Paternal chromatin undergoes extensive structural and epigenetic changes during mammalian spermatogenesis, producing sperm that contain an epigenome optimal for the transition to embryogenesis. Histone modifiers play an important role in this process by encoding specialized regulatory information in the sperm epigenome. Lysine demethylase 6a (KDM6A) promotes gene activation via demethylation of H3K27me3, a developmentally important repressive modification abundant throughout the epigenome of sperm and embryonic stem cells. Despite its developmental importance in pluripotent cells and germ cell progenitors, the function of KDM6A during spermatogenesis has not been described. Here, we show that Kdm6a is transiently expressed in the male germline in late spermatogonia and during the early stages of meiotic entry. Deletion of Kdm6a in the male mouse germline (Kdm6a cKO) yielded a modest increase in sperm head defects but did not affect fertility or the overall progression of spermatogenesis. However, hundreds of genes were deregulated upon loss of Kdm6a in spermatogenic cells and in an immortalized spermatogonia cell line (GC-1 spg) with a strong bias towards downregulation. Single cell RNA-seq revealed that most of these genes were deregulated in spermatogenic cells at the same stage when Kdm6a is expressed and encode epigenetic factors involved in chromatin organization and modification. A subset of these genes was persistently deregulated in the male germ line across two generations of offspring of Kdm6a cKO males. Our findings highlight KDM6A as a transcriptional activator in the mammalian male germline that is dispensable for spermatogenesis but important for safeguarding gene regulatory state intergenerationally. Author summary Offspring viability and fitness relies upon the development of functional sperm and the integrity of information that they carry. Chromatin is modified and remodeled extensively throughout spermatogenesis to facilitate meiosis, DNA compaction, and to encode gene regulatory information for the next generation. In mice, a paternal germline lacking KDM6A, a histone modifier, yields offspring with reduced lifespans and increased cancer risk. How KDM6A functions in the paternal germline to support offspring health is unknown. Here, we show that Kdm6a expression is limited to a distinct developmental interval when differentiated spermatogonia transition from mitosis to meiosis. During this timepoint, KDM6A acts as a transcriptional activator for hundreds of genes, many of which encode meiotic factors and epigenetic modifiers. Nevertheless, this activity is dispensable for overall spermatogenesis and fertility. Surprisingly, we find a significant overlap in germline transcriptomes of Kdm6a cKO mice and wildtype offspring. We propose that KDM6A encodes gene regulatory information in the male germline that is retained across generations.


We have investigated by x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) the surface of two polymers [polytetrafluoroethylene and polyethyleneterepthalate (PTFE) and (PET)] which were previously submitted to pulsed UV radiation delivered from an excimer laser (ArF: λ=193 nm). Treatments realized under different gaseous atmospheres allow us to point out mechanisms leading to several chemical transformations at the polymer surface. In the case of PTFE, the high‐fluence irradiations produce defluorination with surface oxidation. The latter is mainly due to air moisture. The deposition of some ablated fragments on the surface has also been observed. For PET, the major modifications are produced below the ablation threshold. They are characterized by severe deoxidation due to the loss of CO and CO2. The irradiations under oxygen and nitrogen atmospheres show the possibility of grafting new functionalities at the polymer surface.


CLINICAL PRESENTATION A 24-year-old pregnant woman presented with hypertension at 7 weeks' gestation. Two years earlier, she had been evaluated for elevated blood pressure (BP) of 150 to 170/110 to 120 mm Hg and found to have a serum potassium level of 2.6 mmol/L (reference range, 3.6-4.6 mmol/L) and plasma renin concentration of 362 mIU/L (reference range, 2.8-40 mIU/L) in the supine position. She underwent renal angiography, for which there were no findings of note. The patient was prescribed amlodipine, 5 mg, and irbesartan, 150 mg/d, and her BP responded promptly by decreasing to 115/70 mm Hg. Upon presentation, the patient denied symptoms aside from nocturia. She had no headache, chest pain, or edema. Her family history was not notable for any diseases or syndromes. She was not taking antihypertensive medication, and BP was 156/110 mm Hg. The rest of her examination findings were unremarkable, and she had no apparent obesity. She had a serum potassium


Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited Pediatric Critical Care Medicine www.pccmjournal.org 777 In this "Era of Goal-Directed Therapy," scientifically based goals for management of traumatic brain injury (TBI)—the leading cause of childhood death in many countries (1)—are woefully sparse. In fact, one could argue that they are nonexistent. Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is the current mainstay of contemporary management. However, despite being considered "standard of care," there is controversy over whether ICP-directed management is warranted in TBI. This is partly based on the fact that there are no preclinical studies that show that intracranial hypertension exacerbates damage to injured brain in a causeand-effect manner; and further based on a lack of clinical studies to definitively support or refute ICP-directed therapy in this spectrum of diseases. Indeed, current published guidelines for the monitoring and management of ICP and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) in both adult and pediatric patients cite level II evidence for ICP control at best (2, 3). In fact, only recently level I evidence has been published. The results of this randomized clinical trial performed in Bolivia and Ecuador do not support ICP monitoring in adults with TBI; however, ICP-directed treatments were more heavily used in the empiric versus ICP-guided cohort (4). This argues for a more rigorous scientific approach to determine and refine clinical guidelines and—perhaps more importantly, identification of better "goals" for goal-directed management of children with TBI. In this issue of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Lewis et al (5) attempt to tackle this as yet elusive component of TBI management via individual optimization of CPP in the setting of disturbed cerebrovascular autoregulation through the use of the pressure reactivity index (PRx). The PRx is has been evaluated in adults with severe TBI; however, few studies have examined the PRx in pediatric TBI. Briefly, the PRx correlates temporally linked changes in mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and ICP. If the PRx is positive, then changes in MAP are associated with changes in ICP, generally reflecting impaired autoregulation; if the PRx is negative, then changes in MAP are not associated with ICP, generally reflecting intact autoregulation. The PRx can be averaged across levels of CPP or ICP, to infer patient-specific "optimal CPP" (CPPopt) and ICP thresholds, respectively (6). The PRx has potential to better inform critical bedside decisions, and nowhere are those decisions felt as keenly as the bedside of a child. As the authors point out, very little data exist to guide CPP management for patients whose brain and brain vasculature are still in development. The most recent guidelines provide an age-adjusted sliding scale ranging from 40 to 60 mm Hg (3) although much work is needed to better understand developmental changes in cerebrovascular autoregulation in healthy children let alone those with brain injury. It is logical to posit that there is a "sweet spot" for CPP after TBI, and that this varies on a case-by-case basis, and with age in general. The study by Lewis et al (5) uses the PRx in pediatric TBI and examines associations with patient outcomes, age, and CPP. The authors prospectively enrolled 36 patients over the course of 6 years at the Royal Children's Hospital who met the inclusion criteria of a documented TBI and the need for invasive MAP and ICP monitoring. Their clinical protocol included age-based criteria for defining increased ICP (> 15 mm Hg for < 5 yr and > 20 mm Hg for ≥ 5 yr), and the duration required for defining increased ICP was threshold dependent (2 min for ICP > 25 mm Hg and 5 min for ICP > 20 mm Hg). Because the study was performed at a single center following an institutional TBI protocol, it seems reasonable to assume that patients were managed similarly, with limited interprovider variability. The main findings of the study were that PRx correlated with outcome assessed at 6 months (modified Glasgow outcome score); that CPP plotted against PRx resulted in a U-shaped curve, with a positive PRx observed when CPP less than 45 and greater than 75 mm Hg; and that CPPopt increased with patient age. Perhaps the most intriguing finding is shown in Figure 4B in (5), where PRx averaged within 5 mm Hg CPP bins was plotted for all patients. PRx signifying impaired autoregulation was seen with a CPP below 45, and somewhat surprisingly, above 75 mm Hg. The lower CPP threshold would be consistent with what is generally considered to be the lower limit of autoregulation; however, the higher CPP threshold is far below what is generally considered to be the upper limit of autoregulation Copyright © 2015 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies DOI: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000000501 Megan K. Browning, MD University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Pittsburgh, PA


Measurements are reported on the solubility of liquid CO2 in synthetic sea water at temperatures from 278 to 293 K and pressures from 6.44 to 29.49 MPa and on the corresponding densities of the CO2 aqueous solutions. On the basis of the experimental results, expressions for the solubility of CO2 in sea water and density of the corresponding CO2 aqueous solution as functions of temperature, pressure, and salinity were obtained. The resultant equations well represented experimental data:  the average differences are 3% for solubility and less than 0.05% for density.


argue in favor of a new federalism. McGowan offers a remedy list that includes limiting the government's ability to pile-up huge debts (in the process increasing its reach and thus power) while concurrently sticking states with massive bills for roads, health care, mass transit, and other infrastructural upkeep. Obviously he rejects the two-party cliché that tax-and-spend Democrats face-off in mortal combat against small government Republicans. After more than a quarter-century observing Reaganism and its heirs use the might of the central state to minimize Roosevelt era social safety nets while cozying up to the country's corporate elite, he's had enough. One catches the faint whiff of Thomas Paine—and a little Thomas Frank—in these pages. Put into context, American Liberalism piggy-backs on a distinguished lineage of mid-century books. Richard Hofstadter's The American Political Tradition (1948), Arthur Schlesinger's The Vital Center (1949), and Louis Hartz's classic The Liberal Tradition in America (1955) come readily to mind. These works made the case for a postwar liberalism tested by the Great Depression and the Second World War—and argued against a return to the old property-rights capitalism that prefaced the market crash of 1929. McGowan writes in the fading afterglow of their and postwar liberalism's heyday. More contemporaneously, American Liberalism comes across a scholarly version of the many "political" books that appear in election years. And like these books, it sometimes sacrifices nuance for sloganeering. Too casually does McGowan praise "liberalism [as] the sine non qua of political decency in our time" (139). Liberalism's legacy is complex. It encompasses not merely efforts to create fair and sustaining social welfare legislation grounded in a philosophy of "equal rights," but also a host of less salutary outcomes including complicity in pre-1970s southern segregation, the dramatic expansion of corporate power, and the undeclared wars of the 20th and 21st centuries. There are reasons—largely unexamined in this book—for pluralism's demise. In so many respects, McGowan is right. Despite its dyspeptic recent past, liberalism has much to offer our political culture; certainly it stands as a useful break to the ultra politics on the left and the right. And yet this book's unwillingness to assess the weaknesses as well as the strengths of American liberalism may make readers wonder just why so many Americans jumped off the liberal bus in the first place. Elizabethtown College David Brown


This study aims at improving Korea's competitiveness in port logistics through marketing strategy with integrating the conceptual approach into the empirical one and combining both the oldest military treatise and the newest evaluating model in social science that was applied by the HFP(hierarchical fuzzy process) model enhanced by the KJ method. The empirical results of this study show Busan in the middle among subject ports. At present, Korea plays a reciprocal role in the port market in East Asia, but in the medium- and long-term, Korea's ports will vie together with most major ports in the East Asian region. A descriptive investigation shows that Korea's developing tasks in port logistics must be considered in the context of the direction for developing port policies, the necessity of expanding port facilities in the capital region, securing the sufficient traffic volume through the establishment of the hinterland linking system and its positive utilization, and reforming the direction for developing the global logistics through increased port competitiveness. In the short- and medium-term, Korea must use the opportunity factor of 'Growth and open door policy of China' as a geoeconomic advantage and to utilize Korea's ports as a gate to Chinese foreign trade. With the rise of China's economy, China also plays a significant role in both port and airport markets. Hence, the linking system between the two must be established to meet the expanding traffic volume, especially in the capital area. Moreover, it is necessary for Korea to secure port logistics through the establishment of the hinterland linking system and its positive utilization. The great accomplishment of this paper is to present strategies to increase Korea's port competitiveness in the rapidly changing environments of world logistics with the focus on both the oldest military strategic treatise and the newest empirical method in social science. In order to reinforce this study, it needs further compensative research because the evaluation structure could be subdivided with more extensive and precise criteria.


Electronic Product Code (EPC) is the global RFID standard for the exchange of product code data electronically throughout the supply chain. The National EPC Network Project (NDP) applied the EPC technology to share information securely in the EPC network, providing authentication of interacting parties and enabling the ability to track and trace movement of goods within the entire supply chain involving multiple enterprise transactions. The project explored the benefits and readiness of the technology to the Australian business community and captured the knowledge of applying EPC standard with an aim to simplify and reduce the operating costs of the Australian industry. This is the first EPC network implementation in the world conforming to the full EPCglobal standard for supporting intercompany transactions. This paper describes the development of the EPC network that supports the NDP. The issues arising from real intercompany transactions are summarised and the solutions implemented are reported.


The invention discloses a sealing ring with a threaded structure. The sealing ring comprises a sealing ring main body, a sealing gasket and a threaded ring, wherein a through hole is formed in the middle of the sealing ring main body; the threaded ring is arranged inside the through hole; the sealing gasket is arranged between the threaded ring and the sealing ring main body; the sealing gasket and the sealing ring main body are connected by using an adhesive. By adopting the mode, the sealing ring with the threaded structure, which is disclosed by the invention, can be used in match with a threaded rod, can improve the sealing property of threaded connection, and is stable and efficient, convenient to use and low in cost.


The objective of this study is to observe the influence of performance-based budgeting (PBB) on thegovernment's accountability, such as planning, implementation, accountability, and performanceevaluation. Pegunungan Bintang was chosen as a research location and the cluster sampling method was used to determined 96 respondents. Data processing technique consist of several stages, first stage isdata quality test by used validity test and reliability test, next step was normality test,multicollinearity test dan heteroscedasticity test called classical assumption test, when researchdata was valid and reliable and normally distributed, there was no multicollinearity danheteroscedasticity, then hypothesis test worth to continue. Hypothesis test consisted of multiplelinear regression, determination coefficient (R2), partial tested (t-test), and simultaneous tested (Ftest).The result shows that partially the planed and implementation have no effect on accountability ofgovernment's performance accountability with significance values of 0.872 and 0.656 respectively,however accountability and performance evaluation had an effect on the government's performanceaccountability with significance values of 0,000 and 0,000.


How should a State act in order to be consistent with its international obligations in case a person with refugee status in its territory is required for extradition under terrorism charges? Part I.A of this article lays out the case of Walter Chavez — an alleged MRTA member granted refuge in Bolivia, whose extradition was recently denied, in spite of the terrorism charges still pending against him in Peru. Part I.B presents a case involving Colombia and Ecuador over two alleged FARC members granted refugee status in Nicaragua, who have recently been requested for extradition also under terrorism charges. Part I.C sets out the potential relevance for the U.S., Canada and the European Union that these issues of international law application may entail, in view of growing bilateral relations of some Latin American countries with Iran. In the backdrop of these cases, part II addresses the main issue of this article through presenting the current status of international law with special attention on the interaction of refugee, terrorism and extradition treaties, in order to provide general answers to three broad questions. First, part II.A tries to answer the question of what should States do when a refugee may actually be a terrorist, by resorting mainly to the UNHCR Guidelines for the application of the exclusion clauses of article 1F of the 1951 Convention. Second, part II.B deals with the question of how to define terrorism-related offenses by presenting some basic considerations about the current multilateral international conventions that address the issue. And third, part II.C is dedicated to the issue of how to apply extradition law in consistency with both refugee and terrorism law, by going through some basic provisions present in most extradition treaties. The paper concludes that the correct application of international Refugee law, Terrorism law and Extradition law, may never lead to the curtailing of the legitimate purposes of any of these bodies of rules, as they can be read in consistence with the universal preeminence of human rights. International cooperation in seeking to avoid the grave human rights violations terrorism-related offenses cause can be properly attained while firmly enforcing the fundamental right of the persecuted individual to be granted asylum. Indeed, the international law obligations entailed in this triangular relationship set the basic stage of principles and rules of application to impede abuses to the institution of asylum and the curtailing of human rights and ius cogens violations under the broad umbrella of the fight against terrorism.


In the contribution we present a system for measurement of iodine purity by means excitation of a selected strong transition, measurement of induced fluorescence and evaluation by the Stern-Volmer formula. The arrangement is based on a pumping Ar-ion laser tuned to the transition of interest but its linewidth far exceeds the transition. Frequency noise of the laser is effectively reduced by monitoring the fluorescence in a second, reference iodine cell and together with monitoring of the laser power enables cancellation of the frequency noise influence which generates errors by demodulating on the absorption profile. The level of the scattered light is subtracted as well. All the measured data are digitally processed and the experiment is fully computer controlled.


Background: Lysozyme is ubiquitous in many organisms and functions primarily in bacterial lysis. Results: The absence of lysozyme in shrimp resulted in the increase of bacteria in the hemolymph leading to mortality. Conclusion: Lysozyme is essential to shrimp survival particularly in regulating bacterial communities in the hemolymph. Significance: A clear understanding of the immune effectors in shrimp, such as AMPs, is vital in ensuring resistance against bacterial pathogens. Lysozyme is an enzyme that cleaves the β-1,4-glycosidic linkages between N-acetylmuramic acid and N-acetylglucosamine in peptidoglycan, leading to bacterial lysis. Recently, lysozyme has been found to have anti-HIV and anti-cancer properties in mammals. However, most functional analyses were done in vitro using purified or recombinant lysozyme protein. Here, we used RNA interference to silence c-type lysozyme expression in penaeid shrimp, Marsupenaeus japonicus, to analyze the function of lysozyme in vivo. Silencing of lysozyme expression by dsRNA lysozyme (dsLYZ) led to 100% mortality without any artificial bacterial infection in 5 days. Lysozyme deficiency caused the number of hemocytes in hemolymph to decrease from 1.3 × 107 to 2.3 × 106 cells/ml and caused the number of bacteria to increase from 78 to 764 colony-forming units/ml. Suppression of bacterial growth using oxytetracycline and kanamycin showed improvement in mortality, suggesting that shrimp mortality post- dsLYZ injection can be attributed to bacterial growth in the shrimp hemolymph. The majority of the bacteria, identified by 16 S rRNA analysis, were Gram-negative species such as Vibrio and Pseudomonas. Furthermore, PKH26 staining showed that the dsLYZ-injected shrimp were unable to eliminate non pathogenic Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus in 24 h. These data suggest that c-type lysozyme in shrimp serves to regulate the growth of bacterial communities, particularly Gram-negative bacteria, in the hemolymph.


Article is devoted to the most important of verbal expression of emotions. Analysis is performed on the material of the two largest Russian regions. Study the types and functions of messages and names from the position of the characters. Characters are classified from two perspectives: they use them or provide treatment and names.


Forensic Science compounds many study areas in context of solving crimes, one of which is the forensic microbiology. Combined with genomic approaches, microbiology has shown strong performance in studies regarding the relationship between microorganisms present on human skin and environment. The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) has contributed significantly to characterization of microbial complexity and their connection to human being. The purpose of this work consists of a historical overview of scientific articles, demonstrating the growth and possibility of using skin microbiome in forensic identification. Studies about use of cutaneous microbiome in human identification, as well its forensic approaches, were looked into for writing of this review. Comparisons among cutaneous microbial communities and manipulated objects have been tested using 16S rRNA, as well as a thorough sequencing of the bacterial genome. From use of ecological measures of distance to genetic markers with nucleotide variants and predictive algorithms, research has shown promising results for advances in field of forensic identification. The development of metagenomic microbial panel markers, named hidSkinPlax for targeted sequencing has been designed and tested with great results. Research results show satisfactory potential in human identification by cutaneous microbiome and the possibility for contributive use in elucidating crimes.


The introduction of agricultural and other vocational subjects in the education system was meant to address employment needs of students.  In this respect, Kenya introduced vocational agriculture in the secondary school curriculum, at post-secondary, and at university. Egerton University is among the universities in the country that provide training in agriculture.  Among the disciplines offered is Agricultural Education and Extension at degree level. Many Students have graduated from the programme since 1990 and joined the work force.  However, there is no documentation about career placement and the appropriateness of the curriculum they were exposed to in relation to their careers.  The purpose of this study was to generate information on career placement of the 2008 class of the Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education and Extension (B.Sc. AGED & EXTN) graduates of Egerton University and determine the appropriateness of the curriculum the graduates undertook. Results show that most respondents are in agricultural education, afew in agricultural extension related careers and non-agricultural education and extension careers. In addition, most courses offered in the programme were considered relevant to the careers of respondents, whereas a small percentage were considered not relevant. This suggests that there is need for review of the curriculum to further align courses with career requirements.


Alzheimer's disease is associated with accumulation of extracellular beta amyloid peptide 42 (Aβ42) which may induce DNA damage and reduce cellular regenerative potential. These effects may be exacerbated under conditions of folate deficiency. The aim of this study was to investigate whether extracellular Aβ42 induces DNA damage and cell death in human peripheral lymphocytes and whether there is an interactive effect between extracellular Aβ42 and folic acid status. Peripheral blood lymphocytes were cultured in medium under conditions of both low and high folate (20 and 200 nM, respectively) and challenged with either Aβ42 or the physiologically normal form Aβ40 (both at 5, 10, 15 µM). Genome stability and cytotoxicity events were investigated using the cytokinesis‐block micronucleus cytome (CBMN‐cyt) assay. Outcome measures scored included the nuclear division index (NDI), necrosis, apoptosis, binucleated cells with micronuclei (MN), nucleoplasmic bridges (NPB), and nuclear buds (NBUD) and abnormally shaped nuclei (circular, (CIR) and horse‐shoe, (HS) that may be indicative of mitotic disruption. Folic acid deficiency significantly reduced NDI (P < 0.001) and increased all the DNA damage biomarkers (MN, NPB, NBUD, HS, CIR), (P < 0.001). In contrast, exposure to Aβ40 had no impact on CBMN cytome biomarkers but Aβ42 significantly reduced NDI (P < 0.01), increased necrosis (P < 0.05) and frequency of cells with circular nuclei (P < 0.01). There was no evidence of an interaction between Aβ42 and folic acid with respect to CBMN cytome biomarkers. Extracellular Aβ42 appears to have cytotoxic and cytostatic effects but its effect on chromosomal instability appears to be small relative to folate deficiency. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 55:1–14, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Leigh syndrome French-Canadian variant (LSFC) is a metabolic disease associated with cytochrome c oxidase (COX) deficiency and characterized by episodes of lactic acidosis, referred to as "crisis", leading to death at an early age. The mechanisms underlying a crisis and its cellular consequences remain elusive, and there is no effective therapy. The aim of this study was to characterize the effect of peripheral metabolic factors that are potentially altered in patients with LSFC on their cells death and to identify therapeutic agents able to prevent them using cell-lineage from LSFC patients and controls. The hypothesis are that (i) these metabolic factors can induce premature death in patient cells, and (ii) interventions that could rescue these cells may target potential consequences of COX deficiency, namely low adenosine triphosphate (ATP), high nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and toxic lipids, as well as oxidative stress. A screening of 8 blood factors and 10 therapeutic agents was conducted in fibroblasts. Parameter measured included cell death by necrosis and apoptosis, as well as ATP level and COX activity. LSFC fibroblasts were more susceptible to necrosis (39±6%) induced by high palmitate plus lactate and this was associated with a lower ATP (53±8%). Cell death decreased 2-fold with combined interventions, which presumably act on NADH, ATP, and the accumulation of toxic lipids, but increased with antioxidants. Collectively, our results emphasize the importance of nutrient overload as a factor eliciting premature cell death in LSFC cells and of combining interventions acting through various mechanisms for cell death rescue.


asks are a mysterious and fascinating theme recurring in the history of any civilizations. They are present in religious initiations, in primitive propitiatory rites, myth celebrations, in the old Greek theatre, but also in experimental works of contemporary art. Masks are the image and the visual impact of Carnival, of 'commedia dell'Arte', as well as of the modern theatre. According to the current anthropological view, the hidden meaning of mask wearing lies in the ephemeral attempt of abandoning our own identity and come into contact with supernatural forces or divine powers so as the whole community can benefit from that. Detachment from self-image may help us find out the meaning of using beauty masks in cosmetics. Their popularity may be attributed to their psychological and physiological effects rather than to their use. Masks and mud baths were special treatment when clay was regarded as a substance with almost magical effects for its therapeutic effects on innumerable illnesses and disorders.


This paper focuses on infantilism, one of the main impediments to the anticipation of maturity by the inverter, as a set of immature actions, typical of children, and still evident in the subsequent phases of post-adolescence. Examples and suggestions for overcoming the trait are presented.


The synthesis and structures of a series of 6-aryl-1,3-diphenylfuvlenes with (fulvene is 5-methylidenecyclopenta-1,3-diene) varying methylation patterns on the 6-phenyl substituent are reported. A network of C—H⋯π ring interactions consolidates the packing in each structure.


In 1613 the official-scholar LI Zhi-zao (李之藻) of the Ming Dynasty, in collaboration with the Italian Jesuit Matteo RICCI (利瑪竇), compiled the treatise Tongwen Suanzhi (同文算指). This is the first book which transmitted into China in a systematic and comprehensive way the art of written calculation that had been in common practice in Europe since the sixteenth century. This paper tries to see what pedagogical lessons can be gleaned from the book, in particular on the basic operations in arithmetic and related applications in various types of problems which form the content of modern day mathematics in elementary school education.


On February 1989, blood dyscoagulation occurred in piglets during breeding in wire-bottom cages in a swinery and blood test and therapeutical diagnosis suggested vitamin K (VK) dificiency of the disease. Age, floor construction or feed was suspected as the causal factor, so that blood prothrombin activity, thrombo test activity, hepaplastin activity and protein induced by VK absence or antagonist (PIVKA-II) were examined on the basis of the above items. For age, activities began to decrease after switching over to the VK-free feed on the 35th postnatal day and each activity showed the lowest value on the 64th postnatal day after transfer to the wire-bottom cages, but showed an increase on the 88th postnatal day.For the floor construction, the wire-bottom cages caused decreases in activities and PIVKA-II showed a high value (8μg/ ml) at the lowest value of each activity, while the plain floor caused no decrease in activity. For feed, the VKfree group showed a decrease in activities and PIVKA-II showed a high value (8μg/ml) at the lowest value of each activity, while the VK-added group caused no decrease in activity. It was suggested that pathogenesis of the present disease had a close causal relationship with the wire-bottom cages and that those piglets which were fed VK-free food in wire-bottom cages were apt to suffer VK deficiency. -


A novel pattern classification method, named AMC-ASVM, was proposed based on Attribute Mean Clustering and Support Vector Machine. The advantages of AMC-ASVM include robustness and high efficiency. AMC ASVM is the natural extension of Cluster Nearest Neighbor Classification as well. Application in Microarray Analysis shows the performance of the present method.


Single Secret Leader Election protocols (SSLE, for short) allow a group of users to select a random leader so that the latter remains secret until she decides to reveal herself. Thanks to this feature, SSLE can be used to build an election mechanism for proof-of-stake based blockchains. In particular, a recent work by Azouvi and Cappelletti (ACM AFT 2021) shows that in comparison to probabilistic leader election methods, SSLE-based proof-of-stake blockchains have significant security gains, both with respect to grinding attacks and with respect to the private attack. Yet, as of today, very few concrete constructions of SSLE are known. In particular, all existing protocols are only secure in a model where the adversary is supposed to corrupt participants before the protocol starts -- an assumption that clashes with the highly dynamic nature of decentralized blockchain protocols. In this paper we make progress in the study of SSLE by proposing new efficient constructions that achieve stronger security guarantees than previous work. In particular, we propose the first SSLE protocol that achieves adaptive security. Our scheme is proven secure in the universal composability model and achieves efficiency comparable to previous, less secure, realizations in the state of the art.


Cu2ZnSn(S1-xSex)4 (CZTSSe) thin films with a compact and crack-free morphology and large-grain are ob- tained via a green Sol-Gel process and post-selenization. The fabrication of CZTSSe films is simplified by predigest- ing preparation process of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) precusor solution and avoiding using sulfurization. Low-toxic ethylene glycol is selected as solvent, and Cu(CH3COO)2, Zn(CH3COO)2, SnCl22H2O and thiourea are used as raw materials. Energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectra results indicate that all of CZTSSe thin films with the kesterite structure are of Cu-poor and Zn-rich states. Optical band gap (Eopt) of the CZTSSe thin films decreases from 1.51 to 1.14 eV with increasing Se content.


The text shows the gestalt-therapy and the daseinsanalysis as representative approaches to human dreaming in the clinical practice, using as basis the phenomenological method. It brings up the theoretical concepts and the practical applications proposed by both approaches. Finally, it also presents an analysis of the convergences (similarities) and divergences (differences) of both theories, establishing therefore their distinctions and contributions.


The year 1996 marks the 550th Anniversary of an anonymous manuscript which represents one of the earliest surgical works written in English. Generally attributed to Thomas Morstede, Serjeant-Surgeon to King Henry V, the book was for many centuries considered to have been lost and has escaped detailed examination by the surgeons of today. We present a modern translation of its first chapter in which the author outlines the range of equipment a fifteenth-century surgeon would use, the personal qualities all surgeons should possess, and the manner in which surgical practice should be conducted.


Reliable information about tool temperature distribution is of central importance in metal cutting. In this study, tool-chip interface temperature was determined in cutting of ST37 steel workpiece by applying HSS as the cutting tool in dry turning. Two different approaches were implemented for temperature measuring: an embedded thermocouple (RTD) in to the cutting tool and infrared (IR) camera. Comparisons are made between experimental data and results of MSC.SuperForm and FLUENT software. An investigation of heat generation in cutting tool was performed by varying cutting parameters at the stable cutting tool geometry and results were saved in a computer; then the diagrams of tool temperature vs. various cutting parameters were obtained. The experimental results reveal that the main factors of the increasing cutting temperature are cutting speed (V ), feed rate ( S ) and depth of cut ( h ), respectively. It was also determined that simultaneously change in cutting speed and feed rate has the maximum effect on increasing cutting temperature. Keywords—Cutting parameters, Finite element modeling, Temperature measurement, Tool-chip interface temperature.


This meta‐analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of low‐molecular‐weight heparin (LMWH) on pregnancy outcomes in thrombophilic women receiving in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI).


With the support of a National Science Foundation Information Technology Research (ITR) grant, we are attempting to advance computational physics by developing a new class of computational code for plasmas and neutral gases that integrates multiple scales and multiple physical processes and descriptions. We are developing a highly modular, parallelized, scalable code that incorporates macroscopic scales and "microscales" by synthesizing initially three simulation technologies: 1) Computational fluid dynamics (hydrodynamics or magneto-hydrodynamics-MHD) for the large-scale plasma; 2) direct Monte Carlo simulation of atoms/neutral gas, and 3) transport code solvers to model highly energetic particle distributions. If the code development proceeds satisfactorily, we will also incorporate hybrid simulations for microscale structures and particle distributions. By synthesizing continuum and kinetic descriptions for plasmas and gases, we will provide a computational tool that will advance our understanding of the physics of neutral and charged gases enormously. Besides making major advances in basic plasma physics and neutral gas problems (e.g., reconnection, shock wave physics, etc.), this project will address 3 Grand Challenge space physics problems that reflect our research interests: 1) To develop a temporal global heliospheric model which includes the interaction of solar and interstellar plasma with neutral populations (hydrogen, helium, etc., and dust), kinetic pickup ion acceleration at the termination shock, anomalous cosmic ray production, interaction with galactic cosmic rays, while incorporating the time variability of the solar wind and the solar cycle. 2) To develop a coronal mass ejection and interplanetary shock propagation model for the inner and outer heliosphere, including wave-particle interactions and particle acceleration at travelling shock waves and compression regions. 3) To develop an advanced adaptive Geospace General Circulation Model (GGCM) that includes Hall and kinetic subgrid physics and is capable of realistically modelling space weather events, in particular the interaction with CMEs and geomagnetic storms. Our progress to date is summarized in this report.


Social participation and attention to the actions of government have increased dramatically in Ecuador. It is crucial that political debate be broadened concerning the functioning of the National Assembly, thereby opening greater public opportunities for participation. All social groups should be guaranteed access to the debate; expansion of the public sphere is essential for development of effective mechanisms of social inclusion. Those with no capacity to defend their own interests must have a voice. The National Assembly, in addition to reforming the Constitution, must reinforce the role of public men and statesmen at all levels of government. Statesmen place the common interest over special interests and create coalitions to effect necessary changes. The National Assembly must reorient the emphasis of government activities to give all sectors equal opportunity and access to basic public services. The role of the government must be redefined, which includes being equipped with better tools for management and control and with mechanisms for accountability at a time when many believe that globalization and market forces by themselves should dictate the rhythms of political, economic, and social life. Diversity should be respected. Nongovernmental organizations can be of great assistance in fostering dialogue, cooperation, solidarity, and consensus. Ecuadorians must support the goal of human and sustainable development.


Abstract : River and estuarine outflow waters contain high loads of colored dissolved organic material (CDOM or gelbstoff), sediments, and biological matter with strong optical signatures. In regions with large, single point sources, interactions with ambient shelf waters are fairly simple. The buoyant outflow plumes tend to remain cohesive and become trapped against the contra solem coast. These plumes can extend for distances of more than 100 km along coast with characteristic widths of 5-15 km (internal Rossby radius of deformation) and thickness of a few 10's of meters. When winds turn to upwelling favorable, the plume waters are rapidly dispersed, mixing their optically important constituents across the shelf. Wind relaxation or a turn to downwelling favorable wind initiates a new along-coast plume. Such strong dynamic/optical interactions drive high variability in coastal optical character. The objective of this study is to examine this high dynamic variability in relationship to seasonal variations in forcing and constituent loading fields.


Rapid and reliable procedures for the chemical analysis of insect–resist agents, or mothproofers, on wool have been developed. These methods, based on chromatographic analysis (using gas–liquid and highperformance liquid chromatography) are routinely employed by many laboratories for the quality control of insect–resist agents on wool textile products. Part 1 of this paper described the methods used to determine the traditional agents. Part 2 describes the procedures used to determine another class of insectresist agents: the pyrethroids.


In this work we have studied systematically the effect of fluctuations in thickness and depth of the well, as well as in the thickness of the barrier in semiconductor superlattices. Our results show that the main effect of fluctuations is to break down the whole superlattice into subsets. Localization occurs when there are no degenerate states among the subsets, regardless of symmetry considerations.


This paper presents an alternative method using artificial neural network (ANN) to develop a scheduling scheme which is used to determine the makespan or cycle time of a group of jobs going through a series of stages or workstations. The common conventional method uses mathematical programming techniques and presented in Gantt charts forms. The contribution of this paper is in three fold. Firstly, the learning curve which is characterized by a coefficient is considered in the computation work. Secondly, this work is limited to small number of jobs and is useful for project based pilot runs which involve learning. Lastly, the scheduling scheme is developed in ANN as an alternate method. Extensive and successful training using the input and output vector pairs were done to establish the proposed method. Comparison was done for the tested outputs and results produced seem reliable.


This paper explores the determinants of developing countries' export upgrading measured by export sophistication. In particular, as a response to the recent debate on China's impact on developing countries' industrialisation, we examine a new hypothesis that the considerable growth in developing countries' trade with China may serve as a source of productive investment for their export upgrading. Dynamic panel estimations based on HS 6-digit export data on 62 developing countries during 1995-2014 show the positive effects of human capital, productive investment, and absolute gains from trade with China measured by income terms of trade vis-à-vis China. Mediation analysis finds that the positive effect of trade with China on export upgrading takes effect largely through its enhancing effect on productive investment, which supports our hypothesis. By contrast, China's direct export-downgrading impact is minor. Our findings suggest that, for developing countries, China serves more as a stimulator of capital accumulation for industrial development than a competitor in manufacturing market or a predator of natural resources. This provides an alternative to the widespread argument of China's crowding-out and reprimarisation impact on developing countries. The priority for developing countries is therefore the appropriate use of the gains from trade for productive purposes..


New synthetic insect growth regulators, viz. 8-propargyloxy-3, 7-dimethyl-2, 6-octadienyl and 8-propargyloxy-3, 7-dimelhyl-6-octenyl ethers prepared from 8-hydroxy geranyl and 8-hydroxycitronellyl ethers, respectively, were evaluated for inhibition of metamorphosis and ecdysis in mosquitoes and some agricultural pests. Reduction in egg hatch and mortality in hatched larvae/nymphs was observed, resulting in substantial reduction of ultimate adult emergence. In Phthorimaea operculella, egg hatch was totally inhibited. Failure of egg hatch, larval mortality, formation of larval-pupal intermediates, albino pupae, pupal mortality and failure of adult eclosion were some of the effects on mosquitoes. Failure of egg hatch, moulting and adultoid formation were observed in case of Dys-dercus koenigii indicating juvenoid type activity.


By using different spacer arms to immobilize Cibacron Blue 3GA onto regenerated cellulose membrane discs, this work investigated their effects on ligand density and corresponding lysozyme adsorption. When EGDGE alone was adopted as a spacer arm, using 0.1 M EGDGE without the formation of liquid film in its reaction with the membrane disc led to higher adsorption capacities. When EGDGE was combined with another reagent with two end functional groups as a spacer arm, EGDGE + 1,4-diaminobutane performed better in both ligand density and adsorption capacity. In addition, the ligand densities using the combinations of EGDGE with another reagent were generally lower than those from EGDGE alone, whereas the ligand utilization percentages were higher. Moreover, adding a spacer arm did not affect the binding strength between lysozyme and Cibacron Blue 3GA, regardless of the type of spacer arms and their length, and the reaction condition.


Using Fourier analysis, we derive Wirtinger-type inequalities of arbitrary high order. As applications, we prove various sharp geometric inequalities for closed curves on the Euclidean plane. In particular, we obtain both sharp lower and upper bounds for the isoperimetric deficit.


In this paper we have investigated the heat and mass transfer effects on MHD flow of viscous incompressible and electrically conducting fluid through a non� homogeneous porous medium in the presence of heat source, oscillatory suction velocity. A uniform transverse magnetic field is applied in the direction of the flow perpendicular to the plates. The equations governing the flow are solved by a simple perturbation technique the effects of various physical parameters viz., magnetic parameter M, modified Grashof number Gm., Schmidt number Sc etc., on primary and secondary velocity distributions. Temperature distribution, skinfriction and rate of heat transfer are discussed through graphs. It is observed that primary velocity increases with an increase in M, where as it shows reverse effect in case of the Gm .


Objective To analyze the relationship between postoperative pain and a variety of factors,including fracture type,type of surgery,and pain management protocol by performing pain assessment in hip fracture patients after surgery for the optimum protocol for postoperative pain management.Methods This was a prospective,randomized,placebo-controlled study.A total of 83 hip fracture patients randomly received one of the three analgesics for pain control;i.e.,parecoxib,celecoxib,and placebo.The surgical procedures that were used included cannulated screw internal fixation,dynamic hip screw(DHS) internal fixation,intramedullary nail internal fixation,and hip arthroplasty.Comparisons were made in visual analogue scale scores,pain relief of the first three postoperative days,incidence of complications,and patient satisfaction.Results No significant effect on pain after hip fracture surgery was found for patient age and type of procedure.There was more pain in patients undergoing DHS and intramedullary nail internal fixation than patients undergoing cannulated screw internal fixation and hip arthroplasty.Parecoxib was significantly superior to celecoxib and placebo in terms of postoperative pain intensity,pain relief,and satisfaction(P 0.05).However,no significant difference was noticed in the incidence of complications among the three treatments(P 0.05).Conclusion More attention should be paid to patients undergoing DHS and intramedullary nail internal fixation regarding better postoperative pain control.Parecoxib is superior to celecoxib in postoperative pain control in terms of being safe,reliable,and fast-acting.


A new order of holometabolan insects is proposed for Stephanastus polinae Kirejtshuk et Nel, 2013 from the Upper Carboniferous of Allier, France (Gzhelian, Commentry) (Nel et al., 2013). It is considered a member of the superorder Coleopterida. It shares with the order Coleoptera sclerotised forewings, which demonstrate a simple and somewhat reduced Sc, a simple and concave RP, a convex RA, the M less convex than R and CuA, M also simple and basally fused with CuA (putative synapomorphy), but distally separating from it; stem of M+Cu well separated from R, the coxae do not project and the trochanters are short. The new order Skleroptera ordo nov. differs from the orders Coleoptera and Strepsiptera in the structure of the thoracic sclerites and venation of the forewings, particularly in the following character combination: the absence of lateral carina on the prothorax, the narrow separation of the bases of its forewings, the very narrow anal region of the forewings that widen apically and the absence of a sub-marginal anal (adsutural) vein going along the entire posterior margin of the tegmina. These unique characters of Stephanastus Kirejtshuk et Nel, 2013 suggest that this individual was somewhat laterally compressed (like some orthopteroids). This represents also an essential difference from body ground plan of the Coleoptera in general. It is hypothesised that the position of the new order within the superorder Coleopterida at the subclade level is as follows: Skleroptera + (Coleoptera [probably including Umenocoleidae sensu stricto] + Strepsiptera). Umenocoleidae sensu stricto] + Strepsiptera).


In order to realize the opto-electronic integration of optic gyro, the quasi-planar ridge SOI waveguide resonator is proposed due to its low loss and small bend radius. First, the single mode condition and smallest bend radius were simulated by using the 3-dimension finite difference beam propagation method (3-D BPM). Then the relationship between the sensitivity of gyro and the resonator characteristics, such as radius and coupling coefficient, was analyzed by applying the model of the integrated optical gyro. Based on these simulations, the ridge height and width of the waveguide were 220 nm and 1.2 μm respectively and the smallest bend radius was 600μm. It is shown that the theoretical detection limit of the gyro was 0.031 °/s when the resonator diameter was 5cm and the couplers splitting ratio was 46.7:53.3. This gyro system is suitable for tactical and civil applications.


Pigs seem like a minor historical subject. But they helped their caretakers think big, and they can likewise expand our picture of the early Middle Ages. Pigs forced humans to appreciate that they were dealing with interlocking, fluctuating, and variable resources that required a correspondingly flexible approach to handling them. And they were adaptive, most noticeably in their diet but also in their behaviors, which enabled their owners to take advantage of different ecologies. And unlike other livestock, pigs were consistently difficult to manage, so their caretakers could not help but notice that domestication did not fully transform animals into commodities. Humans made tradeoffs and sacrifices in order to keep raising and eating pigs, and that, more than any other animal-human relationship in this period, attests to a long-term process of coevolution.


Historically right to health was one of the last to be proclaimed in constitutions of most countries of world. At the international level, the universal declaration of human rights established a breakthrough in 1948, by stating in Article 25. (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food,clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services , and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock,shall enjoy the same social protection. The preamble of WHO constitution also affirms t hat it is one of the fundamental rights of every human to enjoy "the highest attainable standard of health". Hence health is on one hand a highly personal responsibility and on the other hand a major public concern.
. Public health is both a body of knowledge and also a means
to apply that knowledge. This paper emphasis t he importance of public health and enriches t h e community people with providing health education for the better life styles and living conditions.


The design of the wind vane described rests on the following line of reasoning: An airplane, originally in equilibrium about its C.G. is assumed to be deflected from this position through an angle (delta)i, the variation (delta)i being so sudden that the path of the C.G. and the airplane speed do not change while it is taking place. The aerodynamic forces acting on the wings, tail surfaces, fuselage, etc., which, as a whole, exerted a zero moment (M(sub G) = 0) about the center of gravity at the instant of equilibrium, now exert a moment M(sub G) not equal to 0.


OBJECTIVE
To isolate and purify a new type of lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) from burn rabbit serum, and to investigate its biological functions.

METHODS
Rabbits subjected to burn injury and endotoxemia were employed. The serum from the rabbits was purified by two-steps of ion-exchange chromatography (Bio-Rex 70 Resin, Mono-Q) and gel chromatography. Furthermore, the serum was identified by flow cytometry analysis, agglomeration test with sheep erythrocyte, and amino end amino acid residue sequencing. The obtained protein was applied to cultured human monocytes (U937), and the cytokine secretion such as TNFalpha from the U937 was observed.

RESULTS
The molecular weight of the harvested protein was 48 kDa, and the 10 amino acid sequence at N end was arranged as GSQGTFTSEE, which was different to the amino acid sequence in NCBI protein bank and was so named P48. P48 possessed similar function to that of LBP and could promote the binding of LPS in a very low concentration with peripheral blood monocytes (PBMC), and also promote the TNFalpha secretion from U937.

CONCLUSION
P48, a new type of LBP, could be isolated and purified from the burn rabbit serum. P48 possessed similar biological activities to that of LBP and could promote the process of inflammatory reaction.


In this work, we propose a framework to build a billiards tutoring system based on broadcasting nine-ball video analysis. A robust table detection module is developed by mapping the displayed video frames to a predefined billiard table model. In addition, we detect balls and trace their positions at every time instant. The real-world spatial relationships between the table and the balls are used to provide the aiming and position play suggestions. Ball position information is also utilized to distinguish each play into corresponding event by a rule-based method. The experimental results are encouraging and are more comprehensive than existing works of billiards video analysis.


and K. A. Esser. Aging does not alter the mechanosensitivity of the p38, p70 S6k , and JNK2 signaling pathways in skeletal muscle. J Appl Physiol 98: 1562–1566, 2005. 2004; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00870.2004.—The capacity for skeletal muscle to recover its mass following periods of unloading (regrowth) has been reported to decline with age. Although the mechanisms responsible for the impaired regrowth are not known, it has been suggested that aged muscles have a diminished capacity to sense and subsequently respond to a given amount of mechanical stimuli (mech-anosensitivity). To test this hypothesis, extensor digitorum longus muscles from young (2–3 mo) and old (26–27 mo) mice were subjected to intermittent 15% passive stretch (ex vivo) as a source of mechanical stimulation and analyzed for alterations in the phosphorylation of stress-activated protein kinase (p38), ribosomal S6 kinase (p70 S6k ), and the p54 jun N-terminal kinase (JNK2). The results indicated that the average magnitude of specific tension (mechanical stimuli) induced by 15% stretch was similar in muscles from young and old mice. Young and old muscles also revealed similar increases in the magnitude of mechanically induced p38, p70 S6k (threonine/ serine 421/424 and threonine 389), and JNK2 phosphorylation. In addition, coincubation experiments demonstrated that the release of locally acting growth factors was not sufficient for the induction of JNK2 phosphorylation, suggesting that JNK2 was activated by a mechanical rather than a mechanical/growth factor-dependent mech-anism. Taken together, the results of this study demonstrate that aging does not alter the mechanosensitivity of the p38, p70 S6k , and JNK2 signaling pathways in skeletal muscle. SDS-PAGE on 7.5% acrylamide gels, as previously described (4). Following electrophoretic separation, proteins were transferred to a polyvinylidene diflu- oride membrane, blocked in 5% blotto [5% powdered milk in TBST (Tris-buffered saline, 1% Tween 20)] for 3 h followed by an overnight incubation at 4°C with primary antibody. After overnight incubation, membranes were washed for 30 min in TBST and then probed with anti-rabbit antibody for 45 min at room temperature. Following 30 min of washing in TBST, the blots were developed by using enhanced chemi- luminescence. Once the appropriate image was captured, membranes were stained with Coomassie blue to verify equal loading and transfer in all lanes. Densitometric measurements were carried out by using the FluorS Max Imager with QuantityOne Software (Bio-Rad).


It contains many large particles of major axis diameter, moreover, the titanium dioxide having good columnar shape particle size distribution, provides a conductive titanium oxide. The presence of titanium dioxide nucleus crystal having two or more axial ratio, titanium compound, and heating and firing the alkali metal compound and oxyphosphorus compound to grow titanium dioxide nucleus crystal, then the presence of titanium dioxide nucleus crystal obtained by the growth under further titanium compound was added and heated baking the alkali metal compound and oxyphosphorus compound, having a columnar particle shape, the weight-average major-axis length of the particles is in the range of 7.0~15.0Myuemu, 10 [mu] m particles having the above major axis diameter to produce a titanium dioxide is total 15% by weight or more. Moreover, the suspension of the titanium dioxide, solutions and antimony containing tin compound, was added a solution containing the compound, such as phosphorus, precipitated, then heated baking the resulting product, producing a conductive titanium oxide to form a conductive film on the surface of the titanium dioxide.


Embodied cognition, or the notion that cognitive processes develop from goal-directed interactions between organisms and their environment has stressed the automaticity of perceptual and motor resonance mechanisms in other cognitive domains like language. The present paper starts with reviewing abundant empirical evidence for automatic resonance mechanisms between action and language and examples of other cognitive domains such as number processing. Special attention is given here to social implications of embodied cognition. Then some more recent evidence indicating the importance of the action context on the interaction between action and language is reviewed. Finally, a theoretical notion about how automatic and selective mechanisms can be incorporated in an embodied cognitive perspective is provided.


In a grid-tied type-4 wind turbine generator (WTG) system, the frequency of sub/super-synchronous oscillation varies in a wide range, making it difficult to suppress the oscillation. In view of this problem, an active damping control strategy based on energy feedback is proposed. First, the energy balance equation of stored energy, dissipation energy, and interaction energy in a grid-tied type-4 WTG system is established. And the mathematical relationship between the increasing/decreasing trend of stored energy and the divergence/convergence of oscillation, no matter how the oscillation frequency varies, is derived. Then, by calculating the contribution degrees of different energy feedback branches to the variation rate of stored energy, the key energy feedback branches that cause the stored energy to increase are selected. And then, with the variation rate of stored energy being made negative as the control objective, this article derives a reactive current compensation function and constructs an additional energy feedback branch to eliminate the effect of key energy feedback branches, thus realizing active damping suppression of oscillations in a broad frequency band. Finally, the real-time digital simulator based hardware-in-loop test platform with a practical controller of a real 2.5-MW type-4 WTG and experimental platform are both built on which the proposed strategy is verified. Simulation results show that the proposed method can realize effective damping control of oscillations in a broad frequency range. In addition, this article is accompanied by a video demonstrating hardware-in-loop test results.


Few studies have investigated the factors or mechanisms that may lead to structural changes in OA bone. This study examines the in vivo expression of messenger RNA encoding the osteoclastogenic cytokines interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and interleukin‐11 (IL‐11), together with the osteoblastic marker osteocalcin (OCN) and the calcitonin receptor (CTR), which in bone is exclusively expressed by osteoclasts. Total RNA was isolated from intertrochanteric trabecular bone from OA patients, and from controls taken at autopsy. The patterns of mRNA expression of IL‐6, IL‐11, OCN, and CTR were examined using reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) by determining the relative ratios of the amplified products with respect to glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). Both IL‐6 and IL‐11 mRNA were significantly less abundant in OA than in the control group. Expression of IL‐11 mRNA decreased significantly with age for both groups. OCN mRNA expression was significantly more abundant in OA, and there was no significant difference for CTR mRNA between the two groups. For both OCN and CTR in OA, expression increased significantly with increasing age. These differences in expression between the OA and control groups are consistent with an hypothesis that biochemical and genetic factors in bone can contribute or perhaps underlie the degenerative joint changes seen in OA. (J Bone Miner Res 2000;15:332–341)


We derive the time evolution of the density contrast to all orders of perturbation theory, by solving the Einstein equation for scale-invariant fluctuations. These fluctuations are represented by an infinite series in inverse powers of the radial parameter. In addition to the standard growing modes, we find infinitely many more new growing modes for open and closed universes.


Iron deficiency affect more than 2000 millions of people around the world. The aim of this work was to describe the more important aspects about iron metabolism in man, and specially in the brain, the physiological mechanisms which one iron deficiency can cause damages in the Central Nervous System (CNS) of children and teenagers, some studies that shows the relations between damages in the neural development and iron deficiency and the mains strategies of our country to fight against this nutricional disorder. Iron deficiency causes the hipomyelination and this produces deficients neurons. By the other hand , iron deficiency is related with some metabolisms process that impact in the normal brain function how the electrons transport and the neurotransmisors shyntesis. Several studies did in babies, children in shool age and teenagers showed learning slowing-up of anemic children against non anemic children, and afections in the visual and auditive system. In our country, we use ferrous salts and the bioprepared iron-proteins Trofin, to the prevention and treatment of iron deficiency, however, the strategies to combact this deficiency are non-enough yet.


Visualizations often use spatial representations to aid understanding, but it is unclear what properties of a spatial information presentation are most important to effectively support cognitive processing. This research explores how spatial layout and view control impact learning and investigates the role of persistent visibility when working with large displays. We performed a controlled experiment with a learning activity involving memory and comprehension of a visually represented story. We compared performance between a slideshow-type presentation on a single monitor and a spatially distributed presentation among multiple monitors. We also varied the method of view control (automatic vs. interactive). Additionally, to separate effects due to location or persistent visibility with a spatially distributed layout, we controlled whether all story images could always be seen or if only one image could be viewed at a time. With the distributed layouts, participants maintained better memory of the associated locations where information was presented. However, learning scores were significantly better for the slideshow presentation than for the distributed layout when only one image could be viewed at a time.


Since researchers and practitioners alike have focused on the importance of superior supply chain performance, this study examined which supply chain strategies are more likely to enable manufacturers achieve superior supply chain performance, and whether lean production and Six Sigma can play a moderating role and leverage the effects of mentioned strategies on supply chain performance. This research is a descriptive exploratory project in which primary data was collected from 80 Malaysian manufacturing companies. Data were analyzed by applying bivariate correlation and multiple regressions and indicated that two strategies (many suppliers and few suppliers) can have positive and strong effects on achieving superior supply chain performance, but vertical integration strategy. In addition, outputs show that lean and Six Sigma can be considered as a strong moderator just for improving the impact of vertical integration on superior supply chain performance.


Abstract Women's participation in equestrian sports, particularly fox-hunting, sky-rocketed after 1850, well before female presence in other activities such as tennis, golf, or bicycling. This involvement included not only elite women, but also those of the middle classes, as horses, transport, and hunting became more affordable. However, fox-hunting as a sport became more demanding at the same time more women became interested; thus, the publication of riding manuals for women enabled female equestrians to safely and successfully take advantage of new sporting opportunities. Success in riding did not depend on gender, but on skill. Therefore, the hunting field became a largely equal playing field. Women were empowered as male equals via sport. Whether intentionally or not, female equestrians served as public role models for new ideals of femininity that prioritized independence, self-possession, and authority. The pursuit of horse sports in the late nineteenth century not only enabled women to successfully contribute to the war effort after 1914 but also aided efforts to achieve political representation after 1918.


Ability of flooding tolerance of 5 types and 10 cultivars of blueberry were studied through morphological observation and physiological and biochemistrical determination.The results showed that the ability of flooding tolerance of the 5 types blueberry is in the order of Vaccinium uligiosum L.high bushhalf_high bush V.vitisidaea low bush.But some cultivars of half_high bush and low bush blueberry showed high ability of flooding tolerance.The ability of flooding tolerance of different cultivars is in the order of AronBluecropKoralleNorthcountrySt.cloud7917Blomidon=BrunswickChignectoNorthsky.The cultivars of Aron and Bluecrop and Koralle and Northcountry and St.cloud showed higher ability of flooding tolerance than others.And the cultivars of the higest ability of flooding tolerance is Aron.


We continue our policy of presenting an international range of quantitative and qualitative studies, together with important discussion documents, which throw new light on key aspects of the experience and management of chronic illness. Our papers on original research include two quantitative studies. First, in a review of the cost-effectiveness of behavioural interventions for lifestyle changes, Gordon and colleagues from Australia report considerable variation among the studies examined. They find adequate evidence that face-to face behavioural interventions for smoking and physical activity are likely to be costeffective, whereas it is more difficult to draw firm conclusions about interventions concerned with alcohol and diet. Second, we present the results of a randomized controlled study of the transfer of care for outpatients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from physician to nurse. Vrijhoef, with colleagues from The Netherlands, found mixed results. The transfer of care from doctor to nurse was associated with a greater number of consultations and some worsening in physical condition, but was also associated with an overall increase in patient' self-rated health and satisfaction. We present two studies of lived experience in relation to chronic illness. Addis and colleagues from Birmingham, UK examine the physical, social and psychological impact of priapism (prolonged and painful penile erection) experienced by adult males with sickle cell disorder. Their respondents describe their dominant experiences as being despair, embarrassment, and isolation. They find it difficult to disclose priapism, and express little confidence in the health service's attempts to manage the condition effectively. Edwards and Gabbay use narrative techniques to explore the experiences of primary care patients from Merseyside, UK who are on long-term sickness absence, and assess their attitudes to return to work. They find distinct patterns in the ways in which long-term absence reduces attachment to work and impacts on work identity, and argue that their methods and findings could be developed to help identify those patients who would either respond to 'return to work' interventions, or else benefit from additional health service support. In our discussion paper, Elizabeth Bayliss and colleagues from the US-based Kaiser Permanente Group present a set of recommendations in support of self-management for patients with complex medical needs. They argue that this population requires specialized, multidimensional selfmanagement support, and that new technologies and models of care delivery may be needed to facilitate this process. They also propose the introduction and assessment of performance measures that reflect the needs of this population.


This research looks into marketing relationships and social networking as it related to market entry. The authors comment on how prior market relationships increase access to customers and the effe...


The second part, with its illustrated descriptions, constitutes a handbook of real utility which outweighs criticism in detail. Without emphasis, however, a few points call for comment. The discussion of the date of Stonehenge may be thought unduly lenient towards the Iron Age view, and there is certainly more evidence against than for regarding the Y and Z holes (which contained Iron Age pottery) as an original feature of the monument. Here Mr. Newall's marshalling of the evidence [Antiquity^ 1929) still holds the field and deserved more than a passing reference in the bibliography. In the admirable account of Avebury, it might have been added that beaker pottery, as well as Peterborough pottery, was found by Mr. St. George Gray on the old ground-level under the great bank, which cannot therefore, on the conventional dating, be earlier than the nineteenth century B.C. Research farther afield would have modified the statement that the pottery from Woodhenge is ' not like any other known group of pottery '. There are in fact many points of resemblance with pottery of the passage-grave period in Denmark, and of similar or slightly later date in the Low Countries; whilst partial analogies have been noted on east-coast sites in this country, at Hartlepool and Clacton. It is probable therefore that Woodhenge is of the early rather than the middle Bronze Age, and that the beaker-sherds found on the site are appropriate to it. In that case, it equates conveniently with the timber and stone circles (the ' Sanctuary') which, with characteristic acumen, Mrs. Cunnington and her husband rediscovered and excavated on Overton Hill. These are well described, and the section on barrows, which follows, is an excellent synopsis of the subject. Indeed, the remainder of the book calls for nothing but praise save that, in a second edition, the slightly chaotic arrangement whereby Iron Age villages and British coins follow Wansdyke and Grim's Ditch might usefully be set right. The index also is capable of improvement; it mentions Silchester and the Yoldia Sea but omits Stonehenge—surely a case of the shoe-maker's children being worst shod ! A last word on the book, however, must be one of appreciation for a manual which is a tribute alike to the archaeological wealth of the county and to the ability of its antiquaries, amongst whom the author herself holds a high place. R. E. M. W.


A new similarity measure for two sets of S-parameters is proposed. It is constructed with the modified Hausdorff distance applied to S-parameter points in 3D space with real, imaginary and normalized frequency axes. New S-parameters similarity measure facilitates automation of the analysis to measurement validation, comparison of models and measurements obtained with different tools, as well as finding similar S-parameter models or similar elements within S-matrices.


Cercosporella leucaenae is reported for the first time from Australia. It defoliated leaflets of cultivated Leucaena leucocephala at Kununurra, Western Australia during April 1995. By late April 1995 C. leucaenae was substantially colonised by the mycoparasite Dicyma pulvinata.


THE PROCEDURE FOR CONTROLLING STOP SITUATION OF AN ELECTRIC MOTOR DRIVE BLIND OR SIMILAR THAN PLANNED DISCONNECT ELECTRIC MOTOR IS OPERATED AS SOON AS RECORDED mechanical resistance. HOW TO DISCONNECT MANS APPROACH torque or modification of the torque ELECTRIC ENGINE. IT IS REGISTERED WITH THE ENGINE torque CONTINUOUSLY ELECTRIC ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRIC MOTOR TO DISCONNECT both when a torque EXCEEDS PREVIOUSLY GIVEN AS WELL WHEN EXCEEDS a modified torque given previously. In another embodiment of the invention also it records the torque given previously. In another embodiment of the invention also records the rotational movement of the winding shaft and decides whether DISCONNECT the electric motor. IN OPERATED BLINDS LIGHTWEIGHT AS TO ITS RELATIONSHIP OF MASS OR SIMILAR IS MOUNTED IN ADDITION between the winding shaft and the drive shaft AN ARRANGEMENT OF LIMITED GAMING, TO ENSURE LOW END SITUATION OR WHEN YOU RECEIVE AN OBSTACLE disconnected SAFE DRIVE . ADVANTAGES: Easy setting, position recognition EXTREME AUTOMATIC, SAFE PROTECTION OF DAMAGE OF THE BLIND, PARALLEL CONNECTION POSSIBILITY OF MULTIPLE ENGINES.


The construction industry is a significant economic and productive sector of a country. Due to the importance of the sector, this study is justified not only for the academia, but also for the productive and business circles. Identifying competitive dimensions and comprehend the organizational performance through performance indicators, allows managers to make decisions through these tools, according to the model in which the organization operates, as close as possible to their reality. The present work aims to analyze the application of performance indicators through the competitive dimensions of the construction company. The used research method was a qualitative approach, being of an applied nature, classified according to the objectives of the research in descriptive and explanatory. The procedure used was the review of the literature through scientific articles in the Web of Science data bases, for the last ten years.


In this paper, we study the existence and concentration behaviour of multi-peak standing waves for a singularly perturbed Davey–Stewartson system, which arises in the theory of shallow water waves. For this purpose, we first give a sharp threshold of the existence of ground-state solutions to the related limiting problem. Next, combining the penalization method and the regularity theory of elliptic equations, we construct a family of positive solutions concentrating around any prescribed finite set of local minima, possibly degenerate, of the potential. A feature of this analysis is that we do not need any uniqueness or non-degeneracy conditions for the limiting equation. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first study dealing with the study of concentrating solutions for Davey–Stewartson systems. We emphasize that with respect to the classical Schrödinger equation, the presence of a singular integral operator in the Davey–Stewartson system forces the implementation of new ideas to obtain the existence of multi-peak solutions.


Key Points Cell-free DNA mirrors the molecular profile of bone marrow cells in MDS. The analysis of cfDNA is a promising method to characterize and monitor molecular and cytogenetic abnormalities present in MDS.


Respiratory motion degrades fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) images of the lower chest and upper abdomen, as the blur introduced by breathing motion increases the apparent size of the moving tumour lesions and decreases their apparent uptake, reducing the sensitivity of PET in detection of small lesions. We assessed the role of delayed and respiratory‐gated PET acquisition in the quantitative evaluation of lung and liver lesions.


A book by Bojan Belić entitled Bishop Nicholai, Hitler and Europe: Controversies was published recently. An expert review for this publication was written by Dr. Veljko Đurić Mišina, the director at the Museum of Genocide Victims in Belgrade, and Milorad Belić, a retired history professor. The most important facts regarding Bishop Nicholai's stay in Dachau are presented in Bojan Belić's book, a few of which are lesser-known to the Serbian audience, as well as the facts regarding his relation to Nazism, anti-Semitism, and Europe. This publication brings out the data collected based on relevant sections taken from sources and literature in English and German language. One of the special features of this book is that it is written in a form of a discussion so it is abundant in polemical tones, mainly criticizing the conclusions reached by certain authors and a number of researchers who dealt with Bishop Nicholai's actions and fate prior to and during WW2.


Improving urban land use efficiency is a feasible way to realize sustainable development and alleviate urban land pressure on the city. The main purpose of this article is to measure the urban land use efficiency of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and explore its evolutionary trends and influencing factors, so as to provide references for policy formulation to promote efficient land use and sustainable development. Therefore, we calculated the value of urban land use efficiency in the Yangtze River economic belt from 2004 to 2019, based on the super efficiency SBM model, including unexpected output. Further, we analyzed the spatial-temporal evolution, and spatial correlation and its influencing factors. The main results are as follows: Firstly, urban land use efficiency in the Yangtze River econom`ic belt continues to improve as a whole, but it is higher in the east and lower in the west. In the kernel density evolution map, the development trend is steep at first and then slows, and the gap tends to decrease. Secondly, the spatial correlation of urban land use efficiency in the Yangtze River economic belt increases year by year, showing a positive correlation overall. The high-high agglomeration shifts to the east, low-low agglomeration shifts to the west, and low-high and high-low agglomeration show scattered distribution. The hot and cold spots are distributed regionally and have a diffusion trend. Thirdly, the results of the spatial Dubbin model show that the urbanization level, government expenditure and industrial instruction transformation can promote the improvement of urban land use efficiency, and people density and land use scale can inhibit its improvement. Additionally, there is remarkable heterogeneity in the effect of these influencing factors. On the whole, the effect of non-resource-based cities is better, and it is more so in the cities of the eastern region.


In this paper, we propose a methodology to optimally configure a supply chain when considering a new product design. The supply chain configuration is conducted during the product design phase. In fact, several product design alternatives are possible and the aim is to select the best product design optimising the supply chain and satisfying market place as well. In this design problem, specificities of the new product architecture and logistical constraints of supply chain partners are considered at the same time. This product-supply chain design process simultaneity is modelled using an UML sequence diagram. Supply chain design is achieved by levels corresponding to the product's bill of material. A mathematical model is proposed for optimising costs for each level. Genetic algorithms are used to solve the complexity of the model. Since parameters values of genetic algorithms have a significant impact on their efficiency, we have proposed to combine Taguchi experimental design and genetic algorithm to determine the optimal combination of parameters that optimises the objective function. This method can effectively reduce time spent on parameter design using genetic algorithm and increase also its efficiency. The accuracy of the proposed GA-Taguchi method is validated using CPLEX software to evaluate its performance.


Objective: Swertia chirata forms a rich source of bio-active compounds, among which xanthones form an important part. Among the xanthones present in it, 1,5,8 Tri-hydroxy-3-methoxy xanthone (TMX) was found to be the most active. The present study aims to evaluate the chemotherapeutic potential of it against metastatic skin cancer cell lines.
Methods: In this study, the antitumor activity of TMX (the active component of chirata plant) was evaluated in A431, SKMEL-5, and A375 cell line by using in-vitro assays such as cell viability assay, cell cycle analysis, caspase 3 activity assay, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level determination by dichlorofluorescein diacetate, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).
Results: In vitro studies showed that TMX from S. chirata exhibited significant antitumor activity by inducing apoptosis and restricting proliferation in both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer cell lines, but no such activity was seen in normal skin cancer cell line WS1. The qRT-PCR analysis revealed that in both the melanoma ad non-melanoma cell lines, TMX could exert its antitumor activity by downregulating c-Myc, cyclin-D1, and β-catenin and up-regulating Wnt antagonist gsk-3β, thereby suppressing wnt self-renewal pathway, but such regulation was absent in normal cell line.
Conclusions: TMX from chirata could effectively inhibit the proliferation of metastatic skin cancer (both melanoma and non-melanoma) cell lines while being non-toxic to normal cell lines. The chemotherapeutic potential of TMX against metastatic skin cancer cell lines was achieved by downregulating several key regulatory genes enabling the suppression of the self-renewal pathway, the chief reason behind the invasiveness of cancer cells.


COVID-19 has been considered the most important issue in the last two years. Some characteristics and factors can play a pivotal role in the survival time and mortality of COVID-19 patients. The Delta variant was one of the most important variants of COVID-19. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors of COVID-19 survival before and after the spread of the Delta variant. In this historical cohort study, 6,117 hospitalized patients with positive COVID-19 PCR tests between January and September 2021 participated. Some characteristics such as age, sex, death by COVID-19, and presence/absence of some comorbidities were registered for the patients. Log-rank test and Cox proportional hazards model were done to check the effect of the potential risk factors on the survival of COVID-19 patients by considering the onset of symptoms to death as the time variable. The mean age of patients was 47.29 (SD=18.70). 53% of patients were female, 4.6% were admitted to the ICU, and 3.6% died from COVID-19. Age (HR=9.81, p<.001), cardiovascular disease (HR=2.86, p<.001), chronic kidney disease (HR=6.21, p<.001), diabetes (HR=2.16, p=0.002), hypertension (HR=2.67, p<.001), ICU admission (HR=12.92, p<.001), pO2<93% (HR=6.75, p<.001), and intubation (HR=21.54, P<.001) were risk factors that were influential on the survival of COVD-19 patients before the spread of the Delta variant. Although the effect of some variables changed after the spread of the Delta variant, some of them, like chronic kidney disease and hypertension were no longer significant. Although the effect of some comorbidities was significant only in the crude models, they were not influential in the adjusted model. Conversely, in the presence of other risk factors, especially age, most of the comorbidities were not significant in the adjusted model. Older age, ICU admission, intubation, and pO2<93% are the most important variables which played a pivotal role in the survival of individuals infected by COVID-19.


The ATM is one of the most promising solutions for B-ISDN. Switch architectures based on Batcher-banyan networks are considered the most suitable for constructing large-dimension broadband packet switches. Though the Batcher-banyan network is internally nonblocking, the ubiquitous problem of packet loss resulting from outlet conflict can only be reduced by external buffering. Buffering strategies are basically categorized into two classes: input buffering and output buffering. For input-buffered switches, a phenomenon called head-of-the-line (HOL) blocking limits the maximum throughput to only 58.6 percent (2-/spl radic/2). On the other hand, output buffering achieves much higher throughput, but the entire switch has to be operated at a sufficiently high speed in order to deliver all the packets simultaneously destined for the same outlet. This generally imposes severe implementation problems. We propose a switch architecture with combined input and output queueing. The switch fabric consists of a Batcher sorting network, a radix-r shuffle mapping network, and r parallel distributing modules. The input queues and the switch fabric run at the same speed as the input and output trunks. However, up to r packets may arrive at an output queue in a single time slot. We analyze the throughput-delay characteristics of the proposed switch. The maximum throughput in the case where r=2 is 88.6 percent. For r=4, the proposed switch offers a 99.6 percent maximum throughput. In addition, the proposed switch relieves the HOL blocking by allowing up to r packets to be delivered to the same outlet in one time slot. Consequently, the average delay is also reduced.


Tissue engineering is a new field that made rapid advances. Tissue engineering eliminates re- operations by using biological substitutes that allow native cells to grow. Scaffolds and its properties play important role for success of this technique. Porous calcium phosphate ceramics (mainly hydroxyapatite (HA) and tricalcium phosphate (TCP)) with interconnected macro-pores (~ 100 to 500 μm) as well as high porosities (~ 80%) were prepared by a new method at different temperatures giving a scaffold could be used in different situations. we present a simple, direct lithographic method to fabricate this scaffold. In order to improve the mechanical properties such as compressive strength and compressive modulus and maintain the desirable bioactivity carboxymethyl-celleulose (CMC) is added forming a composite structure. The CMC made the porous calcium phosphate ceramics proved to be bioactive and exhibited compressive strengths up to 18MPa and compressive modules up to 6 GPa which were comparable to those of natural bones. The obtained complex porous bioactive/ biodegradable composites could be used as tissue engineering scaffolds for high load bearing applications. This composite scaffold can be satisfied with the basic requirement for tissue engineering, and has the potential to be applied in repair and substitute of human menisci of the knee-joint and articular cartilage.


A P-set of a symmetric matrix $A$ is a set $\alpha$ of indices such that the nullity of the matrix obtained from $A$ by removing rows and columns indexed by $\alpha$ is $|\alpha|$ more than that of $A$. It is known that each subset of a P-set is a P-set. It is also known that a set of indices such that each singleton subset is a P-set need not be a P-set. This note shows that if all pairs of vertices of a set with at least two elements are P-sets, then the set is a P-set.


There are several techniques that can decrease the amount of salt needed for de-icing, while reducing harmful environmental impacts and saving money on materials and preparations. Applying anti-icing substances before a storm can prevent or reduce snowpack and ice bonding. It can also minimize black ice on bridge decks. But care needs to be taken to avoid excessive application, or insufficient application. Computer-based systems can adjust the amount of material, based on the speed of the vehicle applying it and temperature and other weather conditions. Pre-wetting salt with de-icing liquids such as salt brine speeds ice melting and can eliminate the need for additional applications. It also prevents the salt particles from bouncing out of the roadway and polluting groundwater sources. Different systems can add the brine at different stages in the application cycle. As the array of winter de-icing liquids has increased, there is growing interest in customized mixes of different components onsite. Depending on weather conditions, different combinations of chemicals are preferred. Rather than purchase pre-blended mixes, some agencies are purchasing stand-alone pumping systems that allow them to create custom mixes. Two different systems are shown.


In the 1950' s,abdominopelvic lymph node dissection (APLD) for rectal cancer was first advocated by Deddish, Sauer, Bacon et al. to reduce local recurrence and to improve survival. They reported 5-8% improvements in 5-year survival for the patients with APLD as compared with the patients undergoing conventional surgery. However, the improvements were statistically insignificant, and furthermore, resulting urinary and sexual dysfunctions were disastrous. Similar disappointing results were reported for following years. Thus, APLD was abandoned, and adjuvant radiotherapy and chemoradiotherapy have been investigated intensively inthe Western countries. In addition, ew surgical techniques such as total mesorectal excision and tumor specific mesorectal excision (TSME) have been practiced. Consequently, a recent Dutch trial indicated TSME plus radiation as a standard treatment. In Japan, the surgeons began to use APLD and to modify it (extended lateral pelvic lymph node [LPLN] dissection [ELPLD]) in the 1970' s.The modification included more complete pelvic lymphadenectomy and combined resection of the internal iliac vessels. These procedures resulted in significant improvement in survival, as compared with historical control Moreover, todeal with urinary and sexual dysfunction, autonomic nerve preservation (ANP) was created in the 1980' s.Studies concerning adjuvant therapy has been addressing mainly chemotherapy. Presently, TSME is our standard surgery for upper rectal cancer. Surgery for lower ectal cancer depends on clinical (c-) stage. Patients with cT1NOM 0 or cT2NOMO tumors are treated with TSME alone. Patients with cT3-4anyNMO tumors or anyTN1-2M0 tumors undergo ELPLD with ANP. The Guidelines 2000 for Colon and Rectal Cancer in the United States also recommends ELPLD when LPLN metastasis i clinically suspected. However, evidence of ELPLD in case of patients without clinically suspected LPLN involvement is insufficient. To clarify a role of ELPLD for such patients, a randomized controlled trial is ongoing. And a recent Japanese trial demonstrated that postoperative chemotherapy improve survival of patients with stage-III rectal cancer.


The qualitative and quantitative method is generally used to comprehensive evaluation.The author use connection number to evaluate and express uncertain thing,the concept of connection number and its operation rules are introduced,and a connection number matter-element model is established.Discrepancies among every estimator are considered as weights in evaluation.It puts forward com-prehensive evaluation based on connection number matter-element model.Moreover,connection number matter-element model in com-prehensive evaluation and decision area is discussed.The flexible method is objective and convenient,and can be solve the comprehensive evaluation problem.


Steel fibres in construction materials not only enhance their mechanical and fracture properties but also increase their capability of electrical conductivity. This feature thus enables the material to obtain advanced multifunctional properties that can be utilized in self-sensing and other smart applications. Fly ash geopolymers with steel microfibres in 5−30% wt. were prepared to assess the influence of the fibres on selected electrical properties of the composite (resistance, capacitance and relative permittivity) with respect to mechanical performance. Microstructure and interfacial bonding of matrix and steel fibres was observed by electron microscopy imaging. Steel fibres caused an improvement in all assessed electrical properties but only above a certain frequency values. Furthermore, steel reinforced samples exhibited increase in both compressive and flexural strength.