This study presents a retrospective analysis using 1,240 clinical erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (ERSP) isolates collected in northeastern China between January 2000 and December 2019. The serotype distribution, corresponding vaccine coverage, as well as resistance phenotypes, genes, and mechanisms to macrolide and tetracycline of these isolates were systematically described, analyzed, and discussed. ABSTRACT Due to the resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae to β-lactams, macrolides, and tetracyclines, treatment alternatives have become increasingly limited worldwide. We aim to describe the characterization of erythromycin-resistant S. pneumoniae (ERSP) strains in northeastern China over a period of 20 years. A total of 1,240 ERSP strains were collected and classified into five groups based on the ages of the patients. Etest strips and Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion were performed for drug susceptibility testing. The capsule swelling test was used for capsule typing. The phenotype of drug resistance was detected by the erythromycin and clindamycin double-disk method. The ermB, ermTR, mefA, and tetM genes were detected by PCR. Among the 1,240 ERSP strains, 510 were invasive isolates, and 730 were noninvasive isolates. The results of drug susceptibility testing showed that the rates of resistance to penicillin, amoxicillin, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, meropenem, tetracycline, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and chloramphenicol varied among the different age groups. 19F, 19A, 23F, 14, and 6B were the serotypes that were commonly found among ERSP strains. Among all strains, 99.03% (1,228/1,240) exhibited an MLSB (macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B) resistance phenotype, of which 1,221 strains displayed a constitutive MLSB (cMLSB) phenotype and 7 strains showed an inducible MLSB (iMLSB) phenotype. All of these strains carried the ermB gene. In contrast, only 0.97% of strains of M phenotypes were found to carry the mefA gene. Both the ermB and mefA genes were detected in 704 strains that exhibited multidrug resistance, whereas the ermTR gene was not detected. Furthermore, 1,185 tetracycline-resistant strains were found to carry the tetM gene. Macrolide antimicrobial drugs should be used cautiously for the empirical treatment of S. pneumoniae infections. IMPORTANCE This study presents a retrospective analysis using 1,240 clinical erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (ERSP) isolates collected in northeastern China between January 2000 and December 2019. The serotype distribution, corresponding vaccine coverage, as well as resistance phenotypes, genes, and mechanisms to macrolide and tetracycline of these isolates were systematically described, analyzed, and discussed. We hope that this study will inform clinicians in their respective regions when selecting antimicrobial agents. We also hope that this study is useful for researchers in related fields. Finally, we emphasize in this study that vaccination is the best preventive measure for S. pneumoniae infection considering its resistance to commonly used antibiotics. The determination of the S. pneumoniae serotype distribution also provides valuable empirical evidence for local health authorities when introducing appropriate vaccines in a specific area.


The use of echographic apparatus of the latest generation for the ultrasound flowmetry has shown this method to be of value for the objective assessment of regional hemodynamics. It has shown a decreased volume rate of blood flow along the iliac artery in patients with obliterating atherosclerosis of the lower extremity vessels as the disease was progressing. The lumbar sympathectomy gives little effect in patients with severe ischemia of the extremity. The state of regional hemodynamics is most completely characterized by the regional circulatory index.


In this brief communication we present the first result on what have we learned from a long, virtually continuously recorded wave height data set. The data was recorded by Petrobras on a mobile platform located on the northeast Brazilian coast. We found the well-known Rayleigh relation, Hmax/Hs = (ln (N)/2) 1/2 , fits the data real well for Hmax/Hs up to about 2.2, but diverges distinctly when Hmax/Hs values grow larger. An empirical relation for larger Hmax/Hs can be empirically represented by Hmax/Hs = (ln(N 2 )/2) 1/4 .


Aiming at the anisotropy of omnidirectional motion, firstly, the kinematic model is analysed in this paper, then dynamic model based on Lagrange dynamics and virtual prototyping model made by dynamic software RecurDyn are built respectively. The influence of wheels' slippage toward direction of translation and maximal velocity is simualted and analysed on the same ground, we derives the anisotropy of slip ratio. The feedback loop of position and orientation is used to follow desired path, which settles the basis of further research on motion control.


Piscirickettsiosis is a septicaemic disease of salmonid fish caused by the obligated intracellular rickettsia, Piscirickettsia salmonis. This disease was first reported in 1989 in salmon cultured in sea water netpens in southern Chile where it is still a major problem causing high mortality among cultured salmonids. In recent years related agents have been reported in farmed salmonids from Ireland, Canada and Norway. Mortality, however, at these locations has been reported to be low. Because of the recent description of piscirickettsiosis and its aetiological agent, knowledge about the immune response of fish against this organism is limited. At present, there is only one paper in the literature dealing with this subject. To standardise challenge methods for testing the efficacy of vaccination, lethal dose 50% and infectivity dose 50% were determined for coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and rainbow trout (O. mykiss) using intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of P. salmonis. Experiments using bath challenge methods failed to reproduce the disease using rainbow trout although low levels of infection in their tissues were found. In a field trial, using formalin killed bacterins injected i.p. into pre-smolt coho salmon, the fish were naturally challenged by placing them in sea water where endemic piscirickettsiosis occurred. The results showed that some of the vaccinated fish groups experienced lower cumulative mortality than the non-vaccinated control group (X < 0.05), suggesting an immunoprotective response in these animals. A trial was also conducted with formalin-killed bacterins in rainbow trout using different antigen concentrations with and without booster injections. Fish were challenged by IP injection of P. salmonis. Vaccinated fish showed less mortality than their respective infected control. Unfortunately the challenge was not strong enough because mortality in the infected control fish was low (20%). Antibody levels measured by radio-immuno-assay increased until day 40 post vaccination. The highest levels of antibody were obtained in the sera of fish vaccinated with concentrated antigen using booster injections.


We present an explicit construction of minimal cellular resolutions for the edge ideals of forests, based on discrete Morse theory. In particular, the generators of the free modules are subsets of the generators of the modules in the Lyubeznik resolution. This procedure allows us to ease the computation of the graded Betti numbers and the projective dimension.


Insulating titanium dioxide finds numerous technological applications where dislocations can have profound implications for its performances. Herein, by combining advanced electron microscopy with first-principles calculations, we provide a direct atomic-resolution imaging of the core structure of a dislocation in TiO2, and predict that individual impurity-free dislocation shows electric conductivity in otherwise insulating TiO2. Electronic structure calculations reveals that there appears a confinement of spin-polarized conducting states within the dislocation core in a spatially connected fashion, acting as conducting pathways. Finding the local property shift at the dislocation core opens an additional avenue for manipulating dislocations as well as advances our understanding on functionalities of TiO2.


Cancer awareness is the key to early detection and better health-seeking behaviour. Cancer is quite common in both developing as well as developed countries, but awareness is yet poor among the general population. Poor awareness may lead to poor uptake of screening modalities and delay in diagnosis. One factor that has been consistently shown to be associated with late diagnosis and treatment is a delay in seeking help for cancer-like symptoms. This paper reviews the literature on cancer awareness among the general population and attitude towards screening modalities. The poor awareness level among the Indian population shows the need for health education and sensitisation regarding cancer and its different aspects. This will be helpful in the successful implementation of health programmes related to cancer.


The complex conductivity of soils remains poorly known despite the growing importance of this method in hydrogeophysics. In order to fill this gap of knowledge, we investigate the complex conductivity of 71 soils samples (including four peat samples) and one clean sand in the frequency range 0.1 Hz to 45 kHz. The soil samples are saturated with six different NaCl brines with conductivities (0.031, 0.53, 1.15, 5.7, 14.7, and 22 S m 2 1 , NaCl, 25 8 C) in order to determine their intrinsic formation factor and surface conductivity. This data set is used to test the predictions of the dynamic Stern polarization model of porous media in terms of relationship between the quadrature conductivity and the surface conductivity. We also investigate the relationship between the normalized chargeability (the difference of in-phase conductivity between two frequencies) and the quadrature conductivity at the geometric mean frequency. This data set confirms the relationships between the surface conductivity, the quadrature conductivity, and the normalized chargeability. The normalized chargeability depends linearly on the cation exchange capacity and specific surface area while the chargeability shows no dependence on these parameters. These new data and the dynamic Stern layer polarization model are observed to be mutually consistent. Traditionally, in hydrogeophysics, surface conductivity is neglected in the analysis of resistivity data. The relationships we have developed can be used in field conditions to avoid neglecting surface conductivity in the interpretation of DC resistivity tomograms. We also investigate the effects of temperature and saturation and, here again, the dynamic Stern layer predictions and the experimental observations are mutually consistent. linear model between the normalized chargeability quadrature conductivity.


The present research investigated metacognitive awareness of emotional stimuli and its psychophysiological correlates. We used a backward masking task presenting participants with fearful or neutral faces. We asked participants for face discrimination and then probed their metacognitive awareness with confidence rating (CR) and post-decision wagering (PDW) scales. We also analysed psychophysiological correlates of awareness with event-related potential (ERP) components: P1, N170, early posterior negativity (EPN), and P3. We have not observed any differences between PDW and CR conditions in the emotion identification task. However, the "aware" ratings were associated with increased accuracy performance. This effect was more pronounced in PDW, especially for fearful faces, suggesting that emotional stimuli awareness may be enhanced by monetary incentives. EEG analysis showed larger N170, EPN and P3 amplitudes in aware compared to unaware trials. It also appeared that both EPN and P3 ERP components were more pronounced in the PDW condition, especially when emotional faces were presented. Taken together, our ERP findings suggest that metacognitive awareness of emotional stimuli depends on the effectiveness of both early and late visual information processing. Our study also indicates that awareness of emotional stimuli can be enhanced by the motivation induced by wagering.


Eighteen L. inconspicuous accessions collected from different countries were evaluated for variations of seed weight, seed protein content, and electrophoretic patterns of the total seed proteins analyzed under reducing conditions. They exhibited a reasonable genetic variability for the evaluated traits. This genetic variability revealed that improvement through simple selection for these traits is possible. The variation between the seed size of this accessions was attributed to the development process or the life cycle of the plant, and the environmental condition to which the mother plant is exposed. On the other hand, the variation in protein content among the different accessions may be due to genotype and/or seasonal influences. The relationship between protein content and 100 seeds weight in the evaluated accessions was reversible, the accession showed the lowest quantity of the total seed proteins was the accession that exhibited highest weight of 100 seeds and nearly vice versa. Each accession gave a different electrophoretic pattern except the two accessions collected from Iran, exhibited an identical one. The difference in 100 seed weight and total protein content of these accessions indicated that they are not genetically identical. The variation in the electrophoregram of the evaluated accessions located in the bands with molecular weight more than 98 kDa, the heavy subunits of alpha-lathyrin subunits and the region molecular weight around 70 kDa. The results of cluster analysis based of SDS/PAGE under reduction conditions indicated that genetic diversity between Turkish, Syrian, and Iranian and Australian accessions is pronounced, and Turkish accessions are closer to both Syrian and Iranian accessions than the relation between Syrian and Iranian. This suggested that crosses between the Iranian and Syrian accessions could create more genetic variability than crosses with Turkish accessions. The distribution of Turkish and Syrian accessions between more than one clusters revealed that genetic diversity and geographic distribution were independent of each other. PCA showed that all accessions were separated on the first principal component, indicating that the accessions showed a good association, due, probably, to parallel evolution.


The Paks full-scope training simulator has been in service since 1988. In the last almost two decades practically every element of the simulator has been upgraded, replaced because the fast development of the computer techniques made the solution a great amount earlier unsolvable problems possible. Moreover, the requirements against the simulator have also changed. Originally the simulator was used only for training the operating personnel of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, but now it is used as a "test bed" for new systems prior their installation on the real plant, too. The first such testing was the replacement of the Reactor Protection System with a new computerized one. For this reason the scope of the models had to be extended to cover the severe accidents, which needed a much more powerful simulator computer than the original one. The outdated control room interface system had to be replaced by a new one, because spare parts became unattainable and its service required very high cost. Only the instructor's system remained in its original form. Now the old Instructor's system has been replaced as well. All the old functions were realised by convenient full-graphic Man-Machine Interface tools. The paper describes in detail the newly added functionalities of he Instructor's system, too.


A new and efficient implicit scheme is proposed to obtain a steady-state solution in time integration and the comparison of characteristics with the approximation ways for the implicit method to solve the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is provided. The conservative, finite-volume cell-vertex upwind scheme and artificial compressibility method using dual time stepping for time accuracy is applied in this paper. The numerical results obtained indicate that the direct application of Jacobian matrix to the Lower and upper sweeps of implicit LU-SG S leads to better performance as well as convergence regardless of CFL number and true time step than explicit scheme and approximation of Jacobian matrix. The flow simulation around box in uniform flow with unstructured meshes is demonstrated to check the validity of the current formulation.


VSC-based HVDC is more and more concerned recently to improve power system stability due to controllability of its IGBT valve. In this paper, a two-machine power system model with VSC-based HVDC transmission is established and analyzed. Through eigenvalue analysis, it is shown that the system stability is enhanced significantly with the proposed VSC-based HVDC in transmission systems. Furthermore, digital simulation studies are conducted using the well-established PSCAD/ EMTDC software package to show the effectiveness of the proposed VSC-based HVDC in damping oscillations when faults occurred


BACKGROUND
The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) can infest over 300 plant species and cause huge economic losses. Beauveria bassiana (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) is one of the most widely used entomopathogenic fungi (EPF). Unfortunately, the efficacy of B. bassiana against S. frugiperda is quite low. Hypervirulent EPF isolates can be obtained by ultraviolet (UV)-irradiation. Here we report the UV-induced mutagenesis and transcriptomic analysis of B. bassiana.

RESULTS
The wild-type (WT) B. bassiana (ARSEF2860) was exposed to UV light to induce mutagenesis. Two mutants (named 6M and 8M) showed higher growth rates, conidial yields, and germination rates compared to the WT strain. The mutants showed higher levels of tolerance to osmotic, oxidative, and UV stresses. The mutants showed higher protease, chitinase, cellulose, and chitinase activities than WT. Both WT and mutants were compatible with the insecticides matrine, spinetoram, and chlorantraniliprole, but incompatible with emamectin benzoate. Insect bioassays showed that both mutants were more virulent against S. frugiperda and the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella. Transcriptomic profiles of the WT and mutants were determined by RNA sequencing. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. The gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, and hub gene analysis revealed virulence-related genes.

CONCLUSION
Our data demonstrate that UV-irradiation is a very efficient and economical technique to improve the virulence and stress resistance of B. bassiana. Comparative transcriptomic profiles of the mutants provide insights into virulence genes. These results provide new ideas for improving the genetic engineering and field efficacy of EPF.


The uptake of leucine by rat brain synaptosomes was investigated in a Na+-free medium. It was found that leucine was transported into synaptosomes by 2 uptake processes which were both extremely sensitive to inhibition by 2-aminobicyclo-(2,2,1)-heptane-2-carboxylic acid. These 2 components were distinguishable from each other by kinetic analysis and by their relative sensitivity to inhibition by selected amino acids.


This study examines the development and impact of diversity and equality management systems (DEMS). A national sample of human resource managers from 155 Canadian firms responded to surveys about their firm's diversity and equality management (DEM) practices. Cluster analysis and latent class modeling identified three distinct approaches to DEM: classical disparity DEMS showing limited development of DEM-related practices, institutional DEMS involving complex selection mechanisms and monitoring of employment statistics, and configurational DEMS linking diversity to business strategy. Hypothesis-testing analyses indicated that both institutional and configurational DEMS were predicted by coverage by the Canadian employment equity program, federal contractor status, and the presence of a diversity expert on staff. Only configurational DEMS was predicted by inclusion of HRM in developing business strategy. Configurational DEMS positively predicted the employment of workers with disabilities and members of visible minority groups as well as ROA. These findings support the proposition based on strategic human resource management (SHRM) theory that DEM practices should be considered as bundles and that vertical linkage to strategy is important for DEM effectiveness. As such, SHRM theory explains how managers can structure strategic responses to institutional pressures that go beyond requirements to achieve strategic goals.


Neisseria meningitidis isolates are conventionally classified by serosubtyping that characterizes the reactivities of the PorA outer membrane protein variable-region epitopes with monoclonal antibodies. Porins are outer membrane proteins (OMPs) of N. meningitidis serogroup B and have attracted study principally for two reasons: their use in the classification of meningococcal isolates into serotype and subtype and as potential components of vaccines against this important pathogen. New murine hybridomas, secreting specific monoclonal antibodies against PorA serotype P1.4 of N. meningitidis serogroup B, were generated using conventional hybridoma procedures. The monoclonal antibodies obtained were characterized by Western blot and whole cell ELISA, using reference strains from different N. meningitidis serotypes and subtypes. All monoclonal antibodies belong to isotype IgG1. Others hybridomas producing MAbs against PorB and FrpB were also obtained.


While external commentators, and the Chinese state authorities, refer to the period which began around 1980 as the 'reform period' and apply concepts such as 'socialist commodity economy', Uyghur peasants in the vicinity of Qazqar in the extreme west of China refer to the era in which they live as an age of 'freedom'. This paper focuses on the bundle of rights over land and other changing property rights. Karl Polanyi's concept of a 'Great Transformation' based on the spread of the 'free market' has been influential in economic anthropology and is regularly invoked in studies of current institutional change in the former Soviet bloc countries. In the Chinese case, the sphere of 'the market' has been steadily expanding within a country that remains officially socialist and in which the dominant role of collectively owned property is ostensibly unchallenged. This poses a puzzle for those who believe that a successful market economy requires a structure of incentives based on private ownership. This puzzle is largely hypothetical for contemporary peasants in southern Xinjiang, who remain preoccupied with subsistence and survival strategies. There is resentment at continued state interference in the bundle of rights over land; outside agriculture, commoditisation and private ownership are more completely established, though some entrepreneurs are already pushing against state imposed limits. Property rights, construed more broadly in terms of entitlements and capacities, are of concern to all. Adoption of this broad perspective on property gives insight into the radical changes brought by the reform era, not only in production but also in other domains.


W e have all heard our patients complain about  bad experiences with other doctors: "That  doctor misdiagnosed this," "never explained what was going on," "is always late," or "only spent five minutes with me." Deserved or undeserved, these critiques should cause all of us to strive not to be "that doctor." After reading the article "Seven Sins in Modern Medicine," I decided to add to the list. Here are 10 sins I've seen or committed in my practice. 1. Not addressing the patient's expectations or hidden agenda. Some patients want an antibiotic for their viral infection, an x-ray or MRI for their back pain, or narcotics for their pain. When these interventions are not clinically indicated, clearly explain why – even if the patient does not directly ask you for them. 2. Not recognizing the patient's real problem. Examples include the patient who presents with chest pain but really has anxiety and depression, the patient who presents with upset stomach but really has unstable angina, or the 35-year-old patient who presents with bleeding hemorrhoids but really has colon cancer. 3. Not recognizing that the patient has been waiting. When a patient has had to wait more than 15 minutes, the first words out of your mouth when you greet the patient should be, "Thank you for waiting." If possible, let your patient know why you are running late. 4. Not praising an excellent physician. When arranging consults with physicians you would be happy to see, let your patients know this fact so they can feel confident that they are in good hands. 5. Not properly educating the patient. If you want your patient to remember more than two things after the visit, put your instructions in writing. Visual aids also go a long way toward helping your patient understand what's going on. Patients who have just been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, depression, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, etc., should be given a thorough handout explaining the disease in simple language. 6. Not being real about time constraints even when you are rushed. When your obstetric patient is starting to push in the hospital, it is time to tell Mrs. Jones (who is going into detail about her fifth complaint), "Let's schedule another visit." Also, when patients bring in a long list of complaints, the first thing to do is to go over the list and identify which things might need to wait for a future visit. 7. Not telling the patient what to do if a problem doesn't get better. Patients need to be reminded that they should call or return to your clinic if they don't improve within a certain time frame so you can try additional treatment options (e.g., "If your back pain does not get better by Monday, we may need to see you again and consider a change in treatment"). 8. Not telling the patient when to expect lab and x-ray results. It is easy to exceed patients' expectations if you tell them to expect results in one to two weeks but you call or send a letter in one to two days. 9. Not having an adolescent's parent in the exam room. It never fails; you spend 10 minutes explaining to Junior how to treat his problem, but when his mother (who has been sitting in the waiting room) asks, "What did the doctor say?" he replies, "I don't know." In general, it's better to have the parent in the room. If sensitive topics come up, kindly ask the parent to leave for a moment. 10. Not advocating for vulnerable patients. Some specialists are programmed to continue aggressive care even when it may not be helping terminal patients. You know your patients best and can often recognize when it is time to steer them toward palliative or hospice care. Letting patients and families know what you would do in the same situation can help them in their decision making. If you are guilty of one of these "sins," acknowledging it is the first step toward change. Besides, I hear confession is good for the soul.


The functioning of developed financial markets is an integral feature of a country with a market economy, in which it is understood primarily as an infrastructure element of state policy, which, with proper management, ensures a qualitative increase in the standard of living of citizens. Therefore, the issues of criminal legal assessment of encroachments on relations in the sphere of financial markets have recently become particularly relevant both abroad and in Russia. In Singapore law, the legal provisions on criminal liability for crimes in the field of financial markets are contained in the Criminal code of the Republic of Singapore, in the laws on the prevention of corruption, on securities and futures. The purpose of the study is to analyze Singapore legislation to compare foreign and domestic criminal law norms on crimes in the field of financial markets, as well as to determine the possibilities of using foreign experience in Russian rule-making practice. The methodological basis of the paper is a set of methods of scientific knowledge, among which the main place is occupied by methods of comparative law and system analysis. The author analyzes the similarities and differences between Singapore and Russian financial and criminal legislation and predicts promising directions for the development of the system of relevant domestic criminal law norms. The author suggests the expediency of using the ideas of criminalization and suppression of fraud in the investment sphere, including in cyberspace, theft of personal data and their misuse, as well as other preparatory actions for serious and grave crimes that may be committed in the financial markets.


Objective: Despite increasing evidence of the benefits of cancer rehabilitation worldwide, the nature of cancer rehabilitation programs is not well described in Australia and New Zealand. We report findings of a pilot survey highlighting the current service delivery of cancer rehabilitation programs and health professionals' perspectives on barriers and facilitators to implementation of cancer rehabilitation programs. Methods: A cross-sectional pilot survey of rehabilitation health professionals in hospital and ambulatory care settings in Australia and New Zealand, evaluating current availability of cancer rehabilitation programs, health professional workforce, core components delivered, and barriers and facilitators to provision and delivery of cancer rehabilitation programs. Results: Respondents (n = 60) included rehabilitation physicians and advanced trainees, with a majority of respondents working in non-dedicated cancer rehabilitation programs in Australia and New Zealand. Most rehabilitation programs being provided to cancer patients are led by rehabilitation physicians, followed by allied health. The most common tumor streams referred include central nervous system, hematological, and breast cancers. Patients are most frequently referred during posttreatment phase. The core components of rehabilitation programs include management of complications and provision of education (mood, exercise, and fatigue management), with exercise prescription comprising mainly strengthening exercises, mobilization, and gait training. Common barriers for adequate service delivery included inadequate funding and lack of appropriate staffing with expertise, while most common facilitators identified were encouraging better collaboration and integration of rehabilitation within acute cancer care services and specialty teams and increased enthusiasm and engagement of staff with leadership skills. Conclusion: The pilot survey identified current service provision among rehabilitation programs providing care to cancer patients and highlighted preliminary gaps and facilitators to the implementation of formal cancer rehabilitation programs. These findings need further confirmation in a larger study to assess further outcome measures and the impact of barriers and facilitators for care quality. Collaborative efforts between physicians, patients, policy makers, and related parties may assist in overcoming the barriers identified.


This study was conducted in Ilalasimba village located in Iringa district, southern highlands of Tanzania. It assessed the land use planning process in the village and its ultimate end; that is, issuing Certificates of Customary Rights of Occupancy (CCROs) to the community members. The assessment was done from the perspectives of women inclusion and participation so as to determine their position in the process. A mixed method approach was adopted and both qualitative and quantitative data were simultaneously collected and later converged during analysis in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of the questions requiring answers from the study. Semi-structured questionnaires, Key informant interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were used during data collection. Systematic sampling technique which has precision equivalent to random sampling was engaged to obtain a sample of 60 household respondents from the village.Considerable engagement and participation of women in the land use planning process, especially in the open discussions on women land rights, training sessions on the importance of land use plans as well as the right to own land which were conducted in the village at the time of undergoing land use planning process, motivated women to claim for their rights to equally own land. Moreover, women inclusion in various organs of decision making such as the village Council (VC) and the Village Land Council (VLC) strengthened their leadership capabilities and ensured women land rights is an important agenda in the decisions made by those bodies.  As a result of these initiatives there has been a significant proportion of women with certificates of land ownership under single occupancy, co-occupancy, probate administration and guardian – minor. However, women participation was not very promising in the public meetings especially village assembly due to household responsibilities. It is imperative for other village land use planning processes to take women inclusion and participation as an integral part. This will allow for interaction between actors and enable participants make the land use planning a process of high legal and social value to the community through designing, assimilating, adopting and implementing sustainable mechanisms, ways and modalities of exercising land ownership rights that will be beneficial, equal and fair to all members of the society and that will not proceed at the expense of women who when given the rights to own land, the benefits multiply to greater part of the society. Keywords: Participation, Land Use Planning, Land Ownership, Customary Tenure , Certificate of Customary Rights of Occupancy (CCROs),


Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) of the central nervous system (CNS) is an aggressive malignant tumor that is mainly found in younger children and is associated with poor prognosis. Our objectives: to present the results of treatment of children with CNS AT/RT under 3 years of age and assess the impact of various prognostic factors on patient survival. The study was approved by the Independent Ethics Committee and the Scientific Council of the N.I. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University of Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation. The study included 106 patients with CNS AT/RT aged 0–3 years who had been treated and monitored from 2008 to 2020. The median age was 16 (9; 23) months. All the patients underwent primary tumor resection with subsequent chemotherapy according to various protocols. At the time of the analysis, 47 patients (44.4%) were alive, 1 patient (0.9%) was lost to follow-up and 58 patients (54.7%) were dead, of whom 52 patients (90%) had died of disease progression and 6 (10%) – of polychemotherapy complications. One patient developed shunt-related intraabdominal metastasis within 10 months of the diagnosis. The 1-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 0.50; the 2-year PFS was 0.29; the 5-year PFS – 0.27. The median PFS was 12 months. The 1-year overall survival (OS) was 0.72; the 2-year OS was 0.53; the 5-year OS – 0.40. The median OS was 27 months. An analysis of patients with CNS AT/RT under 3 years of age showed that PFS was statistically significantly higher in: children aged > 12 months; children with totally resected tumours; children who had received polychemotherapy in accordance with the ATRT-2006 protocol that included radiotherapy and regional administration of a triplet of chemotherapeutic agents. The OS in patients with CNS AT/RT aged 12 months; children who had been treated with radiation therapy; patients who had received cytosar/etoposide intrathecally/intraventricularly; patients who had undergone high-dose chemotherapy with subsequent autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. A multivariate analysis revealed that PFS was influenced by age, tumor location, extent of resection and exposure to radiation therapy, regional chemotherapy or high-dose chemotherapy with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, while OS was affected by age and exposure to radiation therapy.


Work on the problem of contextualized word representation---the development of reusable neural network components for sentence understanding---has recently seen a surge of progress centered on the unsupervised pretraining task of language modeling with methods like ELMo. This paper contributes the first large-scale systematic study comparing different pretraining tasks in this context, both as complements to language modeling and as potential alternatives. The primary results of the study support the use of language modeling as a pretraining task and set a new state of the art among comparable models using multitask learning with language models. However, a closer look at these results reveals worryingly strong baselines and strikingly varied results across target tasks, suggesting that the widely-used paradigm of pretraining and freezing sentence encoders may not be an ideal platform for further work.


Food habits of two species of dolichopodid fly larvae, from two Gulf Coast oligohaline tidal marshes, were analyzed from monthly collections taken between June 1979 and May 1980. Larvae of Pelastoneurus abbreviatus Loew and Thinophilus frontalis Van Duzee, taken from a Juncus roemerianus Scheele dominated marsh, fed pre- dominantly on oligochaetes and nematodes. Pelastoneurus abbreviatus, collected in a nearby Spartina cynosuroides (L.) Roth marsh, also fed on oligochaetes but consumed more polychaetes than nematodes. By being predators and prey in turn, these larvae serve in the transfer of energy between benthic, aquatic, and terrestrial components of the marsh system.


Summary form only given, as follows. Diagnostic measurements performed for surge arresters are normally studied by evaluating their suitability to detect ageing and degradation of metal oxide material. The suitability of different methods for revealing internal moisture in arresters has not been studied much. This aspect is considered in the paper based on measurement results obtained during a 1.5 year laboratory test series conducted for six different types of polymer housed distribution class arresters. AC power losses, third harmonic content of resistive leakage current, DC leakage current and partial discharge measurement results over the test period are given and discussed. Details of the measurement procedures suitable for measuring polymeric arresters with internal moisture are also studied. AC power loss and DC leakage current measurements were found to be good methods, while the other two can only be used as additional methods when diagnosing Internal moisture In polymer housed arresters.


We present additionnal results on K1, K2, K3 and K4 distributions described at 8th R/Rmetrics Summer Workshop 2014 ( https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01343711 ), noteworthy the moments, the skewness, the kurtosis and one function to summarize the tail risk. The applications present new plots to follow the risk associated to financial assets, especially in the case of rolling windows. The figures suggest new rules in portfolio management and rebalancement procedures.


The vision of semiconductor device operation based on quantum mechanical properties of a single quantum dot (SQD) is stimulating many activities towards site-selective growth of quantum dots in order to achieve deterministic device properties. Within the steeply rising fi eld of semiconductor-based quantum optics, in particular, deterministic positioning of single quantum dots makes the key difference which allows to transition from "one-of-a-kind" demonstrators to low-cost mass production. Site-selective quantum dot growth represents however one of the most challenging frontiers for epitaxial growth today as it requires precise control of the lateral assembly of a few thousands of atoms on areas with a spot size not larger than a few tens of nanometers. In order to get a grip onto SQD nucleation various surface patterning technologies have been developed in recent years. Great success has been achieved with nanometersized holes patterned on planar substrate surfaces through which single QDs can be positioned with close to 50 nm precision to target coordinates – for example the center of micro-pillar cavities. As shown in the papers by Schneider et al. [1] and Helfrich et al. [2], problems of reduced QD nucleation probability at such holes and degraded QD emission characteristics can be overcome using proper preparation technologies and growth recipes. Benyoucef et al. [3] take the approach one step further and explore its application to silicon substrates. Very recently, a buried stressor technology for quantum dot positioning on GaAs substrates has been demonstrated which integrates a self-aligned current injection scheme for electrical excitation of single quantum dots [4]. Very effi cient electrically-driven single photon sources were already demonstrated using such an approach during preparation of this Special Section for physica status solidi. Details of the patterning technologies and the physics of site-selective growth processes are highlighted which makes the reader familiar with the subject and simultaneously covers the state-of-the-art in the fi eld.


This report is intended to push the debate on personal information beyond the legal and technical language associated with data protection and identity management. The debate must move towards something that people ? through day-to-day experiences in their own lives ? have a stake in. New trends of communication, customer services, personalisation, and issues of social inclusion and privacy are helping to create a new framework for the discussion of personal information.


Evaluations provide important information to improve public services, but only if they yield valid and reliable findings – so we believed for a long time. Evaluation communities have therefore established certain criteria that should define evaluation quality. Yet against prior studies on evaluation utilisation, we show that evaluation quality measured by the criteria is not necessarily associated with evaluation use, but rather linked to the perception of quality and impact of the evaluation. Evaluators should adjust their communications strategies accordingly.


Among organisms in the class Mollicutes only Ureaplasma species possess urease. Antiserum to urease of U. urealyticum strain T960 (CX8) was used to examine the cross-reactivity of urease from other Ureaplasma species, as well as urease of jack bean and several urease-possessing walled bacteria. Immunological cross reactivity was used to establish phylogenetic relationships between various antigens. The ability of monospecific anti-urease antibody to inhibit urease activity was examined. The antiserum inhibited urease activity of the homologous strain the least of any Ureaplasma tested. It is postulated that urease possesses a minimum of two sets of epitopes. Binding of antibody to one epitope causes inhibition of enzyme activity; this epitope is common to urease of all Ureaplasma species. Binding of antibody to the other epitope prevents binding to the inhibition epitope; this epitope is specific to U. urealyticum strain T960 (CX8). No inhibition was observed with urease from jack bean or several walled bacteria.


The viral pandemic has resulted in a growing demand for antiviral drugs. The existing small-molecule antiviral drugs are limited, due to their incidence of drug resistance and adverse side effects. As potential drugs, antiviral peptides have the benefits of high activity, high stability, and few side effects. Furthermore, the diversity of acquisition methods allows antiviral peptides to be quickly designed and yielded. The drug properties (such as high bioavailability and in vivo stability) of antiviral peptides can be improved by the developed modifications. Currently, two peptide antiviral drugs have been approved for the treatment of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Many antiviral peptides have entered clinical trials for the treatment of diseases caused by viruses. In addition, new antiviral peptides are continuously being identified and validated against virus infections. Given the benefits of antiviral peptides, they will become major antiviral drugs to combat new outbreaks caused by unknown viruses in the future. This review provides an overview of recent developments in antiviral peptides with in vivo activity.


During the recent decade, the high risks and detrimental consequences associated with the use of chemical and even microbial pesticides have been a recurring theme in pest control, and researchers have been trying to pursue low-risk and environmentally sound tactics. However, biological control is a non-chemical method that utilizes natural enemies for suppression and regulation of insect pest populations. This study was performed in order to assess parasitism rate and parasitoid diversity of Cabbage Large White Butterfly, Pieris brassicae (L.) (Lep.: Pieridae), on cabbage fields in comparison with wild hosts in Urmia. Also In this study some biological and behavioral characteristics of Pteromalus puparum (L.) (Hym.: Pteromalidae , predominant endoparasitoid wasp of P. brassicae, was studied. For this purpose, samples were taken from various cabbage farms and wild hosts of this pest outside the farm. The specimens have been collected from all stages of P. brassicae. In order to parasitoids emerge, samples incubated separately in laboratory conditions at 23 1°C, 40 5 % r.h. and 16:8 h (L:D) photoperiod. The other main purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of P. puparum in the biological control of Cabbage Large White Butterfly.


In recent years, the information crosstalk between the central nervous system and the periphery has been a hot topic, such as the brain–gut axis, brain–lung axis, etc. Among them, some studies have shown that brainstem nuclei activity can significantly affect the progression of peripheral tumor; however, regarding lung cancer, our understanding of the basic characteristics of the lung-innervating brain nuclei responsive to lung cancer progression remains deficient. Therefore, we used the pseudorabies virus for retrograde labeling of nerves to study the neural circuits between the lung and brain. We then established a mouse orthotopic lung cancer model and used the expression of the c-Fos gene in brain regions to characterize activated brain circuits and compared these results with those of the control group. We focused on c-Fos activity in nuclei associated with retrograde tracing regions of the brainstem. We found over 16 nuclei in the whole brain with direct or indirect lung innervation through neural retrograde labeling with the pseudorabies virus. We further revealed that the neuronal activity of the rostral ventrolateral reticular nucleus (RVL), caudal nucleus of Raphe (raphe obscurus nucleus, ROb), Raphe pallidus nucleus (RPa), and ventral gigantocellular reticular nucleus (GiV) in the rostral ventromedial and lateral medulla were significantly changed in an orthotopic lung cancer mouse model by the immunostaining of c-Fos early responsive protein. Thus, the distinctive rostroventral medulla area, functionally closely related to the vagus nerve, likely plays a role in central neural interaction with peripheral lung tumors and deserves future investigation.


The author investigates how consumer search behavior typology affects the relationship between customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. The results show that the type of consumer as defined by whether and how they search for information (passive, rational-active, relational-dependent) perceive different levels of satisfaction and performs differently on satisfaction-behavioral intentions linkages. Relational-dependent and rational-active consumers are found to perceive higher satisfaction levels, and to express stronger intentions to engage in positive behavioral intentions than passive consumers. The identification of satisfaction and behavioral intentions within each search type allows managers to satisfy their consumers; hence, the company will obtain higher profit. Keywords: consumer behavior typology, satisfaction, behavioral intentions


Background. Pre-school age is the period of especially fast growth and physical development, characterized by an intensive growth and development of a child's organism, great changes in the activity of the functional systems, which is affected by increasing physical activeness and fitness (Grinienė & Vaitkevičius, 2009; Howells & Sääkslahti, 2019). Previous studies have identified parental influence as a factor that can shape a child's physical self–perception and act as a stimulus for physical activity and fitness (Eddolls, McNarry, Stratton, & Mackintosh, 2016).  The aim of this study was to indicate physical activity of 5–6-year-old children and to determine the interaction between parents' physical activity and physical fitness data.
Methods. The study involved pre-school age children (n = 59) from 5 to 6 years old: 31 girls and 21 boys; also, their parents (n = 101) were involved: 57 mothers and 44 fathers. Physical activity was measured objectively using the ActiGraph GT3X model. The children performed five physical fitness tests (PFT) according to the Eurofit methodology. Also, parents were asked to fill in questionnaires about their own and their children's physical activity, and also subjective physical fitness.
Results. It turned out that there was a significant difference in the time spent in moderate and moderate to vigorous (MVPA) physical activity between 5 to 6-year-old children (p < .05). Comparing pre-school children's physical fitness by gender we found that boys were more physically fit than girls when performing long jumps, but girls were more physically fit than boys when performing a sit and reach test (p < .05). Subjectively measured PA identified that 72.6% of parents (of both genders) were sufficiently physically active and 27.4% were inadequate physically active.
Conclusion. The results revealed that 6-year-old children spent more time in sedentary time than 5-year-olds, who accumulated more time in moderate and total MVPA physical activity per day. No significant relation was found between parents' and children's physical activity and fitness.

Keywords: physical activity, physical fitness, pre-school child, health, parents.


Lichen planus is an autoimmune inflammatory disease that can be associated with infections, drugs, and vaccines. Recently, it has been reported to occur following mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, particularly the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. We present the first reported case of lichen planus that developed after five days following the administration of the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in a 46-year-old healthy male. The skin eruption was purple, ill-defined, non-scaly, itchy, and distributed over his face, abdomen, back, and legs. The clinical appearance of the skin eruption and histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of lichen planus. The skin lesions were not responding well to topical steroid and oral antihistamine treatment. Thus, the patient was commenced on systemic hydroxychloroquine. The mechanism of lichen planus development following the administration of COVID-19 vaccines is unclear and needs more investigations and explanations. Healthcare providers should be aware of this possible adverse reaction following the administration of different severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines. The histopathological features of lichen planus in our case are different from those found in the lichenoid drug eruption. This finding indicates different pathophysiology that needs further investigation.


The origin of projection criteria for Insensitive Munitions (AOP-39) and Hazard Classification (UN Orange Book) was investigated. Current distance-mass relations were reproduced with TRAJCAN trajectory analysis by using launch energies of 8, 20 and 79J and calculating the maximum impact distance reached by a natural steel fragment launched from 1 m height. The results show how distances would vary with assumed fragment shape and material. It was also observed that at the maximum throw distances, the impact energy is generally much smaller than the launch energy. This led to the development of new distance-mass relations that are based on the aforementioned energy criteria at 15 m impact and beyond, rather than on launch energy.


Safe and efficient autonomous driving maneuvers in an interactive and complex environment can be considerably challenging due to the unpredictable actions of other surrounding agents that may be cooperative or adversarial in their interactions with the ego vehicle. One of the state-of-the-art approaches is to apply Reinforcement Learning (RL) to learn a time-sequential driving policy, to execute proper control strategy or tracking trajectory in dynamic situations. However, direct application of RL algorithms is not satisfactorily enough to deal with the cases in the autonomous driving domain, mainly due to the complex driving environment and continuous action space. In this paper, we adopt Q-learning as our basic learning framework and design a unique format of the Q-function approximator that consists of neural networks to handle the continuous action space challenge. The learning model is present in a closed form of continuous control variables and trained in a simulation platform that we have developed with embedded properties of real-time vehicle interactions. The proposed algorithm avoids invoking an additional actor network that learns to take actions, as in actor-critic algorithms. At the same time, some prior knowledge of vehicle dynamics is also fed into the model to assist learning. We test our algorithm with a challenging use case - lane change maneuver, to verify the practicability and feasibility of the proposed approach. Results from accumulated rewards and vehicle performance show that RL vehicle agents successfully learn a safe, comfort and efficient driving policy as defined in the reward function.


Aim: to investigate the effectiveness of treatment for wheezing in preschool children based on ERS task force.

Material and Methods: Preschooler children with recurrent wheezing were classified as viral episodic wheeze (VEW) and multiple trigger wheeze (MTW) with respect to ERS task force and their treatments were arranged. Patients were evaluated at the beginning, at the end of the first month, and third month for the effectiveness of treatment by determining control levels according to the criteria in Global Initiative for Asthma Guideline for "asthma control levels".

Results: 59 (56.7%) of 104 patients included in this study are boys and 45 (45.3%) of them are girls. 70 (67.3%) patients are classified as VEW and 34 (32.7%) as MTW. The mean age of VEW and MTW groups are 27.9±17.3 and 34.5±18.3, respectively. In MTW group, blood eosinophil levels and serum total IgE levels were found to be statistically significantly higher than VEW group. "The average numbers of symptom free days during 1 month before the treatment" in VEW and MTW groups were determined as statistically significantly lower compared to the 1st and 3rd months' averages. In the 3rd month of the treatment, total control has been achieved in 81.4% of VEW group and in 76.5% of MTW group. Controller medications were changed in 7 (6.7%) cases because of insufficient control (2 cases (5.8%) MTW and 5 cases (7.1%) from VEW group).

Conclusion: Phenotype based classification which is a practical approach can be used in evaluation and treatment of preschool children with recurrent wheezing.

Reference:

1.Brand PL et al. Definition, assessment and treatment of wheezing disorders in preschool children: an evidence-based approach. Eur Respir J. 2008 Oct;32(4):1096-110.


Introduction This chapter aims to sum up and draw some conclusions about the sectoral systems studied in the book. The concept of the sectoral system has proven a useful tool in various respects: for a descriptive analysis of the differences and similarities in the structure, organization and boundaries of sectors; for a full understanding of the differences and similarities in the working, dynamics and transformation of sectors; for the identification of the factors affecting innovation and the commercial performance and international competitiveness of firms and countries in the different sectors; for the development of new public policy indications. The chapter presents a brief characterization of the sectors examined in this book (section 1), followed by a discussion of the results concerning the role of the three building blocks – knowledge and technologies, actors and networks, and institutions (section 2) – and of the actual geographical boundaries (section 3) of sectoral systems in Europe. Then the main coevolutionary processes (section 4) are examined. Sectoral systems in services are different from those in manufacturing, and their differences are discussed in section 5. Finally, the international performance of Europe in the six sectors and the factors affecting it (section 6), the policy implications of a sectoral system approach (section 7) and the challenges ahead (section 8) are discussed. As mentioned in the introduction, in the chapters of this book concerning specific SSIs sectors have been defined broadly: pharmaceuticals, chemicals, telecommunications, software and machine tools.


Despite much effort, the transition from benign to malignant breast cancer remains poorly understood, resulting in overtreatment of women with in situ lesions. A growing appreciation for the role of cell mechanics in driving cell behavior has prompted interest in how mechanical interactions might control tumor growth and progression. How these parameters impact the transition from benign to malignant breast cancer remains unclear. Mechanical interactions among cells via adherens junctions, and between cells and the ECM via focal adhesions, can each exert dominant effects on cell behavior. Cell motility and invasion require force interactions by harnessing cytoskeletal dynamics, which permit shape changes and generate and transmit forces. Tension maintained across the actin cortex mechanically restricts protrusions, and may be transmitted across multiple cells via adherens junctions. Thus epithelial cells form mechanically integrated tissues that may be responsive to changes in cortical tension over great distances. However, the regulatory role of cortical tension in restricting cells from protruding is unclear. Overall, we lack detailed morphologic and mechanical models of cell protrusion and invasion out of 3D collectives. Using MDCK cell exposure to HGF as a model for rupture of epithelial integrity and protrusion, we have demonstrated the morphologic parameters that permit protrusion of a cell from its surrounding epithelium. Combined with work from our lab on force interactions between cells via adherens junctions, as well as mechanical interactions between a cell and its substrate, we may extrapolate detailed force interactions that underlie the observed cell shape and motility parameters that permit protrusion. Citation Format: Timothy Fessenden, Margaret L. Gardel. Dynamic multicellular mechanics controlling protrusion in 3D. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1100. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-1100


This study aimed to examine the Iranian local communities' readiness stage to engage with childhood obesity prevention programs for late primary school children in districts 2 and 16 of Tehran as the representatives of high and low socio-economic districts, respectively. First, a Delphi approach was conducted to assess the socio-cultural necessity/appropriateness and adequacy of the community readiness model and its dimensions as a planning basis for childhood obesity prevention program(s) in Iran. Then, the community readiness interview guide's translation, modification, content and face validity were performed. Finally, 66 interviews with key informants were conducted and scored to assess community readiness. The socio-cultural necessity/appropriateness and adequacy of community readiness model and its dimensions were confirmed by Delphi participants and two questions were added to the interview guide. Content and face validity of the interview guide were at acceptable levels. Assessment of the community readiness based on the key informants' perspective showed that the overall mean readiness score of targeted local communities was 4.61 ± 0.54 and 4.22 ± 0.26 in high and low socio-economic districts, respectively, corresponded to 'preplanning stage'. The highest score was 5.00 ± 0.48 correspond to the 'preparation stage', which belonged to girls' schools in district 2. Small differences were found in the readiness stage of local communities by sex and socio-economic status of schools. The results highlight the need to increase community awareness, gain their support to recognize childhood obesity as a priority, address cultural misconceptions and improve the obesity prevention programs to achieve a higher level of readiness.


Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory skin disease affecting 2-3% of the worldwide population. This disease has been recognized to be mediated by immune alterations. Jojoba liquid waxes possess anti-inflammatory properties. Accordingly, they are capable to diminish neutrophil infiltration, as indicated by decreasing myeloperoxidase activity, and also decrease tumor necrosis factor-alpha and nitric oxide production. It is proposed that jojoba extract may be a useful addition to anti-psoriatic weaponry.


[Para. 1 of Summary] Lysosomes – also known as a vacuoles – are responsible for the same unglamorous but necessary task that sees me dragging giant plastic wheelie-bins to the curb once a week: we're all taking out the rubbish. While I'm doing it on a household level, those busy lysosomes are hard at work inside animal cells – and not just weekly, they are at it all the time. However, when the activity of these membrane-bound organelles (compartments within cells) is interrupted, harmful by-products accumulate. This can have a profound negative impact on cell survival and health, ultimately leading to disease.


Rationalism in Politics, first published in 1962, has established the late Michael Oakeshott as the leading conservative political theorist in modern Britain. This expanded collection of essays astutely points out the limits of 'reason' in rationalist politics. Oakeshott criticizes ideological schemes to reform society according to supposedly 'scientific' or rationalistic principles that ignore the wealth and variety of human experience. "Rationalism in politics," says Oakeshott, "involves a misconception with regard to the nature of human knowledge." History has shown that it produces unexpected, often disastrous results. "Having cut himself off from the traditional knowledge of his society, and denied the value of any education more extensive than a training in a technique of analysis," the Rationalist succeeds only in undermining the institutions that hold civilized society together. In this regard, rationalism in politics is "a corruption of the mind."


ABSTRACT Replicon typing of plasmids carrying blaCTX-M or blaCMY β-lactamase genes indicates a predominance of I1 and A/C replicons among blaCMY-carrying plasmids and five different plasmid scaffolds associated with the different types of blaCTX-M genes (I1, FII, HI2, K, and N). These results demonstrate the association of certain β-lactamase genes with specific plasmid backbones.


A close study of all known solutions in general relativity which can be written in terms of Painleve transcendental functions reveals that they can all be derived from a solution found by Leaute and Marcilhacy in 1984. In the course of this analysis a new solution of the Einstein-Maxwell equations was found, generalising some well known metrics. Also the complex transformations relating cylindrically symmetric and stationary axisymmetric solutions were fully exploited to derive previously unidentified metrics.


We report herein a selective, sensitive, and reusable electrochemical sensor for the detection of silver(I) ions. This sensor detects Ag+ through a structure-switching electrode-bound DNA by measuring the changes in the electron-transfer efficiency. A single-stranded DNA, featuring a methylene blue (MB)-tagged DNA hairpin structure, strategically provides selective binding for the silver-mediated coordination of cytosine–Ag+–cytosine complexes. The DNA-modified electrode produces a change in the electrochemical signal due to the redox current of the surface-confined MB tag. The "turn-on" signaling upon silver(I) ion binding could be attributed to a conformational change in the MB-tagged DNA from an open structure to a target-induced folding structure. Differential pulse voltammetry of the DNA-modified electrode showed that the MB reduction signal increased linearly with an increase in Ag+ concentrations in a range of 10–200 nM, with a detection limit of 10 nM. The structure-switching silver(I) ion sensor was amenable to regeneration by simply unfolding the electrode-bound MB-tagged DNA in 100 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, and it could be regenerated with no loss in signal gain upon subsequent silver(I) ion binding. We also demonstrated that by controlling the probe packing density on the electrode surface, the fabrication parameters can be varied to achieve optimal sensor performance.


The study of any population of large size and high diversity is limited by the lack of data and associated insights. For a pool of individuals, each associated with a unique characteristic feature, as the pool size grows, the possible interactions increase exponentially, quickly beyond the scope of computation, not to mention experimental manipulation and analysis. Herein, we report a facile RT-PCR-based method, to correlate the amplification curves with various DNA libraries of defined diversity, and perform operations with groups of quaternary numbers as input and diversity as output. An attractive feature of this approach is the possibility of realizing parallel computation with an eventually unlimited number of variables. We demonstrate that DNA libraries can be used to model heterogeneous populations, exhibiting functions such as self-protection, subjected to biased expansion, and to evolve into complex structures. Moreover, the method can be applied to drug discovery using DNA-encoded chemical library (DECL) technology, to optimize selection conditions for identifying potent and specific bio-molecular interactions.


Full--waveform inversion (FWI) is a method used to determine properties of the Earth from information on the surface. We use the squared Wasserstein distance (squared $W_2$ distance) as an objective function to invert for the velocity as a function of position in the Earth, and we discuss its convexity with respect to the velocity parameter. In one dimension, we consider constant, piecewise increasing, and linearly increasing velocity models as a function of position, and we show the convexity of the squared $W_2$ distance with respect to the velocity parameter on the interval from zero to the true value of the velocity parameter when the source function is a probability measure. Furthermore, we consider a two--dimensional model where velocity is linearly increasing as a function of depth and prove the convexity of the squared $W_2$ distance in the velocity parameter on large regions containing the true value. We discuss the convexity of the squared $W_2$ distance compared with the convexity of the squared $L^2$ norm, and we discuss the relationship between frequency and convexity of these respective distances. We also discuss multiple approaches to optimal transport for non--probability measures by first converting the wave data into probability measures.


CD1d-restricted natural killer T (NKT) lymphocytes are known as potent early regulatory cells of immune responses, acting as a bridge between innate and adaptive immunity. While invariant NKT (iNKT) cells have a protective role in many tumor models, their ability to promote intestinal inflammation, known to enhance intestinal cancer, raised the question if they would be protective in intestinal tumor development. In this thesis we aimed to define the regulatory role of iNKT lymphocytes in the immune response to intestinal tumors, and explore iNKT cell directed immunotherapy in this disease. In the first section we have investigated the natural regulation by iNKT cells of intestinal tumor formation. Apc mice were used as a mouse model for colorectal cancer (CRC) in these studies. By crossing Apc mice with two different iNKT cell deficient mouse strains, we demonstrated that the absence of iNKT cells markedly decreased the total number of intestinal polyps in Apc mice. Results from mechanistic studies suggest that iNKT cells promote intestinal polyps by enhancing the activity of regulatory T cells specifically in polyps, promoting a switch to a suppressive (M2) macrophage phenotype, and suppressing antitumor TH1 immunity. In the second section we performed preclinical therapeutic studies with different iNKT cell ligands to determine whether this treatment could subvert the tumor enhancing function of iNKT cells and result in suppressed tumor development. We demonstrate that iNKT cell directed immunotherapy prevented the tumor enhancing function of NKT cells leading to a reduction of tumor growth. Further, a treatment combining the iNKT ligand α-GalCer with PD-1/PD-L1/2 immune checkpoint blockade succeeded to further reduce polyp development. In summary, this thesis demonstrates that iNKT cells naturally promote intestinal tumor development, by enhancing immunoregulation and suppressing TH1 anti-tumor immunity. In contrast, iNKT cell directed immunotherapy combined with immune checkpoint blockade led to a reduction of tumors. This prompts further exploration of iNKT cell directed immunotherapy in intestinal cancer.


Liquid electricity generator and hydrovoltaic technology have received numerous attentions, which can be divided into horizontal movement generator and vertical movement generator. The horizontal movement generator is limited for powering the integrated and miniaturized energy chip as the current output direction is depending on the moving direction of the water droplet, which means a sustainable and continuous direct-current (DC) electricity output can be hardly achieved because of the film of limited length. On the other hand, the existing vertical movement generators include triboelectricity or humidity gradient-based liquid electricity generator, where the liquid or water resource must be sustainably supplied to ensure continuous current output. Herein, we have designed an integratable vertical generator by sandwiching water droplets with semiconductor and metal, such as graphene or aluminum. This generator, named as polarized liquid molecular generator (PLMG), directly converts the lateral kinetic energy of water droplet into vertical DC electricity with an output voltage of up to ~1.0 V from the dynamic water-semiconductor interface. The fundamental discovery of PLMG is related to the non-symmetric structure of liquid molecules, such as water and alcohols, which can be polarized under the guidance of built-in field caused by the Fermi level difference between metal and semiconductor, while the symmetric liquid molecules cannot produce any electricity on the opposite. Integratable PLMG with a large output power of ~90 nW and voltage of ~2.7 V has been demonstrated, meanwhile its small internal resistance of ~250 kilohm takes a huge advantage in resistance matching with the impedance of electron components. The PLMG shows potential application value in the Internet of Things (IoTs) after proper miniaturization and integration.


Background: Breast cancer symptoms related to the disease nature and treatments develop and the quality of life of patients is impacted. Art therapy improves the quality of life by increasing symptom control and treatment compliance. This study aimed to determine the effect of art therapy on pain, emesis, anxiety, and quality of life in operated breast cancer patients. Methods: This experimental research was carried out with a total of 60 patients, 30 in the intervention group (IG) and 30 in the control group (CG), who received treatment in the Oncology Center of Sivas Cumhuriyet University Practice and Research Hospital. A Personal Information Form, the Pain Intensity-Visual Analog Scale, the Rhodes Index of Nausea, Vomiting, and Retching, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Scale-General (FACT-G) were used to collect research data. Within the scope of the research, IG received chemotherapy sessions for 10 weeks (five sessions) with 2-week intervals by an art specialist in marbling, accompanied by ney music. CG received no intervention. The obtained data were uploaded to the SPSS (22.0) program and statistical analysis was performed. Results: The decrease in the pain, nausea-vomiting, and anxiety levels of the patients in IG and the increase in their quality of life after the art therapy accompanied by ney music were statistically significant compared with the first follow-up (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant change in the quality of life of the patients in the CG, whereas their pain, nausea-vomiting, and anxiety scores increased. According to the comparison between IG and CG, there was a significant difference in favor of IG in terms of pain severity, quality of life, emesis, and anxiety levels (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The art of marbling with ney was effective in operated breast cancer patients experiencing pain, emesis, and anxiety and improved their quality of life. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT05666583.


Platensimycin (PTM) is a promising natural product drug lead against Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), while the clinical development was hampered by problems related to its poor solubility and pharmacokinetic properties. In this study, we used liposomes and micelles as carriers of PTM to prepare PTM nanoformulations for the treatment of MRSA infection in mice. PTM-loaded nanoparticles could effectively reduce residual bacteria in the MRSA-infected macrophage cell model, comparing to free PTM. More importantly, in vivo studies showed that encapsulation of PTM by liposomes or micelles effectively improved the pharmacokinetic properties of PTM in Sprague-Dawley rats and the survival rate of MRSA-infected C57BL/6J mice. Our study has thus suggested that the clinically used nanocarriers, such as liposome and micelle, might also be useful to improve the efficacy of other natural product drug leads to accelerate their in vivo evaluation and preclinical development.


An atmospheric general circulation model is coupled to an atmospheric chemistry model to calculate the radiative forcing by anthropogenic sulfate and carbonaceous aerosols. The latter aerosols result from biomass burning as well as fossil fuel burning. The black carbon associated with carbonaceous aerosols is absorbant and can decrease the amount of reflected radiation at the top-of-the-atmosphere. In contrast, sulfate aerosols are reflectant and the amount of reflected radiation depends nonlinearly on the relative humidity. We examine the importance of treating the range of optical properties associated with sulfate aerosol at high relative humidities and find that the direct forcing by anthropogenic sulfate aerosols can decrease from !0.81 Wm~2 to !0.55 Wm~2 if grid box average relative humidity is not allowed to increase above 90%. The climate forcing associated with fossil fuel emissions of carbonaceous aerosols is calculated to range from #0.16 to #0.20 Wm~2, depending on how much organic carbon is associated with the black carbon from fossil fuel burning. The direct forcing of carbonaceous aerosols associated with biomass burning is calculated to range from !0.23 to !0.16 Wm~2. The pattern of forcing by carbonaceous aerosols depends on both the surface albedo and the presence of clouds. Multiple scattering associated with clouds and high surface albedos can change the forcing from negative to positive.


Introduction: While glucose remains the major determining factor of HbA1C, other conditions like hemolytic anemia, iron/vitamin B 12 deficiency anemia have also been shown to affect HbA1C. Material and Methods: A prospective study was carried out in a tertiary care center, Kasturba hospital, India over a period of two years, that included patients in the age group of 18 to 70 years with anemia and no proven diabetes. We excluded all patients with diabetes, other forms of anemia, major organ dysfunction, hemoglobin Anemia was treated with iron and/or cobalamin. Hemoglobin was measured every month till normal values were attained. HbA1C was measured at the beginning and at the end of completion of 3 months of treatment. For comparing pre and post therapy HbA1C levels, paired t-testwas used. A p value of Results: We found a significant decrease in HbA1C levels among 70% of the iron deficient group, 72% of the B12 deficiency group and 83% of the dual deficiency group with the treatment of anemia. In our study, as many as 27 (38%) patients were labeled as prediabetic without considering their anemic status. Conclusion: From the observations made in this study, it is evident that HbA1C could be influenced by the anemic state of an individual. Hence, it is advisable to treat patients with anemia before defining their diabetic status. Larger studies are required to know the degree of impact of anemia on HbA1C. Disclosure V. Pendela: None. S. Venugopal: None. P. Kudaravalli: None.


In mutant Dictyostelium strains that fail to accumulate the myosin heavy chain (MHC A), development is relatively normal up to the tight aggregate stage but is arrested prior to formation of the apical tip (DeLozanne and Spudich 1987, Knecht and Loomis, 1987). We show that in aggregates formed by such MHC A deficient (MHC A-) strains the proportions of pstA and pstB cells, the two prestalk cell types, and of prespore cells are similar to those found during normal development but their distribution is radically different. During the initial stages of normal slug formation, pstA cells move to the tip, pstB cells accumulate in the base and prespore cells occupy the remainder of the aggregate. In the aggregates initially formed by MHC A- mutants pstA cells are present in a central core, pstB cells are present in the cortex and prespore cells lie sandwiched between them. Eventually, cells within the cortex differentiate into mature stalk cells but spores are never formed. Mixing experiments, in which MHC A- cells are allowed to co-aggregate with an excess of normal cells, show that MHC A- prestalk cells enter the aggregate relatively normally but are unable to enter the slug tip or to migrate into the stalk at culmination and that MHC A- prespore cells accumulate in the lower part of the spore head during culmination. Thus MHC A- cells appear to be able to move within the multicellular aggregate but are incapable of participating in normal morphogenesis. The structures formed by MHC A- cells are very similar to those of the agglomerates that form when wild-type cells are developed in roller-tube culture, conditions that result in loss of the polarity imparted by the presence of an air-water interface. We propose formation of such a structure by MHC A- cells to be a default response, caused by their inability to undertake the shape changes and intercalatory cell movements that are necessary to form and extend the tip.


The effect of temperature on the formation of creep substructure in sodium chloride single crystals was studied in the temperature range 573 to 873 K. Microstructural observations conducted on polished specimens deformed under a constant value of normalized stress, σ/G∼ 4 × 10−4, where σ is the applied stress and G is the shear modulus, showed different types of substructural features such as a high density of dislocation etch pits, cells, and subgrains. Detailed measurements of the sizes of the cells and subgrains revealed that the cell size was essentially independent of temperature while the subgrain size increased only by about a factor of 2 for a 300 K increase in temperature. Although the cell and subgrain sizes were not significantly dependent on temperature in comparison to the effect of stress, there was a qualitative change in the substructure morphology with a variation in temperature; i.e., the cells and subgrains were better defined at higher temperatures. The volume fraction of the cell boundaries decreased with increasing temperature, thereby indicating a refinement of the microstructure at the higher temperatures. These observations suggest that while temperature does not change the final dimensions of the substructure significantly, it appears to influence the kinetics of substructure formation by influencing the recovery rate. As a result, the stresses acting on the cell boundaries increase considerably with increasing temperature to values several times the applied stress.


A singular value decomposition (SVD) analysis was performed to determine the coupled modes of variability of satellite surface chlorophyll (CHL) and absolute dynamic topography (ADT) data for the Alborán Sea (western Mediterranean) during a 12‐year period (1998–2009). From this analysis we have been able to detect features of the Alborán Sea dynamics that had not been recognized in previous research on the primary production of this basin. We have found that the two leading SVD modes represent more than 97% of the total squared covariance. The first mode is associated with the inverse barometer and its impact on chlorophyll distribution, whereas the second physical mode can explain the distribution of eutrophic and oligotrophic waters in the Alborán Sea. The results also confirm that the phytoplankton in the basin is very tightly controlled by meteorological and physical processes, via the advection of properties through the Strait, by the influence of Atlantic Jet intensity, which controls the gyres of the basin, and by the activation of up‐ or down‐welling coastal processes by wind.


Black phosphorus (BP) is a newfangled plasmonic material in the infrared region. We have achieved a mid-infrared plasmon-induced transparency absorption phenomenon via the excitation of BP surface plasmon by using a ribbon structure that contains symmetrical protrusions. The absorption efficiency can be significantly improved by adding a gold mirror at the bottom of the structure. The relative Fermi level can effectively adjust the absorption efficiency and wavelength. The symmetrical protrusions are connected with ribbons, and it is beneficial to the operation of the relative Fermi level. After that, the influence of the size of the symmetrical protrusions on absorption characteristics is researched. The results show that the absorption efficiency of the two absorption peaks reaches up to 75%. The angular dependence of the absorption of the system on the incident wave is discussed under the two orientations of the BP molecule arrangement relative to the structure. This structure can be implemented to realize a mid-infrared modulator, switch controller, and absorption device with three prominent functions.


In plasma spray coating process, ceramic/metallic particles are introduced in a flow of thermal plasma. The heat transfer from the plasma to the particles results in heating and melting of the particles. The molten particles then impinge on a substrate to be coated. The impacting particles spread on the substrate due to their high velocities forming a thin layer. Heat transfer from the particles to the substrate results in rapid solidification and formation of a thin protective coat on the substrate. The heat transfer to/from particles affects the quality of the coatings. It is therefore important to predict and control the particle heat transport. In this paper, we have considered a spectrum of particles moving in thermal plasma. The particle spectrum is represented by a regular array of identical particles. The particle longitudinal and lateral spacing is varied independently to study the effect of particle spacing on the flow and heat transport. The Reynolds number based on the particle diameter is in the intermediate regime (Re ∼ 20–100). The background gas, argon, is at atmospheric pressure and the flow is considered steady. The flow and transport is analyzed by a cylindrical-cell numerical model. An orthogonal adaptive grid is generated to body-fit the particle surface as well as the cylindrical outer boundary of the cell envelop. The grid near the surfaces of the particles is very fine and resembles spherical co-ordinates. The conservation equations for mass, momentum, and energy are solved in the plasma by a finite volume numerical method. The flow field and the temperature distribution are calculated in the plasma for various combinations of lateral and longitudinal particle spacings. The local variations of the viscous and pressure forces acting on the particle surface as well as the local Nusselt number variations are calculated. The overall Nusselt number and the drag force acting on each particle are determined. Results indicate that the flow and transport around a given particle is significantly influenced by the presence of the adjacent particles.
 The heat transport and drag force results for a particle in a spray are substantially different from those available for an isolated particle at the same Reynolds number. An increase in the lateral spacing between particles results in a decrease in the Nusselt number as well as the drag coefficient. In contrast, increasing longitudinal particle spacing leads to an increase in both the Nusselt number and the drag coefficient. At lateral spacings greater than about four diameters, the effect of side particles becomes negligible. However, the influence of upstream particles remains significant even at longitudinal particle spacing of five diameters. Simple correlations for the overall Nusselt number and drag coefficient have been proposed to incorporate the effect of inter-particle interactions.


This paper investigates a wireless IPv6-based network architecture to provide access to various multimedia applications with support of voice services, in terms of end-to-end quality of service (QoS) and mobility support in order to ensure global mobility in a converged wired/wireless, voice/data network. The objective is how to jointly use already proposed by the International Engineering Task Force (IETF) protocols for the provision of an end-to-end service with some QoS guarantees. Our work studies transmissions for real-time traffic based on formats for voice over IP (VoIP) and differs from others in that it has been based on the development of a detail simulator instead of a real testbed. QoS is addressed at a packet-level in terms of packet delivery delay and error performance (packet loss). To enforce QoS in the backbone network, data packets entering the backbone network are classified to differentiated service (DiffServ) aggregates. resource reservations protocol (RSVP) is used as the end-to-end signaling protocol. To provide for hierarchical mobility support it has been enhanced by several extensions.


: Media content providers, through video streaming services have revolutionized the way of providing entertainment to its viewers. They have not only changed time, date and venue of our content consumption but has also upsurged new media watching habits. The study was conducted to study the preference and reasons of preferring one video streaming service provider over others electronic platforms during the spread of Covid-19. 286 youth within the age group of 15-24 formed the sample of the study and online survey was conducted to gather their responses due to the Covid restrictions. The data was further tabulated and analysed with the help of t-test through SPSS. The research concluded Hotstar and Netflix to be the preferred medium for the males whereas Voot was the most popular application amongst females. Pricing was found to be the least satisfying criterion among both the categories whereas quality, language and variety showed varied response.


This study aims to determine the factors that can affect stock returns in banking companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). The period of this reseearch is 2017 – 2020. The population of this study includes all banking companies listed on the IndonesiaStock Exchange (IDX) during the period 2017 – 2020. The sampling technique used is purposive sampling. The results of this study indicate that partially the current ratio (CR) and price to book value (PBV) variable have a significant positive effect on stock returns. Debt to equity ratio (DER) has a significant negative effect on stock returns. Meanwhilw, firm size anf return on assets (ROA)have no significant effection on sktock return.


The problem of evaluating node importance in clustering has been active research in present days and many methods have been developed. Most of the clustering algorithms deal with general similarity measures. However In real situation most of the cases data changes over time. But clustering this type of data not only decreases the quality of clusters but also disregards the expectation of users, when usually require recent clustering results. In this regard Ming-Syan Chen proposed a method, which is related to calculate the node importance that is very useful in clustering of categorical data, but it has serious deficiency that is bias towards features with many outcomes. In this paper we proposed a new method evaluating of node importance by summarize rules which will be better than the Ming-Syan Chen proposed method by comparing the results.


Fabrication of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) via green process has received enormous attention for its application in biomedicine. Here, a simple and cost-effective green route is reported for the synthesis of ZrO2-doped ZnO/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites (ZnO/ZrO2/rGO NCs) exploiting ginger rhizome extract. Our aim was to improve the anticancer performance of ZnO/ZrO2/rGO NCs without toxicity to normal cells. The preparation of pure ZnO NPs, ZnO/ZrO2 NCs, and ZnO/ZrO2/rGO NCs was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). XRD spectra of ZnO/ZrO2/rGO NCs exhibited two distinct sets of diffraction peaks, ZnO wurtzite structure, and ZrO2 phases (monoclinic + tetragonal). The SEM and TEM data show that ZrO2-doped ZnO particles were uniformly distributed on rGO sheets with the excellent quality of lattice fringes without alterations. PL spectra intensity and particle size of ZnO decreased after ZrO2-doping and rGO addition. DLS data demonstrated that green prepared samples show excellent colloidal stability in aqueous suspension. Biological results showed that ZnO/ZrO2/rGO NCs display around 3.5-fold higher anticancer efficacy in human lung cancer (A549) and breast cancer (MCF7) cells than ZnO NPs. A mechanistic approach suggested that the anticancer response of ZnO/ZrO2/rGO NCs was mediated via oxidative stress evident by the induction of the intracellular reactive oxygen species level and the reduction of the glutathione level. Moreover, green prepared nanostructures display good cytocompatibility in normal cell lines; human lung fibroblasts (IMR90) and breast epithelial (MCF10A) cells. However, the cytocompatibility of ZnO/ZrO2/rGO NCs in normal cells was better than those of pure ZnO NPs and ZnO/ZrO2 NCs. Augmented anticancer potential and improved cytocompatibility of ZnO/ZrO2/rGO NCs was due to ginger extract mediated beneficial synergism between ZnO, ZrO2, and rGO. This novel investigation emphasizes the significance of medicinal herb mediated ZnO-based NCs synthesis for biomedical research.


Through a detailed and thoughtful study of the impact of Alfred North Whitehead's philosophy on Olson's aesthetic theory, this book points out the conceptual unity underlying what seems to be a sprawl of fragments in Olson's major work, The Maximus Poems. It is a systematic analysis of the specific ways in which Whitehead's philosophy offered Olson a way to combine a scientific and mythopoeic view of time and space. From this, Olson constructed a poetic that could renew human contact with the external world and rid poetry of the traditional western imperial ego. The author uses Olson's philosophical investment in Whitehead in order to explain not only the content of Olson's verse, but its formal, structural elements. It illuminates Olson's theory of the Long Poem as an "all-containing" corpus, governed by the metaphysical principles, equal to life itself, enacted in the process of working on The Maximus Poems. Shahar Bram teaches at the Department of Hebrew & Comparative Literature at Haifa University.


Preface To the Student: Why Study Fossils? PART I: THE FOSSIL RECORD: A WINDOW ON THE PAST1. The Fossil RecordWhat is a Fossil? How Does an Organism Become a Fossil? What Factors Affect the Fossilization Potential of an Organism? What Factors are Required for Extraordinary Preservation? How Good is the Fossil Record? Conclusions 2. Variation in FossilsTheme: Variation How do Organisms vary during their Lifespans? How do Populations of Organisms Vary? Conclusions 3. Species and Speciation 4. SystematicsWhy Systematics? Evolution and Classification Competing Systematic Philosophies Molecular Systematics Codes of Systematic Nomenclature Conclusions 5. EvolutionThe Evolution of Evolution The "Evolutionary Synthesis" Challenges to the Neo-Darwinian Synthesis Evolution and the Fossil Record Conclusions 6. Extinction 7. Functional MorphologyForm and Function Theoretical Morphology Functional Hypotheses as Testable Science Case Studies in Functional Morphology Conclusions 8. PaleoecologyEcology and Paleoecology Ecological Relationships Environmental Limiting Factors Direct Paleoecological Evidence Some Ecological Ideas that have been Applied (and Misapplied) to the Fossil Record Evolutionary Paleoecology Conclusions 9. BiogeographyOrganisms in Space and Time Ecological Biogeography Historical Biogeography Conclusions 10. BiostratigraphyFaunal Succession Biostratigraphic Zonations Factors controlling Fossil Distributions Biostratigraphic Sampling The Time Significance of Biostratigraphic Events North American Land Mammal "Ages" and Biochronology Resolution, Precision, and Accuracy Index Fossils and the Global Biostratigraphic Standard Conclusions PART II: LIFE OF THE PAST AND PRESENT11. Life's Origins and Early EvolutionConcocting the "Primordial Soup" Mud and Mosh Pits, Kitty Litter and Fool's Gold Life is a Commune The Earliest Fossils Cambrian "Explosion"-or "Short Fuse"? Why did Life Change So Slowly Before the Cambrian? Rocks, Hox, and Molecular Clocks. 12. Micropaleontology: Fossil ProtistansIntroduction The Kingdoms of Life Systematics Foraminifera Radiolaria Diatoms Coccolithophores 13. Colonial Life: Sponges, Archaeocyathans, and Cnidarians 14. The Lophophorates: Brachiopods and Bryozoans 15. Jointed Limbs: The Arthropods 16. Kingdom of the Seashell: The MolluscsIntroduction Systematics Mollusc Origins and Diversification Gastropods Bivalves Cephalopods 17. Spiny Skins: The Echinoderms 18. Dry Bones: Vertebrates and their RelativesIntroduction The Road to Amphioxus Getting a Head: The Craniates Jaws: The Gnathostomes Fish Bones The Osteichthyans Lobe Fins: The Sarcopterygians Four on the Floor: The Tetrapods Land Eggs: The Amniotes Feathered Dinosaurs: The Birds Furry Folk: Synapsids and Mammals 19. Fossilized Behavior: Trace Fossils 20. Traces of Earth's Green Mantle: PaleobotanyIntroduction Plant Taphonomy The First Photosynthetic Organisms The Plant Kingdom Vascular Plants Tracheophytes Naked Seeds: The Gymnosperms Flower Power: The Angiosperm Revolution Floras through Time Glossary Bibliography Index


Age-adjusted mortality rates, for all causes of death, are tabulated for all ages by sex for the 55 Ontario counties and districts. The rates are based on all deaths of Ontario residents during 1964-1968 and 1966 census populations. The consistent trends in rates, both for the two sexes and for various 10- and 20-year age groups, indicate that there is a region of about eight adjoining counties, across the center of the province, which has abnormally high mortality, and two regions to the east and west of York, each consisting of three adjoining counties which have abnormally low mortality. The relevance of these findings to aging studies is indicated, and possible further investigations of them are discussed.


The aim of this study is energy-saving designs for rural housing in cold regions of China. The work has been undertaken to improve the design of window surrounding which is a weak element of the building envelope's thermal performance. Different building structures are comparatively analyzed by simulating wall-temperature-distributions on a computer. The results showed that for sandwich insulation walls, the window frame should be fixed close to the insulation layer outside. Meanwhile the joint parts between the window frame and wall should be airproof. And it is necessary to add an insulation layer on the vertical apertures of windows. The composite section lintel over the window is used and the gap between wall and window should be filled, which can decrease heat loss. Moisture proofing should be added under the elbowboard in order to prevent condensation damage. Thus, the new type of sandwich insulation wall is suitable for residence buildings in rural areas of cold regions.


The paper presents the projection and design of an environmental monitoring network with the purpose to evaluate, observe and control water as a natural resource -either inland or marine waters- as well as the coast reef for its protection, conservation and improvement. This project is carried out before the construction and exploitation of the Guajaca shrimp raising farm might cause any impacts on the environment, which is placed in the municipality of Frank Pais on the Eastern part of the province of Holguin, Cuba .