Function, Ecology and Evolution of Seed Size in Hakea (Proteaceae)

This study investigated function, ecology and evolution of variation in seed size in Hakea (Proteaceae). I first revealed that the evolution of seed size is phylogenetically constrained. Using a series of glasshouse experiments, I further demonstrated that small-seeded Hakea species gain fitness advantage in environment with dry summer through rapid germination, early seedling emergence, and early true leaves emergence; small-seeded Hakea species are also better to tolerate herbivore predation than large-seeded congeners

Synthesis and Evaluation of Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities of 1,3-Disubstituted-4-thioxoimidazolidin-2-one Derivatives

1,3-Disubstituted-4-thioxoimidazolidin-2-one derivatives with various substituents at N1 and N3 were synthesized with high yields and excellent purity by the reaction of various N-arylcyanothioformamide derivatives with isocyanate derivatives. The activity of these products as antibacterial and antifungal agents was studied to through some light on structural activity relationship. Some of synthesized compounds showed significant antibacterial and antifungal activities. Most of the imidazole derivatives possess significant antifungal activity aginst S. cerevisiae (MIC 1–10 µg mL–1). As comparision with ketoconazole, most of the imidazole derivatives showed activity ranging from 50 % less activity to fourfold activity. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

The Effectiveness of a Training Program Based on Emotional Freedom Technique in Upgrading Feelings of Happiness for Diabetics in Gaza.

The current study tries to verify the effectiveness of a training program based on emotional freedom technique in upgrading the feelings of happiness for diabetics. The sample is (36) diabetics enrolled in Khan Younis camp clinic purposively selected and equally distributed into two groups. The researchers designed the study tools (emotional freedom training program, happiness scale). The study findings revealed the existence of statistically significant differences between the treatment and control groups in favor of the former. Furthermore, there were statistically significant differences between the pre and the post measures of the treatment group in favor of the post measures

On a coupled system of functional integral equations of Urysohn type

In this paper we shall study some existence theorems of solutions for a coupled system of functional integral equations of Urysohn type

On the Energy Efficiency of MapReduce Shuffling Operations in Data Centers

This paper aims to quantitatively measure the impact of different data centers networking topologies on the performance and energy efficiency of shuffling operations in MapReduce. Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) models are utilized to optimize the shuffling in several data center topologies with electronic, hybrid, and all-optical switching while maximizing the throughput and reducing the power consumption. The results indicate that the networking topology has a significant impact on the performance of MapReduce. They also indicate that with comparable performance, optical-based data centers can achieve an average of 54% reduction in the energy consumption when compared to electronic switching data centers

Review of Modeling and Simulation Technologies Application to Wind Turbines Drive Train

In this paper, a review of past and recent developments in the wind turbine drive train is being studied. The objective is to review some of the basic approaches of drive train configuration in wind turbines and to identify drive train models including the modeling and simulation results of these models. In recent years, considerable effort has been devoted to modeling, design, and control of wind turbine including drive train .The number of publications on computational strategies (multibody dynamics) are widely used for design and simulation of wind turbines components has been steadily increasing. Lists and reviews many contributes of design and simulation method are given in survey papers [1], [2]

Serotonin: Is it a marker for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients?

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most frequent cause of cancer mortality among men worldwide. Serotonin is a biogenic amine, ligand of a family of 5-HT receptors that reflect the diversity of serotonergic actions. Majority of serotonin in body (90%) is synthesized by enterochromaffin cells of the gastrointestinal tract and is exported to various sites. Serotonin regulates blood flow and vascular tone at portal and sinusoidal levels, serotonin acts as a mitogen for hepatocytes and promotes liver regeneration. 5HT emerges as a mediator of different pathological conditions (double edged sword). It contributes to liver fibrosis, mediates oxidative stress in nonalcoholic steatotic hepatitis and aggravates viral hepatitis, these conditions are involved in tumourigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Impaired metabolic function in liver cirrhosis and slow uptake and storage of serotonin by the platelets is a sequelae of kinetic change of serotonin transport mechanisms or abnormal serotonin release from dense granules of activated platelets is a condition defined as ‘‘platelet exhaustion’’, contributes to elevated plasma serotonin which may facilitate tumour growth of primary liver hepatocellular carcinoma.Aim of this work: To determine whether serotonin is a marker for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients.Methods: Patients were classified into two groups; 45 patients with cirrhosis only and 30 patients with cirrhosis and HCC. Ten healthy subjects were taken as controls. Patients underwent; full history taking, clinical examination, and abdominal ultrasonography. Laboratory methods include SGOT, SGPT, GGT, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, total proteins, albumin, CBC, prothrombin, INR, APRI score, Child-pugh score, MELD score, AFP and serum serotonin.Results: Plasma serotonin was significantly higher in the patients group with cirrhosis with a median level of 119.4 ng/ml than in the control group which showed a median value of 51.5 ng/ml p< 0.001. A significance  difference was also seen between cirrhosis and the HCC group with a median value of 478.35 ng/ml than the control group and a cirrhosis group with p< 0.001was found.Conclusion: Plasma serotonin level was significantly higher in patients with cirrhosis and HCC than in those with cirrhosis only and it was involved in the tumourigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma.Keywords: Serotonin; AFP; HC

Анализ современной системы государственных закупок

Рассмотрена современная система осуществления государственного заказа, проанализированы основные достоинства и недостатки данной системы. Произведен обзор Федеральной контрактной системы