Defining a measure of similarity between queries is an interesting and difficult problem. A reliable query-similarity measure can be used in a variety of applications such as query recommendation, query expansion, and advertising. In this paper, we exploit the information present in query logs in order to develop a measure of semantic similarity between queries. Our approach relies on the concept of the query-flow graph. The query-flow graph aggregates query reformulations from many users: nodes in the graph represent queries, and two queries are connected if they are likely to appear as part of the same search goal. Our query similarity measure is obtained by projecting the graph (or appropriate subgraphs of it) on a low-dimensional Euclidean space. Our experiments show that the measure we obtain captures a notion of semantic similarity between queries and it is useful for diversifying query recommendations.


The energy storage sector has witnessed meteoric growth in the last decade. Lithium‐ion based batteries, at the centre of this unprecedented rise in storage systems, have been driving the electrification revolution in the automotive domain. These lithium‐ion batteries are largely used in consumer electronic devices and wearables. The energy storage research activities have been primarily focused on devising accurate algorithms to compute state‐of‐charge of these energy storage systems. State‐of‐charge helps to calculate the remaining usage time of devices and determines the range of an electric vehicle. All state‐of‐charge algorithms developed till date have used curated labelled datasets available in abundance. However, in reality, researchers do not have access to battery datasets from manufacturers due to privacy concerns. Recording battery measurements is also an expensive and herculean task. This paper introduces an auto‐correlation mechanism to compose synthetic battery datasets. This procedure is very beneficial during data scarce scenarios wherein researchers have access to finite amount of data. The leading contributions of this work include (a) synthetic battery dataset creation using auto‐correlation mechanism and (b) diverse heterogeneous data generation, which is suitable for battery capacity forecasting purposes.


The objective of this study was to investigate the influences of the types of sugars on physical, chemical and microbiological changes taking place during the preparation of bio-extract using wastes derived from the virgin coconut oil manufacturing process. Sugars adopted included palm sugar, brown soft sugar, white sugar, crystalline sugar and molasses. Raw materials, sugars, fish waste and wastewater were combined at the 1:3:1 ratio. Results showed that physical, chemical and microbiological evolutions took place rapidly during the first 2 weeks of the bio-extract fermentation. Furthermore, for all carbon sources employed except for molasses, changes in terms of electrical conductivity, pH, organic acid content and total viable count as well as germination index (GI) were insignificantly different (p>0.01), whilst statistically different from those obtained from bio-extract prepared using molasses as the carbon source. Bio-extract prepared using molasses as carbon source yielded the highest organic matter degradation efficacy, in terms of the total organic carbon (TOC) reduction, of 86% in comparison with 72% for palm soft sugar and 63-66% for brown sugar, crystalline sugar and white sugar. Bio-extract prepared with molasses also contained several beneficial organic acids, e.g., acetic acid (459 mM) butyric acid (27 mM) and propionic acid (29 mM), as well as potassium (3.7%) at significantly higher concentrations than those obtained with bio-extract prepared with other sugars (p<0.01).


Abstract : The purpose of this thesis is to develop a rational career model for the Venezuelan supply officer. An exposition is made of how the present supply officer progresses in his naval career. The current development practices are analyzed, and the areas in which they need improvement are examined. The nature and characteristics of the supply officer are defined in several ways to provide a better understanding of his role and responsibilities within the Venezuelan Navy. Finally, a career model for the Venezuelan supply officer is proposed. (Author)


When the customer gets reliable and satisfactory experience about the expectations from the product it results in the loyalty of the customer towards 'brand'. The strength of the 'successful brand' is directly proportional to the expectations of the customer about it and it has various attributes like customer desire, relevance, pricing strategy, positioning, and consistency etc. Brand building is a process which is continuous and requires repeated recharging. It is very important for achieving customer loyalty because it is extremely dangerous and absolutely wrong to presume that "once a customer is always a customer". Even a single negative experience is enough to make the customer to change over to a competitive brand. Branding is an indispensable activity of any organization. At the customer end it reduces the risk of the customer and eases his or her purchase decisions. Branding involves rejuvenation which helps in acquiring and maintaining loyalty. Branding and customer loyalty are two different but connected aspects of marketing. Brand building requires full support of all possible marketing activities whereas customer loyalty or loyal customer does the marketing functions in the way of "mouth publicity" of a 'brand'.


.............................................................................................................. 1 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ 2 List of Authors .................................................................................................. 2 Executive summary ............................................................................................... 3 Remarks on this document ................................................................................. 4


This paper deals with the oil tank farm fire spread model problem for a class of oil tank farm simulation systems in the laboratory through measurement data of wireless sensor network. Based on the graph theory, this paper abstracted the oil tank farm as a weighted and directed graph and modeled the progress of the fire spread in it. Model forecasted the fire spread trend with the oil tank environment state information collected by the wireless sensor network in the oil tank farm. This article also designed and performed the simulation experiments, and the results of the experiments verified the applicability of the model.


The level of MRD determined with the use of PCR based techniques is the most reliable prognostic factor in therapy of ALL. In contrast to the western countries, molecular based techniques of MRD is still not included in routine assessment of ALL therapy effectiveness in Egypt. Therefore the aim of this study was early detection of MRD in precursor B-cell neoplasm to correlate it with the known prognostic factors, to assess the applicability gene scan(GS)for the detection of MRD together with assessment if there features indicating the existence of Egyptian specific characterization for IgH rearrangement. The study was conducted on 33 Egyptian patients(16 children and 17 adults)with precursor-B-ALL as confirmed by immunophenotyping. Bone marrow samples were taken on diagnosis and after completion of induction treatment. Additional 14 samples from 6 patients were collected from HMDS, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds, UK to compare the results of gene scan and four color flow cytometry (FC) with ASO RQ PCR technique as a reference method used in the MRD detection. MRD detection was done for these cases using GS. Presentation samples DNA were amplified using Vh-Jh Biomed -2 multiplex primer sets. GS was done to the fluorescent PCR product to detect the distinct size of this product at presentation and the follow up samples. ASO RQ PCR was done for some cases as a reference method to compare it s results with FC and GS. All cases were in clinical remission after completion of induction treatment. When monitored for MRD, only 56.3% of children and 23.5% of adults found to be in true molecular remission. The MRD positivity in children in our study(62.5%)is higher than the Western studies using either FC, sequence-based techniques or heteroduplex technique. On the other hand, the MRD positivity in adult ALL(78.2%)in our study was comparable to the other Western studies. It is found that there is a very high significant concordance between the presence of MRD at post-induction and the occurrence of relapse in both childhood (p=0.000) and adult ALL (p=0.002). There was no significant correlation between the conventional prognostic criteria and the existence of MRD apart from percentage of peripheral blood at day 7 (p=0.009) in childhood ALL. GS results were compared with four color FC, ASO RQ PCR. Sensitivity of GS in detection of MRD in precursor B-ALL is 75% compared with ASO RQ PCR. There was complete VH-JH rearrangement in all patients. It is noticed that the most frequently used VH gene segments in our study belongs to VH3 family in both children (56.3%) and adult (64.7%). This is followed by VH6(25%), VH1(18.75%), and VH 4(12.5%)in children, and by VH1(29.41%), and VH2, and VH4 together covering 11.76% in adult group. The prevalence of VH3 family usage noticed in this study is in concordance to the most of published studies. However, the frequency of other VH other than VH3 segment usage varied from the Western studies. In conclusion, MRD monitoring in precursor-B-ALL patients is a powerful independent prognostic factor. A wide scale study on Egyptian precursor B-ALL patients to define the frequency of VH usage and the presence of other rearrangements that may characterize MRD kinetics and clonal evolution for stratification of treatment protocol.


This article provides a brief introduction to micromechanics using linear elastic materials as an example. The fundamental micromechanics concepts including homogenization and dehomogenization, representative volume element (RVE), unit cell, average stress and strain theories, effective stiffness and compliance, Hill-Mandel macrohomogeneity condition. This chapter also describes the detailed derivations of the rules of mixtures, and three full field micromechanics theories including finite element analysis of a representative volume element (RVE analysis), mathematical homogenization theory (MHT), and mechanics of structure genome (MSG). Theoretical connections among the three full field micromechanics theories are clearly shown. Particularly, it is shown that RVE analysis, MHT and MSG are governed by the same set of equations for 3D RVEs with periodic boundary conditions. RVE analysis and MSG can also handle aperiodic or partially periodic materials for which MHT is not applicable. MSG has the unique capability to obtain the complete set of 3D properties and local fields for heterogeneous materials featuring 1D or 2D heterogeneities.


BACKGROUND
Regardless of the attention the invasive gastropod Pomacea canaliculata has received in the last decades for its negative impact on crops agriculture; knowledge of their digestive physiology remains incomplete, particularly the enzymatic breakdown of macromolecules such as proteins and lipids.

RESULTS
Discovery proteomics revealed aspartic peptidases, cysteine peptidases, serine peptidases, metallopeptidases, and threonine peptidases, as well acid and neutral lipases and phospholipases along the digestive tract of P. canaliculata. Peptides specific to peptidases (139) and lipases (14) were quantified by targeted mass spectrometry. Digestion begins in the mouth by diverse salivary peptidases (9 serine peptidases; 7 cysteine peptidases, 1 aspartic peptidase, and 22 metallopeptidases) and then continues in the oesophagus (crop) by 3 luminal metallopeptidases (family M12) and 6 serine peptidases (family S1). Downstream, the digestive gland provides a battery of enzymes composed of aspartic peptidase (1), cysteine peptidases (9), serine peptidases (12), and metallopeptidases (24 including aminopeptidases, carboxypeptidases and dipeptidases). The coiled gut has M1 metallopeptidases that complete the digestion of small peptides. Lipid extracellular digestion is completed by triglyceride lipases.

CONCLUSION
From an integrative physiological and anatomical perspective, Pomacea canaliculata shows an unexpected abundance and diversity of peptidases, which participate mainly in extracellular digestion. Moreover, the previously unknown occurrence of luminal lipases from digestive gland are reported for the first time. Salivary and digestive glands were the main tissues involved in the synthesis and secretion of these enzymes, but the few luminally exclusive peptidases are plausibly secreted by ventrolateral pouches or epithelial unicellular glands.


In exponentially modernizing world, the growing technologies and lifestyle aids health sectors. In 2013, 13% of the world's population was 60 years of age or older, which has increased from 8% in 1950. Over the next forty years, it will grow more quickly, reaching 21% in 2050. Elderly patients with continuing loss of memory usually forget to take medicines at the right time. Treatment is considered unusable when the patient neglects to take their medication at the appropriate time as directed by their doctor. Therefore, this research presents the implementation of IoT based intelligent pill dispenser for users who should take their medicine at the proper time. The system consists of a solid prescription intelligent pill dispenser and a mobile application for configuring and monitoring it. Added features have been included to the smart medicine box such as high security, emergency alert through SMS, automatic data collection and pill details. The mobile application performs person authorization using a username and password, which is based on the Internet of Things (IoT). It monitors the parameters such as intake of medication time, pills and location details, and user and caretaker data. Additionally, the system notifies users via mobile notifications when it's time to take their medications as well as through the visuals and sounds the dispenser emits. The parameters are recorded, uploaded to the cloud and reviewed by the clinicians using the IoT system. This helps clinicians to gain knowledge about their patient's health conditions for a further treatment analysis. The feature of uploading the patient details and medical records avoids the difficulties of carrying the prescription and medical records and hence patients can live independently.


A recent Dutch proposal to extend its assisted dying law could increase social pressure on older people and reinforce negative ideas surrounding old age, argue Els van Wijngaarden and colleagues


Mechanisms leading to pre‐eclampsia remain incompletely defined. Autophagy is a conserved process necessary for cell survival under adverse conditions. We hypothesised that sera from women with healthy pregnancies and women with pre‐eclampsia differed in autophagy induction.


This study aims to determine the effect of brand image and product quality on purchasing decisions for Wardah products. This study uses two independent variables, which brand image and product quality and one dependent variable, which purchasing decisions. The data in this study were collected by distributing questionnaires to 102 students of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Muhammadiyah University of Mataram who used Wardah products as research samples. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling and the data analysis method used quantitative. Based on data analysis, the research results show that the indicators in this study are valid and reliable. In the R test it is known that the magnitude of the influence of brand image and product quality on purchasing decisions is 65.3%. While the remaining 34.7% is influenced by other factors outside of brand image and product quality variables.


Study design: A case report and literature review. Summary of background data: Hemangiomas are frequently considered as hamartomatous congenital vascular malformations. Hemangiomas of the spine are usually lesions of the vertebral bodies, but they can occur at other locations, such as the intramedullary or epidural space. Purely epidural hemangiomas are rare and most of them are of cavernous type. Materials and methods: This is a case report of a 70-year-old male with a D6, D7 dumbbell-shaped capillary hemangioma with extraforaminal extension on the left side. Patient underwent D6-8 laminectomy and en bloc resection of the lesion. Results: Microscopic evaluation showed a fibrofatty tissue with a proliferation of small-sized vascular structures with areas of myxoid appearance. To date, there have been nine epidural capillary hemangiomas of the thoracic and lumbar spine reported in the literature. Conclusion: It is important to consider hemangiomas in the differential diagnosis of epidural lesions with dumbbell-shaped appearance in the magnetic resonance imaging study, especially at the thoracic level. These benign lesions usually present as a progressive myelopathy, so early treatment may prevent permanent neurological deficits and result in complete cure.


N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands are intensively used in transition-metal-catalyzed reactions. Their bond-activation reactions, however, are much less understood. We now report unprecedented de...


ABSTRACT The hazard function describes the instantaneous rate of failure at a time t, given that the individual survives up to t. In applications, the effect of covariates produce changes in the hazard function. When dealing with survival analysis, it is of interest to identify where a change point in time has occurred. In this work, covariates and censored variables are considered in order to estimate a change-point in the Weibull regression hazard model, which is a generalization of the exponential model. For this more general model, it is possible to obtain maximum likelihood estimators for the change-point and for the parameters involved. A Monte Carlo simulation study shows that indeed, it is possible to implement this model in practice. An application with clinical trial data coming from a treatment of chronic granulomatous disease is also included.


In this chapter, examines an aspect of the city completely ignored in literary texts and usually neglected in contemporary studies, that is, the role of the city as an institution of authority.


The current research situation on the vibration of Chinese railway transportation locomotive is described in this paper. There are three kinds of locomotive described in this paper which are diesel locomotive,DC electric locomotive and AC electric locomotive,respectively. Also,the current research situation of them is reviewed from five aspects which are component,transmission,dynamical model,traction control system and online experiment,respectively. Furthermore,the following research trend in vibration of AC electric locomotive is proposed according to the development policy and trend in our country. The work in this paper is helpful to provide research direction in reducing vibration and failure rate.


Objective:To establish a method for rapid detection of Cr elements in gelatin by X-ray fluorescence elemental technology.Methods: X-ray fluorescence elemental analyzer was adopted with following settings,test time: 180 s,standard deviation: 1σ,mode: plastic mode.The sample weights were around 5 g,and the thickness correction was turned off.Results: Under the above mentioned conditions,the detection limit was 10 mg·kg-1,Compared with AAS,the results was coincidence.Conclusions: The method is simple and rapid,which can be used for the rapid detection of Cr elements in gelatin.


In this work we determine the optimal epsilon value on peatland on DBSCAN Algorithm to clustering data on peatland hotspots in sumatera. DBSCAN is a base algorithm for density based data clustering which contain noise and outliers. We found using this method that the area which has the highest density of hotspots in Sumatra in 2013 peatland is contained in cluster 1 of Riau Province that is equal to 2112 hotspots.


A set of equations linking the time-spread of a laser altimeter echo-profile, commonly known as the pulse-width, to the variance of topography within the pulse-footprint are tested by comparing pulse-width data to surface characteristics measured from high-resolution Digital Terrain Models. The research is motivated by the advent of high-resolution Digital Terrain Models over Mars, which enables the calibration of Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter pulse-widths, and evolves to include lunar and terrestrial data in an attempt to validate the theory and develop new methods. Analysis of Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter pulse-width data reveals mixed results. Over homo- geneously rough terrain, at kilometre-scales, these pulse-widths show some correlation to surface characteristics, once poor pulse data has been removed. However, where roughness is highly vari- able over short baselines, little correlation is observed, which is attributed to a mix of georeferencing errors and instrument methods. In a similar study, Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter pulse-widths are shown to produce only poor correlations with surface characteristics over local study sites. Instead, the observed correlations differ from orbit to orbit, with the majority of those used appearing to contain poor quality pulse- width data - attributed to the instrument methods - and only 14 % revealing correlations similar, or better, than observed over Mars. Finally, an examination of the relationship between footprint-scale surface characteristics and pulse-width estimates derived from smoothed Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite echo-profiles enables different pulse-width thresholds to be tested. Here, pulse-widths measured using a 10 % Peak Energy threshold are shown to produce greater correlations than those observed using the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter and the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter data, which use a Full Width Half Maximum threshold. To conclude, pulse-widths can show strong correlations to surface roughness and slope within the pulse-footprint. However the assumption that detrended surface roughness can be derived by applying a slope contribution effect is shown to be unfounded. The principal recommendation is for future instruments to use a full echo-profile in estimating pulse-width values at a 10 % Peak Energy threshold, providing both efficient noise removal and a better correlated dataset.


Background: The C1q complement/TNF-related protein (CTRP) superfamily is a newly diagnosed adipokine with anti-inflammatory, insulin sensitivity, and glucose lowering effects. This study aimed to assess the plasma circulating levels of CTRP12 in type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients and healthy subjects.
Methods: In this case-control study, plasma concentration of CTRP12 was measured by ELISA in 60 subjects (30 T2D and 30 healthy participants). The systolic blood pressure (SBP), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), body mass index (BMI), fasting blood sugar (FBS), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), insulin, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were measured.
Results:In contrast to the SBP, WC, WHR, BMI, FBS, HbA1c, insulin, and HOMA-IR, the levels of CTRP12 were significantly lower in T2D patients. There was significant negative correlation between CTRP12, FBS, and HbA1c. The regression analysis showed that when subjected to stepwise multiple regression analysis, HbA1c (β = -2.21; P < 0.004) was predictive of plasma levels of CTRP12.
Conclusion: Finally, HbA1c was predictive of CTRP12 levels. It seems that CTRP12 could be considered as a novel biomarker for the prediction of T2D.


ABSTRACT In this work, chopped basalt fibres were used as reinforcing and toughening phase to enhance the mechanical properties of calcium phosphate bone cement. The microstructure, mechanical properties, and cytocompatibility of the composite cement were evaluated thoroughly. The results revealed that the addition of fibres did not significantly change the cement setting process but markedly improved the toughness. The fracture work of cement with 1 wt% fibres was 10 times higher than that of the pure control due to pulling out of the fibres. Moreover, the flexural strength of composite cement was also promoted with a certain amount of fibres. Additionally, the composite cementscement showed no cytotoxicity to MG63 cells, and the osteoblasts could adhere and proliferate well on the cements. Therefore, basalt fibres could be potentially used as a reinforcing phase for calcium phosphate bone cement.


The concept of geosynchronous processing for satellite-aided search and rescue has existed since the inception of what is now the COSPAS/SARSAT program. As an augmentation of the operational low-Earth orbiting COSPAS/SARSAT system, geosynchronous processing of 406 MHz beacons promises increased probability of survival and reduced economic losses. This can be achieved since the variable of low-Earth orbiting satellite pass times is removed from the alert time-a geosynchronous satellite views nearly a hemisphere constantly. Geosynchronous processing therefore provides near-instantaneous (within 15 minutes) alerts, giving search-and-rescue forces valuable time to plan and implement a successful save operation. Although geosynchronous processing does not provide location estimates via Doppler processing (as in the COSPAS/SARSAT system), the capability for encoding of vessel location in some beacon protocols will allow not only near-instantaneous alerting but location as well. To investigate the feasibility of this approach, NASA initiated the geosynchronous experiment to develop a ground station and signal processor. This experiment has been pursued in cooperation with the CNES and DOC, each of whom are also developing ground stations and signal processors. >


Background:  There has been much emphasis in recent years on attracting students from lower socio‐economic backgrounds to medical school, but they are still vastly under‐represented.


The Planika dairy was established in 1957. The current Limited Liability Company (LLC) structure was defined in 1995 by the Agricultural Cooperative Tolmin. The company's raw material (milk) comes from 120 to 130 (varying number from year to year) local mountain farms in northern and north-western Slovenia. Most of the farms are located in the Tolmin, Kobarid, and Idrija regions. Currently, the company is selling 19 different milk products under the 'Planika' brand. The high-quality products are characterised by freshness and taste, as well as the avoidance of gene technology and chemicals or synthetic pesticides in its production. The dairy started selling organic milk in April 2013. Since then, they have been subject to the organic quality-control system. The products connect the brand Planika with a 'story' about the traditional ways of processing milk and promoting the alpine pastures. The company developed the Planika Dairy Museum in the diary building. The case was considered for investigation under the HealthyGrowth project because of its specific structure as a food chain, combining the Agricultural Cooperative Tolmin and the Planika dairy, and because of how important preserving both the alpine pastures and traditional farming practices is to these entities.


Research in resource allocation is a need arising from State interference by the allocative function, which seeks to promote resource adjustments with the provision of certain goods and public services (Musgrave, 1974; Musgrave & Musgrave, 1980, Longo & Troster, 1993). In this perspective, a research question arises: how has international literature on the field of Business, Management and Accounting been approaching resource allocation in public health?

 Systematic Literature Review through the Scopus Database. keywords: "public health" and "resource allocation". The types were Article and Review. Language: English, since it is internationally accepted in scientific articles, and Portuguese, in order to include Brazilian research. Search period: from 1976 to 2017. Areas: "Business, Management and Accounting". The performed analysis technique was qualitative meta-synthesis and by using the MAXQDA Analytics Pro 18 software.

 The first identified study was in 2000 Sweden, pulished in Health Care Management Science. The most recente in 2017 Brazil, published in Evaluation and Program Planning. Among the countries that presented the largest production, the United States is highlighted (4). Dispersion of publication among reviews was noted. Generally, publications are grouped in four perspectives: adequate allocation, resource management and effective cost; resource allocation for treating specific diseases; resource allocation for decision-making; and health evaluation and the need of informing resource allocation. The prevailing lack of theoretical grounding must be highlighted.

 Can be inferred that this production is recent, that it does not possess a specific focus or outline, as there is a variety of approaches, most of them being geared towards healthcare and disease control, such as cancer, diabetes, overweight, rabies, malaria and infectious diseases.

 International literature indicates that the theme is yet unexplored in the field of Business, Management e Accounting and most studies are geared towards healthcare and disease control. Allocation in the public-health policy as a function of the role of the State in providing the necessary budget for financial availability and not cost-wise, suggests lack of research.


Aiming at the problem of wireless sensor networks limited nodes energy and unstable network topology structure,a method of searching wireless sensor network optimal path was put forward based on annealing genetic algorithm,which adopts variable-length encoding mode,considers the inter-node communication consumption,communication distance and the shortest path and other factors,and selects the appropriate annealing genetic operators,through the optimal selection of stocks,the calculation of the fitness function,a reasonable cross-effective variation and cooling annealing operation,to achieve the objectives of the optimal path of the wireless sensor network.Simulation results showed that the algorithm can effectively balance node energy consumption,prolong the network survival cycle.


OBJECT
The goal of this study was to determine whether in meningiomas cytogenetic findings are suitable as a predictive parameter relevant to prognosis.

METHODS
Between 1992 and 1998 at the Department of Neurosurgery, Saarland University, 198 patients underwent surgery to resect meningiomas. The meningiomas were investigated cytogenetically and the patients were followed up for a mean period of 33 months. On the basis of the cytogenetic findings, the meningiomas were subdivided into four groups: Group 0 meningiomas displayed a normal diploid chromosome set; Group 1 tumors were found to have monosomy 22 as the sole cytogenetic aberration; Group 2 tumors were markedly hypodiploid meningiomas with loss of additional autosomes in addition to monosomy 22; and Group 3 meningiomas had deletions of the short arm of a chromosome 1, as well as additional chromosomal aberrations including loss of one chromosome 22. One hundred ninety-eight patients in whom tumor resections were determined to be Simpson Grade I or II could be followed up after complete tumor extirpation. In 20 patients, one or several recurrences were documented during the period of observation. The tumors were classified according to their different, but mostly uniform chromosomal aberrations. Recurrences were found in six (4.3%) of 139 tumors in Groups 0 and 1 and in two (10.5%) of 19 tumors in Group 2; the highest rate of recurrence was found in 12 (30%) of 40 tumors in Group 3. This supports the notion that the deletion of the short arm of one chromosome 1 is an important prognostic factor in meningiomas. The results of this study document a significant correlation between histological grade (p < 0.0001), location (p < 0.0001), and recurrences of meningiomas (p < 0.0001) (significance determined using chi-square tests).

CONCLUSIONS
The cytogenetic classification of meningiomas provides a significant contribution to the predictability of tumor recurrence and is, therefore, a valuable criterion for the neurosurgeon's postoperative management protocol.


This thesis is devoted to the development of microfluidic processes for the controlled self-assembly of quantum dot compound micelles (QDCMs). Microfluidic processes are developed to combine the constituents (cadmium sulfide quantum dots, and block copolymer stabilizing chains) with water to facilitate self-assembly of the composite particles, QDCMs, through initial phase separation, subsequent growth, and eventual quenching. Two genres of microfluidic reactors are developed. The on-chip evolution of QDCM formation and growth is resolved through fluorescence microscopy; QDCM size distributions and associated statistics are determined through off-chip analysis by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In a flow-focusing reactor, control over the mean size of QDCMs is demonstrated through both the water concentration and the growth time (or reactor channel length). Controlled QDCM self-assembly is also demonstrated in a multiphase gas-liquid reactor. In contrast to the flow-focusing reactor, increasing the multiphase reactor channel length results in a decrease in QDCM size and polydispersity.


To understand the human action in still images, it is effective to detect the human region. However, since appearance of human is much different due to pose and occlusion, the detection is quite difficult. Here we propose robust human detection method to pose and occlusion using Bag-of-Words (BoW). In general, the location information is helpful in classification. When the human has occlusion and pose changes, the location information makes the feature vector inconsistent. By using BoW which ignores the location information, we can obtain the consistent feature representation even if the local feature appears in different location by pose changes. Furthermore, when the part of human is occluded, BoW can also construct the feature representation from only visible part. Thus, BoW makes feature representation robust to partial occlusion and pose changes. By the comparison with deformable part model (DPM), the effectiveness of our method is demonstrated.


FIELD: biotechnologies. SUBSTANCE: vector is proposed for controlled expression of protein, having a function of interleukine-12, and also the method to produce modified in vitro dendrite cells and appropriate cells, which express interleukin-12 in a controlled manner, under control of the system of gen expression modulation in presence of activating ligand. EFFECT: invention may be used in therapy for treatment of animals, including a human being.


Introduction Mentoring in emergency medicine (EM) has not been well studied despite a larger body of literature that has described the value of mentoring in academic medicine on career satisfaction and scholarly output. Over half of all EM faculty nationally are of junior faculty ranks. The aim of this study was to identify the frequency and types of mentoring in EM, how types of mentoring in EM differ by gender, and how mentoring correlates with workplace satisfaction for EM faculty. Methods Using descriptive statistics and chi-squared analysis, we analyzed data from a cohort of medical schools participating in the Association of American Medical Colleges StandPoint Faculty Engagement Survey. Results A total of 514 EM faculty from 26 medical schools replied to the survey. Nearly 80% of EM faculty reported receiving some sort of mentoring; 43.4% reported receiving formal mentoring; 35.4% reported receiving only informal mentoring; and 21.2% received no mentoring at all. Women EM faculty received formal mentoring at lower rates than men (36.2% vs 47.5%) even though they were more likely to report that formal mentoring is important to them. Workplace satisfaction was highest for faculty receiving formal mentoring; informally or formally mentored faculty reported higher workplace satisfaction than faculty who are not mentored at all. Unmentored faculty are less likely to stay at their medical school than those formally mentored (69.8 % vs 80.4%). Conclusion Institutions and department chairs should focus on mentoring EM faculty, particularly women, to increase engagement and reduce attrition.


FIELD: pumps. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a method pump flow deviation in pumping system. Working vehicle comprises a container for fluid medium; the first and the second pump with constant flow rate, wherein the flows of both pumps are parallel to each other; actuator; distributing valve with an open centre arranged by the fluid medium between the group of pumps and actuator; electro-hydraulic diverter connected by fluid with the point between the second pump and distribution valve and reservoir for fluid medium; working vehicle speed transducer. Operator input device provides manual selection of adjustment of deviation of position of the vehicle seat. Controller receives speed signal or deviation adjustment. It determines whether speed parameter satisfies preset criterion or determines the state of the selected deviation adjustment. Then it generates commands for deflector to open if speed parameter satisfies preset criterion or if selected deviation adjustment is in the state of flow deflection. EFFECT: higher operating efficiency. 19 cl, 6 dwg


The following books are reviewed. Schools of Hope: a new agenda for school improvement T. WRIGLEY, 2003 Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books 200 pp., ISBN 1 85856 302 X, £15.99 Heading towards Excellence: a toolkit for school management J.R. ROWLING, 2004 (reprint) Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books 84 pp., ISBN 1 85856 257 0, £15.99 Toolkit for Tackling Racism in Schools S. DADZIE, 2000 Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books 102 pp., ISBN 1 85856 188 4 The Human Rights Handbook: a global perspective for education L. GEARON, 2003 Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books 181 pp., ISBN 1 85856 267 8, £17.99 Preventing Bullying in Schools: a guide for teachers and other professionals C. LEE, 2004 London: Paul Chapman 102 pp., ISBN 07619 4472 9, £16.99 Education for Democratic Citizenship: issues of theory and practice ANDREW LOCKER, BERNARD CRICK & JOHN ANNETTE (Eds), 2003 Aldershot: Ashgate 178 pp., ISBN 0 7546 3959 2, £ 35.00 hardback Learning and Teaching in Secondary Schools Achieving QTS series, 2nd edn VIV ELLIS (Ed.), 2004 Exeter: Learning Matters 179 pp., ISBN 1 844450 04X (pb), £15


The principal purposes of the prototype executive software are to provide a system independent interface to the underlying host system and to allow for extension to full IPAD executive services as described in the preliminary design. A basic set of functions is included in the prototype to meet the requirements of the other components of the prototype, principally IPID, the IPAD data management system. The functions were chosen so that they would be readily built on any of the proposed host systems with minimal redesign and execution overhead. The functions fall into five categories: access to host data, access to data files, access to communication services, data transformation, and instrumentation for performance measurement. Communication services provide message delivery between processes in a network of heterogeneous computers. Data transformation services and communication services ensure data type validity and data integrity of messages exchanged between processes.


The vast growing market for borehole heat exchangers (BHE's) requires great efforts of quality assurance in design and construction. Within a research project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology a consortium consisting of the University of Applied Sciences at Biberach (UASB), the University of Karlsruhe (EIFER, GI) and the Bavarian Centre of Applied Energy Research (ZAE Bayern) is investigating subjects related to quality management of BHE's. For proper design of BHE's reliable data on thermal properties of the underground determined by the Thermal Response Test are essential. New measurement techniques and improved evaluation models are developed. The design tool GEOSYST developed by (UASB) which considers the whole system, the building as well as the ground source in one step will be enhanced further and validated. Borehole grouting is an important issue from the environmental point of view. The sealing properties of different grouting materials are investigated under realistic operating conditions.


Focuses on the Support Has A Rewarding Effect (SHARE) initiative operated with Welfare-to-Work grant support in the state of Washington. SHARE offered three options to noncustodial parents whose minor dependent children were receiving TANF and who were behind on their support obligations: (1) start paying support; (2) enroll in a Welfare-to-Work program; or (3) face possible incarceration. The study found that noncustodial parents are a hard-to-reach population; slightly fewer than half of those referred ever learned about SHARE. However, referred parents worked more, earned more, and paid more child support after referral to SHARE than before. The researchers observed improvements in outcomes both for noncustodial parents who participated in SHARE and for those who did not. They conclude that SHARE probably contributed to observed increases in employment, earnings, and child support payments.


The article examines the essence of tourism and sports as independent socio-economic systems and as subsystems of a higher order - the economy of the state, and on this basis, the authors' concept of institutional approaches to the formation of the system structures of organizational and economic models of their development is proposed, taking into account the sectoral clustering in the creation of tourist sports and entertainment destinations and recreational complexes.


It is an important subject to rewrite the Chinese musical history. As the development is the timeless rule of nature, the new music historical materials being explored, new musical idea being burgeoned, new music pieces being composed, therefore, we should remember to rewrite the musical history forever in the time of multimode nowadays


D-Amino acid oxidase from Rhodosporidium toruloides was expressed by E. coli and immobilized onto glutaraldehyde activated magnetic nanoparticles. Approximately four enzyme molecules were attached to one magnetic nanoparticle when the weight ratio of the enzyme to the support was 0.12. After immobilization, the Tm increased from 45oC of the free form to 55oC, indicating the thermal stability was improved. At the presence of 20 mM hydrogen peroxide, the immobilized form retained 93% of its activity after 300 min while the free form was completely inactivated after 210 min, suggesting the oxidative stability against hydrogen peroxide was also improved. Although the stability was enhanced through immobilization, the catalytic efficiency (kcat/KM) was decreased by 3.5 fold. The immobilized enzyme could be recycled, 15% of the initial activity was retained after 10 reaction cycles.


Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are the most common commercial products at extremely low price in the market. However, due to the inherent drawbacks of CVD surroundings at temperature below ∼1000∘C, CVD-grown nanotubes usually have very disordered structure, resulting in most of their properties being much below expectations. Herein, we present a simple and energy-efficient method for improving rapidly the structure of CVD-grown MWCNTs via a drastic thermite reaction process. Direct observations from scan electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) images, decrease of ID∕IG ratios in Raman spectra, increase of the starting oxidation temperatures observed in thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), decrease of the volumetric electrical resistivity and decrease of the turn-on electric fields from 3.64 to 2.88V/μm in field emission measurements suggest that the graphitization of MWCNTs can be effectively enhanced and the structure of nanotubes becomes more ordered after the drastic thermite reaction process.


We analyze the ellipticity of the standard kldrp Wurtzite model for the symmetrized and the Burt-Foreman operator ordering. We find that the symmetrized Hamiltonian is unstable, leads to different results and can cause spurious solutions. We show that the operator ordering in Wurtzite must be completely asymmetric to be stable. The asymmetric operator ordering is elliptic and therefore no spurious solutions are obtained.


Based on a notion of relatively maximal (m)-relaxed monotonicity, the approximation solvability of a general class of inclusion problems is discussed, while generalizing Rockafellar's theorem (1976) on linear convergence using the proximal point algorithm in a real Hilbert space setting. Convergence analysis, based on this new model, is simpler and compact than that of the celebrated technique of Rockafellar in which the Lipschitz continuity at 0 of the inverse of the set-valued mapping is applied. Furthermore, it can be used to generalize the Yosida approximation, which, in turn, can be applied to first-order evolution equations as well as evolution inclusions.


A new organic compound N,N,N′,N′-tetra(2-nitrilethyl)ethylenediamine was synthesized by the nucleophilic additive reaction of ethylenediamine and acrylonitrile. Its structure and thermal properties were characterized by IR spectrum, 1 H NMR, elemental analysis, ES-MS and TGA. Results show that the obtained compound is the titled compound whose gravity losing area is 162 28-400 ℃, and it is stable under 300 ℃.


To handle the control difficulties caused by high-order dynamics, a control structure based on fractional order [proportional integral] (PI) controller and fractional order Smith-like predictor for a class of high order systems in the type of K/(Ts+1)n is proposed in this paper. The analysis of the tracking and disturbance rejection is illustrated based on the terminal value theorem and shows that the proposed control structure can ensure that the closed-loop system converges to the set point without static error and the closed-loop system recovers to its original state when the input disturbance occurs. Then, simulations about the influence on the control performance and control signal with different are carried out based on multi-objective genetic algorithm (MO-GA). The results show that the control performance can be improved and the energy of the control signal can be reduced simultaneously when the order is chosen no more than one. This can verify that the fractional order Smith-like predictor with has an advantage over that of the integral order Smith-like predictor.


ABSTRACT For several years, Victor McKusick has published annually a scholarly summary of medical genetics in the Journal of Chronic Diseases. Now he has put 3 of these summaries together in book form. Not only has the author achieved distinction in other fields of medical investigation such as spectrophonocardiography, but, employing his inquisitive mind and critical nature, he has availed himself of the splendid opportunities for collecting large masses of material, thus adding appreciably to our understanding of connective tissue diseases. Here he has summarized recent contributions to the field of medical genetics. Because this field is growing so rapidly, its current state cannot be put into a textbook fast enough—by the time such a text were written and printed, it would be out of date; a scholarly, critically annotated bibliography with much new information has to serve instead. Medical Genetics 1958-1960 is an admirable source book and a necessary reference


Objectives of the study were (1) To determine insomnia rating scale after normal training (not very high intensity or volume) for duration of one month till the competition of female judo players' age ranging from 17 to 23 years (2). To find out the effect of yogic training program on insomnia rating scale just two or three days before the competition of female judo players' age ranging from 17 to 23 years. The study was delimited to sixty female judo players' age ranging from 17 to 23 years. Sleep quality index will be studied using Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale Hindi translation/adaptation i.e. PIRS-Hindi. female judo players were randomly selected (N=60) equally divided into experimental group and control group. The corresponding experimental and control group were homogeneous/matched groups in regard to age and sex. The experimental groups were treated with yogic training programme for 30 to 45 minutes progressively, for six days per week, for six weeks, whereas the control groups were not given any treatment. The selected variables were distress score (DS), sleep parameter (SP), quality of life (QL) and total score (TOT). Conclusions:


A study was conducted to analyse an emerging peri-urban camel production system in Isiolo County (northern Kenya), using the traditional pastoral camel production system as reference. Data was obtained from camel keepers through cross-sectional surveys in both systems, complimented by a focus group discussion with camel producers and camel milk. The results indicate that periurban camel production in Isiolo begun early 1990s and evolved to the present market-oriented production system. The gender of the majority of camel keepers in systems were males, however, there were more male camel owners in the pastoral system. Most camel owners in both systems had no formal/secular education (63.3 and 85.7 % for peri-urban and pastoral, respectively). Camels ranked as the most important livelihood source in both systems followed by sheep and goats. Milk for sale was more ( P<0.01) important amongst camel keepers in peri-urban than in the pastoral system, whereas sale of progeny, transportation and socio-cultural roles were ranked important (P<0.01, P<0.001 and P<0.01, respectively) in the pastoral system. The majority (60%) of camel keepers within the peri-urban production system built their herds through purchase of foundation stock, whereas those (81.4%) in the pastoral system built theirs mainly through inheritance. The camel herd structures in the two systems were similar, except breeding males were higher ( P<0.05) in the pastoral systems. The major constraints facing camel producers in both systems were camel diseases, inadequate feed resources and milk spoilage. The significance of these findings in the two systems is discussed. It is concluded that camel production in peri-urban areas near towns like Isiolo is gaining significance as an economic activity due to commercialization of camel milk.


Fertilizer being the major determinant of yield has gained much attention in research since long time. Though the research has achieved high productivity still the nutrient use efficiency is surprisingly low. Subhramanian et al., (2015) reported that the nutrient use efficiency of N, P and K stand still at 30-35%, 18-20% and 35-49 % respectively. Nanotechnology is a new emerging and fascinating field of science that permits advanced research and nanotechnological discoveries which could open up novel applications in the field of biotechnology and agriculture (Siddiqui et al., 2015). Chinnamuthu and Boopathi (2009) stated that nanotechnology is a powerful technology having the ability of creating massive changes in food and agriculture. Basic concept of nanotechnology is that a substance can be manipulated at an atomic level. It is like working with the smallest possible particles. Today, nanotechnology is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field of science that combines engineering with physics, chemistry and biology and removes the traditional boundaries between them (Ray et al., 2009).Development of various technologies are facilitated and accelerated by nanotechnology and enables a greater degree of integration and coverage across the various International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 08 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com


The aim of the work was to study the effect of low-intensity laser radiation on the cytokine system, vascular endothelial function in patients with chronic hepatitis. All patients were divided into three groups: in the I th (control) group (30 people) only traditional drug therapy was used for treatment, patients of the II th group (45 people) along with drug therapy received intravenous laser therapy and the III group of patients (45 people) received a course of cutaneous laser therapy. The results of our study indicate that drug therapy in patients with CG is not accompanied by a significant improvement in the plasma levels of NOx, as well as Pro-inflammatory cytokines, and the inclusion of laser therapy in the complex of therapeutic measures contributes to a significant improvement in the plasma levels of NOx, eliminating the imbalance of cytokine regulation. Various methods of laser therapy improve the NOproducing function of the endothelium, improve the functional state of the vascular endothelium, have an immunomodulatory effect. НАУЧНЫЕ ВЕДОМОСТИ | ■; | Серия: Медицина. Фармация. 2019. Том 42, No 1 5 6 НАУЧНЫЕ ВЕДОМОСТИ у Серия: Медицина. Фармация. 2019. Том 42, No 1 Ключевые слова: дисфункция эндотелия, оксид азота, цитокины, хронический гепатит, низкоинтенсивная лазерная терапия.


Iron-based perovskite-type compounds modified by Ru were prepared through sol-gel process to study its catalytic activity of NO_x direct decomposition at low temperature and evaluate the conversion of NO under the experimental conditions. The catalytic activity of La_ 0.9Ce_ 0.1Fe_ 0.8-nCo_ 0.2Ru_nO_3 (n=0.01,0.03,0.05,0.07,0.09)series for the NO, NO-CO two components, CO-HC-NO three components were also analyzed. The catalytic investigation evidenced that the presence of Ru is necessary for making highly activity in decomposition of nitric oxide even at low temperature(400 ℃)and La_ 0.9Ce_ 0.9Fe_ 0.75Co_ 0.2Ru_ 0.05O_3 (n=0.05) has better activity in all the samples, the conversion of it is 58.5%. With the reducing gas(CO,C_3H_6)added into the gas, the catalyst displayed very high activity in decomposition of NO and the conversion of it is 80% and 92.5% separately.


With γ-Al2O3 as carrier and Co,Mo,Ag as main active components,the loaded catalyst CoMoAg/γ-Al2O2 was prepared by step-by-step impregnation method,and its structure was characterized by XRD.With gasoline added with thiophene as simulated gasoline,the desulfurization effects of catalyst CoMoAg/γ-Al2O3 under different conditions were investigated.The result indicated that the catalyst showed best desulfurization performance on simulated gasline under the conditions as follows: the mass ratio of γ-Al2O3∶Co∶Ag∶Mo was 1∶1∶2∶1,the reaction temperature was 164.5℃ and the reaction pressure was 1.0 MPa.


R&D activities in the software sector have a key role as they lead to sustainability of the sector and rapid development activities with shorter cycles. The importance of R&D activities in this sector requires an effective performance measurement system for companies to evaluate the performance of R&D activities. Hence, this study aims to establish a performance measurement system that is applicable to the software industry. The study consists of a sequential mixed method where first key performance indicator, drawn from preliminary interviews and then the data from 2012 to 2016 are collected and analysed. The results are interpreted by conducting in-depth interviews with performance management departments. This study uses various performance indicators for R&D oriented sectors combining them with the new KPIs that are specific to the software sector. The implemented method is used to rank the performance of a software company effectively. The study offers many performance-oriented interrelationships between financial, innovation, education, customer-oriented, and organisational factors. The study also offers interesting findings, related to the quality-versus-quantity measures indicating highly qualified employees lead to higher quality levels in research and patent applications rather than a higher number of outputs.


Ethnic quotas are often expected to induce distribution of material benefits to members of disadvantaged groups. Yet, the presence of an ethnic quota does not imply that political mobilization takes place along ethnic lines: Cross-cutting affiliations within multi-ethnic party organizations may lessen the tendency of politicians to target benefits to particular ethnic groups. In this article, we evaluate the impact of quotas for the presidencies of village councils in India, a subject of considerable recent research. Drawing on fine-grained information from surveys of voters, council members, presidents, and bureaucrats and using a natural experiment to isolate the effects of quotas in the states of Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Bihar, we find weak distributive effects of quotas for marginalized castes and tribes, but suggestive evidence of the importance of partisanship. We then use survey experiments to compare the influence of party and caste on voting preferences and expectations of benefit receipt. Our results suggest that especially when politicians have dynamic political incentives to allocate benefits along party lines, cross-cutting partisan ties can blunt the distributive impact of ethnic quotas.


Laboratory bioassays with Culicoides variipennis larvae from Borax Lake, CA, indicated an LC90 of 16.8 ppb for pyrethrins at 23 degrees C. A field test in a pond adjoining the lake reduced adult C. variipennis emergence greater than 99% for over 30 days after treatment at a rate of 131 ppb pyrethrins. Further small scale field tests indicated that C. variipennis could be controlled in the lake at a rate of 701 g/ha pyrethrins applied as a peripheral treatment. The first lake treatment resulted in a 99.3% decrease in the density of C. variipennis larvae along the shoreline. Four treatments resulted in a 98.5% decrease from non-treatment years in the number of adult cumulative insect-days during May and June.


Since the worldwide registration for the prevention and treatment of VTE and the prevention of ischemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, an increasing use with these anticoagulants has been reported.2 The great advantage of the NOACs is the simplicity of the treatment, where due to the stable therapeutic effect, no routine monitoring is required. Furthermore, the net clinical benefit in terms of efficacy and safety compared with vitamin K antagonists (VKA) was favorable in the large phase 3 trials in patients with VTE and atrial fibrillation, and was recently summarized in 2 meta-analyses.3,4 On the other hand, especially in patients with atrial fibrillation, gastrointestinal bleeding, the most common major bleeding complication, seems higher with NOAC treatment than with VKA.3 Insofar as there is no direct antidote available at present, physicians may be reluctant to prescribe NOACs for their patients. In addition, we know that patients in randomized controlled trials may be healthier and carry a lower bleeding risk than the patients seen in clinical practice.5 So, in order to better guide clinicians in their decision as to which anticoagulant they could prescribe for their patients, real life data are needed.

In the prospective Dresden Registry, over a period of 2 years, Beyer-Westendorf et al assessed the bleeding rate in 1776 patients who were treated with a therapeutic dose of rivaroxaban. A large dataset of patients such as this provides important clinical information on the safety of NOAC treatment, the severity and outcome of the bleeding, as well as how the major bleeding is treated. Most of the events were treated conservatively, while in other cases intervention (endoscopy) or surgery was necessary to stop the bleeding. In 9% (6 patients) prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) was administered, next to fresh frozen plasma in most cases. Notably, the physicians most often administered a dose of 2000 IU of PCC, which corresponds to approximately 25 IU/kg. This is less than the dose used in the healthy volunteer study with rivaroxaban, where 50 IU/kg was given.6 Nevertheless, in 5 patients the bleeding stopped and 1 patient died of intracerebral bleeding. None of these patients developed arterial or venous thrombosis as a side effect of PCC treatment. Although the number of patients treated with PCC in the study was small, it provided important information, since data on prohemostatic treatment of NOAC-related bleeding are scarce, and clinical guidelines give no clear recommendation on what type of prohemostatic agent should be administered in the absence of evidence.7 Recently, a clinical phase 3 study assessing the direct reversal of dabigatran with the antibody idarucizumab in patients with severe bleeding or emergency surgery has just started recruitment (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02104947). Also, a phase 2 study with the antibody PRT064445 against direct/indirect factor Xa inhibitors in healthy volunteers has been completed (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT1758432), and a phase 3 study is being planned. In the meantime, in the absence of a direct antidote for NOACs, it will be important for all hospitals where patients are treated with NOACs to have a local protocol for the treatment of NOAC-related bleeding, where a step-up algorithm for a transfusion strategy and prohemostatic treatment is documented. Hopefully, this will also lead to more outcome data on the reversal of NOACs, such as in the current study, which is a great example of how local initiatives can lead to unique information.


This study incorporates over 40 oral histories of Sicilian emigrants to North Italy, Germany, South Africa, and America, collected upon their return in 1988 to their hometown of Trappeto, a village of about 3000 inhabitants in Palermo Province. The documents are analyzed as subjective/objective, or inter-subjective sources for understanding of a people's emigration. The multi-disciplinary approach includes anthropological, folkloric, poetico-literary, and historical and sociological aspects. It reveals a still-vital Sicilian culture. As contribution to the work of conservation, the Trappetese oral histories are transcribed verbatim, translated faithfully, and printed in the final chapter.


At present, the sensitivity of society towards emissions in commercial maritime ports is increasing, which is reflected in the large number of studies on the control of emissions in them, perhaps because the most important commercial ports are located in cities with high population density. The objective of this work was to determine the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the activity of the Spanish tugboat fleet, studying the tugboat fleet of the eleven autonomous coastal Spanish communities from 2004 to 2017 and their impact on the carbon footprint of the country's shipping sector. To do this, the methodology used by the International Maritime Organization for merchant ships to estimate the emissions of a tugboat fleet is formalized, and Gini concentration index methodology was applied to the concentration of emissions from this fleet. This has made it possible to obtain results on the distribution of the concentration of emissions from Spanish ports by region, age, and size, as well as to establish the profile of the tugboat port that pollutes the most and its carbon footprint. One of the results is that in the period analyzed, the concentration of emissions from the Spanish tugboat fleet increased if we looked at its distribution by region, and decreased if we look at its distribution by age and size. This is because tugboat activity was very different by region; however, their characteristics related to age and size evolved in a more homogeneous way.


This paper presents a novel finite element formulation for 0–3 polarized PbLaZrTi (PLZT) plates and a comparison of the predicted and measured bending displacements. The coupled multi-physics fields and Hamilton's principle for piezoelectric (PZT) materials are first extended to PLZT ceramics by including the anomalous photovoltaic and photo-thermal effects. The photo-induced non-uniform electrical field and mechanical strains across the thickness are modeled in the present finite element formulation for 0–3 polarized PLZT plates, and the associated actuator and sensor equations are derived. The transverse displacements of a 0–3 polarized PLZT plate are predicted using the present finite element formulation and compared with the measured data given in part I. A reasonably good correlation is noted for the transverse displacements at the ten measurement points.


A micro-flow reaction system was developed in which liquid–liquid interface was created based on the tube radial distribution of ternary mixed carrier solvents. The system was constructed from double capillary tubes having different inner diameters (100 and 250 μm i.d.). The smaller tube was inserted into the larger one through a T-type joint. The reaction of a protein with a fluorescence derivatizing reagent was adopted as a model. A water–acetonitrile mixture (3:1 volume ratio) including bovine serum albumin (hydrophilic) was delivered into the large tube from the inside through the small tube and an acetonitrile–ethyl acetate mixture (7:4 volume ratio) containing fluorescamine (hydrophobic) as a derivatizing reagent was delivered from the outside through the joint. Solutions were mixed through the double capillary tubes to promote ternary mixed carrier solvents (water–acetonitrile–ethyl acetate; 1:2:1 volume ratio). The liquid–liquid interface was created based on the tube radial distribution of ternary solvents in the larger tube. The derivatization reaction was performed in the larger, or reaction, tube in the micro-flow system. The fluorescence intensity of the fluorescamine-derivatized bovine serum albumin obtained by the system, which specifically included the kinetic liquid–liquid interface in the tube, was greater than that obtained through a batch reaction using a homogeneous solution of water–acetonitrile (1:2 volume ratio).


This study presents early results from the development of a geo-referenced local biophysical model (referred to as 'Forest_SVAT_Bg'). This is 1D coupled model of canopy flows with dynamic response of leaf temperature along with the vegetation dynamics on a short-term time scale (10 days). The radiative surface properties and their seasonal impacts on local microenvironment are evaluated. The main surface fluxes and energy balance are parameterised using semi-empirical dependencies. The water and energy fluxes to/from the canopy are quantified. The biosphere feedbacks partitioning at extreme weather of 'relatively dry'/'wet' conditions are evaluated. Model derived soil moisture is validated by in situ measurements and a good model performance is confirmed. Simulations of surface fluxes at the root zone depth are presented. The model is driven using site-scale micrometeorological measurements (1974 1979) at a pure spruce forest stand (24°41 ́; 41°40 ́) in scare studied mountain region of the Balkans.


F. Mora, C.A. Scapim, A. Baharum, and A.T. Amaral-Junior. 2010. Generalized composite interval mapping offers improved efficiency in the analysis of loci influencing non-normal continuous traits. Cien. Inv. Agr. 37(3):83-89. In genetic studies, most Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) mapping methods presuppose that the continuous trait of interest follows a normal (Gaussian) distribution. However, many economically important traits of agricultural crops have a non-normal distribution. Composite interval mapping (CIM) has been successfully applied to the detection of QTL in animal and plant breeding. In this study we report a generalized CIM (GCIM) method that permits QTL analysis of non-normally distributed variables. GCIM was based on the classic Generalized Linear Model method. We applied the GCIM method to a F 2 population with co-dominant molecular markers and the existence of a QTL controlling a trait with Gamma distribution. Computer simulations indicated that the GCIM method has superior performance in its ability to map QTL, compared with CIM. QTL position differed by 5 cM and was located at different marker intervals. The Likelihood Ratio Test values ranged from 52 (GCIM) to 76 (CIM). Thus, wrongly assuming CIM may overestimate the effect of the QTL by about 47%. The usage of GCIM methodology can offer improved efficiency in the analysis of QTLs controlling continuous traits of non-Gaussian distribution.


We propose a novel algorithm to find highly frequented paths of motion trajectories obtained from video sequences. This is achieved by representing the motion trajectories in the scene as sequences of prototypes obtained by a combined vector quantization and growing neural gas algorithm. In contrast to existing methods, the proposed algorithm can be applied to data sets containing motion trajectories of varying length. The algorithm does not assume an a priori fixed number of prototypes. We demonstrate results on surveillance video sequences of cars driving on a highway and pedestrians walking in a major railway station


Abstract 3132 Introduction: In year 2008 version of WHO classification for myeloid malignancies, a category of AML with myelodysplasia-related changes (AML-MRC) was defined which included both de novo AML with dysplasia and AML secondary to MDS. It is characterized by poor chemosensitivity for which allogeneic transplantation (allo-SCT) has been a viable option to cure. Umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT) is a possible treatment strategy that can be performed for those who lack suitable donors due to rapid availability and less stringent HLA matching required. So far, there have been sparse reports available on UCBT for those with AML-MRC. This study was conducted to see the current update in our institute and to see whether the presence of induction chemotherapy before transplant is better for the outcome. Design and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients diagnosed as AML-MRC who underwent UCBT at our institute from Mar. 2002 to Mar. 2011 consecutively. Patients who lacked appropriate adult PB/BM donors underwent UCBT. Patients who had prior history of transplantation, were in poor performance status (ECOG PS >3), had active bacterial or fungal infections at the time of conditioning were excluded. Results: Eighty-one patients were included. 52 (64%) were males, and median age was 61 years (range, 17–72). 35 (43%) were de novo AML, and 46 (57%) were AML secondary to MDS. Median time from diagnosis to transplantation was 346 days (range, 42–7997). 39 (48%) did not receive induction chemotherapy before transplant. 76 (94%) were not in remission, 29 (36%) were in high, and 52 (64%) were in very high WPSS risk group, just before transplant. 54 (67%) received reduced-intensity conditionings. 65 received GVHD prophylaxis of tacrolimus-based, while 16 did cyclosporine alone. Median observation time for survivors was 646 days (range 32–2456). Median days of neutrophil recovery (> 500/ul) was 20 days (range, 11–45), and cumulative incidence of engraftment was 76.5 % up to day 50 post-transplant. Cumulative incidences of relapse and non-relapse mortality at 2 years post-transplant were 37.8 % and 33.3 %, respectively. Higher incidence of relapse was observed in those with prior history of MDS in univariate analysis (51.8 % vs. 21.2 % at 2 years post-transplant, P = 0.004), which was the only significant factor associated with higher relapse rate in multivariate analysis ( P = 0.020). More NRM was observed in those received transplant early period from 2002 to 2005 vs. those who did from 2006 to 2010 (45.1 % vs. 25.5 % at 2 years post-transplant, P = 0.001), and in those received GVHD prophylaxis using CsA alone vs. others (72.0 % vs. 24.8 % at 2 years post-transplant, P = 0.0002). In multivariate analysis, higher degree of HLA mismatch (2 antigens vs. less than 2) and GVHD prophylaxis using CsA alone were associated with higher incidence of NRM ( P = 0.024 and P = 0.00047, respectively). Overall survival (OS) was estimated as 42.1 % at 2 years post-transplant. Better OS was observed in those who received conditioning containing 12.8mg/kg of iv busulfan (60.8% vs. 32.4% at 2 years post-transplant, P = 0.0337), in those received tacrolimus-based GVHD prophylaxis vs CsA alone (47.9 % vs. 17.0 % at 2 years post-transplant, P = 0.0024), and in those received transplant in recent period from 2006 to 2010 vs. those who did from 2002 to 2005 (52.1 % vs. 26.1 % at 2 years post-transplant, P = 0.0248). In multivariate analysis, GVHD prophylaxis using CsA alone and poor WPSS risk category just before transplant were the factors significantly asssociated with poor OS ( P P = 0.001, respectively). There were no significant differences between presence or absence of prior induction chemotherapy in terms of cumulative incidence of neutrophil recovery (71.4 % vs. 82.1% up to day 50 post-transplant, P = 0.88), relapse (38.0 % vs. 36.1%, P = 0.94), NRM (30.7 % vs. 35.4 %, P = 0.87), and OS (47.7 % vs. 36.2%, P = 0.72) at 2 years post-transplant. Conclusions: These data indicate that CBT is a feasible and promising treatment approach for those with AML-MRC, including elderly patients. More intensive GVHD prophylaxis was beneficial in reducing NRM and improving OS for the population studied. Presence of prior induction chemotherapy before transplant was not associated with higher rate of engraftment or better OS, suggesting tumor reduction before pre-transplant conditioning may not be necessary for successful outcome in our transplant settings. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Human activities in the coastal zones of Malaysia for the last fifty years had impacted its coastline. Serious efforts had been planned and implemented to improve or stabilize these affected areas. One of the relevant agencies, the
Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), has carried out several coastal rehabilitation projects along the coast of Malaysia. In one of the projects, mangrove replanting was initiated to restore the depleting mangroves due to development projects and illegal harvesting activities. A detached breakwater was introduced to shelter a mangrove restoration area in Sungai Haji Dorani, on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Construction of the breakwater on this
muddy coast was successfully completed in July 2008. One of the main objectives of the breakwater was to facilitate sediment accretion behind the breakwater. The morphological changes in the vicinity of the breakwater have been monitored on a quarterly basis between July 2008 and December 2009. Numerical simulations with the 2DH model MIKE 21 have then been carried out. Field monitoring indicates that a significant volume of sediments was deposited
in the lee of the breakwater, which is in good agreement with the results of the numerical simulations.


Analogically situated experiences are innovative pedagogical methods that incorporate principles of analogically learning, situated learning, and experiential learning. The analogical situated experience involves immersing participants in a novel, simulated context specifically chosen and designed to produce an insightful learning about the participants' work context. I explain the theoretical rationale for the success of analogically situated experiences and argue that traits executives exhibit as experts in their field make analogically situated experiences particularly suited for executive education students.


Abstract A new diode laser-based spectrometer operating at wavelengths close to 1 μm has been constructed for transient absorption measurements in the gas phase. Using a dual beam detection system for noise cancellation, the minimum detectable absorption was found to be 1 × 10 −4 in 0.5 μsec. The sensitivity of the instrument is illustrated by the observation of previously undetected spectra of singlet methylene (CH 2 ) between 9780 and 10070 cm −1 . Rovibronic transitions involving two K a = 1 levels, nominally associated with v 2 (bent) = 1 and 2, in the upper, b 1 B 1 , state have been assigned. These levels are the lowest so far observed for methylene in this electronic state and their positions provide new information on the shape of the bending potential for the molecule at energies approaching that at which the two lowest singlet states ( a 1 A 1 and b 1 B 1 ) of the molecule become degenerate at the linear configuration.


This work was aimed (a) at geometrical and mechanical modelling of the human ankle complex, and (b) at designing total ankle replacements that would better reproduce the physiological function of the intact joint.  Passive flexion was first analysed in intact lower-leg preparations with both optical and roentgen stereophotogrammetry. The articular surfaces and fibres within the calcaneofibular and tibiocalcaneal ligaments prescribed the changing positions of the axis of rotation. Joint motion included rolling as well as sliding. A computer-based model including skeletal bones and ligaments elucidated the observed kinematics in the sagittal plane. The experimental evidence and the modelling predictions gave the basis for model-based designs of ankle replacements. A three-component, convex-tibia prosthesis was devised with articular surface shapes compatible with the geometry of the ligaments. It was demonstrated that in an intact ankle joint, the geometry of the articular surfaces is strictly related to that of the ligaments and that current prosthesis designs do not restore physiological patterns of ligament tension.  The overall investigation also demonstrates that a profound knowledge of the changing geometry of the passive joint structures throughout the range of passive flexion (mobility) is mandatory for a successful mechanical analysis of the response to external load (stability).


The study showed test results of Teriyaki sauce produced by apple concentrate instead of sugar in order to reduce the sugar content. We created four batches of soy sauce for testing. The Control batch was normal soy sauce. S1, S2, S3, and S4 were sauces made with different amounts of apple concentra...


This paper, on the basis of the new development of China's tertiary education after its accession to the WTO, interprets the implications of Confucius' idea on harmony_orientated education, illustrates the rationality of Confucius' educational values of "harmony and diversity", and expounds their enlightening effects on modern Chinese tertiary education.


'x is more beautiful than y' sounds a standard thing to say in Greek and Latin literature; but it raises intricate and interesting issues, not least from the standpoint of y. This chapter draws on symbolic logic to compare the relation between assessing superiority or inferiority in beauty and making choices in love in both Greek and Latin literature. The various dynamics, logics, and rhetorics of desire in the light of inferiority and superiority are subjected to close scrutiny, paving the way for a discussion that addresses not only the complex scenarios that unfold here (paying special attention to the various ways in which the amorous hierarchy is set in relation to other hierarchies) but also the intriguing fact that such questions of relative inferiority and superiority in erotic matters seem to pervade Greek literature more extensively and differently than Latin.


Splanchnic‐cerebral oxygenation ratio (SCOR), the ratio of splanchnic tissue oxygen (StO2s) to simultaneously measured cerebral tissue oxygen (StO2c), has been described as a surrogate to detect impaired splanchnic oxygenation associated with hypoperfusion status such as necrotizing enterocolitis. This concept is based on the presumption that any change in SCOR indicates a corresponding change in splanchnic tissue oxygenation as the numerator, whereas cerebral tissue oxygenation as the denominator remains stable. However, it is questionable to utilise this concept to detect splanchnic oxygenation changes in the context of packed red blood cell transfusion (PRBCT).


Objective:To investigate the general anesthesia and routine pre-operative patients with gastric catheterization difference.Methods:60 cases of liver and gall Surgery patients were randomly divided into two groups.The control group at 30min in the Ward pre-operative catheterization.Experimental group for general anesthesia in the operating room gastric catheterization.two groups were observed in patients with gastric catheterization, purpose is to see success rate and whether the process of tube nausea ,vomiting ,tears ,cough , pain responses;Tube before the tube after 1min,after 5min tube blood pressure, heart rate and myocardial oxygen, onsumption rate.Results:experimental group 1 success rate of catheterization were significantly higher than the control group(P0.05).Tube process does not respond to the experimental group were significantly lower than the incidence of the control group .blood pressure, hear rate fluctuation in the scope of the experimental group was significantly lower than the control group(P0.01).Comparing the two groups , general anesthesia gastric catheterization is better than the control group patients(P0.01).Conclusion:anesthesia under the guidance of guide wire into the stomach surgery should be chose.


Although an increased leukocyte and platelet adhesion is observed in cerebral venules of mice with either hypertension (HTN) or hypercholesterolemia (HCh), it remains unclear whether the combination of HTN and HCh exerts a comparable effect on leukocyte and platelet recruitment in the cerebral microvasculature. We examined whether HCh alters platelet and leukocyte adhesion in cerebral venules of hypertensive mice. A 50 mg DOCA pellet was implanted s.c. in uninephrectomized C57Bl/6 mice placed on 1 % saline for a period of 3 weeks. A 3‐week HCh diet did not alter blood pressure either alone or in combination with HTN. Donor platelets labeled with CSFE were administered i.v., along with rhodamine, for in vivo observation of platelets and leukocytes using intravital microscopy. The HTN‐induced recruitment of adherent leukocytes in cerebral venules was blunted by the presence of HCh. Platelet adhesion was unaffected by either HTN, HCh or a combination thereof. The role of HDL cholesterol in the leukocyte adhesion response was assessed using human apolipoprotein A‐I transgenic mice (TGApoA1). No significant differences in leukocyte adhesion were observed between TGApoA1 mice ± HTN. Our findings indicate that moderate increases in total plasma cholesterol blunt the pro‐inflammatory phenotype that is induced in brain by DOCA‐salt HTN. Group BP (mmHg) Plasma Total Cholest. (mg/dL) HDL (mg/dL) Leukocyte Adhesion (per mm2) Sham 104±2 70±3 40±4 29±12 HCh 104±1 111±11 * 64±6 67±24 HTN 138±2 * 85±5 55±2 129±15 * HTN/HCh 140±3 * 120±7 * 77±6 * 72±9 TGApoA1 100±2 175±9 * 148±1 * 60±15 Sham HTN 118±5 * # 258±9 * # 212±9 * # 110±16 * TGApoA1 * P<0.05 vs Sham, # P < 0.05 vs TGApoA1 Sham. (Supported by HL26441).


The mental health of families with mentally retarded children has always been researched by various researchers of this field. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of problem solving skills training on marital satisfaction (include "personality issues", "conflict resolution", and "leisure activities") in families with educable mentally retarded children in Arak city. Statistical population of this research consisted of mothers with educable mentally retarded children (81 mothers). The sample was 30 mothers that were selected randomly out of 81 people. These mothers were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. Participants were asked to complete the marital satisfaction questionnaire (ENRICH). experimental group participated in 5 sessions (1 session a week). Each session lasted for 90 minutes. Unisef problem solving skills training was employed on experimental group as independent variable. Covariance analysis showed that there is a significant difference between mean scores of experimental and control groups (p < 0/001). The results showed that "personality issues", "conflict resolution", and "leisure activities" of mothers with educable mentally retarded children could be influenced by problem solving training.


Power transformer is one of the major and key apparatus in electric power system. Monitoring and diagnosis of transformer fault is necessary for improving the life period of transformer. The failures caused by short circuits are one of the causes of transformer outages. The short circuit currents induce excessive forces in the transformer windings which result in winding deformation affecting the mechanical and electrical characteristics of the winding. In the present work, a transformer producing only the radial flux under short circuit is considered. The corresponding axial displacement profile of the windings is computed using Finite Element Method based transient structural analysis and thus obtained displacements are compared with the experimental result. The change in inter disc capacitance and mutual inductance of the deformed windings due to different short circuit currents are computed using Finite Element Method based field analyses and the corresponding Sweep Frequency Responses are computed using the modified electrical equivalent circuit. From the change in the first resonant frequency, the winding movement can be quantified which will be useful for estimating the mechanical withstand capability of the winding for different short circuit currents in the design stage itself.


Read this first Introduction 1 From copying to writing 2 The mechanics of writing 3 Confidence building 4 Practising process stages 5 A process writing-project 6 Computers and writing 7 Outcomes 8 Assessment Bibliography Indexes


The expansion of the food industry has increased the demand for diverse food products, which poses new challenges to food safety. The production, transportation, and handling of food products from various sources and countries can increase the likelihood of foodborne illness outbreaks and product contamination. Regulatory developments, such as the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) systems, have helped mitigate trade barriers and ensure a safe food supply chain. However, different food safety regulations and standards in importing countries can make it challenging to determine if imported goods are as safe as domestically produced ones. Total coliform testing is a commonly used indicator of potential fecal contamination in food products. Thus, this study aims to provide a comparative analysis between a domestic and an international pasteurized dairy product falling under category 3 to provide literature and the means to mitigate safety risks.


of the sacrum and complete destruction of laminae and spinous processes. The margins of involved bone are irregular and not clean-cut. Dermoid tumours and the antesacral group commonly known as Middledorf tumours are capable of producing localised erosions in the body of the sacrum but rarely invade and destroy laminm and spinous processes. Osteochondroma arises usually from the various bony processes of a vertebra rather than from its body. Contiguous bony structures are distorted and eroded. Haemangioma of the vertebra causes irregular absorption of trabeculae with thickening of vertical trabecule, the result being parallel vertical striations in the body, which may extend into arches and lamina. Osteogenic sarcoma results in dissolution and destruction of bone, with secondary involvement of paravertebral soft tissues. The X-ray characters of metastatic malignant growths are well-known. J. V.


Microbially-Induced Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) involves a series of bio-geochemical reactions whereby microbes alter the surrounding aqueous environment and induce calcium carbonate precipitation. MICP has a broad range of applications, including in-situ soil stabilization. However, the reliability of this process is dependent on a number of environmental conditions. In particular, bacterial growth, bacterial activity, and precipitation kinetics all depend on temperature. Batch test and microfluidic chip experiments were performed in this study to investigate the effects of temperature on bacterial density and activity and the MICP processes occurring at different temperatures (4-50°C). Spatial and temporal variations in the formation and development of calcium carbonate precipitates, including their amount, type, growth rate, formation, and deformation characteristics, were monitored. Results show that different types of calcium carbonate precipitates with varying sizes and quantities were produced by varying the temperature. Low temperature (4°C) did not reduce bacterial activity, but limited the final amount of cementation; low temperature reduced bacterial growth and attachment ratio, as well as calcium carbonate precipitation rate. High temperature (50°C) conditions significantly reduced bacterial activity within a short period of time, whilst a repeated injection of bacteria before every two injections of cementation solution increased the final amount of cementation. The findings made from this paper provide insight into how MICP processes vary across a range of temperatures and could be valuable for optimising the MICP process for different applications.


In this paper we study the dynamics of a discrete triangular system T in capital per capita and population growth representing the neoclassical growth model with CES production function and differential savings, under the assumption that the labor force growth rate is endogenous and described by a generic iterative scheme having a unique positive globally stable equilibrium. The study herewith presented aims at confirming the existence of a compact global attractor for system T along the invariant line. Consequently asymptotic dynamics of growth models with constant population growth rate can be related to those with non-constant population growth if the steady state rate is globally stable. Furthermore we prove that the system exhibits cycles or even chaotic dynamics patterns if shareholders save more than workers, when the elasticity of substitution between production factors drops below one (so that capital income declines). The analytical results are supplemented by numerical simulations.


Kenneth Rexroth's love for ancient Chinese poetry embodies not only on Tu Fu and his poems,but also on his translation and imitation of some gentle and graceful ones written by ancient Chinese poetesses,among which Li Qingzhao and Zhu Shuzhen are his favorites.The fineness,tenderness and loyalty to love showed in the poems give much comfort to Rexroth's heart hurt by failed marriages.


We describe 2 cases of healthcare-associated Legionnaires' disease in patients in France hospitalized 5 months apart in the same room. Whole-genome sequencing analyses showed that clinical isolates from the patients and isolates from the room's toilet clustered together. Toilet contamination by Legionella pneumophila could lead to a risk for exposure through flushing.


Paphiopedilum singchii Z. J. Liu et J. Y. Zhang is described based on two flowering plants cultivated in the Shenzhen City Wutongshan Nurseries. It was said that the plants were collected from southern Yunnan.


In high-energy heavy-ion collisions, there appear two kinds of extremely strong fields: Ordinary electromagnetic fields and non-Abelian color Yang-Mills fields called a glasma. I explain how they are created in collisions, how strong they are, and how important they are in understanding early-time "pre-equilibrium" evolution of collision events. As one of the typical strong-field "nonlinear QED" phenomena, I discuss possible relevance of the "vacuum birefringence" of a photon in probing the very early-time dynamics of heavy-ion collisions.


Significance Stem cells generate tissues, and they can be hijacked in cancer. A fundamental mechanism of stem cell regulation is signaling from their immediate microenvironment, or niche. Although many niches and signaling pathways have been identified, much less is known about how stem cells respond. Here, we report the discovery of two key niche signaling effector genes. These genes are activated in stem cells by Notch signaling, a conserved and clinically significant pathway, and together are essential for the stem cell state. Surprisingly, neither was previously implicated in stem cell regulation and their sequences yield few clues to their functions. We suggest that these newly discovered genes may be pioneers for a new class of stem cell regulators. A stem cell's immediate microenvironment creates an essential "niche" to maintain stem cell self-renewal. Many niches and their intercellular signaling pathways are known, but for the most part, the key downstream targets of niche signaling remain elusive. Here, we report the discovery of two GLP-1/Notch target genes, lst-1 (lateral signaling target) and sygl-1 (synthetic Glp), that function redundantly to maintain germ-line stem cells (GSCs) in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Whereas lst-1 and sygl-1 single mutants appear normal, lst-1 sygl-1 double mutants are phenotypically indistinguishable from glp-1/Notch mutants. Multiple lines of evidence demonstrate that GLP-1/Notch signaling activates lst-1 and sygl-1 expression in GSCs within the niche. Therefore, these two genes fully account for the role of GLP-1/Notch signaling in GSC maintenance. Importantly, lst-1 and sygl-1 are not required for GLP-1/Notch signaling per se. We conclude that lst-1 and sygl-1 forge a critical link between Notch signaling and GSC maintenance.


Objective: Non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) is a heterogeneous disorder including subgroups with a low or high risk for myocardial ischemia. The presence of postsystolic index (PSI) is associated with myocardial ischemia. The focus of this study was to find probable association between PSI and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in a cohort of patients. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that consisted of 83 patients with unstable angina, non-ST-segment myocardial infarction (UA/NSTEMI), and a left ventricular ejection fraction ≥50%, without visible regional wall motion abnormalities. All patients underwent echocardiography, and global longitudinal strain (GLS), PSI, and mitral annular peak systolic (s′) and early diastolic (e′) velocities were measured. Coronary angiography was then performed, and a SYNTAX score was calculated. Results: The patient cohort was divided into two groups based on their high and low SYNTAX scores. PSI and GLS were higher in those patients with a higher SYNTAX score than in individuals with a lower score (85.04% ± 67.02% vs 46.67 ± 39.03, P = .001 and −16.09 ± 3.70 vs −17.99 ± 2.87, P = .012, respectively). Among the different variables assessed, only PSI was an independent predictor of a high SYNTAX score (B = 1.014, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.001–1.027, P = .034). Conclusion: This cohort study demonstrated that a cumulative PSI may be predictive of much more complex and extensive CAD, especially in patients with UA/NSTEMI.


Water‐soluble antigens of Strep. sanguis strain 2A, ATCC 10556, and adult human oral mucosa (AHOM) were analysed by four immunoelectrophoretic methods. Crossed immunoelectrophoresis (CIE), using rabbit antibodies raised against the soluble antigens, revealed 26 antigens in the standard Strep. sanguis antigen extract and 16 antigens in the standard adult human oral mucosa extract. All 26 Strep. 2A antigen‐antibody precipitates observed in the CIE were identified as streptococcal components. Eleven of the AHOM antigen‐antibody precipitates in the CIE were derived from human serum proteins and hemoglobin present in the crude AHOM‐Ag extract. Five of the latter precipitates possibly were caused by oral mucosal antigens. The AHOM‐Ag extract contained four bacterial contaminants. None of them influenced the crossed immunoelectrophoretic AHOM antigen‐antibody reference pattern in the present study.


The damping of offshore wind farm fed to a multi-machine system is improved using a Static Synchronous Compensator. The STATCOM along with PID damping controller and a hybrid PID and fuzzy logic controller are designed to improve the damping characteristics under various operating conditions. The offshore wind farm is designed by a Doubly-Fed Induction Generator driven by a wind turbine through an equivalent gearbox. Rootloci plots under various wind speed operating conditions have been carried to show the effectiveness of the PID damping controllers. This is done by a computer simulation and the simulation results are compared with various controllers.


Among her many books, Flannery O'Connor owned the Bradley edition of Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, and her marginalia suggest that she read at least parts of it. While tracing any specific influence Tocqueville may have had on O'Connor is difficult, the fact that she was familiar with him is a prompt to compare the two authors. This article argues that O'Connor shared Tocqueville's concerns about the effects of democracy on manners, religion, and art. I argue that her use of the word "manners" in her prose closely resembles what Tocqueville means by the French moeurs. O'Connor also shared Tocqueville's worries about Descartes's influence on religious belief in America. Finally, O'Connor's prose contains some striking similarities to Democracy in America regarding challenges facing artists in democratic times, particularly artists whose works are deeply informed by traditional theology.