In the first issue to appear after the year commemorating the 'First Voyage', it seems appropriate to publish a general assessment of how the Columbean exploits have affected both the 'discovered' and the discoverers. The second item featuring in this issue deals with the various forms of bonded labour. There are two articles on slavery that both confirm that the 'peculiar institution' had lost most of its peculiar characteristics by the time it was abolished. Recent scholarship has stressed that slavery could be a relatively cheap kind of labour, that it could be used efficiently in connection with new technologies and that the tensions between slaves and masters were not very different from those between employers and proletariat elsewhere. The literature on slavery is very extensive and constitutes a sharp contrast with the dearth of detailed studies on colonial indentured labour of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In some cases the emancipation of the slaves was directly followed by the importation of indentured labourers from Asia. Until now, this connection with slavery has strongly influenced the research on indentured labour, but this comparison seems to be too one-sided. In two articles, forced labour is compared with other forms of unfree labour. Positive changes in the demographic development of Javanese indentured labourers both within and outside of the Dutch East Indies are used as evidence to challenge the traditional view of the abysmally bad labour conditions of indentured labourers in Asia. In fact, the four articles on bonded labour in this issue all seem to support the conclusion that slavery and indentured labour were not intended as instruments for degrading labourers and to rob them completely of the fruit of their labour. Rather, it seems that the institutions of slavery and of indentured labour have been used in order to make labour available in those areas where the mechanism market of supply and demand could not provide labour at all or only at a wage level which would make the final product unattractively expensive.


In this paper, a mobile heat treatment furnace was simulated by using CFD to investigate thermal performance of the furnace and the heating process of the metal pieces. The furnace is used to heat treat dredging pumps and impellers to obtain the required microstructure and mechanical properties through stress relief, annealing, hardening and tempering. Since the temperature evolution inside the metal piece cannot be tracked in practice, CFD simulation provides a useful tool to predict the temperature evolution within the metal pieces during the heat treatment. The current CFD model consists of turbulent combustion, thermal radiation, and conjugate heat transfer. Temperature measurement was carried out to provide thermal boundary conditions and calibrate model parameters. An overall energy balance indicted a relatively low energy efficiency of the furnace. To improve energy efficiency design changes were made with the model. Reducing the amount of excess air will also save a lot of energy and thus cost in production. Heating of the furnace by means of radiation plates proved to be a good alternative.


In the Kanto region in Japan, the possibilities of running a bio-ethanol plant from rice straw has been assessed and sorghum production has been considered as a necessary part of the system. Two field experiments were conducted in 2012 and 2013 at the NARO—Agricultural Research Center in Tsukuba, Ibaraki to estimate yielding ability of sorghum in the Kanto region. Two cultivars of sweet sorghum and one of grain sorghum were sown using a pneumatic seeder. Above-ground dry matter (DM) yield ranged from 1.03 to 1.82 kg m−2 for the sorgo type cultivars and from 0.70 to 1.18 kg m−2 for the grain type cultivar. The observed yields were lower than the simulated potential yields, i.e., 1.61 to 2.66 kg m−2, indicating that biomass production was restricted in this study. Stem brix values for the sweet sorghum cultivars were generally low (3.3–16.2%) compared with the values reported in the literature. It appears that there is still room to improve the field management of sorghum to minimize the gap between the potential and actual production observed in these experiments.


During the medieval age, individual choice and marital affection did not seem to have served as the important factors to determine the marriage. Social status and economic factors crucially worked to constrain individual choice. Along with such factors as age and appearance, the issue of social class was described as one of the potentially disabling factors in marriage. In Andreas's De Amore, the focus is given to social class, and the dialogues powerfully assert the importance of social class in relation to love and the problems involved in trying to transcend its division. The issue of love and social class are handled somewhat directly in his work such as The Parliament of Fowls, as well as ironically in The Wife of Bath's Tale. Social class as the most important factor for considering marriage was more emphasized than ever before in the late Middle age, which reflects the social and economic transition from a patriarchal feudalism to a proto-capitalism. As the period wore on, marriage became more 'class-determined' and served as a means for 'class solidarity,' and as a stepping stone for the cohesion of community as well as the harmony of family.


Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore environmental constraints that hindered the physical activity of female students in daily life, and then to provide alternatives to improve the problems based on the social ecological model. Methods Research participants were twelve female students to be selected in two schools(Norang, Parang middle school), the process of data collection(orientation, photovoice implementation, focus group interview) and analysis(choosing a photo, contextualizing, subjecting) were conducted according to the Photo-voice. Results The constraints of physical activity in daily life were categorized on 'playground as like a desert'(leisure domain), 'space of recess and in-active play'(family domain), 'transportation replaced by mom and dad car'(transportation domain), 'space of the only exercise as well as reproduction of gender discrimination'(school domain). Conclusions The environmental constraints were analyzed as academic, physical, daily living, socio-cultural environment. Lastly, alternatives for promoting physical activity of female student were proposed in the level of organization, community, public policy based on the social ecological model.


Teflon-AF, based on the perfluoro-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxole monomer (1), is a new class of high-T g amorphous fluoroplastics with enhanced properties over traditional fluoropolymers. New monomer and polymer chemistrythat relates to fluorodioxole molecules was explored. Synthetic methods for introducing different substituents at 2-, 4-, and 5-positions of the dioxole ring were developed. The structure-property relationships of these polymerswere studied, and we have found that the polymer T g 's are highly sensitive toward the structure of these monomers. The results indicated that the steric bulkiness of the substituents on the dioxole ring is critical for polymer properties, not only in the determination of T g but also on the rate of polymerization


Similarly to the previously studied case of inclusive $t\bar t$ production we consider the inclusive $t\bar b$ production in $e^+e^-$, gluon~gluon and photon~photon collisions. We show how it is sensitive to new physics, connected to the charged Goldstone sector and possibly generated by Higgs and/or top quark compositeness.


Metabolic syndrome (Mets) comprises a cluster of metabolic abnormalities closely related to insulin resistance (IR), the major underlying mechanism responsible for the MetS, and Helicobacter pylori (Hp) has been proposed to be a contributing factor. There is growing evidence for a potential association between Hp infection and IR syndrome or MetS and its related morbidity, including obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), dyslipidemia, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and cardiovascular disease (CVD), the end-point of MetS [1–4]. Both Hp infection [5,6] and MetS [7] are highly prevalent worldwide, and their prevalence is increasing with age, although local variations exist [5,7]; the prevalence of MetS follows the ongoing epidemics of obesity and T2DM [7]. MetS decreases lifespan, mainly due to T2DM, CVD, and related malignancies [7]. Although controversy still exists, Hp infection has been linked to diverse extragastric morbidity, including T2DM, CVD, and malignancies [8]. In our effort to systematically summarize the epidemiologic evidence concerning the association between Hp infection and IR quantitative only indices, a trend toward a positive association between Hp infection and homeostasis model of assessment IR (HOMA-IR) was observed, despite a significant heterogeneity between studies regarding the diagnostic methods of Hp infection and the study populations [1]. The association of Hp infection and MetS seems to be appealing, given that the prevalence of Hp is still high in most countries, its prevalence is frequently higher than 50% in south and east Europe, South America, and Asia [6], the prevalence of MetS is increasing [7], and, if an association is proved, Hp eradication might have therapeutic beneficial effects on MetS-related morbidity.


Bacteriophage P7 combines reversibly with the debris of bacteria, lysed by itself. Though this combined phage is dissociated by heating or by diluting with distilled water, 0.1 Mol NaCl, or 0.01 Mol MgSO4, it is not dissociated by diluting with 0.01 Mot MgCl2 nor 0.01 Mol CaCl2. Moreover, heating leads to dissociation in case of 0.01 Mol MgCl2 as in broth, but in case of 0.01 Mol CaCl2, heating is of no effect.These characters of dissociation are quite similar to the characters of dissociation in the attachment between heat-killed bacteria and the bacteriophage P7, therefore it seems to be a specific attachment between the phage and phage-receptor which is left on the bacterial debris.


Value co-creation is one of the cornerstones of the S-D logic (Vargo and Lusch 2004, 2006, 2010). On discussing value co-creation it is necessary to acknowledge that there are different levels at which value co-creation can occur and that actors have different understandings of the nature of interaction required in the value cocreation process (Vargo and Lusch 2010). This paper will focus on the second aspect: the nature of interaction required in the value cocreation process. Within the marketing and strategy literature considerable attention has been given to value co-creation dating back the pioneering work by Prahalad and Ranmaswamy (2000). The paper starts by addressing the shift within the literature from value creation to value cocreation and the complexity associated to the co-creation process. Next, the paper's interpretative lens, the Viable System Approach, is introduced. Third, the organizational theory (Configuration theory, Structuration theory, Effectuation theory and Governance theory) that look at issues of collaboration are briefly discussed and linked to the topic of value co-creation. Then the four The 2011 Naples Forum on Service - Service Dominant Logic, Network & System Theory and Service Science: Integrating Three Perspectives for a New Service Agenda organizational theories are integrated with the aid of the Viable System Approach. The paper closes with a set of conclusions and suggestions for future research.


Heterotrimeric G proteins are major signaling hubs and essential components of the signal gating machinery in eukaryotic cells. In their best‐studied capacity, G proteins transmit signals from integral membrane G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) to intracellular effectors. Recently, a rapidly emerging paradigm revealed the existence of a novel class of G protein modulators: cytosolic GEMs (Guanine nucleotide Exchange Modulators). GEMs can fuel pathological networks by aberrantly coupling G protein signaling to a broad variety of cell surface receptors (growth factor RTKs, integrins, Wnt/Frizzled receptors, cytokine receptors, and others) and by amplifying this signaling in an unrestricted manner. They act pleiotropically via a conserved motif that activates cAMP‐inhibitory (Gαi) but inhibits cAMP‐stimulatory (Gαs) G proteins, thus helping to integrate downstream responses.


The paint spray pistol (1) has a base (2) with a replaceable paint conductor for carrying paint from a paint inlet of the spray paint pistol to a paint outlet of the pistol. The base has a main contact region for the paint conductor that is formed by an outer base surface. Independent claims are also included for the following: (A) a replaceable ink conductor (B) and an arrangement of a paint spray pistol, a replaceable paint conductor and a paint spray pistol beaker.


Reviews of research, studies of early readers, and investigations of emergent literacy uniformly conclude that parents' beliefs, aspirations, and actions affect their children's growth into and embracing of literacy. However, conflicting results call into question the utility of simply correlating race or various socioeconomic factors, such as parental level of education or family income, with reading achievement. Research indicates that parents of successful reader-,: (1) want their children to succeed; (2) impart a sense of the importance of education and high expectations to their children; (3) impart a love of reading and a sense of the value of reading to their children; (4) like, enjoy, and respect their children and are willing to spend time, money, and effort to nurture their literacy; (5) believe in the adage "the parent is the child's first teacher"; (6) know what is going on in their children's school and literacy lives; (7) believe that they can have an impact on their children's literacy development; (8) tend to provide literacy artifacts, especially children's materials, in their homes' (9) read to their children often; (10) serve as role models as readers themselves; and (11) provide effective literacy interactions which assist their children in learning how to construct meaning from text and to interact successfully in school settings. The parental role in the development of children who both caa and will read is enormous. (Fifty-three references are attached.) (RS) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************


Patent applications in the field of nickel/metal hydride (Ni/MH) batteries are reviewed to provide a solid technology background and directions for future developments. As the fourth review article in the series of investigations into intellectual properties in this area, this article focuses on 126 patent applications filed by European companies at the European Patent Office, while the earlier articles dealt with those from USA, Japan, and China. The history and current status of the key companies in the Ni/MH battery business are briefly discussed. These companies are categorized by their main roles in the industry, i.e., battery manufacturer, metal hydride alloy supplier, separator supplier, and others. While some European companies are pioneers in bringing the Ni/MH product to customers, others have made significant contributions to the development of the technology, especially in the button cell, bipolar cell, and separator areas.


In Eurocrypt 2003, Augot and Finiasz presented a novel Public-key Cryptosystem based on the Polynomial Reconstruction Problem. While there is no immediate way to use coding theoretic techniques to break their system, it has been subsequently broken by Coron who presented a ciphertext-only attack (based on a worst case analysis). In the present work we study the optimal parameter setting of their cryptosystem and analyze it from a probabilistic point of view. We first show that a small modification of the parameters of this scheme foils the worst case analysis of the above attack; however we give an alternative probabilistic analysis showing that the attack works almost always. We then present a novel analysis of optimal parameter selection for their cryptosystem. We show that in the optimal setting of parameter selection, the Augot and Finiasz cryptosystem actually thwarts Coron's attack. Then, we present a stronger ciphertext-only attack based on the Sudan and Guruswami-Sudan's list-decoding algorithms that breaks the optimal parameter setting of this cryptosystem. We conclude that the Augot and Finiasz's cryptosystem, regardless of exact choice of parameters, succumbs to a polynomial-time ciphertext-only attack.


Landscape‐scale fluxes are derived using an energy balance model with remotely sensed input data at different pixel resolutions. The model explicitly evaluates energy flux contributions from the soil and vegetation using remotely sensed near‐surface soil moisture and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to define key model variables. The remotely sensed data used in the model were collected as part of the Washita '92 Experiment conducted in the Little Washita watershed, a subhumid catchment in southwest Oklahoma. Near‐surface soil moisture maps covering approximately an 800 km2 area at 0.2 km resolution were generated using aircraft‐based passive microwave observations from the L band electronically scanned thinned array radiometer (ESTAR). A spatially distributed NDVI map was derived from a SPOT satellite image. Daily values of the midday Bowen ratio (BO, ratio of sensible to latent heat flux) computed by the model indicated that areas with low vegetation cover or bare soil and senescent vegetation were drying out significantly (i.e., dramatic increases in BO) while other areas with higher vegetation cover showed smaller increases in BO in response to a drying soil surface. After a few days of drying, BO values computed by the model ranged from ∼0.1 to values ≳2 over the image. The resulting spatially distributed maps of BO suggested a heterogeneous surface at the field or patch scale. A satellite‐based L band ESTAR would have a pixel resolution on the order of 101 km or larger (i.e., landscape scale). Since fluxes are nonlinearly related to model input variables/parameters, defining model inputs at resolutions significantly larger than the patch scale may cause significant errors in flux calculations. Potential errors in flux calculations were investigated by evaluating differences in area‐averaged flux estimates for the ∼18 × 45 km study area using the model with the remotely sensed near‐surface soil moisture and NDVI data at the following pixel resolutions: (1) 0.2 km (original pixel resolution), (2) 9 km, and (3) the whole image, which has an effective pixel resolution on the order of 28 km. Differences in the area‐ averaged sensible and latent fluxes computed by the model at the three resolutions were within 10%. Such minor discrepancies in the area‐average fluxes suggests that the heterogeneity in soil moisture and vegetation type and cover was not of the type to affect regional flux predictions using significantly coarser resolution information. There was a consistent decrease in area‐averaged latent heat flux estimates at the coarser resolution caused by biases in area‐averaged values of the other three energy flux components. The consistent decrease in area‐average latent heat flux caused the area‐averaged midday BO to increase with decreasing pixel resolution resulting in ≈15% increase from 200 m to using the full image. These results, however, depended on the method used in aggregating leaf area index to the coarser resolutions, indicating that techniques for scaling up key model parameters have a significant effect on area‐average flux predictions.


The spatial-temporal characteristics of nitrogen( N) and phosphorus( P) in the two main tributaries( North River,NR,and West River,WR) of Jiuongjiang River,and its Estuary( JRJE) were studied in September,2012,January and June,2013. The results indicated that dissolved inorganic nitrogen( DIN),totalphosphorus( TP) and Soluble reactive phosphate( PO4-P) concentrations in the JRJE ranged from 0. 13 to 17. 35 mg /dm3,0. 14 to 1. 00 mg /dm3 and 0. 00 to 0. 38 mg /dm3,respectively. There was a pronounced decreasing trend of DIN,TP and PO4-P concentrations from riverine to marine regions because of the riverine inputs and dilution by relative oligotrophic coastal waters. In the NR,DIN,TP and PO4-P concentrations ranged from 1. 99 to 24. 92 mg /dm3,0. 12 to 1. 47 mg /dm3 and 0. 04 to 0. 68 mg /dm3,respectively. Due to increased industrial,agricultural and urban activities in Longyan area,the concentrations of DIN,TP and PO4-P decreased from upstream to downstream for all seasons. In the WR,DIN,TP and PO4-P concentrations ranged from 2. 74 to 20. 61 mg /dm3,0.14 to 0.92 mg/dm3 and 0. 02 to 0. 37 mg /dm3,respectively. The concentration of DIN was significantly higher in upstream and downstream of the WR. This may be caused by the rural activity in Pinghe area and human activity in Zhangzhou area. In addition,NH4-N and NO3-N were dominant chemical species of DIN in the upstream of NR and WR,respectively,which were consistent with patterns of human activity in those areas. In temporal scale,DIN concentrations during the dry season were significantly higher than those during other sample seasons,but TP and PO4-P concentrations showed different patterns of temporal variations in the NR,WR and JRJE. Based on the results of nutrient ratios,it was suggested that phosphorus was a limiting factor in the Jiulongjiang Watershed( JRJW). In several stations of NR and JRJE,however,nutrient conditions may be suitable for phytoplankton bloom. Although potential eutrophication assessment indicated that most stations in the JRJW were at the stage of phosphorus-limited or nitrogen-limited potential eutrophication,JRJW may have faced with more serious threat by eutrophication because of the high absolute concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus.


The 100g fruit of Melia azedarach was dried,curshed,and dissolved in water,extracted by ultrasonic wave method. The weight of the fruit of Melia azedarach was standarded to calculate the concentrations of extracts of the fruit of Melia azedarach. Maize seedlings was treated by 33.33%,16.67%,8.33%,3.33%,1.67% extracts of fruit of Melia azedarach, and their growth was observed. The results showed that the extract of the fruit of Melia azedarach had promoting effect on growth of maize seedlings and root .But when exceeding a concentration, inhibitory effect was observed. 33.33% extract of the fruit of Melia azedarach showed inhibition effect on maize growth, the root was decayed.


Active meandering rivers are capable of reworking and removing large quantities of valuable land. Therefore, understanding the characteristics of meandering rivers and predicting future meander behaviour can be of great value for local authorities. In this study, we apply a topographic steering meander model to the Geul River (southern Netherlands), using field data to calibrate the model. The present channel characteristics of the Geul River were mapped in the field. Cut‐banks were classified as erosive, unstable or stable. The model outcomes were compared with these field data.


A rotary centrifugal filter is characterized in that: a vessel is rotatablely connected with a vessel support by a hydrostatic bearing. An outlet hole of the hydrostatic bearing is arranged inside the vessel, and an inlet hole is communicated to the outside of the vessel. A jet spout is arranged on the bottom of the vessel. The utility model makes use of the jet spout to jet flow to rotate the vessel, gets rid of conventional motor and gears transmission mechanism and reduces mechanical wear enormously. Furthermore, the hydrostatic bearing between the vessel and the support makes the vessel suffer from little mechanical friction during the high-speed rotation. The utility model does not need frequent maintenance and has small operation noise.


The original aim of this work, was to give a {\it brief} review of gluonic mesons, to be searched for in an experiment dedicated to central production of a relatively low mass hadronic system, whereby rapidity gaps are possible to impose, requiring initial hadron beams of sufficient energy and intensity. Sections 1 - 4 are devoted to this aim. The various theoretical ingrediants, covering several decades of thinking by many, including the author, are contained in 5 appendices, dedicated to specifically gluonic binaries within QCD and their underlying Yang-Mills base structure.


Alternating current field measurement (ACFM) has been widely used to detect and evaluate metal surface cracks. However, the lift-off caused by various attachments significantly affects the accuracy of crack size assessment. In this article, a simple method is proposed to evaluate surface cracks without the limitation of lift-off. The theoretical models of ACFM and the lift-off effect are developed. The influence of lift-off on magnetic field response signals is studied with the aid of the finite-element method (FEM). The ACFM test system is set up, and the experiments are carried out to evaluate surface cracks of different dimensions at different lift-off distances. The test results show that the length and depth of surface cracks can be accurately evaluated at an unknown lift-off distance by the proposed method.


Abstract The purpose of this study is to know and to analyze the effect of the implementation of relationship marketing on customer loyalty in BNI Biro Rektor USU Medan with subjects management students of Economy Faculty of University of Sumatera Utara. Data used in this study is primary data and secondary data. Primary data was obtained from questionnaire. Secondary data was obtained from documentary studies of literature, journals, magazines, and web page relevan to the study. Data analyze method used in this study is multiple regression analyze method. Population in this study is all management students of Economy Faculty of University of Sumatera Utara year 2008-2010, who are customer of BNI Biro Rektor USU Medan, with total 517 people. Using Slovin's formula, total sample used in this study is rounded up to 85 people. Sampling method used is accidental sampling. The result of this study is that the implementation of relationship marketing which consists of financial benefit, social benefit, and structural ties partially, except structural ties, has a positive influence on customer loyalty in BNI Biro Rektor USU Medan with subjects management students of Economy Faculty of University of Sumatera Utara. Keywords  : Relationship Marketing, Customer Loyalty


There has been significant debate about how supply-side policy initiatives might potentially affect key participants within the National Electricity Market (NEM) in attempts to curb growth in carbon emissions. Most debate and analysis within this sector has focused on assessing the impact that a 'cap-and-trade' carbon trading scheme, and more recently, a carbon tax scheme, may have on promoting fuel-switching strategies and impacts on existing electricity generating assets each having a defined set of carbon emission intensity factors. The introduction of a carbon price signal achieves this by changing marginal cost relativities in order to promote increased dispatch and investment in less carbon-emission-intensive types of generation technologies, including gas-fired generation and renewable generation technologies. As Australia transitions towards a carbon-constrained economy, alternative policy settings create signals throughout the national electricity industry. To evaluate policy outcomes a model containing many of the salient features of the national wholesale electricity market is required. These features include intra-regional and inter-state trade, realistic transmission network pathways, and competitive dispatch of all generation technologies with price determination based upon variable cost and branch congestion characteristics.


Definitions Functional overreaching (FOR): intensified training results in a temporary decline in performance. When appropriate periods of recovery are provided, a positive ''supercompensation'' effect occurs, with the athlete exhibiting enhanced performance. Nonfunctional overreaching (NFOR): an accumulation of training and/or nontraining stress resulting in short-term decrement in performance capacity with or without related physiological and psychological signs and symptoms of maladaptation in which restoration of performance capacity may take from several days to several weeks. Overtraining syndrome (OTS): same as NFOR, except decrement is long-term and restoration takes several weeks or months. Key point: the difference between NFOR and OTS is the amount of time needed for performance restoration; therefore, the diagnosis of OTS can often only be made retrospectively (3).


Abstract Graphene was grown on a carbon fabric (CF) surface using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition to improve the tribological properties of CF–resin composites. The results show that CF–resin composites exhibited excellent thermal properties due to the formation of a graphene heat conduction path. Moreover, graphene possesses an edge-rich morphology and large specific surface area, which is helpful to enhance the mechanical interlocking between the CF surface and resin matrix and thus improve the mechanical properties. The wear rate of the modified composites decreased from 3.75 × 10−5 to 2.68 × 10−5 mm3/N m compared to that of the composites without graphene. The enhanced wear resistance is mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of the increased interfacial adhesion of CF matrix and the excellent thermal stability of composites.


This paper establish a solution for detecting these components, establishing their model, that of the board which receives them. The checking analysis was conducted on a test board to create an adjusted thermal model by using a set of infrared measurements and an electrical measurement. Its response was then verified for conventional conditions of cooling. It is this validation presented as a comparison between simulation and experimentation that forms the subject of this document.


Clostridium chauvoei infection in cattle is recognised worldwide, typically causing skeletal myositis ('blackleg'). Other less common lesions can involve the heart and meninges (Malone and others 1986, Helman and others 1997). Bovine clostridial myositis in the UK has been reviewed recently by Harwood and Watson (2004). This short communication describes an unusual outbreak of C chauvoei infection in grazing two-year-old heifers with gross lesions apparently confined to the tongue and small intestine. A group of 20 homebred, two-year-old Friesian heifers, reared together since birth, were moved in early October to a fresh lush pasture. One week later, the first two cases (heifers 1 and 2) were identified; they were reportedly depressed and salivating, and died untreated within 24 to 48 hours. At this stage veterinary attention was sought, and a further two sick heifers (heifers 3 and 4) were presented at this visit. Both showed marked depression and tachypnoea; a further three cases (heifers 5 to 7) were identified later that day. A presumptive diagnosis of fog fever was made and the affected animals treated with flunixin meglumine (Finadyne; Schering Plough). The group was quietly moved to a less lush pasture and supplemented with hay, but heifers 3 and 4 died later that day. Postmortem examination of heifer 2 on farm revealed severe localised peritonitis centred on an inflamed distal ileum that had perforated. Heifers 3 and 4 were subjected to fuller laboratory postmortem examination at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency – Winchester. They were in good body condition. Gross intestinal lesions were observed in both carcases involving the last 1 to 2 m of the jejunum/ileum, located within the pelvic inlet. The mucosal and serosal surfaces of the affected gut were intensely congested and the gut wall was distended with gas pockets. Multiple deep mucosal ulcers, approximately 1·0 to 1·5 cm in diameter, were evident, and the gut content was haemorrhagic. Yellow fibrin deposits covered the serosal surface of the affected gut loops (Fig 1). Both heifers showed severe tongue swelling, causing protrusion from the mouth. On section, the tongue muscle was pale and dry, with multifocal areas of haemorrhage and gas accumulation; a sweet sickly odour was noted. Submandibular tissues showed severe oedema. No gross lesions could be identified in the skeletal muscle or heart. Air-dried, acetone-fixed impression smears from the cut surface of the tongue and affected intestine were stained with C chauvoei, Clostridium novyi and Clostridium septicum fluorescein isothiocyanate anti-globulin and examined by fluorescent microscopy. Positive fluorescence for C chauvoei was demonstrated at both sites. Routine bacteriological examination on a range of tissues failed to identify any other significant pathogens, including Salmonella species. Selected tissues were fixed in 10 per cent neutral buffered formalin, processed to paraffin wax and stained with haematoxylin and eosin for histological examination. The tongue of both animals showed acute haemorrhagic and necrotising glossitis associated with Gram-positive clostridia-like bacilli. The affected intestine of the less autolysed heifer showed diffuse acute coagulative necrosis extending through the gut wall, with fibrinopurulent peritonitis on the serosal surface. Large numbers of predominantly Gram-positive bacilli were present throughout the damaged tissue. Gut-associated lymphoid tissue in Peyer's patches showed acute necrosis and marked lympholysis. The demonstration of positive C chauvoei fluorescence and the necrotising lesions in the tongue and intestinal wall supported a diagnosis of multisite C chauvoei infection. Immunostaining of ileal sections with anti-bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) monoclonal antibody 15C5 cell culture supernatent failed to detect viral antigen in either animal. Once a diagnosis of blackleg had been made, the surviving heifers in the group were given a prophylactic intramuscular injection of long-acting penicillin (Norocin LA: Norbrook) and blackleg vaccination was initiated (Tribovax T; Schering Plough). The three sick heifers (heifers 5 to 7) were given intravenous sodium benzylpenicillin (Crystapen 5 Mega; Schering Plough) but two failed to respond adequately to treatment and had to be euthanased on humane grounds. No further clinical cases developed subsequently, and blackleg vaccination of the group was completed uneventfully six weeks later. This incident is noteworthy because of the primary involvement of the tongue and intestine without obvious skeletal muscle or heart involvement. There was also high morbidity, with a total of seven animals affected in the group of 20, and also high mortality, as six subsequently died. Most typical blackleg incidents are presumed to follow trauma but more localised clostridial myositis can be iatrogenic (Harwood 1984). Neither of these trigger factors could be implicated in the present outbreak. The particular field and adjoining pastures had been grazed uneventfully by youngstock for at least 10 years. The high morbidity over a short period of time does, however, suggest a point source of infection. Further inquiries revealed that approximately two weeks before the start of the outbreak, topsoil of unknown origin had been deposited on the farm. C chauvoei spores may have been present in this material and subsequently contaminated pasture grazed by the group of heifers. It is generally accepted that infection is acquired by ingestion of spores that are probably transported by macrophages across Peyer's patches (Jubb and others 1991). This hypothesis is given support in the present case by the apparent close association between the enteric lesions and Peyer's patches. Jubb and others (1991) mention that C chauvoei may affect the tongue and smooth muscle of Veterinary Record (2007) 161, 307-308


Despite the fact that the consumption of pesticides in India is still very low, about 0.5 kg/ha of pesticides, there has been a widespread contamination of food commodities with pesticide residues, basically due to non-judicious use of pesticides. The widespread application of pesticides in agriculture, industry and infrastructure, public health can result in the accumulation of pesticides in the environment. Therefore, a survey was conducted to analyze the levels of organochlorine pesticide residues in cow milk from different locations of Dhanbad city, Jharkhand, India. Milk samples were collected seasonally, and pesticide residues were assessed using a gas chromatograph (GC) with an electron capture detector (ECD). The results indicate that the milk samples were contaminated with dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites (DDE) and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD). Seasonal variations of these pesticide residue levels were also observed in all the milk samples. Samples collected during winter season were found to contain higher residue levels as compared to other seasons. KeywordsOrganochlorine pesticide residues (OCPs); DDT, Cow milk; Gas Chromatograph; Dhanbad city


Artificial neural networks (ANN) become popular in various fields, especially in the pattern recognition. In the recognition stage of ANN the time that is required is very short but in the learning stage it becomes long according to the number of learning data and ANNs scale. This is a serious problem in the case of simulating ANN by an emulation software or a small-size emulation system. So a super computer or general purpose computer is generally needed for pursuing these simulations. A high speed parallel processor was realized by using digital signal processors (DSP) which is effective to high speed data processing. This parallel processor realized a ANN that has three layers architecture with the backpropagation learning algorithm (BP method) at high speed.


The market for proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers is expected to grow substantially in the coming years, following an increasing demand for green hydrogen. Power electronics is a key enabling technology for supplying future PEM electrolyzers, however the literature addressing power-electronic converters for electrolysis applications is still quite limited. This paper addresses a dc-dc converter for a 10 kW PEM electrolyzer using gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor devices and performs a multi-objective optimization for efficiency and power density. In contrast to previous work, a very wide topology family is considered. From the results, critical design decisions are deduced. Moreover, the same genetic algorithm is used to identify efficiency-optimized modulation strategies. The gained insights significantly broaden the scope of suitable dc-dc converter topologies for electrolysis applications.


We proposed a new family of lifetime distributions, namely, complementary exponentiated exponential geometric distribution. This new family arises on a latent competing risk scenario, where the lifetime associated with a particular risk is not observable but only the maximum lifetime value among all risks. The properties of the proposed distribution are discussed, including a formal proof of its probability density function and explicit algebraic formulas for its survival and hazard functions, moments, rth moment of the ith order statistic, mean residual lifetime, and modal value. Inference is implemented via a straightforwardly maximum likelihood procedure. The practical importance of the new distribution was demonstrated in three applications where our distribution outperforms several former lifetime distributions, such as the exponential, the exponential-geometric, the Weibull, the modified Weibull, and the generalized exponential-Poisson distribution.


The problem of optimal linear estimation of functionals depending on the unknown values of a random field ( , ) j x  , which is periodically correlated with respect to discrete time argument j and mean-square continuous isotropic on the unit sphere n S with respect to spatial argument n x S  . Estimates are based on observations of the field ( , ) ( , ) j x j x    at points ( , ): j x \{0,1, , } j N   , n x S  , where ( , ) j x  is an uncorrelated with ( , ) j x  random field, which is periodically correlated with respect to discrete time argument j and mean-square continuous isotropic on the unit sphere n S with respect to spatial argument n x S  . Formulas for calculating the mean square errors and the spectral characteristics of the optimal linear estimates of functionals are derived in the case of spectral certainty where the spectral density matrices are exactly known. Formulas that determine the least favourable spectral density matrices and the minimax (robust) spectral characteristics are proposed in the case of spectral uncertainty where the spectral density matrices are not exactly known while some classes of admissible spectral density matrices are given.


Intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is a frequent complication of chronic hemodialysis that could lead to serious clinical outcomes and can be difficult to predict. We used machine learning (ML) and cloud computing infrastructure to develop and evaluate a model that enables real-time IDH prediction.

 Data were analyzed from six dialysis clinics (Fresenius Kidney Care, Waltham, MA, United States) between January 2020 and November 2020. Data included demographic, clinical, treatment and laboratory were obtained from the electronic health record. The intradialytic data such as systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate and blood flow rate were transferred in real time to Amazon Web Services (AWS, Amazon Web Services, Inc., Seattle, WA, United States) using secure Internet of Things software. Data were randomly divided into model training (80%) and testing (20%) sets. IDH was defined as SBP less than 90 mmHg. A ML tool known as an extreme gradient boosting algorithm (XGBoost) was used. Each time when an intradialytic SBP was measured, the model, which was hosted in AWS, would enable real-time prediction (in less than a minute) of patients who were at risk of IDH within the next 15–75 min. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was used to measure the model's performance. Shapley values were calculated to derive variables that were considered highly predictive of IDH.

 We obtained data from 42 546 hemodialysis sessions involving 693 patients and 355 693 intradialytic observations. IDH occurred in 17% of the treatments. Our model reasonably predicted IDH, achieving an AUROC of 0.89. Top three predictors of IDH within the next 15–75 min were last intradialytic SBP, IDH rate of the last 10 treatments and mean nadir SBP of the last 10 treatments (Fig. 1).

 Our study clearly shows the possibility of predicting IDH within the next 15–75 min using ML and cloud computing infrastructure, it suggests that the tool has the potential to assist clinicians to intervene proactively in patients at risk for IDH in real time.


Urban Heat Island (UHI) Effect in the Puget Sound Region: Adaptation and Biomimetic Strategies to Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change


Errata An erratum has been published that refers to this article: Erratum: The implementation of best practice in medication administration across a health network: A multisite evidence-based audit and feedback project. JBI Database System Rev Implement Reps. 2015;13(8):338–352. doi: 10.11124/jbisrir-2015-2779 The authors are listed in the incorrect order. The correct order is as follows: Zachary Munn Alan Scarborough Susanne Pearce Alexa McArthur Sheila Kavanagh Michelle Girdler Bernie Stefan-Rasmus Helen Breen Shirley Farquhar Jessie Li Steven Hutchinson Matthew Stephenson Helen McBeth Alison Kitson Apologies are offered to readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process. BACKGROUND Medication errors present a significant risk to patient safety. The "rights" of medication administration represent one approach to potentially reducing this risk. OBJECTIVES The aim of this project was to implement an evidence-based audit and feedback project to improve compliance with best practice in this area across a health network. METHODS A baseline audit was conducted to determine compliance with evidence-based standards by trained observers. The results of this audit were analysed and fed back to staff. An analysis of barriers to compliance was undertaken by key staff within the organization, which was followed by the implementation of targeted strategies to improve compliance. A follow-up audit was conducted and the results compared to the baseline audit. RESULTS There were improvements in the percentage of compliance across all of the eight criteria audited, with statistically significant improvements found in six of the eight. In general, compliance with the criteria was high in both the baseline and follow-up audits. CONCLUSION This audit and feedback implementation project was successful in increasing compliance and knowledge in this area and providing future direction for sustaining evidence-based practice change. It is now planned to use this approach for rolling out future implementation projects within this health system.


Zinc oxide–carbon (ZnO@C) core–shell nanoparticles were synthesized using a facile and single-step method, which involved the thermal degradation of a zinc aniline nitrate complex in methanol. The formation of ZnO and carbon was observed during the early stages of synthesis (>200 °C), whereas a further increase in the temperature determines the level of the carbon coating. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed that the ZnO@C nanoparticles obtained at 600 °C were ∼100 nm in size with a uniform 5–20 nm thick carbon coating. The nano-coating of carbon on ZnO along with the presence of oxygen vacancies promoted its photocatalytic activity under visible light with higher efficiency for the photodegradation of rhodamine B than bare ZnO. The two probable pathways for the visible activity and the enhanced photodegradation capacity of ZnO@C core–shell nanoparticles are also discussed. The synthesized ZnO@C core–shell nanoparticles exhibited very good stability and recyclability, highlighting their potential use as an efficient visible light driven photocatalyst for pollutant degradation.


The present study aimed at shedding some light on the pharmacological effects of two NSAIDs (one selective, that is meloxicam, and the other is non-selective, that is piroxicam) on cardiac contractility and aortic smooth muscle of rabbit as a farm animal species. Rhythmic contractions of the heart were established using Gunn's apparatus (heart infusion assembly) and normal tone of the aortic rings was established using tension recording technique. The effects of graded increased concentrations of piroxicam and meloxicam on the installed organs were studied. The sites of action of piroxicam and meloxicam were also tried. The obtained results proved that piroxicam and meloxicam had concentration-dependant, negative inotropic and chronotropic effects on the rabbit's heart; and were without significant effects on aortic rings throughout the tested concentrations. The effects of piroxicam and meloxicam on the heart were not affected by pre-addition of atropine, and the effect of adrenaline was evident in presence of the tested drugs indicating the non-involvement of cholinergic and adrenergic pathways in their mechanism of action. The effects of the drugs might be then attributed to their direct effect on the cardiac myocytes probably via decreasing Ca2+ concentration. Data of the present study may indicate that piroxicam and meloxicam could be used effectively and safely in rabbits for their anti-inflammatory actions in small therapeutic doses. However, in large doses, they (particularly, piroxicam) may produce depressant effects on myocardial contractility that should be taken in consideration in case of introducing these drugs in therapy with larger doses.


As part of a program to control the biosynthesis of Solanum glycoalkaloids in potatoes, we used an HPLC assay to measure the specific α-chaconine and α-solanine content of greenhouse-grown potato leaves at different stages of maturity. Comparative studies were done with the bromophenol blue titration assay for total glycoalkaloids. We found that foliar glycoalkaloids can be extracted with 5% aqueous acetic acid, that analysis of glycoalkaloids with freeze-dried leaf powders was more reproducible than with fresh leaves, and that the bromophenol colorimetric method gave higher values than HPLC. As little as one leaf from a growing plantlet can be analyzed with the HPLC assay. Large variations in both α-chaconine and α-solanine contents of fresh leaves suggest that potato foliar glycoalkaloids should be determined by HPLC from freeze-dried rather than fresh leaves. Keywords: Glycoalkaloids; α-chaconine; α-solanine; potato leaves; biosynthesis; high-performance liquid chromatography; colorimetry; transgenic p...


This study was carried out on 694 Clarias gariepinusand 846Oreochromis niloticus fish specimens. The fish were randomly collected seasonally, from different fish farms of El-Abbassa, Abu-Hammad, Sharkia Governorate, Egypt. They were used to investigate the prevalence of cestode parasites in C. gariepinus  and O. niloticus. Parasitological examination of these fishes revealed that the, highest prevalence rates of  Cestodain the fish were recorded in small fishes during summer and the lowest values were observed in the samples of the large size   during winter. The study concluded that, the C. gariepinus are more attacked by internal cestode parasites compared O. niloticus. Parasites included Proteocephalus glanduligerus, Polyonchobothrium clarias and Monobothrium sp. The morphology of each species was compared with earlier descriptions, and a diagnostic character of intestinal Cestode species in this geographic region was developed.


Quality of life, natural and man-made environments, physical, social and mental well-being are currently undermined by all sorts of hazards and injuries; political, economical, social and cultural disarray normalise atrocious behaviours and violence throughout the world. Considering the multiple problems of difficult settlement or solution in our times, current environmental, social, cultural, educational, political and economic policies and practices are examined in view of new paradigms of growth, power, wealth, work and freedom. A multidimensional ecosystemic approach and planning model for the diagnosis and prognosis of quality of life integrate into a dynamic configuration four dimensions of being-in-the- world (intimate, interactive, social and biophysical), as they induce the events (deficits and assets), cope with consequences (desired or undesired) and reorganise for change, enhancing connexions and sealing ruptures. Development and evaluation of teaching programmes, research projects and public policies benefit from a deep understanding of the events, providing a critical comprehensive four-dimensional framework and planning model for effective and responsible action.


In an increasingly turbulent medical care system, business training is one way doctors and medical students are seeking to redefine their ability to lead and wield influence. Changes in the health care system have fostered the need for physician executives with business training who can serve as liaisons between administrative and clinical personnel. As the development of integrated delivery systems has combined clinical and administrative functions, the roles of physician executives have increased, as well as the demand for related training of physician leaders. Growth in the number of physician executives is expected to continue as such individuals demonstrate their ability to facilitate provider‐physician relations and lend unique expertise and perspective in the health care delivery system. 1 The transition from clinical roles to administrative functions can be challenging for physician executives. 2,3 Moving into administrative roles presents challenges different from those inherent in medical training and practice. 4 If the physician manager is to be considered an effective asset to an organization, the new role requires distinct shifts in thinking, philosophy, attitudes, and behavior. 5 Because traditional clinical training of physicians contrasts with management training and functions, few physicians are prepared for the requirements of management roles. 6


Study on QoS(Quality of Service)of IP network had been a hot research field.It was possible to guarantee the end-to-end QoS with RACS.Gq' was designed to imp signal transmission between AF and SPDF in RACS.Based on Diameter protocol,a realization scheme of Gq' interface on server had been presented in this paper.A test results showed that this scheme was effective and adoptable.


The increasing use of antibiotics has led to the development of drug-resistant microorganisms. The emergence of resistant strains has compromised the treatment and control of infectious diseases. As a result, the search and development of a novel class of antibiotic drugs are required. Actinomycetes have been recognized as a richest source of secondary metabolites including antibiotics. The aim of this study was to investigate the diversity of antibiotic-producing soil Actinomycetes from dry dipterocarp forest in Northeast of Thailand. The soil from this area has been known for its poor in nutrients and highly acidic with pH values around 4.5. In such a harsh condition, soil-inhabiting Actinomycetes elevate their protective mechanisms by inducing the production of antimicrobials and other defense compounds. Therefore, dry dipterocarp forest could be served as a potential source for the screening of the novel antimicrobial drugs. Twelve antibiotic-producing strains isolated from soil in Suranaree University of Technology produce antimicrobial agents which are active against wide range of test pathogens including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Based on 16S rRNA gene analysis, these strains are close affiliated with the genus Streptomyces (11 isolates) and Nonomuraea (1 isolate). Most of soil isolates show narrow antimicrobial spectrum activity against Gram-positive bacteria. Two isolates, PJ36 and PJ95, exhibit broad antimicrobial spectrum against Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria and yeasts. Phylogenetic tree analysis of 16S rDNA reveals that isolates PJ33, PJ36, PJ43, PJ51, PJ75, PJ76, PJ77, PJ85, PJ88 and PJ95 strains are not cluster with others strain of Streptomyces. They represent a distinct phyletic line which might be suggested the novel strains. This study was the first attempted to isolate antibiotic-producing Actinomycetes from dry dipterocarp forest soil in Northeast Thailand. Most of soil isolates (8 strains) obtained from this study were active against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). These isolates could be used for the development of new drugs to combat antibiotic resistances.


INDEX DES HITAT: INDEX ANALYTIQUE DES OUVRAGES D'IBN DUQMAQ ET DE MAQRIZI SUR LE CAIRE. Volumes I‐III. By AHMAD 'ABD AL‐MAJID HARIDI. (Textes arabes et etudes islamiques, XX.) Cairo, Institut Francois d'Archeologie Orientale, 1983–84. 3 vols. 463; 221; 389 pp. WESTERN SAHARA: A COMPREHENSIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY. Compiled by LYNN F. SIPE. (Garland Reference Library of Social Science, 178). New York, Garland Publishing, 1984. 418pp. One map (based on United Nations map No.2547/Rev 2). BAHRAIN. Compiled by P.T.H. UNWIN. (World Bibliographical Series. 49). Oxford & Santa Barbara, Clio Press, 1984. xxxii, 265pp. Map. £33.00. CATALOGUE COLLECTIF DES OUVRAGES EN LANGUE ARABE ACQUIS PAR LES BIBLIOTHEQUES FRANCAISES, 1952–1983. Prepare par GEORGES HADDAD et MOHAMMED SAID... Munchen, K.G. Saur, 1984. 4 vols. 2667pp. DM 800.— ARAB AND ISLAMIC INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION DIRECTORY 1984/85. Edited by UNION OF INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS. (Guides to International Organizations, no.2.) Munchen, K.G. Saur, 1984. 484pp. DM 248,‐. ...


Transport equations can be derived from quantum field theory assuming a loss of information about the details of the initial state and a gradient expansion. While the latter can be systematically improved, the assumption about a memory loss is not known to be controlled by a small expansion parameter. We determine the range of validity of transport equations for the example of a scalar g{sup 2}{phi}{sup 4} theory. We solve the nonequilibrium time evolution using the three-loop 2PI effective action. The approximation includes off-shell and memory effects and assumes no gradient expansion. This is compared to transport equations to lowest order (LO) and beyond (NLO). We find that the earliest time for the validity of transport equations is set by the characteristic relaxation time scale t{sub damp}=-2{omega}/{sigma}{sub {rho}}{sup (eq)}, where -{sigma}{sub {rho}}{sup (eq)}/2 denotes the on-shell imaginary-part of the self-energy. This time scale agrees with the characteristic time for partial memory loss, but is much shorter than thermal equilibration times. For times larger than about t{sub damp} the gradient expansion to NLO is found to describe the full results rather well for g{sup 2}(less-or-similar sign)1.


An attempt is made to study mathematical properties of singular value decomposition (SVD) and its data exploring capacity and to apply them to make exploratory type clustering for 10 climatic variables and thirty weather stations in Bangladesh using a newly developed graphical technique. Findings in SVD and Robust singular value decomposition (RSVD) based graphs are compared with that of classical K-means cluster analysis, its robust version, partition by medoids (PAM) and classical factor analysis, and the comparison clearly demonstrates the advantage of SVD over its competitors. Lastly the method is tested on well known Hawkins-Bradu-Kass (1984) data.


The flow inside the volute of a centrifugal pump is threedimensional and, depending upon the position of the inlet relative to the cross-section center line, a single or double swirling flow occurs. The purpose of this study was the calculation of the three-dimensional swirling flow inside the centrifugal pump volute.


In point of corporate capital mode, USA is the typical state carrying out statutory capital system, while China's authorized capital system depends on its peculiar background. China's choice of the corporation capital mode based on the analysis of the Sino-American system should be compromised capital system.


The purpose of the article is to study the efficiency of using the export-import potential in the current conditions of limited activity and to form the theoretical, informational and analytical support for the relevant strategy. The article briefly analyzes the current state of the economy in the country. Based on the generalization of opinions of leading scholars and practical activities of economic entities, the main characterizations of the conditions limiting their activities are presented. Formation of a strategy for the efficient use of export-import potential involves the development of information support, which be based on an appropriate system of indicators reflecting the status, use and factors influencing this potential. The analytical support for the strategy development includes an analysis of trends of changes in the values of indicators of the efficiency of the use of export and import potential, which is recommended to be carried out using descriptive statistics. In forming a strategy, it is important to determine the relationship between trends in the changes of values of indicators of efficiency of the use of export-import potential in assessing the levels of factors influencing efficiency and planning and forecasting the values of these indicators. It is recommended to add to the analytical method of determining the mechanism of interrelation of trends in the development of factors influencing the efficiency of the use of export-import potential the following stages: diagnosing trends in time series of indicators using the descriptive statistics tools, determining the relationship between the factors of influence and identifying the most significant factors using multivariate factor analysis, diagnosing the stationarity of time series, testing the hypothesis of cointegration of time series using the Engel-Granger criterion. This logic of applying mathematical tools contributes to the scientific substantiation of the strategy for the efficient use of export-import potential and the identification of new knowledge about this potential.


OBJECTIVE To investigate that all-trans retinoic acid(ATRA) loaded in nanostructured lipid carriers(NLC) favorably improve the solubility and chemical stability of ATRA.METHODS ATRA-NLC were produced by high pressure homogenization of mixed biocompatible lipids,such as glyceryl monostearate,stearic acid,palmitic acid or their mixture and soybean oil.Their properties including size,Zeta potential,microcosmic morphology,loading capacity and stability were investigated by photon correlation spectroscopy(PCS),Zeta potential analyzer,transmission electronic microscope(TEM) and high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) respectively.The optimization of preparation parameters of ATRA-NLC was performed.RESULTS Glyceryl monostearate with weak surface activity was a preferable solid lipid matrix.The average diameters of NLC produced under optimal experimental conditions were between 94.8 nm and 129.3 nm.The average particle diameters of drug-loaded NLC were larger than that of drug-free NLC.TEM result showed that ATRA-NLC were nearly spherical nanoparticles.Mixed lipid improved the loading capacity of ATRA.The degradation velocity of ATRA was significantly slowed down when ATRA was loaded into the NLC.NLC was stable during the storage of 22 months at 4 ℃.CONCLUSION The loading capacity and chemical stability of ATRA are significantly improved by the incorporation in NLC.ATRA-NLC is a very potential dosage form to prevent proliferative vitreoretinopathy(PVR).


Down syndrome (DS), or trisomy 21, is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability. Caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21, it is usually associated with physical growth delays, characteristic facial features, and an elevated risk of numerous health problems. The extra chromosome 21 is associated with increased gene dosage and global alterations of gene expression, which disrupts biological homeostasis and subsequently contributes to various clinical and neurological manifestations. Adults with DS will often experience cognitive decline due to an early onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD)–like pathology. Progressive loss of the sense of smell is also prevalent and, as is typical of neurodegenerative diseases, that loss usually begins before puberty in children with DS. Males may also experience delays in sexual maturation. Currently, there are no viable treatment options for the cognitive and olfactory deficits associated with DS; however, recent research has suggested that olfaction loss and male infertility are also characteristic of gonadotropin–releasing hormone (GnRH) deficiency, and that GnRH may play a role in higher brain functions such as cognition. GnRH is secreted by specialized neurons in the hypothalamus and, in turn, activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis to produce sex steroids. Thus, GnRH is essential for reproduction in all mammals. In humans, alterations in GnRH secretion cause Kallmann syndrome, which manifests with olfactory defects, gonadal immaturity, and infertility. Researchers recently examined the use of GnRH in DS and found that pulsatile GnRH therapy improves cognition and brain connectivity in adult DS patients (Manfredi-Lozano et al, 2022).


Background Current guideline recommends both surgery and drug treatment for primary aldosteronism. Treatment effects on the cardiac structure and function remain under investigation. Objective We performed a prospective study in patients with primary aldosteronism to compare effects of surgery and drug treatment on the cardiac structure and function as assessed by the left ventricular (LV) pressure-strain loop, a novel echocardiographic technique that incorporates myocardial deformation and LV pressure. Methods Our study included 39 and 28 patients treated with surgery and a mineralocorticoid antagonist, respectively. We performed conventional and speckle tracking echocardiography at baseline and 3 and 6 months of follow-up. Results During follow-up, both surgery and drug treatment normalized serum potassium concentration and significantly reduced blood pressure. Both treatments significantly and similarly decreased LV mass index and left atrial volume index. However, only in the surgery group did global wasted work significantly decrease (200.8 ± 86.7 at baseline vs. 142.1 ± 58.1 mmHg% at 6 months) and global work efficiency (91.5 ± 3.1 vs. 93.6 ± 2.3%) and global longitudinal strain (−18.3 ± 2.7 vs. −19.2 ± 1.9%) significantly (p < 0.01) increase at 6 months of follow-up. The corresponding differences from the changes in the drug treatment group were 39.5 mmHg% (95% CI, 17.1, 62.0 mmHg%), −1.64% (95% CI, −2.56, −0.71%), and −0.85% (95% CI, −1.51, −0.20%), respectively. In addition, the changes in global wasted work at 6 months of follow-up was significantly correlated with that in 24-h urinary aldosterone excretion in the drug treatment group (r = 0.54) and two groups combined (r = 0.55), but not the surgery group. Conclusion In spite of similar serum potassium normalization and blood pressure control, surgical removal of an adrenal gland, but not mineralocorticoid receptor antagonism, showed early improvement in cardiac function.


In this paper we revise some of the most relevant aspects concerning the quality of service in wireless networks, providing, along the research issues we are currently pursuing, both the state-of-the-art and our recent achievements. More specifically, first of all we focus on network survivability, that is the ability of the network of maintaining functionality as a consequence of a component failure. Then, we turn our attention on data access and network services in a distributed environment. Finally, we analyze a basic network optimization task, that is routing design in wireless ATM networks.


Fran Byrne and Mary Callard have compiled a list of resources and ideas to make tactile activities fun. Why not give some of them a go?


The People's Sports Center of Guangzhou Gymnasium is a long span spacing shell truss. The results of strain measuring and analyzing with SAP2000 are given in this paper. By comparison, the results of strain measuring and that of analysis fit for each other with small errors.


—This extended abstract will detail the tentative plans for my master's thesis. My thesis topic will be using program inversion to derive test data input generators automatically for use in property-based testing. Property-based testing is a methodology based on properties - or assertions that should hold about the program in general. The programmer writes properties for their program, and uses existing tools that automatically generate and run tests based on these properties. However, one reason why it is not more widely adopted in industry scenarios, is because the tools can only generate test input data automatically for basic input types. Testing new types requires the programmer to write custom generators for those types, but writing good generators is difficult. The thesis work consists of using program inversion to automatically derive good test input generators for use with property-based testing tools. The overarching goal of the project is to make academic testing tools more easily adoptable for industry use.


To get rid of countless repeated handwork in relay protection calculation,according to the present characteristics of Daqing Oil Field 35 kV distribution network,kinds of protection calculation computer models are put forward.A tree-like model and a proper parameter database are introduced to describe the network.T-connected node problem is ingeniously solved.Finally,a protection calculation software system for the distribution network is developed,which can generate the reports automatically and adapt to complex extended distribution network.The proposed software can enhance the rapidity and accuracy of relay protection calculation.


Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans(DFSP) is an uncommon fibrohistiocytic tumor of intermediate malignancy that usually occurs in early or mid-adult life as a nodular cutaneous mass. The tumor occurs most frequently on the trunk or the proximal extremities. A 14-year-old boy was seen for red-brown, hard plaques and nodules on the anterior neck. This asymptomatic lesion had appeared at the age of one year as an erythematous patch and had thereafter slowly enlarged. Recently the lesion grew more rapidly. Biopsy specimens of both the nodule and plaque showed a tumoral proliferation of spindle-shaped cells with a storiform arrangement, being suggestive of DFSP. Immunohistochemical staining for CD34 was positive. The patient was treated with a wide and deep excision. We report herein a case of DFSP in a 14-year-old boy.


The optoelectronic properties of perovskite films are closely related to the film quality, so depositing dense, uniform, and stable perovskite films is crucial for fabricating high‐performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs). CsPbI2Br perovskite, prized for its superb stability toward light soaking and thermal aging, has received a great deal of attention recently. However, the air instability and poor performance of CsPbI2Br PSCs are hindering its further progress. Here, an approach is reported for depositing high‐quality CsPbI2Br films via the Lewis base adducts PbI2(DMSO) and PbBr2(DMSO) as precursors to slow the crystallization of the perovskite film. This process produces CsPbI2Br films with large‐scale crystalline grains, flat surfaces, low defects, and long carrier lifetimes. More interestingly, PbI2(DMSO) and PbBr2(DMSO) adducts could significantly improve the stability of CsPbI2Br films in air. Using films prepared by this technique, a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 14.78% is obtained in CsPbI2Br PSCs, which is the highest PCE value reported for CsPbI2Br‐based PSCs to date. In addition, the PSCs based on DMSO adducts show an extended operational lifetime in air. These excellent performances indicate that preparing high‐quality inorganic perovskite films by using DMSO adducts will be a potential method for improving the performance of other inorganic PSCs.


Puerarin (Pur) is herbal medicine that its inflammatory response but low solubility to reduce activity. Thus, the aim of this study was to synthesize q188-kappa-carrageenan@Pur@gold nanoparticles (q188-?-c@Pur@AuNPs) for enhancing solubility and transdermal delivery. The ?-c was synthesized by quaternization of ?-c with 25% (v/v) q188, and the q188-?-c @AuNPs was prepared by reducing HAuCl4 into AuNPs by using 25% (v/v) q188-?-c as reducing and stabilizing agents. The highest degree of quaternization (%DQ) at 21.12% was found q188 addition, which was calculated from 1H NMR. The solubility of the q188-?-c derivatives was 43.7?0.01%, which higher than ?-c. The size of synthesized q188-?-c@AuNPs was confirmed by UV-vis, TEM, EDX and DLS, which were found the successfully synthesized with the size 15 nm. A cytotoxic study of Pur loaded on q188-?-c-@AuNPs derivatives (q188-?-c-@Pur@AuNPs) were observed, which shown increasing cytotoxicity to CLS cells and non-toxic to normal cells (Wi-38) by MTT assay. In vitro drug permeation was studied by Franz?s cell method. The q188-?-c-@Pur@AuNPs permeation was investigates by ICP-OES and UV-vis that shown increasing permeation to across cellulose membrane. According to the results, it was suggested that q188-?-c@Pur@AuNPs can be a good candidate to further development for transdermal delivery applications.


Wildlife tracking can make an excellent service-learning activity for engaging anthropology, biology and environmental science/studies students in their local communities and ecosystems. This project describes an advanced project for a well-developed field school as well as possible entry-level activities that would be easier to integrate into a wide variety of courses. The Cascade Citizens Wildlife Monitoring Project (CCWMP) is a service-learning activity through which students in the Learn and Serve Environmental Anthropology Field (LEAF) School draw upon traditional ecological knowledge and observation skills to help solve a modern problem. The LEAF School employs service-learning as a form of participant observation through which students can come to better understand their own community, its subcultures and its interconnectedness within an ecosystem. In the winter students assist the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition with documentation of wildlife presence and movements along the primary east-west route across the Cascade Mountains. During the spring, summer and fall students collaborate with Conservation Northwest and Wilderness Awareness School to set up remote cameras to document the presence of rare carnivores in the Cascades. The 2009 LEAF School students are helping to place, set up and check cameras targeted for documentation of reported wolf sounds and sightings in the vicinity of Manastash (south of Cle Elum, WA). The data collected by students is shared with government officials, environmental organizations and land managers to help guide the protection of wildlife corridors and the placement of freeway crossings.


Background In Crohn's disease high tissue expression and serum levels of chemokines and their receptors are known to correlate with disease activity. Because statins can reduce chemokine expression in patients with coronary diseases, we wanted to test whether this can be achieved in patients with Crohn's disease. Methodology/Principal Findings We investigated plasma levels of chemokines (CCL2, CCL4, CCL11, CCL13, CCL17, CCL22, CCL26, CXCL8, CXCL10) and endothelial cytokines (sP-selectin, sE-selectin, sICAM-3, thrombomodulin) in ten Crohn's disease patients before and after thirteen weeks' daily treatment with 80 mg atorvastatin. Of the 13 substances investigated, only CXCL10 was found to be significantly reduced (by 34%, p = 0.026) in all of the treated patients. Levels of CXCL10 correlated with C-reactive protein (r = 0.82, p<0.01). Conclusions/Significance CXCL10 is a ligand for the CXCR3 receptor, the activation of which results in the recruitment of T lymphocytes and the perpetuation of mucosal inflammation. Hence the reduction of plasma CXCL10 levels by atorvastatin may represent a candidate for an approach to the treatment of Crohns disease in the future. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00454545


The design of the hierarchical hybrid grids (HHG) framework is motivated by the desire to achieve high performance on large-scale, parallel, finite element simulations on super computers. In order to realize this goal, careful analysis of the low-level, computationally intensive algorithms used in implementing the library is necessary. This analysis is primarily concerned with identifying and removing bottlenecks that limit the serial performance of multigrid component algorithms such as smoothing and residual error calculation. To aid in this investigation, two metrics have been developed: the balance metric (BM), and the loads per miss metric (LPMM). Each of these metrics makes assumptions about the interaction of various data structures and algorithms with the underlying memory subsystems and processors of the architectures on which they are implemented. Applying these metrics generates performance predictions that can then be compared to measured results to determine the actual characteristics of an algorithm/data structure on a given platform. This information can then be used to increase performance. In this paper, we first present an overview of the HHG framework. Next, we introduce the details of the two performance metrics. These metrics are then applied to three different data structures used to implement a Gauß–Seidel smoothing algorithm. Performance results and an interpretation of the underlying interactions of the data structures with several relevant supercomputing architectures are given. Finally, we present a brief discussion of some performance results of the HHG framework, followed by some concluding remarks.


We provide evidence that the strength of the bank lending channel varies considerably across three major events in the European sovereign debt crisis - the Greek debt restructuring (PSI), outright monetary transactions (OMT), and quantitative easing (QE). We study how lending responds to each shock using detailed bank, firm, and household data from Portugal, a country that was directly exposed to the three events. While the price of sovereign debt securities increased in all three events, banks reduced sovereign debt holdings and realized accumulated capital gains only after QE. As a result, lending to final borrowers reacted more strongly to QE than to the PSI or OMT events. Our results suggest that asset purchases were more effective than signalling events at stimulating the bank lending channel.


The invention relates to an information display device and electronic timepiece. An information display device of the present invention includes an hour plate having an opening, a rotor which is rotatably placed below the hour plate and has a display section which is partially exposed corresponding to the opening of the hour plate, and a braking member which gives a load to the rotor when the rotation of the rotor is stopped, and reduces the load on the rotor when the rotor is rotating.


Richard Swinburne's tetralogy on Christian doctrine, together with his earlier trilogy on the philosophy of theism, is one of the most important apologetic projects of recent times. This paper focuses on some difficulties with this project that stem from Swinburne's use of confirmation theory. Arguably, the problem of dwindling probabilities, pointed out by Plantinga, has not been solved. The paper is principally focused, however, on the ways in which Swinburne's confirmation theory contributes to his comparative neglect of the personal, existential dimension of Christianity. A solution for these difficulties is suggested but not elaborated.


An edge enhancement method and apparatus considering difference are provided to detect the difference, which independently exists for surrounding pixels in an image, and control a gain value for edge enhancement for pixels detected as the difference, thereby enabling edge enhancement processing adaptable to the property of the image. An improved edge image generator(210) produces the improved edge image of an input image. A difference detection unit(220) detects difference distinguished from an edge among pixels of the input image. A gain value decision unit(230) determines a gain value for edge enhancement processing based on the detection result of the difference. A result image generator(240) multiplies the improved edge image by the determined gain value to produce a result image with the improved edge.


In this paper, a novel design of centrifugal blower called Plated Blowers (PB) is proposed for cooling of laptop computers where the conventional rotor blade is replaced by a new design comprising of a sheet metal rotor with punched holes and residual hanging chads. A numerical study was conducted on these designs to determine the flow rates under operational speed of 6000 rpm. The results showed that the PB designs can outperform the traditional blade fan design as well as the Volumetric Resistance Blower (VRB) [1] in terms of air flow rate at iso-rpm conditions. Similar to VRB which has a porous rotor, the PBs are also expected to offer significant acoustic advantage over bladed fans (claim to be validated through tests), which can result in a boost in overall platform power in these mobile computing systems.


Atrioventricular block during radiofrequency (RF) ablation of an accessory pathway may be due to inadvertent RF damage or catheter pressure to the conduction system, or a pre-existent conduction defect. Conversely, block in the normal conduction system may unmask pre-excitation. We describe a case where total infra-Hisian block complicated tricuspid valve surgery, unmasking a hitherto undiagnosed left lateral accessory pathway.


ABSTRACT This study explores the extraction of lutein and zeaxanthin from Arthrospira Platensis (spirulina), with traditional protocols as a reference and response surface methodology as a tool for optimisation. An enhanced extraction procedure was developed for obtaining higher lutein concentration. The extraction process is further optimised using the central composite method, with the aid of design software tools. Methanol was used as the extracting solvent in a fixed ratio with dry spirulina powder. Saponification and hydrolysis using KOH, water and ethyl acetate/dichloromethane were done for isolating lutein and zeaxanthin from its ester. Ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry was used for analysing the absorbance of the lutein sample at a wavelength of 445 nm. Using the Response Surface Methodology, trials of various combinations are run for finding optimum conditions of saponification. The major variables were reaction time, reaction temperature and concentration of KOH. Temperature range of 45–75°C, the reaction time of 45–70 min and KOH concentrations ranging from 2% to 10% are observed as the optimum range. The sample is filtered using a PVDF membrane and stored in acetone or isopropyl alcohol. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


In this paper, the ocean acoustic channel is considered as a time-variant channel. In order to analyse the conjoint time-shift - frequency-delay distribution or the fading and spread statistical characteristics of the channel. The TDWVS (Two Dimensional Wigner-Ville Spectrum) of the time - variant channel is defined. The relation between the WVS (Wigner-Ville Spectrum) of the input and the output of the channel is discussed and some examples for the specific channel are shown. Finally, the applications on the detection of signals in noise using the WVS and TDWVS are given and the advantage is obvious, when the detected signal is linear frequency-modulation signal.


Analogues with the scaffolds of 3-cyano-4-alkoxyphenyl-6-bromoaryl-2-pyridone and 2-amino-3-cyano-4-alkoxyphenyl-6-bromoarylpyridine were synthesized. Cyclization of the 2-amino derivatives with formic acid and formamide gave the corresponding pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one and the pyrido[2,3-d]-pyrimidin-4-amine derivatives, respectively. Active phosphodiesterase 3 (PDE3) inhibitors were identified from each of the four aforementioned scaffolds. This is the first report that pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one and pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-amine derivatives can inhibit PDE3. The analogues with the pyridone and pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one scaffolds inhibited both cAMP and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) hydrolysis by PDE3, while the amine containing scaffolds were more selective for cGMP hydrolysis. This observation may set the base for substrate-selective pharmacological modulation of this important class of drug targets and with less side effects, particularly tachcardia. The dual inhibitors of PDE3 were more potent inhibitor towards the growth of HT-29 cancer cell lines.


A diverse collection of 30 grape varieties was evaluated at Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar with regard to some growth characters following pruning and a number of fruit characters, related to yield and quality. The variability of the material was assessed from the estimates of range, mean, standard deviation of mean, phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variability, heritability (broad sense) and expected genetic advance expressed as percentage of mean. The variability was rather poor for growth characters studied as also for fruit characters like number of seeds in 20 berries, percentage of juice and looseness index. But a high amout of variability was present with regard to yield per plant, average bunch weight, 50-berry weight, weight of seeds of 20 berries, sugar/acid ratio and total number of bunches per vine. A wide scope for improving these traits is indicated. The contents of T.S.S., acidity and sugar/acid ratio showed a high interaction variance between genotype and developmental stages, thus indicating necessity to conduct quality test at different time intervals with individual genotypes.


The article narrates the meaning,applying scope,the format of analysis description,and analysis description method of single-volume local document,local documents with partial title and local document appendix in CNMARC.


We propose a methodology to perform early design stage validation of hardware/software (HW/SW) systems using a HW/SW interface simulation model. Given a SW application described at the OS abstraction level and a HW platform described at an arbitrary abstraction level, we aim at providing the adaptation layer, i.e. simulation model of the HW/SW interface, which will enable the timed HW/SW cosimulation of the entire system at an early design stage before the system design is completed. Experimental results show that our approach is easy to use and efficient while providing fast simulation (up to 3 orders of magnitude faster than a HW/SW cosimulation with instruction set simulator, ISS) and accuracy (86% compared with a HW/SW cosimulation with ISS).


Ninety-nine healthy people participated in a braincomputer interface (BCI) field study conducted at an exposition held in Graz, Austria. Each subject spent 20 to 30 minutes on a two-session BCI investigation. The first session consisted of 40 trials conducted without feedback. Then a subjectspecific classifier was set up to provide the subject with feedback, and the second session – 40 trials in which the subject had to control a horizontal bar on a computer screen – was conducted. Subjects were instructed to imagine a right-hand movement or a foot movement after a cue stimulus depending on the direction of an arrow. Bipolar electrodes were mounted over the right-hand representation area and over the foot representation area. Classification results achieved with (i) an adaptive autoregressive (AAR) model (39 subjects) and (ii) band power estimation (60 subjects) are presented. Roughly 93% of the subjects were able to achieve classification accuracy above 60% after two sessions of training.


Air pollution is one of the greatest social issues of the environment and has impinged on the lives of humans and animals causing a lot of health disorders. Air pollution causes fog, smog and initiates a lot of harmful gases in the environment that has greatly affected the humans with diseases like asthma, bronchitis and countless lung diseases. Delhi is one of the most polluted cities in India before COVID-19. But due to the widespread effect of Corona virus there was a lockdown throughout India. Now it seems in Delhi, the pollution has decreased. All the buildings are visible at present and the sky is very clear than before lockdown. Although numerous negative impacts were there due to the widespread of Corona virus throughout the world, the positive effect of COVID-19 is the lessening of pollution in India and throughout the world.


The Ecosistema del Emprendedor por Subsistencia Paceño , in Spanish, is a collection of books produced by the Bolivian Catholic University, with the active participation of graduating students involved in fieldwork research on a common topic of interest. Subsistence entrepreneurship is an important issue in a developing country context like Bolivia where it has not been studied from its ecosystem perspective. The collection concentrates mostly on the metropolitan area of La Paz. This article reviews the knowledge co-creation experiment among graduating students from different careers and their professors in studying and analyzing the La Paz's subsistence entrepreneurial ecosystem under conditions of research constraints.


Al-Ashwat (الأصوات) comes from arabic, which is the plural form of the word shaout (صوت) which means sound or sound. Al-Ashwat became a term for the study of Arabic language science, which is an Arabic discipline that recites sound or sound systems. This science examines the sounds and various sounds that are produced by human speech tools. In the teaching of al-ashwat there are at least two learning methods that pay attention to the teaching of language sounds the two methods are the Phonetic Method and the Mim-mem Method. The al-ashwat method that can improve
listening skills (maharatul istima') is the Phonetic Method. The application of the al-ashwat method, namely the Phonetic Method, to learn listening skills (maharatul istima') Istima' 1 Course, Department of Arabic Language Education, Mataram State Islamic University. This research uses qualitative methods, data collection techniques using observation, interviews and documentation. The data analysis technique uses data reduction and data verification techniques. The results of this study provide information that istima'1 learning using the phonetic method in the Arabic Language Education Department of Mataram State Islamic University has been well arranged. However, in its application there are still obstacles, both internal and external constraints. The application of this method in order to obtain maximum results as expected, namely students are able to understand the sounds or sounds they hear, are able to recite what they hear, and can pour the results they hear into a piece of writing. So that this method is appropriate to be used in learning Istima' Skills in the Department of Arabic Language Education, Mataram State Islamic University.


i ˆ − + α − α + α ≈ α (3) If this dependence is removed from the signal, the relaxation function remains. We define TEequiv as the "equivalent echo time" in which as much relaxation will have taken place due to pure T2 decay.


Objectives: Experiments in animal models have identified specific subcortical anatomic circuits, which are critically involved in the pathogenesis and control of seizure activity. However, whether such anatomic substrates also exist in human epilepsy is not known. Methods: We studied 2 separate groups of patients with focal epilepsies arising from any cortical location using either simultaneous EEG-fMRI (n = 19 patients) or [11C]flumazenil PET (n = 18). Results: Time-locked with the interictal epileptiform discharges, we found significant hemodynamic increases common to all patients near the frontal piriform cortex ipsilateral to the presumed cortical focus. GABAA receptor binding in the same area was reduced in patients with more frequent seizures. Conclusions: Our findings of cerebral blood flow and GABAergic changes, irrespective of where interictal or ictal activity occurs in the cortex, suggest that this area of the human primary olfactory cortex may be an attractive new target for epilepsy therapy, including neurosurgery, electrical stimulation, and focal drug delivery.


The cross sections for charge-exchange and charge-transfer processes are evaluated for collisions of helium ions with parent-atoms in ground and excited states, with the principal quantum number n = 1–5, in the collision energy range from thermal up to 10 eV. Corresponding diffusion-type collision integrals are derived, and the role of "abnormal" transport of electronically excited states on the reactive thermal conductivity of equilibrium helium plasma, at atmospheric pressure, estimated in the frame of a simplified approach.


The following conclusion was made from the 2D-QSAR model for the tyrosinase inhibitory activity according to the variation of the substituents R1 and R2 in analogues of compound 2-((2,6-dioxocyclohexyl)methyl)cyclo- hexane-1,3-dione (1-23). The best optimized 2D-QSAR model was Obs.pI50 = -0.295 (± 0.031)TDM -0.120 (± 0.014 )DMZ + 0.135 (± 0.050)DMX. R2 + 6.382 (± 0.17), and the correlation (r 2 = 0.905) of which was greater than its predictability (q 2 = 0.843). The magnitude of the effect of tyrosinase inhibitory activities was in order of TDM > DMX.R2 ≥ DMZ, and it tended to increase as the hydrophobicity of substrate molecule (ClogP > 0) as well as the steric favor of sub- stituent R1 increased. The analysis of the model implies that inhibitory activity of substrate molecule will increase as DMX.R2 (Dipole moment X component of R2-substituent) increases, while TDM (Total Dipole Moment) and DMZ 1)


This paper describes how geotechnical and hydraulic engineering concepts were combined to develop a computer model that can be used to simulate the rate and extent of breaching of earth embankments characterized by transverse cracks and foundations experiencing the presence of earth fissures. The rate of breaching is an important parameter for developing emergency evacuation plans once breaching occurs or is anticipated. In addition, breach rate and its maximum extent determines the outflow characteristics from the reservoir, which is required to conduct inundation modeling and mapping. Other uses of the model include evaluation of potential solutions to prevent breaching of the dams and foundations.


Comments Welcome 1 We are grateful to David Laitin, who collaborated with Kanchan Chandra on early versions of this chapter and has contributed to many of the insights here; to


Natural antioxidants play an important role in the prevention of many age-related diseases and promotion of health. Among natural antioxidants from plants, flavonoids and other phenolic compounds are potent antioxidants and chelating agents. Betel (Piper betle) is the leaf of a vine belonging to the family Piperaceae, which also includes pepper and kava. It is valued both as mild stimulant and appetiser. Betel leaf is mostly consumed in Asia, and elsewhere in the world by some Asian emigrants, with or without tobacco, the later is an addictive psychostimulating and euphoria-inducing formulation with adverse health effects. Betel leaf is said to have antioxidant properties. No reports are available on the antioxidant potential of the leaf extracts of common betel verities chewed in Odisha. Keeping this in view, the antioxidant activities of leaf extracts of five selected betel varieties (Vishnupuri, Desawari, Ghajipur, Desipaan and Jaleswar) were carried out. Results revealed that the leaves have sound ROS scavenging activity. Present papers highlights the antioxidant and medicinal importances of common betel varieties, the traditional edible leaf of Odisha. INTRODUCTION: Antioxidants provide protection against degenerative diseases including cancer, coronary heart, and Alzheimer's diseases. Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), contribute to cellular aging, mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, and coronary heart disease, likely through destabilization of membranes, DNA and protein damage and oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Furthermore, antioxidants scavenge reactive species, and upregulate antioxidant defences. Plants are rich sources of natural antioxidants, the best known are tocopherols, carotenoids, Vitamin C, flavonoids, and different other phenolic compounds. Recently, among natural antioxidants, flavonoids have received increasing attention 1-2 . QUICK RESPONSE CODE DOI: 10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.8(4).1776-80 Article can be accessed online on: www.ijpsr.com DOI link: http://dx.doi.org/10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.8 (4).1776-80 As compared with Vitamin C and E, dietary flavonoids are considered to be more powerful antioxidants. Flavonoids are known to be highly effective antioxidants playing the role by scavenging oxygen radicals. They also posses interesting anti-cancer, hypolipidemic, anti-ageing, and anti-inflammatory activities. Moreover, the protective effects of flavonoids in biological systems are attributed to their capacity to scavenge free radicals, chelate metal catalysts, activate antioxidant enzymes, reduce alpha-tocopherol radicals, and inhibit oxidases. Furthermore, phenolic compounds have phenolic hydroxyl groups which can dissociate to negatively charged phenolates. Dissociated phenolics can form hydrogen and ionic bonds with various proteins, which lead to a disturbance of their 3D-structures and in consequence to a change in their bioactivity 3-4 . Several reports on antioxidant activity of plant species exist even in the cultivated climbers like betel 5-6 . To the best of our knowledge no effort has been made to evaluate antioxidant activity of leaves of common betel verities available in Odisha.


An instructional strategy for increasing adults' verbal and nonverbal references to print while reading to typically developing 4-year-old children was evaluated. Also investigated were the effects...


The treatment of intraconal tumours is surgically challenging because of their location in anatomically narrow areas, which have poor accessibility and proximity to important nervous and vascular structures. Moreover, when the nature of the tumour is not malignant, the need for more conservative approaches with low morbidity must be considered before defining the therapeutic proposal. In the recent years, it has become possible to reach and treat tumours located in themedial and inferior part of the orbit as an elegant alternative or combination to open approaches. Exposure and complete removal of the tumour without rupture, while carrying minimal risks for vision and ocular motility, remain the most important goals of this surgery. We report a purely endonasal approach for the removal of an intraconal hemangioma, associated with the use of an autostatic retractor spreading the orbital muscles in order to optimize and facilitate exposure for dissection. The patient was a fifty-seven-year-old male presenting with progressive loss of visual acuity over a period of 6 months and no other associated symptom. Ophthalmic evaluation revealed a 1-mm left proptosis. Visual acuity was reduced to 4/10 on the affected side. CT scan and MRI revealed an intraconal retrobulbar mass inferior to the optic nerve with signs of local compression (Fig. 1).