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4,509,600 | Medical education in isolated areas by cycling videocassettes. A fresh perspective on an old and growing problem. How to reach and teach impoverished and isolated people, out of range of standard broadcast methods, the rudiments of health and hygiene? Suggested is a carefully prepared system of cycling videocassettes, to effect the dissemination of current medical information from leading medical centers to medical and paramedical people in the "bush". Conversely, the feedback from the field would benefit the medical centers in terms of customs, semantics, and specific case histories. Hopefully, such intercommunication will lead to a marked improvement in human relations. | 26687421 |
4,509,601 | Design and Analysis of Optimal SRAM Cell using CMOS and Emerging Devices The emerging memory technology such as STT-MRAM is one of the alternatives in future perspective to overcome the problems of existing memory technology since it is faster, more efficient, and easier to scale up. This paper presents several circuit solutions to reduce energy consumption by using different types of embedded memories, varying from volatile such as SRAM to nonvolatile such as STT-MRAM. The proposed cell using STT-MRAM has been designed and compared with other popular STT-MRAM based cells. The proposed cell gives less power cost, high speed, and better stability compared to all the considered cells. | 239040771 |
4,509,602 | The Origins of the First Reported Cases of the Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases Background: Inborn Errors of Immunity (IEI) or Primary Immunodeficiency Disorders (PID), are heterogeneous diseases with defects on the components of the immune system. We have provided information about the consanguinity and origins of over 400 affected patients for the first time. Methods: To study the genes, we used the classification tables provided by the IUIS (the International Union of Immunological Societies) in 2020, that documents the key clinical and laboratory features of more than 400 inborn errors of immunity. Results: We have identified the national origins of 301 cases with a known gene, while national origins’ information of the 90 other genes (90 cases) was left incomplete, due to the unavailability of the first case reports or the fail to mention the patients’ origin in the article publication of the first report. Among the 301 genes, Asia has the largest geographical dispersion with 103 reported cases. We found that the 101 first case reports, were identified in more than one patient, regardless of the geography they live in. Our survey demonstrated that out of the 165 first reported cases with genetic defects resulted from a consanguineous marriage, 112 cases were identified in Asia. Conclusions: This report provides valuable information on the geographical data and the prevalence of the various genetic disorders, worldwide. Also, by providing information related to parental consanguinity of the first reported cases with a genetic defect, valuable information about inborn errors of immunity, will be accessible for the researchers, which can | 244584021 |
4,509,603 | be used effectively in future studies. | 244584021 |
4,509,604 | [Ultrasonographic and x-ray computed tomographic aspects of Mirizzi's syndrome]. The Mirizzi syndrome is due to common hepatic duct obstruction secondary to the impaction of a large gallstone in the neck of the gallbladder or the cystic duct. The sonographic and computed tomography features in 3 cases of Mirizzi syndrome are described and compared with percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography or endoscopic retrograde cholangiography findings. The Mirizzi syndrome was diagnosed preoperatively on sonography in 2 out of 3 cases and on plain computed tomography scans in all 3 cases. However pre or intraoperative visualization of the biliary tract is mandatory in suspected Mirizzi syndrome to detect the presence or absence of cholecystobiliary fistula, in order to adapt the operative strategy. | 10916921 |
4,509,605 | Poetry as “an effort to understand”: An interview with Gieve Patel Abstract In this interview, conducted in Bombay in June 2015, Gieve Patel reflects on his career as a poet, playwright, publisher, artist and educator, from his first arts show in 1966 (a year which also saw the publication of his first collection of poems) to the present. Gieve Patel is also a doctor of medicine, and he discusses the significant place afforded to the human body in his work and his “aromantic” approach to the body in poetry. He recalls the vitality of Bombay as an artistic and literary centre in the 1960s and 1970s, the comradeship among artists at that time, and his involvement in the publishing house Clearing House. He is an important poet and artist in Bombay, who to this day maintains creative contacts across generations of artists. | 164533221 |
4,509,606 | COMPUTATIONAL RAM IMPLEMENTATION OF AN ADAPTIVE VECTOR QUANTIZATION ALGORITHM FOR VIDEO COMPRESSION Vector quantization (VQ) is a promising technique for low-bit rate image and video compression. Adaptive VQ-based video compression algorithms have been reported in the literature. This paper proposes an adaptive codebook replenishment VQ algorithm using index-based motion estimation (AVQ+ME) for low-bit rate video compression. The proposed technique has been implemented on a computational* RAM (C*RAM) SIMD structure. > | 61563621 |
4,509,607 | Nurses must be more confident in assessing Gillick competence. The recent measles outbreak in south west Wales saw mass immunisation of children who had not received both doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The most difficult target group to immunise proved to be children in the 14-17 year age group, due in primarily to the reliance on parental consent for the immunisation instead of the child's consent under the rule in Gillick. For future mass immunisation programmes with this age group to be successful, nurses must be more confident in assessing Gillick competence and allow the child to consent to the vaccination. In this article the author considers the requirements for Gillick competence and highlights the factors nurses must consider when determining whether a child is competent to give consent to treatment. | 11727921 |
4,509,608 | From the Societies. Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) UW SIAMUW is one of several student chapters of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, (SIAM) across the nation. SIAMUW is an organization for undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty at the University of Washington interested in the application of mathematical techniques to real world problems in science and industry | 39584171 |
4,509,609 | Identification of diffuse and focal brain lesions by clinical magnetic resonance spectroscopy The purpose of this paper is to facilitate the comparison of magnetic resonance (MR) spectra acquired from unknown brain lesions with published spectra in order to help identify unknown lesions in clinical settings. The paper includes lists of references for published MR spectra of various brain diseases, including pyogenic abscesses, encephalitis (herpes simplex, Rasmussen's and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis), neurocysticercosis, tuberculoma, cysts (arachnoid, epidermoid and hydatid), acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), Alexander disease, Canavan's disease, Krabbe disease (globoid cell leukodystrophy), Leigh's disease, megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with cysts, metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), Pelizaeus–Merzbacher disease, Zellweger syndrome, HIV‐associated lesions [cryptococcus, lymphoma, toxoplasmosis and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML)], hydrocephalus and tuberous sclerosis. Each list includes information on the echo time(s) (TE) of the published spectra, whether a control spectrum is shown, whether the corresponding image and voxel position are shown and the patient ages if known. The references are listed in the approximate order of usefulness, based on spectral quality, number of spectra, range of echo times and whether the voxel positions are shown. Spectra of Zellweger syndrome, cryptococcal infection, toxoplasmosis and lymphoma are included, along with a spectrum showing propanediol (propylene glycol). Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. | 9878421 |
4,509,610 | Economic values of optimum traits: the example of meat quality in pigs. In this paper a method is outlined to derive marginal-income functions and to calculate economic values for traits with an intermediate optimum such as meat-quality traits. A normal distribution of the quality trait was assumed, but the method can be used for other distributions as well. The parameters necessary to use this method are distribution of the quality trait, population mean and the standard deviation of the quality trait, optimum range, and price differences between products within and outside the optimum range. Especially, the optimum range for the quality trait and the price differences to be used have to be derived from consumer and processing research. Some alternative methods that can be used for selection on quality traits, such as restricted selection index, desired-gains index, and indices based on a quadratic aggregate genotype, are discussed. | 34789771 |
4,509,611 | Select Advances in Computational Accelerator Physics Computational accelerator physics has changed and broadened over the last decade or so. Part of the change is due to the advent of multiple ways of parallel computing. Another part comes from algorithmic developments. The multiple ways of parallel computing include distributed memory parallelism and on-chip parallelism, with the latter coming from architectures (CPU and GPU) having multiple processing elements (cores or streaming multiprocessors) and wide vector (SIMD) instruction units. The basics of these new architectures and their application to computational accelerator physics are briefly reviewed. Algorithmic advances in the select areas of spin tracking, cavity calculations, plasma acceleration, and electron cooling are also reviewed. In some cases the algorithms provide increased fidelity improving the overall accuracy, while in other cases, such as controlled dispersion, the algorithms provide increased fidelity by better modeling the essential physical interaction. Finally, the use of computational frameworks, which provide the basic computational infrastructure, while allowing the capability developer to concentrate on the math and physics, is reviewed in the context of the Vorpal application, which has found use across accelerator physics and many other fields. | 10903021 |
4,509,612 | Enhancing the Stability of the Financial System This chapter reflects on the challenge of enhancing the stability of the financial system. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2007–2009, macroeconomists and policymakers in the developed economics have come around to the idea that financial stability is important for achieving sustainable economic growth. To prevent the buildup of financial imbalances that engender crises, numerous efforts were undertaken to strengthen the regulation and supervision of financial institutions. But there remain ideological and institutional hurdles to an integrated understanding of the role that financial stability plays in sustainable growth. In particular, there is a lingering orthodoxy that insists on treating price stability and financial stability as distinct objectives and on assigning monetary policy to the former and financial regulation and supervision to the latter. The author consistently challenged this “separation principle” throughout his time as governor of the Bank of Japan. | 246091821 |
4,509,613 | Conceptual model of educational blockchain system for diploma indisputability Diploma verification is a very important issue today. Blockchain technology offers mechanism that can prove diploma validity. Many solutions today are based on publishing diploma, generating cryptographic hash of a document, and publishing these credentials. This can only prove that this diploma document didn't suffer from any modification, but this does not proof that this diploma is valid. This paper presents conceptual model of future system based on blockchain technologies, that could perform diploma verification in a way to verify candidate educational path, and student diploma. | 246028171 |
4,509,614 | Evolution modeling of collective vehicles in vehicle ad hoc networks Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are considered as one of most promising technologies for facilitating intelligent transportation system (ITS) that includes road safety, traffic management, and infotainment dissemination. However, most of existing models cannot support the dynamic interactions between traveling of vehicles and road information. This paper presents an evolution model for VANETs, which can describe the dynamic interaction process between the group movement behaviors of vehicles and road information from environments or from neighborhood vehicles. Simulation of typical scenarios indicates that vehicle traffic follows a kind of blind obedience, which inspires us that, through the control or influence of the state of some vehicles, it can be expected to find some technical means to control or induce evolutionary behavior of the entire transportation. | 14975521 |
4,509,615 | Premyofibrils in spreading adult cardiomyocytes in tissue culture: evidence for reexpression of the embryonic program for myofibrillogenesis in adult cells. Do adult cardiomyocytes use the same pathways hypothesized for the formation of myofibrils in embryonic cardiomyocytes in tissue culture. [Rhee, et al., Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 28:1-24, 1994]? Premyofibrils in embryonic cardiomyocytes are composed of short sarcomeric units of alpha-actinin (Z-bodies) and actin filaments held together by short nonmuscle myosin IIB filaments. Premyofibrils are believed to be transformed into nascent myofibrils by their capture of muscle-specific myosin II filaments aligned in aperiodic arrays. Nascent myofibrils are thought to transform into mature myofibrils by the loss of nonmuscle myosin IIB, the fusion of the Z-bodies into Z-bands, and the periodic alignment of muscle myosin II filaments into A-bands. Freshly isolated cat and rat adult cardiomyocytes placed in tissue culture lack premyofibrils and nascent myofibrils. Adult cardiomyocytes spreading in culture reinitiate the synthesis of nonmuscle myosin IIB. Moreover, patterns similar to the proposed embryonic myofibrillar program first detected in spreading chick embryonic hearts were also detected in these spreading adult mammalian cardiomyocytes. The isolated adult cardiomyocytes begin to spread after 1 day in culture by sending out lamellipodia. When these cells are injected with fluorescently labeled alpha-actinin, linear arrays of short spacings of beaded alpha-actinin bodies are detected in the spreading edges of the adult cardiomyocytes. These dense bodies (Z-bodies) stain positively for the same sarcomeric-specific isoform of alpha-actinin that is in the Z-bands of mature sarcomeres. These linear arrays of alpha-actinin-containing Z-bodies have other characteristics of premyofibrils and | 1513471 |
4,509,616 | are detected only in the spreading regions of the cells. Thus, these premyofibrils at the edges of the spreading adult cardiomyocytes stain positively for nonmuscle myosin IIB but negatively for muscle-specific myosin II. Initially, no vinculin is associated with any parts of the premyofibrils in the spreading regions of the early spreading cardiomyocytes. However, later, vinculin is found to be associated with the ends of the premyofibrils. Fibers that stain solidly for muscle-specific myosin II (i.e., nascent myofibrils) are localized between the peripheral premyofibrils and the centrally positioned, mature myofibrils. It is suggested that the puzzling ability of cardiomyocytes in hypertrophic hearts to reinitiate the synthesis of fetal sarcomeric proteins may be related to the reinitiation of the embryonic premyofibril program for myofibrillogenesis. | 1513471 |
4,509,617 | Tissue Engineering for Intervertebral Disc Repair and Regeneration Introduction Tissue engineering aims to combine isolated cells, engineered materials and small molecule biochemical factors to generate neotissues with specific form and function to replace or repair damaged or degenerate native tissue. Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration directly causes back pain, and understanding how to regenerate this tissue may help alleviate this costly global problem. Several studies have combined isolated nucleus pulposus (NP) disc cells with novel scaffold materials to produce promising therapeutics toward IVD repair. We have taken three avenues toward IVD tissue engineering: culturing isolated IVD cells on continuous expansion surfaces to enhance cell phenotypes, utilizing novel injectable hydrogels for cell delivery to intact discs, and production of 3D printed scaffold geometries enhancing disc matrix production by seeded NP cells. Material and Methods Bovine NP cells were isolated from caudal discs of freshly slaughtered steer (∼ 24 months) obtained from a local slaughterhouse. Bovine NP cells are expanded on either tissue culture plastic with two passages, or on highly elastic silicone rubber dishes which slowly expands the surface from 12 to 78 cm2 and marker gene expression is compared. Isolated cells are labeled with fluorescent membrane binding dye, and cells are mixed with an injectable, chitosan/hyaluronic acid hydrogel. Approximately 100 µL of cell/gel (106 cells/µL of gel) mixtures is injected into isolated whole bovine discs (obtained as described earlier, with vertebral bone drilled down to the cartilage end plate). Discs are then placed into a custom bioreactor, and dynamic diurnal loading is applied to the injected discs. | 78467671 |
4,509,618 | After 14 days, localization and viability of injected cells is assessed by confocal microscopy. For 3D printed constructs, 10 × 10 × 0.3 mm plastic scaffolds were printed using a desktop 3D printer, with pore size of approximately 700 µm. Overall, 5 × 105 bovine NP cells were seeded on scaffolds, and cell viability, DNA content, proteoglycan content, and collagen type II content was assessed after 21 days in culture. Results When cultured on elastic silicone dishes, continuous expansion of bovine NP cells preserve cell phenotype and promotes higher aggrecan and collagen type II expression compared with tissue culture plastic controls. NP cells embedded in a hydrogel and injected into whole discs were localized throughout the discs. Cells also showed high viability after 14 days in culture. Bovine NP cells seeded on 3D printed orthogonal plastic scaffolds grow extremely well and fill in the large 700 µm pores over 21 days culture. The cultured constructs have high viability and produce ample aggrecan and collagen type II protein. Conclusion By combining three different approaches we show the following: (1) individual NP cells can be engineered to maintain superior phenotypic qualities compared with standard culture procedures, (2) combination of expanded cells with injectable hydrogels can be delivered to intact discs for potential repair, and (3) simple 3D printed scaffolds can promote NP matrix production by seeded cells. Combination of these avenues may further enhance IVD regenerative capacities. | 78467671 |
4,509,619 | Power capacity enhancement for klystron-like RBWOs with a TM021 extraction cavity We efficiently enhance the power capacity of klystron-like relativistic backward wave oscillators (RBWOs) with a TM021 mode extraction cavity. Theoretical analysis and simulation results are shown in detail. Theoretically, an electron cluster will be steadily decelerated in the whole region of the TM021 extraction cavity if the transiting time in the cavity approximates the period of microwaves. As a result, the energy of the electron beam will be efficiently extracted by the TM021 mode field. Due to the larger size, the electric field strength in a TM021 cavity can be much smaller than that in a TM020 cavity. In addition, once the extraction cavity breaks down, the emission electron will absorb less energy from the TM021 mode field than the TM020 mode field. In PIC simulations, for an X-band klystron-like RBWO with a frequency of 9.6 GHz and an output power of 2.3 GW, the maximum longitudinal electric field (Ez) in the extraction cavity decreases from 610 kV/cm to 320 kV/cm, when the TM020 extraction cavity is replaced with a TM021 extraction cavity. PIC simulation results agree well with the theoretical analysis.We efficiently enhance the power capacity of klystron-like relativistic backward wave oscillators (RBWOs) with a TM021 mode extraction cavity. Theoretical analysis and simulation results are shown in detail. Theoretically, an electron cluster will be steadily decelerated in the whole region of the TM021 extraction cavity if the transiting time in the cavity approximates the period of microwaves. As a result, the energy of the | 125310171 |
4,509,620 | electron beam will be efficiently extracted by the TM021 mode field. Due to the larger size, the electric field strength in a TM021 cavity can be much smaller than that in a TM020 cavity. In addition, once the extraction cavity breaks down, the emission electron will absorb less energy from the TM021 mode field than the TM020 mode field. In PIC simulations, for an X-band klystron-like RBWO with a frequency of 9.6 GHz and an output power of 2.3 GW, the maximum longitudinal electric field (Ez) in the extraction cavity decreases from 610 kV/cm to 320 kV/cm, when the TM020 extraction cav... | 125310171 |
4,509,621 | Synchronized Tandem Catalysis of Living Radical Polymerization and Transesterification: Methacrylate Gradient Copolymers with Extremely Broad Glass Transition Temperature. Gradient copolymers with differential sequences linearly changing from methyl methacrylate (MMA) to dodecyl methacrylate (DMA) were efficiently synthesized by a concurrent tandem catalysis in the ruthenium-catalyzed living radical (co)polymerization coupled with the in situ transesterification of MMA with 1-dodecanol assisted by titanium isopropoxide [Ti(Oi-Pr)4]. The key is to perfectly synchronize the two reactions throughout the tandem catalysis by using molecular sieves (MSs), which facilitates the MMA transesterification into DMA by removing the resulting methanol. The MMA/DMA gradient copolymers had an extremely broad glass transition temperature range (i.e., hardly detectable by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)), in sharp contrast to the random and the block counterparts of similar compositions. | 101182021 |
4,509,622 | Formulation and in vitro evaluation of ethyl cellulose microspheres containing zidovudine The aim of this study was to formulate and evaluate microencapsulated controlled release preparations of zidovudine using ethyl cellulose as the retardant material with high entrapment efficiency and extended release. Microspheres were prepared by water-in-oil-in-oil (w/o/o) double emulsion solvent diffusion method. A mixed solvent system (MSS) consisting of acetonitrile and dichloromethane in a 1:1 ratio and light liquid paraffin were chosen as primary and secondary oil phases, respectively. Span 80 was used as the surfactant for stabilizing the secondary oil phase. The prepared microspheres were white, free flowing and spherical in shape and characterized by drug loading, infrared spectroscopy (IR), differential scanning colorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The in vitro release studies were performed using PH 7.4 phosphate buffer. The drug loaded microspheres showed 41–55% of entrapment and release was extended up to 18–20 h. The infrared spectra and DSC and DTA thermograms showed stable character of zidovudine in the drug loaded microspheres and revealed the absence of drug-polymer interactions. SEM studies showed that the microspheres are spherical and porous in nature. Data obtained from in vitro release were fitted to various kinetic models and high correlation was obtained in the Higuchi model. The drug release was found to be diffusion controlled. | 35288071 |
4,509,623 | The Roots of Southern Deindustrialization The authors believe the nation must come to terms with the crisis that afflicted the rural and small town South as America deindustrialized in recent decades. The loss of manufacturing jobs was far greater than in the rest of the manufacturing belt. They offer a novel analysis as a start toward forming a solution. | 159415571 |
4,509,624 | Human Rights and War Through Civilian Eyes. By Thomas W. Smith. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017. 272p. $59.95 cloth. out her ideas to help the reader in the process. For example, she makes a strong case for the UN assumption that local actors do not have sufficient capacity to carry out peacebuilding tasks, but less so for the idea that local actors are “undemocratic and illiberal” (p. 85) or that “indigenous forms of governance are inadequate to maintain peace” (p. 71). By noting the unease of UN staff with intervention elsewhere (p. 121), she makes a rather strong accusation. In any case, advocates of liberal ownership would restrict themselves to working with “liberalminded” actors only, and those seeking out elite ownership explicitly ignore such reservations. One approach that would have strengthened this claim is to give more room to explaining the book’s methodology. The author obviously has an excellent knowledge of the main case study—the Democratic Republic of Congo—and there are nearly a hundred interviews to support her work. But what kind of questions did she ask? How did she approach the topic of local ownership without asserting her own preconceptions? Who were the national Congolese actors she talked to? In one note (20, p. 57) von Billerbeck mentions that local ownership was frequently translated into French as “appropriation”; this is fascinating and leaves the reader wanting to know more about the methodology applied. Although von Billerbeck engages with a variety of scholarly debates, she completely sidelines the literature on power sharing, for example, despite | 148581871 |
4,509,625 | the obvious repercussions that this has for local ownership, and especially elite ownership. That Western support of powersharing agreements incentivizes rebels to fight their way to power, for example (see Denis Tull and Andreas Mehler, “The Hidden Costs of Power-Sharing,” African Affairs, 104(416), 2005: 375–398), mirrors her arguments concerning elite owners co-opting the UN’s discursive emphasis on local ownership for their own benefit (e.g., p. 132). Similarly, the author mentions the actual peacebuilding practitioners on several occasions, including their contentious relationship with the local populations (p. 46), and that staff and missions engage with various methods of implementation at different times (pp. 79–80). Yet she does not engage with the seminal work of Séverine Autesserre, Peaceland (2014) on this subject, though many of Autesserre’s findings would back up her own. Time and time again von Billerbeck returns to the contradiction between the norm of self-determination and the practice of peacekeeping. The reader is left wondering: if by continuously showing that the operational objectives of peacekeeping are prioritized over the norm of self-determination (e.g. p. 76), is there perhaps a norm of liberal peacebuilding? Moreover, apart from pointing out the irreconcilable nature between theory and practice (p. 152), where do we go next? Does the UN need to drop its discourse of local ownership because of the harmful effects this has on legitimacy (e.g. p. 132)? Or does it merely need to be introduced later on, when the first operational gains in peacekeeping have succeeded? Alternatively, does the UN need to rethink the conceptualization and operationalization of | 148581871 |
4,509,626 | local ownership, which are only possible if the liberal peacebuilding framework is dropped? Is liberal peacebuilding even the right approach for the UN, considering that most UN member states are not even liberal democracies (see note 30, p. 50)? Something needs to change. After all, von Billerbeck has convincingly shown that peace does not belong to national actors, which has detrimental effects on the legitimacy and effectiveness of the liberal peacebuilding model. | 148581871 |
4,509,627 | Characteristics Analysis of Aggregate Workload on Storage System In this paper we analyze aggregate workload characteristics of multiple I/O streams in shared storage environment such as storage area network (SAN). In these shared storage environments, independent and separate user data spaces make the access streams interleaved and localized. To evaluate overall storage performance or optimize data layout, it is important to understand aggregate workload characteristics of these streams which mutually influence and affect the overall system performance. We analyze access pattern and arrival pattern of aggregate workload by mathematics methods for the first time. The Poisson model is adopted for single stream since it is concise and straightforward. We validated that the mathematic analysis is accurate enough under our assumptions by simulation experiments using synthetic workload generator. | 10610721 |
4,509,628 | CHARACTERISTICS OF MODELS THAT IMPACT TRANSFORMATION OF BIMS TO VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS TO SUPPORT FACILITY MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS Building information models (BIMs) have been used by the Architectural/Engineering/Construction (AEC) industry with a focus on storing and exchanging digital information about building components. However, the untapped potential of BIMs in facility operations and the experience of facility operators while they interact with digital building information have not been understood widely. One of the underlying bottlenecks in the use of BIMs in the FM phase is the lack of interactions with components to easily access information of interest, and the lack of ways to navigate in models with full spatial understanding. Virtual environments (VEs), which represent physical spaces digitally in virtual worlds, enable interactions with virtual components to access information with spatial understanding. The underlying challenges in the conversion of BIMs to VE hinder a streamlined process. This paper provides a detailed analysis of building size, geometric complexities of discipline models and level of geometric granularity as factors contributing to inefficient transformation of BIMs to VE. The paper also provides research findings on a set of computational approaches such as polygon reduction and occlusion culling to overcome challenges and improve the data transfer faced in converting BIMs into VEs over a range and size of facility models. | 56408721 |
4,509,629 | Modeling surface tension of a two‐dimensional droplet using smoothed particle hydrodynamics Surface tension plays a significant role at the dynamic interface of free‐surface flows especially at the microscale in capillary‐dominated flows. A model for accurately predicting the formation of two‐dimensional viscous droplets in vacuum or gas of negligible density and viscosity resulting from axisymmetric oscillation due to surface tension is solved using smoothed particle hydrodynamics composed of the Navier‐Stokes system and appropriate interfacial conditions for the free‐surface boundaries. The evolution of the droplet and its free‐surface interface is tracked over time to investigate the effects of surface tension forces implemented using a modified continuous surface force method and is compared with those performed using interparticle interaction force. The dynamic viscous fluid and surface tension interactions are investigated via a controlled curvature model and test cases of nonsteady oscillating droplets; attention is focused here on droplet oscillation that is released from an initial static deformation. Accuracy of the results is attested by demonstrating that (i) the curvature of the droplet that is controlled; (ii) uniform distribution of fluid particles; (iii) clean asymmetric forces acting on the free surface; and (iv) nonsteady oscillating droplets compare well with analytical and published experiment findings. The advantage of the proposed continuous surface force method only requires the use of physical properties of the fluid, whereas the interparticle interaction force method is restricted by the requirement of tuning parameters. | 125780371 |
4,509,630 | Sustainable Forms of Tourism and their Prospects for the Development of Corfu The article attempts to map the alternative forms of tourism and to outline the area of Corfu with its comparative advantages and as a goal, the viability of its tourism. Planning of regional policy of Ionian Islands focused on Corfu, should be formed in such a way that the main objective should be the maximization of sustainable tourism development. For that reason major role among others will have the contribution of the Special Framework for Spatial Planning and Sustainable development for tourism. <br> | 235315221 |
4,509,631 | Interhemispheric interference during word naming. The hypothesis that the use of two hemispheres as receiving stations for information, rather than just one hemisphere, decreases interference between items, and improves performance, was tested by requiring subjects to identify four words simultaneously projected to one visual field (Unilateral-single hemisphere presentation) or divided between two visual fields (Bilateral-bihemispheric presentation.) In Experiment I, words projected to different hemispheres were incorrectly "blended" into a single response as frequently as words projected to a single hemisphere. In Experiment II, subjects were told that half of the display was irrelevant. Irrelevant words which were projected to a different hemisphere than the relevant words were incorrectly named as often as when all four words were projected to the same hemisphere. In addition, overall performance during Bilateral-bihemispheric presentations did not exceed that during the better of the two Unilateral-single hemisphere presentations, not only when naming was required (Experiments I and II), but even when only recognition was required (Experiment III). This demonstrates that division of inputs between the hemispheres does not always improve performance. | 20334971 |
4,509,632 | Application of Fractal Graphics in Fashion Design This paper mainly discusses the characteristics of fractal graphics as well as theoretical basis, and the use of Maple and other mathematical software raw ingredients -shaped graphics, and thus will be fractal images to use to the fabric recycling, restructuring of fractal images, in order to create realistic visual effects, so that garment shape and fabric images pattern combination of organic, the final completion of the clothing creation. Fractal graphics of this new fashion element in fashion design is of great significance to design new and unique clothing, so that more practical significance to the study of fractal graphics. | 108519221 |
4,509,633 | High speed operation design considerations for fractional slot axial flux PMSM This paper discusses intensively the design considerations for the fractional slot axial flux permanent magnet synchronous (AFPMSMs) in order to work efficiently in the constant power speed range, also known as the field weakening (FW) region. The dominant parameter in the constant power speed region is called the characteristic current which equals the ratio of the magnet flux linkage over the synchronous inductance (-ψm/Ls). Several machine parameters is affecting the characteristic current including the machine geometry and the winding configurations. In this paper, the effect of many of these parameters on the FW has been discussed; including the outer diameter, inner to outer diameter ratio, magnet size, slot opening width, slots per poles combinations,and the multi phase configurations for the Axial flux permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM). Two main governors are considered to evaluate the parameters' impact on the machine overall performance; the rated machine efficiency and the torque to weight ratio at the highest values. Selection of these governors is application driven where these governors are the most influencing factors on the axial flux PMSM design. The results of the present analysis show that the fine tuning of the discussed machine parameters would derive the motor to work in the required Constant Power Speed Region (CPSR) keeping the required high efficiency and torque to weight ratio. A previously proved analytical model has been used in this study to overcome the highly time consumption in the finite element model (FEM). | 2034621 |
4,509,634 | Intelligent antibacterial surface based on ionic liquid molecular brushes for bacterial killing and release. The prevention of bacteria-induced infections has been increasing in importance in both clinical surgery and biomedical engineering. Although great attention has been paid to designing intelligent antibacterial surfaces, the fabrication processes are still not facile and universal enough, and the antibacterial efficiencies of these surfaces are also not ideal. Herein, ionic liquid (IL) molecules of 3-(12-mercaptododecyl)-1-methyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium bromide (IL(Br)) were synthesized with the minimum inhibitory concentrations as low as 4 and 8 μg mL-1 against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli), respectively. By simply immersing a polymeric substrate into the IL(Br) solution, an antibacterial surface with high killing efficiency of 99% against S. aureus (94% against E. coli) was achieved via a mussel-inspired approach. Subsequently, 97% S. aureus and 95% E. coli on the substrate could be released by simple ion-exchange of Br- with (CF3SO2)2N- due to the ion sensitivity of the IL molecular brushes. Thus, the proposed facile strategy towards a superior efficiency surface could be potentially used in intelligent antibacterial fields. | 201116171 |
4,509,635 | Distinct mechanisms of cell cycle arrest control the decision between differentiation and senescence in human neuroblastoma cells Retinoic acid (RA) induces cell cycle arrest and differentiation of human neuroblastoma (NB) cells. Typically, NB cells differentiate along the neuronal lineage, but quiescent, “flat” cell types frequently have been described after treatment with differentiating agents. Two indistinguishable subclones of the cell line SK-N-SH, SK-N-SH-N (SH-N) and SK-N-SH-F (SH-F), display dramatically different responses to RA. In SH-N, RA induces neuronal differentiation, but in SH-F it transforms the small neuroblastic cells into large, flattened, epithelium-like cells. Here we analyze the mechanistic basis for the different effects of RA in the two NB subclones. First, we show that the flattened RA-treated SH-F expresses markers of cells undergoing replicative senescence. Inhibition of DNA synthesis by RA is significantly more rapid in SH-F than in SH-N. SH-F, which expresses basal amounts of p16INK4A, responds to RA with elevation of p18INK4C, marked down-regulation of cyclin D1, and swift inhibition of cyclin D-dependent kinases (cdks). Conversely, after addition of RA, SH-N retains cell cycling due to high expression of cyclin D1, the absence of Ink4 inhibitors, and accumulation of p21Cip1. These changes result in sustained cdk activity. Accordingly, overexpression of p21Cip1 but not p16INK4A induces neuronal differentiation of untreated NB cells. We propose that rapid inhibition of cdks by RA in NB leads to early cell cycle arrest, prevents neuronal differentiation, and results in a senescence-like state. | 199771 |
4,509,636 | Integrated plasma facing component calorimetry for measurement of shot integrated deposited energy in the NSTX-U. The upgrade to the National Spherical Torus eXperiment (NSTX-U) [J. Menard et al., Nucl. Fusion 52, 083015 (2012)] increases the injected neutral beam power up to 12 MW and the plasma current up to Ip = 2 MA for plasma durations up to 5 s. The graphite plasma facing components have been re-designed to handle greater heat and energy fluxes than were seen in NSTX using a castellated design. We present the experimental testing and validation of a castellated graphite target, similar to the prototype tile design, instrumented with thermocouples at various depths in the castellation. During testing, incident heat flux is provided by a programmed electron beam system and surface temperatures are measured via infrared thermography directly viewing the target surface. It was found that the thermocouple response scaled linearly with the measured surface temperature rise regardless of thermocouple depth in the castellation. A sensitivity of 14.3 °C/kJ of deposited energy was found when treating individual castellations as a semi-infinite solid. | 53229821 |
4,509,637 | Structural flexibility of the SARS-CoV-2 genome relevant to variation, replication, pathogenicity, and immune evasion The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to be driven by viral variants. Most research has focused on structural proteins and on site-specific mutations. Here, we describe recombination events involving genomic terminal sequences in SARS-CoV-2 and related viruses leading to structural rearrangements in terminal and coding regions and discuss their potential contributions to viral variation, replication, pathogenicity, and immune evasion. | 245426521 |
4,509,638 | Do Appraisal Challenges Benefit Target Shareholders through Narrowing Arbitrage Spread? There is an ongoing debate regarding the extent to which the increased appraisal litigation in the Delaware Chancery Court is beneficial from a public policy perspective. In a recent issue of the Journal of Law and Economics, Boone, Broughman, and Macias document that, compared with deals without appraisal challenges, deals subject to appraisal challenges have a 6-percentage-point lower postannouncement arbitrage spread on average. On the basis of this observed gap in arbitrage spread, the authors claim that appraisal challenges benefit target shareholders through narrowing arbitrage spread. We find that the observed gap in arbitrage spread is driven by outliers and sampling biases. Controlling for these biases completely closes the observed gap. Therefore, there is no evidence that gains from appraisal arbitrage are shared with target shareholders through narrowing of the arbitrage spread. | 211778621 |
4,509,639 | Running Title: Thermodynamics of Ligand Binding to PTP1B The binding of several phosphonodifluoromethyl phenylalanine (F2Pmp) containing peptides to protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) and its substrate-trapping mutants (C215S and D181A) have been studied using isothermal titration calorimetry. The binding of a high affinity ligand, AcAsp-Ala-Asp-Glu-F2Pmp-Leu-NH2, to PTP1B (Kd = 0.24 μM) is favored by both enthalpic and entropic contributions. Disruption of ionic interactions between the side chain of Arg47 and the Nterminal acidic residues, reduces the binding affinity primarily through the reduction of the T∆S term. The role of Arg47 may be to maximize surface contact between PTP1B and the peptide, which contributes to high affinity binding. The active site Cys215 to Ser mutant PTP1B binds ligands with the same affinity as the wild-type enzyme. However, unlike wild type PTP1B, peptide binding to C215S is predominately driven by enthalpy change, which likely results from the elimination of the electrostatic repulsion between the thiolate anion and the phosphonate group. The increased enthalpic contribution is offset by reduction in the binding entropy, which may be the result of increased entropy of the unbound protein caused by this mutation. The general acid deficient mutant D181A binds the peptide 5-fold tighter than the C215S mutant, consistent with the observation that the Asp to Ala mutant is a better “substrate-trapping” reagent than C215S. The increased binding affinity for D181A as compared to the wild-type PTP1B results primarily from an increase in the ∆H of binding in the mutant, which may be related to decreased electrostatic repulsion between the phosphate moiety and | 251794321 |
4,509,640 | PTP1B. These results have important implications for the design of high affinity PTP1B inhibitors. by gest on July 0, 2020 hp://w w w .jb.org/ D ow nladed from | 251794321 |
4,509,641 | Remote sensing of snow-cover for the boreal forest zone using microwave rada This doctoral dissertation describes the development of an operationally feasible snow monitoring methodology utilizing spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, intended for hydrological applications on the boreal forest zone. The snow-covered area (SCA) estimation methodology developed is characterized using extensive satellite-based datasets, including SAR-based estimation and optical reference data gathered during the snow-melt seasons of 1997-1998, 2000-2002 and 2004-2006 from northern Finland. The methodology applies satellite-based C-band SAR data for snow monitoring during the spring snow-melt season. The SCA information can be utilized for river discharge forecasting and flood predictions and for the optimization of hydropower production. The development efforts included 1) demonstration of a forest compensation algorithm, 2) establishing the use of wide-swath SAR data 3) development of a weather station assimilation procedure and 4) creation of an enhanced reference image selection algorithm for the SCA estimation methodology. The feasibility of a proposed, non-boreal forest specific, SAR-based SCA estimation method was evaluated for the boreal forest zone. The acquired results were compared with the characteristics determined for the boreal-forest specific methodology developed within this dissertation. These results can be used when selecting appropriate SCA estimation approaches for future snow monitoring systems whether conducted in different regions or intended for larger i.e. continental or global scale purposes. An automatic processing system for SCA estimation was developed and demonstrated as part of this work; the system has been delivered to the Finnish Environment Institute for operational use. Publishing unit Arctic research Classification (UDK) | 13381071 |
4,509,642 | Parents’ estimation of their children's body size compared to classification of children's nutritional status using the international growth reference While debates abound about the appropriateness of using an international growth reference in low‐income countries and the use of cut‐off points as diagnostics for malnutrition, there is little discussion about the relevance of anthropometric assessment of children for the population of concern. While the issue of cultural appropriateness may appear to be an arcane anthropological question, it does have wider applied significance in the field in terms of involving parents in growth monitoring programs and community nutrition surveillance. In a sample of 283 parents (mostly mothers) participating in a child health and nutrition study in peri‐urban Kathmandu, Nepal, a majority of parents (68.4%) whose children were classified by NCHS standards as moderately‐to‐severely malnourished (i.e. below the ‐2SD cut‐off for ht/age and wt/age) deemed them to be small in size. When children were divided into age groups, it was found that parents were very accurate at labelling their children as “small” when their children were under 36 months of age and much less accurate when they were between 36 and 60 months of age. Parents’ perception of smallness of their children based on ‘ranking’ is sensitive and reasonably correlated with objective growth measures. Parents’ opinions regarding the nutritional and health status of their children should be taken seriously and be incorporated into growth monitoring and community surveillance programs. | 72325671 |
4,509,643 | Social support, life stress, and subsequent medical care utilization. Four-hundred thirty-seven adults 40 years old or older were monitored for medical care utilization in a health maintenance organization over a 5-year period. Rates of utilization were related, in specific ways, to initially obtained indicators of life stress and social support and to interactions between life stress, social support, and age. Use of both standard and step-down hierarchical multiple-regression procedures permitted a distinction between immediate and delayed effects. Implications are drawn regarding the buffering hypothesis for the mitigating effects of social support on the likelihood of health breakdown. | 38770221 |
4,509,644 | Range-spread target detection using the time-frequency feature based on sparse representation ABSTRACT The wideband radar transmitting the linear frequency modulation signal often processes its echoes by the stretched processing. This paper deals with the range-spread target detection in white complex Gaussian noise. Here, we propose a new detection method for the range-spread target based on sparse representation, which selects the time-frequency feature to realise the target detection. It can be simply described as follows: first, the sketched signal is reconstructed from its noisy measurements by basis pursuit de-noising (BPDN); scatterers on the target are determined by its reconstruction and used to calculate the Wigner distribution; for the target embedded in noise, the time-frequency feature in its power-density spectrum is compared with the decision threshold. Meanwhile, the median absolute deviation (MAD) is adopted to estimate the noise variance. The mainly novelties can be concluded as follows: the Fourier matrix is selected to sparsely represent the sketched signal; the sparsity is used to improve the SNR of the received echoes; the Wigner transform is utilised to acquire the time-frequency feature of the range-spread target. Both the optimisation theory and time-frequency representation are introduced to solve the target detection problem. Experimental results on the raw data show that the proposed detector outperforms the conventional methods. | 126305871 |
4,509,645 | Neuromuscular Scoliosis: Current Concepts. Scoliosis is a common deformity in neuromuscular disorders. This spinal deformity usually presents at an early age, rapidly progresses during growth, and continues to progress even after skeletal maturity. Neuromuscular scoliosis classically involves the entire thoracolumbar spine, often extending to the pelvis and causing pelvic obliquity. Physical examination can be challenging, but it is important to assess the flexibility of the spinal curve and associated joint contractures. Upright anteroposterior and lateral radiographs are the preferred imaging. When formulating a treatment plan, it is important to take into account not only the degree of curvature, but also each patient's needs and quality of life, the potentially high perioperative complication rates, and the natural history of the underlying neuromuscular disorder. Different neuromuscular conditions behave differently and should therefore be treated differently. With the exception of steroids for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, bracing remains the only reliable nonoperative intervention available. Preoperative optimization of medical comorbidities is crucial given the relatively high complication rate. Posterior segmental instrumentation has revolutionized the surgical management of neuromuscular scoliosis and is the most commonly used technique today. Despite reported improvement in postoperative quality of life, there are several limitations with currently used outcome measures that prevent a well-informed discussion on the outcomes after surgery. | 6457671 |
4,509,646 | Factor XIII: congenital deficiency factor XIII, acquired deficiency, factor XIII A-subunit, and factor XIII B-subunit. Factor XIII (FXIII) is a transglutaminase consisting of 2 catalytic A subunits and 2 noncatalytic B subunits in plasma. The noncatalytic B subunits protect the catalytic A subunits from clearance. Congenital FXIII deficiency may manifest as a lifelong bleeding tendency, abnormal wound healing, and recurrent miscarriage. Acquired FXIII deficiency, with significant reductions in FXIII levels, has been reported in several medical conditions. The routine screening tests for coagulopathies-prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and thrombin time-do not show abnormalities in cases of FXIII deficiency. A quantitative, functional, FXIII activity assay that detects all forms of FXIII deficiency should be used as a first-line screening test. Treatment consists of recombinant FXIII or FXIII concentrate. If these are unavailable, then fresh-frozen plasma and cryoprecipitates may be used. Factor XIII has a long half-life; therefore, the patients can lead near-normal lives with regular replacements. Patients with acquired FXIII deficiency with inhibitors need immunosuppressive therapy in addition to factor replacements. | 43843521 |
4,509,647 | GUARDEDNESS OR OPENNESS ON THE CANCER UNIT An investigation was made of four approaches—open-open, open-guarded, guarded-open, and guarded-guarded—to revealing diagnosis and prognosis to cancer patients as these affected: 1) the patients' confidence in their doctors and nurses, 2) the patients' satisfaction with the information received about their illness and with their nursing care, and 3) the adequacy of the nursing care given. Thirty-two hospitalized patients, undergoing diagnostic tests and/or surgery for cancer, were selected by six participating physicians, and each patient was placed into one of the four approaches. An interview-questionnaire was used to ascertain patients' levels of confidence and satisfaction and patients' and nurses' concepts of adequacy of care. The study revealed predominant use of the open approach to diagnosis and of the guarded approach to revealing prognosis. Regardless of the approach employed by the physician, patients generally had confidence in their doctor and nurses; when the open-open approach was used, patients had greater confidence in the health professionals. Patients whose doctor provided them with information about their diagnosis and prognosis, using the open-open approach, evidenced greater satisfaction with the amount and kind of information received. Patients generally reported satisfaction with nursing care regardless of the approach used, but there was a marked increase in the nurses' effectiveness of intervention to provide care when the open-open approach was used. It was concluded that the initial manner in which the patient was told of his diagnosis and prognosis influenced his response to his illness and to his method of treatment. | 10693671 |
4,509,648 | Evolution of Renal Function after Partial and Full Mechanical Support for Chronic Heart Failure Purpose Recently a minimal invasive, partial support continuous flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) became available for treatment of chronic heart failure. The aim of this study was to analyze whether partial support is capable of improving kidney function in end-stage heart failure. Methods We performed a single-center retrospective analysis of patients how received a full (n = 43) or partial support LVAD (n = 18) between 2007 and 2013. Patients on dialysis or in INTERMACS class I were excluded. Renal function was assessed until 3 months after the implantation. A calculated GFR less than 60 m/min was considered to be renal failure. Results Creatinine level after LVAD implant decreased 23% in patients on full support (1.3 ± 0.4 mg/dl vs. 1.0 ± 0.3 mg/dl; p<0.001) and 24% in patients on partial support (1.6 ± 0.6 mg/dl vs. 1.2 ± 0.4 mg/dl; p = 0.17) within 3 months. In each group patients with a pre-operative GFR less than 60 ml/min were selected. In this subgroup there was a 35% decrease in creatinine levels for patients on full support (1.7 ± 0.4 mg/dl vs. 1.1 ± 0.5 mg/dl; p<0.01) and a 32% decrease in patients on partial support (2 ± 0.4 mg/dl vs. 1.4 ± 0.3 mg/dl; p<0.05) at 3 months. Conclusions We observed a significant improvement in renal function in patients supported by full or partial support devices, even if the pre-operative renal function was severly impaired. The use of diuretics decreased | 31640071 |
4,509,649 | in both groups. In chronic heart failure patients with impaired renal function, partial support is sufficient to improve renal function significantly. | 31640071 |
4,509,650 | Study on Polishing Tool Contact Deformation for Large Robotic Aspheric Surface Compliant Polishing Due to the problem of the mutual interaction between the polishing tool system and the control of poses and positions, it is difficult to hybrid-synchronizationally control the polishing force, the posture of polishing tool head and the polishing trajectory. So the article designed a set of compliant tools that take the pneumatic servo system as the control system, which was used for active polishing aspheric surface of Robot. It was to accomplish the Robots self-adaptive control to the posture of the polishing tool as well as to figure out the correlation of the contact deformation between the polishing tool and the work piece surface, which makes a theoretical analysis on dynamic and steady characteristics of the contact deformation of the tool system. It applied the meek and polishing tools to the polishing processing of the rough machining of large aspheric surface samples to obtain the data. According to the statistics, the polishing tools can effectively solve the problem of the mutual interaction between the polishing tool system and the control of poses and positions. It also owns good adaptive ability and its machining aspheric surface quality can achieve nanoscale. | 110377471 |
4,509,651 | Evaluation of the Morse Fall Scale in hospitalised patients. Sir—Several risk factors associated with falls in hospitalised patients have been identified [1, 2]. Although a substantial number of assessment instruments for identifying hospitalised patients at risk of falling exists [3], their generalisability is limited [4] because only a few [2, 5] have been tested in settings other than those in which they were originally developed. The Morse Fall Scale (MFS) has been evaluated in different hospital settings [6–9] and has been used in a variety of patient populations [10–16]. In search of an appropriate tool to identify admitting patients for risk of falling, the MFS appears to be most elaborate in view of its extensive development and testing in different hospital populations compared with others [3, 4]. Its easy application in clinical practice supported this choice. However, no investigation to date has reported results of different cut-off scores of the scale. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of different MFS cut-offs to determine which score would be most useful in identifying in-hospital patients at risk of falls. | 41672571 |
4,509,652 | Identification and characterization of the smbA gene, a suppressor of the mukB null mutant of Escherichia coli The mukB gene encodes a protein involved in chromosome partitioning in Escherichia coli. To study the function of this protein, we isolated from the temperature-sensitive mukB null mutant and characterized 56 suppressor mutants which could grow at 42 degrees C. Ten of the mutants also showed cold-sensitive growth at 22 degrees C. Using one of the cold-sensitive mutants as host, the wild type of the suppressor gene was cloned. The cloned suppressor gene complemented all of the 56 suppressor mutations. DNA sequencing revealed the presence of an open reading frame of 723 bp which could encode a protein of 25,953 Da. The gene product was indeed detected. The previously undiscovered gene, named smbA (suppressor of mukB), is located at 4 min on the E. coli chromosome, between the tsf and frr genes. The smbA gene is essential for cell proliferation in the range from 22 to 42 degrees C. Cells which lacked the SmbA protein ceased macromolecular synthesis. The smbA mutants are sensitive to a detergent, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and they show a novel morphological phenotype under nonpermissive conditions, suggesting a defect in specific membrane sites. | 903371 |
4,509,653 | Thermally enhanced Wigner oscillations in two-electron 1D quantum dots Motivated by a recent experiment (Pecker et al 2013 Nat. Phys. 9 576), we study the stability, with respect to thermal effects, of Friedel and Wigner density fluctuations for two electrons trapped in a one-dimensional quantum dot. Diagonalizing the system exactly, the finite-temperature average electron density is computed. While the weak and strong interaction regimes display a Friedel oscillation or a Wigner molecule state at zero temperature, which as expected smear and melt as the temperature increases, a peculiar thermal enhancement of Wigner correlations in the intermediate interaction regime is found. We demonstrate that this effect is due to the presence of two different characteristic temperature scales: TF, dictating the smearing of Friedel oscillations, and TW, smoothing Wigner oscillations. In the early Wigner molecule regime, for intermediate interactions, TF < TW leading to the enhancement of the visibility of Wigner oscillations. These results complement those obtained within the Luttinger liquid picture, valid for larger numbers of particles. | 37721621 |
4,509,654 | Participatory child-centered disaster risk reduction education: an innovative Chinese NGO program PurposeDisaster risk reduction (DRR) researchers and practitioners have found that schools can play a critical role in DRR education, with many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) developing initiatives to actively involve children in DRR education programs. This paper reports on a case study on an innovative Chinese NGO school-based program focused on participatory child-centered DRR (PCC-DRR) education, from which a PCC-DRR education framework was developed so that similar programs could be replicated, especially in developing countries.Design/methodology/approachAfter nearly a year of research involving follow-up interviews, fieldwork and secondary data collection from annual reports, news reports and official websites, a case study was conducted on the PCC-DRR education program developed by the One Foundation (OF), a resource-rich NGO in China, that focused on its education strategies and project practice in Ya'an following the 2013 Lushan earthquake.FindingsBased on constructivist theory, the OF developed a PCC-DRR education program that had four specific branches: teacher capacity building, child DRR education, campus risk management and campus safety culture, which was then implemented in 115 schools and consequently evaluated as being highly effective.Originality/valueThe innovative OF PCC-DRR education program adds to theoretical and practical DRR education research as a “best practice” case. Because the proposed framework is child-centered, participatory and collaborative, it provides excellent guidance and reference for countries seeking to develop school-based DRR education programs. | 236298421 |
4,509,655 | Optimization of an integrated wavelength monitor device In this paper an edge filter based on multimode interference in an integrated waveguide is optimized for a wavelength monitoring application. This can also be used as a demodulation element in a fibre Bragg grating sensing system. A global optimization algorithm is presented for the optimum design of the multimode interference device, including a range of parameters of the multimode waveguide, such as length, width and position of the input and output waveguides. The designed structure demonstrates the desired spectral response for wavelength measurements. Fabrication tolerance is also analysed numerically for this structure. | 120957771 |
4,509,656 | Delayed Complication from a Percutaneous Vascular Closure Device following a Neuro-Interventional Procedure Percutaneous vascular closure devices are being increasingly used as alternatives to manual compression for the closure of femoral arteriotomy after endovascular procedures as they appear to reduce time to ambulate, improve patient's comfort, and are implicated with cost saving. However, vascular closure devices have been associated with an increased risk of complications including hematoma formation, local bleeding, arteriovenous fistula formation, pseudoaneurysm and arterial leg ischemia. To our knowledge, if the above complications occur it is usually within the first 30 days after the procedure. None have been reported in a delayed fashion ten months or longer after closure. We describe a 30-year-old man with a history of a giant basilar trunk aneurysm. He was placed on aspirin and clopidogrel prior to the procedure. He had bilateral femoral access with 6 French sheaths. Following the procedure, 6 French Angio-Seals (St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN, USA) were used for closure of bilateral femoral arteriotomies. Ten months after the procedure, the patient kicked a metal cart and developed a large right retroperitoneal iliopsoas hematoma. There was no evidence of pseudoaneurysm. The patient was managed conservatively and his serial hematocrit stayed stable. He did not require surgical intervention. Use of percutaneous vascular closure devices is associated with complications including risk of hematoma, pseudoaneurysm, intravenous fistula, rectal peritoneal hemorrhage, limb ischemia and possible surgical repair. Most complications occur peri-procedure or within 30 days postprocedure. This is the first reported case of a delayed complication at ten months after | 23892071 |
4,509,657 | the initial procedure. Site-related complications associated with percutaneous vascular closure devices may occur in a delayed fashion, even ten months postprocedure, so should be considered in the management of patients. | 23892071 |
4,509,658 | The development of a multiorgan ex vivo perfused model: results with the porcine liver-kidney circuit over 24 hours. We already developed an ex vivo liver-kidney model perfused for 6 h in which the kidney acted as a homeostatic organ to improve the circuit milieu compared to liver alone. In the current study, we extended the multiorgan perfusions to 24 h to evaluate the results and eventual pitfalls manifesting with longer durations. Five livers and kidneys were harvested from female pigs and perfused over 24 h. The extracorporeal circuit included a centrifugal pump, heat exchanger, and oxygenator. The primary end point of the study was the evaluation of the organ functions as gathered from biochemical and acid-base parameters. In the combined liver-kidney circuit, the organs survived and maintained an acceptable homeostasis for different lengths of time, longer for the liver (up to 19-23 h of perfusions) than the kidney (9-13 h of perfusions). Furthermore, glucose and creatinine values decreased significantly over time (from the 5th and 9th hour of perfusion onward). The addition of a kidney to the perfusion circuit improved the biochemical environment by removing excess products from ongoing metabolic processes. The consequence is a more physiological milieu that could improve results from future experimental studies. However, it is likely that long perfusions require some nutritional support over the hours to maintain the organ's vitality and functionality throughout the experiments. | 37647621 |
4,509,659 | Fatty acids supply H2O2 at high rates for the oxidation of ethanol by catalase. Fatty acids are physiological substrates for H2O2 production via peroxisomal beta-oxidation and have been shown to increase ethanol metabolism markedly in a system that involves catalase-H2O2. To try to understand why fatty acid-stimulated ethanol uptake occurs much faster than rates of H2O2 generation reported previously, studies were conducted to measure these parameters under identical conditions in the perfused rat liver. New methods were developed to measure H2O2 generation in a recirculating perfusion system based on the fact that methanol is oxidized only by catalase in rat liver. One method for measuring H2O2 generation in the perfused liver was based on the linear decrease in the concentration of methanol per unit time and the stoichiometry between H2O2 production and methanol oxidation of nearly 1:1. A second method relied on quantitation of the time necessary for the steady-state level of catalase-H2O2 measured spectrophotometrically (660-640 nm) through a lobe of the liver to return to basal values following the addition of known quantities of methanol. Basal rates of H2O2 production measured with both new methods and rates of 4-methylpyrazole- insensitive ethanol oxidation were similar (9 to 17 mumol/g/hr). Rates of H2O2 generation were increased up to 80 mumol/g/hr by addition of oleate or palmitate (1 mM), values which compared well with rates of fatty acid-stimulated palmitate (1 mM), values which compared well with rates of fatty acid-stimulated ethanol uptake of 70 to 90 mumol/g/hr measured in the presence of 4-methylpyrazole.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) | 8959471 |
4,509,660 | Relapse of leprosy after multidrug therapy. Relapse of leprosy after multidrug therapy among leprosy patients treated at Mahasarakarm, Kalasin and Roi-et from 1984 to 1994 were analyzed. Twenty PB relapses (45.45%) and twenty four MB relapses (54.55%) were found among 5,298 originally classified PB patients and 5 MB relapses occurred in 2,624 originally classified MB patients. Mean relapse interval was between 3-4 years. The relapse rate within 10 years after stopping MDT was 0.83 per cent in PB and 0.19 per cent in MB. The estimated relapse rate per 1,000 patient-years was 1.55 for PB and 0.41 for MB respectively. | 12146771 |
4,509,661 | A low molecular weight allergen of white birch (Betula verrucosa) is highly homologous to human profilin. Cloning of allergens has contributed substantially to the understanding of mechanisms in allergic diseases by providing information about the sequence and hence biological functions of allergens. The major birch pollen allergen, Bet v I [Breiteneder H, et al: EMBO J 1989;8:1935-1938] and the white-faced hornet venom allergen (antigen 5) [Si Yun Fang K, et al: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sc. USA 1988;85:895-899] were shown to be highly homologous to pathogenesis-related proteins of plants. In the case of the major allergen of house dust mite, Der p I, homology to proteases was demonstrated. Therefore, the proposed biological function of these IgE-binding proteins might be related to their allergenic potential. In this paper we tentatively identify a ubiquitous family of low molecular weight allergens as profilins. The identification is based on a sequence homology, (b) binding to poly(L-proline), and (c) immunological cross-reactivity. Recombinant birch profilin was purified to homogeneity and showed the same properties as natural profilins. | 909821 |
4,509,662 | First Report of Corynespora cassiicola Causing Target Spot on Soybean in Taiwan. Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) is an important crop in Taiwan. In October 2020, an unknown leaf spot disease was counted (n = 100) to occur over 70% of soybean cultivar 'Hualien No.1' in the Shoufeng Township of Hualien County, eastern Taiwan. Initial symptoms on leaves as tiny lesions approximately 3 mm in diameter, which later enlarged and developed into round, irregular, and reddish-brown spots with concentric rings surrounded by a yellowish halo. The symptoms appeared on both young and old leaves, but rarely on the stem or pods. The lesions at the margin of healthy and infected tissues were surface-disinfested in 1% NaOCl for 30 seconds, washed twice in sterilized distilled water, dissected and plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) to isolate the potential pathogen. Colonies on PDA exhibited light to dark brown color at 24°C with 12-hours light after 7-days incubation. The average growth rate was 3 mm per day. Conidia were light brown in color and obclavate to cylindrical in shape. The size of a conidium was measured with an average of 110.8 ± 28.2 μm in length and 15.2 ± 2.8 μm in width, typically with 3 to 18 septa (n = 50). To confirm the pathogenicity of this fungus, conidial suspension (104 conidia/mL) of two isolates, HL_GM-6 and HL_GM-7, were sprayed on the healthy leaves of 4-weeks-old soybean. Plants sprayed with sterile distilled water were used as a control. After inoculation, the plants were covered with plastic bags to | 234345371 |
4,509,663 | maintain a high humidity for 24 hours before moving into a greenhouse with a condition of 20 to 25°C and relative humidity of 75 to 80%. After 7 days of inoculation, foliar symptoms began to appear and which were identical with the field observations. To complete the Koch's postulates, pathogen isolation was attempted and the identical fungus was retrieved from the foliar spots of the inoculated leaves. The foliar symptoms as well as the morphology of the conidiophores and conidia suggested the pathogen to be Corynespora cassiicola (Ellis et al. 1971). Molecular characterization was performed using the sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA, actin (act1), tubulin, and translation elongation factor 1 alpha (tef1) genes after a PCR with ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), ACT-512F/ACT-783R (Carbone and Kohn, 1999), BT2a/Bt2b (Udayanga et al. 2012), EF1-728F/EF1-986R (Udayanga et al. 2012), respectively. BLASTN sequence analyses of the ITS, act1, tubulin, and tef1 genomic regions of the isolate HL_GM-7 (GenBanK accessions MW548097 MW961420, MW961419 and MW961421) showed high similarity with the isolates of C. cassiicola including 99.58% with sequence KF810854 (Deon et al. 2014), 99.11% with FJ853005 (Dixon et al. 2009), 99.34% with MH763700 (Duan et al. 2019), and 99.33% with KY112719 (Zhang et al. 2018) respectively. Based on the morphology, pathogenicity, and sequence results, this study becomes the first report of C. cassiicola causing target spot on soybean in Taiwan. C. cassiicola is known to infect a broad host range (Dixon et al. 2009; Lopezet al. 2018), and it has been found to infect tomato, cucumber, | 234345371 |
4,509,664 | papaya, and Salvia miltiorrhiza in Taiwan (Lu et al. 2019; Tsai et al. 2015). Therefore, the emergence of soybean target spot should be aware to avoid potential damage to soybean production in Taiwan. | 234345371 |
4,509,665 | Smartphone-Connected Hearing Aids Enable and Empower Self-Management of Hearing Loss: A Qualitative Interview Study Underpinned by the Behavior Change Wheel Objectives: To identify patient-reported barriers and facilitators to using smartphone-connected hearing aids, using the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) to understand experiences and how these can be addressed. Design: A single-center, prospective, observational study. Eight hearing aid users (new = 1, existing = 7; mean age = 71.75 years, SD = 5.23, range = 65 to 81 years) were identified through convenience sampling from 44 participants who took part in a 7-week evaluation of smartphone-connected hearing aids controlled by a prototype app. The app allowed users to manually control settings such as gain, noise reduction, and microphone directionality, preset, and customized programmes. Participants were assigned to one of two focus groups following trial of the app. Results: Focus group transcripts were thematically analyzed and underpinned by the COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behavior) model and Theoretical Domains Framework to identify barriers and facilitators to using smartphone-connected hearing aids (the target behavior). Mapping of themes to the BCW allowed use of the Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy (version 1) to identify behavior change techniques that audiologists could implement in clinical practice to address the barriers and facilitators. Capability: The app increased participants’ knowledge of hearing aid controls, encouraging use of the app for improved hearing loss self-management. However, barriers to using the app included perception of insufficient digital literacy skills for smartphone-connected hearing aid use and an increased cognitive load caused by decisions over which controls to use. Opportunity: Perceived smartphone | 239004521 |
4,509,666 | norms (i.e., acceptable occasions to use smartphones) and differing listening contexts acted as both facilitators and barriers. Motivation: The ability to control hearing aid settings in any listening situation (e.g., to reduce noise) empowered users to successfully self-manage their hearing loss, leading to greater confidence and participation in everyday life. The app also reduced hearing aid–related and self-stigma, and the ability to self-adjust hearing aids benefitted both participants and communication partners. It was the adjustability and interaction afforded by the app that empowered users, rather than the hearing aid technology itself. Perceived beliefs and knowledge about digital literacy skills, and specifically abilities to use a smartphone, were perceived to be barriers in this typically older population, particularly when they compared themselves to younger generations. Using the Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy (version 1), behavior change techniques that could be used by audiologists to address these barriers included enablement, goal setting, reframing perceptions toward technology, and addressing patient educational needs. Conclusions: Smartphone-connected hearing aids, when used in their everyday lives, were viewed positively by participants across a range of domains, empowering them and enabling hearing loss self-management. Audiologists should consider smartphone-connected hearing aid candidacy for all who have access to smartphones and are willing to use one. Use of the BCW has identified that modifiable barriers to using smartphone-connected hearing aids exist. Audiologists could use these evidence-based behavior change techniques to support patients in adopting and using these technologies to successfully self-manage hearing loss. Overall, by reframing smartphone technologies as a tool to remain connected with society, smartphone-connected | 239004521 |
4,509,667 | hearing aids could shift the power of managing hearing loss from clinician to patient. | 239004521 |
4,509,668 | Anal carcinoma: Basic concepts and management Surgery has been the mainstay in the management of anal carcinoma. However, anal carcinomas are reasonably sensitive to ionizing radiation. By appropriate combinations of external radiation beams and interstitial implantation techniques, curative therapy with preservation of anal continence can be rendered by radiation alone. Sufficient radiation dose to the draining lymph nodes, both intraabdominal and inguinal, along with intensified dose to the primary lesions, is required for high cure and low complication rates. | 22844671 |
4,509,669 | A statistical theory of reverberation and similar first-order scattered fields-III: Waveforms and fields A theory of reverberation and related first-order scattered fields, developed earlier by the author, is now extended to include the often critical effects of absorption in the medium, multiple specular reflections, and nonzero velocity gradients (\nabla_c \neq 0) . As before, a combination of field and ray theory is used to obtain typical scattered and reflected waveforms; a spatial and temporal ensemble of random point scatterers is embedded in the now inhomogeneous medium (\nabla_c \neq 0) and the handling of complex geometries is emphasized. Also as before, the effects of the scattering mechanism are described in generality by linear time-varying filter responses. A general vertical velocity gradient is postulated, which may be approximated by contiguous linear velocity profiles. Propagation characteristics for the latter are obtained in detail, including expressions for ray path lengths and delays for arbitrary beam orientations. A useful operator formalism is developed, which assists in determining the principal contributions to the received return when different modes of propagation e.g., convergence zone (CVZ), bottom bounce (BB), surface duct (SD), etc., are employed. Platform and scatterer Doppler are included, as well as arbitrary apertures and beam patterns. Specific waveform results for the important cases of narrow-band signal excitation are given, in addition to the general broad-band theory developed for both bistatic and monostatic reception. A number of models of possible scatterer response are also included, for both physical and biological applications in oceanography. | 27428271 |
4,509,670 | Between ballots and bullets: elections and citizenship in and beyond the nation-state This article approaches electoral acts and performances as central sites for the negotiation of citizenship relations. I argue that, in order to understand how these relationships are shaped, we must attend to governmental actors beyond the nation-state, from trade unions to criminal organizations. Focusing on the case of Jamaica, I show how non-state actors have come to play a central role in hybrid forms of governance, shaping citizens' allegiances to multiple, overlapping political communities. How are campaigning and voting affected by such multiple allegiances? What new understandings of citizenship can we develop if we take the role of non-state actors in the electoral process seriously? I suggest that we should study elections as a site where citizenship – understood here in its broad sense of membership of a political community – can develop both within and beyond the nation-state. | 145345271 |
4,509,671 | Body Image Disturbances in Patients Undergoing Mastectomy for Breast Cancer BACKGROUND Body image can be defined as a subjective picture of an individual’s own physical appearance established by self-observation and by noticing the reaction of others. Breast cancer and its treatment has been shown to have tremendous impact on the body image of the patients. We wanted to assess the level of body image disturbance in patients undergoing mastectomy for breast cancer and identify the relation between the body image disturbance and measures of psychosocial morbidity and quality of life. METHODS 35 female patients who had mastectomy for breast cancer were assessed preoperatively, immediately after surgery and 2 months after the surgery. They were administered body image scale questionnaire, HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and WHO QOL BREF. RESULTS Our results showed that 24 out of 35 patients (68.5 %) were Body Image Scale positive at the first interview itself. The number of positive patients increased to 27 at the second interview (77.1 %), but this change was not statistically significant and there was no change from second to third visit. Those who were Body Image Scale Positive had significantly higher anxiety, depression and GHQ12 scores. Those who had a body image disturbance also had a poorer quality of life across all domains. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that there is a high level of body image disturbance in patients undergoing mastectomy for breast cancer even before surgery. This high level also contributes significantly to their psychosocial morbidity and also negatively affects | 228935621 |
4,509,672 | their quality of life. KEYWORDS Body Image, Anxiety, Depression, Quality of Life, Breast Cancer, Mastectomy | 228935621 |
4,509,673 | ANALYSIS OF STATE SUPPORT MEASURES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM IN THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN DURING THE CRISIS. The crisis situation associated with the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 has had a significant impact on all areas of economic activity, including the development of tourism. According to the WTO, world tourism has returned to 1990 levels with a decrease in arrivals by 1 billion and a loss of about 1.1 trillion. US dollars. The spread of coronavirus infection has caused significant damage to the tourism sector of Azerbaijan, primarily the hotel business, the activities of tour operators and travel agencies. In this connection, this article examines the development of tourism in Azerbaijan during the period of exacerbation of COVID-19, discusses topical issues related to the impact of the pandemic on the economy of the tourism industry of the republic, examines a set of tasks and measures adopted by the state to mitigate the consequences of the crisis and revive tourism activities. | 240180321 |
4,509,674 | Research on Sharing and Aggregating of Web Learning Materials Based on GRDDL and Topic-Oriented Crawler Reusability, sharability, and interoperability are the main research subjects of modern learning systems. A lot of e-learning standards, such as LOM, IMS, SCORM, AICC etc., have provided us many flexible reference solutions for achieving these goals. In order to construct a more flexible framework to share and reuse web learning materials between CBT vendors, LMSs, and learners, this paper defined a uniformed structure —Learning Asset (LA)—to integrate material and its metadata in a single media, proposed a two-stage metadata gleaning mechanism based on GRDDL and topic-oriented crawler to provide a flexible and high-performance searching of LA-specified metadata, figured a framework for sharing, reusing and aggregating learning content with semantic reasoning. | 15237711 |
4,509,675 | An Investigation of the Measurements Systems Analysis “Analytic Method” for Attribute Gages ABSTRACT Three automotive corporations have developed and sanctioned the recently revised reference manual entitled Measurement Systems Analysis. This “standard” contains a procedure, called the “analytic method,” whose purpose is to estimate the gage bias and gage repeatability of an attribute gage. An improved estimation procedure for this standard is presented. The improved estimation procedure yields more accurate estimates than those obtained using the procedures currently presented in the standard. In addition, the improved procedure allows more flexibility in data collection than the current test protocol. A simulation study that evaluates the estimation procedure of the current standard and compares it with the improved estimation procedure is presented. Errors that are contained in the present standard are also noted. | 110792961 |
4,509,676 | A study on the coffeeshop space in Vinh Long City, Vietnam The recent introduction of pseudo-public space to Vietnam has significantly contributed to increasing the area of public spaces in urban area. Not only is coffee-shop space where people drink coffee and gossip as before, but now it is also a place for entertainment, relaxation and social interactions. Similarly to studies on such privately owned public spaces in foreign countries as pocket park, this research aims at understanding the usage nature of coffee-shop space in Vietnam’s cities, particularly Vinh Long city. The research also discovers the distribution of coffeeshop space network in urban configuration, types of coffee-shop space and their spatial properties on basis of data collected by observation, investigation, survey and Open Street Map. Furthermore, the research uses analytical tools deriving from space syntax theory. Findings will be detailed in this paper. | 234476821 |
4,509,677 | Study of normal/tumorous tissue fluorescence using a pH-dependent fluorescent probe in vivo The pH of interstitial fluid of malignant tumors tends to be lower than that of normal tissue and depressed by glucose administration. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of dual-wavelength ratio fluorometry using a pH-dependent indicator (5,6-carboxyfluorescein: 5,6-CF) for the characterization of normal and tumoral areas in vivo. 5,6-CF has two main characteristics: it has two wavelengths of maximum absorbance (465 and 490 nm) and its fluorescence emission (maximum at 515 nm) increases as a function of pH in the physiological 6 - 7.4 pH range. The experimental study was performed on 31 CDF mice bearing lymphoid leukaemia P388 grafted subcutaneously. The tissular pH values were evaluated from the ratio of the fluorescence intensities (I490/I465) on the basis of a calibration curve linking pH measurements performed intratissularly with a microelectrode and fluorescence intensities ratio values. The fluorescence intensity reached its maximum value at 60 min after 5,6-CF and glucose administration, followed by a plateau (90 min). The ratios remain constant at 1.79 +/- 0.06 for normal tissue and 1.61 +/- 0.07 (without glucose administration) for tumoral tissue. The tumoral tissue ratios decrease down to 1.35 +/- 0.04 after 6 g/kg glucose administration. These results were correlated to the pH measurements in accordance to the calibration curve. This study validates the relevance of dual-wavelength fluorometry using a pH-dependent indicator to characterize in-vivo normal and tumoral tissues after glucose administration. | 93787071 |
4,509,678 | Optimization of the Tilt Angle of the Photo-voltaic Module in Kuwait This paper concerns to study the performance of the photovoltaic with different tilt angle and optimize the best tilt angle in Kuwait. Firstly, the geographical location of the house on which the proposed PV system installed. The total area of the house and the effective area of the house roof are given. Secondly, numerical data describing the physical and the electrical characteristics of the PV module used in the construction of the PV system are provided. The data includes the dimensions, fabrication type, thermal rating and the electrical characteristics of the PV module. Also, the design equation relating the tilt angle and the PV system pitch size are provided and illustrated. Thirdly, the PV system is designed from different tilt angles and the corresponding number of PV panels used in covering the effective area of the roof house. Finally, the designed PV system has been modeled as a 3D structure and the required number of PV panels to cover an effective area of the house for maximum power production and optimize the best tilt angle in Kuwait has been presented. The results show that the tilt angle 20 degrees has the highest energy output compared with the tilt angle 30 degrees. Moreover, the energy generation using the tilt angle 20 degrees is 728 KWh and the energy generation using the tilt angle 30 degrees is 717 KWh. | 218564021 |
4,509,679 | [The correlation of serum levels of insulin-like growth factors and intrauterine growth: report of a study in rats]. This animal experiment was designed to investigate the relationship of the serum insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) with fetal intrauterine growth. The serum concentrations of IGF-I, -II in 21 fetal rats were measuerd and their relationships with fetal birth weight, length and tissue weights of brain, lung, liver were analysed respecively. The results showed that both of the serum concentrations of IGF-I, -II were positively correlated (P < 0.01) with fetal birth weight, length and tissue weights of brain, lung, liver respectively. These data suggest that both IGF-I and IGF-II may play an important role in fetal intrauterin growth and their decreased concentrations in serum may be factors contributing to fetal intrauterine growth retardation. | 36511821 |
4,509,680 | Assessing organisational development in European primary care using a group-based method: a feasibility study of the Maturity Matrix. PURPOSE The Maturity Matrix is a tool designed in the U.K. to assess family practice organisational development and to stimulate quality improvement. It is practice-led, formative and undertaken by a practice team with the help of trained facilitators. The aim of this study is to assess the Maturity Matrix as a tool and an organisational development measure in European family practice settings. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH Using a convenience sample of 153 practices and 11 facilitators based in the U.K., Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Slovenia, feasibility was assessed against six criteria: completion; coverage; distribution; scaling; translation; and missing data. Information sources were responses to evaluation questionnaires by facilitators and completed Maturity Matrix profiles. FINDINGS All practices taking part completed the Maturity Matrix sessions successfully. The Netherlands, the U.K. and Germany site staff suggested including additional dimensions: interface between primary and secondary care; access; and management of expendable materials. Maturity Matrix scores were normally distributed in each country. Scaling properties, translation and missing data suggested that the following dimensions are most robust across the participating countries: clinical performance audit; prescribing; meetings; and continuing professional development. Practice size did not make a significant difference to the Maturity Matrix profile scores. ORIGINALITY/VALUE The study suggests that the Maturity Matrix is a feasible and valuable tool, helping practices to review organisational development as it relates to healthcare quality. Future research should focus on developing dimensions that are generic across European primary care settings. | 32525521 |
4,509,681 | PDGF/VEGF system activation and angiogenesis following initial post ovariectomy meningeal microvessel loss Recently we demonstrated that cessation of ovarian hormone production causes dramatic vascular remodeling in meningeal microvascular networks characterized by a significant microvessel loss. Further, even two months post ovariectomy (OVX), dura mater microvessels remain destabilized due to a decline in estrogen-mediated angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) expression and Ang-1/Tie-2 signaling. Such destabilized microvessels could be susceptible to either further regression or angiogenesis. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that initial estrogen-dependent loss of meningeal microvessels following OVX triggers stromal and vascular hypoxic responses aiming at restoring dura microvasculature. We demonstrate that two months post OVX, there is an activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and PDGF/VEGF system in the dura mater stroma and microvasculature of experimental animals accompanied by a shift in the balance between PI3K and PLCγ activity downstream of PDGF/VEGF signaling toward PI3K. It appears that the latter serves as a molecular switch favoring angiogenic responses rather than further regression of destabilized microvessels. Indeed, consistent with this idea, we have found a considerable angiogenic activity in meningeal microvascular networks that previously underwent regression. These results indicate that angioadaptation of meningeal microvessels in response to cessation of ovarian hormone production is not a unidirectional, but a very complex multi-stage process regulated on many levels. The implication of this study is that therapeutic interventions, including estrogen-based hormone replacement therapy, with physiological angioadaptation in postmenopausal or post OVX women need to be approached with the extreme caution. | 11082021 |
4,509,682 | An Updated Review of Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome. Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a chronic hip condition caused by femoral head and acetabular malformations resulting in abnormal contact across the joint. FAI often leads to labral, cartilaginous, and tissue damage that predispose this patient population to early osteoarthritis (OA). There are a variety of factors that increase the risk for FAI including younger age, Caucasian background, familial FAIS morphology, and competing in high-intensity sports during adolescence. Slow-onset, persistent groin pain is the most frequent initial presenting symptom. On physical examination, patients will typically have a positive FADIR test (flexion, adduction, internal rotation), also known as a positive impingement sign. FAI syndrome can be organized into three classifications; cam, pincer, or mixed. This classification refers to the characteristic morphological changes of the bony structures. The primary imaging modality for diagnosing FAI is a plain radiograph of the pelvis, which can be used to measure the alpha angle and the lateral center edge angle used to quantify severity. Conservative treatment is typically considered first-line treatment for mild to moderate FAI syndrome; however, the outcomes following postoperative surgical intervention have demonstrated excellent results. The most common surgical treatment option for FAI is done arthroscopically. | 251858471 |
4,509,683 | Open vertical vein in non-obstructed supracardiac TAPVC: merits and fate Data of 18 patients who underwent surgical repair of non-obstructed supracardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous connection between January 2007 and March 2011 were reviewed. The vertical vein was left patent in all patients as an elective surgical strategy. There was no operative mortality in patients with or without preoperative pulmonary infection, but there were significant differences in postoperative airway pressures, ventilation time, intensive care unit and hospital stay between the 2 groups. None of the patients demonstrated any flow in the vertical vein over a 30-day follow-up period. One patient had a mild anastomotic stricture and pulmonary venous hypoplasia. Operative repair of supracardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous connection can be carried out successfully without ligation of the vertical vein, and this strategy possibly reduces early postoperative morbidity and mortality, with no adverse effects detected in the short to midterm follow-up. | 21453471 |
4,509,684 | Early detection of central visual function decline in cone-rod dystrophy by the use of macular focal cone electroretinogram. PURPOSE To evaluate macular focal cone ERG (fERG) as a tool for reliable and early detection of central retinal function decay in cone-rod dystrophy (CRD). METHODS A retrospective study of the time course of fERG amplitude and its relation to visual acuity alterations was performed in 47 CRD patients followed yearly for 6.0 ± 3.1 years. Macular focal cone ERG was evoked by a flickering uniform red field overlaying the central 18° of visual field. RESULTS Macular focal cone ERG follow-up allowed a clear-cut identification of CRD patients as stationary or progressive, in agreement with visual acuity follow-up. In all progressive patients, fERG declined whenever visual acuity declined, and--in 50% of the cases--fERG loss anticipated acuity loss of several years. CONCLUSIONS Macular focal cone ERG represents a sensitive assay to detect, categorize, and follow the progression of central retinal dysfunction in CRD. Its use as a diagnostic tool in CRD may help anticipate, for an individual patient, the likelihood and rate of further disease progression before visual acuity loss has occurred. | 20704021 |
4,509,685 | A numerical scheme to solve mixed parabolic-elliptic problem involving singular perturbation In this article, a singularly perturbed mixed-type problem of parabolic-elliptic is considered on a rectangular domain. The solution of the problem possesses both boundary and interior layers which appears in the spatial variable. To approximate the time derivative, first the implicit Euler scheme and then the Crank–Nicolson scheme on uniform mesh in time direction is used. For approximating the spatial derivative, we use the central difference scheme in the first sub-domain and a hybrid scheme in the second sub-domain on Shishkin type meshes (standard Shishkin mesh and Bakhvalov–Shishkin mesh). We prove that both the numerical schemes converge uniformly with respect to the perturbation parameter and are of second-order accurate. Thomas algorithm is used to solve the tri-diagonal system. The numerical results and the error bounds are illustrated through few tables and graphs. | 246546771 |
4,509,686 | [Long-term performance of microbial fuel cell using manure as substrate]. Long-term performance is of primary concern when considering the commercialized use of an microbial fuel cell(MFC). The long-term stability of MFC was studied using dairy manure as substrate over a testing time of 171 d. The results showed that the MFC could efficiently recover electricity from dairy manure during the long-time run, and the average power density was 6. 77 Wm-3 +/- 2. 11 W m-3. On day 70, the polarization curve was measured, the open circuit voltage, internal resistance and maximum power density of MFC were 0. 874 V, 22. 1 omega and 14. 1 W.m -3, respectively. The 30-day TCOD removal decreased with increasing test time, and the CE during the 121-150 d period reached 17.5% +/-3.3%. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the dominant microbial communities in anodic biofilm were Proteobacteria (45%) , Bacteroidetes (22%) , Firmicutes (17% ) and Actinobacteria (11% ). At genera level, the bacteria with electricity production and (or) cellulose degradation ability, such as Clostridium and Cellulomonas were the abundant taxa. | 34458971 |
4,509,687 | Subjective returns to education: Rational expectations of disadvantaged groups in India This study uses data collected from school students in Mumbai to investigate how they perceive subjective expected returns for different levels of education in an environment that includes labour market discrimination. We are particularly keen to observe subjective returns to education for different social identity groups, such as gender, religion, and caste. Despite lower actual returns to education in the labour market, students from Other Backward Castes and Scheduled Castes and Tribes do not have significantly different beliefs relative to their advantaged peers. | 226687871 |
4,509,688 | The influence of botulinum toxin on auditory disturbances in hemifacial spasm. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is frequently accompanied by other symptoms, such as visual and auditory disturbances or pain. The aim of the study was to assess the occurrence of auditory symptoms accompanying HFS using subjective and objective methods, their relation with other HFS symptoms, and their resolution after botulinum toxin (BTX-A) treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS The occurrence of hypoacusis, ear clicks and tinnitus was assessed by questionnaire in 126 HFS patients from an electronic database which included medical data such as severity of HFS rated by clinical scale and magnetic resonance imaging focused on the presence of vascular nerve VII and VIII conflict. Forty consecutive patients treated with BTX-A and 24 controls matched by sex and age underwent laryngological examination including audiometry, tympanometry and acoustic middle ear reflex before injection and two weeks later. RESULTS About 45.2% of patients complained of auditory disturbances (31.7% hypoacusis, 30.2% ear clicks and 7.1% tinnitus) on the side of HFS. Auditory disturbances correlated with severity of HFS symptoms but not with age, disease duration, or neurovascular conflict with nerves VII and VIII. We did not find abnormalities in audiometric and tympanometric assessment in patients in comparison with controls. No abnormalities were detected in brainstem evoked potentials comparing the sides with and without HFS symptoms. Tinnitus and absence of ipsilateral acoustic middle ear reflex occurred more often in patients with auditory symptoms than those without them. BTX-A treatment caused resolution of subjective acoustic symptoms without any improvement in | 39720421 |
4,509,689 | audiometric assessment. CONCLUSIONS Auditory disturbances accompanying HFS are probably caused by dysfunction of the Eustachian tube, which improves after BTX-A treatment. | 39720421 |
4,509,690 | Bacterial invasion of vascular cell types: vascular infectology and atherogenesis. To portray the chronic inflammation in atherosclerosis, leukocytic cell types involved in the immune response to invading pathogens are often the focus. However, atherogenesis is a complex pathological deterioration of the arterial walls, where vascular cell types are participants with regards to deterioration and disease. Since other recent reviews have detailed the role of both the innate and adaptive immune response in atherosclerosis, herein we will summarize the latest developments regarding the association of bacteria with vascular cell types: infections as a risk factor for atherosclerosis; bacterial invasion of vascular cell types; the atherogenic sequelae of bacterial presence such as endothelial activation and blood clotting; and the identification of the species that are able to colonize this niche. The evidence of a polybacterial infectious component of the atheromatous lesions opens the doors for exploration of the new field of vascular infectology and for the study of atherosclerosis microbiome. | 41130921 |
4,509,691 | Suppression of experimental autoimmune uveitis in guinea‐pigs by inhibition of phospholipase A2 Abstract Retinal S‐antigen mixed with complete Freund's adjuvant was used to induce experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) in guinea‐pigs. Guinea‐pigs receiving no treatment, was compared with test animals which received topically and systemically administered KLM‐583B, a phospholipase A2 (PLA2) inhibitor, or subcutaneous (sub. cut) and topical corticosteroid treatment, as well as a test group which received cyclosporin A suc. cut. The best clinical suppression of EAU was obtained in the group treated suc. cut with KLM‐538B. Steroids also suppressed the inflammation in the eyes but was not as effective as KLM‐583B or cyclosporine A. PLA 2 activity in the aqueous humour and the myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels measured from iris‐ciliary body were signficantly lower in the groups treated suc. cut. with KLM‐583B or cyclosporin A. Guinea‐pigs treated suc. cut. with KLM‐583B and cyclosporin A had the lowest antiserum titres to retinal S‐antigen. | 37494171 |
4,509,692 | A Novel Multiband Planar Antenna for GSM/UMTS/LTE/Zigbee/RFID Mobile Devices A new multiband planar antenna with a compact size is designed and developed for mobile devices. The proposed antenna consists of a two-strip monopole and a meandered strip antenna which occupy a compact area of only 15 mm × 42 mm. This planar antenna has a bandwidth of ~ 42% at the 900 MHz band and ~ 53% at the 1900-MHz band. The wide bandwidth at the low frequency is attributed to the mutual coupling of an S-shaped strip and an inverted-F strip which are separately printed on the two sides of a thin substrate, forming a two-strip monopole configuration. The bandwidth at the high frequency is enhanced by inserting a meandered strip which improves the impedance matching for the high-frequency band. The experimental results verify the simulations. The featured broad bandwidths over two frequency bands and the miniaturized size of the proposed antenna make it very promising for applications in wireless communication and wireless sensing devices. | 9104371 |
4,509,693 | Illegal leisure revisited: Changing patterns of alcohol and drug use in adolescents and young adults, by Judith Aldridge, Fiona Measham and Lisa Williams The first edition of Illegal Leisure was published in 1998 and reported on the emerging drug using patterns of a large group of teenagers from the age of 14 until they reached 18 years. Illegal Leisure Revisited (ILR) contains the text from the original book and also presents new findings from further surveys and interviews carried out with the same cohort when they were 22 years old and 27/28 years old. It provides a unique and fascinating picture of the development of mainly recreational drug careers and pathways from the early teens through to adulthood. What happened to the young people’s drug use as they entered adulthood? Unsurprisingly, alcohol remained central to most of them. They moved away from clandestine venues and cheaper forms of alcohol to more sociable and discerning drinking in pubs and in their own and friend’s homes. Heavy drinking continued for many and drinking to become drunk remained for some. With other drugs the young adults tended to moderate their frequency of use. It is informative that many – albeit a minority – continued to use drugs (particularly cannabis), that others were open to the possibility of using again in the future and that increasing numbers had used cocaine. The young adults surveyed were relatively conforming in their lifestyles and many managed to integrate continuing alcohol and drug use within ‘normal’ adult responsibilities – moving out of parental homes | 70935321 |
4,509,694 | and into their own accommodation, employment, ‘stable’ relationships, becoming parents, etc. The way they used changed over time to fit in with their emerging and changing responsibilities and situations. The main reasons for using remained hedonism, to aid socializing and the desire to create ‘time out’ for themselves. ILR explores the various pathways that the young adults took in their emerging drug careers. By using the categories ‘abstainer’, ‘current user’, ‘ex-user’ and ‘opportunistic user’ the way that people may, or may not, switch and change their drug using attitudes and behaviours over time is highlighted. Of particular interest is the way some used illegal drugs for the first time as young adults. This, together with the actual and potential continuing drug use of many of the cohort from their teenage years through to young adulthood, raises the question as to whether use of drugs such as cannabis will continue beyond the 20s so that it becomes more common in older generations in the future. The cohort was originally drawn exclusively from teenagers who were attending mainstream secondary schools. The attrition that inevitably occurs in keeping contact with respondents in such a longitudinal study also meant that those living at the fringes of society and from lower social classes were increasingly underrepresented in the sample. For these reasons, and the fact that the study was carried out in the north west of England, the alcohol and drug use reported cannot be expected to give a balanced picture of use across the UK. As the authors emphasize, ILR | 70935321 |
4,509,695 | focuses on relatively controlled, recreational drug users rather than those who experience problematic, more chaotic and dependent drug use. A key feature of the original research was the normalization of alcohol and drug use (particularly cannabis) amongst many teenagers. The processes of normalization continued into adulthood with the cohort constantly weighing up the potential benefits and costs of their alcohol and drug decisions within the context of the new responsibilities and situations they faced. The authors conclude ILR by making a strong defence of their focus on normalization against their critics and are open enough to take on board refinements to their original thesis. They acknowledge the need to consider the role of sensuality and emotionality, rather than just rationality, when trying to understand how people make their drug taking decisions. They also appreciate that decision making is not a completely free choice that is just down to the individual and that it is influenced and limited by structural factors such as gender, ethnicity and social class. ILR makes a plea for understanding the functionality of drug use and the meaning people attach to their drug experiences within the situations in which they live. The original book’s take on normalization envisaged that the unprecedented levels of drug use found amongst teenagers might lead to a move away from enforcement and primary prevention and towards drug policies based on lower penalties (especially for cannabis, and possibly ecstasy, possession) and more | 70935321 |
4,509,696 | Physical Activity and Parkinson Disease Risk: An Intriguing Link. Fang et al1 reported a meta-analysis of prospective studies to determine whether there is evidence of a quantitative dose-response association between physical activity and Parkinson disease (PD) risk. The analysis included 8 prospective studies with a total of more than 500 000 adults followed up for an average of 12 years, with more than 2100 PD cases. This meta-analysis provided compelling evidence that physical activity, particularly moderate to vigorous physical activity, was associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing PD. The article by Fang et al1 is an excellent example showing meta-analysis in its best role because among the 8 studies, only 1 study found a statistically significant reduced PD risk when comparing the highest with the lowest category of physical activity; however, when analyzed together, a significantly reduced risk of PD was observed with the highest level of total physical activity compared with the lowest level (relative risk [RR], 0.79; 95% CI, 0.68-0.91). The interpretability of this RR is less than straightforward because each study assessed different domains of physical activity and used different cutoffs for classifying high vs low physical activity levels; however, a strength of the study by Fang et al was that they also conducted a quantitative meta-analysis using a more powerful common metric of physical activity that renders the results more understandable. They quantified physical activity for 6 of the 8 studies that had detailed information on frequency of engagement in physical activity categories according to their energy expenditure demands (metabolic | 58616571 |
4,509,697 | equivalent of tasks [METs]). In analyses that included both men and women, each 10 MET-hours/week increase in total physical activity decreased the risk of PD by 9% (RR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.86-0.96). For men, each 10 MET-hours/week increase in moderate to vigorous physical activity decreased the risk of PD by 17% (RR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.76-0.90). Since the article by Fang et al1 was submitted, Müller et al2 reported the results of a cohort study of 7347 male veterans (the Veterans Exercise Testing Study) in which physical fitness was measured objectively by maximal exercise testing. Exercise capacity was expressed as METs estimated from peak treadmill speed and grade. A strong inverse association was observed—men who had a high level (>12 METs) vs low level (<8 METs) of fitness on exercise testing had a 76% reduction in the incidence of PD (hazard ratio, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.08-0.73; P = .01). This study adds evidence that objectively measured physical fitness in men, not just self-reported moderate and vigorous physical activity, is inversely associated with PD in a dose-response fashion. In the meta-analysis by Fang et al, no dose-response association with moderate to vigorous levels of physical activity in METs was observed for women; however, it would be premature to conclude that moderate to vigorous physical activity is not a protective factor for women because only 4 of the 8 studies included women and all but 1 of those studies had fewer than 150 women with PD. As a result, the meta-analysis was underpowered to observe a dose-response association | 58616571 |
4,509,698 | for women. Importantly, in the largest and best-powered study to date among women, Xu et al3 observed a significant dose-response between the number of hours of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week and lower PD risk in 3 of the 4 age categories examined. Physical activity is the latest in the list of lifestyle risk factors associated with a reduced risk of developing PD, which include cigarette smoking and coffee consumption, both of which have consistently been shown to be inversely associated with the risk of developing PD.4 Because the pathology of PD is characterized by progressive dopaminergic deficiency and selective loss of + Related article | 58616571 |
4,509,699 | LIKE EARLY STARVATION alters the glucan structures at the starch granule surface and thereby influences the action of both starch-synthesizing and -degrading enzymes. For starch metabolism to take place correctly, various enzymes and proteins acting on the starch granule surface are crucial. Recently, two non-catalytic starch-binding proteins, pivotal for normal starch turnover in Arabidopsis leaves, namely, EARLY STARVATION 1 (ESV1) and its homolog LIKE EARLY STARVATION 1 (LESV), have been identified. Both share 38% sequence homology. Since ESV1 has been found to influence glucan phosphorylation via the starch-related dikinases α-glucan, water dikinase (GWD) and phosphoglucan, water dikinases (PWD) by modulating the surface glucan structures of the starch granules and thus affecting starch degradation, we assess the impact of its homolog LESV on starch metabolism as well. Thus, the 65 kDa recombinant protein LESV and the 50 kDa ESV1 were analyzed regarding their influence on the action of GWD and PWD on the surface of the starch granules. We included starches from various sources and additionally assessed the effect of these non-enzymatic proteins on other starch-related enzymes such as starch synthases (SSI and SSIII), starch phosphorylases (PHS1), isoamylase, and β-amylase. The obtained data indicated that starch phosphorylation, hydrolyses, and synthesis were affected by LESV and ESV1. Furthermore, incubation with LESV and ESV1 together exerted an additive effect on the starch phosphorylation. In addition, a stable alteration of the glucan structures at the starch granule surface following treatment with LESV and ESV1 was observed. Here, we discuss all observed changes that point to modifications in the glucan structures | 249433621 |
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