This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on the mechanical properties of 16M (molar) and 14M (molar) Concentrations of different binder composition of Ecopolymer concrete (EPC) and also we make study on analysis and design of Recorn-3s polypropylene fibers in 16M, 14M. By conducting test on mechanical properties of concrete such as Compressive, Split tensile and Flexural strength on hardened Eco Polymer Concrete. Binder composition can be prepared with the Alkaline liquid to Fly ash ratio by Mass Ratio as 0.30 for different mix ids of M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, and M6. We added The Recorn-3s polypropylene fiber to these Mix ids in various proportions of 0.03% and 0.06% based on volume of concrete. In this EPC consisting of total replacement of Cement with Fly ash. We tested the Structural properties of the specimens after exposing of Hot Air Oven curing temperature at 60c for 24 hours after completion of Gestation period of five days. Finally Obtained Values are compared with the Normal Portland Cement Concrete.


The study investigated the influence of quality of facilities on customer patronage among selected hotels in south-west, Nigeria. The primary source of data collection was adopted while multistage sampling techniques such as stratified, heterogeneous purposive and proportionate sampling techniques were utilized. The study was carried out in Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Ogun, Oyo and Lagos States. A total number of 69 hotels cutting across all sizes were sampled. Questionnaire was used to collect data. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics such as percentages and inferential Statistics such as hierarchical multiple regression. Good access road, basic security facilities, constant water supply, constant electricity and convenient parking space were used as dimensions of the explanatory variables. Findings showed that quality of facilities is positive and significantly related to customer patronage of hotels. Consequently, in ranking, we concluded that customer patronage is a function of the good access road, constant electricity, constant water supply, basic security facilities and convenient parking space. Hence, the study recommended that investors should, as a matter of fact, ensure that hotels should be situated in strategically accessible locations to be complemented with other facilities such as constant electricity, constant water supply, basic security facilities and convenient parking space.


The 30% maximal voluntary contraction protocol for isometric handgrip exercise is widely used to improve the cardiovascular system. However, it is unknown whether intensity modulation affects these responses. Objective: To analyze acute cardiovascular responses after isometric handgrip exercise performed at different intensities. Twenty-three healthy men participated in this cross-over study. The volunteers performed three experimental sessions: 4x2 minutes of contraction at 30% (S30) MVC and 4x2 minutes of contraction at 50% (S50) MVC, besides control (CS). Blood pressure (BP) as well as time (SDNN, RMSSD and PNN50) and frequency (LF, HF and LF/HF) domain heart rate variability parameters were obtained before and after sessions. None of the experimental sessions promoted statistically significant changes in systolic and diastolic BP (p> 0.05 for all). After S50, there was a smaller increase in SDNN five minutes after the exercise (S50: +5±6, S30: +20±5, SC: +10±2 ms, p <0.05) and higher LF/HF after 20 minutes (S50: +1.59±0.80, S30: -0.49±0.49, SC: +0.39±0.49, p <0.05) compared to the other sessions. In conclusion, BP responses to isometric handgrip exercise are similar between intensities; however, the most intense exercise promoted a greater increase in sympathetic modulation and decrease in parasympathetic modulation after exercise.


Wastewater and sediment samples from the open drains along the Ntanwogba creek were collected from five (5) different sites and analyzed for the presence of pathogenic bacteria. Microbiological studies involved the isolation and characterization of isolates by assessing the gene/nucleotide structure of the bacterial community through the polymerase chain reaction study. Results of the analysis show that the following bacteria were identified from the samples. The gram-negative bacteria include, Proteus mirabilis M18, Klebsiella pneumoniae strain DSM 30104, Burkolderia multivorans strain AUO, Plesiomonas shigelloides strain 187-907R, Pseudomonas fluorescens strain PF1, Esherichia coli, Enterobacter asburiae strain TYP8, Proteus mirabilis M19, Pseudomonas nitroreducens strain LBQSKN1, while gram-positive bacterium was Bacillus ginsengisoli strain A1Cr. Results obtained showed that both wastewater and sediment samples had higher microbial counts from the various sampling sites. Excess untreated wastewater can run off or percolate down to groundwater, causing contamination of drinking water supplies with faecal wastes and other pollutants which may contribute significantly to the spread of diseases amongst our population. This shows that the wastewater effluents and the receiving water bodies could pose a potential health risk to the surrounding communities who depend on these water resources for various domestic activities.


We present a generalized analysis methodology for binary decision diagram-based fault tree analysis of a wide range of phased-mission systems, with various mission requirements, and structure characteristics. This methodology includes 1) four alternative variable ordering schemes: forward/backward phased dependent operations, and forward/backward concatenation; 2) a strategy to choose an adequate ordering scheme to process a new phased-mission system instance depending on its phase and mission configuration; and 3) efficient generation and evaluation algorithms for generalized phased-mission system binary decision diagrams adopting any arbitrary ordering scheme. The advantages of this methodology are in the low computational complexity, broad applicability, and easy implementation.


Rather than applying the historical approach of using voltage and temperature multipliers to scale timing performance in digital simulators, adders are used to model the change in performance due to variations in operating conditions (voltage and temperature). The adders are treated as functions of input transition rate (Tx) and output load capacitance (Cload) and greatly improve the absolute accuracy of the timing simulator as compared to using multipliers. A methodology for predicting the sensitivity of timing performance to variations in voltage and temperature is presented.


Evolving fuzzy rule-based structures represent extremely powerful methods for online classification of data streams. The fuzzy rules are generated, modified and removed automatically in these systems. One of the simplest but efficient algorithms of this type is evolving classifier (eClass) that constructs the rules without any prior knowledge, starting "from scratch". However, this algorithm cannot cope properly with drift and shift in the concept of data. In this paper, we propose a new efficient online method to increase the performance of this algorithm by setting a suitable weight for each rule and handle the drift and shift in the concept of data. By adjusting proper weights, the zone of influence of each rule can be easily controlled and changed regarding the restyling of the environment. Our weight adjusting algorithm is based on an efficient batch mode weight adjusting method that is developed to be consistent with characteristics of data streams. The proposed algorithm is evaluated on some standard data sets of UCI Repository and some real world data streams, and compared with the eClass algorithm. The results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the eClass approach, and has significant improvement in most cases.


Handwashing is one of the vital public health measures to prevent COVID-19 pandemic from spread. However, water loss from excessive handwashing may put enormous pressure on the already overstretched groundwater resources and households' economic well-being. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the water loss during handwashing amid the COVID-19 pandemic with an emphasis on the waste of groundwater from essential hygiene activities at domestic scale. Sociodemographic data were collected using a web-based survey tool among 1980 participants and an experiment was conducted among 126 voluntarily interested participants to estimate the amount of water wasted during handwashing. A total of 80% of the participants washed their hands regularly after returning home from outside. About 57.27% participants generally did not turn off their tap when washing their hands. A single participant, who keeps his tap on throughout the handwashing process, wasted approximately 1.7 L of water per handwash and 14.9 L of water per day. Handwashing when a tap is on, raised the water loss at 13-fold during this pandemic compared to the non-pandemic situation which cost extra 224.95 BDT (2.65$) per day for 1980 participants. A large number (57.27%) of people keep their faucet on during lathering hands with soap and scrubbing, thus wasting a considerable amount of water (1179% more compared to pre COVID-19 situation). The loss of water during handwashing is an alarming but less attentional issue. Behavioral change interventions are needed to aware people to shut off the faucet at periods when water is not being used.


O'Donovan, J. T., Anbessa, Y., Grant, C. A., Macleod, A. L., Edney, M. J., Izydorczyk, M. S., Turkington, T. K., Juskiw, P. E., Lafond, G. P., May, W. E., Harker, K. N., Johnson, E. N., Beres, B. L., McAllister, T. A., Smith, E. G. and Chapman, W. 2015. Relative responses of new malting barley cultivars to increasing nitrogen rates in western Canada. Can. J. Plant Sci. 95: 831-839. Only about 25% of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is selected for malting annually in western Canada due to quality issues. While nitrogen (N) fertilization can increase yield, it can also impair quality by increasing protein to unacceptable levels. The objective of this study was to determine the responses of relatively new malting barley cultivars (Bentley, Major, CDC Meredith, and Merit 57) to increasing N rates compared to the response of AC Metcalfe, the most commonly grown malting cultivar. Experiments were conducted at seven locations in western Canada in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Nitrogen was banded at seeding at 0, 30, 60, 90, or 120 kg ha-1. All the new varieties produced higher yield (5 to 11%) than AC Metcalfe. Barley kernel yield and protein concentration increased with N rate. However, Merit 57, CDC Meredith and Bentley produced significantly lower protein concentration in response to N than AC Metcalfe and Major. The newer cultivars displayed higher N utilization efficiency than AC Metcalfe, possibly due to partitioning proportionally more N into leaf chlorophyll development. The higher leaf chlorophyll content may have enabled increased photosynthesis and a more efficient utilization of N for grain formation. Bentley produced the least tillers and had the highest kernel plumpness, while Merit 57 had the lowest kernel plumpness. CDC Meredith lodged most followed by Merit 57, while Major and Bentley lodged least, especially at the higher N rates. Merit 57 and CDC Meredith took longer to mature than the other cultivars but yielded well at relatively short growing season locations.


State-of-the-art studies on the synthesis, properties and the computer design of nanotube forms of transition metal oxides are analysed. Main methods for the preparation of oxide nanotubes and related quasi-one-dimensional nanostructures (nanobundles, nanoribbons, etc.) are discussed. Data on the morpho-logy and physicochemical properties of these materials and prospects for their technological applications are summarised. The results of the computer design of atomic structures and results of quantum-chemical calculations of electronic structures and chemical bond parameters of Ti, V and Mo oxide nanotubes and their fullerene-like molecules are considered.


This comprehensive annotated webliography describes online cataloging resources that are free to use, currently updated, and of high quality. The major aim of this webliography is to provide assistance for catalogers who are new to the profession, unfamiliar with cataloging specific formats, or unable to access costly print and subscription resources. The annotated resources include general websites and webpages, databases, workshop presentations, streaming media, and local documentation. The scope of the webliography is limited to resources reflecting traditional cataloging practices using the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd edition, RDA: Resource Description and Access, and MAchine Readable Cataloging (MARC) standards. Non-MARC metadata schemas like Dublin Core are not covered. Most components of cataloging are represented in this webliography, such as authority control, classification, subject headings, and genre terms. Guidance also is provided for cataloging miscellaneous formats including sound and videorecordings, streaming media, e-books, video games, graphic novels, kits, rare materials, maps, serials, realia, government documents, and music.


The solvent extraction of metals from sulfate medium has not been studied widely because of its complexity. However, this medium remains very important from a practical point of view, and metallic extractions undertaken from sulfuric acid solution are preferred in industrial applications. The extraction of divalent metals M by the acid extractants (HL) such as the β−diketones has been studied extensively2−4. It is generally described by the following equation:


Risk management has become a necessary activity in the administration of a hospital .The present study focused on assessment of some aspects of risk management in Main University Hospital in Alexandria (MUHA), including fire prevention and control measures , performance of hospital staff in providing some patient care activities and procedures which have the potential of risk of infection , knowledge of hospital staff regarding prevention of some occupational illnesses , training programs relevant to employees safety , and the role of relevant committees in implementation of risk management activities . The study was conducted in one general medical ward and one surgical ward in MUHA .Six checklists were designed to collect data about fire prevention and control measures and five patient care practices . Two questionnaires were prepared for interview with nurses , housekeepers and chairmen of safety related hospital committees namely : occupational health and safety committee , infection control committee and environment committee . The study revealed shortcoming of risk management in the MUHA .In spite of the presence of committee .


Intensive efforts have been undertaken in the fields of prevention, diagnosis, and therapy of lung cancer. Fucoidans exhibit a wide range of biological activities, which are dependent on the degree of sulfation, sulfation pattern, glycosidic branches, and molecular weight of fucoidan. The determination of oversulfation of fucoidan and its effect on anti-lung cancer activity and related signaling cascades is challenging. In this investigation, we used a previously developed fucoidan (SCA), which served as a native fucoidan, to generate two oversulfated fucoidan derivatives (SCA-S1 and SCA-S2). SCA, SCA-S1, and SCA-S2 showed differences in compositions and had the characteristic structural features of fucoidan by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses. The anticancer properties of SCA, SCA-S1, and SCA-S2 against human lung carcinoma A-549 cells were analyzed in terms of cytotoxicity, cell cycle, Bcl-2 expression, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), expression of caspase-3, cytochrome c release, Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) staining, DNA fragmentation, and the underlying signaling cascades. Our findings indicate that the oversulfation of fucoidan promotes apoptosis of lung cancer cells and the mechanism may involve the Akt/mTOR/S6 pathway. Further in vivo research is needed to establish the precise mechanism whereby oversulfated fucoidan mitigates the progression of lung cancer.


Endometriosis is a common gynaecological disorder, affecting 10-15% of the fertile female population. Most frequently, it affects internal genitalia, the main symptoms being pelvialgia and infertility. In 5% of the cases the disorder may also affect extragenital structures and present itself as endometriomas of the appendix, the small or the large intestine, the umbilicus, the inguinal canal, the residual scars after laparotomies or the diaphragm. They may also imitate a malignancy. The diagnostic key is the cyclic character of the pain or of the bleeding to the tract and the laparoscopic confirmation of the presence of the foci. When the diagnosis is known, a simple excision, extirpation or resection suffices. In case the malignancy cannot be excluded, a more extensive procedure is indicated. The authors present two case-reviews during a twelve-year period, in both cases the sigmoid was affected. In the first case, a radical resection of the rectosigmoid due to a suspected malignancy was performed, while in the second case, a simple excision of the endometrioma where the diagnosis was known was performed. The authors stress-out advantages of the interdisciplinary approach to the treatment of the complicated cases of endometriosis, so that the disorder would be solved in one surgical procedure.


The sequential events between leukocytes and endothelium have significant implications in surgical procedures, trauma, vascular injury, and wound healing. These sequential events are mediated by free oxygen radicals, leukocytes, red blood cells, and endothelial cells. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of steroids and immunosuppressants against ischemia‐reperfusion injury in cremaster muscle flaps at the microcirculatory level. In this experimental study, 50 male Sprague‐Dawley rats, weighing about 120–130 g, were used. The rats were divided into five groups of 10 rats each: the control group (group 1, n = 10), methyl prednisolone group (group 2, n = 10), dexamethasone group (group 3, n = 10), cyclosporin A group (group 4, n = 10), and azathioprine (group 5, n = 10). Surgical procedures were divided into two stages. In the first stage, a cremaster muscle end‐organ tube flap was created by extracting the testes and spermatic cord. The flap was placed into a subcutaneous tunnel in the anteromedial aspect of the ipsilateral limb. In the experimental groups, ischemia was performed by clamping the femoral artery and vein above and below the cremaster pedicle for 4 h. Then the clamps were removed, and perfusion of the cremaster muscle was allowed for 24 h. In the second stage, a round flap was obtained from the cremaster muscle tube‐flap to evaluate microcirculation after 24 h of reperfusion, and dissected along its front wall using cauterization. Vessel diameter, red blood cell velocities, leukocyte activation, perfused capillaries, and endothelial edema index were measured and evaluated statistically. There was a significant decrease in the number of rolling, sticking, and transmigrating neutrophils of groups 2 (cyclosporin A), 4 (methylprednisolone), and 3 (azathioprine) (P < 0.05), whereas those of group 5 (dexamethasone) were not decreased (P > 0.05). There was a significant increase in the number of perfused capillaries of groups 2 (cyclosporin A), 4 (methylprednisolone), and 3 (azathioprine) (P < 0.05), nearly 0.75‐, 0.5‐, and 0.75‐fold, respectively. We conclude that cyclosporin and azathioprine showed a protective effect on muscle tissue against ischemia‐reperfusion injury by inhibiting leukocyte infiltration, and that methylprednisolone had a beneficial effect against ischemia‐reperfusion injury by reducing the synthesis of eicosanoids, edema formation, and leukocyte infiltration. However, we believe that dexamethasone might have a salutary effect due to reducing the synthesis of eicosanoids, edema formation, and release of free oxygen radicals, but not due to leukocyte infiltration. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. MICROSURGERY 22:361–366 2002


It is amazing that women tend to accept full responsibility for their failure to conceive, and it is equally inconsistent that communications on this problem are usually entitled "female sterility." The term female sterility implies that husbands are usually fertile, whereas in my own experience more than half of the husbands must either share or accept full responsibility for a childless union. A man cannot be absolved from responsibility for his wife's failure to become pregnant simply because his semen contains some actively motile spermatozoa; we must be more critical than that in our evaluation of seminal fluid. To call these women sterility problems is inappropriate for other reasons. There are few individuals, either men or women, who can be considered absolutely fertile and, conversely, very few who are absolutely sterile. Human beings, at best, are only relatively fertile. Furthermore, there must be varying degrees of relative fertility even though


In current scenario tuberculosis (TB) is a crucial problem of mortality and morbidity which is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) [1]. Recent WHO report of 2015 declared TB as deadly as HIV in accordance with global death rate [2]. M. tuberculosis is an effective intracellular pathogen of alveolar macrophages of lungs where it resides within phagosomes [3]. M. tuberculosis has the capacity to inhibit fusion between phagosome and lysosome due to these bacilli is responsible for dampening the acidification of phagosome which ensures its longevity [4]. The foremost step during bacterial infection is host pathogen interaction which initiate by various antigenic proteins of M. tuberculosis [5]. During infection bacilli releases various mycobacterial antigenic components from phagosome in small membranous vesicles [6]. These vesicles are behaving as transporter or carrier of various virulent proteins which modulate host immune system in its favour [7]. The Microvesicles (MVs) (also can be seen in other literature as the name of ectosomes, shedding bodies, microparticles, oncosomes etc.) are the heterogeneous membrane bound nanovesicles which contains proteins, phospholipids and LPS and also contains some virulence factor like adhesins, toxins and immunomodulatory compounds that are vital for the pathogenesis [8]. Also the composition of MVs depends upon the cell type from which they are originated. MVs are produced by the process of budding and fission of membrane vesicles from the plasma membrane.


Search engines use crawlers to traverse the Web in order to download web
 pages and build their indexes. Maintaining these indexes up-to-date is an
 essential task to ensure the quality of search results. However, changes in
 web pages are unpredictable. Identifying the moment when a web page changes
 as soon as possible and with minimal computational cost is a major challenge.
 In this article we present the Web Change Detection system that, in a best
 case scenario, is capable to detect, almost in real time, when a web page
 changes. In a worst case scenario, it will require, on average, 12 minutes to
 detect a change on a low PageRank web site and about one minute on a web site
 with high PageRank. Meanwhile, current search engines require more than a
 day, on average, to detect a modification in a web page (in both cases).


Regularities of growth and dynamics of balance constituents of the energy budget of the flat oyster larvae in development are investigated. It is shown, that the linear growth in early ontogenesis is described by the exponential equation with high accuracy. Parameters of the functions connecting length, height and weight of larvae are defined. The quantitative characteristic of the energy balance elements of oysters larvae is given. It is shown, that during development from a veliger stage to a pediveliger the energy expenditures for growth, metabolism and nutriment assimilation increase more than 10 times. Net efficiency of larvae growth (coefficient К 2 ) varies within 61.6–62.8 % during development, and the magnitude of a specific daily ration of oyster larvae equals 32–35 % of the energy equivalent of body weight.


Activation of sigma1 (σ1) receptors contributes to the behavioral and toxic effects of (−)‐cocaine. We studied a key step, the ability of (−)‐cocaine to occupy σ1 receptors in vivo, using CD‐1® mice and the novel radioligand [125I]E‐N−1‐(3′‐iodoallyl)‐N′‐4‐(3″,4″‐dimethoxyphenethyl)‐piperazine ([125I]E‐IA‐DM‐PE‐PIPZE). (−)‐Cocaine displayed an ED50 of 68 μmol/kg for inhibition of specific radioligand binding in whole brain, with values between 73 and 80 μmol/kg for heart, lung, and spleen. For comparison, an ED50 of 26 μmol/kg for (−)‐cocaine occupancy of striatal dopamine transporters (DAT) was determined by inhibition of [125I]3β‐(4‐iodophenyl)tropan‐2β‐carboxylic acid isopropyl ester ([125I]RTI‐121) binding. A chief finding is the relatively small potency difference between (−)‐cocaine occupancy of σ1 receptors and the DAT, although the DAT occupancy is likely underestimated. Interactions of (−)‐cocaine with σ1 receptors were assessed further using [125I]E‐IA‐DM‐PE‐PIPZE for regional cerebral biodistribution studies and quantitative ex vivo autoradiography of brain sections. (−)‐Cocaine binding to cerebral σ1 receptors proved directly proportional to the relative site densities known for the brain regions. Nonradioactive E‐IA‐DM‐PE‐PIPZE gave an ED50 of 0.23 μmol/kg for occupancy of cerebral σ1 receptors, and a 3.16 μmol/kg (i.p.) dose attenuated (−)‐cocaine‐induced locomotor hyperactivity by 30%. This effect did not reach statistical significance, but suggests that E‐IA‐DM‐PE‐PIPZE is a probable σ1 receptor antagonist. As groundwork for the in vivo studies, we used standard techniques in vitro to determine ligand affinities, site densities, and pharmacological profiles for the σ1 and σ2 receptors expressed in CD‐1® mouse brain. Synapse 70:98–111, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


This paper introduces CMOS/magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ)-based asynchronous single-track circuits for re-initialization free computing against power failures. In energy-harvesting applications, data processed might be lost due to frequent power failures, which usually requires the initialization phase after the power supply is recovered. To prevent the re-initialization for energy-efficient computing, the proposed single-track circuits are designed using MTJ devices as nonvolatile storage elements. As MTJ devices store data without power supply, data processed are immediately backed up to MTJ devices and are restored when necessary in order to continue operations. For safe restore operations, the proposed circuits eliminate metastable states that might occur in the backup phase. To evaluate the performance overheads due to the nonvolatile operations, the proposed single-track circuits are designed using 65nm CMOS/MTJ technologies and are compared with conventional volatile single-track circuits in several benchmarks.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To (a) describe the types of transitions experienced by male spousal caregivers of women with breast cancer and the strategies used by male spouses to deal with these transitions and (b) examine factors related to their quality of life, including demographic variables, self-efficacy, caregiver guilt, hope, the quality of life of their partner with breast cancer, and transitions.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional, transformational, mixed-methods approach.

SETTING
Participants' homes.

SAMPLE
105 dyads of male spouses and their female partners diagnosed with stages I-III breast cancer.

METHODS
600 surveys were mailed to women with breast cancer and their male partners. Significant variables were entered into a multivariate model.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLE
Male caregiver quality of life.

FINDINGS
The quality of life of male spouse participants was positively influenced by hope (p < 0.01). It was negatively influenced by caregiver guilt scores (p < 0.01) and the method of dealing with their transitions by "doing what needs to be done" (p = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS
The male caregivers with higher quality-of-life scores reported higher hope and lower caregiver guilt scores. They reported lower quality-of-life scores if they dealt with transitions by "doing what needs to be done."

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Strategies to support male spouses of women with breast cancer should involve ways to foster hope, reduce feelings of guilt, and encourage male caregivers to engage more in supporting their spouses.


In Social Signal Processing (SSP) and affective computing area, the publicly available facial expression dataset for emotion recognition task is still limited for basic emotion categories. Whereas in everyday life, various types of emotions are being used by humans more than basic emotion, such as mixed emotion. To enrich the diversity of the existing dataset, we developed the Indonesian Mixed Emotion Dataset (IMED). The objective of creating this dataset is to provide the annotated data for mixed emotion recognition as a ground-truth for benchmarking. Mixed emotion is constructed by combining basic emotion categories to resulting new ones. This dataset can be used to facilitate mixed emotion recognition experiments. Our dataset displays 19 categories of emotions performed by 15 subjects, all are Indonesians with various ethnicities: Javanese, Sundanese, Malay, Bataknese, Minang, and Manadonian. Subjects are 60% female and 40% male with age ranging from 17 to 32 demonstrated basic and mixed emotion classes in videos. We then used a computational model to show that mixed emotion categories were discriminable to be recognized by machine classifiers. We believe that IMED dataset is useful for researchers on the same field to test their novel method by using our dataset.


OBJECTIVE: To assess whether reproductive factors are associated with mortality after breast cancer diagnosis. METHODS: We followed up 4,299 U.S. women enrolled between 1980 and 1982 at ages 20–54 years as incident breast cancer cases in a population-based, case-control study, the Cancer and Steroid Hormone Study. Vital status through 1997 for these cases was obtained by linking Cancer and Steroid Hormone Study data to Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results files. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for death associated with selected reproductive factors using proportional hazards models. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 14.5 years, 1,847 deaths occurred. Women aged 20–45 years whose last birth occurred 12 months or less (age-adjusted HR = 1.62, 95% CI 1.10–2.37) and 13–48 months before breast cancer diagnosis (age-adjusted HR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.05–1.75) were at an increased risk for death compared with nulliparous women. After adjusting for additional factors including tumor stage, women whose last birth occurred 12 months or less before diagnosis remained at an increased risk for death (HR = 1.51, 95% CI 1.02–2.23). Fifteen-year survival was 38%, 51%, and 60% among women aged 20–45 years whose last birth was 12 months or less, 13–48 months, and more than 48 months before diagnosis, respectively, compared with 65% among nulliparous women. Mortality risk was not associated with age at first birth, parity, or breastfeeding duration among women aged 20–45 years or among women aged 46–54 years. CONCLUSION: A recent birth may be an adverse prognostic indicator among women diagnosed with breast cancer at ages 20–45 years. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II-2


This paper formulates a model of optimal export decision of private firms and then empirically studies the effect of firm size, R&D activities and competitiveness on export performance of Indian private firms during the period 1975-1986. The paper argues that the Cragg model is more appropriate to model firms' export behavior than the commonly used Tobit model. The evaluation of the export promotion and partial import liberalization policies of 1980 based on the Tobit model is found to be qualitatively quite different from the evaluation based on the Cragg model. The LR and LM specification tests reject the Tobit model against the Cragg model in all specifications.


The article is dedicated to research into some aspects improvement of efficiency of distributive networks in city. This article deals with implementation of the method of economic intervals, which facilitates the solution of problems of resource and energy conservation.


The complement cascade is part of the innate immune system whose actions protect hosts from pathogens. Recent research shows complement involvement in a wide spectrum of renal disease pathogenesis including antibody-related glomerulopathies and non-antibody-mediated kidney diseases, such as C3 glomerular disease, atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. A pivotal role in renal pathogenesis makes targeting complement activation an attractive therapeutic strategy. Over the last decade, a growing number of anti-complement agents have been developed; some are approved for clinical use and many others are in the pipeline. Herein, we review the pathways of complement activation and regulation, illustrate its role instigating or amplifying glomerular injury, and discuss the most promising novel complement-targeting therapies.


in the jando initiation rites. This Islamic ' sub-culture ' extends today from the Bajun coast to Mozambique and across the sea to the Comoro Islands and the northern coast of Madagascar. Its origins, the author considers, are to be found in Northern Kenya and the southern Somali coast. Not only the Somali port of Brava where a Swahili dialect (Chimbalazi) is still spoken, he argues, but also Mogadishu, were originally involved. In thus extending the early Swahili area so far north, Dr. Trimingham points to the evidence (from local inscriptions described by Cerulli) of Shirazi settlement in Mogadishu and to the name Shangani given to one of the two ancient quarters of this town. Shangani, he suggests, is not Somali but Swahili. It appears, however, just as likely to be a Persian borrowing (if it is not in fact Somali, which is unclear) and it seems more probable that Mogadishu formerly participated in the Shirazi phase, rather than in that of the Swahili proper.


We previously showed that expression of the bovine papillomavirus (BPV) E2 gene results in a dramatic inhibition of the proliferation of several human cervical carcinoma cell lines, including HeLa cells which contain human papillomavirus (HPV) type 18 DNA. We have assessed the status of endogenous G1 cell cycle regulatory proteins, including the tumor suppressor proteins, p53 and p105Rb, in order to investigate growth regulatory pathways in HeLa cells following E2 expression. The p53 tumor suppressor protein is stabilized following the introduction of the E2 gene into HeLa cells. This results in the induction of the p53-responsive gene encoding the cyclin dependent kinase (cdk) inhibitor, p21/WAF1, complex formation between p21/WAF1 and cdk2 and reduction of in vitro cdk2/cyclin E kinase activity. The reduced cdk kinase activity is accompanied by the accumulation of the growth inhibitory hypophosphorylated form of the tumor suppressor protein, p105Rb. The level of the p105Rb-regulated transcription factor, E2F1, is reduced, as is transcription of a variety of E2F1-regulated genes, including B-myb. Thus, the p53 growth inhibitory pathway has evidently not accumulated mutations in HeLa cells but rather appears intact. However, this pathway remains dormant, until it is mobilized by appropriate manipulations, such as the expression of the BPV E2 protein.


We discuss and derive the analytical solution for three basic problems of the so-called time-fractional telegraph equation. The Cauchy and Signaling problems are solved by means of juxtaposition of transforms of the Laplace and Fourier transforms in variable t and x, respectively. the appropriate structures and negative prosperities for their Green functions are provided. The boundary problem in a bounded space domain is also solved by the spatial Sine transform and temporal Laplace transform, whose solution is given in the form of a series.


A simple liquid chromatographic method was developed and validated for determination of sumatriptan succinate (SUMA) in tablet dosage form. The analysis is performed at ambient temperature on a reversed-phase C18 column with detection at 232 nm. The mobile phase consisting of ACN : Water (18:82) and 0.05% v/v trifluro acetic acid was added in water at a constant flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. The method was validated for accuracy, precision, linearity and specificity. The linearity was found to be in the range of 10-50 ppm. The % recovery was found between the range of 98.0% to 102.0% of the labeled value. The proposed method was successfully applied for the routine quantitative analysis of tablets containing SUMA


ABSTRACT Annexins are calcium-binding proteins of unknown function but which are implicated in important cellular processes, including anticoagulation, ion flux regulation, calcium homeostasis, and endocytosis. To gain insight into the function of annexin VI, we performed targeted disruption of its gene in mice. Matings between heterozygous mice produced offspring with a normal Mendelian pattern of inheritance, indicating that the loss of annexin VI did not interfere with viability in utero. Mice lacking annexin VI reached sexual maturity at the same age as their normal littermates, and both males and females were fertile. Because of interest in the role of annexin VI in cardiovascular function, we examined heart rate and blood pressure in knockout and wild-type mice and found these to be identical in the two groups. Similarly, the cardiovascular responses of both sets of mice to septic shock were indistinguishable. We also examined components of the immune system and found no differences in thymic, splenic, or bone marrow lymphocyte levels between knockout and wild-type mice. This is the first study of annexin knockout mice, and the lack of a clear phenotype has broad implications for current views of annexin function.


Abstract Recent work has been concerned with calculating the three-dimensional ion concentrations and Pedersen and Hall conductivities within the auroral region of Jupiter for varying conditions of incident electron precipitation. Using the jovian ionospheric model, we present results that show the auroral ionospheric response to changing the incoming flux of precipitating electrons (for constant initial energy) and also the response to changing the initial energy (for both constant flux and constant energy flux). The results show that, for expected energy fluxes of precipitating particles, the average auroral integrated Pedersen conductivity attains values in excess of 1 mho. In addition, it is shown that electrons with an initial energy of around 60 keV are particularly effective at generating auroral conductivity: Particles of this energy penetrate most effectively to the layer of the jovian ionosphere at which the auroral conductivity is at a maximum.


The structure of the N-linked oligosaccharide chain of β-momorcharin, a ribosome-inactivating protein from the seeds of Momordica charantia Linn (Cucurbitaceae) was determined. A glycopeptide liberated by pronase digestion of the glycoprotein was subjected to amino acid and neutral carbohydrate analysis to establish the composition of amino acid and sugar residues. The sequences and glycosylation linkages of the sugar and amino acid residues in the glycopeptide were determined as Manal-6(Xylβ1-2)-Manβ1-4GlcNAcβ1-4(Fucal-3)-GlcNAc-Asn-Leu by 2D-NMR spectroscopy and FAB-MS data.


The traditional IS-LM model has been used by macroeconomic textbooks to explain, amongst other things, the level and the changes in the interest rate. According to this paper, this model is irrelevant and inefficient in explaining the positive effect of a greater expected inflation rate, in relation to the nominal interest Rate. In effect, and increase in the nominal rate of interest, that is not accompanied by an increase in real income, supposes according to the IS-LM model, a contraction in the supply of real money balances or opposedly an increase in their demand (in other words, the LM curve would shift to the left, if we employed the usual graphic representation of this basic model, which shows the possible combinations of interest rates and real income, that guarantee equilibrium in the product and money markets). But it would lead nowhere to think that an increase in the expected rate of inflation would imply these alterations in the demand or supply of real money balances. Nevertheless, the author considers this model can be pertinent in explaining other sources of changes in the interest rate.


Intuition and deliberation are two strategies for problem-solving and decision-making. It is commonly believed that deliberation requires more effort than intuition. However, to date, neural evidence approving or disapproving this point is scarce. To explore this issue, we asked participants to play two well-matched games requiring either deliberation or intuition. Using event-related brain potential (ERP) technique, we found: (1) Deliberation elicited more deflective ERP than intuition during −1000 ~ −500 ms before the response, which is consistent with the common belief. (2) More importantly, intuition evoked more deflective ERP than deliberation during 550 ~ 650 ms after the onset of the stimulus, which suggests that intuition may need more effort than deliberation at early stage, contradicting the common belief.


The increasing computational and memory complexities of deep neural networks have made it difficult to deploy them on low-resource electronic devices (e.g., mobile phones, tablets, wearables). Practitioners have developed numerous model compression methods to address these concerns, but few have condensed input representations themselves. In this work, we propose a fast, accurate, and lightweight convolutional representation that can be swapped into any neural model and compressed significantly (up to 32x) with a negligible reduction in performance. In addition, we show gains over recurrent representations when considering resource-centric metrics (e.g., model file size, latency, memory usage) on a Samsung Galaxy S9.


16 patients suffering from angiofibroma were treated in the Otolaryngological Clinic, Academy of Medicine in Poznań, in the years 1977--1993. The patients were aged from 10--36, the mean age 15. All patients were treated surgically, and the method choice was Denker's surgery. 3 patients were reoperated because of local relapse. On the bases of the described cases good results of full recovery of patients with angiofibroma treated surgically are presented.


Tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) exhibits two reversible oxidation steps and is used as a novel multi-electron catholyte for nonaqueous organic redox flow batteries. To increase solubility in polar organic solvents, TTF derivatives with polar side chains are synthesized. 4-Methoxymethyltetrathiafulvalene emerges as a promising two-electron catholyte because it is a liquid at room temperature and miscible with acetonitrile. Bulk-electrolysis experiments and UV-vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy reveal excellent cycling stability for the first and second electro-chemical oxidations. In the doubly oxidized state, the TTF derivatives show a reversible about 1% loss of the state of charge per day, due to extrinsic effects. In a symmetric redox flow battery, 4-methoxymethyltetrathiafulvalene shows a volumetric capacity loss of only 0.2% per cycle with a Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 99.6%. In an asymmetric redox flow battery with a pyromellitic diimide as two-electron anolyte, the capacity loss is 0.8% per cycle, with CE > 99% in each cycle.


Idioms to such topics as customer--, employee--, competition-- and process--orientation, time management, innovative strength, increased productivity, high quality, and the motivation and qualification of employees to overcome technical, process and cultural barriers in a global competitive environment.


Digital technologies and automation of job routines will lead to the replacement of administrative and operative roles in which activities are most repetitive and predictable. Analyses find for Facility Management jobs a 70 percent chance of being automated. However, novel possibilities through the use of digital tools like artificial intelligence will create new employment possibilities within the various real estate areas like Facility Management and Property Management. This paper will examine the likely loosers and winners within the real estate industry due to the digital revolution. A larger share of the real estate sector work force will perform complex, judgement-based problem solving. Higher-skilled and better paying jobs will emerge. Digitalisation is a job killer and a job engine at the same time.


We have constructed ADVISOR, a two-agent machine learning architecture for intelligent tutoring systems (ITS). The purpose of this architecture is to centralize the reasoning of an ITS into a single component to allow customization of teaching goals and to simplify improving the ITS. The first agent is responsible for learning a model of how students perform using the tutor in a variety of contexts. The second agent is provided this model of student behavior and a goal specifying the desired educational objective. Reinforcement learning is used by this agent to derive a teaching policy that meets the specified educational goal. Component evaluation studies show each agent performs adequately in isolation. We have also conducted an evaluation with actual students of the complete architecture. Results show ADVISOR was successful in learning a teaching policy that met the educational objective provided. Although this set of machine learning agents has been integrated with a specific intelligent tutor, the general technique could be applied to a broad class of ITS.


Hydrocortisone, single administered into rats 5 hrs before the experiment, did not alter oxidative phosphorylation in liver mitochondria but inhibited the process in spleen. In spleen a decrease in content of SH-groups and of nucleic acids was also observed. An inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation and a decrease in content of SH-groups occurred in mitochondria of spleen and liver tissues after administration of hydrocortisone within 5 days. Together with the phenomenon content of RNA and DNA was decreased in nuclei and homogenates of the tissues studied. The trend to normalization of the phosphorylation process and the increase in content of sulfhydryl groups were found in mitochondria after simultaneous administration of insulin. In this case content of nucleic acids was also increased in nuclei and homogenates of spleen and liver tissues. Possible mechanisms of the normalizing effect of insulin on the energy production and the nucleic acids accumulation in these tissues, impaired by administration of hydrocortisone, are discussed.


The paper estimated the reasonable market price of lead-acid battery energy storage system (BESS) intended for demand management of electricity customers. As time-of-use (TOU) tariffs have extended to a larger number of customers and gaps in the peak and off-peak rates have gradually risen, deployment of BESS has been highly needed. However, immature engineering techniques, lack of field experiences and high initial investment cost have been barriers to opening up ESS markets. This paper assessed electricity cost that BESS operation could save for customers and, based on the possible cost savings, estimated reasonable prices at which BESSs could become a more prospective option for demand management of customers. Battery scheduling was optimized to maximize the electricity cost savings that BESS would possibly achieve under TOU tariffs conditions. Basic economic factors such as payback period and return on investment were calculated to determine reasonable market prices. Actual load data of 12 industrial customers were used for case studies.


The paper deals with the issues of gravity models applied in the fi eld of trade fl ow analysis. Applied variables, assumptions of their impacts, problems of gravity equations and their resolving (namely the endogeneity problem, the heterogeneity problem, and the identifi cation problem) are defi ned in this paper. The paper provides a detailed overview of selected gravity model publications in scientifi c papers with an impact factor since 2000. According to the document analysis, it is clear that panel data are the most commonly used type of data in the 21st century. Fixed effects models are recommended. The choice of variables depends on the subject being examined and on the aim of the analysis. Correct model specifi cation and inclusion of relevant variables are highly important. The results were elaborated as part of the research project IGA 20121050 "Spatial regional market integration with agricultural raw materials".


One of the major drawbacks associated with in situ pyrometry is the fact that the sample emissivity is unknown. Real-time in situ measurements of HgCdTe growth temperature are made even more difficult by the change in emissivity that takes place during deposition. In this article, a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer was utilized to measure simultaneously the sample emission and its emissivity, thereby making it possible to determine the sample temperature at any growth stage. Two different methods of temperature determination from the spectral radiance were compared, and applied to the in situ monitoring of the growth of a HgCdTe/CdTe(211)B/Si(211) heterostructure. A computer simulation of the measuring procedure showed that the technique is very sensitive to signal reduction resulting from beam misalignment and/or imperfect calibration of the detector spectral response.


For the past decade, the United States has been promoting national transformation in the Balkans. In pushing the independence of Kosovo, Washington policy makers apparently believed that Serbia would acquiesce, most nations would recognize the newest independent state, and Russia would accept America's decision. None of these assumptions came to pass. Unfortunately, the war in the Caucasus was an inadvertent consequence of US policy in the Balkans. The West acted contrary to international law, violated the sovereignty of another state, and carelessly sacrificed the interests of neighboring states. The point is not that Russia acted correctly or legitimately in Georgia but that American policy makers must learn that actions have consequences, even actions by the US government. They need look no further than from Kosovo to Georgia.


The influence of different thickness (500, 1000, 1500, and 2000) nm on the electrical conductivity and Hall effect measurements have been investigated on the films of copper indium gallium selenide CuIn1-xGaxSe2 (CIGS) for x= 0.6.The films were produced using thermal evaporation technique on glass substrates at R.T from (CIGS) alloy.     The electrical conductivity (σ), the activation energies (Ea1, Ea2), Hall mobility and the carrier concentration are investigated and calculated as function of thickness. All films contain two types of transport mechanisms of free carriers, and increase films thickness was fond to increase the electrical conductivity whereas the activation energy (Ea) would vary with films thickness.    Hall Effect analysis results of CIGS films show all films were (p-type) and both Hall mobility and the carrier concentration increase with the increase of films thickness


ALTHOUGH much has been written on "polycystic kidneys," it cannot be said that the terminology and the classification has definitely been settled. However, with the adoption of this term for every case exhibiting multiple primary congenital cysts in the substance of one or both kidneys, the following major varieties of polycystic kidneys can be distinguished:1-7 Polycystic Kidneys of Infantile Type.—In this well-defined group, multiple and very small cysts which are densely packed together replace the whole renal parenchyma of both kidneys almost completely; the kidneys are greatly enlarged; polycystic disease in other organs such as the liver, the pancreas, and the lungs almost constantly coexists; and patients die within the first few days of postnatal life. Polycystic Kidneys of Adult Type.—In this group, many cysts which are larger than those seen in the infantile variety are present, usually in both kidneys however, leaving a little or


Right-sided chest leads (V3-V4R) were recorded in the early stages of first inferior wall acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in 100 consecutive patients. Nine patients (9%) presenting with S-T segment depression (greater than 1 mm) in these leads were subsequently studied by echocardiography and radionuclear angiography. In this group, there were 5 patients with intact right ventricular (RV) function and 4 other patients with clinical findings compatible with RV infarction. We suggest that one should not rule out RV involvement when S-T segment depression rather than elevation is seen in the right precordial leads in the presence of inferior wall AMI. An individual assessment for RV infarction is recommended when this pattern is apparent on the ECG.


SUMMARY Field studies were conducted during the 2014 and 2015 wet seasons at Zaria in the northern Guinea savanna and at Iburu in the southern Guinea savanna of Nigeria to determine the productivity of maize–soybean intercropping system. There were four treatment combinations in the experiment: sole maize; sole soybean; maize spaced at 50 cm and intercropped with soybean; and maize spaced at 65 cm and intercropped with soybean. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results showed that sole cropped maize and soybean generally outperformed the intercropped component crops. Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) was greater than 1 for all the intercrop treatments, indicating that it is advantageous to grow maize and soybean in association than in pure stands. Except for 2014 in Zaria, LER for intercropped maize spaced at 50 cm was higher than that for maize spaced at 65 cm. Gross Monetary Value (GMV) was generally higher for intercrops than sole crops except in Iburu in 2015 where GMV for intercropped maize spaced at 65 cm was similar to those of sole maize and soybean. Monetary Advantage Index (MAI) was positive for all intercrop treatments in both locations and years, which shows definite yield and economic advantages compared to the sole cropping systems. This suggests that farmers can intercrop soybean and maize with maize spaced at 50 cm and 65 cm.


As a result of experience with a number of cases of abdominoperineal resection for carcinoma of the rectum, it became apparent to one of us (M. R. H.) that vesical dysfunction occurred too often after operation to be considered as an incidental complication. Its frequency suggested that it would be given serious consideration in the literature. When this was found not to be the case, an earnest attempt to study the problem seemed to us to be very much worth while. Since a complete investigation of the problem required the cooperation of the departments of proctology, urology and neurology, this paper is the result of studies conducted along several lines. It is our purpose to give a short survey of our own experiences as exemplified by typical cases, to review the experiences of contemporary surgeons and to investigate the possible cause of the urinary disturbances. Our conclusions are based on


Summary The phytoalexin trans-resveratrol, 5-[(1E)-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethenyl]-1,3-benzenediol, is a well-known, potent antioxidant having a variety of possible biomedical applications. However, its adverse physicochemical properties (low stability, poor aqueous solubility) limit such applications and its inclusion in cyclodextrins (CDs) has potential for addressing these shortcomings. Here, various methods of the attempted synthesis of inclusion complexes between trans-resveratrol and three methylated cyclodextrins (permethylated α-CD, permethylated β-CD and 2,6-dimethylated β-CD) are described. Isolation of the corresponding crystalline 1:1 inclusion compounds enabled their full structure determination by X-ray analysis for the first time, revealing a variety of guest inclusion modes and unique supramolecular crystal packing motifs. The three crystalline inclusion complexes were also fully characterized by thermal analysis (hot stage microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry). To complement the solid-state data, phase-solubility studies were conducted using a series of CDs (native and variously derivatised) to establish their effect on the aqueous solubility of trans-resveratrol and to estimate association constants for complex formation.


An acute toxicity study was carried out on the seed during which albino rats were differently fed the raw and also the cooked and roasted samples at 25:75, 50:50, 75:25 and 100: 0 sample-to-commercial feed (Emii feed) ratios respectively for 14 days. Haematological studies showed a selective effect on some albino rat blood parameters (packed cell volume: 39%, hemoglobin: 13.00g/dl, platelets: 864.21 x 10g/L for albino rats fed 50:50 cooked sample-to-commercial feed mix) and also its ability to cause hyposplenism, thromboembolism and thrombocytosis with possible vascular accidents at higher ratios. The roasted (110C, 15 min) sample of L. chinensis seed had a significant increasing effect(p<0.05) on the white blood cells (WBC), packed cell volume (PCV), hemoglobin (Hb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and platelets. With increase in the ratio (concentration) of the sample (L. chinensis seed) of the feed mix, there was no definite pattern (continuous rise or fall) established for the red blood cells (RBC), lymphocytes and neutrophils while there was totally no significant effect (p<0.05) on the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), monocytes, eosinophils and basophils.


The article analyzes the poetics of F.M. Dostoevsky and A. Kondratiev, a symbolist writer of the early 20th century. The object of the research is the two works "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man" by Dostoevsky and the novel "Dreams" by Kondratiev. A great deal of attention is paid to dream as a literary device and the spatial movements of heroes who receive sacred knowledge through sleep and are attached to metaphysical reality. Both writers in the work of reality is closely connected with the space, and this determines the nature of spatial models in poetics. Sleep is equal to temporary death and allows the main characters to go beyond the ordinary, profane. The article used the typological method and folklore commenting. It draws parallels with Eastern philosophy, where there is a unity of man and nature, man and the cosmos.


Ability of ovarian oocytes from the domestic dog to complete nuclear maturation in vitro (IVM) varies markedly among donors and generally is 20% or less of all oocytes cultured. To identify the cause(s) underlying these significant variations in meiotic maturation (to metaphase II; MII), we retrospectively analyzed data from 1,643 oocytes recovered from 90 bitches for which stage of reproduction and season of year were known. Neither stage of reproduction (proestrus/estrus, diestrus, anestrus, or prepuberty) nor season (P > 0.05) influenced the ability of oocytes to achieve nuclear maturation in vitro. A second study was conducted to examine the impact of follicular size on meiotic maturation. Populations of large oocytes were recovered from four categories of follicles (ranging from <0.5 to > 2 mm in diameter) and cultured in TCM 199 for 48 hr. Follicular size influenced (P < 0.05) meiotic competence. Mean percentages of MII oocytes were 16.9 ± 9.2, 26.1 ± 7.6, 38.4 ± 9.2, and 79.5 ± 10.9 for oocytes recovered from < 0.5 mm, ≥ 0.5–< 1 mm, 1–2 mm, and > 2 mm diameter follicles, respectively. In summary, stage of reproduction and season have no impact on the ability of dog oocytes to achieve nuclear maturation in vitro. However, we demonstrated for the first time that dog oocytes acquire meiotic competency during follicular development. IVM success of selected oocytes from large size follicles (almost 80%) is about 60% higher than measured in most previous studies involving randomly collected oocytes. Mol. Reprod. Dev. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The census data of the Great tit collected by Perrins (1965) and others in Marley Wood near Oxford are analysed for density-dependence. Clutch size and hatching success are density-dependent and sufficiently so to regulate the population at the observed level (assuming that there is in addition a fairly large density-independent mortality). There may also be some weak density-dependent mortality outside the breeding season. The density-dependent variations in clutch size are probably in the main due to shortage of available food and density-dependent hatching failure is caused by predation. Territorial behaviour has been shown experimentally to determine breeding density, and may produce a density-dependent effect outside the breeding season. These three factors are responsible for regulation of the Great tit population in Marley Wood.


The borehole-to-surface electromagnetic (EM) method is a viable imaging and monitoring tool for energy reservoirs, geologic storage, geothermal exploration, fault zones, and other subsurface targets. Data interpretation typically requires considering steel-casing effects, but it is difficult and impractical to directly discretize arbitrarily oriented hollow steel-cased wells in a 3D reservoir-scale earth model because of their extremely high electrical conductivity and long hollow geometry. We have considered a borehole-to-surface EM configuration in which an electric dipole source is placed below the bottom of a steel-cased well. To practically simulate the casing effects on EM measurements, we develop a novel 3D finite-element EM algorithm using an unstructured tetrahedral mesh. To avoid excessive use of fine grids for modeling a steel-cased well, the well is replaced with the combination of a short solid conductive prism and a long linewise perfect electric conductor. We find that this combined structure can approximate casing effects at a small fraction of the computational cost required for modeling a complete hollow casing because the linewise structure is volumeless and does not require an excessive number of small elements. We also find that steel-cased wells distant from sources and receivers can be modeled as simple linewise perfect electric conductors, further improving the computational efficiency. Using this approximation, the 3D EM algorithm presented here is well-suited to modeling many arbitrarily oriented steel-cased wells. After verifying the accuracy and efficiency of this approach using various examples, we performed a 3D borehole-to-surface/surface-to-borehole and surface EM inversion and determine that the inversion can image a deep localized target in the presence of steel infrastructure.


Focus of this study is the sensor coverage problem which is a crucial issue, where a high coverage rate will ensure a high quality of service (QoS) of the Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). The coverage strategies are categorized into three groups based on the approaches used, namely; force based, grid based or computational geometry based. PSO is a popular multidimensional optimization technique. The objective of this paper is to present a state of the art survey on these strategies used to optimize sensor coverage using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO).


Background: The purpose of this study was to explore the molecular mechanism of the neuroprotective effect of Cordycepin (CCS) on improving the neuro-immune microenvironment of AD neurons by mediating microglial M2 polarization. Methods: We investigated microglial M2 polarization from M1, neuronal senescence, and synaptic plasticity by biological techniques such as animal behavior, cell biology, morphology, and bioinformatics. Results: CCS improved learning and memory impairment in 9-month-old APP/PS1 mice. CCS induced the microglial M2 polarization, up-regulated the expression and secretion level of NGF, and inhibited neuronal apoptosis, senescence, and synaptic damage caused by abnormal microglial activation in vivo and in vitro. CREB was activated by the M2 polarization and mediated the NGF expression and secretion after CCS treatment. CREB bound with the Sg3 promoter region of NGF (-1018~-1011), which increased NGF expression and secretion. CREB-induced NGF upregulation driven by microglial M2 polarization to improve the neuronal synaptic plasticity inhibits neuronal apoptosis and senescence. As a novel participant in the intercellular communication between MG and neurons, NGF contributed to the neuroprotective efficacy of CCS treatment. Conclusions: CCS improved the neuronal synaptic plasticity and senescence by promoting microglial M2 activation driven by CERB-induced NGF upregulation and conducted the symphony communication of MG-Neuron in AD.


Immobilization stress has physical and psycho-emotional effect on animals. Numerous authors noted the negative impact of this type of stress on the state of the male reproductive system. The present work shows the negative impact of short-term immobilization (3 hours) on the state of the sperm antioxidant status and the morphology of rats testis. The study was conducted on 24 sexually mature male outbred albino rats. The rats of the experimental group (n = 11) showed a reduction in the antioxidant status of the sperm. The animals exposed to immobilization stress observed morphological changes in the testis: reduced diameter of seminiferous tubules and thickness of the germinal layer, as well as violation of meiotic division in developing germ cells.


Human being is driven by many factors, but in trading activities, an individual is driven primarily by self-interest rather than other encouragement. This is the point which then develops into the core of the image of an economic being. However, the whole of human self is never driven only by self-interest. Through the history of the idea of homo economicus, what was originally a particular point of view about humans turned into a claim about the whole of human nature. The actions and behaviours of homo economicus were still driven by self-interest, but what was meant by self-interest was no longer in its classical sense. Its meaning has been much more extensive. This article shows the ambiguity of the idea of homo economicus: what was originally a certain point of view about human being, was applied to human nature and then became an agenda of how human beings and society should be. Humans must be homo economicus, but the latter is definitely not the whole picture of human nature. The image of an economic being is not the real description of the nature of human self, for it has its own territory. It is not the economic beings that gave birth to economics, but the economics that created economic beings.


We present a case of persistent right umbilical vein with Noonan's syndrome. Persistence of the right umbilical vein with no intrahepatic portion is an uncommon finding with a review of the literature revealing only five other cases. In these cases drainage was directly into the right atrium, inferior vena cava (IVC) or IVC via the iliac vein. Of the reported cases Noonan's syndrome was confirmed in one case and suspected in a second. This report represents a third case of persistent right umbilical vein with confirmed Noonan's syndrome. Copyright © 2001 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology


In the 10 years since Daly reviewed1 the potential of adenosine receptors as drug targets, considerable advances have been made in the area of purinergic receptor related research such that there is little doubt remaining that adenosine, as well as adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) and related nucleotides, functions as both neurohumoral agents and autacoids regulating the process of cell to cell communication.2

The techniques of molecular pharmacology have been extensively used to delineate purinergic receptor function, resulting in the identification of several receptor subclasses that subserve discrete physiological functions (Table I).2 And more recently, the two major classes of adenosine receptors, the A1 and A2, have been cloned,3,4 offering the potential to model the receptor–ligand interaction from the receptor side.5

Table I

Purinoceptor Subtypes

On the ligand front, structure–activity relationships (SAR) studies (Figure 1) for derivatives of adenosine (1), as agonists, and of theophylline (2), as antagonists, have revealed selective agents,6–8 and potent and selective A1- and A2-receptor agonists are now available. Newer antagonist ligands include a large number of 8-substituted xanthine derivatives, some of them over 10000-fold more potent than the parent compound 2, as well as numerous classes of non-xanthine heterocyclic compounds8 described in further detail below.

Figure 1

The structures of adenosine (1) and theophylline (2), showing the effects of structural modifications at various sites on receptor binding.

The exceptional progress in the preclinical area, both chemical and biological, has not however been paralleled in the clinic. Very few adenosine agonists and antagonists have entered clinical trials and none of these, to the authors' knowledge, have been successful.7 The only approved compound known to produce its therapeutic actions via a direct interaction with adenosine receptors is adenosine itself, used for the treatment of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT),9 a use designated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in their coveted 1A category, indicating a drug for major unmet medical need. Additional potential uses for adenosine include cardiac imaging,10 in cardioplegic solutions11 to delay the onset of ischemic contractions, and as a cardioprotectant in postischemic reperfusion.12 While caffeine and theophylline represent prototypic, albeit weak, adenosine antagonists, second generation forms of these compounds with improved antagonist activity for use as cardiotonics, cognition enhancers or antiasthmatics have not been forthcoming despite considerable chemical effort.8

The reasons for the limited progress in adenosine therapeutics are several-fold and include the ubiquity of action of adenosine (and ATP) on a variety of diverse tissue systems, a paucity of receptor selective ligands that are orally bioavailable and soluble, lack of knowledge of disease states involving a purinergic etiology, and probably most importantly, a failure to target adenosine agents in terms of unmet therapeutic need.13 Thus, agonists have been routinely targeted toward hypertension, an area where these agents have probable CNS and renal side effects and compare unfavorably with the many excellent and efficacious antihypertensive agents currently available in the clinic.13

In the present perspective, advances in knowledge related to adenosine function at the molecular level will be reviewed together with information on the structure–activity relationships for a number of pharmacophore series interacting with adenosine receptors. Therapeutic areas where improved adenosine ligands may represent potentially important therapeutic agents will also be indicated.


This paper introduces TUTW - Temporal Uncertainty Time Warp - a control engine designed for an exploitation of temporal uncertainty (TU) in general optimistic simulations, and concentrates on an agent-based implementation of TUTW which enables distributed simulations over the Internet. A novel concept in TUTW is an event model where time intervals are attached to events instead of classical punctual or "precise" timestamps. All of this reflects typical system specifications where the occurrence time of events cannot be known with complete certainty. TUTW takes advantage of TU by resolving events so that the number of rollbacks is reduced. The simulator performance can thus be improved without necessarily compromising the accuracy of the results. The current agent-based implementation is based on Java and the ActorFoundry middleware. The implementation is totally portable and makes it possible to configure a distributed simulation virtual machine which includes heterogeneous computing platforms. The paper includes an example to illustrate the application of TUTW.


Purpose: To examine the effects of Sensorimotor Training to Affect Balance, Engagement, and Learning (STABEL), a virtual reality system to train sensory adaptation for balance control, for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). Methods: Twenty-three children with FASDs received STABEL training in a university laboratory, or home, or were controls. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children–2nd edition (MABC-2) and Pediatric Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction for Balance–2 (P-CTSIB-2) were analyzed by group (lab, home, and control), session (pre-STABEL, 1 week post-STABEL, and 1 month post-STABEL), and group-by-session interaction. Results: Significant effects were group and session for MABC-2 Balance and interaction for MABC-2 Total Motor and P-CTSIB-2. Conclusion: Preliminary results support improved sensory adaptation, balance, and motor performance post-STABEL, which warrant further study with a larger, randomized sample.


This presentation provides an analysis and insights from nine years of data on the performance of First Year Human Biology students when they experienced a curriculum that explicitly developed and assessed their research skills. Performance was determined by academics' direct measures of student research skills, student pre- and post- self assessment of their research skills, student written statements about research skills and interviews with students conducted at the end of Second Year.

A rich array of benefits of explicit research skill development were found from the variety of perspectives given by the data, whereas students declared very few downsides of this focus. Students were more circumspect when it came to identifying factors that helped them improve their research skills and factors that hindered this development; interviews and written comments highlighted numerous problems for the processes used, even though the overall trend was positive about the teaching methods. In addition, correlations trends were determined for student progression through their degrees when related to their final research skill measures from open-ended research conducted near the end of first year, as well as trends for correlations of marks over time.


Energy usage is indispensible inhuman development and a major determination factor in technological development. However, artificial energy supply is generally low and scarce in rural areas of Nigeria. Hence, this work is aimed at performance evaluation of commonly available solar thermal energy collector materials in Zaria, Nigeria, and to identify the most appropriate solar thermal energy collector material to enhance useful energy availability to rural dwellers. Commonly available local materials, such as wood, cement, mud and metal were each employed to fabricate a solar dryer. Thermal energy generation of the dryers were monitored and sliced tomato was utilized to test-run the dryers, while open sun drying was used as control. The average air outlet temperature for wood, cement, mud and metal solar collectors increased to 119.2, 123.1, 128.9 and 129.5 respectively over the average ambient air temperature of 30.5 o C. Tomato drying an\alysis of the solar dryers indicated that wood, cement, mud and metal dryers had 46, 47, 60 and 60 percent savings in drying time respectively, when compared with open sun drying. Likewise, the solar dryers drying efficiency of open sun drying system, wood, cement and metal solar dryers were 7.38, 19.56, 20.25, 26.91 and 27.00 percent in that order. Mud solar dryer has the lowest production cost of ten thousand naira, while the percentage increase in prices of cement, wood, and metal dryers against the mud dryer were 109.40%, 77.20% and 200% respectively. Based on the results and the cost of production of the dryers, mud was identified as commonly available, affordable and most suitable material for construction of direct mode natural convection solar dryer for rural farmers in Zaria, Nigeria.


In the conditions of the Kirov region, the productivity of seeds of four complex hybrid populations (SGP) of red clover was studied, including those formed against an infectious fusarium background (SGPF). The research was carried out in the nursery for evaluating the seed productivity of 2017 sowing in comparison with the standard (st.) Dymkovsky for 2 years of use (y.u.). The characteristics of the SGP and SGPF according to winter hardiness, the start of vegetation phases of development, plant height, structure of seedgrass stand, yield and quality of seed material are given. All studied varieties were more productive than the standard (1.97 c/ha). Reliably high seed yield on average for 2 years was shown by SGPF-158-3 – 2.48 c/ha, SGP-188 – 2.32 c/ha, SGPF-157-3 – 2.16 c/ha. According to fruiting indicators, in 2019SGPF-158-3 with small heads, but with the largest number of flowers and seeds (132.2 and 77.4 pcs., respectively), good seediness (58.8 %) and high seed weight per head (0.153 g) was selected. Also, high rates were noted in the populations of SGPF-157-3 and SGPF-160-3. A strong correlation between seed yield and fruiting rates was revealed: the number of flowers in the head (r = 0.92), the total number of seeds in the head (r = 0.92), the number of filled seeds in the head (r = 0.94), the seediness of the head (r = 0.90), the total weight of seeds in the head (r = 0.85), the mass of filledseeds in the head (r = 0.87). A close positive correlation was noted between the hydrothermal coefficient (HTC) value and length (r = 0.86), width (r = 0.86) of the red clover head during the intergrowth period "regrowth - the beginning of flowering". It has been established that the average daily air temperature and the sum of effective temperatures during the "beginning of flowering - ripening" period have a positive effect on the fruiting performance: "seediness of the heads" (r = 0.97 and r = 0.87) and "the number of seeds in the head" (r = 0.95 and r = 0.89, respectively). In the same interphase period, a close negative dependence of the indicated fruiting indices on the HTC values was revealed (r = -0.95 and r = -0.94). The sowing qualities of the seeds of the 2019 harvest were determined; it was found that all seed material corresponds to the category of "original and elite seeds". As the result of the research, the populations of red clover SGPF-158-3, SGP-188 and SGPF-157-3, superior to st. Dymkovsky on seed productivity (by 0.51; 0.35 and 0.9 c/ha, respectively, LSD05 = 0.12 c/ha) and fruiting indicators, were selected.


Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) accounts for 15 to 20% cases of all leukemia in adults and less than 10% of this patients will have Central Nervous System (CNS) infiltration at diagnosis. CNS leukemia is defined as morphologic evidence of leukemic blasts in cerebrospinal fluid and, or cranial nerves palsies with or without significant neurologic dysfunction. The majority of studies show that the patient already has leukemic blasts at peripheral blood and bone marrow when recognized the CNS infiltration, or it appears few months after acute leukemia diagnosis. The rarity of this report is that bilateral facial nerve palsy occurs in less than 2% of all the facial palsy cases and is a very uncommon form of ALL presentation. Between those few patients, all had blasts at peripheral blood, bone marrow or mediastinal mass at the same time of the diagnosis. This clinical case describes a unique situation that the patient had been diagnosed with acute T-cell leukemia because of bilateral facial nerve palsy and without any other evidence of the disease. During a follow up of five years, the patient did not develop bone medullar leukemic infiltration.


This paper proposes an alternative graphical modeling to visualize the interconnectivity of the world economy through the uses of the GAD-Surface. Hence, the GAD-Surface can help to visualize how different economies are interconnected and become more vulnerable in case to appear any global trade or financial crisis.


The interaction of -lactams with the purified mitochondrial carnitine/acylcarnitine transporter reconstituted in liposomes has been studied. Cefonicid, cefazolin, cephalotin, ampicillin, piperacillin externally added to the proteoliposomes, inhibited the carnitine/carnitine antiport catalysed by the reconstituted transporter. The most effective inhibitors were cefonicid and ampicillin with IC50 of 6.8 and 7.6 mM, respectively. The other inhibitors exhibited IC50 values above 36 mM. Kinetic analysis performed with cefonicid and ampicillin revealed that the inhibition is completely competitive, i.e., the inhibitors interact with the substrate binding site. The Ki of the transporter is 4.9 mM for cefonicid and 9.9 mM for ampicillin. Cefonicid inhibited the transporter also on its internal side. The IC50 was 12.9 mM indicating that the inhibition was less pronounced than on the external side. Ampicillin and the other inhibitors were much less effective on the internal side. The -lactams were not transported by the carnitine/acylcarnitine transporter. Cephalosporins, and at much lower extent penicillins, caused irreversible inhibition of the transporter after prolonged time of incubation. The most effective among the tested antibiotics was cefonicid with IC50 of 0.12 mM after 60 h of incubation. The possible in vivo implications of the -lactam interaction of the


UNLABELLED
Critical care consumes a significant portion of health care costs. Although there are currently increasing pressures to limit expenditures, data are not always available to allow physicians and patients to make informed therapeutic or triage decisions regarding prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stays. The purpose of this study was to evaluate long-term outcome, quality of life, and charges in surgical patients requiring prolonged ICU stays (> 14 days).

METHODS
Adults requiring over 14 days of surgical ICU care from January 1991 to September 1993 were selected from our ICU data base. Survivors to hospital discharge were evaluated for outcome and quality of life by mail survey and/or telephone interview in addition to chart review.

RESULTS
Eighty-three patients spent over 14 days in the surgical ICU during the study period. Fifty-two patients (62.6%) survived to hospital discharge. Average age was 53 years, average ICU length of stay was 26 days, and average hospital length of stay was 50 days. Complete follow-up data were available for 39 patients (75%). Thirty of the 39 patients (77%) were alive at an average follow-up of 18 months. Long-term survival in patients over 65 years old was 67% compared with 83% for younger patients (p < 0.05). Seventy percent reported less than 50% functional recovery. Seventy percent wer living at home and 23% were on disability. Of 11 patients employed before discharge, five had returned to work. Eighty percent of respondents reported good to fair quality of life, and 81% stated that they would undergo critical care again. The average ICU charge was $51,512 per patient, and the average hospital charge was $164,019 per patient. The average charge to achieve one long-term survivor was $247,812.

CONCLUSIONS
In this population, prolonged ICU stays resulted in acceptable quality of life and a relatively high survival rate despite significant economic investment. This study does not support withdrawal of therapy or triage decisions based solely or primarily on age or length of ICU stay.


Objective As the high proportion of underweight pregnant women, omission of their weight gain and blood lipids management during gestation might lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study aimed to determine the relationship between lipid profile and risks for adverse pregnancy outcomes in pre-pregnancy underweight women. Methods This study was part of an ongoing cohort study including Chinese gravidas delivered from January 2015 to December 2016. Included subjects were grouped into underweight, normal-weight, and overweight by BMI before conception. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between lipid profiles during second trimester and adverse obstetric outcomes in each group. A subgroup analysis according to the gestational weight gain, in which subjects in each group were divided into above and within the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations, was performed. Results A total of 6, 223 women were included. The proportion of underweight (19.3%) was similar to that of overweight women (19.4%) in South China. Peripheral total cholesterol (TC) level in underweight women was significantly higher than that in overweight women (P <0.001). After adjusting maternal age, TC level was positively correlated to the risk for large-for-gestational-age (LGA) [aOR =2.24, 95%CI (1.08, 4.63)], and negatively related to the risk for small-for-gestational age (SGA) [aOR =0.71, 95%CI (0.59, 0.85)] in underweight women, but not in normal-weight or overweight women. The subgroup analysis showed that maternal TC level was positively correlated with the risk of LGA only in underweight women who gained weight more than the IOM recommendations. Conclusion Underweight pregnant women with high TC levels had a higher risk for LGA, especially among women whose gestational weight gain were above the IOM recommendations. Therefore, clinical management of lipids and weight gain during gestation should also be recommended for underweight women.


In bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells, external photoexcitation results in localized excitons in the polymer chain. After hot exciton formation and subsequent relaxation, the dipole moment drives the electron to partially transfer to extended orbitals from the original localized ones, leading to self-delocalization. Based on the dynamic fluorescence spectra, the delocalization of excitons is revealed to be an intrinsic property dominated by exciton decay, acting as a bridge for the exciton to diffuse in the polymeric solar cell. The modification of the dipole moment enhances the efficiency of polymer solar cells.


A new generation of palm nut cracker, known as Rolek was successfully invented through a smart partnership between MPOB and Hur Far Engineering Works Sdn Bhd (HFEWSB). A few units of this invention were installed and commissioned at three palm oil mills processing different types of nuts. A systematic evaluation was carried out to obtain their commercial performances such as cracking efficiency, kernel and nut quality, shell fragment sizes and maintenance cost. The data obtained from Rolek were then compared with commercial nut cracker (ripple mill). The machines were tested with two types of nuts as input material; 95% tenera nuts in Mill A and more than 25% dura nuts in Mills B and C. From the analysis, it was found that all mills achieved more than 98% cracking efficiency with less than 10% broken kernel. The results have also shown that all the mills produced less than 2% half cracked nuts and shell fragments were found to be uniform and small in size capable of maximizing separation of shell and kernel in the winnowing column. Concerning other parameters, Mill A showed a lower maintenance cost and longer operating hours before replacement of parts as low as RM 0.056 t -1 FFB processed at 650 operating hours, compared to Mills B and C, as it processed 95% tenera nuts having thinner shell that would be easily cracked. Therefore, the type of nuts processed is found to be the main contributing factor for the higher maintenance cost of Rolek if the consideration was made based on the parts replacement in the certain operating hours. The details of all these studies are discussed in this paper. The use of Rolek promises significant quality improvements and lesser maintenance cost than other convectional nut crackers.


It is well known that prolonged observation of a high-contrast stimulus alters the perception of a subsequent test stimulus. Previous studies of perceived contrast shifts only reported perceived contrast reductions. Here, we used successive presentations of test and reference stimuli and found that perceived contrast was reduced if tests had a lower contrast than adaptors but was significantly enhanced when tests had a higher contrast than adaptors. Such bidirectional contrast aftereffects were not observed for single adaptor flashes but became increasingly pronounced for repeated adaptor presentations, thereby suggesting that the aftereffect is a consequence of adaptation rather than of attentional cuing or temporal repulsion. In addition, perceived contrast reduction weakened as we increasingly jittered the spatial position of the adaptor, but perceived contrast enhancement was observed for large spatial range of jittered adaptor positions. We conclude that aftereffects involve adaptation in distinct mechanisms with narrow and broad spatial tunings. Results suggest that the visual system not only possesses low-level contrast encoding units, which monotonically increase their responses as physical contrast increases, but is also equipped with high-level channels selectively tuned for particular contrast ranges.


Sustainable design involves three essential areas: economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, and social sustainability. For even the simplest of products, the complexities of these three areas and their tradeoffs cause decision-making transparency to be lost in most practical situations. The existing field of multiobjective optimization offers a natural framework to explore the tradeoffs in the sustainability space (defined by economic, environmental, and social sustainability issues), thus offering both the designer and the decision makers a means of understanding the sustainability tradeoffs. To facilitate this, a decision making approach that capitalizes on the principles and power of multiobjective optimization is presented. This paper concludes that sustainable development can indeed benefit from tradeoff characterization using multiobjective optimization techniques — even when using only basic models of sustainability. Interestingly, the unique characteristics of the three essential sustainable development areas lead to an alternative view of some traditional multiobjective optimization concepts, such as weak Pareto optimality. The sustainable engineering design of a hypodermic needle is presented as a simple hypothetical example for method demonstration and discussion.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


Although Ca in small quantities plays a fundamental role in cell activation, excessive intracellular Ca accumulation results in severe cellular damage and is a major factor in the pathophysiology of multiple diseases. Paradoxically, high Ca intake may be beneficial in unrelated disorders such as arterial hypertension, nephrolithiasis and in the prevention of colon cancer. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) could be the link capable to explain this paradox. PTH stimulates cellular calcium influx. Under normal conditions, this effect takes place only in target tissues for the hormone, but in the presence of altered cell-membrane permeability for calcium, normal plasma PTH may be detrimental, enhancing cellular calcium influx. Thus, the suppression of PTH secretion by a high Ca intake would result in a reduced PTH-induced cellular Ca accumulation in genetically predisposed tissues with a loose cellular Ca control. Thus, parathyroid ablation in dystrophic hamster reduces the elevated muscle Ca observed in muscular dystrophy and causes histological improvement without altering the serum Ca concentration. The amount of dietary Ca required is not firmly established, but anthropological observations suggest a daily intake of approximately 1600 mg, much higher than the present average Ca intake in Western societies. Thus, a higher Ca intake would be beneficial in the treatment, and more importantly, in the prevention of multiple diseases.


Robotic-assisted therapy is of benefit to the recovery of upper limb motor function for the patients survived stoke. Whereas, there are few emphases on the patients' motion intention during the rehabilitation process. The goal of this study is to combine the control strategies based on patients' motion intention with an upper limb rehabilitation robot to improve the recovery for the patients. In this paper, we propose an integrated robot-assist rehabilitation system, in which a 3 degree-of-freedom (DOF) exoskeletal rehabilitation robot, an EMG-based intention recognition module and a VR game environment are seamlessly combined. According toharacteristics of EMG signals, the wavelet package analysis approach is applied to extract the features of EMG. The node energy is used to construct the feature vector instead of the original coefficients of wavelet package decomposition to resolve the time-invariance problem. Then feature projection results in the singularity problem of with-in scatter matrix during the feature dimension reduction. To overcome the disadvantage of the with-in scatter matrix, this paper uses a recursive algorithm which is proposed in our previous work. The reduced feature vector is recognized by a neural network classifier and the output of the classifier is used for the control inputs. Preliminary experiments are also performed to implement the control of the rehabilitation robotic system by using the proposed EMG reorganization method, together with a dart game realized in the virtual reality environment. Experimental results show that the performance of motion intention recognition is satisfactory and the entire integrated system is feasible.


Our considerations about assays to assess agents and mechanisms involved in hypersensitivity reactions can be summarized as follows. The measurement of total IgE is recommended since it confirms a history of atopy of the patient and is a quick and inexpensive laboratory assay. If, based on the anamnesis, a particular allergen can be suspected to be involved in the clinical reaction a RAST against this compound is highly recommended. In any case of a severe clinical reaction the RAST against ethylene oxide is mandatory to confirm or exclude the involvement of ethylene oxide. The radioallergosorbent test (RAST) should not be used as a screening test for an entirely unknown allergen. The determination of histamine in plasma samples can be applied for specific scientific questions but cannot be recommended as a routine test with first priority. In contrast, the measurement of bradykinin should be established as soon as possible as a routine test for all new materials which are developed for application in the extracorporeal circuit. An initiative of the haemodialysis community is recommended to assure the commercial availability of a reliable bradykinin immunoassay.


Photovoltaic (PV) is a technical name in which radiant (photon) energy from the sun is converted to direct current (dc) Electrical Energy. PV power output is still low, continuous efforts are taken to develop the PV converter and controller for maximum power extracting efficiency and reduced cost factor. The maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is a process which tracks one maximum power point from array input, varying the ratio between the voltage and current delivered to get the most power it can. A number of algorithms have been developed for extracting maximum power. This paper details the study of incremental conductance MPPT algorithm. And it can be experimentally verified by modeling the PV system with MPPT algorithm in Matlab/Simulink Software.


The pictorial scale of Physical Self-Concept in Children (P-PSC-C) is a relatively new instrument for investigating physical self-concept in childhood. The current study aims to examine the validity and reliability of the Spanish version of the P-PSC-C, and also to analyse the validity according to the children's age. A sample of 365 primary school age (M = 9.21, SD = 1.92) students participated; divided in two groups, those aged 9 or younger and those 10-11 years old. Surveys were used to assess perceived physical concept individually. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with diagonally weighted least square estimator specifically designed for ordinal data and a scaled test statistic was conducted. Ordinal alpha using a polychoric correlation matrix and Kendall's τ were used to analyse reliability and correlation between items, respectively. The results of the CFA showed a one-dimensional excellent fit for the whole sample. According to the age groups, the CFA revealed that the item assessing flexibility had a low factor loading for older children (λ = .11). Weak invariance was shown for gender. Item statistics and reliability values were otherwise good. This study shows a high potential for the pictorial scale to be suitable for the given age groups in measuring physical self-concept.