Persons with disabilities used to face discrimination and barriers that restricted them from participating in society on an equal basis with others. In recent years, there has been a revolutionary change in the approach to bridge the gap of discrimination and ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy the same standards of equality, rights and dignity as everyone else. This paper summarizes one attempt to improve the right of learning for the people with disabilities by offering them a way of learning how to improve their health. We put our focus on visual disability, hearing disability and cognitive or learning disabilities from a functional point of view. The research was performed in order to create a user-friendly working environment for each type of disability by establishing an e-learning platform for the users to broaden their knowledge on specific health issues. At the fi rst stage, several topics were considered, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and good nutrition for a healthier life. The user interface for the e-learning platform is created using the principles of human-computer interaction (HCI) which encompasses computer science, human factors engineering and cognitive science as a broad
multidisciplinary field, which overlaps with areas such as user-centered design (UCD), user interface (UI) design, and user experience (UX) design.


the following lines; ' By the true power of this offering which is offered, release what holds, loosen what binds, raise up what oppresses, slacken and loosen what tightly binds myself, all creatures and the lord of gifts '. (2) p. 422 : the translation ' . . . mich in dieser Jambudvipa-Welt lasse man anlangen ' strikes a false note, even though the passage is incomplete. This is more especially the case in that a line or two later the worshipper is requesting admission to the paradise of Sukhavati. There seem to be two reasons for this. Firstly, the verb kiirgegujei, which should mean ' let me not be brought t o ' , 'oh that I may not be brought to ' seems to have been misread as if it were hurgetugei ' lasse man anlangen '. Then I am sure, though I know of no other occurrence of the phrase, that it is a forced explanation of the phrase arasu-tu beye ' body with skin ' to suggest that it has anything to do with the worshipper having been born as a beast, in itself surely an impossible conjunction of events. I would see in arasu-tu beye no more than a descriptive phrase such as one finds in texts of folk religion, of the type of qabtasu-tu emegel ' saddle with boards ' in hunting rituals.


Abstract : Distributed sensor systems are key ingredients in many real world applications. Specific instances abound both in industrial and military environments, e.g., the monitoring (and possibly control) of manufacturing operations, or the dispersion of various types of sensors to detect enemy movements. There are two major areas of study in distributed sensors: the design and development of the sensors themselves, and the logical use of such sensors. This report is directed toward mechanisms to study the latter. Some examples of the latter, explained in detail, are based on CICE/ECE/IOE 469, a course in Real Time Computing Systems developed at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Both student and faculty critiques of the electromechanical analog facility used in the program are included.


The paper summarizes the results of the International conference «Legal reform in modern conditions: achievements and prospects». The authors analyzed the main results of th eimplementation of the constitutional, judicial, police reforms in Ukraine, point edout the main factors that hinder this process. English abstract I. Sopilko, V. Cherevatyuk Today Ukraine more than ever needs balance of branches of government, decentralization of authority and justice reforms. It is sad to admit, but reforms, including legal, are not surprising in our country. We speak about them since Ukraine exists as an independent state. However, unfortunately, all the reforms that were carried out remained superficial and did not reach the global targets. There were not enough progressive, thoughtful and consistent steps in their realization, strategic vision of perspective, understanding of what we are building and what the optimal model for Ukraine's legal system should be like. The main reason for the collapse of the reform can be called situational, and the fact that they were held by the will of the political forces that were at that time in charge. I'd like to believe that this current phase will become an exception from the rule that began many years ago. Above all, legal reforms are undertaken by extremely wide range of representatives of the government and civil society. Of course, scientific elite of our country has to say its word. In fact, to this purpose, it was proposed to discuss the topic of our VI International Scientific Conference "Legal reform in modern terms: achievements and perspectives", which united interested people in stated problem of academic stuff, from Ukraine and abroad. The purpose of this article is to analyze the results of the VI International Scientific Conference "Legal reform in modern terms: achievements and perspectives" on the main areas of legal reform in Ukraine. Expected outcomes of the International Conference are in the scientific substantiation of legal doctrine as the basis of legal reforms; problem solving of influence criminal sciences to law reform; clarifying the doctrinal aspects of the modern state in the context of constitutional reform and improvement of law; identifying the main areas of private law in modern conditions; developing of proposals for optimizing the economic legislation of Ukraine, considering the economic part of the Association Agreement with the EU, etc. Participation in the discussion of these problems, by a significant number of Ukrainian and foreign scientists and legal practitioners, indicates their relevance and ability of the scientific community to respond to the challenges of the modern world and actively engage in the reforms which are taking place in Ukraine today.


Productivity is a crucial concern for most software organizations. It can help project managers to make project plan, supervise project progress, and measure the project members' performance. Thus it has been widely measured and analyzed by both industry and researchers. But in the actual software project management, the project data filled by the developers may be incomplete and imprecise. Especially it is very hard for the developers to give the precise work product scale of each task. Therefore, the productivity calculated basing on those data is also imprecise. To solve the problem, this paper presents a method for precise productivity estimation. The method calculates work product scale of each task using change set size information by rebuilding relationships between the tasks and the SVN commits, and then calculates the productivity. And an experimental study has been done basing on Qone. Qone is an integrated system for project management developed by Institute of Software Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISCAS). It has been used in more than 200 software companies in China.


Akt3 isoforms, respectively. Akt isoforms share the same amino acid sequence in the substrate binding sites, it suggests that Pakti-Ll binds outside of the substrate bjnding sites in the Akt2 and allosterieally inhibits the Akt2 kinase activity.


The aim of this study is twofold: Firstly, it investigates the role of intermarriage or 'Kokusai kekkon' with Japanese natives in facilitating Moroccan migration to Japan. Secondly, it aims to understand the factors which have pushed Moroccan migrants to return home. Over the last decade, a growing number of Moroccan migrants have relied on 'Kokusai kekkon' or 'intermarriage' with Japanese natives as a strategy to migrate to Japan. Nevertheless, many of these migrants return to Morocco after years of residence and work in Japan. The study takes the hypothesis of structural reasons in Japan and Morocco as the causes of this act. Drawing from in-depth interviews with six former Moroccan migrants who have returned to Morocco, quantitative and qualitative data was collected and analyzed to understand some of the reasons behind this return migration. The study showed that intermarriage was strategic to migration for the majority of the informants; however, it was not a sufficient factor to prevent their return to Morocco. It also revealed many structural factors in both Japan and Morocco that have encouraged this return; including the inability to generate savings, the incapability to remit as well as Japan's restrictive citizenship requirements
Keywords:Kokusai kekkon Intermarriage, n, Moroccan Returnees, Japan's Migration
Policies


A widely-cited finding in social psychology holds that individuals with low levels of competence will judge themselves to be higher-achieving than they really are. In the present study, I examine how the so-called 'Dunning-Kruger effect' conditions citizens' perceptions of political knowledgeability. While low performers on a political knowledge task are expected to engage in overconfident self-placement and self-assessment when reflecting on their performance, I also expect the increased salience of partisan identities to exacerbate this phenomenon due to the effects of directional motivated reasoning. Survey experimental results confirm the Dunning-Kruger effect in the realm of political knowledge. They also show that individuals with moderately low political expertise rate themselves as increasingly politically knowledgeable when partisan identities are made salient. This below-average group is also likely to rely on partisan source cues to evaluate the political knowledge of peers. In a concluding section, I comment on the meaning of these findings for contemporary debates about rational ignorance, motivated reasoning, and political polarization. Acknowledgements: The author wishes to thank Carolyn Forestiere, William Blake, Simon Stacey, Marc Hetherington, Laura Bucci, Chris Anson, Chris DeSante, Elizabeth Holz, Tom Schaller, and Tyson King-Meadows for their comments and assistance on earlier versions of this work. All errors and omissions remain my own. A widely-studied phenomenon in social psychology holds that individuals with low levels of competence will judge themselves to be more competent than they really are, while those with high levels of competence will underestimate their excellence (see also Dunning, 2011; Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005; Kruger & Dunning, 1999). This so-called Dunning-Kruger effect is composed of several interrelated phenomena, thought to occur because individuals vary in their awareness of "known unknowns" (concepts, skills, or experiences that one is aware of, but which have not yet been mastered) relative to "unknown unknowns" (which fall outside of an individual's cognizance). As a result, low achievers are unaware of the extent of their ignorance because they are lacking in metacognitive skills (e.g., Everson & Tobias, 1998). This "double burden of incompetence" (Dunning, 2011, p. 260) means that low-performing individuals often overestimate their own objective performance. A second and related aspect of the Dunning-Kruger effect is that these low-achievers will be less capable of rating and comparing peers' performances (Helzer & Dunning, 2012; Hodges, Regehr, & Martin, 2001). Paradoxically, these phenomena combine to affect the ability of low achievers to overcome their incompetence, because they are unaware that they lag behind others until their objective performance is measured and reported to them. The only way to increase proficiency is to increase metacognition, and vice versa (Kruger & Dunning, 1999). 2 Critics of the Dunning-Kruger effect have argued that the phenomenon is most likely to occur not because individuals lack metacomprehension, but rather because their preexisting knowledge is biased (e.g., Krajc & Ortmann, 2008). Further empirical demonstrations have shown that individuals' overconfident self-assessments are not a product of the distribution of task scores or other statistical artifacts (Schlösser, Dunning, Johnson, & Kruger, 2013). 3 The Dunning-Kruger thesis also holds that top performers on tasks are likely to discount their exceptionalism, rating themselves as lower-achieving than they should (e.g., Schlösser et al., 2013). The phenomena which comprise the Dunning-Kruger effect have substantial consequences for contemporary theories of political knowledge. Political knowledge informs the perceived social utility of engaging in political discussion (David, 2009; Eveland Jr, 2002; Neuman, 1986), whether to seek additional knowledge from preferred sources (e.g., Cowen, 2005; Redlawsk, 2004), and whether to adopt ideologically extreme positions (Ortoleva & Snowberg, 2015a). Overconfident citizens may become emboldened, making strong political assertions in their social networks and resisting persuasive counterarguments. Despite these potentially important consequences, modern political scientists have only occasionally examined the subjects of political overand underconfidence, and have never engaged in a direct test of the DunningKruger effect. Overconfidence may also influence the way that partisans assess the political knowledge of others (Leeper & Slothuus, 2014). Partisanship causes individuals to raise "perceptual screens" which increase the likelihood of believing congenial partisan stereotypes, and which also reduce partisans' willingness to believe disconfirming narratives (e.g., Kunda, 1990). This motivated reasoning process causes partisans to possess biased characterizations of the political knowledge of out-group and in-group members, and may lead to increases in overconfidence when partisanship is made salient. Existing literature therefore identifies two important outstanding research questions. First, to what extent do contemporary Americans overestimate their levels of 4 By confidence in political knowledge, I do not refer to political efficacy, which instead relates to the feeling that political action is possible and impactful (Balch, 1974; Campbell, Gurin, & Miller, 1954). 5 A JSTOR search of major political science journals and a Google Scholar keyword search for "dunning" produced several articles which mention the theory (e.g., Cowen, 2005; Lassen & Serritzlew, 2011; Weissberg, 2001), but no study incorporated its expectations in a research design. political knowledge? And perhaps more important given the increasingly-polarized context of contemporary political discourse: how do partisan identities condition this phenomenon? In the present study, I examine political overconfidence using a survey experimental research design. Two online survey experiments designed to measure political knowledge corroborate the original Dunning-Kruger effect in the realms of self-assessment, self-placement, and peer assessment. Further, the studies experimentally manipulate the salience of partisanship in the minds of respondents by priming partisanship through simple cues (Bullock, 2011; e.g., Klar, 2013). Results show that the increased salience of partisanship exacerbates gaps between perceived and actual levels of political knowledge---but only among partisans with moderately low performance on the knowledge battery. Party cues also interfere with these low-performing partisans' ability to accurately assess the political knowledge of inand out-party peers. Higherachieving and extremely low-achieving respondents, in contrast, are relatively unresponsive to party cues. In a concluding section, I comment on the meaning of these findings for contemporary theories of political knowledge, partisan motivated reasoning, and political engagement. Political Overconfidence Across the disciplines, a multitude of studies has sought to measure overconfidence on objective task performance. Scholars have largely focused on three types of self-evaluation. Perhaps the most popular subject of study is over-estimation, in which individuals feel their performance on a task is better than it actually is (e.g., Sheldon, Dunning, & Ames, 2014). Over-placement, or the "Lake Wobegon" effect, in which individuals rate their performance as higher than average, is also an important subject in prior literature (Dunning, Heath, & Suls, 2004; e.g., Svenson, 1981). Finally, studies of over-precision show that many individuals believe they possess more accurate information about a concept than they actually do (Ortoleva & Snowberg, 2015a; e.g., Soll & Klayman, 2004). Despite these many advances, no existing study of political knowledge has appraised overestimation or over-placement from the perspective of the Dunning-Kruger framework. Some extant research designs have examined political over-precision from a cross-sectional perspective: Ortoleva & Snowberg (2015a) examine this aspect of overconfidence as a predictor of ideological extremeness and strength of partisanship. The authors develop a theory of imperfect information processing which demonstrates a "correlational neglect" phenomenon, in which citizens fail to recognize and compensate for the fact that their own experiences are not highly informative of the consequences of public policy. As a result, those who suffer from correlational neglect will exhibit strengthened partisanship, ideological extremism, and increased voter turnout (Ansolabehere, Meredith, & Snowberg, 2014; see also Ortoleva & Snowberg, 2015b). 6 On Prairie Home Companion, Garrison Keillor would introduce the fictional town of Lake Wobegon, Minnesota as a place where "the women are strong, the men are good looking, and all the children are above average". 7 Political knowledge has been variously defined since the advent of modern political behavior research. It can be differentiated from political sophistication, a more encompassing concept which relates to knowledge, awareness, and ideological constraint (e.g., Converse, 1964; Luskin, 1990). According to Luskin (1990, 332), "a person is politically sophisticated to the extent to which his or her political cognitions are numerous, cut a wide substantive swath, and are highly organized, or constrained." A more concise description in this vein is political expertise. A second strand of political science literature has investigated the link between certainty and knowledgeability in the political realm. The majority of such studies has examined the relationship between confidence in political perceptions and opinions on policies. Druckman (2004) shows that those citizens who are most susceptible to framing efforts are often highly confident in their political beliefs---a finding that squares well


Abstract : The Debye characteristic temperature as derived from Einstein's equipartition law is compared with frequency distribution functions of Born, Blackman and Lindemann. Debye theta values determined by mechanical and thermodynamic measurements for the rather simple elemental solids show differences. The following methods for deriving the Debye characteristic temperature for solids are discussed: specific heat, electrical resistance, X-ray diffraction, high pressure, mechanical and infrared. Debye temperature measurements for certain anisotropic and refractory solids such as SiO2, TiO2, and graphite have been included. An attempt was made to calculate the 'average' Debye theta for ZrO2 and HfO2. (Author)


In case of the elections of the municipal authorities and municipal referendum one of the qualifications is the permanent place of residence. The term "residence" has always bees problematic. It can be interpreted from the administrative or civil perspective. In the first case, it is the place of residence that decides about the habitation while in the second case, all together: physical residence in a specific location (corpus) and the will of remaining in this place (animus). The doctrine and juridiction stand for the second concept. A person who is not registered in the municipal but is its resident, can be signet in the electoral register if requested. Homever, actual residence must be verified before. One can be registered in only one electoral register. It raises a question though if those who reside in two different locations should not be registered in two electoral registers.


Abstract
 Exposure to the risk factors that increase vulnerability to trauma and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as pollutants, poor diet, poor air quality and increased conflict, disaster and extreme weather events, is driven by a third mega-trend: human development and progress. This chapter focuses on the ecological transition, which describes a shift away from rural living to more urbanized and industrial lifestyles. The changes in land use and energy use that result from this threaten increased exposure to risk factors for NCDs and a new age of emerging infections. There is growing evidence that incorporating more natural environments into urban areas brings long-term health benefits, including greater longevity, reduced cardiovascular disease, and less incidence of depression and stress by providing spaces for sport, active recreation, relaxation, contemplation and neighbourhood social cohesion.


Recently day-to-day dynamic congestion pricing schemes with fixed travel demand have been proposed to approach system optimum flows instead of user equilibrium ones. This paper will study the day-to-day dynamic pricing schemes with the elastic demand counterpart to force the traffic system to evolve from the status quo to a stationary state of maximizing the social net benefit, considering a general drivers' behavior adjustment process. The paper will introduce the notion of a strong dynamic optimal toll under which the dynamic social net benefit is monotonically increasing along the day-to-day dynamic flow trajectory until day-to-day dynamic flows become stationary. The dynamic pricing schemes are general in the sense that they are formulated based upon a family of day-to-day dynamics in the literature. The paper will further discuss their mathematical properties and propose a simple solution, namely the dynamic marginal pricing scheme. A numerical study on the well-known Braess and Sioux Falls test networks is conducted to test the performance of the dynamic pricing schemes.


This paper aims to facilitate the understanding of the phenomena of poverty and inequality in the Peruvian society and, by extension, in other countries in Latin America through the use of the novel "Un mundo para Julius" by Alfredo Bryce Echenique with the framework proposed by the World Bank in its project "Voices of the Poor".


'[T]he quarter where lawyers most do congregate' in 1863 was Collins Street, Melbourne (Victorian Legislative Assembly 1863). The subsequent construction of the Law Courts building (1884), and the nearby High Court building (1928), moved the focal point onto William Street but kept the orientation towards the Collins Street end. In the last twenty five years, however, old courts have been shifted, new courts have been built, law offices and educational institutions have gathered. In a material sense, the landscape of law has been reconstructed and transformed. We are accustomed to think of the places of law in terms of its courts, tribunals, chambers and allied professional offices. Yet what has come into view in the City of Melbourne is a new legal place. It is now routinely referred to as 'the Melbourne legal precinct'. In this place, laws take place not only in relation to the building of courts and the occupation of varied professional legal associations; they are also generated by the conduct, representation and form of the precinct itself. This journal article is available in Law Text Culture: http://ro.uow.edu.au/ltc/vol20/iss1/10 216 0000Law Text Culture Vol 2


Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) fraction has been shown to be a prognostic factor of treatment response in patients with metastatic cancers. However, algorithms that accurately determine ctDNA fraction across purity ranges are still lacking. Commonly used liquid biopsy gene panels (~70 genes) often approximate the ctDNA fraction in a sample by using somatic variant allele frequencies, resulting in large confidence intervals due to the scarcity of somatic mutations detected per sample and uncertainty of their clonality and copy number. Genome wide signatures such as nucleosome positioning, measured by windowed protection scores (WPS), have been shown to reflect genomic and epigenomic abnormalities specific to cancer and proposed as biomarkers for cancer detection. However, genome wide assays sacrifice somatic mutation detection due to low sequencing coverage and in clinical practice a second assay is required to find actionable mutations. We leverage data from ~6,000 cell-free DNA samples to develop methods for accurately estimating the ctDNA fraction in clinical samples sequenced with a 554-gene panel covering 3MB of genomic content. First, we use Gradient Boosting and 17 features extracted from standard variant calling, copy number and QC pipelines. This approach has been shown to be highly accurate in samples of high ctDNA fraction and therefore provide reliable training labels for those samples. We suggest that more sophisticated methods, using genome wide signatures, can increase prediction accuracies in samples of lower ctDNA fraction. Second, we develop a deep learning model for predicting ctDNA fraction using base pair resolution WPS over the genomic territory covered by the gene panel. Using Morlet wavelet, we transformed each autosomal WPS unidimensional representation into a two-dimensional image. A 22 channels image per sample was generated and used as input to a Convolutional Neural Network (22-CNN) model. The 22-CNN was trained to predict the ctDNA fraction and to classify if a sample was from a ctDNA shedder (ctDNA fraction >0) or not. The dataset was equally divided into training and test sets of ~2800 samples each. We used five-fold cross-validation (CV) during training and evaluated each model in the unseen test dataset. The Mean Square Error of the 22-CNN ctDNA prediction model on the testing set was 0.0072 +- 0.0013 [0.006-0.009] and the accuracy of the classification model on the testing set was 0.79 +- 0.006 [0.78-0.79]. In this work, we present both machine learning and deep learning models to reliably estimate the ctDNA fraction in plasma samples from cancer patients. These methods address a key challenge in the field and are applicable to other liquid biopsy assays. Citation Format: Aamna M. Al-Shehhi, Chintan Parmar, Ben Gustafson, Angad Singh, Rebecca Leary, Markus Riester, O. Alejandro Balbin. Accurate quantification of tumor DNA in liquid biopsies using deep learning [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Diagnosis, and Imaging; 2021 Jan 13-14. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2021;27(5_Suppl):Abstract nr PR-08.


Great Britain and its North American colonies possessed radically different monetary systems in the eighteenth century, particularly in regard to the role of government fiat paper. Parliament issued on fiat monies because of the fear of irreversible depreciation. In contrast, colonial legislatures started issuing various forms of paper monies in the 1690s and some persisted through the 1770s. Every colony issued tax anticipation bills. Most colonies also created public loan offices – called land banks by contemporaries – which loaned currency to private individuals, and the interest revenues made substantial contributions to several provincial budgets. Ironically, after the War for Independence, the new US Constitution prohibited fiat issues by the state legislatures, and the nation shifted to a system of chartered institutions issuing banknotes convertible into specie very similar to the system prevailing in Britain.


We introduce the spectral radius rP(T) for a quotient bounded operator on a locally convex space X. Similarly to the case of bounded operators on a Banach space we prove that the Neumann series 1 P n=0 Tn �n+1


Purpose – This paper aims to report on findings of a cross‐sector empirical study of the sources and drivers of supply chain vulnerability.Design/methodology/approach – The research was undertaken in accordance with the realist tradition. It begins with a descriptive exploratory stage involving an in‐depth exploratory case study of aerospace industry supply chains, validated through in‐depth interviews with managers representing other "critical sectors" of the UK economy. This is followed by an explanatory theoretical stage. The work is supported throughout with reference to relevant literature sources.Findings – The findings highlight the absence of any widespread understanding of the scope of and dynamic nature of the problem, which should be considered from multiple perspectives and at four levels of analysis: value stream/product or process; asset and infrastructure dependencies; organisations and inter‐organisational networks; and social and natural environment.Research limitations/implications – The...


Detailed mapping associated with the application of sequence stratigraphy, structural and petrographic analyses, permitted a reconstruction of the Meso to Neoproterozoic geologica evolution south of the craton. A major unconformity separates two main rock units, a pre l.8 Ga basement and its cover. The basement is composed of high grade gneisses, greenstpne belts and intrusives of variable composition. Four depositional cycles were recognised in the cover successions. In stratigraphic order these are: the Tiradentes and Lenheiro cycles, predominantly quartzitic, the Carandai cycle with abundant pelites and carbonates, and the Andrelândia cycle with meta-sandstones and pelites. The analysis of these depositional cycles or sequences allowed the recognition of three depositional basins, the Sao Joao dei Rei basin, the Carandai basin and the Andrelândia basin. The first two are intracontinental basins, whereas the last represents a passive continental margin of the Sao Francisco paleo-continent, that, at the time, extended futher southeast with relation to the present limit of the craton. A continental collision around 600 Ma, here considered equivalent to the collision that resulted in the Brasilia belt further north, produced extensive thrusting with nappe formation and top to the east tectonic transport. The associated metamorphism (M B ) was of relatively high pressure type, as testified by the local occurrence of retro-eclogites. It reached the granulite facies in the stability field of kyanite. A second tectonic event, related to the Ribeira belt, at about 570 Ma, produced crustal shortening with tectonic transport to the NNW in the southern part of the region. The related metamorphism (M R ), characterised by sillimanite and cordierite, is of lower pressure type and produced a large number of anatectic granite bodies. Finally, important NE-SW transpressive dextral shear zones were generated in response to renewed E-W shortening.


Introduction: The optimal stem cell mobilization regimen for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) remains undefined. Most transplant centers use either a chemo-mobilization strategy using cyclophosphamide (CY) and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) or a steady state strategy using G-CSF alone or with plerixafor in case of mobilization failure. However, very few studies compared efficacy, toxicity and cost-effectiveness of stem cell mobilization with cyclophosphamide (CY) and G-CSF versus G-CSF with preemptive plerixafor. In this study, we retrospectively compared our single center experience at the American University of Beirut in 89 MM patients using fractionated high-dose CY and G-CSF as our past preferred chemo-mobilization strategy in MM patients with our new mobilization strategy using G-CSF plus preemptive plerixafor. The change in practice was implemented when plerixafor became available, in order to avoid CY associated toxicity.

Patients and methods: Patients in the CY group (n=62) (Table 1) received either fractionated high-dose CY (n=56) (5g/m2 divided in 5 doses of 1g/m2 every 3 hours) or CY at 50mg/kg/day for 2 doses (n=6). G-CSF was started on day +6 of chemotherapy at a fixed dose of 300 µg subcutaneously every 12 hours. All patients in the plerixafor group (n=27) (Table 1) received G-CSF at a fixed dose of 300 µg subcutaneously every 12 hours daily for 4 days. On day 5, if peripheral blood CD34+ was ≥ 20/µl, apheresis was started immediately. Plerixafor (240 µg/kg) was given 7-11 hours before the first apheresis if CD34+ cell count on peripheral blood on day 5 was <20/µl and before the second apheresis if CD34+ cells on the first collect were <3х106/kg. The median number of prior therapies was 1 (range: 1-3) in both groups.

Results : Compared with plerixafor, CY use was associated with higher median peak peripheral blood CD34+ counts (35 vs 111 cells/µl, P= 0.000003), and total CD34+ cell yield (7.5 х 106 vs 15.9 х 106 cells/kg, P= 0.003). All patients in both groups collected ≥4x106 CD34+ cells/Kg. Moreover, 60 (96.7%) and 46 (74.2%) patients in the CY group vs 24 (88.8%) and 6 (22%) patients in the plerixafor group collected >6х106 and >10x106 CD34+ cells/kg, respectively (P=0.16; P<0.00001). Only 4 (6.4%) patients required two apheresis sessions in the CY group compared to 11 (40%) in the plerixafor group (P=0.0001). Conversely, CY use was associated with higher frequency of febrile neutropenia (60% vs 0%; P<0.00001), blood transfusions (27% vs 0%; P<0.00001), platelets transfusion (25% vs 0%; P<0.00001) and hospitalizations (64% vs 0%; P<0.00001). No one required intensive level of care and all recovered. Autografting was successfully performed in all patients using high-dose melphalan with a median time from mobilization to the first transplant of 31 days (range: 16-156) in the CY group compared to 13 days (range: 8-40) in the plerixafor group (P=0.027); and median infused CD34+ cells were 7х106/kg (range: 3.1-15.3) versus 5.27 (2.6-7.45), respectively (P=0.002). The average total cost of mobilization using the adjusted costs based on National Social Security Fund (NSSF) prices in Lebanon in the plerixafor group was slightly higher compared with the CY group ($7964 vs $7536; P=0.16).

Conclusions: Our data indicate robust stem cell mobilization in MM patients with either fractionated high-dose CY and G-CSF or G-CSF alone with preemptive plerixafor. The chemo-mobilization approach was associated with two-fold stem cell yield, slightly lower cost (including cost of hospitalization) but significantly increased toxicity.

![Figure 1][1]

Figure 1

Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

 [1]: pending:yes


The story of Noah's Ark was never intended to be read as a scientific statement. Nevertheless scientists, by using critical thinking and reading between the lines, can draw many useful inferences from this delightful story. Have you ever wondered if travelling on the Ark was in any way similar to life in a typical English boarding school?


Objective To construct the recombinant retroviral vector which carries enhanced green fluorescent protein(GFP) gene, analyze the level of GFP expressing in vitro and in vivo and observe the biological character of cell expressed EGFP gene. Methods EGFP gene was amplified by PCR and directionally inserted into the multiple cloning site of retroviral vector pLXSN. Positive clone was identified by enzyme digesting and PCR. Transfected replication defective retroviral vector was packaged by PA317 cells into SW038-C2 cells. The expression of EGFP gene in tumor cells and the biological character changing of tumor cells was observed in vitro and in vivo by fluorescence microscope and FACS. Results Successfully constructed the recombinant retroviral vector pLXSN-EGFP and was packaged by PA317. The recombinant vector can transfect the glioblastoma mutiforme cells of human SW038-C2 and express normally. The growth of transfected cells and tumor nods were not affected. The cells expressing high level EGFP gene became long and thin. Assaying by FACS, about 98% of these cells expressed GFP. The intensity of the fluorescence was not reduced after 6 months cultured in vitro. The shape of cells expressing low level EGFP gene is normal and 30% of them expressed GFP. Conclusion The EGFP gene could express normally in vitro and in vivo and didn't influence the growth of tumor cells. But the morphology of tumor cells expressed GFP gene was changed. Using GFP as the report gene, transfection rate of the retroviral vector is lower than expected.


Based on revenue management, dynamic pricing model of deteriorating items is studied. Firstly, the feasibility of the application of revenue management in dynamic pricing of deteriorating items and the character of the time to deterioration is represented. In order to gain maximum expected revenue, dynamic pricing model of deteriorating items is proposed, which is a continuous-time revenue management model based on a set of discrete price levels. Then we show a subset of these prices which forms a concave envelope is potentially optimal, and draw the optimal solution by dynamic programming recursions. Finally, we find items deterioration is influential to the optimal solution. When the items are deteriorating, it is better to sell them in a relative low price and depend on the deteriorating rate, and the high, it should be sold as early as possible. Then a numerical example is provided.


We describe extensive results on the $^{1}$${\mathit{P}}^{\mathit{o}}$ double-excitation resonances of He below the N=2\char21{}9 ionization thresholds obtained recently by high-resolution photoionization measurements using synchrotron radiation from the SX700/II monochromator at the Berliner Elektronenspeicherring f\"ur Synchrotronstrahlung (BESSY). The resonance energies, linewidths, Fano-q parameters, and quantum defects of the various Rydberg resonances, derived from the experimental data, are compared in detail with the results of ab initio calculations employing the complex-rotation method. All three optically allowed Rydberg series below the N=2 ionization threshold were identified. For 3\ensuremath{\le}N\ensuremath{\le}8, the two most intense Rydberg series were resolved below each threshold, and for N=3, one state of a third series could be identified. For the higher Rydberg series (N\ensuremath{\ge}5), the two neighboring series, N and N+1, generally interfere, which has a strong influence on the transition intensities, linewidths, and quantum defects of the principal series. All together, states of 18 different Rydberg series in the $^{1}$${\mathit{P}}^{\mathit{o}}$ double-excitation resonance region of He were observed. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.


As a check on calibration adjustment factors, the broadband ERB shortwave scanning channel data from NIMBUS 7 were compared with independent narrowband satellite measurements. This check required the establishment of appropriate broadband-narrowband radiance relationships, which also become the basis for generating or evaluating radiation budget parameters in either spectral range from data in the other. As a theoretical basis for comparison both broadband and narrowband radiances were simulated from the DAVE dataset of radiative transfer model computations for a variety of angles through several model atmospheres. Spectrally varying reflectances for five basic surface types (vegetations, desert, cloud, water, snow) were introduced along with spectral response functions for narrowband intervals. Linear regression relationships were developed for individual surface types and for the combination of all surface types under identical illumination-viewing conditions. Empirical relationships were generated from actual matchups of earth radiation budget (ERB) scanner data with coincident data from CZCS channel 5 (0.7–0.8 μm) over a variety of scenes. Since each of the four scanning channels of ERB was compared separately with narrowband data from the same sensor, relative differences were accurately determined from the empirical data. Previously established calibration adjustment factors for the ERB shortwave scanning channels verified, in a relative sense, regardless of surface type, to within 2%.


This article discusses some of the local and regional challenges faced by planners in the San Francisco Bay area. San Franciscans are active participants in civic life and many oppose new development. However, planners in the area feel that development that follows smart growth principles, including higher density, will be needed if the region is to cope with continued population growth, protect its open space and preserve cultural and economic diversity. Although population growth and economics are the most important factors shaping land-use and transportation decisions in the Bay Area, there are other issues and priorities that affect planning. These include affordable housing, transit-oriented development, parking, regional planning, urban designs and so-called ballot-box planning. As decisions are made about San Francisco's future development, planners are looking at other cities to find models of successful high-density development.


Time series are among the most prevalent forms of data we encounter in the real world, whether it be a sequence of audio, biomedical, demographic, climate, or financial measurements. Covariance estimation, where we try to estimate the covariance matrix of a time series, is a classic and important problem that can provide us predictive power in many applications. The vast majority of covariance estimation methods assume that time series are stationary, i.e., the covariance matrix remains unchanged throughout the lifetime of the variables. However, in reality the covariance of most real time series changes over time—for example, the covariance of stock prices is conceivably different in periods of market growth and market decline. We could compute sample covariance matrices over successive windows of the time series, but the resulting sequence of sample covariance matrices offers no insight into what particular features and structures of the covariance are evolving over time. Given this sequence of sample covariance matrices, how can we learn a meaningful, compact parameterization of how the covariance is changing? We take inspiration from dictionary learning, an approach where dictionary atoms Di ∈ R, i = 1, . . . , K for some small K, are learned via some optimization algorithm such that each of N K samples xj ∈ R, j = 1, . . . , N , can be expressed as a linear combination of the dictionary atoms. Dictionary learning simultaneously 1) compresses the dataset since we only need the dictionary D = [D1 . . . DK ] and the linear combination coefficients to restore it, and 2) provides a model for understanding the data, by parameterizing it in terms of the few "fundamental" atoms Di. Each atom can be thought of as capturing a basic prototype of how the variables covary.


The present invention relates to a novel cement and graphene structure and fabrication of supercapacitor. Supercapacitor electrode by a new structure, spacer materials and electrolyte composition, the electrodes on both sides of the barrier material, the electrolyte material adsorbed to the internal compartments, the electrode is made of a graphene material, the said barrier material is a cementitious material, the electrolyte is an alkaline electrolyte. Compared with the prior art, the structure of the present invention is a super capacitor having electrical properties than the addition (specific capacitance of 10F g-1), also have certain mechanical properties (compressive strength of 9.85MPa). The structure of the supercapacitor of the present invention to obtain both a high specific capacitance, but also ensures that cement their resilience and energy storage can be used in construction and other related fields, construction is expected to achieve - a storage structure and function integration.


Objective To establish a method to determine the content of chlorogenic acid in Qingfeiyin Keli.Methods TCL-Scanning used.Results A good linear range of chlorogenic acid was shown at the concentration from 0.24~2.01 μg.The average recovery was 101.09% and the RSD was 1.69%.Conclusion The method was accurate、sensitive and credible,It can be effectually applied to the quality control of chlorogenic acid in Qingfeiyin Keli.


The invention relates to a branch history register used for circulating branches. In response to a property of a conditional branch instruction associated with a loop, such as a property indicating that the branch is a loop-ending branch, a count of the number of iterations of the loop is maintained, and a multi-bit value indicative of the loop iteration count is stored in a Branch History Register (BHR). In one embodiment, the multi-bit value may comprise the actual loop count, in which case the number of bits is variable. In another embodiment, the number of bits is fixed (e.g., two) and loop iteration counts are mapped to one of a fixed number of multi-bit values (e.g., four) by comparison to thresholds. Separate iteration counts may be maintained for nested loops, and a multi-bit value stored in the BHR may indicate a loop iteration count of only an inner loop, only the outer loop, or both.


In this paper, we deal with meromorphic functions and its kth derivative. We consider a set of roots of unity, which shares the functions of the form (fnP(f))(k) and (gnP(g))(k) and obtain uniqueness results which improves the results of V. H. An and H. H. Khoai. Also, by introducing the concept of weighted sharing, we obtain analogous results from these authors.


We calculate the ..gamma.. decay from the isoscalar and isovector giant quadrupole resonances in /sup 208/Pb into the low-lying spectrum. Whereas the ..gamma.. decay from the isoscalar giant quadrupole resonance into the first excited 3/sup -/ state is very small, the corresponding transition from the isovector giant quadrupole resonance is strongly enhanced. According to preliminary calculations, these results hold rather generally for other heavy mass nuclei. We suggest using this property in experimental investigation of the isovector giant quadrupole resonance.


Objective Intratesticular injection of pEGFP-N 1 was used to investigate its integration in spermatozoa and expression in early embryos . Methods\ Four local male goats were selected and different doses of pEGFP N 1 plasmid DNA were injected into the bilateral testes. The integration of pEGFP N 1 in the sperms was determined by PCR and Southern blotting. Results pEGFP N 1 was integrated into spermatozoa, and the transfection rate peaked 81% at 40 d after intratesticular injection. Expression of green fluorescent protein was found in spermatozoa and early goat embryos with a maximum positive rate of 66 7%. Conclusion\ Intratesticularly injected pEGFP N 1 can be integrated into spermatozoa and then green fluorescent protein can be detected in early embryos produced by in vitro fertilization. Intratesticular injection may be a feasible and simple approach to produce transgenic goats.


This study was conducted by using descriptive qualitative method. It was concerned with the description of data in the form of utterances by the main character in The Last of us part 2 Video Game (2020). In conducting this research, the researcher (1) found out the types of language function in The Last of us part 2 Video Games. (2) described the realization types of language function in The Last of us part 2 Video Games. In the application of the language function, the last of us part 2 video games utterances used Jakobson's theory. The result showed first, that most dominant type of language function in Jakobson's theory is Expressive Function with (37%). The percentage directive function is (32%). The percentage Metalinguistic function is (20%). The lowest percentage in language function that Referential function is (11%). Second, The realization of language function described, such as : Expressive Function, that is action from another character make a feeling to main character, for example : (Jesus! You almost gave me heart attack, Fuck!, Gotcha!!, Just banged up!), Directive Function, is about attempt to get someone to do something. For example: (You better run little shit1, Run Dina!, No!, okay!), Referential function, is the communication of information, for example (oh, there's the ski lodge, that's the one on Tommy and Joel's route), Metalinguistic function explain about the answer is code itself, for example: (just another evacuated neighborhood)


Taking a long-span concrete-filled steel tube arch bridge as an example,based on the software ANSYS,the spatial finite element models for the bridge were build.The effects of pile-soil-structure interaction(PSSI) on the long-span concrete-filled steel tube arch bridge to wind-induced vibration were also studied.Results show that the Natural frequency of the structure considering PSSI may be smaller than that of the structure without considering PSSI,and the wind-induced vibration response may also increase.


This volume covers the evolution of the chartered company; contributions employ comparative methods, archival research, case studies, statistical analyses, computational models, network analyses, and new theoretical conceptualizations to map out the complex interactions that took place between state and commercial actors across the globe.


Jenny Robinson's article 'Act of Omission: gender and local government in the transition' (Agenda no 26) is a thoughtful and pungent piece that situates restructuring in a global framework. Her article is a welcome intervention and raises numerous strategic and tactical issues that we have neglected in our haste to restructure local government


Epigenetic regulation is an important player in the tumorigenesis, progression, and prognosis of various tumors, but its role in sinonasal squamous cell carcinomas has not been well addressed. The objective of this study was to investigate the genome-wide DNA methylation in the sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma tissues. DNA methylation in CpG islands and promoters was investigated in 7 sinonasal squamous cell carcinomas and paired normal mucosa tissues using a DNA Methylation CpG Island Plus Promoter Array. A total of 12207 differentially methylated sites were observed between tumor tissues and normal mucosa tissues. Sixteen sites containing 9 genes were significantly different at P<0.01. Of the 9 genes, 3 genes (PTPRN2, NLRP8, and GRIN3B) were hypomethylated and 6 genes (TACC2, LOC404266, RASL10A, HOXD9, OPCML, CNPY1) were hypermethylated in the sinonasal squamous cell carcinomas compared to the paired normal mucosa tissues. The categorizations, the gene network, and the protein interaction network of these 9 aberrantly methylated genes were further analyzed. This study was the first to investigate global DNA methylation in sinonasal squamous cell carcinomas. The identified genes might be hopeful to serve as diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers in sinonasal squamous cell carcinomas.


This paper uses an original 2012 survey of 2,518 11 th Grade students from 45 High Schools in metropolitan Cape Town to examine the political values and activities of high school students in South Africa's first post-Apartheid generation. We do so in order to explore whether the socialization and education of Cape Town's young can impart a critical, engaged democratic citizenship, even in the face of high levels of poverty, unemployment, racial inequality and violence. We show that their levels of ―Demand for Democracy‖ are not substantially higher than recent national or municipal samples of adults. We then explore the relative explanatory power of a number of factors related to political knowledge and efficacy, their understanding of the meaning of democracy, and the role of various dimensions of their schooling as well as their family backgrounds, race, gender, and economic circumstances. While previous research has found that South Africans' level of education is not related to demand for democracy, we find that some aspects of the educational process can be exploited to increase popular demand. Students' knowledge of politics and their understanding of democratic processes, procedures, and citizenship, as well as their educational expectations (which likely reflects home factors) are all highly related to their views of democracy. While economic insecurity reduces students' demand for democracy, race per se has no effect. Prepared for presentation at the 7 th General Conference of the European Consortium for Political Research Bordeaux, France, September 7, 2012 1 Learning Democracy? Civic Education in South Africa's First Post-Apartheid Generation


The aim of the experiment is to find out which transitions induces Iodine by a green and a yellow He-Ne laser measuring the fluorescence spectra. The iodine molecule would be excited by a laser bea ...


The proton radiative capture $^{12,13}$C$(p,{\gamma})$ reactions at astrophysical energies, key processes in the CNO cycle, are revisited in the potential model with the proton-nucleus potential for both the scattering and bound states obtained in the folding model, using a realistic density dependent nucleon-nucleon interaction. For the consistency, this same folding model is also used to calculate the optical potential of the elastic $p+^{12,13}$C scattering at energies around the Coulomb barrier. The folded $p+^{12,13}$C optical potentials are shown to account well for both the elastic $p+^{12,13}$C3 scattering and astrophysical $S$ factors of the radiative capture $^{12,13}$C$(p,\gamma)$ reactions.


La0.6Sr0.4CoO3-δ (LSC) thin film electrodes on yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) were investigated by impedance spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). Effects caused by different film deposition temperatures, thermal annealing and chemical etching were studied. Correlations between changes in electrode polarization resistance of oxygen reduction and surface composition were found. The surface cation composition was analyzed by ToF-SIMS and ICP-OES measurements of in situ etched LSC films allowing depth resolved compositional analysis with nominally sub nm resolution. High resolution scanning electron microscopy images illustrate changes in surface morphology.


Whether we like it or not, the zero discharge concept is becoming a way of life in the steam electric industry. Zero discharge does not necessarily mean an operating entity cannot produce a waste. But it may mean that a production facility must digest or manage its wastes within the property limits of the facility. The impact of all this will be higher costs to the consumer. A discussion is given on one important facet of waste management, that of dissolved solids. The many thousands of gallons of water, containing varying amounts of salt, which are generated by washing and regenerating processes, blowdown from cooling towers, sluicing of salt-bearing substances, to name a few, present significant problems when zero discharge is the mandate. Several processes for concentrating salts or desalting water can impact on this problem. A relatively new, to the United States, system of brine concentration using electrodialysis (ED) can alleviate the magnitude of the brine disposal problem. It is shown that ED brine concentration has significant cost advantages when compared to other means of attacking this problem. A preliminary analysis and optimization of the salt content in the cooling water circuit is also given. The optimum cooling watermore » salinity will provide for efficient management of the salt disposal problem, while maintaining best possible efficiency of the power generation system under zero discharge situations. Examples presented should provide a basis for applying the ED system to a variety of zero discharge situations.« less


Information literacy, or information skills, understood
as information competency training, is a key challenge of university libraries as it relates to the ability
provided by digital media to access vast information
resources and the user public's need to understand
and apply best practices in selection and evaluation of
information in order to retrieve the most relevant and
highest quality information. This study shows that
Ibero-American university libraries (Latin-America,
Spain and Portugal) have been gradually incorporating training such through the library itself or through
collaborative curricula approaches. By examining
Mexican university library website contents on core
information training, this study assesses the level of information literacy and competency training offered by
each university.


This report addresses the validity of the utilities' use of the Ricker stock-recruitment model to extrapolate the combined entrainment-impingement losses of young fish to reductions in the equilibrium population size of adult fish. In our testimony, a methodology was developed and applied to address a single fundamental question: if the Ricker model really did apply to the Hudson River striped bass population, could the utilities' estimates, based on curve-fitting, of the parameter alpha (which controls the impact) be considered reliable. In addition, an analysis is included of the efficacy of an alternative means of estimating alpha, termed the technique of prior estimation of beta (used by the utilities in a report prepared for regulatory hearings on the Cornwall Pumped Storage Project). This validation methodology should also be useful in evaluating inferences drawn in the literature from fits of stock-recruitment models to data obtained from other fish stocks.


Bio-sensing devices, which are basically integrated and miniaturized assay systems consisted of bioreceptor and signal transducer, are advantageous in several ways. In addition to their high sensitivity, selectivity, simplicity, multi-detection capability, and real time detection abilities, they are both very small and require relatively inexpensive equipments. Two core technologies are required to develop bio-sensing devices; the fabrication of biological receptor module (both of receptor development and immobilisation of them) and the development of signal transducing instruments containing signal generation technique. Various biological receptors, such as enzymes, DNA/RNA, protein, and cell were tried to develop bio-sensing devices. And, the signal transducing instruments have also been extensively studied, especially with regard to electrochemical, optical, and mass sensitive transducers. This article addresses bio-sensing devices that have been developed in the past few years, and also discusses possible future major trends in these devices.


The irregular wear of carbon current collector pantograph strips increases the railway maintenance costs and introduces safety hazards in the railway operation. This paper presents a method for analyzing the irregular wear of carbon strips with numerical dynamic analyses and modal tests. The carbon strips were studied in laboratory tests, and an equivalent numerical model for the investigation of their irregular wear and performance improvement was established. The results from the computational simulations were evaluated based on the laboratory results, and the correlation between the high-frequency vibration and irregular wear of the carbon strips was studied. The irregular wear contour of the carbon strips coincides with the high-frequency mode shape according to the experimental and numerical results. Moreover, the dynamic design for carbon strips was optimized with the validated computational model. The results suggest that the optimized schemes effectively mitigate the irregular wear of carbon strips.


Several errors appeared in an article published on Annals.org on 20 February 2018 (1). These errors are described in detail above (2). The article has been corrected.


Polymers insulators that used in outdoor electric power transmission are exposed to outdoor environmental contaminations include rain, humidity, pressure, and light that will cause the degradation of the insulator surface caused by leakage current that flow on the surface of insulator for a long period with large magnitude. The analysis is focused on the harmonics that occur from the waveforms because the changing of the variables. The signal of Total Harmonic Distortion as dependent variable can be analyzed and minimized by using the first-order model of Response Surface Methodology by controlling three variables which are flow rate, conductivity and voltage supply. The collected data will be computed in Design Expert software. Statistical techniques together with good engineering knowledge usually lead to sound conclusion. Linear model for the THD response was successfully developed and the
model was validating by generated sixteen samples that were examined. By applying this methodology, the minimum value of THD was obtained by controlling these three independent variables.The minimum values of each factor are 3ml/s for flow rate of water, 300Uim for conductivity of water and 3kv for voltage supply. The analysis shows that the best value of THD for the first-order model response is 37.8637. Data that have been collected was been analyzed by using the first-order model of Response Surface Methodology. Finally, this result from the analysis ofTHD can be used to improve the outdoor insulation for future installation.


ABSTRACT In the EU today, health claims on food labels are regulated as a form of information. Before the 2000s, statements referring to health on packaged food were subject to different national regulations across the EU, with different perspectives on where the boundary lies between food and drugs. The turn to more horizontal legislation in EU food law and increased emphasis on the role of information for the functioning of the Single Market does not in itself explain why, and especially how, health-related statements on food products have been turned into information and what consequences this has produced. Construction of such a European 'technological zone', where health claims circulate as a form of information, can be understood as 'information's constitutive outside' (Barry, A. (2006) Technological zones, European Journal of Social Theory, 9(2), pp. 239–253; Barry, A. (2013) Material Politics: Disputes along the Pipeline (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell)). This outside hinges on techno-political discussion, lobbying and decisions where the boundary between health and disease is at stake, along with food's materiality. The concept of referential displacement shows how decisions in the regulatory process have transformed controversial references to human health on food labels into 'health claims' as an informational category by shifting the relation between the health claim and its material referents: food itself, health and the body. Referential displacement produces a new kind of information that implies similar efficacy to pharmaceutical drugs, without interfering with the zone or market of pharmaceuticals.


The present invention provides a photosensitizing dye and an osmium complex was prepared using the osmium complex was photosensitizing dye and detection kit for rapid detection of early cancer of oxidative DNA damage. Osmium complex photosensitizing dye having the structural formula: LL'L''Os-Y4, wherein Y is a halide ion, ClO4-, BF4-, PF6- or OTs-, L, L 'are each independently selected from 2,2' - bipyridine and derivatives thereof, o-phenanthroline and derivatives thereof or dPPZ, L '' is a ligand having a 2,2'-bipyridine and 4,4'-dipyridyl structure. A kit comprising at least: a body cucurbituril eight yuan compound (Component A), the above photosensitive dye osmium complex (component B) and water or a phosphate, borate buffer solution (component D). Using this kit, only a drop of blood, even without the aid of any equipment conditions, with the naked eye under visible light irradiation can be specific, rapid detection of 8-oxoG.


In thoracic spiral CT-imaging of pericardial lung areas high spatial resolution is a prerequisite for efficient diagnosis. However, due to cardiac motion pulsation artefacts arising from the beating heart might affect images of pericardial lung areas and mediastinal vessels. We developed a gated thoracic imaging technique to avoid these pulsation artefacts. The temporal correlation to the stream of projection data can be provided either by the ECG of the patient or by the Cardiac Motion Function which can be computed directly from CT raw data. Due to multi-slice detector technology the conical shape of projection data has to be taken into account. This is achieved using stacks (booklets) of double-oblique reconstruction planes (pages) at different positions of the spiral path. The slope of the pages is adapted to the spiral geometry and optimized for utilization of almost all of the detector data. Only those booklets are contributing to final image slices that are related to the diastolic phase of the beating heart. Volume coverage of half the detector height per rotation can be achieved. Using the leading-edge 16-slice detector technology with 0.4s gantry rotation the entire thorax can be scanned with 0.75mm sampling within less than 25s. It will be shown, that the Cardiac Motion Function can be used as an adequate substitute for the ECG of the patient. In addition it is shown, that pericardial lung areas are depicted much sharper using gated reconstruction and that motion artefacts in mediastinal vessels are effectively suppressed.


Background/Aim. Gastric emptying (GE) scintigraphy provides a physiologic,
 and noninvasive measurement of GE. Although, GE scintigraphy has been
 standardized, to prepare a meal is still complex and not practical in daily
 routine. The aim of the study was to prepare a simple, practical, and easily
 standardizable semisolid meal and evaluate its role for GE functions of
 rabbits. Methods. In the basal study, the mixture of the macro aggregated
 albumin (MAA) labeled with 37 mBq (1 mCi) of 99m-Technetium (99m-Tc) and 40
 gr barium sulfate (1gr/mL) was applied to animals via a nasogastric
 catheter. The serial of images (frame/min, 60 min) in the anterior and
 posterior projections were dynamically acquired and motion corrected after
 the radiopharmaceutical application. A few days later, the same rabbits were
 scanned under the same protocol after 1 mg atropine injection to simulate
 gastroparesis condition. Eleven of rabbits were included according to
 inclusion and exclusion criteria and a total of twenty two imaging data set
 were analyzed for quantification. Local ethics committee for animal studies
 approved our study protocol (2014/66). Results. In the basal study, total
 counts of the mixture decreased from 87800.83?12622.76 to 42733.14?6591.53
 at 30 min and to 13684.19?1774.90 at 60 min and these decreases were
 statistically significant (p=0.003). Emptying percents were 51.39?0.78% at
 30 minute and 84.32?1.56 at 60 minute and were statistically significant
 (p=0.003). After intravascular atropine sulfate injection, total counts of
 the mixture decreased from 84508.78?11871.48 to 64995.18?9298 at 30 min and
 to 53507.17?7258.98 at 60 min and these decreases were statistically
 significant (p=0.003). Emptying percents were 23.10?1.11% at 30 minute and
 36.63?1.42 at 60 minute and were statistically significant (p=0.003). The
 difference between basal and post-atropine sulfate gastric emptying% at 30th
 (p=0.003) and 60th (p=0.003) minutes was statistically significant.
 Conclusion. In conclusion, our meal is a non-nutrient, fatty free and
 semisolid and is easy to prepare and to administer. It seems to have a
 chance to evaluate the quantification of regional and total GE as well as
 the separate roles of the fundus and antrum due to its semisolid nature.


The objective of this study was to compare the in-vitro susceptibility of clinical isolates of Salmonella typhi to Chloramphenicol and leaf extracts of Moringa oleifera. The in-vitro effects of both substances were evaluated using ethanol, ether, hot and cold water extracts of the plants leaf. The hot and cold water extracts showed no activity against the organism while the organism was sensitive to the ethanol and ether extracts at concentrations of 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120mg/ml with zones of inhibition (mm) of 4.0, 4.0, 7.0, 9.0, 8.0and 4.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 8.0 respectively. The organism was also sensitive to two brands of chloramphenicol A and B with zones of inhibition 15.0, 13.0, 14.0, 23.0, and 25.0. 20.0, 18.0, 16.0, 21.0, and 20.0. Respectively at various concentrations. The findings from this study confirms that chloramphenicol has higher in-vitro activity against Salmonella typhias compared to the leaf extract of Moringa oleifera regardless of the method employed in the extraction process


In the textbook in an accessible form presented and discussed the development of the economy and the inventory management of railway transport in the new economic environment. For the first time in Russian literature, made a theoretical attempt at a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of, and satisfaction of needs in material resources structural divisions, subsidiaries and affiliates of JSC "RZD". According to the results of theoretical research, innovative and production potential of the supply system of railway transport the main directions and methods of transformation of the restructuring process under the corporate changes of JSC "RZD", positioned value system of logistics of rail transport, a comprehensive approach to the development of systems of balanced indicators of supply and prompt handling of material resources. Recommendations for the implementation of the developed algorithms and models are long term in nature and are based on the concept of logistics management improve business processes, system logistics.
For students and teachers, workers of enterprises of railway transport, and others interested in questions of transport Economics.


Single crystals of Lanthanum oxalate [La2 (C2O4)3]1OH2O and Dy3+ doped Lanthanum oxalate [La2-xDyx (C2O4)3]10H2O with x=0.1, 0.15, 0.2 were grown by gel method and characterised by X-ray powder diffraction analysis. Thermal stability of sample was investigated by thermo gravimetric analysis. UV-Visible absorption and photo-luminescent studies were also conducted. The emission spectrum on exciting at 271nm and 364 nm were recorded in which Dy3+ ions showed four emission bands at positions 458nm (blue), 478 nm (blue), 572 nm (yellow) and 655 nm (red) corresponding to transitions 4I15/2→ 6H15/2, 4F9/2→ 6H15/2, 4F9/2→ 6H13/2 and 4F9/2→ 6H11/2 respectively. The CIE coordinates, colour purity and CCT values were calculated, and all these parameters show that Dy3+ doped lanthanum oxalate single crystals are suitable candidates for white light emitting applications.


According to "Fundamental Requirements for English Course in Vocational and Three-year Colleges", this article first analyzes the problems of present English course design in three-year colleges. Then, it provides the suggestion of shortening the fundamental period of college English teaching and feeding students with different courses based on the result of students' English learning. At last, it discusses the feasibilities and advantages of ESP and advanced English teaching in three-year colleges.


Providing support to a person to manage the activities of daily life requires a framework to represent the social environment of that person. The framework introduced in this paper allows the modelling of the subjective experience of that person in specific situations, the social relationships of people playing a role in that situation, as well as general knowledge that can be used to derive additional information about specific situations.


Attempting to incorporate new technology into an existing environment is often very difficult. The problems are lengthy to resolve, wrought with confusion and seldom turn out like anyone expected. This document represents an overview of one such attempt. It outlines the general areas of concern which could be affected by a transition, and potential problems that may be encountered as a result of the effort. Over the past several decades, many local, state and federal agencies are pressing for more efficient use of frequency spectrums. The urgency of this issue has grown due to the demands of several groups wanting access to these channels for commercial use. Pager systems, cellular telephones, radio systems for private businesses all demand more space. Public safety agencies are starting to fear their needs will diminish in importance as the available channel spectrums are consumed by commercial ventures. How to share these channels, purchase appropriate equipment to meet your needs, and stay within a reasonable budget are not easy tasks. Public safety agencies who rely on communication networks in the performance of their jobs also know why encryption is important. Protecting the rights of citizens as police exchange information over the air, maintaining the integrity of an investigation and officer safety are all concerns police must address each time they use a radio.


Before the transition of the Internet from being primarily an academic and research vehicle to a commercial one can occur, suitable electronic payment systems must be deployed. Currently a variety of different schemes are proposed featuring varying degrees of security. Internet environment requires support for both micro and macro payment systems. It is unlikely that any one scheme can satisfy the requirements of all the intended applications. This paper gives a brief evaluation of the major categories of payment schemes in the context low cost payments for a hypermedia information system.


A selection experiment with Scottish Blackface sheep was started by the Animal Breeding Research Organisation in 1956. Three lines, of approximate annual size of 270 ewes and 10 rams, were maintained until 1974, in which selection was at random or for high and low values of an index of cannon bone length at 8 weeks of age adjusted for body weight at the same age. An unselected base flock (1954-55) and the randomly selected line were used to estimate base population parameters while the selected lines were used to estimate realised responses to selection in both selected and correlated traits. The aims of the study were to compare predicted and realised responses to selection and to estimate genetic parameters of lifetime productivity in Scottish Blackface sheep. Predicted responses were based on estimates of heritabilities and genetic correlations largely from paternal halfsib analyses of variance. Realised responses to selection were estimated from the regression of response on selection differential. The expected variance-covariance matrix of observed responses was included in generalised least-squares estimates of these regressions. The realised heritability of the index under selection, estimated from the divergence of selected lines, was 0.520.02. After allowing for the expected reduction in heritability arising from linkage disequilibrium, this was almost exactly equal to the base population estimate of 0.56±0.0 11. The responses in the


Overcoming social skill deficits in children with autism is a challenge faced by educators and caregivers. Video modeling is a method of training that can promote generalization. This study extends the literature by investigating effects of video modeling on repetitive motor and vocal responses and skill generalization to other settings for children with low-functioning autism/ developmental disabilities. A multiple baseline across 3 play sequences was implemented with 3 males. Results indicate that 2 acquired vocal and motor responses and 1 acquired imitative noises and motor responses using video modeling alone. Generalization occurred with 2 participants. These findings have important implications for the field showing that video modeling can enable educators and caregivers to help children with autism overcome social skill deficits.


With the advent of the knowledge-based economy, modern enterprises will have to meet many new topic such as change in the modern management modes, the solution in enviornmental protection, the scientific management and exploitation of knowledge resources and the choices between cultural conflicts. On this basis, it is to be formed the modern enterprise value of such as paying more attention to knowledge and respecting the talented personnel, which is essential to the development of knowledge-based economy.


Smart city is synchronized with digital environment and its transportation system is vitalized with RFID sensors, Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence. However, without user's behavioral assessment of technology, the ultimate usefulness of smart mobility cannot be achieved. This paper aims to formulate the research framework for prediction of antecedents of smart mobility by using SEM-Neural hybrid approach towards preliminary data analysis. This research undertook smart mobility service adoption in Malaysia as study perspective and applied the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as theoretical basis. An extended TAM model was hypothesized with five external factors (digital dexterity, IoT service quality, intrusiveness concerns, social electronic word of mouth and subjective norm). The data was collected through a pilot survey in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Then responses were analyzed for reliability, validity and accuracy of model. Finally, the causal relationship was explained by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Artificial Neural Networking (ANN). The paper will share better understanding of road technology acceptance to all stakeholders to refine, revise and update their policies. The proposed framework will suggest a broader approach to investigate individual-level technology acceptance.


In continuous fluidized bed equipments to granulation drying multiple products can manufactured out of suspensions, solutions or melts with quite definite properties. The process of production is poor in energy and compatible in environment. The process has all suppositions for automation. The described conception to automatic control base on the automatic system S 2000 from the Elektro-Apparate-Werke GmbH in Berlin. The conceptualized structures and algorithms can transfered to all interesting hardware-solutions


This commentary by a youth leader from Pakistan discusses how the Global South has disproportionately received the worst impacts of climate change and how, if not stemmed, the effects of climate change will lead to destruction that will render the earth uninhabitable. As warned by climate scientists, global emissions must be drastically reduced to ensure the earth does not heat up beyond 1.5°C. Discrepancies between the abilities of the Global North and Global South to combat and cope with the climate crisis need to be accounted for when international bodies decide on the best strategies to halt the catastrophic impacts of the climate breakdown. The commentary also discusses the historical roots of climate change in colonialism, and voices the youth's demand for climate justice and climate action.


The proliferation of online platforms recently has led to unprecedented increase in data generation;
this has given rise to the concept of big data which characterizes data in terms of volume, velocity, variety, and
veracity. One of the common multivariate statistical data analysis tools is linear discriminant analysis (LDA) which
relies on the concept of obtaining the separation among groups through LDA. The prediction of the class of a given
class of data points can be achieved through classification, a supervised learning technique but prior to a classification
process, a classification model must first be built using classification algorithms. Several classification algorithms are
available for prediction tasks. LDA is commonly used for the reduction of the dimensionality of datasets. In this
article, the use of LDA to improve the classification performance of different classification model was presented.


Lately, the University of Alicante (Spain) started the OpenData4U project in order to create a methodology to easily develop open data portals for universities. Within this project, the open data portal of the University of Alicante was launched (http://datos.ua.es), which allowed us to develop a set of best practices in the implantation of an open data ecosystem for universities to foster reusing of Public Sector Information. The main aim of this paper is to describe our experience at the opening data process at the University of Alicante, as well as enumerating novel opportunities for social and economic impact in which a university could be a driving force.


The elongation of the cooked grain is very important trait in determining the quality of cooked rice grain. In this study, 103 chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) derived from 93-11/Nipponbare, an elite variety 93-11 as the recurrent parent, were used to identify quantitative trait locus (QTL) controlling milled rice length (MRL), cooked rice length (CRL), and cooked rice elongation (CRE). In total, 12 QTLs for rice elongation traits were detected on chromosomes 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11, among which two QTLs for MRL were located on chromosome 3, one QTL for MRL on chromosome 8, four QTLs for CRL on chromosome 3, 6, 8, and 9, and five QTLs for CRE on chromosome 4, 6, 9, 10, and 11. The additive effect of the QTL related to rice elongation ranged from -5.80 to -0.14, and the additive effect percentage of the QTL ranged from -12.26% to -1.72%. Furthermore, eight QTLs were mapped in interval less than 10.0 cM. Particularly, the qCRE-6 located in the region close to the Wx gene might  be important for CRE trait, which might be primarily mapped by using CSSLS as well as could be applied in rice quality improvement based on approaches of marker-assisted selection (MAS).


The electronic structures of the subbands of p -channel inversion layers of silicon are calculated by including an image potential and a many-body interaction. The effects of the image potential and the many-body interaction are as large as the typical energy separation between the subbands. Optical spectra are calculated and compared with the experiment by Kamgar et al. A quantitative agreement between the theory and the experiment is obtained. Many-body effects on the quasi-particle mass are shown to be small except in a very low surface carrier concentration, and the validity of the previous results concerning cyclotron masses obtained in the Hartree approximation is confirmed.


The environmental crisis the world faces nowadays is a real challenge to Human Beings. One notable hazard for humans and nature is the increasing number of forest fires. Thanks to the fast development of sensors and technologies as well as computer vision algorithms, new approaches for fire detection are proposed. However, these approaches face several limitations that need to be resolved, precisely, the presence of fire-like objects, high false alarm rate, detection of small size fire objects, and high inference time. An important step for vision-based fire analysis is the segmentation of fire pixels. Hence, we propose, in this paper, a novel architecture, combining YOLOv5 and U-net architectures, for fire detection and segmentation. Using a dataset of wildland fires mixed with fire-like object images, the experimental results proved that the novel architecture is reliable for forest fire detection without false alarms.


Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Elementary Theory of One-Dimensional Stress Waves in Bars Chapter 3. Interaction of Elastic Longitudinal Waves Chapter 4. Interaction of Elastic-Plastic Longitudinal Waves in Bars Chapter 5. Rigid Unloading Approximation Chapter 6. One-Dimensional Visco-Elastic Waves and Elastic-Visco-Plastic Waves Chapter 7. One-Dimensional Strain Plane Waves Chapter 8. Spherical Waves and Cylindrical Waves Chapter 9. Elastic Plastic Waves Propagating in Flexible Strings Chapter 10. Elastic Plastic Waves Propagating in Beams under Transverse Impact (Bending Wave Theory) Chapter 11. General Theory for Linear Elastic Waves Chapter 12. Numerical Methods for Stress Wave Propagation


In Blok [1] affinely rigid classes of geometries were studied. These are classes B of geometries with the following property: Given any two geometries Γ1, Γ2 ∈ B with subspaces S1 and S2 respectively, then any isomorphism Γ1 −S1 −→ Γ2 −S2 uniquely extends to an isomorphism Γ1 −→ Γ2. Suppose Γ belongs to an affinely rigid class. Then it follows that for any subspace S we have Aut(Γ − S) ≤ Aut(Γ). Suppose that, in addition, Γ is embedded into the projective space P(V ) for some vector space V . Then one may think of V as a "natural" embedding if every automorphism of Γ is induced by some (semi-) linear automorphism of V . This is for instance true of the projective geometry Γ = P(V ) itself by the fundamental theorem of projective geometry. Clearly since Γ belongs to an affinely rigid class and has a natural embedding into P(V ), also the embedding Γ − S into P(V ) is natural. In Blok [1] the notion of a Layer-Extendable class was introduced and it was shown that Layer-Extendable classes are affinely rigid. As an application, it was shown that the union of most projective geometries, (dual) polar spaces, and strong parapolar spaces forms an affinely rigid class. However, the geometries motivating that study, the Grassmannians defined over F2, were not included in this class because they do not form a layer-extendable class. Since affine projective geometries (1-Grassmannians, if you will) are simply complete graphs, clearly they are not affinely rigid at all. In the present note we show that also the class of 2-Grassmannians over F2 fails to form an affinely rigid class, although in a less dramatic way, whereas the class of k-Grassmannians of projective spaces of dimension n over F2 where 3 ≤ k ≤ n − 2 is in fact affinely rigid.


Abstract Bound states in the continuum (BICs) are observed in optical cavities composed of a high refractive index periodic structure embedded in significantly lower refractive index surroundings, enabling vertical confinement of the grating modes. Here, we propose a vertically nonsymmetric configuration, implemented on a high refractive index bulk substrate with a one-dimensional grating positioned on a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR). In this configuration, the grating modes are leaky, which could prohibit the creation of a BIC if the grating was implemented on uniform substrate. However, the judiciously designed DBR on which the grating is implemented reflects nonzero diffraction orders induced by the grating. We found that the laterally antisymmetric optical modes located at the center of the Brillouin zone of this structure create BICs that are robust against changes in the grating parameters, as long as the DBR reflects the diffraction orders. The configuration enables a high degree of design freedom, facilitating the realization of very high quality factor cavities in conventional all-semiconductor technology.


Spectra and kinetics of decay of (gamma) -irradiation induced loss in optical fibers with pure silica and Ge- and/or F-doped silica core and F-doped cladding made by MCVD and SPCVD methods were measured at room temperature. Induced loss in short-wavelength range is shown to decrease at Ge-content decrease and at F addition to the core glass. Minimum of induced loss is located in long-wavelength range, the best result (about 2 dB/km after the dose 10 kGy) being achieved on pure silica core MCVD fiber. Induced absorption band at 630 nm is observed in pure silica core fibers and it is suppressed by F-doping of the core glass.


The purpose of this study Aguang Jana art is to discover and describe the musical art form of presentation Aguang Jana ox racing event in the River District Jorong Guguak Baruah Tarab Tanah Datar. Shaped research used qualitative descriptive method, the object of research is: Music Performance Aguang Jana In no event Pacu Jawi in Jorong Guguak Baruah Tarab River District Tanah Datar, data collection is done by event observation, interviews, and photo shoot perekamam. Data processing is performed a qualitative analysis.  Aguang Jana is a kind of percussion instruments, arts Aguang Jana is a unique art and highly respected community supporters. Plus Aguang Jana has become an essential part in the event at Nagari. This study aims to identify and explain the Music Performance Aguang Jana In no event Pacu Jawi in Jorong Guguak Baruah which includes players / actors, used musical instruments, songs presented in Aguang Jana, time and venue, costume, art Aguang Jana in procession Jawi runway parade and community supporters. Keywords: Traditional music, forms of presentation, pacu jawi event.


Glacial drift and Pennsylvanian bedrock were mixed together forming spoil during pre-reclamation strip mining for coal in north-central Missouri. This restructuring of the land increases the porosity of the material, and increased aqueous concentrations of many dissolved constituents. Median sodium and bicarbonate concentrations were slightly greater, calcium 5 times greater, magnesium 6 times greater, manganese 15 times greater, iron 19 times greater, and sulfate 24 times greater in water from spoil than in water from glacial drift. Median potassium concentrations were slightly greater, and chloride concentrations were two times greater in water from glacial drift than in water from spoil. Water types in glacial drift and bedrock were mostly sodium bicarbonate and calcium bicarbonate; in spoil and lakes in the spoil, the water types were mostly calcium sulfate. median pH values in water from spoil were 6.6, as compared to 7.4 in water from glacial drift and 9.0 in water from bedrock. Neutralization of acid by carbonate rocks causes the moderate pH values in water from spoil; a carbonate system closed to the atmosphere may result in alkaline pH values in bedrock. Transmissivities generally are greatest for spoil, and decrease in the following order: alluvium, glacial drift, and bedrock. Rechargemore » to spoil is from precipitation, lateral flow from glacial drift, and lateral and vertical flow from bedrock. The rate of recharge to the aquifers is unknown, but probably is small. Groundwater discharge from the glacial drift, bedrock, and spoil is to alluvium. 23 refs., 19 figs., 25 tabs.« less


This paper puts forward the concept of perception technology in e-commerce and constructs synergy e-business platform through CSCW work environment to research the collaborative communication protocol and system model. Sensory information trees is constructed by the perception of synergy e-business investigation and analysis of data; establishes collaborative e-commerce structure and coordination control model of perception mechanism under the synergy e-business environmental requirements and sensory information data structure. Streszczenie. Artykul przedstawia zalozenia technologii percepcji w e-komercji. Konstruowana jest platforma synergii e-business przez uwzglednienie teorii CSCW - Computer Supported Cooperative Work. (Mechanizm percepcji w systemie sterowania synergią e-businessu)


OBJECTIVE
To compare length of stay (LOS), clinical and psychological outcomes, and patient satisfaction before and after implementation of a chest pain critical pathway.

DESIGN
A pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design.

SETTING
The Chest Pain Unit (CPU) of the Antwerp University Hospital.

PATIENTS
Patients admitted to the CPU with symptoms suggestive of an acute coronary syndrome older than 18 years.

INTERVENTIONS
Implementation of a critical pathway focusing on implementation of the guidelines for the management of chest pain.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Patient satisfaction, length of stay and anxiety were evaluated.

RESULTS
The median LOS of intervention subjects was almost 4 hours shorter than that of control subjects (without, P = 0.04, or with propensity correction, P = 0.019). The overall patient satisfaction with CPU care of the intervention group was significantly higher than that of the control group (without, P < 0.001, or with propensity correction, P < 0.001). Differences in anxiety and occurrences of major adverse cardiac events between the groups were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION
A critical pathway can effectively and safely reduce LOS, increase patient satisfaction, and improve adherence to the guidelines for managing patients with chest pain. Anxiety is not statistically significantly reduced by this intervention.


The purpose of this research is to analyze the influence of perceived value that consists of playfulness, good price and reward to in-app purchase intention through mobile game loyalty. The object on this research is Mobile Legends that developed by Moonton, China. The sample on this research are 179 respondents who are lives in Indonesia, at least 17 years old, know or ever played and ever bought using any payment on Mobile Legends.
The result on this research that analyzed by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) LISREL showed that perceived value, except good price has significant influence to mobile game loyalty and mobile game loyalty significantly influence to in-app purchase intention. Therefore, it's suggested to Mobile Legends to maintain the playfulness of playing games and proposed reward that players wanted to create mobile game loyalty, which also will increase the in-app purchase intention.


Co-infection with human immunodeficiency Virus HIV and (HCV) is becoming a major global problem, leading to increased morbidity and mortality in both developed and developing countries. This research hence examines the risk factors and transmission of HIV and HCV co-infection. Two hundred and ninety (290) subjects were screened, with HCV global immunochromatographic test kit. Possible risk factors to co-infectious status of subject were determined using a well-structured questionnaire. Out of the 290 sera tested, 25 (8.6%) were positive for HCV antibodies. Considering Age of subjects screened, females aged 11-20 years recorded a high positivity of 3.1 %,( X 2 = 2.755, P-value = 0.839; P>0.05).Marital status of subjects showed that single subjects recorded 13(4.5%), (X 2 = 0.679,P-value = 0.712 ; P > 0.05)positivity compared to married subjects with 4.1%. There were no significant correlations between HCV infection with Age and Marital Status; P - values = 0.839 and 0.712 respectively (i.e P > 0.05). Significant correlation was found between HCV antibodies and educational status, (Value x 2 = 7.957,P-value = 0.047; P < 0.05).However, Volunteers with secondary school level of education recorded 10(3.4%) positivity. The result obtained showed that Seroprevalence to HCV antibodies in this study was high, hence the need for its early diagnosis among HIV patients is strongly advocated to reduce the risk of further complications among these subjects.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the efficacy and the security of laparoscopic technique in patients with traumatic colorectal perforation.

METHODS
Clinical data of 42 patients with traumatic colorectal perforation in our hospital during March of 2005 to March of 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. Twenty-two patients received traditional open operation, and 20 patients received laparoscopic treatment.

RESULTS
As compared to open group, laparoscopic group had shorter operation time [(72 ± 36) min vs. (128 ± 52) min], less blood loss during operation [(21.2 ± 3.6) ml vs. (62.6 ± 8.8) ml], faster postoperative bowel function return[(1.7 ± 0.6) d vs. (3.5 ± 1.2) d], shorter hospital stay after operation [(7.3 ± 1.8) d vs. (13.6 ± 3.9) d], and lower incidence of postoperative complication [35.0% (7/20) vs. 72.7% (16/22)]. The differences between two were statistically significant (all P<0.05).

CONCLUSION
Laparoscopic operation has advantages in the treatment of traumatic colorectal perforation with short operation time, small trauma, rapid recovery and low incidence of complications.


Treatment of trans-Pt(COCOPh)(Cl)(PPh3)2 (1a) with AgBF4in THF led to the formation of a metastatic complex trans-[Pt(COCOPh)(THF)(PPh3)2](BF4) (2) which readily underwent ligand substitution to give a cationic aqua complex trans-[Pt(COCOPh)(OH2)(PPh3)2](BF4) (5a). Complex 5a has been characterized spectroscopically and crystallographically. Analogous reaction of trans-Pt(COCOOMe)(Cl)(PPh3)2 (1b) with Ag(CF3SO3) in dried CH2C12 was found first to yield a methoxyoxalyl triflato complextrans-Pt(COCOOMe)(OTf)(PPh3)2 (6). Attempts to crystallize the triflato product in CH2-cl2hexane under ambient conditions also afforded an aqua complex of the triflate salt f/wu-[Pt(COCOOMe)(OH2)(PPhj)2](CF3SO3) (5b). Complex 5a in a noncoordinating solvent such as CH2C12 or CHCl3 suffered spontaneous decarbonylation to form first cis-[Pt(COPh)(CO)(PPh3)2l(BF4) (3a) then the thermodynamically stable isomer trans-[Pt(COPh)(CO)(PPh3)2](BF4) (3b). Crystallization of complex 3b under ambient conditions resulted in an aqua benzoyl complex trans-[Pt(COPh)(OH2)(PPh3)2](BF4) (7). The replacement of the H2O ligand in complex 7 by CO was done simply by bubbling CO into the solution of 7. The single crystal structures of 5b and 7 have been determined by X-ray diffraction. The distances of the Pt-O bonds in 5a, 5b, and 7 support that the aqua ligand is a weak donor in such cationic aquaorganoplatinum(lI) complexes, in agreement with their lability to the substitution reactions.