 students (20%) who have achieved The Minimum Completeness Criteria in cycle I. In cycle II it increased to 19 students (76%) who reached The Minimum Completeness Criteria and only 6 students (24%) who have not yet reached The Minimum Completeness Criteria. Learning with the Number Head Together model can make students have the courage to ask questions, answer questions, discuss and cooperate with fellow group members, and can create an atmosphere of active, creative, and fun learning.


The problem of health oft he Russian population, and in particular, the health of the younger generation, is a cause for concern, as state organizations, and society. Ключевые слова: здоровый образ жизни, мотивация, «Готов к труду и обороне»


Objective To investigate the quality of life(QOL) of Beichuan cadres 1 year after Wenchuan earthquake,so as to provide references for promoting psychological intervention and improving QOL.Methods With the adoption of WHOQOL-BREF,questionnaire survey on basic conditions of cadre victims,and PCL-C scale,cross-section survey was conducted for 2 055 cadres of Beichuan public institutions in aspects of their QOL,social demographic characteristics and psychological trauma.Results a) Compared with domestic norm,although the Beichuan cadres had higher score in social relation domain(14.31 ± 2.59,P0.01),their QOL scores in each dimensions(physical domain score: 14.16 ± 2.43;psychological domain score: 13.79 ± 2.59,environmental domain score: 11.20 ± 2.74) were lower with significant difference(P0.01);b) The group with population under the age of 30 scored higher than other age groups in the psychological and environmental domains;men scored higher than women in the psychological domain;the widowed group scored lower than other groups in all domains;the Han nationality group scored higher than the Qiang nationality group in all domains;the primary education group scored lower than other groups in the social relation domain;the group with relatives,houses and physical loss or damage scored lower than the non-loss group in all domains;and the higher the score in PCL-C,the lower the scores in all domains(all P0.05).Conclusion Beichuan cadres are severely affected in their physical,psychological and environmental domains even one year after Wenchuan earthquake,especially the female,the Qiang nationality,the old,the lost,and the psychological injured cadres are more badly affected with worse QOL,so those population should be concerned in particular with sustainable psychological service and other measures.The finding of social relation domain score being higher than general population suggests that it is important to promote the satisfaction with social relation through the timely effective support from both government and civil society,and the resettlement of sample housing area as well.


The aim of this paper is to determine Frenet-Serret invariants of non-null curves in Lorentzian 5-space. First, we define a vector product of four vectors, by this way, we present a method to calculate Frenet-Serret invariants of the non-null curves. Additionally, an algebraic example of presented method is illustrated. Keywords—Lorentzian 5-space; Frenet-Serret Invariants; Nonnull Curves.


The TFR (Total Fertility Rate) East Javan Trend in the IDHS (Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey) 2012 remained 2.6 per woman. This potentially causes an increase in the number of births. FP (Family Planning) services are free and priority is given to the poor. FP acceptors must pay from their own money to get contraception. After the 2007 economic crisis, people have difficulty meeting these needs, especially in urban areas. The necessities of life in urban areas are higher than in rural areas. Gresik District's new FP acceptors are still lower than in other districts. The purpose of this study is to analyse couples of reproductive age in relation to the self independence of FP. This study is observational with a cross sectional design. The population of the study is couples of reproductive age in all of the villages in the Gresik District. The sample consists of 39 couples determined by Multi Stage Random Sampling. The data was analysed descriptively. The results indicate that the educational level of the majority of the husbands and wives are that they are graduates from high school. A total of 46.2% of women and 92.3% of men are working. The majority of the couples work as employees in the industrial sector. The majority of the couples want two children and have had enough children (46.2%). 47.62% of the wives use a syringe for compatibility reasons. While 5.1% of the husbands use condoms, FP use independently is 7.7%. FP services are not obtained by spending the majority of their income but from facilities in the workplace. The majority of family expenditures are expected to meet the daily needs of the family. These conditions can have an impact on their drop out, or it shifts the effective birth control in to becoming ineffective. Therefore, efforts should be made to raise public awareness about family planning and to create better access to contraceptive family planning services. Keywords—family planning; family planning services; independent family planning; self independence of family planning


The manuscript deals with a topic of great relevance for planning of sustainable water management options. With regard to a water-scarce region the paper report an interesting groundwater screening as a part of a developing DSS for IWRM. The overall methodology is intrinsically valuable and the scope of the paper is well explained. GW availability estimations and GW flow simulations under different scenarios are adopted for safe yield evaluations. Despite the importance of the topics for regional water resources management the paper the presentation of novel concepts, ideas, or tools, is non-relevant. The paper, though well written, is more close to a technical report than


The purpose of this study is to shed light on the fog system to cool the inside air to the compressor in the gas station to generate electricity. Where it mainly focused on the suitability of the fog system to the hot Iraqi climate throughout the summer period, a simulation analysis of the operation of the gas turbine unit using a fog system at an ambient temperature in the range of 25-55 °C was conducted in the southern Baghdad second station. The fog system proved to be highly effective in raising the effective power, the thermal efficiency and the effective efficiency coefficient of the gas turbine unit as well as a apparent decrease in the specific air flow rate, the specific fuel consumption and the specific heat consumption in the gas turbine unit compared to not using fog system for cooling and for the same operating conditions.


Castilian municipal fueros from the eleventh to the thirteenth century provide important information on the legal origins of the alcaidia de fortalezas, a military institution set up primarily to control the internal administration and daily maintenance of all castles in the kingdom. Although the set of regulations contained in these documents is as yet unsystematic and lacking an overall coherence, nevertheless they do include the first examples of codes intended to define the post of the alcaide, the duties of castle watchmen, and the tasks of repairing and maintaining fortifications. These codes were later to be revised and expanded in the Partidas and the Especulo. Moreover, these early regulations reveal the fundamental importance which military activities had for the castilian-leonese concejos, an importance which coincided with a period of great conflict betwen Christian and Muslims.


Exudative or proliferative processes accompanied by joint destruction may predominate in the synovial membrane (SM) in different stages of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The features of SM changes should be considered in the early diagnosis of RA and in the development of combination treatment for this disease. Objective: to study arthroscopic SM changes in patients with different RA durations and different blood anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibody levels. Subjects and methods. 37 patients with RA underwent arthroscopy with an arthroscope of a 2.4-mm diameter and 30° angle (Karl Storz GmbH, Germany). RA duration was 2 years. The increase in anti-CCP by >60 U/ml was associated with a predominance of inflammatory hyperplasia (p < 0.01), SM hyperemia with a pronounced vascular pattern (p<0.05), as well as with the presence of pannus (pp<0.01).


Sometimes children are born with abnormalities in these lymphatic vessels and instead of narrow channels they form wide ones. These then fill with lymph fluid to form cysts which cause swelling around the body but usually in the neck. The term cystic hygroma means 'water filled sac'. A more accurate term is lymphatic malformation which characterizes the abnormality however water filled sac is a fairly accurate description of the problem as well.


In this paper we discuss the applications of XML and blind signature firstly. And then we propose a XML blind signature scheme based on RSA public key system, which has the merits of RSA blind signature and XML, and has high security as well as many valuable applications. We made an example and discussed it finally.


. The main task of the food industry is the full provision of consumer cooperatives with quality food, one of the main sources for the production of which is fruit and berry raw materials. The search for innovative measures to intensify the heat-mass exchange production processes of quality products is needed to solve this problem. The goal of this work is to justify technological and apparatus improvement of the production processes of functional products on the basis of blended fruit and berry concentrated and dried products. The realization of this goal will allow expanding the range of foodstuff with balanced content of biologically-active substances and other physiologically-functional ingredients.For the selection of the optimal blending recipe of fruit and berry raw materials into functional products with predicted structural and mechanical properties, such differential function as particle radius distribution, taking into account the average radius, proposed to use. This method allows to determine the impact of the mass fraction of each component on the change of structural and mechanical characteristics of the proposed multicomponent fruit and vegetable purees and pastes. The technological production process of blended functional fruit and berry concentrated and dried products has been developed, namely apple-based – 50%; dogwood-based 40%; hawthorn-based 10%. This technology is different using gentle temperature modes during pre-234


In recent years there has been a surge of interest in applying deep neural networks to electronic health records (EHRs) for predictive clinical tasks. EHR data cannot be mined like traditional image or text data because it has unique characteristics including temporality, irregularity, heterogeneity (both structured and unstructured) and incompleteness. We begin by identifying weaknesses in the way deep learning is currently being applied to health data. Then, leveraging these insights, we propose an end-to-end strategy for extracting complimentary deep feature representations from EHRs. This strategy is based on a "bringing model to data" machine learning approach instead of "transforming data to model". It uses multiple neural networks, that have each been optimised for the characteristics of their input data, to extract features. Then, the output of these neural networks is combined. We show that prediction accuracy improves as the output of each neural network is contributed. This work demonstrates the value of extracting relevant insights from different aspects of a patients record, which is analogous to how a clinician makes decisions.


Dilepton production from two photon interactions $\gamma\gamma\rightarrow l^+l^-$ are studied in semi-central and peripheral nuclear collisions. Based on Weizsacker-Williams approach, it is shown that the dilepton photoproduction is proportional to the electromagnetic (EM) fields $\sim E^2B^2$ and therefore sensitive to the magnitude and lifetime of initial EM fields which last only for a short time and are hard to be measured in experiments directly. We propose dilepton photoproduction as a probe for the nuclear charge fluctuations, which are crucial for the electric/magnetic field induced chiral and charge particle evolutions. We calculate the relative standard deviation of dilepton mass spectrum with event-by-event fluctuating nuclear charge distributions (and EM fields).


The multi purpose hadron transport code SHIELD-HIT (Heavy Ion Therapy) is presented as a tool for simulation of interaction of hadron and ion therapeutic beams with tissue like media. The code allows simulate dose distributions, particle fluences and PET-radioisotopes production in phantoms of complex chemical composition and geometric configuration. The code has been elaborated at INR RAS.


Meniscus tears represent a common orthopedic injury that often requires surgery to restore pain‐free function. The need for surgical intervention is due, in part, to the inflammatory and catabolic environment that inhibits meniscus healing after injury. In other organ systems, healing is dependent on the migration of cells to the site of injury; however, in the meniscus, it is currently unknown how the microenvironment dictates cell migration in the postinjury inflamed setting. Here, we investigated how inflammatory cytokines alter meniscal fibrochondrocyte (MFC) migration and sensation of microenvironmental stiffness. We further tested whether an FDA approved interleukin‐1 receptor antagonist (IL‐1Ra; Anakinra) could rescue migratory deficits caused by inflammatory challenge. When cultured in the presence of inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor‐α [TNF‐α] or interleukin‐1β [IL‐1β]) for 1 day, MFC migration was inhibited for 3 days before returning to control levels at Day 7. This migratory deficit was clear in three‐dimensional as well, where fewer MFCs exposed to inflammatory cytokines migrated from a living meniscal explant compared with control. Notably, addition of IL‐1Ra to MFCs previously exposed to IL‐1β restored migration to baseline levels. This study demonstrates that joint inflammation can have negative impacts on meniscus cell migration and mechanosensation, affecting their potential for repair, and that resolution of this inflammation with concurrent anti‐inflammatories can reverse these deficits. Future work will apply these findings to mitigate the negative consequences of joint inflammation and promote repair in a clinically relevant meniscus injury model.


In serum starved V79 Chinese hamster lung fibroblast cells, replacement of D‐glucose with D‐allose resulted in a significant 38 ± 18% (P < 0.05) reduction of 2‐deoxy‐D‐glucose (2‐DG) transport. Similarly, in a respiration‐deficient mutant cell line (V79‐G14), which has elevated 2‐DG transport activity, D‐allose reduced 2‐DG transport by 59 ± 18% (P < 0.05). [3H]D‐allose uptake by V79 cells occurred slowly and was not inhibited by cytochalasin B, suggesting diffusion as the mode of D‐allose entry. Western blot analysis using a rabbit polyclonal antibody to the human erythrocyte glucose transporter (GT) demonstrated that, in both cell lines, GT content and GT subcellular distribution were not significantly different in D‐glucose vs. D‐allose‐treated cells. δ‐Antibody, which has been shown to bind to exofacial epitopes of the GT (Harrison et al., 1990, J. Biol. Chem., 265:5793‐‐5801), did not demonstrate any differences in surface binding to D‐glucose vs. D‐allose‐treated intact V79 cells. D‐allose treatment of 3T3 fibroblasts resulted in a similar decrease (72%) of 2‐DG transport, however D‐allose had no apparent effect on basal sugar transport in 3T3 adipocytes. These results suggest that D‐allose reduces sugar transport through a modulation of the intrinsic activity of the GT, and that D‐allose may act in a tissue‐specific manner. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The publication of Manav Ratti's The Postsecular Imagination: Postcolonialism, Religion, and Literature is timely-auspicious even. The association of Western modernity with secularism, as well as the seeming opposition between secularism and religion, have both recently come under scrutiny. The effort to re-think secular conditions in the West and East becomes a point of departure in The Postsecular Imagination, highlighting the disjuncture between maJontarian secularism in service of the nation, and everyday indigenous secular relations and practices on the ground. He conceptualizes the "postsecular" to define the in-between aspects of a "non-secular secularism, a non-religious religion." Looking to the postsecular imagination in literature, Ratti analyzes mostly Anglophone novels published from 1980 to 20 I 0 that reflect the "multireligious nature of India and Sri Lanka, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, and animism," with a focus on the works of diasporic authors-Michael Ondaatje, Salman Rushdie, Shauna Singh Baldwin, Amitav Ghosh, Allan Sealy-and one Indian author, Mahasweta Devi. Ratti situates his intervention in the larger debates on secularism, drawing scholars such as Akeel Bilgrami, William Connolly, Jurgen Habermas, Ashis Nandy, Vincent Pecora, and Charles Taylor into conversation with postcolonial authors. Contra the conventional assumption that secularism is necessarily associated with modernity and reason-whereas religion is a backward relic of the past-Ratti argues that secularism often refers to the dominance of majoritarian religions at the cost of minority ones. As such, religion comes to be associated with minoritized religion, often Islam, in both Europe and India. By examining the limits of secularism in India and Sri Lanka, Ratti shows how state secularism fails to safeguard minoritarian perspectives. Instead, secularism is instrumentalized to facilitate nationalist chauvinism, communalism, polarization, violence, and


In this paper, we propose a low complexity space-frequency bit interleaved coded (SF-BICM) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) OFDM system as a promising candidate for next generation wireless LANs, expected to operate in excess of 100 Mb/s. A MIMO overlay on a 64-QAM OFDM system can increase computational complexity exponentially if maximum likelihood performance is desired. In this paper, we present two schemes for reducing implementation complexity without compromising PER performance. First, we show that multiplexing OFDM symbols across multiple antennas achieves the best performance, and also leads to the most cost effective implementation. Second, we propose a novel ad-hoc scheme for MIMO soft-symbol demapping that uses hard-decision feedback to perform interference cancellation and maximal ratio combining. Our proposed low-complexity architecture offers a throughput of 108 Mb/s at the comparable SNR of an IEEE 802.11a/g-compliant 54 Mb/s transmission with 1% PER.


In this paper,the author evaluates the technology innovation efficiency of the large and medium industrial enterprises in china with BCC model in DEA.This paper discusses the regional technology innovation efficiency difference by comparing each province、eastern、middle and western areas.And then takes Beijing as an example,decomposing the technical efficiency into pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency,to find out the causes of inefficiency and adjustment direction.It provides the making-decision reference for enhancing the technology innovation efficiency of the whole country.


I am privileged to write the book titled "Articulators".An articulator is a mechanical device used in dentistry to which casts of the maxillary and mandibular teeth. It replicates and facilitates the functional movements of the Jaw. The purpose of book publication is to create awareness among dental practitioners about the new types of articulates which will help them in making the procedures easier which is achieved in comprehensive text.


Introduced lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) threaten to extirpate native Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhyn- chus clarkii bouvieri) in the 34 000 ha Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park, USA. Suppression (and eventual eradication) of the lake trout population is deemed necessary for the conservation of Yellowstone cutthroat trout. A US Na- tional Park Service gill-netting program removed nearly 450 000 lake trout from Yellowstone Lake from 1995 through 2009. We examined temporal variation in individual growth, body condition, length and age at maturity, fecundity, mortality, and population models to assess the efficacy of the lake trout suppression program. Population metrics did not indicate over- harvest despite more than a decade of fish removal. The current rate of population growth is positive; however, it is lower than it would be in the absence of lake trout suppression. Fishing effort needs to increase above observed levels to reduce population growth rate below replacement. Additionally, high sensitivity of population growth rate to reproductive vital rates indicates that increasing fishing mortality for sexually mature lake trout may increase the effectiveness of suppression. Lake trout suppression in Yellowstone Lake illustrates the complexities of trying to remove an apex predator to restore a relatively large remote lentic ecosystem with a simple fish assemblage.


Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have become an effective technique in monitoring water, oil, and gas pipelines. Wireless sensor nodes have played a greater role in multidimensional applications such as tactical monitoring, weather monitoring, and battlefield detecting. Combined wireless nodes create a network in a distributed manner. They can provide accurate results in both aboveground and underground. However, there are some challenges in propagating the signal in the underground. In underground pipeline communications, sensor nodes detect the signal and forward it to the relay node, which is placed in aboveground. Our study is designed to reduce the propagating delay and to allocate channel in optimal relay node selection by using a heterogeneous network.


e15185 Background: World Health Organization criteria define HGNEC as neuroendocrine tumors with Ki-67 index > 20%. However, it is unknown if treatment response and/or outcomes vary based on cellular differentiation (i.e., well differentiated (WDNEC) versus (vs) poorly differentiated (PDNEC)). We conducted a retrospective review of metastatic pancreatic HGNEC treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to evaluate response to therapy, progression free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Methods: Patients (pts) with G3 pancreatic WDNEC or PDNEC treated from 2000-2014 were identified. Demographics, response to 3 lines of systemic therapy (by RECIST criteria based on radiology reports), PFS, and OS were determined. Results: 45 pts were identified, 16 WDNEC (mean age 46.8, 43.8% male, 93.3% octreoscan positive in 14/15 pts tested) and 29 PDNEC (mean age 58.2, 65.5% male, 45.5% octreoscan positive in 5/11 pts tested). Median OS was 52.0 months in WDNEC vs 10.1 months in PDNEC (p = 0.0009). 10/16 (...


: This paper examines the genealogy of Chinese literary theory under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), in terms of Moscow- Yan'an -Beijing Modes from the inception of the CCP to the present. The focus of this paper is the state-sanctioned textbooks of literary theory and criticism from the beginning of the PRC to the present. The story of these textbooks tells us as much about the complex entanglement of Chinese Marxism or Maoism with Soviet Marxism, i.e. Leninism and Stalinism in the Mao era as about the powerful, on-going impact of that ideological lineage today.


strengthen support for government action, but this may not significantly alter the embedded social values that fuel demand. Finally, the study found that non-profit environmental organizations, scientists and family and friends are the most trusted sources of information on issues related to ivory. The types of organizations that are currently working to reduce demand and facilitate regulatory changes are well positioned for impact. Although there have been other studies that have examined ivory demand, this is the first study of which we are aware that looked across five key ivory consumption countries and analysed socio-economic drivers of ivory consumption. We hope that this research can inform methods to reduce ivory demand, including policy measures, grass-roots and social marketing campaigns, consumer-focused communications and country-specific approaches. We recognize that solutions must go beyond consumer behaviour change to incorporate and address legality, corruption, law enforcement, intelligence sharing, education, capacity building and coordination, transportation and logistics, economics, livelihoods and governance. At the same time, what ultimately drives the illegal killing of elephants and the highly commercialized and criminalized trafficking of ivory are socio-economic cultural beliefs tied to the perceived value of ivory. We believe that the results of this research point to a need for transformational steps to decouple ivory and high status to make ivory purchasing socially and culturally unacceptable.


We study adhesion enhancement between a polymer melt and substrate due to chemically attached chains on the substrate surface. We have performed extensive molecular dynamics simulations to study the effect of temperature, crosslink density, tethered chain density (E), tethered chain length (N,) and tensile pull-velocity (v) on the adhesion failure mechanisms of pull-out and/or scission of the tethered chains. We observe a crossover from pure chain pull-out at short N~ and small v, to chain scission aa No and v are increased. The value of N. for which this crossover occurs is comparable to the ent&glement length.


The progress in integration of nanodiamond with photonic devices is analyzed in the light of quantum optical applications. Nanodiamonds host a variety of optically active defects, called color centers, which provide rich ground for photonic engineering. Theoretical introduction describing light and matter interaction between optical modes and a quantum emitter is presented, including the role of the Debye–Waller factor typical of color center emission. The synthesis of diamond nanoparticles is discussed in an overview of methods leading to experimentally realized hybrid platforms of nanodiamond with gallium phosphide, silicon dioxide, and silicon carbide. The trade‐offs in the substrate index of refraction values are reviewed in the context of the achieved strength of light and matter interaction. Thereby, the recent results on the growth of color center‐rich nanodiamond on prefabricated silicon carbide microdisk resonators are presented. These hybrid devices achieve up to fivefold enhancement of the diamond color‐center light emission and can be employed in integrated quantum photonics.


Summary form only given, as follows. A multipurpose semantic analyzer front-end for Ada has been developed to meet a variety of Ada source code analysis needs. One of those needs is the automatic generation of glass-box test cases. Glass-box test case generation requires control and data flow information in conjunction with semantic information on subprogram interfaces and local declarations. Control flow analysis will be needed to address statement and path coverage issues. Data flow analysis can be used to force execution through potentially anomalous paths. Semantic analysis provides prerequisite information for generating acceptable test cases in these cases, as well as for boundary condition testing. The author presents a design of a back-end for the multipurpose front-end which will compute control and data flow information required for automatic test case generation.<<ETX>>


Background: Thyroid hormones act on nearly every cell in the body including red blood cells. Thyroid hormones are also important to proper development and differentiation of all cells of the human body. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that destroys certain cells in the immune system. The aim of this study was to determine free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (T4) and red cell indices level of HIV subjects attending clinic at Enugu State University of Science and Technology Teaching Hospital.
Study Design: Case control study.
Place and Duration of Study: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)  clinic and Haematology Laboratory both of Enugu State University of Science and Technology Teaching Hospital, between August and October 2021.
Methodology: Sixty HIV subjects and thirty apparently healthy individuals within the age range of 30 - 60 years were recruited for this study. Free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), hemoglobin (HGB), packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell count (RBC), mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell hemoglobin (MCH), mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), red cell distribution width standard deviation (RDW-SD), red cell distribution width coefficient of variation (RDW-CV) were determined in HIV subjects and apparently healthy individuals.
Results: There was significant difference in MCV (125.79+/- 7.57 vs 78.89+/- 5.71 fl), MCH (23.17+/- 2.10 vs27.21+/- 3.68 pg), MCHC (25.08+/- 2.74 vs30.09+/- 3.27 g/dl), RDW-SD (61.52+/- 7.55 vs46.23+/- 5.87 fl), RDW-CV (23.06+/- 5.78 vs43.87+/- 1.28 fl) and PCV (39.38+/- 3.06 vs31.75+/- 2.44 %) between patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and ART-naïve patients respectively. There was significant difference in T4 (8.29+/- 1.29 vs 6.12 µg/dl), MCV (78.89+/- 5.71 vs 84.47 +/- 3.79 fl), MCH (27.21+/- 3.68   vs 29.20 +/- 2.27 pg), RDW-CV (43.87+/- 1.28 vs 12.51 +/- 1.08 fl) and PCV (31.75+/-2.44vs 37.63+/-2.95 %) on ART-naïve patients and apparently healthy subjects respectively. There was a positive correlation between FT3 and MCH in HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) (p= 0.016).
Conclusion: In people taking antiretroviral therapy, mean cell haemoglobin, mean cell hemoglobin concentration and red cell distribution width coefficient of variation significantly reduced, as well as raised mean cell volume and red cell distribution width standard deviation. This study also observed reduced mean cell haemoglobin, mean cell haemoglobin concentration and mean cell volume in ART- naïve subjects.


In this paper, we propose a novel end-to-end feature compression scheme by leveraging the representation and learning capability of deep neural networks, towards intelligent front-end equipped analysis with promising accuracy and efficiency. In particular, the extracted features are compactly coded in an end-to-end manner by optimizing the rate- distortion cost to achieve feature-in-feature representation. The multi-granularity constraint is further imposed, serving as the optimization objective to make the feature compression more "healthier" from the perspective of ultimate utility. More specifically, the analysis accuracy is considered in the coarse granularity level constraint, ensuring the capability of facial analysis with the reconstructed feature. Furthermore, at the fine granularity level the feature fidelity is involved to preserve the original feature quality. Moreover, a latent code level teacher-student enhancement model is proposed to efficiently transfer the low bit-rate representation into a high bit- rate one. Such a strategy further allows us to adaptively shift the representation cost to decoding computations, leading to more flexible feature compression with enhanced decoding capability. We verify the effectiveness of the proposed model with the facial feature, and experimental results reveal better compression performance in terms of rate-accuracy compared with existing models.


Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids have been positively related with improvement of fertility in both women and men. Primary natural source of omega-3- fatty acids is seafood. As this also can bei the source of toxicants like f.e. lead, mercury and cadmium, reproductive benefits may be counteracted. Therefore, our approach was to supplement pharmaceutical grade omega-3-fatty acids in order to assess potential benefits of omega-3-fatty acids on modulation of IVF-success by dietary measures in a well-defined group of patients of a German Fertility Centre. A group of 52 IVF-patients with a history of at least two miscarriages or unsuccessful in vitro fertilization approaches received periconceptual omega-3-fatty acid supplementation for a time period of at least 3 weeks. The "historical" control group, consisting of 1109 patients without omega-3-fatty acid supplementation, was generated out of the Fertility Centre´s patient database. The same inclusion criteria (history of at least two miscarriages or unsuccessful in vitro fertilization approaches) were applied for both groups. Omega-3-fatty acid supplementation lead to significantly enhanced in vitro fertilization success rates as well as to reduction of miscarriage rates compared to patients of the control group. The results encourage to design further age-matched, double-blinded prospective studies in order to verify a positive influence of dietary intervention and lifestyle modification on fertility rates.


Interaction of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pulses of high intensity with gases results in the creation of non-thermalized plasmas. Energies of the driving photons and photoelectrons are sufficient for creation of excited states, followed by emission of the EUV photons. In most cases, decay times of these states are short comparing to the driving EUV pulse. It means that just after stopping of the driving pulse, the EUV emission corresponding to the excited states should also stop. From our earlier measurements in the optical range, however, it can be concluded that lifetimes of such plasmas exceed a time duration of the driving pulse even two orders of magnitude. Hence, it can be expected that the time duration of the EUV emission can be also significantly longer than the irradiation time. In this work, EUV-induced, low-temperature helium (He), krypton, and xenon plasmas were investigated. EUV emission from these plasmas was studied, using a specially prepared detection system, allowing for time-resolved measurements, in selected spectral ranges. The detection system was based on a paraboloidal collector and a semiconductor photodiode, sensitive for the EUV photons. For spectral selection, the corresponding filters or multilayer mirrors were employed. In most cases, the time duration of the EUV emission was significantly longer than the driving EUV pulse. In case of He plasmas, the emission corresponding to excited atoms was detected even hundreds of nanoseconds after the irradiation. It was also shown that the corresponding time profiles depended on densities of gases to be ionized.


To predict and optimize luminescence efficiency of rare-earth ion doped (RE) nanophosphors, a relationship between the RE-concentration and the luminescent parameters is often obtained by Judd-Ofelt analysis, where the quality factor (χ=Ω4/Ω6) depends on the Er interactions with other RE elements in the second nearest neighboring shell. In this work, a detailed analysis of the local bonding environment by extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analyses is shown as effective as the Judd-Ofelt analysis to quantify the Er↔RE interaction in the second nearest neighboring shell (ρN=IREr↔RE2/IREr↔RE1). As the physical basis of ρN is consistent to that of χ, the EXAFS analysis becomes a viable alternative to replace Judd-Ofelt analysis to predict the optimum dopant concentration. This approach was corroborated based on analysis of Er3+:Y2O3 and core-shell Er3+:Y2O3|Y2O3 (5 nm shell) nanoparticles (NPs), with Er3+ concentrations up to 20 mol %. The ρN ratio from EXAFS analysis was shown to strongly corr...


In view of fake and shoddy cotton seeds appearing constantly, it damaged the interests of the farmers seriously. Accordingly, this paper proposed a method to solve the cotton quality and safety, which combined the technology of Radio Frequency Identificaiton (RFID) and the Internet. The cotton circulation management model has been constructed, developing the cotton quality traceability system. This will not only can help consumers identify the cotton quality, but also can prevent unqualified cotton into the market so as not to protect the interests of farmers and manufacturers reputation.


SummaryThe respiration rate of thymocyte suspension cultures irradiated with 1·5 kr remains normal until the process of nuclear structural homogenization is well under way. Reduction of respiration rate by cyanide, nicotinamide and a very high dose of x-radiation (30 kr) is associated with a strong retardation of nuclear changes.It is proposed that the inhibition of respiration is, in fact, responsible for the inhibition of nuclear structural changes by these agents. A possible mechanism for this effect of respiratory inhibition is discussed.


Trees are impressive long-living organisms that continuously increase in size by many orders of magnitude during ontogeny by accumulating xylem biomass in stem, branches and roots. While growing taller, trees continuously adjust the xylem structure to achieve an optimal balance of carbon costs for the competing biomechanical and hydraulic requirements.
One of the main function of the xylem structure is the delivery of the water from the roots up to the leaves. This must be maintained during the ontogeny, when the hydrodynamic resistance increase due to the increase in the xylem path length. However, by widening the diameter of xylem conduit (from the stem apex downwards), trees are able to minimize the negative effect of height growth. Additionally, this widening is stable during ontogeny, thus determining the radial change in conduit dimension with cambial age (from the pith outwards), implying a dependency between the variation of conduit-lumen diameter with cambial age and the rates of stem elongation.
These adjustments in the xylem structure remain permanently fixed and chronologically archived in the secondary xylem, and, given the tight link between structures and functions, these provide a 'time component' to functional responses induced by xylem plasticity, thus allowing to reconstruct growth dynamics under different environmental conditions.
However, there is a lack of detailed information and standardized procedures to explore, at the intra-specific level, the long-term modifications of xylem traits over the full life-span of trees, together with their variability along axial and radial profiles. Additionally, little is known about the relationships between the structures and functions in a view of exploring the future challenges in how a plant's hydraulic architecture may respond to the ongoing climate change.
This thesis, represent a set of studies based on dendro-anatomical and physiological approaches aimed to:
- identify priorities and trade-offs among xylem functions;
- determine the anatomical traits responsible for them;
- retrospectively analyze how these relationships vary during ontogeny under different environmental condition;
- analyze the functional response to xylem modifications occurring during ontogeny;
- investigate the possibility of retrospectively analyzed height growth based on hydraulic radial profiles.
Furthermore, a guidance from sample collection to xylem anatomical data and a new approach to customize cell wall thickness measurements according to the specific aims of the study, were developed.
This thesis has highlighted that the xylem anatomical structure of conifer trees (Larix decidua, Picea abies, Pinus cembra) showed a high priority and biophysical determination of traits linked to hydraulic efficiency, such as conduit size, to efficiently support assimilation necessary for tree growth. Besides, other functional traits linked to mechanical support and metabolic xylem functions showed more plastic responses to intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Due to the ontogenetic stability of axial patterns of conduit size, it was possible, based on radial profiles of xylem conduit diameter of tree rings, to estimate tree growth rate, even if species-site specific, and make comparison between trees living in different epochs. In addition, despite the risk of becoming more vulnerable to air seeding cavitation, trees showed to prioritize of hydraulic efficiency vs. safety during the ontogenetic development, as the increase in xylem conductance with tree height determined a contextual decrease in the hydraulic safety margin.
This study showed the importance of taking into account the three dimensional anatomical trends to better understand of the trade-offs of hydraulic safety vs. efficiency shape up the tree architecture and affect its adjustments occurring during ontogeny to cope with the arising intrinsic (i.e., size-related) and extrinsic (i.e., environmental) constraints to growth.


Geometry of the non cyclic quadrangle in the isotropic plane was introduced in [2] and [6]. Herein, its diagonal triangle is studied and some nice properties of it are given.


Object-oriented modeling is spreading in current simulation of physiological systems through the use of the individual components of the model and its interconnections to define the underlying dynamic equations. In this paper we describe the use of both the SIMSCAPE and MODELICA simulation environments in the object-oriented modeling of the closed loop cardiovascular system. The performance of the controlled system was analyzed by simulation in light of the existing hypothesis and validation tests previously performed with physiological data. The described approach represents a valuable tool in the teaching of physiology for graduate medical students. Keywords—Object-Oriented Modeling, SIMSCAPE Simulation Language, MODELICA Simulation Language, Cardiovascular System.


Background: The stimulus coupon plan is one of the economic relief plans used to boost Taiwan's slumping economy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. In order to obtain prior information to understand whether or not the stimulus coupon plan would effectively revive the economy in advance, the purpose of this study is to learn lessons from Taiwan's consumption voucher scheme initiated during the 2007–2009 global financial crisis through evaluating the effect of the consumption voucher scheme on private consumption expenditure. Methods: The smooth time-varying cointegration analysis was applied to estimate the income elasticity of consumption, indicating the individual's reaction to consumption vouchers in terms of private consumption expenditure, and then the multiple structural change model was estimated to identify endogenous regime changes of the income elasticity of consumption. Results: We found that the income elasticity of consumption dramatically decreased after 2007Q1, a period that covered the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007–2009 and the time of issuance of the consumption vouchers in 2009. Conclusions: We concluded that Taiwan's consumption voucher scheme might have had either no or little effect on stimulating the economy, so policymakers should be cautioned concerning the potential ineffectiveness of the stimulus coupon plan in the future.


There is increasing concern regarding the use of antimicrobials in food animals and the possible implications in human health, such as antibiotic resistance in pathogens, highlighting the importance of judicious use of antimicrobials in production animals. Specific aims were to: 1) evaluate the effect of antibiotics on cure of clinical mastitis; 2) use high throughput sequencing to assess the microbiome of milk samples from a mastitic quarter and compare it to the microbiome of ipsilateral healthy quarter of cows diagnosed with clinical mastitis caused by either a Gram-negative pathogen or with no bacterial growth on conventional aerobic culture; and 3) evaluate the over-time effect of prolonged antibiotic therapy on the microbiome profile of mastitic milk.


The deposition of polycrystalline TiO2 films on GaAs substrate is studied by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) with Ti(i-OC3H7)4 and O2 as the precursors in a temperature range of 280–550°C. The structure, growth rate and grain size of TiO2 films depend on the deposition temperature. The film composition was measured by dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. From capacitance–voltage and current–voltage measurements of the Al/TiO2/GaAs/Au–Zn structure, the dielectric constant can reach 64 with the leakage current of 1×10-5 A/cm2 at 0.05 MV/cm at 350°C and the refractive index of TiO2 films can reach 2.2. At 300°C, the dielectric constant and leakage current density were 43 and 1×10-5 A/cm2 at 0.05 MV/cm and the refractive index of TiO2 films can reach 2.4.


Abstract THE ROLE which light intensity plays in broiler production has never been fully evaluated or understood. The possibility of a relationship between the amount of light in broiler houses and the problem of feather picking and cannibalism has been suggested by Clark (1953) and Biester and Schwarte (1952). This has been discussed, also, by an anonymous author in the Purina Eastern Broiler Letter of August 1952. This publication recommended that the number of windows be reduced, and that only enough artificial light be provided to enable the birds to see the feed and water. Light intensity studies with broilers at the University of New Hampshire, were initiated to determine if intensity played a role in the incidence of cannibalism. Skoglund (1962) found that light intensities of 15, 60 and 120 foot candles at the feeder height exerted no influence upon the incidence of feather picking in broilers; but there was …


For the measurement of the fat contents and nutritional status of urban High School girls, an intensive examination was conducted on a total of 2,085 students from 13 to 19 years of age groups. Total body fat cotents were measured by Skin-fold thickness with a Skin-fold Caliper manufactured by Cambridge Scientific Industrial Inc. at four sites of the body and it was calculated by Kim's regression equation. And Heights, Weights, and Chest circumferences were measured with Martin's Anthropometer. As the results of this study, the following conclusions were obtained: 1. The averages of heights, weights and chest girths were 153.1 cm, 46.2 kg and 76.6 cm. respectively. 2. The mean Skin-fold thicknesses of each site measured with a Lange skin-fold Caliper were: Sub-scapular: . Abdominal : . Lumbar: . Upper arm: . Total Average: . 3. The average Skin-fold thicknesaes by age were as follow: ·9.02 mm at 13 years of age. 10.04 at 14, 11.82 at 15, 14.43 at 16, 15.12 at 17, 16.48 at 18, and 16.61 at 19 respectively. 4. The mean of fat contents calculated according to regression equation was 11.04kg. (9.14 at 13, 9.98 at 14, 11.12 at 15, 11.74 at 16, 12.21 at 17, 12.96 at 18, 13.29 at 19 respectively.)


To the Editor.— A recent letter by Barranco and Solomon "Eczematous Dermatitis from Nickel," (220:1244, 1972) described a dermatitis in a nickel-sensitive patient from a stainless steel screw used to secure a transferred tendon for a dislocated patella as an example of "internal" allergic contact dermatitis. The authors state that a 4+ reaction was obtained with the stainless steel screw. However, not infrequently, hard metallic objects under a covered patch produce pressure, irritant reactions which are difficult to distinguish from the allergic variety. This is particularly so in individuals who have, or have recently recovered from an eczematous reaction which makes the skin irritable in a nonspecific manner. Furthermore, even though the stainless steel screw contained 14% nickel, this nickel is so firmly bound physically in the alloy, that body fluids or perspiration cannot "leach" out the nickel to make it available to produce an allergic reaction. The presence or


Anaemia is a decrease in red blood cells or hemoglobin so that it is unable to supply oxygen to the tissues. One of the effects of anaemia in pregnancy is LBW. Data at the Bungatan Health Center, namely 29.1% of babies born with LBW. The incidence of LBW should be 7.5% of the IDHS. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between anaemia in third trimester pregnant women and the incidence of LBW at the Bungatan Health Center, Situbondo Regency. The research design is an analytical survey using a "retrospective" approach. The population was mothers who were >36 weeks' gestation who gave birth to LBW babies or not and detected third trimester Hb levels and did not experience pregnancy pathology. Samples were taken by "Simple Random Sampling" namely 109 of 149 mothers giving birth. The independent variable is anaemia in pregnancy and the dependent variable is LBW. The research data is secondary medical record data analyzed using the chi square test, α = 0.05. Statistical test results x² count = 1.629 < x² table = 3.481 so Ho is accepted, meaning that there is no relationship between anaemia in third trimester pregnant women and low birth weight babies. The conclusion of the study is that there was no relationship between anaemia in third trimester pregnant women and low birth weight babies because there are many factors that cause low birth weight babies, so further research is recommended on other factors that influence low birth weight births.


AbstractA method is developed to estimate nonlinear internal wave (NLIW) vertical displacement, propagation direction, and propagation speed from single moored acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) velocity observations. The method is applied to three sets of bottom-mounted ADCP measurements taken on the continental slope in the South China Sea in 2006–07. NLIW vertical displacement is computed as the time integration of ADCP vertical velocity observations corrected with the vertical advection of the background flow by the NLIW. NLIW vertical currents displace the background horizontal current and shear by ~150 m. NLIW propagation direction is estimated as the principal direction of the wave-induced horizontal velocity vector, and propagation speed is estimated using the continuity equation in the direction of wave propagation, assuming the wave's horizontal spatial structure and propagation speed remain constant as the NLIW passes the mooring, typically O(10 min). These NLIW properties are estimated s...


We have observed a significant dependence of {sup 3}He longitudinal relaxation times in glass spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP) cells due only to the physical orientation of the cell in a 3 mT (30 G) applied magnetic field. The cells had no previous exposure to higher fields or were thoroughly degaussed prior to being measured. The presence of rubidium metal and heating of the cells associated with the SEOP process is necessary to produce this low-field orientation dependence. Our data suggest that the magnetic relaxation sites at the glass wall involved here may be the dominant cause of wall relaxation in SEOP cells at any field.


Socio cultural factors determine how people structure their free time. Older women in India become free from their routines due to changes in their roles or due to ill health. In a small sample of rural and urban women, watching television and listening to radio were found to be the common activities most engaged in. Television and radio were popular with men also. Though the study does not permit generalisations about leisure time activities of Indian women, certain impressions do emerge. Interviews reveal that senior women perceive their time not as something they can actively structure in ways that fulfill the classic definitions of leisure. Influenced by their early socialisation, present health and economic status, they structure their time in and around their household.


The educational work implies to generate integral academic strategies that involve the main activities of the public University including their respective interactions. The present article aims to describe an academic proposal that displays what the author has denominated "The Academic Multiconjugated�? made up of the three (3) fundamental axes of the university task; teaching, understood like the set of activities necessary for the communication and education of knowledge, abilities, ideas or experiences; the research, as formal and systematic process for the discovery and development of a body of universal knowledge and the Social Interaction as the organized answer to the problems of the social needs relegated by the government. The dynamic of the article shows that the three main functions are not conceived like isolated parts, on the contrary, it defends the premise that they constitute an integrated system of activities that are conjugated for the approach of the university objectives.


The water supply system of Hydroelectrical power plant "Rama" has been built in geologically heterogeneous rocks with considerable seismic activity. Recent earthquakes and tectonic activity, expressed by measurable movements of the rock, caused appearance of damages on the concrete lining along the directions of active fault zones. Additionally, the water that leaked under pressure from the tunnel caused rock deterioration. Coincidence of places of big damages on concrete lining and places of active seismic faults and fissures of R-1 type clearly indicated their correlation. Consolidation of the rock performed by prestressed, consolidation and contact grouting gave better results when: -Better penetration of grout mixture was enabled ; grout pressures increased and grouting depth increased. -Sealing of the fissures in the concrete lining needed to be performed in the same way and with materials adapted to the dynamic processes and movements of the rock. In order to achieve long-lasting effects of re-profiling the concrete lining with micro reinforced mortar and additional reinforcement, it would be needed to previously make a repair of fissures that enable expected movements.


The four problems of stormwater drainage pumping mode,lower design standard of stormwater drainage,stormwater overflow pollution and lower stormwater pipe maintenance level of municipal drainage system in central Shanghai were analyzed.According to the advanced experiences of stormwater drainage management on four aspects of law,technology,economy and management in other cities at home and abroad,the present stormwater drainage management in Shanghai was systemically investigated.The present stormwater drainage practices in Shanghai were summarized from aspects of drainage system improvement,stormwater overflow reduction,stormwater pipe maintenance and urban stormwater utilization.


The solvolytic dissociation kinetics of the oxine-copper complex {bis(8-quinolinolato)copper(II)} was studied with a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and spectrophotometry. The analysis of the chromatographic peak height of the complex, which decreased with a decrement of the flow rate of the eluent {water-acetonitrile (70 : 30 wt%)}, gave an apparent rate constant kd of 1.4 ± 0.5 × 10−4 s−1 for the dissociation reaction. With the spectrophotometric method, the apparent rate constant kex of the ligand exchange with EDTA was determined to be 0.75±0.11 s−1. The observed small value of kd, compared to the value of kex, can be attributed to the difference of mechanisms between the ligand-exchange reaction and the solvolytic dissociation. The value of kex is controlled by the concentration of EDTA, indicating that EDTA was involved with the rate-determining step of the ligand-exchange reaction. On the other hand, the solvolytic dissociation of the oxine-copper complex is induced by a lack of 8-quinolinol around complex.


We define and price average index and currency futures, show how they reduce price manipulation, explore their features as financial instruments, and discuss their policy implications. They offer investors protection against price manipulation, effective hedging, and even rational speculation. The study shows that the mean and variance of the price of an arithmetic average futures contract are functions of its reference dates and that it can be flexibly designed to meet diverse hedging needs of investors. With these features, average price futures contracts can serve as a good complement to existing plain vanilla futures.


Introducing the existing empirical relationships into a coupled thermo-gas-mechanical model,the porosity and the permeability of rock mass are regarded as functions of mean effective stress and volumetric strain resulted from shear dilation;and a corresponding two-dimensional finite element code is developed.Taking an assumed geological storage system consisted of an under-part reservoir and an upper-part caprock as an analytic object,the numerical simulation of the coupled thermo-gas-mechanical process in the rock mass during CO2 injection is conducted under three cases of different porosities and permeabilities.The calculation results show that the distributions and changes in porosities,pore air pressures,displacements,stresses,zones of tensile and shear failure in the rock mass are obviously different in three cases.Therefore,it is more accurate to consider porosity and permeability of rock as functions of stress,especially reckoning in the effect of volumetric strain resulted from shear dilation than to consider them as constants.


The concepts, categorization and representation of knowledge in views of the macro and micro ecosystem of information-knowledge-intelligence are presented, and the quantitative measures for various categories of knowledge are established. It is seen that the measures of knowledge are closely related to that of comprehensive information to certain extent. The relationship between the knowledge measures and the measures of comprehensive information, may provide a sound base for further invastigation of the theory of knowledge as well as the unified theory of information, knowledge and intelligence.


Abstract Pilot balloon wind profiles obtained by the first and second Byrd Antarctic Expeditions are analyzed to show that the mean observed wind shear between the surface and 1,000 m. can be resolved into a frictional component which produces a normal boundary layer wind spiral, and a thermal component resulting from the temperature gradient at the ice edge, which deforms the normal wind spiral. Values of surface stress, surface Rossby number, geostrophic drag coefficient, energy dissipation, and roughness length derived from the wind profiles are collectively sufficiently different from values obtained over land or water surfaces, to suggest that the ice surface produces its own characteristic wind distribution.


This research aims to design a worksheet using the Engineering Design Process (EDP) model to promote Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are appropriate for pre-service physics teachers. The specific objectives of this study are to describe the validity of the worksheet and explore the pre-service physics teacher's response to the worksheet. The research design is research and development (R&D) with a model of analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation (ADDIE). The participants in this study were 45 pre-service science teachers. The research instruments are the worksheet validation sheet and the response questionnaire. The results show that the worksheet is categorized as very feasible. In addition, based on the pre-service physics teachers' responses, the worksheet is in a good category. It can be concluded that the developed worksheet using the EDP model is appropriate for learning.


MARKET-ORIENTED MANAGEMENT No matter where companies are located, marketing managers do not play an equally extensive strategic role in every firm because not all firms are equally marketoriented. Not surprisingly, marketers tend to have a greater influence on all levels of strategy in organizations that embrace a market-oriented philosophy of business. More critically, managers in other functional areas of market-oriented firms incorporate more customer and competitor information into their decision-making processes as well.


AbstrcatA new model of cryptosystem based on the combination of stream ciphers with block ciphers is founded on the basis of the theory of Shannon. The new model integrates the characteristics of both cipher systems to achieve higher security. Keys generated from stream ciphers are used for block ciphers. The bit error in transmission has no influence on block ciphers because there is no correlation among the blocks. Construction of suites of random key stream from a given key can be designed.


Perivascular astrocytes make direct connections to the cerebral vasculature. This close apposition has been shown to be critical for the regulation of blood‐brain barrier (BBB) integrity and function. Recent studies have shown that the BBB becomes disrupted in hypertensive rats, which allows circulating peptides such as angiotensin II, which is normally excluded from the central nervous system, to access brain areas critical for blood pressure control. To date, the association between astrocytes, the BBB and hypertension is still poorly understood.


We describe the most popular current laboratory techniques used to demonstrate poxvirus, papovavirus and herpes simplex. In the latter case, the microbiological diagnosis was done.


This article provides a critical review of the literature on the quality and effectiveness of care provided by community health centers (CHCs) compared with other health care delivery models. Since the mid-1960s, CHCs have played a large role in providing comprehensive primary care to our nation's medically underserved. Recent changes in public policy and the health care marketplace have threatened the viability of the CHC delivery model. This review of structure, process, and outcome indicators suggests that CHCs have effectively reduced many barriers to access, promoted high-quality ambulatory care use among underserved populations, and reduced costly hospitalizations. While CHCs have been shown to save money for Medicaid, little research has addressed the health-related outcomes of care. This article recommends specific areas of research essential to understanding the future performance of CHCs.


This document includes a list of computational problems that have been studied within the framework of parameterized complexity [81]. It is mainly based on "A Compendium of Parameterized Complexity Results", version 2.0 (May 22, 1996), by Michael T. Hallett and H. Todd Wareham, and on Downey and Fellows' book [81]. It includes, however, several new results that have been published in the last few years. Every computational problem in this document has one or more parameterized versions. Currently there are 312 computational problems listed in alphabetical order. For each of them we report the known parameterized versions (for a grand total of 376), the corresponding parameterized complexity results, and the references to the relevant articles in the bibliography. This document does not pretend, of course, to be complete; for instance, it does not consider computational problems that are not decision problems. Moreover, this document likely includes errors and omissions. If you have corrections, suggestions, new or missing results, please send them to email@example.com.


1. I n t r o d u c t i o n R o u g h l y speak ing , a fuzzy set is a class w i t h u n s h a r p b o u n d a r i e s , tha t is, a class in w h i c h the t r ans i t i on f rom m e m b e r s h i p t o n o n m e m b e r s h i p is g r a d u a l r a the r t h a n a b r u p t . In this sense , t h e class of ta l l m e n is a fuzzy set , as are t he classes o f beaut i fu l w o m e n , y o u n g m e n , red f lowers , smal l cars , e t c . Fuzz iness p l ays a n essent ia l role in h u m a n c o g n i t i o n because m o s t of t he classes e n c o u n t e r e d in t h e real wor ld a re fuzzy—some o n l y s l ight ly and some m a r k e d l y so . T h e pervasiveness o f fuzziness in h u m a n t h o u g h t p rocesses suggests t ha t m u c h o f t he logic b e h i n d h u m a n r ea son ing is n o t t h e t r ad i t i ona l two-valued o r even mul t i -va lued logic, b u t a logic w i t h fuzzy t r u t h s , fuzzy connec t ives a n d fuzzy rules o f inference . I n d e e d , it m a y be argued t h a t it is t h e abi l i ty o f t he h u m a n b ra in t o m a n i p u l a t e fuzzy c o n c e p t s t h a t d is t inguishes h u m a n inte l l igence from m a c h i n e in te l l igence . A n d ye t , de sp i t e its funda m e n t a l i m p o r t a n c e , fuzziness h a s n o t b e e n a c c o r d e d m u c h a t t e n t i o n in t h e scientif ic l i t e r a t u r e , 1 p a r t l y b e c a u s e it is a n t i t h e t i c t o t h e d e e p l y e n t r e n c h e d t r ad i t i ons of scientif ic t h ink ing based o n Ar i s to t e l i an logic a n d o r i en t ed t o w a r d exac t quan t i t a t i ve analysis , and t Requests for reprints should be sent to Prof. Lotfi A. Zadeh, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences and the Electronics Research Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720. 1 Discussions of vagueness and related questions from a philosophical point of view may be found in [11]-[ IS]. 4 Copyright ©1973 by Scripts Publishing Company. D ow nl oa de d by [ U ni ve rs ity o f C al if or ni a, B er ke le y] a t 1 6: 43 1 9 A ug us t 2 01 3 FUZZYSETTHEORETIC INTERPRETATION OF LINGUISTIC HEDGES 5 par t ly because fuzziness is suscep t ib le o f confus ion w i t h r a n d o m n e s s . In fact , fuzziness a n d r a n d o m n e s s a re d i s t inc t p h e n o m e n a w h i c h requ i re d i f fe ren t m o d e s o f t r e a t m e n t a n d m a t h e m a t i c a l analys is . T h e t h e o r y o f fuzzy s e t s 2 r ep resen t s a n a t t e m p t a t c o n s t r u c t i n g a concep tua l f r a m e w o r k for a s y s t e m a t i c t r e a t m e n t o f fuzziness in b o t h q u a n t i t a t i v e and qua l i t a t i ve w a y s . A bas ic c o n c e p t in th is t h e o r y is t h a t o f a fuzzy subse t A o f a universe o f discourse U , w i t h A charac ter ized b y a m e m b e r s h i p func t ion ¡±A ( x ) wh ich associa tes w i t h each po in t x in U its "g rade o f m e m b e r s h i p " in A . Usual ly , b u t n o t necessar i ly , \iA (x ) is a s sumed to range in t he interval [ 0 , 1 ] , so t h a t t he g r a d e o f m e m b e r s h i p is a n u m b e r b e t w e e n 0 and 1, w i t h 0 a n d 1 co r r e spond ing t o n o n m e m b e r s h i p and full m e m b e r s h i p , r e spec t ive ly . F o r e x a m p l e , if U is the set o f in tegers f rom 0 t o 100 , t h e n t h e g r a d e of m e m b e r s h i p o f a m a n w h o is 2 3 years old in t h e class o f y o u n g m e n migh t b e specified to . b e 0 . 9 . I n genera l , t he g rades of m e m b e r s h i p a re subjec t ive , in t he sense t h a t the i r spec i f ica t ion is a m a t t e r o f de f in i t ion r a the r t h a n objec t ive e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n o r analys is . I t shou ld b e n o t e d t h a t , a l t h o u g h nA ( x ) m a y b e i n t e r p r e t e d as t h e t ru th -va lue of t h e s t a t e m e n t " x be longs t o A , " it is m o r e na tu r a l t o view it s imp ly as a g rade o f m e m b e r s h i p because t h e s t a t e m e n t " x belongs t o A " is n o t meaningfu l w h e n A is a fuzzy se t . T h e pervasive fuzziness o f t h e seman t i c s a n d t o a lesser e x t e n t — t h e syn tax o f n a t u r a l languages suggests t h a t s o m e aspec t s of l inguis t ic t h e o r y m i g h t b e a m e n a b l e t o ana lys i s b y t echn iques der ived f rom t h e t h e o r y of fuzzy se t s . A few p r e l i m i n a r y s teps in th i s d i r e c t i o n were t a k e n in [ 5 ] , [ 6 ] , and [ 7 ] w i t h t he a im of c o n s t r u c t i n g a f r a m e w o r k for a q u a n t i t a t i v e a p p r o a c h t o fuzzy s e m a n t i c s a n d fuzzy s y n t a x . In w h a t fo l lows, t h e focus of a t t e n t i o n will be o n a m o r e specif ic a p p l i c a t i o n , n a m e l y , t he c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a fuzzy-se t theore t ic i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f hedges , e.g., " v e r y , " " s o m e w h a t , " " q u i t e , " " m u c h , " " m o r e o r l e s s , " " s o r t of," " e s s e n t i a l l y , " e t c . , as o p e r a t o r s ac t ing o n fuzzy subse t s of t h e universe of d i scourse . O u r m a i n c o n c e r n , h o w e v e r , will b e w i t h t he bas ic aspec t s o f th is i n t e r p r e t a t i o n r a t h e r t h a n wi th de ta i l ed ana lyses o f p a r t i c u l a r hedges . T h e poss ib i l i ty of def in ing hedges as o p e r a t o r s ac t ing o n fuzzy se t s provides a basis for a b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t he i r ro le in n a t u r a l languages . M o r e i m p o r t a n t , it suggests a w a y of cons t ruc t ing a sys tem o f b o t h na tu r a l a n d artificial hedges w h i c h cou ld b e used t o devise a lgor i thmic languages for t h e desc r ip t ion o f t h e b e h a v i o r of c o m p l e x sys t ems . S u c h languages m i g h t find s ignif icant app l i ca t ions in p s y c h o l o g y , soc io logy , pol i t ical sc ience , phys io logy , e c o n o m i c s , m a n a g e m e n t sc ience , i n f o r m a t i o n re t r ieval a n d o t h e r fields in w h i c h sys tem behav io r is f r e q u e n t l y t o o c o m p l e x o r t o o ill-defined t o a d m i t of analys is in conven t iona l m a t h e m a t i c a l t e r m s . 2 . F u z z y Se t s a n d Languages—Nota t ion a n d T e r m i n o l o g y Let U b e a universe o f d i s cou r se , i.e., a co l lec t ion of ob jec t s d e n o t e d generical ly b y y . F o r ou r p u r p o s e s , i t will b e c o n v e n i e n t t o regard a l anguage , L , as a c o r r e s p o n d e n c e b e t w e e n a set of t e r m s , T , and t h e un iverse of d i scourse , U . 3 T h i s c o r r e s p o n d e n c e will b e a s sumed t o be def ined b y a naming relation, N , w h i c h associa tes w i t h e a c h t e r m x in T and each ob jec t y in U t h e degree , nN(x, y ) , t o wh ich x appl ies t o y . 4 pN(,x, y ) wil l be assumed t o b e a n u m b e r in t h e interval [ 0 , 1 ] , so t h a t N is, in effect , a fuzzy r e l a t i on f rom T t o U . 5 2 Topics in the theory of fuzzy sets which are relevant to the subject of the present paper are discussed in [3]-[10]. 3 A more detailed discussion may be found in [6] and [7]. For simplicity, we asume that T is a non-fuzzy set. 4 It should be noted that J I ^ ( X , y) may not be defined for all xeT and yeU. For example, the degree to which the term jealous applies to an inanimate object such as chair may be asumed to be undefined rather than zero. SA fuzzy relation, R, from a set X toa set Y isa fuzzy subset of the cartesian product X X Y. (X X Y is the colection (Footnote continued) D ow nl oa de d by [ U ni ve rs ity o f C al if or ni a, B er ke le y] a t 1 6: 43 1 9 A ug us t 2 01 3


A 20-year-old gentleman presented with complaints of defective vision in the right eye (OD), with best corrected visual acuity of 20/60. His anterior segment was normal. Fundus examination revealed circumpapillaryangioid streaks radiating from the optic disc with one passing subfoveally along with a presence of a Choroidal neovascular membrane (CNVM) (Figure 1A). Ocular coherence tomography (OCT) confirmed the presence of a type II CNVM under the fovea (Figure 1B). Ocular coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) reveals the subfovealneovascular network at the level of the deep capillary plexus originating from below the RPE (Figures 1C and 1D). This case highlights the uniqueness of the angioid streak splitting through the fovea and the role of OCTA as a noninvasive alternative to dye based angiography for diagnosis of CNVM secondary to angioid streaks. Up to 50% of angioid streaks are idiopathic, with the rest having an association with systemic disease [1]. The incidence of CNVM is 72%-86% in various studies [2,3]. Our patient underwent Intravitreal Injection of Ranibizumab in OD and was referred to a physician for systemic examination and haematological workup.


Two types of isostructural complexes of lanthanide chlorides with diglyme have been synthesized. These are mononuclear molecular complexes [LnCl3(diglyme)(THF)] (Ln = Eu (1), Gd (2), Dy (3), Er (4), Yb (5); diglyme = diethylen glycol dimethyl ether) and binuclear molecular complexes [LnCl3(diglyme)]2 (Ln = Dy (3d), Er (4d), Yb (5d)). Complex 1 was obtained by the reaction of [EuCl3(DME)2] with diglyme in THF. The complexes 2–5 and 3d–5d resulted from reactions of LnCl3·6H2O, (CH3)3SiCl and diglyme in THF. The mononuclear complexes 2–5 crystallized directly from the solutions where the reactions of lanthanide compounds with diglyme took place. Recrystallizations of the powder products of the same reactions from dichloromethane resulted in the binuclear complexes 3d–5d. Reactions of lanthanide bromide hydrates, (CH3)3SiBr and diglyme in THF achieved mononuclear molecular complexes [LnBr3(diglyme)(L)] (Ln = Gd, L = H2O (6); Ln = Ho, L = THF (7)). Crystals of 6 and 7 were grown by recrystallization from dichloromethane. The lanthanide atoms (Ln = Eu–Yb) are seven-coordinated in a distorted pentagonal bipyramidal fashion in all reported complexes, 1–7 and 3d–5d. Four oxygen atoms and three halide ions are coordinated to lanthanide atoms in 1–7, [LnX3(diglyme)(L)]. Four chloride ions, two bridging and two nonbridging, and three oxygen atoms are coordinated to lanthanide atoms in 3d–5d, [LnCl3(diglyme)]2.


Gamification as an educational tool has been explored extensively in traditional academic contexts such as universities and schools. There is however a lack of research on the usage of games for ed ...


Blood pressure (BP) is not constant throughout the day. Ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) done outside of the normal office setting, in which BP measurements are taken at regular intervals (usually every 15 minutes while awake and 30 minutes while asleep) for at least 24 hours, has established the normal circadian pattern of BP. BP characteristically begins to increase between 3 AM and 6 AM and then rapidly increases (surges) on awakening. Over the next few hours after awakening, BP decreases gradually and then remains relatively constant throughout the remaining daytime hours. At night, BP normally ''dips'' 10% to 20% between midnight and 3 AM when the cycle repeats itself. It has long been known that clinical cardiovascular (CV) events including myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and sudden cardiac death correlate with the morning BP surge. More recently, however, ABPM studies have informed us that the failure to demonstrate the normal dipping at night is also associated with an increase in CV events. In fact, a recent multivariate analysis has found that it is the nocturnal BP and not the early morning surge that is the key predictor of CV outcomes. The tight relationship between nocturnal BP and CV events has led to the hypothesis that targeting antihypertensive therapy to particular times of day, known as ''chronotherapy'' may have clinical benefit. However, no previous well-designed prospective study has tested this hypothesis. As nocturnal hypertension frequently occurs in hypertensive individuals with diabetes and those with chronic kidney disease (CKD), evaluating the benefits of timed hypertension treatment on these two populations seems extremely important and an intriguing way to test the validity of the chronotherapy hypothesis. Accordingly, two prospective investigations from one large cohort of Spanish hypertensive patients with diabetes and CKD recently examined whether bedtime administration of at least one antihypertensive medication exerts better BP control and improves CV disease outcomes more than when all medications are taken early in the morning. COMMENTS Current clinical practice finds that most patients take their antihypertensive medications in the morning, often when first arising. While both the Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation (HOPE) and Systolic Hypertension in Europe (SystEur) studies administered antihypertensive medication in the evening, no well-designed clinical hypertension outcome trial has specifically studied the concept of chronotherapy, randomizing patients to take their antihypertensive medications at different times of the day to prove whether this improves BP control and CV outcomes. The present two publications, both from subset analysis of the Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring for Prediction of Cardiovascular (MAPEC) trial database, found that shifting the timing of at least 1 of 3 antihypertensive medication(s) from morning to evening was more effective in controlling BP (both sleep and 24-hour ABPM) and associated with fewer CV events in patients with hypertension and diabetes or CKD. While this finding is certainly intriguing and the magnitude of the benefit significant, since this is the first and only completed prospective study to favorably assess the role of ABPM and chronotherapy in patients with hypertension, caution must be exercised before we change clinical practice. Strengths of the MAPEC study include the large sample size, the considerable length of follow-up (more than 5 years), and the use of hard clinical endpoints. However, before we change our clinical practice on the basis of this single-center study from Spain, the results need to be replicated in a larger multicenter study evaluating a more diverse ethnic population such as we are likely to encounter in the United States. In addition, the use of baseline 48hour ABPM that was repeated after any medication change or at least yearly throughout the study adds complexity and expense to the clinical design and is not consistent with usual clinical practice, even among most hypertension specialists, in the United States.


New prospects for synthetic applications are offered by the 1,2-acyloxy shift of β-(acyloxy)alkyl radicals, which proceeds with high yields under Lewis acidic conditions [Eq. (1)]. With the exception of cyclizations, this is the first Lewis acid mediated acceleration of a radical rearrangement.


Introduction and Aims:Which creatinine-based GFR equation should preferentially be used in the context of drug dosing is highly debated. While most Nephrology guidelines recommend the use of the CKD-EPI equation, other specialists such as geriatricians keep on favoring the use of the Cockcroft-Gault equation (C-G). Along with the fact that dosing recommendations were most often initially done based on C-G, the main justification is that this equation usually provides lower value of GFR as compared to the CKD-EPI equation, and thus minimizes the risk of overdosing. Herein, we wanted to verify whether this assertion was systematically true regardless of demographic characteristics. Methods:We developed a software program that explores, for different age strata and gender, more than 500 combinations of weight and serum creatinine values. For each combination, GFR was estimated by both CKD-EPI and C-G and the difference (CKD-EPI C-G) was calculated. We considered a difference in eGFR between -10 ml/ min and + 10 ml/min as a good agreement between CKD-EPI and C-G. Alternatively, a difference below -10 ml/min and over +10 ml/min was considered as, respectively, a significant higher and lower GFR estimation given by G-C as compared to CKD-EPI. Results: Overall, levels of agreement were significantly improved for the highest strata of ages with 36% and 62% of concordant GFR values for 40 and 80 years of age, respectively (p<0.01). For strata of ages above 70 years, C-G systematically gave lower GFR value for a weight below 60 kg and for a serum creatinine in the range of normal or near normal values. For weights above 90 kg, C-G-based values were never lower than CKD-EPI irrespective of the serum creatinine value. For strata of ages below 55 years, C-G provided significantly lower value of GFR in only less than 10% of the simulations. Conclusions: Our data challenge the notion that C-G systematically gives lower value of GFR as compared to CKD-EPI. Age, weight and serum creatinine value are critical factors influencing the agreement between C-G and CKD-EPI. The typical situation in which C-G results in lower GFR estimates is a patient of 70 years old or more who tends to be underweight and with a low/normal serum creatinine value. Our data do not support the notion that disagreement between C-G and CKD-EPI should favor the use of C-G for preventing drug overdosing.


A linear quadratic based missile guidance law is presented that imposes a predetermined terminal body angle. Solutions are provided for arbitrary order autopilot dynamics, with explicit analytical expressions given for first-order and zero-lag dynamics. Performance is demonstrated through simulation in a planar interception scenario.


Globoid cell leukodystrophy (Krabbe's disease) is an autosomal recessive disease that affects the lysosomal enzyme galactosylceramidase. Galactosylceramidase removes galactose from galactosylceramide and psychosine, which are derived from sphingosine. In the present study, L‐cycloserine (an inhibitor of 3‐ketodyhydrosphingosine synthase) was administered to the twitcher mouse, an authentic model of globoid cell leukodystrophy. Twitcher mice treated with L‐cycloserine had a significantly longer life span and a delayed onset of weight loss than vehicle‐injected twitcher mice. Pathological features such as macrophage infiltration and astrocyte gliosis also were less in treated twitcher mice. These results indicate that substrate reduction therapy may have therapeutic value for individuals with residual enzymatic activity, e.g., individuals with late onset disease or individuals with partial enzyme replacement via bone marrow transplantation. In these cases, a reduction in galactosylceramide and psychosine synthesis would enable residual enzymatic activity to keep up with the accumulation of these substrates that would otherwise lead to pathology. J. Neurosci. Res. 60:231–236, 2000 © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


This project is a comprehensive overview of needs of persons who are of Mexican ethnicity and are disabled. The study was developed for counselors who work with this population. Services which will result in proactive counseling services and employment are presented. The provision of rehabilitation services is not keeping pace with the growth of Mexican people to the United States population. This growth is particularly evident in southern California. The U.S. Census Bureau (1990) reports the Mexican population is the second largest population in the nation. In both San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, 26 percent of the inhabitants are of Mexican origin. In the past, rehabilitation counselors have not understood the Mexican culture or needs of Mexican person in the rehabilitation process. As a result, services are lacking in many agencies and communities. Those services that are provide are often ineffective. There has been no greater need for cross-cultural counseling and training than currently exists. This project


The incidence of anthrax, caused by Bacillus anthracis, in human and animal population of Zambia has increased recently. In this study, 34 strains of Bacillus anthracis from soil, hippopotamuses and humans, isolated in the 2011 outbreak were analyzed using the multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis. The analysis revealed that a single anthrax clone may have been involved in the epidemic. Considering the cyclical nature of B. anthracis, a link could be established with anthrax spores in soil getting ingested by hippopotamuses, followed by human contact resulting into an animal-human epidemic. These data confirm the importance of molecular typing methods for in-depth epidemiological analyses of anthrax epidemics.

 Key words: Bacillus anthracis, hippopotamuses, variable number tandem repeat (VNTRs), epidemic, human.