It provides a technique to improve the positioning accuracy of the substrate in each of the manufacturing process of the solar cell. Manufacturing method of an embodiment of a solar cell, a detection step of detecting at least a pattern for positioning formed as part of the solar cell-implanted ion implanted pattern in a predetermined area of the substrate (S12) and, in certain of the solar cell substrate when performing a process on the basis of the detected position for the pattern includes a process portion and the solar cell which performs the positioning of the relative positioning of the substrate step (S16) to execute the process.


It is revealed that the reflectance in the whole stop band of a heterostructure, including the defect mode, approaches 1; while the phase-shift depends on the sub-photonic crystal (PC) that faces the incident direction. For every sub-peak in the defect mode or every pass band of the sub-PC facing the incident direction, the phase shift is 2π. These properties are useful for designing optical phase devices several orders more sensitive than those using amplitude-signal. In this paper, a sensitive optical phase logic gate (NAND) is described as an example of optical phase devices. Moreover, these properties are also useful for the study of related physical phenomena.


Nerve disorders of the hand result in impairments as well as activity limitations and participation restrictions. There are currently no patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), that evaluate this impact specifically in people with a range of nerve conditions. To address this need, the Impact of Hand Nerve Disorders (I-HaND©) Scale was developed.
A multi-centre, three-phase study using mixed methods was undertaken to develop and validate the I-HaND. Face-to-face interviews with 14 patients and subsequent pilot-testing with 61 patients resulted in the development of the content of a new 32-item PROM. A final longitudinal, repeated-measures validation study with 82 patients assessed the psychometric properties of the I-HaND.
Patients found the I-HaND to be relevant and highly acceptable. A single-factor structure was confirmed through Principal Components Analysis. A very high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.98) and good criterion-related validity with the Quick DASH (Pearson's r = 0.87) were demonstrated. Test-retest reliability was assessed from repeated administration over a 2-week interval. The test-retest reliability was excellent (Intraclass Correlation Coefficients = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.94 to 0.98). Responsiveness was assessed over a 12-week interval and calculated as Cohen's Effect Size (ES) and the Standardised Response Mean (SRM). The I-HaND was able to detect change in a group of patients where change was expected (ES = 0.51; SRM = 0.60) and was marginally more responsive relative to the Quick DASH (ES = 0.42; SRM = 0.56).
The I-HaND is the first condition-specific PROM validated for people with a range of hand nerve disorders. The study also provides new insights into the impact of hand nerve disorders on patients. Subject to further research into its psychometric properties, the I-HaND has the potential to be used alongside other outcome measures for hand nerve disorders and to become part of a core outcome set for use in future clinical trials.


Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a distinct form of idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (VF), characterized by a unique electrocardiogram (ECG) pattern consisting of a right bundle branch block-like morphology and ST-segment (J point) elevation in the precordial leads. Many markers have been described for VF development in BrS, including clinical markers of a family history of sudden cardiac death (1), syncope (2), paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (3), and a genetic marker of SCN5A. ECG markers are also important, such as a spontaneous type 1 ECG pattern (coved type), the existence of late potential (4), and fragmented QRS (f-QRS) (5). Recently J waves with ST segment elevation in the inferolateral leads (the "early repolarization" pattern) (6-9) have been strongly related to VF development in patients with BrS. This ECG pattern is considered a benign ECG phenomenon affecting 2-5% of the general population and is most commonly observed in young men (10, 11), but recent population-based studies have demonstrated that an early repolarization pattern followed by a J wave may be associated with serious arrhythmic events (early repolarization syndrome) (12). Because accentuated J waves are characteristic of both BrS and early repolarization syndrome, these syndromes have been grouped as J wave syndrome (13). The pathogenesis of J wave is still a matter of debate, but high amplitude J waves (>0.2 mV) and a subsequent early repolarization pattern with horizontal or descending ST segments have been shown to indicate high risk for VF development in patients with this syndrome (14, 15). Patients with a history of cardiac arrest/aborted sudden death must be treated with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). No drug therapies are recommended to prevent VF for BrS because clinical trials have failed to convincingly demonstrate their effectiveness (1, 16). Therefore, medications should be considered when multiple direct current (DC) shocks are observed. For this purpose, a theoretical Ito-specific drug would be the most appropriate, but there are no drugs that selectively block Ito. Isoproterenol (17), quinidine (18), cilostazol (19), denopamine, disopyramide, and bepridil (20) are reported to be effective for preventing VF. Among them, quinidine is the most popular drug to prevent VF in patients with BrS; however, it is sometimes difficult to use in Japan because of its common side effects (diarrhea). Mizusawa et al. reported the use of low-dose quinidine (300-600 mg/day), but that treatment only resulted in (44% prevention) (21). Cilostazol, which is a phosphodiesterase III inhibitor, has been reported to normalize the ST-segment elevation by augmenting the calcium and Ito currents secondary to an increase in heart rate in patients with BrS (19, 22). In the present cases, Hasegawa et al. demonstrated a strong correlation between the attenuation of J wave amplitude by low-dose quinidine (300 mg/day) or cilostazol (200 mg/day) and an early repolarization pattern in the inferolateral leads, as well as ST elevation in precordial leads and VF suppression in BrS patients (23). These findings imply that J wave amplitude could potentially be used to monitor drug efficacy. Alings et al. described J wave amplitude and quinidine concentration in two patients with BrS, but they did not mention the drug efficacy in regard to the patients' VF events (24). In conclusion, although the number of patients in this study was small and a further prospective or randomized study is needed to reach a definitive conclusion, Hasegawa et al. have provided important data demonstrating the clinical utility of J wave monitoring as an indicator of antiarrhythmic drug efficacy in patients with BrS who experienced repeated episodes of VF.


The Mobile Internet is no longer a new phenomenon; the first mobile devices supporting Web access were introduced over 10 years ago. During the past 10 years many user studies have been conducted that have generated insights into mobile Internet use. The number of mobile Internet users has increased and the focus of the studies has switched from the user interface to user experiences. Mobile phones are regarded as personal devices: the current possibility of gathering more contextual information and linking that to the Internet creates totally new challenges for user experience and design.


T HE criminal law of Scotland is the proud possessor of a distinctive and, in many ways, peculiar verdict which has always been the object of much criticism. 'Not Proven' is an intermediate verdict between ' Guilty' and ' Not Guilty' and in too many cases provides a haven of refuge for judge or JUry. Before endeavouring, however, to show its advantages and disadvantages in present-day practice, it is necessary to investigate the history of the expression, in the hope that some light may thereby be thrown on this hybrid which is neither flesh, fowl nor good red herring, but is, in the words of Mr. Roughead, the eminent criminal writer, ' an indefensible and invidious finding.' Originally juries were invited to bring in a verdict of , fylit culpable and convict' or ' clene and acquit,' that is to say' Guilty' or ' Not Guilty.' During the latter half of the seventeenth century, however, circumstances necessitated an alteration. 'Prosecutions,' says Mr. Arnot in his Criminal Trials, published in 1785, 'became so frequent against rebels, covenanters and attendants upon conventicles that it was matter of difficulty to get a jury to find a verdict against a state criminal, particularly an attendant upon conventicles. His Majesty's Advocate, to evade this reluctance, fell upon a device which almost totally annihilated the powers and purposes of a jury. It was, to introduce a doctrine, that, in no case


In a recent paper,' Welch has described a set of macros which can be used in an assembly language (MACRO-11) to give it the appearance of possessing high-level control structures. These macros encourage structured programming within assembly language, and thus simplify programming and improve readability. The purpose of this note is to point out that this same concept can be extended to include iterative, conditional and case statements and procedures, and to allow complex as well as simple conditions. The following are typical program fragments expressed in the MACRO-1 1 assembly language with the help of the macro package STRUCT, which has been in use at Queen's University since 1977. Each of the lines shown is a macro call, and each fragment carries out the obvious action, The structures may be nested within one another as desired.


(57) Abstract: The present invention, roses supplies material is supplied from above into the container to the limited and the side and downwards, and is fed by the feed conveyor is disposed at a lower portion of the container, how to homogenize the bulk product materials and apparatus. Feature of the present invention, roses supplies material is fed into one end of the container (20), the floor rose goods material having a contour that is inclined so as to form in the container, rose goods material container dropped sliding toward the opposite end, for sliding, volume and heavier portions of roses goods material, at least one of the coarser portion is sliding more than lighter portions, which is in the unit time said portion of roses supplies material from each portion of the container in the direction of length delivery (.DELTA.l), fed from the bottom of the container, the volume rose goods material, during the same time unit, the length of the container immediately response to supply to part of the upper surface of the floor at the top (An) of rose goods material is moved substantially downward along the entire length of the floor towards the feeder (30) feeding, delivery feeder (30) surface portion of the material, the floor of the upper surface Almost at the same rate as the rate of new material upwardly is supplied, is that feeding from the respective portions.


Ten female mice in the second half of pregnancy and ten non-pregnant mice were subjected to x-irradiation in a dose of 418 r. Acute radiation sickness developed, and the manifestations and pathological findings are described at great length. In four pregnant mice which died 1 to 25 days after irradiation, there were marked changes in the cardiovascular system (acute fatty degeneration of the myocardium with areas of necrosis and hemorrhage) and massive hemorrhages in the internal organs. There were hemorihages in the uterine horns and ovaries, with necrosis of the corporea lutea and ovarian follicles. All the layers of the uterus were infiltrated with blood. In mice which died after 25 days, the uterine cavity contained fetal remains in a state of petrificition. Fifteen pregnant rabbits were subjected to x-irradiation in a dose of 676 r. Acute radiation sickness developed, and leucopenia was noted in the offspring. The results indicated that radiation sickness takes a more severe course in animals which are pregnant at the time of irradiation. (OTS)


TWO papers in the Journal this month report on the sensitivity and specificity of clinical and laboratory tests in the dignosis of non-specific vaginitis." 2 The differences in the titles of the papers and their approach are an indication of the continuing controversy concerning the role of bacteria in the aetiology of this common syndrome. It has been proposed that the term bacterial vaginosis be used instead of non-specific vaginitis to describe the syndrome.3 This use of the term vaginosis is a recognition that this syndrome does not appear to involve an inflammatory reaction of the vaginal mucosa but does not imply that the condition or the symptoms are trivial. The syndrome is characterized by a typical malodorous vaginal discharge, and the presence of vaginal epithelial cells whose borders are obscured by large numbers of bacteria. These cells are referred to as 'clue' cells and can be identified on direct microscopy of wet smears. In 1955 Gardner and Dukes4 demonstrated that in most cases of non-specific vaginitis a Gram-positive bacillus can be isolated which has been shown subsequently to be a major component of the bacteria observed on 'clue cells. This short bacillus was initially described as a type of haemophilus then termed a corynebacterium but is novw referred to as Gardnerella vaginalis because of its unique characteristics. In spite of the close association between non-specific vaginitis and G. vaginalis a single species aetiology is doubtful on several counts. First, G. vaginalis is found in apparently asymptomatic women,5'6 although O'Dowd and colleagues7 have challenged this view. Secondly, anaerobic bacteria are also associated with non-specific vaginitis and are responsible for the characteristic 'fishy' odour of the discharge which is thought to be due to the production of the amines putrescine and cadaverine.8 Thirdly, the high pH of the vaginal fluid, another feature of non-specific vaginitis, is likely to be due to the loss of the normal lactobacilli rather than a direct effect of the presence of G. vaginalis. Fourthly, volunteer inoculation only occasionally gives rise to symptoms of non-specific vaginitis if a pure culture of G. vaginalis is used.9 Finally, treatment with metronidazole is effective for non-specific vaginitis but G. vaginalis is relatively insensitive to this drug in vitro. The normal bacterial flora of the vagina form a complex ecosystem and we should not be surprised that vaginal discharge is associated with changes in the flora which are also complex. Anaerobic bacteria, mycoplasma and other organisms, as well as G. vaginalis are more prevalent in women with bacterial vaginosis than in asymptomatic women. Whether G. vaginalis and aerobic bacilli are causitive of vaginal discharge or simply accompany it remains to be clarified. General practitioners, however, require a rational approach in their investigation and treatment of patients complaining of a vaginal discharge and in the advice they give. In many instances the diagnosis will be clear. Vaginal thrush can be diagnosed clinically and confirmed by the identification of candida on direct examination of a smear or on culture. But what should a general practitioner do when a patient complains of a thin yellowish vaginal discharge which has a 'fishy' odour? Typically, a high vaginal swab will be sent to the bacteriology laboratory where it will be subjected to routine techniques and the report will state 'no pathogens. However, the evidence presented in the papers by Kelsey' and O'Dowd2 and in previous studies'0 suggests there is no justification for requesting laboratories to look for G. vaginalis on a routine basis because of the time and expense involved and because of the low specificity of the test. There does, however, seem to be justificationl"2 for general practitioners to measure the pH of the vaginal fluid and to look for 'clue'


Post-oesophagectomy gastro-bronchial fistula (GBF) has significant morbidity and mortality. Management of GBF remains non-standardized due its rarity and limited available evidence. Re-operation and surgical repair has been the main approach. More recently, multimodal endoscopic treatment is gaining popularity as primary treatment option due to its relatively non-invasiveness, increasing evidence of success rate and reduced morbidity. We present a case series of GBF managed endoscopically using over-the-scope-clip (OTSC).

 A dedicated, prospective and contemporaneous regional Upper GI cancer database was searched to identify GBF from January 2015 to December 2017. Clinical notes and investigation images of identified cases were analysed.

 Three patients developed post-oesophagectomy GBF during study period. Mean age of patients was 53. Mean time of GBF diagnosis was 233 days (range: 20–608). Two patients had endoscopic stent placement prior to OTSC application. Primary technical success was achieved in all patients. No adverse events were reported. Two patients had complete healing of GBF and mean healing time was 15 days (range: 6–24). One patient who had significant co-morbidities (peripheral arterial disease, diabetes, hepatitis C, rheumatoid arthritis and heavy smoker) developed persistent leak of GBF and died from cardiac event.

 GBF and its surgical treatment are associated with a high morbidity and mortality. We present this case series where two out of three patients with GBF were successfully treated with this modality. Endoscopic therapy incorporating OTSC placement is a feasible option in management of post-oesophagectomy GBF. Further studies are required to understand and establish its role in treatment algorithm of post-oesophagectomy GBF.

 All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


With the first issue of 1996, the Publication Committee has decided to introduce a few changes to the European Journal of Neuroscience. Firstly, we wish to make our columns more accessible to our American colleagues, and therefore we are very grateful to the leading US neuroscientists who have agreed to join the Editorial Board as Receiving Editors. Thus, manuscripts originating in North America can also be sent to them and their advice will play an important role in the decision making. We hope that many colleagues from across the Atlantic will take advantage of this opportunity. Secondly, it was decided to initiate the publication of 'minireviews' on focused topics of timely significance and the first of these will appear in the course of 1996. Suggestions for such reviews are welcome and can be made to any one of the Receiving Editors. Thirdly, the cover of the Journal has changed; the introduction of a different image each month should help the reader to identify new issues. Also, the abbreviation, EJN, has been emphasized. We hope that these changes will contribute to the continuing success of the Journal.


Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by high blood sugar levels that exceed normal limits. The DM pathomechanism involves oxidative stress, which has the potential to cause damage to cell components, including Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA). 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8-OhDG) is the most frequently detected oxidative DNA lesion. It is water-soluble and excreted in the urine. This study aimed to compare urine 8-OhDG levels in patients with controlled and uncontrolled blood sugar diabetes and healthy controls aged 56-65 years. Analytical descriptive research with a cross-sectional study design involved 80 participants determined with purposive sampling. The levels of 8-OhDG were measured using the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method. The results showed that urine 8-OhDG levels in DM patients (1.426±0.204ng/mL) were higher than in healthy controls (1.372±0.190ng/mL), although not statistically significant. Urine levels of 8-OhDG in DM patients aged 61-65 years (1.468±0.220ng/mL) were higher than in DM patients aged 56-60 years (1.394±0.190ng/mL), although not statistically significant. Urine levels of 8-Ohdg in controlled DM patient were lower (1.282±0.131 ng/mL) than in uncontrolled DM patient (1.569±0.159 ng/mL), were significantly different (p<0.05). 8-OhDG produced by the body is the final product of oxidative DNA damage.


Abstract The objective of this research was to evaluate the relationship between the CD4 level and adverse reaction to antituberculosis drugs by using the prospective data collected from 23 HIV patients who were not treated by anti retrovirus or HIV related drugs, in the HIV and tuberculosis clinic at Saraphee hospital during October 1 2005 to July 1 2007. The patients were categorized into 15 males and 8 females, aged from 20 to 70 years old with 8 to 273 cells of CD4 level. All were under 2HRZE+4HR standard treatment according to national tuberculosis treatment and follow up standard programs of Thailand. From the study, it was found that only one female suspected tuberculosis patient with 273 cells of CD4 level had urticaria and no fever after taking antituberculosis drugs. The symptom was disappeared with in one week after being treated with antihistamine drug. The results indicate that there is no relationship between the CD4 level and adverse reaction to antituberculosis drugs in AIDS patients. Keywords: HIV, Antituberculosis drugs


A new family is proposed for Hatnondia superba gen. et sp. nov., a shield-shaped harpacticoid collected from washings of sponges from Port Phillip, Australia. It is concluded that the closest relatives of the Hamondiidae fam. nov. currently belong to the heterogeneous thalestrid genus Rhynchothalestris Sars, 1905 and for that reason the latter is revised. Rhynchothalestris rufocincta (Brady, 1880) is redescribed and designated as type species for Ambunguipes gen. nov., comprising also the Indo-Pacific A. similis (A. Scott, 1909) which is re-instated. Ambunguipes vanhoeffeni (Brady, 1910) is ranked as species inquirenda within the genus. Because of its body ornamentation R. cornuta Geddes, 1969 is transferred to Lucayostratiotes gen. nov. The Ambunguipedidae fam. nov., accommodating Ambunguipes and Lucayostratiotes are regarded as the sister-group of the Hamondiidae on the basis of the loss of the seta on the first antennular segment, the presence of bifid spinules on the antennary exopod, the presence of a modified seta on the maxillary precoxal endite, the sexual dimorphism of leg 3, the detailed structure of the female genital complex, and the asymmetry of the male P6. The diagnosis of the subfamily Rhynchothalestrinae, encompassing the genera Rhynchothalestris and Peltthestris Monard, 1924 is amended, and a redescription of the former's type species R. helgolandica (Claus, 1863) is presented. The genus also contains R. tenuis Chislenko, 1971 and R. campbelliensis Lang, 1934 grad. nov. which is elevated to full species rank. The inadequately described R. tenuicornis (Brady, 1910) is ranked as species inquirenda. The monotypic genus Peltthestris is regarded as a valid genus. It is suggested that the Rhynchothalestrinae represent an early offshoot in the evolution of the Thalestridae and that the Thalestrinae and the Dactylopusiinae are more closely related to each other than to any other subfamily. Rhynchothalestris agigensis Serban, 1959 has no close relationship with either the Rhynchothalestrinae or the Ambunguipedidae and is tentatively considered incertae sedis within the Dactylopusiinae. The discovery of/, superba and the redescription of A. rufocincta have raised the maximum number of antennular segments in male harpacticoids to 14. The terms 'epicopulatory bulb' and 'epicopulatory plate' are coined for peculiar structures of the female genital complex. The development of'setoid elements' versus addition of novel setae is briefly mentioned.


Hydroelectric power is often considered a safe and clean alternative to the combustion of fossil fuels. Although the consequences to the air and atmosphere are lower, damming large rivers in the jungles of Brazil have a significant impact on indigenous populations and environmental ecosystems. This article examines such fallout and calls out for equity, and social and environmental justice. As the fuel of the last century burns out the hectic scramble for a tenable alternative is becoming an increasingly serious question mark. We would do well for ourselves, and future generations, to try and solve the environmental issues associated with energy consumption as opposed to simply delaying them.


International law states that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.' These rights help underpin democracy and public participation.2 New technologies, such as the Internet, provide an unprecedented opportunity to promote freedom of speech globally. Regrettably, some democratic governments are busy enacting regulations that inhibit the Internet's power.3 This paper discusses freedom of speech4 on the Internet within two of the world's largest democracies, the United States and India.5 In the United States and India, similar constitutional provisions have yielded completely different standards for the protection of speech in


The fluctuations in the energy lost by fast electrons over a fixed small fraction of their range have been studied by measuring the pulses the electrons produce in passing through a proportional counter. The energy loss distribution calculated theoretically by Landau is approximately gaussian with a high-energy tail. The experimental distribution is in agreement with the theoretical on the high-energy side of the peak, but is wider than Landau predicts on the low-energy side; this discrepancy is greater in krypton than in argon. The experimental values of the most probable energy loss agree with the theoretical values.


The micro flora of kefir grains have been studied by manyauthors1~n): They showed that the grains have a complex flora consisting of and lactic bac-teria.1 The microorganisms are held together in slimy embedding materials.1'3'10'12^5* La Riviere Ottogalli showed that almost half of the embedding materials were a polysaccharide named kefiran. Capsular bacteria are assumed to be responsible for polysaccharide production. However, it remains undecided which or-ganism is the kefiran producer,7' 14> 15) capsular


The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the Renminbi (the Chinese currency) and suggest whether or not the currency should be allowed to float. The paper makes use of four popular approaches to determine whether or not the currency is currently undervalued and if so, what mechanisms should be used to allow for its proper valuation. According to the purchasing power parity, balance of payments approach, and the asset management approach, the Chinese currency is undervalued and will therefore appreciate in the future. We believe that although floating of the currency is advisable for the long run, it will not be in the best interest of the Chinese economy in the short run given the state of its banking system in particular. Adopting a pure float will probably cause major macro and micro economic imbalances that will be difficult to tackle. Instead, we suggest a pegging of the Renminbi against a basket of currencies to ensure flexibility and stability in the system.


Built-In-Self-Test (BIST) is an efficient and practical technique for testing VLSI circuits and systems. Among the different BIST techniques, the Comparative Concurrent BIST (CBIST) has many advantages since it can provide on-line and off-line testing with the same hardware. However, in CBIST when the width of the circuit lines increases, on-line testing becomes inefficient. The problem is that finding a match between input data and test sequence has a low chance when the input line width increases. In this paper, we propose MCBIST (Multi CBIST) a new on-line BIST scheme that addresses the problem of concurrent on-line testing in CBIST. In addition, our method improves the performance of non-concurrent online testing. A distributed version of MCBIST is also discussed in this paper.


Recently, Kovács et al. considered a Mittag‐Leffler Euler integrator for a stochastic semilinear Volterra integral‐differential equation with additive noise and proved the strong convergence error estimates [see SIAM J. Numer. Anal. 58(1) 2020, pp. 66‐85]. In this article, we shall consider the Mittag‐Leffler integrators for more general models: stochastic semilinear subdiffusion and superdiffusion driven by fractionally integrated additive noise. The mild solutions of our models involve four different Mittag‐Leffler functions. We first consider the existence, uniqueness and the regularities of the solutions. We then introduce the full discretization schemes for solving the problems. The temporal discretization is based on the Mittag‐Leffler integrators and the spatial discretization is based on the spectral method. The optimal strong convergence error estimates are proved under the reasonable assumptions for the semilinear term and for the regularity of the noise. Numerical examples are given to show that the numerical results are consistent with the theoretical results.


Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship Part of the African American Studies Commons, Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons, Chicano Studies Commons, Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, Economics Commons, Environmental Public Health Commons, Land Use Planning Commons, Law and Society Commons, Property Law and Real Estate Commons, and the Race and Ethnicity Commons


Objective To explore the effect of adenosine monophosphate(AMP) on the proliferation and apoptosis of IEC-6 cells.Methods IEC-6 cells were divided into 4 groups,one control group and three experimental groups.Experimental groups were treated with 10,100,1 000 μmol/L of AMP,respectively(as A1,A2,A3 groups).The proliferation of cells was determined on 2-6 d.The apoptosis,cell cycle,and Ca2+ content were determined after 48 h culture.Results The supplementation of AMP reduced cell proliferation significantly(P0.01),while the distribution of cell cycle altered with AMP treatment as well.The percentage of cells in S-phase reduced and replaced by a corresponding increase in G0/G1 phases.The treatment of AMP,especially at 1 000 μmol/L,induced apoptosis.There was no significant difference in Ca2+ content(P0.05) before and after AMP treatment.Conclusion AMP can inhibit proliferation of IEC-6 cells,influence cell cycle and promote apoptosis,and the effect of AMP depends on its concentration,but has no relation with Ca2+ content.


The amount and distribution of liquid water in a snow cover is important for assessing its mechanical strength, meltwater generation and meltwater transmission. It also has a profound effect on the performance of active and passive remote sensing systems operating in the microwave and millimeter wave regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. New methods of measuring liquid water have been reported that show considerable promise. This report describes tests of measurement equivalence, in which are compared the three absolute methods of freezing calorimetry, alcohol calorimetry and dilution. Also compared are a calibrated capacitance snow moisture meter and one of the absolute methods. All comparisons were made in a laboratory coldroom using homogeneous snow with a mass liquid water content that varied from 0 to 14%. The comparisons show that the methods are equivalent and that the experimental errors associated with the measurements are consistent with what is expected from an error analysis of each method. However, the operational achievement of equivalence depends strongly on a variety of factors such as sample size, mixing of snow and working fluid, and operator skill.


A year into the COVID-19 crisis, the virus has exposed and strengthened the global fault lines in healthcare. On the good side, the pandemic brought together governments, pharmaceutical companies, and academic/ research institutes in an unprecedented manner to actively forge new collaborations and produced impressive results. Several vaccines are already in the market, and a steady pipeline is in place, promising new introductions in the coming months. At the same time, we have newfound evidence that availability does not translate into access for all even in the direst situations. In just a few months, COVID-19 has morphed from a global to a regional pandemic. As a small set of countries prepares to re-open their economies after having administered over seventy percent of all vaccine doses globally (McClellan et al, 2021), other regions of the world are beleaguered by mounting death rates, new virus variants and dwindling vaccine reserves.


Please note that the current rate structure for the golf course has not changed in two years. During that time Course employees have had two pay increases and other operational costs have skyrocketed due to higher petroleum prices. The rates proposed are moderate in my opinion and still represent an outstanding value to the users of the course, when compared to Allentown's Municipal course or other private venues . As you probably are aware, the Course was named by Lehigh Valley Magazine a s "The Best Public Golf Course in the Valley" for 2007 . The projected annual revenu e increase based on current course activity is $116,000.


Bacterial endophytes were isolated from the leaves of Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd. and screened for their in vitro antagonistic activity against three important phytopathogenic fungi viz., Neoc...


ABSTRACT: Organizations adopt formal sanctioning systems to deter ethical violations, but the formal systems' effectiveness may be undermined by informal sanctioning systems which promote violations. I conducted an ethnographic study of six trading crowds on two financial exchanges to understand how informal and formal sanctioning systems, which are grounded in different interpretations of equity, interact to affect trader deviance from rules established by the financial exchange (exchange deviance). To deter informal trader norms that conflict with exchange rules, the exchanges formally prohibit traders' informal sanctions. The exchanges, however, underestimate traders' informal sanctions related to ostracism and social rejection, which are not only difficult for the exchanges to detect, but also interpersonally hurtful and harmful to trader performance. Consequently, the traders' informal social sanctions lead to secondary sanctions from trading firms. Ultimately, the informal sanctioning system evades the formal sanctioning system by exploiting what the exchanges deem to be minor rule violations.


The purpose of this study was investigates the Autonomy and job satisfaction of the nurses in the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation ward. The data was collected by distributing structured questionnaires to 79 nurses at the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation ward at 7 university hospitals in D, B and U Metropolitan cites, from May 20 to June 4, 2013 and analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient. The average autonomy level of nursing professionals was 165.47±19.56 points. The average nurse's job satisfaction was 3.15±0.35 points. The correlation between autonomy and nurse's job satisfaction showed to be not correlated. The correlation between autonomy and nurse's job satisfaction of the autonomy category(r=.273) and human interaction category(r=.257) showed to be correlated. It is necessary to developed education and policy programs for nurse's autonomy and nurse's job satisfaction at the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation ward.


Cavitation refers to the formation of bubbles in a liquid flow leading to a two-phase mixture of liquid and vapor/gas, when the local pressure drops below the vapor pressure of the fluid. Fundamentally, the liquid to vapor transition can occur by heating the fluid at a constant pressure, known as boiling, or by decreasing the pressure at a constant temperature, which is known as cavitation. Since vapor density is at least two orders of magnitude smaller than that of liquid, the phase transition is assumed to be an isothermal process. Modern diesel engines are designed to operate at elevated injection pressures corresponding to high injection velocities. The rapid acceleration of fluid in spray nozzles often leads to flow separation and pockets of low static pressure, prompting cavitation. Therefore, in a diesel injector nozzle, high pressure gradients and shear stresses can lead to cavitation, or the formation of bubbles.


Current usage as to the name of the type species of the eurypterid genus Acutiramus Ruedemann, 1935, violates Article 68 of the third edition of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (Ride et al., 1985; hereafter referred to as the Code). The history is recorded here, and the correct citation of the type species is given as the conclusion of this note. The pertinent sections of the Code are quoted for convenience of the reader.


The algorithm for computation of three dimension digital cyclic convolutions with bivariate polynomial transform is researched and improved in detail. And the estimation of operations amounts is also given. As can be seen that while computing three dimension N1×N2×N3 complex digital convolutions with the algorithm improved, 2N1N2N3 log N1-8N1N2N3 times real multiplication operations and 4N1N2N3 log N1N2N3-N23 log N3+2N23 times real additive operations are needed. compared to FFT, in FPT methods, the operations amount is decreased.


The present application relates to a photoelectric conversion apparatus for performing photoelectric conversion of incident light, a driving method of a photoelectric conversion device and an imaging system having a photoelectric conversion device. Approaching said predetermined potential is determined during a period to prevent a master node potential of the potential determined in advance to give the control node and the administration of one input node based on the photoelectric conversion unit charge signal, the pre-potential will switch Metal determined voltage between a master node and a control node switching MOS transistor oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor is controlled in the threshold voltage.


FIELD: medicine. SUBSTANCE: ejectable liquid which can be ejected stably in the way of the jet thermopress with thermal energy use even in case of presence is offered at least one component from proteins and peptides, and also the method and the device providing release of a liquid, containing at least one component from proteins and peptides, and providing use of the mentioned thrown out liquid are offered. At least one compound having the aminoethanamidine group is added in a water solution at least of one component from proteins and peptides for improvement of its qualities on a case of ejection in the way of the jet thermopress with thermal energy use. EFFECT: stability of adjustable ejection of an albuminous solution or peptide with obtaining of desirable volume of a microdrop. 9 cl, 9 dwg


The ghetto type settlements, which appear in the European city structure, define those quarters where the Jews have been forced to live isolated from the city. Yet, the place where the term was used for the first time is Venice which is also the place where the first ghetto had been formed. Jewish communities have come to also Venice for purpose of trade such as other Italian cities since ancient periods. However, they had been composed the settlement which has been had gone on until now in sixteenth century. The phenomenon of decomposed quarter had been created 'ghetto' type settlement. Nowadays, even if Jewish population is in a small number, they remain their existence in ghetto with religious and social buildings. Thence, it has been taken place in important cultural heritages which have been preserved with population since established. This study is a research on the architectural character of the Venetian Ghetto, within its historical context and socio-political conditions. The settlement is considered as a whole in the context of its position in the city, with its civic buildings and synagogue architecture. Another objective of the study is 1, Yeditepe Üniversitesi, Güzel Sanatlar Fakültesi, İç Mimarlık Bölümü, 34752 İstanbul. e-posta: firstname.lastname@example.com Geliş: 24 Ağustos 2009; Düzeltme: 25 Kasım 2009; Kabul: 29 Nisan 2010 Anadolu Üniversitesi Bilim ve Teknoloji Dergisi A 11 (1) Uygulamalı Bilimler ve Mühendislik 60 to set a model for sustainable urban preservation today where the community is still part of the historical settlement.


The research upon which this paper is based developed analysis methods for two freeway system components: ramp multiple weaves, and single lane freeway (right side) ramp configurations. This project addressed some of the more common single lane ramp configurations including isolated on-ramps, isolated off-ramps, consecutive on-ramps, and on-off ramp combinations. Additionally a ramp weave closely followed by another off-ramp (a multiple weave) was also studied for insights into system behavior. In the interest of brevity, this paper will demonstrate the application of this methodology by focusing on only a single site type, the on/off-ramp combination for an eight-lane urban freeway.


4 sample manipulation tasks required in routine crystal screening and data collection. Supplemental ACTOR software for ranking, data collection strategy determination and image processing further increases the value of ACTOR by way of an intelligent framework for automated X-ray diffraction experiments. More recent ACTOR developments incorporate upstream tools used during sample harvesting as well as state of the art sample tracking mechanisms. Additionally, ACTOR software expands downstream to automate structure solution using both 'bind and grind' and SAD methods. Altogether these additions function to enhance and expand the protein crystallographer's toolkit. In this paper we will describe these new hardware and software developments and evaluate their efficacy and reliability for high throughput crystallography.


MACARTHUR AND DEFEAT IN THE PHILIPPINES, Richard Connaughton, The Overlook Press, Woodstock, NY, 2001, 394 pages, $35.00. More than a generation after he died, General Douglas MacArthur still generates interest and controversy. In MacArthur and Defeat in the Philippines, Richard Connaughton, a retired British officer who has written about the Battle of Manila and the Russo-Japanese War, concentrates on MacArthur's first Philippine campaign. To place the campaign in context, Connaughton examines U.S. military policy in the Philippines through 1942, especially MacArthur's attempt to construct a Philippine army after 1935 and the subsequent failure of the Philippine army in battle. However, Connaughton does not understand the U.S. military planning process or provide enough of the 1941 political-diplomatic context to make MacArthur's statements and actions completely intelligible. MacArthur's idea of creating a citizen army had merit, but the Commonwealth government did not have the fiscal wherewithal or the political will to make it a reality. The U.S. military's long-term pessimism about the feasibility of defending the Philippines as well as MacArthur's tendency to make rash promises he could not fulfill complicated the situation. Connaughton dissects MacArthur's character and examines how it affected his decisions when faced by military dilemmas; a lack of money and equipment; and general unpreparedness multiplied by the difficult Filipino geography. MacArthur's command received infusions of equipment and personnel despite President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Administration's desire to concentrate its military and diplomatic efforts in the Western Hemisphere and Europe. Connaughton, however, does not explain the situation Army planners faced in midsummer 1941 and the political reasons for reinforcing the Philippines. Most of the relevant documents that dealt with MacArthur's failure to launch a counterstrike after receiving the news of Pearl Harbor and his culpability for the destruction of most of the Air Force on the ground are missing. Connaughton, left to sort out contradictory personal accounts, concludes that such documentation did not survive. Either they were destroyed in the defeat, or MacArthur's wartime headquarters had no interest in fixing responsibility for the fiasco. Connaughton also criticizes MacArthur's overall handling of the campaign and finds MacArthur's self-delusion and persuasive "nonsense" to be dominant at that time. …


Many lung disorders are characterized by airway inflammation involving the recruitment of inflammatory cells, and leading to the release of oxidant and inflammatory mediators. The overproduction of superoxide anion (O2–DELETE) and nitric oxide (NO) during the respiratory bursts of neutrophils leads to production of peroxynitrite, a highly damaging oxidant with an important role in the inflammatory loop causing airway hyper-reactivity in respiratory diseases like asthma. The aim of this study was to investigate in vitro the effects of a 1-hour incubation with budesonide at 2.5 × 10–7, 5 × 10–7, 1 × 10–6, 2 × 10–6 and 4 × 10–6 mol/l on O2–DELETE, NO, and peroxynitrite production during the respiratory burst of human neutrophils stimulated by N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP, 5 × 10–7 mol/l) or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA, 2 × 10–6 mol/l), as documented by luminol-amplified chemiluminescence (LACL). In absence of L-arginine, budesonide (5 × 10–7 to 4 × 10–6 mol/l) dose-dependently reduced both fMLP- and PMA-induced LACL (18.3–50.6%). In the presence of L-arginine (100 µg/ml), a NO donor increasing peroxynitrite production, LACL increased 3–5 times compared with baseline, but budesonide dose-dependently reduced LACL (25.5–59.6%). Mifepristone (4 × 10–6 mol/l), a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, inhibited the effect of budesonide on LACL, thus confirming that budesonide reacts with glucocorticoid receptors to exert an antioxidant activity. These results suggest that budesonide target rapidly human neutrophils leading to a fast reduction in both NO and peroxynitrite production, and are consistent with decrease in exhaled NO levels after treatment with budesonide in patients with asthma.


ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate whether knowledge about government entrepreneurial support and entrepreneurial support institutions and their services have an influence on entrepreneurial intention and its antecedents. The study was carried out by means of a cross-sectional survey using a structured questionnaire. The sample consisted of 355 final-year commerce students from two universities located in two of South Africa's most rural provinces, namely the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used to analyse the data. The results indicate that the respondents could hardly access information about entrepreneurial support offered by the government and support services available, and had a very low level of knowledge about these support services. The findings revealed some significant relationships between the knowledge of entrepreneurial support and entrepreneurial intention, perceived behavioural control, subjective norms and entrepreneurial self-efficacy.


The role of mycorrhizal infection in the calcium nutrition of Callliuia vuilgaris (L.) Hull is investigated. Callutna plants were grown in the infected (M) and uninfected (NI\') condition in sand supplied with nutrient solutions containing one of the three ecologically important calcium salts: CaSOV, CaCO3 and CaClI, each supplied over a range of concentrations from zero to 1000 /ug ml-'. The influence of infection upon growth and Ca content of whole plants, shoots and roots were determined. Yields of MVJ plants were significantly larger than those of NI\' on each of the Ca sources. These differences were particularly marked at the lowest concentrations of applied Ca. Root growth of M plants was strongly enhanced in all Ca treatments, so that the root/shoot ratios of these plants were consistently greater than in those which were NM. M plants also had consistently higher Ca concentrations in their shoots than their NM counterparts. Shoot concentrations were 32, 60, and 23 O' higher in M than NM plants grown on CaCl2, CaCO3 and CaSO4 respectively. Similarly, mean total Ca contents were 29, 77 and 87 0O higher in M than NM plants on CaCl2, CaCO3, and CaSO4 respectively. Improved growth of infected plants at high concentrations of applied CaCO3 appeared to be due to alleviation of CO3 toxicity. The complex interactions involving the direct nutritional effects of Ca ions, the indirect effects of its associated anions, and of other ionic species, notably H+, Al3` and Fe2+ are discussed. It is concluded that the principal effect of infection at low exogenous Ca concentrations is to increase the effciencv of Ca capture whereas at high concentrations it is to alleviate toxicity of some auxiliary anions.


BioMAX is one of the seven initial beamlines at the MAX IV facility presently under construction in Lund, Sweden. MAX IV with its two new storage rings (1.5 GeV and 3 GeV) will replace the existing facility including the MAX I, II and III storage rings. The 3 GeV ring where the BioMAX beamline will be situated will have exceptionally low emittance which will lead to an unprecedented brilliance for a synchrotron radiation source.


Author(s): Gomez Munoz, Pablo | Abstract: This paper provides a close analysis of Upside Down (dir. Juan Solanas, 2012), a science fiction film that presents two radically different portraits of two neighboring planets to metaphorically explore and negotiate the economic divide between the US and Latin America. The film focuses on the role of borders, legal provisions, and contact between humans in structuring interactions and movement between Latin America and the US. Gomez Munoz employs Mark Shiel's geographic approach to film and pays special attention to characters' movements in the spaces that the film depicts. The first part of the paper focuses on boundaries and discrimination practices in the Americas. The second part considers exceptions to the limitations that borders try to impose in the film and examines the potential of transnational love in bridging differences and advancing understanding. Upside Down suggests that people infuse their images of borders and other nations with their own personal and local perceptions. Their transnational/trans-American relationships allow them to draw from different sources and bring disparate practices together for their own and their societies' benefit.


—A series of research studies addressing the effect of prescribed fire on oak (Quercus spp.) regeneration has been ongoing on the Fernow Experimental Forest in northeastern West Virginia for 10 years. The study site is a mesic, mixed oak forest. Two prescribed fires were conducted in spring 2002 and 2005. In 2010, a shelterwood harvest was conducted. A complementary study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of the prescribed fires on the quality and marketability of the wood removed in this harvest. Seventy-four logs from the four most populous commercial species located on the study site were tracked from forest through milling. Before harvest, trained timber graders visually evaluated the residual effects of the prescribed fires on tree grade and merchantable volume. At the sawmill's log yard, pictures were taken of the logs and paint marks were placed on the log ends to indicate the side of the log most affected by the fire. During sawing, the first two boards recovered from the marked side were marked for examination. The percentage of these most "at-risk" boards showing indications of defect potentially attributable to the heat of the fire ranged from 10 percent for yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) to 65 percent for red maple (Acer rubrum), which translates to between 2 and 16 percent of all boards sawn from these butt logs. Fire-associated defects included mineral stain, decay and incipient decay, shakes, and checks.


OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to prospectively assess the sensitivity and efficacy of clinical examination for screening of cervical spine (c-spine) injury in awake and alert blunt trauma patients with concomitant "distracting injuries." METHODS During the 24-month period from December 2009 to December 2011, all blunt trauma patients older than 13 years were prospectively evaluated with a standard cervical spine examination protocol by the trauma surgery team at a Level 1 trauma center. Awake and alert patients with a Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) ≥14 underwent clinical examination of the cervical spine. Clinical examination was performed regardless of "distracting injuries." Patients without complaints of pain or tenderness on physical exam had their cervical collar removed, and the c-spine was considered clinically cleared of injury. All awake and alert patients with "distracting injuries," including those clinically cleared and those with complaints of c-spine pain or tenderness underwent computerized tomographic (CT) scanning of the entire c-spine. "Distracting injuries" were categorized into three anatomic regions: head injuries, torso injuries and long bone fractures. Patients with minor distracting injuries were not considered to have a "distracting injury." RESULTS During the 24-month study period, 761 blunt trauma patients with GCS ≥14 and at least one "distracting injury" had been entered into the study protocol. Two-hundred ninety-six (39%) of the patients with "distracting injuries" had a positive c-spine clinical examination, 85 (29%) of whom were diagnosed with c-spine injury. Four hundred sixty-four (61%) of the patients with "distracting injuries" were initially clinically cleared, with one patient (0.2%) diagnosed with a c-spine injury. This yielded an overall sensitivity of 99% (85/86) and negative predictive value greater than 99% (463/464) for cervical spine clinical examination in awake and alert blunt trauma patients with "distracting injuries." CONCLUSIONS In the awake and alert blunt trauma patient with "distracting injuries," clinical examination is a sensitive screening method for cervical spine injury. Radiological assessment is unnecessary for safe clearance of the asymptomatic cervical spine in awake and alert blunt trauma patients with "distracting injuries." These findings suggest the concept of "distracting injury" in the context of cervical spine clinical examination is invalid. Expanding the utility of cervical spine clinical examination to patients with "distracting injuries" allows for significant reduction of both healthcare cost and radiation exposure. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Diagnostic study, level I.


Increases in several phenolic compounds were seen in both cultivars following ABA applications. These responses were influenced both by timing and concentration. V eraison application of ABA to Cabernet Sauvignon fruit at both 200 and 400 mg l -1 resulted in significant increases of several phenolic components including flavon-3-ols and flavones, as well as color density , hue and visible color at harvest, when compared to control fruit. These effects were first seen as early as two weeks following treatment and exhibited a positive dose-response. Similar, but reduced, compositional changes were seen following the post veraison application. Application of ABA to Merlot showed mixed results. Wine produced from ABA treated grapes showed increases in color and certain phenolic components.


This article aims to reveal how learners make use of a space for self-directed learning to promote collaborative autonomous learning, drawing on data collected at a Japanese language institution for the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) care worker candidates in Osaka. The data analysis shows that, through the activities the learners chose and organized, they imagined an ideal L2 self and created their own L2 world. As soon as the self-directed learning session had started, they created their own group on Facebook and promoted learning activities which were related with their real lives in Japan. These activities on Facebook created a learning space beyond the classroom. These online activities they engaged in eventually returned to the classroom space and led to them increasingly taking ownership of the physical space. This research reveals that an important factor for self-directed learning is providing learners spaces and allowing them to explore the boundaries and possibilities of that space. The learners in this case study used the space to translate their past experiences and present emotions into the second language context, and moreover, to strategize for the future. To encourage collaborative autonomous learning, the activities must be organized around learners' inner worlds where their emotions, experiences and futures exist.


In order to protect and recover the plant diversity in Beijing, we analyzed the variety of plant diversity along an altitudinal gradient based on field investigations. Results showed that species richness differs slightly at different elevations. There are about 35 species in most plots with slight fluctuation, 35-40 species in arbor plots and less than 35 species in shrub plots. Variation of Margalefindex can be divided into three stages: less than 2.3 at elevations below 800 m, more than 2.3 at 800-1 700 m elevations, and less than 2.3 again above 1 700 m elevations. Variation of Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson index follows the similar pattern with Margalefindex. Variation of both species diversity index and richness index represents a parabola-shaped pattern along the altitudinal gradient. Both Wilson index and community structure variation (CSV) index show two peaks between the 700-900 m and 1 300-1 500 m elevations, suggesting that species exchange very quickly in the two altitudinal ranges. Besides elevational gradient, variation of plant diversity along the altitude is also affected by human interference or other factors. Thus, we should rule out the effects brought by human-related factors in studies of species diversity. Different diversity indices might show different variation trends in our analysis of a certain phenomenon, and their indication to species diversity should be explained from the calculating ways ofindices.


The anomaly in binary diffusion coefficients has been reported by Nishiumi and co-workers in the near-critical region of pure CO 2 solvent with the Taylor dispersion technique when the relatively large amount of solute as a tracer was injected. We have demonstrated that the mixture of the solute and CO 2 solvent does not attain to the supercritical state at most axial positions of the diffusion column under their measurement conditions showing the anomaly.


1. Nair L, Adetayo OA. A critique of the impact factor and ramifications of its misuse in plastic and reconstructive surgery: The real impact of the impact factor. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2018;142:566e–568e. 2. Ruan QZ, Chen AD, Cohen JB, Singhal D, Lin SJ, Lee BT. Alternative metrics of scholarly output: The relationship among altmetric score, Mendeley reader score, citations, and downloads in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2018;141:801–809. 3. Rohrich RJ, Sullivan D. The role of the journal impact factor: Choosing the optimal source of peer-reviewed plastic surgery information. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2006;117:2495–2498. 4. Bean JR. Altmetrics in scientific research: Flash in the pan or transformative innovation? World Neurosurg. 2017;104:993–995. 5. Rhee JS. High-impact articles: Citations, downloads, and altmetric score. JAMA Facial Plast Surg. 2015;17:323–324.


Many people use on-vehicle information devices on a daily basis. These devices have many useful functions for route guidance, audio services, and gathering traffic information. In addition, smartphones are being used as on-vehicle information devices because of the ubiquity of low-priced applications that can be used. Location context is one of the recognized contexts in our proposed system. The context shows the degree of driving experience with a specific location. Our proposed system requires driver's location context because the context plays an important role in correctly guessing which function is required by a user at any given time. Therefore, we are researching a method for recognizing location context. In the primary stage, we implemented a prototype system based on a simple hypothesis that the familiarity of roads for a user and the frequency of his/her travel are in relative proportion. In this paper, we present an improved method for recognizing the location context.


The study is to investigate resellers' point of view about the impact of brand awareness, perceived quality and customer loyalty on brand profitability and purchase intention. Further the study is also focused on finding out the mediating role of purchase intension on the relationship of brand awareness and profitability, perceived quality and profitability and brand loyalty and profitability. The study was causal in nature and data was collected from 200 resellers. The results showed insignificant impact of brand awareness and loyalty whereas significant impact of perceived quality on profitability. Further the results revealed significant impact of brand awareness, perceived quality and loyalty on purchase intention. Sobel test for mediation showed that purchase intension mediates the relationship of the perceived quality and profitability only. 1. Introduction In recent times, the increase of buyer awareness has made buyers want to pay for their recognizable and constructive brand. Thus, it is important for businesses to create attraction in their brands to be in better position than their competitors. This is evident that the consumers disseminate and always willing to acquire a product, so here the brand awareness is always a vital factor to manipulate the buying decisions and purchase intensions (Macdonald and Sharp, 2000). Retailer as well as purchase behavior of consumer slants if a product comprises of elevated alertness regarding the brand (Grewal, Monroe & Krishnan, 1998).Profitability performance tends to have positive relationship with brand awareness. Profitability performance is a monetary input of brand to the revenue of the retailer. The fundamental reason is that superior plane of responsiveness will direct to elevated buying behavior. Cutomers having no knowledge of the brand will have no intension of buying it either. High brand awareness can influence the retailers or resellers purchase decision (Grewal, Monroe & Krishnan, 1998). The purchase decision is also influenced by the perceived quality which is also an aspect of brand value that makes consumers pay for certain products or services (Aaker, 1991; Zeithaml, 1988). apparent value can assist buyers for skewed verdict on the whole product set that make a product hold a most significant partiality and also it's turn into a sharp product in patrons mind as well as also increase the interest of retailer to give best place to the specific product in market space. (Aaker,1991). Many researches have inspected the effects of professed excellence on productivity (e.g. Jacobson and Aaker, 1987). Though, only brand alertness and …


The general linear metamodel has been found to be an effective tool in post-simulation analysis. This paper addresses the multiple response problem in simulation and proposes a multivariate general linear metamodel as an aid in understanding and interpreting simulation results. Such a metamodel was developed using multiple response data generated from an M/M/1 queueing system simulation. The results supported the author's contention as to the value and validity of this type of multivariate technique in simulation.


Primary malignant lymphoma rarely occurs in the female reproductive tract, because of that they are often misdiagnosed. Lymphoma spontaneous regression is even rarer, but it is possible behavior of this disease. A case of 54‐year‐old female patient with a primary diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma of the cervix is presented. First assumption was sarcoma or atypical adenocarcinoma; biopsies have been inconclusive and, after a partial spontaneous regression, diagnosis of lymphoma was possible only after surgery. The diagnosis was a real challenge for clinicians, radiologists and pathologists for both localization and behavior. Difficulties in diagnosis led to an over‐treatment: a laparotomic bilateral hysteron salpingectomy with lymphadenectomy was performed, while chemotherapy alone would have been the right approach. Considering that prognosis and treatment of primary malignant lymphoma of the cervix are completely different than those of other malignant tumors of the uterus, this disease should be considered in the differential diagnosis.


All practitioners of information system know that building an industrial-strength information system is both a long-term commitment and a long-term investment for an organization. Any surviving system should encounter many times of changes either major or minor; and these changes might induce the system serious problems and a lot of maintenance cost. According to the recent development of database reengineering, data warehousing and business reengineering, many organizations have had their information system operating for years. They are facing the problems of introducing a new database system and the re-designation of the data processing procedure. For the information system to serve effectively and efficiently as time goes by, there are two ways to improve it. Firstly, re-design the whole system by using new technology and new database models; secondly, introduce a method that will make use of the existing systems to the maximum extent while the new requirements are still satisfied, i.e. Information systems reengineering. In this paper, we propose a framework for practitioners to complete the reengineering work more smoothly. The authors have applied this framework to the system reengineering work for a manufacturer. An EIS prototype is developed, according to the new requirements of high-level managers, and the system is operating currently.


The demand for high-octane unleaded gasoline is increasing and will continue to grow, particularly for super-premium grades. The expanding market for super unleaded gasoline is actually creating more demand for octane than the lead phase-down. Consumer demand is being stimulated further by refiner's aggressive and competitive marketing strategies worldwide. The expectations that lead credits will be used up before the end of this year is adding to the momentum. Union Carbide Corporation's licensed Total Isomerization Process (TIP) is the technology of choice among refiners worldwide. As illustrated in Figure 1, installed or committed units based on TIP or its stand-alone elements (the Hysomer and IsoSiv Processes) now upgrade over 370,000 BPD of pentane and hexane feedstocks. The reasons for TIP's success are numerous. It can deliver the highest octane boost of any commercial process. It uses a rugged molecular sieve catalyst and adsorbent. It can use reformer hydrogen off-gas without any pretreatment. Its product streams are not contaminated with chlorides and therefore do not require clean-up.


Azopolymer films exposed to nonuniform illumination exhibit a phenomenon of light-induced mass transport, leading to the formation of permanent relief patterns on the film surface. Its underlying microscopic mechanism remains unclear, despite many years of research effort. Here we introduce a model of the mass migration process based on anisotropic light-driven molecular diffusion. A key ingredient of our model is an enhanced molecular diffusion in proximity of the free polymer surface, which is essential for explaining, in particular, the recently observed spiral-shaped reliefs resulting from vortex-beam illumination.


Collaborative competition between manufacturers and monopoly supplier is a game relationship, which is very complicated. It involves many factors, both collaborative management relations, and there is competition between non-cooperatives. The enterprise core ability in the relationship is the research variables of the analysis. Meanwhile, it is necessary to establish a negotiation model, but because the quantization of core competence has a certain degree of difficulty, to quantify and measure the bargaining power is very difficult. Quantification of core competence and bargaining power are to be further analyzed and researched.


In the present work, a photovoltaic system connected to the network and integrated into a house in the Rocafuerte canton, province of Manabí, is designed. For its development, the computer tool for sizing photovoltaic systems PVsyst was used, with which the annual production of electrical energy for the 8.8 kWp system was determined, losses were also analyzed due to the main factors such as shading, wiring, power electronics, photovoltaic array, angle of inclination, temperature and by the irradiance of the sun. In addition, the main parameters of the installed system provided data for planning electricity consumption. The results showed that the electrical energy generated can cover 84% of the demand of the house, in infrequent conditions, but with a projection to cover the entire demand in the months of less consumption. Which constitutes an alternative for the generation and obtaining of energy, taking advantage of available spaces in the houses.


Contents: Introduction The Ladies Dictionary Being a General Entertainment For the fair-Sex: A work never attempted before in English. London, 1694 Index


Introduction: Symptoms of choledochal cysts, constituting an uncommon congenital disease of bile duct anomaly, usually appear from the first year of life. The classic triad comprises intermittent abdominal pain, jaundice, and a right upper quadrant abdominal mass. However, this trial can be found only in a few patients. Herein, we describe the case of a young girl who experienced severe right upper quadrant abdominal pain that was diagnosed as choledochal-cyst-related biliary colic, for which she underwent surgery. Case Report: A 10-year-old girl presented to Cathay General Hospital with sudden and severe epigastric pain lasting for 2 days. Additionally, her complaints included nausea and nonbilious vomiting. Laboratory data revealed total and direct bilirubin levels to be 1.1 and 0.6 mg/dL, respectively. The patient's condition had previously been diagnosed as gastrospasm by local doctors; however, the symptoms were persistent and even progressive. A diagnosis for type 1C choledochal cyst with biliary colic associated with distal common bile duct stone was made through abdominal computed tomography, sonography and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography. The patient was surgically treated through cholecystectomy, choledochal cyst excision, and Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy. The patient recovered well without recurrence. Conclusion: Differential diagnoses must be considered in cases involving persistent gastrospasm. Although most choledochal cysts are diagnosed at infancy, they can be diagnosed in older children as well and usually present as abdominal pain due to accompanying pancreatitis. However, choledochal cysts with abdominal pain due to biliary colic can also be one of the possible differential diagnoses for acute abdominal pain in children or adolescents.


In the Mead-Freeman controversy, Derek Freeman's historical reconstruction of the alleged hoaxing of Margaret Mead in 1926 relied on three interviews with Fa'apua'a Fa'amū, Mead's "principal informant," who stated that she and another Samoan woman had innocently joked with Mead about their private lives. In turn, Freeman argued that Mead believed these jokes as the truth and that they were the basis for her interpretation of adolescent sex in Coming of Age in Samoa. The unpublished interviews with Fa'apua'a became the centerpiece of Freeman's second book on the controversy, The Fateful Hoaxing of Margaret Mead (1999). Yet an analysis of Mead's relationship with Fa'apua'a demonstrates that she was not an informant for Mead on adolescent sex, and an examination of the three interviews used by Freeman does not support his interpretation of them. In fact, responding to direct questioning during the interviews, Fa'apua'a stated that Mead did not ask her questions about her own sexual conduct or about adolescent sexual conduct. Nor did she provide Mead with information on this subject. Crucial passages from these interviews were omitted by Freeman in his publications on the alleged hoaxing. Based on the interviews themselves, there is no compelling evidence that Mead was hoaxed.


The layered perovskite compound LiLaNb 2 O 7 is a lithium-deficient material. This product is obtained by ion exchange in molten salt from KLaNb 2 O 7 . Electrochemical intercalation of lithium ions is possible and leads to the formation of Li 1+x LaNb 2 O 7 . The intercalation is investigated in LiClO 4 (M)-PC electrolyte using galvanostatic discharge, the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique, and impedance spectroscopy. A maximum lithium uptake of x = 1 was found without any structural change. The discharge curve clearly shows the existence of interactions between the host material and the intercalated lithium ions as intercalation proceeds. The energy of these interactions remains small for x 0.5. A detailed study of the discharge curve shows that superlattice orderings of Li ions appear at x = 0.25 and 0.5 leading to a small but sudden change of the electrode potential. Complex impedance spectroscopy, performed during the discharge, shows that for x 0.5. An equivalent electrical model which includes charge-transfer, adsorption, constant-phase elements, and diffusional impedance is proposed. The fit between the experimental data and this model is good and leads to the determination of the kinetics parameters as a function of x. The mechanism of the intercalation is discussed on the basis of the crystallographic structure of the layered perovskite.


A triple-channel optical signal probe has been designed for the detection of Hg2+ ions. In the absence of Hg2+, the thymine-rich ssDNA wrapped AuNPs were well dispersed. Thus, the colour of the solution is pink-red; the resonance light scattering (RLS) signal is low; the fluorescence of acridine orange (AO) is powerfully quenched. In the presence of Hg2+, the ssDNA formed a T–Hg2+–T configuration, which produces a colour change, RLS signal enhancement, and fluorescence of AO restoration. Under the optimum conditions, the system exhibits a dynamic response range for Hg2+ from 50 nM to 5 μM with a detection limit of 30 nM.


Comparative construction X+M+Y+W in the Minority,mainly distributed in the Tai-kadai languages,Hmong-Mein languages,Austroasiatic languages.In addition,X + M + Y + W competed with X + W + M+ Y.Many features revealed:the Minority Languages sentence X + M + Y + W derived from the dispersing of Chinese sentence X+Bi+Y+W.


Bio-inspired nano-communication enables nanoscale devices to exchange information with each other by various natural mechanisms of data transfer. One of the most perspective way in bio-inspired communications is using the protein interactions, which refer from various proteins conformation states. In this paper, we describe our new coarse-grained model for protein conformation estimation based on fast transport task solving, developed algorithm and software which implement this model are provided.


— Efficient traffic management is necessary to avoid traffic jams which affect wide areas. With the increase in vehicles, the traditional control strategies are incapable of clearing heavy traffic which leads to long traffic queues and prolonged waiting times. Another challenge faced is that of emergency vehicles having to wait for a long time due to traffic congestions and blocks. It can be a life or death situation for any person as each and every second counts. The proposed system is designed with an aim to improve traffic clearance at intersections along with giving precedence to emergency vehicles as soon as it detects a siren sound. The system includes the use of pre-trained model RetinaNet to detect and count the number of vehicles and classify them. Enhanced Ratio based algorithm is applied to generate green signal timings. In order to detect the sirens from emergency vehicles, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) has been used.


The Reddale Coal Mine, near Reefton, commenced operations in early 2012. Acid-base accounting techniques applied to drillcore combined with assumptions carried forward from mining similar lithologies in other areas (where acid neutralisation capacity (ANC) is assumed to be 0 kg H2SO4/t equivalent) resulted in what proved to be an overly conservative waste rock management strategy that assumed the site would produce acid mine drainage (AMD) immediately. This has not occurred. The lack of ANC data meant that, prior to mining, the time lag to acid onset derived from ANC was not identified. After 12 months of operation the drainage waters remain near neutral and, as a result, the water treatment plant has yet to be used, even after the removal of 494,000 tonnes of BCM overburden. 15mm (19kg CaCO3/m 2 ) of aglime (AP < 2.5mm CaCO3) was applied to each 4m lift of the Ferndale engineered landform (ELF) such that the overall NAPP of the overburden within the ELF was 19.4 kg H2SO4/t. This indicates that the site may eventually produce AMD, in the absence of neutralising materials. Subsequent, geotechnical assessment of the ELF demonstrated that the permeability of the dump on the uncompacted tipheads was 1 x 10


Bent functions are important cryptographic Boolean functions. In order to enumerate eight-variable bent functions, we solve the following three key problems. Firstly, under the action of AGL(7, 2), we almost completely classify R(4, 7)/R(2, 7). Secondly, we construct all seven-variable plateaued functions from the orbits of R(4, 7)/R(2, 7). Thirdly, we present a fast algorithm to expand plateaued function into bent functions. Based on the results above, it is feasible to enumerate eight-variable bent functions in practice.


The aim of the paper is to present rough granular methodology as a promising and serviceable tool in modelling of both social agents, interacting under uncertain and incomplete information, as well as systems of such agents. In this article, we focus upon information granules and fundamentals of the rough set theory. An agent's architecture in terms of rough information granules, discussed in part in [23], and other special issues concerning social agent system modelling will be considered elsewhere.


Computer vision-based gesture recognition is gradually becoming a popular research direction in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). However, there are various challenges in the extraction of gesture features, such as complex backgrounds, light changes and shadows. Dynamic gesture recognition aims to identify ongoing gestures from a continuous sequence of gestures, which makes it difficult to accurately extract features about continuous gestures due to not knowing the start frame and stop frame of each gesture instance. In order to overcome the various challenges in the dynamic gesture recognition task, we propose a deep architecture for the recognition of dynamic gestures by applying the SlowFast pathways and convolution LSTM to gesture recognition. End-to-end feature extraction of dynamic gestures is performed through the SlowFast pathways, avoiding the complex feature extraction process. Due to the long time span of dynamic gestures, the motion feature of gestures also play an important role in the specific connotations of gestures, hence the introduction of convolution LSTM to capture the movement information of gestures. The proposed architecture is verified on the ChaLearn LAP large-scale isolated gesture dataset (IsoGD). The results show the validity of our proposed architecture.


. Pathogens utilize different modes of transmission to maximize transmission success. In vector-borne disease systems, both vertical and horizontal modes of transmission are common, but the relative contribution of these modes is not well understood but may be determined by host genetics, physiology, or environmental conditions. This study focuses on an emerging tick-borne relapsing fever pathogen, Borrelia miyamotoi , that can be transmitted both vertically and horizontally. The enzootic cycle of this pathogen has not been described in the western USA where it was recently found in the tick species, Ixodes paci fi cus . Our fi eld surveys found that all three life stages of I. paci fi cus carry the pathogen, and therefore, all stages pose some level of disease risk to humans. The prevalence of infection increases with each life stage suggesting that horizontal transmission is important in the persistence of this pathogen in the enzootic cycle. In support of this fi nding, we found that small mammal hosts that are frequently parasitized by juvenile stages of I. paci fi cus were infected with B. miyamotoi and may therefore function as a source of horizontal transmission and enzootic maintenance of this disease. Our data show that in the western USA B. miyamotoi is maintained in natural populations by both transovarial transmission and transmission from blood meal hosts and that synchronous phenology of juvenile stages of I. paci fi cus may facilitate the transmission dynamics of B. miyamotoi and other vertically transmitted, vector-borne pathogens.


The insect fauna of the lake shore presents material for a study in itself, on which nothing has been published save the material on Diptera by Aldrich, already cited. At the University of Utah I left the beginning of a collection of insects taken in or on the waters of the lake, and I recall that a small Corisid was several times seen and some specimens of it taken swimming immersed in the brine near shore. The species appeared to be the same as one common in fresh and slightly salt and sulphur impregnated waters. iii the Salt Lake valley. Probably correlated with the abundance of Ephydra adults as food, may be mentioned a "plague of spiders" with which the resort (Saltair) was troubled during one bathing season, about 1910. Several cases of persons being bitten by spiders were reported in one of the Salt Lake papers, though I can not vouch for their authenticity. Certain it is that spiders of more than one species were unusually numerous about the pavilion, as I personally observed, and I learned later that the employees went about with brooms every morning before the hour for opening and destroyed as many as possible. The forest of piles and utnderpinning beneath the structure, however, was an inexhaustible reservoir from which the supply was constantly renewed. After the close of the season, no other remedy having been found, some employees were kept busy for weeks in boats beneath the huge structure collecting and destroying the egg cocoons, and the next season there was no serious trouble. Many bushels were thus collected. The second autumn this task was again taken up, and since that time no further plague of spiders has appeared, but whether autumn cocoon collecting is still kept up I do not know. I have no doubt that the seemingly sudden appearance of the great numbers of spiders was in reality but the time when, owing to the availability of a great food supply and plenty of space for spreading webs, they reached a high point in numbers, the culmination of years of slow increase. CHAS. T. VORHIES UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, TUCSON, ARIZONA


This article is not certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit because disclosures have not been provided for authors of this article. TheAccreditationCouncil for ContinuingMedical Education requiresdocumentationof author credentials anddisclosure of any relevant personal financial relationship with a commercial entity that benefits the individual and may bias the content. For more information, please go to www.accme.org and review KEYWORDS


4H-Silicon Carbide VDMOSFET is simulated using the Sentaurus TCAD package of Synopsys. The simulator is calibrated against measured data for a wide range of bias conditions and temperature. Material parameters of 4H-SiC are taken from literature and used in the available silicon models of the simulator. The empirical parameters are adjusted to get a good fit between the simulated curves and measured data. The simulation incorporates the bias and temperature dependence of important physical mechanisms like interface trap density, coulombic interface trap scattering, surface roughness scattering and velocity saturation.


Background: Trichomoniasis, caused by Trichomonas vaginalis protozoan, is the most common nonviral sexually transmitted infection (STI) worldwide. Although metronidazole and tinidazole are the only approved drugs for treatment, drug-resistant cases of infection are on the rise. The aim of this study was the evaluation of antitrichomonal potential of Piper nigrum and limonene. The phytochemical profile of P. nigrum oil was also investigated. Methods: The parasites were treated in vitro with essential oil and different extracts of P. nigrum seed and limonene using microtiter plate method. The oil of P. nigrum was also analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-flame ionization detector. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity assay of P. nigrum oil and limonene were screened on Vero cell line by MTT method. Results: The tested P. nigrum fractions were able to kill 100% of Trichomonas trophozoites at minimum lethal concentration (MLC) and reduce the trophozoite viability at sub-MLC and lower concentrations. After 48 hours exposure, the most potent fraction was the n-hexane extract with MLC of 78 µg/mL followed by the essential oil and methanol extract with MLC of 156 µg/mL, limonene (MLC=1250 µg/mL), and then, aqueous extract with MLC value of 25 mg/mL. Moreover, according to cytotoxicity assay, P. nigrum oil was less toxic to Vero cell than limonene, with a selectivity index (SI) of 13.2 and 2.04, respectively. Conclusion: This study clearly demonstrated the trichomonacidal potential of P. nigrum. Thus, P. nigrum fractions can be considered promising antiprotozoal agents and the basis for further development to discover new phytochemicals compounds.


RATIONALE
Carbonate clumped isotope analysis involves the reaction of carbonate minerals with phosphoric acid to release CO2 for measurement in a gas-source isotope ratio mass spectrometer. Although the clumped isotope proxy is based on the temperature dependence of 13 C-18 O bonding preference in the mineral lattice, which is captured in the product CO2 , there is limited information on the phosphoric acid reaction mechanism and the magnitude of clumped isotopic fractionation (mass 63 in CO3 2- to mass 47 in CO2 ) during the acid digestion.

METHODS
We explored the reaction mechanism for phosphoric acid digestion of calcite using first-principles density functional theory. We identified the transition state structures for each reaction involving different isotopologues and used the corresponding vibrational frequencies in reduced partition function theory to estimate Δ47 acid fractionation. Experimental Δ47 data were acquired by processing sample CO2 gas through the dual-inlet peripheral of ThermoFinnigan MAT253 isotope ratio mass spectrometer.

RESULTS
We show that the acid digestion reaction, which results in the formation of CO2 enriched with 13 C-18 O bonds, commences with the protonation of calcium carbonate in the presence of water. Our simulations yielded a relationship between Δ47 acid fractionation and reaction temperature as: Δ47 = -0.30175 + 0.57700*105 / T2 -0.10791* (105 /T2 )2 , with T varying between 298.15K and 383.15K.

CONCLUSIONS
We propose a reaction mechanism for the phosphoric acid digestion of calcite that shows a higher slope (Δ47 acid fractionation vs 1/T2 curve) than in previous studies. The theoretical estimates from the present and earlier studies encapsulate experimental observations from both 'sealed vessel' and 'common acid bath' acid digestion methods.


The performance of pumps with semi-open impellers was tested under air admitting conditions and the effects of running clearance between the impeller vanes and the stationary casing were discussed. The results were compared with those of closed-impeller pumps. when the clearance reduces, the pump ability under no air admission increases continuously, but the performance is much decreased by air admission. When the clearance relative to the channel depth of impellers λ is increased beyond 0.1, the drop of pump head due to air admission is much weakened, and it tends to a definite value, regardless of impeller shape. When two pumps with a closed-impeller and with a semi-open impeller show the same performance under no air admission, both pumps develop nearly the same performance under air admitting condition. The clearance range of λ=0.033∼0.086 is suitable for the duty of delivering air-water mixture.


accordance with the rise of Internet technology, the learning management system This research aims to evaluate the Master of Arts Program in Library and Information Science (revised program B.E. 2546), Faculty of Humanities, Srinakharinwirot University. The CIPP Model (Context-Input-Process-Product Model) was used to assess four aspects of this program: context; input; process; and product. The sample groups are eleven committees for the Master of Arts Program in Library and Information Science and sixty-three graduate students from the Twilight Program. The instrument for data collecting is a questionnaire consisting of three parts: multiple choice question, rating scale questions, and open form questions. The statistics for analysis are percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation and t-test. The results are as followed. For the context evaluation, both the committees and the students agree that the appropriateness of the program objectives and structure are in a high level. The appropriateness of the course content is in the highest level and high level. The appropriateness of the programus usefulness to the occupation is in a positively high level. There is no difference between the program committeesu evaluation and the graduate studentsu evaluation. For the course planning in each semester, most of them agree that it is appropriate.For the input evaluation, the standard of the instructorsu educational qualifications and academic titles is 1, which is considered as failing when compare to the criteria of the Office of the Higher Education Commission. For the applicantsu qualifications, both the committees and the students agree that the appropriateness is in the highest level and high. For the teaching facilities, the students think that the classrooms are very appropriate. The computer lab and the computers are average. The audio-visual equipments are positively appropriate. For the process evaluation, the students think that the teaching conditions, i.e. teaching method, teaching equipment and teaching media usage, assignments, evaluation, and assessment, are positively appropriate. The instructorsu personalities are in the highest level. The extracurricular activities are also positively appropriate. For the program management, the committees think that it is clear and appropriate while the students think it is highly appropriate. For the product evaluation, the studentsu self-assessment on cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domain is in a positively high level. Finally, when compare to the evaluating criteria, some issues in the main aspects of the evaluation do not pass the criteria: the course planning of each semester according to studentsu opinion in the context evaluation, and the instructorsu educational qualifications and academic titles, the computer lab and the computers in the input evaluation. Other than that, the rest pass the criteria.


This invention relates to a method for making far-infrared radiation plate shaped by cold pressing. Its technological steps include: ball-grinding such raw materials with water for over 20 hours as calcined Datong sandrock (20%), pyrophyllitd (20%), Jiepai soil (8%), talc (27%), Zibenjie soil (15%), Powdered coke (10%) and appropriate metallic oxide; calcining at over 1200 deg. C; pulverizing; addition of metallic oxide as base; ball-grinding with water againg for over 20 hours to obtain a kind of powder whose granularity is less than 0.3 mm and whose water content is 11-17%; pressing in mould; drying after demoulding; and sintering in earthen bowl.


.................................................................................................................................. ii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................... ix INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 1. Major depressive disorder............................................................................................ 1 1.1. Background ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Etiology ................................................................................................................. 2 2. Bipolar disorder ........................................................................................................... 3 3. The monoaminergic systems ....................................................................................... 4 3.1. The serotonin system ............................................................................................. 6 3.2. The dopaminergic system ..................................................................................... 8 3.3. The noradrenergic system..................................................................................... 9 4. Monoamine hypothesis of depression & current ADs ............................................... 10 5. The glutamatergic system and MDD ......................................................................... 11 5.1. Background ......................................................................................................... 11 5.2. Antidepressants with neuroprotective potential ................................................. 14 5.3. Antiglutamatergic drugs with antidepressant potential ..................................... 15 6. Depression and Epilepsy ............................................................................................ 15 6.1. Overlapping function of anticonvulsant and antidepressant drugs .................... 16 6.2. Carisbamate ........................................................................................................ 17 6.3. Lamotrigine......................................................................................................... 19 MATERIALS AND METHODS ................................................................................................ 23 1. Animals ...................................................................................................................... 23 2. Sustained Treatments ................................................................................................. 23 3. In vivo Electrophysiological Experiments ................................................................. 24 3.1. Recording dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) 5-HT neurons ...................................... 24 3.2. Recording locus coeruleus (LC) NE neurons ..................................................... 25 3.3 Recording ventral tegmental area (VTA) DA neurons ........................................ 26 4. Extracellular recordings and microiontophoresis of dorsal hippocampus CA3 pyramidal neurons ........................................................................................................................... 27 4.1. Tonic activation of the postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptors ....................................... 28 4.2. Tonic activation of postsynaptic adrenergic receptors ...................................... 29 5. Sensitivity of terminal 5-HT1B autoreceptors ............................................................ 29 6. Statistical Analysis ..................................................................................................... 31 7. Drugs .......................................................................................................................... 31 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................................... 32 1. Carisbamate ............................................................................................................... 32 1.1. Effects of 2and 14-day administration of carisbamate on the firing activity of DRN 5-HT, LC NE and VTA DA neurons .................................................................. 32 1.2. Assessment of the overall serotonergic tone following 14-day carisbamate administration on postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptors on dorsal hippocampus CA3 pyramidal neurons ..................................................................................................... 35


This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction HAMR Recording Physics HAMR Optics and Head HAMR Media HAMR Recording and Magnetic Force Microscopy Images Summary and Outlook Acknowledgments References