Objective: To investigate the clinical significance of fibular grafts with monitoring-flap on the treatment of femoral neck fracture. Methods: The fibular grafts with monitoring-flap by microvascular anatomosis plus AO compression screw was used to treat femoral neck fractures in 11 young-adult patients. Results: One of the 11 cases' monitoring-flap showed accurately the crisis in the circulation of the grafted fibula and after some procedures was involved the monitoring-flap was alive. Other cases of monitoring-flap were alive. The percentage of fracture healing was 100% and no vascular necrosis of femoral head was found during 1 to 3-year follow-up. Conclusions: The fibular grafts with monitoring-flap by microvascular anastomosis used for treating young-adult femoral neck fracture can be regarded as a good method. It is reliable for observing the circulation of grafted fibula in vascularized fibular transplant with monitoring-flap.


A resolver-based digital AC servo system realized by using field-programmable logic array(FPGA) was proposed.The intact vector control strategy of permanent magnet synchronous motor(PMSM) was described with verilog hardware description language(HDL) and implemented on one-chip FPGA in accordance with the EDA design methodology,this realized the high density and miniaturization of the servo system.In addition,the detailed designs of basic modules such as resolver,vector transformation,PI regulator,SVPWM module were presented.Simulation and experimental results show that the proposed scheme has excellent dynamic and steady-state performance.


The preeminent status of the Type A behaviour pattern (TABP) as an explanatory concept in cardiovascular epidemiology has now been established for three decades, but like all important ideas, it has not been without challenge. Recent epidemiological evidence has failed to support the broad predictive power of the TABP for clinical episodes of coronary disease, and though these studies might themselves be criticized on methodological grounds, they have stirred calls for a reevaluation of the entire construct of the TABP. Type A behaviour has, over its history of 30 or more years, been variously equated with emotional distress and with already identified and preexisting patterns of personality, notably that of neuroticism. This article draws on several sources of data to challenge these attempts to subsume the TABP within the framework of other supposedly more fundamental constructs, and argues instead that the manifest behaviour pattern itself derives from a single underlying cognitive predisposition, that being competitiveness. The article then goes on to argue that manifest Type A behaviours arising from the underlying existence of competitiveness achieve their greatest pathophysiological toxicity if they are frustrated in their expression and realization. Some data are presented to support this view. While these data are tentative, support by further work, whether epidemiological or pathophysiological, would suggest a new and potentially more powerful and specific model for the influence of the TABP on risk or incidence of coronary disease.


The purposes of this study were to examine the educational effects of cooperative learning activities as a teaching method in kindergarten. The questions of this study were followings : 1. Are there any effects of cooperative learning activities of children`s cognitive competences? 2. Are there any effects of cooperative learning activities on children`s social competences? 3. Are there any effects of cooperative learning activities on children`s social play? 4. Are there any effects of cooperative learning activities on children`s competences of educational activities? The subjects were 43 children for the experimetal group and 36 children for the control group in kindergarten. The experimental group was conducted by the coorperative learning activities for one semester. To examine educational effects, the data were collected by the time sampling observation of social play and the tests of intelligence, social competences, and competences of educational activities. The results of study were as follows : 1. There were significant differences between the experimental group and the control group on children`s cognitive competences. The cooperative learning activities showed the positive educational effects on children`s intelligence. 2. There were significant differences between the experimental group and the control group on children`s social competences. The cooperative learning activities showed the positive educational effects of children`s social competences. 3. There were significant differences between the experimental group and the control group on children`s social play. The cooperative learning activities showed the positive developmental changes in children`s social play. 4. There were significant differences between the experimental group and the control group on competences of educational activities. The cooperative learning activities showed the positive educational effects of children`s competences of educational activities. This study suggested that early childhood educators should develop the program based on cooperative learning activities to increase children`s competences in kindergarten.


The Laplace transform \psi(t)=E[{\rm exp}(-tX)] of a random variable X with exponential density u exp( m u x ), x S 0, satisfies the equation (\lambda+t)\psi(t)-\lambda=0 , t S 0. We study the behavior of a class of consistent tests for exponentiality based on a suitably weighted integral of [({\hat\lambda}_n+t)\psi_n(t)-{\hat\lambda}_n]^2 , where {\hat\lambda}_n is the maximum-likelihood estimate of u , and é n is the empirical Laplace transform, each based on an i.i.d. sample X 1 , …, X n . As the decay of the weight function tends to infinity, the test statistic approaches the square of the first nonzero component of Neyman's smooth test for exponentiality. The new tests are compared with other omnibus tests for exponentiality.


Editions scientifiques et mElsevier SAS Generic properties of singular trajectories Abstract. We give genericity results for singular trajectories in sub-Riemannian geometry: generically (in the sense of the Whitney topology), every singular trajectory is of minimal order and of corank 1 and in particular is not of Goh type if the rank of the distribution is greater or equal to 3. We extend these results to control-affine systems. c 2003 Acaddes scien- ces/ ´ Editions scientifiques et m´ edicales Elsevier SAS


The study of permeation characteristics of flavor as performed to provide the data for the understanding of flavor loss and to prolong the shelf life of the snack food (Big Jack). In this study, six different films were used to compare the permeation characteristics of the Spicy Chicken Flavor and to seek the best pack aging material suitable to package the product. The MAS 2000 Organic Permeation Detector was used to collect all the experimental permeation data. Linalool, themost volatile chemical presenting in the SpicyChicken Flavor of Big Jack, was used to represent the Spicy Chicken Flavor. Among of six films, the ABX film (an acrylic coated film) seems to yield the most aroma protection while BSR yield the least aroma protection. ABX, HBS, and 60 MAC showed greater flavor barrier than the control film; therefore, these films could be used in order to extend the shelf life of the product. Further studies were suggested to compare the different films in terms of sensory test. Other compounds in the Spicy Chicken flavor could be tested. List of Figures Page Figure 1: Spicy Chicken Flavor SignalAnalysis 57 Figure 2: l,6-octadien-3-ol, 3,7-dimethlSignalAnalysis 58 Figure 3: 0.25ml Spicy Chicken FlavorHeadspace Signal Analysis 59 Figure 4:1.0 ml Spicy Chicken Flavor Headspace SignalAnalysis 60 Figure 5: 0.25ml Linalool Headspace Signal Analysis 61 Figure 6: 1.0ml Linalool Headspace Signal Analysis 62 Figure 7: ABX/Linalool Signal Analysis Report At 70C 63 Figure 8: ABX/Linalool SignalAnalysis Report At 80C 64 Figure 9: ABX/Linalool SignalAnalysis Report At 90C 65 Figure 10: ABX/Linalool Temperature Analysis Report 66 Figure 11: HBS/Linalool Signal Analysis Report At 70C 67 Figure 12: HBS/Linalool SignalAnalysis ReportAt 80C 68 Figure 13: HBS/Linalool SignalAnalysis Report At 90C 69 Figure 14: HBS/Linalool TemperatureAnalysis Report 70 Figure 15: 60MAC/Linalool Signal Analysis ReportAt 70C 71 Figure 16: 60 MAC/Linalool Signal Analysis Report At 80C 72 Figure 17: 60MAC/Linalool Signal Analysis ReportAt 90C 73 Figure 18: 60MAC/Linalool TemperatureAnalysis Report 74 Figure 19: MET-HB/Linalool Signal Analysis ReportAt 70C 75 Figure 20:MET-HB/Linalool Signal AnalysisReportAt 80C 76 Figure 21: MET-HB/Linalool Signal Analysis ReportAt 90C 77 Figure 22:MET-HB/Linalool Temperature Analysis Report 78 Figure 23: CONTROL/Linalool SignalAnalysis Report At 70C 79 Figure 24: CONTROL/Linalool Signal Analysis Report At 80C 80 Figure 25: CONTROL/Linalool SignalAnalysis Report At 90C 81 Figure 26: CONTROL/LinaloolTemperatureAnalysis Report 82 Table of


masses plough through the Earth's crust like ships at sea? Wegener's suggestions, such as the idea of 'pole-flight' due to the Earth's rotation, were obviously insufficient to account for the 'drift' of continents. On the other hand, seismic evidence (e.g. Oldham, 1906) suggested that some—in fact much—of the Earth's interior was fluid. At the time of Holmes's Glasgow paper the tide of opinion was definitely running against Wegener's theory, as shown most clearly in the proceedings of a conference organised by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in New York in 1926 (van Waterschoot van der Gracht, 1928), where the majority of participants spoke against the drift hypothesis. However, there was some support for 'mobilism' and some relevant general theories of the Earth were on offer and deployed by Holmes. In particular, he embraced the theories of geosynclines and isostasy; and ideas about the internal heat of the earth due to radio-thermal energy having tectonic effects, envisaged by the Irish physicist and geologist John Joly (1857–1933), were also utilized, as were some suggestions by the respected amateur geologist Alfred Joseph Bull (1875–1950) concerning convection currents within the Earth's hot interior. In fact, Bull (1921, p. 364) wrote: "It is here suggested that the folding of mountain ranges may be produced by the frictional drag of moving portions of the asthenosphere, and that these movements may be convective and result from its unequal heating by radio-active elements". There is no doubt that Holmes picked up this idea from Bull as he specifically referred to it in his 1928 paper. However, Bull's suggestion was that the convection currents arose from the irregular distribution of subterranean radioactive elements; and he did not choose to try to develop the idea or its implications much further. Joly and Holmes were both pioneers in the investigation of the role of radiogenic heat in the Earth's history and, as mentioned, Holmes' early investigations of the age of the Earth were of great importance. Joly (1910) suggested that the emission of heat from radioactive substances accumulated in geosynclines could lead to episodic eruptions of plateau basalts and orogenies. Subsequently (Joly, 1924, 1925) argued that the Earth could not be cooling as Lord Kelvin had supposed in the nineteenth century. On the contrary, it was constantly generating subterranean heat, which was discharged from time to time. The heat generated below the heat-blanketing continental areas of the crust could not readily escape but this would be possible if the sub-continental basic materials moved into the oceanic regions. Joly suggested that this could happen because of differential tidal movements between the solid crust at the more fluid hot substratum, there being, he thought, a westerly tidal drift of the Arthur Holmes (1890–1965)


A survey of 715 U.S. newspaper journalists reveals women report higher levels of exhaustion and lower levels of professional efficacy than do men. Among women 27 and younger, 30 percent say they intend to leave the field.


Objective To study the changes in the endothelial reserve capacity to release tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and nitric oxide (NO) and its relation to vasodilation and to diabetic angiopathy. Methods The capacity of vascular endothelium to release tPA and NO was examined by venous occlusion of the upper arm. Brachial artery diameter was measured at baseline, during postocclusion reactive hyperemia (flow-mediated endothelium-dependent), and after sublingual nitroglycerol administration (endothelium-independent), using a high resolution ultrasound technique in 15 control subjects and 23 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Vasodilation was expressed as the percentage change relative to the baseline diameter, while endothelial tPA and NO release was expressed as the percentage change relative to the baseline tPA and NO levels. Thickness of the intima of carotid artery was measured using ultrasound imaging. Results There was no significant difference in endothelium-independent vasodilation between control subjects and diabetics. However, significant reductions in endothelium-dependent vasodilation (P0.05), endothelial NO release and tPA release (P0.05 and P0.01 respectively) were found in diabetics compared with those in control subjects, although no difference in intima-medial thickness of the carotid artery in these two groups. There were significant positive correlations between tPA level and NO level at baseline and between tPA release and NO release in control subjects. In addition to significant negative correlations between blood pressures, both systolic and diastolic, and endothelium-dependent, as well as endothelium-independent vasodilations in patients with diabetes mellitus. Conclusion There are significantly impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation and endothelial tPA and NO release in patients with diabetes mellitus. The impaired functions are closely related to diabetic angiopathy.


This interview took place in Andrei Kurbatov's office in Sawyer Hall at the University of Maine in Orono. In the first half of the interview, Kurbatov discussed his research in volcanology and his field experiences in Antarctica. Later, he reflected on his training, background, and work in Moscow and Kamchatka. Towards the end of the interview, he shared his views on the so-called climate change debate and considered how the Institute has grown since he first joined. Note: This is the transcriber's best effort to convert audio to text, the audio is the primary material. Cilli: This is Adam Cilli. Today is November 26, 2013, and I'm here with Andrei Kurbatov to interview him about his experiences with the Climate Change Institute. I'm wondering if you can tell me about how you got interested in the connection between volcanoes and climate science. Kurbatov: I just finished my PhD about twelve years ago and I was looking for any position available, and I saw email on volcanology list that Greg Zelinsky (a former faculty here, who was moving from New Hampshire) was looking for a student. So my adviser emailed him and asked him if he needed any postdocs. So Greg replied and basically said come over. So I came over here in November for the brief interview, and they were actually moving from New Hampshire, Paul and Institute members. They were doing ice cores. So, they were moving things around. Everything was in a chaotic state. I knew of Greg because of his work on Greenland ice cores, and I knew of Paul for the same reason. That's why I realized it would be interesting part to work on, but I actually never work on climate change related topics before. So my first ice core was Siple Dome. That's my first project in Antarctica. And assignment was very simple—look for anything volcanic in the core. It wasn't even related to climate. It was simply look at the volcanic history and reconstruct the volcanology of Antarctica. Cilli: And that was after you came here, that you went to Antarctica? Kurbatov: No. That was just a core collected in Antarctica years before. So, because they move here they basically had a hard time in continuity with students. So they start looking for new students, and I was lucky that I was able to get this postdoc position. The basic job is very simple. You're looking at the melt layers. We had about 6,000 samples basically, so we look at every sample and try to find volcanic material. Cilli: When did you first go to Antarctica? Kurbatov: Probably 2004, about three years after I came here. Cilli: What did you think Antarctica would be like, and was it different when you actually got there and saw it? Andrei Kurbatov NA3999 mfc_na3999_audio001 pp.2 Kurbatov: I kinda work in the Russian north before, so my imagination was that it would be similar to this. A couple trailors sitting in the middle of nowhere. And I was actually surprised when I wound up in a base that was like a bit town, McMurdo. And everyone was wearing sneakers and tee shirts there; it's extremely hot in the building. It wasn't like anything Antarctica there. It was more like you're in a gym or something. Cilli: How big is the McMurdo base? Kurbatov: It's a huge base. I think in the summer they easily have one or two thousand people there. But we were lucky. We immediately went to west Antarctica and another site near the base; so I got to see two sides in the first year. It was pretty good for only being a month in the field. Cilli: So, you actually went on trips far from McMurdo. Did you have to camp in a tent? Kurbatov: For the first site we had to go by huge aircraft, C130. So it landed in an open field and then we had to get transferred to a smaller aircraft that landed there basically. At the same time one team was coming down from the mountain. It was like 3,000 meters elevation. So we had to sit, basically, at like 2,000 meters and get some acclimatization. Then we few on the twin otter, and then we were driving snowmobiles, mapping the area. So that was a remote field, but everything was ready for us. Cause they left tents, the previous group. So all we had to do was unzip the tent and get in. Cilli: When you were out there doing research, were there every any moments where you or someone you're working with almost got hurt? Kurbatov: Not really. Because it's a very comfortable environment, when you have all logistics done for you, by US Antarctic program. So there are a lot of people who have been doing this for ten, fifteen years. So behind you you have radio support, you have huge aircrafts, and come on, it was the 21 century. So there was nothing extreme. Obviously it's cold, but you have warm clothing. It's very comfortable. Cilli: You did your research in the summer time? Kurbatov: Antarctic summer. On this trip we came really late in the season, so it was midJanuary. It was extremely warm. I remember we went to the field camp. Newcomers have to take a snow camp, where they make you sleep in the snow, they make you work a lot. You're sweating; they make you work in the cold. It's basically like a big game. But the idea is that it's psychologically helping people who are not comfortable with the environment. And lot of mountaineering people. Usually the guys spent years doing something like climbing in Alaska or something. That's mainly like people who work there; a lot of kiwis from New Zealand. They're all very experienced climbers. And again, we're scientists. We're not climbers. We just go there for the research projects. Cilli: What was the average temperature when you were there? Kurbatov: If I remember right, it was like minus 10 Celsius. The issue wasn't really temperature. It could get pretty windy, so you could easily get 40 MPH wind. So we were working in the blue ice area, and the reason they have blue ice is because of the strong winds there. Always windy there. But nothing dramatic. That's another thing about blue ice area. And I never thought about until one person I work with mentioned, "You know, it's always windy, but it's not like hurricane force wind." Andrei Kurbatov NA3999 mfc_na3999_audio001 pp.3 Cilli: Were there any particular hardships that come to mind? Kurbatov: Not during this first season, really. It's a very comfortable program, really. Because you have nice tents, you have nice sleeping bags, you have nice baths and everything. You have nice kitchen, nice supplies. It's not like people used to work in 60s and 70s. It's extremely comfortable. Cilli: But you had hardships on later trips? Kurbatov: Not really. I went like four times on mainland and twice on Antarctic Peninsula. We always had good logistics. We always were comfortable. Cilli: How do you think it was in the 60s and 70s for Antarctic research? Kurbatov: I honestly don't know. I would assume it was harder, because clothes were not as good, equipment was not as good, they had no radio communications. Last time we were in the field, we had a satellite phone with unlimited minutes. So I saw students talking with grandmothers when they wanted. So I would assume it was harder. Food wasn't as good. I think it was different. Plus nowadays you're flying there with GPS. You can't get lost. You need to be insane to get lost. Probably in the 60s, if you're in an absolutely empty space, how do you navigate there? And if little bit of snow you don't see the sun. Cilli: It sounds like when you went there it was pretty controlled. You were pretty much guided around by experienced people. Kurbatov: That's true. And the assignment we had was very focused. We knew exactly where we were going, we had a good plan. It was very straight forward. So we never had anything problematic. Cilli: When you were out there, did you think of yourself as an explorer? Kurbatov: No. [laughs] Not in the 21 century, no. It's more like add on to research expedition, where you basically go with people that know what they're doing and they help you. It's very comfortable. And a lot of students from the Institute went through this program as well. Now, it's not like exploring, it's more doing the science right. 'Cause it's finally comfortable, so you don't have to worry about surviving. It's more about experiments. Cilli: So help me understand the kinds of research you did there. Kurbatov: The first time I just went along to learn more about how to be in the field, and I basically even though I already had a PhD, I went with one of our students here: Beluf Spikes [?]. And he was Gordon Hamilton's student. And in reality he already had five or six seasons in this blue ice area, he was working with people as a student, helping them to collect meteorites. He was the one to follow up on the original idea that came from his adviser back in Ohio State that these blue ice areas could have records of climate that are exposed at the surface. Just imagine snow that's building up, layer by layer, at the surface, and it's flowing down, kind of the side of Antarctic continent. Then it hits bedrock, and because it hits bedrock ice pushes it down and up to the surface, so eventually you get this really old ice exposed at the surface. So you're just walking on this blue surface. It's really beautiful. And you're just collecting samples right at the surface. So that was our first project. So I went along and just wanted learn what's going on. And we did some GPS work, where we put some metal sticks on the ground. We did some radar survey. We did some surface Andrei Kurbatov NA3999 mfc_na3999_audio001 pp.4 sampling. The idea was basically to demonstrate that we could get some samples. Meaning, collect environmental records and establish were ice is going, and that will help us to understand where is oldest ice, where is youngest ice. We started this project in 2004, then we came back with a follow-up in 2009, and we actually succeeded in one place, because first of all we found oldest ice on earth. That's our claim right now. University of Washington measure gas composition, and it


This book questions the assumption that "clans", as traditionally defined by anthropologists and historians, are static structures that hamper political centralization. By reconstructing the history of kings and clans in the Kivu Rift Valley at a time of critical social change, this book enlarges our understanding of social process and the growth of state power in Africa. In the early 19th century many factors contributed to the creation of new social relations in the Lake Kivu region - ecological change, population movement, the expansion of the Rwandan state from the east, the rise of new political units to the west and the movement of many population groups and their rural forms through the area. This book looks at the role of clans in the establishment of a new kingdom on Ijwi Island in Lake Kivu. Drawing on detailed ethnographic observations of the social and ritual organizations of Ijwi society, oral data and evidence from written sources, this book shows that the clans of Ijwi were not static formations, nor did the establishment of a royal family on the island emerge from military conquest and internal social breakdown.


Background: Olfactory dysfunction is one of the chronic rhinosinusitis symptoms. A large number of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis without polyps whose treated by Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS) need to be investigated using Sniffin ' sticks test before and after surgery. Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the role of olfactory function improvement after FESS in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis


In this paper, a novel technique is proposed to synthesize the sub-aperture images from a spotlight SAR into a full aperture image. The azimuth signal of a sub-aperture can be regarded as a sub-band of the full aperture. By combining the sub-bands into a whole band, the full aperture resolution image is recovered. Keywords-Squint Mode SAR; Spotlight SAR Imaging; Subaperture Synthesis; Auto-Combination of Sub-band


The article proposes a methodology for assessing the level of motivation of a remote employee of an organisation. It includes surveying according to the developed author's questionnaire, aimed at assessing the motivation of this group of employees depending on economic, digital, and socio-psychological factors and environmental factors; calculation of the motivation index, which allows identifying the most significant aspects of influence. The technique has been tested on the example of higher education institutions due to a considerable proportion of teleworkers in these organisations. As a result, the author revealed the most significant impact on the motivation of remote employees of educational organisations of various kinds of material incentives.


Analyses the requirement of enterprise based on the analysic of problem meet in program design course.It points out the assignment of Java Programming learning.It gives teaching concept,teaching mode and examination method of practical cases teaching.It makes the students program the Java language independently and correspond with others to adapt the need of the enterprise choosing employee.


Virtual collaborative environment are 3D shared spaces in which people can work together. To collaborate through these systems, users must have a shared comprehension of the environment. The objective of this experimental study was to determine if visual stable landmarks improve the construction of a common representation of the virtual environment and thus facilitate collaboration. This seems to increase the awareness of the partner's presence.


For the description of an arbitrary nonrelativistic three-body Coulomb system an analytical approximate wave function is designed which is correct for large interparticle separations. At shorter distances, where the potential energy dominates the kinetic one, the wave function is a linear mixture of products each consisting of three two-body Coulomb waves propagating {ital off the two-body} energy shell but {ital on the total} energy shell. The method is employed for the calculations of multiply differential cross sections for photo-double ionization of helium and for electron, positron, proton, and antiproton-impact ionization of atomic hydrogen. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}


Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) ocular infection, zoster ophthalmicus, is a severe, debilitating ocular disease. VZV reactivation and subsequent disease results in spread of the virus through the cavernous sinus with VZV transmission to multiple ocular structures. [1-3] Several in vivo models of VZV infection have been characterized, including the rat, mouse, guinea pig, and primate. [4-8] Many of these models demonstrate seroconversion to VZV with variable vesicular disease and exanthem development. This study describes the rabbit ocular VZV infection model, which demonstrates development of superficial and deeper ocular disease, seroconversion, and development of latent infection (VZV genome retention).

New Zealand white rabbits (1.5 to 2.0 kg) were anesthetized with a combination of ketamine and acepromazine. Eyes were immobilized and topical proparacaine (0.1%) administered. VZV strain Mck was grown to high titer (105) in MRC-5 cells. VZV-infected MRC-5 cells were removed from culture flasks by scraping and centrifugation. The cell-associated VZV inoculum was concentrated and placed into tuberculin syringes. One hundred microliters of …


This paper describes the basic philosophy and implementation of MPLUS (M+), a robust medical text analysis tool that uses a semantic model based on Bayesian Networks (BNs). BNs provide a concise and useful formalism for representing semantic patterns in medical text, and for recognizing and reasoning over those patterns. BNs are noise-tolerant, and facilitate the training of M+.


The design of a high frequency annular array is described. The array elements are defined using an electrode pattern on the surface of a PZT substrate. Finite element modelling shows that despite large electrical and mechanical coupling between the array elements, a satisfactory pulse shape and radiation pattern can be achieved.


This work has as objective to optimize and to model the yield of the citronella essential oil extraction processes from twigs and leaves by steam distillation. The process variables evaluated in this study were extraction time, and raw material state (dry or natur- al). The yield is calculated from the relation between the essential oil mass obtained and the raw material mass used in the extraction and the quantitative and qualitative analyses of the oils were performed by capillary GC/MS. The experimental condition for the maximum yield, 0.942%, is the following one: extraction time, 4 h, state, natural plant, and the results obtained from the factorial experimental plan- ning indicate that the variable that more influences the essential oil yield is the state. The modeling of these results is proposed from the description of the mass transfer from a single plate particle. Yield curves for all studied conditions were fairly well fitted using one adjustable parameter of the model and the experimental monitoring of oil composition as function of extraction time was realized in labora- tory steam distillation apparatus and compared with industrial scale results.


Objective We studied the structure changes of the vascular wall after dilatation under pre-determined pressure by balloon of various diameters.Methods After balloon dilatation of porcine mandibular arteries under 6 to 9 atmos- pheric pressures(atm),the changes of the vascular wall by gross inspection,light microscopy and electron microscopy were re- corded.Results After dilatation under 6 atm,the intimal endothelium and the medial smooth muscle layer were dissected,and the endothelium was separated from the inner elastic layer.Under 7 atm,the vascular diameter increased by 10%.The inner membrane was ripped off,the medial layer was torn.Under 8 atm,the vascular diameter increased by 15%.The inner mem- brane was dissected,and the medial smooth muscle layer was torn.Under 9 atm,the damage to vascular wall was similar to that under 8 atm.After dilatation by balloon of 2 times the vessel diameter,the dissociation of the organelle of the endothelium was revealed by electron microscopy.Dilatation by balloon 3 times of the vessel diameter resulted in similar but more severe dissocia- tion.The endothelium and the inner elastic layer were dissected.After dilatation by balloon 4 times of the vessel diameter,the vascular wall ruptured.The intimal layer was absent;the medial and adventitia were dissected.Conclusion Balloon dilatation is associated with structural damage of the vessel wall.The level of damage is related to the pressure and diameter of the balloon employed.


Background: Smoking remains a global health problem and often leads to the development of lung disease, yet the effects of smoking on the lower airway microenvironment are not fully understood. Aims: We utilized a multi-omic approach to study the interconnectivity of the lower airway bacteriome, virome and metabolome in healthy smokers and nonsmokers. Methods: Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was collected from 30 healthy subjects (20 smokers and 10 nonsmokers). DNA was extracted from BALF supernatant and analyzed via high-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplicons (bacteriome) or random-primed shotgun libraries (virome). BAL cells, cytokines and metabolites were analyzed with fluorescence-activated cell sorting, Luminex, or GC-TOF metabolomics, respectively. Ecological analyses were performed in R. Results: As previously shown, smoking resulted in significant changes in the lung virome but not the bacteriome. Significant differences between healthy smokers and nonsmokers were also noted in several metabolites and cytokines. A subset of BALF cells, cytokines and metabolites, including IL-8 and arachidonic acid (Fig 1B, 1C), were associated with separation of viral communities between smokers and nonsmokers (Fig 1A). Conclusions: Smoking leads to distinct changes in the lower airway microenvironment, including associated changes in the virome and metabolome.


The current generation of planning systems cannot cope with problems containing extensive disjunction. This paper describes an approach in which multiple alternatives can be handled efficiently by using techniques which identify and eliminate nonviable routes between the start point and the goal. The method relies on a set of supplementary data structures linked to route-defining branch labels, and exploits the concept of selection utility in the process of choosing desirable plans from among allowable alternatives. >


This paper investigates the velocity and altitude tracking control problem for air-breathing hypersonic vehicle (AHV) in the presence of external disturbances and parameter uncertainties. A composite controller containing improved lines cluster approaching mode control (LCAMC) and nonlinear disturbance observer (NDO) is developed to guarantee the tracking errors converge to zero and enhance the robustness of control system. Meanwhile, considering the multiple uncertain parameters, a genetic algorithm (GA) based Pareto uncertainty estimation is employed to predict the parameter uncertainties of the AHV dynamics. Besides, the mathematical proofs of proposed method are analyzed by utilizing Lyapunov theory. Simulation results demonstrate the effective tracking performance, excellent disturbance estimation and uncertainty estimation ability of the composite method.


We investigate the complex relationship between small‐scale farming, urban‐rural remittances and rural development. We highlight a successful, innovative self‐reliance approach in which traditional farmers changed their mode of production, improved their income, and enhanced rural development, including urbanization, in Shubbola village of western Sudan. The major initial driver was investment from remittances by family members who had migrated to urban centers, thus overcoming the problem of access to credit/capital. Consequently, the increased use of tractor technology helped farmers overcome agricultural labor shortages, and increase their farm size and productivity. Increased income from remittances and farming broadened economic and social improvements, including lifestyle and the built environment. In the process, Shubbola has grown into a viable and vibrant town, providing its residents with diverse socioeconomic services and modern infrastructure. This case illustrates the potential of development from within with minimal direct input from the government, nongovernmental organizations, and international donors.


In this work, the wear and failure mechanism of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)/SiO2/epoxy composites with a high concentration of SiO2 particles under dry sliding is examined. In the composite with 12.5 wt.% PTFE, a significant rise of the coefficient of friction (COF) appears after sliding over several kilometers and under a load of 60 N against balls made out of Al2O3 and steel. It is attributed to an accumulation of back-transferred Al2O3/steel and fractured SiO2 on the worn composite surfaces as well as a reduction of PTFE on worn SiO2 surfaces. The TiC/a-C:H coated ball yields the most stable COF. It is also observed that the loading capacity of the composite decreases with increasing PTFE concentration. Massive wear of the composites is seen after few kilometers sliding when the normal load rises above the loading capacity. The increased wear is due to a high concentration of PTFE which lowers the hardness as well as the compressive strength of the composites.


The goal of the article is to assess the debates that took place within the Socialist Party of Argentina, in the early twentieth century, around the mode of intervention in the anticlerical movement. In particular, it examines the controversy between Alfredo Palacios and the party leadership, concerning the creation of the so-called "liberal circles of workers". The article examines these debates, so far unexplored by historians, through an examination of the socialist and anticlerical press of the period. The research argues that although the Socialist Party gave an important place to complaints against the clergy and was an active part of the anticlerical movement, it developed at the same time a strong delimitation with other sectors of it.


An animal hoarder is defined as someone who has accumulated a large number of animals and who: 1) fails to provide minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, and veterinary care; 2) fails to act on the deteriorating condition of the animals (including disease, starvation or death) and the environment (severe overcrowding, extremely unsanitary conditions); and often, 3) is unaware of the negative effects of the collection on their own health and well-being and on that of other family members (1). Animal hoarding has been gaining more attention from researchers in various areas of study, including sociological, psychological, and veterinary fields. Animal hoarding is considered a special manifestation of compulsive hoarding (2,3,4).


Background and objectives: Antibiotic resistance is a major public health challenge. The pervasive antibiotic misuse can lead to increased antibiotic resistance. Thus, there is a need for discovery of new compounds against drug-resistant microorganisms. We synthesized new series of 1, 3, 4-oxadiazole derivatives (4a-4d) and evaluated the antibacterial and antifungal activity of the derivatives against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus. Methods: The new derivatives of 1, 3, 4-oxadiazole were synthesized using a single-stage, high-yield method. The structure of the new compounds was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy, carbon-nuclear magnetic resonance and hydrogennuclear magnetic resonance. Then, antibacterial and antifungal activities of the prepared derivatives (1 mg/ml) were evaluated by determining minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal/fungicidal concentration using the agar well diffusion method. Results: All synthesized compounds, especially (4d) with methoxyphenyl group, exhibited powerful antibacterial activity against the tested bacteria. However, the compounds had no antifungal effect. Conclusion: Our findings indicate the antibacterial potential of the novel synthetic 1, 3, 4-oxadiazole compounds.


This study aimed to investigate the effects of dielectric‐barrier discharge (DBD) cold plasma (CP) pretreatment on Camelina sativa "Soheil cultivar" seed. A DBD plasma reactor system was employed for this purpose. The experiments were performed by taking into account variables including voltages of 15, 18, and 21 kV and times of 2, 4, 8, and 16 min. The measured properties were oil yield extraction (%), oil colour parameters (CIEL*a*b*), protein content (meal) (%), surface analysis using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and fatty acids profile of Camelina sativa. The results revealed that the CP treatment had a significant improvement in different properties of the extracted oil. It was observed that the extracted oil was increased, with the increasing time of CP exposure. The treatments of CP enhanced the oil yield from 24.3 to 31.5%, and the optimal conditions were identified as 21 kV and 16 min. Also, the maximum protein amount was observed for the samples treated by CP (39.5%). The SEM analysis showed that the cell structures of pre‐treated Camelina samples were damaged, thereby improved the oil extraction efficiency. The variations in the values of L*, a*, and b* (max‐min) were calculated to be 3.9, −2.5, and 9.7, respectively, which indicated minor changes of CP treatment on the oil colour parameters. The treated samples showed considerable changes of enhancement in linolenic and linoleic acids among poly‐unsaturated fatty acids; and a reduction in palmitic acid content, among saturated fatty acids.


The utility model relates to an automatic water-level collecting system which consists of a plurality of water level sensors, a plurality of embedded industrial control computers, a plurality of emitters, a main controller and a wireless accessing device, wherein one embedded industrial control computer is mounted on each water level sensor; one emitter is mounted on each embedded industrial control computer; each water level sensor stores the collected signals in each corresponding embedded industrial control computer; each emitter transmits the collected signals stored in the embedded industrial control computers to the wireless accessing device through a wireless network; the wireless accessing device transmits the signals to the main controller through wires or the wireless network, so as to realize the instruction receiving and the data uploading between the plurality of the embedded industrial control computers and the main controller. Through the adoption of the embedded industrial control computers, the system solves the wiring problem of a traditional system, and a high-speed wireless local area network is used for managing collecting terminals and transmitting data, so that the purpose of automatic synchronous collection of multi-test-station extensive test data is achieved, a scientific decision basis for engineering tests and engineering feasibility verification is provided, and the efficiency is greatly improved.


This study explored the concept of utilization deficiency and the development progressing of strategies. One hundred and twenty primary school students of three to six grade participated in this study. The results showed that the phase of utilization deficiency did exist when children solved problems. After using a strategy,children's cognitive performance decreased firstly,and then,it ascended gradually. Finally,the performance dropped a little again. In generally,the process of strategy acquisition was not linear. The process of strategy acquisition included three stages. They are exploring use,comprehensive use and degeneration of strategy use.


Imaging interferometric microscopy (IIM) is a synthetic aperture approach offering the potential of optical resolution to the linear systems limit of optics (~λ/4n). IIM allows one to resolve structures not accessible in a conventional illumination setup, while using a low NA microscope objective and thus keeping the large working distance, depth of focus and field of view associated with the lower NA. The goal of this dissertation is to reach ultimate resolution limits of nonfluorescent microscopy by using IIM in new optical configurations realizing a solid immersion technique with immersion materials employed in advanced regimes unsuitable in other systems. The immersion advantages of IIM can be realized if the object is in close proximity to a solid-immersion medium. Illumination through the substrate involves photons propagating at angles beyond total internal reflection, collection of high frequencies, and decoupling this radiation by a grating on the medium surface opposite to the object. The spatial resolution as a function of the medium thickness and refractive index as well as the field-of-view of the optical system is derived and applied to


The principle of maximum entropy generation rate principle is reviewed for its applicability in Materials Science. The principle of MEPR states that, if there are sufficient degrees of freedom within a system, it will adopt a stable state at which the entropy generation (production) rate is maximized. Where feasible, the system will also try and adopt a steady state. MEPR determines the most probable state. MEPR thus allows for pathway selections that can occur in an open thermodynamic system. Recent work also shows that isolated systems and closed thermodynamic systems also display this principle. The Belousov-Zhabitonsky reaction is also described in the Sgen context. Both solidification morphologies and micropyretic process generated morphologies are studied as examples of the Sgen and MEPR.


The effect of elevated temperature and magnetic field on recorded magnetization structure of a perpendicular magnetic recording HDD medium has been studied by in-situ magnetic force microscopy (MFM). The recorded bit shape started to change in the track and the cross-track directions when heated at 200 °C. When a magnetic field was applied at elevated temperatures, variation of recorded magnetization was enhanced compared with the case with only heating. A quantitative analysis of magnetization structure variation under an influence of heat and magnetic field is carried out by taking the difference of MFM images observed for a same area under different environmental conditions.


We present five ignition scale capsule designs using high-density carbon ablators with fuel adiabat (α) ranging from 1.5 to 4. All five have 1D yield > 1 MJ. The sensitivities of these capsules to surface roughness and P2 radiation asymmetries were studied. The most robust configuration with respect to surface roughness depends on the amplitude of the surface spectrum. The most robust configuration with respect to P2 asymmetry is the α = 1.5 configuration which has the highest 1D margin. We find that α = 2 and 2.5 configurations have the highest overall robustness. Further analysis is needed to study the effects of more complicated 3D behaviors.


The invention relates to a micro-ecological preparation and the application thereof, in particular to a micro-ecological preparation containing a variety of probiotics and the application thereof. The micro-ecological preparation contains any three or four of the components including CGMCC No. 2383 bacillus licheniformis powder, bacillus subtilis powder, CGMCC No. 2386 enterococcus faecalis powder, lactobacillus acidophilus powder, and CGMCC No. 2388 saccharomyces cerevisiae. The micro-ecological preparation has content of live bacteria, has the adversity resistance such as gastric acid resistance, bile salt resistance, high-temperature resistance, common antibiotic resistance, and the like and the probiotic functions of producing acid and enzyme and resisting pathogenic bacteria. The variety and the proportion of the probiotics and carrier can be determined according to different kinds of animals and different animal growth phase. The micro-ecological preparation can improve the feed utilization efficiency, increase the yield of meat, eggs and milk, promote the growth of the animal, improve the immunity and the disease resistance of the animal, replace the antibiotic and improve the quality of the animal product.


This paper discusses, theoretically and empirically, the relationship between two indicators: the profit share in value added and markups. While many commentators simply interpret the profit share as a proxy for markup, we show that with a production function with two inputs (i.e. labour and intermediates), the profit share can increase even if markups remain constant or diminish. This occurs when intermediate input costs grow faster than labour costs (as in the current economic situation) and input substitutability is limited (as with energy and labour, in the short run). Unfortunately, markups cannot be easily calculated using national accounts data, but approximate data are available for some sectors in Germany and Italy. We can thus show that markups in industry and in manufacturing remained constant in Germany in 2022, but increased considerably in construction, retail, accommodation and transport. In Italy, instead, markups returned to their pre-pandemic levels following a series of adjustments during the health emergency.


— There are many researches about applying Business Intelligence (BI) in supporting decision in many fields but there are very few researches about how to utilize this technology to assist the decision making in business processes. To address this gap, this study aims to apply On-Line analytical processing (OLAP), which is a significant component of BI that enables users to easily and selectively extract and view data from different points of view to back the manager make better decisions in fulfillment process. This study investigates the sales management theory, as well as balanced scorecard and OLAP technology to propose the decisions and the sample reports in the process which could be supported by OLAP including: the sales volume, the main product of the company, the salary and the bonus for sales staff, the credit limit and the price policy for customers.


A long distance measurement system using a stereo camera mounted on a rotation control device is proposed for automatic ship control, and the performance of the system is presented to verify the usefulness of it. As a solution to prevent ship operators from maritime accidents owing to their strain for a long period, the distance measurement system is often required to automatically control the posture or berthing of a ship. Here, we discuss the system structure suitable for used environment and its experimental results. From the experiment conducted to imagine the distance measurement necessary to altering the posture and translational motion between a ship and its facilities, the average error for the range of 20 to 100 m was less than 1 percent.


The antidiabetic potentials of ethanol extracts of Phyllanthus acidus Linn (Phyllanthaceae) (EEPA) and Basella rubra Linn (Basellaceae) (EEBR) were investigated against streptozotocin induced diabetes in rats. The shade dried leaves were extracted by soxhlation using ethanol. Phytochemical studies showed that EEPA and EEBR contain significant quantities of Flavanoids, Tannins, Triterpenoids and Phytosterols. Results of acute toxicity study suggested that extracts can be considered as category 5 as per OECD guidelines 425. Antidiabetic potentials of EEPA and EEBR at doses 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg b.wt. were studied on streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats for 21 days. The obtained results were compared with the results of control, diabetic control and standard (Glibenclamide) groups. Blood glucose levels, , Lipid profile, SGOT, SGPT and ALP were analyzed at 0, 7, 14 and 21 days of study. Glycogen content in the liver and skeletal muscle was estimated after 21 days. Ethanol extracts of selected plants showed significant reduction (**P<0.01) in blood glucose levels, Lipid level, SGOT, SGPT and ALP. In contrast, elevation of HDLC, liver and muscle glycogen levels was observed in dose dependent manner. The results suggested that EEPA and EEBR (96.13% and 93.6%) are having equipotent effect compare with Glibenclamide (97.8 %) at dose of 400 mg/kg.


Web has become the major tool of e-commerce for the last ten years and it requires Internet corporations to provide personalized services by tracking and analyzing users' visiting patterns. Web data analysis system (WDAS) is a necessary tool supporting the Web data mining and knowledge discovery (DM & KD) process. However, in the past, research on DM & KD always focused attention on algorithm of a specific mining, without the analysis on the establishment of a whole system. In this paper the authors demonstrates fundamental goals of WDAS design. After an introduction about the basic function of WDAS, the authors present the structure of WDAS which consists of users' interface agent, data preprocessing agent, data mining agent, pattern evaluation agent, models and knowledge base and specific criteria for assessment of WDAS.


ABSTRACT This work is focused on the optimization and characterization of copper gallium sulfide (CuGaS2) thin film prepared via the spray pyrolysis route. Chalcogenides are compounds having a chalcogen anion and an electropositive element, and these thin films have more absorption coefficients. The structural, optical, electrical, and morphological properties of CuGaS2 thin films are studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-Vis-NIR Spectroscopy, and Hall effect techniques. The above characteristics are studied for both as prepared and annealed Copper Gallium Sulfide (CGS) thin films. These films have a chalcopyrite tetragonal crystal structure. It is a promising material for solar cell applications due to its suitable bandgap and good electrical stability. The results of this study provide a framework for fabricating an optimized CGS absorber layer in photovoltaic solar cells. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT Schematic diagram of preparation of CGS thin films by Spray Pyrolysis Technique.


The biomechanical characteristics of a low stiffness cervical compressive staple(CCS) were compared to those of an anterior constrained cervical plate(ACCP) using a single level fusion model to understand CCS properties.12 human specimens with a C4-5 fusion with an interbody graft were tested in an in vitro biomechanical testing system.The specimens were tested for 15° flexion and 20° extension with the load sharing characteristics studied for 50 N and 100 N axial compression loads.The results show that the CCS has similar properties to the ACCP for the single level fusions and that the CCS performs better with the proper load on the graft.


Evodiamine (Evo) is a natural, biologically active plant alkaloid with wide range of pharmacological activities. In the present study Evo-loaded, folate-conjugated Pluronic F108 nano-micelles (ENM) was synthesized to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of Evo against cervical cancer. ENM were synthesized, physicochemically characterized and in-vitro anticancer activity was performed. The study demonstrates that ENM have nanoscale size (50.33 ± 3.09 nm), monodispersity of 0.122 ± 0.072, with high drug encapsulation efficiency (71.30 ± 3.76%) and controlled drug release at the tumour microenvironment. ENM showed dose-dependent and time-dependent cytotoxicity against HeLa human cervical cancer cells. The results of in-vitro anticancer studies demonstrated that ENM have significant anticancer effects and greatly induce apoptosis as compared to pure Evo. The cellular uptake study suggests that increased anticancer activity of ENM was due to the improved intracellular delivery of Evo through overexpressed folate receptors. Overall, the designed ENM could be a potential targeted delivery system for hydrophobic anticancer bioactive compound like Evodiamine. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


We report the growth of GaN films by RF-MBE on SiC, ZnO, and LiGaO 2 substrates, without buffer layers. Structural and optical properties of the films were probed by AFM for surface morphology, XRD for crystalline structure, and PL for optical properties. The dependence of GaN layer quality on the substrates and their surface pre-treatment prior to growth was studied within a similar MBE growth parameter matrix for all samples.


PURPOSE: A liquid emitting diode package is provided to impellent a more thin light emitting diode package by connecting a main body having a lead thereon to an adapter. CONSTITUTION: A light emitting diode is accepted a main body member(20). A lead(24) is electrically connected to the light emitting diode. The lead is extended from a lower part of the main body to the side of the main body. The main body member is fixed to the adapter. The adapter(40) is electrically connected to a lead and includes a modified polarity.


Active-Specific Immunotherapy of Melanoma Patients With Autologous Tumor Cell-Pulsed Dendritic Cell Vaccine: Induction of Response to T-Cell-Independent Antigens Senthamil R. Selvan, Mepur H. Ravindranath, Abner W. Fowler, Denysha J. Carbonell, Robert O. Dillman. Cell Biology, Hoag Cancer Center, Newport Beach, CA; Glycolipid Immunotherapy Laboratory, John Wayne Cancer Institute, Santa Monica, CA. Active-specific immunotherapy with autologous tumor cells is aimed at targeting tumor heterogeneity, after eliminating immunosuppression and restoring immunocompetence. The diversity in the profiles of HLA antigens (class 1 & 2) in patient population (in spite of downregulation), emphasizes the need for developing individualized immunotherapy for melanoma patients. However, there is a need to counteract immunosuppression induced by shed-tumor antigens, some of which are T-cell independent. The present study addresses whether such an individualized approach would restore immunocompetence by clearing immunosuppressive T-cell-independent tumor-glycoantigens (e.g. gangliosides). The individualized vaccine therapy is developed by pulsing dendritic cells generated from each patient, with irradiated pure tumor cell line established from biopsies of the respective patients. The pulsed dendritic cells suspended in granulocyte-macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were subcutaneously administered to melanoma patients with distant metastasis or recurrent regional disease, weekly for three weeks, then monthly for five months. Sera were collected before and after immunization on week 0, 4 and 24, and tested for the titers of IgM antibodies against melanoma-associated gangliosides, using an ELISA. Of the 24 patients enrolled, 18 are alive with a median survival of three years since therapy, 14 showed varying levels of augmentation of IgM against at least one of the gangliosides. Antiganglioside IgM are implicated in the elimination of the immunosuppressive antigens. In patients who fail to show increased titers, it is postulated that the level of gangliosides may remain high. This was further tested by estimating the levels of total serum gangliosides in each patient before and after the vaccine therapy. The results point out that the individualized treatment with tumor cell-pulsed dendritic cells with GM-CSF may thereby eliminate immunosuppression to restore immune competence.


A new probe based on the complex of 1,2 dihydro-2-oxoquinoloine-4-carboxylic acid (DOCA) as a ligand with Europium (III) ion was developed for the quantitation of Moxifloxacin HCl (Moxi.HCl) in pharmaceuticals and human plasma using a luminescence method. The metal to ligand ratio of the complex is 1:2 as determined by a Job plot. The determination of Moxi.HCl is based on static quenching of the luminescence of the probe upon coordination of Moxi.HCl. The negative value for ΔG proves that this reaction is spontaneous. The calibration curve was constructed based on a Stern–Volmer equation and the quantitation range was 0.05–80 µg ml−1. This is low enough to determine the drug in blood plasma, even hours after administration, which is not feasible with the methods published so far. The LOD was 15 ng ml−1. The accuracy of the method was demonstrated by good recoveries of spiking experiments in tablets, ophthalmic eyedrops and human blood plasma, where the mean recovery was 99% with RSDs below 5%. The method was validated by closely matching concentrations of the drug found in all these real samples by HPLC. Additionally, Moxi.HCl can be assessed semi-quantitatively by eye vision upon excitation with a UV lamp at 365 nm by a gradual color shift from red to blue with increasing concentrations of Moxi.HCl.


Teachers' training and teacher training programs are attracting the attention of a wide range of academicians and policymakers these days. The Government of Pakistan has provided a standard for the accreditation of teacher training programs recently. This study attempts to determine the extent of implementation of these standards in teachers' training programs in Pakistan. Data was collected for this study using in-depth qualitative interviews. The target population was the teachers of higher education institutions in the Bahawalpur Division offering teacher training programs. Data were collected from those 20 respondents who were voluntarily willing to participate in the study. Using content analysis technique, the authors show that currently only one standard criterion, that is assessment quality of the program is up to the mark. The study shows that teachers are dissatisfied with the quality of the curriculum, finances provided by the institutions, research culture, governmental policy towards government institutions, and links with the community. The respondents indicate that the government policy towards teacher training programs is the main hurdle towards the enhancement of the quality of teacher training programs. The government should apply the same policy in teacher training programs with regard to public and private institutions for obtaining the degree as private institutions do not follow the same criteria for awarding the degree e.g., students of private institutions do not attend the institutes regularly. There is a dire need to implement approved standards in teacher training programs in Pakistan.


The discrete-time delayed neural network with complex-valued linear threshold neurons is considered. By constructing appropriate Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals and employing linear matrix inequality technique and analysis method, several new delay-dependent criteria for checking the boundedness and global exponential stability are established. Illustrated examples are also given to show the effectiveness and less conservatism of the proposed criteria.


This paper presents the development of skills of teachers the education of children of age early do the teaching reflection. Teacher child early age (n=15) need to develop competencies themselves in various ways one of them is through the teaching of reflection to improve the quality of teaching and discuss how the development of skills of teachers of early childhood education can be done in the district of Sleman, Yogyakarta Indonesia Ngaglik. This type of research is qualitative research. Data obtained through extracting information from educators who talked about the way their head teachers who have expertise in managing learning at class. The analytical method used is content analysis. There is a theme in a pen of clarity in this article is the process of reflection, the follow-up results of the reflection and fact to factor of reflection. The reflection process carried out is the most influential variable in the process of development towards teacher expertise. This research shows that the development of early childhood education teacher skills requires new work methods and steps for educational planning. One attempt that touched s taken is menggunakan reflection of teaching where the needs for individual development plans will be obtained through reflection and will be easier if the reflection is done collaboratively together with colleagues. The natural result of teaching reflection is that the teacher can feel which areas of learning are most important to strengthen. Thus teachers always improve themselves in learning, in turn will improve student learning outcomes. 1


Pepperdine University is a mid-sized private institution with an informal relationship with the Churches of Christ. It is made up of four schools and colleges. Seaver College and the School of Law are located on the 819 acre campus at Malibu overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The School of Business and Management and the Graduate School of Education and Psychology are headquartered at Pepperdine Plaza, a high-rise building in West Los Angeles. This facility features a fully equipped academic computing laboratory and two electronic classrooms in addition to the administrative offices and classrooms for adult education.


In order to overcome disturbance effects as load torque variations in Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) of washing machines, an improved controller with feed forward compensation is presented in this paper. A few load torque observer techniques have been studied and combined with several sensorless control techniques. The observed torque is used as feedforward in q-axis current PI controller to compensate the output of speed PI controller. Simulation and experimental results show that in an operating system with disturbances as washing machines, PI controller response time can be improved by adopting an accurate feedforward scheme.


If public scorecards are to be fair and to have the desired impact on consumers, they should be applied only to groups of physicians — a strategy that will become more effective as more and more doctors join larger groups. This will reduce the fear factor among doctors, and consumers can also be converted if they're given financial incentives to choose doctors in higher-quality groups.


Multimodal speech recognition gets increasingly mor e attention from the scientific society. Merging to ether information coming on different channels of communication, while taking i to account the context, seems the right thing to d o. However, many aspects related to lipreading and to what influences the speech are still unknown or poorly understood. In the current paper we present detailed information on compiling an advanced multimodal dat a corpus for audio-visual speech recognition, lipre ading and related domains. This data corpus contains synchronized dual view ac quired using high speed camera. We paid careful att ention to the language content of the corpus and to the used speaking style. For r ecordings we implemented a prompter like software w hich controlled the recording devices and instructed the speaker to get uniform r ecordings.


In order to effectively enhance the quality and efficiency of feature selection task,it puts forward an improved feature selection method based on tabu search,which can employ new object function to feedback the quality of the feature vector.It applies the performance of the algorithm in medical data set.Experimental results show that the approach can not only lower the feature dimisionality,but also improve the efficiency and obtain higher classification accuracies.


For the generation of CHamorus who grew up without CHamoru language fluency, what the language means for their CHamoru identity is not entirely clear as there has not been a comprehensive study of their ethnolinguistic identity. This chapter explores how young CHamorus articulate their CHamoru identity in relation to the CHamoru language based on interviews with fourteen young CHamorus. The study provides a theoretical model, the CHamoru Identity Language Articulation Model (CHILAM), which identifies decision pathways and processes to explain why some young CHamorus actively learn the language while others do not. The model maps out the various motivating and inhibiting factors that influence participants' learning of the CHamoru language, which provides relevant information for CHamoru language advocates, policymakers, and teachers.


One of the few firm pieces of evidence to survive regarding the positive, as against the negative aspect of the Byzantine iconoclasts' attitude toward religious art has long been recognized in their assertion that the only true image of Christ is the Eucharist. The customary inference drawn from this has been that such an "image" would be purely a conceptual one, without physical form; yet there seems no reason to accept this assumption without some check of its validity. In view of the enormous effort expended after the Restoration of the Images in 843 to eradicate all memory of the iconoclastic period, chance does not favor the survival of material remains of its actual artistic production, such as the "secular icons" of court activities created as early as the reign of Leo III;1 all the more reason why any slight vestiges have been treasured whenever they could be located. It is our hope to be able to show the existence of one such image which, although scarcely unknown, has not been recognized for its full import-perhaps just because it was not suppressed in 843, but continued in currency long thereafter.


This paper deals with a new area of the sex industry: online escorting or prostitution. It examines the relatively unheard of phenomenon of young men who offer sexual services to men in return for payment. These young men, generally from upper socio-economic backgrounds, practice an unusual type of prostitution, involving a sorting process that leads to a social pairing with clients. Under these circumstances, the symbolic relationship between client and prostitute is reversed.


This paper describes the development of advanced thin chip scale BGA technologies within Europe as part of the ESPRIT research project 24366 BATEL 'Ball Grid Array Technologies for Advanced Telecom Applications'. LBGA 17/spl times/17 and LFBGA 12/spl times/12 with ball pitches of 0.8 mm have been developed using a matrix encapsulation technique. The materials, post mold warpage, electrical parasitics, and board level reliability have been characterised. Equipment for inspecting, handling and testing these fine pitch BGAs is described.


. Since decades, the aspects of chronic adenoiditis draw attention of specialists in ORL. From different data, prevalence of chronic adenoiditis is 20 to 56 per cent among children with diseases of upper respiratory ways. Chronic adenoiditis is relatively resistant to conventional therapy, and irreversible clinical course is revealed in more severe cases


DESCRIBED COMPLEXES BETA - CYCLODEXTRIN WITH SEVERAL IBUPOGENO SALTS IN WHICH THE PROVIDING Molar IBUPROGENO A BETA - CICLODESTRINA are within a ratio of 1: 0.20 to 1: 0.75. SALT IBUPROGENO FAVORITE IS SALT NA. COMPLEX HAVE IMPROVED FLAVOR PROFILE and bioavailability. It has been also discovered methods for preparing the complexes and pharmaceutical compositions thereof.


We have developed and successfully tested a new self-consistent method to reliably identify pre-main-sequence (PMS) objects actively undergoing mass accretion in a resolved stellar population, regardless of their age. The method does not require spectroscopy and combines broadband V and I photometry with narrowband Hα imaging to (1) identify all stars with excess Hα emission, (2) convert the excess Hα magnitude into Hα luminosity L(Hα), (3) estimate the Hα emission equivalent width, (4) derive the accretion luminosity Lacc from L(Hα), and finally (5) obtain the mass accretion rate from Lacc and the stellar parameters (mass and radius). By selecting stars with an accuracy of 15% or better in the Hα photometry, the statistical uncertainty on the derived is typically ≲17% and is dictated by the precision of the Hα photometry. Systematic uncertainties, of up to a factor of 3 on the value of , are caused by our incomplete understanding of the physics of the accretion process and affect all determinations of the mass accretion rate, including those based on a spectroscopic Hα line analysis. As an application of our method, we study the accretion process in a field of 9.16 arcmin2 around SN 1987A, using existing Hubble Space Telescope photometry. We identify as bona fide PMS stars a total of 133 objects with a Hα excess above the 4σ level and a median age of 13.5 Myr. Their median mass accretion rate of 2.6 × 10−8 M☉ yr−1 is in excellent agreement with previous determinations based on the U-band excess of the stars in the same field, as well as with the value measured for G-type PMS stars in the Milky Way. The accretion luminosity of these PMS objects shows a strong dependence on their distance from a group of hot massive stars in the field and suggests that the ultraviolet radiation of the latter is rapidly eroding the circumstellar disks around PMS stars.


This paper addresses some of the theoretical aspects involved in the numerical study of non-Newtonian flow problems. We consider the second-order Rivlin–Erickson constitutive model due to the simple differential form that emerges for the system of equations that govern the flow when expressed in stream function–vorticity variables. This model describes slightly elastic fluids that exhibit a constant viscosity behaviour. A steady two-dimensional flow is studied through a planar contraction geometry.

An auxiliary variable is introduced into the problem formulation producing a non-linear system of differential equations comprising two elliptic equations and one hyperbolic equation. This system is discretized by finite difference methods and the resulting system of non-linear algebraic equations is solved iteratively by successive substitutions. The simple structure of this iteration permits a convergence analysis which is presented in Section 2. This analysis is performed prior to the spatial discretization and establishes the dependence of the iteration upon the material parameters. At the discrete linearized equation level a combination of inner iterations for elliptic equations and direct marching for the hyperbolic equation is used. The stability of the marching scheme is considered in Section 4.3 and a discussion on the results is given in Section 5.


BACKGROUND : Care of critically ill parturients is a challenge in obstetrics. Complications may arise during pregnancy or in the postpartum period which can be life threatening and require intensive care. Though obstetric ICU admissions form a small proportion mortality among them is very high. Critical care management of obstetric patients in developing countries is fraught with the problem of poor health care delivery, late presentation of patients and paucity of ICUs. AIM: The objective of this prospective & descriptive study was to analyze the spectrum of obstetric I.C.U admissions, to identify the common antecedent causes,to analyze the treatment modalities & response ,to study the maternal and fetal outcomes.Study design :This is a prospective study done for 20 months in the department of OBGy –Narayana Medical college superspeciality hospital-a tertiary care centre.The inclusion criteria being all obstetric ICU admissions(booked and unbooked) were evaluated and analyzed. Statistical analysis : The data was entered in Microsoft excel and analyzed using SPSS software (statistical package for social science ver.10.0.5).Results:6.85% of total deliveries during the study period required ICU admissions. Among them our booked cases were only 11.3% and the rest 88.7% were unbooked cases. 92.5% of ICU admissions were antepartum,and only 7.5% were of postpartum status.The other parameters observed were age,parity, antecedent illness,socioeconomic &educational status ,distance travelled & time taken for ICU admission, therapeutic interventions including maternal & fetal outcomes.Conclusion: This study has shown that poverty, illiteracy, lack of awareness,improper antenatal care, non availability of skilled birth attendants, non-existent emergency obstetric care facilities within reach -being responsible for most of the obsteritic ICU admissions leading to maternal / perinatal morbidity and mortality.


TO write about poles and the preservative treatment of poles today is like writing the review of a very successful play that has been running a long time. The players are not men, but inanimate poles. The natural backdrop is the forest. The stage is as broad as the United States and the setting is a criss-cross of thousands of miles of utility and communication lines. The engineers of these lines are the producers and directors of the play; and it is they who assign the parts to the various actors and write a changing script as the play progresses. It is the purpose of this paper to present certain highlights of the more important scenes, such as pole use and the drain on the forest, pole manufacture and treatment under standard specifications, and pole strength, and to discuss some possible rearrangements in the setting that may become necessary.


Discourse parsing is largely dominated by greedy parsers with manually-designed features, while global parsing is rare due to its computational expense. In this paper, we propose a simple chart-based neural discourse parser that does not require any manually-crafted features and is based on learned span representations only. To overcome the computational challenge, we propose an independence assumption between the label assigned to a node in the tree and the splitting point that separates its children, which results in tractable decoding. We empirically demonstrate that our model achieves the best performance among global parsers, and comparable performance to state-of-art greedy parsers, using only learned span representations.


Nutmeg oil, also known as essential oil, is an oil extracted from the seeds or leaves of nutmeg through a distillation process. Nutmeg oil has several advantages, including as an antibacterial ingredient, an additive in the perfume industry, and as a raw material for medicines in the pharmaceutical industry. In this study, the essential oil from nutmeg leaves was produced using the steam-water distillation method, where the nutmeg leaves were dried before the steam-water distillation process was carried out. As a fixed variable, 150 g of bulk cooking oil and 150 g of bimoli cooking oil were used, while as a variable, steam-water distillation temperature was used with temperature variations of 105 oC, 115 oC, and 125 oC. Samples of 1 mL, 2 mL, 3 mL, and 4 mL of nutmeg leaf oil were mixed with bulk cooking oil to compare the free fatty acid oxidation ability and peroxide value after 1 day, 3 days, 5 days, and 7 days. Analysis of the compound content of nutmeg leaf oil, free fatty acids, peroxide number, and antioxidant activity was carried out using GC-MS and 0.004% DPPH. The production of nutmeg leaf oil was obtained as much as 91 ml by steam distillation at a maximum temperature of 125 oC. Using a DPPH of 0.004 percent and a quantitative measure of IC50, the optimal antioxidant activity at 125 oC was found to be 2.03 percent. A comparison of free fatty acid numbers and peroxide values found in this study revealed that pure bimoli cooking oil had the lowest free fatty acid and peroxide values.


The benefits and advantages provided by legal process management in lowering legal fees as well as others are discussed. The need for clients to engage firms that are willing to commit to timelines and are in full control of their firm's management and communication processes is highlighted.


Segal (1965) found in his comparative study of mycobacteria grown in vivo and in vitro that H37Rv tubercle bacilli collected from the mouse lungs exhibited a deficient protective immunogenicity and a less potential for both inducing and eliciting the delayed hypersensitivity in experimental animals. Ever since, however, no attempt has been made by other workers to confirm his observations. For the past several years, the present authors have been concerned with the study of lipid composition of mycobacteria, M. bovis (Ravenel strain) grown in vivo (Kondo and Kanai, 1972). One of the characteristics of such bacilli was an extremely low content of chloroform-soluble wax. In view of the well-known role of wax D in the immunogenicity of mycobacteria (Tanaka, 1971), we attempted to confirm Segal's observations in our own experimental design. The in vivo bacilli employed were obtained from the granulomatous lungs of mice infected intravenously with M. bovis (Ravenel strain) at their moribund conditions 3 to 4 weeks after infection. The separation procedure of the bacilli was described previously in detail (Kanai and Kondo, 1970; Kondo and Kanai, 1972). The tissue components closely associated with the in vivo bacilli were further removed by trypsin digestion and treatment with acetone-water (90:10) and with 8 M urea. The final pellet of the in vivo bacilli thus obtained was hydrophobic, being similar to the bacilli grown in vitro but dissimilar to the hydrophilic in vivo bacilli separated by only differential centrifugation and subsequent treatment with 1 M NaCI. The bacilli were highly acid-fast and retained the normal morphology. The corresponding in vitro bacilli were obtained from the 3-week pellicle growth of the same strain on Sauton synthetic liquid medium. Both kinds of the bacilli were suspended in liquid paraffin in concentrations of 1 mg and 0.01 mg (semi-dried weight) per 0.5 ml and sterilized at 120 C for 20 min. The antigenicity of each of these four vaccines to sensitize guinea pigs to tuberculin was examined with five animals. The animals were vaccinated intramuscularly in the left thigh with a vaccine and the development of delayed hypersensitivity was tested with l ag PPD at 4 weeks after vaccination. The results are summarized in Table I. In this experiment, we included an animal group vaccinated with the in vivo bacilli defatted by the method of Azuma and Yamamura (1962), which was described in our previous paper (Kondo and Kanai, 1972). As shown in Table I, much lower antigenicity of the in vivo bacilli was evident by comparing the induced delayed hypersensitivity between the two groups vaccinated with 0.01 mg. The in vivo bacilli from which bound lipids have been removed were extremely poor in the antigenicity, and even the 1-mg inoculum could induce no appreciable hypersensitivity. In this experiment, two supplementary observations were made. One was that the treatment of the in vitro bacilli by trypsin digestion and with acetone-water (90:10) and 8 M urea did not reduce their antigenicity significantly. This may support our


The power of the web brought in a new era for business. The ability to leverage and integrate the various data sources and processes that make up a corporation's lifeblood and deliver them to the consumer via an integrated web site has given rise to the new world of e-business. At the same time, the world of wireless connectivity has given people the flexibility of doing business wherever they are. The decreasing cost and increasing speed of wireless devices is driving the move to wireless communication. Now there is a convergence underway, enabling wireless devices to act as clients in the exploding e-business world. This convergence of web power with the reach of wireless access is giving rise to a new business era, the age of mobile commerce or m-commerce. Companies that already operate a mobile business will have competitive advantages over their competitors who do not touch it yet.


THIS ESSAY will deal with the ideological basis, both implied and explicit, of Reynolds' Discourses on Art.' What I shall do is provide a reading of the Discourses in the light of three different but related contexts. The first context, which has been mentioned before by other commentators but which has not been examined very thoroughly, refers to the strong similarities between, if not the direct influence-of, Burke's ideological assumptions in his Reflections on the Revolution in France, and some of Reynolds' central aesthetic presuppositions.2 The second context is Blake's annotations of Reynolds' Discourses in which Blake consistently attends to the ideological, as well as epistemological and aesthetic, implications of the Discourses. The third and final context which I shall apply to the Discourses is Reynolds' "Ironical Discourse"-the so-called sixteenth discourse-which was evidently written in response to, and in praise of, Burke's Reflections, and which makes explicit the implied ideology of Reynolds' Discourses. Of course, there are many sections of Reynolds' Discourses where one would be hard put to detect ideological implications, but if we take our cue from Reynolds' "Ironical Discourse," as well as Blake's


Neural tube defects (NTDs) are congenital malformations which arise from incomplete closure of the neural tube during early embryogenesis. The most common types found in humans are spina bifida and anencephaly. These can occur together in a single family and in some cases even in one person.1

About 70–80% of all human NTDs show complex or multifactorial inheritance patterns, indicating that both genetic and environmental factors play a part in the aetiology of this malformation.2 Folic acid supplementation reduces the incidence of human and mouse NTDs.3–7 Furthermore, supplementation of myo -inositol reduces the incidence of NTDs substantially in the NTD mouse model, curly tail.8

In curly tail embryos, supplementary myo -inositol increases the flux through the inositol/lipid cycle, stimulating protein kinase C (Pkc) activity. Protein kinase C phosphorylates and thus activates several proteins that are directly involved in the formation of the neural tube, such as Ap2-α and Mlp (fig 1).9,10 Ap2-α null as well as heterozygous and chimeric knockout mice have exencephaly.11–13 Mlp knockout mice have exencephaly and spina bifida.14,15

 Figure 1
Signal transduction relations between the proteins TFAP2A, MLP, and CSK. PTK, protein tyrosine kinase receptor; DAG, diacylglycerol; PLC, phospholipase C; PIP2, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-biphosphate; IP3, inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate; PKC, protein kinase C; SRC, Src related protein tyrosine kinases.

Apart from the genes involved in inositol signalling, NTDs also occur in mice deficient for the Csk gene.16 This gene encodes a negative regulator of Src family tyrosine kinases and acts through phosphorylation of the Src family members at their C-terminal tyrosine residue (fig 1).17 Csk is involved in the organisation of the cytoskeleton.18

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Objective To evalue the role of suction cap attached to the tip of the colonoscopy in single-man method colonoscopy under sedation. Methods Clinical data of 125 patients underwent single-man method colonoscopy under sedation from January of 2009 to August of 2011 were retrospectively reviewed,and the single-man colonoscopy under sedation was operated in two groups of patients. One group with suction cap and the other wihout. The operation time from anus to the ileocecal valve and from the ileoceal valve to the ileum were recorded,and the success rate reaching to the ileum were calculated. Then the time and rate between the two groups were analyzed. Results For single-man colonoscopy under sedation with and without suction cap,the mean operation time from anal to ileocecal valve was 282 s(82-688 s) and 389 s(91-2073 s) ,the rate for reaching to ileum was 76.3 % and 48.1 %,and the mean operation time from ileocecal valve to ileum was 31 s and 35 s,respectively. The group with suction cap were better than the group without suction cap in the above aspects after stastically analyzed. Conclusions The application of the suction cap can make the single-man colonoscopy safer,more effective and time-saving.


The currency crisis that started in Thailand in the summer of 1997 has been followed by repercussions on the currencies of neighboring countries that culminated in a crisis infecting most countries in East Asia. Japan and China, which have developed strong ties with Asia through trade and investment, have not been exempted from this contagion. This paper looks at the latest currency crisis in Asia from the perspectives of these two regional giants. Growing competition with Japan and China are identified as major factors triggering the crisis in Asia centering on the ASEAN countries. In terms of the "flying-geese" pattern of economic development, the ASEAN countries have come to be sandwiched between Japan, a leader which has stopped moving ahead, and China, a follower which is catching up fast from behind (Figure 1).


This paper investigates a class of finite-time synchronization problems of fractional order fuzzy inertial cellular neural networks (FFICNNs) with piecewise activations and mixed delays. First, the Caputo FFICNNs are established. A suitable transformation variable is constructed to rewrite FFICNNs with mixed delays into a first-order differential system. Secondly, some new effective criteria are constructed on the basis of the finite-time stability theory and Lyapunov functionals to realize the synchronization of the drive-response system. Finally, two numerical simulation examples show that the proposed method is effective.


The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) mentions that the inappropriate use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of strains of bacteria resistant to the mechanisms of action of these drugs, due to the scarcity of effective therapies, the development of new treatment options is required for diseases that affect health, in this respect plant extracts or their pure compounds offer an alternative. The aim of the present investigation was to characterize and evaluate the in vitro antibacterial activity of the hydroalcoholic extract of Croton draco on bacteria of sanitary importance. The extract was obtained by hydroalcoholic maceration, a qualitative and chemical characterization of the extract was carried out, and the antibacterial activity was determined by the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and the Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC). The qualitative characterization tests performed on the hydroalcoholic extract of Croton draco indicate the presence of phenolic compounds, terpenes, saponins and alkaloids, by gas chromatography the presence of thymol and carvacrol was determined in concentrations of 0.5340 mg/ml and 0.4206 mg/mL respectively. The bacteria showed different degrees of sensitivity to the hydroalcoholic extract, however, greater activity was determined against Gram positive bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis.


The production cost of greenhouse cultivation depends mainly upon significant amounts of energy consumption in order to keep the optimum environmental condition for plant growth. Τhe expenditure on energy, either for heating or cooling, ranges between 30% to 60% of the total production costs, and any attempt to save energy will result in a positive effect on the potentiality of production accordingly, affecting the greenhouse product prices. Research has shown that CO2 enrichment in greenhouses significantly increases the yield of most indoor cultivation of plants of the C3 category. For these plants, when the CO2 concentration increases by three times above that of the atmosphere (380 ppm), the optimum plant growth temperature shifts higher by 5 °C to 10 °C reaching up to 30 °C to 32 °C. Therefore, huge amounts of solar energy can be captured inside the greenhouses, as the ventilation can be decreased. Alongside this, the use of a simple passive solar system consisting of plastic sleeves filled with water is considered to be an improved way to increase the energy inside greenhouses. In this work, three experimental trials were conducted to examine the benefit of the solar energy captured inside a greenhouse during CO2 enrichment at high temperatures. Finally, a modeling approach based on the heat loss equation was developed in order to establish the energy saving inside the greenhouses under the circumstances mentioned.


In this paper, we give a survey of some known results on amenable semigroups with different characterizations using some classes of semigroups which include right stationary semigroups, cancellative semigroups, inverse semigroups, finitely generated semigroups, Clifford $\omega$-semigroups and inverse $\omega$- semigroups.


Abstract:
Universities are increasingly required to provide an education for students that
enables them to acquire global knowledge, skills and languages, so that they can perform
professionally and socially in an international and multicultural context. Although the
situation varies according to the country, many universities have identified
internationalization of the curriculum as a priority in promoting their global
competitiveness. Danish and Japanese universities are presented here as two examples,
of old and highly homogeneous nation states, struggling with best practice and how to
move forward with this objective.


Lyme disease, caused by infection with members of the Lyme borreliosis group of Borrelia spirochete bacteria, is increasing in frequency and distribution worldwide. This spread is driven by the expansion of ticks, vectors of these pathogens. Epigenetics may be involved in the interaction between mammalian host, tick, and bacterial pathogen, but is still poorly understood. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) allows the study of host response at the transcriptomic and methylomic scale. We tested the effect of the Borrelia burgdorferi strain B31 on a human primary cell line (HUVEC) and an immortalized cell line (HEK-293) for 72 h, a time consistent with the duration of tick feeding and host cell exposure to B. burgdorferi. RNA and DNA were extracted from cells and used for RNA-seq and Enzymatic-Methyl-seq (EM-seq). Differential expression and Reactome pathway enrichment analysis were performed. More significantly differentially expressed genes (a total of 69) were found in HUVECs compared to HEK-293 (a total of 8). Borrelia burgdorferi exposure significantly induced genes in the interferon, cytokine, and other immune response signaling in HUVECs. In HEK-293, pre-NOTCH processing in Golgi was identified as a significant pathway. Other significant genes suggest extracellular matrix binding and interaction in HEK-293. Data comparison with other transcriptomic studies of human cells exposed to B. burgdorferi revealed a small overlap in genes identified in HUVEC, but no overlap for HEK-293. No significant methylation changes were detected in HUVECs or HEK-293 exposed to B. burgdorferi. However, two long non-coding RNAs and a pseudogene were deregulated in response to B. burgdorferi in HUVEC suggesting that other epigenetic mechanisms may be initiated by infection. This is the first study examining the transcriptome and methylome of human cells exposed to B. burgdorferi for 72 h and so contributes to the description of early-stage B. burgdorferi infection at the cellular level.


The Firm Foundations discussion paper issued by the Scottish Government has started a wide-ranging debate on housing policy. This Viewpoint is intended as a contribution to this debate, highlighting longstanding challenges that remain to be met, and fresh challenges that are emerging. Duncan Maclennan and Tony O'Sullivan argue that the housing system needs to be managed more effectively to boost productivity and reduce environmental impact, and a new governance and resource base for Scottish housing is needed. Key points


Droplet vaporization process is of interest in energy systems such as diesel and rocket engines, in which the fuel is supplied as a spray of droplets. The classical "quasi-steady" theory has been developed within the context of isolated droplet vaporization studies and is also used in spray models because of its simplicity. This theory predicts a linear evolution of the squared droplet diameter with time and allows estimating the "droplet vaporization rate". The aim of this study is to provide a detailed description of the heat and mass transfer mechanisms occurring in the vaporization of isolated droplets due in particular to the presence of the droplet support fiber in most of the experiments. Most droplet evaporation and combustion experiments have been conducted with the droplet suspended on a support fiber to avoid the experimental difficulties for free-falling droplets, such as for obtaining high-resolution droplets images. The potential influences of the support fiber on the evaporation rate have been pointed out in previous studies, but in the absence of alternative solutions, most researchers continued to employ this method. The literature reports many studies appreciably improving the technique by reducing as much as possible the fiber diameter, others by taking into account in numerical models this phenomenon, then correlating their results with experimental data. It is only very recently that experimental studies, equivalent to the one presented here, could implement extremely fine suspension fibers, allowing the production of new results. In this paper, experimental measurements will be presented to highlight and discuss the effects of heat transfer through the support fiber on droplet evaporation. Different droplet sizes, fiber diameters and orientations, gas temperatures, and fuel volatilities have been tested and analysed.