It is known that interleukin-2 (IL-2) cancer immunotherapy may cause a noticeable increase in eosinophil number (1, 2). This biological effect is supposedly due to IL-2-induced increased production of interleukin-5 (IL-5) (3), the most important growth factor for eosinophil generation (4). IL-2-induced eosinophilia is possibly not just a simple epiphenomenon, but seems to affect the antitumor efficacy ofIL-2 itself, because of the potential cytotoxic properties ofeosinophils (5). In fact, eosinophilia has been proven to be associated with clinical antitumor response during IL2 treatment (1,2). Moreover, it has been shown that eosinophils are potentially cytotoxic to normal cells (6). Despite the marked increase in the absolute number of eosinophils which occurs during IL-2 therapy, no eosinophil-induced tissue damage has been reported in the literature (1,2); in particular no clinical signs of disorders related to eosinophilic tissue infiltration have been observed by the various authors. It is therefore likely that different subsets of eosinophils exist, with different toxic properties for normal tissues. From a pathological point of view, it has been observed that the rise in eosinophils which occurs in various human diseases is often associated with an enhanced total IgE synthesis (7). The IgE-mediated release of inflammatory substances and eosinophilic infiltration would both be responsible for tissue damage (7). In an attempt to better define the mechanisms and the biological significance of the eosinophilia that occurs during IL-2 cancer immunotherapy, we evaluated the changes in eosinophil number and total IgE levels in a group of cancer patients treated with subcutaneous IL-2. The study included 10 male patients (median age 54 years, range 46-68) with histologically confirmed metastatic renal cell carcinoma. They received IL-2 alone subcutaneously at a daily dose of 6 million IV for 5 days/week for 6 consecutive weeks. No patient received steroids during the immunotherapy. Venous blood samples were collected before the start of IL-2 treatment and at I-weekly intervals. Total IgE serum levelswere measured with the RIA method using commercially available kits (Pharmacia, Uppsala-Sweden). Normal values obtained in our laboratory (95% confidence limits) were below 100 KV/L. The data were statistically analyzed with Student's t-test and coefficient of correlation. Individual and mean eosinophil values and IgE levels observed before and during immunotherapy are reported in Table I. Before the start of IL-2 administration, total IgE levelswere within the normal range in all patients. During immunotherapy, the IgE levels became abnormally high in 3/10 (30%) patients, while a clear increase in eosinophil number was observed in all patients. The mean values of both eosinophils and IgE were significantly higher during immunotherapy than before treatment (eosinophils: p < 0.00I; total IgE: p < 0.05). No significant correlation was seen between eosinophil and IgE increases (r = 0.3). No allergic complications occurred in patients whose IgE levels increased markedly in response to IL-2 administration. The results of this preliminary study suggest that the eosinophilia which occurs during IL-2 immunotherapy may be associated with an enhanced production of total IgE in some cases, without, however, any apparent relation, since no correlation was observed between eosinophil and IgE increases. The biological


Luminescence spectra obtained in p-type porous silicon are quantitatively explained. After a discussion of the numerical values of the relevant parameters within the framework of the effective-mass approximation used throughout this paper, we take into account the finite potential confining the carriers in silicon crystallites embedded in SiO 2 : we find an electron-hole confinement energy proportional to L -1.64 , where L is the diameter of the crystallites, assumed to be spherical. Then using Gaussian statistics for these crystallites and the known data on radiative and nonradiative lifetimes, we obtain a mean diameter L m equal to 25 A with a root mean square a equal to 5 A for a particular luminescence shape


Nine maize inbred lines were used in a (P 1×P 2) incomplete diallel crossing experiment to make 20 cross combinations, and the combining ability of 5 plant type-related quantitative characters was analyzed. As a result, 3 superior inbred lines and 6 combinations were selected. Genotypic variance of combining ability and heritability estimation showed that the additive variance of most characters was higher than their dominant variance and general combining ability (GCA) had higher heritability than special combining ability (SCA), thus suggesting that inbred lines with higher GCA should be selected as parent materials.


The complete weight distribution of Hermitian code is of pivotal effect on algorithm designing, improving and capability analysis about its encoding or decoding.The computation problem of Hermitian codes weight distribution is discussed, some complete weight distributions of specific Hermitian codes are gotten.Also, a simplified algorithm of computing the complete weight distribution of Hermitian code is given when the least Hamming distance of it and its dual code are made certain.


In this paper it is described aspects of standardisation of information security and its implementation in banking and insurance companies in countries of Western Balkans. In terms of approaching the standards of EU, one of the areas that need to be fully justified is the information security. It has been identified and applied a new dual methodology which covers measurement of same variables of information security into two opposite populations. Authors identify banking and insurance sector as a key sector for research due to sensitivity of financial data and information that these companies work with. Key obstacles in implementation of information security come from managers who consider that existing level of information security is on much higher level than it actually is. The authors have identified intensity of perception of information security and gap in perception between managers of financial institutions and auditors, and rank of significant properties of information security. Factor analyses were conducted and four factors were identified which show managers' perception of information security. Also, the authors have identified attributes of marketing aspects of information security and market potential of information security of banking and insurance sector in countries of Western Balkans.


More than 60,000 people in the United States are survivors of multiple myeloma (National Cancer Institute [NCI], 2011). According to the NCI (2011), multiple myeloma is highly treatable but rarely curable. However, we have made tremendous progress in the treatment and control of this disease. The median survival of someone with multiple myeloma was about seven months before chemotherapy, which stretched to 24–30 months with chemotherapy. The median survival now is 45–60 months with further improvements due to the addition of newer therapies such as bortezomib, thalidomide, and lenalidomide, as well as pulse


The paper introduces that No.1 generator down guiding bush shelf is not hard up giving rise to units abnormal oscillation so that noise become bigger. Causes of guid metal becomc less crowded are found out and taken measures in Wanan hydraulic power plant.


Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia with population of 8.9 million in 2006, is one of the biggest cities in the world. Its metropolitan called �JABODETABEK� consists of Jakarta-Bogor- Depok-Tangerang-Bekasi which had 21.0 million populations in 2000 with a growth rate of 3.03% p.a. The increase of economic growth in Jakarta and surrounding cities is produced by the activities through trips from places of origin to destination and vice versa. Because the number of trips is increasing rapidly while the number of infrastructure especially road networks rises only slightly, it causes traffic congestions everywhere in the region. This happens all day long from morning till evening and gets worse during peak hours especially in Jakarta Inter Urban Toll Road (JIUT) as the major corridor.

Based on the traffic survey in 2007, the average peak hour factor in the morning and in the evening for Jabodetabek area is around 8% from the daily traffic volume. The traffic forecast from 2002 to 2007 considered several factors such as vehicle�s ownership, number of population, employment and the gross regional domestic product. After that the traffic was distributed using the Furness method to achieve convergence. A transport model using CUBE VOYAGER was established to represent the actual traffic condition of Jabodetabek. Regarding the validation process, the deviation of the total average motorcycle volume from the CUBE VOYAGER model was compared with traffic counting survey is only 0.87%, passenger car 0.76%, and truck 4.42%. The total number of motorcycle and truck trips increases by 48% from the 2002 condition becoming 2,019,272 pcu and 843,127 pcu, while that of passenger car trips only raises by 32% into 4,369,820 pcu in 2007.

To improve the traffic condition at the JIUT, several scenarios were selected in 2007 by increasing the toll tariff by 25% and 50% from the existing condition seemed to have slight effects on the route choice of toll road users. Apparently only 4.4% (10,123 pcu/hour) and 10.3% (9,496 pcu/hour) of toll road user would shift to non toll routes and only effectively increased speed 5.5% (23.2 km/hour) and 13% (24.85 km/hour). Implementing truck restriction is would likely drop the toll road users around 19.5% (8,520 pcu/hour) at the JIUT segment, while the average speed would increase by 30.6% (28.7 km/hour). By combining truck restriction and increasing tariff by 50% is would reduce toll road user by 34.8% (6,901pcu/hour) at the JIUT and at the same time, the average speed would increase by 43.6% (31.5 km/hour). The scenario for 2012 by increasing the tariff by 25% and 50% from the existing condition apparently would have significant effects on the route choice of toll road users. It seems that 9.2% (10,769 pcu/hour) and 17.2% (8,917 pcu/hour) of toll road users would shift to other routes and also increase speed by 11.5% (26.4 km/hour) and 22.2% (28.9 km/hour) respectively. Implementing truck restriction would reduce toll road users around 23.3% (8,260 pcu/hour) at the JIUT, while the average speed would increase by 29.9% (30.7 km/hour) respectively. By combining truck restriction and increasing tariff 50% would drop toll road users around 31.7% and raise the average speed by 48.9%. Adding 6 segment inner toll road at Jakarta would reduce the JIUT traffic volume by 9.1% (9,790 pcu/hour) and at the same time increase speed by 11.4% (26,4 km/hour) at the JIUT.


Lung abscess is still a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. The worldwide mortality rate ranges from 15% to 20%. Radiologically, lung abscesses appear as single or multiple cavities that can mimic many other pulmonary pathological processes which pose a challenge for radiologists to understand this disease. Failure in early diagnosis and treatment can lead to a poor prognosis. Radiological examinations such as conventional radiography, computed tomography (CT) scan, ultrasonography (US and magnetic resonance imaging are available in establishing the diagnosis of lung abscess where CT scan has the best diagnostic performance. The use of appropriate radiological modalities is expected to help rule out many other differential diagnoses, so that an accurate diagnosis can be made.


The goal of this report focuses on the development of an assessing method for ultimate strength of ship hull plate with corrosion damnification. It is confirmed that corrosion damnification on ship hull plate generally appears as pits with different shape, size and distributing density. According to a long term inspected results for pitting on ship hull plates, all the kinds of pits appearing on the hull plate would be equivalent to semi-spherical shape, conical shape and cylindrical shape. Pitting corrosion results in a quantity loss of the plate material as well as a significant degradation of the ultimate strength of the hull plate due to reducing of the effective thickness of the plate. Accordingly, the model for describing the correlations between the ultimate strength and the corroded volume loss of a corroded plate is firstly proposed based on relative theory. Such model was then completed through numerical experiment by nonlinear finite element analyses for series of corroded plate models. The corroded volume loss based ultimate strength assessing model is expected to be applicable to assessment of the ultimate strength of corroded plate in a ship hull structure.


Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus are essential for the normal growth of plants. All vital physiological processes are re- lated to these nutrients. These must be supplied to the plant through inorganic fertilizer. Nitrogenous fertilizers are most energy consuming compared to P and K fertilizers.Under the present energy crisis situation, grain legumes (pulses) are the boon for agriculture sector. Hence in cropping systems, legume and cereal inclusion is very important. Hence this study was conducted to find out the possibility of reducing N and P doses of cereal and legume crops in cropping system. The experiment was con- ducted at Main Agricultural Research Station (MARS), University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad during 2009 -2011 under rainfed condition to find out appropriate P and N dose for urdbean - wheat system. The treatments comprising two levels of organic manures (FYM @ 0 and 5 t/ha) and three levels of phosphorus to rainy season urdbean (0, 25 and 50 kg/ha) and three levels of nitrogen (25, 37.5 and 50 kg/ha) to winter wheat were applied. Common recommended dose of nitrogen (25 kg/ha) and phosphorus (25 kg/ha) to urdbean and wheat, respectively, was applied. Pooled data of three years indicated that the ap- plication of 5 t FYM/ha in rainy season increased the yield of urdbean and succeeding wheat significantly over 0 t FYM. Among the P2O5 levels, 25 and 50 kg/ha were on par with each other to have effect on both urdbean and wheat yield. Among the N levels of wheat, 50 kg/ha was significantly superior over the reduced doses of nitrogen (37.5 and 25 kg/ha) in wheat yield. When wheat equivalent yield, net returns, B:C ratio and energy use efficiency were considered, application of 5 t FYM/ ha was able to reduce the P dose to urdbean to fifty percent and N dose of succeeding wheat to twenty five percent.


The center of the country for the tourism is western province and development of modern public transportation system is necessary as modern world. The research study investigates the impact of modern public transportation on tourism development in western province Sri Lanka. It identifies the government and non-government institutions perceive the importance of modern public transportation system in relation to the tourism industry. The nature of the study was based on qualitative methodology. Accordingly, in-depth interviews, case studies was used as research methods Seven key persons from related institutions (which represent both Government and Nongovernment and Private sectors) and foreign pedestrian were selected for the sample. NVivo qualitative data analysis Method for data analysis. The research found that Sri Lankan public transportation has not been systematically developed or technologically modernized as to develop the tourism industry.


This letter presents two results for antenna selection under keyhole condition. First, we analyze the capacity of the antenna-selection keyhole channel. We show that in an MtimesN system a small number of selected antennas can match the capacity of a baseline full-antenna system (baseline system has no feedback). Second, we formally prove the intuitive result, until now unproven, that antenna selection in the keyhole multiple-input multiple-output channel preserves the available diversity of the channel


We propose a 2.1-D SiP that uses an organicinterposer for HBM applications and describe a demonstration of the technology. This SiP structure consists of a newly developed thin photosensitive insulation film multilayer (organic interposer) on a conventional organic package, enabling the package cost to be well controlled. An HBM interconnect was achieved in just two signaling metal layers with an L/S of 2/2 µm. The connection between the metal layers was achieved by vias as small as 5 µm in diameter through a very thin photosensitive insulation film layer about 4 µm thick. The electrical transmission properties of the HBM were demonstrated in a simulation. The simulation resultsshow a very good eye opening of up to 3 Gbps.


In the period of Tang and Song dynasty,our country built "Fan Fang" where foreign immigrants resided in Hangzhou,Mingzhou(Ning Bo).With Chinese opening policy being in progress,lots of intestine and overseas Muslims arrived at Yiwu city,engagging in business trade,settling down,thus making Yiwu becoming a new "Fan Fang".Through analyzing population changes,mosque managing,Imam and Muslim graveyard,occupational structure,marriage and family,children education and cultural life of Yiwu Muslim,the paper tries to make readers understand this new "Fan Fang" all-round.At the same time,this new "Fan Fang" also reports the same value trend of harmony and peace that emphasized both by Islamic culture and Chinese culture.


Objective
To investigate the effect of 4 kinds of stone occluder in the treatment of upper ureteral calculi with middle primary lithotripsy under rigid ureteroscope.

Methods
The data of 131 patients with upper ureteral calculi treated with 4 different occluder devices during ureteroscopic holmium: YAG laser lithotripsy from July 2017 to March 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 38 cases were treated with Cook N-trap and 15 cases were treated with Cook N-trap. Forty-two cases of Stone Cone and 36 cases of IVX-SC10 were performed. All the patients had stones above the 4th lumbar vertebra transverse process and complicated with different degrees of hydronephrosis. The specific method was to use Wolf 67.5 single channel ureteroscope, zebra guide wire guide to see stones, slowly cross stones in the lower space of stones, and operate the handle of occluder to block stones and fix stones, holmium laser in situ lithotripsy with the same working channel.The operation time, stone clearance rate and postoperative complications were analyzed.

Results
The operation time was: N-trap(10.0-16.5)min, N-gage (8.0-12.5)min, Stone Cone(15.5-30.0)min and IVX-SC10(12.5-30.0)min. Five cases of calculi entered renal pelvis and calyx, of which 3 cases remained in renal pelvis, and continued ureteroscope to renal pelvis with holmium laser lithotripsy. After operation, 2 cases without residual stones were treated with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) and successful lithotripsy. The stone removal rate was 96.1%.There was no ureteral perforation or ureteral mucosal avulsion during operation, and fever occurred in 3 patients after operation and was improved after antibiotic treatment.

Conclusions
The ureteroscopy combined with occluder and holmium laser lithotripsy for the treatment of upper ureteral calculi is effective, safe and feasible, with high stone clearance rate, less postoperative complications, and significant reduction of flexible ureteroscope and percutaneous nephroscope surgery.

Key words:
Ureteral Calculi; Ureteroscopy; Lasers, Solid-State


SUMMARY

Leaf tissues from many C3 species respond to exogenous mannose in the light by a marked stimulation of starch synthesis. This is attributed to a decreased movement of triose phosphate from the chloroplast following sequestration of cytoplasmic orthophosphate as mannose phosphate and interference with the phosphate translocator. By contrast, in most C4 species, feeding of mannose inhibits starch synthesis. It is concluded that, in these plants, the principal effect of sequestration of orthophosphate is interference with the regeneration of the CO2-acceptor.


This study explores the opinions of Spanish men about prostitution, especially of those men who have paid for sexual services. It is based on a random study of 1048 men resident in Spain and aged from 18 to 70, carried out via a telephone survey, using a questionnaire made up of 37 questions. Of the men interviewed, 20.3% have paid for sexual services at some time in their lives, and 15% within the last year. From the results a typology of prostitution clients can be extracted depending on their motivation for buying sexual services: Funners (24.1%) who are seeking leisure and entertainment; Thingers (21.7%) who want sex with no involvement or commitment; another 21.7%, the Couple Seekers , who are trying to find a partner; the Riskers , (19.8%) who, as well as sex, are attracted by the associated risk behaviours; and the Personalizers (12.6%) who are those who want sex with intimacy and companionship. These groups differ in their sexual satisfaction and in their opinions or beliefs about the reasons women have for providing sexual services. In function of these different groups, recommendations are made for increasing prostitution clients' sensitivity and awareness about human trafficking.


Robert Spurr Weston: There was a very interesting case of decarbonation at a plant which the speaker cannot refer to by name. The works were ' originally supplied from groundwater sources. Lead poisoning developed to an alarming degree, and as a result the ground-water supply was abandoned in great part and slow sand filters installed, taking a very highly colored ground water, purifying it to a very good degree and supplying it to the city. The ground water in the beginning contained 55 parts per million of carbonic acid. When the slow sand filters were started, of course the carbonic acid content of the water furnished to consumers was reduced to practically that of the surface water, less than 10 parts per million, and the corrosion of the lead pipe services stopped immediately. After a period of about fifteen years of operation of the sand filters much coagulated brown vegetable matter accumulated in the sand, and the filters were so efficient that they converted this brown vegetable matter into carbonic acid, so that three years ago the amount of carbonic acid in the sand filter effluent was nearly what it was in the well water some years before and, strange to say, the wife of the attorney of the water company developed a very severe case of lead poisoning, and the matter had to be attended to. Experiments were made similar to those made by the author and the conclusion was reached that aeration alone increased the corrosive action of the water on the lead surfaces to a great degree, and that the carbonic acid which was left in the water after aeration was more corrosive than the original amount without the oxygen. It was found, however, that the addition of very small amounts of either lime or magnesium oxide, the latter particularly, would practically prevent the corrosive action on the lead. The amount added was about 8 parts per million of quicklime or 6 parts per million of magnesium oxide, equivalent to about one-half grain to the gallon.


Abstract Cytokines, their receptors, and functionally ill-defined cell surface molecules involved in signal transduction across the membrane play an important role in controlling growth of normal and malignant lymphocytes. This review describes the function of several cytokines important for T-lymphocyte growth. These cytokines include T-cell cytotoxicity-inducing factor 1 (TCF1), interleukin 1 (IL-1), interleukin 2 (IL-2), and interleukin 4 (IL-4). In addition, the review describes a new monoclonal antibody, anti-APO-1, directed against a cell surface protein (APO-1) on activated normal human lymphocytes and on cells of human malignant lymphocyte lines. Anti-APO-1 abrogates growth of APO-1–expressing cells and induces self-destruction of these cells by programmed cell death (apoptosis) in vitro and in vivo.


PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) plastic bottle waste is a material that takes a long time to decompose and will accumulate in the world for a long time. Therefore we need the utilization of the plastic waste. One way to reuse PET plastic bottle waste is to use it as an additive to the concrete mixture. The purpose of this study is to determine how much increase in the compressive strength of concrete to the addition of shredded PET plastic waste at 28 days of concrete. The variations in the addition of 0%, 0,2%, 0,4%, 0,6%, 0,8%, and 1% to the volume of concrete cylinders with 3 samples of concrete variations each. The results showed that the concrete with the addition of PET fibers by 0.2% experienced an increase in the compressive strength value of 1.31% from the compressive strength of normal concrete which was originally 22.251 MPa to 22.650 MPa. While the variation in the percentage of PET 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8% and 1% decreased the compressive strength of the concrete. In PET fiber concrete 0.6% and 1.0%, although there is a decrease in the average compressive strength of the concrete, the value obtained exceeds the compressive strength value of the concrete plan, which is 20 MPa.


A large and diverse community of commensal bacteria is harbored in the human gut, in a symbiotic arrangement that influences both the physiology and pathology of the host. Microbial ecology in the gut can be modulated by pharmacological and nutritional interventions with probiotics and prebiotics, and a balanced microbial environment would likely promote symbiotic functions of bacteria and enhance human health. In controlled human studies, probiotics and prebiotics have been used for improving certain metabolic functions of the microbiota, for protection against infections, and for modulation of the immune system. This chapter summarizes the recommendation grades for the use of probiotics in gastroenterology according to the criteria of evidence-based medicine. Current clinical research is focused mainly at establishing the role and efficacy of probiotics and prebiotics in the prevention and control of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colon cancer. Experimental studies have yielded convincing evidence of their potential utility for these indications. However, human studies have failed in some attempts to provide effective therapeutic strategies with probiotics and prebiotics. It is likely that the development of improved tools to investigate gut colonization will provide a more complete picture of the actual scenario in inflammatory disorders and colon cancer. As a consequence, new interventions will aim towards more robust modifications or remodeling of intestinal microbial populations with applications for improving gut health.


Learning media is currently widely used in the teaching and learning process. Technology and information are two things that cannot be separated from one another in the ever-evolving digital era. Likewise with the education sector which underwent a significant transformation. The Learning Management System is a software application for online learning that supports delivering material online, discussing with students, and controlling student performance. This technological advancement has made many tertiary institutions use web application-based information technology. The current problem is the lack of complete features and less interactive functions to support the Learning Management System. In addition, when the user wants to be more interactive in learning, the Learning Management System generally has a separate feature, which requires the user to switch platforms to use the feature. The development of this Learning Management System is expected to become a more interactive learning platform and have complete features compared to other systems. System analysis is done by describing a system as a whole into its component parts. This is intended to identify and evaluate problems that will later find weaknesses and strengths in the system. The method used in this study is the waterfall starting from making the design of the system to implementing the system that runs in a production environment. The results of this study have several features needed for in-person and online learning which generally do not exist in other Learning Management Systems such as video conferencing, docs & files, group chats, automatic check-ins.


T)ROPERTY tax limits designed to prescribe the maximum rate which may be applied against an assessed valuation for a particular purpose is a phenomena in the United States which has been the subject of vast numbers of critiques.1 Illinois, after an abortive attempt from 1901 to 1929 to place a statutory limit on the aggregate tax rates which could be used by local governments, has also turned to the individual property tax rate limit as one means of controlling local government expenditures. But since 1945 Illinois statutes have reflected an interesting variation from this common pattern by establishing in effect at least two sets of rate limits for the same fund the normal statutory limit and a rate, usually lower, determined by a complicated formula spelled out in the statutes. Additional statutory provisions have specified the means by which a local governmental unit could move from the lower formula rate to the higher statutory rate. It is to the background and effect of this pattern of rate limit control upon Illinois local governments that this paper is


The article deals with the research of cooperation and political dialogue between the European Parliament and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Parliamentary dialogue holds one of the key places in the system of foreign policy. The paper determines that cooperation with the European Parliament will contribute to enhancement of the institutional capacity of the Verkhovna Rada, quality of the legislative process and legislation, of Ukrainian parliamentarism, extension of communication, and facilitate interaction with the public. Regarding the latest news, it appears that cooperation with the legislative body of the European Union has strengthened and moved to a new format of intercommunication.


The effect of reclaimed water irrigation on soil nitrogen content,nitrate concentration in groundwater at different groundwater depths(2 m,3 m and 4 m) was investigated.Experimental results indicate that soil nitrate nitrogen content obviously increases after irrigation.Ammonia nitrogen is not significantly affected by groundwater table and reclaimed water irrigation.Nitrate nitrogen concentration in groundwater at different depths(2 m,3 m and 4 m) increases by 34.67%,24.94% and 20.88% at 900 m3·hm-2 irrigation,and it increases by 58.42%,38.98% and 27.21% at 1 200 m3·hm-2 irrigation respectively.The deeper the groundwater the lower is nitrate nitrogen concentration in groundwater.Pollution risk of nitrate nitrogen from leaching and nitrification increases with increasing groundwater level.


A final rule requires facilities that meet TRI reporting requirements and that are located in Indian country to submit TRI forms to EPA and the appropriate tribe, rather than to the state in which the facility is geographically located.


Abstract The mechanical characteristics of biaxial constitutive relationship of plain woven and fibre-reinforced-laminated composite envelopes directly determine the application security and reliability of a stratospheric airship. Based on a typical constitutive Peirce model and Serrated model of plain woven fabric, the structural components and biaxial-loading characteristics were studied for the composite envelope, and the slipping friction energy of warp and weft yarn bundles was also considered in the developed model. With the strain energy method and Castigliano's principle, the biaxial constitutive relationship of plain woven-laminated composite was proposed to combine with the micromechanics theory of laminated composites. Compared to the uniaxial/biaxial tensile tests and the scanning electron microscopy observation, the results showed a good agreement between the proposed model and the experimental data, thus verifying the accuracy of the constitutive relationship model.


We show that for linear classifiers defined by convex margin-based surrogate losses that are monotonically decreasing, it is impossible to construct any semi-supervised approach that is able to guarantee an improvement over the supervised classifier measured by this surrogate loss. For non-monotonically decreasing loss functions, we demonstrate safe improvements are possible.


Progress in laser fusion research has increased the need for detail and precision in the diagnosis of experiments. This has spawned the development and use of sophisticated sub-nanosecond resolution diavostic systems. These systems typically use ultrafast x-ray or optical streak caAleras in combination. with spatially imaging or spectrally dispersing elements. These instruments provide high resolution data essential for understanding the processes occurrilltg in the interaction. of high. intensity laser light with targets. Several of these types of instruments and their capabilities will be discussed. The utilization of these kinds of diagnostics systems on the nearly completed 100 kJ Nova laser facility will be described.


With the aid of an x‐ray spectrometer attachment for the electron microscope (Elmiskop I), it is possible to perform quantitative analyses of the chemical elements in a specimen. The spectrometer attachment is based on the semifocusing method. It is equipped with six analyzing crystals and two counters which may be exchanged during operation. It is possible to analyze for all elements with an atomic number greater than 11. The minimum mass detectable is 10−14 g.


6. Carney RWJ, Chart JJ, Goldstein R, Howie N, Wojtkunski J. A potent nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agent: 2-(3-chloro-4-(3-pyrrolin-I-yl)-phenyl) propionic acid. Experientia 1973;29:928-41. 7. Graeme ML, Peters P, Maiorana K, Cooper C. The effect of topically applied agents on ultraviolet erythema in guinea pigs. Pharmacologist 1975;17:226. 8. Simon LS, Mills JA. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. N Engl J Med 1980;302:1179-85,1237-43. 9. Chart JJ, Maier R. A brief review of the pre-clinical pharmacology of pirprofen. In: van der Korst JK, ed. A new antirheumaticanalgesic agent: pirprofen. Berne: Hans Huber, 1981:14-21. 10. Bhattacherjee P, Eakins KE. Inhibition of the ocular effects of sodium arachidonate by antiinflammatory compounds. Prostaglandins 1975;9:175-82. II. Ku EC, Wasvary NJ. Inhibition of prostaglandin synthetase by pirprofen, studies with sheep seminal vesicle enzyme. Biachem Biophys Acta 1975;384:360-8. 12. Luders RC, Maggio-Cavaliere MB, Egger H, et al. Disposition of pirprofen, a new antiinflammatory drug. Clin Pharmacal Ther 1977;21:721-30. 13. Proctor JD, Evans EF, Campos V, et al. Tolerance to pirprofen and preliminary efficacy trial in rheumatoid arthritis. Clin Pharmacal Ther 1974;16:69-76. 14. Reiss W. Discussion. In: van der Korst JK, ed. A new antirheumatic-analgesic agent: pirprofen. Berne: Hans Huber, 1981:79-83. 15. Gum OB, Luders RC. The pharmacokinetics of pirprofen. Curr Ther Res 1981;30:S118-22. 16. Rowe HF. Comparison of pirprofen with aspirin in rheumatoid arthritis: a multicenter study. Clin Ther 1978;2:69-76. 17. Reid RT. Pirprofen and aspirin in rheumatoid arthritis: a double-blind comparison study. J Clin Pharmacal 1980;20:145-50.


Primary national codes and standards for reinforced concrete (RC) members and structures specify a limit value of stirrup yield strength. The salient reason for this restriction is to control diagonal crack widths, which lead to shear tension failure. The influence of a high yield strength of stirrups on the failure mode of such members is thus of great concern. To investigate this issue, 12 RC beam specimens incorporating stirrups with high yield strength were tested. The test variables employed in the study were three levels of stirrup spacing and four levels of stirrup yield strength. Assessment of the test results was conducted by analysing the variation of both spacing and number of diagonal cracks due to an increment in the total amount of stirrups. An evaluation of diagonal crack width measured under the service load level was also performed. The test results showed that the diagonal crack width under the service load level is affected by the yield strength of the stirrups and the stirrup spacing. ...


A number of growing sensor applications such as target tracking and health monitoring motivate rate-based image transmissions in the Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). In this paper, we propose a cross layer based optimal approach for image sensors to decide transmission patterns based on a Rate-Oriented Routing scheme, which achieves both high energy efficiencies and longer network lifetime. In this approach, a group of image sensors transmit the images through appropriate rate-based routing paths under the user requirements. The simulation results show that the proposed image transmission scheme can achieve considerable gains in terms of the WSN energy efficiency and network lifetime extension.


In the November, 1987 issue of The Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry, a new monoclonal antibody (Mac 387)was described which could be used for identification ofmacnophagcs on paraffin sections of routinely formalin-fixed human biopsy material (9). An attempt was made to characterize the corresponding antigen in detengent-solubilized matenial obtained from monocytes and granulocytes. A heterogeneous mixture of polypeptides and complexes, in terms of molecular mass, was identified by Mac 387 in such extracts (9). In tissue sections, the antibody detected mainly infiltrating and reactive histiocytes; it therefore appeared to be an excellent reagent for demonstration of activated macrophages in situ. In the discussion of their findings, Flavell et al. (9) commented on the similar cell reactivity shown by a rabbit antibody to the leukocyte Li antigen; they apparently excluded the possibility that Mac 387 reacted with Li because of discrepancies between the molecular weights of the latter protein and the Mac 387-related antigens. I find it surprising that such a discussion was accepted for publication by a major journal, as the authors failed to provide any references to articles published about the Li antigen. In my opinion, it should not be assumed that the readers are familiar with the nature of the Li protein, as Thejournal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry has not previously published any articles about this leukocyte component. We have recently tested Mac 387, which is now commercially available (Dakopatts; Glostrup, Denmark), against purified Li protein by immunoblotting and by extensive paired immunofluorescence staining on a variety of tissues (5). The results showed beyond any doubt that Mac 387 indeed detects the Li antigen. It remains to be explained why the molecular weights reported for components detected by Mac 387 in detergent-solubilized material obtained from granulocytes and monocytes (9) were inconsistent with those previously reported for the Li protein (7). One possibility is that the Mac 387-related antigens might to some extent have been bound to membrane components released by protcolytic enzymes on by the detergent. Without adequate enzyme inhibition, protcolysis readily takes place in leukocyte extracts, and detergents may in fact release on activate enzymes. Another possibility is that Li behaves differently according to the available concentration of calcium, for which it has a remarkable affinity (7); calcium may thus cause aggregation of Li and its binding to other proteins. Such artifacts may not be equally expressed for detergent extracts ofgranulocytcs and monocytes. The Li antigen is a heat-stable multi-chain myclomonocytic protein of about 36 KD (7). Its light and heavy chains are structurally identical to the calcium-binding macrophage components MRP-8 and MRP-i4, recently described to be associated with the macrophage migration inhibitory factor(1,i2); its light chain is furthermore identical to the so-called cystic fibrosis antigen (1,8). A protein sharing physicochemical and antigcnic properties with myclomonocytic Li has been identified in extracts of epidermal scales from patients with psoniasis (4). This epithelial Li is generally not expressed by normal epidermis but is abundantly produced in several inflammatory ( ii) and ncoplastic skin diseases (10). Moreover, mucosal squamous epitheha normally express the Li antigen (4), and it is a reliable marker for squamous cell carcinomas ofthe lung (Dale I, Bnandtzacg P. submitted for publication). The discussion about the reactivity ofMac 387 with epidermis and vanous other epithelia provided in the article of Flavell et al. (9) was rather imprecise. However, by pained staining (5) we have shown it to be identical to that previously reported for the Li antigen (4). There was also additional information in their report on which we would like to comment. It was claimed that Mac 387 reacted extensively with interdigitating reticulum cells (IDC) and cells ofhistiocytosis X or so-called Langenhans-cell histiocytosis. We have not found this to be generally true. The latter cell type is, according to our results, completely negative for the Li antigen, and also when tested by Mac 387; only a small and variable fraction of IDC shows co-expression of Li and 5-100 protein when the latter is used as a marker for IDC (2). Kupffer cells of normal livers are, according to our results (3), chiefly negative for Li, and the same is true fonLangerhans cells (LC). Flavell et al. (9) stated that the reactivity of Mac 387 with LC could not be tested because of abundant epithelial staining. I find this quite confusing, because normal epidermis is generally without positivity for the Li antigen (4); we have shown this also to be the case when Mac 387 is applied on both ethanol-fixed and formalin-fixed skin specimens (5). In conclusion, the recently described Mac 387 is a monoclonal antibody to the well-defined leukocyte Li antigen. The distribution ofthis antigen has previously been extensively described in peripheral blood leukocytes (6) and in a variety of human tissues (3,4). It has furthermore been shown that the Li antigen is structurally identical to the calcium-binding macnophage components MRP-8 and MRP-i4, for which cDNAs have necently been cloned (12). Also, the Li light chain is identical to the previously described cystic fibrosis antigen (8). This recent information makes the Li antigen an even more interesting immunohistochemical marker.


This paper presents a modified complementary separate-bias Kalman filter for orientation determination of pedestrian motions by using a inertial measurement unit (IMU) module, which contains gyroscopes, accelerometers and magnetometers as an Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS). The filter consists of two main functions: the complementary separate-bias Kalman filtering avoids the modelling of pedestrian motions and fuses the sensed data; the magnetic disturbance detection and minimization provides robustness and stability when the sensor module is experiencing local magnetic disturbances. Test case includes stairs climbing indoors and long-distance walking outdoors. In both case the filter is able to provide stable orientation data and minimize the impact of local magnetic field disturbance.


Penile zipper injury is the most common cause of penile damage in uncircumcised children. A 4-year-old uncircumcised child admitted to the emergency due to the injury of dorsal penis caused by the zipper of his trousers. A 3 cm length of penile skin was found to be captured by the teeth of the metal zipper. Herein, we reported our management of a penile zipper injury with proper follow up and a delayed circumcision procedure in an uncircumcised child.


Helong,surrounded by the Tibetan plateau,the Inner Mongolian Plateau and the Loess Plateau,is a multilingual area,where Mandarin,languages of ethnical minority groups,and other languages used in the times of the Silk Road can still be found. Therefore,the geography of the modern languages used in Helong reveals its "corridor characteristics". Firstly,Helong is a linguistic corridor between East Asia,Central Asia,West Asia and Europe. Secondly,the languages used in Helong have the "intertidal-zone" phenomenon. On the one hand,the alternation of regional official languages has been found in the development of modern languages in Helong,on the other hand,"intertidal-zone" phenomenon occurs among Mandarin,Tibetan and Mongolian.Thirdly,in order to maintain Mandarin's dominant position among different linguistic groups in the corridor,immigrants from south of the Yellow River continually move to the frontier fortress,which results in the regional differentiations of Chinese dialects in Helong.


The Hall effect for carriers released by light has been studied over a temperature range 4\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} to 114\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K in additively colored crystals of KCl containing various concentrations of $F$ centers. A negative Hall signal was observed corresponding to electrons released from $F$ centers by light absorbed in the high-energy side of the $F$ band. The Hall mobility rises steeply below 80\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K due to freezing out of the optical modes of lattice vibration. A residual mobility near 4000 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$/volt sec is found below 30\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K in the crystals prepared so far.


The mortality in a series of 25 infants with myelomeningocele closed within the first 24 hours of birth was 12% over the first three months. Neurological assessment of the survivors with particular attention to leg movements has indicated that spinal reflex phenomena are common, and that, though there may be apparent improvement in some cases within the first few weeks after operation, the later results show that there is no significant increase in useful leg function compared with the preoperative levels. Early closure would appear to have prevented the death of these infants, and to have preserved the useful leg movements with which they were born, but not to have led to any significant recovery. We wish to thank the consultant paediatricians in the East Ar-glian Region for their help in this study, and in the management of these infants; Dr. D. M. T. Gairdner and Dr. J. D. Roscoe (Cambridge), Dr. R. M. Mayon-White (Ipswich), Dr. B. W. Powell (Peterborough), Dr. J. F. P. Quinton (Norwich), and Dr. R. C. Roxburgh (King's Lynn).


Internet Advertising is the most visible component of Internet Marketing. It is a form of advertising through Internet. It is a link between the customer and the Marketing function of an Organization. In recent time, Internet Advertising has become very popular among marketers and consumers. It has an edge over traditional advertising as it overcomes the shortcomings of traditional Marketing by providing expensive and sophisticated tools for advertising. It is advantageous to consumers and benefits them by ease and convenience. The reasons behind the growth of Internet Advertising are increased broadband availability, rising online penetration and the development of Internet and its associate technologies. The study is an attempt to find the advantages of Internet Advertising as compared to Advertising in Traditional media.


An increase in the incidence of invasive fungal infection, which can lead to serious complications and death, has been detected in some patients who had Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, fungal infections increase the risk of mortality in long-term hospitalized COVID-19 patients. C. auris has emerged as a multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen isolated from healthcare-associated infections globally. Studies have reported an increase in C. auris isolation in COVID-19 patients who developed candidemia. They stated that C. auris is the most isolated Candida species in blood cultures since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, replacing other Candida species. In the studies included in this study, the mean incidance of C. auris was found to be as 22.7% (74/325) in COVID-19 patients with suspected fungal infection. The aim of our study is to evaluate the literature published so far in Türkiye and in the world regarding the coexistence of C. auris and COVID-19, which was reported as an "immediate threat" by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, there is not enough information about the effect of C. auris coinfection on mortality and whether it is an indicator of the severity of COVID-19 infection. Well-designed and careful epidemiological studies are needed to define the true burden of invasive candidiasis in COVID-19 patients.


The burden of Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects not just the individual but also families, providers, and society. Early recognition and diagnosis of AD may reduce cost by reducing interaction with the health care system, earlier initiation of treatment, and prolonging time to longterm care. Primary care providers, the first contact for diagnosis of patients with AD, are not fulfilling the potential of early diagnosis for a variety of reasons. Biomarkers of AD emerge on average 15 to 20 years before clinical diagnosis, yet currently established biomarkers are not easily available in the primary care setting. A growing body of literature is focused on identifying additional non-invasive early signs of AD. The aims of this program of research were to understand factors contributing to the AD diagnosis variability in primary care settings and methods to improve early diagnosis by primary care providers. Four studies were undertaken to achieve these aims. The first study reported the results of an integrated review estimating the prevalence of missed diagnosis in primary care when compared to trained raters' diagnoses. The findings call to attention the difficulty primary care providers face to detect and diagnose AD at all levels of the healthcare system. This led to the second study. Chronic pain is a common comorbid ailment seen in those with AD and often is a driving factor of patients seeking medical care. In order to understand the pain experience in those with worsening cognition, the second study was a secondary analysis of a crosssectional ageand sex-matched two group cohort study and found that the experience of pain differs between males and females as a measure of cognition worsened suggesting a possible role of pain as a tool to distinguish those at risk for AD. This finding led to the third study, which was a narrative review conducted to describe how alterations in senses have been associated with the diagnosis of AD. The results suggested differences in smell, taste, vision, hearing, and proprioception were associated with different levels of the AD continuum but points out an obvious gap in the literature concerning other senses. This led to the fourth study examining evidence that the ε4 allele of Apolipoprotein E modifies the experience of pain in those individuals carrying the allele such that greater temperatures are required to elicit pain and the experience of that pain is more unpleasant. Additional studies should expand on the results of this pilot study.


A way to measure the second parameter of CT specimens is described. The displacement which is measured continuously from visual images of the lateral surface during crack growth is used to calculate the A, as a function of crack growth. The crack length is measured by DCPD(Direct Current Potential Drop) method and the J-resistance curve is determined according to ASTM standard E1737-96. To prove the validity of this method, three dimensional finite element analyses were performed, and variations of the displacements and along the thickness were explored. As the result, it has been shown that the measured from the visual images of the lateral surface and the corresponding can be regarded as the average through the thickness for 1T and 1/2T specimens of SA106Gr.C steel.steel.


In this communication, we present a method for noise-robust multi-microphoneautomaticspeechrecognition(ASR).Itisassumedthatthespeechsourcetoberecognizedisrecordedwithseveralmicro-phonesinanoisyacousticenvironment.Theproposedmethod estimates the short-term subband energies (as they are needed for computing the ASR front-end) of the clean speech source from the ones of the microphone noisy signals. The estimation procedure is based on the concept of Independent Component Analysis (ICA) anditisdrivenbytheacousticmodelusedbytheASRdecoder. The method is shown to be highly robust for a connected digit recognition task in high noise conditions, improving word error rates by more than 50% relatively to the performance of the baseline single-microphone ASR system.


The roles of macrophages and T cells in the adjuvant effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were studied. In vitro anti‐trinitrophenyl (anti‐TNP) antibody responses to TNP‐Ficoll and TNP‐keyhole limpet hemocyanine (TNP‐KLH) in spleen cells of C57BL/6 mice showed the most enhancement, when LPS was added to cultures at 1 μg/ml 48 hr after culture was started. The responses to these antigens were enhanced markedly by LPS in whole and macrophage‐depleted spleen cells. The enhancement was greater in the latter group than in the former. The adjuvant effect among whole, T cell‐depleted, macrophage‐depleted and both macrophage‐ and T cell‐depleted spleen cells was compared. The response to TNP‐Ficoll was enhanced markedly by LPS in all groups. The enhancement was greater in the latter two groups than in the first two groups. The response to TNP‐KLH was enhanced by LPS strongly in macrophage‐depleted spleen cells, moderately in whole and both macrophage‐ and T cell‐depleted spleen cells, and only slightly in T cell‐depleted spleen cells. Enhancement was restored to T cell‐depleted spleen cells by adding T cells. The response to TNP‐KLH of macrophage‐depleted spleen cells of LPS‐responsive C3H/HeN mice which was enhanced by LPS was suppressed by adding splenic macrophages of C3H/HeN mice, but not of LPS‐nonresponsive C3H/HeJ mice. The response to TNP‐KLH of macrophage‐depleted spleen cells of C3H/HeJ mice was not enhanced by LPS, irrespective of the addition of macrophages of C3H/HeN mice. The results indicate that B cells are activated directly by LPS, and T cells enhance and macrophages suppress the adjuvant effect of LPS.


Abstract The effects on the convective boundary layer (CBL) of surface heterogeneities produced by surface sensible heat flux waves with different means, amplitudes, and wavelengths were investigated here. The major objective of this study was to evaluate at which scale surface heterogeneity starts to significantly affect the heat fluxes in the CBL. The large-eddy simulation option of the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System developed at Colorado State University was used for that purpose. Avissar et al. evaluated this model against observations and demonstrated its reliability. It appears that the impact of amplitude and wavelength of a heat wave is nonlinearly dependent upon the mean heating rate. The circulations (or rolls) resulting from surface heterogeneity are strong when the amplitude and the wavelength of the heat wave are large, especially at low mean heating rate. In that case the profiles of horizontally averaged variables are quite strongly modified in the CBL. The potential temperature is no...


The relationship between protein structure, motions, and catalytic activity is an evolving perspective in enzymology. An interactive approach, where experimental and theoretical studies examine the same catalytic mechanism, is instrumental in addressing this issue. We combine various techniques, including steady state and pre-steady state kinetics, temperature dependence of kinetic isotope effects (KIEs), site-directed mutagenesis, Xray crystallography, and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations, to study the catalytic mechanisms of thymidylate synthase (TSase). Since TSase catalyzes the last step of the sole intracellular de novo synthesis of thymidylate (i.e. the DNA base T), it is a common target for antibiotic and anticancer drugs. The proposed catalytic mechanism for TSase comprises a series of bond cleavages and formations including activation of two C-H bonds: a rate-limiting C-H!C hydride transfer and a faster C-H!O proton transfer. This provides an excellent model system to examine the structural and dynamic effects of the enzyme on different C-H cleavage steps in the same catalyzed reaction. Our experiments found that the KIE on the hydride transfer is temperature independent while the KIE on the proton transfer is temperature dependent, implying the protein environment is better organized for H-tunneling in the former. Our QM/MM calculations revealed that the hydride transfer has a transition state (TS) that is invariable with temperature while the proton transfer has multiple subsets of TS structures, which corroborates with our experimental results. The calculations also suggest that collective protein motions rearrange the network of H-bonds to accompany structural changes in the ligands during and between chemical transformations. These computational results not only illustrate functionalities of specific protein residues that reconcile many previous experimental observations, but also provide guidance for future experiments to verify the proposed mechanisms. In addition, we conducted experiments to examine the importance of long-range interactions in TSase-catalyzed reaction, using


Since the antiquity, in Eastern Sicily different varieties of Hyblean limestones have been employed in constructive activities (walls, farms, villas, civil and religious architectures), due to the easy availability, workability and extractivity of stones. After the earthquake of 11 January 1693, which destroyed the major part of Eastern Sicily, an intense reconstruction building activity took place in different urban cities of the Val di Noto (Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Noto, Siracusa, etc.), allowing to the Sicilian architecture to reach a splendid and autonomous flowering of Baroque forms because of the ability of the local architects and workers and to the easy workability of local stones. The numerous baroque monuments and buildings of Eastern and Western Sicily have been recognised as Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO for their exceptional historical and artistic interest. Observing the conservation state of these monuments, it is evident that carbonate rocks employed are characterized by different type of degradation and/or alteration. It is known that degradation depends on the intrinsic characteristics of the materials (mineralogical composition, textural features) and on external factors as the implementation, the conditions of exposure to the atmospheric agents, the rate of environmental pollution and the previous restoration works. For this reason, we carried out a study on the mineral-petrographic and physical-mechanical features of the carbonate stones used in historical Baroque monuments of the Val di Noto with the purpose of underlining the compositional and textural differences. These characteristics were related to the weathering types both reproduced in laboratory through accelerated ageing tests and directly observed on the monuments. In this study, we used stone parameters that have an influence on durability and depend only upon pore structure: connected porosity, the water absorption coefficient by capillarity, the saturation coefficient. We also used stone parameters with an influence on strength: flexural strength, uniaxial compressive strength, Young's dynamic modulus and ultrasound wave velocity. Analytical methodologies carried out are: thin section microscopic analysis, determination and grain size distribution of the insoluble residue, mineralogical analysis through X-ray diffractometry, mercury intrusion porosimetry, colorimetric analysis, determination of water absorption coefficient by capillarity (UNI EN 1925), determination of water absorption at atmospheric pressure (UNI EN 13755), determination of the open porosity through hydrostatics balance, determination of the drying index (NORMAL 29/88), determination of the resistance to the crystallization of the salts (UNI EN 12370), measure of the speed of sound propagation (NORMAL 22/86), determination of uniaxial compressive strength (UNI EN 1926), determination of flexural strength under concentrated load (UNI EN 12372), determination of the elastic modulus to uniaxial compressive strength (UNI 9724/8-92). The laboratory analyses were carried out on specimens (n° 467) belonging to five geological formations outcropping in the Eastern and Western Hyblean Plateau for a total of ten sites of sampling. The geological formations examinated are the Climiti Mountains Formation (Melilli white limestone), the Carrubba Mountain Formation (Lumachelle limestone), the Pleistocene Bench (giuggiulena or ochred


World Health Organization (WHO) lists alcohol consumption as a leading risk to health, contributing 4% to the global burden of disease. This serves as justification for far-reaching preventive interventions. The purpose of this article is to recapitulate in narrative some of the assumptions upon which WHO conclusions rest and to interpret their validity accordingly. First, it may be misleading to include 'alcohol use' as a risk to health. As alcohol use has beneficial, protective as well as harmful properties, burden assessment should be based on harmful aspects only, e.g., 'hazardous patterns of alcohol use'. Second, assessments of interventions aimed at reducing risks from alcohol use to disease burden should also consider such interventions' impact on dimensions other than health or disease–in particular, psychosocial benefits of alcohol consumption. Third, the uncertainties associated with both the database and methodology for estimating the disease burden attributable to alcohol are high and need to be considered in the interpretation of findings.


Crystal Geyser in eastern Utah is a rare, non-geothermal geyser that emits carbon dioxide gas in periodic eruptions. This geyser is the largest single source of CO{sub 2} originating from a deep reservoir. For this study, the amount of CO{sub 2} emitted from Crystal Geyser is estimated through measurements of downwind CO{sub 2} air concentration applied to an analytical model for atmospheric dispersion. Five eruptions occurred during the 48-hour field study, for a total of almost 3 hours of eruption. Pre-eruption emissions were also timed and sampled. Slow wind during three of the active eruptions conveyed the plume over a grid of samplers arranged in arcs from 25 to 100 m away from the geyser. An analytical, straight-line Gaussian model matched the pattern of concentration measurements. Plume width was determined from least-squares fit of the CO{sub 2} concentrations integrated over time. The CO{sub 2} emission rate was found to be between 2.6 and 5.8 kg/s during the eruption events, and about 0.17 kg/s during the active pre-eruptive events. Our limited field study can be extrapolated to an annual CO{sub 2} emission of 12 kilotonnes from this geyser. As this is the first application of Gaussian dispersion modeling and objective timingmore » to CO{sub 2} emissions from a geyser of any type, the present study demonstrates the feasibility of applying this method more completely in the future.« less


Many modern semiconductor devices, such as field effect transistors, Charge Coupled Devices, RF switches, Quantum Photodetectors, lasers, and light emitting diodes, use two-dimensional electron (2DEG) and/or hole gas (2DHG) with the 2D concentration varying as a function of coordinate. For example, in a field effect transistor, the electron concentration under the gate and in the ungated regions can be quite different. Numerous computer models exist for analyzing such systems. However, the analytical model has been lacking, even though it can be extremely useful for the device design and parameter extraction. The results predicted by such model developed in this paper are somewhat surprising, even though they are physically clear and transparent. In a nutshell, we show that the 2DEG injected from the region with a higher concentration into the region with a lower concentration decays very slowly (compared to an exponential function) with the characteristic length of such decay being much larger than that for a three dimensional case (where it is simply a Debye length). The characteristic scale of the concentration decay from the 2DEG region with a high carrier concentration into the 2DEG low concentration region is the Bohr radius but the transition region could be s long as 10 Bohr radii. Another important result is that a passivation with high dielectric permittivity layer might dramatically increase the carrier concentration in the low doped region. Hence, such passivation can be used for large reductions in parasitic resistances of normally off FETs relying on space charge injection into the ungated regions. We refer to this effect as «giant injection» and predict that this effect will find application in designing new types of passivation to reduce parasitics in short channel 2DEG devices. A similar effect could be achieved using floating metal layer separated from the 2DEG by a thin dielectric.


Objective Physical activity and weight loss outcomes of a diabetes prevention program were compared for ethnically diverse adults, with the majority participating in public assistance programs. Outcomes were compared for those who completed the program in person versus by distance delivery. Methods A two-group, pre–post study design compared National Diabetes Prevention Program outcomes based on in-person delivery (2018–2020 pre-COVID-19 pandemic, n = 47) and distance delivery (after March 2020, n = 31). Outcomes were measured or self-reported depending on the delivery method. Linear mixed models with a random intercept for coach and covariates were used to assess delivery mode group differences in percent weight loss and weekly physical activity minutes. Results Completion rates were similar by in-person versus distance delivery mode (57% vs. 65%). Among those who completed the program, the mean age was 58 years, the mean baseline body mass index was 33, and 39% were Hispanic. The majority were female (87%), participating in a public assistance program (63%), and living in a micropolitan area (61%). Percent weight loss was greater in the distance delivery group (7.7%) compared to the in-person group (4.7%) in the unadjusted analysis (p = 0.009) but not when adjusted for covariates. No differences were observed in adjusted weekly physical activity minutes between the in-person (219 min) versus the distance group (148 min). Conclusions No differences were observed by delivery mode in percent weight loss or weekly physical activity minutes, indicating that distance delivery does not compromise program effectiveness.


The dyeing performance of PA/PU superfine fiber synthetic leather with acid series dyes was studied.As a result,at the temperature of 60~90 ℃,dyeing rate increased rapidly,but it increased gently at 90~100 ℃.The line of dyeing rate could be expressed that as other conditions were not changed,if the time of dyeing was longer,it was benefit for dyeing.After 90 min,the rate of dyeing line was not increased.


Successful liver surgery requires a clear understanding of the differences in liver shapes and vessel distribution in different individuals. Furthermore, in clinical medicine, there is a high demand for surgical assistance systems for individual patients. Therefore, we aim to segment the liver on the basis of the CT volume data, semi-automatically extract the vessels from the segmented livers and then visualize the 3D shape and the extracted vessel distribution using a virtual operation system. In addition, to improve the operability and accuracy of information recognition in the virtual operation system, prior knowledge and the clinical experiences of doctors are integrated into the visualization system for a practical virtual surgery. A 3D visualization of the liver, allows the user to easily recognize abnormal regions, which need to be removed, and to simply select this region using a 3D pointing device. Furthermore, 3D visualization, allows details in the structure of the human liver to be better understood and a more practical surgical simulation system can be implemented in our developed system.


A variety of art activities have presented globalization in Indonesia, especially in the
last two decades (1990-2010). The biggest initiatives in Indonesia's involvement in
the global art scene came from foreign governments and artists as part of the civil
society. In looking at the absence of The Indonesian Government's role in the
globalized arts, many alternative spaces have established themselves since the
1980s, started with the Cemeti Art House. These alternative spaces grow and change
dynamically in line with the shifts in the art scene.
This paper will describe the globalization phenomenon's influence in paradigm shifts
in Indonesian arts, as well as activism strategies of the Cemeti Art House in facing
the contemporary era. The paradigm in Indonesian arts has shifted to the alternative
movement that broke the market-driven art domination with contextual and
experimental arts, which is known as contemporary arts. The Cemeti Art House
undertakes three strategies in facing the contemporary arts era


Background: Milk production is one of the most important goals pursued by breeders of milk-producing farm animals World Wide. Goats are one of the most important of these animals. This study sought to compare the effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast (SCY) with or without Selenium and zinc on milk yield and milk nutritional composition and hormones related. Methods: Twenty four female Shami goats distributed into 4 equal groups (6 goats /group) control group (C) animals fed on standard concentrated diet without adding, T2(SCY) animal dosed with S.Cerevisiae at a concentration of 0.2 g/kg of body weight, T3 (Se + Zn) was fed on Selenium and zinc at a concentration of 0.3 and 0.2 g/kg of body weight, respectively, T4 (SCY+Sc +Zn) was represented by dosing their animals with an S.Cerevisiae 0.2g/kg body weight with selenium and zinc added to ratio at same as T3. Result: there was a significant increase (P≤0.05) in the in-milk production, solid-to-fat ratio, milk density and protein level at (SCY+ Sc+Zn) among the transactions, also (SCY+ Sc+ Zn) highlighted a significant increase (P≤0.05) in prolactin, thyroxine and cortisol hormones accompanied by a significant decrease (P≤0.05) in estrogen and triiodothyronine levels in compared to all treated groups.


In 1932, the German Communist Otto Braun was sent to China as the Comintern's military adviser to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He knew no Chinese, and his training at Moscow's Frunze Military Academy provided little preparation for the problems of the encircled Kiangsi Soviet he was to advise. Nevertheless, under the Chinese name "Li Teh," he exercised so much influence at first that Mao Tse-tung blamed him for the military defeats that forced the CCP on its Long March. Braun was the only foreigner to take part in that legendary migration, which saw Mao's sinocentric brand of communism seize the initiative from the "internationalist," Moscow-trained leadership that Braun and the Comintern supported. Not until 1939 was "Li Teh" recalled to Moscow, where he had reason to believe he would be "liquidated." Braun survived these ordeals to write these fascinating and important memoirs, which were first published in East Berlin in 1973, months before his death. Now available in this accurate and readable translation, they should be required reading for serious students of modern China. Braun kept quiet about his years in China until the Sino-Soviet rupture of the 1960s gave him the chance to tell his story and "unmask the Maoist distortion of history." Although centrally concerned with the struggle between the "Marxist internationalist" line of the Comintern and its Chinese allies on the one hand, and Mao's "petty bourgeois nationalist" approach on the other, Braun's book is not just a polemic. He makes a convincing defense of his advisory efforts in Kiangsi and challenges the standard Chinese and Western accounts of the Long March by depicting the break-out from Kiangsi as a "painstakingly prepared" operation that "degenerated into outright flight" only after Mao's emergence as party leader at the Tsunyi Conference in January 1935. In addition, Braun's detailed descriptions of innumerable military engagements and his often sensitive portrayals of a changing and maturing Chinese communist leadership constitute important historical contributions. If Braun offers an interesting critique of the Maoist view of CCP history, he fails to make a good case for the "internationalist" alternative to Maoism. Braun was aghast at the "unfortunate social composition" of Mao's peasant armies, but had no real idea how the CCP might be made more "proletarian." As E. H. Carr has noted, the Comintern in the 1930s showed "an almost total ignorance, or lack of understanding, of Chinese affairs" {Twilight of the Comintern, 1930-1935 [New York, 1982], p. 421). Braun never learned to speak Chinese well, and his perception of his fundamental mission — to champion the interests of the Soviet Union "as well as I comprehended them and was capable of so doing in total isolation and under trying circumstances" — won him few converts in a Chinese Communist Party that had survived many tests and would grow in strength despite, rather than because of, the Soviet Union's fraternal assistance.


The utility model discloses a disposable single-port laparoscope converter, which is provided with a rubber spreading sleeve, the minimum diameter of which is 3 to 4 centimeters and the section of which is circular or elliptical; a plastic elastic spreading ring is sleeved on each of the upper and lower parts of the sleeve; the diameter of each elastic spreading ring is 5 to 10 centimeters and greater than the minimum diameter of the cross section of the spreading sleeve, the lower spreading ring is fixed with a web wall and extends into the inner edge of the web wall, and the upper spreading ring is connected with a sealed dome; the sealed dome is made of elastic plastic material and embedded into the inside diameter of the upper spreading spring; and 6 to 7 sleeves are arranged on the top of the sealed dome. The converter has the advantages that: only one notch is required in use, and the functions are not inferior. The disposable multi-angle single-port laparoscope converter is convenient to use, compact in structure and low in cost, does not require sterilization for reuse, avoids possible cross infection, is a disposable product with good sealing property, is used for large excision, and facilitates pneumoperitoneum surgery.


An experiment was carried out in departmental field of Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj during April to July 2021 on Cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) cv. MDU 1 to find out the best suitable combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers for better vegetative growth and yield of cluster bean. The experiment include organic manures like FYM, Poultry Manure, Vermicompost, Goat Manure which were combined in different percentages with reduced dosage of inorganic fertilizers i.e RDF. Twelve treatment combinations were made and replicated thrice in Randomized Block Design. Application of fertilizers and manures was done as per the treatment allocation. The experimental results revealed that treatment T3-75%RDF 18.75:37.5:37.5kg NPK +25%vermicompost 1.25t (5.66) took the minimum number of days to germinate, while vegetative parameters like plant height were recorded maximum in treatment T4-75% RDF 18.75:37.5:37.5 kg NPK+25% Poultry manure 1.25t during the first 30 DAS, later at 60 and 90 DAS treatment T10-50%RDF 12.5:25:25kg NPK +25%FYM 2.5t+25%poultry manure 1.25t was recorded with maximum height (67.04 and 119.09 cm) and maximum no of branches (22.05), first flower bud formation was observed in treatment T3 (33.44 DAS), and yield parameters such as pod yield per plant (265.95 g), total Pod yield (17.72 t/ha), were also recorded significantly maximum in treatment T10.


The essay opens with a preliminary note on why the author decided to contribute to this issue (Slavica non leguntur), why the German language was chosen (in the context of German's culture of law, standards and norms are especially problematic) and about the genre of the text (an essay, in order to avoid the habitus of a legislator). The necessity to discuss standards and norms is interpreted as the symptom of a crisis, a signal of which is the growing importance of brain physiology for the humanities and social sciences. Norms and standards are ascribed to a presupposed collective subject as agent. Recent problematizations of norms, the normal and the production of normality within sociology are acknowledged. Norms of literary studies, which can be defined as binding rules of conduct, should be embedded within a theory and be made practical by methodology. Minimal standards have to be reflected with regard to the subjects who pose them and their areas of application. This is where problems specific to Slavistics have occurred since the end of Real Socialism, after which the number of agents and regions multiplied: individual regionalization is the other side of a generalizing globalization. Moreover, there is the difference between Slavistics as individual national philologies and as foreign language philologies. The specifics of language as a medium attribute normative importance to literary studies even within Slavistics understood as cultural studies, which itself prefers pluralist focalizations. Interdisciplinarity, intermediality and interculturality have become standards in Slavic studies. The essay considers the succession of the linguistic and iconic turn as well as the displacement of the Socialist Realism doctrine as consequential for the formation of standards and norms. In addition to an emancipation from linguistics (e. g. Russian Formalism) and a more relaxed relation to social sciences, now there is a competition with media studies. Media research can be pursued within literary studies in several ways: first as drama or theater studies, second as deriving from the internal differentiation of literature into poetry, prose and drama, and finally as research into intermediality. Specifics of gender studies, postcolonial studies and historical models (chronology vs. periodization) within Slavistics are discussed. Several aspects render the transfer of Middle and West European norms and standards problematic: strong profiles of the motherland, the integration of the Orient into parts of Slavic cultures' territories (e. g. Bosnia, Russia), questions regarding the ongoing existence of Russia as a colonial power, and the colonialization of the Balkans by Turkey. The current reluctance to historically remodel the discipline into several Slavic Slavistics, fostered by breakings of norms and crises of canon, can be overcome by creatively connecting chronology and periodization. In doing this, any abuse of literature in order to illustrate (even historiographic) discourses of truth has to be avoided: Literary artifacts are in themselves documents of the history of knowledge, since they unlock knowledge, hand it down and criticize it. Especially the perceptible changes in the norms and standards hold the promise of a productive future for Slavic studies.


A 65-year-old man presented with a left-sided pulmonary artery aneurysm with a fusiform shape. He was considered to be inoperable. Pulmonary hypertension is common with right heart enlargement, as in the present case. Posttraumatic aneurysms have also been reported. Differential diagnosis must distinguish between these two conditions. If 2D echo and CT have failed to distinguish the condition then right heart catheterization and pulmonary angiography are the methods of choice.


Nitrotoluene is a deactivated alkyl compound. Catalytic liquid\|phase oxidation of nitrotoluene is extremely difficult with molecular oxygen as primary oxidant and with catalytic amounts of cobalt acetate, manganese acetate, and bromide ions. In this paper a catalyst of oxidation of nitrotoluene by molecular oxygen has been described. It is a better catalyst of oxidation than others.


We study a robust model of self-propelled rods interacting via volume exclusion and show that its collective dynamics encompasses both that of the corresponding Vicsek-style model (where local alignment is the sole interaction), and motility-induced phase separation (which occurs when repulsion is dominant). These results unify these heretofore largely disconnected bodies of knowledge on dry active matter and clarify the nature of the various phases involved.


The American lawn receives more care, time, and attention from individuals and households than any other natural space (Robbins 2007). Given the ubiquity of turf grass across the American landscape and the importance of associated environmental impacts, a growing body of research exists that investigates lawn care behaviors or the factors that influence them. To extend that research tradition, the project reported here was designed to understand lawn care practices, attitudes, and values in urbanizing New England communities and to elucidate the correlates of environmentally friendly lawn care behavior. Findings can be used to inform the development of successful outreach and education to facilitate meaningful behavioral change. The results indicate that a high level of concern for environmental issues and water quality exists among homeowners, and identify important factors related to willingness to engage in alternative lawn care practices to protect water quality.


During my research time in Winnipeg, at the offices of the Department of Family Services, I began my day, as was customary, by opening an adoption case file from a large pile. The birth mother, described, incidentally, as "an unkempt women who presents herself as being quite dull and confused, and looks like she has just come off a binge," seemed to "require time out from parenting, so would leave the children with whomever would look after them." An hour earlier, I had left my then three-year-old son, who accompanied me on this research trip, at a new daycare. Sure, he was in the company of the child of the friends with whom we were staying, at a perfectly reputable, statelicensed daycare, to which I paid a lot of money. But these truths did not change that fact that I too needed "time out from parenting" and had just left my child with someone who "would look after him" (As I read the file, I realized I could not remember the name of his new caregiver at daycare that morning.) (82-83).


Strategic level decision-making is very complex in nature because it consists of numerous variables and most of which cannot be quantified. These decisions are assisted based on the information available, which are both qualitative and quantitative. When comparing of different alternatives, the decision-maker should consider both the tangible and intangible benefits of different alternatives, i.e., fuzziness. The decision may be wrong if one considers only the tangible benefits of the alternatives. So, the intangible benefits should also be considered while making the decision. Generally, it is difficult to quantify these intangible benefits, because they are often fuzzy, complicated and subjective. So, there is a need of a methodology to evaluate both tangible and intangible benefits simultaneously. The conjoint analysis is applied to arrive at the relative weightage for the attributes and the part worth values for the levels using techniques like dummy regression, linear programming and to find an alternative method to arrive at the relative weightage and part worth values in conjoint analysis using analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Validation of the model was done through a real-time example.


89 Volume 41 Number 2, Spring 2007 According to a survey by the Royal Society of Chemistry1, 25% of state school laboratories in the UK are judged as 'unsafe/unsatisfactory'. This equates to some 6,560 schools! There are also some worrying suggestions that the amount of practical work being carried out by school science departments has reduced in recent years due partly to perceived fears over health and safety and the increase in teachers working outside of their specialisms. The extent of the reduction is difficult to judge, but even if there is a grain of truth, we have reason to be seriously concerned. Biology, like all the school science subjects, really comes alive when teachers engage in practical work. Encouraging students to practise the scientific method for themselves is the only real way to get them hooked on a career path which will lead into further study and ultimately a career in the biosciences. Even for students who will not end up as scientists, the discipline of following a procedure to the letter in a controlled and safe manner provides useful transferable skills which can be used in many non-scientific careers and everyday tasks.


This paper describes the state machine of an autonomous contact UAV for assisted inspection tasks. The UAV is able to control its position using on-board sensors, while the human operator sends the high-level directives. The internal controller of the robot is aware of the state machine status, granting that the control signals that reach the autopilot are smooth, when transitioning between the different control modes. The article summarizes the control modes associated to state machine's states, describes the rules for the smooth transitions, and shows experimental results. Indoor experiments are evaluated with a VICON system, and outdoors experiments show a qualitative representation of those smooth shifts between the states.


Objective To examine the temporal evolution of subjective cognitive complaints in the long-term after stroke, and to identify predictors of long-term subjective cognitive complaints. Methods Prospective cohort study including 395 stroke patients. Subjective cognitive complaints were assessed at 2 months, 6 months and 4 years post-stroke, using the Checklist for Cognitive and Emotional consequences following stroke (CLCE-24). The temporal evolution of subjective cognitive complaints was described using multilevel growth modelling. Associations between CLCE-24 cognition score at 4 years post-stroke and baseline characteristics, depression, anxiety, cognitive test performance, and adaptive and maladaptive psychological factors were examined. Significant predictors were entered in a multivariate multilevel model. Results A significant increase in subjective cognitive complaints from 2 months up to 4 years (mean 3.7 years, standard deviation (SD) 0.6 years) post-stroke was observed (p≤0.001). Two months post-stroke, 76% of patients reported at least one cognitive complaint, 72% at 6 months, and 89% at 4 years post-stroke. A higher level of subjective cognitive complaints at 2 months and lower scores on adaptive and maladaptive psychological factors were significant independent predictors of a higher level of subjective cognitive complaints at 4 years post-stroke. Conclusion Post-stroke subjective cognitive complaints increase over time and can be predicted by the extent of subjective cognitive complaints and the presence of adaptive and maladaptive psychological factors in the early phases after stroke. LAY ABSTRACT Many people suffer a stroke in the brain leading to consequences in different areas of functioning. Complaints in the domain of thinking (memory, attention, planning and organization) are frequent post-stroke. This study investigated the occurrence and type of complaints experienced in the first years after a stroke. The study found that these complaints increase over time. Longterm complaints are found in those people who already have problems early after stroke.


Objective The present study were to use fMRI to investigate the characteristics of the hippocampal activities of heavy depressed patients during the major depressive episode and remission after antidepressant treatment.Methods Twenty patients with major depressive disorder who had a minimum score of 35 on the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale(HAMD24)received resting-state fMRI scans before and after eight-week treatment.After eight-week treatment,the patients who had reached remission(reduced rate of HAMD24≥75%)were recruited.Twenty gender-,age-,and education-matched healthy controls were recruited as healthy controls.Regional homogeneity(ReHo)approach was used to evaluate the hippocampal function.Results Compared with healthy controls,depressed group showed significantly increased ReHo value in the left hippocampus before antidepressant treatment(P0.05).The ReHo value of the left hippocampus in patients after treatment was not significantly different from the values obtained from patients before treatment or healthy controls(all P0.05).Conclusions The hippocampal function is impaired in major depressed patients,which presents a left lateralization and antidepressant treatment does not effectively reversed the hippocampal dysfunction of major depressed patients.


Abstract Of 10 infants with mediastinal bronchogenic cysts seven were in severe or moderate respiratory distress at admission. In none was the precise diagnosis of bronchogenic cyst made before operation. In four, including all three fatal ones, the presence of a mediastinal mass was not even recognized. Seven of the eight infants operated upon survived and were alive and well up to 20 years later. Two infants died without surgery. Variable clinical and radiographic findings of bronchogenic cysts of the mediastinum may obscure diagnosis and delay treatment. Chest films may show severe hyperaeration, areas of collapse, atelectasis of an entire lung, or a mediastinal mass. Complete obstruction of a bronchus in utero can lead to retention of fetal fluid within the lung, which may be mistaken for a pulmonary tumor.


This study aims at investigating women empowerment in the Arab region through a comparative investigation using the analytical descriptive methodology. Inevitably, woman is a key and an important contributor to development. Therefore, enhancing her empowerment is a vital driver and a key element for a development process that is sustainable and continuous. Measuring the woman empowerment is crucial for pinpointing the fragility in woman empowerment efforts in the Arab region. The overall index consists of four dimensions: economic, educational, political and healthcare. Data used is retrieved from the Global Gender Gap reports (GGG) for the years 2006-2015. By reviewing the GGG reports for fifteen Arab countries during the last ten years, notably the major Arab accomplishment is in bridging the gender gap in health and education, countered by the breadth of the political and economic participation gaps. The inability of Arab countries to bridge both political and economic gaps is attributable to several political, economic, social and religious factors. Based on the analysis in this paper, the authors suggest several actions to improved the economic contribution and political participation of woman.


Simple Summary Human glioblastoma is the most common and malignant primary brain tumor and is universally fatal. Currently, there is no cure for the disease. One major hurdle to developing effective therapies against GBM has been our lack of understanding of regulators of crucial processes and features that define and sustain tumor cells. This study reveals a novel role of transcription factor TCF12 in the regulation of proliferation in GBM tumors using human patient-derived cell lines and an in vivo mouse GBM model. We find that TCF12 deficiency impairs the proliferation of tumor cells in vitro and slows tumor growth in vivo resulting in improved overall survival. We also find that TCF12 regulates the expression of some key regulators of the cell cycle in tumor cells. Abstract Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wild-type glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor which carries a very poor overall prognosis and is universally fatal. Understanding the transcriptional regulation of the proliferation of GBM tumor cells is critical for developing novel and effective treatments. In this study, we investigate the role of the transcription factor TCF12 in the regulation of GBM proliferation using human and murine GBM cell lines and an in vivo GBM xenograft model. Our study shows that TCF12 deficiency severely impairs proliferation of tumor cells in vitro by disrupting/blocking the G1 to S phase transition. We also discover that TCF12 loss significantly improves animal survival and that TCF12-deficient tumors grow much slower in vivo. Overexpression of TCF12, on the other hand, leads to an increase in the proliferation of tumor cells in vitro and more aggressive tumor progression in vivo. Interestingly, loss of TCF12 leads to upregulation of signature genes of the oligodendrocytic lineage in GBM stem cells, suggesting a role for TCF12 in inhibiting differentiation along the oligodendrocytic lineage. Transcriptomic data also reveals that loss of TCF12 leads to dysregulation of the expression of key genes in the cell cycle. Our work demonstrates critical roles of TCF12 in GBM tumor progression.


Objective To detect the expression of VEGF and FLK-1 in NPC,and to evaluate the relationships of VEGF with the growth of it,in order to provide the theory for clinical treats NPC.Methods Immunohistochemical(IHC)methods(SP)were used to examine the expression of VEGF and FLK-1 in paraffin-embedded speciments of 30 chronic nasopharyngitis and 40 NPC.Results The positive rates of VEGF and FLK-1 protein expression in chronic nasopharyngitis were 20.00%(6/30)and 13.33%(4/30)in respective;the positive rates of two protein were 82.50%(33/40)and 75.00%(30/40)in NPC,with significant difference compared with chronic nasopharyngitis respectively(P0.001).In NPC spearman correlation analysis showed there were significant correlation between the expression on VEGF and FLK-1.Conclusion In NPC,there were obvious positive expression of VEGF and FLK-1,VEGF might have important regulatory effects on growth and proliferation of the nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by the pathway of autocrine and paracrine,restraining the expression of VEGF could become a favourable target on the therapy of NPC.


ABSTRACT In order to predict the consolidation constants for very soft soils with high water contents, the constant rate of strain consolidation test method has been proposed together with a new interpretation of the test results. Three kinds of diagrams are constructed on the basis of the finite difference solutions for the basic equation of consolidation including the large strain effects. It has been found that using such diagrams, the consolidation constants of very soft clays in the pressure range required for practice can be accurately determined from consolidation tests under constant rates of strain.


A survey was conducted in nine major sweet potato producing districts across the semi-deciduous forest and coastal savannah zones of Ghana to determine the prevalence of plant-parasitic nematodes parasitizing the crop. Soil samples were collected at 90-days after planting from the rhizosphere of sweet potato crop and analysed using Modified Baermann tray method from 100 farms across the study area. Seven plant-parasitic nematode genera were extracted from soil samples collected and morphologically identified under a microscope with four of them, namely Meloidogyne, Pratylenchus, Rotylenchulus, and Helicotylenchus being the most prevalent. Scutellonema sp. occurred in 89% while Tylenchus sp. occurred in 33% of the districts sampled. The ring nematode, Criconemella sp. was found in only two of the nine districts covered; Ketu North and Akatsi South which incidentally recorded 100% of the seven nematodes encountered in the survey. The abundant nematode was Meloidogyne sp. which represented 39% and Criconemella, the least (0.1%) of the total nematodes recovered in the survey. This study has shown that high diversity, incidence and density of economically important plant-parasitic nematodes are associated with sweet potato crop. Development of appropriate management strategies to mitigate the negative effects of plant-parasitic nematodes on sweet potato is recommended.


Traditional (often synonymous with complementary) medicine can be defined as the knowledge, skill, and practices, based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, which are used in the maintenance of health and the prevention, diagnosis, improvement, or treatment of illness. These practices are found in almost every country, and demand for them is increasing. For individual patients, when of proven quality, safety, and efficacy, traditional medicine contributes to the goal of ensuring that all people have access to care that they feel they need. For medical science, investigators in traditional fields have discovered new medicines with which to combat important diseases, including the sympathomimetic ephedrine, the antimalarial artemisinin, and arsenic trioxide used in the treatment of promyelocytic leukaemia.


Description Past efforts to coax geothermal energy from hot, dry rock deep underground have faltered. But new techniques could crack the problem Past efforts to coax geothermal energy from hot, dry rock deep underground have faltered. But new techniques could crack the problem


The paper,taking a coal mine in thin seam of North China mining area as an example,introduces the exploration and practice process of fully-mechanized mining technique with high-power in the thin seam,anylzes the existing problems in the process and finds out the solution of the problems,which could have better reference to the coal mines with similiar conditions.