Background/Aim: Primary adrenal lymphoma (PAL) is rare and aggressive. The aim of this retrospective study was to compare the results of surgery and chemotherapy compared to chemotherapy alone for the treatment of this condition. Patients and Methods: Sixteen patients, 10 men and 6 women of a median age of 63 years (IQR=56-70.5 years), admitted for the treatment of PAL, were retrospectively reviewed. Six patients (37.5%) underwent surgical resection of the mass followed by CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, bleomycin and prednisone) – based chemotherapy (Group A). Ten patients (62.5%) underwent chemotherapy alone, consisting of CHOP alone in one case and Rituximab-CHOP (R-CHOP) in 9 cases (Group B). As primary study endpoints of the study, overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were considered. Results: At two years follow-up, OS was 50% in Group A and 60% in group B (p=0.69). The PFS was 50% in group A and 30% in group B (p=0.42). Conclusion: PAL exhibits overall a dismal prognosis. Chemotherapy remains the most appropriate treatment, although unable to ensure long-term survival. Surgery combined with chemotherapy is ineffective in improving survival and may, at best, have a limited role in relieving the pain related to the local mass effect.


The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is heavily exploited by the oil industry. Incidental oil releases, such as the 2010 blowout of the Deepwater Horizon platform, lead to a large scale dispersion of pollutants by ocean currents, contaminating the coastline and damaging the ecosystems. In order to determine whether the ocean dynamics hampers or conversely fosters the landing of material in the coastal regions, we simulate more than 29 000 individual tracer releases in the offshore waters of the GoM. We assume that the tracers are not decaying and transported passively by the ocean currents. In a first part of our study we focus on the mean dispersion pattern of 80 releases occurring at the location of the Deepwater Horizon. In a second part, we generalize the metrics that we defined to the whole GoM. Our study shows that releases occurring in specific regions, i.e. the bay of Campeche, off the Mississipi-Alabama-Florida and the West Florida shelfs are associated with higher environmental costs as the ocean currents steer the released material toward the productive coastal ecosystems and foster landings. Conversely, the tracers released off the Louisiana-Texas-shelfs and the center of the Gulf of Mexico are less threatening for coastal regions as the material recirculates offshore. We show that the coastline of the southwest part of the Bay of Campeche, the Mississipi's mouth and the Island of Cuba are particularly exposed as 70% of the landings occur in these 3 regions.


Eucalyptus grandis wood was thermally treated at two different temperatures (150 °C and 200 °C) in a muffle furnace with steam. The surface color change was measured right after the treatment and in wood samples stored for two years inside a carton box without light exposure. Samples were analyzed by thermogravimetry to detect variation of thermal degradation behavior for different treatment temperatures. Thermally treated wood was darker when compared to control samples. The storage time influenced the wood surface color, with the surface becoming darker and redder. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed a peak of wood degradation between 300 °C and 400 °C for thermally treated samples.


Historic structures are of great importance to current and future generations as they convey historical and cultural aspects of past civilizations. Many historic structures were built of stone masonry in the form of residential and religious buildings, bridges, and monuments. Some of those structures have survived earthquakes for centuries while others collapsed, revealing our lack of knowledge concerning the seismic behaviour of such structures. Historic structures are typically massive and stiff and can be vulnerable to seismic events even ones of low to moderate severity. The seismic vulnerability of such structures arises possibly due to the attraction of high inertial forces, the lack of ductility to dissipate seismic energy and the deterioration and weakening of the material over time. Historic structures were typically built based on the builders' experience: seismic codes did not exist at the time. To conserve those structures, seismic resistance should be evaluated carefully, and an appropriate rehabilitation scheme used if necessary. The seismic vulnerability of a stone structure is a function of the interaction of ground motion parameters and the structure itself. In this paper, we review and discuss some factors in current practice affecting the seismic vulnerability of stone masonry, considering seismic demand and capacity parameters.


An improved ansatz for the three‐gluon vertex function is treated; and it is shown that the gluon propagator has a double pole at the origin of the p2 plane, as well as a tachyon on the spacelike real axis, at least in this approximation.


With the growing number of biomedical papers published each year, keeping up with relevant literature has become increasingly important, and yet more challenging. SciReader (www.scireader.com) is a cloud-based personalized recommender system that specifically aims to assist biomedical researchers and clinicians identify publications of interest to them. SciReader uses topic modeling and other machine learning algorithms to provide users with recommendations that are recent, relevant, and of high quality1.


Restrictions of sleep predispose to experience, in the long term, excess malnutrition and non-transmissible chronic diseases. The objective of this research has to study the influence of working shifts on nutritional status lipid profile and fasting blood glucose (FBG). Study of a series of cases considered a total of 47 recruited workers from which 31 of them had a rotating shift (day and night) and 16 a steady shift (day). The nutritional assessment involved: BMI (Body Mass Index), waist and hip circumference, tricipital, bicipital, subescapular and suprailiac skinfolds. Sleep hours were studied with a weekly record, food intake was studied by means of 24-hours dietary recall. It was determined: total cholesterol, c- HDL, c-LDL, blood triglycerides and fasting blood glucose (FBG). The sample was composed by 87% women and 13% men, average age of 38,7 years [19,0] v/s 44,7[25,2] (p=0,420) in rotating and steady shifts respectively. The rotating shift did not show any significant differences compared to the steady shift in terms of anthropometric parameters except for subescapular skinfold that was significantly higher (p=0,032) in relation to the macronutrients intake. Lipid profile and glycemia did not show important differences (p=>0, 05). The prevalence of the nutritional status was: rotating shift 35,4% normal, 45,1% overweight and 19,5% obese. On the other hand, the steady shift showed: 43,7 % normal and 56,3% overweight. Seniority only in the rotating shift showed a positive correlation of BMI (r=0,436 p<0,005) body fat (r=0,454 p<0,005) total cholesterol (r= 0,394 p<0,005) LDL (r=0,484 p<0,005) and glycemia (r=0,405 p<0,005). We concluded that workers of the rotating and steady shift did not show significant differences among variables studied except for the subescapular skinfold that was significantly higher in the rotating shift, that can be associated to predominantly central fat distribution.


The issue of including energy efficient measures in the overhaul of residential real estate has been discussed for several years. The relevance of this issue is increasing in connection with the requirements established at the state level to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. The article calculates the determination of the energy efficiency class of a residential property included in the "Regional program for the overhaul of common property in apartment buildings in the Voronezh region for 2014–2044", after the implementation of energy efficiency measures. Improving energy efficiency is a strategic goal. However, energy efficiency improvements do not always lead to energy savings due to the "rebound effect". Therefore, it is necessary to organize the implementation of energy-efficient measures during the overhaul of residential real estate and the implementation of energy-saving programs (municipal, regional, state, industry).


A key strategy in facilitating learning in Open Disclosure training is the use of hypothetical, interactive scenarios called 'simulations'. According to Clapper (2010), the 'advantages of using simulation are numerous and include the ability to help learners make meaning of complex tasks, while also developing critical thinking and cultural skills'. Simulation, in turn, functions largely through improvisation and role-play, in which participants 'act out' particular roles and characters according to a given scenario, without recourse to a script. To maximise efficacy in the Open Disclosure training context, role-play requires the specialist skills of professionally trained actors. Core capacities that professional actors bring to the training process include (among others) believability, an observable and teachable skill which underpins the western traditions of actor training; and flexibility, which pertains to the actor's ability to vary performance strategies according to the changing dynamics of the learning situation. The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Service of Queensland Health utilises professional actors as a key component of their Open Disclosure Training Program. In engaging actors in this work, it is essential that Facilitators of Open Disclosure training have a solid understanding of the acting process: what acting is; how actors work to a brief; how they improvise; and how they sustainably manage a wide range of emotional states. In the simulation context, the highly skilled actor can optimise learning outcomes by adopting or enacting – in collaboration with the Facilitator - a pedagogical function.


Objective To observe the effects of knocking down Dicer enzyme expression on the biological behaviors of human glioma cells U87 and U251.Methods Using small interference RNA (siRNA) technology,Dicer enzyme expression was knocked down,Western blot detection U87 and U251 cells' Dicer enzyme expression after transfected with small interfering RNA 24 h; application of cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay,Tranwell test and gelatinase spectrum experiments to detect cell proliferation,invasion and matrix metalloproteinase [matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2,MMP-9] activity.Results Transfected with siRNA targeting Dicer enzyme,Dicer enzyme compared with the control group decreased by 68.0% (U87) and 60.3% (P <0.05) (U251).Both cell proliferation rate was significantly higher than the corresponding control group,and with time gap also increased (P < 0.05).number of cell invasion siRNA group 77.9±8.3 (U87) and 81.0 ±7.9 (U251) compared with negative control group 40.6 ±7.0 (U87) and 35.8 ± 6.5 (U251) increased significantly (P < 0.05).The siRNA set of MMP-2 activity increased compared with the control group (1.35 ± 0.17) times (U87),(1.19 ± 0.06) times (U251) (P < 0.05) ; MMP-9 activity increased compared with the control group (1.72 ± 0.37) times (U87),(1.66 ± 0.33) times (U251) (P < 0.05).Conclusion After dicer enzyme expression knockdown,human glioma cell proliferation increased,MMP-2,MMP-9 activity was enhanced and invasive increased.

Key words:
Small minterference RNA; Dicer; Glioma


A case history is presented of a 72 year old man with a 5 year history of dizzy spells, blackouts and vertigo. His blackouts were thought to result from postural hypotension which had been treated with fludrocortisone. He complained of fuzziness in the head, His wife felt that her husband's memory had become slightly impaired. The following questions are discussed: what is the most likely diagnosis for his treated postural hypotension; list possible reasons for this man's memory loss; what advice about driving a car would you give this man or his relatives? (non-author abstract)


An equalizer using estimated noise power is provided to maximize signal-to-noise of an equalized signal by calculating and applying an initial coefficient based on power of noise on the assumption that the noise is included in a signal received through an antenna. An equalizer includes at least one of noise power estimators(130-1 to 130-L), a combined linear equalizer(111), a subtracter, and a noise predictor. At least one of the noise power estimators(130-1 to 130-L) estimates channel impulse response and noise based on signals received through antennas and calculates a signal-to-noise power ratio. The combined linear equalizer(111) calculates an initial coefficient based on the channel impulse response and an SNR power ratio and equalizes received data by using the initial coefficient, so that an equalized signal having the maximum SNR is output. The subtrater removes predicted noise from the equalized signal to output a finally equalized signal. The noise predictor(117) predicts the predicted noise to output the predicted noise to the subtrater.


A recently developed numerical method, based on the modification of exact diagonalization calculations, is used to study the ground‐state properties of the spinless Falicov–Kimball model on the triangular lattice. The phase diagram as well as the valence and metal–insulator transitions are analysed and compared with results of the conventional Falicov–Kimball model on the square lattice. It is shown that the different cluster geometry leads to various changes in basic characteristics of the model. In particular, the triangular lattice destroys the symmetry of the phase diagram as well as the valence transitions, and stabilizes the new types of spatial charge ordering – the axial stripes and the phase separated distributions of localized f ‐electrons. Studying the conducting properties of the Falicov–Kimball model on the triangular lattice, the Mott‐Hubbard transition has been observed. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


A new and improved method and apparatus for determining cerebral oxygenation. In one basic aspect, a new processing methodology for oxygenation determination, in particular cerebral oxygenation, is provided based on the apprehension and discovery that time-based photon quantity determina tions of the wavelength-specific light leaving the head of the patient may be significantly improved, and simplified, by determining the quantity of returning photons in at least one set of two different but closely spaced points in time following the instant of injection, and then taking the ratio of the determinations in each set, to thereby cancel and remove several important sources of error.


This paper presents real-time control applications for the TRMS system. The twin rotor helicopter model has some complex features which make it difficult to control and therefore it can be used an ideal test setup for control applications. In this study, firstly, twin rotor helicopter model is run in real time and mathematical models are determined. According to the mathematical models, fractional order PID controller designs are realized by using Genetic Algorithm and real time pitch and yaw position control of the twin rotor helicopter model is provided. In the optimization algorithm, fractional order PID controller parameters were determined according to four different integral performance criteria. In real-time control of TRMS, integral performance criteria are compared with each other and the results are presented in figures. The results show that the real-time control of the system has been successfully performed using fractional order PID controller.


The Oribatid mites selected by Tullgren are separated from sample soil in field spot and its' catalog are listed in order to survey the distribution of oribatida and reasonably apply the biologic resource of oribatida in Wenshan Prefecture.The types of oribatid mites are complex.There are 33 species classified belonging to 21 families.The conclusion is that there are so many species of oribatid mites in Wenshan Prefecture and this biologic resource is worth being further researched,developed and applied.


The cork industry presents itself as one of the most entrepreneurial in the Portuguese industrial sector, contributing significantly to the increase of exports. However, it is an industry in which the use of raw materials is maximised leaving a large volume of waste. The cork industry has tried to take advantage of these residues, mainly through direct energy recovery, despite the technical and safety difficulties presented by the use of such low density material, which complicates and hinders its transportation for industrial uses outside the area in which it is produced. The densification process opens new doors for such use and also for its storage, because it produces better results when compared with other more common products, such as wood sawdust or even forest and agricultural waste. Thus, cork pellets emerge as a safer and more easily transportable alternative for energy recovery from cork dust and other granulated types of cork waste, which offer the prospects for wider use. The results demonstrate that cork pellets have higher calorific value when compared with other biomass pellets; typically, approximately 19 MJ/kg with 2% volume of ashes, which is equivalent to that obtained from the combustion of pellets produced from combined forest and agricultural waste with a bulk density of 640 kg/m3, which offers real advantages in terms of logistics.


Tolstoy openly despised women, yet in his greatest novels he created some of the most fascinating women characters. Holbrook draws on concepts and insights from object-relations and existentialist psycho-analysis to explain this bewildering contradiction. He suggests that behind Tolstoy's problems with women and sex was having his mother's primary maternal preoccupation withdrawn at a very early age.


Recently, a symmetric differential operator (SDO) is attracted to studying in the field of mathematical analysis. A new formal of SDO is presented to generalize some well known differential operators in a complex domain. According to this formulation, we shall exam the boundedness and compactness of this operator in complex spaces, such as Hilbert space and Sobolev space. For this purpose, we suggest new norms to solve the fractional Beltrami equation in the open unit disk. This operator has ability to depict the analytic geometric representation of the solution of second order differential equation utilizing the concept of Schwarzian derivative in the open unit disk. Applications in imagings are given the sequel.


Translation with commentary,or annotation translation,has been widely practiced in tertiary translation education in many countries and regions,while this pedagogic procedure for training professional translators is largely overlooked in China's universities and colleges.This paper discusses the motivation behind and theoretical foundation of this procedure,i.e.metacognition,and reviews its applications and researches.The authors then present a case of translation with commentary they carried out in their teaching and,with reference to the case,comment on the merits of this procedure,including notably the raising of trainee translators' awareness of the translation process,the promotion of their internalization of the fundamental principles and the translation methods they have learned and a more accurate assessment of the trainees' learning outcomes on the part of instructors.


This study presents a detailed study of the electri c field in polymeric isolators of the 500kV voltage class through modifications in the dimensions of the anti -corona ring. That is, by varying the three dimensi ons of the anti-corona ring: height (h), distance of the a nti-corona ring conductor (r) and the diameter of t he anti-corona ring conductor (d); it was possible to observe the electric field distribution in a polyme ric isolator of the 500 kV voltage class. Such voltage class in currently applied to prevent loss of energ y in long transmission lines. However it faces disadvant ages, like the problem of the increased corona effect, which besides generating electromagnetic no ise, increases the level of the electric field arou nd the conductors and the isolator. The corona effect is responsible for an electric energy loss that is in the order of hundreds of kW/km in TLs and generates noises that reach up to 65dBm. This effect occurs when the air's critical value is exceeded, c ausing the electrons to collide with air resulting in the formation of ozone which is a major cause of co rrosion in isolators. In this study, this issue is addressed and it is outlined sizing measures for ma nufactoring the anti-corona ring.


the footnoting is inconsistent, even failing to cite the sources for some direct quotations as well as considerable debatable material offered as fact. World historians will be familiar with many of the works cited in the footnotes, but a comprehensive bibliography would have helped the reader better evaluate her argument. And there is too much repetition of material. This book with its high-profile author will sell well, but a more global history of capitalism, for a popular or scholarly audience, remains to be written. craig a. lockard University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, Emeritus


Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the crosstalk effects between adjacent pixels in a thin silicon detector with 50 um thickness. Background: There are some limitations in the applications of detectors in hadron therapy. So it is neces- sary to have a detector with concurrent excellent time and resolution. In this work, the GEANT4 toolkit was applied to estimate the best value for energy cutoff in the thin silicon detector in order to optimize the detector. Materials and Methods: GEANT4 toolkit was applied to simulate the transport and interactions of particles. Calculations were performed for a thin silicon detector (2 cm × 2 cm × 0.005 cm) irradiated by proton and carbon ion beams. A two-dimensional array of silicon pixels in the x-y plane with 100 um × 100 um × 50 um dimensions build the whole detector. In the end, the ROOT package is used to interpret and analyze the results Results: It is seen that by the presence of energy cutoff, pixels with small deposited energy are ignored. The best values for energy cutoff are 0.01 MeV and 0.7 MeV for proton and carbon ion beams, respectively. By applying these energy cutoff values, efficiency and purity values are maximized and also minimum output errors are achieved. Conclusions: The results are reasonable, good and useful to optimize the geometry of future silicon detectors in order to be used as beam monitoring in hadron therapy applications. we have done Monte Carlo simulations of a thin silicon detector irradiated by Gaussian proton and carbon beams. We focused on the study of crosstalk effects between adjacent pixels in thin silicon detector with 50 um thickness.


Under Economic Growth mean constantly increasing volume of production in a country, or an increase in gross domestic product as the main quantitative indicators of production for a period of one year. Economic development is not only quantitative changes when it comes to the economic position of the country, but also qualitative changes (changing the economic structure, the emergence of new sectors and industries, new jobs, etc..). They lead to a better and more complete satisfaction of all human needs. Production per capita is a measure of the ability of a society to achieve their goals of social and economic development, all in order to meet the constantly growing social needs. The increase in output per capita in economic theory is expressed as economic growth, without which no economic development, but does not have any economic growth to be a function of economic development.


Abstract : Hunter Lake Dam is an earth embankment with a sheet timber core about 300 feet long and 13 feet high. The embankment has a top width of 42 feet and downstream and upstream slopes of 2H:1V an 1H:1V, respectively. The dam was constructed in 1928-29 to provide a lake for recreational purposes. Based on the visual observations, discussions with the Owner's representative, and information obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources, Division of Dam Safety, Hunter Lake Dam is considered to be in fair condition.


Objective:To study the value of reducing the incidence of recurrent ectopic pregnancy with preoperative and postoperative dual-purposed measures to lessen the damage and to recover the functions of fallopian tubes.Methods:The ectopic pregnancy in-patients of child-bearing age in the hospital from February, 2004 to October, 2005 were randomly divided into two groups according to their admittance dates: the studied group, those who were intervened preoperatively and postoperatively; and the contrast group, those who did not undergo preoperative and postoperative intervention. The following aspects of the two groups were compared:intraoperative time to stop the bleeding of the tube scar and the blood loss; the rate of patent tubes 2 or 3 months after the operation; postoperative rate of intrauterine pregnancy (IUP), and postoperative incidence of REP.Results:Every index of the studied group was superior to that of the contrast group. The expectant reproduction of the former had be improved apparently.Conclusion:The preoperative and postoperative intervention measures to reduce the blood supply to the embryo implantation areas and to recover the functions of fallopian tubes are of great importance to the reduction of REP incidence.


Effects of spraying 50 μg / L Brassinosteroid(BR) in different stages of chrysanthemum "chaziyanhong" on the florescence and ornamental quality were studied. Results showed that spraying in the seedling stage and the seedling stage+photoperiodic induction period+the green bud stage development stage+green bud stage, BR postponed the florescence of chrysanthemum 3~4 d. Spraying in photoperiodic induction period, the green bud stage development stage, green bud stage, and the seedling stage+photoperiodic induction period+the green bud stage development stage+green bud stage, 50 μg / L BR increased the contents of chlorophyll in leaves and the contents of anthocyanin in petals, and decreased the contents of malondiadehyde(MDA) in petals, which improved ornamental quality of the flower. The treatment stages later the effects of BR stronger. Effects of BR sprayed in the seedling stage+photoperiodic induction period+the green bud stage development stage+green bud stage was the strongest.


Addressing the escalating concerns over increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and their detrimental effect on the environment has become global attention. One promising alternative to tackle this issue involves utilizing photocatalytic technology to convert CO2 into more valuable chemicals, with methane (CH4) being a notable targeted product. This article presents a comprehensive review of the exploration of TiO2‐based photocatalysts by researchers worldwide for such applications. The initial discussion revolves around fundamental aspects, including the basic principles, thermodynamics, kinetics, and reaction mechanisms involved in the process. Additionally, to enhance the efficiency of these aspects, support from other factors is necessary, including the physicochemical properties of the photocatalyst through various catalyst synthesis methods (such as sol‐gel, precipitation, hydrothermal, and solvothermal) as well as employing catalyst modification techniques (such as doping, heterojunction, and surface modifications). Furthermore, the review delves into an examination of parameters that influence the photocatalytic CO2 reduction to methane process, as they directly impact the yield and selectivity of the desired product. Ultimately, the existing challenges and potential research opportunities that could provide comprehensive solutions for the applications of photocatalytic technology for converting CO2 to CH4 as a whole are elaborated in this review.


Introduction: Oral cancer is usually diagnosed when it becomes symptomatic and approximately two thirds of the patients present with the advanced disease, regional metastasis and consequently poor prognosis. The risk of development of carcinoma within an area of premalignant lesion is 5 times higher than in those without lesion. Malignant transformation has been reported in 43% of dysplastic leukoplakia cases. It is therefore important to identify these lesions early, for early management.
Aim: To compare the diagnostic efficiency of Rose Bengal (RB) with Toluidine blue (TB) in
detecting the biopsy sites and thus establish an accurate diagnosis in detecting oral potentially malignant disorders.
Materials And Methods: In our study 27 patients with 41 lesions were included. Since one patient had not quit the habit in the two weeks following initial examination and another patient lesion disappeared in the waiting period, 2 patients (3 lesions) were not included in the study. After initial examination they were subjected to Rose Bengal and Toluidine blue stain. Positively stained lesions were subjected to biopsy and assessed for dysplasia. All the data were tabulated and statistically analysed in SPSS software version v.22.IBM, corp. Chi square test was done to compare the difference between two stains.
Results: When compared with TB staining RB showed 100% Sensitivity, 90% specificity, 96.6% positive predictive value and 100% negative predictive value.
Conclusion: Based on the results and other observations made during the study it could be suggested that RB could be used as an alternative to TB clinically. Further studies with large samples are recommended to support the evidence of this study.


Six patients with severe refractory hypertension and chronic renal failure were treated with a low dose of captopril (mean daily dose 75 mg) in combination with dietary sodium restriction, frusemide and either metoprolol, labetalol or prazosin. Sustained control of blood pressure was achieved in all six patients. Adverse effects noted were severe hyperkalaemia (2 patients), skin rashes (2 patients) and taste disturbance (1 patient).


The goal of our work is to update the current positional information of Asteroids in the Solar System. We achieve this objective by taking photographs of known celestial objects in motion and running the photographs through a program which returns precise data on their positions in the solar system. We send these results to the Minor Planet Center (MPC), which keeps a database of the objects and their positions. Other organizations can then access this information through the MPC to further utilize and process it. This work is being carried out by Christopher K. LaBorde, Alex G. Carr, and Mary Konopliv under the guidance and direction of Dr. William Owen at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California during the Summer of 2016. This paper will provide some general information on astrometry and our specific role relating to it, as well as describe the techniques we use to collect and analyze this data. Why on Earth do we want to know where things are? The gathering of positional information regarding astronomical objects is called astrometry. Study and research in this field is important because it allows us to determine where objects are located in relation to ourselves or other objects in space. This may be useful for example, in monitoring the course of a potentially dangerous asteroid in the vicinity of Earth, or for calculating the correct trajectory for a spacecraft to reach another planet, perhaps to gather resources, reconnoiter, or seed a colony. The study and development of Astrometric techniques also allows us to determine the distances to other stars, and to know how fast they are moving in relation to us. In addition to simply knowing where these bodies are in relation to us, a major result of these updated positions is the calculation of "Occultation Paths", paths along the surface of the earth in which a person's view of a star will be blocked for some amount of time by an asteroid passing in front of it. By receiving data gathered during these events and with enough coordination, we can obtain valuable information on an asteroid's size and orientation. An occultation path of the star HIP 112420 by the asteroid Antiope shown on a projection of the globe. Our work aids in refining the error bounds of this occultation path. Who Developed this process? The process that we implement is one that has been refined and tested for decades. It was developed by Bill Owen and his colleagues under the Optical Navigation group at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The programs that we utilize have been used to analyze visual data from spacecraft operating in deep space such as Galileo (1989), Cassini (1997), Deep Space 1 (1998), and Deep impact (2005), and has been implemented in autonomous navigation systems aboard various spacecraft. The software provides scientists and engineers with updated data which they can use to determine a spacecraft's position as it is approaching a target, or preparing for a near-object trajectory change maneuver. We are now getting to see the effectiveness and robustness of this software ourselves by using it to accurately and precisely determine the positions of asteroids.


This paper provides discussions and evaluations on classification of compositions and properties of the dry polymer electrolyte and the gel polymer electrolyte, with classification of methods of polymerization and kinds of polymer. In addition, an vision on the trends of the polymer electrolyte in lithium ion batteries is given by the authors.


We read with interest the article by Durnian and Clark who presented a retrospective cohort of infants that fell outside evidence level B guidelines for screening retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and we wish to discuss some further points.1 The data presented in table 1 highlight that all 11 babies would be missed if screening was according to level B evidence and 2 of these would still be missed using the good practice points evidence. An alternative conclusion would be that if the guidelines had been amended to screen infants under 32 weeks or 1251 g then one extra baby would have been missed (who fortunately did not require treatment). It is also debatable based on the information presented, if any of the babies absolutely required treatment as others …


Purpose: The Korean Association of Pediatric Surgeons (KAPS) performed a nationwide survey on sacrococcygeal teratoma in 2018. Methods: The authors reviewed and analyzed the clinical data of patients who had been treated for sacrococcygeal teratoma by KAPS members from 2008 to 2017. Results: A total of 189 patients from 18 institutes were registered for the study, which was the first national survey of this disease dealing with a large number of patients in Korea. The results were discussed at the 34th annual meeting of KAPS, which was held in Jeonju on June 21–22, 2018. Conclusions: We believe that this study could be utilized as a guideline for the treatment of sacrococcygeal teratoma to diminish pediatric surgeons' difficulties in treating this disease and thus lead to better outcomes.


The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) provides alphanumeric codes for doctors, health insurance companies, and public health agencies to specify various diseases, disorders, injuries, infections, and symptoms. While the codes provide a standard identification protocol across different healthcare parties, they are often poorly annotated and do an inadequate job explaining the reasoning behind a diagnosis[5]. Additionally, manually labeling the patients can be prone to error[2] or bias to receive greater reimbursements[3]. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in the fiscal year 2017, these errors caused $36.21 billion in improper payments[1]. Most use-cases of deep learning for medical billing and coding belong to the category of Computer Assisted Coding to solve these problems. Specifically, companies are using machine learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to recognize, extract, and interpret from medical documents for proper coding and billing. Additionally, this data can be used for predictive purposes to decrease the likelihood of error or bias. Creating a system that predicts the codes based off clinical notes can provide significant benefits relative to the problems seen in manual labeling.


The mitogenic activity of soybean agglutinin was found to depend on the presence of lectin aggregates formed in lectin preparations stored in the lyophilized state. Such soybean agglutinin preparations gave maximal stimulation of untreated pig lymph node cells and neuraminidase‐treated mouse spleen cells at relatively high concentrations, ranging from 100 to 2000 μg/ml. After separation into unaggregated (divalent) and polymeric (tetra‐and multivalent) fractions, it was found that the unaggregated lectin did not stimulate the cells, while the tetravalent and multivalent fractions were active and gave maximal stimulation at a concentration of 10 μg/ml. These results suggest that soybean agglutinin must have at least four sugar binding sites in order to be able to stimulate lymphocytes.


The European welfare states have fundamental problems, in particular high unemployment and a mounting pressure on public pensions. Although these problems have been prominent topics of the political debate for years and years, we have seen little fundamental reform. Why this is so? One of the core hypotheses claims that the current state of affairs, as deplorable as it may be, is a political economy equilibrium that will only change if things get considerably worse. In order to shed light on this question, we have conducted a survey which solicits the opinions of citizens in France, Germany, Italy and Spain on public pensions, unemployment insurance, and possible reforms in both areas. This paper reports and interprets the answers. ✪ We are grateful to Richard Baldwin, Samuel Bentolila, Maurizio Ferrera, Kai Konrad, Ben Lockwood, Karl Moene, Torsten Persson, Steve Pisschke, Hans-Werner Sinn, Gilles Saint-Paul, Ignazio Visco, Joachim Winter, Charles Wyplosz, two anonymous referees and the participants of the Economic Policy Panel and the CEPR Summer Symposium on Public Policy for helpful comments; to Giacomo De Giorgi, Ulrich Finke, Andrea Gentilini and Melanie Lührmann for excellent research assistance; and to the Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti for the coordination of the survey; to the European Roundtable of Industrialists, the Deutsches Institut für Altersvorsorge, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Sonderforschungsbereich 504), MURST, and Bocconi University for financial support; and to Demoskopea and Infas for technical assistance. 1 Would you like to Shrink the Welfare State? The Opinions of European Citizens by Tito Boeri, Axel Börsch-Supan, Guido Tabellini


A descriptor-based microkinetic analysis has been performed to provide a basis for the catalyst screening for DMO hydrogenation to MG.


True random numbers with high security originate from non-deterministic physical processes. Random laser with random feedback arising from multiple elastic scattering in a highly disordered structure is an ideal physical entropy source theoretically. In this work, a secure optical ultrafast random number generator based on random laser spectra was demonstrated. Unlike the usual method of recording laser intensity over time, the random laser spectrum under each pump pulse was recorded and converted into random numbers through post-processing. Approaches in three different dimensions—space, spectrum and time were used to increase the rate of random number generation. The randomness of resulting random bit streams was verified by the NIST statistics tests. Experimental results showed that an instantaneous bit rate of 810 terabits per second with off-line post-processing could be theoretically reached with an ideal experimental condition. This novel technique has big advantages in secure communications and promises to further increase the speed of random number generators to the lever of petabits per second or even higher.


One school of thought... follows the strain that the fault lies in 'subservience of the government to policies dictated from outside'_This simplistic view is the equivalent of the argument ... that the problems of the present crisis are the result of external economic forces beyond the control of policymakers and government. Naturally, a sensible, more independent-minded person would have to reject both explanations.1


Abstract The study was based on data from the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Social Development where about 90% of a sample (173 girls, 196 boys) was followed from the age of eight until the age of 26. The question investigated and reported concerned whether class teachers are able to estimate pupils' resources for finding their way later on in life, and if so, what are their estimations based on. The estimations predicted the length of male and female educational route and the stability of male career lines. The estimations correlated with teacher assessment of school achievement and peer nominations of socially skilled behaviour. More attention in school could be paid to the development of socially skilled behaviour necessary in life to reduce self‐prophecy in education.


The LHCb Upgrade will be installed during the two year Long Shutdown 2 of the LHC (LS2). The upgraded detector will be able to read out all sub-detectors at 40 MHz and to select physics events of interest by means of a pure software trigger at the bunch crossing rate of the LHC. This capability will allow the experiment to collect data with high efficiency at a luminosity of 2 × 10 cm−2s−1. Flavour-physics measurements will be performed with much higher precision than is possible with the current detector, and across a wider range of observables. The flexibility inherent in the new trigger scheme will also allow the experiment to diversify its physics programme into important areas beyond flavour. The Upgrade was proposed in the Letter of Intent [1] in 2011, and its main components and cost-envelope were defined in the Framework TDR [2] one year later. Technical Design Reports (TDRs) have been written for all sub-systems [3–6] and approved by the Reseach Board. Addenda to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were presented to the RRB in April and October 2014, covering the division of resources and responsibilities for Common Project items [7] and sub-system items [8], respectively. In this report a brief update is given on the status of the Upgrade, reiterating the detector choices made in the TDRs and summarising progress since the previous RRB. All sub-detector and common projects are progressing and are on schedule for the installation deadline although some areas of concern are present in some of the sub-projects. Substantial progresses were made in the development of the fully software trigger and an Upgrade Software and Computing TDR is in preparation. Information is also given concerning overall project organisation, infrastructure and funding.


A 19-year-old autistic woman presented with acute upper abdominal pain, loss of appetite and fever.

Abdominal ultrasound revealed a large complex hypoechoic and avascular structure in the left hypochondrium (figures 1 and 2), at the expected position of the spleen.

Figure 1
Ultrasound shows a spleniform hypoechoic mass with hyperechoic hilum.

Figure 2
Doppler ultrasound fails to demonstrate vascularity at the splenic hilum.

CT of the abdomen showed that this mass corresponded to an enlarged and non-enhancing …


With the aid of a multi-disciplinary literature review and a sample of 165 managers and professionals, this study investigated the perception of the impact of globalization in Malaysia. The study revealed that a significant percentage of the respondents subscribe to the hegemonic view of globalization as a system that is closed to other political, economic and value systems. However, they also see the benefits of globalization in terms of the transfer of good business practices as well as the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI). The views of respondents vary between ethnic groups, with the Chinese tending to be more enthusiastic about the positive impact of globalization while the Malays tend to be more concerned about its negative impact. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.


Wool exhibits a natural fluorescence which increases markedly during irradiation. The tips of weathered wool fluoresce more strongly than the roots. Lambswool, which is weathered only slightly, shows only a weak fluorescence, although it has been found that a high intrinsic fluorescence of wool is not only caused by exposure to light. A direct correlation between yellowness and intensity of fluorescence exists. During photobleaching of initially yellow wool a decrease in fluorescence has been found, which reverses upon longer exposure to light.


Music and metamorphosis are symbiotic. It is in part for this reason that the presence of Ovid's stories from his Metamorphoses have been visited and revisited in music from the Renaissance to the present time. In the eighteenth century, we witness the emergence of a new sensibility that values change, transformation, and ultimately revolution, as part of nature and history, as a manifestation—to summon Lucretius—of the way things are. The penchant for transformation over stasis is typical of a modern forwardlooking attitude, conceptualized by Karol Berger as a preference for the arrow over the circle, which emerged gradually during the eighteenth century. In the second half of the century, Ovid's works were no longer a goldmine for the extraction of useful myths for opera plots. In fact, as a plot-mine, after a long time of intensive exploitation, Ovid almost dried up. Yet, the Roman poet continued to be present in works, events, and activities that are not necessarily casting Ovid's heroes and heroines as characters. The practice of reading The Metamorphoses was still widespread in the eighteenth century, motivated by a curiosity not only and not so much for the stories told, but also and especially for the way Ovid tells his stories. Ovid demands from his readers (or listeners) to be imaginative, creative, able and willing to visualize the transformation of matter in their heads. He does so in a way that is akin to the practices of music composition, performance, and listening. Ovid tells stories of metamorphosis in the present tense, with a formidable sense of rhythm and pace, describing bodies in the most economical terms by reducing bodily shapes to elemental forms and qualities of matter (long, short, rough, smooth, whole, fragmented, empty, filled, and so on), moving in space like melodic lines or sonic events (up, down, fading, melting, shrinking, growing, and so on). Ovid's invention is functional to transformation and development, and the new forms always relate to the original ones before the metamorphosis.


In this paper, we propose a novel Social-TV chat system integrating new methods of measuring TV viewers' feedback and new multi-screen interaction paradigms. Viewers' messages in chat services are a valuable asset for their peers in general, and for the cable TV operator in particular. The proposed system analyses chat-messages to detect the mood of viewers towards a given show (i.e., positive vs negative). This data is plotted on the screen to inform the viewer about the show popularity. Although the system provides a one-user / two-screens interaction approach, the chat privacy is assured by discriminating information sent to the shared screen or the personal screen. We evaluated the system on a first experiment with labeled data to assess the accuracy (78%) of the chat analysis algorithm and a second experiment with live chat data to validate the user interface.


In global internet usage, increasing multimedia message, which includes video, audio, images, and text documents, on the web raised a lot of consequences related to copyright. For copyright protection, authentication purpose and forgery detection digital watermarking is the robust way in social network content protection. In this technique, the privacy information is embedded inside the multimedia content like image and video. The protected content embedded inside multimedia content is called watermark-enabled information. To make more effective the process of watermarking, the content encrypted before embedding to the image. Basically, the digital watermarking embedded process implemented in two different domains called spatial and frequency domain. In spatial domain digital watermarking, the watermark information is embedded in the least significant bit of the original image on the basis of bit plane selected and on the basis of the pixels of image, embedding, and detection is performed.


We prove that the remarkable hypersurface found by H. Takagi in 1972 (as the first counter-example to the Nomizu conjecture on semi-symmetric spaces) is locally rigid.


Solid State Drives (SSDs) using flash memory storage technology present a promising storage solution for data-intensive applications due to their low latency, high bandwidth, and low power consumption compared to traditional hard disk drives. SSDs achieve these desirable characteristics using internal parallelism - parallel access to multiple internal flash memory chips - and a Flash Translation Layer (FTL) that determines where data is stored on those chips so that they do not wear out prematurely. Unfortunately, current state-of- the-art cache-based FTLs like the Demand-based Flash Translation Layer (DFTL) do not allow IO schedulers to take full advantage of internal parallelism because they impose a tight coupling between the logical-to-physical address translation and the data access. In this work, we propose an innovative IO scheduling policy called Parallel-DFTL that works with the DFTL to break the coupled address translation operations from data accesses. Parallel-DFTL schedules address translation and data access operations separately, allowing the SSD to use its flash access channel resources concurrently and fully for both types of operations. We present a performance model of FTL schemes that predicts the benefit of Parallel-DFTL against DFTL. We implemented our approach in an SSD simulator using real SSD device parameters, and used trace-driven simulation to evaluate its efficacy. Parallel-DFTL improved overall performance by up to 32% for the real IO workloads we tested, and up to two orders of magnitude for our synthetic test workloads. It is also found that Parallel-DFTL is able to achieve reasonable performance with a very small cache size.


In the paper under consideration we describe a device for the acceleration of convergence of a monotonously enclosing iterative method for solving simultaneous systems of nonlinear equations. The method is a combination of the so called interval-arithmetic version of the Newton single step iteration method with forming intersections, which computes sequences of interval-vectors, and a modified Newton–ADI iterative method. Under certain conditions this new method is globally convergent to the solution of the nonlinear system. For some classes of nonlinear equations which originate from the discretization of partial differential equations these methods are monotonously convergent under weaker assumptions than known methods which also enclose the solution repeatedly. Furthermore these methods compute a sequence of approximations of the solution which is faster convergent to the solution than the lower and upper bounds of the enclosing interval-vectors. This paper ends with some numerical results which demons...


The, apparently widespread, reduction in the popularity of physical science courses, at both secondary and tertiary levels, has had a number of effects. Attempts by schools to provide a broadly attractive programme in the sciences seem to have reduced the amount of time spent on the physical sciences. Moreover, the introduction of applied and technological aspects, however desirable, within a fixed time allowance, must reduce the emphasis laid on fundamental aspects. Higher education, faced with falling demand, might be forgiven for relaxing entry qualifications and thus taking in students from an ever-widening range of achievement and ability bands. If the standards to be reached by the end of undergraduate courses are to be maintained, then higher education teachers face a steadily more difficult task. Discussion with such teachers soon leads to the comment "undergraduates now just don't understand the basic ideas" and it is to this area that I wish to address myself. Of course, teachers have always complained about their students, particularly where the two groups had different ends in view. The field may be clarified by seeking out a few definitions. By 'basic ideas' I mean those scientific concepts, e.g. the mole, potential difference, which underpin all advanced study but which are not normally, at least in the U.K., taught in higher education. Students are presumed to have understood them at an earlier stage, but, where this is not justified, the causes for later failure may be found. The meaning of "don't understand" is equally problematic: those teachers who interpret it as a 'failure of knowledge', in Bloom's terms, will use the approaches of the Physics Interface Project (1977) and of Galton et al (1976) to identify and remedy deficiencies. Although 'knowledge' is a necessary component of 'understanding', many teachers will not feel that their students have mastered the 'basic ideas' until an appreciation at Bloom's higher order level has been achieved. In looking for the sources of student misunderstanding, the first question becomes: are we seeing the problem of 'no understanding' which stems from a simple lack of teaching at an earlier stage? If this is the case, the remedy lies in a primary teaching approach, so that a coherent scheme, such as one based on Gagn~ (1970) may be appropriate. However, if it is 'faulty understanding', resulting from incorrect teaching and learning at an earlier stage, that has become apparent, diagnosis must precede re-education. Higher education teachers, working on evidence that is seldom revealed, favour this latter interpretation, but infrequently follow it to the conclusion suggested above. The fragile ground of collecting evidence, or at least, publishing it, has only been lightly walked upon. Warren (1976), working with a small group of trainee secondary school physics teachers, found that about one-half misunderstood the mass-energy relation. Other potential sources of misunderstanding readily present themselves. The use of "problems" in both text-books and examinations presents ample scope for the promotion of error: Warren (1971a) states that "many text-book calculations are physically improbable or impossible: the presumption of long-obsolete standards of instrumentation, the use of inappropriate scales of numerical size for the problems, coupled to an over-simplification of theory, leads to a distortion of reality". Furthermore, the whole area of language use in science and science education is full of pitfalls for the unwary (Gardner, 1974).


The study aimed to investigate the use of wood sawdust as a medium for growth and the optimum addition ratio of plantation wastes that can increase the yields and quality of white oyster mushroom ( Pleurotus ostreatus ). This research used Completely Randomized Design (CRD) consisting of 7 levels of treatment ratio of  wood sawdust and plantation wastes. The data analysis involved one way ANOVA followed by Duncan's 5%. The results showed that the wood sawdust can be used as growing medium, and the addition of plantation wastes can increase the yields and the quality of white oyster mushroom. The addition of cocoa and coffee wastes with a ratio 25% was the optimum ratio treatment which increased the number of fruiting bodies, caps diameter, production weight, Biologycal Eficiency Ratio (BER) and protein, fats, carbohydrates and fiber content in white oyster mushrooms. It is recommended to be applied because both treatments would increase the yield and quality of white oyster mushroom.


80% of women using contraception in Zambia use oral contraceptives (OCs), yet they often complain about side effects. 66% of people polled at family planning (FP) clinics prefer OCs and 30% chose condoms. Nevertheless only 10% of the 60% of married couples familiar with FP use contraception. This contributes to Zambia having 1 of the highest annual population growth rates in the world (3.4%). The Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia (PPAZ) thinks that if males become more knowledgeable about FP, the population growth would slow down. At least 60% of men in Zambia approve of their wives using FP, yet they are slow to use male contraception. They say condoms reduce sensation and wives often consider condoms a nuisance. The AIDS epidemic forces men to rethink their views toward condom use, however. Those 30% of men who do use condoms are more likely to use them with their girlfriends or women with whom they are unfamiliar. So they are not using them for FP purposes. Men fear vasectomy because they perceive it to cause impotence. Considerable education to counter this myth is needed to increase the number of vasectomies. Besides some men prefer their wives be sterilized rather than themselves because if the men lose all their children they can have other children with other wives. PPAZ aims programs at men in order to expand their participation and nurture their influence in FP matters. It has a male counseling program serving rural villages along the railroad lines which begin in the northern copper belt and end in urban areas in the south to promote birth spacing. It is working with companies to include FP services in their clinics so men can learn more about FP. FP specialists in Zambia foresee an increase in male support of FP as they realize the difficulty of supporting large families during the economic crises.


Calcium hydride has been the subject of many spectroscopic studies due to its astrophysical interest, beginning with its identification in solar and stellar spectra.


Recently, since the cloud computing is developed, many companies have provided various services using it. DaaS(Desktop as a Service) is one of services in the cloud computing. DaaS is a cloud service that provides desktop environment of virtual machine running on the cloud. In a sense, it is regarded as GUI based IaaS(Infrastructure as a Service). Although only Web applications are used in SaaS, all kinds of applications can be used in DaaS. In this paper, we describe how to construct efficient DaaS in an educational cloud. The features of our DaaS are as follows, one is supporting in various combinations of any client OS with any server OS and another is the usability for beginners. In addition, we evaluate multi-user DaaS for reducing cloud cost. Furthermore, we describe the secure way to access the cloud via DaaS.


Recently, mass concrete with high flowability are widely used to improve the quality and constructability in the longer span construction of prestressed concrete bridges, but it may induce nonstructural cracks due to the hydration heat and autogenous shrinkage etc. The stresses in concrete were evaluated by various experiments and numerical analysis. The tensile stress in mass concrete was increased in connection with the accumulation of hydration heat. Moreover, large amount of autogenous shrinkage from powder type admixture could add the tensile stress to mass concrete near anchorage zone. The tensile stresses in anchorage zone by heat and autogenous shrinkage exceeded the tensile strength of early stage of concrete, and small amounts of stress increasement were shown in other parts of PSC girder.


Desertification is the degradation of the scenarios that impact the environmental system. It is originated through natural dynamics and anthropogenic actions, as nature is exploited by extreme economic rationalities under a squandering logic, which intensifies the environmental crisis. The vulnerable areas to desertification are those with greater climate fragility (irregular rainfall distribution, occurrence of heavy precipitation and / or very dry periods); shallow soils prone to erosion, changes in spatial organization and economic production (economic weakening and emigrations). In this sense, this research tries to understand the processes of vulnerability to desertification in Alto Sertao of Sergipe, based on relevant bibliography and field-work data collected in the area of study. In Alto Sertao Sergipe desertification is dynamic and develops over a fragile eco-geosystem, It´s vulnerability is analyzed through a geographic focus.


Although Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is a very powerful spectroscopic tool, a disadvantage of the technique is its relative insensitivity. With an increasing demand for the analysis of smaller structures in view of the rise of nanotechnology research, it is important to address the sensitivity problem. This thesis aims at an increase of the sensitivity by developing two competing strategies. On the one hand we seek to improve the sensitivity of conventional inductive detection approach by adding coherent sweep capabilities to a conventional pulsed NMR spectrometer. This feature can, especially in half-integer quadrupolar systems, significantly enhance the intensity of the NMR signal. Additionally, the implementation of sweeps in NMR on these kinds of spin systems proved far superior to conventional pulse techniques with respect to the spectroscopic lineshape obtained in the Multiple Quantum Magic Angle Spinning NMR experiment. The use of sweeps in population and coherence transfer is demonstrated for various sodium compounds and applied in MQMAS of the model sample Na4P2O7. On the other hand we have implemented a method for Force Detected Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. We demonstrated the applicability of this so-called Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy (MRFM) method to protons using an accurate digital radio frequency field generation method. In this way existing pulse schemes from magnetic resonance imaging and regular NMR spectroscopy can easily be integrated with the mechanical detection scheme. Despite the associated inherent loss of sensitivity, we proved the applicability to spins with higher atomic masses and higher spin quantum numbers. In particular, we proved the applicability to several types of half integer quadrupolar nuclei with quantum numbers 3/2, 5/2 and 7/2. We demonstrated that it is possible to perform spatially localized spectroscopy, enabling one to super-impose a contrast function, depending on the local lattice structure, onto images


Rosette nanotubes (RNTs), a novel class of biologically inspired nanotubes, hold tremendous potential as targeted drug delivery shuttle. We synthesized hybrid RNTs that composed of RGDSK‐ and K‐functionalized RNTs in a ratio of 1:10 M (RGDSK/K‐RNTs). We noticed the expression of avb3 integrin on Calu‐3 cells and believe that these RNTs may bind to integrin. We investigated cell signaling events caused by these RNTs for induction of inflammation and apoptosis in Calu‐3 cells. RGDSK/K‐RNTs rapidly induced phosphorylation of p38 MAPK. RGDSK/K‐RNTs (>10:100 μM) promoted p38 MAPK‐dependent secretion of TNF‐α. All the tested concentrations of RGDSK/K‐RNTs resulted in an increase in caspase‐3 activity and DNA fragmentation in Calu‐3 cells at 18 hours of the exposure. Blocking phosphorylation of p38 MAPK strongly inhibited caspase‐3 activity and DNA fragmentation. Pro‐apoptotic properties of RGDSK/K‐RNTs were also supported by over‐expression of pro‐apoptotic genes. We therefore conclude that RGDSK/K‐RNTs induce phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, which regulates secretion of TNF‐α, activation of caspase‐3 and apoptosis in Calu‐3 cells. These results suggest that the RGDSK/K‐RNTs could be used as a drug to induce apoptosis in cancer cells or as a versatile platform to deliver a variety of biologically active molecules for cancer therapy. Support: NSERC, AARI.


The purpose of study was to evaluate the impact of depressive symptoms on the QoL in patients following acute coronary syndrome treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) at week one of hospitalization and 6 months following ACS. Methods The study population included 140 patients hospitalized for acute coronary syndrome who underwent PCI. Depression was evaluated using the Beck Depression Index, which is a self-scoring test for symptoms and severity of depression composed of 21 questions. QoL was evaluated with the use of the Mac New questionnaire, specifically designed for cardiology patients. The QoL evaluation in all Mac New dimensions in the depressed and not depressed groups was statistically different both at baseline and at 6-month follow up. At baseline and at the 6- month follow-up, the mean Emotional Dimension, Physical Dimension, Social Dimension and evaluation of the General Quality of Life dimension the results were lower in the depressed group compared with the not depressed group. The dynamics of change in QoL at 6 months following PCI was verified using the Wilcoxon test and a statistically significant improvement in quality of life was found in all Mac New dimensions in both groups. However, the dynamics were more beneficial in the depressed group. Depression in ACS patients has a strong negative effect on QoL both in early and late observations. Early depression, on the other hand, is a statistically significant and independent predictor of a lower QoL outcome. As such, diagnosis and treatment of depression in patients hospitalized with ACS should become a therapeutic standard.


Pyrolysis oil derived from waste tires consists of sulfur content in the range of 7000 to 9000 ppm. For use in diesel engines, its sulfur content must be lowered to 10 to 15 ppm. Though conventional hydrodesulfurization is suitable for the removal of sulfur from tire pyrolysis oil, its high cost provides an avenue for alternative desulfurization technologies to be explored. In this study, oxidative desulfurization (ODS), a low-cost technology, was explored for the desulfurization of tire pyrolysis oil. Two categories of titanium-incorporated mesoporous supports with 20 wt% loaded heteropoly molybdic acid catalyst (HPMo/Ti-Al2O3 and HPMo/Ti-TUD-1) were developed and tested for ODS of tire pyrolysis oil at mild process conditions. Catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, BET-N2 physisorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The incorporation of Ti into Al2O3 and TUD-1 frameworks was confirmed by XPS. The surface acidity of catalysts was studied by the temperature-programmed desorption of NH3 and pyridine FTIR analyses. HPMo/Ti-Al2O3 and HPMo/Ti-TUD-1 catalysts contained both Lewis and Brønsted acid sites. The presence of titanium in catalysts was found to promote the ODS activity of phosphomolybdic acid. The Ti-TUD-1-supported catalysts performed better than the Ti-Al2O3-supported catalysts for the ODS of tire pyrolysis oil. Hydrogen peroxide and cumene peroxide were found to be better oxidants than tert-butyl hydroperoxide for oxidizing sulfur compounds of tire pyrolysis oil. Process parameter optimization by the design of experiments was conducted with an optimal catalyst along with the catalyst regeneration study. An ANOVA statistical analysis demonstrated that the oxidant/sulfur and catalyst/oil ratios were more significant than the reaction temperature for the ODS of tire pyrolysis oil. It followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics over HPMo/Ti-TUD-1.


This article aims to go over the acrynom SAFE as a tool for health care professionals which hope to engage in a conversation around Initimate Partner Violence with their patients.


A description is given of a new species of oribatid mite, Thyrisoma ovata, from North America. This species differs principally from the Canadian species, T. spinifera (Hammer), and the South Ameri...


Collaborative filtering has been most widely used in commercial sites to recommend items based on the history of user preferences for items. The idea behind this method is to find similar users whose ratings for items are incorporated to make recommendation. Hence, similarity calculation is most critical in recommendation performance. For movie recommendation, this paper enhances performance of previous similarity measures by incorporating information on genre difference as well as the number of movies co-rated by two users. Extensive experiment results are provided to demonstrate far enhanced performance improvement for several popular classic CF methods.


This paper presents design and realization of a circularly polarized antenna consisting of a linearly polarized patch antenna and a 3D printed lens, at the same time performing the functions of wave collimator and a polarizer. The antenna is dedicated for 802.11p systems, as a part of road infrastructure, with operation bandwidth 5.85 - 5.925 GHz. Its realised gain and axial ratio at center frequency 5.9 GHz are 14.3 dBi and 2.17 dB respectively. The lens provides approximately 6% bandwidth with axial ratio below 3 dB. The proposed antenna is easy to design and fabricate and can be realized with the use of low-cost materials.


Lithium tetraborate nanoparticles co-doped with various percentages of Cu and Mg impurities were synthesized through the combustion process. Scanning electron microscopy images along with X-Ray diffraction pattern confirmed the shape and structure of the products. The Williamson-Hall equation was used to measure the size of nanoparticles that resulted in approximately 47 nm for the crystallite size. The optical band gap of about 3.7 eV was obtained for the nanostructures from the UV-visible spectrum. Furthermore, the thermoluminescence features the samples under gamma irradiation were studied at ambient conditions. The highest thermoluminescence sensitivity achieved at 0.02 % wt Cu and 0.5 % wt Mg impurities simultaneously. The results show that the co-doped nanoparticles have a linear dose response up to an administrated dose of 30 kGy and about 10% of the thermoluminescence signal fades after 30 days of storage at room temperature.


"Biowaste" is considered as municipal solid waste (Bhattacharyya P) including kitchen and garden waste which mainly has vegetable peel and fruit peel used as natural fertilizer for plant growth. Vegetable peel (Luffa acutangula) and fruit peel (Citrus sinesis) were collected from the market. The peels were dried at normal room temperature for a couple of weeks. After that dried peels were taken and was made into powdered form for further uses. Using aqueous and methanol extract of Luffa acutangula and Citrus sinesis phytochemical analysis were carried out. It showeds the presence of (Luffa acutangula) carbohydrates, protein, phenols, tannin, phytosterol and saponins. Carbohydrates, Terpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, protein, amino acids, phenols, and saponin revealed the presence of Citrus sinesis. Using the methanol extract of both peels, FTIR analysis possessed the functional group present in the extract. Soil test was carried out using different extracts.


Objective
To investigate the diagnostic value of combined detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 199 (CA199) and carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) in lung cancer.

Methods
From July 2017 to February 2019, 64 patients with lung cancer, 40 cases of benign pulmonary lesions and 40 healthy people were selected by random lottery in Fuyang Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University.Serum CEA, CA199 and CA125 levels of each group were analyzed.

Results
The levels of serum CEA, CA199 and CA125 in patients with lung cancer were significantly higher than those in patients with benign lung disease, the differences were statistically significant (t=18.355, P<0.001; t=11.757, P<0.001; t=10.754, P<0.001). The serum CA125 of lung benign disease group was significantly higher than the healthy group, and the difference was statistically significant(t=6.942, P<0.001). The positive rates of serum CEA, CA199 and CA125 in patients with lung cancer were significantly higher than those in the benign lung disease group and healthy group, the differences were statistically significant(χ2=22.110, P<0.001; χ2=13.321, P=0.002; χ2=15.125, P=0.001). The serum levels of CEA, CA199, and CA125 in patients with middle and advanced stage were significantly higher than those in the early stage, the differences between the advanced group and the early group were statistically significant (t=5.587, P<0.001; t=5.068, P<0.001; t=8.962, P<0.001). Those between the mid-term group and the early group had statistically significant differences (t=4.44, P<0.001; t=4.716, P<0.001; t=12.700, P<0.001). The CEA level of patients with advanced lung cancer was significantly higher than that of the intermediate patients.There was statistically significant difference in the CEA level between the advanced group and the mid-term group (t=3.860, P=0.001). Serum CA125 was the most sensitive in the diagnosis of lung cancer (60.84%), but had the lowest specificity (65.17%). CA125 compared with CA199, CEA, the difference was statistically significant (sensitivity: χ2=10.723, P<0.001 specificity: χ2=4.203, P=0.023). The sensitivity of CEA+ CA199+ CA125 combined detection was significantly higher than single detection, the difference was statistically significant(χ2=26.047, P<0.001),

Conclusion
The combined detection of serum CEA, CA125 and CA199 has high sensitivity in the diagnosis of lung cancer, which can improve the detection rate of early lung cancer and is worthy of clinical application.

Key words:
Lung neoplasms; Carcinoembryonic antigen; Antigens, tumor-associated, carbohydrate; Tumor markers, biological; Sensitivity; Specificity


Melatonin and light synchronize the biological clock and are used to treat sleep/wake disturbances in humans. However, the two treatments affect circadian rhythms differently when they are combined than when they are administered individually. To elucidate the nature of the interaction between melatonin and light, the present study assessed the effect of melatonin on circadian timing and immediate-early gene expression in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) when administered in the presence of light. Male C3H/HeN mice, housed in constant dark in cages equipped with running wheels, were treated with either melatonin (90 μg, sc) or vehicle (3% ethanol-saline) 5 min prior to exposure to light (15 min, 300 lux) at various times in the circadian cycle. Combined treatment resulted in lower magnitude phase delays of circadian activity rhythms than those obtained with light alone during the early subjective night and advances in phase when melatonin and light were administered during the subjective day (p < .001). The reduction in phase delays with combined treatment at Circadian Time (CT) 14 was significant when light exposure measured 300 lux but not at lower light levels (p < .05). When light preceded melatonin administration, the inhibition of phase delays attained significance only when the light exposure reached 1000 lux (p < .05). Neither basal nor light-induced expression of c-fos mRNA in the SCN was modified by melatonin administration at CT 14 or CT 22. Together, these results suggest that combined administration of melatonin and light affect circadian timing in a manner not predicted by summing the two treatments given individually. Furthermore, the interaction is not likely to be due to inhibition of photic input to the clock by melatonin but might arise from a photically induced enhancement of melatonin's actions on circadian timing.


This two-stage LDMOS-based RFIC provides the benefits of a high-linearity driver stage with the 25-W output power of a final output stage for 3.3-to-3.8-GHz WiMAX applications.


Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐gamma (PPARγ) is a ligand‐activated transcription factor of the nuclear receptor superfamily that regulates genes involved in differentiation, metabolism and immunity. The cDNA sequences of PPARγ was isolated from olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus using reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The full length of cDNA sequence is 1667 bp long and encodes a polypeptide with 532 amino‐acid residues containing C4‐type zinc finger and ligand binding domain. Semi‐quantitative RT‐PCR analysis revealed PPARγ mRNAs were broadly expressed in various tissues except muscle and heart. In addition, PPARγ expressions were detected from the early stage of development. In olive flounder embryonic cell line HINAE, overexpression of olive flounder PPARγ stimulated PPAR response element (PPRE)‐minimum promoter in a ligand‐dependent manner and the treatment of rosiglitazone, PPARγ agonist, elevated the mRNA levels of PPARγ but decreased that of PPARα. In mammalian cells, olive flounder PPARγ either alone or in conjunction with rosiglitazone induced expression of lipid synthesis‐related genes. Taken together, these results suggest that PPARγ may be present in olive flounder.


The important thought of "The Three Representatives" can be traced to the same origin as Maxism , Lenism, Mao Zedong Thoughts and Deng Xiaoping' s Theory, and it is the scientific system of keeping pace with the times and latest achievement of Maxism as well. An earnest study of the historical course of the development of Maxism and the achievements at different phases has an important practical or immediate significance as well as a profound historic significance of understanding the times background, the practice basis, the scientific connotation and essence and the historical of "The Three Representatives".


This study was aimed at examining the influence of the system rotation as an external action on the development of vortical structures and combustion. Specifically, three-dimensional direct numerical simulations of compressible mixing layers with non-premixed /air combustion were performed using a detailed chemical reaction scheme. The relationship between the developing vortical structures and chemical reactions in the flow field with the rotation was investigated. The development of combustion changed depending on the vortical structures, and the presence of roller vortices promoted the combustion phenomena. The influence of the vortical structures on the elementary reactions, which contribute to the heat release rate, was small. During the anticyclonic rotation, the roller vortices collapsed and suppressed the combustion. In contrast, the cyclonic rotation resulted in the generation of quasi-2D roller vortices, which enlarged the high-heat-release-rate regions and promoted the combustion. Overall, the vortical structures induced by the rotation can change the development of combustion even though the elementary reactions that contribute to the heat release rate remain unchanged. The presented findings can guide the prediction and control of turbulent combustion in practical situations involving fluid machinery.


In this paper, a model and the associated identification procedure are proposed to precisely portray the hysteresis behavior in piezoelectric actuators. The model, presented in bond graphs, consists of basic physical elements and utilizes a Maxwell-slip structure to describe the hysteresis. By analyzing the model, the influence of the initial strain/charges on the hysteresis behavior is revealed. It is also found that if all the spring elements in the model are linear, the resultant hysteresis loop is anti-symmetric and does not match the experimental behavior. To account for this mismatch, a nonlinear spring element is included into the model. The constitutive relation of the nonlinear spring and the parameters of the basic elements in the model are identified from the experimental data using linear programming. Simulations of the identified model indicate that the model can reproduce the major as well as the minor hysteresis loops. An inverse control is further implemented to validate the accuracy of the identified model. Experiments show that the hysteresis is effectively cancelled and accurate tracking of a reference trajectory is achieved.Copyright © 2004 by ASME


The Malay traditional environment is the interaction between human, natural environment, and culture, which is then translated into the spatial design of houses and their surroundings. However, rapid urbanisation has transformed many traditional villages by incorporating urban elements into the villages. This study focuses on understanding the existence of the socio-cultural values of a traditional Malay house compound in Kampung Paya Rumput Jaya, Melaka. The objective of this study is to identify the Malay socio-cultural values and the spatial arrangement of the traditional Malay house compound. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire survey, semi-structured interviews, a mapping analysis (site inventory), and a thematic/content analysis (interviews). The findings indicate that the community in the villages are still upholding the Malay traditional socio-cultural values. Future design of a house compound should incorporate the characterisation of a traditional Malay houses compound for maintaining at least part of the Malay traditional socio-cultural values.


With the growing role of radiotherapy (XRT) in treatment of pediatric malignancies, and its improved precision requiring a reproducible, immobile position for daily treatment, the demand for sedation and anesthesia in radiation therapy suites is increasing. Malignancies commonly treated with radiation therapy include those that require whole body irradiation such as leukemia, before bone marrow transplant, and those that may require a very specific focus of radiation to avoid normal tissue damage such as medulloblastoma and retinoblastoma. For these types of tumors (and the many other solid tumors treated with radiation therapy) even a small amount of patient movement may undermine techniques for sparing vital, normal tissue function and diminishes therapeutic efficacy. In this chapter, we will briefly describe the most common types of radiotherapy and the anesthetic implications of caring for these patients.


(57) Abstract: The present invention provides ink jet recording engine module for use in a hardcopy device according to the hard copy engine module and said module having a compatibility, and its production, operation, and how to use. Redefine the fluid and electronic compartmentalization of the inkjet hard copy apparatus. By dividing the recording engine hardcopy engine modular, technical requirements of the recording system (especially, over time, use frequency, or aged as a result of operation by the user or failure most high possibility of) replaceable recording module containing all the important elements of the ink jet recording system based becomes possible. Recording engine subsystem, and one or more print modules having a print head element with associated ink manifold elements and ink flow and the ink pressure adjusting mechanism, permanent, refillable or replaceable, one or two or more of the ink container, and one or more ink formulations, one such tubes and valves fluidly connecting the ink container to the ink manifold or more ink supply means, and it includes a service station component, and a framework for holding at insertable cassette-like manner in the integrated the element module. The present invention further provides a hard copy engine having such a recording engine compatible. The hard copy engine, contains no components requiring direct contact with the ink. Ink Wet component allows for technical modification of the ink jet without affecting the electrical interface and the mechanical interface between the recording engine and the hard copy engine.


This paper mainly researches various kinds of application of web-based short message platform in campus network. Those applications are developed by use of various kinds of computer networking technologies and communication technologies according to the practical experience in campus network. Through establishing web-based short message platform in campus network, it is able to realize easier communication and help communication between student and student, student and teacher, and teacher and teacher, and this application is a historical reform of digitalized management of school; through application of modern digitized education mode in teaching process, it is able to provide timely and convenient mutual communication platform for teachers and students. Receiving mode and application of web short message in campus network In the modern digitalized campus network platform, the main access ways include the access via web, and the access via customer service terminal of computers in campus network. The main application is shown as below. Relationship between receiving and sending of traditional mails and short message notification platform


Oil-extended SEBS/PP was toughened by SEBS with different molecular and proportion.The crystallinity,thermal stability,mechanical property and rheological property of oil-extended SEBS/PP blends were studied by DSC and TG.The results showed with the increasing of oil content in oil-extended SEBS,the melt flow rate of oil-extended SEBS/PP blends increased obviously,the tensile yield strength,hardness,melting point and the crystallinity decreased simultaneously.With increasing the molecular weight of SEBS,the oil absorption ability of SEBS increased,tensile yield strength,melting point and the crystallinity increased,while the hardness of the blends changed little.


An attempt to define and isolate data for formulating a concept of the future. Defining such categories of notions will make it possible to form an effective method of designing tomorrow's house. Tomorrow's house is located in a broad historical context which facilitates a combination of the cultural heritage with the past. Such conduct protects us against the trap of futurism. The context of values in theoretical ruminations on such essential themes as the house is the axiological core. Around such a point of reference, disputes will proceed as long as houses exist. Słowa


ABSTRACT Hypothermia-related death is one of the areas that the determination of the definitive diagnosis is difficult. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the post-mortem histopathological changes in rat skeletal muscles of fatal hypothermia. The rats were divided into three groups. The first was the control group without any procedures while the second was the sham group where in hypothermia was applied after death. In the third group (fatal hypothermia), the rats were left in the hypothermia cabinet until their body temperatures decreased to 7–10°C. Samples taken from the masseter, intercostal, pectoralis minor, iliopsoas, and anterior tibial muscles of the rats were examined under light and electron microscope. Based on the stereological analysis, the density of the Type I fibres of the masseter and intercostal muscles was found significantly lower in the fatal hypothermia group compared to the other two groups. There were intensive degeneration and the occurrence of ragged-red fibres, especially in the masseter and intercostal muscles of fatal hypothermia exposed rats. Ultrastructurally, impaired muscle fibre arrangement, Z-line irregularities, nuclear shrinkage, and mitochondrial enlargement and degeneration were observed in the hypothermia group. The changes may have diagnostic value to make the post-mortem diagnosis of fatal hypothermia-related deaths.


A control volume type numerical methodology for the analysis of steady three‐dimensional rotating flows with heat transfer, in both laminar and turbulent conditions, is implemented and experimentally tested. Non‐axisymmetric momentum and heat transfer phenomena are allowed for. Turbulent transport is alternatively represented through three existing versions of the k–ε model that were adjusted to take into account the turbulence anisotropy promoted by rotation, streamline curvature and thermal buoyancy. Their relative performance is evaluated by comparison of calculated local and global heat balances with those obtained through measurements in a laboratory device. A modified version of the Lam and Bremhorst, low Reynolds number model is seen to give the best results. A preliminary analysis focused on the flow structure and the transfer of heat is reported. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Some physical factors which have nothing to do with diseases have close relationship with ECG.The change of these factors will directly result in the change of ECG.


Martin and Pfeifer claim 'that the most typical characterizations of intentionality' proposed by philosophers are satisfied by physical dispositions. If that is correct, we must conclude either, as they do and as Mumford (this volume) does, that the philosophers are wrong and intentionality is something else or, as I do, that intentionality is what the philosophers say it is, in which case it is the mark, not of the mental, but of the dispositional; the intentionality of a disposition consists in its being directed towards its future manifestations. Mumford objects that the notion of directedness is obscure and cannot in the light of Martin's electro-fink argument be elucidated by reference to what would happen if the conditions for its manifestation are satisfied. But Martin's argument rests on the mistaken assumption that causal conditionals, of which dispositional ascriptions are an instance, are of the form 'If p then q'.


The writer uses the cultural heritage data method,expert interview method,questionnaire method,statistics method to analyze the method with logic,and need according to the research,on the large quantity prepare the inquisition of the foundation,the combination expert suggest,make sured to constitute the preliminary class of national class of Chinese football association the heavy comparison of power for index sign system for umpire evaluating,establishment constituting evaluating each index sign of standard inside.For the board of referee(selection) of our football association with educate the outstanding umpire to provide the basis to test with.


Oregon Loves Conventions. Robert L. Hill. Oregon Business, vol. 5, no. 5, May 1982, pp. 32-39. MIF Publications, Inc., 1515 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 875, Portland, Oregon 97201. $2.50. This article discusses the attempts of cities around the state of Oregon to attract conventions. Ideas for improving existing convention centers and building new convention centers are presented along with data concerning how the convention business is doing in Oregon. The convention centers in Grants Pass, Ashland, and Corvallis are discussed


The review of the possibilities to use interspecific hybridisation between Brassica napus and some wild species in the family of Brassicaceae for introduction of resistance to the important fungal pathogens is presented. A large collection of wild relatives as resources of resistance to Leptosphaeria maculans, Alternaria brassicola, A. raphani and Plasmodiophora brassicae has been screened. Successful hybridisation with Brassica napus has been achieved using Brassica elongata, B. fructiculosa, B. souliei, Diplotaxis tenuifolia, Hirschfeldia incana, Coincya monensis and Sinapis arvensis.