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Objective: To investigate the impact of ageing on survival outcomes in Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) treated non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients and its synergy with adequate BCG treatment. Method: Patients with NMIBC who received BCG treatment from 2001 to 2020 were divided into group 1 (< = 70 years) and group 2 (> 70 years). Overall Survival (OS), Cancer-Specific Survival (CSS), Recurrence-Free Survival (RFS), and Progression-Free Survival (PFS) were analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was used to adjust potential confounding factors and to estimate Hazard Ratio (HR) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI). Subgroup analysis was performed according to adequate versus inadequate BCG treatment. Results: Overall, 2602 NMIBC patients were included: 1051 (40.4%) and 1551 (59.6%) in groups 1 and 2, respectively. At median follow-up of 11.0 years, group 1 (< = 70 years) was associated with better OS, CSS, and RFS, but not PFS as compared to group 2 (> 70 years). At subgroup analysis, patients in group 1 treated with adequate BCG showed better OS, CSS, RFS, and PFS as compared with inadequate BCG treatment in group 2, while patients in group 2 receiving adequate BCG treatment had 41% less progression than those treated with inadequate BCG from the same group. Conclusions: Being younger (< = 70 years) was associated with better OS, CSS, and RFS, but not PFS. Older patients (> 70 years) who received adequate BCG treatment had similar PFS as those younger with adequate BCG treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction: Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare type of thyroid cancer and the main treatment is surgery. The extent of surgery depends on the spread of tumour and often involves thyroidectomy and neck dissection. Recurrent or metastasis tumour can be detected with raising calcitoninand there are various options of treatment. Methods: This was a retrospective study of MTC over seven years in a tertiary cancer centre which evaluated the treatment outcome and the non-surgical options available in recurrent and metastatic tumours. Results: Among the 601 thyroid cancers, 34 patients (5.3%) were MTC, of which 29 were studied. Majority were women, below 60 years, were diagnosed with fine needle aspiration cytology of thyroid nodule or nodes and had raised calcitonin value (Ctn). The value of Ctn was correlated with tumour burden rather than extent (p=0.7). Recurrence was seen in 35% and all patients with locoregional recurrence had curative surgery whereas metastatic patients were offered palliative treatment. Acceptance of palliative treatment was less due to financial burden. The five year overall survival for nonmetastatic disease was 89.4 % and for patients with metastatic disease at presentation was 54.7 %. Conclusion: The incidence of medullary thyroid carcinoma is low compared to the differentiated thyroid carcinoma. The main treatment is surgery and other treatment options are limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transmission and prevalence of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) are affected by a variety of natural and socio-economic environmental factors. This study aims to quantitatively investigate the non-stationary and spatially varying associations between various environmental factors and HFMD risk. We collected HFMD surveillance cases and a series of relevant environmental data from 2013 to 2021 in Xi'an, Northwest China. By controlling the spatial and temporal mixture effects of HFMD, we constructed a Bayesian spatiotemporal mapping model and characterized the impacts of different driving factors into global linear, non-stationary and spatially varying effects. The results showed that the impact of meteorological conditions on HFMD risk varies in both type and magnitude above certain thresholds (temperature: 30 °C, precipitation: 70 mm, solar radiation: 13000 kJ/m2, pressure: 945 hPa, humidity: 69%). Air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2) showed an inverted U-shaped relationship with the risk of HFMD, while other air pollutants (O3, SO2) showed nonlinear fluctuations. Moreover, the driving effect of increasing temperature on HFMD was significant in the 3-year period, while the inhibitory effect of increasing precipitation appeared evident in the 5-year period. In addition, the proportion of urban/suburban/rural area had a strong influence on HFMD, indicating that the incidence of HFMD firstly increased and then decreased during the rapid urbanization process. The influence of population density on HFMD was not only limited by spatial location, but also varied between high and low intervals. Higher road density inhibited the risk of HFMD, but higher night light index promoted the occurrence of HFMD. Our findings further demonstrated that both ecological and socioeconomic environmental factors can pose multiple driving effects on increasing the spatiotemporal risk of HFMD, which is of great significance for effectively responding to the changes in HFMD epidemic outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case report describes a novel and unique combination of both electromagnetic and electrohydraulic focused extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) and extracorporeal magnetotransduction therapy (EMTT) for accelerated healing in a calcaneus epiphyseal fracture with delayed healing in an adolescent Parkour athlete. After a 2.5m jump, the 14-year-old experienced significant heel pain, however avoided telling his parents. After eight weeks, the initial imaging using ultra low dose weight-bearing cone beam CT (WBCT) revealed a calcaneus non-union situation adjacent to the open calcaneal physis. To improve and accelerate bony healing substantially, we chose to apply both combined focused electromagnetic (Storz Ultra, Storz Medical AG, Tägerwillen, CH) and focused electrohydraulic (MTS, Konstanz, Germany) ESWT in a fractioned fashion plus EMTT (Storz Magnetolith, Tägerwillen, CH) in five consecutive weekly sessions while allowing the patient to fully weight bear. The follow-up WBCT after six weeks revealed a near to total healing of the delayed union and being pain-free. Notably, combination therapy with focused ESWT and EMTT did not result in early closure of the calcaneal epiphysis. We conclude that combined focused electromagnetic and electrohydraulic ESWT and EMTT facilitate bony healing in adolescent calcaneal apophyseal fractures without any adverse effects on the open physis. Evidence level IV (case report). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cadernos de Dereito Actual is the property of Asociacion Xuristas en Accion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Does the welfare state affect human well-being outside the developed OECD world? For decades scholars have assessed the impact of the welfare state on a variety of outcomes, largely economic and social (for reviews see Kenworthy, Social Forces. 77:1119–1039, 1999; Kenworthy & Pontusson, Perspectives in Politics. 3:449–471, 2005; O'Connor, Review of Behavioral Economics. 4:397–420, 2017). While more recent focus has shifted to the impact of welfare programs on human well-being, this literature has suffered from several shortcomings. First, there has been an overriding focus on developed core OECD countries. Second, the primary outcome of interest has been on subjective well-being (life satisfaction, happiness). In this paper, we try to address these shortcomings to some extent. First, we extend the analysis to a wider and more diverse sample of countries. Second, we focus on a range of aspects of human well-being beyond life satisfaction. Third, we rely on a new measure of welfare impact that goes beyond mere overall spending—expert survey based coding of social security protections from the global Quality of Government 2021 data set. We find that in our sample of countries, this welfare measure exerts a positive and significant effect on a range of well-being outcomes. Implications for the study of the welfare state and well-being are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elucidation of mechanisms responsible for the reproductive isolation of species is a fundamental part of speciation research. South American poeciliid fishes in the genus Phalloceros represent a promising system in which to study the evolution of reproductive barriers between closely related species. Phalloceros are often found in sympatry with non-sister congeners, and most such species pairs have morphologically divergent female and male genitalia. In recent studies, it has been hypothesized that mismatched genitalia between co-occurring Phalloceros species might act as mechanical barriers to prevent hybridization and might help to explain the diversification of this group. However, this idea has not yet been evaluated empirically with genetic data. Here, we tested this hypothesis using morphological data in conjunction with mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data. Our study focused on Phalloceros anisophallos and Phalloceros leptokeras , two non-sister species that have mismatched genitalia and that occur together in at least four rivers in south-eastern Brazil. Despite the prevalence of hybridization between closely related non-sister species of animals, especially fish, our phylogenetically-based results detected no evidence of mitonuclear discordance and (hence historical hybridization) between the two focal species. Our findings are therefore consistent with the hypothesis that mismatched genitalia prevent hybridization between sympatric species of Phalloceros fishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Riwayat: Educational Journal of History & Humanities is the property of Riwayat: Educational Journal of History & Humanities and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of IUG Journal of Educational & Psychological Studies is the property of Islamic University of Gaza and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of IUG Journal of Humanitarian Research is the property of Islamic University of Gaza and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This first-ever extensive review of the construction behaviour of orb webs, of webs secondarily derived from orbs, and of non-orbs shows that the evidence favouring monophyly over convergent evolution of orbs is stronger than previously appreciated. The two major orb-weaving groups, Uloboridae and Araneoidea, share 31 construction behaviour traits, 20 of which are likely to be both derived and to have feasible alternatives, making convergence an unlikely explanation. Convergence in two lineages seems unlikely, and convergence in five different lineages, as proposed in some recent molecular studies of phylogeny, is even less credible. A further set of seven shared responses in orb design to experimentally constrained spaces also supports orb monophyly. Finally, a 'control' case of confirmed convergence on similar 'pseudo-orbs' in a taxonomically distant group also supports this argument, as it shows a low frequency of behavioural similarities. I argue that the omission of behavioural data from recent molecular studies of orb web evolution represents a failure of the analytic techniques, not the data, and increases the risk of making mistakes. In general, phylogenetic studies that aim to understand the evolution of particular phenotypes can benefit from including careful study of the phenotypes themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past few years have witnessed extensive attention to the size-dependent up-conversion luminescence thermal enhancement of Ln3+ doped nanoparticles, where the involvement of Yb3+ ions seem to be essential. In this work, a size-dependent down-shifting luminescence thermal enhancement behavior of NaGdF 4 :Ce3+/Tb3+ has been reported. Specifically, it is the first time to realize the size-dependent luminescence thermal enhancement with a non-Yb3+-involved luminescence process. We demonstrate that the size-dependent luminescence behavior is ascribed to the establishment of energy migration channels via Gd3+ sublattice. These findings offer a feasible way to design the luminescence thermal behavior of nanophosphors with a broader range in terms of both chemical composition and luminescence mechanism. The size-dependent thermal enhancement of down-shifting luminescence for nanophosphor has been realized with non-Yb3+-involved luminescence process. [Display omitted] • The size-dependent thermal enhancement of down-shifting luminescence is realized with non-Yb3+-involved luminescence process. • Gd3+ sublattice is confirmed to play the pivotal role in the energy-migration-mediated luminescence thermal enhancement. • The findings offer a feasible way to design the luminescence thermal behavior of nanophosphors with a broader range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most organisms respond and can adapt to photoperiodic changes. This affects measurable end points like developmental time, survival and fertility. For ectotherms like Chironomus riparius , temperature is the most studied environmental cue regulating their life cycle, whereas photoperiodic influence is neglected. However, the developmental speed between summer and winter seasons of a field population could not be explained solely by temperature variations. Therefore, to have a comprehensive view on how photoperiods influence chironomid's life cycle, we investigated if it plays a role in their development and if it acts as an important selective pressure on developmental time speed. To this end, first emerged C. riparius were artificially selected for seven generations. Pre-selected and unselected organisms could develop and breed independently under three light regimes: constant light (24:0 L:D), long days (16:8 L:D) and short days (8:16 L:D). Adult emergence, mean and median emergence time and fertility were integrated into the population growth rate to compare fitness. Our findings show that although developmental time is extended under short days, this same condition may exert a selective pressure towards a shorter development. Moreover, by also using photoperiodic clues to anticipate environmental changes, chironomids can potentially adapt to alterations in climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background LIBRETTO-001 is an ongoing, global, open-label, phase I/II study of selpercatinib in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors. We report interim patient-reported outcomes in patients with RET fusion–positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients and Methods Patients completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) version 3.0 at baseline (cycle 1, day 1), approximately every other 28-day cycle until cycle 13, and every 12 weeks thereafter. Data were evaluated through cycle 13 as few patients had reached later time points. A change of ≥10 points from baseline in domain scores was considered clinically meaningful. Results Among 253 selpercatinib-treated patients, 239 were categorized into subgroups by prior therapy: treatment-naïve (n = 39), one prior line of therapy (n = 64), or two or more prior lines of therapy (n = 136). The QLQ-C30 was completed by >85% of patients at each time point. Most patients overall and in each subgroup maintained or improved in all health-related quality of life (HRQoL) domains during treatment. The percentage of patients who experienced clinically meaningful improvements ranged from 61.1% to 66.7% for global health status, 33.3% to 61.1% for dyspnea, and 46.2% to 63.0% for pain. The 61.1% of patients with improved dyspnea had two or more prior lines of therapy; median time to first improvement was 3.4 months. At the first postbaseline evaluation (cycle 3), 45.9% of all patients reported a ≥10-point reduction in pain. Conclusion In this interim analysis, the majority of patients with RET fusion–positive NSCLC remained stable or improved on all QLQ-C30 subscales at each study visit, demonstrating favorable HRQoL as measured by the QLQ-C30 during treatment with selpercatinib. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mediterranean basin is a major centre for land-snail diversity, with many localized endemics, but there are also species widely spread by humans. Both endemics and introductions can be found in the snail genus Helix , which comprises many large-bodied species used for human consumption in the past and present. The Mediterranean clade of Helix is currently distributed throughout this region, but the phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships among its forms from different parts of the basin remain enigmatic. The reasons include insufficient sampling, taxa with unclear taxonomy and a significant impact of human-assisted transport obscuring the natural distribution of phylogenetic lineages. We provide evidence that European and Anatolian populations of H. cincta and its relatives are not native to those regions, but originate from the northern Levant. These results have implications for taxonomy of the genus, but also for the understanding of its evolutionary history. We posit that the Mediterranean clade consists of four geographically separated groups, which diversified in Northern Africa, the Apennine Peninsula and Corsica, the Aegean and Greece, and the northern Levant. This geographic pattern has been subsequently blurred by multiple instances of human-assisted dispersal. However, revealing the founding populations with certainty requires thorough sampling in currently inaccessible countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A subset X of a Polish group G is Haar null if there exists a Borel probability measure μ and a Borel set B containing X such that μ(gBh) = 0 for every g, h ∈ G. A set X is Haar meager if there exists a compact metric space K, a continuous function f : K → G and a Borel set B containing X such that f−1(gBh) is meager in K for every g, h ∈ G. We calculate (in ZFC) the four cardinal invariants (add, cov, non, cof) of these two σ-ideals for the simplest non-locally compact Polish group, namely in the case $G = \mathbb {Z}^\omega$. In fact, most results work for separable Banach spaces as well, and many results work for Polish groups admitting a two-sided invariant metric. This answers a question of the first named author and Vidnyánszky. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumour M2‐pyruvate kinase (TUM2‐PK) is up‐regulated in many human cancers. This study was to evaluate the clinical value of serum TUM2‐PK in early‐stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. A total of 162 consecutive early‐stage NSCLC patients were enrolled and followed up after tumour resection. Serum TUM2‐PK level was detected by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in NSCLC patients, 50 benign pulmonary disease patients and 102 healthy controls. The TUM2‐PK level in NSCLC patients was higher than that of healthy controls (P <.001) and benign pulmonary disease patients (P <.001). A threshold of 30 U/mL could be used to diagnose early‐stage NSCLC with 71.6% sensitivity and 98.0% specificity. The 5‐year overall survival rate in patients with high TUM2‐PK level was lower than that of patients with low TUM2‐PK level (P =.009). Multivariable Cox regression showed that high TUM2‐PK level was an independent risk factor for overall survival (HR = 2.595, 95% CI: 1.231‐5.474, P =.012). High serum TUM2‐PK level could be a potential biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of early‐stage NSCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aims to study potential energy and vibrational frequencies of a non-linear molecule (C522) using semi-experimental and MNDO-PM3 method, the geometric space shape for molecule was calculated through the initial and final matrix which includes the bonds lengths and the angle between bonds, surface angles and the charge of each atom in the molecules and from the curve of potential energy for molecule and depending on the change of the bond length (C15—C6) (C2—O3) (C15—F18) (C13—N12) (C14—H29) (C6═C1) (C2═O23) of the molecules versus the energy values obtained, and the total energy for molecules at equilibrium state was (-3915.10178 eV) and at equilibrium distance for each bond (1.53 Aͦ), (1.37 Aͦ), (1.35 Aͦ), (1.48 Aͦ), (1.10 Aͦ), (1.34 Aͦ) and (1.21 Aͦ) respectively and from the potential energy curve, the dissociation energies were calculated for each bond are (5.69258 eV), (2.45383 eV), (5.90738 eV), (4.41122 eV), (7.53398 eV), (7.56607 eV) and (8.41981 eV) respectively. In addition, the energy values of the molecular orbitals are calculated including highest occupied molecular orbital (EHOMO), lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (ELUMO) and the energy gap for molecular (Egap) was equal to (7.38 eV). The vibrational frequencies of the molecule were also calculated when the vibrational frequencies for molecule at equilibrium state of vibration and the basic vibration modes were equal to 90 vibration mode.

Abstract Upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding is a common emergency and life threatening condition. During the last three decades, many factors have been evolved that might change the incidence, age of presentation, site of bleeding and the outcome of patients with non variceal upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding. This study aimed to assess the profile and the mode of presentation of the patients with non-variceal upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding and to assess the etiology and the effect of different factors (demographic, mode of presentation and the treatment options) on the patient's outcome. This observational prospective study was carried out from May 2008 to October 2014 in Basrah Teaching Hospital. All adult patients who were presented with non-variceal upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding were included. All the demographic, clinical and treatment modalities in addition to the mortality rate and complications data were collected and analyzed. A total of 238 patients with non-variceal upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding were included in this study, 161 (67.6 %) patients were males and 77 (32.3 %) were females. The mean age was 50.62±17.06. Hematemesis was the commonest presentation in 125 (52.5%) followed by melena in 81 (34.03%). Duodenal ulcer was the commonest cause in 99 (41.59%) patients followed by erosive gastritis in 37 (15.5%) patients. The most common treatment modality was the medical treatment used in 186 (78.15%) patients which was successful in 179 (96.23%) with relatively low complications and rebleeding rates. Interventional endoscopy was used for 40 (16.8%) and was successful in 38 (95%) with 2 (5%) patients developed rebleeding. Surgery was done for 12 (5.04%) patients and was successful in 8(66.6%) and it was associated with highest rate of mortality (33.3%). Concerning the factors that might affect the outcome, there was a statistically significant effect of mode of treatment (odd ratio 6.42, p=0.03) and smoking (odd ratio 5.86, p=0.047) on the rate of development of complications. The mode of treatment had a statistically significant effect on mortality rate (odd ratio 20.24 p=0.001). The use of aspirin and/or NSAID affects significantly the rebleeding rate (odd ratio 7.4 p=0.025). In conclusion, the profile of our patients with non-variceal upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding was not greatly different from that of surrounding Middle East countries. We found that peptic ulcer disease was the commonest cause for which medical treatment was the most successful mode of treatment. Among many known risk factors, the mode of treatment and smoking were the factors that increase the complication rate. The mode of treatment was the only factor that affects the mortality rate. Use of aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs influenced the rebleeding rate.

Purpose This article explores the efficacy, toxicity, place in therapy, and considerations for use of recently approved immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the treatment of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Summary Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States and is responsible for more cancer-related deaths than breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer combined. The landscape for lung cancer treatment is evolving with the approval of new and exciting novel therapies. Within the last decade numerous ICIs have been approved for use in the management of the most common subtype of lung cancer, NSCLC. The ICI agents currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in NSCLC include ipilimumab, pembrolizumab, nivolumab, durvalumab, and atezolizumab. These agents are approved for specific indications; therefore, they are not interchangeable. This review focuses on the landmark trials that led to each FDA-approved indication, as well as common toxicities seen with use of these agents. It also discusses the use of ICIs in special populations and unique considerations prior to initiation of treatment with these novel therapies in a patient with NSCLC. Conclusion ICIs can provide a breakthrough treatment option for the management of NSCLC and are rapidly being adopted into clinical practice. It is important to be familiar with appropriate selection of an ICI therapy option for each patient based on approved indication, unique considerations, and anticipated toxicities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polar response particles have been at the center of lively debates in the recent and not so recent literature. One of these debates concerns the syntax of these particles, in particular whether they are pure sentential proforms or involve ellipsis. This paper examines the syntax of the French polar response particles oui, non, and si in embedded contexts. On the basis of these particles’ sensitivity to finiteness, obviation, and antilogophoricity in embedded clauses, it argues that they are better analyzed as remnants of ellipsis.

Background Y chromosome deletions (YCDs) in azoospermia factor (AZF) region are associated with ab- normal spermatogenesis and may lead to azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia. Assisted reproductive tech- nologies (ART) by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and testicular sperm extraction (TESE) are com- monly required for infertility management of patients carrying YCDs. The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of YCDs, to find the most frequent variant in infertile men candidate for ART and to compare YCD distribution with a control fertile group. The semen parameters, hormonal profiles and ART outcomes of the infertile group were studied. Materials and Methods This case-control study consisted of 97 oligozoospermic or non-obstructive azoospermic (NOA) infertile men, who had undergone ART, as the case group and 100 fertile men as the control group. DNA samples were extracted from blood samples taken from all 197 participants and YCDs were identified by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of eight known sequence-tagged sites. The chi-square test was used to compare the mean values of hormone and sperm parameters between the two groups. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results No YCD was detected in the control group. However, 20 out of 97 (20.6%) infertile men had a YCD. AZFc, AZFbc and AZFabc deletions were detected in 15 (75%), four (20%) and one (5%) YCD-positive patients. No fer- tilization or clinical pregnancy was seen following ICSI in this sub-group with YCD. The mean level of FSH was significantly higher in the group with YCD (28.45 ± 22.2 vs. 4.8 ± 3.17 and 10.83 ± 7.23 in YCD-negative patients with and without clinical pregnancy respectively). Conclusion YCD is frequent among NOA men and YCD screening before ART and patient counseling is thus strongly recommended.

In this paper we study the stability of one non-linear autoregressive model with hyperbolic triangle function polynomial with hyperbolic tangent function (singular point and it's stability conditions and the stability of the limit cycle) by using the local linearization approximation method and we apply this theory results by using some of examples to explain that.

In this paper, we have discussed and investigated two nonlinear extended PR-CG method which use function and gradient values. The two new methods involve the standard CG-methods and have the sufficient descent and globally convergence properties under certain conditions. We have got some important numerical results by comparing the new method with Wu and Chen PRCG-(2010) method in this field.

Background: One of the most important goals of physical education teachers and sport trainers is to increase the amount of learning and performance of motor skills of students and athletes in the shortest time, with the lowest cost and energy, and the highest level of motor skills learning. Therefore, teachers and sport coaches should use the best methods to learn and practice for better results. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of motivational self-talk on the performance and learning of skills of throwing a tennis ball from the top of the shoulders with the use of the non-dominant hand in 10-year old male students. Methods: For this purpose, 40 male students (average age of 10. 17 ± 0.51) volunteered to participate in this study as the research sample and were randomly divided to 2 groups of 20 (motivational self-talk group and control group). In the acquisition phase, the subjects were trained continuously during 5 sessions for 5 days (6 blocks of 10 attempts per session) and on the next day, they performed a retention test with 10 attempts. To illustrate the difference between groups, independent samples t-test was used, while one-way analysis of variance was used to compare the scores of each group at each phase of study. Results: The results of the statistical methods showed that both groups improved at the acquisition stage and there was a significant difference between the groups at the acquisition stage (P < 0.001). In other words, results were in favor of the motivational self-talk group (P < 0.001). In the retention phase, there was a significant difference between the 2 groups, and this advantage was in favor of the motivational self-talk group (P < 0.001). Conclusions: In general, it is suggested for sports teachers and trainers to use motivational self-talk for improvement of various skills.

Distribution of non-timber forest products in an environment submitted to strong anthropogenic pressures in the periphery of the Classified Forest of Haut-Sassandra (Central-West Côte d'Ivoire). The population of the Classified Forest Haut-Sassandra (FCHS) regularly uses Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) for several purposes. Unfortunately, the degradation of natural ecosystems observed in recent decades in and around the FCHS following the different crises experienced by Ivory-Coast has modified the availability of certain NTFP. For a sustainable exploitation of these NTFP, this study evaluates the ecological and human factors which could affect the distribution of six NTFP deemed to have priority around the FCHS. To achieve this aim, investigations and field surveys were conducted in 11 villages along the FCHS. In order to see the links between the different factors identified, a multiple factor analysis was carried out and then supplemented by tests of frequency analysis. The results indicate that Ricinodendron heudelotii, Irvingia gabonensis, Entandrophragma angolense and Milicia excelsa occur in all types of environment and at various distances from the villages. One species, Neuropeltis acuminata is forest-dependent and Laccosperma secundiflorum occurs exclusively in the shallows. The latter two species are likely to disappear from the village territory due to the intensification of anthropogenic activities observed in recent decades in the area.

Copyright of Basic Education College Magazine For Educational & Humanities Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Caries development is associated with shifts in the oral biofilm microbiota and primarily linked to frequent simple carbohydrate consumption. Different nutritional ingredients can either promote or prevent caries development. To investigate their effect on the oral biofilm microbiota in situ, eleven study participants underwent 3- month-long dietary phases with regular diet (PI), additional frequent sucrose (PII), milk and yoghurt (PIII) and rich in dietary fiber (PIV) intake, then returning to their regular diet (PV). Oral biofilm was sampled and analyzed applying 16S rRNA Illumina Miseq sequencing. Additionally, the effect on the enamel was analyzed measuring enamel surface roughness with laser-scanning microscopy. The beta-diversity results showed that the microbiota in all the following phases differed significantly from PI and that the microbial community in PII was significantly different from all other phases. The abundance of the genus Streptococcus fluctuated over the course of the five phases with a significant increase in PII (p=0.01), decreasing in PIII and PIV (PIII and PIV vs. PII: p<0.00001) and increasing again towards PV. Other taxa showed varying fluctuations of their abundances, in PV returning approximately to the levels of PI. In conclusion, while elevated sucrose consumption favoured caries-promoting non-mutans streptococci, frequent milk and yoghurt intake caused a significant decrease in the abundance of these microbial taxa and in addition reduced enamel surface roughness. These results indicate that modulations of the oral biofilm microbiota can be attained even in adults through dietary changes and corresponding recommendations can be made for the prevention of caries development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Zoledronic acid (ZA) and strontium-89 have been widely used to treat lung cancer with bone metastases. The authors perform this meta-analysis to better evaluate the clinical outcome of ZA and strontium-89 for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.Methods: We carried out standard meta-analysis and network meta-analysis based on a comprehensive data retrieval of EMBASE, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases (up to March 2019). Random and fixed effects models were used where indicated and between-study heterogeneity was assessed. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and skeletal-related events (SREs). The second endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall response rate (ORR).Results: Seven randomized clinical trials, including 1426 NSCLC patients with seven studies of zoledronic acid and two studies of strontium-89, met the inclusion criteria. Compared with the control group, ZA is associated with a OS benefit (1-year survival rate: RR = 1.76, 95% CI 1.36-2.27; and 24-month survival rate: RR = 2.38, 95% CI 1.35-4.19) and a reduction of SREs (RR = 0.57, 95% CI 0.40-0.84) for the patients with bone metastases. No statistical differences were found in PFS and ORR. Network meta-analysis for the patients with bone metastases showed that ZA + strontium-89 and ZA harbored significantly clinical benefits than strontium-89 and placebo in terms of 1-year survival rate and SREs. Both head-to-head study and network meta-analysis showed that strontium-89 had no statistical impact on OS and SREs compared with placebo.Conclusion: Our analysis demonstrates that ZA +strontium-89 can be considered a priority for NSCLC patients with bone metastases, followed by ZA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to develop a methodological reflection about advantages and disadvantages of the use of pre-existing groups for focus groups. The introductory paragraph deals briefly with the origins and definition of the focus group technique. In the second paragraph, the scientific literature concerning the use of pre-existing groups or groups of strangers for focus groups is reviewed. The third and fourth paragraphs are dedicated to the presentation of two recent empirical studies, carried out on two NPOs in Emilia Romagna using focus groups with pre-existing groups. From the analysis of the two case studies, the validity of the use of pre-existing groups within the focus groups technique emerges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Non-stress test is the most widely used test to assess fetal status. The presence of beat-to-beat variability is reassuring while its absence is not reassuring. Methods: In this single-blind clinical trial, 213 pregnant women with gestational age of 37 - 41 weeks were randomly allocated into three groups (auditory intervention for mother, auditory intervention for fetus, and control), each containing 71 subjects. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey HSD test and Kruskal-Wallis test. In addition, paired t-test was used to compare each group before and after the intervention. Results: The results showed a significant difference among the three groups regarding beat-to-beat variability of fetal heart rate in the second 10 minutes of the test (P = 0.006). Besides, the results of Tukey HSD test indicated that this difference was significant between the control group and auditory intervention for mother group (P = 0.004). Moreover, the results of t-test showed a significant difference in beat-to-beat variability of fetal heart rate between the first and the second 10 minutes of the test in both groups of auditory intervention for mother (P < 0.001) and for fetus (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Since beat-to-beat variability of the fetal heart rate is indicator of fetal health, music intervention can be used to increase the number of accelerations and reduce false positive results in NST.

There have been several attempts to optimise fluid flow manifolds; these, however, have shown are limited and further investigation into the efficiency of these systems is needed. This work focuses on improving the distribution manifolds efficacy in outflow division, i.e. attaining the same flow rate per each exit port of the manifold. Water has been selected to be the working fluid. A numerical investigation utilising CFD (by ANSYS Fluent R16.2) analysis into two-dimensional, incompressible, and turbulent flow has been carried out to resolve the flow manifold problem using two turbulence modelling, Standard k-ε and RNG k-ε, approaches. Four values of flow rate have been considered, which are specified by the Reynolds numbers 101×103, 202×103, 303×103, and 404×103. These values correspond to the fluid inlet velocities 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 m/s, respectively. The manifold configuration is defined by the given area ratio (total cross-sectional area for laterals /header cross-sectional area). Three values of area ratio are considered; these are 0.703125, 0.84375, and 0.984375. The results indicate that the flow uniformity has a reverse proportional relationship with the fluid flow rate and area ratio for all manifold arrangements. However, there is no significant effect of the flow rate increase on flow mal-distribution. Also, the use of RNG k-ε model has shown higher values of the non-uniformity coefficient than those obtained by the Standard k-ε model. The outcomes of this analysis have been compared with experimental data and a good agreement among them has been found.

Abrar A Abdul-Salam*, Jasim M Salman@ & Salam N Asfar# *MB, ChB, FICMS Anesthesiology, Al-Sadir Teaching Hospital, Basrah. @MB, ChB, DA, FICMS, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, Basrah College of Medicine. #MB, ChB, MSc, Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Basrah, College of Medicine, Basrah, IRAQ. Abstract From the time when succinylcholine(scoline) introduced to clinical anesthesia, intravenous route of administration of the drug has been broadly practiced. Severe bradycardia and arrhythmias may from time to time produced by single or frequent doses. The mechanism of bradycardia caused by succinylcholine administration has not been completely explained, it has been found that succinylcholine produce a unpredictable effects on the sinoatrial node. In our hospital , a second dose of succinylcholine is usually used for short surgical procedures that required good relaxation like anorectal surgery and orthopedic manipulation under anesthesia. This study aimed to discuss the conditions under which bradycardia appear during general anesthesia with oxygen, propofol, scoline, halothane, along with the use of second dose of scoline and assess the need for atropine to prevent this effect. Fifty patients aged between 20-50 years of American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class I were included in this study, anesthesia was induced with propofol, scoline, along with oxygen halothane mixture, then 2nd dose of scoline was given 10 minutes later. Frequent pulse rate were recorded. There was considerable decrease in pulse rate of the patients after the 2nd dose of succinylcholine, 36% of the patients developed bradycardia (pulse rate below 60), and the mean reduction in pulse rate was (23±13 beats/min). However there is no need for the use of atropine since all of the patients return to normal rates (60-100 beats/min) within 1 minute spontaneously. Conclusion: It has been found that the use of scoline in one dose produce decrease in pulse rate but not reach to the bradycardia level, while the uses of another dose will result in significant reduction in pulse rate that can reach to the level of bradycardia. All patients return to normal level of pulse rate within 1 minute, therefore, there is no need to use atropine neither preoperatively nor after developing of bradycardia since it's a self limiting phenomenon.

IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL EXPRESSION OF STEM CELL MARKERS CD44, CD166 AND ALDH1A1 IN NON-NEOPLASTIC POLYPS OF THE COLON IN SAMPLE OF IRAQI PATIENTS Nawal M Abdullah*, Mustafa M Ibraheem@ & Basim Sh Ahmed# *MB,ChB, MSc, Assist. Prof., Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, University of Basrah. @MB,ChB, MSc, PhD, Assist. Prof., Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, University of Al-Mustansiryah. #MB,ChB, FICMS, Assist. Prof. Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Al-Mustansiryah, IRAQ. Abstract The aim of this retrospective study on tissue specimens of benign colorectal polyps is to evaluate the significance of IHC markers CD44, CD 166 and ALDH1A1 expression in non-neoplastic (Juvenile and Hamartomatous) polyps and their association with different clinicopathological parameters & to compare their expression in benign polyps with that of normal colonic tissue . Seventy cases enrolled in the study including benign polyps (juvenile & hamartomous polyps) & benign looking colonic tissue obtained from archive of histopathology unit in Gastroenterology and Hepatology hospital in Baghdad Medical City and histopathology unit in Al-Sadder Teaching Hospital in Basrah city for the period Sept. 2015 to Dec. 2016. Four micrometer sections were obtained from formalin fixed paraffin-embedded blocks treated IHC with CD44, CD166 and ALDH1A1 tumor markers. Majority of polyps were juvenile, no difference regarding gender distribution. The common location was rectum/rectosigmoidal region. CD166, CD44 and ALDH1A1 showed high expression regarding age, gender and location in benign tumors when compared with healthy looking tissue. In conclusion, colorectal polyps are critical clinical entity and many of them are a precursors to malignant diseases so colonoscopy is essential screening test, polypectomy and follow up is mandatory for patients with colorectal polyps even if they are benign.

Recently the subject of energy-efficient is very important in cognitive radio (CR), especially during spectrum sensing, since the large energy consumption (EC) cost, produces a restriction in their implementation especially in devices with limited power, i.e battery. In these design, energy detector consumes a significant part of energy during spectrum sensing to detect the activity of the primary user (PU). In this paper, we investigated a method for improving EC in two scenarios: non-cooperative and cooperative. The idea behind the improvement is based on sensing the spectrum with low-density samples. The optimization concept for reducing EC through controlling the number of frequency samples to be sensed is illustrated as well as the probability of detection in both scenarios. To evaluate the proposed method a comparison is made between the proposed method and censoring method. The performance of energy detection system is evaluated in AWGN and Rayleigh fading channels. The simulation results show that in non-cooperative scenario at Eb/No equal 10 dB, and for sensing ratio equal 50%, EC decreases by 50% and 46% with sma loss in of detection probability of 5% in AWGN channel and 12% in Rayleigh channel. In cooperative scenario, the results show that as the number of cognitive users (CU) increased the average EC per user decreased with an improvement in probability of detection. In case of sensing ratio 50%, the EC is decreased by 43.6% as compared with censoring method.

The aim of this paper is to design a proposed non-linear fractional order proportional-integral-derivative neural (NFOPIDN) controller by modifying and improving the performance of fractional order PID (FOPID) controller through employing the theory of neural network with cognitive optimization techniques for the differential - drive wheeled mobile robot (WMR) multi-input multi-output (MIMO) system in order to follow a pre-defined trajectory. In this paper a cognitive bacterial foraging optimization algorithm (BFOA) has been utilized to find and tune the parameters of the proposed (NFOPIDN) controller and then find the optimal torque control signals for the differential - drive WMR. The simulation results show that the proposed controller can give excellent performance in terms of compared with other works (minimized tracking error for Ranunculoid-curve trajectory, smoothness of torque control signals obtained without saturation state and no sharp spikes action as well as minimum number of memory units needed for the structure of the proposed NFOPIDN controller).

The objective of this study is to analyse the efficiency of non-profit sports clubs and identify the perceptions of their directors with regards to the stakeholders that exert the greatest influence over club efficiency levels. In order to analyse the efficiency of these clubs, we made recourse to the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. We also applied the Mann-Whitney test, to identify whether there are significant differences between efficient and non-efficient clubs with regards to the influence held by their stakeholders. We thus report that the majority of clubs operate efficiently. Both the efficient and the non-efficient clubs classify the club managers, members, sponsors, fans and athletes as the most important stakeholders to their efficiency levels. The results convey how there are no significant differences among the management team perceptions on the role of stakeholders in attaining club efficiency. The study also details the respective procedures that inefficient clubs should adopt in order to approximate the efficiency frontier.

In quality control assume that the distribution of their process output is normal. The definition and estimation of (pci) indices are usually based on the assumption that the production process under normal distribution. But, in most practical cases this assumption is not valid and the distribution of the quality characteristics may follow non-normal distributions such as Weibull ,Lognormal , and Exponential distribution). One can see the difference between the non-normal process capability indices and the normal process capability indices by overlooking its theoretical distributions .This paper provides a decision on how to calculate the process capability indices for normal and find process capability indices another step transformation data by (Box – Cox( and Johnson transformation and comparison between two methods.

This paper presents a comparison between two nonlinear PID controllers, the first is the Neural based controller and the second is the nonlinear fractional order PID controller (FOPID) for a trajectory tracking control of a non-holonomic two wheeled mobile robots (2-WMR). A modified particle swarm optimization (MPSO) has been proposed in this work to tune the parameters of the nonlinear FOPID controller to design the controller so that the 2-WMR follows exactly a predefined continuous track. The kinematic model of a differential drive 2-WMR has been derived to simulate the behavior of the 2-WMR and it is used in the design and simulations of the proposed FOPID controller. From simulation and results, it can be seen that the efficiency of the proposed nonlinear FOPID controller outperforms the nonlinear integer order PID controller; this is proved by the minimized tracking error and the speed control signals obtained.

The goal of this paper is to design a proposed non-linear fractional order proportional-integral-derivativeneural (NFOPIDN) controller by modifying and improving the performance of fractional order PID (FOPID) controller through employing the theory of neural network with optimization techniquesfor the differential wheeled mobile robotmulti-input multi-output (MIMO) systemin order to follow a desired trajectory. The simplicity and the ability of fast tuning are important features of the particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) attracted us to use it to find and tune the proposed non-linear fractional order proportional-integral-derivative neural controller’s parameters and then find the best velocity control signals for the wheeled mobile robot. The simulation results show that the proposed controller can give excellent performance in terms of compared with other works (minimized mean square error equal to 0.131 for Eight-shaped trajectory and equal to 0.619 for Lissajous- curve trajectory as well as minimum number of memory units needed for the structure of the proposed NFOPIDN controller (M=2 for Eight-shaped trajectory and M=4 for Lissajous- curve trajectory) with smoothness of linear velocity signals obtained between (0 to 0.5) m/sec.

The editor of an Arabic translation from the Greek sometimes encounters difficulties when the original is no longer extant and the translator has failed to understand certain passages fully. This is the case with geographical or astronomical terms in Galen's commentary on Hippocrates' Airs, waters and places. Here the astronomer Ptolemy is explained as being "the king of Egypt", and the translator himself is to be blamed for the faux pas, not a later copyist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the double banality: “It doesn't make sense" and “What am I doing here?", this paper explores nonsense, lack of sense and surplus of sense, as well as their articulations generating beyond-sense, are explored as resources in order to think the question of sense. It questions necessary epistemological conditions, and the way both art and some clinical issues (cognitive, sensitive, existential) proper to the practice of education and training practice, allow us some imaginary, reflexive daring propositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]