A glazing bar assembly comprises a primary part (11) and a secondary part (12), the primary part having a central section (13) and a first edge region (15) having a slot to receive an edge region of a panel (20), the secondary part having a slot to receive an edge region of a panel (38) ,the primary and secondary parts having inter-engaging formations (18,32,35,25) so that the secondary part may be located and engage with the primary part. The parts being arranged in use to lie substantially flush with upper surface (38) of the panels.


An indoor device for a cassette type air conditioner is provided. The indoor device may improve an exterior appearance of the air conditioner in that a vane drive assembly to operate a vane that guides discharged air may be covered by the vane when the vane is closed. Also, first and second ends of the vane may be rounded, and an outer surface of the vane drive assembly may contact the vane to improve a flow of discharged air.


Robbins gave rise of the economics/ethics dichotomy in the year of 1932,and it was broadly accepted by economists at once.On the perspective of methodology,the viewpoint of Robbins is in accord with logical positivism,which was the authority in philosophic field at that time.So the research of economics began to base on the fact/value dichotomy of logical positivism.But in fact,the explanation of fact depends on value,and the value judgment builds upon fact too.A more reasonable research program asks economists to introduce ethical concept into economics,and it requires we can preserve the engineering aspects of economics,for it can provide rational explanation and effective analysis tool for many economic issues.This new research program represents the renaissance of classic political economy and the direction of the development of science philosophy.


An enormous amount of energy is wasted in Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanisms adopted by popular blockchain applications (e.g., PoW-based cryptocurrencies) because miners must conduct a large amount of computation. Owing to this, one serious rising concern is that the energy waste not only dilutes the value of the blockchain but also hinders its further application. In this paper, we propose a novel blockchain design that fully recycles the energy required for facilitating and maintaining it, which is re-invested to the computation of deep learning. We realize this by proposing Proof-of-Deep-Learning (PoDL) such that a valid proof for a new block can be generated if and only if a proper deep learning model is produced. We present a proof-of-concept design of PoDL that is compatible with the majority of the cryptocurrencies that are based on hash-based PoW mechanisms. Our benchmark and simulation results show that the proposed design is feasible for various popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin.


Objective The purpose of this study was to describe the CT findings and the diagnostic value in biliary papillomatosis.Methods Six cases with confirmed diagnosis by pathology were analyzed retrospectively,and the literature was reviewed.Results The abdominal CT revealed dilatation of the intra-and extrahepatic bile ducts in 6 cases,including 1 case of boundary distinct lump of the common hepatic duct,1 case of boundary distinct lump of the common bile duct,3 cases of boundary distinct lumps of the intra bile ducts,and 1 case with no lump in bile duct.Conclusion CT findings can be regarded as a predictor,and it can improve the preoperative diagnostic rate of biliary papillomatosis.


An experiment was conducted in Assam, India with three replications using 2500 fingerlings of grass carp per acre land for controlling weeds in summer rice. Another plot of one acre of summer rice without grass carp was treated as control for comparison. The experiment revealed that while average number of weed and weed weight per m 2 in the rice monoculture (RMC) plot were 28.64 and 25.21 g, respectively; in the integrated rice fish culture (IRFC) plots number and weight of weeds were 3.4 and 2.99, respectively. Grass carp did not consume Echinochloa spp. and Alternanthera spp. Rice production was 3002 kg grains/acre against 2295 kg/acre, in IRFC and RNC plots, respectively. There was 30.81% increase of rice yield in IRFC, despite of fact that 11.35% the total rice field was used for trench as fish refuse, where rice was not planted. Total table fish production from IRFC was 2 276.74 kg/acre. The returns from IRFC and RMC were Rs. 20 0775.50 and Rs. 22 950.00 respectively. The BC ratio of IRFC and RMC were 3.05 and 1.48, respectively. The comparative analysis revealed an additional income Rs. 17 7825.50 per acre from IRFC system.


This paper provides synopses of the design, implementation, and results of key high data rate commWlications experiments utilizing the technologies of NASA's Advanced Commtmications Technology Satellite (ACTS). Specifically, the network protocol and interoperability performance aspects will be highlighted. The objectives of these key experiments will be discussed in their relevant context to NASA missions, as well as, to the comprehensive commtmications industry. Discussion of the experiment implementation will highlight the technical aspects of hybrid network connectivity, a variety of higb-speed interoperability architectures, a variety of network node platforms, protocol layers, internet-based applications, and new work focused on distinguishing between link errors and congestion. In addition, this paper describes the impact of leveraging government-industry partnerships to achieve technical progress and forge synergistic relationships. These relationships will be the key to success as NASA seeks to combine commercially available technology with its own internal technology developments to realize more robust and cost effective commtmications for space operations. Introduction NASA 's ACTS has been in operation since 1993. This period of successful operation far exceeds the initial twoyear experimentation plan as well as the fom-year design life of the system. The current state operation in an inclined orbit with the remaining fuel allows extended usage of the still totally functional payload. Although antenna-tracking systems are now needed on the earth stations, experiment operations continue with very little disruption. The Experiments Program has validated the key ACTS technologies ofKa-band transmission, very wide bandwidth transponders, on-board switching, and high gain, hopping spot beams. The original goals of the Experiments Program were to : 1) Conduct technology verification experiments to evaluate and characterize the ACTS technologies and, 2) Conduct a balanced set of experiments and demonstrations to evaluate and promote new and innovative applications enabled by the ACTS technologies. ACTS remains as the only operational testbed for Ka-band geosynchronous satellite commtmications over the Western hemisphere. The ACTS experiments program continues to support investigations by industry, government and academic organizations in preparation for the deployment of next generation commercial satellite commtmications systems. The last two years of operations have involved a number of experiments that integrate terrestrial computer and networking technologies with satellite networks. By design, the ACTS experiments program seeks to gain greater relevance to NASA's mission from the results of the experiments that are performed. NASNCP-2000-210530 301 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20010019797 2020-03-09T08:25:22+00:00Z


Mao Ze-dong's new democratic economic ideology is an important part of Mao Ze-dong Thought, and an important ideological source for the theory of primary socialism stage. This ideology experienced changes and ended too early while guiding the new democratic economic construction in the early stages of new China. Exploration into the reasons for the evolution of this ideology and its influence on subsequent socialism economic construction so as to draw historical experience and lessons from it would be of great significance to our better understanding and practicing the theory of primary socialism stage and the spirit of the 17th Party Congress, and building socialism with Chinese characteristics.


In the Global North, corruption is considered incompatible with civic health: scholars argue that it decreases social trust, atomizes communities, and discourages active citizenship. Using the first-ever national dataset from Russia with behavioral measures of corruption, ego-centric networks, and political participation, this article develops an alternative theory of corruption's impact on civic life in societies where freedoms of association are limited. Analyses of these new data suggest that: (1) Russian bribe-givers are embedded in outward-oriented and mobilizable personal networks, supportive of civic connectivity; and (2) Russian bribe-givers are significantly more likely than law-abiding citizens to mobilize others when pushing back against the state. Counterintuitively, then, in non-democracies, corruption in the public sector sustains the kind of social networks that underlie civic culture.


In 2015, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Standardization Association (IEEE-SA) made some controversial changes to its patent policy. The changes include in particular a recommended method of calculation of FRAND royalty rates, and a request to members holding a standard essential patent (SEP) to forego their right to seek an injunction except under limited circumstances. The amended patent policy was adopted by the IEEE Board following favorable business review letter by the US Department of Justice, which found any potential competitive harm from the policy to be outweighed by potential pro-competitive benefits.In this paper, we examine whether these changes might impact the regime of "safe harbor" set up for standardization agreements under EU competition law, in particular the guidelines provided by the European Commission. Given the importance placed by the guidelines on procedural safeguards to prevent SSO activities from resulting in anti-competitive cooperation, we contrast the ad hoc process leading to this policy change with the procedures in place for regular standard-setting activity.


ObjectiveTo investigate expression of HLA-DR antigen in gastric carcinoma and to provide basis for immunotherapy and prognosis of gastric carcinoma.MethodsImmunohistochemical staining(SP method) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) were used to detect HLA-DR protein and mRNA expression in 36 cases of gastric carcinoma and 36 cases of normal gastric epithelia.The relationship between HLA-DR expression and clinical pathology of gastric carcinoma was analyzed.ResultsThe positive expression rate of HLA-DR in gastric carcinoma(58.3%) was significantly higher than that in normal gastric epithelia(5.60%,P0.05),and it could reduce with the degrees of differentiation reduction(P0.05).The expression of HLA-DR in gastric carcinoma was irrelevant with degrees of differentiation(P0.05).The positive expression rate of HLA-DR in gastric carcinoma with lymph node metastasis(43.5%) was lower than that in gastric carcinoma with no lymph node metastasis(84.6%,P0.05).The positive expression rate and relative expression levels of HLA-DR mRNA in gastric carcinoma(52.9%,0.760±0.158) were significantly higher than in normal gastric epithelia(8.30%,0.551±0.027,P0.05).The expression of HLA-DRα mRNA was irrelevant with degrees of differentiation and depth of imbibition(P0.05).ConclusionThe expression of HLA-DR may be associated with the carcinogenesis and development of gastric carcinoma,it can be used for judging its biological behavior.


Compounds of formula I wherein R1 is hydrogen, C1-12 alkyl, C3-8 cycloalkyl, aryl or C1-4 alkyl substituted with phenyl optionally substituted with 1-5 substituents selected from C1-4 alkyl, C1-4 alkoxyl, hydroxyl, fluorine, chlorine and bromine; R2 is hydrogen, C2-4 alkenyl, C1-12 alkyl or C1-4 alkyl substituted with phenyl optionally substituted with 1-5 substituents selected from C1-4 alkyl, C1-4 alkoxy, hydroxy, fluorine, chlorine and bromine; R3 is C1-12 alkyl, C3-8 cycloalkyl, phenyl, or heterocyclyl beniclo, wherein a phenyl ring may be substituted with 1-5 substituents selected from C1-4 alkyl, C1-4 alkoxyl, hydroxyl, fluorine, chlorine, bromine and cyano; A is C1-12 alkyl, hydroxy-C1-4 alkyl, C2-4 alkenyl, C2-4 alkenyl substituted aryl-CH (OH) -, C1-4 alkyl substituted with C1-4 alkoxy, C1-4-alkyl- carbonyl-oxy, heterocyclic-oxy or A is C1-4 -alkyl substituted with phenyl optionally substituted with 1-5 substituents or with heterocyclyl optionally substituted with 1-4 substituents selected from C1-4 alkyl, C1-4 alkoxy, hydroxy, fluorine, chlorine and bromine, wherein substituted C2-4 -alkenyl is substituted with 1-2 substituents selected from cyano, aminocarbonyl and C1-4-alkyl-oxy-carbonyl, or A signifies a group of formula Z-CH2-Y wherein Y-CH2en It represents O or NR wherein R is hydrogen or C1-4 alkyl and Z represents heterocyclyl or optionally substituted aryl with 1-3 bbenciloxi groups; X represents S or O.


The article reveals the basic aspects of the Greek mysterial practice in the era of polis system formation. Main attention is paid to the role of mystical cults in the political life of Ancient Greece, especially the Eleusinian mysteries and the cult of Orphic Dionysus, which were a reaction to polis religion formation. Mysteries are presented as a special personal form of expressing ritual practice within the framework of polis polytheism.


Bishop, C. et al. (2015). A method to investigate the effect of shoe-hole size on surface marker movement when describing in-shoe joint kinematics using a multi-segment foot model. Gait & Posture, 41(1), 295 299. Hill, C. et al. (2008). Journal of Foot and Ankle Research, 1(2), 1 7. Lee, S. et al. (2009). Does the use of orthoses improve selfreported pain and function measures in patients with plantar fasciitis? A meta-analysis. Physical Therapy in Sport, 10(1), 12 18.


The degree of developmental instability has been hypothesized to reflect the level of environmental and genetic stress. However, levels of fluctuating asymmetry or other indicators of developmental instability are rarely measured in the same populations under field and common garden conditions, making it difficult to determine whether differences in asymmetry derived from field measurements are simply phenotypic or genetic in origin. We studied fluctuating asymmetry of leaves in three populations of Digitalis thapsi L. that differed dramatically in mean seed production under field conditions and when reared in a common garden. While absolute asymmetry decreased with leaf position, there was no position effect on relative asymmetry after adjustment for leaf width. Absolute and relative asymmetry did not differ between seedlings and mature plants in the greenhouse. There was no significant difference in absolute or relative asymmetry of leaves between plants grown in the greenhouse and in the field, although there was a significant
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$$\mathrm{population}\,\,\times \,\mathrm{rearing}\,$$
\end{document} environment interaction. The number of leaves and the maximum length and width of leaves of mature plants reared in the common garden differed among populations. Fluctuating asymmetry in leaves was not significantly correlated with any measure of vegetative growth or reproduction. These findings indicate that the effects of environmental conditions and selection may override the effects of inherent differences. Thus, conclusions about levels of developmental instability in different populations based on field studies may differ considerably from conclusions based on results from common garden experiments.


Pre-Menstrual Syndrome is a group of physical, psychological, and emotional symptoms that begins 7-14 days before menses and fade once menses begins. PMDD is a psychiatric diagnosis of PMS. The cause of PMS is unknown. Hence studies need to be conducted to know the various lifestyle and dietary habits that increases the risk of PMS. The aim was to study the dietary pattern of adolescent girls aged 17-19 years of Girls college of Hyderabad during the PMS period. The objectives were to study the prevalence, association between lifestyle habits, dietary pattern and stress with PMS in these adolescent girls. Adolescent girls of Girls College, answered a self- constructed, pre tested, standardized questionnaire for the prevalence study. Information on lifestyle and dietary habits, dietary preferences and symptoms observed in PMS period, and the observed stress level was collected. Chi – square test and non- parametric test was done to interpret the data. Among the 300 respondents, 19.3% had PMDD, 46.3% had moderate to severe PMS and 34.3% had mild/no PMS. There was an association between PMS and consuming high calorie foods, herbal teas during PMS period (p is less than 0.05) and also with stress (pis less than0.05) Reducing high calorie foods help to reduce PMS symptoms. Adequate sleep, less screen time and avoiding skipping of meals, consuming less fast food would reduce the prevalence. Having higher level of stress increases the risk of developing PMS or even PMDD.


A group of Old Irish texts known as the Immrama (in English the Voyages) is telling about sea journeys to some distant islands. Eugene O'Curry (Irish name – Eoghan O Comhraidhe, 1794–1862) is an important figure for Immrama's scientific tradition and for Irish Studies in general. There are paradigms to estimate O'Curry's ouvre from biographical and illuminate positions, while making an attempt to scan O'Curry's works to recognize his countribution to the learning of specific items (the Immrama for example) was insufficient. To create such a new experience is the main aim of this article. The task is not only to depict O'Curry's contribution to the process «make the Immrama accessible», but to explain how the Immrama correlate with theoretical fund of his works (namely, «Lectures on the manuscript materials of ancient Irish history» (1861) and «On the manners and customs of the Ancient Irish» (1873)). The first part of the article is devoted to theoretical Immrama's context in Lectures. Here Eu. O'Curry stated his understanding of definition, composition, date and the problem of maintaining general criteria. The second part is about his practical experience in his trying to consider the Immrama, first of all, as a Historic Tale, where in tales were always a historical basis or a background. The source base was not limited by Old Irish literature or Annals; archaeological and the Old Irish Law tracts were also in usage.


1 The P2‐purinoceptor subtype and the intracellular signalling mechanism(s) involved in the rise in the free cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) induced by ATP and analogues were analyzed in myocytes isolated from the longitudinal muscle layer of rat ileum by means of molecular and physiological techniques. 2 The P2‐purinoceptor expressed by ileal smooth muscle cells shared 100% amino acid identity with the rat P2Y1‐receptor. 3 Short applications of the purinoceptor agonists induced a transient rise in [Ca2+]i in an all‐or‐nothing manner. The rank order of potency of the analogues of ATP and ADP, determined by measuring the percentage of responding cells was 2‐methylthioATP = 2‐chloro‐ATP > ADP > ATP, with concentrations giving [Ca2+]i response in 50% of cells ranging between 3 nM and 0.6 μm. The concentration‐response curves to ADP and ATP were shifted to the right by 10 μm pyridoxal phosphate‐6‐azophenyl‐2′,4′‐disulphonic acid (PPADS). 4 Although the rise in [Ca2+]i induced by stimulation of the ileal P2Y‐purinoceptor was inhibited by heparin (5 mg ml−1), we were not able to detect stimulation of phospholipase C under conditions (37°C) where muscarinic cholinoceptor activation markedly increased inositol phosphate (InsP) accumulation. However, the carbachol (CCh)‐induced increase in InsP accumulation was suppressed when the agonist was applied at 20°C while a CCh‐induced [Ca2+]i rise similar to that obtained in response to the P2‐purinoceptor agonist was still observed. 5 Our results indicate that the rat ileal myocytes express a PPADS‐sensitive P2‐purinoceptor similar to the P2Y1‐receptor subtype. Although there is no detectable increase in InsP production, stimulation of these receptors leads to a rise in [Ca2+]i by activation of the inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate receptor‐channel of the intracellular Ca2+ store, indicating that they couple to phospholipase C.


Forest ecosystems have recently received worldwide attention due to their biological diversity and their major role in the global carbon balance. Detecting forest cover change is crucial for reporting forest status and assessing the evolution of forested areas. However, existing change detection approaches based on satellite remote sensing are not quite appropriate to rapidly process the large volume of earth observation data. Recent advances in image segmentation have led to new opportunities for a new object-based monitoring system. This thesis aims at developing and evaluating an automated object-based change detection method dedicated to high spatial resolution satellite images for identifying and mapping forest cover changes in different ecosystems. This research characterized the spectral reflectance dynamics of temperate forest stand cycle and found the use of several spectral bands better for the detection of forest cover changes than with any single band or vegetation index over different time periods. Combining multi-date image segmentation, image differencing and a dedicated statistical procedure of multivariate iterative trimming, an automated change detection algorithm was developed. This process has been further generalized in order to automatically derive an up-to-date forest mask and detect various deforestation patterns in tropical environment. Forest cover changes were detected with very high performances (>90 %) using 3 SPOT-HRVIR images over temperate forests. Furthermore, the overall results were better than for a pixel-based method. Overall accuracies ranging from 79 to 87% were achieved using SPOT-HRVIR and Landsat ETM imagery for identifying deforestation for two different case studies in the Virunga National Park (DRCongo). Last but not least, a new multi-scale mapping solution has been designed to represent change processes using spatially-explicit maps, i.e. deforestation rate maps. By successfully applying these complementary conceptual developments, a significant step has been done toward an operational system for monitoring forest in various ecosystems.


As an important means to improve the kinematics accuracy, kinematics calibration is often used in the series and parallel robotics. However, since the complex kinematics in the hybrid series-parallel system, the general DH method cannot be directly used for the kinematics and error modeling. To solve this problem, a calibration method based on the equivalent kinematics model is proposed. Specifically, the parallel mechanisms in joint space are equivalent to series joints firstly, so that the kinematics and error models can be molded with the DH method. Then the kinematics error model of the hybrid system can be established by differentiating and substituting the error of parallel mechanism into the equivalent joints. Following that, the two-step calibration method is proposed based on the equivalent error model. The first step is used to keep the convergence of most calibrated parameters within a large scale, and the second step is made to improve the accuracy of all calibrated parameters. The simulation results show that the proposed calibration method ensures the convergence of the parameters during the whole iteration, and realizes the rapid and accurate identification of error parameters for the hybrid series-parallel system, which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any forms or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, filming, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holders. 1 That is in all " games " , as the Nintendo GameCube terminology has it. ABSTRACT The vertical dimension is crucial to Super Monkey Ball on all levels 1 , and invites us to meditate on vertigo and verticality, falling and failing in the construction of space and game-play in this game and in computer games as such. In Super Monkey Ball, the vertical dimension should be mastered (landing on tiny islands with the ball glider), avoided (off golf courses, off race tracks, or off fight arenas elevated almost astronomically above the ground), although it may also invite to dangerous downslide acceleration or shortcuts that will give your baby monkey ball a lead in the race (descending tilting planes, falling from one level to another while staying on the course). But most notably, verticality is emphasized by falling and failing. Slipping off the racetrack or shooting oneself off the golf course by mistake always means dropping into a spectacular free fall; losing the poor baby monkey in dark swamps, sparkling oceans, or void, endless desert-like spaces. Meditating on this aesthetization of falling and failing in Super Monkey Ball, this brief study outlines the peculiar allegorical, albeit funny and social character of this game, which seems just as important as the playing of the game as such. INTRODUCTION As a computer game, Super Monkey Ball (SMB) is a bagatelle. If we are to believe Klastrup's informal observation elsewhere in this collective presentation , players of SMB enjoy playing this game although they do not normally play computer games. SMB's appeal to otherwise non-gamers (as well as gamers) seems to be based on the fact that this game is not to be taken seriously in the same way that computer games usually are since its social aspect is just as important as—and in a certain sense dominates—the playing of the game itself. Although SMB does function well as a game and probably could be taken very seriously, the console setting, its cute monkey imagery, caricatures of infantile egos and ego-centric player behavior, and the thematization of motor …


This paper addresses the master surgical scheduling problem. First, we present a mixed integer programming model. The model assumes that the cases in a hospital's waiting list can be classified into homogeneous surgery groups based on the resources (e.g. operating room, post-surgical beds) that they are expected to require. Hence, it produces a solution that indicates, for each day of the month and for each time slot of the day, the number of cases to treat and the surgery group these cases must belong to. The model maximizes the patient throughput, takes into account the cases' due dates and allows for control of the waiting list. Secondly, we illustrate the results of a simulation study through which we test the model solution's robustness against the randomness of surgery duration and the length of stay. Finally, we present a combined optimization‐simulation approach that allows us to fine tune the optimization model to trade-off robustness and efficiency. Our study shows that, by planning surgery groups instead of individual cases and by combining optimization and simulation, it is possible to obtain schedules that are both robust and easy to implement. In addition, it shows that such a combined approach allows for the performance of more accurate scenario analyses. The results presented in this paper are based on real data from the Meyer University Children's Hospital in Florence, which is one of the most renowned children's hospitals in Italy.


You might think that watching cute kittie videos on YouTube is as harmless as it gets. You'd be wrong. Online video is destroying the Amazon jungle, melting glaciers in Greenland and kindling wildfires in California.


Amakuri squash seedlings were cultivated in Hoagland solution in plant growth chamber, and water-soaked spots and spreading lesions were described on Pythiuminfected hypocotyls when the seedlings were pre-treated with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (NaDEDC) in relation to increase in host susceptibility. A slight abnormal elongation of the growth of the seedlings was found both in plant growth chamber and in water culture. Browning spots were formed in both soil and solution-grown seedlings after inoculation. The nutrient solution did not give any effect on the mycelial growth of the pathogen. The cell sap expressed from hypocotyls treated with NaDEDC did neither stimulate nor inhibit the fungal growth. Water-soaked lesions were found without any phytotoxicity when pre-treated with ether for 20-120 seconds. Only NaDEDC and sodium fluoride were considered good among the metabolic inhibitors used which induced water-soaked lesions because of the absence of phytotoxicity and stimulative effects on the fungal growth. Cuttings of the seedling which were supplied with the NaDEDC through their cut ends did not exhibit browning spots but rather formed water-soaked lesions. The water culture was more desirable method with NaDEDC than the injection in obtaining plant materials with water-soaked lesions. (Received December 2, 1971)


Few trials in clinical cardiology and infectious disease medicine during the past year have provided such interesting results as the Partial Oral Endocarditis Trial (POET) [1]. By challenging the established notion that antibiotic treatment in infective endocarditis must be administered intravenously, the trial opens up the possibility of a switch to per oral antibiotics in patients who have been deemed stable. This represents a paradigm shift in the treatment of this severe disease, with far-reaching implications for individual patients and society alike.


2-[Methyl(2-methylphenyl)amino]ethanol undergoes an ortho-alkyllithiation reaction with n-butyllithium to lead to a new mixed benzyllithium−lithium alkoxide. This organolithium species reacts with ...


IntroductionThere are many sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), which can infect adolescents (see Table 1) (1-5). Sexually active adolescents are at risk for STDs due to their high rates of sexual activity, multiple sex partners, immature cervix (cervical ectropion which is a good media for growth of some STD agents), other high risk behaviors that encourage sexual behavior (i.e., substance abuse, body piercing, tattoos), mistrust of adults in general, problems traversing the medical system, and an often pervasive belief ("magical thinking") that they are not susceptible for acquiring STDs. The growth of social networks in the past 20 years has led to another avenue for allowing youth to meet and acquire STDs. Adolescents receive limited sexual education in the United States, have accidental or irregular sexual relationships, change sexual partners ("serial monogamy"), and fail to use condoms on a regular basis.The result is that 19 million STDs are acquired in the United States each year, mainly in the 14 to 29 year old age group. One in six sexually active adolescents (15 to 19 years of age) acquires an STD each year, and one in three persons acquire an STD by age 24 years. Those at the highest risk for an STD include runaway youth, those involved in survival sex (prostitution), those in jails or detention centers, those involved in male homosexual activity, and youth with a history of STDs. The most common STDs among youth are infections due to human papillomavirus (HPV (6-9), herpes simplex virus (HSV (10,11)), chlamydia trachomatis (12,13), neisseria gonorrheae (14) and trichomonas vaginalis 15-19). The highest rates of chlamydial and gonococcal infections are in 15 to 19 year old females, while HPV acquisition is often during adolescence. Oral sexual behavior is noted in one-third to one-half of youth and can lead to the acquisition of various STDs including HPV, herpes simplex virus (HSV), syphilis, gonorrhea, and others. Clinicians should note that Neisseria gonorrhoeae is part of the differential diagnosis of pharyngitis in adolescents (see Table 2) and thus, questions about oral sexual behavior are important even when sore throat is the only presentation.Primary prevention of STDs involves proper counseling of youth regarding STDs (including H IV), use of latex condoms for all sexual encounters, and immunization with HPV, Hepatitis A, as well as Hepatitis B vaccines (including for males having sex with men and illicit drug users).Use of a condom is a marker for improved risk behavior in adolescents and is beneficial in lowering STD rates, especially for N gonorrhoeae, C trachomatis and HIV. Spermicides with nonoxynol-9 are not recommended at this time because of their failure to prevent various STDs and potential injury to the surface of epithelial cells linked with its use that may enhance the acquisition of HIV.Secondary prevention of STDs involves regular STD screening of all sexually active youth, evaluation for STDs, proper treatment of identified STDs (including asymptomatic infection), and partner notification in the presence of STDs.Screening sexually active teenagers and adults includes annual testing for chlamydia trachomatis (up to age 25 years), annual testing for neisseria gonorrhoeae if at risk, and annual HIV screening if sexually active as well as using injection drugs. Self-collection vaginal swabs and urine samples for C trachomatis and N gonorrhoeae are becoming increasingly acceptable to adolescent females.One should consult with the CDC 2010 STD guidelines for STD management including STDs in special circumstances, such as STDs in pregnancy, males having sex with men (MSM), STDs in children, women having sex with women, those in correctional institutions, and others.Chlamydia trachomatisTwo species of Chlamydia are recognized: Chlamydia psittaci (causing psittacosis) and chlamydia trachomatis. The latter consists of different subspecies which can cause cervicitis, urethritis, trachoma and/or lymphogranuloma venereum. …


Mutual coupling results between individual elements in a conformal phased array on a general paraboloid of revolution are presented. The formulation presented yields all the surface ray geometric parameters required in the ray analysis in explicit one-parameter form. The parameter involved is the first geodesic constant h, whose determination involves a simple univariate search.<<ETX>>


In response to the stimulation of nutrients,glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is secreted from the intestinal epithelial L-cells,which is important to postprandial plasma glucagon modulation and appetite control.The nutrients include carbohydrates,proteins and lipids.Carbohydrates stimulate GLP-1 release from L-cells by ATP-sensitive K+ channel( KATP channel),sodium-glucose cotransporter(SGLT) 1 and taste receptor pathways.Proteins stimulate GLP-1 release from L-cells by plasma membrane depolarization which is initiated by voltage gated Ca2 + -channels,Na+ -K + -2Cl - cotransporters,ionotropic GABA receptor and Na + -coupled transporters,while lipids stimulate GLP-1 release from L-cells by fatty acids-sensitive G-protein coupled receptors.

Key words:
Nutrients;  L cells;  Glucagon-like peptide-1


The news media industry has changed dramatically into a global business with ever-increasing attention being devoted to entertainment and celebrity across the last 10–20 years. There has also been a growing reliance on images produced by citizens (citizen photojournalism), by media outlets and publishers. It is widely acknowledged that in tandem these changes have shrunk publication opportunities for professional photographers undertaking editorial projects. As a result, photographers are increasingly relying on non-government organisations (NGOs) to gain access to photographing issues and events in developing countries and to expand their economic and portfolio opportunities. This increase in photographers working for and alongside NGOs has given rise to a new genre of editorial photography which I call NGO Reportage. By way of a case study, an exploration of this new genre reveals important issues for photographers working with NGOs and examines the constructed narratives of images contained within these emerging practices.


In this paper, we study from a statistical point of view, the acoustic emission (AE) produced by deformation and crack propagation in steel samples from seamless tubes. The most convincing result was obtained by correlating the histogram of burst amplitudes with the log-normal distribution. This result is interpreted according to the Central Limit Theorem. It can be assumed that in the process of plastic flow and crack propagation, the incremental damage sustained between any two stage of the process is a random proportion of the total damage existing at the preceding stages. Because the measurable characteristic of the material, in this case the deformation arriving at the AE sensor, is the product of a large number of underlying causes, which are independent random variables, the Central Limit Theorem applies.


The utility model discloses an intersection safety prompting system. The intersection safety prompting system includes a camera, an image processing module, a wireless transmission module and a radar speed measuring device. According to the intersection safety prompting system, images and speed measuring data are processed, and vehicle speed and intersection passing situations of pedestrians and non-motor vehicles can be judged, and acousto-optic prompting can be performed. The intersection safety prompting system of the utility model is installed at an intersection, the pedestrians, the non-motor vehicles and motor vehicles that pass by the intersection can be monitored through the camera, and monitoring results are transmitted to motor vehicles which are to pass by the intersection through a wireless network, and therefore, the safety of the pedestrians, the non-motor vehicles and the motor vehicles can be further enhanced.


We obtain estimates on the character of the cohomology of an
$S^1$-equivariant holomorphic vector bundle over a Kaehler manifold $M$ in terms of the cohomology of the Lerman symplectic cuts and the symplectic reduction of $M$. In particular, we prove and extend inequalities conjectured by Wu and Zhang.
The proof is based on constructing a flat family of complex spaces $M_t$ such that $M_t$ is isomorphic to $M$ for $t\not=0$, while $M_0$ is a singular reducible complex space, whose irreducible components are the Lerman symplectic cuts.


The ucLA center for the Study of Women (cSW) and nyu center for the Study of gender and Sexuality (cSgS) have undertaken a year-long project to address the challenges currently facing the fields of gender and sexuality studies, women's studies, LgBT studies, ethnic studies, and postcolonial studies. As the relevance of the work being done in these fields is being questioned, both curricular units and research units have seen budgets cut and many face the threat of downsizing or closure. As part of this project, the cSW will be hosting a two-day conference that will include public panels related to the way we define our programs, as well as how they are organized.


111 The fields of chronobiology and physiological ecology lost a prominent member when Serge Daan, Emeritus Professor at the University of Groningen, passed away on 9 February 2018. Serge was a clever and critical researcher who inspired and trained many of us. He made seminal discoveries in hibernation research, ecological energetics, behavioral biology, sleep research, and sex-ratio adaptation. Serge was born in 1940, in the historic windmill "De Plasmolen" in Mook, Limburg, the Netherlands. In 1944, during the Second World War liberation, the Daan family fled from the Plasmolen only hours before it was shelled by American troops. After the war, the family moved to the estate "Het Schol" near Deventer, where Serge grew up with seven brothers and sisters. The family had a great interest in biology, and together the children built an impressive collection of skulls for their museum. Many visitors may remember part of this collection displayed in the hall of Serge's house "Villa Later" in Paterswolde. Serge studied biology at the University of Amsterdam and obtained his master's degree in 1966. During his studies he worked with evolutionary biologist Dick Hillenius at the Zoological Museum Amsterdam, which was at the time a meeting place of biologists, artists, writers, and poets. Serge expanded the museum collections by catching amphibians in southern Limburg, using his Harley Davidson as a field vehicle. In Greece he collected reptiles, and to his surprise a newly discovered Agama lizard subspecies was named after him: Agama stellio daani (Beutler and Frør, 1980). Unwilling to spend the rest of his life in dusty museums, Serge returned his PhD grant to the Dutch Science Foundation and instead obtained stipends to investigate hibernation with Prof. dr. Punt in 1968 (Daan, 1973a; PhD cum laude, University of Amsterdam). This venture took Serge back to southern Limburg, where he discovered that hibernating bats would save energy by moving to colder parts of the cave (Daan, 1973b). To test whether this behavior was a temperature response, he carried large blocks of ice into the cave to attract hibernating bats. The result of this experiment was that Serge caught pneumonia, but it also represents a landmark: Serge had changed from a descriptive taxonomist to an experimental biologist. Activity patterns during hibernation were further studied in garden dormice in the laboratory. Serge described that euthermic arousals clearly followed a circadian pattern, interrupted by multiday torpor (Daan, 1973c). These patterns were the first free-running circadian data collected by Serge. They sparked his interest in biological rhythms, further boosted by Mike Menaker's early publication on circadian rhythms in hibernating bats (Menaker, 1959). It was many years later, in 2009, when Serge, as faculty Dean, was able to show his gratitude and admiration to Mike Menaker by awarding him an honorary professorship at the University of Groningen: "For a generation of researchers into the biological clock, including those in Groningen, Michael Menaker is the giant on whose shoulders they stand." Serge wanted to learn more about the emerging field of circadian rhythms by visiting Jürgen Aschoff. In one day they wrote a successful Humboldt postdoctoral fellowship application allowing Serge to work with Aschoff at the famous Max Planck Institute 768594JBRXXX10.1177/0748730418768594Journal Of Biological Rhythms research-article2018


Alopecia areata is an immunemediated condition leading to nonscarring alopecia of the scalp and other hairbearing areas of the body. It affects up to 2% of the global population.1 It can affect all ages, but the prevalence appears higher in children compared to adults (1.92%, 1.47%).2 A greater incidence has been reported in females than males, especially in patients with lateonset disease, defined as age greater than 50 years.3


Background: Digital mammography is a good screening examination for breast cancer because it has high sensitivity and specificity. But because of radiation in examination and high sensitivity of breast tissue to it, digital mammography has a risk for breast to be stimulated to cancer by radiation. So it is necessary to evaluate the radiation amount in mammography which can be done by finding the absorbed dose of breast and comparing it to the standard level of American Collage of Radiation which recommended 3milligrays per image at the compressed breast thickness 4.5 centimetres. Objective: To study the absorbed doses of breasts in the patients undergoing digital mammography at Surin Hospital. Material and methods: This was a retrospective study of 740 patients underwent digital mammography at Surin Hospital, between October 1,2012 and September 30,2013, 40-60 years of ages who were examined in Craniocaudal (CC) and Mediolateral oblique (MLO) positions for both sides of breasts ( 2,960 images ). The ages of the patients, the compressed breast thickness and the absorbed doses of breasts were collected for analysis. Results: The mean age of the patients was 48.2 ? 4.6years.The average absorbed dose of breasts (with grid), in overall, was 2 milligrays per image with the average compressed breast thickness, inoverall, 5.1 centimetres. The amout that the absorbed doses of breasts (with grid) below 3milligrays was 95.1 %. There were 146 images (4.9%) that the absorbed doses of breasts (with grid) were above 3milligrays with the average compressed breast thickness at 5.5? 0.0 centimetres which was significant higher than the group that the average absorbed doses of breasts (with grid) below3milligrays(p-value < 0.001 ) . Conclusion: The average absorbed dose of breasts in digital mammography at Surin Hospital was within the standard level. There were 95.1 % that the absorbed doses of breasts (with grid) below 3milligrays Keywords: absorbed dose,digital mammography.


Context: Worldwide emergence of plasmid mediated multi drug resistant bacterial strain is a growing concern, especially in hospital infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Relation of plasmid and drug resistance in clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa by curing and transformation experiments is scanty. Objectives: To isolate, purify and characterize plasmid DNA harbored in a selected Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain encoding multiple drug resistance and to perform transformation of the isolated plasmid into a sensitive strain of Escherichia coli LE 392 to judge transformation potential of the donor P. aeruginosa strain. Materials and Methods: Plasmid DNA was isolated from a multidrug-resistant (MDR) strain of P. aeruginosa obtained from swab of a hospitalized burn patient by mini-scale method. DNA was purified, quantitatively estimated and electrophoresed on 0.8% agarose gel. Transformation was done as per Cohen and co-workers using plasmid DNA isolated from MDR P. aeruginosa strain as the donor and the E. coli LE 392 strain. The presence of plasmid in transformants checked through electrophoresis and the transformants was also tested for each drug resistance already recorded for the donor strain by disc diffusion method and again confirmed by spreading its culture on the selected antibiotic plate of different concentrations. Results: A single plasmid of nearly 29.5 kb mass was isolated from MDR P. aeruginosa strain from clinical swab. This plasmid was transferred into sensitive and plasmid lacking recipient E. coli LE 392. Subsequent experiments on the transformed strain revealed that it acquired MDR and harbored a 29.5 kb plasmid which resembled to that of the donor strain proving that it encodes transferable MDR. Conclusion: The MDR P. aeruginosa strain contained a transferable plasmid conferring resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, cotrimoxazole, tetracycline and ciprofloxacin. Key words: Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; Multidrug–resistance; plasmid isolation; transformation. DOI: 10.3329/jbs.v17i0.7113 J. bio-sci. 17: 95-100, 2009


Several recent articles have shown that the efficient outcome for bilateral trade, even in the face of specific investments and incomplete contracting, can be supported with approximately-designed contracts. These studies have, for the most part, restricted attention to specific investments that benefit the investor (e.g., the seller's investment reduces her cost of producing the good). We find very different results for "cooperative" specific investments that directly benefit the investor's partner (e.g., the seller's investment improves the buyer's value of the good).


There has been a rapid advancement in wireless sensor network (WSN) technology in the past decade and its application in structural monitoring has been the focus of several research projects. The evaluation of the newly developed hardware platform and software system is an important aspect of such research efforts. Although much of this evaluation is done in the laboratories and using generic signal processing techniques, it is important to validate the system for its intended application as well. In this paper the performance of a newly developed accelerometer sensor board is evaluated by using the data from a beam-column connection specimen with a local damage detection algorithm. The sensor board is a part of a wireless node that consists of the Imote2 control/communication unit and an advanced antenna for improved connectivity. A scaled specimen of a steel beam-column connection is constructed in ATLSS center at Lehigh University and densely instrumented by synchronized networked systems of both traditional piezoelectric and wireless sensors. The column ends of the test specimen have fixed connections, and the beam cantilevers from the centerline of the column. The specimen is subjected to harmonic excitations in several test runs and its acceleration response is collected by both systems. The collected data is then used to estimate two sets of system influence coefficients with the wired one as the reference baseline. The performance of the WSN is evaluated by comparing the quality of the influence coefficients and the rate of convergence of the estimated parameters.


This study aims to determine the availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to overcome the covid-19 pandemic. This research uses a qualitative method. The results show that the availability of personal protective equipment to overcome the covid-19 pandemic at the Rajawali Citra Hospital in the Special Region of Yogyakarta must be of high quality and according to standards. The process of providing PPE at the Rajawali Citra Hospital in Yogyakarta has 2 ways, namely: 1. Procuring it yourself: ordering PPE from distributors 2. through grants or assistance from the Health Office or from donors.


We study certain exponential sums K(a), known as Kloosterman sums, when a E F2m or a E F3m. For the binary case we establish the exact spectrum of the number of coset leaders of cosets of weight 3 of the binary Melas code. We derive a family of elliptic curves that allows us to characterize all a E I F p for which K(a) is divisible by 3. As an application we construct so-called "caps with many free pairs of points" in PG(n, 2) and describe their use in statistical experimental designs. In the ternary case we use a similar method. By transforming a certain system of equations over into a parametrized family of elliptic curves, we classify and count those a E F3m for which K (a) 0,2 (mod 4). We also present a result which is of independent interest, namely a generalization of the well known fact that Tr(a) = 0 (a E F2m) if and only if a = t2 + t for some t E F2m.


The author considers the peculiarities of the cultural studies approaches to foreign language teaching and determines their significance for non-philologists' training conditions.


Objective: To study the relationship between tumor necrosis factor-α-863C/A gene polymorphisms and chronic ob-structive pulmonary disease(COPD).Methods: Polymerase chain reaction-ligase detection reaction-based sequence analysis was applied to determine the frequencies of genotypes and allele of TNF-α-863 in 56 cases of patients with smoking-related COPD and a control group of 64 smokers.Results: The frequencies of TNF-α-863 CA and A allele in COPD patients were lower than the control group(P0.05),and the severe subgroups were lower than non-severe subgroups(P0.05).The CA genotype was associated with a better FEV1/FVC ratio,and higher BMI(P0.05).The prevalence of chronic pulmonary heart disease in the CA genotypes was higher than the CC geno-types in COPD group(P0.05).Compared with non-COPD subjects,BMI was lower in COPD patients[(22.0±3.1) vs(24.5±3.7)kg/m2,P0.05];BMI was also lower in the severe subgroups[(21.2±3.0) vs(23.3±3.3)kg/m2,P0.05].Conclusions: The TNF-α-863 A allele may be a protective factor for COPD.Lower BMI was strongly associated with COPD,possibly as a potential predictor for COPD severity.


Section 6.5.2 of N283.3-10 of the CSA Standard [1] describes analytical methods for seismic qualification of nuclear components. Clause 22.214.171.124 of this Section instructs how to prepare seismic input for the time history method, specifically it states: "Time-histories of support point motion (displacement, velocity, or acceleration) may be used as dynamic inputs to components. To take into account the effects of possible frequency variations of component and structure, the analysis shall be carried out using three different time-history excitations. These time-histories shall be obtained by varying time scale of the original support point time-history by (a) 1.0; (b) 1 - Δfj/fj; and (c) 1 + Δfj/fj, where fj = the dominant structural frequency; Δfj = a parameter defining the frequency variation due to uncertainties in structural soil properties. The most severe effects obtained from these three time history analyses shall be considered in the design of the components. Notes: (1) A value of 15% for Δfj/fj may be used for the time-history analysis specified in this Clause; (2) For structures directly on bedrock, a value of Δfj/fj = 0% may be used". This paper identifies some ambiguities in the approach described above. It shows, by theory and examples, that significantly different responses are obtained depending on which form of excitation is used (acceleration, velocity or displacement). In a typical acceleration excitation approach, the response may be over or under estimated. To remove this ambiguity, the paper proposes a simple modification of the broadening procedure described in [1]. The problem discussed in this paper may also be meaningful for the broadening time history described in Appendix N of ASME Code [2].Copyright © 2011 by ASME


With forming the plastic injection mold inserts with conformal cooling and heating channels as an sample by with low-carbon steel powder,researched into the forming process encountered in the bevel forming,powder magnetization and trapezoidal effects and so on.Found that the electrode material' s problems can lead to the trapezoidal effect.Used drainage method to measure densification rate of forming parts,and got the conclusion that the densification rate of the forming parts using SRW rapid prototyping technology is close to the theoretical densification rate.


Purpose: To develop a quality assurance procedure to test image quality of a kilovoltage On‐board Imager system (On‐Board Imager®, Varian Medical Systems, Inc., Palo Alto, CA). Method and Materials: An imaging phantom (TOR 18FG, Leeds Test Objects, Ltd.) was used to analyze kV imaging quality. The phantom includes 21 line pairs (0.5 – 5.0 lp/mm) and 18 low contrast discs. An image of the phantom was taken weekly using 70kV, 40mA, and 100ms. The images were analyzed using the ImageJsoftware package (U.S. National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD). A macro detects the circular edge of the phantom and performs a least squares circle fit to detect any translational shift in the phantom. ROIs are automatically selected and mean and standard deviation are measured. An interface to our in‐house quality assurancedatabase was developed. The database calls the macro, receives the measurement results and calculates noise, contrast scale and MTF of the image. Low contrast is resolved by taking the difference between the mean of the low contrast discs and areas adjacent to them. Visibility is determined by a minimum difference. The database stores analyzed data and graphs results over time. Results:Images were acquired between October 2008 and February 2009. Images were exported from the R&V system and were typically analyzed in under a minute. The software was tested by introducing additional specific noise to the images using ImageJ. Using the software, we were able to track MTF,contrast scale, and noise over time and confirm the imaging quality of kV imager.Conclusions: This work demonstrates an efficient way to perform weekly quality assurance for on‐board kV imagers.


During the quarantine of imported cows,one strain of virus was isolated from a cow which Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus neutralization antibody was positive.The virus reproduced in MDBK cell and induced cytopathogenic effect(CPE) coincident with IBRV's.The neutralizing antibody titer was 2~7 after virus neutralization test was performed by the IBRV specificity serum.The PCR amplification yielded a special band for the virus when using the pair of primers according to the sequence of IBRV.The result showed that the virus was IBRV.


The effects of strain rate on the stress-strain characteristics of copper and lead were studied by measuring both stress and strain as functions of time using short cylindrical specimens supported at one end on a modified Hopkinson pressure bar and impacted at the other end by a steel projectile. Corresponding stresses and strains were computed according to an elementary nonstrain-rate theory (sometimes referred to as the von Karman theory) in which the dynamic stress-strain curve is assumed to be the same as the static stress- strain curve. Stresses and strains were also computed according to an elementary strain-rate theory (sometimes referred to as the Malvern theory) in which the dynamic stress may exceed the static stress for a given strain by an amount which depends upon the strain rate. It was found that the predictions of the nonstrain- rate theory agreed with measured values only for low impact velocities and for points at least two diameters from the impact end of the specimen. By proper choice of the flow or relaxation constant in the elementary strain-rate theory, measured and computed values of strain, or of stress, but not both simultaneously, could be brought into agreement. In the more general exponentialtype, strain-rate law, two independent parameters appear. Presumably with two constants to adjust, this theory could be made to correctly predict both stresses and strains for the conditions under which the tests were performed. If this procedure forces the theory to account for variations which are actually caused by lateral inertia and shear, erroneous conclusions regarding the properties of the material will be drawn. Further study of the effects of shear and lateral inentia is indicated. (auth)


form a major part of a person"s personality. Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups. The written expressions reflect author"s personality. Various personality traits can be determined by the analysis of the contents written by a person. This paper proposes a novel technique for human trait identification from the analysis of author"s written expressions. The proposed technique is based on the concept of supervised machine learning and uses Support Vector Machine for classifying the personality of a writer. We classify the personality of a writer into five categories namely, highly extrovert, highly introvert, low introvert, low extrovert and ambivert. Experiments have been carried out on the real world blog data and results demonstrate that the proposed technique can determine the personality traits of a writer with accuracy and speed. We have also implemented a PHP based online system, which reads the contents of a blog and can automatically predict the personality of writer of the blog


Ferulic acid, though used in formulations of skin-care and cosmetic products, suffers from the problems of poor stability and low aqueous solubility. Encapsulation into nanoparticle can be a viable...


Background Social networks have become one of the main channels for obtaining health information. However, they have also become a source of health-related misinformation, which seriously threatens the public's physical and mental health. Governance of health-related misinformation can be implemented through topic identification of rumors on social networks. However, little attention has been paid to studying the types and routes of dissemination of health rumors on the internet, especially rumors regarding health-related information in Chinese social media. Objective This study aims to explore the types of health-related misinformation favored by WeChat public platform users and their prevalence trends and to analyze the modeling results of the text by using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation model. Methods We used a web crawler tool to capture health rumor–dispelling articles on WeChat rumor-dispelling public accounts. We collected information from health-debunking articles posted between January 1, 2016, and August 31, 2022. Following word segmentation of the collected text, a document topic generation model called Latent Dirichlet Allocation was used to identify and generalize the most common topics. The proportion distribution of the themes was calculated, and the negative impact of various health rumors in different periods was analyzed. Additionally, the prevalence of health rumors was analyzed by the number of health rumors generated at each time point. Results We collected 9366 rumor-refuting articles from January 1, 2016, to August 31, 2022, from WeChat official accounts. Through topic modeling, we divided the health rumors into 8 topics, that is, rumors on prevention and treatment of infectious diseases (1284/9366, 13.71%), disease therapy and its effects (1037/9366, 11.07%), food safety (1243/9366, 13.27%), cancer and its causes (946/9366, 10.10%), regimen and disease (1540/9366, 16.44%), transmission (914/9366, 9.76%), healthy diet (1068/9366, 11.40%), and nutrition and health (1334/9366, 14.24%). Furthermore, we summarized the 8 topics under 4 themes, that is, public health, disease, diet and health, and spread of rumors. Conclusions Our study shows that topic modeling can provide analysis and insights into health rumor governance. The rumor development trends showed that most rumors were on public health, disease, and diet and health problems. Governments still need to implement relevant and comprehensive rumor management strategies based on the rumors prevalent in their countries and formulate appropriate policies. Apart from regulating the content disseminated on social media platforms, the national quality of health education should also be improved. Governance of social networks should be clearly implemented, as these rapidly developed platforms come with privacy issues. Both disseminators and receivers of information should ensure a realistic attitude and disseminate health information correctly. In addition, we recommend that sentiment analysis–related studies be conducted to verify the impact of health rumor–related topics.


Objective To assess the effect of rehabilitation treatments in the patients with polio sequelae after corrective operation of scoliosis. Method 15 patients with poliomyelitis sequelae (control group) were received late rehabilitation trainnings after 3 months operation. 36 patients (experiment group) were received over-all rehabilitation treatments including preoperative rehabilitation guidance and postoperative treatment. The two groups were compared with the incidence of postoperative complications, ADL grade and spinal fusion time. Result All patients in both groups didn't occur pseudo-articulations and relapse of deformity. There were obvious differences between two groups in ADL grade and spinal fusion time. Conclusion Over-all rehabilitation treatments have produced important effects in preventing complications, and improving ADL of patients with polio sequelae after corrective operation for paralytic scoliosis.


Objective To study relations between AS degree and fatty liver and effects of Fiveleaf Gynostemma Herb on AS and the fatty liver. Methods Forty rabbits were divided into group A, group B, group C and group E at random, which was fed high fat food added Fiveleaf Gynostemma Herb 5 g/kg, high cholesterol food added simvastain 5 mg/kg, high cholesterol food and standard feedstuff respectively. TG, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, Ⅳ-C, HA, LN, PCⅢ and ALT, TBiL were examined before and after the sixth and the ninth week of the experiment. Pathological shape of the liver and the aorta was observed. Results TG, TC, LDL-C and HDL-C: TG, TC and LDL-C of group A, group B and group C were growing gradually. TG, TC, LDL-C of group A and group B were lower than those in group C (P0.05),TG, HDL-C, LDL-C of group A were better than those in group B (P0.05~0.01). ②Ⅳ-C, HA, LN, PCⅢ: after feeding,Ⅳ-C, HA, LN, PCⅢ of group A, group B and group C increased obviously (P0.01). Ⅳ-C, HA, LN, PCⅢ of group A was lower than those in group B, C (P0.01). ③ALT, TBiL: After feeding, ALT, TBiL of group E had no significant difference (P0.05); ALT, TBiL of group A had a difference at the ninth week (P0.05); ALT、TBiL of group B and group C had increased at the eighth and twelfth week and had the siginificant difference (P0.05~0.01), ALT, TBiL of group A was lower than that in group B and group C and had the differecne (P0.05~0.1). ④ Aortic pathology: group A of and group B of AS area and the degree are remarkably lower than group C (P0.01). A group of AS area and the degree are lower than group B (P0.05). ⑤Examined by liver pathology: the livers of group A、group B and group C were diffuse swellings, the fringe was blunt and thick with the color of grey yellow. Compared with group B and C, the liver of group A was flush ruddy and the degree of liver swelling was lightened. 2/3 of the hepatocyte of group A had the change of fatty and become the moderate fatty liver. The happened rate of fatty liver was 100%. Conclusion The fatty liver has the mild influence on AS, Fiveleaf Gynostemma Herb has the inhibitory effects on the AS degree by preventing the fatty liver.


Conducting polymer polyaniline was synthesized by radiation method from casting films contg. polyvinyl alc. (PVA) blended with aniline hydrochloride. Upon gamma -irradn. the films changed to PVA/polyaniline nanoparticles as shown by the SEM surface morphol. The UV-Visible spectrophotometer measurement revealed the absorption band of polyaniline peaking at 790 nm due to pi-pi electronic transitions of conducting polyaniline mols. (polyemeraldine based) from donor atoms (HOMO) to acceptor atoms (LUMO). The band gap decreases from 1.15 eV at 0 kGy to 1.0 eV at 50 kGy indicating the cond. of polyaniline increases with the increase of dose. Nanocomposites of PVA/Ag0 nanoparticles were synthesized under ambient condition by gamma radiation from composite of PVA/silver nitrate. The UV-vis spectroscopy revealed the absorbance peaking at 425 due to the plasmon transitions at the conduction band of Ag0 nanoparticles. The absorbance increases with dose indicating an increase of the no. of Ag0 nanoparticles formed. The absorption peak shifted from 425 nm to 415 nm corresponds to a decrease in the diam. of Ag0 nanoparticles with increasing dose. The band gap of the PVA/Ag0 nanoparticles increases with increasing dose indicating the gap of conduction band of Ag0 nanoparticles increases as the diam. of Ag0 nanoparticles decreases.


PURPOSE: A pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating tuberculosis is provided to suppress CO-DH(carbon monoxide dehydrogenase) expression and activation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. CONSTITUTION: A pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating tuberculosis contains pharmaceutically effective amount of a compound of general formula 1 and pharmaceutically acceptable carriers. The compound suppresses the transcription and expression of CO-DH(carbon monoxide dehydrogenase) gene. The tuberculosis includes scrofuloderma, adrenal tuberculosis, nephrotuberculosis, tuberculosis of epididymis, pulmonary tuberculosis, tuberculosis of bone, and multiple drug resistance tuberculosis.


In this paper, the cubature quadrature Kalman filter (CQKF) has been applied to solve a maneuvering target tracking problem. The CQKF, which has been developed in house, uses third order spherical cubature and higher order Gauss quadrature rule to solve the intractable integrals encountered in Bayesian framework of filtering. The CQKF is the generalized form of well established cubature Kalman filter (CKF) and under certain simplification, the CQKF reduces to the CKF. The performance of the CQKF has been compared with the CKF, and the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) for a maneuvering target tracking problem. The simulation results exhibit the improvement of performance with the CQKF compared to the CKF and the UKF.


Abstract : The Sensitivity Analysis for Multidisciplinary Systems (SAMS) program aims to provide the aerospace community with reliable and robust tools for the economical and accurate evaluation of sensitivities for multidisciplinary design and analysis. The program is building on the well-known and widely-used FUN3D computational fluid dynamics solver, modularizing and expanding it to include adjoint-based aeroelastic sensitivities. The aeroelastic modeling will eventually support both mode-based structural representations and time-dependent, nonlinear finite element structural dynamics. This interim report describes progress towards the goals of the program.


Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to clarify definitions in economics. Design/methodology/approach - – To apply the insights of Austrian economics to terms widely used in the profession. Findings - – The authors find that the Austrian approach brings clarification to communication. Originality/value - – The authors know of no other such attempt. Therefore this paper presumably has some originality.


The competitive solution and the uniform competitive solution are different solution concepts for cooperative games. The first was introduced by McKelvey, Ordeshook and Winer (1978), the second is proposed in the present paper, however, it is deriving from the same original ideas.
A (uniform) competitive solution is a finite configuration of effective payoff vectors, each of them being associate to a coalition. This configuration satisfies two fundamental requirements: the internal stability and the external stability. Despite the existing differences the competitive solutions and the uniform competitive solutions have some common properties and are also related to some other classical solution-concepts.
The uniform competitive solution is a modified version of the competitive solution. Some disadvantages of the earlier concept are removed and the existence theorems for very large classes of both transferable utility and non-transferable utility games are provided.


The complexity of human diet resides in the heterogeneity of sources (e.g., animals, grains, vegetables, and fruits), preservatives used, and cultural, religious, and geographic factors. Other factors include age, personal preferences, concomitant diseases, and even genetic predispositions (e.g., gluten sensitivity). Growing evidence has shown that multiple dietary substrates increase the risk of stroke by increasing blood pressure or adversely contributing to atherogenesis.1 Excess salt intake, low potassium intake, excess weight, and high alcohol consumption increase the risk of hypertension.2 The American Heart Association (AHA)1,2 and the Canadian Stroke Best Practices recommend a sodium intake of less than 1,500 mg/d (avoiding processed foods), a diet high in fresh fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, dietary and soluble fiber, whole grains, and very low alcohol consumption.3


The automatic age estimation has considerable applications in areas such as marketing, for example, while generating and displaying specific content for some age group, and in computing security, where protecting minors from contents not suitable for their age would be allowed. The general objective of this work is to show the methodology developed to generate a classifier system based on appearance, using representation models: analysis of main components and a linear discriminant analysis; and to present the results so obtained on the FG-Net and IMDB-Wiki images basis, with which were classified into two groups; major (+18) and minor (-18) of age, where up to an 89% of effectiveness was obtained.


S INCE HIS INITIAL RAPID RISE to popular success in the mid 1750's, Jean-Baptiste Greuze's critical fortune has experienced many ups and downs. Lauded as well as derided for the very same works, Greuze has never failed to excite strong critical response. While the various responses certainly reflect changes in taste and artistic as well as critical conventions, they also attest to the power of Greuze's pictures to engage the viewer. In this essay I will argue that Greuze's enduring success in involving the spectator resides in the way his paintings inscribe within them the viewer's gaze both formally and thematically. Whatever the paintings' genre or subject matter, they implicate the viewer's pres ence and act of looking. In organizing how the viewer sees, and not just what he sees, Greuze's paintings deliberately explore one of the domi nant philosophical issues of the Enlightenment, the problem of looking and the representation of looking. Before analyzing the paintings themselves, it may be useful to situate Greuze's achievements within the context of the art practices of his period and to review the history of critical evaluations of his work. In his lifetime, he was especially well known for having narrowed the scope of genre painting to focus on narratives of family drama and sentiment. The intensity and specificity of the family dramas he depicted brought seriousness and high moral purpose to a genre that traditionally por trayed common and lowly human.activity, frequently in a comic mode. Greuze redefined the traditional repertoire of genre scenes featuring social gatherings or individuals eating, playing, working or relaxing to depict the unremarkable but momentous occasions that punctuate the cycle of family life—marriage, death, separation, reunion. He shifted the settings of his scenes from the familiar ones of kitchens, inns, and barn yards, open to the comings and goings of a large social group, to the private and secluded setting of the enclosed family room. The carefully balanced compositions, the details of the figures, their dress and gestures, the setting, everything in Greuze's genre paintings aimed to uni versalize the moment depicted and to elevate the individual participants to the stature of representative types. Greuze " ennobled" the genre; he


The block-printing masters of ancient traditional Chinese operas originated from Yuan Dynasty,prevailed in Ming,and had been developing all through Qing Dynasty.After the mid-Ming period,the center of block-printing was transferred to the south.Zhejiang's block-printing of traditional operas flourished since Yuan Dynasty,while Jiangsu had the tendency to surpass Zhejiang.In particular,Jinling(now Nanjing),Jiangsu,a forest of bookshops formed an extremely splendid view.In Qing Dynasty,the block-printed editions continued to thrive.The traditional opera scores,selections,collections and so forth flourished unprecedentedly both block-printed by the government and in private.This paper attempts to introduce the block-printed editions in the area of Zhejiang and Jiangsu in terms of the masters,distributions,histories,items,etc.of major traditional opera versions.


This paper addresses the problem of determining the H∞ and H2 norms of 2D mixed continuous-discrete-time systems. The first contribution is to propose a novel approach based on the use of complex Lyapunov functions with even rational parametric dependence, which searches for upper bounds on the sought norms via linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The second contribution is to show that the upper bounds provided are nonconservative by using Lyapunov functions in the chosen class with sufficiently large degree. The third contribution is to provide conditions for establishing the tightness of the upper bounds. The fourth contribution is to show how the numerical complexity of the proposed approach can be significantly reduced by proposing a new necessary and sufficient LMI condition for establishing positive semidefiniteness of even Hermitian matrix polynomials. This result is also exploited to derive an improved necessary and sufficient LMI condition for establishing exponential stability of 2D mixed continuous-discrete-time systems. Some numerical examples illustrate the proposed approach. It is worth remarking that nonconservative LMI methods for determining the H∞ and H2 norms of 2D mixed continuous-discrete-time systems have not been proposed yet in the literature. G. Chesi is with the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Email: email@example.com. R. H. Middleton is with the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The University of Newcastle, Australia. Email: email@example.com.


[Objective] The study aimed to mater the effects of main factors on tobacco quality. [Method] With tobacco varieties CB-1 and F1-35 as test materials,the effects of four kinds of maturities at harvest on appearance quality,smoking quality and chemical components in flue-cured tobacco leaves was studied. [Result] With the increase of maturity at harvest,the appearance quality and smoking quality of flue-cured tobacco leaves increased first and then decreased,reducing sugar and potassium in flue-cured tobacco leaves increased first and then decreased,nicotine and chlorine tended to rise,while total nitrogen in flue-cured tobacco leaves tended to decrease. Considering the appearance quality,smoking quality and chemical components in flue-cured tobacco leaves,the primary conclusion was that:for breed CB-1 and F1-35,under leaves should be harvested when leaf surface was yellowish green,1/2 of midrib length became white; for breed CB-1 middle leaves be harvested when leaf surface was greenish yellow and 3/4 of midrib length became white,for breed F1-35 middle leaves be harvested when leaf surface was greenish yellow and 2/3 of midrib length became white; for breed CB-1 and F1-35,upper leaves be harvested when leaf surface was greenish yellow and 3/4 of midrib length became white. [Conclusion] Different variety and different sites had the different maturity.


: This paper presents the importance of intercooler, component responsible for improving the performance of turbocharged diesel engines. Its main objective is to highlight the best performance and relevant torque and power gain when compacting the engine intercooler, through tests performed in the inertial dynamometer of the laboratory of Candido Mendes University of Campos dos Goytacazes. Its operation utilizes heat exchange and, consequently, cooling of the heated air coming from the compressor before being admitted to the engine combustion chamber. In this way, the air becomes denser so that more air is massed in the same volume as the combustion chamber, and consequently a better burn, increasing the engine torque and horsepower. With all this combustion improvement process, the benefits are evident, bringing efficiency and performance on a large scale, represented by an increase of approximately 24.4% in torque and 32.1% in horsepower developed by the engine tested.


Cerebral white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on magnetic resonance imaging are markers of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD), a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD). Despite the successful identification of multiple genetic variants associated with this highly heritable condition, its genetic architecture remains incompletely understood. More specifically, the role of DNA methylation (DNAm) has received little attention.


The Nature Conservancy; Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Kansas State University; National Fish and Wildlife Foundation; National Renewable Energies Laboratory; National Wind Coordinating Collaborative; Horizon Wind Energy; BP Alternative Energy; PPL Energy; FPL Energy; and Competitive Power Ventures, Kansas State University


This paper presents a system for real-time visualization of very large image data sets using on- demand loading and dynamic view prediction. We use a robust image representation scheme for efficient adaptive rendering and a perspective view generation module to extend the applicability of the system to panoramic images. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the system by applying it both to imagery that does not require perspective correction and to very large panoramic data sets requiring perspective view generation. The system permits smooth, real-time interactive navigation of very large panoramic and non-panoramic image data sets on average personal computers without the use of specialized hardware.


Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common chronic systemic, immune-mediated inflammatory disorderthat attacks flexible joints and also may affect many tissues and organs. The present study was designed to assess the effect of atorvastatin and vitamin D on RA and to compare it with that of methotrexate in female Wistar albino rats. Rheumatoid arthritis was induced by subcutaneousinjection of Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA). Seventy rats were divided into (7) groups, each of 10 rats. Group I was kept as control. Group II was injected with 0.4 ml CFA for 12 days. Group III, IV and V were injected with CFA then treated with methotrexate, atorvastatin and vitamin D, respectively. Group VI and VII were injected with CFA then treated with atorvastatin plus methotrexate; vitamin D plus methotrexate, respectively. Blood samples were collected after four weeks of the last dose of treatmentfor hematological examination. Serum samples were used for detection of inflammatory markers and lipid profile. A significantly increase of total leucocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, serum tumor necrosis factor α (TNF α), interleukine-6 (IL-6), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) were observed in arthritis rats with significant decrease in high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL). Treatment with atorvastatin and vitamin D significantly decrease TNF α, IL-6 and modulate the leukocytosis and lipid abnormalities comparable to that exerted by methotrexate. Thecombination therapy was even better than each drug alone and is promising for further clinical trials


The invention relates to the technical field of anode roasting for electrolysis, in particular to a maintaining method for a fire wall of an anode carbon block roasting furnace. The maintaining method capable of effectively prolonging the service life of the fire wall of the anode carbon block roasting furnace comprises the following maintaining phases: (a) roasting maintaining phase: heating the fire wall by using columnar flame in the roasting phase of the roasting furnace; (b) discharging maintaining phase: maintaining the fire wall in the discharging phase. As the fire wall is heated by the columnar flame in the roasting maintaining phase, the heating of the fire wall is evener. The roasting furnace is sealed by adopting a surface sealing method, so that cold air is effectively prevented from entering to cause over-low temperature of the upper part of the fire wall to influence the service life.


Jellose is a natural polysaccharide that is extracted from tamarind seed kernel. This natural polymer has many good properties to be a useful excipient for pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical products. It can used as a thickening agent, suspending agent, viscosity enhancer, emulsifying agent and more. Recently, it was reported that jellose can inhibit tyrosinase enzyme and has antioxidant activity which makes this ingredient interesting to be utilized for skin lightening in cosmeceutical products. The aim of this study was to formulate a facial serum product containing jellose as one of active ingredients, evaluate the physicochemical properties and stability, and also obtain a clinical result of product with the help of volunteers. Two types of jellose serums were developed: oil in water formula; and oil-free formula. The stability of serum was studied under heating and cooling cycle tests for 6 cycles, and then placed in room temperature (30±1°C) for 3 months. Results showed that both types of serums had good stability. The physicochemical properties such as viscosity, pH, antioxidant activity and tyrosinase enzyme inhibition activity were evaluated to select the optimal formulation. The selected formulation was tested by applying it on the facial area of 35 healthy volunteers aged 35-75 years, and then analyzing with Skin Visual Analyzer at 15, 30 and 60 days. It was found that the jellose serum can reduce skin roughness, has an anti-wrinkle property, and brightened the skin significantly when regularly used for at least 30 days. During this study, none of the volunteers reported any kind of allergies and the overall satisfaction assessment of jellose serum was excellent. It was concluded that jellose can become a novel and potential ingredient in cosmeceuticals.


Low weir is widely applied to the sluices and low dams in plains.Its discharge capacity directly determines the layout of discharge buildings of low head water control project and the engineering benefit.However,in practical projects,the discharge capacity of low weir is influenced by many factors.Based on the processing and analysis of various data,and in consideration of different weir shapes,weir heights and weir surface slopes at upstream and downstream,etc.,this article analyzed and studied the relationship between discharge capacity and the shape of low weir,and by taking project cases,it put forward relevant problems in engineering application which should be noticed about the design and type selection of low weir in different conditions.


This paper analyses the differences in labour demand between family and non‐family managed firms. These firms seem to have better employment performance than non‐family controlled companies. Therefore, this study applies a treatment model for panel data controlling for endogeneities of being a family managed firm or not. The results of the estimations indicate that labour demand is possibly larger because of family members joining the firms as extra employees. Moreover, labour turnover is lower, supporting the assumption that family firms offer some kind of implicit labour contracts. However, in opposite to previous results, it seems that only small family managed firms show different employment behaviour.


On October 31st 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto introduced Bitcoin to the world. Since then, the technology underlying Nakamoto's proposition has affected multiple sectors and brought disruptive innovation to many areas. Our minitrack on blockchain cases and innovation seeks to speed up the adoption of blockchain technology. It serves as a forum for the presentation and discussion of exemplar blockchain use-cases and innovation. In doing so, it shares insights on how blockchain influences organizations and fosters innovation. In this 4th edition of the minitrack, we received 23 interesting articles. Based on reviewers' comments, we finally accepted 11 papers that contribute to the body of knowledge and spread the adoption of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT). The first paper focuses on the application of Blockchain technology to supply chains. Marco Näf, Thomas Keller, and Roger Seiler review articles in blockchain and supply chain, critically discuss them and conduct a market analysis and survey this topic. The second article was written by Marek Wester and Boris Otto, and it proposes a methodology for the sustainability assessment of digital currencies. The methodology considers transparency, relevance, comparability, scalability, and fairness and it was applied to ten cryptocurrencies. In the third paper, Christian Straubert, Eric Sucky, and Jens Mattke aim to address privacy and scalability limitations in public blockchains. Their work proposes a public blockchain freight exchange protocol, and it is tested through a design science approach. The fourth article is written by Chen Ye and Lin Zhao, and it is entitled "Public Perceptions of Facebook's Libra Digital Currency Initiative: Text Mining on Twitter". The article contributes to the normative literature by extracting and analyzing perceptions on Twitter regarding Libra. The next paper is authored by Youssef El Faqir, Javier Arroyo, and Samer Hassan. It investigates a scalable voting system by focusing on the validation of holographic consensus in DAOstack. In the sixth paper, Mohammad Saidur Rahman, Ibrahim Khalil, and Abdelaziz Bouras propose a smart contract workflow verification framework for a blockchain-based supply chain management system. The authors use Petri-Nets to model smart contracts workflows. The next article presents the research of Venkata Marella, Maryam Roshan, Jani Merikivi, and Virpi Tuunainen. The article focuses on rebuilding trust in digital currency exchanges after the cyber-attacks. The authors study seven different cryptocurrency exchanges and investigate their actions after cyber-attacks. The exchanges' practices on rebuilding trust with existing customers and bringing in new customers are presented. A design research study is presented in the next article, which was written by Daniel Beverungen, Sebastian Overhage, Albert Gorlick', Pascal Moerchel, and Sebastian Schuermann. The study focuses on blockchains for pay per use models, identifies blockchain advantages and disadvantages compared to other technologies, and identifies properties for blockchain business scenarios. The ninth paper is an exploratory cases study on smart contracts, and it focuses on process automation in blockchains. The paper was written by Julia Eggers, Andreas Hein, Jörg Weking, Markus Böhm, and Helmut Krcmar. The second to last paper has the title "Understanding the Challenges of Blockchain Technology Adoption: Evidence from China's Developing Carbon Markets" and was authored by Xing Chen and Ashley Lloyd. The paper investigates blockchain barriers in Chinese carbon markets. The authors conducted interviews with experts in this area, and they analyze and report their findings. Lastly, the paper written by Muhammad Saleem Malik, Mehmood Chadhar, and Madhu Chetty, investigates the adoption of blockchain technology. The paper uses the Technology, Organization, and Environment (TOE) framework and the Institutional Theory. It is based on an interpretative qualitative research approach to explore factors influencing blockchain adoption in Australia. The authors identify multiple factors that influence the adoption, such as complexity, cost, perceived novelty, and the disintermediation feature of blockchain technology. Proceedings of the 54th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences | 2021


I was induced to undertake this investigation by a careful observation of the action of picric acid and potassium hydrate upon normal human urine at the boiling temperature. The introduction of picric acid as a test for sugar in urine is due to my father, Dr. George Johnson, who accidentally discovered the production of a very dark colour on the addition of picric acid to a portion of saccharine urine which had been previously boiled with potassium hydrate.


Background The tear film is a complex mix of electrolytes, proteins (lipocalins, lactoferrin, transferrin, defensin, and lysozyme), phospholipids, oligopeptides, glycopeptides, and immunoglobulins. Objective The aim was to investigate the efficacy of topical carbomer-based lipid-containing artificial tears and hyaluronate in patients with dry-eye disease (DED) based on serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25HD) levels and cholecalciferol (vitamin D) supplementation. Patients and methods A nonrandomized clinical trial study was conducted on 42 patients with DED by Schirmer tear-secretion test (mm) who were examined by Ophthalmology Department, Menoufia University Hospital, Egypt, during the study period from March 2020 to March 2021. Results Serum 25HD levels were significantly decreased among vitamin D deficiency (VDD) group than non-VDD group at baseline and after 2 weeks of treatment. International Ocular Surface Disease Index grade was significantly increased among the VDD group after 2 weeks and 4 months of treatment as compare with non-VDD group (P < 0.05). Tear break-up time was significantly decreased among VDD group than non-VDD group after 4 months of treatment (P = 0.015). Lid hyperemia was significantly increased among the VDD group (2.00 ± 0.853) than non-VDD group (1.29 ± 0.659) after 4 months of treatment (P = 0.029). While Schirmer tear-secretion test was significantly decreased among the VDD group (5.75 ± 1.603) than non-VDD group (7.18 ± 1.188) after 2 weeks of treatment (P = 0.009). While Schirmer tear-secretion test did not show any significant difference between the VDD group (6.50 ± 1.567) and non-VDD group (7.75 ± 2.066) after 4 months of treatment. Conclusion The effect of topical topical carbomer-based lipid-containing artificial tears and hyaluronate was dependent on serum 25HD levels. Cholecalciferol supplementation enhanced the efficacy of topical treatment and may be a useful adjuvant therapy for patients with DED refractory to topical lubricants.


Premature rupture of fetal membranes is a common and serious pregnancy complication. The etiology and pathogenesis of the disease are both obscure up to now, and structural changes of fetal membranes themselves may be its major cause. Copper is one of essential trace elements for human, acting as an active agon of lysyl oxidase which is critical enzyme for collagen maturation. When copper is deficient, the activity of lysyl oxidase decreases, which affects maturation of collagen fibers in fetal membranes in turn,resulting in thinned amniotic membrane and decreased elasticity and toughness of the fetal membranes. Therefore, the structure of membrane is damaged, and this causes the fetal membranes to be ulnerable to rupture.


By salt metathesis reactions of the anionic complexes of the type [Cp*Fe(η4-P5R)]− (R = tBu (1a), Me (1b), –C
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Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019
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 CPh (1c); Cp* = 1,2,3,4,5-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) with organic electrophiles (XRFG; X = halogen; RFG = (CH2)3Br, (CH2)4Br, Me) a variety of organo-substituted polyphosphorus ligand complexes of the type [Cp*Fe(η4-P5RRFG)] (2) are obtained. Thereby, organic substituents with different functional groups (FG), such as halogens or nitriles, are introduced. In [Cp*Fe(η4-P5RR′)] (2a: R = tBu, R′ = (CH2)3Br), the bromine substituent can be easily substituted, leading to functionalized complexes [{Cp*Fe(η4-P5tBu)}(CH2)3{Cp*Fe(η4-P5Me)}] (4) and [Cp*Fe(η4-P5RR′)] (5) (R = tBu, R′ = (CH2)3PPh2) or by abstraction of a phosphine to the asymmetric substituted phosphine tBu(Bn)P(CH2)3Bn (6). The reaction of the dianionic species [K(dme)2]2[Cp*Fe(η4-P5)] (I') with bromo-nitriles leads to [Cp*Fe{η4-P5((CH2)3CN)2}] (7), allowing the introduction of two functional groups attached to one phosphorus atom. 7 reacts with ZnBr2 in a self-assembly reaction to form the supramolecular compound [Cp*Fe{η4-P5((CH2)3CN)2}ZnBr2]n (8).


Experimental and Natural Variation in Hovering Flight Capacity in Bees, Hymenoptera: Apidae By Jason Thomas Vance Dr. Stephen Roberts, Examination Committee Chair Associate Professor of Biological Sciences University of Nevada, Las Vegas In honey bees, the capacity for flight underlies many behaviors which impact fitness and longevity, such as the ability to forage or evade predators. However, flight capacity is not fixed across bees' lifespan, which is punctuated by a suite of physiological changes that accompany age and the transition from in-hive to foraging behaviors; thus, flight capacity may vary during periods of development, senescence, or in response to morphological damage such as wing wear. This dissertation describes the biomechanics and aerodynamics which contribute to the scope of honey bee flight performance, and investigates how age, behavioral development, and wing-wear affects flight kinematics and maximal flight capacity. Three experiments were performed using high-speed (4347-6000 fps) digital videography and variable-density atmospheres, ranging from air (79%N2, 21%O2; 1.41 kg m) to heliox (79%He, 21%O2; 0.41 kg m): 1) the detailed kinematics of honey bee foragers during hovering in air, performing simple enhancedlift maneuvers, and hovering in heliox were compared; 2) I investigated the effects of age and behavioral development on the kinematics and flight capacity of honey bee