STUDY OBJECTIVE
To estimate the incidence of asthma in an elderly population and to describe the clinical characteristics, use of health services, and long-term survival of persons with onset of asthma after age 65 years.

DESIGN
Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING
Rochester, Minn.

PATIENTS
All Rochester, Minn, residents age 65 years or older who met criteria for onset of definite or probable asthma from 1964 through 1983.

INTERVENTIONS
None.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS
Ninety-eight Rochester residents (52 female, 46 male) with onset of asthma at or after age 65 years were identified. The age- and sex-adjusted incidence was 95/100,000 (95% confidence interval, 76 to 115/100,000). The age-specific incidence of asthma was 103/100,000 in residents aged 65 to 74 years, 81/100,000 in those aged 75 to 84 years, and 58/100,000 in residents older than 85 years. Only 11% had allergy skin tests, 24% had at least one office peak flow measurement, and 43% had at least one spirometry measurement. After the diagnosis of asthma, 40% had unscheduled ambulatory visits, 22% had emergency department visits, and 42% had at least one hospitalization for asthma. Observed survival was not significantly different from expected survival.

CONCLUSIONS
Asthma is common in the elderly. Diagnostic evaluation was less intensive than present guidelines recommend. Following the diagnosis of asthma, a substantial proportion of these individuals required unscheduled ambulatory visits, emergency department visits, or hospitalizations. Asthma with onset after age 65 years was not associated with reduced survival.


Summary This paper discusses why there is a growing need for intergenerational programs and approaches to public policy. It suggests they provide some important and unique contributions to contemporary American society. These contributions include responding to challenges emerging from an aging society, by developing productive roles for the aging population, bridging stereotypes associated with age, and promoting understanding between the generations that discourages generational competition. These programs and policies can support families and communities through their involvement in family caregiving and the linking of community agencies.


This thesis explains how concerns over water problems in development contexts led me to explore human activity systems, using Kerala Water Authority as a basis for empirical study of water management and governance issues.

This research aimed to find out how water institutions can be strengthened and the role of participatory systemic approaches in organisational development and change initiatives. The main focus relates to the role that management capacity plays in institutional strengthening. Qualitative systems methods are used to frame and interpret the research. The study draws on a range of organisational and systems theories and is informed by analysis of discourses of the processes of organisational learning and the use of systems methods in practice. A project-based inquiry is used to research a synthesis of three interrelated areas: institutional strengthening and capacity building in development situations, water management and governance, and systemic organisational learning methods.

This inquiry explores methods suited to tackling 'complex' or 'messy' organisational problems involving multiple stakeholders. A systemic approach to capacity-building and institutional strengthening is developed from a sustainability perspective that has elements of novelty both in its synthesis of ideas and in its application in the Kerala context. This approach emerged from purposeful participation of stakeholders and was used to trigger enthusiasm for further activity. This work has led to a new appreciation by the Kerala Water Authority of the issues at stake, and has encouraged this organisation to operationalise systemic approaches for future change interventions.

The research reveals the importance of actively involving stakeholders who either seek or would benefit from change initiatives and of appreciating local situated knowledge and value systems within the organisation undergoing development. The study also reveals the importance of understanding problems from different stakeholder perspectives and of accommodating viewpoints through a process of engagement and debate.

The thesis concludes that the approach developed can offer a potential vehicle for sustainable change in organisational development and behaviour. On the basis of this study a model of the approach is provided and characteristics for a capacity-building initiative that might help strengthen institutions in the water sector are proposed.


no consistent effect of treatment. We believed the message to be clear without further sophisticated statistics. (5) We are a little confused by the comment on nonparametric tests. They do avoid the assumption of an underlying normal distribution and that was all we were dcining. In conclusion, we heartily concur with Dr James's appeal that care is taken with statistical procedures. This was certainly the case with our study. A V SwAN CM WILES St Thomas's Hospital, London SEI 7EH


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the anti-oxidant, enzyme inhibition, anti-pyretic, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic activities of Iris albicans.

METHODS
Anti-oxidant assay was evaluated using DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging and ABTS (2, 2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) inhibitory protocol while enzyme inhibitory assay was evaluated by lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitory protocol respectively. Antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic potential was evaluated using brewer's yeast induced pyrexia, carrageenan induced paw edema and streptozocin induced diabetes protocols respectively. Serum biochemical parameters were monitored for the period of study.

RESULTS
The anti-oxidant activity of chloroform fraction of Iris albicans showed the highest scavenging potential against DPPH and ABTS while the maximum inhibitory action recorded against lipo-oxygenase and cyclooxygenase-2 enzymes was shown by n-hexane and chloroform fractions respectively. The anti-pyretic potential of the crude methanolic extract showed dose dependent activity in reducing pyrexia, thereby when the dose was increased the anti-pyretic effect was also enhanced. The anti-inflammatory action of the crude methanolic extract administered at the dose of 300 mg/kg was significant at 1 h after its administration, which was found maintained up to 5 h. Similarly the anti-diabetic effect of the crude methanolic extract administered at the dose of 200 and 300 mg/kg was noted highly significant at day 6 and was found well maintained throughout the study time period up to 10 days. Significant (P < 0.001) improvement appeared in hemoglobin, protein, cholesterol, triglycerides, urea, creatinine, HDL and LDL of extract treated diabetic mice.

CONCLUSION
From this data it could be concluded that Iris albicans have significant anti-oxidant, enzyme inhibition, ant-pyretic, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic potential.


Abstract:The persistence of a wage gap between mothers and non-mothers has been widely analyzed. However, we know little about the impact of family policies on this relative motherhood penalty. This study investigates the extent to which unpaid leave granted for longer-term care of young children after an initial spell of maternity leave affects the motherhood wage gap, and whether full-time leave and part-time leave differ in this respect. We use panel data from the Continuous Sample of Working Lives and rely on a sample consisting of 959,359 women aged twenty-five to forty-seven between 2005 and 2012. We find first a negative association between use and duration of unpaid parental leave and mothers' wages, and second that a full-time unpaid leave carries higher wage penalties than a part-time unpaid leave of the same duration. This study has major implications for policymaking.


Agriculture has a predominant role not only for food grains to the people but also supplies raw materials to the industries and it is considered as integral part of social, culture, tradition, and combination of all walks of life in the district. The present paper focuses on the problems and prospects of agriculture in the Shimoga District of Karnataka especially on major production problems faced by the farmers. The production problems like quality seeds are not available, sources of irrigation non-available in time; supply of power is insufficient, non-availability of labour in the peak period, literacy rate of the farmers is very low, farmers depended on local moneylenders etc. The paper highlights on the prospects of agriculture, such as plantation and horticulture, dairy farming, mushroom, organic farming etc. The multistage random sampling methodology was followed to collect the primary data. The statistical tool used for testing hypothesis is chi-square test. It is significant at 5% level of significance that there is an association between production and the problem of agricultural products. (P<0.001). The sustainability of agriculture is possible where there is need for perfect synergy between public and private sectors, civil society organizations in the society.


Background.Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality after orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT). Because of its clinically silent progression and lack of symptoms, detection is often difficult and invasive coronary angiography is performed routinely. To date, there are no established noninvasive biomarkers available for prediction of CAV in transplanted patients. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are highly conserved, small noncoding RNA molecules that negatively regulate gene expression. As they are detectable in peripheral blood, recent studies have suggested miRNAs as biomarkers for various cardiovascular diseases. Thus, we hypothesized that circulating miRNAs may serve as noninvasive biomarkers for CAV. Methods. To determine the regulation of circulating miRNAs, we performed miRNA profiling studies in plasma samples of OHT patients with confirmed high-degree CAV and a matched control group consisting of patients without any signs of CAV at least 5 years after OHT. Candidate miRNAs were verified by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Results.Microarray analysis revealed 5 candidate miRNAs (miR-34a, miR-98, miR-155, miR-204, miR-628-5p) that were differentially regulated in plasma samples of patients with CAV and therefore were selected for verification by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. In CAV patients, plasma levels of miR-628-5p and miR-155 were significantly increased (P = 0.001 and P = 0.028, respectively). A miR628-5p value above 1.336 was able to predict CAV with a sensitivity of 72% and a specificity of 83%. Conclusions. For the first time, the present study identifies the circulating miRNA miR628-5p as a novel potential biomarker of CAV in patients after OHT.


The microstructure evolution of a two-phase austenitic-ferritic steel after hot rolling and cold rolling (reduction amounts: 20, 40, 60 and 80%) is investigated with the help of the FEG-SEM / EBSD technique. Special phases orientation relationships (Bain, K-S, N-W and G-T) evolution between neighbouring grains of  and  phases have been characterised as a function of the cold rolling reduction. As this later increases fraction of these particular phase orientation relationships decrease. The same evolution is noticed for the 3 grain boundaries inside the  phase. These results are compared to those observed by TEM.


A class of amphiphilic macromolecules has been synthesized by combining well-defined polystyrene (PS) with poly(propylene imine) dendrimers. Five different generations, from PS-dendr-NH2 up to PS-dendr-(NH2)32, were prepared in yields of 70 to 90 percent. Dynamic light scattering, conductivity measurements, and transmission electron microscopy show that in aqueous phases, PS-dendr-(NH2)32 forms spherical micelles, PS-dendr-(NH2)16 forms micellar rods, and PS-dendr-(NH2)8 forms vesicular structures. The lower generations of this class of macromolecules show inverted micellar behavior. The observed effect of amphiphile geometry on aggregation behavior is in qualitative agreement with the theory of Israelachvili et al. The amphiphiles presented here are similar in shape but different in size as compared with traditional surfactants, whereas they are similar in size but different in shape as compared with traditional block copolymers.


Many cities in Hungary have an application specially developed for smartphones that try to satisfy both the needs of tourists and local residents. These "products" are based on different objectives of city marketing and destination marketing: their goal is to make shorter or longer stays more comfortable, provide faster and more personalized information, help consumers to turn their offline experiences into online experience sharing and to provide a platform for two-way communication between local and touristic consumers. In addition to the marketing literature review related to smartphones and local tourism experiences, this paper presents the results of a quantitative questionnaire focusing on the needs of Generation Z concerning application functions. Based on the quantitative results, the members of Generation Z are classified into three main groups with the k-means cluster analysis. Among the groups, there are significant differences between the functional requirements of city marketing applications, and according to the size of the groups three main application types and two main ways of software development can be distinguished. The results also show that there are four main group of functions and connected to the different clusters application functions appear together in the needs of consumers. However, the analysis and comparison of the related data together show also that there are only small differences concerning demographic and device-usage variables between the groups defined by the k-means cluster analysis, and this requires more research methods to be conducted in the future based on the results of this exploratory survey research.


Although allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is an important therapy for many hematological and non-hematological diseases, acute graft-versus-host-disease (aGVHD) is a major obstacle to its success. The pathogenesis of aGVHD is divided into three distinct phases which occur largely as the result of interactions between infused donor T cells and numerous cell types of both hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic origin. In light of the disease's immensely complex biology, epigenetics has emerged as a framework with which to examine aGVHD. This review focuses on new findings that clarify the roles specific epigenetic regulators play in T cell-mediated aGVHD development and discusses how their modulation could disrupt that process to beneficial effects. DNA methyltransferases, histone methyltransferases and histone deacetylases are the most closely studied regulators across aGVHD priming, induction and effector phases and have been manipulated using drugs and other methods in both murine models and clinical trials to varying degrees of success. Antigen-presenting cells, effector T cells and memory T cells, among others, are targeted and affected by these regulators in different ways. Finally, our review highlights new directions for study and potential novel targets for modulation to abrogate aGVHD.


This paper attempts to delineate the scope of legal translation with a view to distinguishing it from public service translation (PST). Legal translation tends to be recognized as a constituent of PST. However, the paper challenges this view and suggests it is legal translation under which PST is subsumed. Some Russian legal scholars believe inadequacies in legal translation may have grave consequences for a country's international status, while PST is known to affect individuals. Whenever a translation flaw occurs in institutional settings, identifying whether a flaw is attributable to a translator's legal incompetence or insufficient knowledge of matters the law regulates, or mere inexperience might be no easy task. A high-profile legal translation case is analyzed based on debates among government authorities, academia, and media. The analysis advocates more distinct goal-oriented criteria behind identifying translation branches under study, given their primary goals in institutional contexts.


A high-speed analog median circuit is presented using a two-stage architecture to minimize the errors around the transition corners. Prototypes have been designed and built using the Orbit 2-/spl mu/m CMOS process. The design has been optimized for low crossover distortion and fast transient recovery in less than 200 ns. The active area is 0.2 mm/sup 2/, and the circuit dissipates 7 mW from a single 5 V supply while being able to drive an external 30 pF capacitor.


INTRODUCTION
Neurotensin (NTS) is a 13-amino acid neuropeptide functionally linked with the brain dopaminergic system via expression of the NTS peptide or its receptor in dopamine neurons. Neuropeptide-binding immunoglobulins (Igs) are present in humans and can be involved in both physiological and pathological processes. Considering the functional link between NTS and dopamine neurons, we studied the occurrence of NTS-binding IgG autoantibodies in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

METHODS
Plasma levels of NTS-binding IgG were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in both male and female PD patents and in age-matched healthy controls. Possible microbial origin of NTS cross-reactive IgG was analyzed by sequence alignment of the 6-amino acid C-terminal NTS pharmacophore with bacterial and viral proteins from the public NCBI database.

RESULTS
NTS-binding IgG were detected in the plasma of all study subjects, while their levels were consistently lower in PD patients versus controls (p = 0.0001), independently from age or sex of the study participants. Moreover, PD patients with a more severe stage (2.5-3.0) of the disease had lower levels of NTS-binding IgG (p = 0.0004) than those with a milder stage (1.0-2.0). Furthermore, PD patients taking amantadine or high doses of levodopa had higher levels of NTS-binding IgG than those without medication. Contiguous sequence homology for the NTS pharmacophore was present in several microbial proteins occurring in human gut microbiota.

DISCUSSION
The study revealed that NTS-binding IgG occur naturally in humans and that PD patients display their low plasma levels accentuated by disease severity. The functional significance of this finding and its relevance to the pathophysiology of PD, including putative link to gut microbiota, remain to be studied.


: Hancornia speciosa Gomes is a fruit tree native to Brazil with poten tial for use in cropping systems. The objective of this study was to character ize accessions of a germplasm collection by evaluating agronomic traits. The collection was planted in 2005, in an experiment with 57 progenies and four replications, totaling 192 individual accessions from 29 natural subpopula tions of four botanical varieties, from the Brazilian Cerrado. The components of variance were estimated using the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) procedure. Heritability coefficients show the potential of the collection as base population for selection programs. The trait number of fruits per plant presented the highest estimated selection gain. The accessions of H. speciosa var. cuyabensis are the ones with the greatest potential for selection based on plant size and productivity. Progenies with greater development in the juvenile phase are potentially more productive in the adult phase, allowing the early selection of superior genotypes.


Various trip generators (e.g., buildings, shopping malls, recreational centers) continually influence travel demand in urban and suburban areas. As a result, the headway regularity that should be kept among transit vehicles is difficult to maintain, specifically during peak hours. The variation of headways lengthens the average wait times and deteriorates service quality. Providing a tool to monitor and maintain most up-to-date information through Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) can assist effective system planning and scheduling, while reducing the doorto-door travel time. This paper develops a methodology for clustering the state variables (number served passengers and halting stations in each vehicle trip) and using that for service planning. The data used to develop the models were collected by Automatic Passenger Counters (APC) on buses operated by a transit agency in the northeast region of the United States. The results illustrate that the developed tool can provide suggestions for improving systems performance as well as future planning.


Abstract The structure of the larval shell of a pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata, has been investigated at several growing stages mainly using the focused ion beam (FIB) sample preparation technique and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Until 12 h from fertilization, the larva does not have any calcified shells. After 18 h from fertilization, the embryo is covered with the first shell made of aragonite with the c-axis normal to the shell. The cross-sectional view of the shell shows a columnar contrast, but plan-view observation revealed that the columnar contrast does not correspond to individual crystals but is related to dense polycyclic {110} twins in the aragonite crystal. After 48 h from fertilization, the larvae formed a new aragonite layer under the initial layer; a homogeneous layer with globular contrast. The c-axis of the globules is normal to the shell. The orientation of the other axes is aligned locally but random in general. Additionally, larvae consisting of monolithic calcite as the inner layer were found at this stage. One to three weeks from fertilization, a new aragonite layer with a prismatic contrast is formed under the homogeneous layer. This layer consists of prismatic grains of aragonite, with their c-axes parallel to the prisms. High-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) images suggest that a considerable amount of organic molecules may be contained in the homogeneous layer but not in the inner prismatic layer, implying that the texture of each layer is related to the amount of organic molecules incorporated.


ABSTRACT This study examined the design of learning commons in three secondary schools as they related to teachers. The frequency and quality of collaboration among teachers, and between teachers and teacher librarians, was measured along with perceptions of engagement, job satisfaction, and design attributes germane to the learning commons model. Teachers at one school responded more positively than those at the other two schools. Significant differences in teachers' reactions to the new spaces were found within each school. This study partly substantiated the benefits of the model. Findings uncover limitations in how learning commons accommodate teachers' professional needs.


Milk samples were taken from 1920 quarters (480 cows, six herds) on four occasions to examine the relationship between quarter level intramammary infection (IMI) during the dry period and clinical mastitis in the next lactation. All quarters were sampled at drying off and within 1 wk of calving, and two quarters from each cow were sampled both 0 to 7 and 8 to 14 d before calving. Milk samples were collected from all cases of clinical mastitis during the following lactation. Logistic regression models were developed to investigate the associations between IMI present during the sampling period and clinical mastitis. The probability of a quarter succumbing to clinical mastitis increased when Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Streptococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, or Enterobacter spp. were cultured at drying off and when Escherichia coli, coagulase-positive staphylococcus, Serratia spp., or Streptococcus faecalis were cultured in two out of three late dry and post-calving samples. Quarters from which Corynebacterium spp. were isolated at drying off were at an increased risk of clinical mastitis, whereas the presence of Corynebacterium spp. in the late dry and post-calving samples was associated with a reduction in the risk of clinical mastitis. The risk of mastitis for specific pathogens increased if the same species of bacteria that had caused mastitis was isolated at least twice in the late dry and post-calving samples. Kaplan-Meier survival plots indicated that clinical mastitis associated with dry period infections was more likely to occur earlier in lactation than clinical mastitis not associated with dry period infections. There was evidence of quarter susceptibility to IMI or the possibility that infection with one organism led to clinical mastitis with another.


Survivin is a drug target and its suppressant YM155 a drug candidate mainly investigated for high-risk neuroblastoma. Findings from one YM155-adapted subline of the neuroblastoma cell line UKF-NB-3 had suggested that increased ABCB1 (mediates YM155 efflux) levels, decreased SLC35F2 (mediates YM155 uptake) levels, decreased survivin levels, and TP53 mutations indicate YM155 resistance. Here, the investigation of 10 additional YM155-adapted UKF-NB-3 sublines only confirmed the roles of ABCB1 and SLC35F2. However, cellular ABCB1 and SLC35F2 levels did not indicate YM155 sensitivity in YM155-naïve cells, as indicated by drug response data derived from the Cancer Therapeutics Response Portal (CTRP) and the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) databases. Moreover, the resistant sublines were characterized by a remarkable heterogeneity. Only seven sublines developed on-target resistance as indicated by resistance to RNAi-mediated survivin depletion. The sublines also varied in their response to other anti-cancer drugs. In conclusion, cancer cell populations of limited intrinsic heterogeneity can develop various resistance phenotypes in response to treatment. Therefore, individualized therapies will require monitoring of cancer cell evolution in response to treatment. Moreover, biomarkers can indicate resistance formation in the acquired resistance setting, even when they are not predictive in the intrinsic resistance setting.


Lymph node transfer is a novel technique in lymphedema surgery. In this study, we present our experience in harvesting lymph nodes flap based on the right transverse cervical artery. In a period of 7 months, we harvested 11 cervical lymph node flaps based on the right transverse cervical artery (TCA). The reliable anatomy of the TCA and the low complication rate of the donor site make this lymph node flap ideal for transfer in the treatment of lymphedema. Knowledge of the regional anatomy and the anatomic variations of the TCA are mandatory for safe dissection of this flap. We also present the preliminary results of our first 2 cases in which we performed cervical lymph node transfer for secondary lower extremity lymphedema.


Introduction Transmission of Chlamydia trachomatis (chlamydia) is influenced by both sexual behaviour and psychological determinants (i.e., risk perception). However, mathematical models describing chlamydia transmission often consider only sexual behaviour. We explored the influence of incorporating risk perception in a mathematical model that estimated the impact of different testing scenarios on chlamydia prevalence. Methods We developed a pair compartmental model with a susceptible-infected-susceptible structure representing heterosexuals aged 16–26 years. Model parameters were informed by an online pilot study (n=173) on sexual behaviour, psychological determinants, and chlamydia (re-) infections and will be updated with data from an ongoing longitudinal cohort study. The model population was divided in two sexual risk behaviour groups (based on the number of partners in the last year) and further divided in two risk perception groups (based on perceived risk for chlamydia). We compared the impact of an overall testing uptake of 20% per year on population chlamydia prevalence with different testing scenarios: 1) differential uptake among sexual behaviour groups (higher uptake in high sexual behaviour group) and additionally 2) differential uptake among risk perception groups (higher uptake in high risk perception groups). Results Respondents with high sexual risk behaviour (SB) and low risk perception (RP) had the highest mean number of partners (high SB/low RP=5.3, compared to high SB/high RP=5.0, low SB/high RP=1.3 and low SB/low RP=1.1, p<0.001), shortest mean duration of partnerships (high SB/low RP=153 days, compared to high SB/high RP=233, low SB/high RP=512 and low SB/low RP=607 days, p<0.001) and the highest percentage of self-reported chlamydia infections in the past year (high SB/low RP=22.2%, compared to high SB/high RP=14.3%, low SB/high RP=3.1% and low SB/low RP=0%, p=0.02). Models that did not consider differential testing uptake among risk perception groups overestimated the impact of testing on chlamydia prevalence. This effect was largest in the high sexual behaviour/low risk perception group. Conclusion Mathematical models incorporating risk perception could improve the estimation of the impact of testing interventions on the prevalence of chlamydia in specific subgroups.


Abstract A scalable platform to prepare multi-functional ocular lenses is demonstrated. Using rapidly dissolving polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the active stabilizing matrix, both sides of ocular lenses were coated using a modified scaled-up masking electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA) technique (flow rates variable between 5 and 10 µL/min, applied voltage 4–11 kV). Each side was coated (using a specially designed flip-able well) selectively with a pre-determined morphology and model drug substance. PVP nanoparticles (inner side, to be in contact with the cornea, mean size <ca.100 nm) were encapsulated with a probe (flourescein dye) and PVP nanofibres (outer side, to be exposed to air and eye lid, mean width size <ca.200 nm) were encapsulated with chloramphenicol (5 w/w% PVP). Release of the probe and anti-microbial activity (using Staphylococcus aureus NCTC 6571) were demonstrated based on rapid dissolution and contact of PVP model substance matrix. Adapting these findings further for advanced EHDA technologies (encapsulation layering, controllable size and deposition and multi-phase media deposition options) and intrinsic material properties (functional polymers/excipients and advanced controlled release strategies) suggests several therapeutic platforms for ocular lenses can be further developed at ambient temperature and pressure. These provide multi-functional properties (in personalized delivery, nanomedicine and nanosensors) from a single drug delivery device.


This study investigated to what extent a group of Brazilian secondary public school students find themselves motivated to learn English at school. Motivation was conceptualized as participation, in terms of the students' attitudes towards their English classes. With the use of a logbook created for data collection in this research, the students expressed their motivational levels at the beginning and end of each class, during a school semester. The students' impressions were analyzed at individual (TURNER; PATRICK, 2008) and group (WENGER, 2009) levels. The results indicated that these students were usually motivated to attend these classes but the classroom experiences played an important role in motivating them even more. Also, the study acknowledged motivation as an ever-changing experiential construct deeply influencing the foreign language learning classroom, and at the same time, being deeply influenced by internal and external factors to the individuals and the language classroom as well.


Severe convective storms are responsible for large amount of damage each year around the world. They form an important part of the climate system by redistributing heat, moisture, and trace gases, as well as producing large quantities of precipitation. As these extreme and rare events are in mesoscale there is many uncertainty in predicting them and we can't rely on just models. On the other hand, remote sensing has a large application in Meteorology and near real time weather forecasting, especially in rare and extreme events like convective storms that might be difficult to predict with atmospheric models. On second of June 2014, near 12UTC a sudden and strong convective storm occurred in Tehran province that was not predicted, and caused economic and human losses. In This research we used satellite observations along with synoptic station measurements to predict and monitor this storm. Results from MODIS data show an increase in the amount of cloudiness and also aerosol optical depth and sudden decrease in cloud top temperature few hours before the storm occurs. EUMETSAT images show the governing of convection before the storm occurs. With combining the observation data that shows Lake of humidity and high temperature in low levels with satellite data that reveals instability in high levels that together caused this convective, we could track the storm and decrease the large amount of damage.


Is institutional quality a major driver of economic development? This paper tackles the question by focusing on the within-country variation of growth rates of GDP per capita. While previous attempts using this methodology have controlled for many of the standard de- terminants of the empirical growth literature, we argue that such ap- proach is not adequate if good institutions are the main reason behind decisions to invest in human or physical capital accumulation or to engage in international trade. Our regressions exclude the proximate causes of growth in order to estimate the overall e¤ect of institutional quality. Perhaps surprisingly, we nd no support for the thesis that institutional quality improves economic growth. These results encourage a reconsideration of the evidence provided elsewhere in the literature.


Software reuse is the use of existing software artifacts and knowledge to construct new software. Systematic reuse has always been a major goal in software engineering since it promises large gains in productivity, quality, and time-to-market reduction. One of the main reasons software reuse has not been systematically practiced is due to the lack of education: In a survey collected from 113 respondents from 29 organizations, primarily in the US, only 13% said they had learned about reuse in school. This paper presents the creation of a graduate-level seminar course on software reuse in a US institution whose software engineering program aims to educate students with strong technical skills so they can start work as productive members on a software development team. Rather than reinventing the wheel in curriculum development, we adapted a software reuse course developed by Frakes at Virginia Tech. This paper reviews the major challenges of software reuse education, describes the reuse of Frakes' course modules and assessments, and discusses the modifications we made in our course. In particular, we modified our course by incorporating two pedagogical principles: active learning and cooperative learning. Redesigning the course from a lecture format to a seminar format allowed the students to play active roles in leading the classes and in discovering term paper topics that suited to their own research interests. Fostering collaborations among students and interactions between students and instructor allowed the students to recognize their individual accountability to the success of the group and the entire course. This paper reports instructor experiences, lessons learned, and recommendations for other educators considering the application of an active and cooperative learning approach for their software reuse courses.


To provide a scientific and effective basis forWeihai Bay oil spill simulation research, the paper adopts plane two-dimension numerical model to study the tidal current field. The unstructured triangular grid is used to split the computational domain, and the standard Galerkin finite elementmethod is adopted to horizontally discrete space. As for time, the explicit upwind difference format discrete momentumequation and the transport equation are adopted to analyze and forecast the Weihai Bay tidal field. The tidal field distribution and flow rate verification results at different measure points indicate that the mathematicalmodel and boundary setting is proper and well reflects the tidal feature of the research area and its nearbywaters and is applicable to theWeihai Bay oil spill simulation research.


The purpose of the present study was to investigate if 12 weeks of isokinetic resistance training programme at two different angular velocities (120 and 240°/s) would improve functional abilities of patients with grade III anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury without reconstruction. 19 subjects were recruited to the study. They were randomly assigned into three groups: control (6 subjects), 120°/s intervention group (6 subjects) and 240°/s intervention group (7 subjects). The first invention group (120°/s trained group) aged 36.8 ± 7.9 years participated in the prescribed training along with the existing conventional physiotherapy treatment. The second intervention group (240°/s trained group) aged 33 ± 11.4 years also participated in the prescribed training along with the existing conventional physiotherapy treatment. The control group aged 33.5 ± 6.8 years continued with the conventional physiotherapy only. The physiotherapy treatment was carried out by the subjects two times per week. The subjects in both the intervention groups were required to perform the isokinetic resistance training two times per week after the physiotherapy sessions. The results show that there was significant improvement (p<0.05) of physical function in both intervention groups and the control group at post-training (after 12 weeks). However, there were no significant differences between the control group and intervention groups. These data indicate that isokinetic resistance training improved physical functions of patients with grade III ACL injury. Nevertheless, the existing physiotherapy programme also elicited similar benefits to these patients. Therefore, it is concluded that isokinetic resistance training combined with existing conventional physiotherapy and physiotherapy treatment alone are beneficial as a rehabilitation programme for patients with knee grade III ACL injury.


These rules-- 1. Set forth the requirements and procedures for certain individuals under age 65 to enroll and become entitled to Medicare Part A benefits through payment of monthly premiums; 2. Revise the rules on State buy-in for Medicare benefits to provide that-- After 1988, a State may, at any time, request a buy-in agreement or a modification of an existing agreement, including a modification under which the State may enroll a pay Part B premiums on behalf of a new buy-in coverage group--Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries (QMBs); and After 1989, a State may request and obtain a modification of an existing agreement, under which the State may also enroll QMB's in Part A and pay Part A premiums on their behalf. These amendments are necessary to conform HCFA rules to changes made by section 9010 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA '87), section 301 of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 (MCCA), and sections 6012 and 6013 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 (OBRA '89). The purposes of the amendments are-- 1. To make it possible for certain disabled individuals to become entitled to Medicare Part A benefits that require payment of a monthly premium. The provisions apply to an individual under age 65 who loses entitlement to Medicare Part A without premiums because his or her earnings exceed the limit imposed for entitlement to social security disability benefits, on which Medicare Part A entitlement was based; and 2. To make available to States, for payment of premiums for QMBs, the administrative and cost efficiencies of the State buy-in procedures.


The unique health benefits of blueberries have increased consumers' demand for this fruit. Although the demand is still low compared to other fruits including apples and grapes, consumers' growing interest in blueberries has led to a significant increase of blueberry acreage in the U.S., causing the supply to exceed demand. To increase blueberry consumption and sales for the benefits of both consumers' health and the blueberry industry, this study selected 18 blueberry attributes and used an online survey to examine blueberry purchasers' perceived importance and satisfaction of these attributes. An importance-performance analysis (IPA) of these attributes was conducted to provide recommendations for future blueberry marketing and research. All examined attributes were at least slightly important to the blueberry purchasers. Among the 18 attributes, price, pesticide free, and all natural should be what producers and marketers concentrate on to create a more desirable blueberry profile. Recommendations include highlighting local blueberries when they are in season and lower priced, being transparent about pesticide use in blueberry production, and educating consumers about pesticide safety. Working with the regulatory agencies to determine if the all-natural definition used to label some meat products is appropriate for fruits and vegetables was also recommended.


Brain drain is one of the most serious challenges that health systems face in many developing countries. Malawi is not an exception. The determinants of brain drain phenomenon vary across regions and the brain drain of nurses is assuming an increasingly important role in the developing world. This issue has received great attention in recent years. Brain drain studies mostly in developing countries have fallen short of investigating determinants of brain drain from a source country perspective because the focus is mainly on the nurses who have already migrated. In this regard, this research fills the gap by adding to the understanding of major determinants of brain drain among registered nurses in the Malawi health sector. The problem with the knowledge gap is that it makes various stakeholders and experts fail to come up with strategies and measures in an informed, well-focused and systematic manner.
The study employed a qualitative approach and implemented in six public hospitals in rural and urban settings in Malawi to determine the factors of brain drain of registered nurses. The qualitative data were elicited from registered nurses and key informants using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. 18 nurses, 9 key informants and 3 focus group discussions of nurses were targeted to provide empirical evidence of determinants of brain drain in the Malawi health sector. The data were analysed using content analysis. Content analysis involved transcribing and reading thoroughly all interviews before identifying themes that were more recurring than others. This allowed compressing many words of text into fewer categories.
The findings of the study reveal the determinants of brain drain among nurses in the Malawi health sector. These factors are low salaries, delays in paying salaries, delays in adjustment salaries, high tax, regionalism, nepotism and tribalism, diseases, heavy workload, long working hours, non-provision of nurse uniform, non-provision of meals and non-provision of medical cover. Furthermore, the findings show that the lack of equipment, lack of medication, small and congested wards, the lack of training opportunities, the lack of scholarships, favouritism and non-reinforcement of bonding contracts are factors that contribute to brain drain of nurses in the Malawi health sector.
This research contributes to the enrichment of the theoretical knowledge pool of determinants of brain drain of registered nurses in the Malawi Health Sector and offers guidance to policy makers and hospital managers most appropriate strategies and measures to put in place to prevent the further loss of these much-needed professionals to keep the Malawi health sector system functional.


Background In 2009, new guidelines were issued on the prevention and treatment of nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy. In the context of V2010 certification, a first evaluation was performed of professional practice in drug treatment for patients with lung cancer. Purpose To evaluate the effectiveness of the improvements made following the first evaluation. Material and methods In 2013, a prospective study was performed over two months using the same questionnaire as in 2010. Data collection was done by the pharmaceutical team during day care or conventional hospitalisation of patients. The results were analysed and compared to those obtained in 2010 using the Chi square and the Fischer test methods at α risk of 5%. Results 33 questionnaires were identified. The proportion of women (36%) was higher than previously (15%) but no differences were observed in average age or mean creatinine clearance. Distribution of diagnoses, emetic power of protocols followed (high, medium and low), average number of days in hospital, number of drugs per protocol, duration of treatment and cisplatin fractionation were no different. Nausea and vomiting were better assessed and reported in patient records (58% in 2010 to 76% in 2013). An improvement in application of the American Society of Clinical Oncology recommendations for antiemetic treatment including an increase in the prescription of aprepitant were observed (p < 0.001). Less difference between the reference antiemetic protocol and actual prescriptions was observed (p < 0.001). Conclusion The modifications made in 2010 (change of antiemetic protocols in the Chimio software and implementation of a prescribing model, based on the emetic protocol) have had a positive effect and helped improve drug treatment of nausea and vomiting. The new recommendations are being followed more closely including the prescription of aprepitant, optimising care. However, standardisation of care must not compromise the individual adaptability of anti-emetic treatment. Reference www.asco.org/guidelines/antiemetics No conflict of interest.


In this paper, we present a highly sensitive micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) accelerometer for sub-mG sensing resolution, where the thermomechanical noise (i.e., Brownian noise, BN) being inversely proportional to a proof mass has to be below 1 μG/ Hz, (gravity acceleration G = 9.8 m/s2). To increase the proof mass, we propose the use of multiple-layered metal developed by Au electroplating. We then show an approach to design the spring constant for the MEMS accelerometer. A multilayer metal structure is used for serpentine flexures to suspend the high-density proof mass, which also enables us to obtain a high degree of freedom for the spring constant design without compromising the performance of the MEMS accelerometer. A proof-of-concept device has been fabricated, and the measured characteristics are consistent with the design values. The BN of the developed device is experimentally evaluated to be 22 nG/ Hz, which is one or more orders of magnitude lower than those of conventional MEMS accelerometers with the same capacitance sensitivity. The evaluation results confirm that the proposed device has potential for sub-mG sensing.


Transporters belonging in the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family are crucially involved in the determination of the pharmacokinetic behavior of xenobiotics and in the development of drug resistance. The targeting of these transporters has been accepted as a rational option via which to modify the absorption or distribution of pharmaceutical agents and to combat ABC-related inefficiency. Inhibitors of the breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP/ABCG2) multidrug transporter are of interest as chemosensitizers for clinical drug resistance, for improving the pharmacokinetics of substrate chemotherapeutic drugs, and in functional assays of BCRP activity for tailoring chemotherapy. In this study, a reversephase high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the determination of a simplified fumitremorgin C analog, Ko134, a potent ABCG2 inhibitor, in murine serum. The assay involves a simple sample preparation step followed by chromatographic separation on a C8 reversed-phase analytical column. The calibration plots were linear over the range 0.1 to10 μg/ml (r > 0.99). The limits of detection and quantification were 10 ng/ml and 50 ng/ml, respectively. The validation results demonstrated that the method is precise, accurate and selective for the determination of Ko134 in mouse serum. The method was successfully applied to evaluate the pharmacokinetic parameters of Ko134 after different modes of administration in mice.


This study examined the extent to which transitioning, first-year student-athletes engage in educationally sound activities in college . The sample included 147 revenue and nonrevenue first-year student-athletes who were surveyed at four large Division 1-A universities . Findings revealed that revenue and nonrevenue first-year student athletes differed regarding their academic and athletic identities . Transitioning revenue student-athletes rated themselves as having slightly higher athletic identities, yet lower academic identities compared to their nonrevenue counterparts . The findings from this study also indicated that the kinds of effective educational practices that first-year student-athletes engage in have a positive influence on their academic self-concept . These findings have implications for head coaches and student affairs leaders, particularly academic counselors and advisors who are working with this special population of students .


This paper presents kinematic and dynamic analysis of a novel 8-DOF hybrid robot manipulator. The hybrid robot manipulator under consideration consists of a parallel robot which is followed by a serial mechanism. The parallel mechanism has three translational DOF, and the serial mechanism has five DOF so that the overall degree of freedom is eight. The introduced manipulator has a wide workspace and a high capability to reduce the actuating energy. The inverse and forward kinematic solutions are described in closed form. The theoretical results are verified by a numerical example. Inverse dynamic analysis of the robot is presented by utilizing the Iterative Newton-Euler and Lagrange dynamic formulation methods. Finally, for performing a multi-step arc welding process, results have indicated that the introduced manipulator is highly capable of reducing the actuating energy. Keywords—hybrid robot, closed form, inverse dynamic, actuating energy, arc welding


ABSTRACT The statistics literature of the past 15 years has established many favorable properties for sparse diminishing-bias regularization: techniques that can roughly be understood as providing estimation under penalty functions spanning the range of concavity between ℓ0 and ℓ1 norms. However, lasso ℓ1-regularized estimation remains the standard tool for industrial Big Data applications because of its minimal computational cost and the presence of easy-to-apply rules for penalty selection. In response, this article proposes a simple new algorithm framework that requires no more computation than a lasso path: the path of one-step estimators (POSE) does ℓ1 penalized regression estimation on a grid of decreasing penalties, but adapts coefficient-specific weights to decrease as a function of the coefficient estimated in the previous path step. This provides sparse diminishing-bias regularization at no extra cost over the fastest lasso algorithms. Moreover, our gamma lasso implementation of POSE is accompanied by a reliable heuristic for the fit degrees of freedom, so that standard information criteria can be applied in penalty selection. We also provide novel results on the distance between weighted-ℓ1 and ℓ0 penalized predictors; this allows us to build intuition about POSE and other diminishing-bias regularization schemes. The methods and results are illustrated in extensive simulations and in application of logistic regression to evaluating the performance of hockey players. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.


Chronic lymphoproliferative disorders of natural killer cells (CLPD-NKs) and T-cell large granular lymphocytic leukemias (T-LGLs) are clonal lymphoproliferations arising from either natural killer cells or cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). We have investigated for distribution and functional significance of mutations in 50 CLPD-NKs and 120 T-LGL patients by direct sequencing, allele-specific PCR, and microarray analysis. STAT3 gene mutations are present in both T and NK diseases: approximately one-third of patients with each type of disorder convey these mutations. Mutations were found in exons 21 and 20, encoding the Src homology 2 domain. Patients with mutations are characterized by symptomatic disease (75%), history of multiple treatments, and a specific pattern of STAT3 activation and gene deregulation, including increased expression of genes activated by STAT3. Many of these features are also found in patients with wild-type STAT3, indicating that other mechanisms of STAT3 activation can be operative in these chronic lymphoproliferative disorders. Treatment with STAT3 inhibitors, both in wild-type and mutant cases, resulted in accelerated apoptosis. STAT3 mutations are frequent in large granular lymphocytes suggesting a similar molecular dysregulation in malignant chronic expansions of NK and CTL origin. STAT3 mutations may distinguish truly malignant lymphoproliferations involving T and NK cells from reactive expansions.


The ETS factor ETV2 (aka ER71) is essential for the generation of the blood and vascular system, as ETV2 deficiency leads to a complete block in blood and endothelial cell formation and embryonic lethality in the mouse. However, the ETV2‐mediated gene regulatory network and signaling governing hematopoietic and endothelial cell development are poorly understood. Here, we map ETV2 global binding sites and carry out in vitro differentiation of embryonic stem cells, and germ line and conditional knockout mouse studies to uncover mechanisms involved in the hemangiogenic fate commitment from mesoderm. We show that ETV2 binds to enhancers that specify hematopoietic and endothelial cell lineages. We find that the hemangiogenic progenitor population in the developing embryo can be identified as FLK1highPDGFRα−. Notably, these hemangiogenic progenitors are exclusively sensitive to ETV2‐dependent FLK1 signaling. Importantly, ETV2 turns on other Ets genes, thereby establishing an ETS hierarchy. Consequently, the hematopoietic and endothelial cell program initiated by ETV2 is maintained partly by other ETS factors through an ETS switching mechanism. These findings highlight the critical role that transient ETV2 expression plays in the regulation of hematopoietic and endothelial cell lineage specification and stability.


With the bilingual volume International Investment Law in Latin America: Problems and Prospects, Attila Tanzi, Alessandra Asteriti, Rodrigo Polanco Lazo and Paolo Turrini provide a regional perspective on one of the liveliest branches of international law by situating it in one of the most dynamic areas of the world.

Latin America has always had an ambivalent relationship with international investment law and, more recently, it has been the home of harsh and resolute criticisms, questioning the ultimate legitimacy of the regime. By bringing together distinguished scholars of this legal field, the volume analyses ongoing trends and draws lessons from the Continent's past experiences while identifying possible solutions to the important challenges it faces.


Abstract Fragmentation of crystals is an important mechanism, and a component of particle dynamics in igneous and metamorphic rocks that has received surprisingly little attention. Recent advances in textural analysis, extraction techniques, digital imaging, and computer-assisted measurements enable rapid accumulation of 3D data on particle shapes and size distributions. This paper reviews fragment size distributions (FSD) that result from fragmentation: lognormal, fractal, loggamma, and Weibull; discusses their genesis mechanisms; and presents relevant examples of fragmentation from experimental physics. Next, the paper considers FSDs of feldspars on digitized images of thin sections and on published images, and quartz extracted from vesicular pumice by acid from eight well-known large-volume eruptive units. The acid solution of pumice enables examination of volume abundance, 3D shapes, proportions of fragmented crystals, and measurements of their CSDs and FSDs. FSDs were also measured in samples of welded tuff and a granite disaggregated by electric pulse. Products of syneruptive shock wave fragmentation, and fragmentation by an electric pulse are found to be fractal with large breakage probabilities, branching ratios, and fractal dimensions of 2 to 3. In contrast, most quartz fragments in pumice obey a lognormal distribution and fragmentation is driven by a melt inclusion decrepitation mechanism, which results in low breakage probability and small number (2−3) of fragments per breakage cycle. These results are consistent with one atmosphere heating experiments of quartz phenocrysts that led to melt inclusion decrepitation and caused quartz to break up into several smaller pieces collectively having lognormal FSD. Measured melt inclusion size distributions suggest decrepitation of outermost melt inclusions, and low survival rate for large inclusions, and inclusions with large radius/crystal size ratio. The modeling of periodic fragmentation of crystals with melt inclusions due to overheating and/or decompression, which may occur many times during the lifetime of a long-lived magma body, may explain concave-down, lognormal CSDs abundant in igneous rocks. The genesis of lognormality can be explained by the fragmentation algorithm of Kolmogorov (1941). Other algorithms may generate lognormal-like loggamma distributions. Fragmentation serves as an important size limiting factor, a nucleation aid, and it facilitates isotopic and trace elemental exchange.


This paper develops an overlapping-generations model to study the growth-maximizing level of public debt under conditions of demograhic change. It is shown that the optimal debt level depends on a positive marginal productivity of public capital. In general, it also depends on the demographic parameters, but not if the government is not allowed to borrow to cover revenue shortfalls for current age-related spending. In that context, balanced budget rules are not an approriate form of fiscal rule. The implication is that a government facing demograhic change or demands for more welfare spending will have to adjust its fiscal plans to accommodate those changes, most likely downward, if growth is to be preserved. An advantage of this model is that it allows us to determine in advance the way in which fiscal policies need to adjust as demographic parameters change.


BACKGROUND: We assessed the effect of vedolizumab (VDZ), an investigational, gut-selective monoclonal antibody targeting a4b7 integrin, over 52 wks of therapy in patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis in whom at least 1 prior therapy had failed. METHODS: Eligible adult patients had a Mayo score 6 and endoscopic subscore 2 despite corticosteroids (CSs), purine antimetabolites, and/or TNFa antagonists. After 2 induction doses of VDZ (wk 0, wk 2), patients with clinical response (reduction in Mayo score of 3 points and 30% from baseline, plus decrease in rectal bleeding subscore of 1 point or absolute rectal bleeding subscore 1 point) to VDZ at wk 6 were randomized 1:1:1 to VDZ 300 mg IV q4wks, VDZ 300 mg IV q8wks, or placebo (PBO) for 46 wks. Clinical remission was defined as complete Mayo score (CMS) or partial Mayo score (PMS) 2 and no individual subscore >1; clinical response was based on PMS, as a reduction 2 points and 25% from baseline; durable mucosal healing, as Mayo endoscopic subscore 1 at both wks 6 and 52. Because the defined study endpoints used both CMS and PMS, analyses were conducted to evaluate agreement; moderate to substantial agreement was found between clinical response and remission endpoints as defined by CMS and PMS at wks 6 and 52. RESULTS: Among patients with a clinical response to VDZ at wk 6 (intention-totreat [ITT] population, N 1⁄4 373), decreases in PMS occurred as early as wk 2 (Fig 1). After successful induction, PMS remained substantially lower than baseline in both VDZ groups through wk 52, whereas an increase in PMS was noted starting at wk 22 in the PBO group. Mean vedolizumab trough concentrations in the placebo group declined over time and were below quantitation limits at wk 22. In the ITT population, remission rates by PMS in the VDZ groups remained stable, whereas PBO remission rates decreased, over the course of the maintenance phase (Fig 2). Durable mucosal healing was achieved by 42.6%, 43.2%, and 17.5% of patients in the VDZ q8wks, VDZ q4wks, and PBO groups, respectively (P<0.0001 for both comparisons of VDZ vs PBO). Median CS dose declined over the maintenance phase in both VDZ groups, compared with rising CS use after wk 26 in the PBO group (Fig 3). In patients blinded to treatment who did not achieve a clinical response by wk 6 (n 1⁄4 174), 25.0% of VDZ vs 14.6% of PBO patients achieved clinical response, and 8.7% vs 4.9% clinical remission, as determined by PMS by wk 10. CONCLUSION(S): In patients who responded to VDZ by wk 6, treatment effect was observed as early as wk 2; sustained reductions in PMS were observed in VDZ-treated patients over a 1-year period. Clinical remission rates in VDZ patients remained stable during the maintenance phase. Durable mucosal healing was achieved in more than twice as many VDZ patients as PBO patients. Continued dosing with VDZ induced response and remission among patients who did not achieve response at wk 6.


The relationship between progressive cognitive decline and underlying neuropathology associated with Alzheimer s disease (AD) is a key issue in defining the mechanisms responsible for functional loss. This has been a subject of much controversy, with separate studies comparing various clinical and neuropathological indices in AD. Further, it is difficult to compare studies with differences in histochemical staining protocols, brain regions examined, and data quantification criteria. There are many difficulties in designing a clinical-pathological correlative study involving AD patients. It is necessary to control for several key parameters. For example, a broad range of cognitively impaired subjects is needed, as well as short postmortem delays, brief intervals between cognitive testing and death, and the most sensitive detection and quantification techniques. In this study, we carefully controlled for each of these parameters to determine if there is a relationship between global cognitive dysfunction and multiple neuropathological indices. We selected 20 individuals representing a broad range of cognitive ability from normal to severely impaired based on the MMSE, Blessed IMC, and CDR. We counted plaque number, NFT number, dystrophic neurite number, and the relative extent of thioflavine positive plaques and neuritic involvement within plaques. We also quantified cortical area occupied by beta-amyloid immunoreactivity (A beta Load) and PHF-1 positive neuropil threads and tangles (PHF Load) using computer-based image analysis. Interestingly, we found that most pathologic measures correlated highly with the severity of dementia. However, the strongest predictor of premortem cognitive dysfunction on all three cognitive measures was the relative area of entorhinal cortex occupied by beta-amyloid deposition. In conclusion, our data show that in a carefully controlled correlative study, a variety of neuropathological variables are strongly correlated with cognitive impairment. Plaque related variables may be as strongly related to cognitive dysfunction as other established measures, including synapse loss, cell death and tau hyperphosphorylation, although no correlative study can demonstrate causality.


In structures excavated in rock mass, load progressively increases to a level and remains constant during the construction. Rocks display different elastic properties such as Ei and v under different loading conditions and this requires to use the true values of elastic properties for the design of safe structures in rock. Also, rocks will undergo horizontal and vertical deformations depending on the amount of load applied. However, under constant loads, values of Ei and v will vary in time and induce variations in the behavior of the rock mass. In some empirical equations in which deformation modulus of the rock mass is taken into consideration, elastic parameters of intact rock become functions in the equation. Hence, the use of time dependent elastic properties determined under constant loading will yield more reliable results than when only constant elastic properties are used. As well known, rock material will play an important role in the deformation mechanism since the discontinuities will be closed due to the load. In this study, Ei and v values of intact rocks were investigated under different constant loads for certain rocks with high deformation capabilities. The results indicated significant time dependent variations in elastic properties under constant loading conditions. Ei value obtained from deformability test was found to be higher than the Ei value obtained from the constant loading test. This implies that when static values of elastic properties are used, the material is defined as more elastic than the rock material itself. In fact, Ei and v values embedded in empirical equations are not static. Hence, this workattempts to emerge a new understanding in designing of safer structures in rock mass by numerical methods. The use of time-dependent values of Ei and v under different constant loads will yield more accurate results in numerical modeling analysis.


Banks in Nigeria need to understand the perceptual difference in both male and female employees to better develop adequate policy on sexual harassment. This study investigated the perceptual differences on sexual harassment among male and female bank employees in two commercial cities (Kano and Lagos) of Nigeria.Two hundred and seventy five employees (149 males, 126 females) were conveniently sampled for this study. A survey design with a questionnaire adapted from Sexual Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) comprises of three dimension scalesof sexual harassment was used. The hypotheses were tested with independent samples t-test. The resultsindicated no perceptual differences in labelling sexual harassment clues between male and female bank employees in Nigeria. Thus, the study recommends that bank managers should support and establish the tone for sexual harassment-free workplace. KeywordsGender Harassment, Sexual Coercion, Unwanted Sexual Attention, Workplace.


In this chapter, the calculation of vibrational zero-point energies (ZPEs) of organosilicon compounds is reported. An empirical formula is used. This relationship was determined by relating vibrational zero-point energy to the nature and type of bonds forming the molecule. The calculated vibrational zero-point energies for several organosilicon derivatives belonging to different categories of compounds correlate well with the reported available values. In addition, the comparison of these results with the scaled values obtained using methods of quantum chemistry (AM1, ab initio, and by a similar empirical approach) indicates the reliability of our empirical model to reproduce vibrational zero-point energy of organosilicon compounds.


William Harvey (1578-1657) was a rebel in medical science: Contrary to contemporary practice, he began his epoch-making investigation into the action of the heart and the blood's circulation by minutely observing their action in live animals and by a lengthy series of dissections, rather than by mere reliance on the anatomical lessons of ancient medicine and philosophy. "On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals", including explanations of heart valves and arterial pulse, stands as a triumph of true scientific inquiry, and is still regarded as one of the greatest discoveries in physiology.


A five-level symmetrically defined multilevel selective harmonic elimination pulsewidth modulation (MSHE-PWM) strategy is reported in this paper. It is mathematically expressed using Fourier-based equations on a line-to-neutral basis. An equal number of switching transitions when compared against the well-known multicarrier phase-shifted sinusoidal PWM (MPS-SPWM) technique is investigated. For this paper, it is assumed that the four triangular carriers of the MPS-SPWM method have nine per unit frequency resulting in seventeen switching transitions for every quarter period. For the proposed MSHE-PWM method, this allows control of sixteen harmonics and the fundamental. It is confirmed that the proposed MSHE-PWM offers significantly higher converter bandwidth in the standard range of the modulation indices. Moreover, when the bandwidth is reduced to be equal with the one offered with the MPS-PWM, the modulation index can be increased resulting in a higher gain and at a reduced switching frequency overall. Selected solutions for the switching transitions are presented and verified experimentally in order to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed technique.


Taking into consideration that species react differently to the substrate and luminance variations, this study aimed to evaluate the leaf content of some macronutrients and dry matter in Tabebuia aurea seedlings through the hypothesis that the growth environment can alter the concentration of chemical elements in the species. The study was conducted in a greenhouse, in randomized blocks, factorial 2 × 3 (two light intensities and three types of substrates). The first greenhouse was covered with shade cloth, with maximum flow of 950 µmol m-2 s-1 radiation, and the second was 750 µmol m-2 s-1. The substrates were: 1) Cerr. Savannah soil, 2) Ca-Mg – Savannah soil with calcium carbonate and magnesium and, 3) OM – Savannah soil with organic matter (2/1), with samples taken after 230 days of experiment. The data obtained indicated that T. aurea species has better development when grown in brighter locations in OM soils, which would be expected due to its higher nutritional content. However, when the seedlings were placed in soils with low nutrient content (Ca-Mg and Cerr.) and similar levels of potassium, plants maintained in soils with higher amounts of calcium and magnesium obtained higher growth, with greater accumulation of dry matter in leaves and total. This could indicate that the difference in growth should be related to increased amount of these Ca-Mg elements of treatment and the calcicole characteristic of the species tested.

 Key words: Greenhouse, seedling formation, dry matter, ipe.


The importance of the textile industry in the economy of Bangladesh is very high. The garments manufacturing sector earned $19 billion in the year to June 2012, one of the impoverished nation's biggest industries. Currently this industry is facing great challenges in its growth rate. The major reasons for these challenges can be the global recession, unfavorable trade policies, internal security concerns, the high cost of production due to increase in the energy costs, different safety issues specially fire, etc. Depreciation of Bangladeshi Taka that significantly raised the cost of imported inputs, rise in inflation rate, and high cost of financing has also effected seriously the growth in the textile industry. As a result neither the buyers are able to visit frequently Bangladesh nor are the exporters able to travel abroad for effectively marketing their products. With an in-depth investigation it was found that the Bangladesh textile industry can be brought on top winning track if government and others individuals takes serious actions in removing or normalizing the above mentioned hurdles. Additionally, the government should provide subsidy to the textile industry, minimize the internal dispute among the exporters, withdraw the withholding and sales taxes etc. Purchasing new machinery or enhancing the quality of the existing machinery and introducing new technology can also be very useful in increasing the research and development (R and D) related activities that in the modern era are very important for increasing the industrial growth of a country.


Oral health care is frequently cited as an area that has witnessed the radical transformations underway as a result of digital revolution. One such innovation is the Bluetooth Technology developed to jazzup dental practice. This technology offers dentists not only tailor the procedures but also to diagnose more quickly, with high degree of accuracy. Henceforth, this review emphasizes on implementation of bluetooth smart technology in various devices for quality dental practice.


Background and aims Subdural haemorrhage after epidural is a rare complication, which can pose diagnostic challenge given the varied differentials for intrapartum headache. We present a 30-year-old fit and well female at 40 weeks and 2 days gestation with an epidural uneventfully sited. Two top-ups were administered without issue before a category two caesarean was instigated for failure to progress and cardiotocography concerns. Methods A test dose of 3 mls of 2% lidocaine with 5 micrograms/ml of adrenaline resulted in rapid lightheadedness, followed by difficulty in breathing. Over 5 minutes there was progressive decrease in consciousness, becoming unresponsive, with a fixed, dilated right pupil, accompanied by desaturation but no cardiovascular instability. Emergency rapid sequence induction of general anaesthesia was performed, oxygenation improved and the right pupil resolved. Following delivery, the uterus was felt to be atonic, oxytocin and carboprost were administered, avoiding ergometrine in case of undiagnosed eclampsia. Results Whilst maintaining neuroprotection, CT head imaging showed a subdural haematoma, within the falx cerebri, with no other sites of haemorrhage. A neurosurgical referral advised no acute surgical intervention and the patient was successfully extubated with no residual neurology. Magnetic resonance venography demonstrated no evidence of venous sinus thrombosis and neurology review suggested intracranial hypotension the likely trigger for subdural haemorrhage. The patient remained clinically well, although developed hypertension on day three, requiring labetalol, and occipital headache on day four. CSF was noted on epidural removal. Conclusions Despite being a rare complication, subdural haemorrhage is an important differential for post-epidural headache due to potentially catastrophic consequences.


Does quality of care systematically differ among government-owned, private not-for-profit, and for-profit hospitals? A large empirical literature provides conflicting evidence. Through quantitative review of 46 studies since 1990, we find that several study features that can explain divergent results: analytic methods, disease studied, and data sources. For unprofitable care, how studies handle market competition and regional differences account for substantial variation. Policymakers should be aware that differences in results appear to arise predominantly from differences between studies%u2019 analytic methods. Moreover, conventional methods of meta-analytic synthesis should be applied with great caution given the considerable overlap among studied hospitals.


Background: Withania somnifera is an Indian medicinal herb known for the multipotential ability to cure various therapeutic ailments as described in the ayurvedic system of medicine. Objective: In the present study, we have evaluated the antiproliferative activity of a standardized W. somnifera root extract (Viwithan) against different human and murine cancer cell lines. Materials and Methods: The cytotoxicity of Viwithan was determined using thiazolyl blue tetrazolium blue assay and crystal violet staining. The apoptotic changes in B16F1 cells following treatment with Viwithan were observed by acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) staining and DNA fragmentation assay. The binding affinity of withanolides in Viwithan with antiapoptotic proteins B-cell lymphoma 2, B-cell lymphoma-extra large, and myeloid cell leukemia 1 (MCL-1) were studied using in silico approach. Results: The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of Viwithan against liver hepatocellular carcinoma, Henrietta Lacks cervical carcinoma cells, human colorectal carcinoma cell line, and Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells were 1830, 968, 2715, and 633 μg/ml, respectively. Interestingly, Viwithan was highly effective against B16F1 cells with an IC50 value of 220 μg/ml after 24 h treatment. The morphological alterations of apoptotic cell death were clearly observed in the AO/EB-stained cells after treatment with Viwithan. Viwithan induced late apoptotic changes in treated B16F1 cells as evident by the ladder formation of fragmented DNA in a time-dependent manner. The findings of molecular docking showed that withanolides present in Viwithan have a more binding affinity with the antiapoptotic proteins, particularly MCL-1. Conclusion: We have reported for the first time that Viwithan with 5% withanolides has a potent cytotoxic effect, particularly against B16F1 murine melanoma cells among the different cancer cell lines tested. Abbreviations used: MTT: Thiazolyl blue tetrazolium blue; DMSO: Dimethyl sulfoxide; BSA: Bovine serum albumin; DMEM: Dulbecco's minimum essential medium; NCCS: National Centre for Cell Science; PBS: Phosphate-Buffered Saline; HepG2: Liver hepatocellular carcinoma; HeLa: Henrietta Lacks cervical carcinoma cells; HCT-116: Human colorectal carcinoma cell line; EAC: Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells; IC50: Half maximal inhibitory concentration; AO/EB: Acridine orange/Ethidium bromide; BCL-2: B-cell lymphoma 2; BCL-XL: B-cell lymphoma-extra large; MCL-1: Myeloid cell leukemia 1; PDB: Protein Data Bank; ANOVA: Analysis of variance.


Two genes encoding citrate synthase, a key enzyme in the Krebs cycle, have been found in Rhizobium tropici. One of them is in the bacterial chromosome, while the other is in the symbiotic plasmid. We sequenced the chromosomal gene and found that it is very similar to the previously reported plasmidic gene sequence in its structural region but not in its regulatory region. The chromosomal gene is able to complement an Escherichia coli citrate synthase mutant. In R. tropici, a mutant in the chromosomal citrate synthase gene has a diminished citrate synthase activity (in free-living bacteria), a diminished nodulation capacity, and forms nitrogen-fixing nodules. In contrast, the citrate synthase double mutant forms ineffective nodules devoid of bacteroids and forms less nodules than the single chromosomal mutant. It is inferred that both genes are functional and required during the nodulation process in R. tropici.


Abstract In two complementary epidemiological surveys of villages on the Ugandan shoreline of Lake Victoria, the putative occurrence of intestinal schistosomiasis in the local infants (children aged <3 years) was investigated. When, during the first survey, 136 mother-and-infant pairs from a total of 12 villages were studied, only 7% of the infants but 45% of the mothers were found to be egg-patent for Schistosoma mansoni infection. The use of dipstick tests for urine-circulating cathodic antigen indicated, however, a much higher prevalence, of approximately 40%, among the infants. In the second survey, urine samples and multiple, not single, stool samples were collected from another 19 mother-and-infant pairs in two of the 12 study villages (Bugoto and Bwondha), and a standardized questionnaire was implemented. The prevalence of egg-patent infection was then found to be markedly higher in the study infants from Bugoto (86%) than in those from Bwondha (25%). A greater level of mother-and-infant water contact, a higher abundance of (infected) Biomphalaria choanomphala, and an unusual lakeshore topology may explain why S. mansoni infection was so much more common in the Bugoto subjects than in the Bwondha. All but one of the infants studied in the second survey were found to be anaemic (with <110 g haemoglobin/litre). Taken together, these children were less likely to be found infected with hookworm (16%), Hymenolepis nana (11%) or Trichuris trichiura (5%) than with S. mansoni (47%). Infection with the parasites causing intestinal schistosomiasis can be common among the infants living in these lakeshore villages. Although the immediate and later-life clinical impacts of such infection have yet to be elucidated, such infants would probably benefit from regular de-worming. Mothers should be strongly encouraged to visit the nearest health-services clinic, with their infants, for any necessary anthelmintic treatment.


For fifteen years, Robert Stebbins has conducted extensive research on amateurs and professionals in theatre, music, archaeology, astronomy, baseball, football, magic and stand-up comedy. His publications give the theme of serious leisure in-depth scholarly attention. This text brings together the findings of this research project to provide a theoretical framework that reveals the commonalities across these eight fields. Throughout this project Stebbins has built on the work of Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss and their notion of "grounded theory". First, Stebbins extensively observed the routine activities of amateurs and professionals in each field studied. Then, as he became more familiar with the life-styles of the participants, he conducted lengthy, unstructured, face-to-face interviews with, in most cases, 30 amateur or professional respondents. Each field demanded special methods of observation, analysis, interviewing, probing and reporting. As much as possible, however, Stebbins asked similar questions of all respondents in all fields so as to permit generalizations across these diverse fields. The result was a "substantive grounded theory" of each field studied. Stebbins has developed a "formal grounded theory" of amateurs and professionals based on the research accumulated in all eight substantive fields. By transcending a variety of contexts, he argues, one can gain a more enduring appreciation of the elements that affect peoples' experiences in work and leisure pursuits. A review of the findings across this wide range of activities, including his findings and ideas on hobbyists and career volunteers, enabled Stebbins to derive better definitions of the main concepts of the project, such as "amateur", "the public", and "serious leisure" -- as well as "professional", where he distinguishes between client-centred and public-centred professionals who, while sharing numerous ideal-typical attributes, vary as to the power and control they have over their work in a democratic society. He presents inductive conclusions about careers and the costs and rewards in the eight amateur-professional fields considered. He examines the external world of amateurs and professionals in the light of such issues as family ties, relations among amateurs and professionals and among amateurs and their employers, public images, critics and journalists, community contributions, and the question of marginality for amateurs who are caught between the work world of the professional and the casual leisure world of the majority of the population. He concludes with an exploration of the future role of serious leisure in relation to predictions of greater unemployment and increased leisure time and longevity.


Mg-Ni alloys are perspective hydrogen-storage materials. In the present work, kinetics of hydrogen desorption was studied in Mg2NiH4 hydride and in hydrogenated eutectic (Mg/Mg2Ni)Hx. Time dependence of desorbed hydrogen was measured in temperature interval 552 –723 K and hydrogen diffusion coefficients were evaluated from obtained desorption curves. Results were interpreted in relation to phase composition investigated parallel by XRD. It was found that microtwinned low-temperature phase LT2 slows-down considerably the hydrogen desorption rate.


Disturbances in numeric skills (acalculia) often occur in adults following CNS damage. We present an examination procedure which assesses number-processing abilities as well as basic skills in calculation. Results of an investigation based on a unselected sample of brain-damaged adults (N = 52) show that numeric skills can be impaired in a variety of different ways. With our acalculia examination procedure it is possible to distinguish secondary forms of acalculia, which can only occur in combination with other neuropsychological disturbances, and primary acalculia, which cannot be explained as resulting from accompanying disturbances.


The aim of this research was to know whether the calculation of Income Tax-Article 21 of PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) Adisutjipto Airport in a year had referred to Minister of Finance Regulation No. 122/PMK.010/2015.The type of research conducterd was case study. The collection techniques were interview and observation. The steps used were by recalculating Income Tax-Article 21 based on Taxation Rule and compared that result with the calculation of  Income Tax-Article 21 from PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) Adisutjipto Airport. From analysys result showed that calculation process of Income Tax-Article 21  had not referred yet to prevailing Taxation rule implemented in Indonesia. PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) Adisutjipto Airport had not  calculated  non taxable income (PTKP) based on  Minister of Finance Regulation No. 122/PMK.010/2015, the calculation result of tax system had not refeffed to Minister of Finance Regulation No. 122/PMK.010/2015 and PER-32/PJ/2015 article 10 paragraph (3) a and the calculated of pension contributed had not referred to Government Regulation RI No. 45 2015.


The mechanisms underlying host preference in mosquitoes are ultimately a result of optimal foraging on currently available hosts and historical patterns of host availability. The proximate mechanisms are regulated by available host cues and the nature of the mosquitoes' responses to these cues. Although mosquito host preference has a genetic background and the response to specific host cues are adaptive, mosquitoes exhibit a high degree of plasticity in their host preference. The purpose of this study was to analyse the extent of this variability in the disease vectors Aedes aegypti, Anopheles gambiae and Culex quinquefasciatus, and if their behavioural response is constrained by qualitative and quantitative differences in host cues. I investigated the sensory mechanisms and constraints regulating mosquito behaviour in response to various carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, within the range emitted from vertebrate hosts. The temporal capacity of the CO2-ORNs in Ae. aegypti and An. gambiae is higher than in Cu. quinquefasciatus, which translated into behavioural constraints leads to an increased time to take off at high concentrations. The altered sensitivity of CO2-ORNs in transient elevated background levels of CO2 also constrain the host-seeking behaviour in Ae. aegypti. Take off flight was impeded, correlating with a behavioural threshold in the net CO2-ORN response. Hence, sensory limitations of CO2-ORNs induce behavioural constraints at higher CO2 concentrations, which may be partially responsible for species-specific host preferences. The specificity and sensitivity of host volatile blends play a key role in mosquito host recognition and non-host avoidance. I determined that Ae. aegypti and An. gambiae consider (R)-1-octen-3-ol as a host cue, whereas Cu. quinquefasciatus perceives it as a non-host cue, when not in the context of a preferred host. Hence, host recognition is regulated by the perception of specific volatiles in the context of a blend. This specificity appears to be consistent with host preference, as Ae. aegypti is attracted by a wide range of (R)-1-octen-3-ol concentrations, while in Cu. quinquefasciatus it elicits no attraction or even repels at higher concentrations. The behavioural and physiological specificity and sensitivity to (R)-1-octen-3-ol is the output of the sensitivities of the orthologous mosquito odorant receptors, the OR8s. The functional tuning of these receptors and their cognate neurons was reflected in minor differences in the receptors amino acid structure. These findings provide a substrate with which to examine how the sensory system of a mosquito interprets host and non-host odour cues and thus produces host recognition behaviour.


Helium gas has been produced in New Mexico since 1943. Production has been from eight oil and gas fields located on the Four Corners platform of northwestern New Mexico. Almost 950 MMCF (million cubic feet) helium has been produced from reservoirs of Permian, Pennsylvanian, Mississippian, and Devonian age on the Four Corners platform in San Juan County. In northwest New Mexico, elevated levels of helium in natural gases occur not only in Paleozoic reservoirs on the Four Corners platform but also in Paleozoic reservoirs in the deeper parts of the San Juan Basin located east of the Four Corners platform. The orthogonal sets of high-angle faults that offset Precambrian basement throughout the deeper parts of the San Juan Basin acted as migration pathways that transmitted helium from its basement source into overlying Paleozoic reservoirs. Helium has not been extracted from produced gases in the New Mexico part of the Permian Basin where the concentration of helium in most reservoir gases is significantly less than 0.1%. However, gases with helium contents ranging from 0.3 to almost 1.0% occur in Pennsylvanian and Permian reservoirs along the northwest flank of the basin. The helium appears to have originated by radiogenic decay of uranium and thorium in Precambrian granitic rocks and migrated vertically into Pennsylvanian and Permian reservoirs through regional, high-angle, strike-slip faults. Known accumulations of helium-rich gases are located near these faults. Lower Permian evaporites provide vertical fault seals. In this area, lower and middle Paleozoic strata are only a few hundred feet thick, resulting in short vertical migration distances between the Precambrian source and helium-bearing reservoirs. The fault trends define exploration fairways. Other basins and areas in New Mexico are characterized by helium-rich gases and are of significant exploratory interest. These areas include the Chupadera Mesa region of eastern Socorro and western Lincoln Counties in the central part of the state, the Tucumcari Basin in the east-central part of the state, and a wide region across Catron and southern Cibola Counties in the westcentral part of the state. Elevated levels of helium are found in Pennsylvanian and Permian gases in these areas.


During the past two decades particularly, there has been incredible growth in the telecommunication industry which evolved the demand for real time applications. Mobile grids and internet service providers are offering competitive real time services to customers in order to fulfil their daily demands. Nowadays, WiMAX has become a key player in telecommunication industry for providing cost effective communication solutions to customers residing in developed and underdeveloped regions. Moreover, a significant role of WiMAX technology is to fill the gap between the first-world and third-world countries. WiMAX technology offers affordable low cost wireless multimedia services to its customers by using point to multipoint propagation methods. Over the past few years, the problem of white spots in WiMAX grids has been reported in the literature extensively. Consequently, this issue has got a lot of attention from researchers. In order to disentangle the phenomenon of white spots, a novel algorithm based on time efficient cognitive vertical handoff scheme has been presented in this paper. The proposed algorithm is based upon principles of cognitive heterogeneous wireless grids. The simulation results have shown that the proposed algorithm is a promising candidate to overcome the problem of white spots in mobile WiMAX grids.


Serotonergic axons from the raphe nuclei in the brainstem project to every region of the brain, where they make connections through their extensive terminal arborizations. This serotonergic innervation contributes to various normal behaviors and psychiatric disorders. The protocadherin-α (Pcdha) family of clustered protocadherins consists of 14 cadherin-related molecules generated from a single gene cluster. We found that the Pcdhas were strongly expressed in the serotonergic neurons. To elucidate their roles, we examined serotonergic fibers in a mouse mutant (PcdhaΔCR/ΔCR) lacking the Pcdha cytoplasmic region-encoding exons, which are common to the gene cluster. In the first week after birth, the distribution pattern of serotonergic fibers in PcdhaΔCR/ΔCR mice was similar to wild-type, but by 3 weeks of age, when the serotonergic axonal termini complete their arborizations, the distribution of the projections was abnormal. In some target regions, notably the globus pallidus and substantia nigra, the normally even distribution of serotonin axonal terminals was, in the mutants, dense at the periphery of each region, but sparse in the center. In the stratum lacunosum-moleculare of the hippocampus, the mutants showed denser serotonergic innervation than in wild-type, and in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and the caudate-putamen, the innervation was sparser. Together, the abnormalities suggested that Pcdha proteins are important in the late-stage maturation of serotonergic projections. Further examination of alternatively spliced exons encoding the cytoplasmic tail showed that the A-type (but not the B-type) cytoplasmic tail was essential for the normal development of serotonergic projections.


Polyoxometalates (POMs) represent a class of nanomaterials, which hold enormous promise for a range of energy-related applications. Their promise is owing to their "special" structure that gives POMs a truly unique ability to control redox reactions in energy conversion and storage. One such amazing capability is their large number of redox active sites that arises from the complex three-dimensional cluster of metal-oxide ions linked together by oxygen atoms. Here, a critical review on how POMs emerged from being molecular clusters for fundamental studies, to next-generation materials for energy applications is provided. We highlight how exploiting the versatility and activity of these molecules can lead to improved performance in energy devices such as supercapacitors and batteries, and in energy catalyst applications. The potential of POMs across numerous fields is systematically outlined by investigating structure–property–performance relationships and the determinant factors for energy systems. Finally, the challenges and opportunities for this class of materials with respect to addressing our pressing energy-related concerns are identified.