The present article provides an extension of previous theoretical arguments regarding customer return policies for experience goods. Logit regressions presented here suggest the importance of the 'full cost' to consumers of a purchase mistake, as proxied by experience goods prices and the time costs to consumers associated with search, in the seller's decision to produce information in advertisements regarding return policies. The evidence points out that sellers do respond in their decisions to produce information in a manner that reduces the total cost of voluntary exchange and maximizes seller profits.


A rare, genetic, endocrine disease characterized by defect in conversion of cortisone to active cortisol, resulting in ACT H-mediated excessive androgen release from adrenal glands. Premature adrenarche is typical with precocious pseudopuberty, proportionate tall stature and accelerated bone maturation in males, and hirsutism, oligoamenorrhea, central obesity and infertility in females. Imaging studies may indicate adrenal hyperplasia. Qeios · Definition, February 10, 2020


Highlights Imaging of the dopamine transporter (DAT) (in particular using 11C- or 18F-PE2I) most reliably and precisely measures neurodegeneration of the dopaminergic system in parkinsonian disorders and its progression in longitudinal studies. Combining DAT imaging and iron- and neuromelanin-sensitive MR imaging in vivo unveiled the sequential progression of neurodegeneration along the sensorimotor, associative, and limbic territories in the striatum followed by the substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease. DAT imaging is the most accurate marker for prodromal PD and predicts phenoconversion to clinical motor symptoms in patients with REM-sleep behavior disorders (RBD). Dopaminergic imaging can be used to investigate motor reserve in PD patients. Peripheral molecular imaging shows that autonomous denervation of the heart and gut in prodromal and de novo PD with RBD precedes striatal dopaminergic loss, thereby supporting peripheral starting points in those patients. Serotonergic denervation in the subcortical and cortical limbic regions is associated with apathy, depression, and anxiety in PD. Noradrenergic terminals loss plays a critical role in RBD and was shown to exceed locus coeruleus pathology in PD using 11C-MeNER PET. Cholinergic imaging is now complemented by the new PET tracer 18F-FEOBV, which binds to presynaptic transporters, particularly in subcortical structures. Dual-phase dynamic PET imaging may enable to inform both metabolic and molecular disease-related patterns with a single injection, including tracers for DAT or tau. Using 11C-UCB-J, prominent loss of synaptic density in the substantia nigra and brainstem was demonstrated in PD, even in the early stage, extending to the cortex in DLB, as well as PSP and CBD. Tau imaging using second-generation tracers with increased specificity greatly improved the diagnosis of tau aggregation in PSP and CBD. Despite recent advances and promising results in MSA patients using 18F-ACI12589 PET, no tracer is readily available to image α-synuclein aggregates in vivo in parkinsonian disorders. Computational modeling of tracer affinity in silico, coupled with cryogenic electron microscopy will improve efficiency and accelerate the development of novel tracers. Abstract Neurodegenerative parkinsonian disorders are characterized by a great diversity of clinical symptoms and underlying neuropathology, yet differential diagnosis during lifetime remains probabilistic. Molecular imaging is a powerful method to detect pathological changes in vivo on a cellular and molecular level with high specificity. Thereby, molecular imaging enables to investigate functional changes and pathological hallmarks in neurodegenerative disorders, thus allowing to better differentiate between different forms of degenerative parkinsonism, improve the accuracy of the clinical diagnosis and disentangle the pathophysiology of disease-related symptoms. The past decade led to significant progress in the field of molecular imaging, including the development of multiple new and promising radioactive tracers for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) as well as novel analytical methods. Here, we review the most recent advances in molecular imaging for the diagnosis, prognosis, and mechanistic understanding of parkinsonian disorders. First, advances in imaging of neurotransmission abnormalities, metabolism, synaptic density, inflammation, and pathological protein aggregation are reviewed, highlighting our renewed understanding regarding the multiplicity of neurodegenerative processes involved in parkinsonian disorders. Consequently, we review the role of molecular imaging in the context of disease-modifying interventions to follow neurodegeneration, ensure stratification, and target engagement in clinical trials.


One of the oldest results in modern graph theory, due to Mantel, asserts that every triangle-free graphs on $n$ vertices has at most $\lfloor n^2/4\rfloor$ edges. About half a century later Andrasfai studied dense triangle-free graphs and proved that the largest triangle-free graphs on $n$ vertices without independent sets of size $\alpha n$, where $2/5\le \alpha < 1/2$, are blow-ups of the pentagon. More than 50 further years have elapsed since Andrasfai's work. In this article we make the next step towards understanding the structure of dense triangle-free graphs without large independent sets.
Notably, we determine the maximum size of triangle-free graphs~$G$ on $n$ vertices with $\alpha (G)\ge 3n/8$ and state a conjecture on the structure of the densest triangle-free graphs $G$ with $\alpha(G) > n/3$. We remark that the case $\alpha(G) \le n/3$ behaves differently, but due to the work of Brandt this situation is fairly well understood.


In the network communication, Mainly uses the RED algorithm to solve network congestion. But in the RED algorithm, the packet loss rate is linear with the average queue flength. The result is that the packet loss rate is bigger when the network congestion is not more serious, and the packet loss rate is smaller when the network congestion is more serious. That reduces the congestion control. For those reasons, the RED algorithm is improved by changing Pb expression, when the average queue length is near the minimum threshold value, the growth of packet loss rate is relatively smaller, near the maximum threshold value, the growth of packet loss rate is more, to avoid the global synchronization of the network. Simulation with NS-2.30 confirms that the IMPRED (improved RED) algorithm can improve network throughput, reduce delay jitter, make the network more stable.


We are trying to take into consideration humanistic problems including economics, environmental and social conditions. In the process of pipeline construction a lot of problems may arise and the most essential one is waste disposal such as pipe-cuts, tyres, shavings, plastic bottles, metal drums, food waste and etc. As it is commonly known the simplest way of disposal is burring or burning of waste. For above motioned project we are going to propose more complicate, but more environmental friendly, reasonable and profitable methods, which is re-use and recycling of waste products. Such an approach would allow us to solve economic and social problems of the local population, create additional workforce, and develop medium and small production during the whole project. There are lots of legal acts and regulations concerning waste disposal, however, it seems impossible to envisage all details and specific features arising in the process of construction of this or that particular region, specific mentality, national and traditional customs of the population and physical natural resources and so on. The suggested model, being far from universal seems to enwrap the problem, leaving intact specific localities on the Georgian territory.


We present a new variational-based method for automatic liver vessels segmentation from abdominal CTA images. The segmentation task is formulated as a functional minimization problem within a variational framework. We introduce a new functional that incorporates both geometrical vesselness measure and vessels surface properties. The functional describes the distance between the desired segmentation and the original image. To minimize the functional, we derive the Euler-Lagrange equation from it and solve it using the conjugate gradients algorithm. Our approach is automatic and improves upon other Hessian-based methods in the detection of bifurcations and complex vessels structures by incorporating a surface term into the functional. To assess our method, we conducted with an expert radiologist two comparative studies on 8 abdominal CTA clinical datasets. In the first study, the radiologist assessed the presence of 11 vascular bifurcations on each dataset, totaling of 73 bifurcations. The radiologist qualitatively compared the bifurcations segmentation of our method and that of a Hessian-based threshold method. Our method correctly segmented 88% of the bifurcations with a higher visibility score of 82%, as compared to only 55% in the Hessian-based method with a visibility score of 33%. In the second study, the radiologist assessed the individual vessels visibility on the 3D segmentation images and on the original CTA slices. Ten main liver vessels were examined in each dataset The overall visibility score was 93%. These results indicate that our method is suitable for the automatic segmentation and visualization of the liver vessels.


Essentials Coagulation Factor (F) XI is a safe target for the development of antithrombotics. We designed an antigen comprising the human FXI catalytic domain and diphtheria toxin T domain. Antigen immunization reduced plasma FXI activity by 54% and prevented thrombosis in mice. FXI vaccination can serve as an effective strategy for thrombosis prevention.


Introduction: Heart valve disease in pediatricsis an increasing global concern, especially in developing countries. This study aims to determine the clinical outcomes of pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) surgery in pediatrics.
 Methods: The authors retrospectively identified all pediatrics undergoing PVR surgery at Imam Reza hospital (Mashhad, Iran) between 2000 and 2020. Their medical records were reviewed for demographic characteristics, clinical data (intra-operative and postoperative), and follow-up results. Echocardiography and electrocardiography were performedonall patients before the surgery and periodically after the surgery.
 Results: Among 50 pediatrics undergoing surgical PVR, 38 (76%) were female and others were male (14%), with a mean age of 10.39±5.31 years. The leading cause of PVR was the Tetralogy of Fallot. There was a significant relationship between age at the time of surgery and the size of the pulmonary valve(P=0.02).There were also statistically significant differences between QTc intervals before and after surgery (P=0.001). Further more, there was a significant correlation between QTc intervals before and after surgery and the ageof pediatrics at the time of surgery (P=0.01, r=-0.6).There was also a statistically significant relationship between the ICU stay (P=0.01) and the weaning time of the mechanical ventilation (P=0.03).
 Conclusion: It is recommended that this procedure ispostponed as much as possible to decrease postoperative life-threatening events in pediatrics.In addition, if this surgery is conducted with good surgical and nursing management, it can be safe with low complications among other cardiac valve procedures.


Buds of standard chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat cvs. Albatross and Fred Shoesmith) from 5 to 12 cm in diameter were cut with 60 cm stems and stored at low temperatures (−0.5 to 1.5°C) for up to 5 weeks. Flower buds were opened in sucrose solutions containing 25 ppm silver nitrate and 75 ppm citric acid. Small size buds developed flat heads when stored over 2 weeks; the disc florets failed to develop fully. Leaves which are normally free of necrosis when opened in sugar solutions developed desiccation injury after long storage. The flat shape of the inflorescence can be prevented by storing large buds (10-12 cm); however, botrytis becomes a major problem on the exposed ray florets.


Objective To investigate the therapeutic effects of Huoxue Tongqiao Decoction(HTQD)on rats with allergic rhinitis.Methods Fifty rats were randomized into five groups(normal group,group treated by Beclomethasone Dipropionate Nasal Spray,and groups treated by High,middle and low dose of HTQD).Behaviour,histamine content in nasal mucosa,morphological features of nasal mucosa under light microscopy were observed.Result Compared with model group,HTQD relieved the pathological symptoms of allergic rhinitis and morphological changes of nasal mucosa,meanwhile,high and middle dose of HTQD decreased the release of histamine in nasal mucosa.Conclusion HTQD has significant effect—against allergic rhinitis.The mechanism relates possibly to its effects of resisting the releasing of inflammatory factor and inhibiting the activity of eosinophil.


In this paper we take a close look at the voicing dissimilation process known as Dahl's Law (DL) in Tiania, an understudied variety of the Central Kenya Bantu Kimeru dialect cluster. While there is considerable variation in how this process applies in different Bantu languages, Tiania adds an additional dimension, the deletion of g, including non-post-nasal [g]'s which derive from /k/ by DL. Although other Bantu languages and even other dialects of Kimeru allow multiple applications of prefixal /k/'s dissimilation to g, usually pronounced [ɣ] (Davy & Nurse 1982), Tiania not only limits DL to /k/, but also restricts DL from applying to subject and (most) object prefixes. We consider the possibility that g-deletion contributed to these restrictions as well as to some unexpected realizations of the "pre-final" habitual suffix*-ag.


Pattern languages form the strong groundwork for any discipline understanding. Its uses have spilled over to the software engineering field, to precisely describe past experiences and better understand software architectures conceptualization and realization, along with, how their building blocks are insightfully woven seamlessly to satisfy a determined purpose resolution. Current representations of pattern languages [5, 6, 7] strives hard in providing the sufficient means or guidelines to build software architecture out of patterns; bringing as a consequent problems, such as poor traceability [3], lack of stability, poor adaptability, out of context understanding realization, are more prominent within the pattern language implementation. To overcome these problems in traditional pattern languages, we have provided both a set of quality factors to evaluate pattern language definition, accuracy, and application; and also a newly enhanced Pattern Language representation, driven by Software Stability Concepts [8, 9, 10], called Knowledge Map, which provides many significant benefits to the software architecture's development practices.


The factors influencing the accuracy of run-up in broad jump include physical quality,stability of run-up technique,special patience of run-up,sportsmen's psychological quality,external environment,etc.In order to improve the accuracy of run-up,it is necessary to strengthen and attach great importance to the training of students' physical quality,run-up technique exercise,training of special patience in different periods of training and reinforce the training of students' psychological quality and adaptability.


We discuss some refinements of semiclassical calculations for the spin-wave excitation spectrum of easy-plane ferromagnets such as CsNi${\mathrm{F}}_{3}$ and examine their validity for low-spin values. We also introduce a new overcomplete set of spin states, which is used to derive integral representations and variational approximations for the partition function of magnetic chains with positive uniaxial anisotropy.


The electromigration of eutectic SnPb solder interconnects between a Si chip and a FR4 substrate was studied at 120 °C for up to 324 h with current stressing of 104 amp/cm2. Hillocks were observed at the anode and voids at the cathode. The dominant diffusing species was found to be Pb, confirmed by its accumulation at the anode. Diffusion markers were used to measure the electromigration flux and calculate the effective charge of atomic diffusion in the solder. Extensive microstructural evolution was also observed in the two-phase solder alloy that occurred by a ripening process.


Heat conduction in multilayered films with the Neumann (or insulated) boundary condition is often encountered in engineering applications, such as laser process in a gold thin‐layer padding on a chromium thin‐layer for micromachining and patterning. Predicting the temperature distribution in a multilayered thin film is essential for precision of laser process. This article presents an accurate finite difference (FD) scheme for solving heat conduction in a double‐layered thin film with the Neumann boundary condition. In particular, the heat conduction equation is discretized using a fourth‐order accurate compact FD method in space coupled with the Crank–Nicolson method in time, where the Neumann boundary condition and the interfacial condition are approximated using a third‐order accurate compact FD method. The overall scheme is proved to be convergent and hence unconditionally stable. Furthermore, the overall scheme can be written into a tridiagonal linear system so that the Thomas algorithm can be easily used. Numerical errors and convergence rates of the solution are tested by an example. Numerical results coincide with the theoretical analysis. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 30: 1291–1314, 2014


The structure and thermal analysis of high-power solid-state power controllers (SSPCs) are at the preliminary stage of research at home and abroad. A high-power Multi-chips -parallel SSPC layout structure is proposed to improve the current balance and heat dissipation capability. The parasitic inductance is extracted using finite element software, and the circuit simulation model of parasitic inductance is built in Saber. The heat dissipation simulation experiments is performed on the structure to predict the temperature of the SSPC. The simulation results show that the optimized structure can significantly reduce the current imbalance of the parallel devices and improve the cooling effect by optimizing.


Microfluidics-based microscale cell culture (cells-on-a-chip) provides a well-controlled system with physiological realistic parameters that emulates the organ-to-organ network of the human body. In the microenvironment, the in vivo situation can be resembled closely by controlling the chip geometry, medium flow behavior, medium-to-cell ratio, and other fluid dynamic parameters. This study is to develop a multiphase model to simulate the flow in such a device. The cell deposition rate influenced by the flow shear is discussed. The physics of fluid dynamics for each of the above mentioned parameters is investigated.Copyright © 2016 by ASME


When should taking various steps toward the commission of a crime itself count as a crime? Different legal codes give remarkably different answers: The older common law criminalized individuals' attempts only if the steps had led the individual into dangerous proximity to successfully committing the crime, whereas the current Model Penal Code holds that an individual who has taken any substantial step toward committing a crime is liable. We presented college students and community respondents with a series of scenarios describing different levels of attempt and discovered that their views about liabilities for attempted crimes are better described by the older common law than the Model Penal Code. Further, we asked respondents to tell us how they thought that the various levels of attempt would be treated by the laws of the state in which they resided. They believed that the state law assigned liabilities that matched their own intuitions about appropriate liability judgments. Because they lived in a Model Penal Code state, this indicates that their beliefs about the law were inaccurate in an unfortunate direction: actual attempt liability was incurred far earlier than subjects thought it was. The discussion focuses on the implications of individuals' views about appropriate liability judgments for legal codes.


The present work has the objective of characterizing several coaxial heat exchanger geometries in an automotive cooling system and its effect on the performance coefficient, using R-134a as refrigerant by means of experimental tests. In the first instance, the experimental tests were carried out with different geometries of coaxial interchanges involved in the high-pressure line between the condenser and the expansion valve, as well as the low pressure line between the evaporator and the compressor, Between the volume of the exchanger and the coefficient of performance by means of a multifactorial analysis. The development of the research entails complying with parameters for the acquisition of experimental data and the development of an adequate experimental design.  Statistical regressions  were  developed  with  R2  of  86.86%  and  a standard deviation of 2.2 for the low-pressure zone, while for the high pressure zone The regression determined a R2 of 95.17% and a standard deviation of 0.57. As for the COP and the T variables is statistically significant with a value of R2 of 99.97%, thus helping to design the heat exchangers to decrease fuel consumption in vehicles.
Index Terms— : IHX,COP, R-134a, Cooling cycle Automotive, heat exchangers


Reversible advancing and receding contact angles of four metallic liquids (Hg, Sn, Al and Al-Sn4,76at% ) on sapphire were measured by the immersion-emersion tensiometric technique. Alumina cylinders with a mean random surface roughness from a few nanometres to about two micrometres are used. For the non-wetting liquids (Hg, Sn), composite wetting is observed even with roughness as low as 0.5mm. For the wetting liquids (Al and Al-alloy), a residual hysteresis of the contact angle was found at vanishing roughness, a fact that was ascribed to a slight attack of alumina by liquid aluminium, inducing surface anisotropy. Results are described by a single equation which relates the difference between the cosine of advancing and receding contact angles to the surface roughness parameters of the solid.


The paper considers military and social work as a system of educational and institutional activity for implementation of laws and regulations of rights and privileges for conscripts of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Some drawbacks of the current state of military and social work have been analyzed. They are as follows: insufficient staffing of officers (engaged as educators) and not taking into account the individual characteristics of recruits as part of recruitment system of the Armed Forces.


The work is devoted to the search of a method of ultrasonic sounding for identification of the material state, permitting to refer the diagnosed structure to the class of structures, whose state is connected with the appearance of plastic deformations. The study has shown the application of surface Rayleigh waves allows to estimate the stress-strain state of metal structures in the field of both elastic and plastic deformation.


Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) [i] has been finding growing ~ application to studies of surface topography at A-level resolution, mainly in ultra high vacuum (UHV) environments. However, the use of STM for surfaces immersed in aqueous media is also possible [2,3] with the possiblity of obtaining surface structure information unattainable by any other in situ technique. While STM has been used to look at electrode surfaces [4,5], in these studies the electrode was either removed from the solution and examined in UHV or air or the electrode was not under potential control during the STM scan. A difficulty with studying the surfaces of operating electrodes by STM is the presence of faradaic current across the substrate/solution interface that is often large compared to the tunneling current between the substrate and the scanning tip that perturbs the STM measurement. We demonstrate here that STM can be used to study the surface of an operating (externaiiy polarized) electrode by presenting results on a nickel electrode polarized in the active dissolution region and at rest. These results show that STM can be employed for in situ investigations of potential-driven phase transitions, e.g., in the area of passivation and corrosion of metals. The anodic dissolution of nickel in sulfuric acid solution has been studied extensively and the general features of the i-V curve (Figure 2a) are well established [6]. At low potentials active dissolution of nickel takes place, followed at higher potentials by passivation, presumably due to formation of a semiconductive oxide layer that blocks ionic migration from the metal to the liquid interface [7]. The physical and chemical nature of the passivating oxide are still obscure. Reported film thicknesses, based mainly on ellipsometric studies, range from 60 ~ [8] to 9-12 ~ [9]. Similarly, electronic resistivity of the oxide is not clear [7-11]. According to a theory initiated by Vetter [12] and commonly employed for nickel passivation in acidic media, the lower resistance of the oxide prevents the buildup of" a high electric field across the film, thus decreasing the driving force for the transport of Ni ions through the film and passivating the electrode. A block diagram of STM configuration is depicted in Figure I. In addition to the conventional STM control, we added a battery power supply to maintain a constant voltage between the nickel sample and a counter platinum flag electrode, situated parallel to it. The tip was


The Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) composite material is a relatively new retrofitting system which overcomes the limitations related with the use of organic adhesives. FRCM system is used to increase the strength and overall ductility of masonry and concrete structures. This paper presents the results of an experimental program on plain concrete columns strengthened by FRCM under uniaxial compression loading. Six columns of square 30x30 cm cross-section and 100 cm height made of low-strength concrete were cast in place. Two columns without confinement are used as reference, while two columns with one layer of FRCM and two columns with two layers of FRCM are used to investigate the influence of FRCM confinement level. The FRCM system consists of high-strength carbon fibre mesh and cementitious mortar. The performance of FRCM strengthened columns is evaluated in terms of ultimate axial load carrying capacity, ultimate axial deformation, ultimate stress and ultimate strain. The experimental results are also compared with the numerical results obtained according to ACI 549.4R-13 code.


Using symbolic software in the chemistry curriculum depends on the readiness of the students and the availability of useful documents.


Fourth order bi-harmonic equation is extensively used for stress-strain analysis of mixed boundary-value elastic problems. However, currently existing uniform mesh scheme based on finite difference method (FDM) needs vast amount of computational resources and efforts for an acceptable solution. Therefore, in this study, a mesh refinement (MR) scheme based on FDM is developed to solve fourth order bi-harmonic equation effectively. The developed MR scheme allows high resolution computation in sub-domains of interest and relatively low resolution in other regions which overcomes the memory exhausting problems associating with the traditional uniform mesh based FDM. In this paper, sub-domain that needs high resolution (mesh refinement) are identified based on gradient of stress and displacement vectors. A very high gradient in any region signifies the need of fine mesh because coarse grained meshes are not adequate to capture the sharply changing stresses or displacements. Once the sub-domains of interest are identified, the mesh refinement is done by splitting course meshes into smaller meshes. Several new stencils are created to satisfy the fourth order by harmonic equation and associated boundary conditions over the various sizes of meshes. The developed MR scheme has been applied to solve several classical mixed boundary-value elastic problems to show its applicability. In addition, the validity, effectiveness, and superiority of the MR scheme have been established by comparing of obtained solutions with uniform mesh results, finite element method (FEM) results, and the well-known analytical results. Our results show that the developed MR scheme can provide a more reliable and accurate result than the conventional uniform mesh scheme with a reduced number of equations, thus, saves a huge amount of computational memory.


The development and evolution of regional architecture in China are briefly introduced.Through study of the "new Tang style" works of architectural master ZHANG Jin-qiu,her cultural understanding and design methods are researched.Some thoughts are presented according to the questions encountered in the development of regional architecture,and illustrated how to make better development of regional architecture to protect our city culture as well as building connotation.


DEDEN SAFARHAJI. Makrozoobentos Biodiversity and Its Relation with Seagrass Ecosystems Bintan Marine Protected Area. Supervised by NEVIATY PUTRI ZAMANI dan ENDANG SUNARWATI SRIMARIANA. Seagrass can afford habitats for marine organisms, especially macrozoobenthos. This study aims to find the relationship between density with macrozoobenthic diversity in Bintan Island. Sampling was carried out in 3 stations using Purpossive Sampling Method with line transects. Line transects stretched 100 m in three substations with a distance of 25 m each line. Put a 0.5x0.5 m squared transect each line transect with interval of 10 m every squared transect. The results found a total of 7 types of seagrass namely Potamogetonaceae family which included Cymodocea rotundata, Cymodocea serrulata, Syringodium isoetifolium, Halodule uninervis, and Halophyla minor, while the Hydrocharitaceae family included Enhalus acoroides and Thalassia hemprichii types with densities range 18 636 ind/m. Macrozoobenthos were found including Gastropods, Bivalves and Crustaceans with densities range 4-1600 ind/m. High diversity at two stations and very high at one station with an index value of 3.16 4.25. The spatial distribution of macrozoobenthos at each station varies.


The many-body problem is solved for f-element complexes in solids. Multielectron orbitals are constructed from single-electron ones. Complexes of f-ions surrounded by sulphur, oxygen and fluoride ligands (atoms or ions) are employed as a model of radiating centres in order to describe the optoelectronic behavior of materials in the cluster approximation. Probabilities and intensities of luminescent- and laser-transition Stark components are calculated. Inhomogeneous broadening of line shapes in solids is studied for various excitation regimes.


War Crimes, Atrocity, and Justice. By Michael J. Shapiro. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2015. 240 pp., £16.99 paperback (ISBN: 978-0-745-67154-3).

Writing on the trial of Adolf Eichmann for war crimes and crimes against humanity, political theorist Hannah Arendt grappled with the limitations of law and trials in dealing with Nazi war crimes, declaring, "[this] guilt, in contrast to all criminal guilt, oversteps and shatters any and all legal systems" (Arendt ⇓: 54). Since this trial, the belief in institutionally based justice has grown and increasingly come to dominate discourses on war and international relations despite the clear limitations of law and criminal justice frameworks in responding to situations that go beyond the parameters of legal systems. Often, the law is unquestionably invoked following conflict as legal justice has become the axiomatic, seemingly apolitical, response to atrocities.

In his book War Crimes, Atrocity, and Justice , philosopher and political theorist Michael Shapiro unravels the entrenched connection between law and justice by contrasting legal justice with the concept of literary justice. Shapiro's use of literary justice is based on that advanced by Felman (⇓:8) who states, "[literature] is a dimension of concrete embodiment and a language of infinitude that in contrast to the language of the law, encapsulates not closure but precisely what in a given legal case refuses to be closed and cannot be closed. It is to this refusal of the trauma to be closed that literature does justice." By opening up the concept of …


Recently, various concepts of micro reactors were proposed and a heat pipe cooled reactor has been considered as a promising candidate. MegaPower [1], Kilopower [2], eVinci [3], etc. are examples of the heat pipe cooled micro reactors. In this type of a reactor, the fission power is transferred to the power conversion system by heat pipes installed in the monolith core. KRUSTY experiment tested this concept for the space reactor development and its performance was investigated under steady-state and transient conditions [4]. In order to realize this concept of the micro reactor, its performance and safety need to be assured based on a series of experiments and high-fidelity computational tools. In particular, thermo-mechanical analysis is of great importance as the monolith core is operated at high temperature (~1000 K) and the volume expansion of it exerts the reactivity feedback to the core. In the present study, a preliminary calculation was conducted for the thermo-mechanical analysis of the unit cell of the heat pipe cooled reactor core. The structure analysis solver in OpenFOAM, solidDisplacementFoam, was used and the heat pipe was analyzed using a heat pipe performance analysis code, ANLHTP. The coupling of the OpenFOAM and ANLHTP was established for the simulation. This paper describes the coupling method between two codes and presents the preliminary analysis results using the OpenFOAM structure solver.


Abstract : The stability of an earthen embankment supporting the overrun of Runway 18 at Washington National Airport was examined using the finite element method. The purpose of this work was to study the applicability of the finite element method to the design of embankments. The embankment is partially submerged, layered and reinforced with a geotextile. The embankment was designed by the Baltimore District of the Corps of Engineers based upon the results of analyses using the simplified Bishop method a version of the method of slices which is often used for estimating the stability of slopes. Finite element analyses were conducted considering the embankment with and without a reinforcing geotextile. The factors of safety obtained using the finite element method were compared with those obtained using the simplified Bishop method. Additionally, the progressive developments of failure were examined. Reasonably close agreement was obtained between the corresponding factors of safety obtained using the two methods.


Abstract : The purpose of this wind tunnel test was to expand the existing Space Shuttle aerodynamics and reaction control system (RCS) data base to support the Glide Return to Launch Site (GRTLS) abort trajectory and the new Digital Autopilot. An existing model of the orbiter was used to investigate the aerodynamic effects of several combinations of RCS thrusters and thruster momentum ratios at Mach number 6. Two separate model installations were used to achieve an angle of attack range of -11 to 46 deg. The test was conducted at a unit Reynolds number of 800,000 per foot. Keywords: Hypersonic characteristics; Space shuttle orbiter; Aerodynamic interference.


Normal and 24-h regenerating hepatocytes were transplanted into the spleen of 70% partially hepatectomized, syngeneic rats, which were sacrificed after 2, 4, 6, 10, and 12 months from the transplant. Altogether 50 rats served as recipients. Histological examination of splenic sections showed a small number of surviving hepatocytes both in normal hepatocytes recipients and in the regenerating hepatocytes recipients. In the latter group marked bile ductular proliferation was present from 4 to 12 months after transplantation. This experimental evidence supports the theory that intrahepatic bile duct cells can originate from hepatocytes.


A rf interrogated sonar location system for freely floating buoys is described. The location of an array of up to three buoys may be determined on an almost continuous basis within a radius of 500 m from a shipboard monitoring station. Location accuracy of typically ±0.5 m at 200‐m range, low cost, and ease of operation are the major features of the system.


In June 2009, the Association of Mexicans in North Carolina (AMEXCAN), a leading Latino grassroots organization based in Pitt County, North Carolina, received funding from the Pitt Memorial Hospital Foundation to implement the project "Community Health Advisors Promoting Healthy Nutrition and Physical Activity in the Latino Community" (henceforth the Promotora [Promoter] Project). The goals of the project were to train a group of seven women from the Latino community (henceforth promotoras) to promote healthy nutrition and physical activity and to develop a model of community health outreach relying on the trained promotoras' own natural social networks. The project was designed, implemented, and evaluated through a university-community partnership involving AMEXCAN and university faculty from the Departments of Anthropology and Nutritional Sciences, the College of Nursing, and the School of Social Work, all authors of this paper. Students from these academic units were involved through curricular and non...


We report x-ray absorption at Zn and Ni K-edges in 200 keV Ni2+ ion implanted ZnO/sapphire films. The implantation fluences are 6 × 1015 and 2 × 1016 ions/cm2, corresponding to 2% and 7% Ni in a ZnO matrix. The measurements reveal a marginal substitution of Ni in ZnO in both the films and also rule out the presence of ferromagnetic Ni metal clusters. The M-H and field cooled-zero field cooled measurements performed via SQUID magnetometry show that the films are ferromagnetic at room temperature, and the saturation magnetization of 2% Ni film is appreciably higher than that of 7% Ni film. The origin of ferromagnetism is understood on the basis of the oxygen vacancy mediated bound magnetic polaron model.


Large uniform rectangular arrays (URAs) are widely used in 3-D underwater imaging systems to obtain high-quality images; however, the gain and phase errors of these arrays can distort the results. To restore the image quality, many calibration methods have been proposed, most of which adopt a far-field model. This model requires the calibrator source to be far away, which reduces the signal-to-noise ratio and adversely affects the calibration accuracy. An effective means of alleviating this contradiction is to adopt the near-field signal model. However, the source location estimation in the near-field model typically uses spectral peak searches, which is a significant computational burden, particularly for large URAs. A fast and efficient near-field model self-calibration method for large URAs is proposed to obtain improved calibration results. First, a convenient preprocessing and two extended three-step iterative algorithms are used instead of spectral peak searches to estimate the source location efficiently. The array is then calibrated using a spatial matched filter and maximum a posteriori approach. Numerical results proved that the proposed method almost reaches the Cramér–Rao bound. Compared with existing near-field model calibration methods using spectral peak searches, the computational complexity of the proposed method is reduced by more than three orders of magnitude when the array size reaches 60 $\times $ 60 or more. By virtue of the near-field model, the phase calibration accuracy for large URAs at a close range is more than 10 times that of far-field model calibration methods.


daptive behavior is a recurring theme in pervasive computing. The need for adaptation arises when a significant mis-match exists between a resource's supply and demand. Often, the mismatch is in a low-level system resource such as network bandwidth, residual energy in a battery, CPU cycles, or memory. Sometimes it is a resource related to interaction such as display size or input modality. Or, in a context aware system, it might be a high-level resource such as user attention or short-term memory. ORIGIN Why does the mismatch arise? Most frequently, it is due to mobility. For example , a user might move from one location where certain resources are plentiful to another location where they are scarce, or vice versa. Wireless network band-width is perhaps the resource most sensitive to physical location, since coverage is rarely uniform over a large area. The availability of nearby compute servers or data-staging servers is also location-dependent and therefore affects techniques such as cyber foraging. 1 In the case of code mobility, it is the application rather than the user that moves. In that case, both low-level resources and interactive resources such as display quality might vary widely between the source and destination systems. Resource variation can arise even when the user and code are static. Network bandwidth, for example, can vary widely depending on the actions of other users in the neighborhood. Sometimes just the passage of time causes a change in resource level. For example, energy becomes less plentiful for a laptop as its battery drains. Regardless of cause, we can't simply ignore a gross mismatch between resource supply and demand. Doing so will result in an unsatisfactory user experience, usually because of sluggish system performance. Severe performance degradation can raise user frustration so much that it leads to increased human error, further increasing frustration. Sometimes, attributes other than system performance are affected. For example, a desktop application that has migrated to a handheld computer might present output that is unreadable on a small screen. As another example, ignoring the device's battery level could result in the user having to stop work prematurely. In all these examples, a system's proactive behavior—or " adaptation " —could improve the total user experience. Adaptation is also important in the other direction, when resource levels improve. Otherwise, the user will be paying an opportunity cost by working in a " lean and mean " computing environment rather …


This paper draws on a new genre of televised drama serial from Bangladesh, which could be categorised as Islamic 'cultural activism' besides the obvious commodity nature of the product. In this paper, I intend to contextualise its emergence and show the relations it maintains with public discourses. In contemporary Bangladesh, more than a dozen Bangla satellite TV stations are running with a good diversity of ideological standing. Though all the channels have religious programmes at the margin of their programme schedule, only the ATN Bangla, the first satellite Bangla channel in the country, aired religious drama serials, where one finds construction of romance, marriage, bribery, a severe critique of the secular way of life and a sense of unparallel superiority of Islam and Allah. It is also noticeable that religious practices in these constructions become synonymous with worldly success and a peaceful happy life. In the world of fictional construction, 'Islam' works as the unmoved mover of every action...


Life cycle assessment is an environmental management tool from a global perspective. It is used to evaluate the technology of products in their entire life cycle, that is, from the acquisition of raw materials, the production of products to the disposal of products. This article takes traffic transportation system in Harbin as the research object, adopts the life cycle assessment method to analyze the environmental impact of traffic travel system in Harbin through the analysis of energy use, the identification and quantification of environmental release, and the inventory data characterization. Based on the results of the study, the future transportation structure of Harbin is proposed.


Objective: To evaluate the toxicity and side effect of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) to the rat's liver with smoke inhalation injurey.Method:72 rats were divided into three groups,a tracheostomy was performed and a trachea! tube was placed for each animal in three groups.Group1(G1, n = 24) .breathed in O2(FiO2 = 0.40) ;group2(G2, n = 24)breathed in O2(FiO2 = 0.40) + 40 × 10E-6NO; group3(G3,n = 24) breathed in O2(FiO2 = 0.40) + 80 × 10E-6 NO. In addition, 6 animals without inhalation injury served as normal controls, and another 6 animals subjected to inhalation injury were sacrificed at 30 minutes. The data was analyzed using ANOVA for multiple mean comparison. Results: GTP of G1 was higher markedly than G2 、 G3 and normal value ( P 0.01) , TbiL of G1 and G3 was higher than G2 and normal value ( P 0.05). The quantity of water in the cardiac muscle tissue of G2 was lower than G1 and G3 ( P 0.01). MHb of G1 was higher than G2 and G3 ( P 0.01) . The concentration of NO2 of G3, was significantly higher than that of G1 and G2 ( P 0.05 and P 0.01) . The result of comparison of morphology and ultrastructure of liver of G2 was better than that of G1, and second the G). Conclusion: Inhaling 40 × 10E-6 NO can reduce the pathology changes of live injured with smoke inhalation, but inhaling 80 × 10E-6 NO may exert some slight side harmful effect.


We have carried out systematic investigations in perovskite multiferroic La0.5Bi0.5Mn0.5Fe0.5O3 by means of X-ray diffraction, magnetisation, electrical resistivity, thermoelectric and heat capacity measurements. The magnetic behaviour of this composition is rather complex, though the magnetisation curve seems to be like a weak ferromagnetic material. However, there is no clear evi- dence of k-anomaly in the heat capacity data down to 2 K, yet this behaviour corroborate the trends of semiconducting silicon below room temperature. The sensitivity of mag- netic behaviour to the iron-manganese ratio is also dem- onstrated. In presence of an external field of 7 T, it exhibits a magnetoresistance of -5 % at 130 K. The thermoelectric value increases linearly with decreasing temperature, and at room temperature the value is ?85 lV/K, which is associated with the p-type polaronic conductivity.


Context based searches is always the area which admires by different researchers. Ontology hence, is the way to develop such a semantic web. However, alignment is the way to properly align Ontologies to actually develop the semantic environment. Thus interoperability between different classes can be maintained in order to optimize the context based searches. There exist different methods to map the given Ontologies to make their classes or attributes unique. However, every of them have some drawbacks. We will critically analyze different published methods according to their common attributes.


AS A NEW PARENT I MUST BE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE, YET I CANNOT HELP but despair about the world my child will inherit. In Canada, the colonial settler state where we live, there have been several hundred documented cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women in recent decades (Gilchrist 2010). The dire situation has prompted many, including Rinelle Harper--a sixteen-year-old Aboriginal teenager who was found clinging to life in Winnipeg's Assiniboine River following a brutal attack in November 2014--to call for a national inquiry to work toward resolving this long-standing crisis. When asked during a press scrum what "he would say to Rinelle Harper" and her request for an inquiry, the Canadian minister responsible for Aboriginal affairs at the time walked away in silence (see Global News 2014). We also live in a stale where in October 2007 Ashley Smith, a teenager, died alone inside a segregation cell with a ligature tied around her neck as guards watched. Her mom, Coralee Smith, called on the Government of Canada to issue a response to the 2013 coroner's inquest recommendations that ruled her death a homicide and proposed working toward ending solitary confinement (see Carlisle 2013).These requests were met with the following official response: "To be clear, the term solitary confinement is not accurate or applicable within the federal correctional system.... There is frequent interaction with others, including staff and visitors, as well as structured contact with peers" (PSC and CSC 2014). One has only to type Ashley Smith's name in a search engine to see images of the kinds of "frequent interactions" she had during her years of solitary confinement. Although a new federal government elected in October 2015 has promised to rectify these injustices (see Trudeau 2015), it is unlikely that the exclusionary structures that gave rise to these tragedies will be dismantled. Looking south towards the United States, we are learning that the rectal feeding CIA operatives subject their prisoners to is "not torture," but a "medical procedure" (CNN 2014). We also know that it is officially acceptable for police to shoot and kill unarmed black children and adults in the "land of the free" (AP 2014). These are just some examples of the material and symbolic violence that characterizes the present moment inside and beyond the penal field. Of course, the fact that states are unaccountable for their repression and unrepentant in their disregard for human life is nothing new (see Platt 2014); one could say that the world has gone to shit, but that would be much too charitable to the 1960s and 1970s, when violence and exclusion were playing out in private (e.g., Griffin 1971) and in public (e.g., Takagi 1974) as many struggled for social change. If criminologists are concerned with trying to affect social change, how should they intervene at a time when there is notable resistance (e.g., people again taking to the streets in large numbers) to interpersonal and institutional violence, state impunity, and capitalism's excesses in Western democracies? Similar to practitioners in other disciplines interested in affecting social change (see Nickel 2010), some criminologists believe that the answer to the questions above lies in "public criminology" (1) (see, for example, Chancer and McLaughlin 2007; Clear 2010; Loader and Sparks 2011a,b).The discussions concerning public engagement (2) or "doing politics" in criminology (Carien 2011, 17) generally revolve around one or more of the following themes: (a) engagement with extra-academic publics; (b) reflections on practice, including its possibilities and limitations; and (c) critiques of public criminology itself. This article interrogates the objectives, publics, and practices associated with doing public criminology. In particular, this article highlights the following limitations of most current iterations of public criminology: (a) the pursuit of a reformist agenda using language that reifies and reproduces dominant constructions of "crime" and justice; (b) the frequent failure of public criminologists to work with the individuals and groups who are most harmed by interpersonal and state violence; (3) and (c) the use of approaches that often limit the participation of extra-academic publics to audiences of scholarly work. …


The experiment was conducted to study the effect of different irrigation amount on soil moisture and water dynamics of greenhouse cucumber with drip irrigation under film mulching. The results showed that the average soil moisture content in cucumber growth period under different treatments first became lower,and then higher,water deficit irrigation stressed the growth of cucumber and delayed the fruit stage. Soil moisture content was lowest at the fruit stage. The average moisture of soil profile was highest in the depth of 10 cm from the earth surface.


Background: Osteoporosis is a growing health problem. One of the proposed reasons for this is a more sedentary lifestyle. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between muscle strength and total body bone mineral density (TBMD) in young adults at expected peak bone mass.


Since reading Professor A. Stanley Walker's article in the March Publications on "Peterloo, Shelley and Reform," I have come across a somewhat similar article by F. A. Bruton, M.A., Litt.D., "The Story of Peterloo," to which Mr. Walker makes no reference. Dr. Bruton writes in general from the point of view of the historian and in particular from the point of view of a citizen of Manchester. He draws material from several contemporary sources to which Mr. Walker does not direct us; and his narrative is illustrated with several portraits and contemporary prints and has, moreover, a valuable "Plan of Peterloo" which makes clear the position of the crowd and the disposition of the military forces. The effect of the "Peterloo Massacre" on Shelley does not, however, fall within the scope of Dr. Bruton's paper. Hence it does not anticipate or render nugatory the results of Mr. Walker's inquiries but is, rather, a parallel discussion along somewhat different lines. Students of Shelley will find the article of interest. It may be added that Dr. Bruton's paper was originally delivered as a lecture at the University of Manchester on the occasion of the centenary of the Massacre, August 16th, 1919.


Porous coupling CdS/TiO2 photocatalyst was prepared by coupling CdS with porous TiO2 by a sol-gel process.Preliminary research suggested that the optimal calcining temperature is 700 ℃,and CdS doped proportion is 3%.Irradiated by sunlight,the effect of initial concentration of the bromamine acid on the degradation using photocatalytic was discussed.Moreover,pilot study on the treatment of wastewater with higher concentration of bromamine acid by combined freeze and photocatalysis was processed.After freezing,the wastewater with 500 mg/L bromamine acid and 500 mg/L sodium chloride was purified.When 70% of wastewater was frozen,the content of Na+,total organic carbon(TOC) and chroma of melted ice is decreased from 209.88 mg/L,208.90 mg/L and 8.120 to 19.06 mg/L,24.80 mg/L and 0.638,respectively.Then the melted water was degradated by porous coupling CdS/TiO2 photocatalyst under sunlight.After 6 hours,the removal rate of chroma and total organic carbon reached 100% and 87.04%,respectively.


Aim To observe the protective effect of quercetin on rat cardiomyocyte apoptosis induced by adriamycin and explore its possible mechanism.Methods Cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were randomly divided into six groups:normal control group, adriamycin group,quercetin control group, adriamycin+quercetin(25,50,100 μmol·L-1)groups. The activity of LDH was detected by chromatometry, the cardiomyocyte viability was measured by MTT, the ultrastructure of cardiomyocyte was observed by electron microscope, the expression of protein Bcl-2 and Bax was analyzed by immunocytochemical, and the mRNA and protein of caspase-3 were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot respectively.Results Compared with the control group, the activity of LDH was increased but the viability of cardiomyocyte was decreased; the expression of Bax and caspase-3 was up-regulated while Bcl-2 was down-regulated in ADR group.Compared with ADR group, the above changes were lightened in adriamycin+quercetin groups. But the quercetin control group, in which cultured myocardial cells only exposed to quercetin without ADR, had no obvious changes.Conclusions Quercetin significantly inhibits the apoptosis induced by ADR in the cultured myocardial cells. Its mechanism is involved in the apoptosis-related pathways, including caspase-3, Bax and Bcl-2.


1. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Stollery Children's Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta 2. Infectious Disease Division Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, Québec 3. University of British Columbia, Division of Infectious and Immunological Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Vancouver, British Columbia 4. IWK Health Centre, Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia 5. Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response, Infectious Disease and Emergency Preparedness Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario 6. Centre for Immunization and Respiratory Infectious Diseases, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario


In this study I have explored the profession sales people and how they use social media. I have also studied their needs for further education and how it can be addressed in social media, in order to learn how a B2B-company that educates in sales training can meet sales people in social media. It's an empirical study based on individual interviews with a semi-structured interview template. Respondents were of mixed age, both men and women. The theoretical framework consists of a model containing the three elements needed to communicate effectively: opportunity, accessibility and trust. The model was published by authors Anna Katarina Berglund and Pia Boson in 2010. The research problems are based on the theoretical framework: Which attitudes, needs and requirements for further education and inspiration do sales people have and how can they be fulfilled by social media? The results of the study showed, among other things that the theory is truthful and correct. The conclusion is that the needs for further education vary between different sales people, mainly because of age and experience. These needs may at several cases be fulfilled threw social media, especially YouTube. Although when it comes to deeper knowledge, they rather get it threw lectures or coaching mainly, but also threw books.


At first it is illustrated that two important empirical (acts concerning primary cosmic radiation, i.e., 0) the similarity of energy spectra expressed with respect to kinetic energy per nucleon of various nuclei independent of their charge numbers and (ii) fairly abundant existences of heavier nuclei, will not be able to be explained by any acceleration mechanisms. And it is shown that (j) and (ii) can be understood only if one assumes a new type of element formation, according to which, from the nucleon gas of extremely high temperature (""" 10'~o A-) and pressure, vauous atomic nuclei are created with energy spectra N(t)=C exp{-(l+t)/kT} (E: kinetic energy per nucleon) and with ratio Cp : Ca.: Coxo: Cz > ]0= 10: 1 : 1/20: 1/60. Physical inevitability with which this assumption is introduced and its physical significance are discussed. The theory itself of element formation of such a type, however, is not touched but only it is pointed out that the introduction of such an assumption is strongly required from present knowledges concerning primary cosmic ray particles.


Fusion cross sections for the reaction pairs /sup 12/C+/sup 14/N and /sup 10/B+/sup 16/O (leading to /sup 26/Al) and /sup 16/O+/sup 16/O and /sup 12/C+/sup 20/Ne (leading to /sup 32/S) are examined to extract critical angular momenta. At low energies entrance channel effects are present, whereas at higher energies the results are qualitatively consistent with a common limiting angular momentum characteristic of the compound nucleus. Comparison with angular-momentum-dependent level densities suggests that the fusion cross sections at intermediate energy are sensitive to the availability of a sufficient level density in the compound nucleus. A model calculation employing the criterion that the level spacing of a particular angular momentum be comparable to or smaller than the level widths is used to calculate fusion cross sections. The results are in qualitative agreement with experiment, accounting for both the magnitude of the cross sections and the periodicity of the gross structure in /sup 16/O+/sup 16/O.


Abstract The aim of the article is to describe support that can be observed in online Facebook teachers' groups created and administered by teachers or institutions connected with education. The author presented selected Facebook groups, indicated their aims and activities undertaken in their space. On the basis of the conducted research (n = 548), the article will also discuss teachers' motivations for joining the groups and their reflections connected with belonging to them.


This study was conducted to investigate the effect of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) on the stress responses of ferrocement slabs. For this purpose, a total of eight ferrocement slabs of size 500 × 500 × 18 mm were cast and tested. The major variables studied in this investigation included the number of CFRP strips and their configurations. Structural performance parameters used for comparisons included load–deflection curves, ultimate load and corresponding deflection at failure, failure modes, and crack patterns. That the inclusion of CFRP strips for strengthening ferrocement slabs can significantly improve their resistance may be concluded from these experiments. The increases ranged between 26 and 74% compared with the control specimen. Furthermore, an increase in the stiffness of the ferrocement slabs at all stages of loading, and a consequent reduction in the deflection at corresponding loads, was observed in specimens with CFRP compared to the control specimen. This decrease in maximum deflection was about 23.5 to 53.6% compared with the unstrengthened slab.


Objective To investigate how to restore foot function after replantation of amputated leg. Methods The author first used Charnley's fixation frame orthopedic the foot, then cut off the nerveless injury muscle in the amputated limbs, resected off a section tensor fascia lata. and used it to replace of the muscle which had been injured. Meantime, transfer biceps femoris muscle and sartorius muscle to strengthen flexion muscles. Postoperation functional exercises of the ankle was carried out.. Results 3 patients were treated with this technique followed up for a period of from 2 years 8 months to 3 years 3 months. The extensive and flexsion muscle sthergth reached Ⅴ - Ⅵ + with satifactory ankle function, the range of motion if ankle was restored nearly to normal. Conclusion The technique is an effective method.


The planetary deceleration mechanism,the eccentricity conversion mechanism and the screw mechanism were connected in series to form a K-H-V-S combined mechanism.And an intermediate transmission mode using steel ball or steel column is applied in the kinematic pairs to bring about the roll-friction among kinematic pairs.Base on that mechanism,a new linear driver was developed.This paper mainly discusses the design method of the K-H-V-S combined mechanism.


The regulator's head of M&A, Willard Mwemba, discusses how the body's merger review process has evolved since its launch in January 2013


Fully aromatic helicenes with more than one pitch-length are illustrious synthetic targets with potential applications in advanced optical devices and nano-electronics. The task of extending the length of fully conjugated helicenes past one pitch-length has proven challenging. We herein describe our synthesis of a series of azaoxa[7]-, [10]- and [13]helicenes. Their synthesis is based on iterative oxidative furan formation between 3,6-dihydroxycarbazoles and/or 2-naphthols. The flexibility of the presented methodology allows for the convenient and scalable synthesis of symmetric, unsymmetric and asymmetric homo-chiral structures. We demonstrate how the [13]helicenes can be synthetically functionalized both at the termini and the periphery. The full range of helicenes are characterized using NMR and optical spectroscopy (UV-Vis, fluorescence and CD) along with single crystal X-ray crystallography. Notably, the enantiomers of the [13]helicenes are the longest optically pure helicenes isolated to date.


Abstract : Theory is developed for acoustical scattering by localized quasistatic turbulent structures (turbules) that contain both flow and density variations. The quasistatic density variation is shown to be proportional to v2, where v is the (presumably small) ratio of flow speed to asymptotic acoustical wavespeed. The flow contributes terms o(v2) to the scattering cross sections, while the density variations contribute terms o(v4). Differential and total cross sections are calculated for a Gaussian spinning turbule modal of effective radius a, for size parameters ka from 0.25 to 2.0, where k - 2 pi/lambda, lambda = wavelength, using the first Born approximation which is estimated to be valid for-ka 2 for vmax < 0.1. The contributions of the density variation are about three orders of magnitude smaller than those of the flow. The latter are proportional to (ka)6 and sin2 theta cos2 theta sin2 theta alpha sin(phi-phi alpha), where. (theta, phi) are the P (polar, azimuthal) scattering angles, and (theta alpha, phi alpha) are the spin axis angles. The contributions of the density Variations go like (ka)4 and have a somewhat Rayleigh-like dependence on theta. A digitized Green function approach and computer algorithm are also developed, for the o(v2) flow contributions only. In principle, this method would allow treatment of turbules of arbitrary structure, shape. and size.


In clause is considered model of formation of statistical culture by designing through educational program. Necessity of improvement of quality of preparation of the engineer-manager by formation of statistical culture as bases of an estimation and forecasting of industrial activity.


1. Syrigou E, Angelakopoulou A, Zande M, et al. Allergy-test-driven elimination diet is useful in children with eosinophilic esophagitis, regardless οf the severity of symptoms. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2015: 26: 323–329. 2. Arias A, Gonz alez-Cervera J, Tenias JM, Lucendo AJ. Efficacy of dietary interventions for inducing histologic remission in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Gastroenterology 2014: 146: 1639–48. 3. Liacouras CA, Spergel JM, Ruchelli E, et al. Eosinophilic esophagitis: a 10-year experience in 381 children. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2005: 3: 1198–206. 4. Kagalwalla AF, Amsden K, Shah A, et al. Cow's milk elimination: a novel dietary approach to treat eosinophilic esophagitis. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2012: 55: 711–6. 5. Henderson CJ, Abonia JP, King EC, et al. Comparative dietary therapy effectiveness in remission of pediatric eosinophilic esophagitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2012: 129: 1570–8. 6. Molina-Infante J, Martin-Noguerol E, Varado-Arenas M, et al. Selective elimination diet based on skin testing has suboptimal efficacy for adult eosinophilic esophagitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2012: 130: 1200–2. 7. Spergel JM, Brown-Whitehorn TF, Cianferoni A, et al. Identification of causative foods in children with eosinophilic esophagitis treated with an elimination diet. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2012: 130: 461–7. 8. Rizo Pascual JM, De La Hoz CB, Redondo VC, et al. Allergy assessment in children with eosinophilic esophagitis. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol 2011: 21: 59–65. 9. Spergel JM, Beausoleil JL, Mascarenhas M, et al. The use of skin prick tests and patch tests to identify causative foods in eosinophilic esophagitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2002: 109: 363–8. 10. Spergel JM, Andrews T, Brown-Whitehorn TF, et al. Treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis with specific food elimination diet directed by a combination of skin prick and patch tests. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2005: 95: 336–43. 11. Spergel JM, Brown-Whitehorn T, Spergel JM, Brown-Whitehorn T, Beausoleil JL, Shuker M, Liacouras CA. Predictive values for skin prick test and atopy patch test for eosinophilic esophagitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2007: 119: 509–11. 12. Hong S. Food allergy and eosinophilic esophagitis: learning what to avoid. Cleve Clin J Med 2010: 77: 51–9. 13. Heine RG, Verstege A, Mehl A, et al. Proposal for a standardized interpretation of the atopy patch test in children with atopic dermatitis and suspected food allergy. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2006: 17: 213–7. 14. Furuta GT, Liacouras CA, Collins MH, et al. Eosinophilic esophagitis in children and adults: a systematic review and consensus recommendations for diagnosis and treatment. Gastroenterology 2007: 133: 1342–63. 15. Sicherer SH, Leung DY. Advances in allergic skin disease, anaphylaxis, and hypersensitivity reactions to foods, drugs, and insects in 2014. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2015: 135: 357–67. 16. Str€ omberg L. Diagnostic accuracy of the atopy patch test and the skin-prick test for the diagnosis of food allergy in young children with atopic eczema/dermatitis syndrome. Acta Paediatr 2002: 91: 1044–9. 17. Boyce JA, Assa'ad A, Burks AW, et al. Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of food allergy in the United States: summary of the NIAID-sponsored Expert Panel Report. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2010: 126: 1105–18. 18. Lynch MK, Avis KT, Dimmitt RA, Goodin BR. Topical Review: Eosinophilic esophagitis in children: implications for health-related quality of life and potential avenues for future research. J Pediatr Psychol 2015: doi:10.1093/jpepsy/ jsv032. 19. Dellon ES, Rusin S, Gebhart JH, et al. Utility of a noninvasive serum biomarker panel for diagnosis and monitoring of eosinophilic esophagitis: a prospective study. Am J Gastroenterol 2015: doi:10.1038/ ajg.2015.57. 20. Rodr ıguez-S anchez J, G omez-Torrijos E, dela-Santa-Belda E, et al. Effectiveness of serological markers of eosinophil activity in monitoring eosinophilic esophagitis. Rev Esp Enferm Dig 2013: 105: 462–7. 21. Blanchard C, Stucke EM, RodriguezJim enez N, et al. A striking local esophageal cytokine expression profile in eosinophilic esophagitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2011: 127: 208–17. 22. Lucendo AJ, Arias A, Gonz alez-Cervera J, et al. Empiric 6-food elimination diet induced and maintained prolonged remission in patients with adult eosinophilic esophagitis: a prospective study on the food cause of the disease. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2013: 131: 797–804.


In this paper, a shared-aperture antenna with dual-band, dual-polarization and low profile characteristics for base station applications is presented. The proposed antenna consists of four parts, which are a lower-band element, an upper-band element, a loading metal plate and a reflector. Element are arranged such that the upper-band element is placed above the lower-band element to reduce the coupling between them. The metal plate loaded in the lower-band element could reduce the height of the antenna to realize the low profile characteristic. The simulated results show that stable radiation patterns in the lower band and upper band are obtained. In addition, the port isolation between them higher than 30 dB could be realized.


Alpha-stimulating neurobiofeedback is actively introduced into sports training. Successful training contributes to optimal functioning and sports performance enhancement. However, not all athletes are able to achieve their goals. The main problem is the absence of the data explaining the effect of sports qualification, specialization, and gender on successful neurobiofeedback. Aim. The article deals with establishing the correlation between sports qualification, specialization (depending on movement character), gender, and successful neurobiofeedback. Materials and methods. 216 athletes (124 males and 92 females) participated in a 15-day neurobiofeedback course with the Boslab-alpha equipment (Russia). The average age of participants is 19 ± 0.1 years. All participants have 5 or more years of sports experience. All athletes provided their written informed consent for participation in the study. The 25–30-minute sessions of neurobiofeedback were conducted once per day. The electrodes were set up in the frontal and parietal area in a bipolar mode according to the 10–20 international system (F1 and P3). The increase in the spectrum power of alpha range by no less than 10 % compared to the previous session was considered as successful neurobiofeedback. We calculated the percentage of successful and unsuccessful training sessions for each participant. Statistical analysis of the
data obtained was performed with the help of SPSS 13.0 software. Results. The study of successful training in athletes divided into groups in terms of gender, sports qualification, and sports specialization did not reveal any statistically significant differences. By using multifactor dispersion analysis, it was established that successful neurobiofeedback in athletes depended on all the abovementioned factors (F = 2.780; P < 0.05). Conclusion. Successful neurobiofeedback in athletes is determined by the combination of three factors (gender, sports specialization, sports qualification), which do not possess significant effect when studied separately.


In this paper, we introduce a generalized implicit hybrid projectionproximal point algorithm for finding zeros of a maximal monotone operator in a Hilbert space setting. The global convergence of the method for the weak topology under appropriate assumptions on the algorithm parameters is established.


This paper aims to analyze the Multi-Robot Task Allocation (MRTA) problem from the perspective of Social Choice Theory. More specifically taking into account the conditions of Arrow's Impossibility Theorem in a robot collective preference aggregation. The scalar utility comparison between two robots becomes impractical with an inexact estimate. As argued by Arrow, the cardinal utility comparison can be replaced by an ordinal comparison. The work also examines two different MRTA problems from this Arrovian view, while establishing Multi-Robot Social Choice and Multi-Robot Social Welfare functions.


Automatic analysis for monitoring and control of pilot plant. The utility of automation of gas chromatography GC and high performance liquid chromatography HPLC for routine tasks in research is demonstrated with the aid of examples. Particular attention is paid to problem-oriented and economically contained analytical instruments and to the constant availability of analytical data.


Purpose
This paper aims to apply a broader perspective of branding to foster new insights and develop strategies to address product counterfeiting.

Design/methodology/approach
A review of the counterfeiting and branding literature leads to the development of a new conceptual framework that incorporates proactive, collaborative processes, in addition to the traditional product branding approach.

Findings
The integrative framework provides a basis to develop innovative, proactive strategies that complement traditional branding approaches to address product counterfeiting. The complexity of an integrative framework (or network) offers more opportunities for the firm to co-create robust meaning with multiple stakeholders. Identity elements are readily copied, whereas meanings are not. These strategies help to control counterfeiting by developing deep and inimitable relationships between managers and other stakeholders in a marketing network.

Research limitations/implications
A research agenda is proposed to structure future studies on counterfeiting.

Practical implications
The framework outlines how to leverage collaboration between managers and brand stakeholders to complement conventional approaches to control counterfeiting based on traditional product branding.

Originality/value
This paper contributes to the growing body of counterfeiting and brand protection literature by adapting and applying contemporary integrative branding concepts, leading to novel strategies to address the issue.


Knowledge and attitudes of healthcare professionals are significant factors that affect the reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). No previous research has examined the predictors of knowledge and attitudes toward ADR reporting in Vietnam. The aim of this study was to examine the factors (ie, demographic and job-related characteristics) associated with inadequate knowledge and negative attitudes toward ADR reporting in a Vietnamese public hospital. A survey recruited a cross-sectional sample of 511 healthcare professionals (with a response rate of 92.9%) at a public hospital in Vinh Long province, Vietnam, from December 2022 to February 2023, using a self-administered questionnaire. Factors related to knowledge and attitudes toward ADR reporting were identified using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Pharmacists had significantly lower knowledge scores (mean = 5.86) than medical practitioners (7.24) and nurses (6.72). Additionally, pharmacists' attitudes scored significantly lower (34.61) than those of medical practitioners (37.21) and nurses (36.86). Multivariate logistic regression showed that educational level, healthcare profession, monthly on-call shifts, and number of direct patient interactions were factors associated with a lower level of knowledge regarding ADR reporting. Additionally, age group and healthcare profession were identified as factors associated with negative attitudes toward ADR reporting among healthcare workers. Our study identified several factors associated with lower levels of knowledge and negative attitudes toward ADR reporting among healthcare workers in Vietnam. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions and education programs to improve healthcare workers' knowledge and attitudes toward ADR reporting.


The problem of limited knowledge of partners about agreements or contracts in general, and in particular regarding the principle of good faith in business activities faced by business actors and company management, which generally consists of millennial youth, which can be said to be still lacking in understanding the principle of commitment well, as a guideline in carrying out the actions of a company, especially companies with legal entities, such as Limited Liability Companies, where PT Sarana PanganMadani, has established many partnerships, which of course must keep the relationship harmonious, sometimes the relationship is already running, due to limited knowledge, experience, there was a clash that would definitely hinder good relations, both parties, for example, at the beginning of the negotiation there was an agreement, which gave birth to a partnership to distribute the nine staples, but in its implementation, there were obstacles, which caused Due to the difference in prices, even though at the beginning of the negotiation the price was already agreed to, but there was a change, which was due to an increase in market prices or production prices, so that the price that was agreed upon earlier, of course changed, this change is a problem of misunderstanding between the two parties, according to Partners. PT Sarana PanganMadani, the company raised prices unilaterally, while from the PT stated that due to changes in market prices, this is one example which is a significant obstacle, resulting in inconsistencies in the development of partner businesses which are good business groups providing distribution of nine staples daily activities, as well as providing business capital to develop agricultural land, as well as services, ranging from basic materials to packaging ready to be marketed. In this community service program, the priority issue agreed upon by the PKM FH Unilak proposer together with his partner, PT Sarana PanganMadani, to be resolved is to provide understanding through legal counseling about the principles of good faith in cooperating with the business community. Thus, after the program is implemented, it is hoped that partners will gain a correct understanding and have knowledge of agreements or contracts in general, and in particular the principles of good faith in this partnership. The method that will be used in this community service is to use lectures that will be directly at the PT Sarana PanganMadani office.


The present invention relates to a sterilization apparatus for sterilizing objects (1), said sterilization apparatus (1) comprising: a chamber (2), the cavity for receiving the object to be sterilized, the chamber (2) having a sterilization medium inlet (3a) and the sterilization medium outlet (3B); inlet flow control means (14), said inlet flow rate control connected to the sterilization medium inlet (3a) means to sterilization medium is supplied to the control chamber (2); a drainage system (6), the exhaust system is connected to the cavity (2) of said sterilization medium outlet (3b) for controlling the fluid from the chamber (2 ) emissions; and a control unit (12), the control unit is connected to the inlet flow rate control means (14) and said exhaust system (6), and is configured for controlling the inlet in accordance with a predetermined scheme sterilization the sterilization medium outlet (3b discharge inlet (60), the discharge inlet connected to the cavity (2): wherein the exhaust system (6) comprises; a flow control means (14) and said exhaust system (6) ); discharge outlet (62), the discharge outlet is connected to a vacuum system (8) for evacuating the chamber (2); a first conduit (64), said first conduit connected to the discharge inlet (60) and The discharge outlet (62); and a proportional valve (66), said proportional valve being disposed along said first conduit (64), said proportional valve (66) can be the control unit (12) to control the predetermined opening degree of the valve between the control parameter and the proportional valve (66) in continuous relation to partially restrict the flow of fluid through said first conduit (64).


A small New Hampshire town allowed a community to be built in a commercial zone, immediately adjacent to an industrial zone that is home to a long-dormant quarry. When the quarry owner applied for a permit to resume quarrying operations, the nearby residents objected on the grounds of noise impacts and other environmental concerns. A failure to consider noise as an element of community planning put the town in a difficult position. Should residents living in an commercial zone be afforded the same privilege of living in a quiet environment than those in residential zones? Should the industry be held to more stringent standards because of this non-conforming use? Both sides of this issue will be discussed.


Introduction: There is controversy about which health professional is the most adequate –pediatricians (PED) or family practitioners/general physicians (FP/GP)– to provide health care services to children and adolescents in Primary Care (PC). There are not previous systematic reviews approaching this subject in the previously published literature. The objective of this study is to compare health care provided between PED and FP/GP in the following aspects of the clinical practice: antibiotic (ATB) prescription; diagnostic test indication; management of acute otitis media (AOM), asthma, febrile syndrome, and several psychopathological conditions, and preventive measures accomplishment. Material and methods: Study design: Systematic review. Data sources: MEDLINE and CENTRAL databases, TRIP Database and Google Scholar, were searched until December 2008 to retrieve original papers and systematic reviews comparing the clinical practice of both kinds of health professionals. No language restriction was made. Study selection: studies of any kind of design were included (cross-sectional, cohort, case-control and experimental) comparing the clinical practice of PED and FP/GP. The references without original research were excluded (letters to the editor, editorials). The methodological quality of each study was assessed What medical professional is the most adequate, in developed countries, to provide health care to children in primary care? Systematic review Bunuel Alvarez JC, Garcia Vera Cb, Gonzalez Rodriguez Pc, Aparicio Rodrigo Md, Barroso Espadero De, Cortes Marina RBf, Cuervo Valdes JJg, Esparza Olcina MJh, Juanes de Toledo Bi, Martin Munoz Pj, Monton Alvarez JLk, Perdikidis Oliveri Ll, Ruiz-Canela Caceres Jm Pediatrician. ABS Girona-4. Girona; Pediatrician. CS Sagasta-Ruisenores. Instituto Aragones de Ciencias de la Salud (Aragonese Institute of Health Sciences). Zaragoza; Pediatrician. CS Manzanares El Real. Madrid; Pediatrician. CS Entrevias. Madrid; Pediatrician. CS Don Benito. Badajoz; Pediatrician. ABS Girona-3. Girona; Pediatrician. CS Urbano I. Merida, Badajoz; Pediatrician. CS Barcelona. Servicio Madrileno de Salud (Health Service of the Autonomous Community of Madrid). Mostoles, Madrid; Pediatrician. CS El Espinillo. Madrid; Pediatrician. Unidad de Gestion Clinica La Plata/Palmete. Sevilla; Pediatrician. CS Mar Baltico. Madrid; Pediatrician. CS Los Fresnos. Torrejon de Ardoz, Madrid; Pediatrician. Distrito Sanitario de Sevilla (Sevilla Health District). Sevilla. Spain. CS: Centro de Salud (Public Health Center of Primary Care). ABS: Areas Basicas de Salud (Basic administrative areas of the Public Health Administration in certain places in Spain). Addresses for correspondence about this article: JC Bunuel, email@example.com Conflict of Interest: All the authors of this revision are members of the Grupo de Trabajo de Pediatria Basada en la Evidencia (Evindece-based Pediatrics Work Group) that belongs to the Asociacion Espanola de Pediatria de Atencion Primaria (AEPap / Primary Care Pediatrics Spanish Association) and to the Asociacion Espanola de Pediatria (AEP / Spanish Association of Pediatrics). Funding: financial resources provided by the "Pediatria y Salud" Foundation (Madrid / Spain). 3 Suplemento PAP (color)_INGLES_Q8:PAP No 27 19/10/11 18:27 Pagina 3


The study of genetic variation attempts to describe barriers to gene flow including physical features such as oceans, mountains and geographic distance. We studied the genetic variation at four microsatellite loci of four populations of the endangered Pinus elliottii v. densa in order to understand the relationship between geographic distance and genetic variation between the populations. The populations ranged from 8.5 to 198.8 km apart. We were not able to amplify adequate DNA from two of our sites for microsatellite analysis. The other two sites shared two alleles, possibly indicating some gene flow. However, we observed one private allele in the Archbold samples. Efforts to conserve Pinus elliottii v. densa should maintain these populations in order to conserve genetic diversity and adaptive potential. Introduction The study of genetic variation attempts to describe barriers to gene flow. These barriers may include physical features such as oceans, mountains and geographic distance. Our group studied the genetic variation of Florida slash pine from four populations in order to relate genetic variation to distance between the populations. The populations were located in Everglades National Park, Archbold Biological Research Station, Bill Sadowski Park, and Larry and Penny Park. Genetic variation is important so that species can adapt to changing environments. Researchers use genetic variation as a tool to distinguish between individuals and populations. It is especially important to maintain genetic variation of endangered species. In small, isolated populations, diversity is important to prevent problems associated with inbreeding. Additionally, Miami-Dade County has initiated projects to conserve and restore the little remaining pine rockland habitat in south Florida. Conserving genetic variation will maximize the effectiveness of these restoration efforts. Preserving genetic variation is especially valuable to protect endangered species because it holds the secrets of disease-resistance and adaptive potential. Pinus elliottii v. densa is native to central and south Florida, including the Florida Keys. It is only found in pine rockland and scrubby flatwood habitats (http://www.archbold-station.org/abs/trail/trail/marker9-14.html). Less than 1% of the original pine forests of south Florida remain today (Figure 1). Florida slash pine is a keystone species in pine rockland habitat. Other species that depend on it include: manin-the-ground (Ipomea microdactyla), devil's potato (Echites umbellate), gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), the painted bunting (Passerina ciris), and the federally endangered crenulate leadplant (Amorpha herbaceae v. crenulata) (Wang 2006). Pinus elliottii v. densa is monoecious; the pollen cones are lower on the trees than the seed cones, preventing self-pollination. The trees become reproductively active in January and February. Both the pollen and the seeds are wind-dispersed. Pinus elliottii v. densa are up to15 times more resistant to Fusiform Rust (a fungal infection) than north Florida Slash and Cuban pines (http://www.sms.si.edu). Despite this impressive level of disease-resistance, they are still endangered. South Florida slash pine populations have a relatively low mortality when stressed by fires, floods and drought (http://www.archboldstation.org/abs/trail/trail/marker9-14.html). Pines are fire-resistant to low intensity fires. However, the more intense fires resulting from fire suppression are dangerous for the trees. Many historic buildings in south Florida have been built with South Florida Slash pine. The wood is very heavy and hard, with thick summerwood. Pines have been cut down for building materials and most of the pine rockland habitat has been developed for human use. Slash pines can be damaged by insect pests such as pales weevil (Hylobius pales), the black turpentine beetle (Dendroctonus terebrans), engraver beetles (Ips spp.) and pine webworms (Tetralopha robustella). Hypothesis and Prediction Our null hypothesis was that distance between populations has no effect on genetic variation of the Pinus elliottii v. densa populations in our study. In order to test this hypothesis, we measured genetic variation at two microsatellite loci of four populations of South Florida slash pine that were various distances apart. We predicted the genetic variation between populations to increase with increasing distance. We expected pollen to travel short distances more often than long distances. Because these trees are wind-pollinated and dispersed, nearby populations should be more genetically similar than distant populations. Some other research has shown that 90% of the winged seeds from Pinus elliottii v. densa fall within 46 meters of the parent tree (http://www.sms.si.edu). Materials and Methods Study sites and sample collection We collected samples from four locations: Everglades National Park (EV), Archbold Biological Station (AR), Larry and Penny Thompson Park (LP) and Bill Sadowski Park (BS) (Figure 2 and Table 1). At each location, we collected a handful of young needles from 10-20 pine trees. We stored them in individually labeled plastic bags and placed them in a freezer after returning to the lab until we extracted the DNA. DNA extraction We first cut 1 cm pieces of the basal ends of several pine needles into in a 1.5 ml eppendorf tube. Then we added 500μl extraction buffer to each tube and ground the needles with an electric drill fitted with a plastic bit. We put the tubes into a heat block set to 90 C for 20 minutes, mixing the samples after 10 minutes. After letting the samples cool to room temperature, we added 250μl ammonium acetate and vortexed the tubes vigorously for 10 seconds. Immediately after, we put all of the samples on ice for at least 10 minutes. Then we centrifuged the samples at full speed for 10 minutes. We pipetted 650μl of the supernatant into a new tube and were careful not to disturb the pellet. To the new tubes, we added 350μl isopropanol and vortexed them for 15 seconds and then centrifuged them for 10 minutes. After pouring out the isopropanol, we added 400μl of 70% ethanol. We centrifuged for 5 minutes, poured off the supernatant and let the samples air-dry. Finally, we resuspended the DNA in 100μl of TE buffer pH 8.5. Polymerase Chain Reaction We used PCR to amplify microsatellite regions of our sample DNA. First, we made a 'master mix' consisting of 1x PCR buffer, 1.5x Mg buffer, 1.5x dNtps, 0.2x Taq polymerase, 1x primer and 3.8x double distilled water. We added 9μl of the 'master mix' to a PCR tube for each of our samples. We added 1μl of our sample DNA suspension to each PCR tube. We amplified 10 samples from each population for a total of 40 samples. The PCR cycle consisted of three phases: denaturing, annealing and synthesis. In the denaturing phase, we raised the reaction mixture to 94°C to denature the double-stranded DNA. In the annealing phase, we cooled the reaction mixture to 55°C, a temperature that allowed the primers to anneal to the regions that flank the DNA sequence to be amplified (the microsatellite regions). Finally, we raised the reaction mixture to 72°C the optimal temperature for DNA synthesis by Taq polymerase. We ran the PCR for 30 cycles and then incubated the DNA at 72°C. Gene Scan We used a gene scan to measure genetic variation at two microsatellite loci in our samples. To prepare our PCR products for the gene scan, we diluted to 5x by adding 40μl double distilled water to each PCR tube. We then made another 'master mix' of 600μl ionized formamide and 5μl size standard. We combined 12μl of the 'master mix' with 0.5μl of each PCR product in new PCR tubes. We then used a 310 Genetic Analyzer (model 310, ABI PRISM®), an automated single-capillary genetic analyzer, to visualize the allelic diversity of our samples. Results The geographic distances between our four sites are shown in table 2. The populations grouped into two main categories, near and distant. LP, BS and EV were all relatively near to one another while AR was distant from the other three populations. We were unable to interpret the results of our Gene Scan analysis for two of our sites: LP and BS. We apparently did not adequately amplify these samples to identify the genomes of samples from these two locations. We were able to use results from a total of 15 samples from the other two sites, AR and EV. We found two shared alleles (111 and 123) at the "Pttx3013" locus between the AR and EV sites. AR had one private allele at this locus (152). The heterozygosity of EV was 0.44 (n=9) and 0.83 for AR (n=6). We cannot statistically test this difference, however, due to inadequate sample size. Discussion We predicted the genetic variation between populations to increase with increasing distance. Because these pine trees are wind-pollinated, we expected pollen to travel short distances more often than long distances. We were not able to answer our original question with the data we collected. Because only two of our sites amplified properly, we essentially had only one data point with which to make inferences about the effect of distance on genetic variation. This may be a result of contamination, mistakes in our lab procedures or not extracting enough DNA. We found three alleles at the "Pttx3013" site; two were common to both sites and one appeared to be a private allele to Archbold. We found this interesting because these two sites were farthest apart geographically. The fact that these populations share two alleles implies some connectivity between them. This may be due modern pollen transfer between the sites (possibly aided by hurricanes), a historical connection between the populations (see Figure 1) or possibly people have transported seeds or trees between the two sites. Several factors may contribute to the occurrence of the single private allele found in Archbold if our sampling was a true representation of the genetic diversity of these pop


Leiomyomas of the paratesticular region are a rare entity. A subtype of leiomyomas called bizarre nuclei leiomyoma is even rarer and histologically present some interesting features that are important to recognise to make the differential diagnosis with its malignant counterpart—leiomyosarcoma. We present a case of a man in his 60s, who presented with a painless mass on the right testicle. The clinical diagnosis was of an epidermoid cyst. The mass was excised and a diagnosis of leiomyoma of bizarre nuclei was made.


PURPOSE: To identify the presence of hyperacusis and to investigate the characteristics of uncomfortable sounds, as well as the behaviors triggered by the discomfort in musicians of a Military Band. METHODS: Twenty seven musicians of the Military Band of the Santa Maria Airbase (RS) were studied. Their ages ranged from 22 to 50 years old and military work time from four to 26 years, with daily occupational noise exposure time from two to eight hours. All subjects were submitted to a basic audiological evaluation, sound discomfort threshold test and application of a questionnaire. It was considered presence of hyperacusis when the average of the obtained values on the discomfort threshold in 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 Hertz was less than or equal to 90 decibels, associated with hearing discomfort complaint. RESULTS: It was verified presence of hyperacusis in 37% of the musicians. From these, 50% presented normal hearing and 50% had normal hearing with notch; 80% of them felt the discomfort daily and 20% only after band practice; 70% of the musicians had already avoided some activities, believing that the activity noise would be distressing; 70% of them used ear plugs regularly and 90% referred presence of tinnitus. The sounds that were considered to be distressing by hyperacusics were, predominantly, high intensity sounds. The most common emotional responses towards a distressing sound were tension, anxiety and the urge of repelling from it. CONCLUSION: According to the criteria used in this study, 37% of the studied individuals were classified as hyperacusics, which considered predominantly high intensity sounds to be unpleasant. The main emotional responses before these sounds were: tension, anxiety and the need to repel from the sound. The common characteristics among the subjects classified as hyperacusics were: normal hearing, use of ear plugs, avoidance of activities fearing the discomfort caused by the noise, and the presence of tinnitus.