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dents, ainsi que la liste des membres de l'association des maisonsmeres allemandes de la Croix-Rouge. Un extrait des statuts de la Croix-Rouge allemande fait connaitre les principales activites de celle-ci. Une circulaire de la Croix-Rouge allemande adressee aux sections regionales de la Croix-Rouge cite l'exemple donne par la section de Kiel, oil les organisations masculines et f eminines se sont jointes a la section de la Croix-Rouge, y comprislacolonne sanitaire, pour une activite en commun. Cette collaboration a donne les meilleurs resultats. Quelques pages sont consacrees au Comite international, sa f ondation, ses differentes activites, ainsi qu'a la Ligue des CroixRouges. Les dates les plus importantes de l'histoire de la CroixRouge sont donnees avec quelques lignes d'explication. Suivent encore quelques renseignements sur les differentes taches du service sanitaire officiel et de l'assistance en general. A ce calendrier sont annexees deux petites brochures, l'une adressee aux organisations feminines et l'autre aux organisations masculines.

2022-06-14T23:20:33.385Z

Tuberculosis is respiratory disease. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Latent tuberculosis in which case no symptoms seen. Around 10% of latent infections progress to active disease which, if left untreated, kill about half of those affected. Typical symptoms of active TB are chronic cough with blood containing mucus,fever, night sweats and weight loss. Tuberculosis spread from one person to another person when people who have active TB in their lungs cough, spit, speak or sneeze. People with latent TB dont spread the disease. There is no direct reference of tuberculosis in ayurveda but we could consider it under Rajaykshma by its signs and symptoms. Rajaykshma is group of disease which includes vitiation of tridosha and Sapta dhatu, due to indulging in Sahasa, Vega Sandarana, Kshaya, Vishmashana, there is manifestation of Ekadasha Rupa. Rasamanikya is a herbo-mineral formulation indicated for Rajaykshma. Rasamanikya is a Kupipakwa Rasayan. It was prepared according to ref. of Brihatrasarajasundar mentioned in Rajaykshmarogadhikar. Hence it was chosen to evaluate antimycobacterial activity by using Bact alert 3 D automated liquid culture. Aim: To evaluate antimycobacterial activity of Rasamanikya by using advance Bact/ALERT 3-D Automated liquid culture WSR to Tuberculosis. Objective: To prepare Rasamanikya To have analytical test of Rasamanikya and to evaluate antimycobacterial activity by using Bact alert 3-D automated liquid culture. Material And Methods: Rasamanikya was prepared according to ref mentioned in Brihatrasarajasundar. Analytical tests of Rasamanikya were performed according to methods described in ayurvedic pharmacopoeia of india and antimycobacterial activity of Rasamanikya was carried out with the help of Bact alert 3-D automated liquid culture. Results: Rasamanikya extract at MIC 1g/ml was able to achieve significant (P < 0.001 vs MTB culture & Other concentration of herb) antimycobacterial activity which was comparable to MIC of TB drugs. Another concentration of Rasamanikya although showed antimycobacterial activity based on delayed growth time compared to MTB culture however, they are not significant compared to TB drugs. Key words: Tuberculosis, Antimycobacterial activity, Bact alert 3-D automated liquid culture system, Rajayakshma, Rasamanikya.

2022-08-26T18:33:18.856Z

Background Naswar is a moist, non-chewable, and smokeless tobacco product ensconced in the buccal vestibule or floor of the mouth. Consumption of naswar is very popular in South Asia, especially Pakistan. This cross-sectional study compared the periodontal clinical parameters amongst mild, moderate, and severe naswar users. Methods 318 naswar users, categorized into three equal groups (n = 106) severe naswar users, moderate naswar users, and mild naswar users were drawn for this study. Bleeding on probing, pocking depth, gingival recession, and attachment loss were assessed using the UNC-15 probe and compared among the three groups of naswar users. Data analysis was done with the help of SPSS. Statistical significance was deliberated at p value ≤0.05. Results 28.9 ± 7.6 years was the mean age presentation. The mean % of bleeding on probing score was 61.95% in severe naswar users, 56.62% in moderate naswar users, and 51.23% in mild naswar users with a p-value of 0.001*. In severe, moderate, and mild naswar users the probing pocket depth (4-6mm) were 35.14%, 30.95%, and 23.21% respectively. 26.78% severe naswar users were having mean percentage for probing pocket depth (>6m) followed by moderate naswar users (17.26%) and mild naswar users (17.26%) with a significant p-value (0.001*). Clinical attachment loss (CAL) was 2.50 percent in light naswar users, 3.0 percent in moderate naswar users, and 4.25 percent in severe naswar users. Clinical attachment loss (CAL) was 2.50 percent in light naswar users, 3.0 percent in moderate naswar users, and 4.25 percent in severe naswar users. Severe naswar users had a high mean percentage of gingival recession (23.21%), whereas light 13.67 percent and moderate 14.88 percent naswar users had a smaller difference. Conclusions Clinical periodontal parameters were more worsen in heavy naswar users compared to moderate and light naswar users.

2022-09-23T00:47:47.043Z

From their inception, United States public schools have been subject to reform efforts. The most recent, and perhaps the most potent, is the current effort to establish charter schools as replacements for traditional public schools. They are supposed to be the analog of private schools, providing choices to parents, financed by public funds, but operating largely free of state and local regulations. The schools are organized under charters specified by state laws and authorized by public agencies. This essay traces the development and growth of charter schools and note changes in their original mission to improve public education. It concludes with the role that very wealthy foundations play in promoting charter schools. In effect, they control public education policy without real accountability to the public.

2022-09-27T18:08:25.912Z

Objective. To analyze different perceptions of household access of two brothers with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). Method. Using qualitative case study. It was made a home visit to home Brothers to fill a simple questionnaire prepared by the author addressed research, development of a design theme and an assessment of the residence with the norms of ABNT (Brazilian Technical Standards Association). Results. The brothers live in an apartment, in which the answers given by them differ in relation to the perception that every one has on their environment. This assertion is best evidenced when asked about the likely positives and negatives points of the house for accessibility and dissatisfactions with the limited spaces of the doorways, preventing its translation and difficult locomotion in some rooms. However, by design, it was possible to verify the reality of adaptation to extreme environment in which they live. Conclusion. It can be concluded that through analysis of the instruments applied brothers though they have perceptions different relative accessibility of their environment, are fully engaged in the architectural reality that your home presents today.

2022-10-21T00:11:22.419Z

ABSTRACT Our objective was to examine the differential effects of antenatal breastfeeding intention (BI) and breastfeeding practice (BP) on maternal postnatal responsiveness. We conducted a secondary analysis of longitudinal data from a subsample of 962 mother–infant dyads from a U.K.‐based birth cohort study the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Exposures were BI and BPs measured at 32 weeks of gestation and 18 months’ postpartum. The outcome was maternal responsiveness assessed at 12 months’ postpartum. We used logistic regression analyses unadjusted and adjusted for confounders. Intention to breastfeed was associated with increased odds of postnatal maternal responsiveness independent of BP, adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.34, 95% CI [1.42, 3.86]. There was no evidence that BP was an independent predictor of maternal responsiveness, OR = 0.93, 95% CI [0.55, 1.57]. Life‐course epidemiology analyses demonstrated that maternal responsiveness is most positive when both BI and BP are present. This is the first population‐based study to provide evidence that BI during pregnancy is more strongly associated with maternal postnatal responsiveness than is BP. Further research is needed to understand the determinants of BI in pregnancy and its relationships with maternal responsiveness.

2022-11-11T08:22:43.875Z

INTRODUCTION Previous research has examined cigarette smoking in trauma exposed populations. However, the relationships between trauma exposure and use of other tobacco products (e.g., cigars, e-cigarettes) and specific trauma exposure characteristics that may be associated with tobacco use are understudied. METHODS Using the 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (N=36,151 adults), we conducted weighted bivariate analyses of tobacco use among participants with no trauma exposure, trauma exposure, and trauma exposure with PTSD (trauma+PTSD), stratified by tobacco product use. We also performed weighted logistic regressions testing relationships between trauma exposure and tobacco use, controlling for behavioral health (BH) conditions (mood, anxiety, substance use, personality disorders) and sociodemographics. RESULTS Approximately 44% of participants had experienced trauma; 6% experienced trauma+PTSD. Trauma exposed participants had a higher prevalence of tobacco use (30%-46% vs. 22%) and poly-tobacco use (34%-35% vs. 28%) than unexposed participants. Cigarettes were the most used tobacco product; trauma+PTSD (19%), and trauma (15%) participants had a higher prevalence of e-cigarette use than unexposed participants (11%). Trauma exposure was associated with current tobacco use (AOR=1.36 trauma+PTSD; 1.23 trauma) (but not former use), particularly among participants exposed to violence/abuse (AOR=1.23). Personality and substance use disorders were strongly associated with current and former tobacco use. CONCLUSION Trauma exposure, PTSD, and experiences of violence/abuse, are associated with current tobacco use. BH conditions may also play a role in current and former tobacco use. Recognizing and addressing trauma exposure and BH conditions among tobacco users may improve cessation rates in these populations. IMPLICATIONS This study contributes to research on tobacco use disparities in behavioral health populations by providing a comprehensive examination of tobacco use in trauma exposed individuals. Prior research has examined cigarette smoking, but not other tobacco product use in these populations. This study presents findings on multiple tobacco use behaviors (tobacco product, poly-tobacco use, cessation attempts) in trauma exposed populations and characteristics of trauma exposure (severity, type of traumatic event) associated with tobacco use. These findings underscore the importance of further examining the implications of trauma exposure for tobacco use and of screening and addressing trauma in cessation treatment.

2022-12-07T14:52:38.718Z

Blocking artifacts, commonly introduced during video encoding, are one of the major causes of reduced perceptual video quality. The trade-off between these artifacts and bitrate can be improved by adaptively selecting frames from a set of video copies encoded at different bitrates, prior to actual video encoding. We propose a new direction of constructing mixed bitrate video based on content-based image analysis on each video frame, which was posed as a problem of pre-analysis for the final video encoding step. The proposed method consists of the following steps: First, we define a simple and fast impact metric in order to identify the blocking artifacts in each frame of multiple videos, encoded at different bitrates. Based on the impact metric, we generate a blocking artifact density functions for the available bitrates, on the whole video. Finally, we define and optimize our objective function from the blocking artifact density functions in order to select a bitrate with minimum perceptual blockiness and file size for each frame. We validated our method throughout multiple types of videos, showing improved visual quality for the same file size based on commonly used quality assessment measures, such as MSU blocking, MSU blurring, SSIM, 3SSIM, and stSSIM. The reduction rates of average file size and average blocking artifact were about 4.9% and 8.3% over maximum bitrate encoding, respectively.

2022-09-07T02:42:42.878Z

Esse estudo teve como objetivo identificar as características clínicas e morfológicas de vaginose citolítica. Trata-se de uma scoping review (análise de escopo), realizada em três bases de dados, com os descritores “Cytolytic vaginosis”, “Bacterial, vaginosis” e “Vaginosis”. Dentre os critérios de elegibilidade, foram incluídos os artigos publicados em periódicos indexados na área da saúde, disponíveis de forma online e na íntegra, entre 2012 e 2022, que respondessem ao objetivo da pesquisa. Inicialmente, 39 trabalhos foram identificados, e após a triagem deles, foram selecionadas sete publicações. Os resultados indicaram que as principais características da vaginose citolítica são aumento dos lactobacilos, o desgaste de células escamosas, a ausência de leucócitos e citólise. Ademais, há presença de corrimento esbranquiçado – semelhante ao corrimento gerado pela candidíase, um pH vaginal entre 3,5 e 4,5, hiperemia e ardor vulvovaginal. Em relação ao tratamento, evidências apontam para o uso de bicarbonato de sódio e a regulação da microbiota vaginal. Sugere-se a ampliação de estudos acerca da temática, especialmente, sobre a detecção e o tratamento.

2022-09-30T01:29:42.625Z

Pollution affects our daily routines without knowing, degrading our health and the environment around us. There is a strong link between pollution and deforestation, one thrives in the presence of the other, and for too much time nothing has been made on this matter. Fortunately, Machine Learning techniques come in handy in identifying and monitoring forests all over the globe. This paper presents the application of the Gaussian Mixture Model in forest segmentation using high-resolution multiband aerial images and analyzes along the way the most suitable conditions and parameters for the implementation.

2022-11-17T19:16:07.774Z

Recurrent mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) and its neurological sequelae have been the focus of a large number of studies, indicating cognitive, structural, and functional brain alterations. However, studies often focused on single outcome measures in small cohorts of specific populations only. We conducted a multimodal evaluation of the impact of recurrent mTBI on a broad range of cognitive functions, regional brain volume, white matter integrity, and resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) in young and older adults in the chronic stage (>6 months after the last mTBI). Seventeen young participants with mTBI (age: 24.2 ± 2.8 (mean ± SD)) and 21 group-wise matched healthy controls (age: 25.8 ± 5.4 (mean ± SD)), as well as 17 older participants with mTBI (age: 62.7 ± 7.7 (mean ± SD)) and 16 group-wise matched healthy controls (age: 61.7 ± 5.9 (mean ± SD)) were evaluated. We found significant differences in the verbal fluency between young participants with mTBI and young healthy controls. Furthermore, differences in the regional volume of precuneus and medial orbitofrontal gyrus between participants with mTBI and controls for both age groups were seen. A significant age by group interaction for the right hippocampal volume was noted, indicating an accelerated hippocampal volume loss in older participants with mTBI. Other cognitive parameters, white matter integrity, and RSFC showed no significant differences. We confirmed some of the previously reported detrimental effects of recurrent mTBI, but also demonstrated inconspicuous findings for the majority of parameters.

2022-12-02T10:15:53.252Z

On the day of the Jonestown massacre, Jim Jones’s voice on the so-called FBI “Death Tape”— transcripts of which appear in The Jonestown Institute’s online archive—reveal his weirdly compelling performance in several registers and roles, not least of which as a kind of prophet. With a voice by turns stammering and composed, Jones repeatedly attempts to draw the congregation of the People’s Temple away from questions about the past to act out his apocalyptic fantasy, where death in an unjust world is better than life in it. For instance, when reminded by Peoples Temple member Christine Miller of his former promise to move the community to Russia, should their mission fail in Guyana, Jones dismisses her as “a very good agitator,” backward-looking, unimportant, and above all, an obstacle to the arrival of his own version of heaven’s kingdom. Indeed, at first Jonestown was for many of its members a utopian extension of the Peoples Temple, a religious group that, as Rebecca Moore describes in Understanding Jonestown and Peoples Temple (2009), “emerged from Indiana in the 1950s, moved to northern California in the 1960s, [and] became a political force in San Francisco in the 1970s” (1). Moore and other scholars (Moore, Pinn, and Sawyer; Hall; Wessinger) have attempted to reframe the Peoples Temple compound at Jonestown in ways that complicate the dominant depictions of it ......................................................................................................

2022-12-11T13:21:15.367Z

"The Regulatory Takings Problem" is the title given to a story, or narrative, that has become prominent in the literature on just compensation issues.' The story is one of power and fear. It is about a perceived imbalance of power between the two groups of actors involved in the process of public land-use regulation-private landowners and government regulators. It depicts scenarios of past or threatened abuse of power by local land-use regulators, and it looks to the takings clause generally and regulatory takings doctrine specifically as crucial corrective devices, essential to set the power imbalance aright. The dominant narrative describes local regulators as empowered, possessing enormous leverage over private landowners, who are depicted as unempowered. The authority to regulate land use in a wide variety of ways places local regulators in a position of potentially enjoying virtual monopoly power over land-use entitlements2 unless such power is checked by constitutional strictures. Furthermore, this narrative sees these local agencies as motivated to behave opportunistically, abusing their discretion by strategically manipulating the situation of the vulnerable landowners. Thus, chroniclers of this narrative argue, courts must develop constitutional norms aimed at controlling the behavior of government land-use regulators because only regulators, not landowners, are empowered. There are narratives of power embedded in several opinions from the Supreme Court's 1987 quartet of takings cases.3 These narratives, stories about the power relationships between the parties involved in the cases, constitute a second level of the opinions, operating just below the abstract, impersonal doctrinal analysis. It is at this second

2022-12-16T14:49:42.135Z

We coupled dielectric mixing models with a full-wave ground-penetrating-radar (GPR) model to estimate the soil water content by inversion. Two mixing models were taken into account in this study, namely, a power law model and the Wang and Schmugge model.With this combination, we could account for the frequency dependence of the dielectric permittivity and apparent conductivity in the inverse algorithm and directly estimate the soil water content without using an empirical petrophysical formula or a priori knowledge on soil porosity. The approach was validated by a series of experiments with sandy soil in controlled laboratory conditions. The results showed that the performance of our approach is better than the common approach, which assumes a linear dependence of apparent conductivity on frequency and uses Topp’s equation to transform permittivity to water content. GPR data were perfectly reproduced in the time and frequency domains, leading to very accurate water-content estimates with an average absolute error of less than 0.013 cm3∕cm3. However, the accuracy was reduced as the water content increased. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the Green’s function was most sensitive to the water content and sand-layer thickness but much less so with DC conductivity. The results also revealed that as the frequency increased, although the permittivity was nearly constant, the apparent electrical conductivity and the attenuation increased remarkably, especially for wet sands due to dielectric losses. The successful validation of the proposed approach opens a promising avenue of development to use dielectric mixing models for soil-moisture mapping from GPR measurements.

2022-12-22T16:21:24.997Z

The alliance, or collaborative bond, between client/family and therapist has been found to be related to outcomes oftreatment adherence and satisfaction in patients receiving physical rehabilitation, including those with musculoskeletal conditions. The main components that contribute to the alliance construct are 1) agreement on goals of treatment and interventions, and 2) the affective bond between patient and therapist. This annotated dialogue of powerful email exchanges illustrates the long term value of therapeutic relationships with a person who received occupational therapy services as a growing child and adolescent.

2022-02-08T02:31:50.342Z

In this work, we consider the generalized estimation equations developed by Liang and Zeger (1986) focusing the theory of estimating functions presented by Godambe (1991). These estimation equations are an extension of generalized linear models (GLMs) to the analysis of repeated measurements. We present an iterative procedure to estimate the regression parameters as well as hypothesis testing of these parameters. For the residual analysis, we generalize to repeated measurements some diagnostic methods available for GLMs. The half-normal probability plot with a simulated envelope is useful for diagnosing model inadequacy and detecting outliers. To obtain this plot, we consider an algorithm for generating a set of nonnegatively correlated variables having a specified correlation structure. Finally, the theory is applied to real data sets.

2022-11-04T08:04:26.198Z

O presente artigo é fruto de uma pesquisa de mestrado que investigou de que maneira o uso de cinco “jogos de papéis”, com alunos do 5º ano do Ensino Fundamental, contribuiu para que esses alunos interpretassem e resolvessem problemas envolvendo as quatro operações matemáticas. O “jogo de papéis” corresponde a uma brincadeira em que a criança assume uma determinada função social (médico, professor, vendedor, entre outros), representando suas ações e comportamentos. Nessa pesquisa, foram aplicadas as brincadeiras “feira”, “banco”, “papelaria”, “lanchonete” e “mercado”. Neste artigo, em particular, os instrumentos de análise foram constituídos: pela transcrição de momentos de intervenção da professora na forma de diálogo com os alunos; pelas transcrições das videogravações das aulas em que essas brincadeiras foram aplicadas e pelas respostas dos alunos à Atividade Diagnóstica Final. Os dados foram analisados qualitativamente mediante Análise de Conteúdo. As seguintes categorias de análise foram estabelecidas a priori: Tradução/Interpretação do problema; Planejamento de estratégias para solução; Execução; e Avaliação. Essas categorias foram definidas a partir dos referenciais teóricos que nortearam esta pesquisa. Os resultados mostraram que a utilização desses “jogos de papéis” contribuiu para a interpretação e a solução de problemas envolvendo as quatro operações matemáticas, por parte dos alunos.

2022-10-14T00:09:53.574Z

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the glucagon-like peptide-1 analog liraglutide on weight loss in overweight and obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods: In an observational study, 84 overweight or obese women with PCOS were treated with liraglutide. Baseline characteristics and weight changes at clinical follow-up were recorded. Main outcome measures were absolute and relative weight loss. Results: In overweight or obese women with PCOS treated with liraglutide for a minimum of 4 weeks, a mean weight loss of 9.0 kg (95% CI: 7.8–10.1, p < 0.0001) and a mean decrease in BMI of 3.2 kg/m2 (95% CI: 2.8–3.6, p < 0.0001) were found. A weight loss of more than 5 and 10% of baseline weight was seen in 81.7 and 32.9% of patients, respectively. The mean duration of treatment with liraglutide was 27.8 weeks (SD 19.2). Conclusion: Treatment with liraglutide in combination with metformin and lifestyle intervention resulted in a significant weight loss in overweight and obese women with PCOS, indicating that liraglutide may be an effective alternative for weight loss in this group of patients. However, larger placebo-controlled studies are needed to confirm this.

2022-12-15T06:08:58.969Z

Abstract. The morphology of the Coelopidae is considered, particularly in relation to taxonomic characters, terminology, and sexual di morphism. Taxonomic relationships and family limits are discussed; the Coelopidae appear to be most closely related to the families Helcomyzidae and Dryomyzidae of the superfamily Sciomyzoidea. The following genera are excluded from the Coelopidae: Listriomastax and Apetaenus (Tethinidae), Orygma (Sepsidae), Heterocheila (or Oedoparea, position doubtful). The position of the genera Malacomyia, Baeopterus and Icaridion in the Coelopidae is confirmed. The Coe lopidae are divided into two subfamilies, Lopinae subfam.n. and Coe‐lopinae. The Coelopinae include four tribes: Glumini trib.n., Coelopini, Coelopellini trib.n., Ammini trib.n. The following genera and species are described as new: Lopa, Gluma, Rhis, This, Amma, Lopa convexa, Gluma keyzeri, G.nitida, G.musgravei, Rhis whitleyi, This canus, Coe‐lopella popeae, Amma blancheae. The subgenera Fucomyia and Neo‐coelopa of the genus Coelopa are rejected as invalid. Chaetocoelopa huttoni Harrison (1959) is a new synonym of Chaetocoelopa littoralis (Hutton, 1881). Coelopa palauensis Hardy (1957) is a new synonym of C.alluaudi Seguy (1941), which is recorded from Australia for the first time. Coelopa africana Malloch (1933a) is a new synonym of C.ursina (Wiedemann, 1824) from southern Africa. Keys are provided to supra‐generic groupings of Coelopidae, to the Australasian genera, and to the species of Chaetocoelopa, Coelopella, Gluma and Icaridion.

2022-12-16T14:54:03.522Z

The ob-gene encodes for a protein of 167 amino acids which is expressed exclusively in white adipose tissue. The ob-gene product is probably released from adipocytes as a soluble hormone of 146 amino acids and has been proposed as a satiety factor. To test this hypothesis, the soluble portion of the ob-gene product devoid of signal sequence was expressed in E. coli and purified. The purified protein, which contains two Cys residues, was recovered from the periplasm in an oxidized form. After a single intravenous injection, the ob-gene product decreased food intake after fasting in normal mice. The results show that recombinant ob-gene product can be obtained in a functionally active conformation and provide direct proof that this protein is a satiety factor.

2022-12-19T20:08:27.111Z

The paper by Jeremy Gibson and Andrew Frank (December 2002, JRSM1) is a valuable contribution, bringing together understandings and advice which my wife, who has suffered from relapsing—remitting MS for 20 years, only gradually acquired despite being seen by many eminent neurologists in Britain, the United States and Italy. Though she received honest advice about the prognosis and essential untreatability of the condition, the many possible remedial actions and interventions discussed by Gibson and Frank were little considered and the most useful one which was provided—help from a very skilful neurophysiotherapist—was limited to six sessions because of NHS underfunding. We are fortunate to be able to pay for a parallel intervention in the form of Thai massage, a very active intervention producing major symptomatic improvement for 2-3 days. Two additional points may be of general interest. First, in my wife's case high environmental temperatures produce major difficulty in walking and mental confusion, but these are instantly reversible by immersion in cold water. Second, I believe she might well have ended up needing a wheelchair had she not responded to phases of increased lower limb weakness and incoordination by furiously forcing herself to walk and so discovered that this restored sensation and coordination to their usual level. Phases of mental slowness are, it seems, similarly relieved by playing (and usually beating me at) chess.

2022-12-30T00:45:10.743Z

Concentrations of cadmium, chromium and zinc in leaves of Mangifera indica (Mango), Psidium guajava L. (Guava) and Anacardium occidentale L. (Cashew) grown in Trikania around the industrial area, were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The differences in the bioaccumulation of the metals varied. The leaves showed considerable accumulation of zinc with cashew leaves having 0.38mg/kg which is above the FAO/WHO recommended limit. Chromium and cadmium concentrations in all the leaves were below the FAO/WHO recommended limit. The levels of the metals in the leaves samples was in the order Zn > Cr > Cd.

2022-01-27T06:42:02.082Z

Many scholars believe that the anti-fraternal and overall anticlerical thrust of Mum and the Sothsegger indicates sympathies with Lollardy or Wycliffism, but this article argues that the poem’s anticlericalism is best explained with reference to alliterative Anglo-Saxon homilies and the Anglo-Saxon charters of ancient Benedictine monastic houses. Mum and the Sothsegger nostalgically draws from the Anglo-Saxon anticlerical critique in order to argue both for a return to older institutional arrangements, and for the rights of (Anglo-Saxon) kings to confer properties and privileges.

2022-02-08T09:08:06.889Z

Abstract How well do vignette designs capture actual behaviour in the real world? This study employs original survey data featuring both hypothetical vignettes and behavioural questions in order to assess the external validity of descriptive and causal inferences in survey experiments. The survey was conducted in a three-province, probability-proportional-to-size sample of 1,897 rural residents in China and focuses on the legal mobilization of citizens in response to grievances involving land rights. In terms of descriptive inference, we find that relative to the behavioural benchmark, hypothetical vignettes significantly over-estimate legal mobilization in response to a grievance, particularly for higher-cost actions like petitioning the government and litigating in court. We find that data from hypothetical vignettes affect causal inference as well, producing significantly different results regarding the effect of political connections and legal knowledge on legal mobilization. The study makes a contribution by identifying conditions under which hypothetical vignettes are less likely to produce valid inference. It engages a rich literature on disputing and legal mobilization in the field of Chinese politics and helps to resolve debates over the role of political connections and legal knowledge.

2022-09-13T21:53:13.386Z

In this paper, we are concerned with global existence and optimal decay rates of solutions for the three-dimensional compressible Hall-MHD equations. First, we prove the global existence of strong solutions by the standard energy method under the condition that the initial data are close to the constant equilibrium state in $H^2$-framework. Second, optimal decay rates of strong solutions in $L^2$-norm are obtained if the initial data belong to $L^1$ additionally. Finally, we apply Fourier splitting method by Schonbek [Arch.Rational Mech. Anal. 88 (1985)] to establish optimal decay rates for higher order spatial derivatives of classical solutions in $H^3$-framework, which improves the work of Fan et al.[Nonlinear Anal. Real World Appl. 22 (2015)].

2022-12-04T18:44:37.736Z

Glutathione (GSH) is an essential antioxidant responsible for the maintenance of intracellular redox homeostasis. As tumors outgrow their blood supply and become hypoxic, their redox homeostasis is challenged by the production of nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species (ROS). In gliomas, the sustained import of l-cystine via the l-cystine/l-glutamate exchanger, system xc−, is rate-limiting for the synthesis of GSH. We show that hypoxia causes a significant increase in NO and ROS but without affecting glioma cell growth. This is explained by a concomitant increase in the utilization of GSH, which is accompanied by an increase in the cell-surface expression of xCT, the catalytic subunit of system xc−, and l-cystine uptake. Growth was inhibited when GSH synthesis was blocked by buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), an inhibitor of the enzyme required for GSH synthesis, or when cells were deprived of l-cystine. These findings suggest that glioma cells show an increased requirement for GSH to maintain growth under hypoxic conditions. Therefore, approaches that limit GSH synthesis such as blocking system xc− may be considered as an adjuvant to radiation or chemotherapy.

2022-12-23T15:55:56.745Z

Nuclear fission is hindered by dissipation. Using the stochastic Langevin model, we calculate the drop of fission cross sections caused by friction with respect to its standard statistical-model values, ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{f}^{\mathrm{drop}}$, as a function of the presadde dissipation strength $(\ensuremath{\beta})$ for $^{226}\mathrm{U}$, $^{234}\mathrm{U}$, and $^{242}\mathrm{U}$. It is shown that the sensitivity of ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{f}^{\mathrm{drop}}$ to $\ensuremath{\beta}$ is substantially enhanced with increasing the isospin of the U fissioning system. Furthermore, we find that under typical conditions of excitation energy and angular momentum populating $^{240}\mathrm{U}$ (via radioactive beams) and $^{200}\mathrm{Tl}$ (via stable beams), the fission cross section of the high-isospin heavy $^{240}\mathrm{U}$ demonstrates a greater sensitivity to friction than that of the light $^{200}\mathrm{Tl}$. Our findings suggest that on the experimental side, to accurately probe presaddle dissipation with fission cross sections of heavy nuclei, it is useful to choose radioactive nuclear beams induced reactions as a way to populate excited heavy fissioning systems with high isospin.

2022-01-27T01:58:30.221Z

A novel technique is proposed in this paper to remove IM2, DC offset, ISI and AWGN simultaneously in a direct conversion receiver by using an adaptive complex filter. DC offset is modeled as a random tap, and IM2 signals are treated as variable real DC values both in I/Q channels separately. Then we can remove DC offset and IM2 simultaneously with only one complex tap. Furthermore, a decision feedback equalizer is employed to cancel the channel ISI. Simulation results are provided which verify the superior performance of the proposed method.

2022-03-01T15:42:16.330Z

[S]o that you may walk more tranquilly along the way of the Lord’s commands, follow the advice of our venerable father, our Brother Elias, minister general. Prefer his advice to the advice of others and consider it more precious to you than any gift. Indeed, if someone tells you something else or suggests anything to you that may hinder your perfection and that seems contrary to your divine vocation, even though you must respect him, still, do not follow his advice; instead, poor virgin, embrace the poor Christ.1

2022-07-11T03:13:03.410Z

OBJECTIVE To examine whether the D-galactose induced aging model is an appropriate model for further aging research. STUDY DESIGN Experimental study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Aziz Sancar Institute of Experimental Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey, June 2015- June 2017. METHODOLOGY The study comprises 3 groups of rats. Group I is young control (YC) 5-month-old rats. Group II is 5-month- old rats, which were mimetically aged (MA) for 6 weeks via intraperitoneal D-galactose (60 mg/kg body weight/day, 0.5 mL) administration. Group III is naturally aged (NA) 24-month-old rats. Group I and III received intraperitoneal saline (0.9% 0.5 mL) for 6 weeks as vehicle. Group I and Group II received injections at 21 weeks age and Group III rats 6 weeks before 24 months age. Tissues were harvested when rats became 6.5-month-old (Group I and Group II) and 24-month-old (Group III). Quantitative biochemical analyses of proteins, lipids, DNA biomarkers and Cu, Zn-SOD were conducted. Statistical analysis of the data was conducted using ANOVA, followed by post-hoc Bonferroni test. RESULTS Higher magnitude of oxidative damage and diminished antioxidant defence capacity were found in both mimetically aged and naturally aged testicular tissues. It is observed that D-galactose aging model group shares significant similarities in terms of impaired redox homeostasis with the naturally aged rats. CONCLUSION D-galactose induced testicular aging model successfully mimics aging process. Therefore, D-galactose induced aging model may be used as an accelerated aging model to study the age related alterations and interventions.

2022-12-07T17:20:46.719Z

Samples were analyzed from Effingham Inlet, southwestern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to assess the oceanographic controls on benthic foraminiferal distribution. The resultant proxy data will be used to interpret cores collected throughout the basin, and assess the causes of periodic variation in fish populations over time. Seven foraminiferal assemblages were recognized with the primary controlling factors being oxygen content, and proportion of organic matter in the sediment. The estuarine Buliminella Assemblage characterizes well-oxygenated environments with high levels of terrestrial plant matter. This assemblage disappears when oxygen levels fall beneath suboxic levels of 40 μM/kg. The Buccella Assemblage, dominated in part by attached forms and islandiellids, is typical of well-oxygenated bank environments in the region. The Psammosphaera Assemblage is related to the lower salinity and variable conditions present in the shallow water where it occurs. The Stainforthia-Nonionella Assemblage characterizes one well-oxygenated environment outside the inlet. The Stainforthia-Bolivinellina Assemblage is typical of suboxic/dysoxic conditions (10–40 μM/kg) in the outer basin. The Stainforthia Assemblage is identified from dysoxic environments of deepest parts of the outer basin. A gradation between the Stainforthia-Bolivinellina Assemblage and the Stainforthia Assemblage is significant as a whole range of suboxic/dysoxic/anoxic conditions are detectable, potentially permitting recognition of even subtle variations in paleoceanographic/atmospheric circulation. The Stainforthia-Buccella Assemblage was recovered from the least oxygenated area of Effingham Inlet under fully anoxic (with H2S) conditions, and provides evidence that even the most isolated portions of Effingham Inlet are periodically oxygenated.

2022-12-17T14:44:56.139Z

Abstract Background We recently conducted an open- label, single-center, prospective randomized Phase II clinical trial for HLA-A2+ patients with advanced-stage melanoma (NCT01876212) at the University of Pittsburgh Hillman Cancer Center. Patients received ID injections of Type-1-polarized, autologous DC loaded with a mixture of peptides derived from six tumor-associated vascular antigens (DLK1, EPHA2, HBB, NRP1, RGS5, TEM1) combined +/- daily oral administration of dasatinib (70 mg BID) as an immune adjuvant/conditioning agent. Here we report an exploratory analysis of T cell repertoire profiling of longitudinally-sampled peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) to define potential pharmacodynamic and response biomarkers. Methods Total RNA was extracted from pre- and post-treatment PBL from 13 therapy recipients (6 responders, 7 non-Responders) including extended longitudinal samples for four responders. TCRB sequencing was performed via the Oncomine TCRB-LR assay using 25ng total RNA as input. We evaluated T cell clonal expansion and TCR convergence as potential biomarkers of response. Results TCR convergence values were elevated in pretreatment PBL of responders compared to non-responders (mean frequency .012 vs .006; p=.01, Wilcoxon), and remained elevated in responders up to 25 weeks post treatment. TCR evenness (normalized Shannon entropy) decreased at week 5 compared to baseline (p=.01, one-sided student’s t-test), indicating increased clonal expansion following treatment. Conclusions These data suggest that peripheral blood TCRB convergence may serve as a predictive or prognostic biomarker for response to dendritic cell-based immunotherapy. Our finding of increased T cell clonal expansion at week 5 of treatment supports the notion that TCR sequencing may serve as a tool for the measurement of pharmacodynamic markers of therapeutic agent activity. Ongoing and future studies will further clarify the utility of TCR convergence and clonal expansion as immune repertoire biomarkers. Clinical trial identification NCT01876212. Legal entity responsible for the study University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine & Hillman Cancer Center. Funding Thermo Fisher Scientific. Disclosure L. Quagliata: Full / Part-time employment: Thermo Fisher Scientific. T. Looney: Full / Part-time employment: Thermo Fisher Scientific. D. Topacio-Hall: Full / Part-time employment: Thermo Fisher Scientific. G. Lowman: Full / Part-time employment: Thermo Fisher Scientific. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

2022-12-19T11:27:08.235Z

Martialinae are pale, eyeless and probably hypogaeic predatory ants. Morphological character sets suggest a close relationship to the ant subfamily Leptanillinae. Recent analyses based on molecular sequence data suggest that Martialinae are the sister group to all extant ants. However, by comparing molecular studies and different reconstruction methods, the position of Martialinae remains ambiguous. While this sister group relationship was well supported by Bayesian partitioned analyses, Maximum Likelihood approaches could not unequivocally resolve the position of Martialinae. By re-analysing a previous published molecular data set, we show that the Maximum Likelihood approach is highly appropriate to resolve deep ant relationships, especially between Leptanillinae, Martialinae and the remaining ant subfamilies. Based on improved alignments, alignment masking, and tree reconstructions with a sufficient number of bootstrap replicates, our results strongly reject a placement of Martialinae at the first split within the ant tree of life. Instead, we suggest that Leptanillinae are a sister group to all other extant ant subfamilies, whereas Martialinae branch off as a second lineage. This assumption is backed by approximately unbiased (AU) tests, additional Bayesian analyses and split networks. Our results demonstrate clear effects of improved alignment approaches, alignment masking and data partitioning. We hope that our study illustrates the importance of thorough, comprehensible phylogenetic analyses using the example of ant relationships.

2022-12-19T12:00:52.464Z

BACKGROUND Surveys among the general population are an important method for collecting epidemiological data on health and utilization of health care in that population. Selective non-response may affect the validity of these data. This study examines the impact of response bias on estimates of health care utilization and on risk estimates for utilization in relation to demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, using administrative data on use of health care. METHODS Data on registered health care utilization were extracted from a health insurance register and linked to respondents (2,934; 62.7%) and non-respondents (1,744) in a personal health interview survey among adult residents from the lower two-thirds income bracket in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. RESULTS Estimates of registered health care utilization are higher if based on respondents only, than if they are based on the entire target sample. This goes for prescription drugs, specialist medical care, paramedical care, dental care and medical aids, but not for hospital care. Most risk estimates of registered utilization for background characteristics (gender, family composition, marital status, year of settlement, affluence of neighbourhood and ethnicity) differ only slightly and without statistical significance. If different, most estimates based on respondents only are somewhat higher. The largest differences are found for age (average overestimation of risks for age groups 35-64 and 65+ years compared to that of 16-34 years: 16% and 17%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS In this study, response bias affects estimates of registered health care utilization but hardly affects risk estimates of utilization by background characteristics.

2022-12-20T11:07:04.891Z

Chlorophyll fluorescence measurements have been widely applied to quantify the photosynthetic efficiency of plantsnon-destructively.Themostcommonlyusedpulseamplitudemodulated(PAM)techniqueprovidesasaturatinglight pulse,whichisnotpracticalatthecanopyscale.Wereporthereonarecentlydevelopedtechnique,laserinduced fluorescence transient (LIFT),whichiscapableofremotelymeasuring thephotosyntheticefficiencyofselected leavesatadistance of up to50m.TheLIFTapproachcorrelatedwellwithgasexchangemeasurementsunderlaboratoryconditionsandwastestedin a field experiment monitoring the combined effect of low temperatures and high light intensity on a variety of plants during the early winter in California. We observed a reduction in maximum and effective quantum yield in electron transport for Capsicum annuum L., Lycopersicon esculentum L. and Persea americana Mill. as the temperatures fell, while a grass community was not affected by combined low temperature and high light stress. The ability to make continuous, automatic and remote measurements of the photosynthetic efficiency of leaves with the LIFT system provides a new approach for studying and monitoring of stress effects on the canopy scale.

2022-12-22T16:18:27.736Z

In the book Depression: A Public Feeling Ann Cvetkovich uses her own memoir of depression as a research material and organizes around it some scientific ideas presented in a critical essay. Cvetkovich’s voice on the matter of depression, whose task was to (re-)introduce private feelings into the public sphere, can be read as an autopathographic analysis of the illness discourse. However, the critical task of her writing is to depathologize depression (to stop describing it as bad or unproductive) and emphasize that it can be valuable in society as a cause of change. Cvetkovich describes and analyzes her own affective and somatic experiences of depression from the very beginning of her academic career. In this article I analyze Cvetkovich’s book as an interesting affective fusion of the depression journal and speculative (critical) essay. The aim of the article is also to point to the link between late capitalism and depression, especially in the sphere of social moods, made by Lauren Berlant and Ann Cvetkovich.

2022-01-27T02:17:59.053Z

En el debate actual sobre los elementos e implementación de la Reforma de la Salud en el Perú se ha excluido a las Cuentas Nacionales de Salud (CNS) y su actualización como parte de ella, sin tener en cuenta su importancia dentro de todo proceso de reforma. Ello plantea la necesidad de reflexionar acerca del rol de las CNS en la formulación de las políticas públicas en salud.

2022-02-08T21:08:29.853Z

The association between intracranial arachnoid cyst rupture and mild brain trauma is infrequently reported. The purpose of this case report is to describe the case of a child with a left temporal arachnoid cyst who suffered rupture with haemorrhage after mild trauma during a football match. The child presented with chronic headache of mild intensity that progressed to a more intense headache after a traumatic event. He underwent surgical intervention after diagnosis of chronic haemorrhage in an arachnoid cyst in the ipsilateral subdural space. The risk of intracranial arachnoid cyst rupture should be considered during the evaluation of oligosymptomatic patients because it is a potentially catastrophic event.

2022-09-30T16:07:39.059Z

The energy consumption on aquaculture facilities can account for a large portion of on-farm operational costs. Energy associated with keeping aquatic plants and animals alive contributes to the total cost of operation. Even on a moderately sized farm, excessive energy consumption can be a limiting factor in the success of an aquaculture business. When recirculating aquaculture systems and indoor climate-controlled production methods are used, the cost of energy can be as large as the costs associated with labor and feed. Evaluating energy use on a facility allows for the opportunity to identify areas where energy may be used more efficiently. Increasing energy efficiency can help reduce overall operational costs and increase profitability. This publication is one in a series that details techniques and methods for reducing energy consumption on aquaculture farms. Prior to utilizing any energy saving opportunities, it is essential to understand how energy is used on a facility. This helps determine where changes in energy management and equipment can be most beneficial.  This article discusses methods used to help estimate and understand current energy use. Subsequent publications will address specific areas where changes have proven to lower costs and improve efficiency on aquaculture facilities.

2022-05-27T00:26:05.710Z

Optimal patient care and clinical outcomes depend not only on technical knowledge and skill but, even more importantly, on ready access to critical information on which to base patient care decisions. Access to needed information at the appropriate time is a crucial form of communication. Numerous studies have shown that inadequate communication is the leading cause of harm to patients. It is estimated that the majority of serious adverse events in health care involve miscommunication during the handoff between physicians and perhaps between other health care practitioners.1,2 Contributing factors to inadequate communication during handoffs include insufficient or misleading information, absence of safety culture, ineffective communication methods, lack of time, poor timing, inadequate feedback between sender and receiver, interruptions or distractions, lack of standardized procedures, and insufficient staffing.3 In this issue of JAMA, Jones et al4 describe the association between “complete handovers” among anesthesiologists and deleterious patient outcomes. A complete handover was defined as one in which the initial anesthesiologist handed over care of a patient to another anesthesiologist but then was no longer available.4 The complete handover described in this study is more commonly classified as a transition in care. The critical importance of well-executed transitions in care was identified and specifically targeted by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Clinical Learning Environment Review initiative as one of the foundational areas where improvement in patient care was needed by residents and the institutions in which they practice.5 This retrospective cohort study, based on administrative databases, included more than 313 000 adult patients across the province of Ontario, Canada, from April 2009 through March 2015, who underwent major surgical procedures that were expected to last at least 2 hours. The exposure of interest was the complete handover of anesthetic care from one anesthesiologist to another and the primary outcomes were death, hospital readmission, and major complications within 30 days of surgery. Nearly 6000 of the 313 000 cases involved a complete handover, and complete handovers were associated with significantly poorer patient outcomes. In the unweighted sample, the primary outcome (ie, all-cause death, hospital readmission, or major postoperative complications all within 30 postoperative days) occurred in 44% of the complete handover group compared with 29% of the no (complete) handover group. After adjustment, complete handovers were associated with an increased risk of death (adjusted risk difference [aRD], 1.2% [95% CI, 0.5% to 2.0%]; P = .002) and major complications (aRD, 5.8% [95% CI, 3.6% to 7.9%]; P < .001) but not with hospital readmission (aRD, 1.2% [95% CI, −0.3% to 2.7%]; P = .11) within 30 days of surgery.4 As estimated by the authors, “ On average, for every 15 patients exposed to a complete anesthesia handover, 1 additional patient would be expected to experience the primary outcome.” Related article page 143 Editorial Opinion

2022-12-14T12:52:21.989Z

The article describes the question of construction of Katyn Monument in London in the 1970s in the light of British and Polish diplomatic documents. Main emphasis was put on the international aspects of the described problem. The text also presents responses of the British people to the position taken by the British cabinet who, trying to avoid complications in their relations with communist states, sought to hamper the construction of the monument.

2022-12-16T09:41:18.660Z

at home created a tax base that enabled British governments to pursue successfully the mercantilist policies they did" (p. 224). John Nye has made a similar argument, suggesting that Britain was not a bastion of free trade and that France's tariffs were actually lower ("The Myth of Free-Trade Britain and Fortress France," Journal of Economic History [1991]); however, Nye's contribution and others related to it are not mentioned here. Finally, in discussing die consequences of economic growth for investment, P. Cottrell relies on Paul Bairoch's (1976) estimates of GNP per capita, overlooking Knick Harley's more recent contributions (focusing on Britain, but still comparative) to improve these estimates ("British Industrialization before 1841: Evidence of Slower Growth during the Industrial Revolution," Journal of Economic History [1982], and "Reassessing the Industrial Revolution: A Macro View," in Joel Mokyr, ed., The British Industrial Revolution [1993]). This uneven collection of essays provides a good overview of important issues for understanding the regional similarities and differences in growth within Europe. It does not, however, fully and consistently update the post1981 scholarship within a thematic context consistent widi Pollard's treatment.

2022-02-03T22:14:30.350Z

The full scattering theory of Burke and Twersky [J. Acoust. Soc. 40, 883–895 (1966)], which includes both the specular and scattered energy for a rough surface consisting of elliptical bosses on a plane surface, is applied to the problem of propagation under the ice surface. This theory has been efficiently parametrized [D. Rubenstein (unpublished manuscript)] for the case of randomly spaced keels with a Rayleigh distribution of depths. The scattering kernel for this treatment has been used in a coupled mode formulation of the ASTRAL propagation model. The modified ASTRAL can compute the propagation associated with both the specular field and the total field which includes the nonspecular component. The redistribution of energy among the modes occurs continuously with range, so the model can display the mode excitation as a function of range. The model is compared to some measured propagation data, paticularly that of Diachok [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 59, 1110–1120 (1976)], who applied low‐ and high‐frequency ...

2022-02-09T20:26:11.171Z

Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) has proved to be a common meta-heuristic algorithm for determining the minimum value among a set of values but it is known to suffer from the local minima problem. In this paper, we propose a novel optimization algorithm called POLARPSO that enhances the behavior of PSO and avoids the local minima problem by using a polar function to search for more points in the search space. The algorithm has been tested on 23 well-known benchmark factions and the results are verified by comparing them with state of the art algorithms: Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO), Sine Cosine Algorithm (SCA), Multi-Verse Optimizer (MVO) as well as PSO. The paper also considers a solution to the cloud data migration problem where data migrates from highly loaded nodes to less loaded nodes in a process aims at achieving a kind of load balancing. The results prove that the proposed algorithm is applicable to solve this challenging problem in cloud environment and is able to find the best node to migrate to quickly and effectively. Our empirical results show that the proposed algorithm has enhanced the PSO behavior in reaching the best solution and outperformed the other algorithms over the tested benchmarked functions.

2022-12-26T08:06:31.185Z

The major challenge for future catalyst systems was to develop more thermally stable washcoats for close coupled operating conditions and for engines operating under high speed and load conditions. To design these future emission systems extensive research and development was undertaken to develop methods to disperse and stabilize the key catalytic materials for operation at much higher temperatures. The second priority was to design catalysts that are more effective under low exhaust temperature exhaust conditions and have improved oxygen storage properties in the washcoats. Incorporating new materials and modified preparation technology a new generation of metallic catalyst formulations emerged, those being trimetallic K6 (Pt:Pd:Rh) and bimetallic K7 (Pd+Pd:Rh). The target was to combine the best property of Pt:Rh (good NO{sub x} reduction) with that of the good HC oxidation activity of Pd and to ensure that precious metal/support interactions were positively maintained. Both K6 and K7 concepts contain special catalyst structures with optimized washcoat performance which can be employed either individually or combined in a single or double brick converter configuration. Improvement in light-off, thermal stability and transient performance with these new catalyst formulations has clearly been shown in both laboratory and vehicular testing.

2022-02-09T10:01:58.151Z

BACKGROUND The reported efficacy of telemedicine in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is inconsistent among studies, and data for complex IBD are lacking. OBJECTIVE We aimed to evaluate the impact of remote monitoring using a Web system—Telemonitorización de la Enfermedad de Crohn y Colitis Ulcerosa or Telemonitoring of Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis (TECCU)—as compared to standard care and telephone care on health outcomes and health care in patients with complex IBD. METHODS We performed a 3-arm randomized controlled trial. Adult patients with IBD who received immunosuppressants and biological agents were recruited from the IBD Unit of a tertiary university hospital. The patients were randomized into groups to receive remote monitoring (G_TECCU), nurse-assisted telephone care (G_NT), or standard care with in-person visits (G_control). All patients completed the study visits at baseline and at 12 and 24 weeks in addition to each type of intervention. The primary outcome was the percentage of patients in remission at 24 weeks. Secondary health outcomes were quality of life, medication adherence, adverse effects, satisfaction, and social activities. Data on the number of outpatient visits and telephone calls, emergency visits, hospitalizations, IBD-related surgeries, and corticosteroid courses were also collected. RESULTS A total of 63 patients were selected (21 patients in each group). During the study, 90.5% (19/21) of patients in G_control, 95.2% (20/21) in G_NT, and 85.7% (18/21) in G_TECCU were compliant to the intervention. After 24 weeks, the percentage of patients in remission was higher in G_TECCU (17/21, 81%) than in G_NT (14/21, 66.7%) and G_control (15/21, 71.4%). A higher improvement in disease activity was observed in G_TECCU than in G_control in terms of the Harvey-Bradshaw/Mayo (odds ratio=0.12, 95% CI=0.003-2.162, P=.19) and Harvey-Bradshaw/Walmsley (odds ratio=0.11, 95% CI=0.004-1.55, P=.13) indexes. Improvement in disease activity was associated with a larger reduction in fecal calprotectin values in G_TECCU compared to G_control (estimated intervention effect: odds ratio=–0.90; 95% CI=–1.96 to 0.16, P=.11). All completers adhered to treatment in G_TECCU. In addition, the quality of life, social activities, and satisfaction improved in all 3 groups. Although the number of outpatient visits and telephone calls was lower in G_TECCU than in G_NT and G_control, the safety profile was similar in all 3 groups. CONCLUSIONS This pilot clinical trial suggests that the TECCU Web-based system is a safe strategy for improving health outcomes in patients with complex IBD and reducing the use of health care resources. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02943538; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02943538 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/746CRRtDN).

2022-02-11T01:24:05.117Z

The Kenya government together with development partners has embarked on the development of informal settlements. Mombasa County has more than 70 informal settlements; information about the settlements and their relationship to the existing cadastral spatial layer covering the entire Mombasa County needs to be determined in order to support decision making for sustainable development. This study evaluates the Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM) land tool in the development of an informal Cadastre by capturing, storing, and manipulating social and spatial information in Kwarasi informal settlement in Mombasa. This case study is an example that can be replicated to the rest of the informal settlements in Mombasa forming a single informal cadastral database for the entire county. Participatory enumerations and the STDM tool were used in this research to present the situation of Kwarasi informal settlement. The housing structures were adopted as the spatial unit for the informal Cadastre over which the rights of the inhabitants were adjudicated, customized and uploaded into the STDM where social tenure relationships were created to form the Cadastre in the STDM system. The spatial component of Kwarasi informal Cadastre was overlaid on the Mombasa cadastral layer and their relationship determined. It has been demonstrated that the relationship would be useful for decision making to support sustainable development intervention, and ease land administration by maintaining a detail record of the informal settlements. Key words: Cadastre, global land tool network (GLTN), informal settlements, land administration domain model (LADM), social tenure domain model (STDM).

2022-03-15T18:58:30.631Z

The binding energy of a biexciton in GaAs quantum-well wires is calculated variationally by use of a two-parameter trial wavefunction and a one-dimensional equivalent potential model. There is no artificial parameter added in our calculation. Our results agree fairly well with the previous results. It is found that the binding energies are closely correlative to the size of wire. The binding energy of biexcitons is smaller than that of neutral bound excitons in GaAs quantum-well wires when the dopant is located at the centre of the wires.

2022-07-31T09:16:21.724Z

the of parents, as thousands of children to be placed in adoptive families in the United This will review past and current policy on gay and lesbian couple adoption in the United States. Policy changes are then suggested to expand the definition of adoptive families and to create non-discriminatory adoption guidelines to protect gay men and lesbians as legitimate families. Finally, the role of social workers and their responsibility under both the laws and systems of adoption protocol will be explored.

2022-08-29T23:47:07.864Z

While there is no direct evidence demonstrating the existence of protective immunity to Wuchereria bancrofti infection in humans, the presence of individuals, in populations in areas where infection is endemic, with no clinical evidence of past or current infection despite appreciable exposure to the infective larvae, suggests that protective immunity to filarial parasites may occur naturally. Earlier work indicated that such putatively immune individuals generated antibodies to a 43-kDa antigen from larval extracts of the related filarial parasite Brugia malayi that was recognized by only 8% of the infected population. With rabbit antiserum raised against this 43-kDa antigen, this current study identified a recombinant clone, WbN43, with an insert size of 2.3 kb, from a W. bancrofti genomic expression library. The recombinant fusion protein was differentially recognized by the putatively immune individuals but not by the infected patients. The coding sequence (684 bp) from the 5' end had significant sequence similarity to chitinases from Serratia marcescens, Bacillus circulans, Streptomyces plicatus, and B. malayi. Peptide sequencing of the expressed product also defined a chitinase-like sequence. Molecular characterization indicated WbN43 to be a low-copy-number gene, with expression predominantly in infective larvae and microfilariae but not in adult parasites.

2022-09-01T02:10:56.623Z

perceptible in vertical sections between the bacillary and the outer granule layers. That the rods and cones are the percipient elements in the retina is now universally received, so that it needs hardly be mentioned; but it may be well to adduce the chief considerations on which this presumption rests. First, they alone of all the retinal tissues are so arranged as to be capable of receiving separate and distinct stimuli from small incident pencils of light. Next, their absence entails absence of perception. Mariotte's experiment proves this as regards the optic nerve disc, and the increase of the size of the blind-spot in myopia from posterior staphyloma, proportionately to the extent of the white atrophic crescent-a fact which is easily roughly verified-is another proof of the same thing; because here, together with the disappearance of the choroidal epithelium and chorio-capillaris, I have had opportunities of proving microscopically the absence of the cones and rods. When we endeavour to press our inquiries further, and try to ascertain what may be the respective functions of the outer and the inner segment of the rods and cones, and in what respect the functions of the rods and cones differ, we meet with difficulties which have yet to be overcome. As regards the first part of this inquiry, the high refractive index of the shafts, and their insulation by a coat of pigment in many animals, points to a physical optical role; while the association of a nucleus (an outer granule) with the appendage, suggests a more vital dynamical share. If this be so, then the junction between the shaft and appendage marks the line where, so to say, the physical vibrations of light are converted into nerve-force. Towards the solution of the second point of the inquiry, Schultze contributes the important fact that nocturnal mammals, as the mouse, bat, hedgehog, have no cones; and that in owls they want the bright orange and ruby beads of diturnal birds; and from this he conjectures that the cones may be concerned in perception of colour. The oanter granules, to which I must now pass on, are not minute, angular, solid particles, as their name implies, but cells or nuclei ofvery appreciable dimensions. Their numbers are directly proportionate to those of the rods and cones; and it is very probable-I may say certain-that each outer granule is associated with a rod or cone, and this in one of two wvays. When the rod or cone-appendage is large enough to hold it, the outer granule lies inside the appendage in the plane of the membrana limitans interna, or at its inner surface; but, when the appendage is too slender to contain the granule, it is joined to the aranule by a communicating fibre, the length of which is determined by the distance between the inner end of the appendage and the granule. In either case, the appendage is prolonged inwards in the form of a band or fibre beyond the " outer granule" towards the next stratum. This fibre I call the primitive bacillary fibre, or the primitive rod or cone-fibre, when I wish to distinguish it more particularly. The inler-granule laver-, which, as its name conveys, lies between the outer and the inner granules, is a fibrous stratum. Some of its comp)onent fibres are ner-vous, passing between the outer and inner granules, and others are connective tissue. Of the latter set of fibres, those which traverse the layer vertically belong to the system of connective radial fibres, known by the name of their discoverer, H. Miiller. The others, which extend parallel to the direction of the layer, constitute its proper substratum; and amongst these lie imbedded small nuclei, and in some of the lower animals, eg., chelonians and fishes, large branched corpuscles of very conisiderable dimensions. The inniter ranules, like the outer ones, are also cells or nuclei. According to their sizes, which vary much, they fall into two sets-smaller granules, everywhere niumerous; and larger ones, most abundant near the inner surface of the layer, which I cannot distinguish from ganglioncells. On the one side, the inner granules receive the fibres sent inwards towards them tlhrough the intergranular layer from the outer granules; and, on the other side, they send fibres inwards into the granular layer towards the ganglion cells. The granuitlar layer, as Schultze correctly pointed out, is resolved, by a sufficiently high magnifying power, into a very finely fibrillated spongy wveb, which manifestly hangs together with, and is in great part a derivative of, the connective radial fibres entering it. The only nervous elements occurring in it are the intemuncial fibres which traverse it, and the outermost ganglion-cells bedded in its inner surface. The term granular, which simply expresses its appearance under a low power, is therefore preferable to that of grey vesicular or grey serous layer, which gives a wrong idea of its essential composition. The cells of the ganglionic layer possess a very distinct roundish nucleus, imbedded in a pale and very soft protoplasm, about which there is not generally any distinct cell-wall perceptible. Often the nucleus only is visible, the pr-otoplasm having been damaged in preparing the sections for the microscope. I believe that all the cells are branched. The outer branches, which are the more numerous, run outwards into the granular layer to join those coming inwards from the inner granules, while their inner branches join the bundles of optic nerve-fibres. These last radiate in a plexiform manner from the optic nerve entrance. Where there is a fovea centralis, as in men, apes, some birds, and reptiles, the nerve-bundles are so distributed that those only destined for the fovea and its surrounding maculx pass directly to it; while those bundles going to more distant parts beyond the fovea arch around it. With some exceptions, the nerve-fibres are devoid of the medulla, or white substance, of Schwann. In our own eyes, this ceases at the lamina cribrosa; and only pale fibres, equivalent to axis-cylinders, with perhaps an investment of the sheathing membrane, are produced into the retina. The connective tissue-frame, which supports and holds together the nervous elements, consists of three segments. First, there ate the two membranes;-the outer limiting membrane, which I have already described; and the membrana limitans interna, which some identify with the hyaloid capsule of the vitreous humour, but which I regard as a distinct membrane. This distinctness cannot be alwavs demonstrated at pleasure; but I believe it to be a fact, because I have found the two membranes separated by inflammatory effusions, and because in the eyes of a Burchell's zebra, for which I was indebted to the liberality of the Zoological Society, I found a beautiful pavement epithelium on the outer surface of the capsula hyaloidea. The second member of the connective substances is a system of short pillar-like fibres, which arise by expanded wing-like roots from the outer surface of the limitans interna, and traverse vertically all the layers in a direction radial from the centre of the eye-ball. These are the fibres which, when originally discovered by H. Muller, were believed by him to link the percipient elements on the outer side of the retina-the rods and cones-with the conducting optic nerve-fibres at the inner surface of the retina, an error which he himself was one of the first to correct. These radial fibres (Muller's fibres) form a frame, which mechanically binds together the several layers in their order. Lastly, the retina contains a large amount of interstitial connective tissue, which is accumulated in larger quantity between the inner and outer granules, and between the inner granules and ganglionic layer, but which also pervades, in smaller quantity, all the nervous layers except the bacillary. Spinning an excessively fine web around the cells and fibres, it maintains them all in position, and it supports the blood-vessels when these are present. To sum up, the connective tissue occurs in three forms-membranous, as the membrana limitans externa and interna; fibrous, as Milfler's radial fibres; and as an excessively finely fibrillated interstitial web.

2022-09-09T10:25:42.051Z