BACKGROUND: In times of this global pandemic situation, population's mental health is compromised, especially in those groups that are at the forefront of defence against the virus such as healthcare professionals. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak on healthcare professionals' mental health. METHODS: A systematic review was carried out following the PRISMA format in Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO and ScienceDirect electronic databases between January and May 2020. Methodological quality was evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tools for non-randomized studies. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies were included in this review. Professionals' mental health and mental functions were compromised, being especially affected those professionals on the front line of battle against the virus. However, these stats were below the general population data. Although there is wide variability of results, medium-high levels of anxiety (26,5%-44,6%), depression (8,1%-25%), concern and insomnia are detected (23,6%-38%). Paradoxically, stress levels were below expectations (3,8%-68,3%). CONCLUSIONS: The mental well-being of health professionals working on the front line is compromised in times of pandemic by presenting medium-high levels of anxiety, depression, nervousness and insomnia, and, to a lesser extent, stress.


A case of chronic anisakiasis presenting as an occluding duodenal tumor is described. Significant falls in Anisakis simplex-specific serum IgE and total IgE occurred after resection of the lesion. Histopathologic examination showed a chronic eosinophilic granulomatous infiltrate and a tubular sclerotic structure in the antral submucosa consistent with, but not diagnostic for, an A. simplex larva.


For the last 100 years, the tuberculin skin test (TST) has been the only diagnostic tool available for latent TB infection (LTBI) and no biomarker per se is available to diagnose the presence of LTBI. With the introduction of M. tuberculosis-specific IFN- g release assays (IGRAs), a new area of in vitro immunodiagnostic tests for LTBI based on biomarker readout has become a reality. In this review, we discuss existing evidence on the clinical usefulness of IGRAs and the indefinite number of potential new biomarkers that can be used to improve diagnosis of latent TB infection. We also present early data suggesting that the monocyte-derived chemokine inducible protein-10 may be useful as a novel biomarker for the immunodiagnosis of latent TB infection.


The intracellular free calcium concentration [Ca2+]i of sperm from 23 ejaculates was measured before and after cryopreservation using the fluorescent probe Fura‐2. Spermatozoa were treated with 3.18 μM progesterone so that the regulation of [Ca2+]i in a dynamic situation could be studied. [Ca2+]i (nM) was 290 ± 13 in fresh spermatozoa vs. 550 ± 26 in cryopreserved samples (mean ± S.E.M. P < 0.0001 paired t‐test). Progesterone at a dose of 3.18 μM stimulated a large and rapid increase in [Ca2+]i to a peak value > 1 μM after 10–20 seconds. [Ca2+]i then declined to a slightly raised basal level over the next 30–40 seconds. This phenomenon occurred in all the fresh samples, but about half the frozen thawed samples failed to respond. The peak [Ca2+] attained by frozen samples which did respond after the addition of progesterone was similar to that observed with fresh sperm. The calcium channel blocker verapamil (200 μM) completely inhibited the transient rise in [Ca2+]i produced by progesterone, but 100 μM verapamil had only a partial effect. We conclude that (1) cryopreservation causes a substantial elevation of the [Ca2+]i in human spermatozoa and (2) damage to the plasma membrane during cryopreservation may result in the loss of the progesterone receptor. Both factors may contribute to the loss of fertility after cryopreservation. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Keeping up with rapidly growing research fields, especially when there are multiple interdisciplinary sources, requires substantial effort for researchers, program managers, or venture capital investors. Current theories and tools are directed at finding a paper or website, not gaining an understanding of the key papers, authors, controversies, and hypotheses. This report presents an effort to integrate statistics, text analytics, and visualization in a multiple coordinated window environment that supports exploration. Our prototype system, Action Science Explorer (ASE), provides an environment for demonstrating principles of coordination and conducting iterative usability tests of them with interested and knowledgeable users. We developed an understanding of the value of reference management, statistics, citation text extraction, natural language summarization for single and multiple documents, filters to interactively select key papers, and network visualization to see citation patterns and identify clusters. A three-phase usability study guided our revisions to ASE and led us to improve the testing methods. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Autoignition of H2/O2 and H2/CO/O2 mixtures has been studied in a rapid compression machine at pressures from 15 to 50 bar, temperatures from 950 to 1100 K, and equivalence ratios from 0.36 to 1.6. In addition, the effect of change in relative concentrations of H2 and CO is investigated by replacing H2 with CO, while keeping the total fuel mole fraction of the combined H2/CO fuel constant. Under the experimental conditions of intermediate temperature and high pressure, reactions involving formation and consumption of HO2 and H2O2 are important. Results show that for H2 autoignition, the mechanism of O'Conaire et al. agrees well with the experimental data, although some improvements can still be made. At all the pressures investigated, replacement of some amount of H2 by CO in a reacting mixture leads to an increase in ignition delay, even with small amounts of CO addition. The inhibition effect of CO addition is also observed to be much more pronounced with increasing pressure. For H2/CO mixtures, the existing mechanisms of Li et al., Davis et al., and GRI-Mech 3.0 fail to describe the experimental trend of ignition delay. At a pressure of 50 bar, ignition delays are seen to decrease monotonically with O2 addition, although such an effect is rather weak. Kinetic analysis further demonstrates that under the present experimental conditions, CO + HO2 = CO2 + OH is the primary reaction responsible for the mismatch of experimental and calculated ignition delays. Significant improvements in the ignition delay predictions can be made by reducing this reaction rate. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 38: 516–529, 2006


The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are defined as clonal haematopoietic stem cell disorders whose key features are those of ineffective haematopoiesis, bone marrow dysplasia and an increased likelihood of transformation to acute leukaemia. From a clinical perspective, although these disorders are notable for their heterogeneity, the presence of recurrent cytopenias and leukaemic progression remains a common theme. With an ever-ageing Australian population, the incidence of MDS is predicted to rise exponentially in years to come. In spite of this, research in MDS has been hampered over the years by a lack of adequately representative cell lines or useful xenograft models that accurately recapitulate features of the disease. Additionally, the mechanism of action of the limited armamentarium of therapies such as azacitidine and lenalidomide has not been fully elucidated at the present moment. Although this is likely to change as our understanding of the heterogeneous molecular basis of human MDS is further refined, there are still some significant deficiencies in our current knowledge and approach. Early-stage MDS has long been characterized by an increase in apoptosis or 'programmed cell death'. This is thought to contribute to the disparity between marrow hypercellularity and peripheral blood cytopenias – a phenomenon referred to as 'ineffective haematopoiesis'. However, the mechanism of apoptosis has been a contentious one with some groups supporting a cell extrinsic model and others postulating a cell intrinsic one. Additionally, the majority of this data remains observational. In this body of work, we have used the Nup98-HoxD13 (NHD13) murine model as a tool for studying apoptosis in MDS. We have specifically sought to determine how apoptosis contributes to the MDS phenotype, which proteins might be involved and the functional benefit and significance of abrogating apoptosis on the associated cytopenias and on leukaemic progression.


A novel ballistic-nonballistic dynamic transition in one-dimensional nanocrystalline solids is found upon varying the strength of the composition modulation and the grain-boundary effect. This can contribute to the understanding of the strange electronic transport properties of nanostructured systems.


OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate efficacy, safety and cost of PCSK9 inhibitors.
METHODS: PubMed was used to search for literature regarding PCSK9 inhibitors up to May 1, 2018. Clinical trials, systematic reviews, meta-analyses and prescribing information were utilized for this review. Inclusion criteria was Phase II, III randomized control trials (RCT) and review articles comparing treatment of hypercholesterolemia in adults with and without PCSK9 inhibitors. All studies were completed from 2012-2017 and were conducted primarily in America.
RESULTS: Evolocumab and alirocumab are the only FDA approved PCSK9 inhibitors and have been shown to reduce baseline LDL-C by 50-60% in multiple clinical trials. Although there is no proven all-cause or cardiovascular mortality benefit associated with these drugs, there is a significant reduction in myocardial infarction (MI), stroke and coronary revascularization in treatment groups.
DISCUSSION: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a well characterized risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). While hypercholesterolemia is often well controlled with statins, there remains a need for additional lipid lowering therapy in select patients. PCSK9 inhibitors represent a novel approach to lowering LDL-C in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia and clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) alone or in combination with other cholesterol lowering medications. PCSK9 inhibitors are well tolerated, with the most common side effects being local injection site reactions and flu-like symptoms. High cost remains the most significant obstacle for widespread use. PCSK9 inhibitors have a valuable role in the lipid lowering treatment algorithm with their full therapeutic potential yet to be realized.


The effect of electrostimulation and destruction of the ventrolateral parts of the cerebellar dentate nuclei is described on the basis of 27 dentotomies performed on patients with different forms of motor pathology. The dento-cortical connections were studied by advancing electrodes to the cerebral and cerebellar cortex through trephination openings made in the postero-frontal-parasagittal area for ventriculography and in the occipital area for the insertion of a stereotaxic cannula. It was found that the principal test for operative identification of the ventro-oral parts of the dentate nucleus in electrostimulation are motor reactions and changes in the muscular tonus in the homolateral limbs and reactions of the cortex of the central and precentral areas of the cerebral hemispheres revealed by electrocorticography. The main clinical effect produced by the destruction of these parts of the dentate nuclei is diminution of the spastic component of muscular hypertonus; hardly any effect is caused on the rigidity component. Redistribution of muscular tonus is among the factors inducing postoperative changes in hyperkinesia.


Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) has immunomodulating properties that could be beneficial for adjunctive treatment of severe infections. Cytokine release from stimulated whole blood and expression of neutrophil surface and apoptosis markers in response to G-CSF were studied in human volunteers under physiologic conditions and after ethanol pretreatment. Levels of interleukin (IL)-1 receptor antagonist and soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-1 were significantly increased after G-CSF, whereas TNF-alpha and IL-10 concentrations were reduced, and IL-1beta and IL-8 remained unchanged. There was a significant inhibition of neutrophil apoptosis and increased expression of complement regulatory protein CD55 without changes in CD11b, CD14, and CD59 expression. These effects were well preserved after ethanol pretreatment, which per se led to an increase in apoptosis and decreased CD55 expression. Thus, G-CSF treatment was associated with a reduction of the proinflammatory cytokine response and enhanced neutrophil survival in vivo, suggesting a therapeutic potential of G-CSF for severe infections in the nonneutropenic host.


Multicast routing becomes the most challenging problem in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). Multicasting is an effective way to facilitate group communication in which the multicast data need to be sent from a source node to multiple receivers. In this paper, a simple and efficient algorithm Minimum Connected Dominating Set (MCDS) is used to form a virtual backbone as forwarding group of the network. The MCDS aims at minimizing the number of nodes, where few nodes should be dominated, which are responsible for forwarding the multicast packets by applying Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC). RLNC has great potential to improve the performance of multicast routing protocol. The objective of this paper is to improve the performance of On-Demand Multicasting Routing Protocol (ODMRP) with respect to reliability using RLNC over MCDS for WSN, so that bandwidth utilization can be increased in the network. The proposed approach is named as RLNMCDS-ODMRP, which deliver multicast data in high reliable. Experimental results and performance analysis show that the proposed protocol outperforms the classical multicast routing protocols that use MCDS or RLNC.


Teacher education programs provide many environments and experiences in an effort to support elementary preservice teacher development. Ultimately the goal is to transform the student into the teacher. Students enter teacher education programs focused on their present education, grades, and getting that long-sought-after degree; by selecting a degree in education, students also make a commitment to becoming a teacher. But what do these students really know and understand about what it means to be a classroom teacher? Does their understanding (or lack of understanding) affect their motivation towards learning, particularly in their education methods courses where they must integrate theory and effective instructional practices to design lessons? Research indicates that, in general, people who have clearer understandings of their future professional goals are more motivated in college courses (Peetsma, 2000). Schutz, Crowder, and White (2001) examined the goal histories of preservice teachers and discovered that there were many socio-historical and emotional factors that influence not only their participants' goals to become a teacher but also their abilities to reach that goal. They found four sources of influence on the preservice teachers' goal to become a teacher: (1) family; (2) past teachers; (3) peers; and (4) teaching experiences. Although much research in initial teacher preparation has focused on the importance and efficacy of preservice teachers' extended placements and immersions at elementary school sites (i.e., Professional Development Schools), less is known about the impact of these configurations on preservice teachers' motivation in their college coursework and their understandings of future professional goals (Burden, 1990). The present study considers the influence of the integration of methods coursework and field placements on the preservice teaching experience, especially its impact on preservice teachers' motivation in college coursework and understanding of what it means to be an elementary mathematics teacher. Based on the findings of Schutz, Crowder, and White (2001), we expected that alternative contexts for college coursework concurrent with teaching experiences could lead to "crystallizing experiences" (Schutz, et al., 2001, p. 305) that would help refine the goal of being a teacher. In particular, we were interested in whether integrating methods coursework with the instructional environment of the student teaching placement would help preservice teachers develop a clearer picture of their future goal of becoming an elementary teacher and consequently assist them in perceiving the usefulness of their mathematics methods coursework. Teacher Education Research Teacher education researchers have examined a variety of influences on the preservice teacher, including the student teaching experience (Griffin, 1989; Tabachnick & Zeichner, 1984), teacher education courses (Civil, 1993), methods in those courses (Civil, 1993), and teacher education programs and institutions (Griffin, 1999; Koehler, 1985). As a result, teacher education programs have undergone numerous changes (Griffin, 1989, 1999), and the preservice teaching experience, once viewed as a place to "practice" teaching lessons, has become much more. Studies have led to a shared belief that teaching requires not only the ability to teach lessons, but also an understanding of the rules and routines of the school culture, the ability to collaborate with other education professionals, and an awareness of the communities in which one teaches (Sikula, Buttery, & Guyton, 1996). Studies on the transition from "practicing" teaching to beginning teaching have identified problems for the beginner associated with gaps in preparedness that are often not addressed during teacher education coursework (Cruickshank & Callahan, 1983; Veenman, 1984). As a result, teacher education programs have examined and articulated what beginning teachers should know and be able to do and what types of experiences might help them to develop these skills and dispositions (Reynolds, 1992). …


1. Watch this presentation and learn how to organize your job search. [1] 2. Want a listing of where MEPN positions are posted? Look here. [2] 3. Read the APN Job Search Guide given out at Epilogue. [3] 4. Want a listing of where APN positions are posted? Look here. [4] 5. Write your resume, CV or cover letter. [5] 6. Prepare for your interview. [6] 7. Visit the UCSF/OCPD Nursing Job Board. [7] 8. Visit the SFSU School of Nursing Job Board. [8] 9. Pursuing an academic career? Visit our applying for academic jobs pages. [9] 10. Connect with UCSF School of Nursing Alumni by joining the UCSF Alumni Network on LinkedIn. [10] 11. Attend an Application Materials Clinic to learn how to create and customize your application materials, then book a 20 minute mini appointment [11] to review the final edits for your document. Mini appointments are offered M-F.? 12. Make an appointment with a career counselor to discuss strategies for more complex issues such as career exploration, mock interviews, job search strategies, and offer negotiation (for an RN, APN or PhD position). [12]


We present multioxide-aperture 980 nm-range vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) with highly temperature stable modulation characteristics operating error-free at 25 Gbit/s at 25 and 85 °C. We perform small signal modulation experiments and extract the fundamental physical parameters including relaxation resonance frequency, damping factor, parasitic cut-off frequency, D-factor, and K-factor, leading to identification of thermal processes and damping as the main factors that presently limit high speed device operation. We obtain very temperature-insensitive bandwidths around 13–15 GHz. Presented results clearly demonstrate the suitability of our VCSELs for practical and reliable optical data transmission systems.


Species generally undergo a complex demographic history, consisting, in particular, of multiple changes in population size. Genome-wide sequencing data are potentially highly informative for reconstructing this demographic history. A crucial point is to extract the relevant information from these very large datasets. Here we designed an approach for inferring past demographic events from a moderate number of fully sequenced genomes. Our new approach uses Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC), a simulation-based statistical framework that allows (i) identifying the best demographic scenario among several competing scenarios, and (ii) estimating the best-fitting parameters under the chosen scenario. ABC relies on the computation of summary statistics. Using a cross-validation approach, we showed that statistics such as the lengths of haplotypes shared between individuals, or the decay of linkage disequilibrium with distance, can be combined with classical statistics (eg heterozygosity, Tajima's D) to accurately infer complex demographic scenarios including bottlenecks and expansion periods. We also demonstrated the importance of simultaneously estimating the genotyping error rate. Applying our method on genome-wide human-sequence databases, we finally showed that a model consisting in a bottleneck followed by a Paleolithic and a Neolithic expansion was the most relevant for Eurasian populations.


Simple motor construction, low cost and fault tolerant power electronic drive have made the switched reluctance drive a strong contender for many applications. However, the switched reluctance drive does exhibit higher levels of vibration and acoustic noise than that of most competing drives. The main source of vibration in the switched reluctance drive is generated by rapid change of radial force when phase current is extinguished during commutation action. In this paper, a hybrid excitation method is proposed to reduce vibration and acoustic noise of the switched reluctance drive. The hybrid excitation has 2-phase excitation by long dwell angle as well as conventional 1-phase excitation. The vibration and acoustic noise are reduced because the scheme reduces abrupt change of excitation level by distributed and balanced excitation.


The successful delivery of low-carbon housing (both new and retrofitted) is a key aspect of the UK s commitment to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. In this context, the inclusion of small-scale building-integrated renewable energy technologies is an important component of low carbon design strategies, and is subject to numerous regulation and incentive schemes (including the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)) set up by government to encourage uptake and set minimum performance benchmarks.
Unfortunately there are numerous examples of in-use energy and carbon performance shortfalls for new and retrofitted buildings this is termed the performance gap . Technical and human factors associated with building subsystem performance, which are often not considered in design tools used to predict performance, are the root cause of performance uncertainty. The research presented in this doctoral thesis aims to develop and apply a novel probabilistic method of evaluating the performance uncertainty of solar thermal systems installed in the UK.
Analysis of measured data from a group of low carbon retrofitted dwellings revealed that the majority of buildings failed to meet the designed-for carbon emissions target with an average percentage difference of 60%. An in-depth case study technical evaluation of one of these dwellings showed significant dysfunction associated with the combined ASHP/solar thermal heating system, resulting in a performance gap of 94%, illustrating that the performance gap can be regarded as a whole-system problem, comprising a number of subsystem causal factors.
Using a detailed dataset obtained from the UK s largest field trial of domestic solar thermal systems, a cross-cutting evaluation of predicted vs. measured performance similarly revealed a discrepancy with a mean percentage difference in predicted and measured annual yield of -24%.
Having defined the nature and extent of underperformance for solar thermal technology in the UK, causal factors influencing performance were mapped and the associated uncertainty quantified using a novel knowledge-based Bayesian network (BN). In addition, the BN approach along with Monte Carlo sampling was applied to the well-established BREDEM model in order to quantify performance uncertainty of solar thermal systems by producing distributions of annual yield. As such, the modified BN-based BREDEM model represents a significant improvement in the prediction of performance of small-scale renewable energy technologies. Finally, financial analysis applied to the probabilistic predictions of annual yield revealed that the current UK RHI scheme is unlikely to result in positive returns on investment for solar thermal systems unless the duration of the payments is extended or electricity is the primary source of heating.


Nowadays, Non Destructive Tests have been applied in some quality evaluation of existing concretes on site. One of the Non Destructive Test (NDT) methods is the application of the Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) method. In general, utilizations of UPV as one of NDT methods are to estimate the strength of concrete, to detect the presence of crack, to measure the homogeneity of concrete and the thickness of concrete plate, and also to estimate the diameter of steel attached by using UPV. Concrete cube specimens consisted of four samples of 150x150 mm, which were control cube (KB-I), cube II (KB-II), cube III (KB-III) and cube IV (KB-IV) and were randomly taken. UPV test with a direct method was applied before and during axial load. The resultant data of pulse velocity were then calculated and analyzed by using a statistic program. The type of load applied was constant axial (0,05P0 up to 0,7P0). The test result showed that the increase of ultrasonic pulse velocity effect on cube II due to axial load variation was optimum at 0,35P0 and was minimum at 0,7P0, if compared to the one without axial load, the results were 4,17% and 11,60 respectively. The decrease of pulse velocity on cube III due to axial load variation was at 0,25P0 and 0,7P0; if compared to the one without axial load the result were 0,47% and 20,87% respectively. And the increase of ultrasonic pulse velocity effect on cube IV due to axial load variation was optimum at 0,35P0 and was minimum at 0,7P0; if compared to the one without axial load the result were 0,52% and 21,63% respectively. The maximum limit of effective load step at structure experiencing compressive load ranged from 0,35P0 up to 0,4P0. At high stress level, the crack that occurred was spread evenly to the concrete cubic components and was giving an exponential equation y = y= 5,11e0,0467x. The result of analysis of cubes II, III and IV showed that on paired sample t-test 0,00<0,025, the significant value (2-tailed) (0,00)<(0,025); meaning there was a difference of pulse velocity due to axial load variation on concrete cube.


To examine the role of the frontal cortex in sensory-motor processing, we trained a Rhesus monkey to perform a behavioral task with alternations between localization (LOC) and non-localization (NL) paradigms. In the LOC block, the monkey had to remember the modality and location of two sequential cues. Two different GO signals instructed the monkey to touch the memorized location of either auditory or visual spatial cues (GO-AUD or GO-VIS, respectively). In the NL paradigm the monkey received the same stimuli, but was instructed to touch a fixed target, disregarding the location and modality of the spatial and GO signals. Reaction time was significantly longer after GO-AUD signals in the LOC mode compared to the reaction time following GO-VIS signals, or in the NL mode. We examined 961 neurons in the frontal cortex and 427 parietal neurons. A group of frontal task-related neurons (72/430; 16.7%) showed evoked activity both after the visual and the GO-AUD stimuli in the LOC mode. The units did not respond to the GO-VIS signal that instructed the monkey to move to the same location, or to the identical stimuli in the NL mode. No such neurons were found in the sampled areas of the parietal cortex. Our findings suggest that the monkey initially planned a default response towards the location of the visual stimulus and immediately updated his motor plans when instructed to touch the memorized location of the auditory stimulus. We suggest that frontal activity may also be related to such modifications of sensory-motor associations.


The Arctic atmospheric boundary layer (AABL) in the central Arctic was characterized by dropsonde, lidar, ice thickness and airborne in situ measurements during the international Polar Airborne Measurements and Arctic Regional Climate Model Simulation Project (PAMARCMiP) in April 2009. We discuss AABL observations in the lowermost 500 m above (A) open water, (B) sea ice with many open/refrozen leads (C) sea ice with few leads, and (D) closed sea ice with a front modifying the AABL. Above water, the AABL had near-neutral stratification and contained a high water vapor concentration. Above sea ice, a low AABL top, low near-surface temperatures, strong surface-based temperature inversions and an increase of moisture with altitude were observed. AABL properties and particle concentrations were modified by a frontal system, allowing vertical mixing with the free atmosphere. Above areas with many leads, the potential temperature decreased with height in the lowest 50 m and was nearly constant above, up to an altitude of 100–200 m, indicating vertical mixing. The increase of the backscatter coefficient towards the surface was high. Above sea ice with few refrozen leads, the stably stratified boundary layer extended up to 200–300 m altitude. It was characterized by low specific humidity and a smaller increase of the backscatter coefficient towards the surface.


A retrocaval ureter is an unusual congenital anomaly that results in outer ureteral compression by the inferior vena cava. Open pyelopyelostomy or ureteroureterostomy procedures are done with good results. In the present era of minimal invasive access surgery, a laparoscopic technique is being used with the same good results with all advantages, like minimal analgesic, short hospital stay and with better


This article considers the scope and potential of sentencing guidelines specifically in relation to the imposition of financial penalties by the courts. Evidence is presented from research with the judiciary in England on the challenge of ensuring equity (that is, equality of impact) in the burden of such penalties, proportionality in relation to the relative seriousness of different offences, and consistency in the pattern of fine levels between individual sentencers and in different courts. The research explored how magistrates and district judges went about deciding levels of penalty to impose in a series of structured fines sentencing exercises and highlighted some of the difficulties in developing a satisfactory methodology to achieve an acceptable balance between the three objectives of achieving equity, proportionality and consistency. Key among the research findings was the prime importance in sentencers' perceptions of proportionality, and accordingly the article concludes by considering the consequences of this finding for the design of guidelines on financial penalty-setting.


Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of triple therapy with verteporfin photodynamic therapy (PDT), dexamethasone, and bevacizumab in choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: This prospective, noncomparative, interventional case series included 104 patients. Verteporfin PDT was administered with a reduced light dose (42 J/cm2, accomplished by light delivery time of 70 seconds). Approximately 16 hours after PDT, dexamethasone (800 &mgr;g) and bevacizumab (1.5 mg) were injected intravitreally. Patients attended follow-up visits every 6 weeks, undergoing visual acuity and intraocular pressure measurement, slit-lamp and ophthalmoscopic examination, and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Fluorescein angiography was performed every 3 months or earlier if OCT showed significant edema. Results: All 104 patients received one triple therapy cycle (5 patients received a second triple treatment due to remaining CNV activity). The triple therapy was complemented in 18 patients (17.3%) by an additional intravitreal injection of bevacizumab. The mean follow-up period was 40 weeks (range, 22–60 weeks). Mean increase in visual acuity was 1.8 lines (P < 0.01). Mean decrease in retinal thickness was 182 &mgr;m (P < 0.01). No serious adverse events have been observed. Conclusion: In most patients with CNV due to AMD, triple therapy results in significant and sustained visual acuity improvement after only one cycle of treatment. In addition, the therapy offers a good safety profile, potentially lower cost compared with therapies that must be administered more frequently, and convenience for patients.


Despite recent interest in the psychosocial effects of deportation, psychologists have rarely investigated the multiple forms of violence that compelled many undocumented migrants now living in the United States to "leave home." This thematic narrative analysis of interviews with four Maya from Guatemala, part of a larger participatory and action research project, particularizes the experiences of Maya in the United States who are frequently subsumed under homogenizing constructs (e.g., "illegal aliens") and labeled with universal psychological diagnoses that fail to reflect their complex histories, through which they give meaning to their lived experiences. Analyses focus on three major themes: violence and violation, multiple migrations, and suffering and survival. We illustrate how participants situate contemporary effects of deportation within the collective story of their people, connecting contemporary violations of human rights to earlier migrations due to extreme poverty and experiences of violence during and after 36 years of armed conflict.


Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs), including Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) architectures, have obtained successful outcomes in timeseries analysis tasks. While RNNs demonstrated favourable performance for Land Cover (LC) change analyses, few studies have explored or quantified the geospatial data characteristics required to utilize this method. Likewise, many studies utilize overall measures of accuracy rather than metrics accounting for the slow or sparse changes of LC that are typically observed. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of LSTM models for forecasting LC changes by conducting a sensitivity analysis involving hypothetical and real-world datasets. The intent of this assessment is to explore the implications of varying temporal resolutions and LC classes. Additionally, changing these input data characteristics impacts the number of timesteps and LC change rates provided to the respective models. Kappa variants are selected to explore the capacity of LSTM models for forecasting transitions or persistence of LC. Results demonstrate the adverse effects of coarser temporal resolutions and high LC class cardinality on method performance, despite method optimization techniques applied. This study suggests various characteristics of geospatial datasets that should be present before considering LSTM methods for LC change forecasting.


In this work LaFeO3, LaFe0.7Mn0.3O3 and LaMn0.7Fe0.3O3 nanocatalysts with perovskite structures have been synthesized by sol-gel method. The selective catalytic reduction of NO with CO (CO-SCR) using synthesized nanocatalysts was investigated in a plug flow reactor. The kinetics of CO-SCR process was studied and three kinetic models were used to describe the behavior of the system, including power low model (PLM), kinetic model 1 (KM1) and kinetic model 2 (KM2). The KM1 was the best model with correlation coefficients of 0.9924, 0.9911 and 0.9902 and the sum of squared errors of 0.0504, 0.0488 and 0.0397, for LaFeO3, LaFe0.7Mn0.3O3 and LaFe0.3Mn0.7O3 catalysts, respectively. By comparing experimental results with the predicted results of the KM1, it was found that the proposed model can predict the performance of catalysts in the CO-SCR process with considerable precision. The structure and morphology of perovskite-type oxides were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively.


Information of network grows up fast, and there is an important thing providing user a tool which could search information quickly. In order to achieve this purpose and we must track and analyze user behavior of network. We apply data mining approach which is used to accurately capture user behavior of network traffic, and the proposed prediction model is constructed by log database. This research is used Petri-net method to grasp the user behavior accurately, and it offers path of user behavior. And we use converted weight matrix method to construct rule table and prediction model, and it has flexibility to make management and access of the database more convenient. The experimental results showed that improve site of website and predict path of user behavior efficiently.


The 3-layers accumulative roll bonding process (ARB) has been attempted to increase the strength of copper alloy (Cu-0.02wt.%P) by refining grain size. The 3-layers accumulative roll bonding was conducted up to 7 cycles at room temperature without lubrication. Microstructural evolution of the copper alloy with the number of the 3-layers ARB cycles was investigated by optical microscopy (OM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD). The average grain size has been refined from 20 μm before ARB to 170 nm after 7 cycles of 3-layers ARB. More than 70% of ultrafine grains formed by 3-layers ARB were composed of high angle grain boundaries. The average misorientation angle of ultrafine grains was 30.7 degrees in the center of the specimen. Tensile strength after 7 cycles of 3-layers ARB was 605 MPa, which is about 3.2 times higher than the initial value.


Game Development with Blender is the complete guide to the Blender game engine. More than two years in the making, the book spans topics ranging from logic brick and physics to graphics, animation, scripting, and more. Each chapter covers in detail a different aspect of the Blender game engine, with tutorials, extensive documentation, and valuable advice on when to use the tools--all distilled from the authors' 20 years of combined Blender experience. Blender is a free, open-source 3D content-creation suite, a powerful and flexible platform that allows you to build games and interactive applications such as architecture walk-throughs, science visualizations, experimental projects, and much more. In this comprehensive guide, you will learn how to design a complete game from beginning to end, create games without writing a single line of code, bring your 3D characters to life with animations, unleash the power of material creation with nodes, have fun making JELL-O bounce with the physics engine, program in Python like a pro, make your games run faster using lightmaps and normal maps, publish your games for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and improve your games by learning from 10 real-world projects. This book has been prepared for the release of Blender 2.66a, ensuring that you have the most up-to-date information in your hands. Whether you are new to Blender or a seasoned Blenderhead, Game Development with Blender will help you create the games you've always wanted. Purchasing this book also gives you access to more than 100 online companion files, which include tutorials, sample files, and extra demos that will help you get the most out of the Blender game engine.


Based on a literature review yielding 11 useable papers, importance of SMEs to Saudi economy, problems of banks in lending to SMEs and problems of SMEs to access finance and the government solutions to these problems, primarily by implementation of kafala programme, were discussed. The effectiveness of kafala programmes in terms of actual achievement of access to finance and increased capabilities of SMEs were discussed based on the sourced reports. There is definite lack of objective studies on effectiveness of kafala programmes on financial performance of SMEs which have received the assistance. Research on these aspects will alone indicate whether the programme was truly effective, rather than just providing assistance. It was concluded that the extent of access to finance and developing business capabilities of SMEs have significantly improved due to the implementation of kafala programme for the purposes. Further progress towards the achievement of the full potential will come through the implementation of Vision 2030.


: Bicoronary access is now considered as optimal for performance of operative interventions in the upper part of face. At the same time, this access is associated with the probability of damaging the innervation of the frontal muscles. Thus, the objective of this investigation was to study the individual variability of topography of facial nerve branches in temporal and parotid areas, with specification of projections of temporal branches of a facial nerve to frontal muscle in order to define a safe zone for dissection. The material was obtained from 36 corpses of adult persons, and precision preparation method was used together with the recording and mathematical processing of the results obtained. It was established, that in objects with a size of tragoorbital line less than 8 cm, a single frontal branch of a facial nerve was present, and its safety zone was about 1 cm to the front from tragus auris. In objects with the size of tragoorbital line equal to 8 cm and more, a common trunk of frontal branch of facial nerve was present together with a branch to m. orbicularis oculi, while its safety zone was equal to 1.5 cm and it was located to the front of tragus auris.


A novel method of studying oxidation resistance and phase transformation of SiC fine powder was performed using multiple shock treatments in millisecond timescale using indigenously developed material shock tube (MST1). MST1 was used to produce shock waves which heat the ultra high pure oxygen test gas to a reflected shock temperature and pressure of about 5300 K (estimated) and 25 bar, respectively for 1-2 milliseconds. Different characterization techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) show the formation of oxides and sub-oxide species after shock treatment. XRD studies shows the phase transformation of hexagonal SiC to amorphous SiO2. SEM and TEM micrographs show change in surface morphology of SiC from irregular shape to micro/nano spheres due to superheating and cooling at the rate of about 10 K/s. This novel method is used for the first time to demonstrate the behavior of material in presence of extreme aero-thermodynamic conditions for a short duration. These conditions generated using shock tubes are not achievable by conventional furnaces for oxidation studies of SiC in a short duration. Copyright © 2018 VBRI Press.


BACKGROUND
There is limited information on acute heart failure (AHF) and its treatment in sub-Saharan Africa.

OBJECTIVE
To describe the clinical characteristics and causes of heart failure (HF), adherence to HF treatment guidelines, and mortality of patients with AHF presenting to Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH), Cape Town, South Africa.

METHODS
This sub-study of The Sub-Saharan Africa Survey of Heart Failure (THESUS-HF) was a prospective and observational survey that focused on the enrolment and follow-up of additional patients with AHF presenting to GSH and entered into the existing registry after publication of the primary THESUS-HF article in 2012. The patients were classified into prevalent (existing) or incident (new) cases of HF.

RESULTS
Of the 119 patients included, 69 (58.0%) were female and the mean (standard deviation) age was 49.9 (16.3) years. The majority of prevalent cases were patients of mixed ancestry (63.3%), and prevalent cases had more hypertension (70.0%), diabetes mellitus (36.7%), hyperlipidaemia (33.3%) and ischaemic heart disease (IHD) (36.7%) than incident cases. The top five causes of HF were cardiomyopathy (20.2%), IHD (19.3%), rheumatic valvular heart disease (RHD) (18.5%), cor pulmonale (11.8%) and hypertension (10.1%), with the remaining 20.1% consisting of miscellaneous causes including pericarditis, toxins and congenital heart disease. Most patients received renin-angiotensin system blockers and loop diuretics on discharge. There was a low rate of beta-blocker, aldosterone antagonist and digoxin use. Rehospitalisation within 180 days occurred in 25.2% of cases. In-hospital mortality was 8.4% and the case fatality rate at 6 months was 26.1%.

CONCLUSION
In Cape Town, the main causes of AHF are cardiomyopathy, IHD and RHD. AHF affects a young population and is associated with a high rate of rehospitalisation and mortality. There is serious under-use of beta-blockers, aldosterone antagonists and digoxin. Emphasis on the rigorous application of treatment guidelines is needed to reduce readmission and mortality.


Cell-free plasma-derived serum (PDS) is deficient in the platelet- derived growth factor and will not support the growth of 3T3 cells, fibroblasts, or smooth muscle cells. However, when PDS-containing medium is preincubated with endothelial cells, the medium becomes modified so that it will support growth. The activity produced by the endothelial cells results from a polypeptide of 10,000 to 30,000 daltons which has several features that differ from those of the platelet-derived growth factor, including heat instability and lack of adsorption to CM Sephadex.


Historically, rapid growth has produced environmental destruction. China is no exception. Because of its huge and growing population, 20 years of over nine per cent per annum growth, a history of neglect and adverse geography, China faces crises. Floods devastate in the south while droughts afflict the north. One in three of China's rural people lacks safe drinking water. China suffers air pollution, deforestation, loss of grasslands, and species, erosion, encroaching desert, acid rain, dust storms that engulf cities such as Beijing and can carry far abroad. It has 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world. Environmental degradation grows and China's development is threatened by it. Water shortages have hit industries and factories have been shut by energy crises. The costs of cleaning up the environment will grow still greater if prompt and effective action is not taken. China's government recognises these problems and developed laws and institutions to protect the environment, but at grassroots level they fail to be implemented because local governments value short-term gains in growth and jobs over a better environment. The international community can help, but only China can deal with the problems.


The ultimate shear capacity of reinforced concrete beams can be increased by epoxy-bonding fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) plates to the web of the beam. The shear crack inclination angle is changed as a result of bonding of the plate. In this paper, truss analogy and compression field theory are used to determine the effect of the FRP plate on the shear capacity and crack inclination angle of reinforced concrete beams at ultimate state. Following the calculation of the crack inclination angle, the equilibrium and compatibility equations are used to obtain the shear force resisted by the plate. A parametric study was carried out to reveal the effect of important parameters such as plate thickness and fiber orientation on the crack inclination angle and shear capacity. The upper bound value of crack inclination angle found in this study is suggested as a conservative value for determining the shear capacity of the retrofitted beam. Knowing the inclination angle of cracks, the shear force in the composite plate and concrete beam can be calculated and used for the design of this type of beam. The results of this method have shown close agreement to experimental results.


Introduction Direct relations between social network and mortality patterns has been well documented, but less is known the relationship between size, density, boundedness of social network, social support, and psycho-social dimensions of quality of life in older age and its direct and indirect effects on all-cause mortality. Aim The aim of the study was to assess the characteristics of social network in older stage of life in relation to health-related quality of life and its effect on mortality. Methods The base-line study was performed in simple random sample of 552 Krakow citizen aged 65–85 yrs old, as a part of Central European Network on Healthy Ageing. Face to face structured interviews were based on Polish validated version of Dutch questionnaire. SF20 test, HADS, GARS, SSL12-I, de Jong-Gierveld Loneliness Scale and Cantril's ladder were used. Data on mortality was ascertained by monitoring city vital records and all-caused mortality was analysed. During 8 years 31.1% of study population died. Cluster analysis was performed and Cox proportional hazard model was used. Results Cluster analysis distinguished different clusters for age group -75 yrs and 76 yrs and over. Cox proportional models revealed significantly highest risk of death (HR=2.97, 95% CI (1.21 to 7.28)) in individuals aged 76 and over who were characterised by seldom contacts with children, neighbours and others, high loneliness, low social support and low general quality of life. Conclusions Relationship between the properties of social network and health-related quality of life remains significant predictor of mortality in advanced old age.


OMEPRAZOLE is a substituted benzimidazole that functions to decrease gastric acid secretion through irreversible binding and inhibition of the H+K+ATPase enzyme located within the secretory canaliculi of the gastric parietal cells (Pilbrant and Cederberg 1985, Regardh and others 1985). Inhibition of gastric acid secretion and maintenance of a gastric fluid pH above 4.0 is critical in the treatment and prevention of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in human beings (Bell and others 1992). Ulcer disease of the non-glandular stomach in horses (equine gastric ulcer syndrome) has been compared to GERD, and like the condition in human beings, objectives of treatment centre around suppression of acid secretion and increasing gastric fluid pH. Studies in both human beings and horses have shown that orally administered omeprazole is highly effective in increasing gastric fluid pH, therefore making it one of the more common medications used for the treatment of these conditions (Bell and others 1992, MacAllister 1999, Buchanan and Andrews 2003, Bell and others 2007).

In human beings, the bioavailability of omeprazole following oral administration is relatively low (approximately 40 per cent), due to the drug's instability in acidic gastric fluid and the fact that it undergoes hepatic first-pass metabolism (Regardh and others 1985). Special formulations using capsules containing enteric-coated, acid-resistant granules have allowed improved systemic bioavailability in human beings by preventing acidic degradation of omeprazole in the stomach (Pilbrant and Cederberg 1985). Still, this limit in the bioavailability of the oral formulation has prompted studies investigating the alternative of rectal administration in several species, including human beings, rabbits and rats (Sastry and others 1993, Choi and others 1996). When administered rectally, omeprazole is able to avoid preabsorptive degradation in the stomach as well as partially avoid first-pass metabolism (Choi and others 1996). …


Digital academic journals serve as the main dissemination method for peer-reviewed research articles. These journals can be divided into two main categories: open access (OA) and non–open access (non-OA) journals. OA literature is defined by Suber as "digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions." 1 The reasons why no-cost OA adoption is slow-going are still largely unexplored, both theoretically and empirically. However, some influential reasons are suggested in the literature: uncertainty or distrust and perceived lower quality or reputation. 2 Distrust can be caused by general skepticism towards new publication technologies and journals, article processing charges (APC), predatory publishers, and low impact factor. 3 Distrust aside, findings by Bjork and Salomon indicate that OA literature is approaching the same quality or academic impact as non-OA literature, in addition to maintaining a citation advantage. 4 To our knowledge, no previous research has tested how researchers' trust and perceived quality interact to influence both OA and non-OA publishing in one integrated study.


An analog VLSI implementation of real-time motion detection in early vision using a hybrid of the Reichardt and Ullman-Marr models has been fabricated. It has a 5*5 array of photoreceptors, with a receptor fill factor of 0.42. The majority of this circuit operates in strong inversion. The photosensors have squared logarithmic and linear responses for low and high intensity illumination, respectively. A linear passive resistive grid is used to implement the desired difference of Gaussian impulse response transfer function of the edge detection circuit whose dynamic range is 3 V. These outputs are used to determine the velocities of the translating objects. Velocities up to 2 m/s on chip corresponding to 6 m/s in space have been measured in 2D. The array has been fabricated in a 2 mu m n-well CMOS process.<<ETX>>


Process evaluation was used to explain the success of a randomized, controlled trial of an educational intervention to improve the feeding behaviors of caregivers and the nutritional status of infants in Trujillo, Peru. Health personnel delivered a multicomponent intervention within the environment of usual care at government health centers. We created a model of the expected intervention pathway to successful outcomes. Process data were then collected on health center implementation of the intervention and caregiver reception to it. Using multivariate models, we found that variables of health center implementation, caregiver exposure, and caregiver message recall were all significant determinants in the pathway leading to improved feeding behaviors. These outcomes were consistent with our original intervention model. Further support for our model arose from the differences in caregiver reception between intervention and control centers. Process data allowed us to characterize the pathway through which an effective nutrition intervention operated. This study underscores the importance of including process evaluation, which will lead to the development and implementation of more effective nutrition interventions.


Apple pomace, an industrial by-product generated from apple juice processing industries, is a good source of pectin. The method for pectin extraction has been standardized by autoclaving apple pomace flour for time intervals of 15, 30, 45 and 60 min at 121 °C. The extraction of pectin by using autoclave at 121°C for 60 min followed by precipitation with 95 % ethanol was found optimum with pectin yield of 13.01 % on dry weight basis and anhydrogalacturonic acid content of 43.21 %. The pectin extracted by using eco-friendly method is characterized by equivalent weight (942.04), methoxyl content (4.32 %), anhydrogalacturonic acid (43.21 %) and degree of esterification (56.76 %). However, autoclaving at 121 °C for 45 min also resulted in 12.97 % pectin, but on the basis of anhydrogalacturonic acid (%) contents, the autoclaving of pomace for 60 min was optimized. The standardized method can be used to replace the chemical extraction procedure for commercial extraction of pectin from apple pomace.


This article confirms the reliability of a protean and boundaryless career attitudes scale, tested in a pilot study. Additionally, it summarises the results of this study into the career attitudes of professional staff in Australian and UK universities. A mixed methods approach was taken using a survey consisting of both closed questions on a 5-point Likert type scale, and an open text question that asked for respondents' career stories. The convenience sample consisted of 19 staff from Australia and 12 from the UK. The findings suggest that professional staff create a hybrid approach to managing their career, showing aspects of protean, boundaryless and traditional career attitudes and that there are no significant differences between the career attitudes of these staff in Australia and the UK. There is a clear need for further research to test these results, which could be used to inform universities' human resource strategies.


This paper reflects on the evolution of a university-community partnership that has benefited both the community and the university, through joint research and mutual capacity development. It highlights the value of working collaboratively with communities and other stakeholders to jointly tackle complex human-ecological problems and demonstrates that knowledge that resides in communities is fundamental to resolving problems. While the initial focus of the project was on providing 'expert' advice to assist a fishing community, as well as to 'build their capacity' to enable effective participation in management decisions, over time the relationship shifted to one characterised by mutual learning, collaborative research and the co-production of knowledge in the face of policy changes. This article offers reflections on this 15 year university-community engagement process and highlights the shifts in perceptions, research approaches and positions of the university researchers as the partnership developed and expanded as understanding of this fishery system increased.


The authors collected caddisflies in the Dabie Mountains in 2014 and 2015. Three species of Psilotreta Banks, 1899 were found: Psilotreta daidalos Malicky, 2000, P. furcata sp. nov., and P. brevispinosa sp. nov. The species were collected by light sheet traps or hand nets near streams in mountainous forests. All the species are described and illustrated, and the species groups to which they belong are discussed. Some variation within P. daidalos is described and the species is newly recorded from the Anhui and Hubei Provinces.


This paper describes an algorithm that fits analytical source models of the glottal volume velocity to glottal source waveforms from inverse‐filtered vowels. The analytical models include the KGLOTT88, LF, and simplified LF [Qi and Bi, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 96, 1182–1185 (1994)]. In the first stage of the algorithm, curve features (peak values, zero crossing, period, etc.) are automatically extracted from samples of pathological voices and least‐squares fitting is performed. The parameters are then fine‐tuned based on the perceptual quality of the synthesized voices. Goodness of approximation of the resultant source function is determined by perceptually comparing the final synthesized vowel sounds to the original sound. Limitations of current source models with respect to modeling pathological voice will be discussed. [Work supported by NIDCD.]


Background Achieving World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for postnatal care (PNC) within the first few weeks of life is vital to eliminating early mother–to–child transmission of HIV (MTCT) and improving infant health. Almost half of the annual global deaths among children under five occur during the first six weeks of life. This study aims to identify uptake of three PNC visits within the first six weeks of life as recommended by WHO among South African mother–infant pairs, and factors associated with uptake. Methods We analyzed data from three facility–based, nationally representative surveys (2010, 2011/12 and 2012/13) primarily designed to determine the effectiveness of the South African program to prevent MTCT. This analysis describes the proportion of infants achieving the WHO recommendation of at least 3 PNC visits. Interviews from 27 699 HIV–negative and HIV–positive mothers of infants aged 4–8 weeks receiving their six week immunization were included in analysis. Data were analyzed using STATA 13.0 and weighted for sample ascertainment and South African live births. We fitted a multivariable logistic regression model to estimate factors associated with early PNC uptake. Results Over half (59.6%, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 59.0–60.3) of mother–infant pairs received the recommended three PNC visits during the first 6 weeks; uptake was 63.1% (95% CI = 61.9–64.3) amongst HIV exposed infants and 58.1% (95% CI = 57.3–58.9) amongst HIV unexposed infants. Uptake of early PNC improved significantly with each survey, but varied significantly by province. Multivariable analysis of the pooled data, controlling for survey year, demonstrated that number of antenatal visits (4+ vs <4 Adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.04–1.23), timing of initial antenatal visits (≤12 weeks vs >12 weeks, aOR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.04–1.23), place of delivery (clinic vs hospital aOR = 1.5, 1.3–1.6), and infant HIV exposure (exposed vs unexposed aOR = 1.2, 95% CI = 1.1–1.2) were the key factors associated with receiving recommended PNC visits. Conclusions Approximately 40% of neonates did not receive three or more postnatal care visits in the first 6 weeks of life from 2010–2013. To improve uptake of early PNC, early antenatal booking, more frequent antenatal care attendance, and attention to HIV negative women is needed.


Computerisation is about to overtake markets that traditionally depended on physical presence to bring buyers and sellers together in one place. Providing appropriate interfaces for trading environments is a challenging task. In the context of financial trading, the behaviour of different trading parties (investors, brokers and dealers), trading signals, economic and financial indicators, and trading systems, constitutes a complex environment which is difficult to capture in a mathematical model, a computer simulation, or a textual description. This paper discusses the prospects for developing new environments for Virtual Trading that combine VR modelling with a new approach to computer-based modelling that has been developed at the University of Warwick [1].


Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are common and the economic burden of these injuries is high. However, the optimal management of a torn ACL of the knee is still controversial. Anterior cruciate ligament surgery is not suitable for all patients; there are some indications for non-surgical treatment with a strict neuromuscular rehabilitation program in selected patients. Neuromuscular rehabilitation is also necessary prior to ACL reconstruction. This is crucial for the primary and secondary prevention, too.


*Corresponding Author Kipyegon AN firstname.lastname@example.com The effect of oral administration of ripe Carica Papaya seed powder on testicular histology of Sus scrofa domestica boars has been addressed in the present article. Fifteen pubertal Large White boars were randomly selected and divided into two groups. Each boar in the experimental group received a daily dose of 300mg C Papaya mixed with 0.5 kg of conventional pig feed while the control group received a placebo. The experiment was carried out for 56 days in the University of Nairobi. After every two weeks, one boar from the control group and two from the experimental group were castrated and testicular tissue samples processed for histology. At the end of 56 days the remaining entire boars were maintained for 14 days and 60 days respectively without the papaya powder to assess reversibility. The test material had no effect on haematological parameters. However, histopathological changes of the seminiferous epithelium which appeared to be dependent upon duration of C Papaya consumption was noticed, these changes were reversible. Although the mechanism(s) for the effect of papaya seed extract is not explained by this study, it is observed that papaya seed powder causes gradual disorganization, exfoliation and loss of spermatocytes and spermatids.


Finding the way home, orienting into familiar and unfamiliar environments, computing our place and position with reference to internal and external cues are essential everyday tasks for animals. It is generally acknowledged that these tasks are accomplished by the brain by means of the internal formation of complex spatial representation, the so called "cognitive maps". How the brain can form these cognitive maps is a very debated issue in the field of neuroscience. An important stream of research tried to find out what the main environmental features the brain tends to store while navigating are. In order to investigate this, researchers have observed the behavior of animals after being disoriented in a familiar environment. The reorientation paradigm turned out to be a very interesting tool to study spatial cognition because it allows researchers to figure out which environmental components the animals remember and rely on in order to find their way after they have lost track of their heading and position. Experiments with both human adults, children and nonhuman animals have shown that an important feature of the environment the subjects tend to store to reorient is the geometry of the boundaries' layout (e.g., room shape). Children from as early as 2 years of age have been shown to be able to use the geometric shape of the spatial layout by searching an object hidden in one corner of a rectangular enclosure both in the correct corner and in its geometric equivalent. But which perceptual and physical factors define spatial boundaries? Which geometric components of boundaries are children most sensitive to? How are the same geometric components used in other spatial tasks such as map reading?
In our studies we tried to answer these fundamental questions. In our first study we investigated whether children are sensitive to boundaries that constitute either physical or visual obstacles. To this aim we tested children in a reorientation task with both an arena made up of transparent surfaces and an arena made up of opaque surfaces. By using transparent surfaces, we were able to minimize the visually occlusive component of the boundaries but leave intact its physical component. Opaque boundaries presented, instead, both the visual and physical components. In our second study, we further investigated how does the material and visual appearance of boundaries affect navigation by testing children in an arena made up of 20 closely-aligned objects. In this experiment we made the surfaces visually discontinuous, but the configuration of objects was made sufficiently dense to prevent movement and to underline the geometric structure. In our third study, we asked which components of the Euclidean geometry are children most sensitive to while navigating by geometric boundaries and making a map task. In particular we investigated the use of distance and length both in a reorientation task and a map-placement task.
The results showed that important developmental changes occur in children's representation of spatial boundaries and of their geometric components. In particular children became proficient at using transparent surfaces only at the age of five and they start using boundaries made up of closely- aligned objects at the age of seven. At the same time, we showed that the young children (36 to 42 months) reorient correctly in a disorientation task by using the geometric property of distance, rather than length. The same group of children were shown not to be able to use distance nor length in a map task, while they showed the ability to use angle.
These results suggest that not all kinds of boundaries are processed equally by children and that their visual aspect might be more important that their property of being obstacles to movement, particularly early in development. They are important because they inform of which material and physical properties of boundaries children are most sensitive to and they can help understanding how to design and build safe environments for children. Moreover, they suggest the geometric property used by young children to reorient is distance, essentially contributing to the wide debate on how children and animals could solve the reorientation task. Finally, they showed that the use of geometric properties in a reorientation task and in a map task might have two different developmental trajectories, suggesting these two competences might be mediated by two different systems and providing an important insight into the development of geometric competences in children.


Abstract The term "vital sign" has been assigned to various phenomena with the presumptive intent to emphasize their importance in health care resulting in the emergence of eight vital signs with multiple designations and overlapping terms. This review developed a case definition for vital signs and identified and described the fifth through eighth vital signs. PubMed/Medline, Google and biographical databases were searched using the individual Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms, vital sign and fifth, vital sign and sixth, vital sign and seventh, and vital sign eighth. The search was limited to human clinical studies written in English literature from 1957 up until November 30, 2021. Excluded were articles containing the term vital sign if used alone without the qualifier fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth or about temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and respiratory rate. One hundred ninety-six articles (122 for the fifth vital sign, 71 for the sixth vital sign, two for the seventh vital sign, and one for the eighth vital sign) constituted the final dataset. The vital signs consisted of 35 terms, classified into 17 categories compromising 186 unique papers for each primary authored article with redundant numbered vital signs for glucose, weight, body mass index, and medication compliance. Eleven terms have been named the fifth vital sign, 25 the sixth vital sign, three the seventh, and one as the eighth vital sign. There are four time-honored vital signs based on the case definition, and they represent an objective bedside measurement obtained noninvasively that is essential for life. Based on this case definition, pulse oximetry qualifies as the fifth while end-tidal CO2 and cardiac output as the sixth. Thus, these terms have been misappropriated 31 times. Although important to emphasize in patient care, the remainder are not vital signs and should not be construed in this manner.


Heparin is naturally occurring polysaccharides which interacts with seminal plasma proteins and regulate multiple steps in fertilization process. Qualitative and quantitative information regarding the affinity for heparin-seminal plasma proteins interactions is not generally well documented and there are no reports of a comprehensive analysis of these interactions in human seminal plasma. Such information should improve our understanding of how GAGs especially heparin present in the reproductive tract regulate fertilization. In this study, we use SPR to study interactions of heparin with various seminal plasma heparin-binding proteins (HBPs). HBPs like lactoferrin (LF), fibronectin fragment (FNIII), semenogelinI (SGI) and prostate specific antigen (PSA) all bind heparin with different binding kinetics and affinities. Kinetic data suggests that FNIII binds heparin with a high affinity (KD=3.2 nM), while PSA binds heparin with a micromolar affinity (KD=11.1 μM). Preincubation of SGI with heparin inhibits the binding of SGI to immobilized PSA in a dose-dependent manner, while FNIII incubated with heparin binds with an increased affinity to PSA. Solution-competition studies show that the minimum size of a heparin oligosaccharide capable of binding with PSA is greater than a tetrasaccharide, with LF and SGI is larger than a hexasaccharide and for FNIII is larger than an octasaccharide.


Adversarial evaluation stress-tests a model's understanding of natural language. Because past approaches expose superficial patterns, the resulting adversarial examples are limited in complexity and diversity. We propose human- in-the-loop adversarial generation, where human authors are guided to break models. We aid the authors with interpretations of model predictions through an interactive user interface. We apply this generation framework to a question answering task called Quizbowl, where trivia enthusiasts craft adversarial questions. The resulting questions are validated via live human–computer matches: Although the questions appear ordinary to humans, they systematically stump neural and information retrieval models. The adversarial questions cover diverse phenomena from multi-hop reasoning to entity type distractors, exposing open challenges in robust question answering.


In this study, using accounting performance measures, cash flow performance measures, market based performance measures, and statistical models, we analyze financial and stock market data to determine if there were any early signs of financial distress with Enron and WorldCom, two firms with reported accounting manipulations. We also analyzed two other business failures that were not associated with reported accounting manipulations, United Airlines and Federal Mogul. Our results consistently predict the impending demise of Federal Mogul and United Airlines. With few exceptions, the measures we examine generally failed to foresee the bankruptcies of WorldCom and Enron. The study underscores the need for effective financial disclosure and corporate governance to create a climate of investor confidence in the business community.


Teratogenicity of coal liquefaction products (CLP) was assessed in the pregnant rat. Three product streams of CLP (medium, hydrotreated medium and heavy fractions) were each administered dermally on Sprague‐Dawley rats at doses of 125, 250 or 500 mg kg−1day−1 from Day 6 through to Day 15 of gestation. Depressed maternal weight gain and reduced number of fetuses resulting from an increased resorption rate, decreased fetal weight and retarded ossification were observed in the group treated with the heavy fraction at a dose of 500 mg kg−1day−1. The heavy fraction at 500 mg kg−1 day−1 also caused anaemia and increased liver and spleen weights in dams. The dams exposed to the highest dose of three CLP fractions had mild and adaptative hepatic changes consisting of increased cytoplasmic eosinophilia and nuclear anisokaryosis. No treatment‐related histological changes were observed in fetuses. None of the fractions demonstrated any teratological effects.


ABSTRACT A provenance and stratigraphic study of the Neoproterozoic Pontas do Salso Complex (PSC), western portion of the Dom Feliciano Belt (DFB), was conducted with U–Pb zircon geochronological analysis of the metasediments and the host rocks. The U–Pb isotopic data from detrital zircon of the metasediments indicate the source from the latest Middle Tonian to Late Cryogenian (between 897 and 684 Ma) and maximum depositional age of 685 ± 18 Ma in an arc-related basin setting adjacent in the Sao Gabriel Arc. The metasediments of the PSC form an elongated body in the N35°E direction and occur in the central portion of the São Gabriel Terrane (SGT), which is constituted by ophiolitic complexes and arc-related rocks, generated probably during the final consolidation of Rodinia supercontinent, although this question is still open. Low- to medium-K calc-alkaline, metaluminous affinity, and trace-element geochemistry suggest that the chemical composition of the protoliths was generated from metasomatized mantle sources in subduction zones. The PSC is composed of meta-arkoses, with subordinate metaconglomerates and metapelites. The meta-arkoses are disposed in plane-parallel layers, which also internally feature small-scale cross-bedding structures. The matrix has a blastopsammitic, poorly selected, fine to coarse texture, and hexagonal quartz and plagioclase porphyroclasts with superimposed thermal metamorphism. The polymict metaconglomerates are matrix-supported, with 15–55% of clasts of metavolcanic rocks, metasediments, undeformed granites, and quartz veins. The metapelites comprise mainly muscovite phyllites with syn-tectonic garnet and chloritoid porphyroblasts. The PSC represents a sedimentary succession deposited on an arc-related basin formed during the collapse and uplift of the SGT.


Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), is one of the most common malignant tumor in southern China and southeast Asia. MYH10 is a coding gene of the NMMHC-IIB protein. Previous studies have shown that MYH10 expression was up-regulated in breast cancer, glioma and meningioma. Moreover, it was targeted by miR200 family. However, no relevant studies have been found in NPC. In present study, we found in 48 NPC specimens, MYH10 level was lower in most cancer areas than that in the adjacent normal tissue. Moreover, the depletion of MYH10 can promote the migration and invasion of NPC. In addition, we demonstrated that miR-200a has the strongest regulation to MYH10 among miR-200 family. miR-200a mimics could decrease MYH10 expression, while miR-200a inhibitor increase MYH10 expression. Next, we found that miR-200a bound directly to MYH10 using Dual-luciferase reporter. Finally, it was demonstrated that siMYH10 could reverse the effect of miR-200a inhibitor on NPC cell migration and invasion. Taken together, it can be concluded that MYH10 is lowly expressed in NPC compared with adjacent tissues, and the loss of MYH10 can promote the migration and invasion of NPC cells; Among the miR-200 family, miR-200a has the strongest regulatory effect on MYH10; MYH10 is a direct target gene of miR200a, and miR200a targets MYH10 to regulate the migration and invasion of NPC cells.


To promote international industrial subcontracting in China, this paper introduced the advanced information network technologies of international industrial subcontracting (SPX), and presented an information support system for china union of international industrial subcontracting (CSPX). The functions of the support system include technical information search, information retrieval, information dissemination, information exchange etc. In order to promote the service function of SPX and role in promoting enterprise development, we analyze the integration need of SPX system and other information systems and given and present an approach to realize the enterprise application integration between all these information systems.


Laccases are diphenol oxidases that have numerous applications in biotechnological
processes. In this work, the production of fungal laccase using organic and inorganic feed
substrates in submerged static fermentation was investigated.
Study Design: One-factor-at-a-time strategy was adopted to optimize the cultural parameters for
enhanced laccase production.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Port
Harcourt, Nigeria, between October 2014 and November 2015.
Methodology: A total of nine fungal isolates were obtained from wood decaying sites of University
of Port Harcourt forest areas and subjected to laccase screening with 2,2-Azinobis-3-
ethyl(benzthiazoline-6-sulphonate) (ABTS). The influence of medium components using the basal
medium at pH 5.0 as base was evaluated and these cultural parameters include carbon sources
(glycerol, rice bran, glucose and ground orange peelings), nitrogen sources (yeast extract, potassium nitrate, peptone and ammonium chloride), metal ions (copper sulfate and manganese
sulfate) and inducer compounds (ABTS, Tween 80 and soya oil). Time course study was
conducted with the unoptimized and optimized cultural medium.
Results: Out of nine cultures tested, seven were found to be laccase-positive with isolates CF-1
and CF-2 being the best potential cultures. Isolate CF-1 which had the highest laccase activity was
identified as Pleurotus ostreatus and was chosen for further studies. Ground orange peelings (0.1%
w/v) and NH4Cl (0.1% w/v) were the most suitable carbon and nitrogen source for laccase
production by the fungus. Maximum laccase production was obtained with Cu2+ at a concentration
of 0.05%w/v among other metal ions. Soya oil at concentration of 0.05% (v/v) was the best inducer
of the enzyme. The highest laccase production was achieved at an Initial pH 4.5. Under optimal
culture medium, the maximum laccase activity was determined to be 7.21 U ml-1 on the 7th day of
cultivation; which was approximately three times higher than that in basal medium (2.5 U ml-1). The
results obtained indicate that the extracellular laccase production is dependent on various cultural
parameters.
Conclusion: One-factor-at-a-time strategy adopted in this study proved that the optimum
conditions enhanced laccase production by three folds using orange peelings. The results obtained
are very interesting since orange peelings are common agricultural wastes in several countries and
imply that their re-utilization in the production of enzymes would help solve pollution problems
caused by their improper disposal. In addition, Pleurotus ostreatus having shown promise for
laccase production using low-cost lignocellulosic substrates could be suggested as a prospective
candidate for higher laccase production for several biotechnological applications.


Objective Venous thromboembolism (VTE) may be a marker of occult cancer in the general population. While liver disease is known to increase the risk of VTE and cancer, it is unclear whether VTE in patients with liver disease is also a marker of occult cancer. Design A population-based cohort study. Setting Denmark. Participants We used population-based health registries to identify all patients with liver disease in Denmark with a first-time diagnosis of VTE (including superficial or deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism) during 1980–2010. Patients with non-cirrhotic liver disease and patients with liver cirrhosis were followed as two separate cohorts from the date of their VTE. Measures For each cohort, we computed the absolute and relative risk (standardised incidence ratio; SIR) of cancer after VTE. Results During the study period, 1867 patients with non-cirrhotic liver disease and 888 with liver cirrhosis were diagnosed with incident VTE. In the first year following VTE, the absolute risk of cancer was 2.7% among patients with non-cirrhotic liver disease and 4.3% among those with liver cirrhosis. The SIR for the first 90 days of follow-up was 9.96 (95% CI 6.85 to 13.99) among patients with non-cirrhotic liver disease and 13.11 (95% CI 8.31 to 19.67) among patients with liver cirrhosis. After 1 year of follow-up, SIRs declined, but remained elevated in patients with non-cirrhotic liver disease (SIR=1.50, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.81) and patients with liver cirrhosis (SIR=1.95, 95% CI 1.45 to 2.57). Conclusions VTE may be a marker of occult cancer in patients with liver disease.


Introduction Stroke in the immediate post-operative period following carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is usually due to carotid thrombosis. Many centers have begun incorporating angiography before re-exploration, which has the advantage of confirming carotid occlusion and treating tandem intracranial lesions. The aim of this study is to determine the safety and efficacy of this strategy. Methods A retrospective review was performed of all cases undergoing stenting of the carotid artery following carotid endarterectomy from November 2009 to February 2014 at the Medical University of South Carolina and the Vanderbilt University Medical center. Charts and angiographic images were reviewed. Six cases of carotid thrombosis within 72 h of CEA and subsequent stent reconstruction are summarised. Results Five patients had greater than 70% carotid stenosis prior to carotid endarterectomy. One patient had intraoperative occlusion and dissection of the ICA which was noted on intraoperative carotid duplex ultrasound. All patients underwent post-operative computer tomography (CT) or computer tomography perfusion (CTP) scans with subsequent cerebral angiography and stent reconstruction within 11 h of symptom onset. Two patients had tandem middle cerebral artery M3 branch occlusion which was successfully recanalised. In all cases, recanalization was successfully completed between 40 to 160 min. There were no procedural complications. Conclusion Emergent endovascular evaluation in the setting of acute post CEA thrombosis is a safe and timely treatment option, with the benefit of detecting and treating embolic intracranial lesions. More investigation is necessary to define the role of immediate angiography and intervention in this rare surgical complication. Abstract P-020 Table 1 Patient demographics Age Gender % Carotid stenosis Symptomatic Case 1 66 M 90 N Case 2 73 M 80–99 Y Case 3 78 M 70 Y Case 4 59 F 80–99 Y Case 5 55 M 80–99 N Case 6 80 M Unknown Unknown Abstract P-020 Table 2 Pre procedural metrics Time from CEA to symptoms (hrs) Time from last normal to thrombectomy (hrs) NIHSS % Re-occlusion Tandem intracranial lesion Case 1 1 3 20 100% None Case 2 0 0 NA 100% ICA dissection Case 3 3.5 3 31 50% M3 thrombus Case 4 52 11 23 100% None Case 5 1 2.5 4 100% None Case 6 48 5 2 100% Multiple M3 thrombi Abstract P-020 Table 3 Peri and post procedural details Procedural time (min) Intraprocedural complications mRS at last follow up Case 1 40 None 0 Case 2 160 None 0 Case 3 120 None 6 Case 4 45 None 3 Case 5 60 None NA Case 6 130 None NA Disclosures J. Vargas: None. S. Zuckerman: None. I. Chaudry: 2; C; EV3/Coviden, Microvention, Penumbra, Stryker, Pulsar, Blockade, Medina. R. Turner: 2; C; Coviden, Microvention, Blockade, Codman, Stryker, Reverse Medical, Pulsar Vascular, Siemens, Penumbra. A. Turk: 1; C; Stryker, Codman, Microvention, Penumbra, Siemens, Coviden. 2; C; Stryker, Microvention, Penumbra, Pulsar Vascular. 4; C; Pulsar Vascular, Lazarus Effect, Medina, Blockade. A. Spiotta: 2; C; Pulsar Vascular, Microvention, Penumbra.


Current fluctuation and uncertainties in the global economics create challenges in the survival of the company. The companies under financial distress have to bear with the distress cost and at high risks to experience bankruptcy. There are a number of financial ratios that one can extract from the company's audited account. However, not every financial ratio has the ability to give an early warning to the financial practitioners that the company is facing distress. Three objectives of this study are (1) to investigate the ability of a set of financial ratios in predicting financial distress, (2) to identify a set of dominance financial ratios in predicting finanaal distress and (3) to compare the ability of a set of dominance financial ratios in predicting financial distress between consumer products and construction sector. Logit regression analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses. The findings of this study suggested that company with high earnings per shares and return on assets are less likely to experience financial distress. The ratios that able to predict the status of financial distress in both sectors are different. However, there are insufficient proofs to support that liquidity ratio and leverage ratio have the ability to predict corporate financial distress. Since the findings in this field are inconsistent, there is a need to continue the efforts in investigating and developing the financial distress prediction model that can suit to a particular industry, especially in Malaysia context.


[Extract] Mathematical problem solving continued to be an area of research in Australasia during the second half of the 1990s. This research has occur red in the context of continued attention to the role of problem solving in teaching and learning school mathematics. Despite the recent highlighting of basic, often minimal, numeracy as a priority in the federal and state circles, problem solving continued to be described as an essential competency in school mathematics. During this period, the Commonwealth· Department of Employment; Education and Training provided a grant to the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT) to support a project to promote an informed view of the competency Using Mathematical Ideas and Techniques (UMIT) to educators in all relevant areas and provide strategies for the effective development of this competency in young people" (AAMT, 1996). UMIT is one of a set of work related key competencies previously identified by a national vocational education committee (Mayer, 1992). The set includes collecting, analysing and organizing information; communicating ideas and information; planning and organizing activities; working with others and in teams; using mathematical ideas and techniques, solving problems; and using technology.

Because of the central role of solving problems in constructivist theories, considerable attention has been paid to the notion of problem solving as an essential activity for learning mathematics. The literature on learning and teaching in mathematics emphasise; the significance of "constructivism" (a) as an approach to understanding the process of learning of mathematics and (b) as a guide to teachers as facilitators of learning . A scan of Australian professional mathematics teachers' journals reveals that teachers have reported frequently on their focus on problem solving and investigation in mathematics classes, and have encouraged their peers to do likewise (see, for example, Borg, 1998;Holton, 1997; Nonhcroft, 1999; Perso, 1997; Stephens, Ball, Montgomery W Stoyanova & Bana, 1997; Wilson & Brown, 1998). As a prominent facet of mathematics reaching at primary and secondary levels, problem solving has, not surprisingly, continued to be the subject of investigation for many researchers in Australasia.

This chapter covers research on problem solving conducted in Australasia or by Australasians in the period 1996-1999. The organisation of the chapter is similar to that used in the chapter of the previous review publication (Nisbet, Putt & Taplin, 1996) and is based on the following categories:

• contexts and applications of problem solving;
• techniques: a) visual factors, b) cognitive demand on problem solvers (c) the use of algebraic and other special techniques in problem solving and d) the application of the SOLO taxonomy to cognition in mathematical problem solving;
• teaching strategies to facilitate problem solving including metacognitive frameworks, collaborative learning, problem posing and use of open-ended tasks;
• catering for special groups;
• the role of affective factors in problem solving;
• and teachers and their professional development.


The results of residual stresses in biocompatible cast Ni-Cr alloys-ceramics joints with an intermediate layer with thickness of about 10μm are discussed. To the experiment were used specimens with dimensions of 45×3×10 mm and 45×4×10 mm made of Cr-Ni alloys-ceramics joint both with and without of application of an intermediate layer. The examinations were carried out by means of metallographical microscope, testing machine and X-ray diffractometer. The measurement of residual macrostresses was carried out by using sin2ψ method. The obtained experimentally values of residual macrostresses are in good agreement with results of numerical simulation performed by means of FEM ANSYS package. The researches have been shown that application of an intermediate ceramics layer influence on increase of strength properties of Ni-Cr alloys-ceramics joints.


OBJECTIVES
Fluoroquinolones are used in second-line treatment of tuberculosis (TB) and have a potential role in shortening TB treatment duration. The wide use of fluoroquinolones in the treatment of other infections, including respiratory tract infections in patients with (undiagnosed) active TB, could result in fluoroquinolone-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We determined the rate of fluoroquinolone resistance in M. tuberculosis isolates obtained from Tanzanian patients and linked this to previous fluoroquinolone exposure and mycobacterial resistance to rifampicin and isoniazid.

METHODS
A total of 291 M. tuberculosis isolates were obtained between April 2009 and June 2010 from patients with smear-positive pulmonary TB and tested for susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, moxifloxacin, rifampicin and isoniazid. Information on previous fluoroquinolone use was obtained by interviewing patients and checking their medical files.

RESULTS
Only 2 (0.7%) of the 291 M. tuberculosis isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin; 1 of which was intermediately resistant to moxifloxacin as well. These two isolates were susceptible to rifampicin and isoniazid. Twenty-two (8%) of the 291 patients had a history of fluoroquinolone use (median: 7 days; interquartile range: 5-10 days). The patients from whom the fluoroquinolone-resistant M. tuberculosis isolates were obtained had no known history of previous fluoroquinolone use.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings indicate that the rate of fluoroquinolone-resistant M. tuberculosis in Tanzanian patients with TB is low and not related to previous, brief episodes of exposure to fluoroquinolones. The findings favour future application of fluoroquinolones in TB treatment regimens of shorter duration.


n the United States, public reporting of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) has been implemented I in several states to enhance transparency and accountability, with the intent of improving patient outcomes. However, the impact of public reporting remains a controversial issue. A growing body of evidence suggests that public reporting has not improved patient outcomes. In fact, robust evidence shows that it has instead led to risk aversion. Public reporting of PCI stands at the crossroads of competing priorities. By the principle of beneficence — "doing good" — public reporting seeks to enhance transparency, but it may violate the principle of non-maleficence — "do no harm" — through the unintended consequence of avoidance of high risk patients.


2-Amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo-[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx) is one of the most potent and abundant mutagens in the western diet. Bioactivation includes N-hydroxylation catalyzed by cytochrome P450s followed by O-acetylation catalyzed by N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2). In humans, NAT2*4 allele is associated with rapid acetylator phenotype, whereas NAT2*5B allele is associated with slow acetylator phenotype. We hypothesized that rapid acetylator phenotype predisposes humans to DNA damage and mutagenesis from MeIQx. Nucleotide excision repair–deficient Chinese hamster ovary cells were constructed by stable transfection of human cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) and a single copy of either NAT2*4 (rapid acetylator) or NAT2*5B (slow acetylator) alleles. CYP1A1 and NAT2 catalytic activities were undetectable in untransfected Chinese hamster ovary cell lines. CYP1A1 activity did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) among the CYP1A1-transfected cell lines. Cells transfected with NAT2*4 had 20-fold significantly higher levels of sulfamethazine N-acetyltransferase (P = 0.0001) and 6-fold higher levels of N-hydroxy-MeIQx O-acetyltransferase (P = 0.0093) catalytic activity than cells transfected with NAT2*5B. Only cells transfected with both CYP1A1 and NAT2*4 showed concentration-dependent cytotoxicity and hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase mutagenesis following MeIQx treatment. Deoxyguanosine-C8-MeIQx was the primary DNA adduct formed and levels were dose dependent in each cell line and in the following order: untransfected < transfected with CYP1A1 < transfected with CYP1A1 and NAT2*5B < transfected with CYP1A1 and NAT2*4. MeIQx DNA adduct levels were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in CYP1A1/NAT2*4 than CYP1A1/NAT2*5B cells at all concentrations of MeIQx tested. MeIQx-induced DNA adduct levels correlated very highly (r2 = 0.88) with MeIQx-induced mutants. These results strongly support extrahepatic activation of MeIQx by CYP1A1 and a robust effect of human NAT2 genetic polymorphism on MeIQx-induced DNA adducts and mutagenesis. The results provide laboratory-based support for epidemiologic studies reporting higher frequency of heterocyclic amine-related cancers in rapid NAT2 acetylators. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(7):1503–9)


This study examined the relations between reading-related cognitive skills and word reading development of Chinese children with dyslexia in their Chinese language (L1) and in English (L2). A total of 84 bilingual children—28 with dyslexia, 28 chronological age (CA) controls, and 28 reading-level (RL) controls—participated and were administered measures of word reading, rapid naming, visual-orthographic skills, and phonological and morphological awareness in both L1 and L2. Children with dyslexia showed weaker performance than CA controls in both languages and had more difficulties in phonological awareness in English but not in Chinese. In addition, reading-related cognitive skills in Chinese contributed significantly to the ability to read English words, suggesting cross-linguistic transfer from L1 to L2. Results found evidence for different phonological units of awareness related to the characteristics of the different languages being learned, supporting the psycholinguistic grain size and linguistic coding differences hypotheses.