The groundwater component of streamflow is important because it is indicative of the sustained flow of a stream during dry periods, is often of better quality, and has a smaller range of temperatures, than surface contributions to streamflow. All three of these characteristics are important to the health of aquatic life in a stream. If recharge to the aquifers is to be preserved or enhanced, it is important to understand the present partitioning of total streamflow into base flow and stormflow. Additionally, an estimate of groundwater recharge is important for understanding the flows within a groundwater system— information important for water availability/sustainability or other assessments. The U.S. Geological Survey operates numerous continuous-record streamflow-gaging stations (Hirsch and Norris, 2001), which can be used to provide estimates of average annual base flow. In addition to these continuous record sites, Gebert and others (2007) showed that having a few streamflow measurements in a basin can appreciably reduce the error in a base-flow estimate for that basin. Therefore, in addition to the continuous-record gaging stations, a substantial number of low-flow partial-record sites (6 to 15 discharge measurements) and miscellaneousmeasurement sites (1 to 3 discharge measurements) that were operated during 1964–90 throughout the State were included in this work to provide additional insight into spatial distribution of annual base flow and, in turn, groundwater recharge.


UNLABELLED
The objective of this single-arm interventional pilot study was to determine whether viewing an educational video about phosphorous and phosphorous control by patients on hemodialysis was associated with improved phosphorous values and improvement in knowledge and attitudes about the topics presented.

METHOD
An educational video was shown to 150 patients at 16 dialysis centers. The change in serum phosphate levels before and after the viewing of an educational video was evaluated.

RESULTS
Mean phosphorous levels for patients were lower in the month after viewing the educational video compared to their values over the three months before the video was shown (6.35 versus 6.82 g/dL). This difference was statistically significant on a per patient basis (-0.47 g/dL, p = 0.0006). Of these patients, all with phosphorus levels outside of the normal range (3.5 to 5.5 mg/dL) before viewing the video, 28.4% had phosphorus levels within the normal range within a month after viewing the video.

CONCLUSION
Patients on hemodialysis who watched an educational video had improved phosphorous levels in the month after viewing the video when compared to phosphorus levels over the three months before the video was shown. The video intervention has the advantages of being simple, low-cost, and easy to implement, and is associated with improved phosphorous levels in patients undergoing hemodialysis. The video increased patient compliance with recommended self-care regimens.


The purpose of this research is to determine whether participating in "raced" organizations benefits underrepresented minority (URM) faculty members in their quest for tenure and promotion to associate professor of sociology. Raced organizations such as historically black colleges and universities began as segregated institutions because black students and faculty members were prevented from attending or working at white-dominated institutions. Over time, raced organizations developed within the white-dominated institutions and were often created in opposition to white or "mainstream" sociology. Latina/o organizations (including Hispanic-serving institutions) started years after organizations for black scholars and have followed a similar pattern and purpose. Although historically white institutions no longer legally segregate URM organizations and activities, these organizations and activities often remain marginalized and devalued. The authors examine the relationship of participating in such organizations in contrast to publishing in peer-reviewed journals for climbing the academic ladder at research-extensive and other institutions. The authors find that there is a significant relationship between publishing and being promoted. URM faculty members must follow the "publish or perish" model, following historically white male norms for an "ideal" career in the academic world. The work of black and Latina/o sociologists still appears to be marginalized. Only one type of raced organization or activity, belonging to a URM-oriented section of the American Sociological Association, is significantly related to upward mobility at either research-extensive or non-research-extensive institutions. The authors conclude with a series of policy recommendations for increasing the academic status and well-being of URM faculty members.


Original paper, ''The effectiveness of esomeprazole 40 mg in patients with persistent symptoms of gastrooesophageal reflux disease following treatment with a full dose proton pump inhibitor''. Int J Clin Pract 2008; 62: 1844–50. Since publication, it has been noted that reference 11 is incorrect. The corrected reference is printed below. Rohss R, Hasselgren G, Hedenstrom H. Effect of Esomeprazole 40 mg vs Omeprazole 40 mg on 24-Hour Intragastric pH in Patients with Symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. Dig Dis Sci 2002; 47: 954–8.


At Rowan University, we have infused design into the curriculum through an eight-semester course sequence called the Engineering Clinic. Through this experience students learn the art and science of design in a multidisciplinary team environment. While many engineering programs currently include a Capstone Design course taken near the end of the college career to meet the design needs, Engineering Clinic at Rowan allows students to hone their design skills throughout their four-year career. This paper will describe in further detail the objectives and execution of each year in the design sequence, types of projects and how the Clinics complement traditional core courses in the curriculum. Impacts and benefits of the Clinics on students and faculty are discussed, as well as comparative data of Rowan Mechanical Engineering students and their peers nationally.Copyright © 2006 by ASME


An electro-optic modulator based on a polymeric multimode waveguide coupler was developed. A guiding multimode waveguide with a vertically configured dumping planar waveguide was employed in the design to increase the device packing density. A modulation depth of 91% at 1330 nm was experimentally achieved. This device shows that the multimode optical waveguide with the vertically configured dumping planar waveguide is promising in electro-optic modulator designs. This modulator can be used in multimode optical interconnection systems such as data communications and fiber sensor networks.


Magnetic Resonance Imaging is perhaps the most important and prominent technique in diagnostic clinical medicine and biomedical research. Its success and development as an imaging technique has been aided by the characteristics of contrast agents that enhance signal intensities and improve specificity. Gadolinium(iii) remains the dominant starting material for contrast agent design but other lanthanide ions (and other oxidation states i.e. +2) are also being increasingly investigated as alternatives to gadolinium(III) within laboratory conditions. This critical review provides a concise summary of the MRI-active gadolinium(III) complexes to date--their pros and cons, an outline of contrast agents based on other lanthanide ions (e.g. europium, dysprosium), and directs the reader to newer, more speculative areas of lanthanide-containing contrast agent design.


We consider the non-self-adjoint matrix equation of Dirac type on the line. For this case we introduce and investigate the Weyl–Titchmarsh matrix functions. We then obtain the Weyl–Titchmarsh matrix functions of Dirac-type equations with a shifted argument. Furthermore, we construct a class of the Weyl–Titchmarsh matrix functions generating potentials of the finite-band type. Using the above-mentioned results we deduce the matrix analogue of the trace formula. We consider separately the scalar case of Dirac-type equations.


Over the last few years, researchers have been interested in research into digital business transformation and digital maturity. Digital transformation has been captured by a large number of companies from different industries, which is why the patterns of business maturity become more and more important. A significant number of maturity models have been identified in the literature (over 150 by available literature), however, only a small part refers to models which research the digital maturity of a company. The main aim of the paper is to provide a relevant overview of the literature and the analysis of the digital maturity models in order to gain insight into areas that can be improved based on the results of the analysis, which would be a step towards standardizing the company's digital maturity model. Other objectives of the paper are to explain the role of the digital maturity models in the digital transformation process and to define digital maturity models. A review of the literature found 20 digital maturity models that were analyzed. The contribution of work is reflected in the analysis of identified digital maturity models, as it is expanded with additional information (for example, the existence of factors, subfactors (indicators) and maturity measurement processes and as such is a novelty in the literature. The authors, through a comprehensive way of analyzing enterprise digital maturity models, are pointing to individual weaknesses in relation to key design maturity model recommendations. Also, by analyzing the shortcomings with respect to design maturity model recommendations, the authors evaluate the scientific contribution and the possible scientific application of each enterprise digital maturity model. The analysis found that there are significant shortcomings in digital maturity research as the existing models are largely descriptive and linear, but that the models also lack a greater correlation with the theory. Based on the analysis, recommendations for the development of the digital maturity models in the future have been given.


The effect of absorbed moisture on the interfacial strength of a carbon fiber/ epoxy matrix composite has been studied using the single fiber fragmentation test. The absorption of 1.40% moisture produced a reduction less than 20% in the interfacial shear strength. This reduction in interfacial strength may be associated with a reduction in the residual compressive stresses at the fiber/matrix interface associated with the cooldown from the curing temperature, a weakening of the chemical adhesion, or a softening of the matrix giving failure by interphase yielding. These results suggest that long-term durability of carbon fiber/epoxy matrix composites in seawater may not be much affected by absorbed seawater.


This study investigates how a listening environment (the combination of a room's acoustics and reproduction loudspeaker) influences a listener's perception of reproduced sound fields. Three distinct listening environments with different reverberation times and clarity indices were compared for their perceptual characteristics. Binaural recordings were made of orchestral music, mixed for 22.2 and 2-channel audio reproduction, within each of the three listening rooms. In a subjective listening test, 48 listeners evaluate these binaural recordings in terms of overall preference and five auditory attributes: perceived width, perceived depth, spatial clarity, impression of being enveloped, and spectral fidelity. Factor analyses of these five attribute ratings show that listener perception of the reproduced sound fields focused on two salient factors, spatial and spectral fidelity, yet the attributes' weightings in those two factors differs depending on a listener's previous experience with audio production and 3D immersive audio listening. For the experienced group, the impression of being enveloped was the most salient attribute, with spectral fidelity being the most important for the non-experienced group.


Highly efficient tri-color filters having uniform thickness are proposed based on an etalon tapping into a nanostructured cavity, where a hexagonal lattice of nanopillars (NPs) with a high refractive index is embedded in a base material with a low index. The nanostructured cavity is presumed to behave as a homogeneous medium, which provides a wide range for the effective refractive index in accordance with both the volume fraction of the NPs and the index contrast between the NPs and the base. Hence, for the etalon-based filters, the resonance wavelength can be efficiently tuned by simply altering the effective index rather than the thickness of the cavity, so as to span the entire visible regime including red, green, and blue (RGB) colors. In particular, a hexagonal lattice of NPs was introduced to extend the available range of effective index due to its highly flexible volume fraction. The NP-base index contrast has been pertinently maximized to achieve effective indices leading to RGB colors, to the extent that the nanostructured cavity can be safely modeled as a homogeneous medium. The proposed RGB color filters were finally designed to have an identical thickness of 240 nm by setting the diameters of the NPs at 95, 70, and 40 nm, to achieve a periodicity of 100 nm, considering that TiO2 and Al2O3 can be practically selected as the material candidate for the NPs and the base, respectively. A high transmittance of ∼78% and a suitable 1 dB bandwidth of ∼51  nm were obtained for the tri-color filters, which were further confirmed to exhibit polarization-independent transfer characteristics.


Quantum reactive scattering calculations for the hydrogen exchange reaction H+H_{2}(v=4,j=0)→H+H_{2}(v^{'}, j^{'}) and its isotopic analogues are reported for ultracold collision energies. Because of the unique properties associated with ultracold collisions, it is shown that the geometric phase effectively controls the reactivity. The rotationally resolved rate coefficients computed with and without the geometric phase are shown to differ by up to 4 orders of magnitude. The effect is also significant in the vibrationally resolved and total rate coefficients. The dynamical origin of the effect is discussed and the large geometric phase effect reported here might be exploited to control the reactivity through the application of external fields or by the selection of a particular nuclear spin state.


When performing tests on a rail vehicle, it is often necessary to categorize the target data according to the characteristics of the railroad plane geometry. In this paper, a method to classify and identify the railroad plane geometry is considered, employing railroad curvature readings formed by onboard sensor data. The aim is to extract the characteristics of the railroad track to identify and categorize different segments of the track. The railroad curvature is modeled as a first-order piecewise linear polynomial representing sections of straight tracks, transition curves, and circular curves along the railroad. The sensor data are preprocessed in a Global Positioning System-aided dead reckoning navigation system to debias the curvature readings. Subsequently, the noise in the curvature readings is suppressed by nonlinear filtering techniques. Furthermore, the observed curvatures are processed with a linear filter by minimizing a discounted least-squares criterion, yielding the final estimate of the railroad curvature and its rate of change, which further on are utilized to form a detector where the position of a trend change in curvature measurements is located. The result from the presented method has been compared against database values on plane geometry from Banverkets Information System-a system belonging to the Swedish Rail Administration office. The reported accuracy of detecting a change in the railroad curvature has varied in the range of ±7 m in difference between the position entries in the curvature database and the positions found with the developed method.


We describe the construction of a plasmid carrying a DNA cassette encoding the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA1) epitope. Insertion of this cassette into the coding region creates a gene encoding an epitope-tagged protein. The tagged protein can be detected and quantified by using a commercially available anti-HA1 antibody. A one-step procedure introduces the epitope at any restriction site within a gene while maintaining the open reading frame. An example of the application of this technique is presented and the different uses of the cassette are discussed.


We study pairs of commuting symmetries of a Riemann surface of genus g � 2, assuming that one of them is fixed point free. We find necessary and sufficient conditions for an integer p to be the degree of hyperellipticity of their product, being given the number of ovals and separabilities of the symmetries. In the last part of the paper, using well known formula on the number m of points fixed by the conformal involution of a Riemann surface, we find all possible values of m that can be attained for the product of our symmetries.


An idea for obtaining unique identification (ID) numbers using polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin-film transistors (TFTs) with a logic LSI compatible process is proposed. Like an actual human fingerprint, the characteristic variations of poly-Si TFTs are utilized for ID numbers in LSIs. The variation of poly-Si TFT characteristics is random, and this method offers unique, nonalterable, and nonduplicable numbers without any special processes, unlike other methods such as flash memory and mask ROM. These characteristics are highly suitable for ID number applications. The device physics of poly-Si TFTs for realizing the stable recognition of ID numbers was studied and a recognition circuit is proposed. The design guidelines for the grain size of poly-Si and AFD applications are also discussed.


Renewable energy development strengthened due to considering Energy Act number 30 year 2007 article 21. Presidential Decree No. 5, 2006, mandate the target energy mix by 2025 to be 17% for new and renewable energy. Companies can contribute in terms of investment as Corporate Social Responsibility for Community Development interests. This study aimed to (1) formulate the development of renewable energy policy models, in particular biomass for rural electrification, (2) formulate the factors that influence the price of feed in tariff policy, in particular wood based biomass, (3) design the role of social forestry for raw materials biopelet industry in a sustainable supply chain. Research methods used techniques of Soft Systems Methodology, in the form of case studies supported by the literature to provide an alternative approach to solve the problems faced by leaders in the Indonesian Mining Company.


Abstract Viruses similar to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been discovered in bats of the genus Rhinolophus and in the Sunda pangolin, Manis javanica Desmarest, 1822, suggesting that these animals have played a key role in the emergence of the Covid-19 outbreak in the city of Wuhan, China. In this paper, we review the available data for sarbecoviruses (viruses related to SARS-CoV [2002–2003 outbreak] and SARS-CoV-2) to propose all possible hypotheses on the origin of Covid-19, i. e., involving direct transmission from horseshoe bats to humans, indirect transmission via the pangolin or another animal, with interspecies contamination between either wild animals or animals kept in cage. Present evidence indicates that Rhinolophus bats are the natural reservoir of all sarbecoviruses, and that two divergent SARS-CoV-2-like viruses have circulated in southern China (at least in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces) between August 2017 and March 2019 in captive pangolins destined for sale in wildlife markets. We performed a genetic analysis of seven seized pangolins found to be positive for SARS-CoV-2-like virus using mitochondrial DNA sequences extracted from Sequence Reads Archive data. The results reveal that the same SARS-CoV-2-like virus can be found in animals with distinct haplotypes, which means that they were probably captured in different Southeast Asian regions. Our interpretation is that some pangolins were contaminated in captivity (by other pangolins or by another species to be determined), suggesting that illegal trade of living wild mammals is at the origin of the Covid-19 outbreak. To definitely validate this hypothesis, it is however necessary to discover a virus almost identical to SARS CoV-2 (at least 99% of identity) in animals sold in wet markets. Although pangolins are good candidates, other mammals, such as small carnivores, should not be overlooked.


Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) which associates the selective intracellular targeting of the cytotoxic agent, DM1 (maytansine derivative) to the antitumor activity of trastuzumab. T-DM1 targets the epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), highly expressed in the most aggressive forms of breast cancer. Current standard of care in HER2-positive advanced or metastatic breast cancers has its limitations, particularly after progression on HER2-targeted approved therapies. T-DM1 showed a significant antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo, and in experimental models resistant to HER2-targeted agents. Phase I and II studies showed that the maximum tolerated dose for T-DM1 is 3.6 mg/kg given intravenously every three weeks. At this recommended dose, T-DM1 provided objective tumor responses and favourable safety profile. A phase II randomised study, evaluating T-DM1 in first line vs trastuzumab plus docetaxel, the current standard of care in advanced or metastatic breast cancers, showed improved tolerability and efficacy. Recently, the results of EMILIA, a phase III randomised study assessing, after prior treatment with trastuzumab and a taxane, the efficacy and the safety of T-DM1 vs lapatinib plus capecitabine, confirmed the therapeutic benefit. T-DM1 appears to be an effective therapeutic option to treat patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.


Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine the current regulatory framework of Greek Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund, trying to show solutions for strengthening it. Design/methodology/approach - – This paper aims to investigate the deposit and investment guarantee fund in Greece by identifying new problems and developing solutions. Findings - – The main finding is that the deposit and investment guarantee fund contributes to the stability of the Greek banking sector and also offers practical solutions to strengthen it. Greek Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund has an important feature, which is the speed of a decision about a bank failure resolution (in five working days), but needs immediately strengthening and increasing its funds to cope with the resolution of non-viable banks and undertaking for costs. There should be an appropriate ratio between the size of total assets (especially cash and cash equivalents) of Greek Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund and the amount of total guaranteed deposits, which is now below 2 per cent. Regulatory framework needs revising and fees must be increased if its funds fall below a certain level of coverage of guaranteed deposits. Also, a guarantee premium, not only a flat rate premium, should be implemented for all banks. An additional risk-adjusted premium varying according to Greek banks' risks of their portfolios would be better to increase funds of deposit guarantee fund and reduce moral hazard of bank manager by increasing costs. They must ensure an adequate diversification of re-deposits of Greek Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund funds and must limit and avoid a conflict of interest of its board membership for individuals who are actively involved in Greek commercial banks by implementing framework and rules about it. Also, as a consequence of obeying the regulatory framework, it is necessary to include as board members of Greek Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund only those banks that are subject to strong prudential supervision and regulation. Practical implications - – As a result of research, changes are necessary to immediately be made to cope with current financial crises and problems of Greek banking sector. Originality/value - – The originality of this paper is that it is the first description of the Greek Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund and its results are important for economists, politicians and international community, who evaluate the regulatory framework of Greek Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund, especially at the current time when the Greek economy and the Greek banking sector are in a very weak fiscal position.


BACKGROUND
The relationship between kidney function and bone loss is unclear.

STUDY DESIGN
A prospective observational study.

SETTING & PARTICIPANTS
191 men and 444 women aged > or = 50 years participating in a population-based observational study designed to determine risk factors for bone loss and fractures.

PREDICTORS
The primary predictor of change in bone mineral density (BMD) was estimated creatinine clearance (using the Cockcroft-Gault formula) measured at baseline and stratified by quartiles. Our secondary predictor was estimated glomerular filtration rate using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study equation, also stratified by quartiles.

OUTCOMES & MEASUREMENTS
Changes in BMD at the lumbar spine, total hip, and femoral neck during 5 years.

RESULTS
Compared with participants in the first quartile of estimated creatinine clearance (>101.2 mL/min), those in remaining quartiles were older (quartile 1, 50.0 years; quartile 2 [101.2-83.4 mL/min], 54.7 years; quartile 3 [83.4-68.3 mL/min], 60.5 years; and quartile 4 [<68.3 mL/min], 68.3 years); weighed less; reported more sedentary hours; were less likely to report excellent, very good, or good self-reported health; consumed less caffeine; and had lower serum calcium and phosphate and higher serum parathyroid hormone levels. After adjusting for age, weight, sex, baseline BMD, and these differences, compared with those in the first quartile, those in the fourth quartile had decreases in BMD of 0.08 g/cm(2) (95% CI, 0.04-0.1) at the lumbar spine, 0.08 g/cm(2) (95% CI, 0.06-0.1) at the femoral neck, and 0.09 g/cm(2) (95% CI, 0.07-0.1) at the total hip. Bone loss did not increase with worsening kidney function (P for trend > 0.05). Results were not substantially different using estimated glomerular filtration rate.

LIMITATIONS
Observational study design and indirect measures of kidney function.

CONCLUSIONS
Men and women with impaired kidney function are at increased risk of bone loss, even with minimal reduction in kidney function.


Yield spectra of multiply charged ions in coincidence with threshold electrons (Ekin⩽0.03 eV) have been measured near the 4p-shell ionization region of Xe. The coincidence spectra of Xe3+ and Xe4+ ions as a function of photon energy exhibit characteristic profiles induced by post-collision interactions in Auger cascades following 4p-shell threshold ionization of Xe. Peaks of the profiles shift from the nominal 4p-shell threshold, and those shapes are asymmetric and broadened. The profiles have the same peak-shifts and the same peak-widths in both Xe3+ and Xe4+ coincidence spectra. Based on the properties of the profiles, it is concluded that both of these ions result from two-step Auger cascades. Furthermore, it is found that Auger shake-off (i.e. double Auger) decays play a significant role in the cascades following 4p-shell ionization of Xe.


One of the main tasks of Natural Language Processing (NLP), is Named Entity Recognition (NER). It is used in many applications and also can be used as an intermediate step for other tasks. We present ANER, a web-based named entity recognizer for the Arabic, and Arabizi languages. The model is built upon BERT, which is a transformer-based encoder. It can recognize 50 different entity classes, covering various fields. We trained our model on the WikiFANE_Gold dataset which consists of Wikipedia articles. We achieved an F1 score of 88.7%, which beats CAMeL Tools' F1 score of 83% on the ANERcorp dataset, which has only 4 classes. We also got an F1 score of 77.7% on the NewsFANE Gold dataset which contains out-of-domain data from News articles. The system is deployed on a user-friendly web interface that accepts users' inputs in Arabic, or Arabizi. It allows users to explore the entities in the text by highlighting them. It can also direct users to get information about entities through Wikipedia directly. We added the ability to do NER using our model, or CAMeL Tools' model through our website. ANER is publicly accessible at http://www.aner.online. We also deployed our model on HuggingFace at https://huggingface.co/boda/ANER, to allow developers to test and use it.


Autophagy, apoptosis and necrosis have previously been described as distinct static processes that induce and execute cell death. Due to an increased use of novel techniques in mapping cellular death; techniques which allow for reporting of real-time data; the existence of "grey zones" between cell death modes and the existence of the "point of no return" within these have been revealed. This revelation demands for the integration of new concepts in describing the cellular death process. Furthermore, since the contribution of autophagy in cell death or cell survival is still poorly understood, it is important to accurately describe its function within the dynamic framework of cell death. In this review cell death is viewed as a dynamic and integrative cellular response to ensure the highest likelihood of self preservation. Suggestions are offered for conceptualizing cell death modes and their morphological features, both individually and in relation to one another. It addresses the need for distinguishing between dying cells and dead cells so as to better locate and control the onset of cell death. Most importantly, the fundamental role of autophagy, autophagic flux, and the effects of the intracellular metabolic environment on the kinetics of the cell death modes are stressed. It also contextualizes the kinetic dimension of cell death as a process and aims to contribute towards a better understanding of autophagy as a key mechanism within this process. Understanding the dynamic nature of the cell death process and autophagy's central role can reveal new insight for therapeutic intervention in preventing cell death.


We propose an end-to-end architecture for multivariate time-series prediction that integrates a spatial-temporal graph neural network with a matrix filtering module. This module generates filtered (inverse) correlation graphs from multivariate time series before inputting them into a GNN. In contrast with existing sparsification methods adopted in graph neural network, our model explicitly leverage time-series filtering to overcome the low signal-to-noise ratio typical of complex systems data. We present a set of experiments, where we predict future sales from a synthetic time-series sales dataset. The proposed spatial-temporal graph neural network displays superior performances with respect to baseline approaches, with no graphical information, and with fully connected, disconnected graphs and unfiltered graphs.


Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) results from mutations that promote aberrant self-renewal, proliferation and differentiation. The specific combination of mutations not only influences the phenotype of the leukemia but also its response to therapy. The core-binding factor (CBF) leukemias represent one of the most common forms of AML and are defined by genetic lesions that target the RUNX1(AML1)/CBFβ transcription factor complex. These include t(8;21)[RUNX1-ETO], inv(16) and t(16;16)[CBFβ-MYH11], point mutations in RUNX1, and several other rarer translocations that target RUNX1. The AML1/CBFβ transcription factor complex functions as a master transcriptional regulator that is essential for the generation of definitive hematopoietic stem cells during development, and plays an important role in the differentiation of a number of hematopoietic lineages including T cells and megakaryocytes. Using a conditional Runx1-Eto murine knock-in model, we previously demonstrated that the expression of Runx1-Eto was insufficient to induce leukemia. To define the landscape of mutation that cooperate with RUNX1-ETO in leukemogenesis, the St. Jude Children9s Research Hospital - Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project performed whole genome DNA Sequencing (WGS) on a cohort of 17 pediatric CBF leukemia [7 t(8;21) and 10 inv(16) cases. Somatic mutations were identified using the PCGP analytical pipeline and all identified mutations were experimentally validated. The frequency of the identified mutations were then assessed by performing exome sequencing on a validation cohort consisting of 151 pediatric and adult CBF leukemias [79 t(8;21) and 72 inv(16)]. The combined analyses identified very few copy number alterations (CNAs) or structural alterations per case, and an average of only 12.5 somatic non-synonymous single nucleotide variations or insertions/deletions per case. Despite the low burden of mutations, recurrent activating mutations in the Kinase/RAS signaling pathway (NRAS, KIT, FLT3, KRAS, and PTPN11, and inactivating mutations in NF1) were collectively identified in >67% of cases An even more striking result was the identification of a high frequency of loss-of-function mutations in genes that encode key epigenetic regulatory proteins (28% including ASXL2, EZH2, UTX, SETD2, MLL2/3), and missense and loss of function mutations in genes that encode components of the cohesin complex (10% including SMC1A, SMC2, RAD21). Moreover, the frequency of both classes of mutations were significantly higher in the t(8;21) versus inv(16) containing cases (epigenetic regulatory mutations 48% vs 6.25% and cohesin mutations 20% vs 0%). No significant difference was noted in the frequency of cohesin mutations between pediatric and adult cases. The identified mutations targeted genes encoding core components of the cohesion complex required to generate the ring shaped DNA binding structure, SMC1A, SMC3, and RAD21, as well as a single case with a mutation in the SMC3 acetyl transferase ESCO2. In addition, loss of the X chromosome is a frequent somatic event in female patients with t(8;21) leukemia and SMC1A is located on Chr. X and is not subjected to X inactivation, suggesting that loss of Chr. X leads to haploinsufficiency. The majority of leukemias with cohesion mutations also contain activating mutation in the RAS/Kinase signaling pathway, suggesting that these mutations cooperate with AML1-ETO to induce leukemia. Collectively, these data provide an unprecedented view of the range of cooperating mutations that occur in the CBF leukemias and highlight fundamental differences between t(8;21) and inv(16) containing cases. Citation Format: Amanda Larson Gedman, Jinjun Cheng, Xiang Chen, Ina Radtke, Anna Andersson, Heather Mulder, Kristy Boggs, Bhavin Vadodaria, Donald Yergeau, Joy Nakitandwe, Lars Bullinger, Michael Kuehn, Hartmut Doehner, Konstanze Doehner, Sheila Shurtleff, John Easton, Richard Wilson, Jinghui Zhang, James R. Downing. The landscape of somatic mutations in the core-binding factor acute myeloid leukemias. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pediatric Cancer at the Crossroads: Translating Discovery into Improved Outcomes; Nov 3-6, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;74(20 Suppl):Abstract nr A15.


The human knowledge on orthopedics traces back to dawn of the medical history. During the history of medicine, several scholars including Persian scientists investigated orthopedics and contributed to its flowering. Abu Ali al-Hussain ibn Abdullah ibn-Sina is a great Persian physician whose opinions on various aspects of medicine, including the science of orthopedics, are so remarkable. In this paper, we will review Avicenna's viewpoints and recommendations for diagnosis, care and treatment of different bones fractures which can be representative of the early knowledge on orthopedics in Persia.


In this article, we introduce two new generalized inverses for rectangular matrices called $W$-weighted generalized-Drazin--Moore--Penrose (GDMP) and $W$-weighted generalized-Drazin-reflexive (GDR) inverses. The first generalized inverse can be seen as a generalization of the recently introduced GDMP inverse for a square matrix to a rectangular matrix. The second class of generalized inverse contains the class of the first generalized inverse. We then exploit their various properties and establish that the proposed generalized inverses coincide with different well-known generalized inverses under certain assumptions. We also obtain a representation of $W$-weighted GDMP inverse employing EP-core nilpotent decomposition. We define the dual of $W$-weighted GDMP inverse and obtain analogue results. Further, we discuss additive properties, reverse- and forward-order laws for GD, $W$-weighted GD, GDMP, and $W$-weighted GDMP generalized inverses.


The book paints a broad picture of the history of Rio press since the turn of the century Nineteenth to the twentieth century until the early years of the century, showing its influence on the rest of Brazil. The technological and stylistic innovations of the press , so as the social, cultural and political as much of Rio de Janeiro - until 1960 capital of the Republic - the country are also analyzed and presented by author , writing an important social web in which journalism has a role predominant , either as mediator or as a translator element of polyphony urban and representative of the desires and aspirations which are in all latitudes of the country


Edible insects present unique opportunities for food and nutrition security in many African communities. However, the characteristics of habitats and spatial distribution of edible insects is not known and yet it is important for understanding their ecology, planning harvesting and conservation activities in the wild. The edible ground cricket (Henicus whellani) Chopard (Orthoptera: Stenopelmatidae) is an edible insect consumed in south eastern Zimbabwe with protein content >50% on dry matter basis but harvesting is largely random and opportunistic. The aim of this study was to apply the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) presence-only species distribution modelling approach to understand the factors influencing distribution of H. whellani and map the potential areas for harvesting and conservation of the species. Geographical locations of sites where H. whellani is currently present were obtained from field reports from communities. Seven geographical factors which are mean annual temperature, temperature seasonality, mean annual precipitation, seasonality of precipitation, soil type, elevation, vegetation density and land cover were used to run the model. The model showed a high prediction accuracy for H. whellani (AUC=0.86) indicating that the model can be used with confidence to predict distribution and potential habitats in S.E Zimbabwe. Results showed that soil type (46.7%) and vegetation density (17.5%) are the most important factors determining the distribution of H. whellani. The hotspots for H. whellani were identified and closely followed specific soil and vegetation gradients in the area. The model considered temperature (3.9%) and elevation (0.6%) as the least important factors in H. whellani distribution. The produced distributed maps can be used for planning efficient harvesting and conservation of this nutritious edible insect in Zimbabwe.


Since the end of 2021, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant outcompeted other variants and took over the world. After the emergence of original Omicron BA.1, Omicron BA.2 subvariant emerged and outcompeted BA.1. As of July 2022, some BA.2 subvariants, including BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5, emerged in multiple countries and begun outcompeting original BA.2. Moreover, a novel BA.2 subvariant, BA.2.75, was detected in eight countries including India at the end of June 2022, and preliminary investigations suggest that BA.2.75 is more transmissible over the other BA.2 subvariants. On July 7, 2022, the WHO classified BA.2.75 as a variant-of-concern lineage under monitoring. We have recently demonstrated that BA.4/5 is highly resistant to a therapeutic monoclonal antibody, cilgavimab, than BA.2. The resistance of SARS-CoV-2 variants to therapeutic antibodies can be attributed to the mutations in the viral spike protein. Compared to the BA.2 spike, BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/5 respectively bear two and four mutations in their spike proteins. On the other hand, the majority of BA.2.75 spike bears nine substitutions. The fact that the mutation number in the BA.2.75 spike is larger than those in the BA.4/5 spike raises the possibility that the BA.2.75 spike significantly reduces sensitivity towards therapeutic monoclonal antibodies than BA.2 and BA.4/5. In this study, we generated pseudoviruses harboring the spike proteins of BA.2.75, BA.4/5 and BA.2 and evaluated the efficacy of ten therapeutic monoclonal antibodies and three antibody cocktails against BA.2.75.


The operative tumor specimen of esophageal squamous carcinoma were studied with immunohistochemical (ABC) method S-100 protein staining. Under the light microscopy, we observed the morphology, number and distribution of Langerhan's cells (LC) in different portion of the tumor mass and its relationship with the pathological staging in 167 cases. We observed also the relationship between LC and the postoperative survival period in 127 cases followed for more than 3 years. These results suggested found that positive relation between the number of LC in the cancer nest and in the lymphfollicle with the increasing of TNM classification. The number of LC in the cancer nest significantly increased in state III and IV cases than II cases. On the contrary, the number of LC in the peritumor and interstitial tissue decreased while the TNM classification was increasing. These findings suggested that the survival period was shorter in patients whose LC had increased in the cancer nest, whereas the survival period would be longer in those patients whose LC had increased in the tissue around the tumor mass, in the mucosa near the tumor as well as in the interstitial tissue. These two points might be used as an immunological para-meter for the assessment of the prognosis.


The purpose of the work - to conduct a study of economic efficiency developed in L. Pogorilyy UkrNDIPVT design solutions for family dairy and fattening farms of cattle and sheep farms of different sizes, adapted to EU requirements.Research methods.During the analytical research, an economic evaluation of the effectiveness of the developed design solutions of dairy and fattening farms of cattle, as well as sheep farms of different sizes was made. Investments in the creation of livestock facilities were determined by the following components: construction of farms, acquisition of machinery and technological equipment, the cost of purchasing livestock. The estimate for the construction and technical equipment of the farms included the costs of construction materials, machinery, equipment, construction and installation work. The calculated method was determined by the cost of funds per animal place and the output of gross output, taking into account the planned productivity. The need for land for the operation of farms was calculated according to the needs of animals in feed for the production of planned livestock products. Calculations of profitability of production and payback period for the creation of livestock facilities were carried out according to generally accepted methods of determining economic efficiency.Research results.According to the results of research on the economic efficiency of projects of livestock facilities, developed in L. Pogorilyy UkrNDIPVT and adapted to EU requirements, the following listed below expected indicators were obtained.To create dairy farms for 10, 15 and 25 cows with young livestock, respectively: the need for total investments is 1535.89 thousand UAH, 2038.78 and 2964.20 thousand UAH; expenditures per animal - UAH 76 thousand, UAH 68 thousand and UAH 59 thousand; the need for land for the operation of farms - 16 hectares, 24 and 40 hectares; the level of profitability of farms, provided that the planned productivity is reached, will be 60, 64 and 61%; payback period -5.2; 4.4 and 4.0 years, respectively.In order to create family farms for fattening young cattle, respectively, by 25, 50, 100 heads: the need for total investment is 489.3 thousand UAH, 764.1 and 1253.0 thousand UAH; expenditures per animal - UAH 19.5 thousand, UAH 15.3 and 19.5 thousand; the need for land for the operation of farms - 10, 20 and 40 hectares; level of profitability - 40%; the payback period for the creation of such farms is 5, 4.5 and 4 years, respectively.To create family sheep farms for 25, 50, 100 heads of fattening and 100 heads of dairy sheep farms, respectively: the need for total investments is UAH 252.20 thousand, UAH 357.81 thousand, UAH 568.39 and 76.47 thousand; expenditures per animal - UAH 10.20 thousand, UAH 7.10 thousand, UAH 5.60 and 10.20 thousand; the need for land for the operation of farms - 3.1, 6.2, 12.3 and 13.8 hectares; level of profitability - 25%; payback period for the creation of farms - 5, 4,5, 4 and 4 years.Conclusions.Studies of the economic efficiency of livestock projects developed in L. Pogorily UkrNDIPVT and adapted to EU requirements, namely different sizes of family dairy and fattening farms of cattle and sheep farms testified to the high economic feasibility of their creation and use.Key words: sheep breeding, economic efficiency, capital investments, estimate, level of profitability, cattle breeding, livestock farms, payback period.


The Internet of Things (IoT) includes billions of things, i.e., connected objects and devices that are heterogeneous, distributed, and possibly intelligent and run applications and services from the Internet of Services (IoS). Things span, for instance, RFID tags, sensors, computers, plants, lamps, autonomous robots, and self-driving vehicles. Often, things are connected through heterogeneous platforms also providing support for, e.g., data collection, management, and applications deployment. Additionally, things can offer their functionalities as (web) services facilitating their dynamic interaction.


$\beta$-VAE is a follow-up technique to variational autoencoders that proposes special weighting of the KL divergence term in the VAE loss to obtain disentangled representations. Unsupervised learning is known to be brittle even on toy datasets and a meaningful, mathematically precise definition of disentanglement remains difficult to find. Here we investigate the original $\beta$-VAE paper and add evidence to the results previously obtained indicating its lack of reproducibility. We also further expand the experimentation of the models and include further more complex datasets in the analysis. We also implement an FID scoring metric for the $\beta$-VAE model and conclude a qualitative analysis of the results obtained. We end with a brief discussion on possible future investigations that can be conducted to add more robustness to the claims.


Practical procedures for forecasting areas of overcast skies and precipitation are presented. The forecast thickness field is relabeled as a forecast maximum precipitable water field. A forecast actual precepitable water field is then graphically subtracted from this field to derive a forecast saturation chart. The forecast saturation chart is then adjusted with the forecast vertical-motion field. Isopleths of critical values on the adjusted saturation chart outline forecast areas of overcast skies and areas of probable precipitation.


Architectural design training includes theoretical lessons and practical studio courses. However professional application practice and interaction with stakeholders are limited Therefore in order to reinforce the theoretical and practical knowledge taken in lessons and courses and to observe the working environment in private architectural firms and the development of the architectural design process in public institutions, the summer office practice is compulsory in the student education program. Lessons in architectural schools are mainly based on giving of theoretical knowledge by class lectures and practical knowledge by atelier (Studio) lessons. Summer Practices are described in the curriculum as practical lessons. The student applies to the Office Practice Commission and presents the information required of the office he or she is going to work in summer for 25 days and seeks for approval. In this study it is aimed to determine the students' expectations from summer office practice and evaluate their acquisitions through their assignments. All the students that applied for "M300 STAJ II" Summer Office Practice Course previous year enrolled to the course at the beginning of the 2014-2015 Autumn semesters. 97 Students answered a 50 Question Survey asking them to grade their level of satisfaction form 1 (highest) to 5 (lowest). Questions were related with the students' EXPECTATONS (EX) , workload of ASSINGMENTS (AS) and level of ACQUISITIONS (AC) they believed they derived from the Summer Office Practice (SofP). Despite the results that show the students EXPECTATIONS were high in many areas of the questioned about the Knowledge (-Kn) and Involvement (-In) in Specific Attributes and skills, many believed they derived far less ACQUISITIONS from their summer office practices. Only certain kinds of jobs related with drafting and 3D modelling were highly imposed on the students as their ASSIGNMENTS.


BACKGROUND Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) constitute a prognostic factor in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, different methods of assessing TILs have various pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical challenges. The evaluation of TILs in hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained tumor sections proposed by the International Immuno-Oncology Biomarker Working Group was demonstrated to be a reproducible, affordable and easily applied method in many tumors. AIM To evaluate the prognostic significance of TILs in H&E-stained slides of HCCs. METHODS This was a retrospective study performed in the hospital. HCC patients who underwent liver resection between 2015 and 2017 in Zhongshan Hospital were enrolled in this study. Patients who experienced recurrence or received therapy in addition to antiviral therapy before surgery at this time were excluded. A total of 204 patients were enrolled in the study. The ILs were counted manually in tumor sections stained with H&E under an optical microscope at 400 ×. The ILs were assessed separately in the center of the tumor (TILsCT), the invasive front (TILsIF), and peritumor (PILs) areas. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were performed using a Cox regression model. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant and all P-values were two-sided. RESULTS Among the 204 patients, univariate analysis indicated that macrovascular invasion (MaVI) (P = 0.001), microvascular invasion (MVI) (P = 0.012), multiple tumors (P = 0.008), large tumors (> 10 cm) (P = 0.001), absence of a tumor capsule (P = 0.026), macrotrabecular histological subtype (P = 0.001), low density of TILsCT (P = 0.039), TILsIF (P = 0.014), and PILs (P = 0.010) were predictors of progression-free survival (PFS). Cox multivariate analysis indicated that MaVI (P = 0.009), absence of a tumor capsule (P = 0.031), low-density of TILsIF (P = 0.047) and PILs (P = 0.0495) were independent predictors of PFS. A three-category analysis was carried out by combining TILsCT, TILsIF, and PILs, after which HCCs were classified into immunehigh [(TILsCT)high, (TILsIF)high, and PILshigh, 83 cases], immunemod (tumors other than immunehigh and immunelow subtypes, 94 cases), and immunelow [(TILsCT)low, (TILsIF)low, and PILslow, 27 cases)] subtypes. The immunehigh subtype had a lower rate of MVI (40.96%) than the immunemod (61.70%, P = 0.017) and immunelow (66.67%, P = 0.020) subtypes. The recurrence rates of the immunehigh, immunemod and immunelow subtypes were 10.8%, 25.5% and 33.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION HCC patients with high infiltrating lymphocytes tend to have a lower recurrence rate and less MVI. The evaluation of TILs in H&E-stained specimens could be a prognostic parameter for HCC.


The purpose of the present study was to investigate teachers' experiences of the challenges in providing quality physical education and, to compare the magnitude of these challenges in between the sampled Zones. The study utilized a descriptive cross-sectional survey design. Hence, Questionnaire of 6-point rating scales (Strongly Agree (5), Agree (4), agree a little bit (3), Disagree a little bit (2) ,  Disagree (1)  and strongly Disagree(0) was designed to enable respondents  rate their experiences of school-related, teacher-related and student-related challenges and  piloted in two (2) public primary  schools. Test-retest method was used to test the reliability and a correlation coefficient of 0.72 was obtained. The respondents were 210 (two hundred ten) physical education teachers from randomly selected Zones (35 teachers from each Zone). Hence, the total of 210 questionnaire were distributed and, 210 responses were received, a response rate of 100%.  Cronbach's coefficient alpha was used to confirm the internal consistency reliability between items on each challenges (r=0.72). Data analysis was conducted by SPSS Version 25.  Descriptive statistics was used to show frequency and percentage of respondents back ground information, and the status of challenges experienced by teachers in sampled Zones, One-way ANOVA was computed to analyze the differences among challenges experienced by teachers in between Zones and LSD post hoc was conducted to determine which differ from the other in relation to challenges. The findings indicate that all selected zones have Institution/school-related, Teacher-related and Student-related challenges experienced by teachers. ANOVA analysis revealed that there was statistically significant difference in teacher-related challenges between   sampled Zones (F 5, 204 =4.912, P<0.05). it was also found out that there was no  significant difference in school- related challenges  between sampled Zones(P=0.088) and student-related challenges between sampled Zones( P=0.25). Keywords: Institution/school-related challenges, Primary school, Quality Physical Education, Student-related challenges, Teacher- related challenges, Zones.


Creative technical art can attract attention and communicate technical messages by eliminating detail and focusing on specific points. Cartoons can carry a message by exaggeration or by transferring touchy personal characteristics away from the trainee. (Humor is used only to make a point memorable, not for entertainment, which is distracting.) Interpretive sketches and simplified drawings can show function or underlying principles of operation and can be used to impart human or animal characteristics to machinery. When-and-if (WHIF) charts can expand on a sequence of events or show cause-and-effect relationships. Each drawing must have a specific purpose to be effective.


Using the theory of optical activity by Kirkwood and Tinoco, the CD spectra of the heme peptides in mono- and dimeric forms have been calculated according to the simple spectral model of heme of Simpson.


Despite the profound revival in the literary genre of the mirror for princes during the reign of Charles V and Charles VI, the De regimine principum by Gilles de Rome, particularly in its French versions, had, until the Renaissance, an important place in Western European royal and princely collections. French copies of Gilles de Rome's tract are found, often in several copies, in the collections of the kings of France and England and in those of the dukes of Burgundy, Ferrare and Milan, to name but a few. Influential nobles, such as John Talbot, earl of Shrewsbury, Humphrey, duke of Gloucester and Lewis of Bruges, lord of Gruuthuse, tried to get a French copy of this tract. Several volumes also belonged to wealthy citizens, for whom owning this text, often in particularly beautiful editions, was a symbol of a certain prestige.


This paper provides a global perspective of the changing prevalence, severity, distribution and pattern of dental caries. The prevalence of caries in children and adolescents has declined in most developed countries and it is now a minority of young people who experience most of the disease. All forms of caries have reduced in prevalence but pits and fissures are the surfaces most frequently involved. The caries experience and levels of edentulousness in the adult populations of developed countries have also declined. The prevalence of caries in adults is remarkably constant with age but in older subjects root caries is becoming more prevalent. However, in many developing countries the prevalence of caries in young children is high and is increasing in those populations who are adopting a cariogenic diet. In countries such as Kenya and China, caries is the major cause of tooth loss but levels of edentulousness are low. There are considerable variations in disease levels between and within countries and it is evident that lower socio-economic and certain racial groups exhibit high levels of dental caries. It is essential to sustain the benefit of fluoride to those already receiving it and encourage the use of appropriate and effective strategies and products by those who are not. Water and salt fluoridation should be implemented where deemed feasible and the use of a clinically proven and affordable fluoride toothpaste should be encouraged.


This work pursues a double objective. The first one, the measurement using as an instrument the SERVQUAL scale, of the quality service provided by the hotel ...


To obtain more information about the correct protein intake in low birth weight children, serum amino acid concentrations were determined. In 59 formula-fed, low birth weight children, serum amino acid concentrations were determined at 3, 24 and 72 h after birth and at the age of 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks. Mean serum concentrations of all amino acids decreased during the first 24 h of life, except of aspartate and tyrosine. This decrease was followed by an increase during the first weeks of life and a variable pattern afterwards. A hypertyrosinemia (serum-tyrosine concentration > 250 mumol/l) was not found in any case. Taurine concentrations decreased gradually, as was expected because of the low taurine concentrations in cow's milk. Mean concentrations of alanine, glycine, proline and valine were higher in small for date children. Concluding, parenteral supplementation of amino acids is advisable during the first days of life to low birth weight children.


In the examination of patients with the dermato-respiratory syndrome, peptic ulcer, pyoderma and surgical wounds for their immune status for the expression of receptors of immunocytokins (interferon, interleukin-2), autocoids (histamine, serotonin), neuromediators (acetylcholine, dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine) and for the presence of Staphylococcus aureus and Helicobacter pylori antigens have revealed that lymphocytes are the markers of the presence of infection in the body, pathogenetic systemic and intersystemic disturbances, adequately chosen therapy and its effectiveness.


The nano-scratch behaviour of diamond-like carbon films on a Ti alloy and Si substrate was evaluated. For both samples, three processes—fully elastic recovery, plastic deformation, and delamination and pulling-off of the films, occur successively with increasing load during scratching. The loads (LcL) corresponding to the peeling-off of the films during the up-loading were 75 and 70 mN for Ti alloy and Si. However, the films on Si were delaminated during unloading, and the relevant load (LcU) was only 45 mN. This probably originates from the distribution status of the plastic deformation both in the films and the substrates. Therefore, the nano-scratch test can be applied not only to obtain the cracking resistance (LcL) characterizing the cohesion strength of films during up-loading but also to determine the delamination resistance (LcU) related to the adhesion strength of the film–substrate during unloading.


Construction activities use millions of tonnes of conventional, non-renewable building materials and release 30% of the world's CO2 emissions. Green building materials that are easily accessible, affordable, renewable, recyclable, and thus sustainable should be promoted in order to reduce these issues. The use of waste from secondary natural fibre (SNF) as a biological replacement for synthetic fibre in cementitious composites is reviewed in this research in light of recent trends. The varieties and classification of SNF, as well as its chemical make-up and physical and mechanical characteristics, were highlighted in the article. This study also discussed the mechanical, thermal, and durability characteristics of secondary natural fibre cementitious composites (SNFRC), as well as ways to enhance the durability of SNF in cementitious composites and new trends and applications for SNFRC. The report offered various areas for more research in SNFRC as a conclusion.


The pine marten (Martes martes) is one of Ireland's most elusive mammals. Between July 2003 and July 2005, hair tubes attached to trees with adhesive patches inside, were used to detect presence of marten in Portlaw Woods, County Waterford. Screening tests of potential lures to assess attractiveness and suitability were carried out on a variety of substances on free-living and captive pine marten. The use of chicken as a short-term lure was successful in attracting pine marten to the hair tubes. Peanut butter and marmalade scored highly as potential long-term lures. There was an increase in the number of visits to the hair tubes, which may mean that pine marten 'learn' where the hair tubes were. Samples retrieved were DNA species-typed to verify presence /absence of target animals and DNA sex-typed for gender distribution. A strong gender bias in favour of males was discovered. Findings have implications for field studies and how data is gathered for such studies while also important for conservation population management schemes.


An active vibration control system based on fiber optic sensor (FOS) and electrorheological (ER) actuator is established in this paper. A new intensity modulated fiber optic vibration sensor is developed following the face coupling theory. The experimental results show that this new type of intensity modulated fiber optic vibration sensor has higher sensitivity in measuring the vibration frequency. At the same time, experimental investigations are focused on evaluating the dynamic response characteristics of a beam fabricated with ER fluid. It is noted that the most significant change in the material properties of ER fluid is the change of material stiffness and damping which varies with the electric field intensity imposed upon the ER fluid. Finally, the structural vibration of the smart composite beam based on ER fluid, fiber optic sensor and piezoelectric transducer has been monitored and controlled actively utilizing a fuzzy-logic algorithm.


Background: Road accident statistics has been seen increasing over the years despite numerous efforts made by the authorities. Human factors have contributed 90% of accident occurrence with risky driving behavior being one of the significant human factors that can be further explained through norms. This review paper aimed to investigate the relationship between norms and drivers' risky driving behavior. Methods: A systematic review process was conducted through four academic databases namely Scopus, Wiley Online Library, Emerald and Web of Science of no limitation for date. Overall, 3443 titles were identified and after several screening and reviewing processes, only 27 studies were included. Results: The results of the review demonstrated mixed findings between subjective norm and risky driving behavior, whereas the relationship between group norm, moral norm, injunctive norm, descriptive norm and risky driving behavior were observed significant. Conclusion: Appropriate educational awareness is required to educate the society in practicing good norms for mutual benefit of the society. Parents also need to set a good example for their children by abiding the traffic rules and regulation.


Optimizing user engagement is a key goal for modern recommendation systems, but blindly pushing users towards increased consumption risks burn-out, churn, or even addictive habits. To promote digital well-being, most platforms now offer a service that periodically prompts users to take breaks. These, however, must be set up manually, and so may be suboptimal for both users and the system. In this paper, we study the role of breaks in recommendation, and propose a framework for learning optimal breaking policies that promote and sustain long-term engagement. Based on the notion that recommendation dynamics are susceptible to both positive and negative feedback, we cast recommendation as a Lotka-Volterra dynamical system, where breaking reduces to a problem of optimal control. We then give an efficient learning algorithm, provide theoretical guarantees, and empirically demonstrate the utility of our approach on semi-synthetic data.


The Merck Manual ofGeriatrics is designed to be a comprehensive and authoritative handbook. The editors set out to provide a practical resource covering all aspects of disease and clinical management of elderly patients in a readily usable format. They enlisted 1I8 distinguished authors from around the world to encapsulate current knowledge concerning diagnosis and treatment of the elderly. In my opinion, they have successfully achieved their stated goals. The handbook is organized into five major sections. The first presents a problem-oriented diagnostic approach to common presentations of illness in older patients. These include conditions such as malnutrition, electrolyte imbalance, syncope, falls, acute confusion, incontinence, sleep disorders, and pressure sores. The second section reviews broad management approaches specific to the elderly, including the history, physical examination, functional assessment, clinical pharmacology, role of the pharmacist, surgery, rehabilitation, occupational therapy, and care of the dying patient. It also covers site-specific care such as nursing homes, home healthcare, and respite care. The third section deals with individual organ systems encompassing both normal changes of aging and pathology. Psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, depression, hypochondriasis, and alcohol abuse are covered in this section. Section four discusses the epidemiologic, social, ethical, financial, and legal issues of providing healthcare to the elderly. The last section provides reference guides, including laboratory values, functional assessment instruments, and health insurance guidelines for the elderly. This is a welcome addition to the rapidly expanding geriatric literature. It provides a comprehensive overview of geriatric diagnosis and management. In the tradition of other Merck handbooks this text will prove to be a most valuable contribution to the field. It is clearly written, well organized and indexed, and up-to-date. The only shortcoming is that no references are provided to substantiate statements and allow the reader to pursue areas of interest in more depth. That limitation is seen in other Merck handbooks. The Merck Manual ofGeriatrics should be in all medical libraries and on the bookshelf of every health professional concerned about geriatrics.


The paper presents a study of the nature of the experiencing expression in monodramas by E. Grishkovets. This analysis is based on the idea of the human consciousness layering and the hierarchical principle of the organization of "mental spaces" in it, which was considered by F. E. Vasilyuk in relation to experiencing and its expression. The ideas about the work of experiencing as a movement between different life worlds, which are reflected in the monodramas by Grishkovets, are studied in the paper as a feature of the writer's idiostyle. The narrator of the one-man theatrical shows is considered as a literary hero of the "New Sincerity" era, which replaced the period of postmodern literature. The article traces the features of the experiencing expression in the monodramas by Grishkovets, the associative nature of the author's consciousness slipping into other life worlds, and the ways of creating (virtualizing) these life worlds.


Introduction: Tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) is a disease of symptomatic obstruction of tracheal or bronchial portions either related to congenital instability or secondary to vascular compression. Patients with TBM associated with congenital heart disease (CHD) often remain difficult to manage after cardiac surgery, requiring prolonged artificial respiratory support. Under these circumstances, several treatments such as aortopexy, internal stenting, or high positive end-expiratory pressure ventilation, have been attempted, although satisfactory results have not been obtained. In 2008, we started the external stenting technique using a ringed expanded polytetrafluoroethylene graft, and we have treated 39 patients with this technique. We review the results of our experience with external stenting for TBM in children. Methods: Clinical records of 42 procedures in 39 patients with TBM, who underwent external stenting in our institute from February 2008 to March 2014, were reviewed. The diagnosis of TBM was made...


Interconnectivity of components in three-dimensional networks (3DNs) is essential for stress transfer in hydrogels, aerogels, and composites. Entanglement of nanoscale components in the network relies on weak short-range intermolecular interactions. The intrinsic stiffness and rod-like geometry of nanoscale components limit the cohesive energy of the physical crosslinks in 3DN materials. Nature realizes networked gels differently using components with extensive branching. Branched aramid nanofibers (BANFs) mimicking polymeric components of biological gels were synthesized to produce 3DNs with high efficiency stress transfer. Individual BANFs are flexible, with the number of branches controlled by base strength in the hydrolysis process. The extensive connectivity of the BANFs allows them to form hydro- and aerogel monoliths with an order of magnitude less solid content than rod-like nanocomponents. Branching of nanofibers also leads to improved mechanics of gels and nanocomposites.


Spodoptera litura, an economically important polyphagous insect, is a serious threat to a large number of cultivated crops all over the world. In the present study, the quantitative analysis of protein in haemolymph, midgut, and fat body of the fifth instar larvae of Spodoptera litura was carried out by giving three different host plants as food materials. A comparative study of the tissue protein with respect to the feeding of host plant leaf protein was also carried out. The data obtained were statistically analysed using one-way ANOVA (P<0.01).The results revealed that there was a significant variation in the protein concentration in each tissue with respect to the feeding material. The haemolymph showed a higher concentration of protein than the mid gut and fat body. Similarly, the castor fed larval tissues showed a significantly higher concentration of protein than the tissues of colocasia and papaya fed larvae. A positive correlation was found in the protein content of the host plant leaves and the insect tissues.


The purpose of this study is to demonstrate an example of secondary analysis using the World Survey Data. This paper first describes the history of the study of subjective well-being, and some of the interests that motivate this presentation. The second part of this paper explains why we compare seven nations here, describes the nineteen variables (or response scales) used to measure subjective well-being, and discusses the methods and procedures of Factor Analysis by which we identified the structure of subjective well-being. The final part provides the results of our analysis, and some suggestions for further investigation. These results suggest that comparative study on subjective well-being is feasible using Factor 1, particularly two variables which construct Factor 1: life satisfaction and home satisfaction.


We studied the effects of phosphorus (P) on Ni nanocrystalline morphology formed by focused ion beam (FIB) irradiation for Ni-P amorphous alloy thin films. The P content in the amorphous alloy was varied from 8 to 12 wt.%. The nanocrystals induced by the FIB irradiation for Ni-11.8, 8.9, 7.9 wt.% amorphous alloy had an f.c.c. structure and showed unique crystallographic orientation relationships to the geometry of the focused ion beam, that is, {111}f.c.c. parallel to the irradiated plane and f.c.c. parallel to the projected ion beam direction, respectively. The Ni nanocrystals precipitated like aggregates with decreasing of the P content. These results represent that the P content does not affect crystallographic orientation relationships, while influences the precipitation distribution of Ni nanocrystals generated by the FIB irradiation.


Numerous studies have shown that the antigenic determinants of the ABO blood group system are closely related in biochemical terms to the antigenic determinants of the Hh, P, Lewis and Ii blood group systems. The blood group antigens of each of these systems are formed by the addition of specific sugars to an oligosaccharide precursor chain which may be bound through sphingosine to fatty acids (glycolipid) or through serine or threonine to a peptide chain (glycoproteins). The direct gene products of each of these blood group systems are the glycosyltransferase enzymes which catalyse the addition of the specific sugar thus conferring the specified blood group activity to the glycolipid or glycoprotein molecule. The antigenic determinants of the ABO and Lewis systems in addition to red cells also exist in the body secretions in soluble form when the relevant genes are expressed in the phenotype. The antigens expressed on both the red cells and in the secretions are determined by the interaction of Hh, Sese, ABO and Lele genes.


The phenomenon of global value chains (GVCs) indicates a division of labour type production structure in which tasks and business functions are distributed among several companies, globally, or regionally (Grossman and Rossi-Hansberg 2008). The critical features of GVCs are therefore the international dimension of the production process and the "contractualisation" of buyer and seller relationships, often across international borders (Antras 2016). As a result, these international production networks are highly complex regarding geography, technology, and the different types of firms involved (from large retailers and highly large-scale mechanised manufacturers to small home-based production). Sometimes it may be impossible even to identify all the countries that are involved or the extent of their involvement (Gereffi and Fernandez-Stark 2016). However, the recent development of OECD-WTO's Trade-in Value Added (TiVA) data represents a fundamental step forward in understanding GVC trade. Grossman & Rossi-Hansberg (2008, 2012) rightly point out that the different tasks, rather than sectors, define the specialisation of countries in the value chains.


The serological response to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in 125 pediatric patients hospitalized with acute lower respiratory infection was investigated by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for specific immunoglobulin (Ig) A, IgG, and IgM and complement fixation (CF) test. By ELISA, a 4-fold rise in IgG titre in paired sera was most commonly found, followed by a rise in IgA and IgM titres. Investigation by ELISA and CF leads to the suggestion that major CF activity against RSV antigens resides in the IgG and not the IgA and IgM classes. No case with CF activity failed to be diagnosed by ELISA. The youngest infant who could develop seroconversion was one month old, nevertheless two children older than two years could not. When the three diagnostic methods were compared, ELISA serology was the most sensitive followed by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) for antigen detection and virus isolation, respectively, ELISA could diagnose RSV infection in 45% of the study cases, whereas IIF and virus isolation only diagnosed 26% and 14%, respectively. Half of the cases was diagnosed by all of the three methods together.


The aim of this study was to determine the possibility of yielding more transferable embryos from cows superovulated with/without exogenous progesterone (ear implant and intravaginal device). Two experiments were conducted in Holstein Friesian cows to evaluate the effect of exogenous progesterone on the yield of corpus luteum (CL), total embryo and ova, and transferable embryos before superovulation. A superovulation program using 2 different progesterone resources was applied (G1 = intravaginal device, G2 = ear implant). Superovulation and uterus irrigations were done at 28-day intervals in the treatment groups. Cows in the control group were superovulated at 60-day intervals without application of exogenous progesterone. The mean numbers of CLs and transferable embryos for the G1, G2, and control groups were, respectively 4.82 ± 0.29, 6.71 ± 0.29, and 7.81 ± 0.31 for CLs and 0.86 ± 0.35, 3.50 ± 0.35, and 1.53 ± 0.39 for transferable embryos. It was shown that exogenous manipulation of the estrus cycle by progesterone could be applied without superovulation intervals in Holstein cows. It may also be postulated that the ear implant was more effective than the intravaginal device as a progesterone source in the superovulation program.


Heart involvement is usually the cause of death in patients with carcinoid syndrome, who may survive a long time even after the disease has entered an advanced stage. For this reason, carcinoid heart disease patients have undergone surgical replacement of affected valves. Two of our patients were not good candidates for surgery, due to the extent of hepatic metastasis. Alternatively, we performed percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty on both the tricuspid and pulmonary valves in both patients. To our knowledge, there has been only 1 previous report of successful tricuspid valvuloplasty in a case of carcinoid heart disease, and this did not involve concomitant pulmonary valvuloplasty. Before the procedure, both of our patients had low cardiac output with restriction in the right ventricle, pulmonary and tricuspid stenosis, and moderate tricuspid regurgitation. In the 1st patient, valvuloplasty reduced tricuspid and pulmonary gradients without change in cardiac output. This patient experienced initial clinical improvement but died 8 months after the procedure, of portal hypertension and extensive hepatic metastasis. The 2nd patient showed notably diminished gradients and a very significant increase in cardiac output. She advanced from New York Heart Association functional class IV to class I, and is now maintained with diuretic therapy. In our judgment, balloon valvuloplasty is a sound alternative to surgery for patients with carcinoid heart disease, especially when stenosis is the dominant symptom. Valvuloplasty is contraindicated in cases of severe tricuspid regurgitation.


Abstract Modeling the 'digital twin' of a patient's heart has gained traction in the last years and helps to understand the pathogenic mechanisms of cardiovascular disease to pave the way for personalized therapies. Although a 3D patient-specific model (PSM) can be obtained from computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the fiber orientation of cardiac muscle, which significantly affects the electrophysiological and mechanical characteristics of the heart, can hardly be obtained in vivo. Several approaches have been suggested to solve this problem. However, most of them require a considerable amount of human interaction, which is both time-consuming and a potential source of error. In this work, a highly automated pipeline based on a Laplace- Dirichlet-rule-based method (LDRBM) for annotating fibers and anatomical regions in both atria is introduced. The calculated fiber arrangement was regionally compared with anatomical observations from literature and faithfully reproduced clinical and experimental data.


The Si-K and Si-L 2,3 edges of the electron energy-loss near-edge (ELNES) spectra of a model of an extended inactive defect in Si with no dangling bonds were calculated using an ab-initio method which includes the electron-hole interaction. In this method, atom-by-atom excitation is possible. The calculated results are discussed in the context of the subtle structural differences in the local atomic environment. Comparison of the results with measured data shows satisfactory agreement. The method can be applied to other more complicated defective systems such as grain boundaries and interfaces for effective materials characterization.


We consider the blind equalization and estimation of single-user, multichannel models from the second-order statistics of the channel output when the channel input statistics are colored but known. By exploiting certain results from linear prediction theory, we generalize the algorithm of Tong et al. (1994), which was derived under the assumption of a white transmitted sequence. In particular, we show that all one needs to estimate the channel to within an unitary scaling constant, and thus to find its equalizers, is (a) that a standard channel matrix have full column rank, and (b) a vector of the input signal and its delays have positive definite lag zero autocorrelation. An algorithm is provided to determine the equalizer under these conditions. We argue that because this algorithm makes explicit use of the input statistics, the equalizers thus obtained should outperform those obtained by other methods that neither require, nor exploit, the knowledge of the input statistics. Simulation results are provided to verify this fact.


We report a detailed analysis of all regions of current star formation in the walls of the supergiant HI shell (SGS) in the galaxy Holmberg II based on observations with a scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer at the 6-m SAO RAS telescope. We compare the structure and kinematics of ionized gas with that of atomic hydrogen and with the stellar population of the SGS. Our deep H$\alpha$ images and archival images taken by the HST demonstrate that current star formation episodes are larger and more complicated than previously thought: they represent unified star-forming complexes with sizes of several hundred pc rather than 'chains' of separate bright nebulae in the walls of the SGS. The fact that we are dealing with unified complexes is evidenced by identified faint shell-like structures of ionized and neutral gas which connect several distinct bright HII regions. Formation of such complexes is due to the feedback of stars with very inhomogeneous ambient gas in the walls of the SGS. The arguments supporting an idea about the triggering of star formation in SGS by the HI supershells collision are presented. We also found a faint ionized supershell inside the HI SGS expanding with a velocity of no greater than 10-15 km/s. Five OB stars located inside the inner supershell are sufficient to account for its radiation, although a possibility of leakage of ionizing photons from bright HII regions is not ruled out as well.


This essay by Rodney D. Coates, titled "Rod Bush and the Quest for Social Justice: Beyond Binary Constructs of Race and Class," is a chapter in the anthology Rod Bush: Lessons from a Radical Black Scholar on Liberation, Love, and Justice, edited by Melanie E. L. Bush, and co-edited by Rose M. Brewer, Daniel Douglas, Loretta Chin, and Robert Newby (2019). Coates argues that Rod Bush's journey for justice is best understood as a quest for social justice derived from his interrogation of imperialism, racism, and exploitation, to move beyond binary constructions of race and class. He was critical of complacent sociology that frequently misdiagnosed social movements, misinterpreted social protests, and misunderstood how to bring about meaningful change. He proposed that the agency of change begins at the grassroots level and extends outward. Bush demonstrated that the sequence of events that produced the modern racial state were wrapped in the language of freedom and democracy, but were birthed out of the misery of black, red, brown, tan, and yes white laborers. This praxis for change represents a new consciousness, much like Black Nationalist consciousness that, according to Bush, "... almost always appears to most whites as a great ideological transformation, and a quite unfathomable transformation at that. But it should not be a mystery." Rod's emphasis on radical Black Nationalism is to point out distinctive ways in which revolutionary change can come about.


There is no doubt about an impact of corporate and business operations on human rights, both positive and negative. Growing influence of corporations, power shift between business and states, as well as the complex nature of corporate governance and transnational operations require international regulations. International community undertook numerous initiatives, the most significant and recent being the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights [2011], embraced by States, corporations and civil society as a "milestone" in business and human rights agenda. While being a useful comprehensive set of guidelines, Principles are lacking the legally binding force and any monitoring or complaints mechanism. Therefore, there are growing calls for a legally binding treaty to stipulate clearly human rights obligations of States/businesses vis-a-vis human rights and fill the protection gap for victims of corporate abuses. A newly established working group by the Human Rights Council has started to negotiate terms of reference of such a treaty in June 2015. However, meaningful negotiations are threatened by many factors, including the negative approach of US, EU and other developed States along with the corporate sector advocating for stronger implementation of Principles instead. This article aims to describe efforts of international community to prevent and eliminate a negative impact of corporate activities on human rights. It shows different approaches and highlights some challenges and dilemmas. It concludes that parallel efforts should be undertaken - to implement the Principles and to negotiate an international treaty - in order to improve protection against an adverse impact of corporate operations on human rights. As for the Czech Republic, it is suggested to embark on the elaboration of the National Action Plan, thus providing for an opportunity to discuss implementation of the Principles among all the relevant stakeholders.


In the processing of uranium ores, the uranium is recovered from mill leach solutions by precipitation as yellow cake concentrates. Among the different existing processes, the continuous precipitation with hydrogen peroxide in a fluidized bed leads to high-quality solid particles. This paper deals with the determination of the crystal growth mechanism and the kinetic parameters. An experimental study is performed in a stirred batch reactor over a wide range of experimental conditions. The experimental method adapted to the uranium peroxide crystal growth study consists of following hydrogen ion concentration. In order to determine the kinetic parameters, a solubility model has been developed and the calculation of the supersaturation ratio is developed in this article. The deviation from ideality is taken into account and the activity coefficients are calculated by the Specific Interaction Theory. This article gives the results obtained for the uranium peroxide solubility, the supersaturation ratio calculation and crystal growth kinetic law. The treatment of the experimental data shows that the crystal growth rate corresponds to the dislocation mechanism.


Review of the world literature to the end of 1971 has provided data on 838 cases of esophageal leiomyomata, including our own 19 surgically removed lesions. Although esophageal leiomyoma is the most common of the benign tumors of the esophagus, it is still rare compared with carcinoma. It occurs in more men than women, by a ratio of 1.9 to 1. Over 50% of the patients with leiomyoma of the esophagus are asymptomatic. Dysphagia and vague pain are the most frequent symptoms. Pyrosis is mentioned in the literature as present in 40% of the cases, but it is considered mainly as symptom of coexistent hiatal hernia. Diagnostic problems often arise, as the smooth muscle tumors may mimic mediastinal neoplasms, cysts, or even aneurysms, or complicate coexisting hiatal hernia and esophageal diverticulum. Operative management by transthoracic enucleation is the procedure of choice, although resection of the esophagus may be required in few cases. Postoperative morbidity is minimal and results are excellent.


[reaction: see text] The reaction of 3-azido-2,3-dideoxy-hexopyranose compounds from the d-gluco, d-galacto, d-lacto, and l-arabino carbohydrate series, with (diacetoxyiodo)benzene and iodine, generated 2-azido-1,2-dideoxy-1-iodo-alditols with one carbon less than the starting carbohydrate. These beta-iodo azides could be transformed by dehydroiodination into vinyl azides, which in turn afforded 3-monosubstituted 2H-azirines under thermal conditions. These beta-iodo azides and 2H-azirines may be interesting chiral synthons for the preparation of more complex heterocyclic systems.


SUMMARY: In the brains of patients with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDA T), the quantitatively pathognomonic neuronal lesions (tangles, plaques, granulovacuolar degeneration, Hirano bodies, and nerve cell loss) are predisposed to occur especially within the limbic system. Anatomical and physiological studies indicate that fibres from the trigeminal ganglia innervate meninges and vessels within the middle and anterior cranial fossae, especially in the same subfrontal and mesial temporal regions preferentially afflicted in acute herpes encephalitis. These limbic regions are critical for normal memory processing and recall. Explantation and cocultivation techniques have recently demonstrated Herpes simplex virus in many human trigeminal ganglia, which also reveal a life-long lymphocytic infiltration in the absence of any pathological changes in the sensory neurones. These lymphocytes may represent a histological marker of latent herpes virus, which when reactivating is well-established as the ganglionic source of recurrent herpes labialis. It is suggested that reactivation of the same dormant viral material travelling centripetally instead might be the cause of the "degenerative" lesions typical both of Alzheimer's Disease and of the normal aged human brain.


The dependence of radiation and particle beam transmissivity on grain size in binary (A and B) mixed materials is studied by means of a statistical method. The beam transmissivity at a distance L from the source is approximated as exp [-pL/λA] exp [-(1-p)L/λB] exp [α2p(1-p)Ld/2] in one dimension, where λA and λB are the mean free paths of beam particles in materials A and B, respectively, p is the volumetric ratio of material A in the mixed region, d is the grain size, and lalpha=λA-1-λB-1. This approximation is valid if the condition abs [(p-1/2)-αp(1-p)d] α-1(1-p)-1, λA>0 and λB=∞, the beam transmissivity is approximated as (1-p)L/d.


TCF7L2 acts as both a repressor and transactivator of genes, as directed by the Wnt signaling pathway. Recently, several highly correlated sequence variants located within a haplotype block of the TCF7L2 gene were observed to associate with type 2 diabetes in three Caucasian cohorts. We previously reported linkage of type 2 diabetes in the San Antonio Family Diabetes Study (SAFADS) cohort consisting of extended pedigrees of Mexican Americans to the region of chromosome 10q harboring TCF7L2. We therefore genotyped 11 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from nine haplotype blocks across the gene in 545 SAFADS subjects (178 diabetic) to investigate their role in diabetes pathogenesis. We observed nominal association between four SNPs (rs10885390, rs7903146, rs12255372, and rs3814573) in three haplotype blocks and type 2 diabetes, age at diagnosis, and 2-h glucose levels (P = 0.001–0.055). Furthermore, we identified a common protective haplotype defined by these four SNPs that was significantly associated with type 2 diabetes and age at diagnosis (P = 4.2 × 10−5, relative risk [RR] 0.69; P = 6.7 × 10−6, respectively) and a haplotype that confers diabetes risk that contains the rare alleles at SNPs rs10885390 and rs12255372 (P = 0.02, RR 1.64). These data provide evidence that variation in the TCF7L2 genomic region may affect risk for type 2 diabetes in Mexican Americans, but the attributable risk may be lower than in Caucasian populations.


The low-energy band structure near the band gap determines the electrical performance of thermoelectric materials. Here, by using the hybrid-density functional theory (hybrid-DFT) calculations, we calculate the low-energy band structure of Bi2Te3, Sb2Te3, Bi2Se3 and Sb2Se3 in the tetradymite phase. We find that the band structure characteristics are very sensitive the selection of the exchange energy functional. The predictability of the band gaps and the band degeneracies is not enhanced in hybrid-DFT calculations, as compared to DFT calculations. The poor prediction of low-energy band structures originates from the poor prediction of interlayer distances and the high structure sensitivity on the band gap. We conclude that the hybrid-DFT calculations are not superior to DFT calculations when predicting band structures of tetradymite Bi2Te3, Sb2Te3, Bi2Se3 and Sb2Se3 thermoelectric materials.


Abstract Panal is a natural bicyclic cadalane-type sesquiterpenoid with an unusual combination of stereocenters. It was isolated in 1988 as an alleged biosynthetic precursor of luciferin (a light-emitting molecule) in a bioluminescent fungus Panellus stipticus. Herein we present the first approach to the synthesis of the terpenoid skeleton of panal, which includes construction of five stereocenters, one of which is easily epimerizable. The key steps in the synthetic approach presented are high-pressure Diels–Alder reaction disobeying the 'endo rule', Barbier reductive allylation, and cyclization of trans-decalin ring via ring-closing metathesis.


Plants adapt to a changing environment by entraining their growth and development to prevailing conditions. Such 'plastic' development requires a highly dynamic integration of growth phenomena with signal perception and transduction systems, such as occurs during tropic growth. The plant hormone auxin has been shown to play a key role in regulating these directional growth responses of plant organs to environmental cues. However, we are still lacking a cellular and molecular understanding of how auxin-dependent signaling cascades link stimulus perception to the rapid modulation of growth patterns. Here, we report that in root gravitropism of Arabidopsis thaliana, auxin regulates root curvature and associated apoplastic, growth-related pH changes through a Ca2+-dependent signaling pathway. Using an approach that integrates confocal microscopy and automated computer vision-based image analysis, we demonstrate highly dynamic root surface pH patterns during vertical growth and after gravistimulation. These pH dynamics are shown to be dependent on auxin, and specifically on auxin transport mediated by the auxin influx carrier AUX1 in cells of the lateral root cap and root epidermis. Our results further indicate that these pH responses require auxin-dependent changes in cytosolic Ca2+ levels that operate independently of the TIR1 auxin perception system. These results demonstrate a methodology that can be used to visualize vectorial auxin responses in a manner that can be integrated with the rapid plant growth responses to environmental stimuli.


This article outlines the process of design and implementation of a virtual tutor to the labour insertion called WorkerTutor. This intelligent communications management tool offered, in 2014, counselling in order to obtain employment to more than 5300 young Spaniards who were living in Germany, France, United Kingdom and Switzerland.


An environmentally benign and highly efficient procedure has been developed for the direct one-pot synthesis of beta-hydroxysulfides in good yields under neutral conditions from alkenes and thiophenols in the presence of aerial oxygen using beta-cyclodextrin in water. This protocol tolerates a wide variety of functional groups or substrates and does not require the use of either acid or base catalysts. beta-Cyclodextrin can be recovered and reused for a number of runs without any loss of activity.


Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a serious health condition that imposes a long-term follow-up. The purpose of our pilot study is to evaluate the usefulness of the cardiopulmonary stress test (CPET) in the follow-up after MIS-C. All patients admitted for MIS-C in our hospital in the 12 months preceding the date of observation were considered for inclusion in the study. Pre-existing cardio-respiratory diseases and/or the lack of collaboration were the exclusion criteria. At enrolment, each subject passed a cardiological examination, rest ECG, echocardiogram, 24 h Holter-ECG, blood tests, and a CPET complete of spirometry. A total of 20 patients met the inclusion criteria (11.76 ± 3.29 years, 13 male). In contrast to the normality of all second-level investigations, CPET showed lower-than-expected peakVO2 and peak-oxygen-pulse values (50% of cases) and higher-than-expected VE/VCO2-slope values (95% of cases). A statistically significant inverse correlation was observed between P-reactive-protein values at admission and peakVO2/kg values (p = 0.034), uric acid values at admission, and peakVO2 (p = 0.011) or peak-oxygen-pulse expressed as a percentage of predicted (p = 0.021), NT-proBNP values at admission and peakVO2 expressed as a percentage of predicted (p = 0.046). After MIS-C (4–12 months) relevant anomalies can be observed at CPET, which can be a valuable tool in the follow-up after this condition.