One of the commonest infections with which the physician has to deal is acute tonsillitis. Its symptom complex of fever, general malaise, sore throat, dysphagia and tenderness of the submaxillary lymph nodes is so well known that more detailed description is unnecessary. Acute tonsillitis usually lasts for a week to ten days and is considered a self-limited disease except in the few patients in whom complications, such as peritonsillar abscess or acute nephritis, occur. However, the patients are so uncomfortable and the prostration so great that any therapy directed toward amelioration of the symptoms and especially toward shortening the duration of the illness is a welcome addition to the therapeutic armamentarium. Salicylates and other antipyretic drugs have been generally employed, but, while this medication makes the patient more comfortable, it must be considered as nothing more than symptomatic therapy; it certainly does not shorten the disease or the incapacity resulting


In this paper, a modelling and simulation method of the dynamic of electrical machines by electric-magnetic coupled network, based on permeance network, is presented. This approach allows to take easily into account nonlinearities such as saturation effects and electronic commutations, or the rotor movement, with a very weak simulation time. We have applied it to a 3D typical machine: a claw-pole alternator. Simulation results are compared with experimental measurements and the accuracy of the model is evaluated. In addition, we have determined radial forces applied to stator teeth and compared its with 3D finite element calculations.


Acoustic techniques are being used throughout the world for assessment of fish stocks. The most common acoustic assessment technique is to process the output of an echo sounder using a procedure called echo integration. The echo integration technique is based on the fact that the integrated intensity of the acoustic signal scattered off a fish population is proportional to the product of the mean acoustic scattering cross section of the individual fish in the population and the number of fish acoustically illuminated. The mean acoustic scattering cross section must be known to obtain an absolute estimate of stock size using this technique. A great deal of effort has been expended on the development of methods for measuring this parameter. This paper discusses two methods for indirectly extracting the mean scattering cross section from the empirical distribution of single fish echo amplitudes. The first method discussed obtains the estimate of mean scattering cross section by first estimating the single fish target strength probability density function. The second method assumes that the square root of the scattering cross section is Rayleigh distributed. With this assumption, the estimation problem becomes one of determining the single parameter in the Rayleigh distribution. The performance of the two estimation techniques is evaluated using a Monte Carlo simulation.


Fingerprints found at a crime scene can be key in criminal investigations. A method to accurately determine the age of the fingerprint, potentially crucial to linking the fingerprint to the crime, is not available at the moment. In this paper, we show that the use of the enantiomeric ratio of D/L-serine in fingerprints could pose as interesting target for age estimation techniques. We developed a UPLC-MS/MS method to determine the enantiomer ratios of histidine, serine, threonine, alanine, proline, methionine and valine from fingerprint residue. We found a significant change only in the relative ratio of D-serine with increasing fingerprint age after analysis of fingerprints up to 6 months old.


Nine detections of extragalactic emission in the 4.83 GHz 1 10 -1 11 formaldehyde transition are presented in addition to the only previously known extragalactic emission source in IC 4553. Formaldehyde emission occurs among both OH absorbers and emitters. In contrast with the high-detection rate of extragalactic sources in this survey, there are only a small number of Galactic sources with 4.83 GHz emission. Formaldehyde absorption has been found in one new source. A comparison has been made between the H 2 CO and OH properties of the galaxies. In analogy with the OH megamasers and as proposed for the IC 4553 formaldehyde megamaser emission line, low-gain amplification of radio continuum by foreground clouds in a molecular disk is also suggested for the new formaldehyde megamasers


The number of young people with eating disorders is rapidly increasing and hospital admissions are rising. We describe a case series of seven females who required admission to a paediatric unit in a non-tertiary centre over a 3 year period, highlighting the challenges presented. 7 patients had a total of 12 in-patient stays on a general paediatric ward. Length of stay ranged from 6 to 84 days, mean 44 days, median 55 days. Initial presentations were all unscheduled episodes of care. Age at initial presentation ranged from 10 to 14 years. Restrictive type eating disorder was the working diagnosis initial presentation in 5 of 7 cases. All were managed according to the Junior MARSIPAN Guidelines (Royal College of Psychiatrists). In the 2 youngest patients, both 10 years, the diagnosis of an eating disorder was made after medical investigation of weight loss. 5 of 7 children required nasogastric re-feeding during their first admission. 4 of 7 required transfer to a tertiary unit specializing in eating disorder management. Only one of these four was successfully discharged home by 6 months, the others have required repeat admissions over 3 years. Diagnosis in all 7 was restrictive eating pattern, non-bulimic. Medical complications included profound bradycardia and hypotension at presentation in 7/7 and re-feeding syndrome in 1/7. 2/7 manifested extreme behavioural challenge on a general paediatric ward. 1/7 self-harmed. 24 hour supervision including meal support was required by Health Care Assistants in 5/7. No adolescent/child segregation could be provided. There are no nursing staff with training in managing the child with an eating disorder on our ward. Paediatric dietetic support was available but no other specialist treatment was possible. This cohort is small in number relative to the overall admissions to our unit. Prolonged and repeat admissions have significant implications for the limited budget of a small hospital. Total length of stay of 489 days cost 400,000 euro for basic care alone. This unscheduled care group also represents a considerable work load for general paediatricians. Best practice management of Anorexia Nervosa prompts the need for a multi-disciplinary approach from a paediatrician, psychiatrist, psychologist, and speciality trained dietician and nursing staff. The increasing incidence and prevalence of eating disorders among older children and adolescents is an increasing burden of care for general paediatric units in Ireland compounded by an under-resourced community Child and Adolescent Mental Health service.


The study aimed to assess the effect of vitamin E (VE) supplementation and fat source on growth performance, lean growth, organ size, carcass characteristics, and pork quality of pigs at a heavy slaughter weight of 150 kg. A total of 64 pigs (32 barrows, 32 gilts; 28.41 ± 0.83 kg) were blocked by sex and body weight, and randomly assigned to 1 of 8 dietary treatments (n = 8 per treatment) in a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement with main effects of fat source [corn-starch (CS; no fat added), 5% tallow (TW), 5% distiller's corn oil (DCO), and 5% coconut oil (CN)] and VE supplementation level [11 and 200 ppm]. Five-phase diets were formulated to meet requirement estimates of NRC (2012) and fed to pigs with each period of 25 kg from 25 to 150 kg. Increasing dietary VE supplementation from 11 to 200 ppm tended to increase ADG in Phase 5 (P = 0.08), and G/F in Phase 4 (P = 0.06) and Phase 5 (P = 0.06) resulting in increased G/F in the overall period (P = 0.10). Compared to the pigs fed the CS diet in the overall period, the pigs fed DCO diets had greater ADG (P < 0.05), the pigs fed the TW and CN diets had lower ADFI (P < 0.05), and the pigs fed the fat-added diets had greater G/F (P < 0.05). Belly firmness was greatest in the pigs fed the CN diet and lowest in those fed the DCO diet (P < 0.05). Increasing dietary VE level from 11 to 200 ppm increased absolute and relative liver weight, absolute ham yield (P < 0.05), and tended to increase relative yield of picnic shoulder (P = 0.07) and ham (P = 0.06) and the pigs fed the CO diet tended to have greater belly yield (P = 0.08) than the other fat treatments. Increasing dietary VE level increased 45-min pH and ΔpH at slaughter but decreased a* value, Chroma (P < 0.10), and belly depth (P < 0.05). However, no effects of VE supplementation and fat source were observed on the other carcass traits and meat quality measurements. In conclusion, increasing dietary VE level from 11 to 200 ppm slightly increased growth rate and feed efficiency in the late finishing periods, and the addition of fat increased feed efficiency and backfat thickness, decreased lean content, and altered belly firmness. While there were some effects of VE supplementation and fat source observed on organ weight, primal cuts, carcass traits and meat quality, there was no strong evidence that VE supplementation and fat source materially affected these measurements except for belly firmness.


PurposeThis research seeks to identify the motivations, means and outcomes of supply chain integration (SCI) among firms in the middle market (i.e. those with annual revenues between US$10m and US$1bn). These firms often interface with larger, more powerful firms in the supply chain – both suppliers and customers. Understanding how these firms are challenged and benefit from integrative mechanisms in supply chain relations can lead to better outcomes more often.Design/methodology/approachThe research utilizes an online focus group methodology featuring 39 participants. The participants were able to interact in written form with a professional moderator, as well as each other, over the course of three days.FindingsThe research presents evidence that firms in the middle market adopt SCI as a response to pressure from customers and suppliers. These firms also view technology as a primary means of achieving integration. Despite their disadvantageous size position relative to larger customers and suppliers, firms in the middle market achieved positive outcomes from integration.Research limitations/implicationsBecause of the specific context of middle-market firms, this research may lack generalizability. However, providing contextualization regarding firm size contributes specificity to the large number of studies detailing the challenges and benefits of SCI.Practical implicationsManagers of firms in the middle market should find value in this study as it explicates the possible benefits their firms may realize through integration with customers and suppliers. Moreover, this research outlines several of the possible means through which integration can be achieved. Further, managers in smaller and larger firms can better understand the motives and needs of middle-market companies with which they interact.Originality/valueDespite voluminous literature on SCI, this paper provides context-specific findings by isolating the implications of SCI to firms in the middle market.


The world is gaining a lot of interest in the production of bioethanol from various biobased, agricultural waste sources in order to reduce net carbon dioxide emissions and lower the global dependence on fossil fuels. Lignocellulosic materials were a good choice as a feedstock for ethanol production considering their incredible accessibility and their ethanol yields. Rice straw is one of the major agro-waste which is produced during rice processing. This demonstrates the potential of using such waste materials for further processing, particularly in the production of bioethanol. The goal of this research is to make bioethanol from rice straw. For fermentation, rice straw hydrolysate was produced and inoculated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. After fermentation, the fermented samples were qualitatively checked for the confirmation of bioethanol production and quantitatively estimated by the specific gravity method. Effects of various parameters like temperature, incubation period, and inoculum were also optimized to enhance bioethanol production. The highest bioethanol was obtained when 1% inoculum size was taken at 30℃ for 72 h.


Abstract Dinoflagellate cyst assemblages from Quaternary sediments recovered in eight cores from the South China Sea add to our understanding of the climate signal recorded at low latitude sites. Changes in the cyst assemblages may relate to fluctuations in sea level and the accompanying alterations in nutrient supply rather than as a direct result of temperature change. In this respect, the cysts of the heterotrophic dinoflagellate genus Protoperidinium allow the recognition of times during which the nutrient supply may have been enhanced.


The ethnic structure of this region has been heavily influenced by the evolution of the various historico-geographical factors and policies. Most of this structure, however, is linked to the evolution of the denominational structure. Ethnicity in this case is closely related to religion. The political reality, the events with political overtones that occurred during these centuries had a direct influence regarding the conduct of processes and phenomena related to the ethno-confessional evolution of the area subject to our research. In this period the region is part of the Austrian state (before 1867), Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867 to 1918), Hungary (1940-1944) and Romania (1918-1940, 1944 - present). This space is located in the western area and it is mainly inhabited by Romanians. The continuous presence of Romanians here is documented ever since its formation. The ethnic group of Romanians has been facing a considerable demographic pressure that came from the Hungarians (the neighbouring ethnic group) or from groups or immigrants settled in this space (we refer in this case mainly to the Germans, Slovaks, Gypsies and Jews). Major geopolitical changes of the twentieth century and political decisions, especially extremist dictatorial regimes (Horthyst-Hungarian and communist-Romanian) led to significant changes in the ethnic structure of the region northwest Transylvania. Policy decisions, especially those taken during the dictatorial political and extremist regimes during the twentieth century were able to seriously affect ethno-religious realities of the Romanian space, especially in Transylvania. Be it the Hungarian or Romanian authorities during the two world wars or the communist dictatorship, decisions were taken that changed the ethnic map of the Romanian space. Suffice it to recall the drama of the Jewish community of the Second World War or the "sale" of the Germans and the Jews by the Communists in the postwar period.


Despite the fact that a very significant proportion of the human population is living with financial difficulties and other constraints typical of poverty, scientific studies in the areas of Economics and especially in International Economics that address the issue of poverty and of poor countries are very few. Using bibliometric techniques, we measured the attention paid by authors from the field of International Economics to poverty and poor countries. To this end, we sorted and analyzed all articles published in the most important journal in the field, the Journal of International Economics (JIE) over the last forty years. Evidence shows that the authors who have published articles in the JIE have mostly developed studies focused on 'Meso (industry, region) and microeconomic policies and issues of 'International Trade' and 'International Finances', and are usually of the 'Formal' and 'Formal and Empirical' types, where the topic 'Poverty' is very marginal (only 13 articles published in the JIE, less than 1% of the total, address this matter in any of its dimensions). Furthermore, in the more empirical articles, no country among those included in the group 'Less Developed Countries' deserved particular attention. The neglect of poverty and of the poor contrasts (and is related to) with the significant weight of articles that make use of formalization (more than 80%). Despite the trend for a decrease in exclusively 'Formal' articles, without any applied/empirical component, the (still) excessive focus on 'mathematical' accuracy (i.e., formalization), and the concomitant limited capacity to deal with the (social) problems of the real world, is an effective challenge to authors in the field of international economics and, in particular, to those who publish in the JIE, which must be overcome if we do not want international economics to become a "cyborg" science.


In pasture-based dairy production
 systems, dairy cows often receive a silage- and
 concentrate-based ration (= TMR, total mixed ration)
 during wintertime and are then gradually introduced to fresh herbage in
 spring. The present study aimed to investigate how the transition to this new
 nutritional situation influenced
 different production and health indicators as well as
 rumen physiology. A 10-week trial (wk 1-10) was
 performed in spring 2014, which included 60 dairy cows of the German Holstein
 breed (166 ± 23 days in milk, 23.5
 ± 3.7 kg milk/d; means ± SD) of which 10
 were rumen- and duodenum-fistulated. The cows were divided into a pasture-
 and a confinement group (PG and CG, n = 29 and 31, each group contained 5
 fistulated animals). The CG stayed on a TMR-based ration (35% corn silage,
 35% grass silage, 30% concentrate; DM basis), while the PG was gradually
 transitioned from a TMR to a pasture-based ration (wk 1: TMR-only, wk 2: 3
 h/d on pasture & TMR indoors, wk 3 & 4: 12 h/d on pasture & TMR
 indoors, wk 5-10: pasture-only). A continuous grazing system was implemented
 on a ryegrass dominated pasture and temperature humidity indices (THI) were
 assessed based on a continuous recording of temperature and humidity; indoors
 as well as outdoors. Dry matter intake (DMI) indoors was
 measured using automatic weighing throughs. To estimate the DMI outdoors the
 n-alkane technique (in wk 7 and wk 9) and exclosure cages (in wk 5-6, wk 7-8
 and wk 9-10) were used. Milk production and body weight (BW) were measured
 twice a day at milkings. Samples for milk components were collected twice a
 week and body condition score (BCS) was assessed in 14-d intervals. Urine
 samples were collected once a week and analyzed for creatinine and purine
 derivatives concentrations to measure alterations in nitrogen excretion and
 microbial protein production. To assess possible
 negative effects of this ration change on metabolic and liver health
 different clinical chemistry measures and complete blood counts were measured
 weekly. To observe changes in rumen fermentation
 patterns pH, volatile fatty acids (VFA), NH3-N and
 lipopolysaccharide (LPS) concentrations were measured in rumen fluid samples
 collected medially and ventrally on a weekly basis. To evaluate a possible
 subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) risk ruminal pH was additionally recorded weekly
 during 1-4 consecutive days using continuous ruminal
 pH measuring devices. In wk 1, wk 5 and wk 10 the total rumen content was
 weighed and the DM and non-DM content determined. Subsequently, rumen
 papillae were collected at three locations to determine the mean papillae
 area and for a histopathological evaluation. Additionally, a VFA absorption
 test (VFA-AT) was performed. DMI from TMR, milk production, body
 weight (BW) and BCS decreased as soon as the PG had partial access to
 pasture. Milk production and BW decreased even further in the first week on a
 full grazing ration, but thereafter BW increased again and milk production
 stabilized. DMI estimation using the n-alkane method in wk 7 and wk 9
 revealed an increase in DMI from pasture between the two time points and
 indicates an adaptation of grazing behavior and metabolism over several
 weeks. Increased serum β-hydroxybutyrate
 and nonesterified fatty acids concentrations at several time points as well
 as a continuous BCS decrease during the whole course of the trial indicate an
 energy deficit in the PG. These alterations in production and
 metabolic parameters in the PG were also reflected in various rumen
 variables. Mean rumen pH and molar acetate proportions decreased, and molar
 butyrate proportions increased continuously over the course of the trial,
 which can most likely be ascribed to an increased intake of rapidly
 fermentable carbohydrates. During the first weeks on a full grazing ration
 (wk 5-7) variation of rumen pH decreased and in wk 5 a lower rumen content,
 papillae surface area and potential for VFA absorption was observed. In wk
 8-10 variation of rumen pH and total VFA concentrations increased again, and
 acetate/propionate ratio decreased. In wk 10 rumen content, papillae area and
 VFA absorption characteristics similar to initial levels were observed.
 Although continuous rumen pH assessments and LPS concentrations did not
 reveal an increased risk for subacute rumen acidosis (SARA) during the
 adaption period, histopathology of rumen papillae and VFA absorption
 potential indicate a possible risk for rumen health. An increased risk for
 SARA was observed in wk 9 and wk 10 in the PG, but rumen LPS concentrations
 and histopathology were not adversely affected. As expected an
 increase in N excretion occurred in the PG, as indicated by an increase in
 serum and milk urea concentrations as well as an increase in the urine total
 N to creatinine ratio. However, no biological relevant changes were observed for serum albumin, total
 protein, cholesterol, aspartate transaminase, γ-glutamyltransferase and glutamate dehydrogenase concentrations as well as for white and red blood cell counts.  It was therefore
 concluded that higher metabolic N concentrations did not have any negative
 transitional impact on the liver.
 During wk 5 and wk 7-8 mild heat stress
 was observed in both groups and metabolic variables were consequently
 altered. Serum glucose concentrations decreased and urine total N/creatinine
 and purine derivatives/creatinine ratios increased. Concurrently rumen LPS
 concentrations increased in both groups.
 Results of the present study suggest that
 during the transition from a TMR to a pasture-based ration an initial
 decrease in DMI occurred accompanied by possible negative effects on rumen
 physiology. After a behavioral and metabolic adaption DMI and ruminal
 fermentation rate increased again with no adverse effects on rumen morphology
 and VFA absorption capacity, although rumen pH after adaptation to pasture
 indicated increased risk of SARA.


This paper has obtains the partial differential equation that describes the expected price of a financial asset whose price is a stochastic process given by a stochastic differential equation. We tried finding the expected selling price of an asset and exiting time by using of Feynman –Kac Formula. We assume that the asset is sold at the moment when its price rises above or falls below a certain limit, and thus the solution v has to satisfy x - v = 0 at the boundary points x. The expected selling price depends nearly linearly on the price at time t, and also weakly on t and the expected payoff of an asset for which a limit sales order has been placed and the same asset without sales order over a time span T, as a function of t


. The article highlights the problems of the development and progression of rheumatic diseases, with damage to connective tissue, which leads to organ damage and loss of functional capacity. The main direction of conservative treatment is the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, among which diclofenac sodium is an effective drug of choice. Taking into account the wide range of use of diclofenac sodium in clinical practice, the article presents the results of a comprehensive marketing analysis of the structure of the domestic pharmaceutical market of the range of medicines with the active ingredient diclofenac by producing countries and the variety of dosage forms.


Screened some fungi of producing chitin deacetylase by solid plate color reaction and liquid ferment, and studied the producing conditions of chitin deacetylase. The results showed that 26 fungi have activity of chitin deacetylase activities from the 42 fungi. At last determined Aspergillus nidulans and Absidia coerulae that have higher capacity of producing enzyme, the enzyme activity of them were 343 U·mL~(-1) and 289 U·mL~(-1) respectively. The different fungi have some optimal Carbon sources and different nitrogen sources in their mediums. The optimal Carbon sources of them were carbon source including acetyl. The optimal nitrogen source of Aspergillus nidulans and Absidia coerulae were yeast powder and peptone respectively. Mn~(2+) and Co~(2+) increased activity whereas Cu~(2+)、Fe~(2+) and Fe~(3+) obviously inhibited it of two strains. The optimum temperature and optimum pH of Aspergillus nidulans's producing chitin deacetylase activity were 29 ℃ and 7.0~7.5 respectively while Absidia coerulae's were 31 ℃ and 6.5~(7.0) respectively. The optimal fermenting time of them were 96 hours.


For a quantum step in further cost reduction, the multilevel cell concept has been combined with the NAND flash memory. Key requirements of mass storage, low cost, and high serial access throughput have been achieved by sacrificing fast random access performance. This paper describes a 128-Mb multilevel NAND flash memory storing 2 b per cell. Multilevel storage is achieved through tight cell threshold voltage distribution of 0.4 V and is made practical by significantly reducing program disturbance by using a local self-boosting scheme. An intelligent page buffer enables cell-by-cell and state-by-state program and inhibit operations. A read throughput of 14.0 MB/s and a program throughput of 0.5 MB/s are achieved. The device has been fabricated with 0.4-/spl mu/m CMOS technology, resulting in a 117 mm/sup 2/ die size and a 1.1 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ effective cell size.


The gas hold-up of a cyclonic-static micro-bubble flotation column has an important effect on the flotation efficiency.The effects of circulating pressure,air input and frother concentration on gas hold-up were investigated.The results show that the gas hold-up increased with the increasing of circulating pressure,air input and frother concentration.The frother concentration has the greatest influence on it and the circulating pressure the least.When the circulating pressure of 0.2 MPa,air input of 0.2 m3/h and the 2-octanol content of 12.50 mg/L in the Φ100 mm×2 000 mm cyclonic-static micro-bubble flotation column system,the gas hold-up of flotation column reaches 66.86%.


Composite material technology has a great potential for development of new insulating materials. By use of computer simulation method to study the dielectric properties of composite material can save a lot of time and material resources. In this paper we have studied the dielectric properties of electric field grading non-linear composites through computer simulation and verified them with experimental studies. For inorganic filler, a mesoscopic scale computer simulation method which uses finite element technique is used to study dielectric properties After transient FEM simulation under AC voltage, Least-squares method is adopted to decompose the total current into resistive current and capacitive current according to applied macro-field strength. The simulation results are in agreement with experimental results.


Inter-satellite laser links have the advantages of high data rate,long transmission distance and low probability of detection/intercept. It has become an important trend in satellite technology. The inter-satellite point-to-point laser links are high mobility,and have narrow beam width,which bring challenges to the PAT pro⁃ cesses. Due to their high computational complexity and large delay,the existing free space networks(FSO)topol⁃ ogy control strategies cannot be directly applied to satellite networks. In this article,an algebraic connectivity based network dynamic topology control scheme is proposed. With distributed construction and enhancement pro⁃ cess,the network dynamic reconfiguration is accomplished. A modified edge perturbation method is developed, and proved to have lower computational complexity than existing methods. The scheme is distributed,self-orga⁃ nized and near real-time,it which meets the requirements of dynamic topology control well and will contribute to building operationally responsive space(ORS)satellite networks.


as seen through sex roles in an urban senior citizens center has historical depth, theoretical sophistication, and humanity. Part Three: "Dual Aspects-of Women: Archetypic Destruction" contains two articles, both dealing with negative aspects of women's images. "Radical Yoruba Female Sexuality: The Witch and Prostitute" analyzes the portrayal of women in contemporary Yoruba theater. It is a most unusual account of modern literature of a tribal people, an aspect of culture change seldom described by anthropologists. "Jive Dope Fiend Whores: In the Street and in Rehabilitation'' is a provocative analysis of the psychological and historical image of the black drug-addicted prostitute. Both articles are excellent. This book suffers from the typical shortcomings of a collection of symposium papers. The articles included in the collection fail to encompass the scope of the subject matter; some areas are overrepresented, and others are neglected. The articles vary in quality. Each of the three sections could easily be expanded into a book. The editorial introduction summarizes the material to be presented but does not go much beyond that task. T h e book lacks a comprehensive theoretical orientation, probably because one does not exist at present. The addition of a concluding section summarizing the state of the science in this field would have been a valuable addition to the book. However, the book contains an interesting collection of articles on a neglected aspect of women's roles. Scholars will find it interesting and teachers will find it a valuable source for lectures and readings in a variety of women's studies courses.


Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of Log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) for predicting the long-term prognosis of patients with node-positive lung neuroendocrine tumors (LNETs). Materials and Methods: We collected 506 eligible patients with resected N1/N2 classification LNETs from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2004 and 2015. First, we applied the Cox proportional-hazards regression model to evaluate the relationship between LODDS and study endpoints (cancer-specific survival [CSS] and overall survival [OS]) based on the entire cohort. Second, the study cohort was divided into derivation cohort (n=300) and external validation cohort (n=206) based on different geographic regions. Nomograms were constructed and validated based on these two cohorts to predict the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival of patients with LNETs. The accuracy and clinical practicability of nomograms were tested and compared by Harrell's concordance index (C-index), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), net reclassification improvement (NRI), calibration plots, and decision curve analyses. Results: The Cox proportional-hazards model showed the high LODDS group (-0.33[≤]LODDS[≤]1.14) had significantly higher mortality compared to those in the low LODDS group (-1.44[≤]LODDS<-0.33) for both CSS and OS. In addition, besides LODDS, age at diagnosis, histotype, type of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy were shown as independent predictors in Cox regression analyses and included in the nomograms. The values of c-index, NRI, and IDI indicated that the established nomogram performed significantly better than the conventional eighth edition of the TNM staging system alone. The calibration plots for predictions of the 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS were in excellent agreement. Decision curve analyses showed that the nomogram had value in terms of clinical application. Conclusions: We created visualized nomograms for CSS and OS of LNET patients, facilitating clinicians to provide highly individualized risk assessment and therapy.


Due to the increasing use of cellular phones, computers and other digital electronics, high frequency interference becomes more and more a problem when measuring biopotentials. The high frequency fields induce voltages in the electrode wires and in the patient. These HF-voltages may cause distortion in the input stage of the amplifier. Low-pass filters at the input reduce the common mode rejection ratio and, due to the relative high valued resistors needed, the noise behaviour is deteriorated. In this paper a study is made of the mechanism of the interference and of the HF-susceptibility of various active devices.


The investigation analyses the variation of superficial properties, COLOUR and LUMINOSITY, hat the ceramic support protected by the incorporation of a protection with transparent painting undergoes, antigraffiti. The test pieces were analysed by digital procedures, obtaining quantifiable values of each ceramic sample by means of computer programs (modifications of colour) taking itself as it bases the same type of ceramics without protection. In the surface of the pieces ceramics dealt with painting antigraffiti, tones different from the original ones were observed from the piece without painting. The type of painting and the material of base, obtaining itself the following results, determine this variation: - The rustic ceramics is much more susceptible to modify its characteristics of colour that the industrialists. - In both types of analysed industrial ceramics in the investigation, the variation of the tone independently took place with the same characteristics or parameters of quantification of the type of painting. - In all the analysed types of ceramics dealt with painting antigraffiti, the colour modifies its tonality tending towards the called tones «cold», violates, by the presence of blue and the loss of the red one. Before a same painting, it was observed a greater alteration of tones and luminosity in the rustic ceramics in comparison with the industrialists.


In the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) new radio (NR) system, two types of codebooks, namely type I and type II, have been designed. Both types are utilized in the frequency division duplexed (FDD) codebook-based system. In the FDD codebook based system, the mobile station (MS) estimates channel state information (CSI) which includes the rank indicator (RI), the precoding matrix indicator (PMI), and the channel quality indicator (CQI), and feedbacks the CSI to the base station (BS). Although the type II CSI feedback promises more significant performance gain than the type I CSI feedback, the computational burden to estimate CSI is increased due to the high resolution of the type II codebook. This paper proposes a low complexity PMI selection scheme of type II codebook for 3GPP 5G NR FDD systems. The proposed scheme achieves similar performance to the conventional search scheme with a full search while the computational complexity is significantly reduced.


Allenic acids are found to add to dicyclohexylcarbodiimide affording, in the presence of Et2NH, the 4H-1,3-oxazin-4-ones 5via4. Under neutral conditions, they add to diaryl- or pyridyl(cyclohexyl)carbodiimides and triphenylketene imine to give the corresponding tricyclo[5.2.2.01,5]undeca-4,8,10-trien-3-ones 7, 8, 9, and 12. The allenic phenyl ester 13a dimerises, on heating in a [2+2] head-to-head fashion, to 14 but fails to undergo intramolecular Diels-Alder cyclization, to 15.


Generation of reactive oxygen species may contribute to the pathogenesis of diseases involving intracellular lipid accumulation. To explore the mechanisms leading to these pathologies we tested the effects of etomoxir, an inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I which contains a fatty acid-derived structure, in C2C12 skeletal muscle cells. Etomoxir treatment for 24 h resulted in a down-regulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) mRNA expression, achieving an 87% reduction at 80 μm etomoxir. The mRNA levels of most of the PPARα target genes studied were reduced at 100 μm etomoxir. By using several inhibitors of de novo ceramide synthesis and C2-ceramide we showed that they were not involved in the effects of etomoxir. Interestingly, the addition of triacsin C, a potent inhibitor of acyl-CoA synthetase, to etomoxir-treated C2C12 skeletal muscle cells did not prevent the down-regulation in PPARα mRNA levels, suggesting that the active form of the drug, etomoxir-CoA, was not involved. Given that saturated fatty acids may generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), we determined whether the addition of etomoxir resulted in ROS generation. Etomoxir increased ROS production and the activity of the well known redox transcription factor NF-κB. In the presence of the pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, a potent antioxidant and inhibitor of NF-κB activity, etomoxir did not down-regulate PPARα mRNA in C2C12 skeletal muscle cells. These results indicate that ROS generation and NF-κB activation are responsible for the down-regulation of PPARα and may provide a new mechanism by which intracellular lipid accumulation occurs in skeletal muscle cells.


The aim of this research is to establish a link and/or similarity, if there is any, between the misconceptions with epistemological origin of the students on atom concept and the epistemological obstacles which have been encountered since early times on atom concept. To accomplish this aim a misconceptions diagnostic test composed of 5 open-ended questions of which reliability and validity studies had been done administered to 105 primary school students. Moreover, detailed data on the topic had been collected trough interviews with 20 students. A comparison between the epistemological obstacles on atom concept in the literature and the misconceptions of the students on the same subject has been done. As a result of the research it has been found out that there are some similarities between the students' various ideas and epistemological obstacles of atom concept in the course of its history.


X iv :p hy si cs /9 90 30 15 v2 [ ph ys ic s. cl as sph ] 2 4 A ug 1 99 9 Unified Expressions Of All Integral Variational Principles Based On The Quantitative Causal Principle Y. C. Huang 1,2 A. M. Li M. X. Shao X. G. Li Department of Applied Physics, Beijing Polytechnic University, Beijing 100022, P. R. China ( Email address: email@example.com ) Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, P. R. China. Department of Physics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100082, P. R. China INFN, Sezione di Catania, Corso Italia 57, I-95129 Catania, Italy


Introduction: Because of strong loads acting in the elbow joint, intraarticular fractures with a methaphyseal comminuted fracture site at the distal humerus demand a lot from the osteosynthetic care. Ambiguities arise concerning to the anatomic position of the implants and the resulting mechanic performance. Aim of this study was the comparison of three anatomic variations of one angle stable plate system as to their mechanic stability. Material and Methods: As a fracture model an AO C 2.3-fracture on an artificial bone (4th Gen. Sawbone) was simulated via double osteotomy in sagittal and transversal plane. The fractures were equipped with a prototypical version of the Variax Elbow System (Stryker) in the variations 90° (lat+post), 90° (med+post) and 180° (med+lat). A physiological load distribution (Capitulum Humeri 60%, Trochlea humeri 40%) could be guaranteed for by a therefore designed test set up. In three test series, the load to failure (static), the system rigidity (static) and the median fatigue limit (dynamic) were determined. The tests were conducted under 75° flexion and 5° extension and the relative displacements were recorded. Results: In extension, the 180° (med+lat) alternative achieved the highest load to failure (2959 N), stiffness (1126 N ± 127 N) and median fatigue limit (1046 N ± 46 N) followed by the 90° (lat+post) alternative. Great differences could be stated with the 180° (me d+lat) alternative in extension in comparison to the flexion (p Conclusion: In vivo the highest loads occur at the distal humerus in extension direction which can best be transferred, in static as well as in dynamic regard, by a 180° alternative. An alternative to that is the 90° (lat+post) variation due to its advantageous me chanic performance under static and dynamic extension load. But still the nature of fracture with size and position of the fragments useable remains decisive for the choice of an osteosynthesis. The mechanic superiority of the 180° alternative (minimized gap displacement and high stiffness of the system respectively) in extension direction in comparison to a 90° alternative can be explained by the 90° position of the plates and hence reduced moment of inertia. Less stiffness under flexion direction arises from the long levers, which cause high bending moments.


An efficient protocol for the ligand-free and heterogeneous Pd/C-catalyzed one-pot, three-component synthesis of aryl-substituted benzimidazoles from benzyl alcohols by using water as the solvent was developed. The reaction involves hydrogen-transfer and Suzuki reactions. This method is quite convenient and environmentally friendly.


Lift installation of a major marine or offshore structure necessitates detailed evaluation of inter-dependent engineering and construction constraints that influence the feasibility, safety and cost-effectiveness of the lifting operations. Due to the advancements in heavy lift technology, large modularized ship blocks may be fully outfitted, and then lifted and joined to form the entire ship. Similarly, an offshore structure may be fabricated in a yard, transported to the selected offshore location, and then installed by lifting. The objectives of this paper are to find the locations of optimum positions of offshore platform heavy lift points using the method of evolution strategies either minimizing the moment or maximizing the natural frequency. The results obtained are compared with the published results. The optimal positions of simple supports are located to maximize the fundamental frequency of beam or plate structure taking into account both elastic and rigid supports. The minimum stiffness of a simple support (or point) that raises a natural frequency of a beam to its upper limit is investigated for different boundary conditions. The solution also provides insight into dynamics of a beam with an intermediate support for more general boundary conditions. Finite element approach is used for solving the problems. The computer packages such as PREWIN/FEAST, SAP90 are used for performing finite element analysis.


Guest Editorial Advances in Computational Aspects of Teletraffic Models PROBABLISTIC models play a key role in the modeling, analysis, control, and performance evaluation of a broad range of real-life systems. Furthermore, technological developments and paradigm shifts continually call for updating and adapting existing models. Telecommunication networks constitute a fundamental case in point; traffic modeling and teletraffic analysis have long been basic to their modeling, analysis, and evaluation of performance measures. For over a decade this area has been undergoing extraordinarily rapid development and technological change. Consequently, the qualitative and quantitative expansion of services carried, or planned to be carried, has rendered the bulk of traditional teletraffic analysis methodologies unsuitable for modeling emerging complex high-speed networks. The problems lie primarily in the bursty nature of new traffic classes, such as compressed video and file transfer. The former class is especially troublesome as it combines strict timeliness constraints and high traffic volumes. While the phenomenon of burstiness is underpinned mathematically by autocorrelations in traffic streams, traditional analysis relies heavily on independence assumptions for the majority of tractable solutions. On the other hand, when models incorporate traffic dependencies, the resultant models are complex and afford no systematic way of mapping empirical measurements into working models. The effective design and engineering of networks requires accurate mathematical models which capture the important statistical properties of traffic sources. The paper by Melamed and Pendarakis provides a general methodology for constructing mathematical models of compressed variable bit rate (VBR) video. The modeling framework is based on the extension of transform-expand-sample (TES) processes which simultaneously capture the marginal density and correlation structure of traffic. The paper by Che and Li uses models based on circulant modulated rate processes for this same purpose. Once accurate mathematical models of traffic are constructed, a network designer may use them in either a Monte Carlo simulation or in analysis. Many papers in this issue are concerned with efficient computational algorithms of teletraffic models. In most cases where an exact analysis is possible, the underlying processes are Markovian. Therefore, efficient and robust numerical methodologies are essential for the computational aspects of such models. The paper by Akar et al.presents a new algorithmic solution for M/G/1-type Markov chains. Such chains frequently appear in the teletraffic analysis of modern telecommunications networks, e.g., ATM. Known concepts from classical system and


Various antitumor drugs which target tumor cells in the S‐phase of the cell cycle induce apoptosis in HL‐60 cells. The present study shows that apoptosis is inducible in HL‐60 cells by continuous exposure to bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), an S‐phase specific reagent and a thymidine analogue. The localization of BrdU in the apoptotic cells was visualized with immunogold particles using an antl‐BrdU monoclonal antibody. After 3 days of treatment with 20 μM BrdU, cells ceased to grow and their viability was significantly decreased. Morphologically, nuclear segmentation and cytoplasmic maturation were observed in many viable cells, and the dead cells showed typical features of apoptosis. The nuclear DNA of apoptotic cells was visualized by the immunocytochemical detection of BrdU with post‐embedding immunogold staining. The condensed chromatin of the apoptotic cells was highly labeled with immunogold particles, while the nucleolus was sparsely labeled. The chromatin could be traced with BrdU‐immunocytochemistry even after disappearance of the nuclear envelope. These results indicated that apoptosis in HL‐60 cells was induced by incorporation of BrdU into DNA of the S‐phase cells. Using BrdU‐immunocytochemistry, the localization of nuclear DNA in apoptotic cells was visualized and the changes of nuclear structures were followed during the progression of apoptosis.


Vasovagal syncope, also known as cardioneurogenic syncope, is a condition in which a temporary loss of consciousness occurs owing to a neurological reflex, which leads to sudden dilation of the blood vessels in the legs and/or a very slow heart rate (bradycardia) (Fogoros, 2012). Although many clinicians refer to this event as a 'simple faint', the author maintains that vasovagal syncope is an understated medical condition that arises frequently in the practice of aesthetic medicine. In this article, the author will give an overview of vasovagal syncope in the context of medical aesthetics, examine the diagnostic process and discuss why there is a need to consider differential diagnoses. Further to this, the condition's pathogenesis, symptom management and available treatment options will be explored, and the author will outline how aesthetic practitioners and patients can implement simple strategies to avoid the occurrence of this often extremely distressing event.


[ANGLES] DetectMe is one of the firsts apps to do the complete process of object detection on the iOS devices. With the app, the user is able to train a detector to detect any kind of objects and later on execute it on real time on the device. Furthermore, the detectors can be share it between users, downloaded to analyze them. The app is also capable of broadcasting the detections through wifi. The purpose of the project is two fold. On one hand allow people working with vision systems to quickly use an already built in object detector. On the other, explore how different users train a detector.


Did World War I facilitate the rise of the Nazi party in Weimar Germany? We revisit this question by shifting the focus on the localized effects of war casualties on nationalist attitudes. We argue that mass warfare can promote nationalist attitudes by amplifying in-group preferences. Our empirical analysis leverages a unique individual-level dataset of all 8.6 million German soldiers who died or were wounded during World War I. To causally identify the effect of community level exposure to WW1, we leverage plausibly exogenous variation in the death rate of soldiers across small geographic localities. We find that throughout the interwar period, electoral support for nationalist parties including the NSDAP was about 2 percentage points higher in regions highly affected by the war. Additional analyses drawing on data on NSDAP party entries, WW1 memorials, and Nazi autobiographies indicate that our results reflect a broad, community-level impact of the war driven by war losses and public memory rather than returning veterans. Our findings advance our understanding of the local impact of WW1 on the rise of the Nazi party in Germany and the longer-term legacies of indirect exposure to violence on preferences for nationalist ideologies.


We present a high-precision, absolute earthquake location procedure (NLL-SSST-coherence) based on waveform similarity between events and using the probabilistic, global-search NonLinLoc (NLL) location algorithm. NLL defines a posterior probability density function (PDF) in 3D space for absolute hypocenter location and invokes the equal differential-time (EDT) likelihood function which is very robust in the presence of outlier data. For NLL-SSST-coherence location we take initial NLL locations and iteratively generate smooth, 3D, source-specific, station travel-time corrections (SSST) for each station and phase type and an updated set of locations. Next, we greatly reduce absolute location, aleatoric error by combining location information across events based on waveform coherency between the events. This absolute coherency relocation is based on the concept that if the waveforms at a station for two or more events are very similar (have high coherency) up to a given frequency, then the distance separating these “multiplet” events is small relative to the seismic wavelength at that frequency. The NLL coherency relocation for a target event is a stack over 3D space of the event’s SSST location PDF and the SSST PDF’s for other similar events, each weighted by the waveform coherency between the target event and the other event. Absolute coherency relocation requires waveforms from only one or a few stations, allowing precise relocation for sparse networks, and for foreshocks and early aftershocks of a mainshock sequence or swarm before temporary stations are installed.

We apply the NLL-SSST-coherence procedure to the Mw5.8 Lone Pine CA, Mw5.7 Magna UT and Mw6.4 Monte Cristo NV earthquake sequences in 2020 and compare with other absolute and relative seismicity catalogs for these events. The NLL-SSST-coherence relocations generally show increased organization, clustering and depth resolution over other absolute location catalogs. The NLL-SSST-coherence relocations reflect well smaller scale patterns and features in relative location catalogs, with evidence of improved depth precision and accuracy over relative location results when there are no stations over or near the seismicity.

For all three western US sequences in 2020 the NLL-SSST-coherence relocations show mainly sparse clusters of seismicity. We interpret these clusters as damage zones around patches of principal mainshock slip containing few events, larger scale damage zone and splay structures around main slip patches, and background seismicity reactivated by stress changes from mainshock rupture. The Monte Cristo Range seismicity (Lomax 2020) shows two, en-echelon primary slip surfaces and surrounding, characteristic shear-crack features such as edge, wall, tip, and linking damage zones, showing that this sequence ruptured a complete shear crack system. See presentation EGU21-13447 for more details.

Lomax (2020) The 2020 Mw6.5 Monte Cristo NV earthquake: relocated seismicity shows rupture of a complete shear-crack system. Preprint: https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/1904


A theoretical investigation of the influence of orthorhombic distortions in a planar structure and of trigonal angular distortions in a tetrahedral complex on the ESR parameters of ions with a d/sup 9/ electronic configuration has been carried out. It has been shown that such distortions are the cause of the unusual relationship between the components of the g factor: gx, gy > gz approx. = 2. It has been established that complexes with the general formula NiCl(PR/sub 3/)/sub 3/ have a trigonal-pyrimidal structure with the principal magnetic axis directed along a Ni-P bond. The geometry of the complex is preserved during the successive replacement of the phosphine ligands by phosphites. The ligand found in the axial position is bound relatively weakly to the central ion.


This study was carried out to furnish basic information on the habitat through soil condition and vegetation structure of an Acer mono for. rubripes stand in Geoje, Gyeongnam Province. Soil pH of the A. mono for. rubripes stand was 5.17. The contents of organic matter, total N and available P205 were 8.7%,0.38%, 15.7ppm, respectively. A. mono for. rubripes, Meliosma oldhamii, Zelkova serrata, Styrax japonica, Sapium japonicum, Lindera erythrocarpa and Euonymus oxyphyllus appeared in all layers. The importance values of A. mono for. rubripes, Z. serrata and Quercus serrata in the upper layer were high, S. japonicum and M. myriantha were high in the middle layer and lower layer, respectively. Species diversity and evenness ranged from 0.931 of the middle layer to 1.638 of the lower layer, and from 0.706 of the upper layer to 0.959 of the lower layer, respectively. The study results provide basic information on soil condition and vegetation structure of the Acer mono for. rubripes stand native to Geoje, Korea.


...........................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................vi LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................ix NOMENCLATURE .................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTION............................................................................. 1 1.1. The Continuous Hot Dip Galvanizing Process............................................. 1 1.2. Problems faced by galvanizers.................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................. 6 2.1. Metallurgy of the galvanize coating ............................................................. 6 2.2. Metallurgy of Aluminum with the Steel....................................................... 10 2.2.1. Percentage of Aluminum in the coating .......................................... 11 2.3. Selection of Bearing Type ......................................................................... 13 2.3.1. Stresses acting on the Bearing....................................................... 14 2.4. Coating Types ........................................................................................... 17 2.4.1. Galvannealed Coatings .................................................................. 17 2.4.2. Galvalume Coatings ....................................................................... 18 2.5. Control of Coating thickness & its significance .......................................... 22 2.5.1. Coating Weight Range (Minimum/Maximum Thickness) ................ 23 2.5.2. ASTM Coating Designations........................................................... 26 2.6. Material Optimization 316L Stainless Steel ............................................. 29


We consider the Higgs boson decay processes and its production including all Run I results, through a parametrisation tailored for testing models of new physics beyond the Standard Model, and complementary to the one used by the LHC working groups. Dierent


Two‐partner secretion (TPS) is the most widely distributed secretion pathway known. These systems export large exoproteins through highly conserved channel‐forming β‐barrel proteins. Filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA), expressed by Bordetella species, is the prototypical TPS family member. Here we show that the C‐terminus of mature FHA, as opposed to the N‐terminus as previously proposed, is exposed on the cell surface and is required for mediating adherence to cultured epithelial cells. We show that the C‐terminus of the FHA pro‐protein (FhaB) is required for FHA function in vitro and in vivo and we show that cleavage of FhaB to form FHA is not the mechanism by which FHA is released from the cell. Based on these data, we propose a new model for TPS. This model provides an explanation for the energetics of export of globular protein domains across membranes in the absence of ATP and it suggests a new mechanism for the control of protein folding.


A five-year-old child presented with a large undifferentiated sarcoma in the right lung. Urinary catecholamines were assayed as tumor markers. A short-lived but significant rise in urinary norepinephrine and dopamine followed by rises in urinary levels of corresponding breakdown products were evidenced.


Focuses on Faux pas, a critical collection bringing together various journal articles in a format that would become familiar to readers of Blanchot. The texts look at literature, often from a philosophical perspective.


An examination of literature on the issue of help seeking (HS) has revealed a common theme: students will not always ask for help, even when they are aware that help is needed. The purpose of this action research study was to examine HS and help avoidance in the context of setting tasks in two types of English language-learning environment: a formal classroom situation and an informal community group. This action research study aimed firstly to explore whether and how instances of HS to understand tasks set could be increased, and secondly to examine the effects the two very different language-learning environments had on students' HS. It was found that changes in HS behaviour were small and that regardless of interventions to support HS, learners will only seek help when the environment in which they are learning is relaxed and informal.


This paper concerns the existence of mild solutions for some fractional Cauchy problem with nonlocal conditions in the α-norm. The linear part of the equations is assumed to generate an analytic compact bounded semigroup, and the nonlinear part satisfies some Lipschitz conditions with respect to the fractional power norm of the linear part. By using a fixed point theorem of Sadovskii, we establish some existence results which generalize ones in the case of fractional order derivative.


An important objective of international agricultural research inst i tut ions is to determine the
extent to which research under taken in one location may impact on other regions of interest.
Thi s is because research activities are most often planned to target mandate crops and
agroecological areas found in many parts of the world. ICRI S A T has, as a pol icy, disributed
a wide range of parental materials to breeding programs in the NARS and private seed
industries throughout the semi-arid tropics. This has cont r ibuted to faster and cost-effective
development of useful final products by the receiving parties.
Thi s study evaluates the impacts and research spillover effects of adopt ion of sorghum variety
S 35, a pure line developed f rom the ICRI S A T breeding program in India. It was later
advanced in Niger ia and promoted and released in Cameroon in 1986 and Chad in 1989.
Today, S 35 occupies about 33% of the total rainfed sorghum area in Cameroon and 2 7 % in
Chad. Compared to farmers' best t radi t ional varieties across all study sites in Cameroon and
Chad, S 35 yields 2 7 % more output (grain) and reduces uni t product ion cost by 20%.These
farm-level impacts are larger in Chad where yield gain is 5 1 % higher and cost reduct ion is
3 3% higher. Th e net present value of benefits f rom S 35 research spillover in the Af r ican
region was estimated to be US$ 15 mi l l ion in Chad and US$ 4.6 mi l l ion in Cameroon,
representing internal rates of return of 9 5% in Chad and 7 5% in Cameroon. These impacts
were evaluated f rom the perspective of nat ional research systems. A conscious decision,
therefore, was made to include only those costs associated wi t h nat ional research and
extension inst i tut ions. Al l other S 35-related research and development expenditures
incur red in India and Niger ia were treated as 'sunk costs', that is, costs which woul d have
occur red anyway wi thout spillover. Ha d each count ry had to develop S 35 and associated
management practices on its own, the t ime lag between research and release of the
technology woul d have been longer and consequently impacts, if any, woul d have been
smaller. For greater effectiveness in sorghum technology development and transfer in the
region, future research and pol icy actions should take greater advantage of research spillovers
through more col laborat ion, communicat ion, and networking between nat ional , regional ,
and internat ional research inst i tut ions.


The utility model relates to a precast product and an assembled tank body. The precast product comprises a reinforced concrete main body, and the assembled tank body comprises 3-100 precast products. One side of the connection site of the precast products is a convex circular surface, the other side thereof is a concave circular surface, 2-30 prearranged passages are transversely distributed on the convex circular surface and the concave circular surface, a vertical reinforcing strip is arranged outside the concave circular surface, and inner side surface of the precast product is smooth; vertically placed T-shaped rubber sealing strip is arranged at the connection site of the precast products constituting the assembled tank body, steel stranded wires sequentially pass through the prearranged passages of the precast products, and each connection site of steel stranded wires is tensioned and anchored. The transversely distributed prearranged passages can be completely hermetical passages or distributed at the two ends of the precast products, and no passages are arranged on the middle parts of the precast products. The precast product and the assembled tank body are made from cement, sandstone, steel bars and other raw materials, and can be widely used in sludge digestion tanks, biogas reaction tanks, and so on. The precast product and the assembled tank body have the advantages of simple structure, easy processing, low price, and high value of generalization.


BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: The Western studies had reported a change in parent child relationship during COVID-19 lockdown. The present study was conducted to assess the parental relationship with children during COVID-19 lockdown in Punjab province of Pakistan.
METHODOLOGY: The study involved correlational research design. 529 parents from the Punjab province were recruited using a Google Form based questionnaire, which also contained information about the nature of the study and informed consent.  The study was conducted from March 2020 to May 2020. The study was duly approved by Research Ethics Committee at The Islamia University of Bahawalpur vide No. REC/B/G-3/2020-S. The participants were required to give their consent for participation in the online study. The Child Parent Relationship Scale (CPRS) was appended to a single questionnaire to collect the data. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 25, was used for statistical analysis. The correlation analysis, t-test, and analysis of variance were used to compute results.
RESULTS: The study found a statistically significant positive correlation between closeness and dependence and a positive significant but weak correlation of conflict with both closeness and dependence. The mothers had more closeness and dependence with their children as compared to fathers. There were found no age wise differences in a parental relationship for conflicts, closeness, and dependence.
CONCLUSION: The study concluded that mothers had more closeness and dependence with their children as compared to fathers. Moreover, the age of parents had no effect on their relationship with children.


Aggressive diagnostic evaluation of patients with chest pain suspicious for acute coronary syndrome is becoming the standard of care in the ED. A number of approaches using different diagnostic modalities are used, but there are limited data to support their efficacy or cost-effectiveness. In this U.S. study, intermediate-risk patients …


Students of medical universities are experiencing great overload in the learning process and adaptation to the educational process. The formation of healthy behavior among students can contribute to their better adaptation to the learning process, disease prevention and health promotion. That is why, when studying the commitment to a healthy lifestyle of students, it is necessary to take into account characteristics that are associated with their personal traits, as well as with the influence of macro- and microsocial factors that directly or indirectly affect the life of a healthy lifestyle. The study aims to determine the characteristics of adherence to a healthy lifestyle of junior medical students by identifying the characteristics of the relationship between healthy lifestyle indicators and the psychosocial characteristics of students.The sample is represented by 119 students of 1-2 courses of the Faculty of Medicine at the age of 17-26 years, who are Russian and foreign citizens. As psychodiagnostic methods we used the Russian version of HPLP – Health Promoting Lifesyle Profile, a modified version of Dembo-Rubinstein methodology for self-es teem s tudying, a sociocultural questionnaire. Mathematical processing was carried out using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis methods. The results obtained characterize the adherence to a healthy lifestyle of students based on the relationship of age-specific, gender and religious characteristics, employment, material conditions, exposure to stress and bad habits, anti-suicidal barrier and the main indicators of a healthy lifestyle profile. The study found that a greater healthy lifestyle adherence among medical students is determined by their older age, male gender, labor activity combined with training, lower levels of monthly material costs, the presence of a religious faith, higher tolerance of loads and less exposure stress. Belonging to Russian or foreign culture is not associated with healthy lifestyle adherence during the junior years.


The approach to finding the engineering-and-economical performance of personality-user services in 3/4G networks. The criteria of engineering-and-economical reasonability of such services providing is suggested.


Mrs. Christensen reported that AADGB was held at Yavapai College on August 27. The ACCT New York Conference to be held in October was discussed. Some members complained about the expense of the trip. The future and the function of AADGB were discussed. Lobbying and training Board members for their intended roles were among the duties mentioned. Specifically training and how to hire for a President was talked about.


Cholecalciferol or vitamin D3 is an endogenous substance with the typical problems of bioavailability/bioequivalence of this class of substances. A previous trial has shown that, if administered orally at a dose of 800-10,000 IU and bioassayed as its 25-hydroxy metabolite, a slow absorption without an evident peak shape can be expected. However, if administered orally at a dose of 100,000-300,000 IU, this drug shows a well-defined peak shape of its metabolite 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (which is exceptionally long-lasting) with time to peak (tmax) at seven days and a kinetic profile requiring 84 days or more to restore predose base-line levels. A recent paper has described a new bioassay of cholecalciferol in serum with a serum concentration-time curve after oral administration of 70 μg (2800 IU). An evident peak shape with Cmax of approximately 4 ng/mL was achieved at 12-24 h after administration. Baseline was restored after 96 h. However, these pharmacokinetic data were obtained in only one subject. This approach for bioassay of the parent drug seems to be more suitable for bioequivalence trials of cholecalciferol, even if more data concerning application are needed to adequately prepare a bioequivalence protocol. Therefore, the case of cholecalciferol appears to be extremely complex and remains one of the unanswered questions concerning bioequivalence that has not been taken into consideration in operating guidelines. No n c mm erc ial us e o nly discuss the BE waiver for oral solutions, with the restriction to aqueous solutions at the time of administration. Being an oily solution, cholecalciferol is excluded from this waiver. Therefore, according to EMA guidelines, the application of the ANDA procedure to the two oral generic formulations of cholecalciferol 10,000 and 300,000 IU/mL would require a demonstration of BE, i.e. a comparison of test vs reference. In addition, considering that cholecalciferol is an endogenous substance, operating guidelines would require that the demonstration of BE should be applied to plasma concentrations obtained after a base-line subtraction.7 The latest EMA guideline on bioequivalence7 requires the conclusions concerning bioequivalence be drawn only from Cmax and from AUC0-t of the parent compound, thus excluding data of either active or inactive metabolites. In addition, as cholecalciferol is marketed at doses of 10,000, 100,000 and 300,000 IU/mL, any investigation into bioequivalence must take this into consideration, even if no definitive data on linear/non-linear kinetics are available. Expectations of bioassaying 5-hydroxyvitamin D3 In the past, our CRO has investigated serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, after repeated oral administration of cholecalciferol 800 IU/day for four days,8 and 1600 IU/day for 30 days (Marzo A., 2004, unpublished data). In these trials, serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 proved to be constant or to fluctuate around average base-line values, without showing any peak shape. Ilahi et al. investigated the pharmacokinetics of 100,000 IU cholecalciferol, administered as a single oral dose to 30 healthy subjects and bioassayed 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in serum over a period of 112 days after administration.2 Results showed a base-line concentration of 27.1±7.7 ng/mL (mean±SD), a Cmax of 42.0±9.1 ng/mL (mean±SD), tmax of seven days and a period to restore base-line concentration of 84 days or more.2 Subtracting base-line values from Cmax gives a net increase of 42.0-27.1=14.9 ng/mL. At an oral dose of 10,000 IU, the net increase expected assuming linear pharmacokinetics should be 1/10 above 14.9, namely 1.5 ng/mL, i.e. hardly distinguishable from baseline. With lower doses, such as 800 or 1600 IU, the net increase is expected to be nil, as in fact previously observed by our group.8 A test vs reference comparison of bioequivalence of cholecalciferol at low oral doses of 1000-10,000 IU would produce serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 after administration that are indistinguishable from pre-dose baseline; thus, bioequivalence is not demonstrable either with or without base-line subtraction. As with higher doses, at an oral dose of 100,000 IU the bioequivalence trial would involve the following issues. [page 157] [Italian Journal of Medicine 2013; 7:e25] [page 157] Open questions on bioequivalence: the case of cholecalciferol Figure 1. Chemical structure of cholecalciferol. No n c om me rci al us e o nly With crossover design: i) period of blood sampling should last approximately four months, which is the period needed to explore the post-dose serum concentration-time behavior. A second study period could continue for a washout of 4-8 months, so that the whole crossover study should last 1216 months; ii) the pool size hypothesized with an intrasubject coefficient of variation (CV%intra) of approximately 20%, namely without base-line subtraction, should be 0.202*392=16 subjects; with the base-line subtraction, the pool size should be increased to 0.342*392=46.9 With the two-parallel group design: i) a pool size of approximately 40 subjects, without base-line subtraction, and approximately 100 subjects or more with base-line subtraction; ii) blood samples should be taken over at least a 3-month period. Expectations of bioassaying parent compound Among the literature reporting studies on the parent compound, recently Xie et al.5 describe the analytical conditions to bioassay cholecalciferol in serum using a deuterated internal standard. The authors explain this new approach to bioassay blood samples and report serum concentration of cholecalciferol of 2800 IU in one subject after a single dose. Baseline was approximately 1 ng/mL and the peak of around 4 ng/mL appeared 12-24 h after dosing.5 From the data of Xie et al.5 we are not able to calculate the pool size of a bioequivalence trial as this requires the intrasubject coefficient of variation (CV%). If CV were similar to that found by other authors assaying 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, the evaluation of pool size could produce similar values.


Rotating machines are an important and crucial component of numerous mechanical systems in modern industry, vehicles and a number of other applications. Excessive vibrations on rotating equipment due to numerous faults can lead to machine failures and lead to accidents. Thus, there is a need to understand the dynamic nature and identify faults for safe, uninterrupted and efficient operation of machines. This paper proposes a new approach to assess misalignment in a test using the same concept as in an imbalance test when balancing the rotor of high-speed machines in the oil and gas industry. The misalignment of the active magnetic bearing with the rotor was investigated. To accomplish this methodology, a four-degree-of-freedom dynamic model of an unbalanced and misaligned rigid rotor and two offset disks supported by two active magnetic bearings was mathematically developed. Disks with displacement lead to a gyroscopic effect at high rotor speeds. The equations of motion of the rotor-bearing system were derived and solved in order to obtain a displacement of the rotor in the time domain and control the current responses in the positions of the magnetic bearing. The algorithm for identifying the estimation of the unbalance and misalignment parameters of the active magnetic bearing was carried out by using the fast Fourier transform method. The effectiveness of this method was estimated at rotor speeds from 100 to 350 rad/s. In the process of determining the efficiency, random modeling errors of 1, 2 and 5 % were also introduced to the mass of the rotor and the moment of inertia of the disk.


spectively), (p<0.0001 for RX versus NL, p<0.001 for PN versus NL and p<0.0005 for RF versus NL). IVRP was significantly different in NL (79.3±8.3 msec) compared to RX (93.0±23.8, p<0.05) and compared to RF (46.0±9.9, p<0.0001), but was not significantly different from normal in PN (70.0 ± 25.5, p=NS). The ratio of TD/IVRP showed significant progressive increase with progression of the pattern of dias- tolic function from NL (0.74±0.13) to RX (1.16±0.74, p<0.05), to PN (1.57±0.44, p<0.005), with the higher value in RF (2.67±1.28, p<0.0001). Conclusion: TD, IVRP and TD/IVRP are easily obtainable and reliable measures for identification of left ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunction.


There is widespread confusion about the concept of tropical year. Although it is correctly defined from the average length of the Sun, at the same time it is identified with the movement of the Sun with respect to the seasonal points. In this study, we distinguish between the tropical year, as it is commonly defined, and the seasonal year, or time between two consecutive passages of the Sun by a particular seasonal point. We found that the mean value of the possible four years seasonal averages (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) coincides with the tropical year. We evaluated the variation of the seasonal years for an interval of time of a few thousands of years. And finally we estimated the durations of the various types of years in universal time units, adapting them for use in the calculation of the calendarists' errors.


Malicious tongues say that these days the hundreds of dead artists, authorities, scientists etc. buried in Krakow have more to say than those who actually live and work in Krakow nowadays. Krakow as seen in Marcin Koszałka's documentary is a dirty city with cracked, old buildings; this unpleasant view is far from the well known postcard pictures of colourful, renaissance sights. Even the views of Old Town Market Square or Wawel Castle seem intentionally spoiled by elements such as antennas, devastated roofs or poles around the Cracovia Stadium. The buildings and interiors filmed are dark, with little sunlight coming in through dirty windows, and mouldy green is the dominating colour they are filled This image of a decaying city covered with mould, lichen, a film of humidity and age is similar to the way Luchino Visconti created his image of Venice. These unfamiliar views of Krakow make the symbolic borderlines of the story told in the film. Jerzy Nowak is an actor. To be more specific it should be emphasized that he's an actor who had spent sixty years of his artistic carrier in Krakow. In his stage work as well as in the films he worked for the best Polish directors of his times: Swinarski, Wajda, Kieślowski. Still, Nowak laughs when he says that Koszałka's documentary is the first film in which he is about to be the main character. The collaboration of these two artists – the old actor and a relatively young filmmaker – results, according to press materials, from a common obsession: death. Nowak defines his obsession as the obsession with what he calls "the ultimate verdict", an exact date of one's death encrypted and hidden in some special place or dimension. Koszałka is also obsessed with the idea of death, but it is death meant as a scandal of disintegration. His obsession concentrates on the fury death carries within itself when interrupting an average order of everyday existence, causing neurosis and anxiety. Those slightly different and partly shared views are the two poles between which the field of what is being said in the movie was created.


Contents: Preface. Part I Ground Base - How Corporate Design Started and Evolved: Introduction Corporate identity and image development Corporate identity and branding debate New media, communication and reputation Part I summary. Part II Setting the Strategy: Introduction Corporate strategy Storytelling and identity Corporate design strategy Perception and perspectives Part II summary. Part III Cohesive Design Management: Introduction Cohesive design management Business and intellectual property law Part III summary. Part IV Navigating Symbolic Practice: Introduction The symbolic aesthetic The visual identity creative process Symbolism - organisational behaviour Part IV summary. Part V Digital Corporate Design: Introduction Digital branding strategy Designed website content The social business Part V summary. Summary and conclusions Bibliography Index.


The objective of this work was to determine a method to simulate water stress in vitro to select drought-tolerant banana ( Musa sp.) genotypes. The BRS Tropical and Prata Ana cultivars were grown in vitro in an MS liquid medium containing sucrose and benzylaminopurine (BAP), supplemented with different concentrations of polyethylene glycol (PEG) or sorbitol. The yield stability index of dry matter was evaluated. Cultivation for 30 days in a medium containing 15 g L -1 PEG or 36.4 g L -1 sorbitol is appropriate to simulate water stress in vitro.


Nowadays, the huge number of documents which are managed through document management systems make their manual processing practically impossible. That is why the use of natural language processing subsystems that help to perform certain tasks begins to be essential for many commercial systems. Although its use is gradually extending to all levels, this type of subsystems presents the problem of its high requirements of resources from CPU and memory that can harm the entire system to which it intends to provide assistance. In this work, we propose and study an architecture based on microservices and message brokers which improves the performance of these NLP subsystems. We have implemented our approach on a real document management system, which performs intensive processes of language analysis on large legal documents. Experimental results show promising results, greatly increasing the productivity of systems based on other approaches.


The Reform and spread of the New Course is a change of eduactional concept as well as educational way in the new situation, which is also the key in coustructing new type of relations between students and teachers Lessons preparation of teachers is the foundation of the reform and creation of the New Course.


In the midst of the political development of the country, a new phenomenon emerged in the context of the campaign. As has been done in some developed countries, politics are now both in terms of both academic and practical studies, other studies have involved the better known political marketing. Political marketing corelation with the process of political socialization either political party or candidate legislative or regional head and the President, in order to be recognized and selected by the public. Therefore, political marketing strategy in relation to political competition. With political marketing, patterns of socialization involves not only political elements, but the communication and business. The purpose of this socialization is introduced the political party and its candidates to convince people to choose from at the time of election, or presidential elections. Included is how political marketing can also restore the image of a political party that has a negative image in public Keyword: Political Marketing, Political Party, Demokracy


La prevention des recidives carieuses doit devenir la preoccupation premiere des odontologistes. Un des moyens mis a notre disposition consiste a liberer a l'interface dent-obturation des especes ionisees bioactives (ions calcium, fluorures, ions hydroxyles). La plupart des materiaux bioactifs proposes aujourd'hui doivent encore evoluer afin de se rapprocher du rapport benefice, cout, securite obtenu avec l'amalgame encore inegale. The prevention of carious recurrence must become the first concern of odontologists. One of the means available is the release of bioactive ionised species at the tooth/obturation interface (calcium ions, fluorides, hydroxyde ions). Most currently available bioactive materials require improvements if they are to approach the benefit/cost/safety ratio obtained with amalgams, to date unequalled.


The recent developments in aerospace, missiles, rockets, automobile engines necessitate the development of thermal barrier coating to protect the costly, precious base structural components from the heat load. Because of the intermediate heat loads, the base materials explode due to high temperature corrosion, alterations in grains etc. Hence, it becomes a major concern to provide a thermal barrier coating which has the property of being easily applied, economical cost and durable life to protect the base materials. This review paper provides a detailed survey on the nickel - tungsten alloy coating by various processes viz electro-deposition, plasma spray, coating behavioural aspects, its mechanical properties, thermal properties and surface topography.


Tikhi Lake is a small manmade water reservoir located on Anvar River near Tikhi village during British govt. in Dhule District of Maharashtra State.  The physico-chemical properties of water were studied in January 2011 to December 2012.  Tikhi Lake was studied for various physico-chemical properties for three seasons i.e. summer, monsoon and winter. Seasonal changes in the physico-chemical properties of water such as Dissolved Oxygen, Free CO 2, Temperature, PH, Transparency, Turbidity and Hardness.


Children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) have social communication difficulties partly due to their abnormal avoidance of eye contact on human faces, yet they have a normal visual processing strategy on cartoon face. In this paper, we present KinToon, a face-to-face communication enhancement system to help ASD children in their training lessons. Our system use Kinect to scan human face and extract key points from facial contour, and match them to corresponding key points of a cartoon face. A modified cartoon face is projected to the communicator's face to achieve the effect of dynamic "makeup". ASD children will finally talk to the communicator with dynamic cartoon makeup, which would reduce their stress of interacting with people and make them easier to understand emotions. The interactive devices were applied to an ASD training lesson, and our creative approach was examined to be relatively effective in encouraging ASD children to fetch more emotional information and have more eye contact with people by eye tracking.


Many commodities are traded on both a spot market and a derivative market. We show that an incumbent producer may use financial derivatives to extract rent from a potential entrant. The incumbent can indeed sell insurance to a large buyer to commit himself to compete aggressively in the spot market and drive the price down for the entrant. It can do so by selling derivatives for more than his expected production level, i.e. by taking a speculative position. This comes at the cost of inefficiently deterring entry. JEL codes: D43, D86, K21, L12, L42


Purpose: To publish peer reviewed articles containing original research, study, observations, analyses, and material on the w ide range of problems and prospects concerning nuclear, biological, toxin and chemical agent development and use; individual/collective protection; detection/identification; decontamination; treaty implementation and verification; and chemical and biological medical treatment to include agrichemical and industrial accidents and emergency response.


In this paper a comparative study on DWTOFDM and FFT-OFDM systems is presented. The DWTOFDM has to satisfy the orthonormal basis and the perfect reconstruction properties to be considered for OFDM. Different wavelet families have been used and BER performance is compared with the conventional FFT-OFDM system for AWGN. The results show that the DWT-OFDM system operates at its optimum performance with different wavelets. Results also show that DWT-OFDM is superior as compared to FFT-OFDM with regards to the bit error rate (BER) performance in AWGN channel.


Background
Tobacco consumption is a widely recognized risk factor influencing various diseases' progression worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, tobacco consumption is responsible for 6.5 million deaths annually. Thus, the present study examined the relationship between smoking, physical inactivity, and the risk of developing osteoporosis and osteopenia.

Methodology
This cross-sectional study included a population-based sample of 250 participants aged 45-65. Written consent was obtained from the participants, and the study focused on assessing their smoking status. The cigarette dependency scale was utilized to measure the level of dependency on smoking.

Results
Compared to non-smokers, active smokers had a significantly higher risk (p<0.005) of developing osteoporosis at the femoral neck (OR=1.9, 95% CI: 1.2-3.0) and lumbar spine (OR=1.7, 95% CI: 1.1-2.7). Furthermore, the low physical activity group had significantly higher odds ratios (p<0.05) for developing osteoporosis and osteopenia compared to the high physical activity group at the femoral neck (OR=1.85, 95% CI: 1.2-2.7) and lumbar spine (OR=1.65, 95% CI: 1.1-2.5).

Conclusion
The study has concluded that bone mineral density at the femoral bone and lumbar spine level has significantly been reduced among active and former smokers compared to the non-smoker group.

Keywords
Bone Mineral Density, Osteoporosis, Osteopenia, Physical Activity, Smoking.


With a large total area and climatic range, the Chinese oceans are among the richest in the World in terms of biodiversity .this is true not least to the sponges. The number of sponge taxa. particularly form South China Sea .is estimated to be exceptionally high with over registered 1500 species and many more waiting to be described ,some of which contain valuable natural products .However ,the industrial use of these sponges id severely hampered by the lack of knowledge on their taxonomy and ecology .Most Chinese sponges described so far were collceted in the tropical South China Sea and East China Sea .But in the Yellow Sea and Bohai sea ,less than 10 sponge species have so far been recorded, most of which are only preliminarly determined, biochemical investigations have been performed on 2 species .All together ,the sponge fauna of the North-Eastern China Seas is heavily under-explored .Preliminary investigations done by snorkeling at different localities in and around Dailian (Chinese Yellow Sea )revealed that the biotopes are strongly impacted by the wide-spread aquaculture ,especially of brown algae which dominate the underwater landscape at shallow depths. However, the diversity of sessile organisms (sponges and ascidians) is comparably high ,and it is possible to observe a distinct sponge zonation even within the upper 10 m .This is especially clear in the probably less eutrophic Dalian Bay where the intertidal community is characterized by 3 spp of demosponges (e.g the very common Hymeniacidon perleve and Reniochalina n sp. ).The shallow subtidal community is characterized by 4 distinct spp ,which appear to be especially common below 5 m depth, Diversity of benthic fauna increases with depth ,a tendency which we expect to hold true below 10 m ,where algae populations cease, Both Chinese Yellow and Bohai Sea represent an oceanic area with great temperature variability (between 37℃and -17℃,summer and winter ,respectively ).We hypothesize that environmental stress on the sponges is high ,and sponges form this region are expected to biosynthesize unique bioactive metabolites, although the general chemical diversity is probably lower than in tropical seas. To test this working hypothesis , our future investigations include:1.Extensive mapping of sponge distribution and diversity at chosen locations in the Yellow and Bohai Seas by SCUBA diving ,including a detailed record of the sponge species and description of the expected new taxa. Definition of key sponge associations for different environmental settings and comparison with other known faunas (e.g form Korea ).2.Investigation of sponge-associated infauna ,especially the meio-infauna.3.Analysis of bacteria associated with sponge species by both cultivation-independent molecular methods and cultivation –based methods.4.Bioactivity screening to elucidate the biochemical diversity of the sponge.


Rationale: Prone positioning in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) improves patient outcomes but has been underutilized. In this study, we hypothesize that prone positioning use has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of patients treated in the medical ICU of a large academic tertiary care hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Use of prone positioning among patients with COVID-19 ARDS treated from March 20th, 2020 to June 16th, 2020 were compared to patients with ARDS in 2019. Potential participants were identified from a registry of patients admitted with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. Inclusion criteria required use of mechanical ventilation, the presence of ARDS, and a PaO2/FiO2 of < 150 during the first 72 hours following intubation. The primary outcome was use of prone positioning within 48 hours of the first qualifying PaO2/FiO2. Secondary outcomes were time to prone positioning and in-hospital mortality. The proportions of patients placed in the prone position in 2019 versus 2020 was compared using Fisher's exact test. Logistic regression was used to examine the association of early prone position (within 6 hours) with inhospital mortality in univariate models and models adjusted for age, sex and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score. Results: Of 43 patients with COVID-19 that met inclusion criteria, 35 (81%) were proned within 48 hours of meeting oxygen criteria compared to 5 (25%) of 20 qualifying ARDS cases in 2019 (p<0.001) (Figure 1). Among those patients in whom it was used, prone positioning was used within 6 hours of meeting in oxygen criteria in 37% vs. 10% of patients in the COVID-19 vs. pre-COVID-19 ARDS patients (p=0.04). Overall, 37% of COVID-19 participants and 50% of non-COVID-19 ARDS patients died. Those proned within 6 hours of meeting oxygen criteria had numerically lower mortality compared to those not proned or proned later (33 vs. 44%), but this was not statistically significantly associated with in-hospital mortality in univariate or adjusted logistic regression models (adjusted odds ratio=0.43, 95% CI 0.12-1.57). Conclusions: Use of prone positioning for patients with moderate to severe ARDS markedly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Larger studies are needed to define the changes in prone positioning frequency in different settings and to understand why and how this rapid change in practice occurred. This understanding may inform interventions to more broadly implement evidence based ARDS care in a sustained fashion.


Watson's product formula for Laguerre polynomials $L_n^\alpha $ for $\alpha > - \frac{1}{2}$ as well as its limiting case for $\alpha = - \frac{1}{2}$ have served for defining a generalized translation operator [1]. In this paper we proceed just the other way. The Laguerre translation operator will be introduced as the solution of an associated Cauchy roblem for each $\alpha \geqq - \frac{1}{2}$ . A main task consists in finding the corresponding Riemann function explicitly. The Laguerre product formula then follows as a corollary. The paper concludes with a comparison between the translation operators associated with the Laguerre series and the Hankel transform.


The goal of the Application Specific Emission Tomography (ASET) system is to image small (/spl les/1 cm diameter) lesions and lesions of low activity uptake in a pendulous breast reference frame with high contrast and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). While contemporary clinical SPECT scanners are limited to a horizontal axis of rotation about the patient, the compact ASET system overcomes physical proximity limitations of clinical scanners and allows for fully 3D movement in an inverted hemisphere about the breast through combined variable radius of rotation (ROR), polar and azimuthal angular positioning. With these three degrees of freedom, the ASET can traverse orbits that satisfy Orlov's sampling criterion while maintaining a small ROR, necessary to minimize resolution degradation. One class of orbits consisting of combinations of simple circular orbits and up to 60/spl deg/ arcs that can be implemented for the ASET system includes tilted parallel beam (TPB), circle-plus-arc, incomplete moustache, incomplete circular orbit, and spiral-plus-arcs. Each collects sufficient or nearly sufficient data for activity reconstruction of the pendant breast volume. Initial ordered subsets expectation maximization reconstructed ASET data acquired with the TPB orbit at various tilt angles yields insufficiently sampled images, since TPB at polar tilt angles >0/spl deg/ does not satisfy Orlov's criteria. Artifacts present in these images are partly due to cardiac and hepatic contamination and also incomplete sampling, which the more complete orbits are designed to overcome. Each orbit is evaluated for image quality, including sampling and resolution characterization with cold disk and cold rod phantoms, and quantitated SNR and contrast of small lesions located in a breast with additional torso backgrounds.


A geometric framework for the study of redundant robotic chains is proposed. Once a suitable metric for the workspace of the end-effector is chosen, the forward kinematic map from joint space to workspace can be described in terms of Riemannian submersions. Consequently, the inverse kinematics admits an interpretation in terms of horizontal lift of the Riemannian submersion. It is shown that for the most common class of robotic manipulators, those composed of one degree of freedom lower-pair joints, the commonly used Moore-Penrose pseudoinversion corresponds exactly to the horizontal lift of vector fields from workspace to joint space.


Our main result is that China's inflation was not affected by M0,M1 and M2.Therefore,the government cannot rely solely on money supply to control inflation in the short run.However,even though money supply has no effect on inflation,we cannot deny its role as an intermediate goal of China's monetary policy,and the result does not imply that arbitrary currency issuing should be allowed.