Aim To study the multiplication at hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) virus in human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVEC) and to study the effect of HFRS virus infection on the production of interleukin 6(IL 6),tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF α) and beta inaerferon(IFN β) secreted by HUVEC Methods HFRS virus pathogenic strain (A69) infected HEC in vitro,culture supernatants were collected at different time postinfection (1d?3d?5d?7d?9d),the titers of virus were measured by microimmunoenzymatic plaque method HFRS virus antigen in human endothelial cell were demonstrated by an indirect immunofluorescent assay The levels of TNF α, IL 6 and IFN β in culture supernatants were measured by ELISA Results The viruses were detected in the supematant as early as day 1 postinfection by microimmunoenzymatic plaque method The highest viral titers were obtained at 5 days,decreasing yields of virus showed at later time(days 4 to 9) Viral production of infeted cells was depended on the multiplicity of infection (MOI) As the viral dose was increased from MOI of 0 1EPFU/cell to 50EPFU/celI We were able to detect the presence of viral antigens in infected HEC by indirect immunofluorescence as early as day 1 postinfection No obvious differences in morphology and structure were observed between the virus infected cells and uninfected cells under phase contrast microscope and transmission electron microscope IFN β and IL 6 production by HUVEC were increased with HFRS virus infection No significant changes were observed in the levels of TNF α Conclusion HEC as HFRS virus original target cell can produce infective virus The mechanism of microvascular damage is not likely to be a direct effect of virus replication but may conceivably be the consequence of an immune mediated endothelial injury triggered by viral infection The production of cytokines may play an important role in HFRS virus pathogenicity and immunity


Objective:To ensure safety of medication for patients,the mobile infusion system was used in each segment of infusion process.Methods:The professional training was performed,the bar code technology was used,and the infusion flow was optimized,thereby ensuring the system running,improving work efficiency,improving the level of management,and improving the service quality.Results:The mobile infusion system linked the doctor,the nurse,the patient,and the drug together organically.The bar code was used to verify the identity of the patients,it improved the medication safety of the patients and the work efficiency of the nurse,thereby really achieving the new pattern of the patient manual operation,information movement,and doctor- nurse linkage.Conclusions:The mobile infusion system really improves the medication safety of the patients.


Physical movement, in addition to its importance in motor development, may also contribute to academic learning and to the improvement of cognitive skills. This lecture focuses on two research studies which examine the effect of physical exercise and body movement activities on different populations. Both studies used the movement and structural principles of Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation (EWMN). EWMN is a language based on an analytical method that defines the essential units required for the description of bodily movement in time and space. The first research examined an intervention program consisting of a combination of movement by means of EWMN and academic learning. The aim of the program was to improve the achievements of 3rd and 4th grade pupils in learning an academic subject as they studied two topics in geometry: angles and symmetry. The study compared two experiment groups with two control groups. This was Mixed Methods Research which made use of three research tools. The findings of the study clearly show that the achievements of the pupils who participated in the experimental groups were higher than those of the pupils who participated in the control groups.The second research study examined the effect of movement and coordination exercises, based on EWMN, on students who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The study examined a movement intervention program of thirteen weeks duration in two different but related fields of knowledge: attention, a cognitive skill, and coordination, a physical skill. This population was chosen because earlier studies have shown that physical exercise is likely to have a positive effect on people with ADHD. The findings of the study show that the students improved their results according to the attention and coordination tests that were administered.


Problems such as price volatility have been observed in electric power markets. Demand-side participation is often offered as a potential solution by promising to increase market efficiency when hockey-stick type offer curves are present. However, individual end-consumer will surely value electricity differently, which makes demand-side participation as a group and at a bus difficult. In this paper demand is categorized into two groups: one that highly values reliability and the other that does not. The two types are modeled separately and a new optimal bidding function is developed and tested based on this model.


The main results of research Nagaibak's ethnicity, which can be seen a combination of two trends "traditionalist" and "innovation". On the one hand, Nagaibaks reverently refer to the legacy of their ancestors, kinship support, observe traditional ceremonies; on the other -Nagaibak's identity been in continuous dynamics of ethnicity and open to new ideas. The first Nagaibak's group living in Chebarkul area shows a complex ethnicity induced variability of self-names. The second largest group living in Nagaibak district has managed to achieve the status of indigenous small-numbered peoples. Both groups Nagaibaks are in partnerships that strengthen the sense of unity of the people. Apparently, this is due to a deep sense of kinship, a common destiny and a sense of common historical path. Simultaneously Nagaibaks ready to create and participate in new projects for the actualization of their own identity. Through their own efforts Nagaybaks managed to reclaim the name that gave them a sense of confidence in their traditions and faith in resistance of people.


Remittances in the Philippines, as a consequence of an increasing migration, are flowing into the country as 'manna-from-heaven'. For the majority of recipient families, remittances finance on average between 30% and 45% of their living expenses. While cross-country studies tend to overestimate the poverty reducing effects of remittances, by considering those transfers as exogenous, the counterfactual differential income earned as a result of migration, tend to lower or even vanish these effects depending on the characteristics of the migrants and their households. The present work analyzes carefully the impact of these cash transfers on poverty, determining heterogeneous results. While many authors find remittances a good poverty reduction strategy, in the Philippines the results show that the poor are not primarily engaged in migration. Therefore the initial conditions of the migrant play a role at defining its opportunities abroad.


The effect of Theranekron® on rat ovaries was evaluated in healthy and ischemia-reperfusion injury models. The rats were divided into four groups: group 1: control, group 2: Theranekron® (single dose of 0.3 mg/kg intraperitoneally), group 3: torsion + detorsion, and group 4: torsion + detorsion + Theranekron® (single dose 0,3 mg/ kg, intraperitoneally). The ovaries were homogenized by sonication before the analysis and supernatant glucose-6phosphate dehydrogenase activity, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, reduced glutathione and total protein levels were evaluated spectrophotometrically. Ovary tissues were histologically examined. In group 2, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity was significantly reduced (P<0.01) compared to the control group and an increased number of atretic follicles, and hyperaemic and haemorrhagic regions were seen histologically; in group 3, although glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity was not changed, intense hyperaemia and hemorrhage was observed in the veins of the medulla region and in the cortex. Group 4 showed a decrease in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity compared to the control group (P<0.01). Histologically, when compared to group 3, group 4 showed fewer atretic follicles and decreased hyperaemia and hemorrhage in the ovaries, excluding the medulla region. There were no significant differences regarding reduced glutathione and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate levels between the groups. The Theranekron® dose applied had some negative effects, such as reduced glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, an increased number of atretic follicles, and hyperemia in the corpus luteum and medulla region in intact rat ovaries. Although it reduced glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, Theranekron® may have had slight remedial effects on rat ovaries with ischemia-reperfusion injury.


Objectives We aimed to obtain a population-based perspective on barriers to obtaining recommended and fully covered preventive services offered to Medicaid-insured members of an urban-based independent practice association, health maintenance organization. Despite numerous health plan programs to improve utilization of preventive services, participation has remained below state and national goals. Methods A mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative techniques) study was designed to identify member-perceived barriers to use of preventive care services. A purposive sample of members who had been identified as low or nonutilizers of preventive services was used to recruit 110 member participants for focus groups. Content analysis of the transcripts was used to detect emerging themes identified as reasons for not obtaining the recommended child and teen preventive services. A telephone survey was developed from the content analysis and was administered to an additional 560 members. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to identify underlying factors within the survey items. Results Focus group participants stated they received their desired level and types of preventive services even though health plan data indicated otherwise. They viewed the responsibility of the health plan as limited to providing opportunities to access services; the choice and responsibility for use of preventive services are theirs. There was no evidence that participants would voluntarily seek to obtain services beyond those they find personally valuable. Exploratory factor analysis of telephone survey data identified six factors that met the retention criteria. The factors explained 45% of the variance in the data. The expected factors included clinic culture, quality of care, insurance confusion and difficulties, clinic access, and transportation. An additional factor, preventive care values, emerged to confirm the perspective initially detected in focus group transcripts. Conclusions It is necessary to re-examine the measures of accountability within health care. Current data collection and data sources fail to represent the utilization patterns of this population. They do not account for the role of the consumer in preventive health care decision making. We must identify the value of current benchmarks and designated accountability for utilization of preventive services when the purported beneficiaries do not perceive sufficient value


Entrepreneurship courses are vital components of a business school curriculum. Although existing studies examine teaching pedagogy, very few explore the content of entrepreneurship courses. We comp...


Int Trans Electr Energ Syst. 2019;e12191. https://doi.org/10.1002/2050-7038.12191 Summary Multilevel inverters have been the vital component for the power electronic systems and have been researched extensively to further enhance their performances in terms of topology and their control. In this paper, a new bidirectional single‐phase multilevel inverter module has been proposed with a reduced number of switches along with lower voltage stresses. The proposed module generates 17 levels at the output with 10 unidirectional switches along with four dc voltage sources with two varieties of dc voltage sources. Moreover, for a higher number of levels, the cascade connection of several modules has been discussed in this paper with three different methods for the selection of dc voltage sources. The proposed module has been compared with several similar topologies, which set the benchmark of the proposed one. The operation and performance of the proposed module have been validated through several simulation and experimental results with different types of load considering a change of modulation index.


The purpose of this article is to analyze how the Brazilian State has positioned itself with respect to the international migration, and to analyze its behavior regarding contemporary migratory flows involving the country. Over the last twenty years, Brazil has adopted a set of new policies concerning the treatment of Brazilians abroad and the management of the cross-borders movements, including the issue of immigrants in Brazil. These policies not only respond to the activism of migrants and their partners, but also reflect the strategy of Brazilian foreign policy, mainly conducted during the Lula administration. In recent years, international migration has become a strategic issue in the international relations' agenda of the twenty-first century, and Brazil has engaged with this question as a basis to criticize some countries and to demand changes in the international order.


Two cases of Chronic Pulmonary Histoplasmosis are reported and other eleven cases, collected from Brazilian literature, are commented. After being clinically cured, one of our patients presented an Aspergillus fungus ball inside a cavitation in the wall of which H. capsulatum was disclosed. Comments are also done on the diagnosis of the mycosis.


: Aesthetic education is an important part of promoting the all-round development of people. Different from other four kinds of education, the mechanism of aesthetic education is based on emotion as a link, deep emotional experience, to the aesthetic subject with high taste of spiritual enjoyment, so that the aesthetic subject in the free and harmonious emotional experience, wake up to the life consciousness of beauty. Aesthetic education pays attention to the subjectivity of aesthetics, aims to stimulate the essential power of individuals, and has specific requirements for the presentation of emotion and the expression of form and content of aesthetic objects. Aesthetic education aims to cultivate the integrity of personality by enhancing students' aesthetic sensibility.


Cerebral malaria is an uncommon complication of malaria in pregnancy in our environment. The overall incidence in Nigeria is unknown however the paucity of case report may be an underestimation. It is sometime difficult to distinguish from eclampsia. However, eclampsia is unlikely to present with hyperpyrexia though not invariable, repeated convulsions with coma in the intervals between the absence of fits if there is no associated cerebrovascular accident. We present a case of post-partum cerebral malaria in a primipara, which responded promptly to artemether.


Study concerns the analysis of serum total proteins and fractions (albumin, total globulins, gamma and non-gamma globulins) of breast cancer patients following chemotherapy (FAC regimen). For this purpose, blood samples of 84 breast cancer patients were collected from Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology, Lahore (INMOL) before and after chemotherapy. These were compared with 52 age and sex matched healthy volunteers. Analysis of serum total proteins and fractions were carried out using commercially available kits by semi-automated clinical chemistry analyzer. Results were analyzed, statistically, using one-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc multiple comparison test. Serum total proteins have shown a non-significant increase in patients when compared with controls. A remarkable reduction in serum albumin level (p<0.0001) was observed in newly diagnosed patients with a non-significant recovery of this protein following chemotherapy. Comparatively, serum total globulins, gamma globulins and non-gamma globulins levels have shown significant increase (p<0.0001, p=0.0104 and p<0.0001, respectively) in newly diagnosed patients showing a non-significant recovery following chemotherapy. Menopausal status and surgery did not show any role in changing serum protein profiles. Our results provide preliminary information about total serum proteins and fractions of breast cancer patients indicating lowered serum albumin and higher serum globulins to compensate albumin reduction, in patients. Chemotherapy did not play a significant role in recovery of these proteins.


A xenobiotic is a synthetic foreign substance present in a living being which is not ordinarily normally created or exhibit inside the life form. Chemicals that are foreign to the biosphere are known as xenobiotic compounds. In particular, medications, for example, antibiotics are xenobiotics in humans because the human body does not deliver them itself, nor they part of a normal food. Natural compounds can likewise get to be xenobiotics on the off chance that they are taken up by another life form, for example, the uptake of normal human hormones by fish discovered downstream of sewage treatment plant outfalls, chemical defenses produced by some organisms as protection against predators. The body evacuates xenobiotics by xenobiotic metabolism. Xenobiotic organs would be created in a manner that they would not be rejected by the resistant framework. Any xenobiotics produce an assortment of natural impacts, which is utilized when they are portrayed utilizing bioassay. The term xenobiotic is likewise used to organs transplanted starting with one animal type to another.


In this paper, we propose a novel class of parametric bounds on the Q‐function, which are lower bounds for 1 ≤ a < 3 and x > xt = (a (a‐1) / (3‐a))1/2, and upper bound for a = 3. We prove that the lower and upper bounds on the Q‐function can have the same analytical form that is asymptotically equal, which is a unique feature of our class of tight bounds. For the novel class of bounds and for each particular bound from this class, we derive the beneficial closed‐form expression for the upper bound on the relative error. By comparing the bound tightness for moderate and large argument values not only numerically, but also analytically, we demonstrate that our bounds are tighter compared with the previously reported bounds of similar analytical form complexity.


In the present study, the microstructure development and properties of the starting Fe-B-C powders for plasma spraying fabricated by dispersing a consumable rotating rod were investigated as functions of alloying elements
additions. These powders were prepared in the following compositional ranges: B (10…14 wt.%), C (0.01…0.5 wt.%), Me (0…5.0 wt.%), where Me – Cr, V, Mo or Nb, balance Fe. Structural properties were characterized by etallography, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Mechanical properties of the powders were measured by a Vickers indenter. Compression strength, oxidation resistance, and melting temperature were also determined. Chromium or vanadium were found to dissolve
completely in Fe2(B, C) and Fe(B, C) constituent phases of the Fe-B-C powders replacing iron and forming substitutional solid solutions. By entering into the iron borides structure, these alloying elements improve ductility
and oxidation resistance but lower melting temperature and hardness of the powders. Molybdenum or niobium were mainly found in secondary phases such as Mo2B, Mo2(B, C) or NbB2 at the Fe2(B, C) boundaries. As a result, these alloying elements enhance hardness, oxidation resistance and melting temperature of the powders.


Human resource development leading to employment generation is both a cause and an effect of development. It is, therefore, obvious that any development strategy incorporates human resource development and employment generation. Skilled manpower is also needed to meet the demand for new technologies that might have to be adopted for faster socioeconomic development. Planning for human resource development thus assumes importance not only for meeting the growth imperatives of the economy, but also for ensuring that individuals are provided with appropriate skills to become economically productive. The present volume under review is an edited version of the synthesis report of a study on employment and human resource development strategies in Pakistan. The study was conducted under the UNDP-ILO project, Employment and Manpower Strategies and Policies. The volume which draws upon a number of technical studies prepared under the UNDP-ILO project is organized into six chapters, each being supported by statistical tables. In addition, two annexures contain tabular data on two related surveys, namely Rural Small Scale Industry Survey, and Urban Small Scale Industry Survey. The work also includes bibliographical references and an index. Pakistan emerged in 1947 as a developing nation-state from British colonial rule. Since then the country has chosen planned development strategies in the productive sectors, particularly in agriculture and industry. The period between 1950s and 1970s was conceived as general planning 'optimism' when significant investments were made in infrastructure and public sector outlays in large-scale irrigation, hydroelectric generation and


The aim of this work is to justify the use of candied fruits as fillers in the production of curd and to study their influence on the quality indicators of the finished product. The article presents studies of the organoleptic, physicochemical, structural and mechanical properties of the curd masses depending on the type of fillers. Curd recipes have been developed with candied parsnip in the amount of 10 %, candied parsnip in the amount of 15 %, candied pumpkin in the amount of 10 %, candied pumpkin in the amount of 15 %. Experimental studies have determined the optimal dose of candied fruits from parsnip and pumpkin, which is 150 kg per 1000 kg of the product. The chemical composition of pumpkin and parsnip is analyzed, the feasibility of using candied fruit from them as fillers is substantiated. In order to preserve the maximum amount of vitamins in candied fruit, a technology for their production has been developed, including cooking in sugar syrup using low temperatures (60 °C) and further drying by the convection-vacuum method at a temperature of 50 °C. It has been established, that all types of fillers that took part in the experiments do not adversely affect the physicochemical and rheological properties of the curd mass. It has been proven, that candied parsnip and pumpkin positively affect the density of the curd mass structure and provide the plastic structure of the product


Interview with Joe Marcus "J.M." Auld, Jr., a Texan rancher from Kerrville, Texas. Mr. Auld identifies his family members (including Kerr County pioneers who immigrated from Scotland), describes the difficulties of ranch life, and mentions local cultural phenomena. The interview includes stories of "Indians," eradicating the screwworm fly from Kerr County, and life during the Great Depression. He also discusses the role of game hunting to today's ranchers.


Limited information exists on comparing the effect of continuous and surge irrigation on hydraulic parameters and water quality under border-strip irrigation in the Canadian Prairies. A site on a clay loam soil in southern Alberta was used to compare these two irrigation methods (three replicates) on plots seeded to barley (Hordeum vulgare) in 1996 and 1997. Irrigation was conducted on border-strip plots in July and August of each year. Irrigation hydraulic parameters, soil water content, chloride and sediment in runoff, chloride in suction lysimeters, soil and shallow groundwater, and the water table level were measured before and after irrigation. Surge irrigation significantly (P ≤ 0.10) reduced the following hydraulic parameters compared to continuous irrigation: irrigation water applied (129-304%), total surface runoff (93-257%), maximum outflow rate (25-146%), advance time to the end of the field (214-273%), total infiltration depth of water (135-390%), and total irrigation time. However, irrigation treatment had no significant effect on surface runoff and infiltration depth of water when expressed as a percentage of the total amount of irrigation water applied. Surge had little or no effect on the concentration, flow-weighted mean concentration (FWMC) and mass loss of chloride and sediment in runoff. The exceptions were in July 1996, where mass loss of chloride was 180% lower under surge; and in August 1997, where the concentration of chloride was 44% lower under surge. Irrigation method had little or no significant effect on the soil water content, concentration of chloride in suction lysimeters and groundwater, the total mass of chloride in the soil profile, and the water table level. However, there was a trend towards lower chloride values under continuous than surge irrigation in the lysimeters and soil, suggesting a potential for greater leaching under the former method. Although surge irrigation had little or no positive effect on water quality compared to continuous irrigation, surge is still the preferred irrigation method because of its many improvements in hydraulic parameters.


AIMS
This project was designed to improve care quality and nursing staff satisfaction.

BACKGROUND
Nursing theory structures thought and action as demonstrated by evidence of improvement in complex health-care settings. Nursing administrators selected Modelling and Role-Modelling (MRM) for the theory-based practice goal in their strategic plan.

METHODS
An action research approach structured implementation of MRM in a 1-year consultation project in 2001-2002.

RESULTS
Quality of health care improved according to national quality assessment ratings, as well as patient satisfaction and nurse satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS
Modelling and Role-Modelling demonstrated capacity to structure nursing thought and action in patient care in a major medical centre. Uniformity of patient care language was valued by nurses as well as by allied health providers who wished to learn the holistic MRM style of practice. The processes of MRM and action research contributed to project success.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT
A positive health-care change project was carried out in a large medical centre with action research. Introducing MRM theory-based practice was a beneficial decision by nursing administration that improved care and nurse satisfaction. Attention to nursing practice stimulated career development among the nurses to pursue bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees.


Objective To investigate the causes of an outbreak of measles in a pediatric ward of a hospital,and provide scientific measures for the control of healthcare-associated infection.Methods Medical data of 4 cases of measles in a pediatric ward from December 6-30,2008 were analyzed retrospectively.Results Measles virus antibody IgM in 4 children were all positive,one child initially developed measles,all the other 3 children had history of contacting with the first case,the duration of measles was shorter than the average latent period of measles(about 2 weeks).Conclusion Measles virus is the cause of this outbreak,infection outbreak can be reduced by establishing the early warning mechanism,adopting strict isolation measures,strengthening hand hygiene of healthcare workers,emphasizing disinfection of surface and environment,and reducing patient care attendants and visitors.


SUMMARY
Surveys of the use of biological control programmes on cucumbers and tomatoes in England and Wales in 1975 and 1976 showed a considerable increase in the area using these programmes in 1976. It was estimated that in 1976 biological control of red spider mite (Tetranychus urticae (Koch)) was used on 89·2 ha of cucumbers and 42·1 ha of tomatoes, while Encarsia formosa Gahan was used for the control of glasshouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westw.)) on 53·8 ha of cucumbers and 85·6 ha of tomatoes. In both years satisfactory results were obtained on 72–87 per cent of the treated area.


Over the last few years, Swiss legislative policy designed to combat the use of the financial system for money laundering has been progressively tightened. At a time when Swiss preventive measures are undergoing further changes, it is important to be aware of the various stages through which the legislation has already passed. We should look at the growth of international regulations, in which the important part played by Switzerland should not be forgotten.


This paper describes a numerical procedure for estimating differential mass and energy profiles along a combustion tube. The technique solves the governing differential equations using a simple finite-difference procedure. The predicted combustion front location shows good agreement with that estimated from experimental temperature profiles.


Two naturalized plants of Lespedeza from Korea are reported. L. lichiyuniae T. Nemoto, H. Ohashi & T. Itoh is similar to L. cuneata (Dum. Cours.) G. Don. and L. juncea (L. .f.) Pers. in morphology, but the species differs from them by pink or purple flowers and the under surface of leaflets and cleistogamous pods with densely hairs. L. davidii Franchet is distinguished by distinctly large leaflets from the other Korean Lespedeza and by plants covered with densely tomentose hairs from the Korean species of subgenus Macrolespedeza. In Korea two plants are found on the parks or roads prepared recently.


In an earlier study 1 it was observed that the levels of certain blood constituents changed from day to day in the early postpartum period in accordance with a definite pattern. It was further noted that when breast milk was compared to cow's-milk formula, a significant difference was observed in plasma urea nitrogen levels, the levels on breast milk being much lower. At that time it was hypothesized that this difference was due to the nature of the protein distribution in the two milks. The ratio of noncasein protein to casein is roughly 7:3 in breast milk and 1:3 in cow's milk. 2 By noncasein protein is meant albumin, globulins, and proteoses. 3 It was the purpose of this study to evaluate the effect of the ratio of noncasein protein to casein of the feeding formula on the levels of certain blood constituents and the changing levels of these constituents


The results of introduction of the unified vertically integrated system of logistics management in Gazprom Neft OJSC to reduce the cost of procurement, increasing the funds turnover, reducing the illiquid stocks and savings on rent for storage facilities.


Achyranthes aspera and Cissus quadrangularis are important medicinal plants
 possessing wide biological activity. The natural products obtained from plants provides
 an unique opportunity for the development of new drugs but due to their complex nature
 there is a need to isolate and purify the bioactive compounds from plant extracts by
 separation techniques. Our earlier findings revealed that methanol extracts of A. aspera
 and C. quadrangularis and aqueous extract of C. quadrangularis exhibited antibacterial
 activity. This prompted to take up further research to reveal these plants' potential
 valuable phytochemicals and therefore an attempt has been made to separate the
 phytochemical constituents of methanol and aqueous extracts of A. aspera and C.
 quadrangularis by thin layer chromatography. Phytochemical screening of both plant
 extracts revealed more concentrated phytochemicals in methanol extracts than in aqueous
 extracts. The TLC profiling showed that methanol extract of A. aspera and C.
 quadrangularis are rich in flavonoids and phenolic compounds. Flavonoids were separated
 with n-butanol:ethyl acetate:water (1:2:3) solvent system at Rf value of 0.66 and was
 confirmed by post-development derivatization with 3% boric acid and 10% oxalic acid
 spray. After derivatization, the flavonoid spot could be further visualized under UV
 light at 254nm. Phenolic compounds were separated with methanol:water (2:1) solvent
 system at Rf value of 0.88 and confirmed with 10% ferric chloride spray. From the
 present study, suitable mobile phase for separation of flavonoids and phenolic compound
 fraction from methanol and aqueous extracts of both plants and TLC profiling have been
 developed


35 Purpose: Stand up paddle boarding (SUP) is a rapidly growing sport and recreational activity 36 where only anecdotal evidence exists for its proposed health, fitness and injury rehabilitation 37 benefits. 38 Methods: A total of 10 internationally and nationally ranked elite SUP athletes volunteered to 39 participate in this study. Elite SUP athletes were assessed for their maximal aerobic power on an 40 ergometer in a laboratory and compared to other water based athletes. Field based assessments 41 were subsequently performed utilising a portable gas analysis system and a correlation between 42 the two measures was performed. 43 Results: The mean VO2max (relative) was significantly higher (P =0.037) when measured in the 44 field with a portable gas analysis system (45.48±6.96ml/kg/min) when compared to laboratory 45 based metabolic cart measurements (43.20±6.67ml/kg/min). There was a strong, positive 46 correlation (r=0.907) between laboratory and field maximal aerobic power results. Significantly 47 higher (P=0.000) measures of SUP paddling speed (m/s) were found in the field when compared 48 to the laboratory ergometer (+42.39%). There were no significant differences in maximal heart 49 rate between the laboratory and field settings (P=0.576). 50 Conclusion: The results demonstrates the maximal aerobic power representative of 51 internationally and nationally ranked SUP athletes and shows that SUP athletes can be assessed 52 for maximal aerobic power in the laboratory with high correlation to field based measures. The 53 field based portable gas analysis unit has a tendency to consistently measure higher oxygen 54 consumption. Elite SUP athletes display aerobic power outputs similar to other upper limb 55 dominant elite water based athletes (surfing, dragon boat racing and canoeing). 56


This report provides a reassessment of the Kra Canal Project as prepared in December 1972. This reassessment differs in that thirty- four salvos with a total yield of about 170 MT were assumed; acceptable firing days were selected from actual meteorological data when the winds at all levels up to the expected debris cloud top blew toward the west plus or minus thirty degrees; and the lead in the devices was assumed to be from monazite sand. The doses are considerably less than those estimated in the earlier assessment.


This study examined whether changes in children's self-reported Big Five dimensions are represented by (developmental) personality types, using a cohort-sequential design with three measurement occasions across 5 years (four cohorts, 9-12 years at T1; N = 523). Correlates of, and gender differences in, type membership were examined. Latent class growth modeling yielded three personality types: Resilients (highest initial levels on all Big Five), Overcontrollers (lowest Extraversion, Emotional Stability, Imagination), and Undercontrollers (lowest Benevolence, Conscientiousness). Gender differences in type membership were small. Warm parenting, but not overreactive discipline, in childhood was associated with type membership. The types differed in adjustment problems by the end of middle adolescence. Personality change more likely occurs at the level of dimensions within types than in type membership.


The potency of picrotoxin, bicuculline, and bicuculline methochloride as antagonists of the inhibitory actions of γ-aminobutyric acid on the discharge of the stretch receptor neurones and on neuromuscular transmission in crayfish have been examined. On the stretch receptor the three antagonists were roughly equipotent; at the neuromuscular junction however the bicucullines were considerably less effective than picrotoxin.


2nd Workshop on Standards for Data Citation and Attribution in Linguistics,
University of Texas at Austin, USA.
 Organizers: University of Texas at Austin and University of Hawai'i at Mānoa


A computing method of image reconstruction of 2D lossy EM dielectric medium is developed. We adopt the nonlinear least squares method to process the inverse problem. Tikhonov regularization is used to get the iterative equations, then the iterative equations are discretized in the form suitable for numerical calculation, and eventually the two electromagnetic parameters of scatterer are obtained. Simulation results show that this method can not only achieve the spatial orientation of the scatterer, the electromagnetic parameters of the inversion of the scatterer also can meet the precision requirements.


In this study, the sensitivity of MEMS gas bearing' performance to the wear in different axial and circumferential positions is investigated in detail. Rarefaction effect is introduced into the transient and steady lubrication equation, and then the finite element method (FEM) is employed to solve the equations. The stochastic process is adopted to simulate wear distribution and view of probability is proposed to describe the change laws of the static and dynamic performance of the bearing. Then, the static and dynamic characteristics of the bearing in 50 wear conditions are calculated for each case. Furthermore, the standard deviations and correlation coefficients of the bearing performance sample points are analyzed to demonstrate the influence degree of wear in different positions.


Using the WRF/ARW model to simulate a proceeding of cold vortex over Northeast China during 8-12 July 2007.The analysis of synoptic weather indicates that the cold air mass above the north of Lake Baikal moves to the cold vortex over Northeast China and enforces it.What is more,a part of the cold air transfers to the middle and lower troposphere from the tropopause,which causes the process of dry intrusion.Besides,in the east of cold vortex,there is the convergence of water vapor transport,which indicates the water vapor is plentiful there,and the intersection of the cold dry air and the warm wet air benefits the formulation of rainfall.The results of wind structure of mesoscale convective system(MCS) prove that the southeast and northeast parts of cold vortex,where there exists the maximum of cyclonic curvature,are the areas prone to MCS,which leads to the heavy rainfall.Finally,the vertical component of convective vorticity(CVV) is used to diagnose the location of MCS rainfall,and the corresponding of CVV and rainfall shows that CVV could indicate the area of rainfall.


Understanding how environmental factors shape biological communities is a fundamental problem in microbial ecology. Patterns of microbial diversity have been characterized across a wide range of different environmental settings, but the mechanisms generating these patterns remain poorly understood. Here, we use mathematical modelling to investigate fundamental connections between chemical power supply to a system and its biological diversity and community structure. We reveal a strong mechanistic coupling between biological diversity and the diversity of chemical power supply, but also find that different properties of power supply, such as substrate fluxes and flow and Gibbs energies of reactions, affect community structure in fundamentally different ways. Moreover, we show how simple connections between power supply and growth can give rise to complex patterns of biodiversity across physicochemical gradients, such as pH gradients. Our findings demonstrate the importance of taking into account energy fluxes in order to reveal fundamental connections between community structure and environmental variability, and to obtain a better understanding of microbial population dynamics and diversity in natural environments.


Superficial second degree skin burns can heal with or without resulting scar. Scar formation occurs when inflammation remains in the dermis after re-epithelialization, contributing to changes in skin architecture. Suppression of inflammation and fibroblast activity using topical corticosteroids immediately after re-epithelialization may prevent scar formation. Additionally, tretinoin can increase trans-epidermal absorption and efficacy of topical corticosteroids. A superficial second degree burn on the upper back of a woman which was deeply erythematous, pruritic, and had become thickened and indurated after re-epithelialization was treated. Topical clobetasol propionate 0.05% ointment was applied twice daily with overnight occlusive dressing combined with topical tretinoin 0.05% cream, twice weekly. After three weeks of treatment, the area was flat with less pruritus and erythema. Drugs were tapered and discontinued after four months. Nine weeks after discontinuation of all treatments, the affected area was flat and showed no signs of scarring. Early therapy, immediately after re-epithelialization of inflamed healing superficial burns, can potentially suppress inflammation and prevent not only hypertrophic scarring but also architectural changes which lead to flat scars.


Abstract The through thickness total strains of hydrostatically bulged domes of materials are usually determined indirectly. The in-plane circumferential strains are readily measured, and then constancy of volume is invoked to determine the "missing" or unknown strain. Some of our recent work with polymers has shown that volume constancy in large-scale deformation does not hold so that the usual computations of stress and strain during bulging of sheet may be in error. We describe an electrical device that reduces such errors by directly measuring the through thickness (and, thus, the thickness "strain") for nonmetallic materials.


The utility model relates to a liquid cooled computer heat radiating device which is connected with a computer. The utility model comprises a cooling pipeline, a pump, at least one heat radiating fin and at least one heat radiating plate, wherein, cooling liquid flows in the cooling pipeline; the pump is connected in the cooling pipeline; the heat radiating fin is arranged on a computer wafer which needs radiating, and a pipeline which is connected with the cooling pipeline is arranged in the heat radiating fin; the heat radiating plate is arranged on a computer case or outside a computer case, and a pipeline which is connected with the cooling pipeline is arranged in the heat radiating plate. The circulation of the cooling liquid takes heat to the case or outside the case so as to effectively reduce the temperature of the wafer without producing noise.


Biomaterial-based nanocomposites have been increased in demand in industries for a purpose of packaging and sensing because of their low cost and environmentally friendly nature. But less work has been done on conductive, biodegradable film preparations. This article is devoted to the preparation of Polyaniline/ Carboxymethyl guar gum nanocomposites film and their applications. Controlled synthesis of polyaniline in the presence of carboxymethyl guar gum solution has been carried out for the synthesis of these nanocomposites. Then nanocomposite films have been obtained by solution casting method in one step. The object of this research work was to prepare a conductive, biodegradable, flexible film. Such made nanocomposites film has been further tested for FTIR, SEM, UTM, Conductivity, Swelling behavior and biodegradability. The results have been concluded that by this method a fine flexible, conductive, biodegradable film may be prepared that can be applied in different fields for further study.


CORREA, J. C.; BULL, L. T.; MAUAD, M.; TECCHIO, M. A.; CRUSCIOL, C. A. C. Chemical characterization of some urban and industrial residues viewing to assess their potential as substrates for coffee seedlings development. Cienfifica, Jaboticabal, v. 34, n. 2, p. 238-248, 2006. The basic assumption of this work was that some of the urban and industrial wastes should be considered as possible substrates for the development of coffee seedlings. Four of these wastes were considered in this study : (1) urban domicile garbage (Lixo), (2) biodigesters residues (LB), (3) diatomaceous soil (Td), and (4) sugar cane industrialization spinoffs (T + V). These residues were used to represent 0, 10, 20, and 30% of the total substrate volume. The treatments including the residues had neither limestone nor inorganic fertilizer. The check treatment was formed by a substrate traditionally recommended for the purpose of producing coffee seedlings. Seedling evaluation took place 20 days after seed sowing. The best results were obtained when either diatomaceous soil, or sugarcane industrialization spinoffs, or domicile garbage were used to compose the substrates. Additional keywords: biossolids; urban garbage; industrial residues.


The utility model relates to a portable automatic molecular sieve air filler, which can be used for generating deep drying gas. The water molecule adsorption component of the portable automatic molecular sieve air filler adopts the molecular sieve adsorber of heatless regenerative type; a pressure limiting regulating valve is arranged between the portable automatic molecular sieve air filler and an air compressor, and the pressure limiting regulating valve can be used for controlling the highest pressure limiting of an air passage. The utility model achieves the requirements of device miniaturization and working continuously by a simple structure.


In Myxococcus xanthus, morphogenesis of multicellular fruiting bodies and sporulation are co‐ordinated temporally and spatially. csgA mutants fail to synthesize the cell surface‐associated C‐signal and are unable to aggregate and sporulate. We report that csgA encodes two proteins, a 25 kDa species corresponding to full‐length CsgA protein and a 17 kDa species similar in size to C‐factor protein, which has been shown previously to have C‐signal activity. By systematically varying the accumulation of the csgA proteins, we show that overproduction of the csgA proteins results in premature aggregation and sporulation, uncoupling of the two events and the formation of small fruiting bodies, whereas reduced synthesis of the csgA proteins causes delayed aggregation, reduced sporulation and the formation of large fruiting bodies. These results show that C‐signal induces aggregation as well as sporulation, and that an ordered increase in the level of C‐signalling during development is essential for the spatial co‐ordination of these events. The results support a quantitative model, in which aggregation and sporulation are induced at distinct threshold levels of C‐signalling. In this model, the two events are temporally co‐ordinated by the regulated increase in C‐signalling levels during development. The contact‐dependent C‐signal transmission mechanism allows the spatial co‐ordination of aggregation and sporulation by coupling cell position and signalling levels.


Archaeology quite obviously deals with the past, as its name indicates, but it is also the case that it does so in the present. It is very much in the present, as and when it is practiced, that archaeology produces knowledge about the past; it is in the present that this past is itself appreciated and appropriated; and it is in the present that the many values and uses it presents—for the present—are recognized and pursued by its practitioners and promoters. That much we know: the challenge is to translate this broad statement of principle into some dedicated line of inquiry, one which would help us understand in much more tangible and sensitive ways just what archaeology is all about, and why is it of such interest in so many ways. One way to do so, adding some complexity but also muchneeded enlightenment, is to turn to the history of archaeology. But not, of course, just any history. Ever since the emergence of archaeology as a field of scientific research, its practitioners have been interested in their disciplinary past. All too often however this interest was motivated by a concern for the creation of lineages and the legitimation of authority. Encompassing the heroic accounts and accredited milestones of discoveries, such internalist appreciations of the discipline have often reduced themselves to a chronicle of the inexorable progress of scientific knowledge. On the contrary, to delve fruitfully into the disciplinary past, to appreciate the double lesson of familiarity and alterity that it brings, to understand that at each of its moments archaeology is practiced in the present, we need at the onset to adopt a perspective that is both highly attentive and immune to veneration, neither overly dazzled by the achievements of our


High-Oleic Ground Beef and Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in Men and Postmenopausal Women. (May 2012) Ghazal Ghahramany, B.S., Shiraz University, Iran Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Stephen B. Smith About half of all deaths in developed countries are caused by cardiovascular disease. It is well known that cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk can be influenced by diet, but optimal dietary content of fatty acids continues to be debated. The effect of fatty acid composition of ground beef on selected cardiovascular disease risk indicators was evaluated with two primary goals. The first goal was to document effects of ground beef fatty acid composition on plasma lipoprotein concentrations, whereas the second goal was to determine the effects of ground beef fatty acid composition on gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). In both studies the results were compared between men and women. Twelve men and women over age of 45 out of initially 15 completed a two-way crossover design. Subjects consumed five, 114-g ground beef patties per week for 5-wk periods separated by a 3-wk washout period. Patties contained on average 20% fat and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA): saturated fatty acid (SFA) of 0.8 and 1.1 for lowMUFA (conventional) ground beef high-MUFA (premium) ground beef patties, respectively. Blood was collected from each subject before and at the end of each diet


When isolated aleurone layers of barley are incubated they produce a number of hydrolytic enzymes which can be divided into three groups. The synthesis and the secretion of the hydrolases in the first group is greatly enhanced by gibberellic acid. Using the density labeling technique of Filner and Varner (3) it has been shown that the increase in enzymatic activity of two of the enzymes in this group (a-amylase and protease) is due to de novo synthesis (3, 6). The marked effect of gibberellic acid on the rate of enzyme synthesis makes this an ideal system to study hormonal control of protein synthesis (10). The total enzymatic activity of hydrolases in the second group (e.g., ribonuclease and B-glucanase) does not show the same response to GA. There is a considerable increase in enzymatic activity during imbibition of the seeds, but the addition of GA to the isolated aleurone layers causes only a small increase in the total amount of enzyme activity (2, 7). However, release of these enzymes in the medium is dependent on GA, and this system has been used to study hormonal control of enzyme secretion (2, 7). Whether or not the increase in enzymatic activity which occurs during imbibition of the halfseeds and incubation of the aleurone layers is due to de novo synthesis has never been determined. Finally, the enzymatic activity of at least one hydrolase, /3-amylase, increases in the presence of GA, but this is due to release of preformed enzyme and not to de novo synthesis (5). We now present evidence consistent with the idea that two enzymes in the second group are also synthesized de novo.


Between 30.000 and 4.000 years cal. BP (last Upper Pleistocene and most part of the Holocene), a wide stratigraphic series was settled in the entrace of Nerja Cave. This series is characterized by the presence of important records of human activities along all its vertical area that constitute one of the broadest archaelogical records on the Western Mediterranenan zone on this age. These evidences represent the technological remains typical of various cultural assemblages that follow one another through the sequence (Gravettian, Solutrean, Magdalenian, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Copper Age) and appear together plentiful plant remains (thirty taxons of conifers and angiosperms), almost a hundred species of invertebrates (Gastropoda, Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, Cephalopoda, Crustacea, Echinoidea) and vertebrates (more than hundred species, among fishes, reptiles, birds and mammals (including pinnipedes) related to human activities in the Cave. The presence of two echinoids species [Paracentrotus lividus (Lamark, 1816) and Echinocyamus pusillus (Muller, 1776)] along the sequence stands out among the invertebrades, which stratigraphic distribution and archaeological meaning we are going to present in this work. Its stratigraphical distribution includes from the Neolithic to the Solutrean, with a significant presence in the Epipaleolithic and Magdalenian levels.The presence of echinoids in the deposit is related to the anthropic activity, already be in a intencionated way or of indirect form, across the digestive device of the captured fishes presents in the same levels in high proportions.


The intracellular domain of the serotonin type 3A receptor, a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel, is crucial for regulating conductance. However, the specific ion conduction pathway through this domain is less clear. The intracellular domain starts with a short loop after the third transmembrane segment, followed by a short α-helical segment, a large unstructured loop, and finally the membrane-associated MA-helix that continues into the last transmembrane segment. The MA-helices from all five subunits form the extension of the transmembrane ion channel and shape what has been described as a "closed vestibule", with their lateral portals obstructed by loops and their cytosolic ends forming a tight hydrophobic constriction. The question remains whether the lateral portals or cytosolic constriction conduct ions upon channel opening. In the present study, we used disulfide bond formation between pairs of engineered cysteines to probe the proximity and mobility of segments of the MA-helices most distal to the membrane bilayer. Our results indicate that the proximity and orientation for cysteine pairs at I409C/R410C, in close proximity to the lateral windows, and L402C/L403C, at the cytosolic ends of the MA-helices, are conducive for disulfide bond formation. While conformational changes associated with gating promote crosslinking for I409C/R410C, which in turn decreases channel currents, crosslinking of L402C/L403C is functionally silent in macroscopic currents. These results support the hypothesis that concerted conformational changes open the lateral portals for ion conduction, rendering ion conduction through the vertical portal unlikely. Significance The intracellular domain (ICD) of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs) is the most diverse domain within receptors of the Cys-loop superfamily. Despite being the least understood domain of pLGICs, its impact on ion-channel function and contribution to the cytosolic exit pathway of the channel have been investigated. X-ray and cryo-EM structures have captured the structured segments of the ICD of 5-HT3A receptors in different conformational states with lower resolution of the ICD as compared to the other domains. Here, we provide experimentally derived evidence for the importance of the differential mobility of the cytosolic segment of the MA-helices, which supports the existence of lateral portals as opposed to a vertical pathway for 5-HT3A receptors.


To the Editor.— In his editorial entitled "Autologous and Aged Blood Donors," 1 Greenwalt quotes Perkins 2 as saying that the probability of a person needing a transfusion during the permissiblestorage period "has got to be very low." No data are provided. By using existing census data 3 and information about transfusion trends from the study of Friedman et al, 4 a more quantitative estimation of probability may be attempted. The logic is as follows: Approximately 4 million patients undergo transfusion in this country each year. Based on a total population of 236 million, the raw probability would be 1.66% that any individual would receive a transfusion in any year, or about one person in 60. Transfusions are not linearly distributed throughout the population. Persons younger than age 20 years represent 29.8% of the population and only 7.1% of the population receiving transfusions. Only 0.4% of this


The problem of computing solutions to modified Helmholtz equations (or, more generally, separable linear elliptic equations) with simple boundary conditions on a rectangle in any of several coordinate frames arises frequently in applications and as an intermediate step in the solution of nonlinear and evolution problems. The developing, documenting, and testing of a package for this task is described. 2 tables. (RWR)


The authors apply a "dynamical" downscaling technique to an orbital-only Holocene-long climate simulation and obtain a resolution of 0.25 degree over Europe. The downscaling is performed for temperature and precipitation. The authors were able to show that the downscaled precipitation matches precipitation and temperatures in mountain regions more realistically. In particular, the simulated trends of the downscaled data resemble reconstructions from different proxy archives.


The quantitative landslide susceptibility assessment methods can be divided into statistical approaches and geomechanical approaches based on the consideration of the triggering factors and landslide models. The geomechanical approach is considered as one of the most effective approaches since this approach proposes physical slope model and considers geomorphological and geomechanical properties of slope materials. Therefore, the geomechanical approaches has been used widely in landslide susceptibility analysis using the infinite slope model as physical slope model. However, the previous studies assumed constant groundwater level for broad study area without the consideration of rainfall intensity and hydraulic properties of soil materials. Therefore, in this study, landslide susceptibility assessment was implemented using the coupled infinite slope model with hydrologic model. For the analysis, geomechanical and hydrualic properties of slope materials and rainfall intensity were measured from the soil samples which were obtained from field investigation. For the practical application, the proposed approach was applied to Jinbu area, Gangwon-Do which was experienced large amount of landslides in July 2006. In order to compare to the proposed approach, the previous approach was used to analyze the landslide susceptibility using randomly selected groundwater level. Comparison of the results shows that the accuracy of the proposed method was improved with the consideration of the hydrologic model.


The effects of ozone on the quality of poultry chiller water and broiler carcasses were evaluated in a pilot plant size water recirculating poultry chiller. The microbial counts of ozone treated carcasses stored at 4.4°C were consistently lower than carcasses chilled under nonozonated conditions. Greater than 99% of all microorganisms washed from the carcasses were destroyed by the residual ozone in addition to significant reductions of one third in the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and a significant increase in light transmission (500 nm) of the treated process water. No significant carcass skin color losses, lipid oxidation, or off flavors resulted from ozone contact.


Cross-sectional area measurement using videodensitometry coronary arteriography is a function of the out-of-plane angle of the vessel segment with respect to the face of the image intensifier. Therefore, absolute cross-sectional area measurement using videodensitometry requires correction for the out-of-plane angle. In this study, a simple technique to measure the out-of-plane angle of a vessel segment using images from two different projections is presented. The technique was tested using vessel phantoms imaged at different out-of-plane angles. A vessel segment with an out-of-plane angle of less than 20 degrees introduces less than 5% error in the cross-sectional area measurements. However, an out-of-plane angle of 60 degrees can introduce more than 90% error. The results of the measurements show that correction for the out-of-plane angle reduces the error in cross-sectional area measurement to less that 5%. The correction for the out-of-plane angle makes it possible to measure the absolute cross-sectional area using videodensitometery, which can be used to assess a diseased vessel segment with any complex geometry.


Projects of the Federal system remain topical in the present political situation. Prospects of federalization are considered in the context of the formation of the Union State of Russia and Belarus. The article reveals the essence of federalism as an integration theory in political and legal spheres. Using comparative analysis, the author reveals the key principles of the organization of the Federal system integration. Supporters of the Federal system rely on the idea of state sovereignty limitation in favor of «higher» sovereignty of the union. The article analyzes the content and evolution of the integration policy of the Republic of Belarus after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This official administrative policy is considered in1995 Republic of Belarus National Security Concept. The author examines the shortcomings of this document, describes the problems of Russian-Belarusian relations in the present period. At the end the article analyzes the prospects for the formation of the federal structure of the Union State of Russia and Belarus.


Abstract This paper presents the first chronometric dates for sediments that contain a Mousterian industry in Dalmatia (south Croatia). Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating was conducted on two teeth from the Mousterian level E1 at the site of Mujina Pecina. Additionally five bone and one charcoal sample from five different strata of origin at this site were dated by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Assuming 30% moisture for both the gamma and beta dose rate calculations, the mean LU ESR age estimate is 44±5 ka for level E1, which is statistically indistinguishable from the mean EU ESR age estimate of 40±7 ka. A single, uncalibrated 14 C age from the E1/E2 interface yielded an age estimate of 45,170 +2780/−2060 years bp while the mean of the five samples from overlying Mousterian levels is 39±3 ka. The true (calibrated) age of this mean is about 42 ka, which means that the entire stratigraphic profile in Mujina Pecina apparently was very rapidly deposited, and that the ESR age, regardless of uptake model is in good agreement with the calibrated 14 C mean age. Temporally, Mujina Pecina overlaps with Pontinian Mousterian sites in west-central Italy and Vindija level G3 from northwestern Croatia. However, there are notable differences between the Mousterian industry from Mujina Pecina and these other sites. Collectively, the Croatian sites yield important evidence on the adaptation of European Mousterian people.


Diagnosis is the medical act that identifies the signs and the symptoms of an illness. It is an unavoidable step before the prescription of any medical treatment. Over the last decades, the increasing desire of more precise diagnosis, led to the emergence of new tools: the diagnostic products.
These products are used to identify and monitor the cause of disorders to facilitate and specify the diagnosis, and thus, allow an adaptation of the medical treatment. Diagnostic products can be imaging probes, labels for immunoassays, reagents, contrast agents, or radiopharmaceutical products. As a part of diagnostic products, companion diagnostics are specific of a treatment and are mostly used in cancer therapies. They help determining if the patient would profit from a medication, depending on his genotype and possible genetic mutations. Phenotyping cocktails are diagnostic products that are used in phenotyping to obtain additional information, considering the effect of external environmental factors which can also influence the response to a treatment.
Diagnostic products permit the personalization of medicine, by adapting the medications to the patient, optimize the treatment, and reduce potential side effects. Despite their great benefit, only a few diagnostic products are developed, limiting the possibility to improve diagnosis and therapeutics. In this manuscript, we present 2 diagnostic products formulated with nanoparticulate and microparticulate material. The first formulation consists in "polymersomes containing quantum dots (QDs) for cellular imaging". These polymeric vesicles have the capacity to encapsulate highly fluorescent probes like QDs to prevent the toxic effect of the latter without altering their imaging properties. The second diagnostic product is the "CombiCap, a novel drug formulation for the Basel phenotyping cocktail". This unique formulation is equivalent to the 6 dosage forms composing the Basel cocktail and presents many advantages that facilitate its diagnostic use.
Both formulated products are intended for diagnostic purposes. They are safe, reliable, specific, customizable, easy to formulate and easy to use. They bring precise information on the health status of the patient in order to give a better diagnosis, to adapt the medical treatment and to monitor the therapeutic response. The interest for individualized therapies is growing, and therefore, the development of new diagnostic products needs to increase. In the future, the personalization of diagnosis and therapeutics will be a common medical practice.


NASA has cost and safety goals of $220/kg to low-earth-orbit and one chance of crew loss in one million manned launch attempts. Published studies favor complex, infant, reusable, air-breathing technologies, assuming that reduced vehicle size results in reduced cost. Rough order of magnitude analysis and historical review do not support this assumption. Low purchase, launch and processing costs and high flight rate are either independent of propulsion mode or better satisfied by rocket propulsion.


Often, the problems encountered by applications and developments of software agents require further investigation and improvements of agents' social capacities, that is, of the properties enabling them to act adaptively in multiagent domains. This is so for at least three reasons. First, quite often software agents are designed for reasoning upon and interacting with other agents (both human and artificial), as is the case in client-server and personal assistants. Secondly, to accomplish their primary task, these systems ought to reason upon, predict and eventually coordinate with, or at least prevent obstacles from, other systems accomplishing the same or different tasks in a concurrent way (think of electronic commerce, meeting agents, etc.). Thirdly, many applications are actually distributed over a set of agents with their specific roles and tasks, which are expected to participate in a joint activity, aimed at achieving a given global outcome.


Recently, we initiated a project to examine the biology and physiology of leafy spurge, with a major focus on competitive species and allelochemicals. The chemicals when isolated from from the organism, will need to be assayed for allelopathic properties. Several assays are currently being examined. Some of the assays involve species other than leafy spurge, e.g., water cress. However, there are definite advantages for developing an assay that directly incorporates the species being studied. A biological assay which appears to be versatile in measuring the effects of various agents, including those of a chemical nature, is the cotyledon chlorophyll stress bioassay (Koukkari et al. 1984). This bioassay, which can be traced to earlier herbicide studies (Koukkari and Johnson 1979) has been used with several species to study the effects of chemical, mechanical, biological and thermal agents, as well as temporal changes in plant sensitivity during the course of a single day (Koukkari et al. 1984). Adapting this bioassay, perhaps with some modifications, to examine the effects of chemical stress to leafy spurge may provide a more direct method for the testing of allelochemicals.


THE ophthalmological symptoms of von Recklinghausen's syndrome are numerous. Multiple tumours of the superficial nerves may cause a plexiform neurofibromatosis, preferably situated in the superior eyelid and the region around the orbit. The intra-orbital and the ciliary nerves can also be affected. Defects in the bony orbital wall may cause a pulsating exophthalmos, and phakomata in the iris and congenital uveal ectropion may be present. Van der Hoeve (1932) was the first to describe tumours in the retina. An excellent study by Davis (1940) made it clear, however, that primary tumours of the optic nerve are probably the most important sign of von Recklinghausen's disease for the ophthalmologist. This view is also emphasized by the study of Biirki (1944) and the report of Offret (1951). As the close relation between primary tumours of the optic nerve and von Recklinghausen's disease has not yet become generally known, it seems worth while to report the findings in two children of one family, both ofwhom showed the peripheral signs of von Recklinghausen's disease, and had a tumour in the optic nerve and the chiasm.


ABSTRACT The endangered Western Australian endemic Carnaby's Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus latirostris was studied by Denis Saunders from 1968 to 1996, and by Rick Dawson and Denis Saunders from 2009 to...


The laser can achieve high peak power pulse output by electro-optic Q-switch technology. Aiming at the problem of how to achieve Q-switch output with ns level front and kV level amplitude on 100kΩ large load, a method of pulse output by using avalanche conduction state of triode is proposed. By using the 11 stages pulse forming circuit, the DC power supply voltage can be greatly reduced, and the selected devices can work normally under the condition of meeting the first stage derating standard, in order to improve the stability. The key factors affecting the parameters of the output pulse, such as amplitude, pulse width, frequency, leading edge and trailing edge, are analyzed and verified by experiments. Using +150V DC power supply, the experimental results show that the pulse driving source circuit designed in this paper can output a half height width of 12.6ns and an amplitude of 1500V Q-switch regulating signal on a 100kΩ load.


Abstract Objective: Long-term prophylactic treatment with levetiracetam (LEV) has multiple neuroprotective effects in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) rat model. Although a rational time-frame of seizure prophylactic treatment with LEV for after TBI is not well established, clinical prophylaxis with LEV often includes treatment duration similar to clinical treatment guidelines with Phenytoin. Thus, this study investigated the effects of abbreviated LEV treatment on behavioural function and histological evidence of neuroprotection. Research design: Pre-clinical trial of abbreviated LEV dosing in an experimental model of TBI Methods: After either controlled cortical impact (CCI) injury or sham surgery, rats received three 50 mg kg−1 doses over 24 hours or vehicle. After injury/sham surgery, beam performance, spatial learning, contusion volume size and hippocampal neuron survival were assessed. Results: Abbreviated LEV did not improve motor or cognitive performance after TBI. Further, abbreviated LEV did not improve hippocampal neuron sparing or contusion volumes compared with vehicle controls. Conclusions: Together with previous work assessing daily LEV treatment, these results suggest that longer-term therapy may be required to confer beneficial effects within these domains. These findings may guide (1) future experimental studies assessing minimal effective dosing for neuroprotection and anti-epileptogenesis and (2) treatment guideline updates for seizure prophylaxis post-TBI.


SUBTITLE: SWISSAIR IS EARNING PROFITS AND HAS CUT COSTS: BUT IN VETOING ALCAZAR, IT MAY HAVE MISSED A LINK TO EU'S NEW FREEDOMS.


We prove that a formal Laurent series satisfying a rational linear q-di¤erence equation of first order does not satisfy any nontrivial algebraic di¤erential equation over the rational function field unless it represents a rational function. This also provides an algebraic proof of Ishizaki's theorem on di¤erential transcendency for a meromorphic function satisfying a linear q-di¤erence equation.


According to the Chinese national standard about protecting car driver from being injured by motor vehicle steering mechanism, when a human model crashes to a steering wheel at the speed of 24.1~25.3 km/h, the force acted on the steering wheel should be less than 11123 N. In this paper, a steering system and human model are established by finite element method. The whole course of crash was simulated. Test results show that the analysis and simulation techniques are successful and the method of numerical simulation is effective in improving automotive passive safety scheme.


The Western educated Bengali intelligentsia was the first group of Indians to collaborate closely with the colonial regime in the governance of the country. As middle-ranking to minor functionaries they were to be found in all parts of the British territories from Burma to the North-western Frontier and as far south as the southernmost tip of the Madras Presidency. No other linguistic cultural group in the subcontinent was ever so extensively involved in the functioning of the Raj – Bengali professionals, doctors, teachers, journalists, lawyers and the like, also followed the flag to all parts of the Indian empire and later beyond its limits and were thus among the direct beneficiaries of Pax Britannica. The economic basis of their livelihood was a direct or indirect product of the colonial state. This was even more true of the new class of landed proprietors with their rights guaranteed by the Permanent Settlement. And then there were those who had collaborated with the Company and its servants in their commercial ventures and, in the process, founded some of the great fortunes of nineteenth-century Calcutta. As is well-known, these varied social groups were not mutually exclusive. Besides, their direct or indirect dependence on the colonial order created a basis for cohesion and a shared social ideology. For a long time that ideology was marked by an almost unqualified gratitude and admiration for the British empire and its creators


In the development of health need the data and information system that is integrated with both the development process so that health facilities can be optimized and the right target. One information system that can be used in the development of health facilities in the city of Cirebon is a geographic information system (GIS). And one of the software to build applications GIS is an Arcview and AlovMap. ArcView software is one of the software (tools) GIS and mapping was developed by ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc). ArcView has the ability to do data visualization, data exploration, the query (both spatial and non-database spatial), analyze the data geographically, and so forth. And AlovMap (including open source software) is a portable application WebGIS Java-based publication that is used to Raster and vector data on the Internet. Excess geographic information system facilities in the city of Cirebon AlovMap use is open source and are cheaper and have the ability to support the visualization of information in decision making. This system can produce a map of the output of these pharmacies, laboratories and hospitals. Utilization of GIS for health facilities that was built is extraordinary in integrating between science, technology and health. Keywords— Arcview, Alowmap, Geographic information system, Health of facilities, Overlay, Shortest path.


Abstract : Pyrotechnic compositions containing potassium perchlorate are used in incendiary ammunition to mark an impact point or to act as ignition sources. Perchlorates inhibit iodide uptake by the thyroid gland and their level in drinking water is controlled. Research has been undertaken to find alternative perchlorate-free pyrotechnic incendiary compositions. The proposed ingredients were screened for their human toxicology, ecological toxicology and environmental mobility (aquatic and terrestrial) prior to the formulation studies. The thermal and pyrotechnic properties of control and novel replacement pyrotechnic compositions were examined. The combustion products predicted through a modeling study were also screened for their toxicity and environmental effects. The performance of selected compositions was assessed through gun firing trials. This combined with the environmental screening studies and an investigation into the aging characteristics of the formulations allowed down selection to a composition containing magnesium/aluminum alloy, sodium nitrate and calcium resinate. This material was found to have acceptable hazard characteristics.


The article brings considerations about excitement about the special retirement of public agents. This is because, as far as social security is concerned, the Federal Constitution guaranteed to the public agente the right to the referred benefit, leaving, however, to the charge of the Complementary Law the regulation of this matter, and until the present moment there was not the creation of such law , thus generating several doubts regarding the applicability of the programmatic norm provided for in our Political Charter. Because of this, over time, there were many legal changes, normative acts issued by the Ministry of Social Security and Labor, around the subject. Many injunctions were filed with the Superior Court of Justice, and only then, with the issue of Supreme Court Precedent 33, which states that "The rules of the general social security system apply to the public agent, as appropriate. on special retirement referred to in article 40, paragraph 4, item III of the Federal Constitution, until the issue of a specific supplementary law "was given to civil servants the minimum legal certainty with respect to judicial decisions on special retirement.


A federal court in New Jersey has entered a consent judgment regarding the patent infringement litigation between Hanmi Pharmaceuticals (Seoul, Korea) and AstraZeneca (London).


5, 2014) Abstract. Polymer multilayered hydrogels were prepared on a titanium alloy ( Ti ) substrate using a layer-by-layer (LBL) process to load a cell growth factor. Two water-soluble polymers were used to fabricate the multilayered hydrogels, a phospholipid polymer with both N , N -dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) units and 4-vinylphenylboronic acid (VPBA) units [poly(MPC-co-DMAEMA-co-VPBA) (PMDV)], and the polysaccharide alginate (ALG). PMDV interacted with ALG through a selective reaction between the VPBA units in PMDV and the hydroxyl groups in ALG and through electrostatic interactions between the DMAEMA units in PMDA and the anionic carboxyl groups in ALG. First, the Ti substrate was covered with photoreactive poly vinyl alcohol, and then the Ti alloy was alternately immersed in the respective polymer solutions to form the PMDV/ALG multilayered hydrogels. In this multilayered hydrogel, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was introduced in different layers during the LbL process under mild conditions. Release of VEGF from the multilayered hydrogels was dependent on the location; however, release continued for 2 weeks. Endothelial cells adhered to the hydrogel and proliferated, and these corresponded to the VEGF release profile from the hydrogel. We concluded that multilayered hydrogels composed of PMDV and ALG could be loaded with cell growth factors that have high activity and can control cell functions. Therefore, this system provides a cell function controllable substrate based on the controlled release of biologically successful


A set of predictions from the conflict theory of decision making with regard to the effects of a threat to behavioral freedom were tested. The first selective service draft lottery, drawn December 1969, in which young men with low numbers were threatened with the draft provided a vehicle for the study. Attitudes of 84 Harvard seniors toward major draft-exampt and draft-vulnerable post graduation career alternatives were measured five days before the lottery and either one day or 10 days after. Conflict theory predicted that after the lottery men with low draft numbers would (a) show a decrease in attraction toward draft vulnerable alternatives (job, graduate school, travel) because they now produced threat of the draft and (b) show an increase in attraction toward draft-exempt alternatives because they now represented a means of avoiding the draft. The results provided support for the conflict theory predictions, men with low numbers showing a decrease in attraction toward the risky, non-draft exempt alternatives and an increase in attraction toward safe, draft-exempt alternatives. Support was also obtained for other conflict theory predictions regarding attitude changes toward non-exempt activities among men with high lottery numbers. The findings indicate that following on an event that alters the value of a set of career alternatives, changes in attraction occur that are functional for a decision maker who is confronted with a choice between a desirable but risky set of alternatives, and a less desirable but safe set of alternatives. Alternate predictions and explanations for the data that could be made by dissonance theory and reactance theory were examined and possible points of reconcilliation suggested.


Improvements in employee performance are a organizational goal in most companies, especially in the department of human resources. This research aimed to investigate the influence of Employee Motivation on Employee Performance using Employee Engagement and Job Satisfaction as the mediating variables. Using Google Forms, a survey questionnaire was distributed to 117 employees from CV KAM Indonesia, a wholesale grocery company. The obtained data were processed using the SmartPLS software. The data analysis method used was structural equation modeling-partial least square (SEM-PLS) to examine the relations between the variables. The results of this study showed that employee motivation has a direct positive influence on employee engagement and job satisfaction, but not employee performance. Employee engagement and job satisfaction have a direct positive influence on employee performance. Additionally, employee engagement and job satisfaction are proven to fully mediate employee motivation's effect on employee performance. This study has attempted to provide statistical results and a managerial discussion to support the improvement program in CV KAM Indonesia.


Objective: In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the sleep quality and depression status of dementia patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: Patients aged 65 and over with dementia who applied to our polyclinics or those who can be reached from their relatives and those who agreed to participate in our research; a questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic information, "Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia" and "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index" was applied. Results: All of 64 (43.5%) of the participants were male and 83 (56.5%) were female. It was found that 68.7% of the participants had poor sleep quality and 31.3% had good sleep quality. 76.2% of the participants suggested depression, 2.8% did not. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score and Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia score did not differ according to educational status, occupation and gender. Conclusion: In periods such as the pandemic period, which may cause behavioral changes and lifestyle changes, efforts should be made to minimize the changes in the depression status and sleep quality of groups with specific diseases such as dementia, and if necessary, the control examination time intervals should be shortened.


A novel method was found and developed to prepare hybrid polymedinorganic layered host nanocomposites. The effect of incorporation of polymer on the cation mobility and the performance of some of these novel materials as cathodes in secondary lithium batteries were examined using electrochemical and solid state NMR rnethods. A mode coupling theory wiih extension was introduced to explain the spin-lattice relaxation rnechanisms of polymer/inoqanic nanocomposites, which, the author klieves, can bc extended to any system containing a submotional phase which rnay be the source of different relaxation mechanisms. A (PPY)o.5Mo03 nanocomposite was prepared by a new method, narnely, an oxidative polyrnerization/ion exchange method. The large d-spacing increase (7.0A) evidenced by XRD was explained by a hydrogen bonding model. FTIR and conductivity data suggested a conductive fom~ of PPY in (PPY)o5MoOl. The increased conductivity of this nanocomposite. heated at 200°C. w u explained as the further polymerization of oligomer within the MoOl gallery. By controlling the degree of swelling of MoOt" sheets with various ratios of Li/Na in the molybdenum bronze and by using rnixed solvents, both the rnonolayer (PEO)O.~N~MOO~ and bilayer (PEO)o.9(Li,Na)Mo03 nanocomposites were isolated. A model based on XRD, L 3 ~ / ' 3 ~ a solid state NMR and FTIR data was proposed for the structure of the monolayer and bilayer nanocomposites. ' ~ i / ' ~ ~ a solid state NMR spinlattice relaxation and linewidth studies on bilayer (PE0)0.9(Li,Na)Mo03 nanocom posi tes show different relaxauon mechanisrns in different temperature regions; these were explained by a mode coupling theory with extension. A comparative study of the electrochemical insertion of lithium into the two polymer nanocomposites and NaMo03 by usina the materials as cathodes in rechargeable lithium batteries indicates that the kinetics of the electrochemical Li insertïonfdeinsertion process is improved by incorporation of the polyrner. (PANI)o.4c(-Sn(HOPOI)2 and ( P P V ) , , S n ( 0 P were prepared either by an acid-base reac tion or an ion exchange reaction. (PPV)l.oaiu-Sn(HOPO,)z represen ts the Fust example of direct insertion of a polymer into a metal phosphate by ionexchange. While the (PANl)il.4a-Sn(HOP03)1 exhibit low but measurable conductivity, (PPV), .O~S ~ I ( H O P O ~ ) ~ behaves as an insulator. to Yan Li, Jack and Lisha for their support and understanding


The glutamatergic modulator riluzole improved hyperarousal symptoms associated with post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a group of military combat veterans, a placebo‐controlled trial has found. Although there were no significant overall differences between riluzole and placebo as augmentation of an antidepressant, the results suggest that riluzole augmentation could target specific PTSD symptoms in certain subgroups of patients with the disorder.


Aims. Our aim is to derive a fast and accurate method for computing the gravitational potential of astrophysical objects with high contrasts in density, for which nested or adaptive meshes are required. Methods. We present an extension of the convolution method for computing the gravitational potential to the nested Cartesian grids. The method makes use of the convolution theorem to compute the gravitational potential using its integral form. Results. A comparison of our method with the iterative outside-in conjugate gradient and generalized minimal residual methods for solving the Poisson equation using nonspherically symmetric density configurations has shown a comparable performance in terms of the errors relative to the analytic solutions. However, the convolution method is characterized by several advantages and outperforms the considered iterative methods by factors 10--200 in terms of the runtime, especially when graphics processor units are utilized. The convolution method also shows an overall second-order convergence, except for the errors at the grid interfaces where the convergence is linear. Conclusions. High computational speed and ease in implementation can make the convolution method a preferred choice when using a large number of nested grids. The convolution method, however, becomes more computationally costly if the dipole moments of tightly spaced gravitating objects are to be considered at coarser grids.


Coastlines in most ocean general circulation models are piecewise constant. Accurate representation of boundary currents along staircase‐like coastlines is a long‐standing issue in ocean modeling. Pioneering work by Adcroft and Marshall (1998, https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v50i1.14514) revealed that artificial indentation of model coastlines, obtained by rotating the numerical mesh within an idealized square basin, generates a spurious form drag that slows down the circulation. Here, we revisit this problem and show how this spurious drag may be eliminated. First, we find that physical convergence to spatial resolution (i.e., the main characteristics of the flow are insensitive to the increase of the mesh resolution) allows simulations to become independent of the mesh orientation. An advection scheme with a wider stencil also reduces sensitivity to mesh orientation from coarser resolution. Second, we show that indented coastlines behave as straight and slippery shores when a true mirror boundary condition on the flow is imposed. This finding applies to both symmetric and rotational‐divergence formulations of the stress tensor, and to both flux and vector‐invariant forms of the equations. Finally, we demonstrate that the detachment of a vortex flowing past an outgoing corner of the coastline is missed with a free‐slip (zero vorticity) condition at the corner. These results provide guidance for a better numerical treatment of coastlines (and isobaths) in ocean general circulation models.


This study examines when and why firms claw back compensation from executives after a restatement. We find that despite the occurrence of thousands of restatements over 2004-2019, firms almost never use this important governance mechanism and claw back executive compensation. However, when it does happen it is more likely for restatements with alleged misconduct, more severe restatements, firms with multiple recent restatements, and firms that have a clawback policy. Moreover, firms seem to have responded to SEC enforcement of clawback laws by enforcing more clawbacks. We also investigate a potential substitute governance mechanism to clawbacks: the dismissal of responsible executives. We find some evidence that CEO or CFO dismissal is associated with a reduced likelihood of clawbacks. However, despite these findings, much of the puzzle of potentially under-utilized clawbacks remains. We are grateful for helpful comments and suggestions from Nicole Johnson, and workshop participants at the University of Oregon. We also acknowledge financial support from the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon.  Corresponding author 1 1 – Introduction This study examines whether firms claw back compensation and under what circumstances this choice is and isn't made. Clawbacks are governance mechanisms which enable firms to reclaim ill-gotten compensation from executives when certain events, such as restatements, occur. In a time when executives are criticized for their allegedly excessive, legitimate compensation (Alsin, 2017; Francis and Fuhrmans, 2019), such mechanisms can be a valuable tool for firms. Unlike other governance mechanisms, which can only lessen the threat of future costs, clawbacks enable firms to recuperate lost resources spent on illegitimate compensation. Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) was the first law to mandate clawbacks. Prior to this, very few firms had clawback policies that governed compensation. While SOX mandates clawbacks for the CEO and CFO of all firms under certain conditions, since the passing of the law, an increasing number of firms have chosen to voluntarily adopt their own clawback policies. These voluntary policies could cover a broader range of events than those covered by Section 304. Among S&P 1500 firms, the percentage with policies grew from one percent in 2000 to over sixty percent in 2013 (Babenko, Bennett, Bizjak, and Coles, 2017). While the academic literature has investigated the adoption of these policies, there is no emperical evidence on instances when compensation is actually clawed back by firms with or without such policies. Despite clawback policies gaining prominence among so many firms, we find that very few clawbacks are ever imposed upon executives. Over the period of 2004-2019, out of 6,736 restatements, 500 of which are alleged to be the result of misconduct, only 15 could be matched to a firm-initiated clawback of compensation. This phenomenon is visually captured in Figure 1. The dearth of clawbacks is surprising given the prevalence of clawback policies. Commentary found in the business press suggests that potential deterrents to their use relate to the costs of the clawback litigation process exceeding the potential benefit or the difficulty of the clawback calculation 2 (Lublin, 2010; Weiss, 2008). The former explanation may especially be the case if the firm receives a signal the executive will fight the clawback. Moreover, firms may be hesitant to clawback compensation for fear that it might be viewed negatively by the executive labor market and make it harder to attract high quality executives in the future. Alternatively, some academics postulate that the adoption of clawback policies may simply be window-dressing behavior and that firms have no intention of ever enforcing them (Denis, 2012; Pyzoha, 2015). Still, this phenomenon is puzzling because even if the benefits of a clawback are immaterial to the firm, the penalty imposed on the executives may be material. And even if the monetary penalty is immaterial to executives, the clawback represents a negative public signal the executives would probably prefer to avoid. In either case, clawbacks could serve in establishing strong governance within the firm, which was likely the intended purpose of SOX Section 304. Therefore, it appears clawbacks may be a potentially underutilized governance mechanism. [INSERT FIGURE 1 HERE] We begin our investigation by examining the determinants of firm-initiated clawbacks. Given that securities laws (i.e., SOX) mandate clawbacks for restatements resulting from misconduct, we focus on characteristics of restatements that speak directly to their likelihood of being caused by misconduct (e.g., if the restatement is associated with fraud or an SEC investigation). We also collect data on characteristics of the severity of restatements that indirectly indicate the likelihood of the presence of misconduct (e.g., the length of the restatement or overstatements). However, as mentioned above, not all firms' policies require misconduct for a clawback to occur. Some firms define a broader set of restatements that trigger clawbacks. Therefore, by including all restatements in our analyses we can speak to clawbacks that should have occurred under both the law and the firms' own policies. Using a sample of restatements from


Travel is important for every human being and it impacts in all aspects of life ranging from personal to societal development. COVID'19 pandemic has changed the way we think to travel. Exploring the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the place the user needs to travel thereby facilitating user perception on travel is becoming a mandate nowadays. Travel perception is also important for variety of day-to-day activities like transportation of goods and services, health related travel etc., This work aims to create comprehensive and efficient prediction models, facilitated by a convenient user interface to predict how risky or convenient it is for a user to travel in a time where COVID-19 is prevalent. The predictions made are based on the location they wish to travel using various Machine Learning models. The results are combined with the individual's health history to arrive at an optimized decision. The model is trained using a comorbidities dataset as well as a location- wise weather dataset, which allows us to make the prediction of whether travelling is dangerous for the user or not. The user interface is designed to show predictions for various districts. The trained model is tested using the data provided in social media and government websites provided for prediction


We introduce the racial diversity congruence concept to examine how matching levels of racial diversity between store-unit employees and community members relate to store-unit sales performance. In a field study of 220 retail store units, we found evidence supporting social identity theory and information-based perspectives on the racial diversity congruence–sales performance relationship. Specifically, results show that a match between store-unit racial diversity and community racial diversity positively related to store-unit sales performance. In addition, superior store-unit performance emerged when store units and communities had congruent levels of diversity at high (i.e., high-high racial diversity congruence) rather than low (i.e., low-low racial diversity congruence) levels. Moreover, we found asymmetrical incongruence effects whereby racially diverse store units in less-diverse communities outperformed store units with lower levels of racial diversity operating in diverse communities. The implications of our results are discussed in light of study limitations and future research needs.