Ultrasonic Equipment A pulse generator was triggered to excite a 2 MHz piezo-electric transducer 800 times per second. Electrical and mechanical damping ensured that the transducer produced bursts of ultrasonic energy only 0.5 microsecond in duration; that is one cycle at 2 MHz. Electronic switching allowed the transducer to act as both transmitter and receiver, when the equipment was in 'echo-mode'. Alternatively when the 'transmission-mode' was employed, a second transducer acted as the receiver. Ultrasonic energy striking the receiving transducer was converted into an A.C. signal of the same frequency. Fluctuations in the intensity of ultrasound reaching the transducer and variations in the delay between transmission and reception of the energy resulted in analogous changes in the electrical signal. Damping of the receiving system was such that the echo from a flat, water to glass interface produced a signal only five cycles long (the fifth cycle only 10 per cent of the maximum amplitude of the echo). In order to study the range and amplitude pulsations of an echo it is necessary to isolate it from all the other echoes picked up by the receiving transducer.


Based on an experiment,the local scour and silting characteristics near the permeable spur are studied preliminarily,an actual measured geographical map of this district is drawn,and the maps of the permeable spur with different pervious rates are compared in this thesis,especially in cross-section,lengthwise direction section and the section of permeable spur axial line.By this way,the experiment′s result is analyzed.It is shown that the scour depth of the permeable spur is less than that of the solid spur.But there is a scour ditch in the downstream side.Its depth is approximately equal from the permeable spur′s root to the head,and its width increases with the increase of the pervious rate.The influence district of the permeable spur is little longer than that of the solid spur,and the silting altitude of the permeable spur is higher,and when the pervious rate is 30%,the length of the influence district is the longest.The result of this experiment study can be summarized: both the self-prevention and conservation extents of the permeable spur are better than those of the solid spur,and the local scour and silting characteristics in this study can offer reference to further researches on permeable spurs.


An HPTLC method has been used for quantification of glycoalkaloids (α-solanine and α-chaconine) in peeled potato tubers. The alkaloids were extracted with 1% acetic acid in deionized water containing 1-pentanesulfonic acid sodium salt, the extracted solutions were further cleaned by SPE on C18 columns then analyzed by instrumental HPTLC with absorbance detection. Silica gel layers were used with chloroform–methanol–water–aqueous ammonia 70:30:5:0.5 as mobile phase. The chromatogram was dipped to the Ce(IV) sulfate derivatization reagent to reveal the spots of the glycoalkaloids and then scanned in absorbance mode at 505 nm. The RF values under these conditions were 0.07 for α-solanine and 0.14 for a-chaconine. The method was validated in accordance with International Conference of Harmonization guidelines for pharmaceutical analysis. Recovery was 80–90% for 20–100 mg kg−1 of the compounds in peeled potato tubers. The limit of quantification was 5.0 mg kg−1 for both α-solanine and α-chaconine. Repeatability, as average relative standard deviation, was 8.2% for α-solanine and 11.4% for α-chaconine. The concentration of these glycoalkaloids in peeled potato tubers from Czech retail outlets in 2004 and 2005 varied from 5.0 to 90.8 mg kg−1 for α-solanine and from 5.0 to 84.7 mg kg−1 for α-chaconine.


Inverter is widely used in microgrids. Inverter's control strategy plays very important role for its performance and system stability. Several control strategies are proposed, such as droop control, robust droop control and virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control. In microgrid, inverters manufactured by different factories with different control strategies work together. This situation is not good when modelling, analysing and managing microgrid. It naturally rises a question: could these controllers be unified as a unified one? Although some comparisons have been made and proved they have some common characteristics, but there lies no explicit unified controller. In this paper, after investigation of three most common inverter control strategies in microgrid, the unified inverter model is proposed. Simulation results via MATLAB/Simulink software prove that the proposed unified model can be used to represent other three inverters' controllers. A microgrid scheme is used to explain application of the unified model. This research will benefit the design of inverter control strategy and simplify microgrid modelling.


Objective To study the effects of Polysaccharide-Iron Complex on pregnant women with iron deficiency anemia as well as the effects of time on the efficacy of medication.Methods A total of 100 cases were collected randomly in our department.All cases were ensured of no anemia or hematological diseases at the early stage of pregnancy.And renal and hepatic function tests were normal.The patients were divided into group A and group B.Polysaccharide-Iron Complex 150 mg q.d was adopted for pregnant women at 49 days(Group A)and 16 weeks(Group B)of pregnancy respectively.Then each group was inspected for blood examination and side effect of the medicine at different times as 16 weeks,24 weeks and before delivery.Results The average protein concentration and RBC at 16 weeks,24 weeks and before delivery in Group A were significantly higher than those in Group B(P0.01).There was no iron deficiency anemia in Group A.But the incidence of iron deficiency anemia was 14.6% in Group B.There was significant difference between the two groups(P0.01).And there was no obvious difference in side effect between the two groups.Conclusions Polysaccharide-Iron Complex is effective in preventing iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy with good safety and no side effect,which is suggested to be used in early pregnancy rather than after 16 weeks of pregnancy.


Summary. Chlamydocin is a powerful in vitro antitumoral agent, quickly inactivated in vivo. A series of cyclic tetrapeptides related to chlamydocin or HC toxin and bearing a bioactive alkylating group on an e-amino-lysyl function have been examined for their antitumoral activity on L1210 and P388 murine leukemia cell lines. One analog was found to be potent at inhibiting L1210 cell proliferation and had a higher therapeutic index than the reference compound bis-flchloroethylnitrosourea on the in vivo P388-induced leukemia model.


Significance Water provides an attractive medium for storing solar energy via water splitting. Charge-separated states generated by solar capture may be transferred to catalysts that split water to hydrogen and oxygen. Most water-splitting catalysts comprising earth-abundant elements are susceptible to corrosion when operated in neutral and natural water. Such corrosion may be circumvented if the catalysts are self-healing. The design of self-healing catalysts allows neutral water and natural water sources to be used for water splitting, greatly simplifying the implementation of using water as a distributed energy storage medium for solar energy. Principles for designing self-healing water-splitting catalysts are presented together with a formal kinetics model to account for the key chemical steps needed for self-healing. Self-healing may be realized if the catalysts are able to self-assemble at applied potentials less than that needed for catalyst turnover. Solution pH provides a convenient handle for controlling the potential of these two processes, as demonstrated for the cobalt phosphate (CoPi) water-splitting catalyst. For Co2+ ion that appears in solution due to leaching from the catalyst during turnover, a quantitative description for the kinetics of the redeposition of the ion during the self-healing process has been derived. The model reveals that OER activity of CoPi occurs with negligible film dissolution in neutral pH for typical cell geometries and buffer concentrations.


It is recognized that Public Administration and Business Administration are both academic subjects and both deal with human behaviour. Although they share the use of certain auxiliary subjects as specialties or as tools, they have distinct fields of study and subject matter. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the areas of similarities or commonness, on the one hand, and, on the other hand and differences between them. Amongst the most significant difference between them is the milieu.


Given the problem of metamerisms inherent in color mixing in light-emitting diode (LED) systems with more than three distinct colors, a method for optimizing the spectral output of multicolor LED system with regards to standardized light quality parameters has been developed. The composite spectral power distribution from the LEDs are simulated using spectral radiometric measurements of single commercially available LEDs for varying input power, to account for the efficiency droop and other non-linear effects in electrical power vs. light output. The method uses electrical input powers as input parameters in a randomized steepest decent optimization. The resulting spectral power distributions are evaluated with regard to the light quality using the standard characteristics: CIE color rendering index, correlated color temperature and chromaticity distance. The results indicate Pareto optimal boundaries for each system, mapping the capabilities of the simulated lighting systems with regard to the light quality characteristics.


Objective To analysis the key points of postoperative nursing of eye socket reconstruction with free flap.Methods Free flap was used in 26 patients with contracted eye socket and anophthalmos.The forearm free flap was utilized in 24 cases,the scapular flap in 2 cases.The colour,texture,temperature and swelling of the flaps were observed postoperatively and regularly.The Dopolar examination was another choice when necessarily.The volume and colour of drainage of the wound where the microvascular anastomoses was undergwent were surveyed simultaneously.The blood circulation of the finger tip was observed in the patiens of the forearm free flap transfer.Results The flaps were transferred successfully in all patients.The better cosmetic results were achieved and the well fitted eye prosthesis was weared.Conclusion The careful postoperative nursing of eye socket reconstruction with free flap played a vital role for the success of the operation.


1. The course of the leaf traces in Potamogeton is not typically monocotyledonous, for in the more robust species the three traces run down through one internode at the periphery of the central cylinder before entering the medulla, where they descend through a second internode, finally fusing with cauline strands. 2. At the points of fusion the bundles are found to be amphivasal, while they are collateral throughout their internodal course. 3. The phloem of the bundles at the base of a branch shows a marked swelling. 4. The cortical bundles present in some species of Potamogeton are not regarded as a primitive feature, since they do not occur in the fertile part of the floral axis and occur only sparingly if at all in the creeping stem. They enter the stem as small strands from the stipules and petioles and are not as a rule connected with the principal leaf traces. In Zostera and Cymodocea, however, there is a system of cortical bundles which are connected with all of the principal leaf traces except the median one. 5. The circle of collateral bundles found in the floral axis in Potamogeton and Triglochin is regarded as a relic of the ancestral dicotyledonous condition of the vascular system. 6. The evidence afforded by the vascular and floral structures indicates that Potamogeton is the most primitive genus of Potamogetonaceae. It shows more clearly than the other genera features characteristic of terrestrial life, though some of its species are apparently reduced forms. 7. Species of Potamogeton having both floating and submersed leaves and a central cylinder in which the bundles run separated from one another are regarded as the most primitive members of the genus. P. pulcher fulfils these requirements. 8. The other genera of Potamogetonaceae show further stages of reduction in accordance with their totally submersed habit. Their relationships are in some cases shown by the vascular structures. 9. In Naiadaceae the reduction is carried to such an extreme of simplicity that the affinities of the family are obscure. 10. Aponogetonaceae and Juncaginaceae are more typically monocotyledonous in their structure, and do not seem immediately related to Potamogetonaceae.


We present our submission to the DCASE 2020 Challenge Task 2, which aims to promote research in anomalous sound detection. We found that a speaker recognition approach enables the use of all the training data, even from different machine types, to detect anomalies in specific machines. Using this approach, we obtained good results for 5 out of 6 machines on the development data. We also discuss the modifications needed to surpass the baseline score for the remaining (ToyConveyor) machine which we found to be particularly difficult. On the challenge evaluation test data, our results were skewed by the system's uninspiring performance on the Toy machines. However, we placed 18th in the challenge due to our results on the industrial machine data where we reached the top 5 in team pAUC scores.


The chronic effects of long-term ozone exposure and dietary factors on the lipid peroxidation were investigated in mouse lung and liver tissues. Eighteen groups of mice were exposed to ozone(0.25 or 0.50 ppm) or ambient air over an 18-month period. Within each esposure regimen. animals were fed diets containing different levels of antioxidants and unsaturated fat. Ozone exposure did not have an effect on the production of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances in lung and liver or free malondialdehyde in the liver at all levels of dietary vitamin E. An inverse relationship between the level of vitamin I supplementation and the concentration of lipid peroxidation products was observed. Results indicate the possible adaptation of animals to long-term continuous ozone exposure by unknown mechanism and the effectiveness of dietary vitamin I at sufficient level(30ppm) to protect against tissue lipid peroxidation regardless of the degree of unsaturation of the dietary fat.


Tiago Oliveira (Nova Information Management School (NOVA IMS), Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus de Campolide, Lisboa, Portugal) Iolanda Barbeitos (Nova Information Management School (NOVA IMS), Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus de Campolide, Lisboa, Portugal) Antonela Calado (Nova Information Management School (NOVA IMS), Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus de Campolide, Lisboa, Portugal) This is the author accepted manuscript version of the article published by Elsevier as: Oliveira, T., Barbeitos, I., & Calado, A. (2021). The role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations in sharing economy post-adoption. Information Technology and People. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-01-2020-0007


The absorption factor integral for a general ellipsoidal crystal was transformed to spherical polar coordinates. The resulting exponential in the integral was expanded in a power series and the triple lntegration was carried out term by term. The process was stopped after the fifth order term but could be carried further. Four integrals could not be directly integrated and were evaluated by series expansions and integrations. The resulting series were tabulated as a function of one parameter. The termination of the absorption factor series with the fifth order term gives results for a sphere with (2% error for mu R = 1.0. (auth)


INTRODUCTION: As the most common type of kidney cancer, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) emerges in the form of highly vascularized tumors. Our team has recently demonstrated the therapeutic effects of two novel heme-targeting agents (heme-sequestering peptide 2 (HSP2) and cyclopamine tartrate (CycT)) which effectively suppress angiogenic activities and normalize tumor vasculatures in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells and mouse tumor models [1,2]. We have now applied non-invasive multimodal imaging to evaluate these heme related treatments of kidney cancer.
 METHODS: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and MultiSpectral Optoacoustic Tomography (MSOT) are ideally suited for investigations of the kidney and RCC given their extensive vasculature. MRI was performed at 9.4-T using high-resolution axial T2-weighted multi-slice images encompassing the entire kidney tumor were obtained with a fat suppressed fast spin-echo sequence in about 8 minutes. The MSOT system illuminates the mouse from all sides, providing effective excitation (700, 780, 800, 820, 850 nm) even at depth, revealing rudimentary anatomy, as well as functional oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin. We used MSOT and MRI modalities to determine the degree to which CycT modified hypoxia in orthotopic PDX renal XP 334 tumor xenografts in mice.
 RESULTS: Both MSOT and MRI showed anatomical differences between treated and control tumors with treated tumors being significantly smaller (p < 0.002). Dynamic hemoglobin changes to oxygen-breathing challenge through MSOT as a response to control and CycT group in kidney tumors.
 CONCLUSION: MR and MSOT imaging allowed us to monitor and evaluate the effects of the novel heme targeting drugs CycT, which significantly suppressed orthotopic kidney PDX 334 tumor growth. MSOT demonstrates dynamic hemoglobin changes to oxygen-breathing challenge in response to CycT and untreated control groups in kidney tumors. Combining MR imaging with other non-invasive imaging modalities provides a clear guide on monitoring and targeting treatments for tumors in mice.
 REFERENCES: [1] S. Sohoni, et al., Elevated Heme Synthesis and Uptake Underpin Intensified Oxidative Metabolism and Tumorigenic Functions in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells, Cancer Res, 79 (2019) 2511-2525. [2] P. Ghosh, et al., Oxygen-Enhanced Optoacoustic Tomography Reveals the Effectiveness of Targeting Heme and Oxidative Phosphorylation at Normalizing Tumor Vascular Oxygenation, Cancer Research, 80 (2020) 3542.
 Acknowledgments: CPRIT RP200021 & RP160617 and Infrastructure of Kidney SPORE Brugarolas for PDX tissues well as small animal imaging resource of P30 CA142543 and Shared Instrumentation grants S10 OD018094-01A1, 1S10 RR024757 and S10 RR031859
 Citation Format: Li Liu, Hashini Wanniarachchi, Tianyuan Wang, Xiaojing Wang, Dean Sherry, Ralph P. Mason, Li Zhang. Evaluation of therapeutic strategy for the treatment of kidney cancer using multimodal imaging [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 6288.


Micrometer sized mineral particles drifting over Mars surface greatly influence both solar and thermal radiative fluxes in the atmosphere, thus its energy balance and its global circulation. Furthermore any kind of remotely sensed data in the optical domain includes their strong, spatially varying, often annoying contributions. Monitoring the particles as well as identifying the sources and the sinks in relation with surface activity is of paramount importance especially at high southern latitudes in spring. Since 2004 the imaging spectrometer OMEGA on board Mars Express performs nadirlooking and EPF observations in the VIS and the NIR for the study of the surface and atmosphere alike. The authors in [1] have developed a method to quantify the contribution of atmospheric dust in near-IR spectra obtained by the OMEGA regardless of the Martian surface composition. Using observations in the nadir pointing mode with significant differences in solar incidence angles, they can infer the optical depth of atmospheric dust, and retrieve the surface reflectance spectra free of aerosol contribution. However this method relies on the very restrictive assumption that the atmosphere opacity remains approximately constant during the time spanned by all the employed acquisitions. In [2] the same authors have mapped the total optical depth of dust aerosols in the near-IR above the south seasonal cap of Mars from mid-spring to early summer. This mapping is based on the assumption that the reflectance in the 2.64 μm saturated absorption band of the surface CO2 ice is mainly due to the light scattered by aerosols above most places of the seasonal cap. In this case one geometry is sufficient for the retrieval but it is restricted to the area ofCO2 deposits not contaminated by dust and water. We aim at proposing an original method that overcomes these limitations to retrieve the optical depth of the Martian dust at a reference wavelength of one micron. The method is based on a parametrization of the radiative coupling between particles and gas that determines, with local altimetry and the meteorological situation, the absorption band depth of gaseous CO2. We are complementary to the method of [2] since our approach specifically treats pixels occupied by purely mineral surfaces or icy deposits contaminated by a large amount of dustwhile being observed at a fixed geometry. After validation, we apply both methods in order to map atmospheric dust opacity at high southern latitudes from early to late spring of Martian Year 27. For that purpose we use a time series of OMEGA images for global coverage. In section 1, we give insights about Martian atmospheric properties and radiative transfer in the near infrared range. We describe models that calculate the spectral radiance coming from Mars and reaching the sensor at the top of the atmosphere. In section 2 we explain how we implement these models for retrieving the aerosol optical depth from the images. In section 3 we present and interpret the maps of atmospheric opacity and surface Lambert albedo resulting from the analysis of the selected series of OMEGA images.


In human plasma, 11-dehydrothromboxane (TX) B2 is a major long lived metabolite (t1/2 45 min) formed from infused TXB2, the hydration product of biologically active TXA2. Plasma concentrations of TXB2 itself are readily confounded by ex vivo platelet activation and, theoretically, an enzymatic derivative of this compound, not subject to formation in whole blood, would more accurately reflect TXA2 formation in vivo. To address this hypothesis, we developed a sensitive assay for both 11-dehydro-TXB2 and TXB2, using capillary gas chromatography/negative-ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry. We established that whole blood possesses a minor capacity to form 11-dehydro-TXB2, attributable to nonenzymatic formation in erythrocytes. However, the nonenzymatic formation of 11-dehydro-TXB2 was not a practical limitation to its use as an index of TX biosynthesis. Blood was drawn from healthy volunteers (i) via an indwelling catheter at the time of insertion and at 30, 60, 90, 180, and 240 min thereafter and (ii) via separate venipunctures at 0 time and at 90 and 240 min thereafter. Plasma TXB2 drawn via the catheter at baseline (66 ± 63 pg/ml) was substantially greater than the maximal estimate of endogenous TXB2 (1-2 pg/ml) in plasma [Patrono, C., Ciabattoni, G., Pugliese, F., Perruci, A., Blair, I. A. & FitzGerald, G. A. (1986) J. Clin. Invest. 77, 590-594] and increased in magnitude and variance over time (339 ± 247 pg/ml at 240 min). By contrast, 11-dehydro-TXB2 did not change significantly in the sequential catheter samples or in the samples drawn by separate venipuncture. Basal plasma concentrations in volunteers were depressed by pretreatment with 325 mg of aspirin. Furthermore, the range of. concentrations in patients with severe atherosclerosis in whom urinary 2,3-dinor-TXB2 was increased was significantly higher (5-50 pg/ml, P < 0.01) than in healthy subjects (0.9-1.8 pg/ml). Concentrations of 11-dehydro-TXB2 were increased in patients who had recently suffered a pulmonary embolism to a greater extent than either the 11-dehydro-13,14-dihydro-15keto-TXB2 or the 2,3-dinor-TXB2 metabolites in plasma. These results indicate that plasma TXB2 is readily confounded by platelet activation ex vivo. Measurement of enzymatic metabolites of TXB2 minimizes this problem. The 11-dehydro metabolite is the most appropriate analytic target to detect phasic release of TXA2 in the human circulation, such as might occur in human syndromes of platelet activation. Thromboxane (TX) A2 is a cyclooxygenase product of arachidonic acid that causes irreversible platelet aggregation and causes bronchial and vascular smooth muscle to contract (1-3). Pharmacological probes have been used to clarify the biological importance of this compound. For example, progression of kidney disease following subtotal renal ablation in the rat has been delayed by pretreatment with a TX synthase inhibitor (4) and an antagonist of the prostaglandin endoperoxide/TXA2 receptor(s) markedly reduces the incidence of reperfusion arrythmias in a canine model of coronary vascular occlusion (5). However, the pharmacological action of these compounds is not restricted to their inhibition of the functional effects of TXA2. Additional properties include altered biosynthesis of other eicosanoids (6, 7) and modulation of their biological activity (8, 9). Biochemical assessment ofTXA2 biosynthesis would complement the use of pharmacological agents to elucidate the role of this compound in the mediation of human disease. TXA2 is extremely evanescent in biological fluids and cannot be measured directly (10). Attention has consequently focused on the measurement of more stable, but biologically inactive, metabolites. Urinary excretion of the TXA2 hydration product, TXB2 and its 2,3-dinor metabolite have been utilized as indices of predominantly renal (11) and extrarenal (10) TXA2 biosynthesis. Urinary TXB2 is increased in animal (12) and human models (13) of glomerular disease and enhanced excretion of the dinor metabolite has been demonstrated in a variety of human syndromes of platelet activation (14-16). Although such an approach may be usefully combined with pharmacological probes, the measurement of urinary metabolites provides a time-integrated, albeit noninvasive, index ofTX biosynthesis. To address this limitation, the analysis of TXB2 in plasma has been widely employed to assess the formation ofTXA2 by platelets in the circulation more discretely in time. However, the capacity of platelets to generate TXB2 greatly exceeds the calculated production rate in vivo under physiological conditions (17) and such measurements are consequently liable to substantial artifact ex vivo. Another strategy would be to measure enzymatic products of TXB2 in plasma. Such metabolic transformation is more likely to occur predominantly in the liver rather than in the bloodstream (18) and would theoretically bypass the problem of ex vivo platelet activation. We have identified 11-dehydroTXB2 as a major enzymatic metabolite ofinfused TXB2 in the human circulation and developed a sensitive assay for this compound employing capillary gas chromatography/negative-ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry (GC-NICIMS) (19). The purpose ofthe present study was to explore the utility of this approach to the assessment ofTX biosynthesis in the human circulation. MATERIALS AND METHODS Analyses of TXB2 and 11-Dehydro-TXB2. TXB2 and 11dehydro-TXB2 (Fig. 1) were measured by a stable isotope dilution assay utilizing GC-NICI-MS as described (19). Internal standards were biosynthesized from tetradeuterated TXB2 (19). Briefly, 10 ml of acidified plasma was extracted on a C18 SEP-PAK column (Waters Associates) and eluted Abbreviations: GC, capillary gas chromatography; NICI, negativeion chemical ionization; MS, mass spectrometry; TX, thromboxane. *To whom reprint requests should be addressed. 5861 The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83 (1986)


Discloses a pumping mechanism, the pumping mechanism comprises a peristaltic pumping a plurality of actuators, the peristaltic pumping actuator is configured to selectively and sequentially compressing at least a portion having a compressible inlet upstream of the outlet adjacent the first portion of the pumping element. The plurality of pumping actuator to pump with each pair of adjacent common driving frequency induced phase offset between the first actuator to reciprocate. Said pumping means further comprises at least one compensating actuator, which is arranged to selectively compressing at least a portion of the second portion of the disposed between the first portion and the outlet pumping of compressible elements. At least one compensation actuator according to the best displacement of an integral multiple of the modulation frequency and substantially at the drive frequency of the pump and the at least one compensation actuator and the adjacent actuator between the actuator being configured to two phase shift reciprocate.


The bismuth film electrode was used to record well-developed voltammograms of azo food coloring Sunset Yellow FCF (SY). The employed Bi(III)/HClO4 plating solutions produced very adhesive and mechanically stable films that were applied in both stationary and flow conditions. The influence of the dimensions of the glassy carbon support, plating solution concentration and potential was discussed. The sensitivity of SWV was sufficient to obtain a linear calibration curve for low concentration levels of SY (below 0.1 mg/L; LOD=1 µg/L, linear range 4.4–87 µg/L). The measurements in a flow system were considered as a tool for the determination of relatively high concentrations (>1 mg/L; LOD=300 µg/L, linear range 300–8800 µg/L) of SY.


Dr. Horwitz appropriately notes that anemia of chronic disease may be better described as anemia of inflammation. We used the more traditional nomenclature for the sake of clarity to those readers who may not be familiar with the newer terminology. We do agree that there is often a role for hematology evaluation, but believe it should be based on the needs of the individual case and the needs of the organization. To be effective, any algorithm must maintain some flexibility for clinical judgment, and must also meet the needs of local stakeholders. We recommend that prior to implementing a preoperative anemia algorithm it is reviewed by the appropriate parties, which would typically include, but not be limited to, clinical leadership in anesthesia, surgery, medicine, and hematology.


INTRODUCTIONAcademic performance generally refers to the level of success attained in some specific or general area concerning scholastic or academic work. Achievement encompasses student ability and performance, it is multidimensional and it is intricately related to human growth, cognitive, emotional, social and physical development. It reflects the whole child, it is not related to a single instance, but occurs across time and levels, through a student's life in public school, post secondary years and working life (Steinberger, 1993).Many factors influence a child's academic achievement beyond a child's innate ability, the neighborhood children live in, the qualities of the school and parents' education, parental income, and all, have positive effects. According to the National Institute of Health, the education level of a parent is a significant predictor of a child's educational achievement.Probably the most prominent and direct explanation of the link between parent's education and their children's academic achievement relies on the assumption that parents learn something during schooling that influence the way in which they interact with their children around learning activities in the home (Corwyn and Bradley 2002; Davis Kean et al., 2005; Hoff et al., 2002).It has been well established fact that family plays a significant role in a child's academic performance. Parent educational status is considered one of the crucial factors in predicting children's achievement (Haveman and Wolfe, 1995; Klebanov, Brooks-Gunn and Dunkan, 1994; Smith, Brooks - Gunn and Klebanov, 1997; Sirin, 2005). Parents' education pertains to the direct, position which influences academic performance (Jimerson, Egeland and Teo, 1999; Kohn, 1963; Luster Rhoades and Haas, 1989). The literature suggests that it influences the beliefs and behaviors of the parent, leading to the positive outcomes for children and youth (Eccles, 1993). Klebanov et al., (1994) found that both mother's education and family income were important predictors of the physical environment and learning experience in the home but that mothers' education alone was envisage of parental warmth. Smith et al., (1997) found that the association of family income and parent's education with children's academic achievement was mediated by the home environment. Corwyn and Bradley, (2002) and Rhea and Otto, (2001) found that maternal education has the most consistent direct influence on children's cognitive and behavioral outcomes.Dave and Dave (1971) found that higher percentages of rank holder belong to homes with higher parental education and higher percentage of failed students belongs to those who have lower parental education. Rumberger (1995) found that students' family background is widely recognized as the most significant and important contributor to success in schools.The present study has been undertaken with a view to test the hypotheses that the academic performance of the student would be influenced by their parental education, type of school and sex. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to examine the effect of the above three factors on academic performance.OBJECTIVESThe problem of the present study is to examine whether the student with highly educated parents would differ in their academic performance from those students whose parents are less educated. It was hypothesized that if the parents of the students were highly educated would exhibit higher academic performance as compared to the students whose parents were less educated.Next problem of the present study is to examine whether the student studying in government institute would differ in their academic performance from those students who studying in private institute. It was hypothesized that the student studying in private institution would exhibit higher academic performance as compared to the student who studied in government institute.Another problem of the present study is to see the role of sex in academic performance. …


In the present work, a series compositions of (Ba1-xSrx)TiO3 (0≤x≤0.4) lead-free ferroelectric (BST) were successfully prepared by sol-gel method. The effects of Sr2+ on the optical properties, crystal structure and morphology of BaTiO3 were systematically investigated. Compositions with x<0.4 exhibit single phase tetragonal perovskite at room temperature, while a cubic structure of BST has been detected in the ceramic with x=0.4. Phase transition temperature was shifted toward lower temperature by increasing Sr-doping. Moreover, detailed tunability analysis for the present ceramics confirmed an enhancement by Sr-addition and the maximum values were observed at Sr=0.2. The enhancement back to present multiple components contribute to the dc-field induced dielectric constant, where at low electric fields the Langevin theory indicate present polar nano-region (PNR) contributions into tunability data, however domain switching contributions at high electric field was described by Johnson equation. Ferroelectric properties appraised by P-E loop and positive up negative down (PUND) methods have been introduced. The results shown the remnant polarization appraised by PUND method is much lower than polarization estimated by P-E loop indicate the difference values of Pr is mostly owing to leakage current contribution in P-E method.


In comparison to a vast literature on Soviet education little is known about Ukrainian pedagogical sciences apart from a mounting critique about the issues of academic dishonesty and plagiarism, which relates to all higher education disciplines, the absence of an empirical tradition in education research, a poor record of publication in peer-reviewed journals, and the dominance of a positivist approach, which seeks to discover 'laws' rather than reach 'understanding'. This paper offers a thematic analysis of four 'Pedagogy' textbooks – three textbooks for under-graduate studies and one textbook for post-graduate study. The textbook analysis demonstrates that Ukrainian pedagogical sciences as a research tradition is deeply rooted in its own conceptual apparatus with no apparent relation to the current debates about teaching and learning in a wider Europe. The key proposition of the paper is that Ukrainian pedagogical sciences represent a mixture of Herbatianism and dialectical materialism, with more recent developments that emphasise 'acme' or 'perfectionism' that could be compared to debates on virtue ethics in education. Alongside these narratives the discourse of 'Kozak pedagogy' contributes to the nation-building narrative in education. The paper calls for a review of the content of 'pedagogy' textbooks currently used in higher education institutions in Ukraine and envisages that the newly established Ukrainian Educational Research Association can provide a platform for this important undertaking.


The purpose of this working paper is to demonstrate that European competition lawyers – or at least most of them – do not need a shrink. More seriously, this paper underlines that a significant body of behavioral economics has already penetrated European Union ("EU") competition law, in particular in the area of abuse of dominance. The case-law adopted pursuant to Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ("TFEU") indeed exhibits a noticeable degree of sympathy for the insights of behavioral economics. This is true in relation to the two analytical steps involved in a finding of unlawful conduct, namely the assessment of dominance (I) and the identification of an abuse (II).


Welcome to the 14th annual international Privacy, Security and Trust conference. On behalf of Unitec Institute of Technology, it is my pleasure to welcome you to PST 2016 in Auckland, New Zealand. I hope that you enjoy the conference and find meeting and sharing ideas with one another an enriching experience.


The so called unidentified infrared (UIR) emission bands, observed from interstellar space for more than 25 years, are presently believed to be due to carbonaceous material in some form, for example polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, the evidence is based on absorption data, which clearly is not adequate due to differences in the pro- cesses, for example the thermal factor. It also seems doubtful that enough carbon is available to form all the required PAHs, and that the vapor pressure is high enough to keep almost all such molecules in the gas phase. We now report on a model in which all UIR bands are due to electronic deexcitation in the condensed phase named Rydberg Matter. This type of very low- density condensed matter is formed by condensation of Rydberg states of almost any type of atom or small molecule, in space mainly hydrogen atoms and molecules. The intial formation of Rydberg states is due to desorption of alkali atoms from surfaces of small particles, especially carbon particles. This desorption can be caused by radiation or moderate heat and gives long- lived circular Rydberg states. Rydberg Matter can be produced in macroscopic quantities in the laboratory. There is no lower gas density limit for its formation. All the reported UIR peaks from different objects fall within the bands for deexcitation from Ryd- berg Matter states with principal quantum numbersn = 40-200. Most of the transitions are two-electron deexcitation processes, but also one-electron capture processes are identified. The UIR spectra of type sA-Dc anb eunderstood within this model. The agreement with observations is better for the Rydberg Mat- ter model, with small a priori information content, than for the current PAH model.


Four different women's one shoulder bags were choosed and analyzed in order to simplify their pattern making processes.In the process,assignment analysis method had been used to a certain degree,and some formulas used to make the certain parts of the bags were created.It concluded the bags' pattern making process,filled the blanks of bags' new pattern making methods.


The European Union (EU) landfilled and incinerated 600 million tons of waste in 2013, which could have been recycled and returned as raw material to the economy. Resource efficiency can regain this value and bring economic, environmental and social benefits. The EU has therefore adapted the Circular Economy Package with targets to stimulate the transition to a circular economy. These targets include reusing and recycling 55% of plastic packaging waste by 2025. Member states act to achieve those targets with subsidies and funding schemes. This enables entrepreneurs to enter the market of recycled plastic with innovations to gain Schumpeterian rent. However, only approximately 50% of starting companies are still operating after 4 years. It is crucial to increase the success rate of turning new technologies into innovations in order to reach the recycling targets. Market exploration and orientation strategies can aid entrepreneurs to gain insight in the recycled plastic market. Globalized value chain research is a commonly used method, but not suitable to address the recycling industry as it is not globalized but restricted by country borders and local governance. Value chain research methodology was used, according to a handbook written by Kaplinsky a Morris from 2001, which refers to and uses globalized value chain research methodology. For the recycling industry a specific selection was made from elements mentioned in the handbook. This enabled the execution of value chain research for the not globalized recycling industry. The interview questions and topics were made based on the required data for the selected elements. This thesis focussed on the biggest market segment of post-consumer plastic packaging waste in the Netherlands. In total 149 compounders, recyclers and converters were included in a database for a selection. Of which seven companies participated, which resulted in qualitative data that gives insight into the industry and enabled answering the research question.What is required from the value chain of the plastic recycling industry to increase the use of recycled post-consumer PPW? Converters must be able to get access to regranulate with stable MFI and crystallization time characteristics in higher quantities. Compounders can initiate this with joint design projects with branding companies thereby highlighting the possibilities of their regranulate. The optimization of the product and process for their regranulate lowers the switching costs for the converter and can bring rent opportunities. It furthermore showed to increase the sales of regranulate. The compounder requests higher quantities of mono streams recycled plastic from the recycler to comply with demand for regranulate to be used for high volume consumer goods. Recyclers however, upgrade their processes to maximize output for the Dutch 'Raamovereenkomst', which includes a mix stream next to the mono streams. This mix stream cannot be used by the compounders to make regranulate for the converters. The recyclers claim that they can technically increase the mono streams at the expense of the mix stream, although this leads to lower profits for them. A change is therefore required in the Dutch 'Raamovereenkomst' to optimize for mono stream output.


Howard Barker's prolific writing career dates back to 1969 when his first radio play, One Afternoon on the 63rd Level of the North Face of the Pyramid of Cheops the Great, was broadcast by BBC Radio 4. Over forty of his stage plays have since been published and produced, and his theoretical manifesto Arguments for a Theatre is now in its third edition. The touring company the Wrestling School was formed in 1988 exclusively to produce Barker's work; in 1994 Barker himself directed Hated Nightfall for the company, and he has continued to direct many of his subsequent texts for them. The unique support Barker has received from John Calder publications and the Wrestling School, discussed in detail by Robert Shaughnessy in "Howard Barker, the Wrestling School, and the Cult of the Author," has afforded Barker's own theoretical and practical interpretations of his theatre a privileged dissemination. Consequently there is a danger that the objectives of his self-defined "Theatre of Catastrophe" and their underlyi...


UNLABELLED
During routine myocardial perfusion imaging, a common observation is that patients with normal cardiac function and small hearts, in particular small women, have higher left ventricular ejection fractions (LVEFs), as measured by quantitative gated SPECT (QGS) software, than anticipated, often markedly so. The goal of this project was to determine if the QGS LVEF varies with the change in end-diastolic left ventricular volume (EDV) and in particular to verify that the clinically observed phenomenon of falsely elevated QGS LVEF in patients with small hearts is actually occurring.

METHODS
A series of mathematically defined left ventricles (LVs) was produced by varying the EDV and targeted LVEF (tLVEF). These were created using concentric hemiellipsoids with nine different EDVs. The tLVEF was varied from 15% to 75% by 5% increments for a total of 13 different ejection fractions. These datasets were then smoothed, creating a total of 234 sets. The smoothed and unsmoothed images were then processed using QGS software. The LVEFs and EDVs were recorded.

RESULTS
For lower LVEFs the agreement between the QGS LVEF and the tLVEF is good. A marked overestimation occurs when the EDVs are low and the ejection fractions are in the higher range. This effect is greater in the smoothed images.

CONCLUSION
An artifactual increase in the LVEF can occur when measurements are made with the QGS software. These data argue against using QGS LVEF for monitoring the LVEF in patients with small hearts. Our data imply that a mildly decreased LVEF may still appear to be in the normal range when measured by QGS software.


Effect of inorganic phosphate on ferrous ion- and
ascorbate-induced lipid. peroxidations of isolated rat liver mitochondria was investigated. As a result it has been shown that phosphate accelerates the ferrous ion.induced lipid peroxidation; namely, phos. phate shortens the induction lag period of the lipid peroxidation reaction but the malondialdehyde after onset of its production is yielded at the same rate in various concentrations of phosphate. On the other hand, phosphate inhibits ascorbate.induced lipid peroxidation. There are stoichiometric interactions between the concentration of phos. phate and the induction period. Oxygen uptake by mitochondria was observed in the presence of both ferrous ion and phosphate at initial step of the reaction without being accompanied by malondialdehyde production, and afterwards there occurred malondialdehyde production with rapid rate of the oxygen uptake. Possible mechanisms and
interactions among ferrous ion, ascorbate and phosphate were discussed.


'The Fluid Interface Reactions Structures and Transport (FIRST) EFRC' was submitted by FIRST to the 'Life at the Frontiers of Energy Research' video contest at the 2011 Science for Our Nation's Energy Future: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) Summit and Forum. Twenty-six EFRCs created short videos to highlight their mission and their work. FIRST, an EFRC directed by David J. Wesolowski at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a partnership of scientists from nine institutions: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (lead), Argonne National Laboratory, Drexel University, Georgia State University, Northwestern University, Pennsylvania State University, Suffolk University, Vanderbilt University, and University of Virginia. The Office of Basic Energy Sciences in the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science established the 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) in 2009. These collaboratively-organized centers conduct fundamental research focused on 'grand challenges' and use-inspired 'basic research needs' recently identified in major strategic planning efforts by the scientific community. The overall purpose is to accelerate scientific progress toward meeting the nation's critical energy challenges. The mission of Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures and Transport Center is 'to develop quantitative and predictive models of the unique nanoscale environment at fluid-solid interfaces that will enable transformational advances in electrical energymore » storage and heterogeneous catalysis for solar fuels.' Research topics are: catalysis (biomass, CO{sub 2}, water), electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, photoelectrocatalysis, solar fuels, solar electrodes, electrical energy storage, batteries, capacitors, battery electrodes, electrolytes, extreme environment, CO{sub 2} (convert), greenhouse gas, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), interfacial characterization, matter by design, novel materials synthesis, and charge transport.« less


Laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) has expanded to include major liver resection and systematic resection as the techniques have advanced. Regardless of the oncological significance of anatomical resection, dissection of the intersegmental plane is useful in liver resection because it makes liver dissection easier and does not leave an ischemic area. In laparoscopic surgery, the hepatic vein can be exposed with less bleeding than in open surgery because bleeding can be controlled by pneumoperitoneum pressure. Therefore, the hepatic vein is a useful indicator to guide the dissected surface and to determine the depth. However, the basic technique of exposing the hepatic vein during LLR is required. The hepatic vein root can be approached using either a cranial or dorsal approach, with the dorsal approach providing the favorable view characteristic of laparoscopy. Selecting the dissection layer with the Laennec's capsule of the hepatic vein roots in mind is also a useful technique to ensure more reliable dissection of the hepatic vein. We summarize previous reports on techniques for facilitating LLR using the hepatic vein as a guide and outline the role of each hepatic vein type. Although there are many reports of procedures using the hepatic vein as a guide, the terminology of the approach awaits standardization in the future.


When the input irradiance I exceeds a threshold value, two mechanisms cause the stimulated Raman scattering by a plasma to increase as exp(g/sub E/I/sup 2/chi). One mechanism is a nonlinear increase in the plasmon amplitude, and the other is a second-order process of converting two laser photons into a Stokes photon and an anti-Stokes photon. In laser fusion, the enhanced scattering by the residual fusion-chamber gas may greatly reduce the laser irradiance at the target. This theoretical possibility should be investigated experimentally.


For it seems to us that these works were the expression of a new current in the French cinema ... a current animated by a common problematique (however differently that problematic was worked out by different individuals) which could be characterized most simply as a reaction to the discovery of a new form of society being born, a society not quite recognized by its own citizens. Annie Goldmann1 In this sense, our novels seem not primitive, perhaps, but innocent, unfallen in a disturbing way, almost juvenile. . . . This is partly what we mean when we talk about the incapacity of the American novelist to develop; in a compulsive way he returns to a limited world of experience, usually associated with his childhood, writing the same book over and over again until he lapses into silence or self-parody. Leslie Fiedler2 Anyone who pretends an interest in film history knows the story of the New Wave's first great success. In 1958 Francois Truffaut and Monsieur Favre-Lebret, the head of the board of directors of the Cannes Film Festival, exchanged registered letters threatening libel. Truffaut, banned by Favre-Lebret from covering the Festival for Arts, attended without a press pass. The next year he was back at Cannes-as the director of the official French entry, Les Quartre Cents Coups, which won the competition for best direction. In the ensuing euphoria for the New Wave in French cinema, producers who had once despised the writings of the Cahiers group fell over one another in their eagerness to back first films by ex-critics. Chabrol, who began the wave with Le Beau Serge (1958), soon released his second feature, Les Cousins (1959). That same year Rivette made Paris Nous Appartient, Rohmer shot Le Signe de Lion, Doniol Valcroze, the editor of Cahiers after the death of Bazin, filmed L 'Eau a La Bouche, and, most importantly of all, Godard finished Breathless, whose success in 1960 equaled that achieved by The 400 Blows the previous year. In the next two years some sixty-seven journalists, academics, writers, and students would direct their first feature films in France.3 Most of these neophytes soon sank back into the printer's ink out of which they had emerged, but the Cahiers group-Godard, Rohmer, Truffaut, Rivette and Chabrol-launched careers which have continued to the present day. Despite an assertion that the unifying principle behind this group was the fact that they "all came to the screen by detesting French cinema and admiring the Americans,"4 Truffaut's first feature was not a conscious imitation of any American genre. His decision not to shoot an American style film for his first full length movie seems to have been due to several factors. On the most personal level, Truffaut confessed that the subject of childhood interested him because his own youth had not been a happy one. After an adolescence which included several minor arrests, desertion from the army and a discharge for being "medically" unfit for service, Truffaut had been rescued from aimlessness by an offer to write for Cahiers from Andre Bazin. When his first film won world-wide acclaim, Truffaut credited his success to the fatherly attitude Bazin took toward him. The scars of his painful growing-up were never to leave him, however, and he once told an interviewer that he had made The 400 Blows becasue he "was more at home with children than with adults."5 On the level of professional strategy Truffaut seems to have postponed his implementation of the pro-Hollywood critical position he had evolved at Cahiers until he felt more at ease as a filmmaker. He did not try that difficult melange of French settings and American genre he was to attempt in Shoot the Piano Player (1960), The Soft Skin (1964), Fahrenheit 451 (1966), and The Bride Wore Black (1968) until his second feature. His decision to wait may have been motivated by the experience he had gained several years earlier when he co-authored with Rivette and Chabrol Les Quatres Jeudis, a script which was, according to Denby, greatly influenced by the American cinema of the Nicholas Ray school. …


382 lateral collisions to nearsided belted drivers were analyzed. Representative traffic crashes were investigated in a statistical spot-check plan directly at the site of the accident by a team of scientists. 32% of all car to car collisions occur to the lateral region. The left-side is more frequently involved (18.2%) than the right (13.8%). In car to object collisions, 39% are lateral impacts. To understand the load conditions for the occupants, impact mechanisms and relative movements are of importance, as the result of direction by the impulse angle of the transferred impact to the vehicle. 60.5% of lateral collisions involve intrusion into the occupant compartment; 39.5% do not. Side impacts angled between 30-degrees and 45-degrees are the most frequent, with 43.6% involving intrusion and 38.6% not involving intrusion. The injury severity in collisions involving intrusion is visibly higher than in collisions not involving intrusion. 64.9% of the nearside sitting passengers in collisions with no intrusion were injured. However, no injury severity above MAIS 2 were registered. Where intrusion did occur, only 40.9% of the nearside sitting front passengers remained without injuries; in 4.3%, MAIS > 2 injuries were observed. Vehicles in which nearside seated front passengers were uninjured hardly showed any intrusion, while for injured passengers, intrusion was present in addition to an increasing injury severity. Intrusion was always observed with MAIS > 2 injuries. For the different body regions, with the exception of neck injuries, a higher injury risk was present in an impact involving intrusion. The most frequently injured body regions in lateral collisions are the head with 23.5%, the upper extremities with 14.3%, the thorax with 13.3%, and the lower extremities with 10.7%. Severe injuries were not seen in side impacts with intrusion of Injuries in lateral collisions are not limited to the side region. Frontal interior components are quite frequently involved. The safety belt, which does not basically provide any protection in lateral collisions, took crash load in 38% of the thorax injuries. 43.6% of the head injuries occur with an impact to the side window. 11.6% of these head injuries were AIS 2-3. To address these real world accident conditions, the following requirements should be addressed: improvement of crash test conditions; strengthening of the compartment interior; adaptation of energy transmission; and compatibility of vehicles. Side impact crash testing should be carried out at an impulse direction between 30 and 45 degrees offset from fully frontal. The impact point must be in an area in front of the A-pillar. At a delta V of 40 km/h, 90% of all side collisions would be included. A rigid occupant compartment would provide more space for the relative movement of the passengers. However, it would also increase the impact load to the occupants. Therefore, increased interior side door padding is necessary. Padding in a z-direction to the side door structure could provide more compatibility with the height of the impacting front of the striking car.


Human safety and liability concerns prompted a national campaign to close abandoned mines. These closures, along with renewed mining in historic districts, present a significant threat to mine-dwelling bat populations. Over half of North America's 45 bat species have been documented using abandoned underground mines. The need for mine habitat increases as traditional cave and tree hollow roosts disappear. Bats are a primary consumer of night flying insects, many of which cost farmers billions of dollars annually in crop damage. Likewise, if the role of some species as pollinators and seed dispersers is compromised, entire ecosystems could be imperiled. To prevent further losses of mine roosting bats during abandoned mine land reclamation, Bat Conservation International and the USDI-Bureau of Land Management created the North American Bats and Mines Project (NABMP). This proactive program focuses on education, provides national leadership, and coordinates partnerships with federal, state, and private agencies. To date, the project has involved federal and state mine-land and wildlife managers and the mining industry and has trained hundreds of mine-land and wildlife managers in mine assessment techniques for bats and bat-compatible closure methods. This collaboration with numerous federal, state, and private partners has resulted in the protection of some of the most important mine-roosting bat populations. Since the program's inception, more than two million mine roosting bats have been protected, hundreds of miles of mine passage have been preserved to allow the stabilization and growth of bat populations, and thousands of mines have been safeguarded from public entry. In addition, the mines offer tremendous opportunity for conservation-based research. Future cooperation will ensure the long-term protection of mine roosting bats.


Purpose: COVID-19 has destabilized the routine across the members of cardiac surgery including the postgraduates. In view of this, we conducted a survey among the residents to capture their thoughts on the impact of COVID-19. Methods: An electronic questionnaire was constructed and sent to the residents on May 17, 2020. Participation was voluntary and anonymized. The survey ended on May 27, 2020. Results: A total of 91 postgraduates across the country participated in the survey. A strong majority was attributed when more than 50% of the postgraduates agreed on an opinion, and a moderate majority was attributed when 40%–50% of postgraduates agreed on an opinion. Among the specialties, thoracic surgery and peripheral posting were severely affected, and it was the surgical skill which was severely affected compared to their lectures and thesis work. Multi-institutional collaboration teaching programs were useful in understanding the protocols of different units across the country. Conclusion: Virtual lectures have to continue integrating different institutions for the benefit of students. The students' involvements in the discussion are essential. A national forum for postgraduates has to be formed, promoting their participation and publications.


Sciences and Technology (CEST-2018), September 25-27, 2018, vol. 1. This is an open access article under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, adaptation, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original work is properly cited. ISBN: 978-81-936820-5-0 Excimer Laser Processing of IGZO Thin Films for Transparent TFTs Khairi. M. Abusabee*, Khalid. M. Alajel, Salem. O. Elhamali Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, El-Mergib University, Al-Khums, Libya School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Clifton Lane, Nottingham NG11 8NS, UK Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Al-Asmarya Islamic University, Zliteen, Libya


The thermal energy released from the waste packages emplaced in the potential Yucca Mountain repository is expected to result in changes in the repository temperature, relative humidity, air mass fraction, gas flow rates, and other parameters that are important input into the models used to calculate the performance of the engineered system components. In particular, the waste package degradation models require input from thermal-hydrologic models that have higher resolution than those currently used to simulate the T/H responses at the mountain-scale. Therefore, a combination of mountain- and drift-scale T/H models is being used to generate the drift thermal-hydrologic environment.


Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The main risk factor for lung cancer is exposure to chemicals present in cigarettes and atmospheric pollutants, which, among other mechanisms, can increase the risk of cancer by inducing pulmonary inflammation. Among the complex features of inflammatory processes, the role of inflammasomes has attracted increasing attention due to their role in different stages of carcinogenesis. Inflammasomes are intracellular multiprotein complexes that when activated promote the maturation of interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) and IL-18, pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in the promotion, progression, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, metastasis, and resistance to therapy of lung cancer. In this way, this review summarizes the recent findings of inflammasome research in different stages of lung cancer, with a focus on non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), and highlights these multiprotein complexes as promising targets for cancer therapy.


In this paper it is intended briefly to refer to some of the features of administration connected with the application of the waters of the hot springs of Arkansas to the relief and cure of disease, and to plans for extending the benefits to be derived from their use through further scientific research to determine more accurately their physiologic and therapeutic effects. The Indians had unlimited faith in these waters and believed the "Great Spirit" ever present in them. There is a legend that the various tribes fought for their control until finally a truce was declared, a neutral zone established and the sick accorded equal privileges. Belief in the efficacy of the waters became so general that in 1832, Congress passed an act establishing a federal reservation about the springs for the purpose of conserving them for the benefit of the people of the entire country. It would appear also


The article examines the basic worldwide tendencies of innovative activity on the R&D stage in production of science intensive goods of telecommunication character as well as analyzes the modern stage of researches and developments implemented by domestic enterprises of information and telecommunications complex. The basic tendencies and perspectives for an increase in their role in innovative activity are revealed.


Voltage instability has become the major threat to power system security and a challenge to power system operators to ensure voltages at all buses remain within acceptable limits under highly stressed conditions. Various voltage stability indices (VSI) have been proposed by researchers for fast and accurate assessment of voltage stability. These indices are helpful in taking steps towards voltage stability limit enhancement by placing distributed generation support at proper locations and for providing appropriate MW and MVAr support. This paper presents a comprehensive review of various VSIs proposed for voltage stability assessment. The study can be useful in identifying VSI for specific area of distributed generation placement and sizing for voltage stability enhancement .


About one rheumatoid arthritis patient in five may require hospitalization at some time during the course of his disease. But, Dr. Hollander believes, in given circumstances this proportion may be far too high. The critical question: "What can be done for the specific patient in the specific institution?" The rheumatologist outlines criteria for appropriate hospitalization.


Background In RA, previous studies observed inequalities in health across countries as well as across individual level socio-economic factors, and unequal uptake of biologic DMARDs (bDMARDs) played an important role in these inequalities. It is not known whether the same pattern is present for patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA). Objectives To assess: (1) independent associations of individual and country level socio-economic determinants with health outcomes in patients with SpA and (2) if confirmed, whether this relation is mediated by uptake of bDMARDs. Methods Data from the cross-sectional multinational COMOrbidities study in SpA (COMOSPA) were used. Contribution of individual socioeconomic factors (age, gender, education) and country of residence to ASDAS and BASFI was explored in regression models, adjusting for clinical confounders. Next, country of residence was replaced by gross domestic product adjusted for purchasing power parity (GDP PPP) (low, medium, and high, based on tertile distribution). Finally, the role of bDMARDs uptake in the relationship between education or GDP and ASDAS was explored by testing indirect effects. Results In total 3,984 patients with SpA from 22 countries were included: 65% males, mean age 44 (SD14), ASDAS 2.0 (±1.1) and BASFI 3.0 (±2.7). Five to 68% of patients were currently treated with bDMARDs. Females (vs. males) had higher ASDAS (β=0.21 [95%CI 0.13;0.28]) and BASFI (β=0.45 [95%CI 0.31;0.59]). The effect of age was negligible for both outcomes. Low vs high educated individuals had higher ASDAS and BASFI (β=0.29 [0.21;0.36] and β=0.46 [0.24;0.69], respectively) (Table). Independent of the individual confounders, large country differences were observed. Low GDP (vs. high GDP) was associated with higher ASDAS (β=0.27 [0.17;0.36]) and higher BASFI (β=0.20 [0.03;0.38] (Table). Current uptake of bDMARDs did not mediate relationship between education or GDP with ASDAS.Table 1. Association between individual and country level (GDP) factors with ASDAS and BASFI ASDAS-crp (β [95% CI]) BASFI (β [95% CI]) Age, years −0.01 [−0.01; −0.00] 0.02 [0.01; 0.02] Gender (female vs male) 0.21 [0.13; 0.28] 0.45 [0.31; 0.59] Education  Low education vs. University diploma 0.29 [0.21; 0.36] 0.46 [0.24; 0.69]  Secondary education vs. University diploma 0.25 [0.14; 0.37] 0.29 [0.15; 0.43] Rheumatic diseases comorbidity index (RDCI, 0–9) 0.17 [0.14; 0.21] 0.39 [0.32; 0.46] Disease duration, years Not included 0.02 [0.01; 0.03] Body Mass Index (BMI)  Underweight vs normal 0.19 [−0.03; 0.41] −0.13 [−0.53 ; 0.27]  Overweight vs normal 0.08 [ −0.00; 0.16] 0.21 [0.06; 0.36]  Obesity vs normal 0.22 [0.11; 0.32] 0.56 [0.38; 0.75] Presence of axial SpA (yes vs no) 0.18 [0.08; 0.28] 0.58 [0.40; 0.76] GDP  Middle vs High GDP −0.09 [−0.18; 0.01] −0.00 [−0.17; 0.16]  Low vs High GDP 0.27 [0.17; 0.36] 0.20 [0.03; 0.38] Conclusions Health inequalities across individual and country level socio-economic factors exist also among SpA patients. Females, lower educated patients and patients from low income countries had higher disease activity and physical function. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Aims: Banana and plantain contribute to food security in Côte d'Ivoire. However, one of the major difficulties arising in its production remains parasitic constraints causing the loss of production. Among these constraints, leaf diseases cause more damage.
Methodology: This study was initiated to analyse the nature of host-pathogen interactions (resistance or sensitivity) between the fungus Deightoniella torulosa and certain varieties of banana and plantain in Côte d'Ivoire. The pathogenicity of the fungus was measured from artificial inoculation on leaf fragments that were kept alive on a specific culture medium in Petri dishes. This medium consisted of agar amended with Benzimidazole. Leaf' fragments that survived inoculation of spore suspensions, exhibited the characteristic symptoms of the fungus Deightoniella torulosa. The impact of the fungus on the degradation of chlorophyll was noted.
Results: The results showed that the strains of Deightoniella torulosa have a pathogenic activity on the banana trees. The concentration of 75 μM of Benzimidazole incorporated into the survival medium can be used for inoculation tests on leaf fragments.
Conclusion: The Grande Naine cultivar could be used as a control indicator for D. torulosa.


Most animals and insects use opposing muscles, called flexors and extensors, to articulate the joints of their limbs. However, some spiders do not have extensors in some of their joints and use, instead, a simple and efficient miniaturized hydraulic system to extend their limbs. An actuator inspired by the hydraulic system of spiders, which can be embedded on adaptive structures, is investigated in robot-like configurations in this paper. Its design and characteristics are discussed and the effects of the geometrical parameters on its performance are investigated.


Tramadol is a synthetic opioid analgesic commonly prescribed for moderate to severe pain. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of silymarin supplementation on Tramadol induce injury, oxidative stress and PCNA expression alterations on liver in rats. For this purpose 40 male albino rats were divided into four groups and treated for 4 weeks (group 1 was control, group 2 was silymarin, group 3 was Tramadol and group 4 was Tramadol plus silymarin). The obtained results revealed that; serum GPT, GOT, ALP, GGT activities and MDA levels in liver tissues were significantly increase in rats treated with Tramadol as compared to control group while, total protein, albumin, globulin levels in serum, GSH, SOD and catalase levels in liver tissues levels were significantly decrease in Tramadol group when compared with control rats. Liver sections in rats treated with Tramadol exhibited mild positive reactions were detected for PCNA-ir, marked dilation or congestion in central veins, marked cellular infiltrations, atrophied and vacuolated hepatocytes. Treated rats with Tramadol plus silymarin succeeded to modulate these observed abnormalities resulting from Tramadol as indicated by the reduction of enzymes activity and the pronounced improvement of the investigated biochemical, antioxidant parameters, oxidative stress, hepatic injury and PCNA alterations. Further studies are needed to investigate the impacts of tramadol on human health.


In this work, we investigate the effect of precursor flow conditions on the properties of the SiN film deposited by PECVD, and the related impacts on the device performance as well as hot-carrier reliability of NMOSFETs. We found that SiN film with higher nitrogen content possess larger tensile stress and thus higher on-current. Moreover, lower hydrogen contained in the SiN boosts the immunity to hot-carrier stress. Both demands can be fulfilled by increasing the N2 gas flow rate during SiN deposition. The lateral distribution of interface state generation after hot-carrier stress was also investigated.


A B S T R A C T Customer Relationship Management (CRM) observes clients as an important asset of an group and maintaining client connection i s the main procedure of a business. This study aims to comprehend and evaluate the role of Customer Relationship Management in E-business. Prescriptive analysis has been used to comprehend the underlying relationship between the selected phenomena. The major findings of the study are four folds; initially, E-Business Management Customer Relationship Management (CRM) purposes can be shared into Different groups such as price redeemable, income improvement, and planned influence objects. On the other hand, person's objects are not very comprehensive; in its place Electronic professional groups view Customer Relationship Management objects as a part of their everyday effort. Another Electronic business group's distillate in third parts once handling their client relations such as placing into practice, creativities, and network administration. Thirdly, Electronic business organizations assess the efficiency of their Client Relationship Management in four areas such as client information, client communique, client cost, and client gratification. Finally, E-business groups reflect better client gratification charges and creating contacts with clients to be very significant.


I well remember two cases which prove the advantage of preliminary tracheotomy. On one occasion in a nursing home of a large provincial town I operated on a man of 16 st. who had a high blood pressure. I succeeded with some difficulty, owing to excessive'haemorrhage, in removing the growth, but nothing short of very firm packing would stop the somewhat alarming bleeding from the cavity of the larynx. The packing remained in position for about 3 hours, and when it was removed there were no signs of haemorrhage, and I''returned to London feeling that if there was any more haemorrhage it could easily be controlled, as the tracheotomy tube, needless to say, was left in position. Fortunately there was no further trouble. Another patient developed alarming haemorrhage 48 hours after operation, and I reached the nursing home just in time to save his life; owing to the presence of a tracheotomy opening I was able to arrest the bleeding. Had the operation been performed without tracheotomy there is little doubt the patient would have died, probably before my arrival. As a matter of fact he survived for 7 years and eventually died of cerebral haemorrhage. Even supposing the absence of an opening in the trachea resulted in an increased mortality of 1%-and I am convinced this is too low a figure-it would be worth while to carry out tracheotomy in every case, as it is a perfectly safe procedure.


Cholestyramine can interfere with the absorption of a number of drugs, including cardiac glycosides (especially digitoxin) , thiazides, thyroxine, salicyla tes and warfarin, while clofibrate can enhance the effect of coumarin-type anticoagulants and its potential toxicity is greater if the patient's serum albumin level is low (as in a patient with the nephrotic syndrome), so that the dose of clofibrate must be reduced accordingly. The effect of oral anticoagulant preparations is also potentiated by drugs which tend to reduce hepatic metabolism, such as allopurinol, nortriptyline, quinidine and sometimes alcohol, while certain drugs can displace some warfarin (Which is highly protein-bound) from its binding sites and thus increase its anticoagulant effect. Such drugs include phenylbutazone, chloral hydrate, sallcylates, indomethacin, sulphonamldes, tolbutamide, probenecid, nalidixic acid and ethacrynic acid. The effect of warfarin is also increased by thyroxine and anabolic steroids, which enhance the metabolism of the clotting factors. Some of the above-mentioned drugs in fact probably potentiate warfarin by more than one mechanism (and this includes salicylates, which should be particularly noted because of their frequent presence in proprietary preparations); it should also be remembered that the coumarins inhibit the metabolism of tolbutamide, chlorpropamide and phenytoin, with possible resulting hypoglycaemia or phenytoin intoxication and the first clinical indication of the latter is often ataxia and nystagmus.


ABSTRACT Aim: The hypothesis is that circulating tumor cells (CTC) can be used as an indicator for treatment response in metastatic breast cancer patients. CTC results from the first 38 patients in a monitoring study are presented. Methods: CTC are tested as a monitoring marker for treatment response in the clinical trial XeNa. Metastatic or locally advanced HER2 negative breast cancer patients are treated with a combined therapy with Xeloda and Navelbine Oral vs standard of care treatment. We aim to include 120 breast cancer patients in a randomized two-armed study with equal numbers in each arm. Blood samples before treatment and approximately four weeks after first treatment will be analyzed for CTC by a scanning fluorescence microscope (CytoTrack®). Details regarding XeNa can be found at clinicaltrials.org, ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01941771. The endpoints of the study includes overall survival, clinical response according to RECIST criteria and clinical response according to CTC count. The null hypothesis is that there is no difference in outcome for patients with CTC compared to patients without CTC. It is estimated that with a power of 0.80, a total of 80 patients are required to reject the null hypothesis with a significance level of 0.05. CTC analysis is performed by the scanning fluorescence microscope CytoTrack. Results: In 38 consecutive patients, 17 were found positive for CTC prior to treatment. Follow up samples were CTC positive in twelve of the original CTC positive patients and CTC negative in five of the original CTC positive patients. Twentyfour patients had no CTC prior to or following treatment. The study is ongoing, so outcome for the patients are not yet known. No of patients Median prior Range prior Median Post Range post No CTC 24 0 0 0 0 CTC unchanged 12 17 2-36 0 0 CTC decreased 5 4 2-77 4 2-49 Conclusions: CTC analysis is regarded as a promising marker for monitoring treatment effect in metastatic breast cancer. The utility of CTC in monitoring treatment response and residual disease in the current study will become more clear when the study is completed and the patient outcome is known. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


The provision of education and training to all Kenyans is fundamental to the success of the Government's overall development strategy. A successful adjustment of students to University environment enables them to complete their studies on time. However, students' failure to adjust to the University environment is still a persistent problem facing education in Kenya. The underlying factors that influence students' social and academic adjustment at the University have not received adequate research. These factors may influence students' behaviour which determines the adjustment at the University. This study sought to investigate the influence of selected factors on students' social and academic adjustment at the University. The study adopted ex post facto's Causal-comparative research design. The target population was 4831 undergraduate students enrolled at Egerton University and three staff from the Dean of students' office. A random sample of 357 students and purposive sample of - 40 Student peer counsellors, 2 Student counsellors and the Dean of Students was selected. Data was collected using closed and open ended University Students' Questionnaire (USQ) and interview schedule conducted among selected respondents. The collected data was processed and analysed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, means and percentages) and inferential statistics (Chi square, Pearson Correlation and ANOVA). The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 15.0 for windows was used to aid in the data analysis. All tests were done at α = 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study indicated that interpersonal relationships and the attitude of students towards university environment and academic programme were critical factors influencing social adjustment and academic adjustment of undergraduate students in the university. Both male and female students were exposed to the same environment that influenced their similar social and academic adjustment in the university. First year students have a higher level of academic adjustment compared to other students in the university. Guidance and counselling programme has a critical role to play in assisting students to adjust in the university. The study recommends that there is need for the university to encourage social activities that can facilitate effective interpersonal relationships among students. There is need for the university to increase the level of publicity of guidance and counselling services programme and its services in the universities so as to assist students un coping and adjusting to university life. Area of the Study


Schools need to be able to regulate sexting, but at what point are administrators infringing on students' rights? Is teenage sexting a violation of child pornography laws? This book tackles these tough issues and others.
 In several states, teenagers who engage in "sexting" could be in violation of child pornography laws—and if convicted of such, teens could end up on sex offender lists with rapists and child molesters. The authors of this text examine this thorny issue, arguing that teenagers who have engaged in consensual sexting should not automatically be punished under child pornography laws. Equally important: the book presents in-depth analysis of the issue of school regulations on sexting pursuant to the Free Speech Clause.
 This book is the first volume devoted to the topic of consensual student sexting, and how the First Amendment may apply to this unique 21st-century phenomenon. It provides an overview of sexting laws in the United States and does a thorough job of discussing the First Amendment issues that all policymakers, educators, and child advocates should be aware of.


Phase diagrams are derived, at the mean-field level, for spin glasses with uniaxial anisotropy. Exchange anisotropy and single-ion anisotropy are considered separately. The critical anisotropies at zero temperature are expressed in terms of the internal field distributions for Ising and planar systems, avoiding the replica method. The phase diagrams are qualitatively similar for the two models except that for 'easy-axis' exchange anisotropy two consecutive transitions are predicted as a function of temperature for all values of the anisotropy, whereas for single-ion anisotropy two transitions are predicted only when the anisotropy is sufficiently weak.


Compared to the traditional underground derivation tunnel construction methods,shield method's demands on geological information along the route are more refinement and more emphasized,because of its unique construction methods and craft.According to Geological exploration of the Chaohe river tunnel plan in the South-to-North Water Transfer Project,it discussed the field investigation,the workload of emplacement,site work,testing,data analysis and reorganization and other issues in the diversion tunnel survey work using shield method construction.


Objective To discuss the expression of p16 and p63 protins in thyroid neoplasm and its significance.Methods The expression of p16 and p63 Proteins was examined by immunohistochemical method(Envision TM) in 60 thyroid neoplasms.Results The positive expression rates of p16 and p63 were significantly higher in thyroid adenoma than in thyroid carcinoma (60.0% and 46.7% vs 33.3% and 20.0%,P0.05).The positive expression rates of p16 and p63 were significantly higher in thyroid papillary adenoma than in thyroid papillary carcinomas(80.0% and 60.0% vs 33.3% and 20.0%,P0.05).The positive rates of p16 and p63 was significantly higher in thyroid follicular adenoma than in thyroid follicular carcinomas(40.0% and 33.3% vs 33.3% and 20.0%,P0.05).Conclusion Detection of p16 and p63 protein has a significance for diagnosis and prognosis of thyroid neoplasms.


Soft tactile skins can provide an in-depth understanding of contact location and force through a soft and deformable interface. However, widespread implementation of soft robotic sensing skins remains limited due to non-scalable fabrication techniques, lack of customization, and complex integration requirements. In this work, we demonstrate magnetic composites fabricated with two different matrix materials, a silicone elastomer and urethane foam, that can be used as continuous tactile surfaces for single-point contact localization. Building upon previous work, we increased the sensing area from a 15 mm<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^2$</tex-math></inline-formula> grid to a 40 mm<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^2$</tex-math></inline-formula> continuous surface. Additionally, new preprocessing methods for the raw magnetic field data, in conjunction with the use of a neural network, enables rapid location and force estimation in free space. We report an average localization of 1 mm<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^3$</tex-math></inline-formula> for the silicone surface and 2 mm<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^3$</tex-math></inline-formula> for the urethane foam. Our approach to soft sensing skins addresses the need for tactile soft surfaces that are simple to fabricate and integrate, customizable in shape and material, and usable in both soft and hybrid robotic systems.


Introduction Carfilzomib, a potent, irreversible, selective proteasome inhibitor has demonstrated consistent results in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) combined with lenalidomide and dexamethasone (KRd). No prospective studies are yet available that analyzed the efficacy of the KRd combination. Methods Herein, we report a multicenter prospective observational study on 85 patients who were treated with KRd combination as the second or third line of treatment, according to standard practice. Results The median age was 61 years; high-risk cytogenetic was found in 26% and renal impairment (estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 ml/min) in 17%. After a median follow-up of 40 months, patients received a median number of 16 cycles of KRd, with a median duration of treatment (DoT) of 18 months (range, 16.1–19.2 months). The overall response rate was 95%, with a high-quality response (≥very good partial remission [VGPR]) in 57% of the patients. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 36 months (range, 29.1–43.2 months). Achievement of at least VGPR and a previous autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) were associated with longer PFS. The median overall survival (OS) was not reached (NR); the 5-year OS rate was 73%. Nineteen patients underwent KRd treatment as a bridge to autologous transplantation, obtaining a post-transplant minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity in 65% of cases. The most common adverse events were hematological, followed by infection and cardiovascular events, rarely G3 or higher, with a discontinuation rate for toxicities of 6%. Our data confirmed the feasibility and safety of the KRd regimen in real life.


This study estimates whether Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) protects beneficiaries from out-of-pocket health expenditure arising at the time of illness and points out obstacles that the beneficiaries face. This article uses data of 100 beneficiaries selected through simple random sampling from the beneficiaries list that were collected from the district headquarter hospital of Mayurbhanj District, Odisha, India. This study highlights that only 8.4 per cent beneficiaries access their full healthcare services from the scheme. More than 50 per cent are forced to spend from their own pocket even though they have sum assured. The beneficiaries face problems like lack of awareness, no proper enrolment procedure, no cooperative hospital staff, limited assured money sanctioned per day, only inpatient care services, an unhygienic atmosphere in the hospital, long distance to the empanelled hospital and exploitation among health service providers. Awareness may be created among insured. The behaviour of healthcare providers may be turned friendly. Immediate attention may be provided by help desk counters to the beneficiaries. The sum assured amount may be increased. The detailed receipt of hospital expenditure may be supplied to the insured at the time of discharge.


In the di(organocyanamide) complexes trans-[PtCl2(NCNR2)2]
(R = Me 1a, Et 1b), prepared by reaction of PtCl2 with the appropriate NCNR2, the cyanamide ligands, activated by coordination, undergo an unprecedented nucleophilic addition, at room temperature, of an haloalcohol (ClCH2CH2OH/LiBun) or of an alcohol (MeOH) to give the corresponding 2-amino-2-oxazoline cis-[PtCl2{NC(OCH2CH2)NR2}2]
(R = Me 2a, Et 2b) or trialkylisourea trans-[PtCl2{NHC(OMe)NR2}2]
(R = Me 3a, Et 3b) complexes. The X-ray crystal structure of 2b is also reported, indicating a π-bond delocalization along the NCN group of the aminooxazoline ligands.


NHS reforms, such as fair pay and conditions, policies on bullying, and zero tolerance of violence are hardly setting the world ablaze.


The workshop Towards Adaptive Workflow System was organized by the authors of this report as part of the 1998 Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW-98), and was held at the Westin Seattle on Saturday, November 14, 1998. The workshop had about 30 attendees and included invited presentations, paPer presentations/discussions and a panel. This report summarizes on the Goals and topics of the workshop, presents the major activities and summarizes some of the issues discussed during the workshop.


Dr. Murthy and colleagues report, in this issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, potential long-term complications in patients undergoing preoperative chemoradiotherapy for esophageal cancer.1 They compared patients treated with preoperative chemoradiotherapy to a group of patients undergoing esophagectomy alone at the Cleveland Clinic. They report that the use of preoperative chemoradiotherapy led to an increased rate of late pleural and pericardial effusions. Despite this observation, there was no significant increase in the need for intervention to treat these complications, and there was no adverse impact on patient survival. The use of preoperative chemoradiotherapy in esophageal cancer has evolved as a therapy standard at most cancer centers in the United States. Although there are not clear cut phase III data to indicate a survival benefit for this approach compared with surgery alone, individual trials generally have been small and underpowered. Nearly all trials indicate trends toward improved survival with the use of preoperative chemoradiotherapy, in particular in patients achieving a pathologic complete response. Meta-analyses also support a survival benefit for preoperative chemoradiotherapy.2 A recent phase III trial from Germany indicated strong trends for superior survival and local tumor control for the use of combined preoperative chemoradiotherapy compared with preoperative chemotherapy alone, in high risk patients staged T3 or T4 with endoscopic ultrasound and laparoscopy.3 Although collectively the published literature indicates a survival benefit for combined preoperative chemoradiotherapy, the absolute survival improvements ranging from 10 to 20% are modest at best. As the authors indicate in their current series, this potential modest improvement in survival may come at the cost of an increase in potential late complications. Is toxicity of all chemoradiotherapy comparable? Most series report only short-term perioperative complications after combined chemoradiotherapy and indicate the approach is safe and tolerable. However, toxicity is also likely to vary by the chemotherapy regimen, dose, and schedule, as well as the dose and fractionation schedule of radiotherapy. The authors in the current series either used intermittent, high dose infusional fluorouracil (5-FU) with high dose cisplatin, or the use of a high dose, every 3 week schedule of cisplatin and paclitaxel. This chemotherapy was combined with a twice daily hyperfractionated schedule of radiotherapy. Both of these approaches are likely to increase short-term toxicities of chemoradiotherapy. Hyperfractionated radiotherapy consistently results in more acute radiation related toxicities than once daily fractionation in many studies,4–6 and such a dose and schedule of radiotherapy has neither been compared with, nor shown to be superior to, once daily fractionation. In addition, chemotherapy schedules employing lower dose, weekly administration of chemotherapy, as opposed to high dose chemotherapy administered weeks 1 and weeks 3 to 5, also tend to lessen acute toxicities of chemoradiotherapy.7,8 Phase II trials employing weekly chemotherapy without 5-FU have reported potentially lower rates of esophagitis, lesser need for the placement of feeding tubes, and often less hematologic toxicity. Whether or not alternative chemotherapy or radiotherapy schedules would impact on the development of late onset toxicities, such as pleural and pericardial effusions, is unclear. Cooperative groups including Eastern


Some massive stars experience episodic and intense mass loss phases with fluctuations in the luminosity. Ejected material forms circumstellar matter (CSM) around the star, and the subsequent core-collapse results in a type IIn supernova which is characterized by interaction between supernova ejecta and the CSM. The energy source which triggers these mass eruptions and dynamics of the outflow have not been clearly explained. Moreover, the mass eruption itself can alter the density structure of the envelope and affect the dynamics of the subsequent mass eruption if these events repeat. In fact, a large amount of observational evidence suggests multiple mass eruptions prior to core-collapse. We investigate the density structure of the envelope altered by the first mass eruption and the nature of the subsequent second mass eruption event in comparison with the first one. We deposited an extra energy twice at the bottom of the hydrogen envelope and calculate the time evolution by our radiation hydrodynamical simulation code. We do not deal with the origin of the energy source but focus on the dynamics of repeated mass eruptions from a single massive star. There are significant differences between the first and second mass eruptions in terms of the luminosity, color, amount of produced CSM. The second eruption leads to a redder burst event with the associated brightening phase lasting longer than the first one. The amount of ejected matter is different even with the same deposited energy in the first and second event, but the difference depends on the density structure of the progenitor star. Upcoming high cadence and deep transient surveys will provide us a lot of detailed pre-supernova activities, and some of them would show multi-peaked light curves. They should be interpreted taking the effect of density structure altered by the preceding outburst events into consideration.


ABSTRACT Today the importance of working through the analyst's countertransference is stressed throughout all different schools of psychoanalysis. This article aims to make the microprocesses more transparent regarding the transformations of transference and countertransference, from the beginning of the anchoring of a projection in the analyst up to the re-internalization of a transformed projection in the patient. This is introduced by a survey of the history of two central terms: Projective Identification (on the side of the patient) and Countertransference (coming from the side of the analyst). How the analyst is also a "do-er" and how this fits in with the projective identifications of the patient is a newer development in psychoanalysis and is the main subject of this paper. Alongside the clinical material shown is described what the patient triggers in the analyst with his projections, and how the analyst manages to work through his countertransference where the patient becomes a temporary object, connecting with objects of the analyst until—if all goes well—the analyst manages to transform the projection of the patient while "triangulating with his inner understanding parents".


A team at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is currently engaged in a comprehensive study of indoor environmental conditions in K-12 classrooms. Information about the indoor air quality, thermal comfort, lighting, and acoustic conditions have been collected from 220 classrooms across five school districts in Nebraska and Iowa. This paper will present an overview of the acoustic results with regards to sound levels and reverberation time as well as how these results vary based on grade level and school district. This paper will also present an initial overview of the relationship between acoustic metrics and some of the metrics from indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and lighting such as carbon dioxide levels, temperature, and electric illuminance levels. [Work supported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency Grant Number R835633.]