In this brief paper I want to explore, to celebrate, and to contextualize Edward Said's affirmation of humanism at the time of his death (or, perhaps more accurately, at the time of his dying) in 2003. That affirmation by him appeared in the introduction to the Penguin reissue of Orientalism August 2003 and in the posthumously published Humanism and Democratic Criticism, which has only recently been released. In the moving Preface to that book, he thanks the fellows of King's College, Cambridge, where he gave the final version of those lectures that year. Since he was receiving transfusions and chemotherapy at that time, this is more than a routine guest'sthank-you-for-hospitality received. Three of the lectures had been delivered previously at Columbia University in January 2000, but between that first version and the second were the attacks of 9=11 in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, and Said's worsening health. It is now possible to reread Said's earlier books and to hear more clearly the humanistic theme and variations that he had been playing all along. His was no deathbed conversion to humanism; rather, it is a manifestation of the constant humanistic commitment in his writing from his earliest books until the last. While acknowledging the many meanings of humanism (and such related words as ''humanities'' and ''humanistic''), Said thinks of the humanities as consisting of ''secular history, the products of human labor, [and] the human capacity for articulate expression'' (xx). He also borrows R. S. Crane's inclusive definition of the humanities as consisting ''in all those things which . . . are therefore not amenable to adequate explanation in terms of general laws of natural processes, physical or biological, or in terms [only] of collective social conditions or forces. . . . They are, in short, what we


Objective:To observe the efficacy of MEBO in treating electric burns of hands.Method:During a peri- od of 2002-2007,we treated 11 cases of hands electric burns either with MEBO after cleaning off necrotic tissue,or with skin flap.Results:Among the 11 patients,2 patients treated with adjacent finger's deep fascia skin flap.One patient with 2 fingers skin impairment repaired with abdomen skin tube,all others were healed with MEBO;the shortest healing time was 3 weeks,the longest was 7 weeks.It kept the hands in good function maximatily.Conclusion:MEBO has an effect to stop the pain obviously and powerful anti-infective ability and can keep healed hand in good function maximatily.


The universal amplitude ratio ξ+ for percolation in two dimensions is determined exactly using results for the dilute A model in regime 1, by way of a relationship with the q-state Potts model, with q≤4.


In order to experimentally examine the influence of the electrostatic interactions of charged particles on the properties of a filter cake that accumulates on microfiltration membranes, microfiltration experiments are conducted using binary particulate mixtures of titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide having the different values of the isoelectric point for each material. Electrostatic forces affect the average porosity and the average specific filtration resistance of the filter cake formed during filtration. In the pH range where two particles have opposite electrical charges, the particles tend to aggregate, and the cake formed is loosely packed, resulting in a lower resistance to flow. In contrast, in the pH range where both particles are charged with the same sign, particles are well dispersed by repulsive electrostatic forces, and form compact cakes of higher resistance during filtration, leading to lower filtration rates. Moreover, it is found that such charge effects of particles are weakened in the presence of salts because the double-layer thickness is suppressed. An important result is that surface interactions (hence the suspension stability) are as important as operating conditions for microfiltration processing of binary particulate mixtures.


Exercise promotes positive bone remodeling through controlling cellular processes in bone. Nitric oxide (NO), generated from endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), prevents resorption while Receptor for Activated Nuclear Kappa-B ligand (RANKL) promotes resorption through regulating osteoclast activity. Here we show that mechanical strain differentially regulates eNOS and RANKL expression from osteoprogenitor stromal cells in a magnitude dependent fashion. Strain (0.25 – 2%) induction of eNOS expression was magnitude-dependent reaching plateau at 218 – 36% of control eNOS. This was accompanied by increases in eNOS protein and a doubling of NO production. Concurrently, 0.25% strain inhibited RANKL expression with increasing response up to 1% strain (44 – 3% of control RANKL). These differential responses to mechanical input were blocked when an ERK1/2 inhibitor was present during strain application. Inhibition of NO generation did not prevent strain activated ERK1/2. To confirm ERK1/2's role, cells were treated with an adenovirus encoding a constitutively activated MEK: Ad.caMEK significantly increased eNOS expression and NO production by more than 4-fold and decreased RANKL expression by half. In contrast, inhibition of strain activated c-jun-kinase failed to prevent strain effects on either eNOS or RANKL. Our data suggest that physiologic levels of mechanical strain utilize ERK1/2 kinase to coordinately regulate eNOS and RANKL in a manner leading to positive bone remodeling.


Background: Pain is one of the major issues in health care delivery. As health care providers, nurses are expected to have a good knowledge of pain management. Results from previous studies and preliminary study have found that there existed significant knowledge deficiencies among nurses and nursing students. The PMPAT (Pain Management Principle Assessment Test) by McMillan (2000) measures the knowledge of pain management quantitatively. Purpose: This study compared the knowledge of pain management between Conversion Class Students Batch 2012 Group 1 and 2 at Faculty of Nursing and allied Health Sciences Universitas Pelita Harapan (FON UPH). Study Method: A cross sectional comparison quantitative study with convenience sampling. The total respondents of this study are 34 nursing students; of which 12 students are from Group 1 and 22 are students from Group 2. The scores from the PMPAT are used to determine the level of knowledge among nursing students. Data Analysis: The level of knowledge of Group 1 has the mean score of 13 (41.94%) and the level of knowledge of Group 2 has the mean score of 12 (38.7%). The comparison of knowledge of pain management between Group 1 and Group 2 shows no statistically significant difference between each group (P value: 0.236). Therefore, collaboration between nursing students, nursing faculties and affiliated institutions is needed to improve the knowledge of pain management among nursing students.


A procedure to account the uncertainty of seismic response assessment due to the uncertainty in the characteristics of ground motions is presented.The mean annual probability of exceedance of gravity dams is computed from a series of deterministic response analysis with three loading intensity levels.The lognormal probability for the occurrence of engineering demand parameter is assumed and regression analyses are conducted on the parameters to obtain the conditional probability distribution.The results are combined with probabilistic estimates of seismic loading in order to estimate the mean annual probability of exceedance of various engineering demand parameters.The effects of various simplifying assumptions made in SAC/FEMA procedure are evaluated and discussed.It is concluded that more attention should be paied on the assumption about variation of dispersion.


The paper emphasizes the importance of social networks in the gestation of international new ventures, particularly through their impact on the perceptions of nascent entrepreneurs. Their contribution consists not only in providing new information to assist new venture founders in identifying international opportunities but, and perhaps more importantly, in assessing them. By modifying the way in which entrepreneurs perceive the feasibility and desirability of opportunities, networks trigger the enactment of international opportunities. Whereas opportunity evaluations by more experienced international entrepreneurs tend to be linked to their strong network ties, the international role models of novice entrepreneurs seem to be transformational.


(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)1.INTRODUCTIONIn theory, foreign aid is expected to serve as a means of transferring capital from developed economies to developing ones. By doing this, it is likely that aid would stimulate social and economic reforms by providing funds for development projects such as infrastructure, technologies, education, health, and revitalizing crises stricken economies; thus, resulting in economic growth. However, there has been a long standing and sustained debate about aid-growth relationship that has challenged the effectiveness of aid on several grounds; making the aid-growth link vague. Empirical evidences have shown that some of the high recipient countries of foreign aid in the world especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) such as Central African Republic and Malawi are still unable to account for positive corresponding growth, while few countries like Niger has recorded significant economic progress (see Leeson, 2008).Interestingly, an Important question to ask, Is why aid works In certain countries and falls In some others? Past studies have highlighted several determinants of aid effectiveness.The study that made the most popular qualified analysis of aid effectiveness is that of Burnside and Dollar (2000), which posits that macroeconomic policy is an important determining factor of the growth promoting impact of foreign aid. For instance, foreign aid is expected to be more effective in countries with good macroeconomic policies than countries with bad macroeconomic policies. Other studies such as Collier and Dehn (2001), Dalgaard, et al (2004), and Ang (2010) opined that export price shocks, climate related differences and financial liberalisation, respectively are channels through which aid affects growth. Against the background, foreign aid strategies have undergone fundamental reassessment as donors have come up with several measures to ensure that aid becomes more effective. Initially, the concept of aid conditionality1 was the practice by the donor community. This practice went through little change after the influential study of Burnside and Dollar (2000). After the study, it was acknowledged that aid did promote growth but should be allocated to countries that have adopted good policies. As a result, aid selectivity or ex-post conditionality (Ramiarison, 2010) came into practice - where in some cases, foreign aid is attached to several considerations and prerequisites such as macroeconomic policy reforms, governance, and poverty or need, among others. As a general measure of adequacy in recipient countries, aid selectivity in the recent times, in most cases, is pinned on the state of governance. Consequently, efforts toward good governance in developing countries have become a condition for attracting development assistance. However, because donors also consider other factors related to living standards such as poverty when giving aid, it becomes difficult for donors to aim at good governance alone as prerequisite for aid as countries with weak governance most time record low living standards. As a result, aid selectivity practice becomes difficult to implement. Nevertheless, Collier (1999) suggested a dynamic case for a temporary increase in aid. That is, aid should be targeted at inducing policy reform and to increase it evenafter policies improve because the resulting growth needs to be sustained within a situation oflow private investment. According to him, "aid needs to taper inwith policy reform rather than to taper out with reform as it is the actual donor behaviour".A lot of weaknesses can still be identified in developing countries as regards economic reforms. This situation is likely an important reason why donors are agitating for elements that can boost the effectiveness of aid. For instance, in a summit on combating poverty in Africa, held at Gleneagle, Scotland on July 7-8, 2005, the G-8 leaders reiterated the requirement for aid in their final Communique. …


Although rotavirus is recognized as the major ethiologic agent of acute diarrheal disease in children, the role of rotavirus as a pathogen in adults has long been underappreciated. In order to determine the electropherotypes of rotavirus that circulated in adults in Paraguay, 23 rotavirus isolated from patients older than 24 years (mean=42.5; range = 24-67) were analyzed by PAGE. Samples were collected at the Clinical Lab of the San Roque Hospital, Asunción, Paraguay from September 2003 to February 2005. Five different electropherotypes were detected, 19 samples showed long patterns (named LA, LB and LC) and 4 samples a short pattern (named SA and SB). Since 1998, our group has only detected one sample with a short pattern electropherotype (isolated in September 1999) in more than 1500 grounds of children with acute diarrhea. These results showed that it is necessary to study many epidemic years to detect rotavirus with short electropherotypes. However, we found that it is important to increase the demographic variables to find more rotavirus variability in a community, exemplified here by the short electropherotypes detected in adults.


Considerable spreading of Helicobacter pylori (HP) on mucous membranes of overhead part of gastroenteric highway is very importen problem for researchers who associate chronic gastrodoudenit with this microorganism. As consider НР is main factor of chronic inflammatory process among children. There is a connection НР with malignant new formations as it ssumed. In this article there is information about diagnostic and clinical features of helicobacter gastrodoudenit. This information very importen for optimizations of treatment and prophylaxis.


The study Constable L, Abrams P, Cooper D, et. Synthetic sling or artificial urinary sphincter for men with urodynamic stress incontinence after prostate surgery: the MASTER non-inferiority RCT. Health Technol Assess 2022;26:1-152 To read the full NIHR Alert, go to: https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/male-sling-is-as-good-as-more-complex-surgery-for-incontinence-after-prostate-surgery/


SUMMARY 60 patients suffering from "Depression" attending the Psychiatry outpatient clinic in a general hospital were studied. The intensity of symptoms, and life stress events for 12 months prior to episode were obtained and compared on the basis of sex of patient. The findings of the study indicate that, the depressed patients had the severity of symptomatology positively correlated with the severity of stress. Thus with the increase in stress, the severity of symptoms would be on increase. The findings also indicated the distribution of more physical and affective symptoms in depressed females and more of behavioural symptoms in depressed males. It was seen that occurrence of undesirable life events which could be specific for Indian culture were perceived more than desirable events by the sample.


Based on the longitudinal data of Chinese Healthy Longevity Survey(CLHLS2002-2011), the paper divides social participation into cultural entertainments and household activities by principal component analysis. The cox proportional hazards model is built up respectively bynational-wide, the urban and the ruralto analyze and compare the influence of the elderly's social participation on their death hazard rate in China. The results show that the Chinese elderly's social participation has significant impacts on death hazard rate as a whole. The hazard rate of the elderly with more social participation is significantly lower than those with less participation, respectively 7% lower national-widely and 15% in the urban area. More cultural and entertainment participation reduce the death hazard rate of the elderly by 8% in rural area.In addition, the death hazard rate of the elderly is statistically lower for those who are healthier, female, younger, with higher family per-capita income last year, living alone or in nursing home, and whose caregivers are family members when they are sick. And chronic illness increases the elderly's death hazard rate significantly.


This contribution is intended to be a compendium of similarity-based fuzzy orderings—a generalization which has recently been discovered to be more appropriate for expressing vague order preferences than previously known concepts.


Excerpt Pituitary insufficiency is rarely reported to exist in association with an abnormal elevation in the serum triglycerides. In those instances where the two conditions have coexisted, except ...


Visibility degradation is one of the most noticeable effects of air pollution. Recent data collected during a series of aerosol characterization studies in New York City indicate a marked improvement in annual median visibility in this region since 1968. The improvement is due principally to improvements in winter median visibility, which is related to substantial reductions in pollutant emissions from local sources. Summer median visibility, related to aerosol transported from distant sources into the New York City region, has not improved. (3 graphs, 39 references, 1 table)


Efficiently answering XML keyword queries has attracted much research effort in the last decade. One key factors resulting in the inefficiency of existing methods are the common-ancestor-repetition (CAR) and visiting-useless-nodes (VUN) problems. In this paper, we propose a generic top-down processing strategy to answer a given keyword query w.r.t. LCA/SLCA/ELCA semantics. By top-down, we mean that we visit all common ancestor (CA) nodes in a depth-first, left-to-right order, thus avoid the CAR problem; by generic, we mean that our method is independent of the labeling schemes and query semantics. We show that the satisfiability of a node v w.r.t. the given semantics can be determined by v's child nodes, based on which our methods avoid the VUN problem. We propose two algorithms that are based on either traditional inverted lists or our newly proposed LLists to improve the overall performance. The experimental results verify the benefits of our methods according to various evaluation metrics.


The problem of incorrect input data associated with most data processing applications is magnified in PEP-PERT systems because of the interrelation of the various events. When this incorrect input takes the form of a looping network, the result may be a halt in the computer program, often necessitating a manual search of the computer memory dump to determine the trouble. If a network has more than one loop this procedure must be repeated for each loop. This paper describes a method which has proved to be an excellent solution to this problem; it is a computer technique for editing a complete PEP-PERT network and describing any and all loops therein.


cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia: different therapies for different did-The serum β2-microglobulin level is more powerful than stage in predicting response and survival in CLL (Abstract). Adorf D, et al. Elevated serum thymidine kinase levels identify a subgroup at high risk of disease progression in early non-smoldering CLL.son RE, et al. Multivariant analysis of prognostic factors in CLL: clinical stage, IVgH gene, mutational status are independent prognostic factors. Unmutated Ig V(H) genes are associated with a more aggressive form of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. et al. Expression of ZAP-70 is associated with increased B cell receptor signaling in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Oscier DG. Zap-70 evaluation by flow cytometry is a significant prognostic marker in B-CLL. Blood 2001;100:a630 [abstract]. Orchard JA, et al. Zap70 expression identifies B-CLL with unmutated immunoglobulin genes, worse clinical outcome and a distinct gene expression profile. Blood 2001;100:a631[abstract].man M, et al. ZAP-70 expression as a surrogate for immu-noglobulin-variable-region mutations in chronic lymphocyt-ic leukemia. K, et al. Rituximab using a thrice weekly dosing schedule in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma demonstrates clinical activity and acceptable toxicity. et al. Combined fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and ritux-imab achieves a high complete remission rate as initial treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Blood 2001; 98: a3210[abstract]. phase 2 study of fludarabine with concurrent versus sequential treatment with rituximab in symptomatic , untreated patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia: results from Cancer and Leukemia Group B 9712 et al. Phase 2 study of a combined immunochemotherapy using rituximab and fludarabine in patients with chronic lym-phocytic leukemia. A high proportion of molecular remission can be obtained with a fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, rituximab combination (FCR) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia A phase II trial of flu-darabine followed by alemtuzumab (Campath-1H) in previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients with active disease: Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) Frankel SR, et al. Genasense (Bcl-2 Antisense) monotherapy in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia: phase 1 and 2 Results.reras E, et al. Stem cell transplantation for chronic lympho-cytic leukemia: different outcome after autologous and allo-geneic transplantation and correlation with minimal residual disease status. Catovsky, et al. Stem cell transplantation (SCT) for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL): outcome and prognostic factors after autologous and allogeneic transplants.meister FB, et al. Nonablative allogeneic hematopoietic trans-plantation as adoptive immunotherapy for indolent lym-phoma: low incidence of toxicity, acute graft-versus-host disease, and treatment-related mortality. P, et al. Autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantations (HSCT: …


A theoretical analysis has been developed to gain an insight into the torsional behaviour of singles yarns, which may be bulky and which may have non-uniform fibre-packing-density distribution. In this paper, a detailed experimental evaluation of the theory for two different cases of yarn torsion is reported whereby its predictions of a torque-twist relationship are compared with results obtained for woollen-spun carpet yarns spun at various twist levels. Also presented are typical theoretical results of the relative contributions to yarn torque due to fibre tension, fibre-bending, and fibre torsion and of the variations of both fibre-tensile-strain distribution in the yarn and yarn axial and lateral dimensions which take place as the yarn is further twisted. The evaluation shows that, as the yarn is twisted at fixed length, it jams progressively from the inside to the outside. Initially the outer fibres remain unstrained. In the theory of Postle et al., these outer fibres are assumed to carry a real tens...


This qualitative study explored the extent to which programs in a religiously affiliated agency in Kenya incorporate 12 internationally sanctioned strategies for supporting orphans and vulnerable children in Sub-Saharan Africa (Olson, Knight, & Foster, 2006). The results indicated that all 12 strategies were being employed, though to varying degrees. The authors describe how each strategy was used by the agency and make recommendations for practice and future research.


The dynamic photochemical response of Ru(bpy)32+-catalyzed Belousov-Zhabotinsky (B-Z) reaction was studied in a thin layer solution system with a mask. It was found that stable chemical waves are generated from a masked area and their features are dependent on the chemical components. A high [MA]0 greatly contributes to the photosensitivity of the system. (MA = CH2(COOH)2)


In this directed qualitative content analysis of four season-long true crime podcasts, the researcher examined how different types of intimate partner violence (IPV) were portrayed. Across the podcasts, controlling behaviors, emotional abuse, and coercive control were commonly depicted. Physical violence was not the most common form of abuse depicted, but it was presented in sensationalistic ways—with a pointed focus on strangulation and bruising. Overall, the podcasts provided a much more realistic portrayal of IPV at the individual level than traditional news sources, yet did not go far enough in describing the societal conditions that permit abuse.


The construction of roads have impacts on the ecological environment of tourism zone, so it is necessary to conserve road ecology. This paper discussed the ecological problems of the structure ,line selection and ecology design of roads in tourism zone and pointed out the concrete measures to avoid or reduce the negative ecology impacts on ecology sensitive area, in order to reach the objective of the ecology conservation of roads in tourism zone.


The introduction of humanistic elements into the programs of schools and universities played out rather differently on the two sides of the Alps. Humanism in northern Europe entered a spiritual milieu very different from Italy. Although many Italian humanists were deeply religious, Italian humanism in general had been secular. Its goal was to transform education, literature, and even political life; but it did not define a clear set of religious goals. The earliest French humanism, like its German counterpart, was imported from Italy and shows a predominantly secular orientation not in any proper sense anti-religious, but not, as a movement, responding to the call for a general spiritual and ecclesiastical renewal. French and English humanists of the period 1470-1510 reveal the development of a similar secular humanism that implied no program of spiritual renewal and institutional reform of the church through humanistic scholarship. Keywords: English humanists; Europe; French humanists; Humanism; Italy; spiritual milieu


This new volume brings together in one volume the latest information by leading scientists who are studying mechanisms of electron transfer between metal centers in proteins and other biologically significant molecules with information from those who are studying analogous processes in solids. Semiconductor and tunneling models, which have a long history in the description of conducting properties of solids, are increasingly being used to explain many aspects of long-range biological electron transfer. With 13 chapters, this volume bridges the gap between two diverse scientific communities and provides fresh insight into electron transfer between metal centers.


In this work, authors have as purpose to deal with the topic of social and medical health approaches and their instrumentation in current medical practice, by carrying out a historical evaluation of the problems and their contemporary bibliographical treatment, specifically in the last two decades of the last century and the first decade of the present one, which allows us an integral perception in current challenges of General Integral Medicine. Documental and theoretical revision of some bibliographic referents was one of the different methods selected and used by the authors while processing the current problems.


In order to develop Stirling cycle machines with high efficiency, suitable regenerator for each machine must be designed. To realize the flexibility of design and to improve the performance of regenerator, a new matrix, mesh sheet was proposed. It is a plate type with electrically etched holes. Each small hole is connected with neighboring holes by grooves on the plate. Three types of the mesh sheet were developed and were respectively stacked to install in a 3-kW Stirling engine. The performance test was carried out and the regenerator losses were compared with conventional stacked wire gauze. From the results, it was clarified that the engine performance was improved about 5 to 10% by the mesh sheet. In this paper, the relation between the dimensions of the mesh sheet and the regenerator losses were also clarified.


Taking dominant tree DBH of secondary Pinus yunnanensis forest of Jinsha River watershed within Yunnan province as objectives,models of Logistics,Gompertz,Richards,Korf,Levakovic,Johson-schumacke and Hossfld were chosen to fit.The best growth model was selected,by applying the analysis of the total relative error,the average relative error,the average absolute relative error and the estimate precision.The result showed that simulative precision of these growth models were similar.Gompertz model was the best growth model.


Eucommia seed oil was obtained with SC-CO2 (supercritical CO2) and microwave. The optimum conditions of the microwave extraction were obtained by orthogonal experiment as follows: cyclohexane solvent, the ratio of solvent to material 5.0, the microwave power 700W, radiation time 50s, radiation times 8 and the material particle size 40 mesh. The orthogonal experiment was used to optimize the SC-CO2 extraction conditions, and the optimum conditions were determined: the extraction pressure 35MPa, the extraction temperature 45℃, the separation temperature 30℃, the extraction time 70 min, the material particle size 40 mesh and the CO2 flow rate 25~30kg/h. The yield of oil obtained by SC-CO2 and microwave is 27.76%and 27.07%, respectively. The yield and quality of eucommia seed oil with different extraction methods were compared. Results show that extraction time of microwave is shorter than SC-CO2, while the quality of eucommia seed oil by SC-CO2 is better than microwave. So the SC-CO2 extraction is better technique of extracting oil from eucommia seed.


A field experiment was conducted at the University of Zalingei demonstration Farm, Zalingei, West Darfur State, Sudan, during 2006 and 2007 rainy seasons to evaluate the effects of three row intercropping arrangements of sorghum and groundnut plus control on some soil chemical properties and crop yield. Sorghum(S) and groundnut (G) were mixed in row proportions of 1:1(S1G1), 2:1(S2G1) and 1:2(S1G2), plus sole sorghum as control (S1). The experiments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. The results of soil analysis, by the end of the second growing season as compared to their values by the end of the first season, showed that (S1G2) treatment gave the lowest PH (6.53) and the highest nitrogen (0.054%) and organic matter (0.68%) percentages and consequently an increase in electrical conductivity (0.21 dsm -1 ). Whereas, the sole sorghum (S1) showed the lowest values for nitrogen (0.063% and 0.032%) , organic matter (0.66 and 0.47%) and electrical conductivity (0.08 and 0. 12 dsm -1 ) and the highest pH (0.686 and 7.12) by the end of the first and second seasons ,respectively. The results also showed no significant differences between treatments in sorghum head length during both growing seasons, and in 1000-grain weight, number of productive tillers/plant, dry matter weight and total grain yield during the second poorly-distributed rainfall season (2007), whereas, the differences were significant(P≤ 0.05) during the first well-distributed rainfall season (2006). In case of the secondary crop (groundnut), all crop mixtures showed significant differences (P≤ 0.01) in total pod yield and yield components under study except 100- pod weight in the second season. The low yield and yield components of both intercrops in the second season were attributed to end-of-season drought due to early cease of rainfall. In addition to maintaining soil fertility, the results indicated that mixed cropping increased soil moisture content, which resulted in good establishment and better yield of the base crop. In the conditions of this study, the advantages of intercropping concerning maintenance and improvement of soil fertility were slight due to the short duration of the experiment.


Aging populations may be associated with increased nutritional risk, malnutrition, and food insecurity. This study aims to examine the relationship between food insecurity and nutritional risk, taking into account selected characteristics of the study group, and factors describing nutritional risk. It was conducted between May and July 2021, among 417 people aged 60 and older, in two regions of Poland. Questions from the SCREEN-14 questionnaire were used to assess nutritional risk. Selected questions from the HFSS questionnaire (U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module) concerning the elderly were used to assess food insecurity. A K-means cluster analysis was used to separate homogeneous clusters into food security indicators and nutritional risk factors. The Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis test were used to compare mean values between groups, and the Chi-square test was used to verify the differences. Two clusters were distinguished: I—"low food security and high nutritional risk" and II—"high food security and low nutritional risk". Cluster I included people aged 60–65, and over 75, living in urban areas, living alone or with family, with unfavorable economic situations and family relationships. Cluster II was composed of people aged 71–75, who were rural residents, living with a partner, with favorable economic situations and family relations. The vast majority of nutritional risk factors were found in Cluster I and among those at high nutritional risk. The largest number of people were affected by such nutritional risk factors such as difficulty in chewing or biting, loss in appetite, skipping meals, and perceiving one's weight as abnormal. Moreover, the group of people most significantly affected by high nutritional risk were in unfavorable economic situations, had poor family relationships, lived alone or with family, rated their health as worse than their peers, were overweight and obese, had metabolic disease, or impeding mobility. The results obtained can be applied to the planning of social and health policies for the elderly in Poland.


Recommendations from a workshop on Space Neuroscience Research held in Paris on April 22-24, 1997 are summarized. Research areas include the autonomic nervous system, development and neurobiology, posture and movement, visual perception, vestibular function, cognition, and human factors. Long-term neuroscience research studies are being planned for the International Space Station. Experiments in microgravity should be accompanied by appropriate, ground-based research on the effects of gravity.


This case study has been written as an introductory guide for teachers who are interested in learning what Open Educational Resource (OER) options and practices (OEP) are available to them for developing and distributing online domain-specific language materials for uses in academic and professional settings. We present innovative work in open corpus-based language collections building with the open-source multilingual FLAX language project as a running example of open materials development practices for language teaching and learning. We present language-learning contexts from across formal and informal language learning, including Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and language translation studies. We are particularly concerned with closing the gap in language teacher training where competencies in materials development are still dominated by print-based proprietary course book publications, which in many cases do not reflect salient findings from the research into domain-specific language. We are also concerned with the growing gap in language teaching practitioner competencies for understanding important issues of copyright and licensing that are changing rapidly in the context of digital and web literacy developments. These key issues are being largely ignored in the informal language teaching practitioner discussions, both by experienced and new language tutors, and in the formal research into teaching and materials development practices.


The observed luminosity function (LF) of M30 shows an excess in the number of red giants relative to the number of turnoff stars as compared with the predictions of canonical models. This well‐known problem is reexamined in the light of new stellar evolutionary models that have been constructed using an improved equation of state formulation as well as recent opacities and nuclear reaction rates. Neither the improvements to the basic physics of stars nor the adoption of different choices, within reason, for the cluster distance (and hence age), chemical composition, or initial mass function have any appreciable effect on the LF discrepancy. However, it seems to be possible to reconcile theory with observation if the cluster stars retain significant amounts of angular momentum throughout their evolution. Stellar models, which treat rotation in the simple spherically symmetric approximation and which conserve angular momentum—leading to structures on the giant branch with rapidly rotating cores and slowly rotating envelopes—predict LFs in good agreement with that observed for M30. The amount of angular momentum that is required to achieve this consistency appears to be insufficient to have detectable consequences for the tightness of the observed color‐magnitude diagram (though this needs to be checked using a two‐dimensional code) or to affect predicted age versus turnoff‐luminosity relations at more than the few percent level.


This essay is part of an interdisciplinary research project into literary aesthetics and its relationship with pedagogy. The paper brings cognitive and evolutionary scientific perspectives to bear on literary and cultural theory to address the aesthetic effect (defined as the transporting and transformative power of the literary text) and its potential personal or civic benefits. The paper offers non-transcendentalist explanations for the aesthetic experience, viewing it less as a privileged category of feeling than as an experience available to all symbolic beings. The paper also proposes an original thesis about the virtual and transformative space of reading as one that ultimately epitomises intellectual freedom. The inquiry is lent urgency by the current cultural and political climate in which not only literature but also literary studies, despite its long association with education and its prominent place in the Culture Wars, is in institutional decline.


The article deals with the essence of social education in the context of the value theory. It characterizes social education values, substantiates the conceptual propositions of social education values in Russian pedagogy of the 20th century.


Editor—Stewart discusses how to improve clinical research.1 The Harry Potter books may help to understand clinical academics and clinicians and perhaps highlight areas for improvement.

Most clinicians are the Hagrids of the clinical world. They prefer to get on with the job and are usually good at it. They find it hard to deal with the often confusing language of research and harder still to apply it to their understaffed and underfunded services.

Clinical academics are the professors at Hogwarts. Professor Lucius is found mostly, but not exclusively, in many Mediterranean countries. This type of professor is likely to have obtained the position through political slyness or family ties but never because of the quality of research. He or she loves the power, the additional prestige, and the revenue that the title of professor brings.

Professor Gilderoy Lockhart has chosen an academic career for its ample scope for hedonism. Never really able to cope with real medicine, professors like him have chosen just to talk about it, which they usually do well. Their name will appear on scientific papers of sponsored clinical trials for which they are unlikely to have seen a patient.

Albus Dumbledore is the good professor who has the progress of science at heart rather than his own ego. Professors like him are good clinicians for whom research is merely an integral part of everyday practice and who strive to provide patients with the best possible care.

Clinical academics must of course be composites of these professors. However, the representation of the three professors in universities, executive commissions, and grant funding bodies will ultimately determine the quality of the clinical research produced. If Professors Lucius and Gilderoy Lockhart predominate, clinical research is inevitably doomed.


Reliability among observers when the data are categorical. The study of the human behavior requires, in most of the cases, instruments created for the situation study object (ad hoc). In the Observational Methodology, to study the observer's reliability it should be assumed that each measure is divided in two parts: a well-known or true part, and an unknown part or error. When the data are quantitative the tests on the biases between observers and the measures of agreements among them, are obtained starting from the pattern standard mixed ANOVA or through the aleatory models. In these cases the correlation intra is the used index of reliability. When the data are categorical, or when the answer variable is classified of a greement with a nominal scale or multinomial, an agreement measure among ob servers, similar to the correlation intra, it is the index Kappa of Cohen (1960). The present communication outlines the study of the reliability among observers by means of the index Kappa with the procedure of the ANOVA. If it is verified that bias, the application of an ANOVA unidimensional doesn't exist it is enough for the estimate of the coefficient. If, on the contrary, exists bias among the observers, they will be considered as alternative the two-dimensional ANOVA of aleatory effects, or the mixed pattern of two dimensions.


To the Editor: The article, Retinopathy with Dermatomyositis , appearing in the November, 1965 issue of the Archives illustrates fundus changes not grossly unlike those found in hypertension, nephritis, and diabetes. Were they excluded? "The retinal vessels were triangular," was especially arresting for I have never seen a triangular vessel. Finally, the macular region as published is to the right in both B and C. How is this possible? Editor's Note: The blood pressure was 130/80 mm Hg and urinalysis revealed neither albumin nor reducing substance. We too were shocked by reading that retinal vessels were "triangular" and that one of the illustrations had been inverted. As with Dr. Blodi's letter, we can only blush a second time and say that errors occur after material leaves this editorial office; ones which appear to be beyond our control. Actually the retinal vessels were described as being "irregular," but someone in the typesetting


It has become very important to study non-coding RNAs in the recent years. The Z curve is a very useful method for visualizing and analyzing DNA sequences among the approaches of researching ncRNAs. It is a three-dimensional space curve that constitutes a unique representation of a given DNA sequence, i.e., both the Z-curver and the given DNA sequence can be uniquely reconstructed from the other. Using Z curve method, we select 15 disease related ncRNAs sequences from the NONCODE database, which relate with Alzheimer Disease. The corresponding Z curves of the studied ncRNAs, sequences have been mapped and compared. The statistical features of the Z curves are obtained. These features indicate that the ncRNAs sequences, which play same roles in the celluar process, have almost the same Z-curves. And the base content in these sequences is almost same too, in spite of coming from different organisms.


This paper investigates how financial constraints affect a firm's decision on whether to conduct product innovation. Theoretically, we show that a firm's optimal decision on product innovation is a function of its past decision, financial constraints and a set of control variables. Through influencing investment, financial constraints increase a firm's marginal cost of production, which eventually reduces the firm's probability of conducting product innovation. The theoretical modelling implies a set of population moments, which we fit with firm-level data of China's manufacturing sector from 2005 to 2007. Our estimations find that the more financially constrained a firm is, the less likely it will conduct product innovation. For a firm that innovates previously, a one unit increase in financial constraints results in around 0.9 per cent drop in the probability of innovation. In contrast, it leads to around 0.14 per cent decrease in the probability if a firm does not innovate previously.


A 6-year trial was laid out with varied PK fertilization on fen soil and analysed for the capability of undersown clover species to fix atmospheric nitrogen. No mineral nitrogen was applied. On an average of the six test years, the share of white clover in the total crop yield of the sward was 17% after sowing once and that of red clover or Swedish clover was 19% after sowing twice. The annual mean shares of these two clover variants in the total yield varied only slightly over the test period. White clover showed typical seasonal dynamics in the test years, with yield portions increasing from spring to late summer. Undersown red and Swedish clovers reached the highest yield percentages in their 2nd and 3rd growths. The variants grown without PK fertilizer and clover yielded 45 dt DM ha − 1. With PK fertilizer dry matter yields increased to 57 and 68 dt ha − 1, respectively. With supplemental white clover or red/Swedish clover sown into the sward, substantial amounts of symbiotic nitrogen were accumulated in the harvestable plant matter, giving a total dry matter yield of 76 dt ha − 1. Clover yield shares up to 30% resulted in increasing DM yields which, however, declined again with even larger shares of clover. As to the ingredients of grasses, herbs and clover, the differences were mostly significant. On an average of the six test years, nitrogen fixation was 58.4 kg ha − 1 for white clover and 46.6 kg ha − 1 for red/Swedish clover.


Abstract Grain orientation effects of (NaBi)(l-x)/2Ca x Bi4Ti4O15 (NCBT-100x) ceramics, which belong to a bismuth layer-structured ferroelectric (BLSF) family, are studied using the hot-forging (H.F.) method on the piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties. The dielectric constant e s is small and almost constant at the wide range of composition (x = 0tox = 1). The Curie temperature, Tc , increases as the Ca concentration increases. The grain orientation (H.F.) effects enhance the piezo- and pyroelectric properties by a factor of two or more if compared with non-oriented ones. The H.F. and Mn-doped NCBT-5 ceramics, with a lower free permittivity e33 T/e0 (= ∼ 130) and higher electromechanical coupling factor k 33 (= 33 ∼ 40%), along with a higher anisotropy k 33/k 31 (= 13 ∼ 17), are very attractive candidate materials for hydrophone applications at high temperatures or for high-frequency ultrasonic transducers. Pyroelectric properties are also very interesting for sensor materials, and the figure of meri...


Objective: This study investigated the possible neuroprotective effects of Ginkgo biloba on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in ovariectomized rats. Methods: Rats were randomly allocated into 5 groups as follows: Sham-operated group, Ovariectomized group (OVX), Cerebral I/R injury ovariectomized group (OVX+I/R) and two treated groups given Ginkgo biloba leaves extract in two doses [(OVX+I/R)+Gin50 and (OVX+I/R)+Gin100] for one month starting one month after ovariectomization. Two months after ovariectomization, cerebral I/R injury was induced. 24 h later, blood and brain samples were collected. Results: Ginkgo biloba (50 and100 mg/kg) significantly decreased concentrations of TNF-α, MDA and NO, increased GSH concentration in serum and brain tissue and improved the histopathological pictures of treated rats when compared to ovariectomized cerebral I/R injury group. The effect of Ginkgo biloba high dose was better than the low dose. Conclusion: Thus the study suggests Ginkgo biloba as a potent supplement for protection against cerebral I/R injury in estrogen deficient females, after full clinical evaluation. The proposed mechanisms include neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant actions.


This paper presents the experimental and finite element method (FEM) of analyses performed to model the use of soil reinforcement for rehabilitation of gantry crane track foundations. Since gantry crane tracks are subjected to eccentric and inclined loads, the analyses were performed for these loading cases. The results of the analyses predicted that soil reinforcement would reduce vertical, horizontal and rotational settlements caused by this type of loading. The percentage of reduction in settlement increased as the load eccentricity and inclination increased.


The general problem of concurrency control for database systems has been studied intensively. However, the studies often ignored the underlying file systems. A locking scheme for multi-key hashed file structures is presented in this paper. First, we define a transaction model for such file structures, then we present techniques for conflict detection as well as a new locking scheme. The locking scheme combines aspects of both physical and predicate locking schemes. It places locks on buckets while guaranteeing record-level access; this results in increased concurrency with minimal overhead.


The Role of Personality and Situation Variables in Responding to and Helping an IndiA^idual in Psychological Distress (May, 1979) Susan Mydlarz Grodman, B.S., Brooklyn College M.S., Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Directed by: Professor Ervin Staub This study explored various factors involved in helping an individual experiencing psychological distress. A major goal was to test a model developed by Staub. The model deals with personality characteristics that are important in affecting prosocial behavior, as well as situational variables, and the nature of personality situation interaction. One objective was to identify and study a broad-based personality characteristic, germane to helping itself (i.e., a prosocial goal). Personality tests were administered to subjects and then factor analyzed in order to generate a prosocial personality factor. Factor scores were computed and subjects were divided into low and high prosocial groups. It was predicted that high prosocial subjects would be more helpful than low prosocial ones. The influence of two situational variables on helping was also examined; (a) the cost of helping (high versus V low) and (b) the expectation of an additional meeting with the help requester (meeting versus no meeting). The following hypotheses were proposed: (a) subjects would help less when the costs were high; (b) subjects would help more if they anticipated future interaction with the help requester; (c) personality by situation interactions would occur . In the first of two experimental sessions, personality tests were administered to 186 female undergraduates. A prosocial factor was developed and ^0 high and 40 low prosocial individuals were randomly assigned to treatment conditions . In session two, a female experimenter instructed the subject and a female confederate to work on various personality tests. During one test, the confederate, appearing distressed, related her problem. The situational factors were varied prior to the help request. In high cost, subjects were offered the chance to receive information about themselves (via a personality profile). This feedback was contingent upon the completion of all of the personality tests. Any interruptions jeopardized this opportunity. In low cost, feedback was not offered. In the meeting condition, subjects were led to anticipate future contact with the confederate during a "third experimental session." This expectation was not created in the control group.


Extracting data from web pages is an important task for several applications, such as comparison shopping and data mining. Much of that data is provided by search result pages, in which each result, called search result record, represents a record from a database. One of the most important steps for extracting such records is identifying, among different data regions from a page, one that contains the records to be extracted. An incorrect identification of this region may lead to an incorrect extraction of the search result records. In this paper, we propose a simple but efficient method that generates path expression to select the main data region from a given page, based on the rendering area information of its elements. The generated path expression may be used by wrappers for extracting the search result records and its data units, reducing its complexity and increasing its accuracy. Experimental results using web pages from several domains show that the method is highly effective.


This chapter focuses on the Preparatory Theological Commission (TC), opposite number to the Congregation for the Holy Office. It deals with the appointment of the chair and secretary. The decision to appoint Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, secretary of the Holy Office, as chair of the Theological Commission comes as little surprise, although the prefect rather than the secretary of the respective curial congregations tended as a rule to be appointed as chair of the corresponding preparatory commission. The appointment of the commission secretary likewise appears to have taken place at a relatively early date. The chapter also focuses on the way the parva commissio went about its business. Dhanis was proposed by his fellow Jesuits and scholarly colleagues at the Gregoriana. Given his impact on the nouvelle theologie at the end of the 1940s, it comes as little surprise that theologians such as Philippe and Ciappi were sympathetic towards his nomination.Keywords: Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani; Holy Office; parva commissio; Preparatory Theological Commission (TC); theologians; Theological Commission


This paper presents novel methods of recognizing vehicle license plates robustly . To acquire fine images of quickly passing vehicles under a wide range of illumination conditions, we developed a sensing system having superb characteristics. We expanded the dynamic range and eliminated the blurring of images of fast moving vehicles by synthesizing a pair of synchronized images with different intensities. Furthermore, to extend the flexibility of the positioning of the TV camera, we propose a recognition algorithm which can be applied to inclined plates . The performance of the integrated system was investigated on real images of highly inclined plates of vehicles captured under various illumination conditions . The recognition rate of 97% shows that the developed system is effective for license plate recognition . キー ワー ド:ナ ンバ ープ レー ト認識,ダ イナ ミック レンジ,CCDカ メラ,画 像処理,文 字認識


A 76-year-old man developed gait disorder with falls over the course of 2 years. On neurologic examination, he had apraxia of eyelid opening, vertical supranuclear gaze palsy, dysarthria, and dysphagia. There was facial hypomimia, moderate axial rigidity, symmetrical bradykinesia, and no tremor. Gait was characterized by freezing and postural instability. Cognitive assessment was normal. Brain MRI revealed a multiloculated lesion of the pineal region causing midbrain (tectal plate) distortion (figure). Histology was compatible with pineocytoma. Descriptions of clinical pictures resembling progressive supranuclear palsy caused by midbrain tumors are historical,1 especially by a rare tumor in adulthood.


Annual final report submitted on July 9, 2018 by the chair of the NMRT Shirley Olofson Memorial Award Committee, records the committee's charge, project descriptions, goals, and objectives for the coming year.


Laser Communications offer a viable alternative to established RF communications for inter-satellite links and other applications where high performance links are a necessity. High data rate, small antenna size, narrow beam divergence, and a narrow field of view are characteristics of laser communications that offer a number of potential advantages for system design. This paper will focus on the requirements of the lasers and optics used for beam forming, as well as receiver antenna gain and detectors used in free space communications. Also discussed are the critical parameters in the Transmitter, Channel, Receiver, and link budget that are employed in successful inter-satellite communications system.


A new approach is proposed for the DOA and frequency joint estimation of signal. This algorithm is based on UN-ESPRIT and DOA array algorithms of correlated data between two arrays, called UN-DOAa-ESPRIT algorithm. It estimates simultaneously the DOA of two array antenna and frequency. The estimated parameters are auto matically paired, eliminating the need for additional paring computation and improving the robustness to spatially unkown correlated noise. The simulating results show that the new method is effective.


Abstract.  A new species, Elatostema recurviramum W. T. Wang & Y. G. Wei (Urticaceae), from Guangxi, China, is described and illustrated, and its affinities are discussed. It most closely resembles E. cyrtandrifolium (Zoll. & Moritzi) Miq., from which it differs in the recurved stems and branches, the denticulate margin of the leaf apex, the larger, ovate stipules, the presence of densely distributed cystoliths on the blade midrib, and the glabrous, lineolate achenes. The new taxon was collected from a limestone cave and is considered to be Critically Endangered (CR) according to IUCN Red List criteria.


In this paper, we consider prize-collecting Steiner forest and k-Steiner forest when the vertices of the input graph are points in the Euclidean plane and the lengths are Euclidean distances. First, we simplify the analysis of the polynomial-time approximation scheme (PTAS) of Borradaile et al. [7, 8] for the Euclidean Steiner forest problem. This is done by proving a new structural property and slightly modifying the dynamic programming by adding a new piece of information to each dynamic programming state (we do believe it is necessary but missing in the implicit dynamic programming of Borradaile et al.). Then based on our new structural property and algorithm, we develop a PTAS for a well-motivated case, i.e., the multiplicative case, of prize-collecting and budgeted Steiner forest. At the end, we present some evidence that why these problems might be hard if they are in the general (and not multiplicative) Euclidean case. ∗Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540; Email: email@example.com. †AT&T Labs– Research, Florham Park, NJ 07932; Email: firstname.lastname@example.com.


M ÜLLER C, Z ARUBA M, G ARTENMANN S, L AMPE -B LESS K, S CHMID LIN P R: Th e Zuerich tunnel technique – furcation management with the adjuvant use of rubber ligatures (in German). SWISS DENTAL JOURNAL SSO 127: 867–875 Th e treatment of furcation-involved teeth represents a de-manding task for the clinician. Di ff erent regenerative and re-sective surgical techniques are available. Among the latter, the tunneling technique is known for its minimal invasiveness be-cause neither endodontic nor prosthetic restorative treatment have to be performed. A modification of the tunneling technique has been developed using rubber ligatures. Th e ligature may be inserted in the furcation for a period of seven days in or-der to perform a tunneling of a molar with an already existing osseous grade III furcation. Th us the soft tissue is forced to form an open canal, which is accessible for an interdental brush af-terwards. If a surgical treatment is required to open the a ff ected furcation, the rubber ligature may serve as a valuable tool to im-pede the soft tissues from recolonizing the tunnel during the seven days healing period. Clinical examples are presented and the implications for the daily practice are explained.


The present invention relates to methods FOR HANDLING cell differentiation INCLUDING THE ROLE OF CONTACT WITH A cell with an amount of a protein TOPORITMICA or a fragment or derived from a first protein TOPORITMICA, WHOSE fragment or derivative CAPABLE OF LINK TOPORITMICA with a second protein or an amount of an antibody or fragment thereof containing the idiotype which binds with a protein TOPORITMICA, the latter eFFECTIVE to manipulate cell differentiation CONTACTED.


This paper presents a security framework for secure message delivery and offline message viewing of the electronic bills. This framework utilizes various encryption technologies to protect the content of the email that carries the confidential information


Presented compilation of scientific, theoretical and experimental results, promotes an innovative synergy of various metals and industrial activities in metallurgy, resulting in profitable transformation of byproducts and waste materials into resources. Focusing on treatment of specific by-products from zinc and copper primary production, as well on specific waste streams like WEEE and waste automotive catalysts, group is actively contribute to the Serbia, region and EU sustainability policies. In terms of sustainable development, metallurgy is a traditional part of the solution rather than part of the problem, so it is necessary to take the chance and centuries-old tradition.


The method of the fast Radon transform calculation whith uses properties of symmetry has been proposed. The scheme calculation symmetry properties were investigated. It allows to calculate less number of necessary characteristics. The carried out researches have shoun affectivity of proposed method, with essentially alloved to decrease time of Radon transform calculation.


The Simulation Model of Back Plane Circuit Vertical Crosstalk (BP‐VC) of AM‐OLED displays was established according to the experimental VC test method in this paper. The impact of the Pixel Storage capacitance (Cst) and the Parasitic Capacitance had been studied. Pixel with good simulated VC had been optimized by increasing Cst and decreasing the parasitic capacitance of gate electrode of driving TFT (N1 node) and Gate line (Cap2), thus reaching the achievement that BP‐VC decreases from 1.54% to 0.76% in 6.5 inch FHD OLED Display.


Breast cancer is the most widely recognized cancer-related death among women globally. Epidemiological studies released in different parts of the world over the past two decades show a significant rise in mortality rates for breast cancer. Today, mammography is the most effective method for imaging masses and microcalcifications in breast tissue. On the other hand, breast biopsy predictions arising from mammogram analysis lead to nearly 70 percent biopsies of benign findings that can be prevented without a biopsy. An automated method is therefore required to assist physicians in mammography analysis prognoses. Researchers have suggested different medical decision support systems recently. In this study, a medical decision support system to be utilized in the process of a breast cancer diagnosis is proposed. The primary purpose of this system is to lower the number of unnecessary breast biopsies and make the diagnosis more reliable. Accordingly, apart from the age of the patient, BI-RADS assessment of the breast tissue, the shape of the mass, mass margin, tissue density, the class label indicating the severity of the lesion are evaluated using the performances of a Naive Bayes algorithm , which is a probabilistic classification algorithm, and Multilayer Perceptron algorithm, which is a feed forward neural network, as two different classification algorithms via a preferred dataset in which each mammography * This paper was presented at the International Conference on Access to Recent Advances in Engineering and Digitalization (ARACONF 2020). ** Sorumlu Yazar: Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli Üniversitesi, Mühendislik Mimarlık Fakültesi, Biyomedikal Mühendisliği Bölümü, Nevşehir, Türkiye, ORCID: 0000-0002-9688-6293, firstname.lastname@example.com European Journal of Science and Technology e-ISSN: 2148-2683 115 mass have six different feature. The proposed system can help to make a biopsy or short-time follow-up decision. The test results are promising that the proposed method can be used as a decision module in computer-aided diagnosis systems.


The purpose of this article is to prepare a security analysis of authentication and authorization mechanisms in web applications based on the REST architecture. The article analyzes the problems encountered during the implementation of the JSON Web Token (JWT) mechanism. The article presents examples of problems related to the implementation of authorization and authentication, and presents good practices that help ensure application security.


This paper discusses approaches to teaching parts of the foundations of interactive narrative for the design of interactive media and games in a course offered to undergraduate New Media and Game Design students. The course is offered to upper division students, most of whom are in the Game Design degree in the School of Interactive Games and Media at the Rochester Institute of Technology. While traditional approaches to understanding narrative structure and analysis, grounded in theories of drama, myth and cinema, such as Aristotle's Poetics and Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces, are valuable and it is important for students to be familiar with this body of thought and practice, a growing body of empirical research and theory can help us understand the neurological basis for cognition, interaction design and narrative structure. Rather than viewing framing and metaphors as purely cinematic or poetic devices, for example, we can understand how they represent the encoding and representation of knowledge and a mechanism for automaticity in comprehension. These theories also provide a framework for analysis of media and interaction and a growing set of tools for designing user experience by basing our analytical and design tools and methodologies more firmly on empirical research. For example, how does one translate fairly abstract ideas and emotions into the procedural mechanics of the underlying systems upon which we implement interaction designs? Do we have predictive models that facilitate our ability to conduct research related to the design, implementation and effects of interactive media and games? As a beneficial side effect, learning about the power and automaticity of these cognitive processes might also help inoculate both students and faculty against the abusive use of neuroscience as it is incorporated into games, marketing, public relations and political propaganda. The paper will look application of the theories of frames and metaphors by Goffman [1], Fillmore [2] and Lakoff & Johnson [3].


Chicago—For men diagnosed with early prostate cancer or localized disease, the roles of the urologist, surgical oncologist, and radiation oncologist have been fairly well defined. The role of medical oncologists in managing patients in the early stages of the disease is less clear.


—Carbon fiber reinforced resin mineral composite (RMC) has ten times the vibration alleviating property than cast iron, which can be used to produce the mechanical basic parts of high precision machine tools. Aggregate, resin matrix and fibers are the key component in RMC to bear loads, different component dosage and aggregate gradation design determine the compression strength of RMC directly. An optimal method to determine the critical dimension of aggregate is proposed based on particle interference theory and fractal aggregate gradation is used to adjust the proportion. The micromechanical model of carbon fiber reinforced RMC is established to certify its work mechanism. Carbon fibers are used after combined surface treatment, typical RMC samples are prepared and the compression strength tests are conducted respectively to get effective variation tendency. The optimal design has better compression strength performance and the fibers play an important role in strength reinforcing.


A B S T R A C T The selection of salinity tolerant bacteria may provide greater promotion of plant growth in soils with salt stress. This study aimed to isolate and select bacterial isolates of sugarcane, tolerant to salinity and plant growth promoters, and assess genetic diversity. To do so, endophytic root and rhizosphere of sugarcane, were isolated in culture medium with and without NaCl. The bacterial population density, the potential for biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), production of indole acetic acid (IAA), inorganic phosphate solubilization and quorum sensing molecule production were evaluated. Furthermore, the genetic diversity was assessed by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) of nifH. Salinity tolerance tests were also conducted. There was no statistical difference in population density. As for the potential for BNF, IAA production, phosphate solubilization and quorum sensing molecule production, there was a high percentage of positive isolates. In the technique of DGGE nifH, the dendrogram showed high genetic variability. So there was the selection of bacteria that can contribute to the better development of sugarcane in saline soils.


In 2015, China Supreme People's Court for the first time issued a judicial interpretation on civil procedure. In order to address the persistent problem of repeated prosecution of parties abusing their litigation rights in civil proceedings, the court makes provision for repeated prosecutions, so that it can be followed during trials. Undeniably, this judicial interpretation has filled the gaps in the law, but there are still some problems in its application. At present, Article 247 of The Judicial Interpretation of Civil Procedure Law stipulates that the standard of repeated prosecution should be "two same" or "three same." However, if only a formal review is conducted, the system will be discredited, and if it is subject to substantive review, it may lead to inconsistent judicial decisions in different places; therefore, it is disadvantageous to judicial authority and the understanding and application of the basic system of civil action. In view of this, it is necessary for us to examine whether this constitutes a repeated prosecution.


ABSTRACT Aim: Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes confer greater risk of developing breast cancer. A hospital based study from Eastern India to find the associations among molecular, immunohistochemical, and clinicopathologic features of the breast cancer patients with and without BRCA1 mutations was aimed Methods: From March 2010 to November 2013, 214 patients undergoing surgical treatment in the Department of Surgery of our Institute were subjects of this study. Tumor size was evaluated & histological grading of tumors was done. All paraffin embedded surgical specimens were tested for immunohistochemical features (expression of ER, PR and HER2/Neu status). Detection of BRCA1 gene mutations for exons 2,8,10,11,14,15 and 20 were performed by ARMS-PCR followed by direct DNA sequencing. Co-relation of hormone receptors, BRCA1 gene mutations and outcome of therapy were assessed for prognostication. Results: Out of 214 patients, 126 and 88 were with and without family history respectively. Average age was 48.12 + 10.32 years. Invasive ductal carcinoma was the most common histology among them. Mean tumor size was 2.52 + 0.42 cm and 51.40% patients had Grade II tumor. Among these patients 41.12%, 53.27% and 18.22% patients were found having ER+, PR+ and triple negative cancer. Mutations of BRCA1 gene was found in 9 patients. Seven 5382insC, two missense mutations (c.5237A > C; p.His1746Pro and c.5210 G > A; p.Arg1737 Lys) in exon 20 were identified. Long term disease free survival (DFS) was seen in 9 patients who were BRCA1 & hormone receptor positive (ER+, PR+). Conclusions: These data showed a correlation between the BRCA1 mutations with clinical characteristics. BRCA1 mutation carriers who are older at first BC diagnosis are more likely to have ER+, PR+ tumors than younger BRCA1 mutation carriers. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is the best method for non-invasive imaging of soft tissue anatomy. A conventional MRI relies on 1.5-3 T fixed strength magnetic fields, with parts-per-million homogeneity, requiring large and expensive magnets. MRI can be done at ultra-low magnetic fields (ULF) with Larmor frequencies of a few kHz with much more modest magnetic system requirements. However the ULF regime requires a very sensitive detection system. A candidate detection system is based on SQUID gradiometers. A conventional SQUID gradiometer based detection system requires effective shielding from all ambient electromagnetic noise. Large shielded structures, such as magnetically shielded or eddy-current rooms, can be used for proof-of-principles experiments but do not lead to practical deployable instruments. Our goal is to develop a technique in which a SQUID-based detector array could be deployed without the limitation imposed by the requirement for a shielded structure. We have tested a 7-channel ULF MRI system located in unshielded environment inside a modern physics laboratory. It was possible to significantly suppress most of the electromagnetic interference by subtracting the signal from a one-channel reference magnetometer located nearby. We believe that the influence of the pre-polarization coil produces kHz-range frequency noise in gradiometer channels that is very well correlated with the signal from the magnetometer.


Electronic portfolios have developed as a medium for learning that makes use of the learners' own reflections on connections among portfolio artifacts. This study used a portfolio-based, mid-program reflection of undergraduate students to elaborate a framework for reflective learning and raise questions about related assessment practices.


Applications of two dimensional image codes like QR and color code on mobile phone are spreading widely and in lieu of that, better decoding technology and platform designs are required. Futhermore "Bokode" technology which recognizes the defocus-blur image information from imperceptible visual tiny code on ordinary digital camera has been announced newly. There is an urgent need for competitive strategies to activate 2D image code industry and R&D under smart environment. This paper focused on suggesting valuable idea and practical task through investigation and analysis required for supporting of thus strategy construction. Description consist of introduction, technological tendency for R&D, patent and market, implementation task, conclusion and suggestion.


With the rapid development of healthcare and human‐machine interactions, there is a growing demand for flexible electronic skin to have a high sensitivity over a wide range. While current multilevel and hierarchical structures inspired by nature broadened the sensing range, the structural design still lacks systematic study. Hereby, an ordered multilevel microstructure is proposed, and the design strategy for performance regulation of piezoresistive pressure sensors is studied. Both microstructure height and spatial distribution are investigated systematically through simulation and experiments. The flexible piezoresistive pressure sensor is fabricated by combining a fast, cost‐effective laser marking technology, molding, and pneumatic spray. The fabricated sensors show high sensitivity (1.5 – 8.3 kPa−1) over a wide range (0.01 – 200 kPa), and have a detection limit of 10 Pa, a response time of below 70 ms, and a mechanical stability over 10 000 cycles. This design and fabrication strategy can be further optimized by combining advanced materials and fabrication systems, and is expected to be applicable for a wide range of flexible materials.


According to the characteristics of vegetable greenhouse, based on S-MAC protocol, this paper proposed a L-MAC protocol of low power loss. A dynamic duty cycle adjustment mechanism is designed in the protocol, through the network traffic prediction to dynamically adjust the duty cycle to accommodate changes in network traffic. Finally, by the simulation analysis, the validity of the agreement is to verified.


Psoriatic arthritis (PA) is a chronic systemic disease that is difficult to recognize. The diagnosis is made primarily on clinical detection of psoriasis and inflammatory arthritis of the (Read More...)


To address shortcomings of the current Internet, many researchers are taking a clean-slate approach toward re-designing the Internet. These so-called clean-slate approaches discard the old assumptions, design principles, and constraints of the current Internet, set aside concerns about compatibility with existing software, and rebuild the entire network from scratch. Clean-slate approaches have the potential to produce a completely new Internet with new features and applications. However, clean-slate approaches are rarely backward compatible, thereby rendering existing legacy software and applications useless. Rewriting huge numbers of existing legacy applications to run in a clean-slate environment is simply not practical. This paper attempts to address this challenge of running legacy software on a clean-slate network architecture. We propose a general framework that supports a translation and policy interface by which users and administrators (or applications) can map legacy software onto emerging clean-slate networks. Using the framework, users are able to take advantage of the features of a clean-slate network while running existing applications. To check the correctness and completeness of our framework, we implemented an initial prototype and applied it in the context of our clean-slate Postmodern (PoMo) Internet Architecture. Using our system we show how existing applications can make use of, and benefit from, PoMo's multi-path routing capabilities.


This paper gives a penetrating analysis of the two main branches of modern western environment ethics,namely,human centralism and non-human centralism,and it also constructively examines the several major theories of non-human centralism from the perspective of post-modernization dimensions,discloses the theory value and practical significance of the several dominating thoughts.Combining the present state of the development of environmental ethics with scholars' queries,the paper indicates the dilemma that environmental ethics is faced with and points out that theoretical transcendence must be achieved if environmental ethics wants to be developed.


Took Changtu county in Liaoning Province for example, this paper used survey data from parcel sizes, area and distance to examine the fragmentation of farmland cultivated by household. The reasons for fragmentation were land use system、population pressure、 traditional habits and weak land transfer market.


Tracer analysis is one of the ways to increase a university's accreditation. Tracer studies, also known as graduate surveys, are beneficial for enhancing learning and developing university curricula. The period it takes graduates to secure employment is a measure of their quality. The sooner graduates obtain a job, the higher their perceived quality. Conversely, if it takes graduates longer to find employment, their quality is deemed lower. To gain new knowledge from the tracer study dataset regarding the relationship between university contribution and alumni capability in the job market, in this study, data mining techniques are used to determine what factors influence the length of time it takes college graduates to find employment. This classification model contains a total of 2288 data instances from the categorical type of dataset. The features are selected using chi-square. Two classification algorithms, Decision Tree and Support Vector Machine, are compared for the best model. This study also used hyperparameter tuning to improve accuracy. The results show decision tree produces higher accuracy compared to the support vector machine. The accuracy obtained from the decision tree model is 55.02% and increased to 65.06% after hyperparameter tuning. Meanwhile, the support vector machine brought an accuracy of 60.40% and increased to 62.15% after hyperparameter tuning. Factors that affect the classification of the alumni waiting period in getting a job in this study are sex, faculty of the study field, department of the study field, study period, company specification, company category, and work location.


Respiratory disorders are among the most common occupational diseases. In order to assess the respiratory status of the Construction and Sanitary workers this study was conducted. The construction and sanitary workers are exposed to harmful dust particles as well as pathogens regularly which affect their respiratory system. A standardized questionnaire designed, covering all the required data was served to the workers and a total of 249 workers turned up. After considering the exclusion criteria, 101 construction workers and 56 sanitary workers in the study group were compared with 92 controls in terms of their respiratory status. Respiratory complaints were significantly higher in the study group compared to controls. Frequencies of abnormal spirometric findings were significantly higher in the study group. The study results demonstrated that occupational exposure to cement, road dust and unwanted wastes created severe harm to the workers respiratory system. Therefore, it is recommended to diminish workers' exposure to environmental dust by proper implementation of respiratory protection programs. Also, filling out the standard respiratory questionnaire and performing the pulmonary function tests are advised for workers in their periodic examination programs.


Cyber diplomacy is an emerging tool for states and other stakeholders to manage collective security risks and promote good governance in a world whose interdependencies lead to the propagation of risks, threats and vulnerabilities at a rapid pace and without regard for traditional boundaries and jurisdictions. This article presents the various facets of the emerging cyber diplomacy literature and details initiatives in this area. Overall, there is an understanding of its role in creating a more stable cyber environment, but there are significant hurdles to overcome, especially as they relate to trust and coordination.


The current legislative framework relating to exemption clauses, as provided for by the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977[1] and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999[2], has been criticised as creating "inconsistency" and "complexity" because of the differences in scope of application, and the use of different concepts and terminology.[3] Against this background, the Law Commissions of England and Wales, and the Scottish Law Commission have set out the draft Unfair Terms Bill which contains provisional proposals for reform to the legislation relating to exemption clauses.[4]


This paper reports on the sedimentology and stratigraphy of the mid‐Cretaceous Mishrif Formation, one of the principal carbonate reservoirs in Central and Southern Iraq. The Cenomanian Mahilban, Maotsi and Fahad Carbonate Formations of Central Iraq are the lateral chronostratigraphical equivalents of the Mishrif and underlying Rumaila Formations of Southern Iraq. Together, these units represent a single mid‐Cretaceous carbonate succession in the Mesopotamian Basin.


An increased reactivity of the vegetative nervous system under manganese-lead effect is established in practically healthy workers during the latent stage. The dynamics of the combined toxic invasion is characterized by sympathetic-adrenergic manifestations mainly. A number of vegetative disturbances showing a tendency for generalization, and involving various levels of the nervous system, are also outlined.


In order to provide references for designing grading ring and corona characteristic tests of grading rings on1 000kV ultra-high voltage(UHV)AC compact transmission line,we analyzed the influence of the shape of grading ring and arrangement on its surface electric field intensity by using the numerical finite element method(FEM)and the pre-designed parameters of 1 000kV UHV AC compact transmission line.Firstly,we established a 3D electrostatic field finite element model of grading ring(full model)to calculate the influences of pipe diameter,ring diameter,installation position,and small grading ring on the maximum electric field intensity on the surface of the grading ring(Em).Based on the calculation results,four kinds of grading rings with different parameters were preliminarily selected for true type test.Then,adopting the pre-designed tower parameters,we proposed the parameters of simulative tower window and test arrangement of composite insulator and grading ring for corona characteristic tests in UHV AC Test Base.Furthermore,a 3Delectrostatic field finite element model of the corona characteristic test arrangement(test model)was also built,by which the electric field intensities of the four kinds of grading rings were calculated and compared with the results of full model.Correction coefficients between the results in the two models were also obtained based on electric field intensity equivalent method.The calculations show that for racetrack rings,the maximum field intensity all appear at their openings as well as at the nadir of lower half circle for circular rings.Em increases with the rise of grading ring's installation position,and it decreases with the increase of pipe diameter or ring diameter.Small grading rings show no influence on Emof big grading ring.For a middle phase racetrack grading ring with its pipe diameter of 800 mm,ring diameter of 110 mm and installation position of 140,Em at its ring opening is 21.97kV/cm;as for a circular ring with the same parameters,Em is 18.44kV/cm,which is the best among the four calculated kinds parameters.


will discuss 5 issues: the risks of diabetes and metabolic syndrome, the underlying pathophysiology, the treatment, the debate over the definition of metabolic syndrome, and some new treatment data. Let's start with a case of a 57-year-old asymptomatic CEO (Fig. 1). He jogs a little bit every day and plays golf (taking a few mulligans here and there). His LDL in the past was 177 mg/dL. He has a history of hypertension, and there is a history of premature heart disease in his family. A stress test is normal to stage 6. He is on a statin and an antihypertensive. On physical exam, he's 6 foot 2 and weighs 220 pounds, with a BMI of 28 kg/m. His waist circumference is 41 inches. His blood pressure, on treatment, is 150/88 mmHg; his cholesterol is 220 mg/dL, LDL is 140 mg/dL, HDL is 36 mg/dL, triglycerides are 220 mg/dL, and his fasting sugar is 120 mg/dL. Because he is doing so well, he stops his statin. Looking a little closer, we see that his Framingham risk score gives him a 10-year heart disease risk of 20%, equivalent to that of coronary heart disease. He has all 5 of the criteria for the metabolic syndrome, at least according to the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP). A poster child for the metabolic syndrome is William Jefferson Clinton, and we all know what happened to him—urgent quadruple bypass surgery. When I stepped up on the podium, you probably didn't realize, looking at me, that 2 years ago I was drafted by the NFL. It's true. But I wasn't drafted as a quarterback or as a kicker. I was drafted as an obesity heart disease consultant to the NFL. The NFL has a big problem: their players are not all lean, mean fighting machines with less than 2% body fat. In the United States over the past 4 years alone, there has been an increase of almost 12% in obesity (defined as a BMI >30). A teenager today, at any given age, weighs 31 pounds more than a teenager of the same age did 30 years ago. The average weight is increasing at the rate of a pound per year. Twenty-four percent of all Americans would be classified as having metabolic syndrome, a proportion that increases with age. Don't forget that there are real risks associated with having "just" impaired glucose tolerance, without overt diabetes. Does it matter that diabetes is usually associated with other multiple risk factors? Of course it matters. But diabetes alone, even without associated risk factors, is a bad thing. A recent study followed 15,000 patients living in Western Scotland, starting out in middle age. Some of them had neither heart disease nor diabetes. Some of them had heart disease, some had diabetes, and some had both. All-cause mortality over 25 years in patients with diabetes and heart disease was precisely (as Dave Barry would say, "I am not making this up") 100%. In this study, outcomes in men with heart disease only (no diabetes) were identical to outcomes in men with diabetes only. In women, diabetes was not equivalent to heart disease—it was worse. Diabetes is a gender-equalizer: a middle-aged woman with diabetes has the same risk for subsequent events (including death) as a man with heart disease. What is the pathophysiology of such substantial increases in risk? For starters, diabetes is oxidative stress (Fig. 2); and, not surprisingly, the diseases that go along with oxidative stress are atherosclerosis and hypertension. Diabetes is perhaps more accurately described as a disease of postprandial oxidative stress, so the abnormalities should be manifest with impaired glucose tolerance as well. People with diabetes also have poor endothelial function, especially in the postprandial state. One of the problems that always accompany oxidative stress is inflammation; markers of inflammation are significantly increased in patients with diabetes. Robert A.Vogel, MD


1. Introduction In human communication, speech conveys not only linguistic information but also emphasis, intention, attitude and so on. They are called paralinguistic information [1]. There are several researches on paralinguistic information [2,3]. Methods for modeling or detecting of paralinguistic information is useful for various application in man-machine communication such as speech synthesis with rich expressions and recognition of paralinguistic information in spontaneous speech. A speaker controls prosodic features such as fundamental frequency, power and temporal structures to express paralinguistic information. It is said that there are few speech rate variations in Japanese read speech. In spontaneous conversational speech, however, a speaker sometimes controls speech rate greatly to obtain a listener's attention. We previously found that speech rate of important words or portions of sentences is slowed to obtain the listener's attention [4]. In order to understand paralinguistic information using a computer, it is one of important issues to detect portions of sentences in which the speaker intentionally decelerates the speech rate. There are several studies on local speech rate variation [5–7]. However, there are few studies on detection of local speech rate variation. We try to detect a local slower portion from a time series of mora duration [4,8]. When the speech rate of one portion is slower than that of other portions, the mora duration is longer than the durations of other morae. However, it is known that variation in time series of mora duration is caused not only by intentionally controlled speech rate variation but also by other factors such as difference of phonemes, length of a phrase or a sentence and a position of a mora in a phrase or sentence [9]. We have proposed the variable threshold (VT) [8] for detecting a local slower portion decelerated by a speaker from observed mora duration. The VT is applied to time series of mora duration. A mora whose duration exceeds the VT is detected as a local slower portion. The outline of the VT is described in section 2. In this paper, we examine the properties of parameters in the VT that are used for determining range and speed of variation of the VT. Three sets of parameters are prepared. We assume that these sets of parameters correspond to the levels of a listener's attention to


Objective:To understand infection status and epidemic characteristics of geohelminthes in Wanzhou district.Methods: According to national unified plan,with stratified cluster sampling method,4 spots in 4 towns were investigated and 500 persons were selected in each spot.Geohelminthes ova was examined by Kato-Katz thick smear method;Oxyurid ova were examined for children younger than 12 by cellophane anal swab.Results: Total 2059 persons were investigated,327 persons were infected with geohelminthes,the infection rate was 15.88%.The infection rate of roundworm,whipworm,hookworm and oxyurid was 10.92%,1.74%,6.4% and 2.4% respectively.The infection rate for male(16.4)was higher than female(15.4);The general infection rate,roundworm infection and hookworm infection rate was the highest in 60 age group.The highest infection rate of whipworm was in 45~55 age group.Conclusion: It is widespread of geohelminthiasis in wanzhou district,the general infection rate is 15.9%.The children in the low age group,middle-aged illiterate and semi-literate are the key target people of geohelminthiasis control in the future.


Background: Examination of the incidence of shoulder season-ending injury (SEI) in the collegiate athlete population is limited. Purpose: To determine the incidence of shoulder SEI in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and to investigate the risk factors for a shoulder injury ending an athlete's season. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: All shoulder injuries from the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program database for the years 2009-2010 to 2013-2014 were extracted, and SEI status was noted. The incidences of SEI and non-SEI were calculated for athlete, activity, and injury characteristics and compared via univariable analysis and risk ratios to determine risk factors for an injury being season ending. Results: Shoulder injuries were season ending in 4.3% of cases. The overall incidence of shoulder SEI was 0.31 per 10,000 athlete exposures (AEs), as opposed to 7.25 per 10,000 AEs for all shoulder injuries. Shoulder instability constituted 49.1% of SEI, with an incidence of 0.15 per 10,000 AEs, while fractures had the highest rate of being season ending (41.9%). Men's wrestling had the highest incidence of shoulder SEI (1.65 per 10,000 AEs), while men's soccer had the highest proportion of shoulder injuries that ended a season (14.6%). Overall, men had a 6.3-fold higher incidence of SEI than women and a 2.4-fold increased likelihood that an injury would be season ending. Conclusion: Injury to the shoulder of an NCAA athlete, while somewhat infrequent, can have significant implications on time lost from play. Incidence of these injuries varies widely by sport and injury, with a number of associated risk factors. Athletes sustaining potentially season-ending shoulder injuries, with their coaches and medical providers, may benefit from these data to best manage expectations and outcomes.


Abstract Colonic thumbprinting was demonstrated in a young female with acute amebiasis. The changes regressed completely after medical therapy. The authors suggest that amebiasis be included in the differential diagnosis of thumbprinting.


Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unforeseen challenges for humanity, taking a significant toll, especially the immune-suppressed individuals. In this regard, the health and general well-being of people with rheumatic diseases, the great majority users of immunosuppressives, have been at stake. Objectives: To explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with rheumatic diseases on immunosuppression during the first wave, concerning a) (self-)management of their disease;b) interaction with the health care team;c) emotional well-being and d) overall health. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted following a phenomenological approach. Adults (>18 years) with a rheumatic disease from four European countries (Cyprus, England, Greece, Portugal). Patients were recruited through patient's associations and social media and were invited to participate in semi-structured, audio-recorded interview or focus groups, between July -August 2020. Following a pilot study the information provided was transcribed verbatim, anonymized and translated into English where necessary. An inductive approach was adopted to carry out a thematic framework analysis with the assistance of ATLAS.ti to identify key themes and subthemes. Data validation strategies were employed, and Ethical approval and informed consent were obtained. Results: Participants were 24 patients (21 women, age range 33 to 74 years) divided by 7 focus-groups and 1 individual interview. Most frequent diagnoses were rheumatoid arthritis (n=7), lupus (n=4), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (n=3). Three key themes with 3-7 subthemes were identified within the analytical framework, centred around the impact of the Covid-19 on patients' lives (Figure 1): i) individual person (e.g. fear for myself and family, social isolation and lack of personal freedom, more time with family) ii) health settings (e.g. (un)clear information about risks of contamination, fear or risk of shortages of medication, remote consultations), and iii) work and community (e.g. persistent stress due to mass media exposure, lack of awareness by others about patients' rheumatic disease and its disclosure, hope and suspicion about new vaccine development: "I hear that they will ask vulnerable groups to have the vaccine first (.) Why is that we will be again the innocent victims")?. Findings were similar across countries, except for spirituality (i.e. the pandemic as "the hand of God"), a coping subtheme particular to Portugal. These main themes resonated well with the social ecological model and Walsh's Family Resilience Process [1,2]. Conclusion: When experiencing a significant life-event people require some time to process the different lived experiences. This study provides insights on how patients from four countries coped with the new challenges. Such insights are invaluable for health care providers and policy makers, in guiding more meaningful support tailored to individual needs, especially at times of crisis. The study highlights the impact of COVID-19 on the lives of people with rheumatic disease. A follow-up study is currently underway to examine the effect of subsequent waves of the pandemic.


To determine urea nitrogen, ammonia resulting from urease hydrolysis of urea is titrated with coulometrically generated hypobromite ion using a direct amperometric end-point detection. In blood samples, the ammonia is first separated by the microdiffusion technic. The ammonia may be titrated directly in urine samples.