Accurate assessment of (occupational) exposure to pesticides is hard to achieve. Applicators often apply multiple products and active ingredients over the course of a growing season. Which active ingredient is applied will also depend heavily about the pest at hand. Exposure to pesticides is therefore often to a mixture of active ingredients when assessed at annual or lifetime scale. Recollection of this information can become rather problematic when it covers multiple decades especially in the absence of spraying calendars or other recorded data. Also, applicators might have reasonable knowledge of tradenames and active ingredients, but farmworkers exposed via re-entry tasks like harvesting, pruning etc. in treated crops might only remember a pungent smell of a particular active ingredient or the crop they worked in. In middle- and low-income countries this might even become more problematic given that considerable proportions of applied pesticides may originate from unauthorised sources and sometimes reach local retailers via illegal cross-country trade. Re-packaging, lack of information in local languages and illiteracy will enhance these problems. In epidemiological studies several exposure assessment approaches have been applied including self-reports by farmers and applicators, crop-exposure matrices, semi-quantitative algorithms based on detailed information provided by study subjects and less frequently by measuring exposure and biomonitoring. In this presentation an overview of and trends in methods for assessment of exposure to pesticides in agricultural cohort and cross-sectional studies as well as community-based (case-control) studies will be presented. The (lack of) validity of different methods and approaches will be considered.


A flow-injection analysis system for the determination of ethanol was developed incorporating an oxygen electrode and an enzyme reactor packed with Sepharose 4B on which alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and NADH oxidase (NOD) from Bacillus licheniformis were co-immobilized. Although the response of the system depended on the concentration of FAD added into a carrier solution, it was linearly related to the ethanol concentration over the range 0.25 -1.0 mM, even in the absence of FAD, by controlling the immobilized amount of ADH and NOD. The linear relationship between the ethanol concentration and the response in the presence of 60 sM FAD was observed over the range 0.1-1.5 mM. When the system was applied to the determination of ethanol in various kinds of alcoholic beverages, the results obtained under both conditions were comparable to those obtained by the F-kit method.


Ampal Catchment Area has 25.273 km2 area and 4.699 km main river length, which planned to have 13 flood control construction. Until 2017, this catchment area has only three flood control construction. The watershed has only three built-in batters that are used to reduce the amount of flood discharge flowing on the Ampal river. Based on these conditions, it is necessary to analyze the magnitude of the difference of flood peak discharge on the existing condition (three bendali) compared with the condition of the plan (thirteen bendali). Therefore, analyzed the function and influence of flood control construction in Ampal Catchment Area by counting the flood peak discharge in each condition. From the analysis result, obtained the amount of peak discharge flowing in Ampal river existing condition is equal to 170,40 m3/s while at the condition of plan is equal to 83,80 m3/s. From the results of analysis, it is stated that the magnitude of the decrease of debit (ΔQ) after all the builds is 86.60 m3/s.


Serum samples were selected randomly from blood samples drawn in the morning for other reasons in patients treated with citalopram, and the serum concentrations of citalopram (S-citalopram) and its major metabolite desmethylcitalopram were determined. A total of 44 patients, 13 males and 31 females, with a median age of 38.5 years (range 18-89) entered the study. In 17 patients given 20 mg/day of citalopram the S-citalopram was (median and range) 153 nmol/l (83-237). In 24 patients treated with citalopram 40 mg/day the S-citalopram was 240 nmol/l (range 0-360). In one serum sample no S-citalopram could be detected (non-compliance) and in another sample S-citalopram was just above the detection limit (about 3 nmol/l). The latter may at least partly be due to treatment with 600 mg/day of carbamazepine, which is known to accelerate the metabolism of other drugs. The serum concentration of the major metabolite desmethylcitalopram averaged 28% of S-citalopram and is most likely without clinical importance. It is concluded that determination of S-citalopram may be considered if there is doubt about the compliance of the patient, in drug interaction cases or if the clinical effect is poor. If high S-citalopram


Background: The frequency of cardiovascular problems in patients with COVID-19 could be interpreted to suggest an increase in the number of cardiovascular admissions in the COVID-19 era However, almost all countries announced social restrictions and distancing measures which could unintentionally lead to a decline in admissions to the hospital for acute disorders other than those associated with pneumonia This study aimed to compare cardiovascular admissions before and after COVID-19 at the emergency department of secondary and tertiary centers in Turkey Methods: We analyzed emergency department referrals to secondary and tertiary centers in Ordu province, Turkey for subjects with acute chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitation, leg swelling, and acute limb ischemia from March 10, 2020 to April 30, 2020 Also, we recorded the number of diagnostic coronary angiographies, peripheral endovascular interventions, and cardiac surgeries performed at our institute The difference in the frequency of emergency department referrals due to acute cardiovascular disorders before and after COVID-19 was the primary outcome measure of this study Results: Our findings show that, following the establishment of social restrictions 1918 patients were admitted to the emergency department with acute chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitation, leg swelling, and acute limb ischemia Compared to the last five years (2105-2019) there was a decline in numbers of the patients admitted to the emergency department with acute coronary syndromes, and acute heart failure There was also a dramatic decline in number of diagnostic coronary angiographies, peripheral interventions and cardiac surgeries Finally, the number of lower extremity amputations from peripheral artery disease was increased Conclusion: Our findings show that, compared to the same intervals in the last five years, a critical decline has occurred in the number of patients admitted to our emergency department with cardiovascular symptoms, acute heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, STEMI, while the number of diagnostic angiographies, peripheral endovascular interventions and cardiac surgeries were also decreased The state of alarm declared by many countries may have caused a higher threshold for hospital application in patients with cardiovascular problems, possibly due to social distancing measures and concerns of contracting COVID-19 in the hospital


Polymers and glasses are important materials for non-silicon MEMS devices. Precision structuring of such materials has been plagued by the lack of proper tools capable of producing the required intricate details and finish quality. Machining with high peak power, short pulse lasers has become a potential technique for such applications due to the reduced thermal damage, high precision, small feature size and flexibility in pattern generation. In particular, the nanosecond and femtosecond pulsed lasers offer significant advantages with the ability to deposit energy in materials in a very short time interval, hence ensuring efficient conversion of the energy for material removal.In this paper, the results of using femtosecond laser to process polycarbonate, aluminosilicate glasses and nanosecond laser processing of aluminosilicate glasses are discussed. High quality microchannels in polycarbonate and glass substrates for a bubble switch have been created. The critical dimensions are at the micro scale. No cracks or burrs were observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The major processing variables such as cutting speed, energy fluence and power stability were investigated for their effects on machining quality. Microchannels with sub-micron surface roughness and high-aspect ratios were demonstrated.Preliminary testing of a bubble switch, which is based on the thermo-capillary effect, confirmed the working principle of the device; but indicated that the channels would have to be more narrower to achieve greater switching speeds.Polymers and glasses are important materials for non-silicon MEMS devices. Precision structuring of such materials has been plagued by the lack of proper tools capable of producing the required intricate details and finish quality. Machining with high peak power, short pulse lasers has become a potential technique for such applications due to the reduced thermal damage, high precision, small feature size and flexibility in pattern generation. In particular, the nanosecond and femtosecond pulsed lasers offer significant advantages with the ability to deposit energy in materials in a very short time interval, hence ensuring efficient conversion of the energy for material removal.In this paper, the results of using femtosecond laser to process polycarbonate, aluminosilicate glasses and nanosecond laser processing of aluminosilicate glasses are discussed. High quality microchannels in polycarbonate and glass substrates for a bubble switch have been created. The critical dimensions are at the micro scale. No c...


The plasmid R6K gamma origin consists of two adjacent modules, the enhancer and the core, and requires R6K initiator protein pi for replication. While the core alone can replicate at a low level of wild-type pi protein, we show here that host cells do not stably maintain core plasmids. The presence of the enhancer segment confers stable inheritance on core plasmids without a significant change in average plasmid copy number. Deletions and site-directed mutagenesis indicated that the stability of core plasmids is not mediated by binding sites or consensus sequences in the enhancer for DnaA, pi protein, gyrase, Fis, or Dcm methylase. Proper segregation of core plasmids requires only the R6K stb or stability-related region, which includes the 20-bp segment of the 100-bp enhancer adjacent to the core. The use of the pi 116 mutant protein, which increases plasmid copy number fourfold, does not stabilize core plasmids lacking the enhancer. We also show that at an elevated level of wild-type pi, the gamma-origin plasmid is unstable, even in the presence of the enhancer. We discuss the differences and similarities between the R6K stability system and those found in other plasmids.


Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to determine the density of oxides thermally grown on Si substrates as a function of the oxidation temperature, and the time and temperature of postoxidation anneals. All the oxides were found to be denser than fused silica. The density of the as-grown oxides was found to decrease as the growth temperature was increased. Postoxidation anneals were found to reduce the oxide density; high temperature or long-time anneals caused the greatest reduction in density. Holes alone, or holes and electrons, were injected into the oxides by irradiating with vacuum ultraviolet light or x rays under electric field bias. Using capacitance–voltage measurements, it was found that low-density oxides trap charge more efficiently than high-density oxides. Electron spin resonance measurements indicated that, for most of these oxides, the number of paramagnetic defects was substantially smaller than the number of trapped charges. It is hypothesized that the additional, nonparamagnetic, charg...


Robert Altman is one of the most inventive, unpredictable, and hotly debated American filmmakers of the past thirty years. His movies include popular hits (M.A.S.H., Nashville), critical successes (Thieves Like Us, The Long Goodbye, Short Cuts), and outright disasters (Beyond Therapy). Through triumph and tribulation alike, Altman has never lost the experimental spirit that brought him into feature filmmaking after twenty years of refining his talent on industrial movies and TV episodes. He also has maintained a gregarious, often garrulous nature, rarely missing an opportunity to discuss his work, life, and ambitions with the many critics and scholars who have plied him with questions throughout his career. The lively interviews in this book, drawn from a wide variety of sources, range from a colorful talk with Altman as he prepared an early foray into the western genre (McCabe and Mrs. Miller) to a mid-1990s conversation about the challenges of blending jazz and cinema in Kansas City. The interviews probe the many corners of Altman's work, including his epic battles with Hollywood studios and producers, his deep commitment to independent production, his creative views on video and stage-to-screen adaptation (a major facet of his career), and his insistence that he is more an audiovisual artist than a storytelling entertainer. Altman's conversations cast light on his idiosyncratic personality, revealing his taste for intoxicating experiences both on and off the screen and suggesting links between his risk-taking behaviors at the gambling table and the motion-picture set. This collection of interviews is a first-person portrait of a true American maverick whose freewheeling career has waged a decades-long campaign against Hollywood complacency and served as inspiration for new generations of independent screen artists. David Sterritt has been film critic for The Christian Science Monitor since 1968. He is an associate professor of film at Long Island University and the editor of Jean-Luc Godard: Interviews (University Press of Mississippi).


LPR (License Plate Recognition) is a foundation component of modern transportation management systems. It uses a set of computer image-processing technologies to identify vehicle by its license plate. Character recognition is the core of LPR, which is essentially a multi-classification problem. The challenge is how to recognize every character of the license plate accurately and rapidly in case of noise, variation, blurs and other adverse conditions. As a new machine learning method, SVM (Support Vector Machine) has been used in character recognition recently and showed certain effects. To further improve the recognition accuracy and speed of LPR, we proposed a method of character recognition based on wavelet kernel LS-SVM (Least Squares SVM) in this paper. LS-SVM is an evolution of classical SVM that has higher calculating speed. Instead of the commonly used kernel function in classical SVM like RBF kernel or Gauss kernel, we use Mexico hat wavelet kernel, which has better generalizing capacity, due to the feature of multi-scale analysis and approximately orthogonal. We did experiments on nearly 500 vehicle image using our method, BP neural network method and RBF kernel LS-SVM method. Our method got a recognition rate of 98.3% and testing time of 0.13s, both were better than the other two methods.


BACKGROUND
Despite gains in malaria control through impregnated treated nets (ITN), malaria remains a major concern. Netting is expensive and impractical for many communities. Here we present the findings of a community-based trial of impregnated bedsheets (shukas) in Kenya.

METHODS
A total of 472 individuals were enrolled in a randomized community trial where the unit of randomization was the hamlet (manyatta). Baseline data included socio-demographic data, parasite prevalence data from thick and thin blood smears, and clinical measures of malaria. The intervention involved the dipping of shukas owned by the experimental group in permethrin.

FINDINGS
The prevalence of malaria in the study population (based on laboratory results) was considerably lower than that used for the power calculation based on clinical estimates (2.2% versus 20%). For those aged 6 or over, the rate of malaria cases (events per 10 000 person-days at risk) was 1.41 in the experimental group versus 7.49 in the control group (incidence rate ratio 0.187, 95% CI: 0.046- 0.770). For children </=5 years of age results were imprecise with no clear benefit of the intervention.

CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that permethrin-impregnated bedsheets may be protective against malaria prevention but further studies with greater power are required to confirm this.


Planar optical waveguides in single crystals of KNbO3 were fabricated by MeV B and He ion implantation. The depth profiles of radiation damage in these waveguides were compared and analyzed by high resolution transmission electron microscope. Non leaky waveguiding modes (TE0 and TM0), which are due to implantation induced increase of nb and nc, were observed in 6.0 MeV B ion implantated waveguides with a dose of 1×1015> cm-2.


For a sound field observed on a sensor array, performance of conventional high-resolution adaptive beamformers is affected dramatically in the presence of coherent multipath signals, but the directions-of-arrival (DOAs) and power levels of these arrivals can be resolved with compressed sensing (CS). When the number of multipath signals is sufficiently small, a CS approach can be used by formulating the problem as a sparse signal recovery problem. CS overcomes the difficulty of resolving coherent arrivals at an array by directly processing the sensor outputs without first estimating a sensor covariance matrix. CS is compared to the adaptive minimum-variance-distortionless-response (MVDR) spatial processor with spatial smoothing. Though spatial smoothing produces improved results by preprocessing the sensor array covariance matrix to decorrelate the coherent multipath components, it reduces the effective aperture of the array and hence reduces the resolution. An empirical study with a uniform linear array (ULA) demonstrates that CS outperforms MVDR beamformer with spatial smoothing in terms of spatial resolution and bias and variance of DOA and power estimates. Analysis of the shallow-water HF97 ocean acoustic experimental data shows that CS is able to recover the DOAs and power levels of the multipath signals with superior resolution compared to MVDR with spatial smoothing.


Social multimedia networks (SMNs) have attracted much attention from both academia and industry due to their impact on our daily lives. The requirements of SMN users are increasing along with time, which make the satisfaction of those requirements a very challenging process. One important challenge facing SMNs consists of their internal users that can upload and manipulate insecure, untrusted, and unauthorized contents. For this purpose, controlling and verifying content delivered to end users is becoming a highly challenging process. So far, many researchers have investigated the possibilities of implementing a trustworthy SMN. In this vein, the aim of this paper is to propose a framework that allows collaboration between humans and machines to ensure secure delivery of trusted video content over SMNs while ensuring an optimal deployment cost in the form of CPU, RAM, and storage. The key concepts beneath the proposed framework consist in assigning to each user a level of trust based on his/her history, creating an intelligent agent that decides which content can be automatically published on the network and which content should be reviewed or rejected, and checking the videos' integrity and delivery during the streaming process. Accordingly, we ensure that the trust level of the SMNs increases. Simultaneously, efficient capital expenditure and operational expenditures can be achieved.


For the first time we derive the evolution law of the negative binomial state in an amplitude dissipative channel with a damping constant κ. We find that after passing through the channel, the final state is still a negative binomial state, however the parameter γ evolves into γ′, where γ = γ/(e−2κt (1 − γ) + γ). The decay law of the average photon number is also obtained.


Energy leakage via anchors in substrate plates impairs the quality factor (Q) in microelectromechanical system (MEMS) resonators. Most phononic crystals (PnCs) require complicated fabrication conditions and have difficulty generating a narrow bandgap at high frequency. This paper demonstrates a pillar-based PnC slab with broad bandgaps in the ultra high frequency (UHF) range. Due to Bragg interference and local resonances, the proposed PnC structure creates notably wide bandgaps and shows great advantages in the high frequency, large electromechanical coupling coefficient (k2) thin film aluminum nitride (AlN) lamb wave resonator (LWR). The dispersion relations and the transmission loss of the PnC structure are presented. To optimize the bandgap, the influence of the material mechanical properties, lattice type, pillar height and pillar radius are explored. These parameters are also available to adjust the center frequency of the bandgap to meet the desirable operating frequency. Resonators with uniform beam anchors and PnC slab anchors are characterized. The results illustrate that the Q of the resonator improves from 1551 to 2384, and the mechanical energy leakage via the anchors is significantly decreased using the proposed PnC slab anchors. Moreover, employment of the PNC slab anchors has little influence on resonant frequency and induces no spurious modes. Pillar-based PnCs are promising in suppressing the anchor loss and further improving the Q of the resonators.


The purpose of the dissertation is to trace the working process of Johannes Widekindi (ca 1620–1678), Swedish historiographer of the Realm, when writing his bilingual history of the Swedish military actions in Russia in 1609–1617, published in 1671 in Swedish as Thet Swenska i Ryssland tijo ahrs Krijgz-Historie and in 1672 in Latin as Historia Belli Sveco-Moscovitici Decennalis.Chapter 1 of the dissertation consists of an overview of the Latin historiography during the Swedish Great Power period, together with a sketch of Widekindi's biography and an overview of his works. Chapter 2 deals with general information about Historia Belli / Krijgz-Historie and contains an overview of the previous research as well as a section on the aims and methods of the present dissertation. The subject of chapter 3 is the extrinsic evidence of the working process, provided primarily by the collection of letters from Widekindi to Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie.Chapter 4 deals with Widekindi's sources. A detailed comparison makes it possible to evaluate the reliability of the author's own statement that he first wrote his work in Latin and then translated it into Swedish. Whenever there is no obvious correspondence to the wording of the source in either of two versions, one needs to apply detailed philological analysis of the differences between them. It turns out that the Latin version is, with certain reservations, the original one, whereas the Swedish version contains both passages translated from Latin (in certain cases revised with the help of the source) and those quoted directly after the source.Chapter 5 deals with Widekindi's translation technique. The quantitative TRIX-method is used to describe the formal correspondence between the source text and the target text, taking into account both the lexical equivalence between the corresponding substantives in two versions and the syntactical equivalence between the corresponding finite verb forms. Finally, there is a survey of some general differences between two versions, e.g. the lack of classical allusions in the Swedish version and the scarce and inconstant use of titles in the Latin one. Other bilingual editions and translations from Latin into Swedish from the same period serve as comparative background. (Less)


Wood coatings of PU–NC semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (semi-IPNs), made from blown castor oil (BCO), aromatic polyisocyanate (PTDI), and nitrocellulose (NC), were prepared by sequential polymerization method. To investigate the effects of NC on the properties of PU–NC semi-IPNs wood coatings, three different viscosities of NC (½-sec, ¼-sec, and -sec), and a PU catalyst [dibutyltin dilaurate (DBTDL)] were synthesized in this study. The results revealed that the PU–NC semi-IPNs with ½-sec NC-containing coating had the shortest drying time, and their films had the best tensile strength, elongation at break, lightfastness, and solvent resistance. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that PU–NC semi-IPNs with ½-sec NC or -sec NC had good interpenetration between PU and NC, whereas PU–NC semi-IPNs with ¼-sec NC had a slight separation phase between PU and NC. In both PU–NC semi-IPNs with ¼-sec NC and those with -sec NC, the addition of 0.2% DBTDL could effectively reduce the drying time of the coating and improve the film properties, including tensile strength, elongation at break, and lightfastness. In addition, the miscibility of PU and NC was examined in PU–NC semi-IPNs with ¼-sec NC. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 2157–2162, 2003


Traditional descriptions of the Favre-Goldmann syndrome include early onset of night blindness; atypical pigmentary dystrophy of the retina; degenerative changes of the vitreous humour (including both liquefaction and the presence of microfibrillar strands); peripheral and, less often, central retinoschisis; lens opacities; striking electroretinographic (ERG) abnormalities; and autosomal recessive inheritance. We noted previously unreported diffuse leakage from retinal vessels on fluorescein angiography. Electroretinography showed cone and rod responses which we believe are characteristic in the earlier stages of the disease.


BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE
Previous studies had showed that phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI-3K) can suppress cell apoptosis. The inhibitor of PI-3K has been used to investigate the mechanisms of PI-3K-induced oncogenesis. This study was to investigate the reversal effect of LY294002, a PI-3K/Akt inhibitor, on paclitaxel-resistance of ovarian carcinoma cell line A2780/Taxol.

METHODS
A2780/Taxol cells were treated with LY294002. Cell apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry (FCM). The 50% inhibition concentration (IC50) of paclitaxel for A2780/Taxol cells was determined by MTT assay. The expression of multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) mRNA was assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The expression of phosphated Akt and P-glycoprotein (P-gp) were detected by Western blot.

RESULTS
When treated for 24 h, the apoptosis rate of A2780/Taxol cells was significantly higher in 10 and 50 micromol/L LY294002 groups than in control group [(8.84+/-1.65)% and (20.78+/-2.47)% vs. (1.25+/-0.78)%, P<0.05], the IC50 of paclitaxel for A2780/Taxol cells was decreased significantly (P<0.01) with the highest reverse efficiency of (78.08+/-0.37)%. Moreover, the expression of MDR1 gene, and the phosphorylation of Akt and P-gp in A2780/Taxol cells were decreased.

CONCLUSIONS
The activation of PI-3K/Akt pathway plays an important role in paclitaxel-resistance of ovarian carcinoma cells. PI-3K/Akt inhibitor, LY294002 has a reversal effect on the paclitaxel-resistance of A2780/Taxol cells.


Using dimyristoyl L-alpha-phosphatidylcholine as a substrate, the effect of coenzyme Q10 on phospholipid digestion by phospholipase A2 and phospholipase C was investigated. Free myristic acids released by phospholipase A2, and myristic acids of dimyristoyl glyceride released by phospholipase C were methylated and determined quantitatively by gas-chromatography. Phospholipase A2 or phospholipase C released myristic acids dose-dependently from the substrate. Coenzyme Q10 prevented dose-dependently the hydrolysis of the substrate caused by phospholipase. These results suggest that pharmacological action of coenzyme Q10 could be attributed to its protection of membrane phospholipids against the attack of phospholipases.


The use of relics and gorintō (five-element pagodas) as objects placed in Buddhist statues gained currency in the late twelfth century. This article examines the deposits (nōnyūhin) placed by Fujiwara no Kanezane (1149–1207) in 1189 within the statue of Fukūkenjaku Kannon in the Nan'endō at Kōfukuji in Nara, one of the earliest examples to contain both relics and gorintō. The article unravels the intricate relationship between the contents of the inserted objects, the meaning of the statue, and the motives behind the placing of the deposits. On the one hand, the deposits in this statue were carefully selected to manifest Kanezane's conception of the sacred. On the other, they were intended to evoke a response from Fukūkenjaku Kannon to generate rebirth in Amida's pure land. The relic deposit was enshrined because of its connection to Pure Land rebirth and was to transform the statue into a shōjinbutsu (living buddha) that assumed an array of meanings: an icon containing relics, a nexus for salvation, and a miraculous manifestation of the deity. It is also suggested that Pure Land belief was a driving force behind the increase in using relics as nōnyūhin in the late twelfth century.


Abstract The physician exposed to a large number of patients with a recessive form of ataxia, will occasionally observe slower progression forms which lack many of the severe features or cardinal symptoms of Friedreich's disease. We have studied 31 such cases in Acadians of the Maritime Provinces of Canada, and in their separated "cousins" from Louisiana, now called "Cajuns". These patients are compared to a consecutive series of 22 Friedreich's disease cases in French Canada. It is shown that the age of onset is slightly later, but the progression much slower and the age at death older in the Acadian patients. These cases develop signs of pyramidal and posterior column involvement gradually and later than the classical Friedreich. As a result, pes cavus and scoliosis are less marked, as well as muscle weakness and cardiomyopathy. On the other hand, the rate of progression of areflexic ataxia, the "core disease", is identical in both groups. The main difference in progression rates of the disorders occurs after 10-12 years of evolution, thus after the period of hormono-ponderal growth. These differences, coupled to the diverging genetic and genealogical backgrounds, are sufficiently large for the presumption of distinct disorders. Whether they are due to allelic mutations, linked but different genes, genes affecting the same metabolic pathway, but elsewhere or to completely distinct entities, will have to be left to further studies, but their existence in completely different populations and milieux is worthy of report.


Molecular approaches were used to examine the genetic diversity of bacteria associated with the gut wall of the terrestrial isopod Porcellio scaber and to determine whether an autochthonous microflora exists in the P. scaber hindgut. 16S ribosomal genes were amplified from the total DNA isolated from thoroughly washed papillate regions of the hindgut, where the highest concentrations of bacteria are commonly found. The amplified genes were cloned, sequenced and phylogenetically analysed. The results implied an unexpectedly large diversity of microflora associated with the cuticle of the hindgut. Almost half of the retrieved sequences were found to be less than 80% homologous with any of the known sequences available at DNA data banks. Most of these sequences were clustered in one of three groups, and were clearly distant from the sequences of other bacterial taxa, indicating that they could represent novel bacterial species or even genera. More than two thirds of the sequences were found to be phylogenetically related to sequences from bacteria typically isolated from human and animal intestines, e.g. streptococci, enterococci, and members of the genus Bacteroides. The majority of the remaining sequences were most closely related to typical soil bacteria, e.g. bacilli and pseudomonads. The facts that a large proportion of the retrieved sequences was related to the sequences of bacteria, which are autochthonous to intestinal ecosystems, and that bacteria, specifically attached to the cuticular spines, were observed, indicate that truly autochthonous bacteria may well be present in the hindgut of P. scaber.


Section 1: Introduction. 1.1 Primary and Secondary Metabolites. 1.2 Properties and Purpose of Secondary Metabolites. Section 2: Acetyl Coenzyme A: A Key Biological Intermediate. 2.1 What is Acetyl Coenzyme A? 8. 2.2 Comparison of Organic and Acetyl Coenzyme A Reactions. 2.3 Malonyl Coenzyme A - A Partnership with Acetyl Coenzyme A. 2.4 How is Acetyl Coenzyme A Used in Biosynthesis?. Section 3: Biosynthesis of Fatty Acids. 3.1 What are Fatty Acids?. 3.2 Occurrence and Function of Fatty Acids. 3.3 Biosynthesis of Saturated Straight-Chain Fatty Acids. 3.4 Biosynthesis of Saturated Branched Fatty Acids. 3.5 Mono-unsaturated Fatty Acids. 3.6 Poly-unsaturated Fatty Acid. 3.7 Oxygenated Fatty Acids. 3.8 beta-Oxidation. Section 4: Biosynthesis of Polyketides. 4.1 What are Polyketides?. 4.2 The Chemistry of 1,3-Dicarbonyls: Keto-Enol Tautomerism. 4.3 The Chemistry of 1,3-Dicarbonyls: Condensation Reactions. 4.4 Polyketide Cyclizations: Formation of Unsaturated Products. 4.5 Secondary Structural Modifications During Polyketide Cyclizations. 4.5.1 Alkylation. 4.5.2 Reduction. 4.5.3 Oxidation. 4.5.4 Decarboxylation. 4.5.5 Modifications to the Carbon Skeleton. 4.6 Alkaloids Derived from Polyketides. 4.7 The Use of Isotopes in the Elucidation of Biosynthetic Pathways. Section 5: The Shikimic Acid Pathway. 5.1 Introduction. 5.2 Transamination. 5.3 Biosynthesis of Natural Products Derived from Cinnamic Acid. 5.4 Lignans. 5.5 Biosynthesis of Alkaloids. 5.5.1 Decarboxylation of Amino Acids and alpha-Keto Acids. 5.5.2 Pictet-Spengler Reaction. 5.5.3 Alkaloids Derived from Tryptophan. 5.5.4 Alkaloids Derived from Tyrosine. Section 6: Terpenes. 6.1 What are Terpenes?. 6.2 Carbocations as Intermediates in Terpene Biosynthesis. 6.2.1 Hydride Shifts. 6.2.2 Alkyl Shifts. 6.2.3 Cyclizations. 6.3 Termination of Carbocations. 6.3.1 Loss of a Proton. 6.3.2 Addition of Water. 6.4 Terpene Biosynthesis. 6.4.1 Biosynthesis Initiated by Heterolysis of Pyrophosphates. 6.4.2 Biosynthesis from 'Dimers' of Pyrophosphates. 6.4.3 Biosynthesis Initiated by Protonation or Epoxidation of an Alkene. Section 7: Natural Products Derived from Amino Acids. 7.1 Alkaloids. 7.2 Penicillins and Related Compounds 1.1 Primary and Secondary Metabolites. 7.3 Macrocyclic Peptides. 7.4 Porphyrins. Section 8: Answers to Problems. Section 9: Further Reading. Index


Iceland has been experiencing a tourism boom. The number of tourists visiting annually quadrupled between 2010 and 2016 and shows continued strength. The tourism sector is now the major export earner and is also creating new jobs and supporting new businesses. The government budget has also benefitted from high tax revenues. The surge in tourism supported growth after the crisis and the sector has become a major pillar of the economy. But, the breakneck growth of tourism has created a number of challenges. Growing pains have emerged as accommodation supply has lagged in the wake of unexpectedly large number of tourists, contributing to pressure on the local housing market. The environment, particularly in some popular sites, has also come under pressure. The government has reacted to these environmental and social impacts and has worked with the industry to agree on a path forward. Sustaining a nature-based tourism for Iceland will require more coordinated policy across government and a long-term strategic plan that builds on Iceland's strengths. Protecting the unique environmental attractions of Iceland - while mitigating adverse social impacts - will lay the basis for the healthy development of a new important sector. This working paper relates to the 2017 OECD Economic Survey of Iceland (http://www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-iceland.htm).


Among the triggers of the Egyptian Revolution are the sentiments of resentment against the convoluted alliances between private businesses and policymakers that deprived the masses of their fair share of the high GDP growth. But does this indictment extend to the Egyptian banking sector? Based on a field survey and a dataset of 3218 business loans made by 33 banks during 1999–2010, this research differentiates between growth catalysts and crony coalitions within the Egyptian banking sector. The results of the Generalized Estimating Equations reveal that preferential lending to politically-connected businesses has a negative impact on employment and income distribution. Loans to small and medium enterprises and public firms help enhance income distribution and job generation, albeit that the soft-budget constraint on loans to public firms deters growth. The paper presents some policy recommendations that could help exorcise patrimonialism and clientelism and enhance growth alliances within the sector that controls most of the credit flow in the Egyptian economy. The study is not only of grave importance to the Egyptian nation whose members are actively engaged in refurbishing its institutional framework, but is of equal significance to other emerging economies that are keen to install equity, political stability and socioeconomic prosperity.


Abstract In this work, we evaluated the differences between epileptic electroencephalogram (EEG) and interictal EEG by computing some non-linear features. Correlation dimension (CD) and Hurst exponent (H) were calculated for 100 segments of epileptic EEG and 100 segments of interictal EEG. A comparison was made between epileptic EEG and interictal EEG in those non-linear parameters. Results show that the mean values of CD are 2·64 for epileptic EEG and 4·55 for interictal EEG. We also calculated approximate entropy (ApEn) of those EEG signals. The mean values of ApEn are 0·90 for epileptic EEG and 4·55 for interictal EEG. The values of CD and ApEn of epileptic EEG are generally lower than those of interictal EEG, indicating less complexity of EEG signals during seizures. The mean values of Hurst exponent are 0·19 for epileptic EEG and 0·29 for interictal EEG. Hurst exponents for epileptic EEG and interictal EEG are both <0·5. This indicates that both epileptic and interictal EEGs show long-range anticorrelation. The value of Hurst exponent of epileptic EEG signals is lower than that of interictal EEG signals, showing that the degree of anticorrelation of epileptic EEG signals is larger than that of interictal EEG. Hence, the non-linear parameters such as CD and Hurst exponent can help interpret epileptic and interictal EEGs and their neurodynamics.


In this paper, we describe the ICSI 2007 language recognition system. The system constitutes a variant of the classic PPRLM (parallel phone recognizer followed by language modeling) approach. We used a combination of frame-by-frame multilayer perceptron (MLP) phone classifiers for English, Arabic, and Mandarin and one open loop hidden Markov Model (HMM) phone recognizer (trained on English data). The maximum likelihood language modeling is substituted by support-vectormachines (SVMs) as a more powerful, discriminative classifi cation method. Rank normalization is used as a normalization method superior to mean-variance normalization. Results are presented on the NIST 2005 language recognition evaluation (LRE05) set and a test set taken from the LRE07 training corpus. The average NIST cost of the system on the LRE05 set is 0.0886.


ABOUT a year ago, on July 1, 1973, the federal government activated a new law under which it assumed fiscal responsibility for the treatment of end-stage kidney disease in all patients covered by Social Security. This marks the culmination of a decade and a half during which two dramatic therapies for irreversible kidney failure have come to maturity: hemodialysis with artificial kidneys, and renal transplantation. Even though both cannot yet be regarded as optimal treatment modalities, they are probably here to stay as long as the nation is confronted with an annual toll of 60,000 uremic deaths. According to the National Dialysis Registry of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the number of patients who are currently being maintained with the aid of chronic dialysis approaches 14,000. According to the American College of Surgeons/NIH Organ Transplant Registry, more than 8,000 renal transplants have been performed thus far in the United


Aim: The present study was planned to reveal the prevalence of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) in fecal samples of domestic and wild ruminants in Mathura district and Kanpur zoo. Materials and Methods: A total of 240 fecal samples comprising 60 each of cattle, buffalo, sheep and deer from Mathura districts and Kanpur zoo were screened for the presence of E. coli and VTEC genes positive by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Result: Out of 240 fecal samples, 212 E. coli strains were obtained. All the E. coli isolates were screened by PCR to detect virulence genes stx1, stx2, eaeA and hlyA. Of these, 25 isolates were identified as VTEC. The prevalence of VTEC in cattle, buffalo, sheep and deer was found 13.4% (8/60), 13.4% (8/60), 6.67% (4/60) and 8.33% (5/60), respectively. Conclusion: stx1, stx2, eaeA and hlyA genes were prevalent in VTEC isolates from feces of cattle, buffalo, sheep and deer population of Mathura districts and Kanpur zoo. The presence of VTEC isolates in this region may pose a threat to public health.


The relationship between high technology exports and per capita economic growth in countries with higher levels of technological achievement is examined. Three groups of countries classified as technological leaders, potential leaders and dynamic adopters are chosen for empirical analysis on the basis of the technological achievement index. The regression results reveal that high technology exports exert a statistically significant positive effect on growth of the technological leader category of countries and a positive but statistically insignificant effect on thepotential leader category of countries. The main policy implication is that low-income countries with lower levels of technological achievement and growth may need to focus on new product development with high technological content so as to be competitive in the global trading environment as well as to enhance their growth and development.


During the ownership reforms in Estonia as in all the Baltic States the basic problem was the reconstruction of the higher education accounting the new situation of the II independency of States. The educational reforms grow up from market conditions based on the ownership reforms, on the association and membership status of the EU of all the States and its development under the basic understandings considering the Bologna declaration. Above named gives us the different historical terms of the description of the dynamic of real estate curriculum and the related one to it also and on the other hand points our attention to the internal analyze of all involved curricula. // Key words: Ownership reform, educational reform, membership of EU, Bolognas declaration, internal analyze, historical development


It has been reported that power color Doppler ultrasound has important advantages over conventional color Doppler flow imaging. Some of these advantages are the aliasing free capability, the increased sensitivity to flow, and the angular independence. This last characteristic of power Doppler ultrasound was evaluated to verify if it was still valid in some well-defined flow conditions where porcine whole blood, calf red cells suspended in saline solution, and carbon fibers suspended in a water-glycerol mixture were used as scattering particles. Experiments were conducted under steady flow conditions (mean shear rates across the tube between 8.5 and 102 s/sup -1/) for insonification angles between 40 and 80/spl deg/. Different hematocrit values (5, 10, 20, and 40%) were specifically tested for porcine whole blood. Results indicated no angular dependence for the saline suspension of calf red cells while a strong anisotropy was observed for the carbon fibers. In this last situation, the Doppler power in decibels increased linearly with the insonification angle. The maximum found at 800 suggests that the fibers were aligned with the direction of the flow. For porcine whole blood, an angular dependence was observed at some specific shear rate conditions. At 40% hematocrit, the anisotropy was about 5 dB for shear rates between 17 and 51 s/sup -1/, while for a lower (8.5 s/sup -1/) or higher shear rate (102 s/sup -1/), the anisotropy was reduced to approximately 2 dB. In all of these situations, the maximum Doppler power was observed for an insonification angle between 45 and 60/spl deg/, For hematocrit values of 5, 10, and 20%, the anisotropy was respectively on the order of 2, 3, and 4 dB or less, depending on the shear rate conditions. Among the possible mechanisms that may explain the anisotropic effect observed in the present study, the structure of the red cell aggregates is believed to be the determinant factor. A hypothesis concerning the structure of the aggregates under flowing conditions in large diameter tubes is proposed.


We present the case of a woman of 48 years old, with a gastric metastases from breast lobular carcinoma that was operated eight years ago, being free of illness until today. The symptoms who presented her were totally inespecific and the diagnostic techniques of image realized were compatible with the diagnostic of plastic linitis. The histological findings of biopsy and hormonals receptors study confirmed the diagnostic of gastric metastases of primary breast carcinoma after a comparative study with the initial surgical piece. After starting hormonal and cistostatic treatment, the patient presented a partial improvement of her symptomatology with a survival that exceeds ten months. The gastric metastases of lobular carcinoma are not so infrequent as it was believed, and its diagnostic require a high index of suspicion, given the inespecifity of symptomatology that it used to present.


We investigate the performance of flat-histogram methods based on a multicanonical ensemble and the Wang–Landau algorithm for the three-dimensional ± J spin glass by measuring round-trip times in the energy range between the zero-temperature ground state and the state of highest energy. Strong sample-to-sample variations are found for fixed system size and the distribution of round-trip times follows a fat-tailed Fréchet extremal value distribution. Rare events in the fat tails of these distributions corresponding to extremely slowly equilibrating spin glass realizations dominate the calculations of statistical averages. While the typical round-trip times scale exponentially as expected for this NP-hard problem, we find that the average round-trip time is no longer well defined for systems with spins. We relate the round-trip times for multicanonical sampling to intrinsic properties of the energy landscape and compare with the numerical effort needed by the genetic cluster-exact approximation to calculate the exact ground-state energies. For systems with spins the simulation of these rare events becomes increasingly hard. For there are samples where the Wang–Landau algorithm fails to find the true ground state within reasonable simulation times. We expect similar behaviour for other algorithms based on multicanonical sampling.


Study this aim for analyze and explain influence capital structure and profitability to score company on company industry pharmacy on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Population study this is company pharmacy listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange period observation year 2019-2021. Methodology study this use purposive sampling method with total 8 companies. Analysis on research this conducted with use analysis multiple linear regression and assumption test classic on the SPSS program. by Partial results analysis panel data regression shows that influential capital structure positive significant to score company. Influence profitability by Partial show that results analysis influential panel data regression positive significant to score company. DER and ROA variables individually simultaneous show that take effect positive significant to score company. Enhancement price good stock take effect to decision investment. The more many investors invest, then will raise score company. Good profitability for company that is show ability company produce profit clean. High profitability will influence price stock later will attract investors to buy stock.


An intracellular carboxylesterase from Pseudomonas sp. was overproduced in E. coli, and purified to homogeneity by a combination of hydrogen bond chromatography, gel filtration, and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. Gel filtration and SDS-PAGE suggested that the purified enzyme consisted of two subunits of molecular mass of 28 kDa. Its isoelectric point was 5.9. The enzyme was thermolabile, and showed its maximum activity at 22 degrees C (pH 7.5). Methyl propionate was hydrolyzed at the highest rate among the fatty acid methyl esters tested. PMSF, DFP, PCMB, and HgCl2 inhibited the enzyme markedly, suggesting that serine and/or cysteine is in or near the active site.


For normally distributed data analyzed with linear models, it is well known that measurement error on an independent variable leads to attenuation of the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable. However, for time‐to‐event variables such as progression‐free survival (PFS), the effect of the measurement variability in the underlying measurements defining the event is less well understood. We conducted a simulation study to evaluate the impact of measurement variability in tumor assessment on the treatment effect hazard ratio for PFS and on the median PFS time, for different tumor assessment frequencies. Our results show that scan measurement variability can cause attenuation of the treatment effect (i.e. the hazard ratio is closer to one) and that the extent of attenuation may be increased with more frequent scan assessments. This attenuation leads to inflation of the type II error. Therefore, scan measurement variability should be minimized as far as possible in order to reveal a treatment effect that is closest to the truth. In disease settings where the measurement variability is shown to be large, consideration may be given to inflating the sample size of the study to maintain statistical power. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


How an agent can act optimally in stochastic, partially observable domains is a challenge problem, the standard approach to address this issue is to learn the domain model firstly and then based on the learned model to find the (near) optimal policy. However, offline learning the model often needs to store the entire training data and cannot utilize the data generated in the planning phase. Furthermore, current research usually assumes the learned model is accurate or presupposes knowledge of the nature of the unobservable part of the world. In this paper, for systems with discrete settings, with the benefits of Predictive State Representations~(PSRs), a model-based planning approach is proposed where the learning and planning phases can both be executed online and no prior knowledge of the underlying system is required. Experimental results show compared to the state-of-the-art approaches, our algorithm achieved a high level of performance with no prior knowledge provided, along with theoretical advantages of PSRs. Source code is available at this https URL.


Sexual harassment is a continuum of expression of human behavior ranging from attraction and flirtation at one extreme through to violence at the other. Four main models have been proposed to account for the phenomenon. These include the biological, organizational, sociocultural and the spill-over models. In this article, the term spill-over is used to explain the appearance and characteristics of harassment in the health care environment of the hospital. With the introduction of two new laws in Israel, the Law of Equal Opportunity and the Law for Prevention of Sexual Harassment, greater awareness of the rights of victims of harassment and their remedies are now on the Statute Book. Some of the salient features of the two laws are emphasized. Changes in the attitude of the courts based on this legislation are now occurring and greater prominence given to violent behavior is a feature of the change in public awareness of sexual harassment.


BACKGROUND
Intracranial pressure (ICP) is affected after epidural saline solution or local anesthetic injection. Both ICP and epidural pressures have been shown to reach peak pressure just after epidural injection and begin decline thereafter. Measuring the optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) through ultrasonography is one of the noninvasive methods used for ICP assessment.

OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the speed of epidural saline injection on the ONSD under awake conditions.

STUDY DESIGN
Prospective randomized trial.

SETTING
An interventional pain management practice in South Korea.

METHODS
This study included 40 patients receiving thoracic epidural catheterization for pain management after upper abdominal or thoracic surgery. Following successful epidural space confirmation, patients were randomized to receive epidural saline infusion with a speed of either 1 mL/second (slow speed, A group) or 3 mL/second (rapid speed, B group), respectively. For the measurement of ONSD, transorbital sonography was performed and ONSD was measured at 3 mm posterior to the optic nerve head.

RESULTS
The A and B groups showed significant increases in ONSD according to time. Post hoc analysis of this result revealed that ONSD at T10 and T30 were significantly increased from baseline values (T0) (*P < 0.05 vs. T0; +P < 0.001 vs. T0). The mean values at any of the time points and degree of changes (T1-T0, T10-T0, and T30-T0) in ONSD between groups A and B did not show any significance.

LIMITATIONS
We could not confirm the time of normalization of ONSD after the end of epidural injection of normal saline.

CONCLUSIONS
Thoracic epidural injection of 10 mL of normal saline solution resulted in a significant increase of ONSD compared to baseline, however, the speed of injection did not affect the increase of ONSD.

KEY WORDS
Epidural, saline, optic nerve, diameter. Trial registry number: Clinical trial registry information service (NCT03362255).


The localization of AMPA receptor subunits (GluR1-4), a KA receptor subunit (GluR5) and NMDA receptor subunits (NR1 and NRgbs; the glutamate binding subunits of an NMDA receptor complex) was investigated using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization histochemistry in the rat dorsal root ganglion. Small neurones expressed GluR1-, GluR2/3-like immunoreactivities and GluR5, NR1, NRgbs mRNAs, while large neurones expressed GluR2/3-like immunoreactivity and NR1 and NRgbs mRNAs. These data suggest that the glutamatergic system plays an important role in the primary sensory afferent systems and that the composition of glutamate receptors differs according to the cell size.


We propose and evaluate the performance of the time reversal technique in impulse radio ultrawideband (UWB) communications. The evaluation was based on measured channel impulse responses of a 4times1 multiple input single output (MISO) system in the UWB frequency bandwidth of 3 to 5 GHz with both vertical and horizontal polarization at the receiver. The results show that there is a great potential in combining time reversal and UWB technique with respect to both reducing the receiver complexity and improving the system performance. Simultaneous communication is illustrated with 5 users, each with a bit error rate (BER) of less than 10-3 at an average signal to noise ratio (SNR) of 15 dB


Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a rare disease in Sweden. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the clinicopathological manifestations of the disease and its treatment outcomes in a cohort of Swedish NPC patients to identify key features for future improvements in patient care. From 1991 to 2002, 50 NPC patients were treated with radical three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) +/- intracavitary brachytherapy (IBT) +/- chemotherapy at Jubileumskliniken, Sahlgrenska University Hospital. Retrospective analysis of the data showed 5-year local, regional, and distant relapse-free survival rates of 70%, 92%, and 77% for 49 nondisseminated patients. Patients with locoregionally advanced disease fared worse with respect to local and distant tumor control rates. Furthermore, the long-term side effects of irradiation were adverse and frequent in the whole cohort of patients. A comparative treatment planning study between intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and 3DCRT + IBT was performed for eight NPC patients. The prescription physical dose for planning target volume of the primary tumor was 72.6 Gy in IMRT and 72 Gy in the combined plans. The comparison of the plans using quantitative parameters revealed that IMRT plans provided more conformal plans with possibility of dose escalation in primary tumor and simultaneous sparing of several normal structures. These were translated into improved tumor control probability of the primary tumor and reduction of normal tissue complication probability for several organs. However IMRT plans resulted in significant increase of the mean volumes of low to intermediate isodoses (0.66 Gy to 19.8 Gy) by 30% to 44%. A comparative treatment planning study between IMRT and intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) with equivalent dose prescriptions for primary tumour (72.6 GyE) in the same cohort of patients showed that conformity of treatment plans and tumor coverage especially for locally advanced tumors were improved further by IMPT plans. Moreover, the integral dose (mean dose) was significantly reduced by a factor of 2 to 3 in several organs. The mean volume of low to intermediate isodoses (0.66 Gy to 19.8 Gy) were 2 to 2.7-fold larger in IMRT plans than in IMPT plans. Expression of EBV-encoded LMP1, Ki-67, cyclin-B1, and EGFR were analyzed by immunohistochemical assays for 44 (45 for LMP1) NPC patients. LMP1 was expressed in 33% of the patients and its presence was significantly correlated with advanced nodal and tumour stage. Statistically, expression of Ki-67 and cyclin-B1 showed no significant clinical relevance. Strong EGFR staining intensity was significantly correlated with worse 5-year local and locoregional tumor control probabilities as well as poorer disease-free and overall survival rates.


The Huanglong jade of Zhen'an, Xiaoheishan, Supa river these three fields in Longling Yunnan were detected by general gem identify instruments. The Moh's hardness is 6.5-7, relative density is 2.60(+0.10, -0.05)g/cm3 and the refractive index is 1.53±. The electron probe backscatter atlas of samples shows that Huanglong jade is a kind of cryptocrystalline mineral aggregation. Using electron probe and X-ray spectrometer tested different field samples, got that the main chemical composition of Huanglong jade is SiO2, furthermore, including same trace elements as K, Cr, Fe, As and so on. Finally judged that Huanglong jade is a kind of cryptocrystalline (or micro show crystal) mineral aggregation which mainly formed of SiO2, named yellow chalcedony (Huanglong jade).


Although international immigrations' impacts on domestic workers are well studied in the United States, data paucity means most researchers have yet to isolate the specific effects of undocumented immigration. Despite limited empirical evidence, many policymakers presuppose undocumented immigrants adversely impact native workers to justify stringent immigration laws. In this paper, we examine the validity of this supposition, offering two contributions. First, we create annual, state-level estimates of the U.S. undocumented population for the period 1994 to 2010 by emulating a methodology adopted by notable demographers. Second, we incorporate these estimates into a fixed-effect, dynamic model to isolate how undocumented immigrants impact low-skill native labor force participation rates and unemployment rates. Overall, we find the total number of international immigrants has a relatively small impact on both. Omitting undocumented immigrants indicates that documented immigrants alone have no significant impact on natives. However, the effects of undocumented immigrants are themselves statistically indistinguishable from the impact of all immigrants. This suggests that neither immigrant group separately has substantive impacts on low-skill natives.


The present research bibliometrically analyses the trend of free/open-accessibility of published documents in translation and interpreting (T&I) studies. To assess open-access trends, data was gathered from 106 translation-interpreting and translation-related journals from 1956 to 2020. A total of 321,964 entries (published documents) were extracted, of which 19,271 (open-access and non-open-access) entries were in the fields of T&I studies. Simply put, only 3,758 (1.16%) of entries in 106 journals were open-access (OA). This research paper used linear regression analysis to prognosticate the trend of OA in T&I studies. According to the provided regression equation, T&I paywalled journals require 53 years to fully become OA, which is indispensably regarded as a critical juncture in T&I scholarly outputs. In this light, it is time to remove any stumbling blocks through a worldly summation of open-access by translation and interpreting scholars/researchers across the globe. In the meantime, additional investigations are required to assess whether ongoing business models of publishing academic outputs foster an open-accessibility movement or impose indispensable constraints.


Database management systems are the main part of information system that the size and complexity of these systems significantly have been increased in recent years. With the growing and being more complicated database management systems, database Administrators face more problems and challenges, so management of these systems is Time-consuming and costly. More over the main part of the total cost of ownership includes the cost of expert database administrator (DBA) who can manage these large and complicated systems. Autonomic databases by providing self-management functionality are caused to reduce the total cost of ownership for a database system. The self-management decisions as the automated schema database tuning depend on the database workload. One of the important issues in realizing the database automated tuning is workload monitoring and analysis for changes detection and schema re-tuning with this changes. In this paper is presented the feedback control loop for continuous monitoring and light-weight analysis of workload in NoSQL column-oriented database. This loop describes a design pattern for self-tuning feature and uses for workload change detection which require automated schema database re-tuning. The experimental results exhibit the effectiveness of the proposed solution for workload change detection.


A main purpose of doing a diagnostic in cable system including its accessories such as impregnated paper insulated oil filled cable termination is to predict failure before they occur. Those cable and accessories, which are about to fail, can be replaced, thereby reducing the incidence of electrical system failure, thus reducing the electricity outages. This paper presents the work carried out to find any possible method that can be used to detect a drying out of oil impregnated paper tape cable terminations. Furthermore, the diagnosis has to be used without destroying the terminations. Two diagnosis methods; infrared (IR) thermography and X-ray imaging are reviewed and the diagnosis result is presented. By comparison of two-diagnosis method in this work, the X-ray imaging method is the best approach to observe and detect a drying out of paper tape oil impregnated cable terminations.


ABSTRACT Khitbah is an attempt made by a man to engage a woman before they are married. This is done so that the man gets a partner in accordance to his expectation. With the sermon, the men and women will know each other more deeply. To reinforce a shared commitment to marriage bonds, sometimes the men give something, either in the form of goods or even dowries to the women. However, the proposal is not a binding contract to be carried out to the next stage, namely marriage. Because, the agreement in a contract has no power that is obligatory. Therefore, it may possible that each party brake the "khitbah". The abrogation of such a sermon is very often in the community. The men or the women who are in the engagement may suddenly cancel the proposal although initially they have mutually committed to marry. Nevertheless, the termination of the proposal must be done in a good way and does not hurt any party. Although in Islamic teachings there is no material sanction in regard to the cancellation of the sermon it may have legal consequences for both parties in relation to the goods or dowries the men have given to the women. The study concludes that all scholars of the school of thought have the same opinion as to whether it is permissible for the men to reclaim the goods that have been given to the women. However, there is a difference of views in term of returning the goods in case there is physical damage. Among the four schools of thoughts, only the school of Hambali who holds that if his goods are lost or damaged, then it is not permissible to ask for the price or the gifts in return. Keywords: Khitbah, Perbandingan Hukum, Pembatalan Khitbah


Mukha is considered as one of the Nava dwaras. Danta is the Anga (part) of Mukha. There are various diseases affecting the Mukha and their Angas. As preventive therapy our Acharyas have mentioned Kavala, Gandusha, Dantadhavan, Mukhaprakhalana etc in Dincharya. One who does not indulge in such regimen is sure to be affected by the diseases of the Mukha.
Dantaharsha is one of the 8 Dantaroga explained by Acharya Sushruta and it is the most common disorder of the mouth. Clinically, if teeth do not tolerate cold or heat or any other kind of touch, it is known as Dantaharsha. It can be compared with dental hypersensitivity. Several people all around the world experience this painful condition and are highly prevalent in the adult populations. Dantagatharogas, its causes, prevention and treatment are explained in detail in all the ancient texts of Ayurveda. This shows the importance given to oral health during those eras and even now, it is rightly said oral health is equal to overall health. Many remedies are prescribed in modern medicine for the treatment of dentine hypersensitivity like use of fluorides, oxalates etc in the form of paste, lasers etc. But these methods are quite expensive and often recurrence of the symptoms is seen. Long use of these are said to cause allergic reaction to gums. So it becomes relevant to develop an easy, economic, non toxic and approachable modality as a treatment measure in Dantaharsha.


The C1q domain containing (C1qDC) proteins are defined as a family of all proteins containing the globular C1q (gC1q) domain in the C-terminus. They participate in a series of immune responses depending on versatile gC1q domain which can bind a variety of self and non-self ligands. In this study, a novel C1qDC protein was identified from Lampetra japonica (designated as LjC1qDC-1). Its full-length cDNA was of 1662 bp with an open reading frame (ORF) of 711 bp encoding a polypeptide of 236 amino acids. The deduced protein contained a signal peptide, a collagen-like sequence with Gly-Xaa-Yaa repeats, and a typical gC1q domain. Real-time PCR analysis showed that the transcript of LjC1qDC-1 gene was distributed in various immune associated tissues of lamprey. This observation was further confirmed by FACS and confocal laser scanning microscope. In addition, LjC1qDC-1 interaction with specific VLR was analysised by co-immunoprecipitation and western blot. All these results indicated that LjC1qDC-1 gene identified may play an important role in the immune responses of lamprey, which provided a clue to understand the universal function of C1qDC proteins in different species.


The authors describe a novel instrumentation system capable of measuring the particle volume fraction and solids flux of optically opaque suspensions undergoing sedimentation. Two independent but complementary measurement techniques-capacitance and pressure-are integrated into the system.


The organic precursor bis(trimethylsilylethynyl)TTFMe2 (3, TTF = tetrathiafulvalene) was prepared as a 1:1 mixture of the cis and trans isomers. Pure samples of 3-cis and 3-trans were obtained by crystallization and identified by XRD analysis. The treatment of pure 3-trans and a 1:1 mixture of 3-cis/trans with (i) potassium carbonate, (ii) the iron complex Cp*(dppe)FeCl [5, Cp* = η5-C5Me5, dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphanyl)ethane] in the presence of KPF6, and (iii) tBuOK provided Cp*(dppe)Fe–C≡C–TTFMe2–C≡C–Fe(dppe)Cp* as the pure geometric isomer 6-trans (85 %) and as the 60:40 mixture 6-cis/trans (63 %), respectively. The oxidation of 6-trans with [(C5H5)2Fe]PF6 gave [6-trans][PF6]n (n = 1–3). Visible, IR, near-IR (NIR), and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy together with DFT data show that [6-trans][PF6] is a class II mixed-valence complex (Hab = 85 cm–1) in which the spin distribution depends on the conformation of the molecule. Intramolecular electron transfer occurs through single-step tunneling and a multistep hoping mechanism. The triplet state is thermally accessible for [6-trans][PF6]2.


Background: Complications following postmastectomy reconstruction can cause significant morbidity. The compound effect of individual risk factors on the development of complications following expander/implant reconstruction has not, however, been well delineated. This study evaluated the impact of clinical risk factors to predict complications following postmastectomy expander/implant reconstruction. Methods: From 2003 through 2004, 1170 expander/implant reconstructions were performed at a single center. A prospectively maintained database was reviewed. Variables including age, smoking status, body mass index, history of diabetes, hypertension, chemotherapy and/or radiation, as well as timing and laterality of reconstruction were evaluated. The primary endpoint was the development of a complication; the secondary endpoint was failure of reconstruction. Results: Over the 2 year study period, 1170 expander/implant reconstructions were performed in 884 patients. The odds of developing complications was 2.2 times greater in smokers (p < 0.001) and 2.5 times greater in women over 65 (p = 0.008). Patients who were obese were at nearly two times the odds of having complications (p = 0.02), as were patients with hypertension (p = 0.02). Similarly, the odds of reconstructive failure were five times greater in smokers (p < 0.001). Age was not a significant predictor of reconstructive failure (p = 0.09); yet, failure was nearly seven times greater in obese patients (p < 0.001), and four more times likely in those who were hypertensive (p = 0.005). Conclusions: Smoking, obesity, hypertension, and age over 65 were independent risk factors for perioperative complications following expander/implant breast reconstruction. Smoking, obesity, and hypertension were similarly associated with reconstructive failure. This information can be used to evaluate overall procedural risks and individualize reconstructive options.


Purpose of reviewOur review will focus on gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours, summarizing recent data on their diagnosis and management. Recent findingsHistopathological classification is currently essential not only in establishing the diagnosis of gastroenteropancreatic tumours but also guiding further management. The detection rate of all imaging modalities has greatly improved and, in particular, the introduction of radionuclide modalities has identified occult lesions and improved the staging of gastroenteropancreatic tumours. While somatostatin analogues successfully control the symptoms of functioning tumours and may frequently control their growth, radical tumour resection represents the only curative approach; it is also increasingly being used for palliation, even with advanced disease. The majority of gastroenteropancreatic tumours are well differentiated and slow-growing and are best treated with somatostatin analogues or α-interferon. Treatment with radiolabelled somatostatin analogues represents an alternative therapeutic modality for tumours exhibiting uptake on a diagnostic scan. Chemotherapy is reserved for poorly differentiated or progressive but well differentiated gastroenteropancreatic lesions. Novel individual therapies and new combinations of established therapies are evolving and undergoing clinical assessment. In all cases, a multidisciplinary approach is essential. SummarySuccessful treatment requires a multimodal approach aimed at symptomatic control and prevention of further tumour growth. Advances in modalities using radionuclides have been incorporated into the diagnosis, staging and therapy of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours.


Rationale: Apoptosis is a type of programmed cell death that occurs in eukaryotic cells. Apoptosis is thought to be regulated by caspase 3 relocalization from the cytosol into the nucleus. Recent studies in our laboratory have shown that MK2 is necessary for nuclear translocation of caspase 3 during apoptosis. Furthermore, studies in lung cancer have reported defective nuclear translocalization of caspase 3 in non-small cell lung carcinoma as a potential mechanism of resistance to apoptosis. Objective: We sought to determine if there is aberrant MK2 signaling in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and if this may play a role in cleaved caspase 3 relocalization from the cytosol into the nucleus, and thereby explaining the resistance of non-small cell lung carcinoma to undergo apoptosis. Methods: We compared two lung cancer cell lines, a non-small cell lung cancer cell line (H23 NSCLC) and a small cell lung cancer cell line (H446 SCLC) and treated them with 3.0 ug/ml etoposide for 24 hours. Etoposide is a topoisomerase inhibitor that was used to induce apoptosis. After exposure to experimental conditions, cells were lysed and proteins were analyzed by immunoblotting. Results: In response to etoposide treatment for 24 hours, cleavage of caspase-3 was observed in both H23 and H446 cell lines. An increase in cleavage of ROCK1, a cytoplasmic substrate of caspase 3 was observed in both H23, NSCLC, and H446, SCLC, cell lines. Cleavage of PARP was only observed in the H446 SCLC cell line in response to etoposide whereas the H23 NSCLC cell line exhibited no cleavage of PARP. A difference in the amount of MK2 expression was also observed between the two cancer cell lines with the H23 NSCLC cell line having the lower MK2 expression when compared with the H446 SCLC cell line. Conclusion: Caspase 3 cleavage in both cancer cell lines shows that the apoptotic machinery is active in both the H23 NSCLC and H446 SCLC cell lines. The significant increase in cleavage of ROCK1 in both H23 and H446 cell lines suggests that cleaved caspase 3 is active in the cytosol in both cell lines. PARP is cleaved in only the H446 SCLC cell line but not in H23 NSCLC cell line suggesting that caspase 3 does not translocate from the cytosol into the nucleus in the NSCLC cell line. The difference in the amount of MK2 expression between the H23 and the H446 suggests that MK2 signaling may play a vital role in relocalization of caspase 3 from the cytosol into the nucleus, similar to our prior work. Further studies are needed in order to explain the difference in the amount of MK2 expression between the two cancer cell lines. Citation Format: Oscar Paniagua-Morales, Laura Johnston, Leonid Serebreni, Gigi Liu, Paul Hassoun, Mahendra Damarla. Mitogen activated protein kinase activated protein kinase 2 (MK2) signaling in non-small cell lung carcinoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1350. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1350


The occurrence of Marek's disease was studied under laboratory conditions in four genetically different groups of chickens (Brown Leghorn, F1 hybrids of the CB x IA inbred lines, pullets of the paternal branch of the grandparent stock of the Hybro meat type, and final hybrids of the White Hisex layer type) after infection with the Georgia strain of Marek's disease (MD) virus, used in two doses (1600 and 16,000 PFU per one bird). MD was diagnosed on the basis of the occurrence of macroscopic tumours; when these tumours were absent in birds which had died within 105 days from infection, the dead bodies were subjected to microscopic examination (peripheral nerves, gonads, skin, bursa of Fabricius, thymus, spleen). The size of the parenterally administered dose of the virus had no significant effect on mortality, occurrence of tumours and the MD virus in any of the groups of chickens tested. However, there was a time shift in the mortality curve in chickens infected with a lower dose. The significantly highest occurrence of MD was recorded in BrL chickens (100%). A somewhat lower occurrence of MD was recorded in the Hisex White chickens (87.8%) and in the CB x IA hybrids (73.8%). However, the dead CB x IA chickens had a higher occurrence of tumours (96.6%) than the Hisex White chickens (77.1%). The lowest MD occurrence was recorded in the pullets of the Hybro meat type (25.5%). The organ most frequently affected by tumours after infection of the birds with the Georgia strain was the liver (24.1%).


In this paper, we study a laser using a nonlinear Fabry-Perot etalon as a cavity mirror. First, using the semiclassical laser theory and the differential equation for the lossy nonlinear Fabry-Perot etalon, we develop dynamic equations describing this system for single-mode operation. In this model, the frequency-pulling effect, a finite response time of the nonlinear medium, and a finite-cavity round-trip time of the Fabry-Perot etalon are included. Second, based on this model, we analyze the stability of this laser and give some numerical results. Our results show that 1) this system can exist in the stable state and in the unstable state; 2) there are not only saddle-node bifurcations but also Hopf bifurcations; 3) the detuning parameter will effect the characteristics of the bistability and the number and distribution of Hopf bifurcation points. >


We developed an easy-to-use and widely accessible crowd-sourcing tool for rapidly training humans to perform biomedical image diagnostic tasks and demonstrated this platform's ability on middle and high school students in South Korea to diagnose malaria infected red-blood-cells (RBCs) using Giemsa-stained thin blood smears imaged under light microscopes. We previously used the same platform (i.e., BioGames) to crowd-source diagnostics of individual RBC images, marking them as malaria positive (infected), negative (uninfected), or questionable (insufficient information for a reliable diagnosis). Using a custom-developed statistical framework, we combined the diagnoses from both expert diagnosticians and the minimally trained human crowd to generate a gold standard library of malaria-infection labels for RBCs. Using this library of labels, we developed a web-based training and educational toolset that provides a quantified score for diagnosticians/users to compare their performance against their peers and view misdiagnosed cells. We have since demonstrated the ability of this platform to quickly train humans without prior training to reach high diagnostic accuracy as compared to expert diagnosticians. Our initial trial group of 55 middle and high school students has collectively played more than 170 hours, each demonstrating significant improvements after only 3 hours of training games, with diagnostic scores that match expert diagnosticians'. Next, through a national-scale educational outreach program in South Korea we recruited >1660 students who demonstrated a similar performance level after 5 hours of training. We plan to further demonstrate this tool's effectiveness for other diagnostic tasks involving image labeling and aim to provide an easily-accessible and quickly adaptable framework for online training of new diagnosticians.


In human locomotion the ability to generate and sustain power output is of fundamental importance. This review examines the implications for power output of having variability in the metabolic and contractile properties within the population of muscle fibres which comprise the major locomotory muscles. Reference is made to studies using an isokinetic cycle ergometer by which the global power/velocity relationship for the leg extensor muscles can be determined. The data from these studies are examined in the light of the force velocity characteristics of human type I and type II muscle fibres. The 'plasticity' of fibre properties is discussed with reference to the 'acute' changes elicited by exercise induced fatigue and changes in muscle temperature and 'chronic' changes occurring following intensive training and ageing.


Taken as a whole, the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is a concept that deals not only with thermal conditions, but it also goes much further, because it includes indoor air quality (IAQ), illuminance or acoustic comfort. Among the different categories of buildings, schools are one of the most important in society especially because future generations are spending more than 6 h/day and ensuring them a healthy and comfortable environment must be top priority. The purposes of this research were to better understand school children's IEQ preferences and needs in classrooms and to compare these among rural versus urban respondents. To reach this goal, a simple yet complete survey was proposed and, along with measurements, multiple conclusions were made. The methodology proposed was to reach a large sample of respondents to give more credibility and precision to the analysis. The results are based on the responses of 790 occupants both from urban and rural environments. Lack of ventilation, cooling, low or too high temperatures during winter/summer periods and a misappropriate sizing or piloting of the heating system are some of the issues found during the survey. The paper tackles several issues at once, helping to paint a more holistic image of the problems encountered in school classrooms. Optimal thermal comfort is not met during the cold season in any of the schools under investigation. The old rural schools were found to be the worst performing buildings compared to urban schools where due to recent investments in refurbishment the winter thermal comfort was enhanced. During the study, it was observed that one of the major IAQ problems consisted in elevated levels of CO2 or particulate matter especially for the schools situated in the city. Noise was reported as an issue only for the schools situated next to national roads while visual comfort was found to be acceptable for more than 94% of respondents from all regions.


The flagellum of Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been implicated in acute pneumonia, and its flagellin is known to cause lung inflammation. However, its proinflammatory role, versus its motility function, as a cause of death by a whole bacterium has not been demonstrated. This issue was examined in a lung model of acute infection using different flagellar mutants. We found that the absence of motility does not significantly alter the LD(50), whereas the production of excess amounts of flagellin lowers it and results in early death. Next, we found that the absence of the Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) ligand, flagellin, results in slower clearance of this organism from the lungs and a delay in the time to death. These findings demonstrate the dual role of flagellin in host defense and in disease and suggest that the death in this model may be biphasic with flagellin playing a role early in the disease.


The purpose of this paper is to address the synthesis and experimental application of a generalized predictive control (GPC) technique on an Orthoglide robot.Design/methodology/approach– The control strategy is composed of two control loops. The inner loop aims at linearizing the nonlinear robot dynamics using feedback linearization. The outer loop tracks the desired trajectory based on GPC strategy, which is robustified against measurement noise and neglected dynamics using Youla parameterization.Findings– The experimental results show the benefits of the robustified predictive control strategy on the dynamical performance of the Orthoglide robot in terms of tracking accuracy, disturbance rejection, attenuation of noise acting on the control signal and parameter variation without increasing the computational complexity.Originality/value– The paper shows the implementation of the robustified predictive control strategy in real time with low computational complexity on the Orthoglide robot.


Most discussions of nationhood are discussions of nations . Nations are understood as real entities, as communities, as substantial, enduring collectivities. That they exist is taken for granted, although how they exist – and how they came to exist – is much disputed. A similar realism of the group long prevailed in many areas of sociology and kindred disciplines. Yet in the last decade or so, at least four developments in social theory have combined to undermine the treatment of groups as real, substantial entities. The first is the growing interest in network forms, the flourishing of network theory, and the increasing use of network as an overall orienting image or metaphor in social theory. Second, there is the challenge posed by theories of rational action, with their relentless methodological individualism, to realist understandings of groupness. The third development is a shift from broadly structuralist to a variety of more "constructivist" theoretical stances; while the former envisioned groups as enduring components of social structure, the latter see groupness as constructed, contingent, and fluctuating. Finally, an emergent postmodernist theoretical sensibility emphasizes the fragmentary, the ephemeral, and the erosion of fixed forms and clear boundaries. These developments are disparate, even contradictory. But they have converged in problematizing groupness, and in undermining axioms of stable group being.


Exceptional points (EPs) have revealed a lot of fundamental physics and promise many important applications. The effect of system nonlinearity on the property of EPs is yet to be well studied. Here, we propose an optical system with nonlinear dissipation to achieve a nonreciprocal EP. Our system consists of a linear whispering-gallery-mode microresonator (WGMR) coupling to a WGMR with nonlinear dissipation. In our system, the condition of EP appearance is dependent on the field intensity in the nonlinear WGMR. Due to the chirality of intracavity field intensity, the EPs and the transmission of the system can be nonreciprocal. Our work may pave the way to exploit nonreciprocal EP for optical information processing.


The Myc basic helix-loop-helix zipper domain determines dimerization with the constitutively expressed bHLH-Zip protein, Max, and also binding to the DNA E-box. Both of these functions play a critical role in the Myc regulation of growth, proliferation, tumorigenesis, and apoptosis. It has been reported that Myc recognition specificity is encoded in a short region within the leucine zipper. Mutation of four amino acids (E57T, E64I, R70Q, and R71N) generates a protein, Omomyc, that homodimerizes efficiently and can still heterodimerize with wild type Myc and Max. As a consequence, Omomyc suppresses activation of artificial E-box promoter elements by Myc/Max and strongly potentiates Myc-induced apoptosis in a manner dependent on Myc expression levels. Furthermore, Omomyc prevents initiation of K-RasG12D-induced lung tumors (Soucek L et al. Oncogene. 17: 2463-72. 1998, Nature. 455:679-83. 2008). In this study we have constructed an adenoviral vector (Ad-Omomyc) for use as a novel therapy for Myc or K-Ras mutated cancer. Ad-Omomyc expresses Omomyc and is driven by the CMV promoter. MTS assay and flowcytometric analysis demonstrated that Ad-Omomyc significantly suppressed cell viability and induced apoptosis in A549 pulmonary adenocarcinoma cells, which express Myc and harbor K-Ras mutations. Moreover, the combination treatment of Ad-Myc and Ad-Omomyc increased apoptosis in H441 pulmonary adenocarcinoma cells harboring a K-Ras mutation as compared to administering Ad-Omomyc alone. Ad-Omomyc induced little apoptosis in normal human lung fibroblasts (NHLF). Here, we describe a novel strategy to target Myc or K-Ras for the treatment of lung cancer using a Myc derivative: Omomyc. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 603.


This study proposes a new technology for a smart damper with flag-shaped behavior using the combination of magnetic friction and rubber springs. The magnet provides friction and, thus, energy dissipation, and the rubber springs with precompression contribute to present self-centering capacity of the damper. To verify their performance, this study conducts dynamic tests of magnet frictional dampers and precompressed rubber springs. For the purpose, hexahedron Neodymium (NdFeB) magnets and polyurethane rubber cylinders are used. In the dynamic tests, loading frequency varies from 0.1 to 2.0 Hz. The magnets provide almost perfect rectangular behavior in force-deformation curve. The rubber springs are tested without or with precompression. The rubber springs show larger rigid force with increasing precompression. Lastly, this study discusses combination of rigid-elastic behavior and friction to generate 'flag-shaped' behavior for a smart damper and suggests how to combine the magnets and the rubber springs to obtain the flag-shaped behavior.


1914. To the delight of her parents, Violet Prideaux is set to marry local squire Weston Penruth, until an incident during their engagement party sees her leaving behind her friends and family and fleeing to London. There she meets artist Jack Fairling, and it is not long before they have fallen in love. But when Jack enlists, can their happiness survive the horrors of war? 1936. When Violet's daughter Aster reaches the age of twenty-one, she receives a letter that turns her world upside down. With the support of her childhood friend Harry Penruth and the comfort of her mother's treasured flower book, she travels to London to discover her destiny. And as Aster unearths the lies and secrets of her childhood, a future of love and hope may be closer than she realises...


BACKGROUND
Failed delivery of appropriate shocks against fatal dysrhythmias can be the result of low impedance on high-voltage leads. This malfunction might be missed on routine interrogation. We describe the case of a 66-year-old man with a high-voltage lead short circuit who was successfully rescued with the use of an overcurrent detection and automatic shocking vector adjustment algorithm.

CASE REPORT
A 66-year-old man with severe nonischemic cardiomyopathy was admitted after receiving 2 shocks from his cardiac resynchronization therapy cardioverter-defibrillator. Interrogation of his defibrillator confirmed 2 consecutive episodes of ventricular fibrillation. For each episode, the initial shock therapy was aborted due to low impedance (<10 ohms) detected on the default shocking configuration: right ventricle to superior vena cava/implantable cardioverter generator. As a result, the device algorithm excluded the superior vena cava coil and immediately delivered a shock of 40 joules between the right ventricular coil and the cardiac resynchronization therapy cardioverter-defibrillator implantable cardioverter generator. This successfully terminated the ventricular fibrillation. All other lead measurements were normal.

CONCLUSION
High-voltage lead malfunctions can lead to failed therapy of life-threatening dysrhythmias. Malfunctions like a low impedance of high-voltage leads may not be detected on routine interrogation. Fortunately, the overcurrent detection algorithm recognized the low impedance, and another shocking configuration was selected and successfully terminated the ventricular dysrhythmias. With these algorithms, overcurrent detection and automatic shocking vector adjustment, this patient was rescued. We suggest this feature be considered in all modern defibrillators.


A two-dimensional sensitivity function, describing the down-track and cross-track responses of a MR head, is derived starting from a microtrack formed with a maximal-length pseudo random binary sequence (PRBS). This sensitivity function is built up from a set of 'extracted dipulse' responses each taken with the readback head in a different off-track position with respect to the microtrack. The resulting two-dimensional function represents the sensitivity to a 'unit magnet' with a length of one channel bit, rather than to the vertical field component alone. There are two advantages to this approach: first, the sensitivity to high frequency signal components is much enhanced and the signals used are generally much more representative of written data. Second, this method has the ability to quantify both linear and nonlinear readback distortions as a function of off-track position. This paper initially describes the practical procedure used to obtain the sensitivity function. An advantage of this procedure is that you do not need to have a clock channel for the timing alignment of the dipulses as they are already tied to the bit-cell positions. In the latter half of the paper, this procedure is used to analyze the effects of "read-write non-parallelism" a condition wherein, the MR stripe reads the transitions at a skew due to a manufacturing defect or otherwise. In other words, it is probed whether a cross-track variation in head sensitivity would contribute towards the so-called "deterministic off-track peak jitter" and also whether a relative skew between read and write operations can influence the head sensitivity function and aggravate the deterministic peak-jitter. The answers we got for both the questions were in the negative. There was no deterministic trend in peak-position variation (as against the trends that we got with full-width tracks) with or without a skew and the head sensitivity function was also not affected by a skew.


Stroke induces a strong inflammatory reaction in the brain and depresses the immune system. We sought to assess longitudinal changes in T-cell numbers in the lymphoid organs of living mice after brain ischemia. Middle cerebral artery occlusion was carried out in transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP+) in the T-cell population under the control of the hCD2 locus control region. Imaging was performed by three-dimensional fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) before and at several time points after ischemia or sham operation and in controls. At day 7, GFP+ cell content in lymphoid organs was measured postmortem by flow cytometry. GFP+ cell numbers and in vivo FMT signal intensity were reduced at day 7 after ischemia and, to a lesser extent, after sham operation. Linear regression analysis demonstrated that postmortem GFP+ cell numbers and corresponding in vivo FMT data were significantly correlated in the thymus (r2 = .65, p < .0001) and lymph nodes (r2 = .67, p < .0001). These relationships allowed inferring the number of GFP+ T cells from in vivo FMT data. The results show the time course reduction of T-cell content in the lymphoid organs of living mice, providing in vivo evidence of lymphoid organ atrophy after stroke and, to a lesser extent, after head surgery with craniectomy and dura mater opening in sham-operated mice.


Protein disulfide bonds are the links between the sulfur atoms of two cysteine amino acids. All the known life forms appear to make this bond. Most disulfide bonds perform a structural role by stabilizing the tertiary and quaternary structures. Some perform a functional role and can be characterized as either catalytic or allosteric disulfides. Catalytic disulfides/dithiols transfer electrons between proteins, whereas the allosteric bonds control the function of the protein in which they reside when they undergo redox change. There are currently five clear examples of allosteric disulfide bonds and a number of potential allosteric disulfides at various stages of characterization. The features of these bonds and how they control the activity of the respective proteins are discussed. A common aspect of the allosteric disulfides identified to date is that they all link β-strands or β-loops.


Negotiations in which participants exchange offers based on their chosen positions can be extended to include dialogue about their interests. Revelation of negotiators' interests allows them to make more acceptable offers and perhaps propose possible alternative approaches toward each other's interests, both of which may result in mutually and individually beneficial outcomes. However, it can also expose their strategies, and possibly their dependencies on other negotiators toward the achievement of their goals. Revealing this information can leave them vulnerable to extortion or retribution, but it can also be used to gain sympathy or build a relationship of trust and reciprocity. This dissertation studies human behaviour and performance upon introducing options for goal inquiry and revelation into mediated-protocol negotiation scenarios. Empirical studies were conducted by having human players negotiate over an alternating offer protocol and an interestbased bargaining protocol, on a platform specially adapted for this purpose. The analysis of data from these experiments revealed interesting patterns in the human use of goal revelation, and its effects on individual and social outcomes and likelihood of agreement. The design of the experiments and the development of the experimentation platform lay the groundwork for the further study of goal revelation in mediated negotiations with humans.