See video of the presentation. For a small research community from the so called scientific periphery it's important to publish in the well-established international journals as well as to make their papers published in local journals visible to the international audience. In this paper we present how the portal of the Croatian scientific journals HRCAK influence the visibility of more than 300 included Open Access (OA) journals. Longitudinal shifts in journal content and distribution among scientific disciplines are observed. Different kind of journal and article metrics have been analysed and compared for HRCAK OA journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science databases, examining the effect of OA on usage and citations. The results of the continuous work with Croatian journal publishers, National board for scholarly publishing responsible for subsidizing journal editorials, and with the most popular bibliographic databases producers are presented. Some desirable directions for the future development of the scholarly publishing in Croatia are indicated.


Castleman disease (CD) comprises a rare group of heterogenous benign lymphoproliferative disorders with pathologic similarities. However, they present with diverse clinical manifestations. Renal involvement is rare in CD and is mainly reported with plasma cell type of multicentric disease. Various glomerular pathologies, interstitial involvement, or thrombotic microangiopathies have all been reported, some of which progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Progression of CD to ESRD is well documented; however, a patient on dialysis developing CD is rare. Moreover, kidney transplantations have seldom been performed on patients with CD. We report a patient with ESRD of unknown etiology who developed multicentric CD while on dialysis. He was treated with four doses of rituximab and later underwent a living kidney transplant with his wife as a donor. He has been clinically well ever since. We believe that this is possibly the first successful case of renal transplantation in CD with ESRD being reported from India.


Background: Signet ring cell carcinomas (SRCC) have been among the most common histological types of gastric cancer. In recent years, [18]F-fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([18]F-FDG-PET/CT) has been very useful for primary cancer staging and distant metastasis detection. In our study, the aim was to evaluate the diagnostic and predictive level of [18]F-FDG-PET/CT in SRCC. Methods: Ninetytwo patients that underwent [18]F-FDG-PET/CT procedures between 2011 and 2017 for primary staging were included in the study. The clinicopathological features and maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax) of histopathologically defined cancers were determined. Ethical approval was obtained from Istanbul Training and Research Hospital Local Ethics Committee with the date and number 04/08/2017-1048. Results: The mean age of the patients was 58.1 ± 12.2 years. Sixtythree of the patients (75.3%) were male and 29 (24.7%) were female. According to the histopathological classification, the majority of the SRCCs were poorly differentiated and were most frequently localized in the middle and lower parts of the stomach. The mean value of [18]F-FDG uptake by [18]F-FDG-PET/CT in the primary lesions was SUVmax = 9.69 ± 7.58. The mean SUVmax (SUVmax: 7.92) measured in the patient group, 60 years and older, was found to be statistically significantly higher (p = 0.038) than the value measured in the 59 years and younger group (SUVmax: 10.26). There was a statistically significant difference between the mean SUVmax of the patients aged 60 and over and under this age group (p = 0.038). A statistically significant difference was found between the group with a positive regional LN and the mean SUVmax calculated between the group with negative regional LN (p = 0.012). A statistically significant difference was found between the group with distant organ metastasis and the negative group (p = 0.008). However, no statistically significant difference was found between tumor diameter, tumor wall thickness, localization of the tumor in the stomach, presence of distant nodal metastasis, and SUVmax calculated for histological gradients of the lesions (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Due to the advances in the diagnosis and treatment of SRCC in recent years, PET/CT may contribute to the diagnosis, staging, and prognosis determination of patients. [18]F-FDG-PET/CT demonstrated high FDG uptake in SRCC lesions. The FDG SUVmax was observed to increase significantly in patients with SRCC diagnosis of regional LN and distant organ metastasis. Studies with larger patient groups are needed to detect locally advanced and metastatic cases in SRCC patients using [18]F-FDG-PET/CT.


Objective: To evaluate the relation between chorioamnionitis and hypotension in very low birthweight infants. Methods: Retrospective cohort study in infants with a birth weight of <1500 g born between January 2002 and September 2004. The placentas were examined for evidence of chorioamnionitis and funisitis. Hypotension was defined by the use of vasopressors. Results: Of 105 infants, 37 (35%) were chorioamnionitis positive. The onset of hypotension had a skewed distribution: day 1 for 30 episodes and scattered from day 2 to day 19 for the remaining 22. Of the 30 infants who developed hypotension on day 1, 17 (57%) were chorioamnionitis positive. The mean maturity of the chorioamnionitis positive group was 27.91 weeks, marginally less than the mean maturity of 29.05 weeks of the chorioamnionitis negative group (p  =  0.05). After adjustment of the effects for confounding variables (birth weight, gestation, surfactant therapy, mechanical ventilation on day 1, high frequency oscillatory ventilation, patent ductus arteriosus), chorioamnionitis was the significant factor in line with hypotension developing on day 1 (adjusted odds ratio 5.14, 95% confidence interval 1.51 to 17.50). There was no evidence that hypotension developing after day 1 was associated with chorioamnionitis. Conclusions: There is a strong association between chorioamnionitis and hypotension developing on day 1 in very low birthweight infants.


The Pilgrimage sites (Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah) located in the southeast part of the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, or "Hajj Sites" as it is known, are one of the most important annual assembly areas for Muslims from all over the world and being visited by millions of pilgrims every year to perform the Islamic pilgrimage (Hajj). The sites have undergone significant change in land cover since the government embarked on a course of intense development projects 20 years ago, as a result of the increase in the number of pilgrims every year. Considering lack of studies that measure and evaluate land cover changes of the sites, this study detects, analyzes and evaluates land cover changes in Hajj sites from 1997 to 2013 using Landsat images of four different time periods, i.e., Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) of 1998, and Lamdsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus(ETM+) of 2003, 2008 and 2013. The supervised classification methodology has been employed through testing its different techniques to obtain the best possible result; the images of the study area were categorized into five different classes' namely Built-up areas, Street, Mountain, un built-up and Vegetation. The comparison (pixel by pixel) was used to land cover changes detection. Generally, the results show a noticeable increase in area on both built-up and street due to the rapid development in the areas with decrease in vegetation and un built-up. The provided information, combined with the field observation work is essential for assist future planning and decisions in one hand, and on the other hand can play an important role in quantifying and understanding the relationship between population growth (pilgrims) and land cover changes.


This work investigates the influence of water compressibility on pressure pulsations induced by rotor-stator interaction (RSI) in hydraulic machinery, using the commercial CFD solver ANSYS-CFX. A pipe flow example with harmonic velocity excitation at the inlet plane is simulated using different grid densities and time step sizes. Results are compared with a validated code for hydraulic networks (SIMSEN). Subsequently, the solution procedure is applied to a simplified 2.5-dimensional pump-turbine configuration in model scale with an adapted speed of sound. Pressure fluctuations are compared with numerical and experimental data based on prototype scale. The good agreement indicates that the scaling of acoustic effects with an adapted speed of sound works well. Finally, the procedure is applied to a 3-dimensional pump configuration in model scale. Pressure fluctuations are compared with results from prototype measurements. Compared to incompressible computations, compressible simulations provide similar pressure fluctuations in vaneless space, but pressure fluctuations in spiral case and penstock may be much higher. With respect to pressure fluctuation amplitudes along the centerline of runner channels, incompressible solutions exhibit a linear decrease while compressible solutions exhibit sinusoidal distributions with maximum values at half the channel length, coinciding with analytical solutions of one-dimensional acoustics.


This article tackles the question of media discourse circulation in the light of dialogism. Yet, analysing empirical data forces one to reformulate the enunciative dialogical frame proposed by Bakhtine and to connect it to the interdiscourse and interdiscursive memory notions, stemming from the French discourse analysis school. Some media specific discursive modes are uncovered, such as multi-voiced intertext constructions, memory-laden allusions, the interdiscursive characteristic of nomination, or the diverse functions of the various forms of dialogism at work in the text pragmatic orientation (the intratext).


Changes with age in the number and size of anterior pituitary cells in female mice were calculated during their postnatal development by using a stereological morphometric study with electron microscopy. The number of parenchymal cells increased in mice from 20 to 30 days of age, and did not change around puberty, after which the number increased to the adult level. The number of somatotrophs increased with age in almost the same manner as the parenchymal cells. The number of lactotrophs increased with age and were significantly different each time they were measured. The number of non-granulated cells did not increase in mice from 20 days of age to adulthood; at 20 days of age, the number was at the same level as in the adult mice. The other types of cells increased by only a small number. The sizes of all types of cells increased during postnatal life. Somatotrophs and lactotrophs became the same size as in adults by the onset of puberty. Non-granulated cells and other types of cells reached adult size at 5 days after puberty. Lactotrophs and somatotrophs had adult ultrastructural features on the day of puberty. Sizes and ultrastructural features of anterior pituitary cells reached adult levels on the day of puberty, but their numbers were still fewer than in adult mice. The increase in the volume of the anterior pituitary with age arose mostly from an increase in the number and the size of somatotrophs and lactotrophs before puberty, increases in the size of somatotrophs and the number of lactotrophs around puberty, and an increase in the number of both types of cells after puberty.


The common system of taxation laid down in the Merger Directive does not require Member States to give cross-border loss relief further to a cross-border merger or division, and allows previously deducted permanent establishment losses to be recaptured upon a cross-border restructuring. This article analyses the CJEU's case law in A Oy and Commission v. UK, and attempts to define under which circumstances cross-border loss relief can be claimed on the basis of primary EU law. In addition, the author examines which conclusions can be drawn from the recent CJEU judgments in Nordea Bank and Timac Agro for cross-border mergers and divisions, i.e., if the recapture rule of Article 10(1) paragraph 2 of the Merger Directive is compatible with Article 49 TFEU.


Privacy labels provide an easy and recognizable overview of data collection practices adopted by mobile apps developers. Specifically, on the Apple App Store, privacy labels are displayed on each mobile app's page and summarize what data is collected by the app, how it is used, and for what purposes it is needed. Starting from the release of iOS version 14.3 developers are required to provide privacy labels for their applications. We conducted a large-scale empirical study, collecting and analyzing the privacy labels of 17, 312 apps published on the App Store, to understand and characterize how sensitive data is collected and shared. The results of our analysis highlight important criticalities about the collection and sharing of personal data for tracking purposes. In particular, on average free applications collect more sensitive data, the majority of data is collected in an unanonimyzed form, and a wide range of sensitive information are collected for tracking purposes. The analysis provides also evidence to support the decision-making of users, platform maintainers, and regulators. Furthermore, we repeated the data collection and analysis after seven months, following the introduction of additional run-time tracking controls by Apple. Comparing the two datasets, we observed that the newly introduced measures resulted in a statistically significant decrease in the number of apps that collect data for tracking purposes. At the same time, we observed a growth in overall data collection.


In the presence of an external electric field, an excited-state A + B(*q) <−> C(*q) + D diffusion-influenced geminate reversible reaction of a neutral particle and a charged particle, with two unimolecular decay rates and contact quenching processes, is investigated in three dimensions. The probability density functions to find individual particles, rates of reactions, and survival probabilities are analytically derived in the Laplace domain and the long-time kinetics is resolved. The probability density functions to find the particles and the rates of reactions in a scaled form exhibit a kinetic transition behavior from a t(-3/2) power law to t(-3/2)e(t) increase with the increase of external fields. The scaled survival probabilities present a kinetic transition behavior of t(-3/2) → constant → exponential with the increase of field strengths. The critical fields are found to determine the kinetic transition behaviors.


Welding consisted of a hazardous process involving high temperatures and generating toxic fumes in the process. Therefore, welders were exposed to many occupational hazards. In the study, oxidative stress and DNA damage of 35 welders, in parallel with 25 control subjects working in Dhaka city was investigated. Oxidative stress level was measured by using five biochemical parameters such as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), phospholipid hydroperoxide (PLHP), total antioxidant status (TAS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and vitamin C level in serum as well as DNA damage by alkaline comet assay. The welders were divided into two group; group I (≤10 years) and group II (>10 years) on the basis of the duration of welding (years). Serum TBARS level (8.0 ± 0.4 vs. 4.0 ± 0.2 nmol MDA equivalent ml) and PLHP level (9.0 ± 0.9 vs. 5.0 ± 0.2 nmol ml) significantly (p<0.001) increased in welders compared to control subjects. Levels of TAS (0.3 ± 0.02 vs. 0.7 ± 0.03 mmol l), SOD activity (74 ± 2.0 vs. 94 ± 0.6 inhibition rate %) and vitamin C (0.4 ± 0.04 vs. 0.8 ± 0.05 mg dl) significantly (p<0.001) decreased in welders compared to control subjects. Elevated levels of TBARS, PLHP with decreased levels of TAS, SOD activity and vitamin C indicated that the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was higher in welders than that of control subjects. These results suggested that the exposure of welder to welding generated oxidative stress. TBARS level of welders of Group II was significantly higher (p<0.01) than that of welders of Group I (8.0 ± 0.3 vs. 10 ± 0.8 nmol MDA equivalent ml). The mean TBARS, mean PLHP, mean SOD Activity, mean vitamin C values significantly differs among smoker control group (SC), non-smoker control group (NSC), smoker welder group (SW) and non-smoker welder group (NSW). This results also supported by the result of comet assay, which indicated that higher DNA damage occurs in welders than that of control subjects. It was found that 15.6% and 6.5% cell's DNA were moderately and severely damaged in control subjects, whereas in the welders cell's DNA were 28.2% moderately and 21.0% severely damaged, respectively. When duration of welding (years) was considered, a modest increased in oxidative stress and DNA damage was associated with the higher exposure to welding than that of lower exposure. The evaluated effect of smoking on oxidative stress and DNA damage among all subjects showed that smokers had more DNA damage than non-smokers. In this study correlation was found between oxidative stress and DNA damage of the welders with the duration of exposure of welding fumes and smoking habits of welders.


Introduction: Nano-albumin bound (nab) paclitaxel achieves higher intratumoral drug concentrations, with potential mechanisms including selective tumor vessel permeability, albumin-receptor-mediated transport, and increased cell permeability. The anti-vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) antibody bevacizumab is known to enhance antitumor activity of cytotoxic drugs. Nab-paclitaxel has been recently approved for metastatic breast cancer by FDA and has shown promising results in ovarian and thoracic tumors. This study aimed at evaluating the toxic effects and determining the IC 50 of nab-paclitaxel alone and in combination with bevacizumab on metastatic human head and neck cancer cell lines. Materials and Methods: Cells were seeded in to 24 well plate with approximately 50,000 cells/500ul of media in each well plate for 8-12 hours. Cells were treated with cisplatin (64nM to 1uM) and with nab-paclitaxel alone (1.56 to 75 nM). Control wells received an equal volume of growth medium. After 72 hours, cells were dislodged by 0.2% EDTA-saline solution with trypsin, and viable cells were enumerated using the trypan blue exclusion method. Each experimental condition was tested in duplicate and reproduced in two separate experiments. The results are presented as percent of viable cells ± SD of the mean cell number in control wells. UMSCC10b and UMSCC10b/15s has been extensively characterized as cisplatin sensitive and resistant cell lines in vitro and in vivo in prior studies, respectively. We acquired these cell lines from Dr Howell. Cells were cultured at 37°C in an incubator with 5% CO2 in humidified air using RPMI 1640 media with 10% fetal bovine serum. Tumor cells were harvested and passaged by washing with PBS, followed by 5 minutes of exposure to EDTA (0.2 mM)/trypsin diluted in PBS. Results: We examined the survival of both cell lines with cisplatin and nab-paclitaxel alone. Exposure to cisplatin resulted in 50% of UMSCC10b and UMSCC10b/15s killing at 285 nM and 1 uM, While with nab-paclitaxel IC50 was reached at 4-5 nM and 9-10 nM, respectively. Conclusion: Our data showed that nab-paclitaxel has comparable antiproliferative activity to both cisplatin resistant and cisplatin sensitive head and neck cancer cell lines. We are currently exploring the synergistic effect of nab-paclitaxel in combination with bevacizumab. Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr 4592.


Our understanding of the molecular underpinnings of cardiac development and stress-response has progressed non-linearly over the past 40 years. Preliminary observations that cardiac RNA content increases along with muscle mass in hypertrophy were followed in the 1980s by an explosion of information derived from the fruits of cDNA cloning: The use of individual gene-specific cDNA probes for spatio-temporal analysis of gene expression lead to the description of cardiac myosin and actin isoform mRNA regulation by thyroid hormone. Recombinant expression systems were developed as platforms for functional analyses of cDNA products. Assays of muscle-specific mRNAs after cellular manipulation revealed that intracellular proteins regulate gene transcription. The subsequent decades defined specific cis DNA elements and transactivating protein factors that reprogram individual cardiac genes in disease, and transcriptional profiling by microarray or RNA sequencing revealed genome-wide mRNA regulation under pathological conditions. However, the underlying mechanistic concepts about how mRNA expression is regulated did not change. Now, we are witnessing a second molecular revolution catalyzed by the recent observation that cytoplasmic microRNAs directly regulate mRNAs. Whereas transcriptional regulation is more "on" or "off" for a single gene, a single microRNA can fine-tune entire biological pathways according to physiological demand by partially suppressing or destabilizing multiple functionally related mRNAs. Concomitant transcriptional regulation of microRNAs and their mRNA targets in cardiac disease enhances diversity of response, but deconvoluting these interactions is a challenge to defining the role of microRNAs in heart disease. Understanding the determinants of microRNA-mRNA targeting will accelerate rational development of microRNA-based therapeutics.


3. Royal College of Physicians: Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme. National Hip Fracture Database (NHFD) extended report 2014. Available at: http://www.nhfd. co.uk/20/hipfractureR.nsf/vwcontent/2014reportPDFs/$file/ NHFD2014ExtendedReport.pdf?OpenElement. Accessed December 16, 2014 4. Hip Fracture Perioperative Network. Available at: https:// www.networks.nhs.uk/nhs-networks/hip-fractureanaesthesia. Accessed July 16, 2015 5. White SM, Griffiths R, Holloway J, Shannon A: Anaesthesia for proximal femoral fracture in the UK: First report from the NHS Hip Fracture Anaesthesia Network. Anaesthesia 2010; 65:243–8 6. Royal College of Physicians: Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland. National Hip Fracture Database. Anaesthesia Sprint Audit of Practice (ASAP). Available at: http://www.nhfd.co.uk/20/hipfractureR.nsf/vwContent/ asapReport/$file/onlineASAP.pdf. Accessed December 16, 2014 7. Khan SK, Kalra S, Khanna A, Thiruvengada MM, Parker MJ: Timing of surgery for hip fractures: A systematic review of 52 published studies involving 291,413 patients. Injury 2009; 40:692–7 8. Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland: Management of Proximal Femoral Fractures 2011. Anaesthesia 2012; 67:85–98 9. Ballard C, Jones E, Gauge N, Aarsland D, Nilsen OB, Saxby BK, Lowery D, Corbett A, Wesnes K, Katsaiti E, Arden J, Amoako D, Amaoko D, Prophet N, Purushothaman B, Green D: Optimised anaesthesia to reduce post operative cognitive decline (POCD) in older patients undergoing elective surgery, a randomised controlled trial. PLoS One 2012; 7:e37410 10. Brown CH IV, Azman AS, Gottschalk A, Mears SC, Sieber FE: Sedation depth during spinal anesthesia and survival in elderly patients undergoing hip fracture repair. Anesth Analg 2014; 118:977–80 11. Wood RJ, White SM: Anaesthesia for 1131 patients undergoing proximal femoral fracture repair: A retrospective, observational study of effects on blood pressure, fluid administration and perioperative anaemia. Anaesthesia 2011; 66:1017–22 12. Foss NB, Kristensen BB, Bundgaard M, Bak M, Heiring C, Virkelyst C, Hougaard S, Kehlet H: Fascia iliaca compartment blockade for acute pain control in hip fracture patients: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial. ANESTHESIOLOGy 2007; 106:773–8 13. Beaudoin FL, Haran JP, Liebmann O: A comparison of ultrasound-guided three-in-one femoral nerve block versus parenteral opioids alone for analgesia in emergency department patients with hip fractures: A randomized controlled trial. Acad Emerg Med 2013; 20:584–91 14. Diakomi M, Papaioannou M, Mela A, Kouskouni E, Makris A: Preoperative fascia iliaca compartment block for positioning patients with hip fractures for central nervous blockade: A randomized trial. Reg Anesth Pain Med 2014; 39:394–8 15. Rashid A, Beswick E, Galitzine S, Fitton L: Regional analgesia in the emergency department for hip fractures: Survey of current UK practice and its impact on services in a teaching hospital. Emerg Med J 2014; 31:909–13 16. Karres J, Heesakkers NA, Ultee JM, Vrouenraets BC: Predicting 30-day mortality following hip fracture surgery: Evaluation of six risk prediction models. Injury 2015; 46:371–7 17. Protopapa KL, Simpson JC, Smith NC, Moonesinghe SR: Development and validation of the Surgical Outcome Risk Tool (SORT). Br J Surg 2014; 101:1774–83


Ice-rich permafrost has been subject to abrupt thaw and thermokarst formation in the past and is vulnerable to current global warming. The ice-rich permafrost domain includes Yedoma sediments that have never thawed since deposition during the late Pleistocene and Alas sediments that were formed by previous thermokarst processes during the Lateglacial and Holocene warming. Permafrost thaw unlocks organic carbon (OC) and minerals from these deposits and exposes OC to mineralization. A portion of the OC can be associated with iron (Fe), a redox-sensitive element acting as a trap for OC. Post-depositional thaw processes may have induced changes in redox conditions in these deposits and thereby affected Fe distribution and interactions between OC and Fe, with knock-on effects on the role that Fe plays in mediating present day OC mineralization. To test this hypothesis, we measured Fe concentrations and proportion of Fe oxides and Fe complexed with OC in unthawed Yedoma and previously thawed Alas deposits. Total Fe concentrations were determined on 1,292 sediment samples from the Yedoma domain using portable X-ray fluorescence; these concentrations were corrected for trueness using a calibration based on a subset of 144 samples measured by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry after alkaline fusion (R 2 = 0.95). The total Fe concentration is stable with depth in Yedoma deposits, but we observe a depletion or accumulation of total Fe in Alas deposits, which experienced previous thaw and/or flooding events. Selective Fe extractions targeting reactive forms of Fe on unthawed and previously thawed deposits highlight that about 25% of the total Fe is present as reactive species, either as crystalline or amorphous oxides, or complexed with OC, with no significant difference in proportions of reactive Fe between Yedoma and Alas deposits. These results suggest that redox driven processes during past thermokarst formation impact the present-day distribution of total Fe, and thereby the total amount of reactive Fe in Alas versus Yedoma deposits. This study highlights that ongoing thermokarst lake formation and drainage dynamics in the Arctic influences reactive Fe distribution and thereby interactions between Fe and OC, OC mineralization rates, and greenhouse gas emissions.


Stutter removal is an essential scenario in the field of speech editing. However, when the speech recording contains stutters, the existing text-based speech editing approaches still suffer from: 1) the over-smoothing problem in the edited speech; 2) lack of robustness due to the noise introduced by stutter; 3) to remove the stutters, users are required to determine the edited region manually. To tackle the challenges in stutter removal, we propose FluentSpeech, a stutter-oriented automatic speech editing model. Specifically, 1) we propose a context-aware diffusion model that iteratively refines the modified mel-spectrogram with the guidance of context features; 2) we introduce a stutter predictor module to inject the stutter information into the hidden sequence; 3) we also propose a stutter-oriented automatic speech editing (SASE) dataset that contains spontaneous speech recordings with time-aligned stutter labels to train the automatic stutter localization model. Experimental results on VCTK and LibriTTS datasets demonstrate that our model achieves state-of-the-art performance on speech editing. Further experiments on our SASE dataset show that FluentSpeech can effectively improve the fluency of stuttering speech in terms of objective and subjective metrics. Code and audio samples can be found at https://github.com/Zain-Jiang/Speech-Editing-Toolkit.


The serious inconsistency problem between the values of experimental and theoretical n/ p ratio of the nonmesonic weak decay ofhypernuclei has been resolved recently. We have shown that the reason behind the problem was the quenching of the nucleon yields which in turn was due to the contribution of the three-body process. We have measured that the branching ratio of the three-body process in nonmesonic weak decay, 0.29±0.13, is so large that the absolute values of n and p must be determined taking account of the contribution of the 3-body process. In this paper, the recent studies toward the finding of the 3-body process via the exclusive coincidence experiments are presented.


Why is this an issue?

The opioid crisis is an ongoing public health concern in Canada. In 2022, a total of 7,328 apparent opioid toxicity deaths were reported, which is an average of 20 deaths per day.
Xylazine, referred to as tranq, is an animal tranquilizer that has appeared as an adulterant in the unregulated drug supply (particularly in opioids) and is contributing to increasing numbers of drug poisoning (overdose) events and deaths.
There is no approved drug for humans for reversing the effects of xylazine, so detection is critical.

What is the technology?

The Rapid Response Xylazine Test Strip by BTNX (Pickering, Ontario) is a rapid test for the detection of xylazine that can be used for drug checking in an unregulated drug supply.

What is the potential impact?

Xylazine can have harmful effects, such as severe skin lesions, central nervous system depression, cardiovascular effects, and death.
The detection of xylazine using a test strip could alter consumption behaviours, such as avoiding the use of contaminated drugs, reducing the quantity consumed, injecting more slowly, or choosing to use at a supervised consumption site.

What else do we need to know?

The strips are currently available in Canada for $349.00 for a box of 100 or $3.49 per strip.
Although these strips are good at checking for xylazine, they are not designed to anticipate and test for the next adulterant to enter the unregulated drug supply which could be equally or even more dangerous. Therefore, these strips would be useful as part of a robust harm reduction strategy.


History education has been labelled as a rigid, boring and least favoured subject amongst students especially primary and secondary school students. Classroom practice is said to lack consistency and often based on date's conceptualization of the construct. Scholars have introduced variety of conceptual and practical approaches to attract student's interest in learning history but this still lead to persistent confusion about the nature, purpose and significance of learning history. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to analyse the progress of history education in Malaysia, Finland and Republic of Turkey. We focus on the goals set by the curriculum, the common issues in learning history and the the method used in teaching and learning history in these countries. We aim to highlight the challenges at implementing the best history education curriculum in Malaysia, Finland and Republic of Turkey and where further study is needed.


Abstract Morphologic analyses of a large quantity of teudopseid coleoids from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Lebanon has yielded a much higher diversity than previously assumed and revealed numerous extraordinarily well-preserved soft-part characters. The Teudopseina is represented by three families (only the Muensterellidae are still unknown in the Lebanon Plattenkalks). The Teudopsidae is represented by one species (Teudopsinia haasi), the Trachyteuthididae by five species (Trachyteuthis bacchiai n. sp., Glyphiteuthis libanotica, Gl. abisaadiorum, Gl. freijii n. sp., and Glyphidopsis waagei n. gen. n. sp.), and the Palaeololiginidae by one species (Rachiteuthis donovani). Gl. freijii n. sp. represents the first record of a coleoid cephalopod from Nâmmoura. A detailed comparison with Jurassic gladii shows that the Teudopseina is a very homogenous group that can be easily differentiated from other Mesozoic, gladius-bearing groups (Prototeuthidina, Loligosepiina). Despite comparatively large gaps in the fossil record, each of the Late Cretaceous gladii can be readily associated with Jurassic precursors. Particularly, the first record of two pairs of fins in Glyphiteuthis exemplifies that in addition to gladius similarities, similarities in soft-parts exist as well. A previously undescribed specimen of Rachiteuthis exhibits unusually well-preserved gills. In general, the soft-part morphology of the Teudopseina clearly indicates octobrachiate affinities (i.e., absence of tentacles, circular suckers, cirri, two pairs of fins, octopod-like eye capsules); no existing evidence supports a decabrachiate relationship.


Nanocomposites consisting of a piezoceramic inclusion and polymer matrix offer a combination of electromechanical coupling with high toughness and ductility inherent to polymers. There is a wide range of applications for these types of materials due to their intrinsic piezoelectric and dielectric properties, such as vibration sensing, actuation, energy harvesting and capacitive energy storage. However, the relatively low piezoelectric strain coefficient and dielectric permittivity of these nanocomposites significantly limit their application in energy conversion and energy storage applications. There are mainly two coupled to improve the dielectric permittivity and electromechanical properties of piezoceramic nanocomposites, namely higher aspect ratio active inclusions and alignment of inclusions in the direction of the applied electric field. Previously, we have demonstrated that using higher aspect ratio lead zirconate titanate (PZT) nanowires (NWs) could significantly enhance the energy density and d33 coupling as compared to the samples with lower aspect ratio PZT nanorods [11]. In this paper, we will show that orientation of PZT NWs also influences energy storage capability of nanocomposite. Nanocomposites with aligned PZT NWs in the direction of the applied electric field show increased dielectric permittivity and energy density as compared to those with randomly dispersed inclusions. PZT NWs are hydrothermally synthesized, dispersed into a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), cast into a film and then aligned through uniaxial stretching. Scanning electric microscopy (SEM) shows the PZT NWs are successfully aligned in direction of stretching. This work demonstrates that the energy storage and conversion capability of the nanocomposite can be significantly enhanced through the alignment of PZT NWs in the direction of the applied electric field. The findings of this research could lead to broad interest due to demonstration of developing piezoceramic nanocomposites with enhanced dielectric and electromechanical properties for next generation energy storage and conversion devices.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


We examine how firms can create word-of-mouth peer influence and social contagion by designing viral features into their products and marketing campaigns. To econometrically identify the effectiveness of different viral features in creating social contagion, we designed and conducted a randomized field experiment involving the 1.4 million friends of 9,687 experimental users on Facebook.com. We find that viral features generate econometrically identifiable peer influence and social contagion effects. More surprisingly, we find that passive-broadcast viral features generate a 246% increase in peer influence and social contagion, whereas adding active-personalized viral features generate only an additional 98% increase. Although active-personalized viral messages are more effective in encouraging adoption per message and are correlated with more user engagement and sustained product use, passive-broadcast messaging is used more often, generating more total peer adoption in the network. Our work provides a model for how randomized trials can identify peer influence in social networks.

This paper was accepted by Pradeep Chintagunta and Preyas Desai, special issue editors.

This paper was accepted by Pradeep Chintagunta and Preyas Desai, special issue editors.


This paper describes a successfully applied method to predict future wafer fab cycle time under different fab loading situations. To meet customer demands, a confident cycle time commitment is necessary especially if fab loading will significantly increase. To handle this complex forecast, an easy to use methodology was been developed and successfully used during a+15% fab loading ramp up project. Based on individual work center operating curves, a quite realistic detailed cycle time prognosis for an existing wafer fab was done.


Despite the number of studies about the psychosocial factors associated with unemployment, most examine the effect on the individual level. In this study, our objective was to conduct a systematic review of the impact of unemployment on the marital relationship. The bibliographic research was performed on the Academic Search Complete, PsycArticles, PsycInfo, Scopus and SocIndex databases. After excluding duplicate results, three judges evaluated 335 articles in a consensual and blinded review, based on the following eligibility criteria: a) indexed articles; b) written in English, French, Spanish or Portuguese; c) available online; d) using quantitative or mixed methodology. As a result, we analyzed 22 articles, whose content analysis originated five categories: divorce; mental health, well-being and satisfaction with life; marital satisfaction; stress and coping; housework. The effect of unemployment on the relationship seems to be more negative than positive, and gender is an important variable in the analysis of marital dynamics in face of


In the paper there are discussed certain issues concerning ill-posed problems that frequently appear in inverse problems, modal analysis, acoustics and other methods making use of matrix algebra. There is presented the mathematical definition, application of the singular value decomposition method to ill-posed problems detecting as well as a new method of improving such problems conditioning by the use of the Tikhonov regularization method. In the paper are presented some results of solution estimation of the Fredholm integral equation of the first kind that is the classical ill-posed problem. Analysis was carried out in the Matlab environment by means of the least squares and Tikhonov regularization methods for both the noiseless and noisy cases.


The General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) has recently become a standard to extend the services provided by the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). GPRS addresses packet-oriented traffic, by allowing a more efficient usage of the radio resources with a consequent improvement in the quality of service (QoS) for subscribers. This paper focuses on a preliminary evaluation of dependability and performance figures of the GPRS, by analyzing its behavior during the contention phase where users compete for the channel reservation. The presented work constitutes the first step towards the analysis of the GPRS under critical conditions, as determined by periods of outages, which significantly impact on the dependability, of the GPRS itself. In fact, outages imply service unavailability, with a consequent accumulation of users actively waiting for making a service request, leading to a higher probability of collisions on requests (and therefore a degradation of the QoS perceived by the users) when the system comes back up again. In this paper, some analyses have been performed using a simulation approach, to gain insights on appropriate settings for the GPRS, at varying values of internal and external system conditions.


In this thesis a method for solving the Generalized Assignment Problem (GAP) is described. It is based on a reformulation of the original problem into a Set Partitioning Problem (SPP), in which the columns represent partial solutions to the original problem. For solving this problem, column generation, with systematic overgeneration of columns, is used. Conditions that guarantee that an optimal solution to a restricted SPP is optimal also in the original problem are given. In order to satisfy these conditions, not only columns with the most negative Lagrangian reduced costs need to be generated, but also others; this observation leads to the use of overgeneration of columns.The Generalized Assignment Problem has shown to be NP-hard and therefore efficient algorithms are needed, especially for large problems. The application of the proposed method decomposes GAP into several knapsack problems via Lagrangian relaxation, and enumerates solutions to each of these problems. The solutions obtained from the knapsack problems form a Set Partitioning Problem, which consists of combining one solution from each knapsack problem to obtain a solution to the original problem. The algorithm has been tested on problems with 10 agents and 60 jobs. This leads to 10 knapsack problems, each with 60 variables.


The precise position of the mobile station is critical for the ever increasing number of applications based on location. We introduce a novel positioning technique for positioning a GSM mobile phone in real-time. This technique is based on the GSM mobile phone feature that it can measure the signal strengths from a number of nearby base stations. We use the GSM signal strengths measured in a real environment to train an artificial neural network. The neural network is trained using the second order learning algorithm (extended Kalman filter) because of its superiority in learning speed and mapping accuracy. The mobile position can be determined with good accuracy by providing the current signal strength data to a previously trained neural network. The EKF shows its superiority to back propagation (BP) in both the general feed forward (GFF) and the multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network architectures. The good accuracy of the calculated position with EKF training in either a GFF or MLP neural network is shown.


Two studies were conducted for the purpose of validating Foster(cid:146)s (2004) Gossip Functions Questionnaire (GFQ) which measures the reasons why people gossip (i.e., the functions of gossip). The GFQ originally consisted of four subscales that measured the functions of gossip: information, entertainment, friendship, and influence. In Study One, an exploratory factor analysis failed to reveal the four subscales Foster originally conceptualized. However, three factors were apparent that seemed to measure three separate functions of gossip: trivial gossip, influential gossip, and behavioral guidance gossip. In Study Two, a confirmatory factor analysis of a second data set failed to validate the 3-factor Gossip Functions Questionnaire. It was also proposed that the GFQ would be related to indirect interpersonal aggression, Machiavellianism, and tendency to gossip. The data from Study Two indicated that the 3-factor Gossip Functions Questionnaire was, in fact, significantly positively related to each of the variables above.


Timing of aortic valve intervention for chronic aortic regurgitation (AR) and/or aortic stenosis (AS) potentially affects long-term survival. The 2014 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology (AHA/ACC) guidelines provide recommendations for the timing of intervention. Subsequent to the guidelines' release, several studies have been published that suggest a survival benefit from earlier timing of surgery for severe AR and/or AS. The aim of this review was to determine whether patients who have chronic aortic regurgitation (AR) and/or aortic stenosis (AS) have a survival benefit from earlier timing of aortic valve surgery. Medical databases were systematically searched from January 2015 to April 2020 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies that examined the timing of aortic valve replacement surgery for chronic AR and/or AS. For chronic AR, four observational studies and no RCTs were identified. For chronic AS, five observational studies, one RCT and one meta-analysis were identified. One observational study examining mixed aortic valve disease (MAVD) was identified. All of these studies, for AR, AS, and MAVD, found long-term survival benefit from timing of aortic valve surgery earlier than the current guidelines. Larger prospective RCTs are required to evaluate the benefit of earlier surgical intervention.


A controversy has existed over the interaction of syntax and semantics in natural language understanding systems. According to theories of integrated parsing, syntactic and semantic processing should take place simultaneously, with the parsing process driven by a single rule base which contains both syntactic and semantic knowledge. This is in sharp contrast to traditional linguistic approaches to language analysis, in which syntactic and semantic processing are performed separately from one another, driven by completely separate sets of syntactic and semantic rules.

This paper presents an approach to natural language understanding which is a compromise between these two views. It is an integrated approach, in the sense that syntactic and semantic processing take place at the same time. However, unlike previous integrated systems, the approach described here uses largely separate bodies of syntactic and semantic knowledge, which are combined only at the time of processing.


Storytelling has a long tradition in education including language learning and teaching because of its extensive benefits in language development. In second and foreign language education, stories and storytelling have been integrated into school curricula to enhance language development; however, there is scarce empirical evidence about how storytelling facilitates children's English as a foreign language (EFL) learning and its potential as a holistic pedagogy. This article explores a living educational theory (Whitehead & McNiff, 2006) of how storytelling works as a pedagogy in storytelling workshops with an English class at a private tuition centre in Vietnam to facilitate children's EFL learning. Key pedagogical elements identified through the living theory methodology included storytelling as: a responsive strategy; multimodal scaffolding; mutual inspiration; and a linguistic model. Each of these elements is explained with illustrative examples from the storytelling workshops.


Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) design requires an integration of elements from two or more disparate physical domains: mechanical (translational, rotational, hydraulic), electrical, magnetic, thermal, etc. Different parts of a MEMS system are traditionally designed separately, using different methodologies and different tools applied to different energy domains. Although major Hardware Description Languages (HDLs) such as VHDL, Verilog and SystemC have been supplemented with analogue and mixed-signal (AMS) extensions which are essential in analogue and mixed-technology design, development of corresponding analogue and mixed-technology synthesis methodologies is still lagging behind. Therefore, there is an increasing need for automated synthesis techniques that can reduce the development cycle and facilitate the generation of optimal configurations. This research investigates and develops techniques for automated high-level performance optimisation and synthesis of mixed-technology MEMS systems. Results of this research have been published in 9 papers at peer reviewed international conferences and one two-part journal paper. Specific contributions of this research can be summarised as follows. Firstly, a dedicated distributed model of a mixed-technology MEMS case study of an accelerometer operating in a Sigma-Delta force-feedback control scheme is developed. The distributed behaviour is essential in the MEMS accelerometer design because it has been observed that sense finger resonance, usually not included in conventional models, affects the performance of the electromechanical Sigma-Delta feedback control. As shown in the simulation results, the Sigma-Delta loop failure, when the sense fingers bend seriously or oscillate, is captured by the proposed model but cannot be correctly modelled using conventional approach. Secondly, a novel, holistic approach is proposed for automated optimal layout synthesis of MEMS systems embedded in electronic control circuitry from user-defined high-level performance specifications and design constraints. The synthesis technique has been implemented in SystemC-A and named SystemC-AGNES. The method efficiently, and in an automated manner, generates suitable layouts of mechanical sensing element and configurations of the Sigma-Delta control loop by combining primitive components stored in a library and optimising them according to user specifications. Synthesis results show that the proposed technique explores the configuration space effectively, and it develops new structures which have not been investigated before. This contribution has been published as a two part paper in the Sensors & Transducers Journal. Finally, to enhance the modelling efficiency and capability of SystemC-A, for mixed-technology systems with crucial distributed behaviour, language extension has been proposed to efficiently support general partial differential equations(PDEs) modelling.


Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations have declined over the last 50 years throughout the majority of their historical range, primarily due to habitat loss and degradation caused by modern farming practices, increased urbanization, succession of native grasslands to forests, decreases in native pasture acreage and increases in grazing intensity. Recent questions regarding conservation grazing and prescribed burning management regimes and extensive grassland management suggest further information on vegetation and management effects on bobwhite demographics is necessary for robust conservation planning. Information regarding the survival and resource selection through fall and winter is necessary to create a holistic management plan which benefits bobwhite at all stages of their annual cycle. Therefore, our objective was to determine the relationship of bobwhite survival and resource selection to vegetation types and management practices to fill in knowledge gaps of their annual cycle and demography. We used known-fate, logistic exposure survival models to estimate survival of birds fitted with tracking devices. We used 2068 bobwhite locations from 1 Nov to 31 Jan, 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 to fit 7 models that represented competing hypotheses concerning the amount of native grass, intensive and extensive management, and woody cover. Variation in survival was not explained by the amount of native grass managed by prescribed burning and grazing on the landscape. However, survival was negatively related to prescribed burning. Survival was negatively related to the distance to shrubs but not related to shrub edge density or proportion of shrub cover within 50 m. Survival was also positively related to the distance from the nearest tree. We used conditional multinomial logit discrete models to evaluate the relationship of vegetation and management types to bobwhite resource selection by comparing covariates among the used point and a set of random points that defined a choice set for each bobwhite location. We used 671 choice sets from 1 Nov 2018 to 31 Jan 2019 to fit 6 candidate models in a model selection framework which represented combinations of our hypothesized drivers of bobwhite fall and winter resource selection. We found no support for an effect of native warm season grasses or the effect of prescribed burning and grazing on resource selection. Bobwhite selected locations with greater woody stem counts and greater visual obstruction, both of which are indicative of shrub cover, and there was a weak positive relationship with woody edge density However, bobwhite also selected locations that were closer to trees. We found weak support for negative effects of the percentages of forb and bare ground at a given location on resource selection, while there was a negative effect of grass on winter resource selection. Woody cover was an important component of vegetation contributing to fall and winter survival and resource selection of bobwhite in Missouri. More specifically, proximity to shrubs and distance from trees were positively related to survival. Greater quantities of woody stems, indicative of shrub thickets also increased the relative probability of selection. Interestingly, closer proximity to trees also increased the relative probability of selection, potentially indicating an ecological trap. While necessary, the utility of native grasslands for bobwhite is greatly diminished if they do not contain shrub cover. Prescribed burning is perhaps the most effective tool to manage native grasslands for bobwhite habitat as it simultaneously promotes native grass quality, removes litter, and prevents shrub cover from dominating the landscape and succeeding to trees. While prescribed fire is important for controlling woody vegetation and for the creation of breeding, nesting, and brood rearing habitat, its short-term effect was to reduce survival of bobwhite in the fall and winter. We suggest that application of prescribed fire on short intervals at large scales will likely reduce the quality of habitat available to bobwhite during the fall and winter seasons. However, the use of fire in a multiyear rotation in combination with grazing in native and restored grasslands can create the needed interspersion of shrub cover for fall and winter while meeting the other annual resource needs of bobwhite. Felling mature trees while still maintaining adequate interspersion of shrubs may also prevent an ecological trap because survival was lower nearer trees. Lastly, while our study focused on fall and winter habitat, we suggest conservation planning and management needs to consider quail needs throughout their full annual cycle.


Tritium retention and release data for lithium ceramics (Li/sub 2/O, LiAlO/sub 2/, and Li/sub 4/SiO/sub 4/) are available from in-reactor and post-irradiation anneal tests on single crystals, powders, and sintered products. With the exception of the single-crystal tests in which bulk diffusion is the rate-limiting release mechanism, it is very difficult to interpret the results of these tests and extrapolate the results to design conditions for a fusion solid-breeder blanket. Mathematical models are presented for various bulk, grain-boundary, and free-surface phenomena to aid in the interpretation and extrapolation of the data. 24 refs., 6 figs., 4 tabs.


In numerous healthcare systems, some physicians combine public hospital employment with a private practice - a phenomenon referred to as physician dual practice. Dual practice raises numerous concerns with regard to its possible negative effects on the work performance of physicians in public hospitals. The purpose of this study is to test the theoretical predictions with regards to the dual-practice effects on work inputs of public hospital physicians. We use a crosssectional data on physicians work inputs from a 2008 nation representative survey of public hospital physicians in Denmark. To tackle the limitations imposed by the cross-sectional character of the data and the self-(selection) problem we employ a multilevel mixed model. Multilevel modelling is a Bayesian alternative to the frequentist models of causal inference from observational data such as simultaneous equation or matching methods, including propensity score analysis. The multilevel mixed model gives the relationship between dual practice and the physicians' behaviour in the public hospitals, controlling for confounders such as a hospital type, medical specialty, position, income, age, gender, and years of working experience, as well as potential confounders related to all these background characteristics. The results do not reveal any patterned relationship between dual practice and public hospital work hours, participation in voluntary tasks or activities that might conflict with the private-practice hours, or preferences for part-time employment. The results also do not support the general presumption that the physicians who work exclusively in public hospitals are more altruistic and hence, voluntarily provide more work inputs than dual-practitioners. The causal inference with the current data is challenging, especially in the view of the labour economics and personnel economics studies on dual job holding, which suggest that dual and single jobholders represent different types of personality, with the dual jobholders being the more proactive employees. The current analysis does not account for the possible differences in the personality, hence it cannot be excluded that the dual-practitioners change someway their work behaviour in public hospitals after the commencement of dual practice. Still, it can be concluded that physicians engaged in dual practice perform at least as good in the public hospitals as their counterparts who do not hold a second job.


Pseudotumor cerebri is a rare condition of Behcet's disease. Enlargement of optic nerve sheath and increased subarachnoid fluid around the optic nerve are uncommon magnetic resonance (MR) findings of the patients with pseudotumor cerebri. To the best of our knowledge, these findings were not reported in pseudotumor cerebri due to Behcet's disease. Lumboperitoneal shunting surgery may be performed in cases which have visual symptoms and refractory to the medical treatment. In this paper, the relevant clinical and radiological findings were discussed, and a brief overview of therapeutic management was provided.


Background The presence of lymph node metastasis leads to a poor prognosis for prostate cancer (Pca). Recently, many studies have indicated that gene signatures may be able to predict the status of lymph nodes. The purpose of this study is to probe and validate a new tool to predict lymph node metastasis (LNM) based on alternative splicing (AS). Methods Gene expression profiles and clinical information of prostate adenocarcinoma cohort were retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and the corresponding RNA-seq splicing events profiles were obtained from the TCGA SpliceSeq. Limma package was used to identify the differentially expressed alternative splicing (DEAS) events between LNM and non-LNM groups. Eight machine learning classifiers were built to train with stratified five-fold cross-validation. SHAP values was used to explain the model. Results 333 differentially expressed alternative splicing (DEAS) events were identified. Using correlation filter and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method, a 96 AS signature was identified that had favorable discrimination in the training set and validated in the validation set. The linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was the best classifier after 100 iterations of training. The LDA classifier was able to distinguish between LNM and non-LNM with an area under the receiver operating curve of 0.962 ± 0.026 in the training set (D1 = 351) and 0.953 in the validation set (D2 = 62). The decision curve analysis plot proved the clinical application of the AS-based model. Conclusion Machine learning combined with AS data could robustly distinguish between LNM and non-LNM in Pca.


We have combined UV to radio centimetric observations of resolved galaxies in the Virgo cluster with multizone, chemospectrophotometric models of galaxy evolution especially tailored to take into account the effects of the cluster environment (ram pressure stripping and starvation). This exercise has shown that anemic spirals with truncated radial profiles of the gas component and of the young stellar populations, typical in rich clusters of galaxies, have been perturbed by a recent (∼100 Myr) ram pressure stripping event induced by their interaction with the cluster intergalactic medium. Starvation is not able to reproduce the observed truncated radial profiles. Both ram pressure and starvation induce a decrease of the stellar surface brightness of the perturbed disc, and thus can hardly be invoked to explain the formation of lenticular galaxies inhabiting rich clusters, which are characterised by higher surface brightnesses than early type spirals of similar luminosity. In dwarfs the ram pressure stripping event is so efficient to totally remove their gas thus stopping on short time scales (<2 Gyr) their star formation activity. Low luminosity star forming discs can be transformed in dE galaxies (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Photocatalysts based on TiO2 supported on two different synthetic zeolites (faujasite CBV 760: SiO2/Al2O3 = 60 and mordenite CBV 21A, SiO2/Al2O3 = 20), containing 10 wt% and 40 wt% TiO2 loading, have been synthesized using a sol–gel method without any further calcination. The structural, textural and optical properties of the samples have been characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), elemental analysis (ICP-OES), N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, aberration corrected Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy with High Angle Annular Dark Field imaging combined with Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (STEM/HAADF/EELS), and UV-Vis Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS). The characterization data confirmed that an amorphous layer containing polycrystalline anatase TiO2 was formed efficiently on the surface of the zeolites, showing 2–4 nm crystalline domains. The photocatalytic activities of different samples were tested for the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange, which showed increased adsorption of the dye molecule, and a faster degradation reaction than the calcined counterparts. Interestingly, although the supported TiO2 catalysts were not calcined, the best catalysts, 10TZY60nc and 40TZY60nc, showed negligible Ti4+ leaching and their reusability was verified for three cycles without noticeable photocatalytic activity decrement.


Loneliness and social isolation have become significant concerns in many countries, particularly among people experiencing mental health problems. A social intervention Connecting People has been found to increase their access to social capital, though it has been difficult to implement with high fidelity in community mental health teams (CMHTs) in England. This study aimed to evaluate outcomes for mental health service users of a practitioner-led implementation of Connecting People in CMHTs. It used a pragmatic nonrandomised two-group pre-post study to evaluate the implementation process in CMHTs. Implementation materials co-produced with service users was provided to the intervention teams for practitioners to use with the support of a senior social worker in each mental health NHS Trust (n=5). Service users were interviewed at baseline (n=151) and at sixmonth follow-up (n=127), and their outcome and cost data were analysed on an intention-totreat basis. Analysis of primary and secondary outcome variables found no differences between the intervention and control groups. The economic evaluation found no significant differences between groups in mean costs or outcomes. The findings suggest that it could be difficult for social workers to implement Connecting People in CMHTs or that it does not improve outcomes for CMHT users.


B28 Molecular profiling can identify biomarkers that predict response to therapy in cell lines, in animal models, and in the clinic. We recently used molecular profiling and RNAi analysis to show that asparagine synthetase (ASNS) is a causal biomarker for activity of the anti-leukemia enzyme-drug L-asparaginase (L-ASP) in ovarian lines of the NCI-60 panel. Although leukemic and ovarian were the only subpanels of the NCI-60 to exhibit strong L-ASP/ASNS correlations, we nevertheless hypothesized that modulation of ASNS expression by RNAi would reveal a causal relationship between ASNS expression and L-ASP efficacy in other cancer cell types as well. In support of that hypothesis, we have now found that RNAi-mediated silencing of ASNS results in a 3- to 10,000-fold potentiation of L-ASP activity in breast, colon, CNS, prostate, melanoma, and renal cancers lines from the NCI-60 set. Interestingly, we also find that the mechanism of L-ASP potentiation by RNAi involves more than just a leftward shift of the L-ASP dose-response curve; RNAi also suppresses a rightward shift of the dose-response curve caused by ASNS up-regulation following L-ASP treatment. Those findings prompted us to investigate at the RNA and protein levels how well ASNS expression can predict L-ASP activity across multiple cancer types in the NCI-60. The most striking result was that baseline ASNS protein levels yield a strong correlation with L-ASP efficacy (r = -0.64; p = 0.012, one-tailed). These findings provide rationale for clinical evaluation of ASNS protein expression as a predictive biomarker of L-ASP efficacy across multiple cancer types.


THE events of the past few years have alerted economists and non-economists alike to the difficulty of choosing appropriate monetary policies while making the implicit assumption that the economy is closed. The problems posed for policy-makers by the existence of a deficit in the balance of payments and a continued gold outflow are familiar enough. Indeed, the balance-of-payments deficit and the gold outflow have received so much recent attention that it is perhaps time to recall that there are also dangers in ignoring or minimizing certain domestic effects of monetary policy. The dangers result from the tendency to equate monetary policy with its effect upon interest rates and its effects on gold outflows and balance-of-payments deficits through interest rates. My conclusion that the domestic effects of changes in money are often ignored is based on several sources. Some of these are familiar; for example, the analysis that was widely used to support the 1964 tax cut in the United States, and recent governmental policy statements suggesting that monetary policy be used for balance-of-payments purposes, while fiscal policy be used to stimulate the domestic economy. More disturbing are the indications of a possible change in current monetary policy that is reflected in a reduced growth rate of the money supply. Enticing as it is to peculate about the present direction of policy, it is probably more fruitful to discuss the rationale used to justify the policy actions of the last few years.


ABSTRACT Exposure to bacterial superantigens such as staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) leads to the induction of toxic shock syndrome which results in multiorgan failure, including liver damage. In the present study, we investigated the role of CD44 in SEB-induced liver injury. Injection of SEB into d-galactosamine-sensitized CD44 wild-type (WT) mice led to a significant increase in CD44 expression on liver T cells, NK cells, and NKT cells. Administration of SEB to CD44 knockout (KO) mice caused significantly enhanced liver damage which correlated with elevated numbers of T cells, NK cells, NKT cells, and macrophages in the liver and increased production of tumor necrosis factor alpha and gamma interferon compared to CD44 WT mice. Furthermore, liver mononuclear cells from CD44 KO mice were resistant to SEB-induced apoptosis, and cDNA microarray analysis revealed that SEB activation of such cells led to the induction of several antiapoptotic genes and repression of proapoptotic genes. Examination of CD44 isoforms revealed that SEB exposure altered CD44 variant 7 (v7) isoform expression. Interestingly, mice bearing a specific deletion of the CD44v7 exon exhibited increased susceptibility to SEB-induced hepatitis. Finally, treatment of CD44 WT mice with anti-CD44 monoclonal antibodies reduced expression of CD44 in liver mononuclear cells and caused increased susceptibility to SEB-induced liver injury. Together, these data demonstrate that the expression of CD44 and/or CD44v7 on SEB-activated liver mononuclear cells facilitates their rapid apoptosis, thereby preventing severe liver injury in wild-type mice, and suggest that CD44 plays an important role in the regulation and elimination of immune cells in the liver.


This research analyses Al-Mabadik Al-Fiqhiyyah (Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence) as one of a compulsory course that should be taken by the students from Tamhidi of Shariah and Law students in Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). Thus, this research aims to discover students' perception regarding this course, including the level of difficulty of the content. Besides, this research also aims to study on how far this subject benefit the students especially when it comes to contemporary issues in order to ensure the effectiveness of teaching and learning process. This study also revealed their ability to differentiate with the other course that should be taken during first semester as well, which is Al-Madkhal ila al-Syari'ah and the relationship with other disciplines. They might have quite similar perception towards this course since they have been exposed to this field since their secondary school. The observation concludes that generally the students are able to understand the content of the course, relate it with contemporary issues and aware that this course indirectly connected with three main fiqh branches: Fiqh, Usul Al-Fiqh and Al-Qawa'id Al-Fiqhiyyah . This course also provides basic knowledge of Islamic Law, fiqh terminology as well as skills required in Islamic legal system as their preparation to further their Bachelor studies in Faculty of Shariah and Law The course required students to complete 4 credit hours for the whole semester as one of the conditions. In line with USIM's principle which is the integration of Naqli and Aqli knowledge, this study found the importance of this concept for the development of education, institution and faculty, as well as widen the scope of the prescribed courses. Furthermore, education is one of the processes for country development by producing citizens with high level of intellectuality and can contribute for the better nation especially through universities' curriculum. The result from this study will be a benchmark for Tamhidi Centre to continue and do some improvement in teaching and learning process without leaving behind the concept of the integration of Naqli and Aqli knowledge.


This is a review of 52 osteosarcomas of the foot. The incidence of osteosarcoma of the foot is very low. It appears to affect older patients and the calcaneus is a common site. The incidence of chondroblastic tumors is high and most tumors are high grade. In many cases, amputation is required for local control of disease.


Although various AIE liquid crystals have been studied, AIE ionic liquid crystals (ILCs) are almost unknown to date. In this work, a series of novel AIE ILCs based on diphenylacrylonitrile-imidazole salts bridged by soft spacers with different anions were prepared in yields of 63-80%. The mesomorphic, photophysical and electrochemical properties were investigated systematically to elucidate the relationship between structures and properties. The results implied that they were the first room-temperature AIE ILCs with wide ranges of mesomorphic temperature, good fluorescence emission in both the solid state and mesophase, and stable electrochemical behaviour. The samples with one alkyl chain possessed the SmA2 mesophase while the samples with two alkyl chains prefered the Colh mesophase. The larger anions resulted in the bigger layer spacing length for the SmA2 mesophase and smaller values of ncell in each slice of Colh mesophase. The fluorescence quantum yields in the mesophase maintained reasonable values (0.15-0.22), which decreased a little in comparison with that in solid films (0.18-0.26) due to the orderly molecular stacking in the mesophase. The cyclic voltammetry experiments confirmed that all of them possessed similar and stable electrochemical behaviour. This research not only presented the first room-temperature AIE ILCs with excellent mesomorphic, photophysical and electrochemical properties, but also elucidated the relationship between structures and properties to a certain degree, contributing to the further construction of novel AIE ILCs with excellent mesomorphic, photophysical and electrochemical properties.


The results of the analysis and interpretation of multi-date satellite images for the period between (1987-2007) in the Nineveh's province to the presence of local spectral anomalies in some areas, reflect a clear change in the pattern of spectral using reflectivity. Analyses of spectral reflectivity using Analytical Spectral Devise (ASD) field Spectro Radiometer for selected samples of soils that have been taken by field work يناتسغادلا يحبص تمكح و مساج يديمح ةزئاف 76 from some sites in the province. They gave spectral anomaly in their profile patterns, compared with other unaffected sites, which have been useful in determining and locating the pollution sites and its classification. Classification of the above pollution sites has been accomplished depending on the comparison of spectral signature of these samples with the field informations. These classes are shown on Geoenvironmental thematic map prepared at scale of 1:50000. This map includes areas of radioactive contamination and environmental, indusial and other of military activity.


This article considers Dutch research data on women driving under the influence of alcohol during the period 1970-87. For the period as a whole women drove under the influence of alcohol less frequently than men. Until 1975-77 the percentage of women driving under the influence of alcohol declined, but since then it has risen again. This development was accompanied by a strong rise in general alcohol consumption until 1980, followed by a gradual decline in subsequent years. The number of women driving during weekend nights rose strongly over the entire period. As a result of this the proportion of women among all intoxicated drivers has risen since 1975-77. The current difference between the percentages of men and women who drive under the influence of alcohol can only be partially explained by differences in alcohol consumption. In order to explain the differences noted between men and women several hypotheses have been formulated. (Author/TRRL)


Nine patients with an adenoid-cystic carcinoma of the trachea are describes. It is a rare tumour which grows relatively slowly; it has a tendency for early invasion of neighbouring tissues, but late distant metastases. A correct diagnosis can be made by the radiologist. The trachea should be visible on every film of the thorax and should be inspected. In particular, a diagnosis of therapy-resistant asthma should direct the attention of the radiologist to the trachea.


Sunscreens are those preparations which are rubbed on to the skin surface for the purpose of protection from the harmful UV radiations from the sun. Exposure to those radiations can results in harmful effects such as cancer, edema, varied pigmentation and erythema as a result of DNA damage. Majority of organic chemicals used in sunscreen formulations have not been established as safe. Natural sunscreens gained importance over synthetic ones due to their less side effects, greater protection and easy availability. A wide range of natural products derived from plants, algae and propolis have shown potential photo protective effect. Natural compounds including flavonoids, cinnamates, polyphenols, carotenoids,anthocyanins,triterpenoid saponins have shown desired Sun Protection Factor (SPF) in addition to anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant property.


Chondrosarcoma morbidity in the Ukrainian SSR in 1973-1975 and 1978-1979 was studied. The yearly mean morbidity was established at 2.5 +/- 0.22 per 1 min population. Tumors were relatively more frequent in males and in rural areas. The highest morbidity levels in both sexes were registered in the age groups of 50-59 years. On the average, 120 new cases of chondrosarcoma are reported in the Republic annually.


In the reverse cholesterol transport pathway cholesterol acceptors like high density lipoproteins (HDL) and apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), must cross the endothelium to get access to the donor cells in the arterial initima. However, it is unknown how they get translocated from the blood stream into the vascular wall. Aortic endothelial cells (ECs) cultivated on inserts bind, internalize and translocate apoA-I and HDL from the apical to the basolateral compartment in a specific, and temperature dependent manner. Both cell surface biotinylation experiments and immunofluorescence microscopy of apoA-I and HDL recovered both intracellularly. Using pharmacological inhibitors and RNA interference we have demonstrated that ECs transcytose HDL and lipid-free apoA-I by distinct mechanisms involving either SR-BI and ABCG1 (HDL) or ABCA1 (apoA-I). Moreover substituting wildtype apoA-I with apoA-I mutants unable to trigger cholesterol efflux resulted in diminished transport through ECs corroborating a specific transport through ECs. Furthermore, during this transport the size of the HDL-particle was reduced but the protein moiety remained intact, in contrast apoA-I changed its mobility in the electrical field but the protein remained intact. These prompted us to analyze the putative involvement of endothelial lipase (EL) in the HDL transport. Binding, cell association and transport of HDL was reduced in cells treated with heparinase. The presence of tetrahydro-lipstatin did not change HDL binding but cell association and transport was reduced. Using RNA interference to modulate EL expression revealed reduced HDL binding, cell association and transport. Furthermore, addition of tetrahydrolipstatin or reduced expression levels of EL resulted in diminished transport rate and the size of the translocated particle remained in contrast to the control. Moreover, silencing SR-BI resulted in diminished HDL transport but the size of the particle was reduced. We conclude that EL participates in HDL transport through ECs.


The recent article by White et al . in the European Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery on the efficacy of chest computed tomography prediction of the pathological TNM stage of thymic epithelial tumors (1) underscores an issue that has impacted the field of thymoma studies, namely what is the proper way for staging such tumors. The study by White et al . (1) shows that preoperative chest CT is able to accurately predict p-TNM stage in only two thirds of surgically resected thymic epithelial tumors. Thus, one third of patients will have false positives or false negatives that may adversely affect the management options for those patients, including decisions of whether to offer preoperative radiation that may lead to incomplete surgical resections or overtreatment of the lesions with added morbidity.


We study the problem of constructing confidence intervals (CIs) for simulation outputs in the presence of input uncertainty, where the constructed CIs capture both the statistical noises from the simulation replications and the input data. We present a simple technique based on sectioning input data that provides exact asymptotic confidence guarantees. Unlike some existing approaches, our technique bypasses the need to consistently estimate variances that could be computationally demanding. It can be flexibly applied to dependent data and to both parametric and nonparametric input models.


Appropriate selection of materials plays an important role in concrete mix design for achieving the requirement of self-compacting concrete and ensuring a balance between deformability and stability. The type of selected materials and the ratios of concrete ingredients can be affected by the fresh and harden properties of the concrete. In the contract agreement of the Mumbai metro underground project, the technical specifications clearly state the values of limits set for achieving the durability parameters for the life of 120 years of the structure. According to the requirement of the site conditions Self-compacting concrete was designed with easily available material, special material like Ultra GGBS- Alcofine 1203 and crystalline waterproofing admixture. Self-compacting concrete is superior concrete than the traditional concrete with high workability, no segregation, no bleeding, and it is also suitable for use in structures with long-distance pumping i.e., more than 120-meter length, for For example, in Underground NATM tunnels, cross-passages, and the concrete structure of the underground metro station box. The paper presents a comparison between concrete mix designs and their achieved test parameters suitable for the contract agreement of the Mumbai metro underground project. The best concrete mix design for Self-compacting concrete was finalized based on flowability, passing ability, segregation resistance, and durability parameters of concrete mix and the same mix is implemented at the site for working structures.


. The last deglaciation is the most recent relatively well-documented period of pronounced and fast climate warming and, as such, it holds important information for our understanding of the climate system. Notably, while research into terrestrial organic carbon reservoirs has been instrumental in exploring the possible sources of atmospheric carbon dioxide during periods of rapid change, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Here we investigate the mobilization of organic matter to the Bay of Biscay at the mouth of the Channel River, where an enhanced terrigenous input has been reported for the last 5 glacial-interglacial transition. A suite of biomarker and isotopic analyses on a high-resolution sedimentary archive provided the first direct evidence for the fluvial supply of immature and ancient terrestrial organic matter to the core location. In the light of what has been reported for other regions with present or past permafrost conditions on land, this result points to the possibility of permafrost carbon export to the ocean, caused by processes that likely furthered the observed changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide. 10


: A new variant of the PCR test system is discussed which allows one to detect Bcl I and Hind III polymorphic sites of FVIII gene. It can be used for rapid and effective diagnosis of hemophilia A, especially, in combination with the blot-hybridization technique that detects other polymorphic variants of FVIII gene. The method proposed is highly accurate, reliable and simple. It allows one to analyze submicrogram quantities of DNA without using radiolabeled probes. The whole procedure takes several hours. The variant discussed can, possibly, be the part of the general scheme of hemophilia diagnosis completely based on the effective PCR test.


Recently, Einsiedler and the authors provided a bound in terms of escape of mass for the amount by which upper-semicontinuity for metric entropy fails for diagonal flows on homogeneous spaces $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}\setminus G$ , where $G$ is any connected semisimple Lie group of real rank one with finite center, and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ is any non-uniform lattice in $G$ . We show that this bound is sharp, and apply the methods used to establish bounds for the Hausdorff dimension of the set of points that diverge on average.


Wireless technology provides an unprecedented level of design flexibility for new system designs and legacy system updates. However, there are several challenges which present themselves when adopting wireless technologies for use in safety systems. This paper elaborates on available design techniques which can resolve the implementation issues for a given application, to ensure data communication between nodes is safe (deterministic), secure, reliable and available.


Satellite remote sensing provides useful gridded data for the conceptual modelling of hydrological processes such as precipitation–runoff relationship. Structurally flexible and computationally advanced AI-assisted data-driven (DD) models foster these applications. However, without linking concepts between variables from many grids, the DD models can be too large to be calibrated efficiently. Therefore, effectively formulized, collective input variables and robust verification of the calibrated models are desired to leverage satellite data for the strategic DD modelling of catchment runoff. This study formulates new satellite-based input variables, namely, catchment- and event-specific areal precipitation coverage ratios (CCOVs and ECOVs, respectively) from the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) and evaluates their usefulness for monthly runoff modelling from five mountainous Karkheh sub-catchments of 5000–43,000 km2 size in west Iran. Accordingly, 12 different input combinations from GPM and MODIS products were introduced to a generalized deep learning scheme using artificial neural networks (ANNs). Using an adjusted five-fold cross-validation process, 420 different ANN configurations per fold choice and 10 different random initial parameterizations per configuration were tested. Runoff estimates from five hybrid models, each an average of six top-ranked ANNs based on six statistical criteria in calibration, indicated obvious improvements for all sub-catchments using the new variables. Particularly, ECOVs were most efficient for the most challenging sub-catchment, Kashkan, having the highest spacetime precipitation variability. However, better performance criteria were found for sub-catchments with lower precipitation variability. The modelling performance for Kashkan indicated a higher dependency on data partitioning, suggesting that long-term data representativity is important for modelling reliability.


Due to its stability, fluidity, pumpability, energy-efficiency and environment-friendliness, paste filling has attracted an increasingly amount of attention in filling field worldwide. As one of the core technologies for paste filling system, pipeline transportation is affected by a number of factors. This paper mainly focuses on two, i.e. paste concentration and rheological characteristics. Based on the study of paste rheological properties and the industrial annulus test, the critical concentration of unclassified tailing is 69.1% and the recommended pipeline resistance is 4.0 MPa/km on pipeline design and equipment selection for Chambishi Copper Mine. This paper aims at providing a reference for similar paste backfilling design in other mines.


We have previously reported that the 3p21 tumor suppressor BLU regulates cell cycle by blocking JNK/MAPK signaling. Another member of the MAPK family, extracellular signal response kinase (ERK), is induced by the RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK pathway and is targeted in anticancer therapy. The effects of BLU on tumor growth were evaluated by measuring the size of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) xenografted tumors intra-tumorally injected with BLU adenovirus 5 (BLU Ad5) and the viability of NPC cells transferred with BLU. Tumor size was correlated with downregulation of the ERK pathway by BLU. Phosphorylation of ERK and Elk reporter activities were assayed. The regulated cyclins D1 and B1 were measured by CCND1 and CCNB1 gene promoter activity by co-transfection of BLU, RAS V12G, together with BLU+RAS V12G, pCD316+RAS V12G. The cell cycle phase distribution was determined by FACS-based DNA content assay. The data showed that growth of the xenografted tumor was inhibited and viability of HONE-1 cells was reduced by recombinant BLU. BLU down-regulated ERK signaling by reducing protein substrate phosphorylation, inhibiting Elk reporter activity, and blocking promoter activities of the CCND1 gene and reduced cyclins D1 expression to arrest the cell cycle at the G1 phase. The population of G2/M cells was also remarkably decreased. HRAS V12G activated ERK and cyclin D1 and B1 promoters, and the effects were antagonized by BLU. Taken together, our results suggested that BLU inhibited ERK signaling, downregulated cyclins D1 and B1, and prevented cell cycle progression through interfering with HRAS V12G signaling to exert tumor suppression.


Dry fish is considered as a delicacy in the menu of many people of Bangladesh. The most economically important marine and freshwater dried fishes are ribbon fish, bombay duck, olive barb, pomfret, shrimp, etc. In this study, fresh ribbon fish sample was collected from Cox's Bazar and morphologically identified as ribbon fish. The collected fish was confirmed through a molecular technique using mitochondrial COI gene (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) to avoid morphological ambiguity, which is first reported data from Bangladesh. Partial sequence of this COI gene was amplified using a genus specific universal primer set. The target nucleotide sequence of COI gene was determined successfully with 616 bp length and the ribbon fish was identified as Eupleurogrammus sp. Within the amplified region GC and AT content were 45.5% and 54.5%, respectively. 16.88% interspecific polymorphism was observed when compared with other species under genus Eupleurogrammus collected from Gen Bank database. This sequence will be used as molecular bar code for authentic identification of Eupleurogrammus sp. at genus level.
Bangladesh J. Zool. 50 (2): 231-238, 2022


During elementary period of learning, children are enthusiastic and spontaneous. This is very intuitive and natural human behaviour. But, the growth of affordable mobile devices have given us the possibility to experience diverse learning without physical movement. It is a considerable threat towards their physical and mental development. In this work, we tried to explore the possibilities of natural human-movement interaction with machine through ExerLearning experience, that is, gamified learning through exercise. We device a learning game for teaching simple dance moves to children which encourages them to perform a pose to match the given dance move. The findings of this work are very encouraging for stimulating students to perform exercise while learning, which effectively shortens the learning time with increased enthusiasm toward the content. Though ExerLearning approaches have been in practice with special devices, our stress on work was cost effective skeletal movement design, independent of body markers and special devices. We attempt to replace conventional skeleton tracking, provided by devices such as Microsoft Kinect, with a single camera, leveraging the power of Deep Learning to perform the same task. The anecdotal description and quantitative data reveals the effect of the enhanced learning outcome on the participants. The design recommendations base on the experimental data can pave a new paradigm of interactive and cost effective ExerLearning.


Clinical and coronary arteriographic findings were evaluated in patients with angina pectoris who were considered not to have diabetes mellitus or to have chemical or clinical diabetes. Each of the three groups consisted of 100 consecutive referred patients. Neither the age of the patients nor duration of symptoms differed significantly among the groups. Hypertension, gout, and peripheral vascular disease were more frequent in the patients with clinical diabetes. There was no difference in serum cholesterol concentration among the groups, but plasma triglyceride levels and the frequency of type 4 hyperlipoproteinemia were significantly higher (p less than 0.01) in the chemical and clinical diabetic groups than in the nondiabetic patients. Coronary arteriographic observations indicated that the severity of the coronary arterial disease was greater in both diabetic groups than in nondiabetic patients. The difference in the coronary scores among the three groups of patients interacts to some extent with the triglyceride level, since a high score in the diabetic groups was noted only in the presence of an elevated tryglyceride concentration. The results indicate that the increased severity of coronary arterial disease in diabetic patients is not attributable to age, duration of symptoms, hypertension, type -4 hyperlipoproteinemia, or apparent severity of the glucose intolerance.


Power dissipation in the sequential systems of modern CPU integrated chips (CPU-IC viz., Silicon Chip) is in discussion since the last decade. Researchers have been cultivating many low power design methods to choose the best potential candidate for reducing both static and dynamic power of a chip. Though, clock gating (CG) has been an accepted technique to control dynamic power dissipation, question still loiters on its credibility to handle the static power of the system. Therefore in this paper, we have revisited the popular CG schemes and found out some scope of improvisation to support the simultaneous reduction of static and dynamic power dissipation. Our proposed CG is simulated for 90nm CMOS using Cadence Virtuoso and has been tested on a conventional Master-Slave Flip-flop at 5GHz clock with a power supply of 1.1Volt. This assignment clearly depicts its supremacy in terms of power and timing metrics in comparison to the implementation of existing CG schemes.


In this paper, "Everything" is a category that formally denotes a set in terms of a collective, where none of its constituents is accidental: neither in relation to other elements, nor to their entirety, nor to the existence of such an entirety. Speaking of Everything, the author thinks also of the specificity and importance of each of the constituents taken individually. The author tries to formulate the most general framework for posing questions and responding to a question about the bond existing between the beginning of Everything and its end; about the bond between the beginning and the end of Everything and the beginning and the end of each one of the things taken separately; about the bond between the beginning and the end of Everything and the beginning and the end of the questioning itself and the concern about it. In the most general sense, it is about the questions concerning the traces of its genesis, marked on Everything, and the indications of its end, coexisting in it.


This article forms part of the Systems Fundamentals knowledge area (KA). It provides various perspectives on systems, including definitions, scope, and context. This article provides a guide to some of the basic concepts of systems developed by systems science and discusses how these relate to the definitions to be found in systems engineering (SE) literature. The concept of an engineered system is introduced as the system context of critical relevance to SE.


BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES
Hypospadias is characterized by a displacement of the urethral opening in males that can change from the typical position within the glans penis to a subcoronal position (Type I), to anywhere along the ventral shaft (Type II), to penoscrotal, scrotal, or perineal positions (Type III). We and others have previously reported that age of the mother (≥ 40 years old) is a risk factor for having a child with hypospadias, but there is a scarcity of reports on whether such risk is higher for having a child with the mild (Type I) or the more severe forms (Types II and III). In addition, we aimed to assess the timing of hypospadias repair according to severity.

METHODS
Parents of children with hypospadias were interviewed by using a series of questionnaires (n = 128 cases). Severity was confirmed in the clinic and age of the mother was self-reported. Number of surgeries, age of child by the first and the last intervention was also assessed. Ordered logistic regression and the Brant test were employed to calculate risk between mild (Type I) and severe cases (Types II and III), and the assumption of proportional odds, respectively. The Mann-Whitney U Test was used to compare number of surgeries and age by the last repair between mild and severe cases. One-way ANOVA was employed to compare age of the child at the time of first surgery across severities (Types I - III).

RESULTS
Women ≥ 40 years of age are 3.89 times [95% CI: 1.20-12.64] at a higher risk for having a child with the more severe forms of the condition than younger women. Repair of Type I was accomplished with 1 intervention whereas more severe cases required 1 - 4 (2 ± 0.5) surgical interventions. The timing for hypospadias repair of Type I cases occurred at an average age of 16.2 ± 4.88 months, of Type II cases occurred at an average age of 20.3 ± 8.15 months whereas the average age of the first hypospadias repair among Type III cases was 12.68 ± 2.52 months. Number of surgeries according to severity (p ≤ 0.0018, z-ratio = 2.91) and age difference for the timing of last repair (p ≤ 0.045, z-ratio = 1.69) were statistically different, but not the age difference for the first repair.

CONCLUSIONS
Increased maternal age is associated with the most severe forms of hypospadias. There is room for improvement for the timing of hypospadias repair according to severity.


Coordinated multi-point (CoMP) transmission is considered as an efficient technique to improve cell-edge performance as well as system spectrum efficiency. In CoMP-enabled systems, a cluster of coordinated base stations (BSs) are typically assumed to be connected to a control unit (CU) via backhaul links, and the provided performance gain relies heavily on the quality of the channel state information (CSI) available at the CU side. In this paper, we consider the downlink of a CoMP cluster and compare three different CoMP transmission schemes: zero-forcing coherent joint transmission, non-coherent joint transmission and coordinated scheduling. Moreover, for each of the analyzed schemes, the performance in terms of average sum rate of the CoMP cluster is studied with predicted CSI, considering the effects of the feedback and backhaul latency, as well as the user mobility. Compared to zero-forcing coherent joint transmission, we show that non-coherent joint transmission and coordinated scheduling are more robust to channel uncertainty. In addition, depending on the latency, user mobility and user locations, different schemes would achieve the highest average sum rate performance. Hence, a system could switch between the transmission schemes to improve the sum rate.