Wilfrid Sellars (1912-1989) developed a broadly deflationary, non-relational analysis of traditional semantic vocabulary. However, Sellars also developed a broadly inflationary, "correspondence" theory of "matter-offactual" truth and linguistic representation, in which language-world relations play an important role. By contemporary lights, there is a certain tension in the combination of theses Sellars's advances, concentrated in his claim (in Science and Metaphysics) that "the criterion of the correctness of the performance of asserting a basic matter-of-factual proposition is the correctness of the proposition qua picture" [ch.V, §57]. This paper addresses the tension in Sellars's project, in an attempt to reconcile the analysis of semantic vocabulary with the account of "picturing" as a natural-order, language-world relation. I first situate Sellars's theory of predication against the backdrop of theses advanced by Russell and early Wittgenstein. I then present Sellars's analysis of semantic vocabulary and draw out his (albeit skeletal) account of the relation of semantic vocabulary to descriptive vocabulary, here proposing that a causal, anthropological account of the proper functioning of '...means...' is supposed to fill an apparent gap most recently addressed by Lionel Shapiro (2014). Finally, I defend Sellars's distinction between pictorial structure and logical structure, arguing that it stems from a disagreement with Wittgenstein of the Tractatus and yields a response to Irad Kimhi's (2018) criticisms of compositionalist picture-theoretic accounts of propositional complexity.


How does hope emerge as a life-altering possibility against the backdrop of economic precarity, political disregard, and soaring inequality? This paper explores the role of hope as both a political-economic construct and an infrastructural affect in the wake of policy implementation. It draws on a five-year ethnography among community leaders, housing activists, planners, politicians, state officials, and market representatives involved in the implementation of Minha Casa Minha Vida, Brazil's largest social housing program. In recent years, low-income projects have become the battleground for experimental, post-neoliberal forms of democratic governance via inclusive consumption. These public–private housing infrastructures give insight into the relationship between material hope and the making of Latin America's "pink tide" new middle classes: how grassroots communities organize around hierarchies of worthiness to allocate wellbeing-enhancing state benefits, and how the uneven distribution of these benefits sustains the constitution of emerging, albeit temporary, collectives of consumer citizens.


Abstract A biotype of green foxtail found in Spain exhibited cross-resistance among acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase)–inhibiting herbicides. Field doses that totally inhibited shoot fresh weight in the susceptible (S) biotype were determined for six aryloxyphenoxypropionates (clodinafop, diclofop, fenoxaprop-P, fluazifop-P, haloxyfop-P, and propaquizafop) and six cyclohexanediones (clefoxydim, clethodim, cycloxydim, sethoxydim, tepraloxydim, and tralkoxydim). The resistant (R) biotype showed cross-resistance to all herbicides except fenoxaprop-P, propaquizafop, clefoxydim, and tepraloxydim. There were no differences in the absorption, translocation, and metabolism of [14C]diclofop between the S and R biotypes. On the basis of herbicide dose that inhibited ACCase activity by 50% (I50 values), ACCase of the R biotype was 5.8-, 13.9-, 20.0-, 102.4-, 416.7-, and 625.0-fold less sensitive to clethodim, haloxyfop, diclofop, fluazifop, cycloxydim, and sethoxydim, respectively, than that of the S biotype. Two multifunctional ACCase isoforms (ACCase I and ACCase II) were purified partially and separated. ACCase II was highly resistant to diclofop acid in both biotypes, with I50 values ranging between 92 and 95 μM. However, the I50 values observed for ACCase I revealed that the R biotype was 30.8-fold less sensitive to diclofop than the S biotype. These results suggest the mechanism of resistance in green foxtail to diclofop relates to an altered ACCase I isoform. Nomenclature: Clefoxydim; clethodim; clodinafop; cycloxydim; diclofop; fenoxaprop; fluazifop-P; haloxyfop-P; propaquizafop; sethoxydim; tepraloxydim; tralkoxydim; green foxtail, Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv. SETVI.


Risk factors for hepatitis C infection include I.V. drug use (42%); history of blood transfusion (6%); exposure to multiple heterosexual partners (6%); exposure to a household contact (3%); health care employment (2%); or hemodialysis (1%). Forty percent of patients have no identifiable risk factors. The HCV is a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus. Six major genotypes have been identified; each contains a series of subtypes. In the U.S., prevalences are type 1 (74%); type 2 (15%); type 3 (6%); and type 4 (1%). Within an infected individual, HCV also exists as a spectrum of closely related genotypes referred to as a quasispecies, and more complex quasispecies correlate with longer duration of disease, higher levels of viremia, genotype 1 infection, and poorer response to interferon therapy. Diagnosis is made by measuring anti-HCV by EIA, with confirmation by RIBA or HCV RNA. Patients with chronic HCV infection, with or without aminotransferase elevation, have detectable serum RNA by PCR. Standard therapy is interferon alfa 2b (Intron A) at a dosage of 3 million units 3 times a week for 6 months. This results in a 40%-50% complete response at the end of treatment (normal aminotransferases and undetectable HCV RNA), but relapse occurs in 60%-80% of cases over the next six months. Longer (12 month to 18 month) courses are now widely advocated. Better patient selection, e.g., those with low serum HCV RNA levels and absence of cirrhosis, and increased duration of therapy may lead to better response rates. Combination therapy with other antiviral agents, such as ribavirin, has dramatically reduced relapse rates.


This article is devoted to the requirements that digital society proposes to educational organizations and employers. Educational organizations should improve the specialists' and employers' training quality as well as their participation in the evaluation of educational programs. Ensuring the quality of education is a task of all actors in the education system such as educational organizations, students, their parents, and employers. The authors carried out a study to determine employers' opinion on the question referring to training quality in Moscow higher schools. For this purpose, leading Moscow universities were selected that have the right to form and approve their own educational standards. The study has fixed the positive nature of the most publications in mass-media in relation to the largest Moscow universities. There is positive coverage of university graduates' employment and adaptation problems. The information reasons were universities activities that contribute to the improvement of the graduates' competence level. The study has revealed that the problems of evaluation and quality assurance of education are relevant not only for educational organizations, but also for employers. The research has determined that the requirements of the digital society development are such that educational organizations as producers and suppliers of labour should be more result-oriented, and employers should be directly involved in the formation and evaluation of the quality of educational programs.
Keywords: digital society, educational organizations, quality of education, employers, social and traditional media. Media messages, specialists, labour market, quality of education, Moscow universities


Introduction Milk fat is the most variable nutrient in milk, and recent studies have shown that rumen bacteria are closely related to milk fat. However, there is limited research on the relationship between rumen bacteria and milk fatty. Fatty acids (FAs) are an important component of milk fat and are associated with various potential benefits and risks to human health. Methods In this experiment, forty-five healthy Holstein dairy cows with alike physiological and productive conditions were selected from medium-sized dairy farms and raised under the same feeding and management conditions. The experimental period was two weeks. During the experiment, raw milk and rumen fluid were collected, and milk components were determined. In this study, 8 high milk fat percentage (HF) dairy cows and 8 low milk fat percentage (LF) dairy cows were selected for analysis. Results Results showed that the milk fat percentage in HF group was significantly greater than that of the dairy cows in the LF group. 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that the rumen bacterial abundance of HF dairy cows was significantly higher than that in LF dairy cows; at the genus level, the bacterial abundances of Prevotellaceae_UCG-001, Candidatus_Saccharimonas, Prevotellaceae_UCG-003, Ruminococcus_1, Lachnospiraceae_XPB1014_group, Lachnospiraceae_AC2044_group, probable_genus_10 and U29-B03 in HF group were significantly higher than those in the LF group. Spearman rank correlation analysis indicated that milk fat percentage was positively related to Prevotellaceae_UCG-001, Candidatus_Saccharimonas, Prevotellaceae_UCG-003, Ruminococcus_1, Lachnospiraceae_XPB1014_group, Lachnospiraceae_AC2044_group, probable_genus_10 and U29-B03. Furthermore, Prevotellaceae_UCG-001 was positively related to C14:0 iso, C15:0 iso, C18:0, Ruminococcus_1 with C18:1 t9, Lachnospiraceae_AC2044_group with C18:1 t9 and C18:1 t11, U29-B03 with C15:0 iso. Discussion To sum up, rumen bacteria in dairy cows are related to the variation of milk fat, and some rumen bacteria have potential effects on the deposition of certain fatty acids in raw milk.


In order to control adult blackflies in the upper reaches of the Ukawa River in Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture, the present study was conducted on the species composition and densities of adult female blackflies attracted to humans at a total of 22 sites in four areas in the upper reaches of the Ukawa River Basin from June to October in 2013. A total of 2,195 individual adult blackflies were captured from all sampling sites during the investigation periods. The average number of blackflies per site was 11.0 individuals/2 investigators·10 minutes. Noda was the highest capture area where we could collect 13.5 individuals/2 investigators·10 minutes, followed by the Joujou Area. The fewest captures were in the Ukawa Area (8.9 individuals/2 investigators·10 minutes). The dominant species was Simulium (Simulium) arakawae Matsumura, 1915 (397 total individuals, 99.5%), followed by Simulium (Simulium) oitanum (Shiraki, 1935) (2, 0.5%). The daily biting activity of female adult blackflies observed every two hours from 6:00 to 20:00 at four areas on August 10, 2013 peaked at 16:00‒18:00 (range from 62.5 to 89.1%, average±S.D. 75.0±11.0%).


The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of process shear stressors on the stability of a model monoclonal antibody, trastuzumab. Trastuzumab, at concentrations of 0.4–4.0 mg/mL, was subjected to sonication, freeze-thaw, lyophilisation, spray drying and was encapsulated into micro- and nanoparticles. The stressed samples were analysed for structural integrity by gel electrophoresis, SDS-PAGE, and size exclusion chromatography (SEC), while the conformational integrity was analysed by circular dichroism (CD). Biological activity of the stressed trastuzumab was investigated by measuring the inhibition of cell proliferation of HER-2 expressing cell lines. Results show that trastuzumab was resistant to the process shear stresses applied and to microencapsulation processes. At the lowest concentration of 0.4 mg/mL, a low percent (<9%) of soluble/reversible aggregates may have been formed. No loss of structural integrity, conformation was observed and no significant change in the biological activity of trastuzumab was observed (ANOVA; p > 0.05). The results of this study conclude that trastuzumab may be resistant to various processing stresses. These findings have important implications with respect to pharmaceutical processing of monoclonal antibodies.


Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) contributes to normal tissue patterning and carcinoma invasiveness. We show that transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta/activin members, but not bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) members, can induce EMT in normal human and mouse epithelial cells. EMT correlates with the ability of these ligands to induce growth arrest. Ectopic expression of all type I receptors of the TGF-beta superfamily establishes that TGF-beta but not BMP pathways can elicit EMT. Ectopic Smad2 or Smad3 together with Smad4 enhanced, whereas dominant-negative forms of Smad2, Smad3, or Smad4, and wild-type inhibitory Smad7, blocked TGF-beta-induced EMT. Transcriptomic analysis of EMT kinetics identified novel TGF-beta target genes with ligand-specific responses. Using a TGF-beta type I receptor that cannot activate Smads nor induce EMT, we found that Smad signaling is critical for regulation of all tested gene targets during EMT. One such gene, Id2, whose expression is repressed by TGF-beta1 but induced by BMP-7 is critical for regulation of at least one important myoepithelial marker, alpha-smooth muscle actin, during EMT. Thus, based on ligand-specific responsiveness and evolutionary conservation of the gene expression patterns, we begin deciphering a genetic network downstream of TGF-beta and predict functional links to the control of cell proliferation and EMT.


Abstract This study presents a model of optimal contracting for health services in the presence of excess demand and waiting times. We assume that: i) hospitals differ in their demand for treatment; ii) potential demand is private information of the provider; iii) specialists can dump patients; iv) activity and waiting times are contractible. A separating equilibrium exists when it is optimal for the purchaser to contract more activity and longer waiting times to those hospitals with higher demand. Hospitals with low demand gain informational rents. A pooling equilibrium may also occur.


Squeezed vacuum permits adjustment of its relative phase to a chosen signal. If the signal is used as the probe in an interferometric measurement, the signal-to-noise ratio can be improved. We propose a system that generates squeezed vacuum, which consists of a laser diode that produces amplitude squeezed states and is phaselocked to a coherent signal, and an alternate system consisting of two phase-locked laser diodes.


The incidence of coronary artery anomalies has been reported between 0.6 to 1.3% in angiographic series and 0.3% in autopsy series. An isolated single coronary artery (SCA) is even a rarer congenital anomaly occurring in approximately 0.02% of the population. The ectopic origin of the right coronary artery (RCA) from the left anterior descending (LAD) artery is relatively rare and more benign than other types of anomalous origin of the RCAs. We report a case of an adult male patient with SCA anomaly in which the RCA takes off from the mid LAD. To the best of our knowledge, SCA anomaly coinciding with ascending aortic aneurysm which was treated with Bentall operation has never been described before.


In the sport and physical activity (PA) field, enjoyment is a positive affective response to the sport experience (Scanlan & Simons, 1992) and it can also be considered an important factor in promoting active lifestyles and regular PA among school-aged children (Carraro, Young, & Robazza, 2008). Although PA enjoyment depends primarily on intrinsic factors, sport competence may influence PA enjoyment (Carroll & Loumidis, 2003). We investigated the effects of perceived sport competence on PA enjoyment, initially expecting that perceived sport competence could be predictive of high levels of PA enjoyment. At present, there are no studies in which the influences of perceived sport competence on PA enjoyment have been examined with Italian adolescents. A review revealed that the sport literature features only one study on this topic conducted with English children (Biddle, Wang, Chatzisarantis, & Spray, 2003) in which it was found that levels of sport competence did not seem to influence their levels of enjoyment. This study was carried out to increase the existing body of knowledge about the relationship between perceived sport competence and enjoyment.


Most stellar flares' soft X-ray light curves possess a 'typical' morphology, which consists of a rapid rise followed by a slow exponential decay. However, a study of 216 of the brightest flares on 161 pre-main-sequence stars, observed during the Chandra Orion Ultradeep Project (COUP), showed that many flare light curves depart from this typical morphology. While this can be attributed to the superposition of multiple typical flares, we explore the possibility that the time-variable eclipsing of flares by their host stars may also be an important factor. We assume each flare is contained within a single, uniform plasma density magnetic loop and specify the intrinsic variation of the flare's emission measure with time. We consider rotational eclipse not only by the star itself, but also by circumstellar discs and flare-associated prominences. Based on this simple model, we generate a set of flares similar to those observed in the COUP data base. Many eclipses simply reduce the flare's maximum emission measure or decay time. We conclude therefore that eclipses often pass undetected, but usually have only a modest influence on the flare emission measure profile and hence the derived loop lengths. We show that eclipsing can easily reproduce the observed atypical flare morphologies. The number of atypical modelled flare morphologies is, however, much less than that found in the COUP sample. The large number of observed atypical flare morphologies, therefore, must be attributed to other processes such as multiple flaring loops.


It is always interesting to see new approaches to old problems, and McMurry and Politis have provided some very stimulating ideas in their approach to autocovariance estimation and forecasting. I am particularly interested in the usefulness of their results for analysing and forecasting real time series. There are three potential uses of their methods for data analysis that I would like to explore. First, the standard ACF plot could be replaced by a plot based on a tapered estimate of the autocovariance matrix. Second, a corresponding PACF plot could be obtained using the Durbin-Levinson recursions applied to a tapered estimate of the autocovariance matrix. Third, the proposed FSO or PSO predictors could be used for forecasting real time series (as in fact the authors do in Section 5.4). I will reflect on each of these in turn.


A burn-related injury to a firefighter can result in a few weeks of missed duty, can require months of complex care at a burn center, and can also result in the end of a career. The greater Washington, DC metropolitan area has approximately 13 000 career and volunteer firefighters. The Burn Center at Washington Hospital Center, which serves the metropolitan region, reported treating 108 firefighter burn injuries in 2008. Through a partnership with the District of Columbia Fire Department and The Burn Center at Washington Hospital Center, the DC Firefighters Burn Foundation (DCFFBF) developed a Firefighter Burn Injury Awareness Course. This course is divided into two sections. The first part of the course covers information related to potential occupational hazards. Topics such as limitations of firefighter PPE, building construction, fire behaviour, hose streams, ventilation and the importance of proper training are discussed. This portion of the program also includes a section on burn injuries and utilises case studies of firefighters injured on the job. The second part of this course is taught from a medical perspective and stresses the seriousness of a burn injury. A burn professional details the painstaking journey from the time of injury, through surgery and treatment and on to rehabilitation and reconstruction. This comprehensive program was delivered to all 2400 uniformed members of the DCFD over a one-month period. Since implementation of this program, there has been a 20% decrease in firefighter burn injuries.


Abstract Knowledge of how animals move through the environment is important for predicting effects of habitat change on faunal distributions. Logging of tropical rain forests produces habitat changes on multiple scales that may affect movement and habitat use by small mammals. To explore the effects of such habitat changes, we compared movement and ranging patterns of the long-tailed giant rat (Leopoldamys sabanus) in logged and unlogged rain forests in Borneo. On a small scale, movement was quantified using spool-and-line tracks; on a larger scale, movement was quantified via radiotracking. At the small scale, paths (49 tracks of 55.2 m ± 20.7 SD each) were relatively straight, with similar step (straight-line section) length distributions in both forest types. At the larger scale, the rats (16 individuals tracked for 4 nights each, X̄ = 1,443 ± 991 m of movement per night) moved with similar speed through both forest types (mean distance covered per 10-min interval = 32 ± 45 m). Based on telemetry data, mean nightly activity periods for individual rats averaged 485 ± 109 min (areas covered = 2,083–9,829 m2), with no statistically significant differences between logged and unlogged forests. The large variability in individual movement parameters was not predicted by sex or forest type, suggesting that the paths taken were most likely responses to the local distribution of resources in a heterogeneous rain-forest environment. We conclude that the logged and unlogged forests did not differ with respect to features that are important to movement and ranging patterns of L. sabanus, suggesting that general differences associated with logging may not predict the effects of this type of disturbance on habitat use by individual species of small mammals.


Lost in Egypt's honeycombed hills, distanced by its western desert, or rendered inaccessible by subsequent urban occupation, the monumental decorated tombs of the Graeco-Roman period have received little scholarly attention. This volume serves to redress this deficiency. It explores the narrative pictorial programs of a group of decorated tombs from Ptolemaic and Roman-period Egypt (c.300 BCE–250 CE). Its aim is to recognize the tombs' commonalities and differences across ethnic divides and to determine the rationale that lies behind these connections and dissonances. This book sets the tomb programs within their social, political, and religious context and analyzes the manner in which the multicultural population of Graeco-Roman Egypt chose to negotiate death and the afterlife.


Background Rural health disparities and access gaps may contribute to higher maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. Understanding and addressing access barriers for specialty women's health services is important in mitigating risks for adverse childbirth events. The objective of this study was to investigate rural-urban differences in health care access for women of reproductive age by examining differences in past-year provider visit rates by provider type, and quantifying the contributing factors to these findings. Methods and findings Using a nationally-representative sample of reproductive age women (n = 37,026) from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2010–2015) linked to the Area Health Resource File, rural-urban differences in past-year office visit rates with health care providers were examined. Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis quantified the portion of disparities explained by individual- and county-level sociodemographic and provider supply characteristics. Overall, there were no rural-urban differences in past-year visits with women's health providers collectively (65.0% vs 62.4%), however differences were observed by provider type. Rural women had lower past-year obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) visit rates than urban women (23.3% vs. 26.6%), and higher visit rates with family medicine physicians (24.3% vs. 20.9%) and nurse practitioners/physician assistants (NPs/PAs) (24.6% vs. 16.1%). Lower OB-GYN availability in rural versus urban counties (6.1 vs. 13.7 providers/100,000 population) explained most of the rural disadvantage in OB-GYN visit rates (83.8%), and much of the higher family physician (80.9%) and NP/PA (50.1%) visit rates. Other individual- and county-level characteristics had smaller effects on rural-urban differences. Conclusion Although there were no overall rural-urban differences in past-year visit rates, the lower OB-GYN availability in rural areas appears to affect the types of health care providers seen by women. Whether rural women are receiving adequate specialized women's health care services, while seeing a different cadre of providers, warrants further investigation and has particular relevance for women experiencing high-risk pregnancies and deliveries.


Sustainable cocoa production demands a range of biophysical conditions of land. The paper reports on the levels of sustainability of cocoa production on different soil types under different tree cover intensities. Geographic Information System (GIS) analytical functionalities were extensively applied in the study. The spatial distribution of cocoa was modeled from geo-located samples, and related to tree cover generated from Landsat ETM+ image for 2000 and soils types. There was a strong spatial association between cocoa density-distribution surface, soil types and tree cover. It was observed that soils that are naturally suitable for cocoa were still supporting extensive cocoa farms, whereas unsuitable lands that were initially cultivated with cocoa had only remnant or no cocoa farms. The outcome of this study indicates that decisions for cocoa cultivation should be informed by accurate information on the suitability of lands for sustainable production.


A major challenge for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) professionals is how to address the learning needs of diverse learners for whom a monolithic, native-normed version of English is no longer always useful or appropriate. Research in Global Englishes (GE) has noted many teachers' resistance to the adoption of a more "plurilithic" orientation. This study explores whether monolithic beliefs can be effectively challenged using practitioner role models. Video clips featuring early-career English teachers from Germany and China modeling a plurilithic orientation were played to pre-service teachers with the same L1 ("near peers") or different L1s ("more distant peers"). Before viewing, participants responded to a questionnaire assessing their beliefs about English. Immediately following viewing, open-ended reactions to the video content were collected. One month later, participants answered the questionnaire again to measure potential changes in belief. After a further 5 months, a small group of participants were interviewed to explore impacts in greater depth. Data indicate that viewing the role models was a positive experience for most participants and was associated with significant increases in plurilithic orientation for near peers, with evidence of enduring impact for some. We interpret these


A low-density rain gauge network is always a major obstacle for hydrological modelling, particularly for alpine and remote regions. The availability of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) rainfall products provides an opportunity for hydrological modelling, although the results must be validated and corrected before they can be used in further applications. In this paper, the combination of proportional coefficients with cross-checking by hydrological modelling was proposed as a method to improve the quality of TRMM data in a rural mountainous region, the Hotan River Basin. The performance of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was examined using streamflow and snow cover measurements. The corrected results suggest that the proportional coefficient approach could effectively improve the TRMM data quality. A verification of the hydrological model outputs indicated that the simulated streamflow was consistent with the observed runoff. Moreover, the modelled snow cover patterns presented similar spatial and temporal variations to the remotely sensed snow cover, and the correlation coefficient ranged from 0.63 to 0.98. The results from the TRMM correction and hydrological simulation approach indicated that this method can significantly improve the precision of TRMM data and can meet the requirements of hydrological modelling.


I had thought that my longstanding romance with niacin was finally over. Although it was a very early love of mine, reluctantly I had gone along with the mainstream consensus. It seemed that niacin had been sent into nearpermanent pharmaceutical exile by the devastating one-two punches of the AIM HIGH (Atherothrombosis Intervention in Metabolic Syndrome With Low HDL/High Triglycerides: Impact on Global Health Outcomes) and the HPS2-THRIVE (Treatment of HDL to Reduce the Incidence of Vascular Events) studies. I had even stopped taking my own selfprescribed niacin 2,500 mg twice a day, which I had been religiously consuming for over 2 decades. But before long, I found that I had real difficulty divorcing myself completely from the charms of this lipid-lowering Lorelei. Now, after agonizing over the issue for some time, I'm here to tell you that niacin almost certainly did get a bum rap and should be restored as an important tool in your therapeutic armamentarium. A recent report that niacin seems to function partially as an inhibitor of the PCSK-9 enzyme accelerated my reconsideration. The inhibition of PCSK-9, an enzyme that removes low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) receptors from hepatocytes, is the hot new way of dropping LDL-C levels. And I mean really dropping LDL-C levels. Studies conducted with investigational compounds developed by Amgen and Pfizer have shown truly dramatic drops in LDL-C levels by as much as 80%—often down to ridiculously low levels (around 25 mg/dL). Of course, we are still waiting for outcome trials, which will answer the critical question: Are these dramatic falls in LDL-C levels actually associated with meaningful reductions in the occurrence rates for cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction and stroke? For now, inhibiting PCSK-9 seems to be a good way to change the lipid profile dramatically. Even if niacin is not nearly as potent an inhibitor of the PCSK-9 enzymes as some newer compounds, the fact that it has measurable inhibiting activity seems enough to earn it a second look. The concerns over niacin derive almost entirely from the results of the AIM HIGH study and the HPS2THRIVE trials. Thus, any effort to rehabilitate niacin will require a reckoning with each of these major trials. I was one of the original AIM HIGH investigators, but our study site at the Phoenix VA eventually was removed from the trial because of poor enrollment. Nonetheless, I had a front-row seat to observe the conduct of the trial, and it seemed less than optimal. The relatively infrequent monitor visits for this study probably contributed to the finding that the lipid differences between the 2 study groups were considerably smaller than they could have been. It was my impression that study sites did not have their feet held to the fire when niacin compliance became problematic for subjects randomized to the larger dose of niacin. The study design also contributed to blunting the difference between the 2 study groups. Subjects in the control group actually received 200 mg of immediate-release niacin to help blind the study by ensuring that all subjects experienced a niacin flush. The statin dose wound up being higher in the control group, and the use of the addon lipid-lowering agent ezetimibe was also greater (22% vs 10%) in the control group. All these factors would tend to blunt the differences between the 2 groups, and indeed lipid levels did improve significantly in both groups. To add insult to injury, the trial was stopped after just 3 years. A number of other lipid trials that were ultimately positive had not yet reached a statistically significant separation between the control and the experimental groups after that relatively brief study interval. Although these study flaws are hardly fatal, when taken together, they suggest the need to maintain an open mind. If niacin is like Brylcreem and "a little dab'll do ya," then the small dusting received by the control subjects might have been cardioprotective enough to blunt any differences in event rates between the 2 groups, especially over the truncated period of the actual trial. What about the much larger HPS2THRIVE study; surely there can't be similar flaws in that study as well? Well, a critical review identifies a number of significant shortcomings. Although conducted by British academics through the Medical Research Council, the trial was funded and largely designed by Merck, which had hoped it would demonstrate the clinical utility of its new combination of extended-release niacin and an antiflushing agent called laropiprant, a prostaglandin-inhibiting compound. One has only to remember the fiasco with the cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitor celecoxib to recognize the potential


This paper investigates design of robust hierarchical control for linear multi-agent systems (MAS) subject to polytopic uncertainty and external disturbance. Each agent of MAS is described by a homogeneous linear time-invariant dynamic model. The control structure has two layers, namely, an upper layer and a lower layer. Local actions are executed in the lower layer. Each agent shares information through an undirected graph with neighboring agents in the upper layer to achieve the global stabilization and disturbance attenuation. We employ a parameter-dependent Lyapunov function to formulate the robust control design of the local and global feedback in terms of bilinear matrix inequalities and incorporate constraints on disturbance attenuation. We propose the sufficient condition, where system matrices and Lyapunov variables are separated. The parameterization of the controller depends on a common slack variable instead of the Lyapunov matrices. We develop an iterative approach based on the coordinated optimization to solve sub-problems over linear matrix inequalities. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed robust control designs. It is shown that our proposed robust control designs outperform other robust control designs in terms of achievable disturbance attenuation and maximum admissible uncertainty bound.


This paper describes a probabilistic method for verifying the equivalence of two multiple-valued functions. Each function is hashed to an integer code by transforming it to a integer-valued polynomial and the equivalence of two polynomials is checked probabilistically. The hash codes for two equivalent functions are always the same. Thus, the equivalence of two functions can be verified with a known probability of error, arising from collisions between inequivalent functions. Such a probabilistic verification can be an attractive alternative for verifying functions that are too large to be handled by deterministic verification methods.


This article applies scaled unscented transformation to the simultaneous localization and map building algorithm in two different ways. One is for the entire vehicle-map states by replacing EKF with the unscented Kalman filtering (UKF) to carry on the state estimation; the other is for the vehicle states by using the EKF both in the prediction of the map feature and the update of the complete state vector. The plentiful Monter-Carlo simulations were carried out to evaluate the algorithms' performance. The simulation results indicate that both two methods can reduce the EKF linearization error effectively, and the second method is more efficient in computation.


The optical properties of Se-Te thin films deposited on glass substrates by vacuum evaporation technique were studied. The amorphous nature of thin films was detected by X-ray diffraction. The optical properties of thin films have been studied in the wavelength range 200–800 nm. The mechanism of optical absorption follows the allowed 'non-direct electronic transition' model proposed by Tauc. It was found that the optical band gap Eg decreases while the width of localized states (Urbach energy) Ec increases as Te content increases.


Extrastriate visual areas on the banks of the middle suprasylvian sulcus were inactivated by cooling to assess the behavioral contribution of this cortical region to the extraction of a stationary figure from a moving mask. Cooling blocked figure-ground separation when the mask was moving but had no influence when the mask was static. This difference provides strong evidence that the areas bounding the middle suprasylvian sulcus contribute to the neural separation of stationary from moving visual stimuli.


Parental control is an integral part of parent-child relations and a traditional tool of socialization. However, numerous negative effects of parental intervention in the child's inner world are known. This study clarifies the delayed effects of parental control and a detached parenting style. 270 men and women are aged 35-44 years filled in the questionnaires of hardiness, the sovereignty of the psychological space, and perceived behavior by the father and mother. The results confirmed the prevalence of parental control, especially its manifestations on the part of mothers about daughters. In adult women's lives, mothers' directiveness correlates with hostility and violation of personal boundaries as regards the body, personal territory, things, habits, social connections, and values; men noted maternal interference in the formation of sovereign habits and values. At the same time, parental non-involvement is widespread; the autonomy of fathers about children is significantly greater than mothers. Correlation analysis confirmed the assumption that parental directivity/autonomy determines the hardiness and sense of integrity of personal boundaries in adulthood. The effect of parental control in adulthood depends on the gender of the children and the parents. Maternal control is a strong negative factor for daughters, while maternal autonomy positively correlates with indicators of hardiness. Paternal control was a neutral factor for daughters. For sons, the directivity of father and mother contributes to the formation of resilience. The conclusion was made about the need for differentiation of positive and negative effects of parental control, taking into account gender positions.


In high-tech systems design, couplings between the domains of control engineering and real-time software need to be considered. Here, we focus on the coupling between the latency and jitter in the real-time software, i.e. time-delay in control terms, and the stability of the controlled system. It is well known that time-delays can destabilize the system. In the area of Networked Control Systems (NCSs) [3] time-varying delays occur due to the use of a communication network. Here, we propose a stability test for NCSs with time-varying delays.


In this study on 60 adult subjects, the effective of Parodontax, a dentifrice containing herbal ingredients and sodium bicarbonate abrasive, was compared to a non-marketed new toothpaste containing herbal ingredients and calcium hydrogen phosphate as the abrasive. Plaque, gingivitis and gingival bleeding parameters were scored. The periodontal probe bleeding index of Ainamo and Bay was modified to score slight and moderate bleeding. In this first four-week period all subjects used the new toothpaste. After this period the new toothpaste produced a significant decrease (p<0.01) in gingivitis and bleeding on probing, but no effect on plaque was observed. During the second period of eight weeks the subjects were randomly divided into two groups, one using Parodontax and the other group continuing with the new toothpaste. The study design was a double-blind procedure. At the end of the 12-week study period the plaque index showed no changes in both groups. The gingivitis and bleeding indices decreased significantly (p<0.001) by 40% in both groups compared to the baseline examination.


Samples from four drill sites in Prydz Bay, East Antarctica, were examined with the aim of determining the age of the oldest lithological units penetrated at each site. Lithological considerations have made age assessment difficult; most samples are diamictites, and contain several generations of pollen and spores which have been recycled from older deposits by glacial processes. Palynomorphs identified fall into three major groups; Permian spores and pollen, Cretaceous and Tertiary spores and pollen, and early Tertiary dinoflagellates. At Site 740, where reddish and green sandstones and siltstones represent the oldest part of the drilled sequence, recovery of palynomorphs was too sparse to resolve the age of this unit. At Site 741, grey sandstones and siltstones at the sampled base yielded an abundance of Early Cretaceous, probably Albian, spores and pollen; there is little evidence for a recycled origin. At Site 742, the oldest sampled section yielded depauperate spore and pollen floras which are possibly Late Cretaceous in age, although rare Eocene dinoflagellates are present. Basal sediments at Site 739 are diamictites which contain sparse, apparently recycled floras, and must be as young as Eocene or Oligocene.


BACKGROUND
The role of cognitive reserve (CR) to explain individual differences in cognitive functioning is unclear in memory clinic patients.

OBJECTIVE
To examine the cross-sectional effect of CR on cognition in relation to levels of neurodegeneration in a large elderly single-center memory clinic population.

METHODS
We included patients with subjective cognitive impairment (SCI, n = 481), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 628) or Alzheimer's disease (AD, n = 1,099). Education was used as proxy for CR and visually rated medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) on CT was used as parameter of neurodegeneration. Relations between CR, cognition, and MTA were analyzed with multiple linear regression adjusted for age, sex, and cerebral atrophy. In addition, we examined if education affects the relation between MTA and cognition using an interaction variable.

RESULTS
Education was significantly related to all measures of cognition including subtests with an explained variance of education as a determinant of cognition of 11%. More highly educated patients had more advanced levels of MTA at the same level of cognition. All these results were stronger or only present in demented compared to non-demented patients but appeared no longer significant in those with lowest overall cognition. The interaction effect was significant indicating that with more advanced MTA, less cognitive decline was shown in higher educated patients.

CONCLUSION
Education is a very strong determinant of cognition in an elderly memory clinic population. The positive effect of education was stronger in demented than in non-demented patients but disappeared in those with the lowest cognitive scores indicating a "window of CR benefit".


After removal of an acoustic neuroma by the suboccipital route cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea was observed. This procedure was complicated by meningitis and pneumatocephalus. Finally, after one neurosurgical and four otosurgical interventions, the cerebrospinal fluid leak was identified in the membrane of the round window. It was plugged with a fascial graft.


The authors report on photomixing terahertz sources that overcome the transit time versus RC-time trade-off and allow for independent optimization of both of them, using a n-i-p-n-i-p superlattice. Furthermore, they take advantage of ballistic transport for reduced transit times. Apart from more favorable material parameters, In(Al)GaAs photomixers benefit from the advanced telecommunication laser technology around 1.55μm as compared to GaAs. In such devices, a terahertz-power output of 1μW has been achieved at 0.4THz at a photocurrent of 3.8mA. A comparison between corresponding GaAs- and InGaAs-based n-i-p-n-i-p photomixers reveals an improvement of performance by at least an order of magnitude for the latter one.


Although spoken language was the subject of attention among Soviet linguists for a short period in the 1920s, it has not attracted much attention since then. The main concern of Soviet linguists has been the forms of written language. Only at the end of the 1960s did linguists begin to record spontaneous speech on tape and study its forms. The.impetus came partly from literature, where a young generation of writers produced "living speech" that no traditional grammar could account for. The studies of Russian impromptu speech have mostly concentrated on syntax., since that is where the greatest differences have been found in comparison with written language. (Author/MSE) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** THE STUDY OF RUSSIAN


Since the turn of the century, many activists in India have passionately and deliberately practiced sexual politics with the word 'lesbian', rather than using an indigenous term or a less contentious English language substitute that captures their political stakes. These positions may seem awry when dominant political wisdom currently implores a relinquishing of unified sexual identities and an eschewal of Western sexual identity terms for people and politics in non-Western settings. However, as incongruous as the political retention of the category lesbian may seem in this context, there is a lack of field-based research in India on precisely what is at stake for groups themselves in persisting with this term in their political work. This dissertation examines what the word 'lesbian' constitutes for Indian activists who have insisted on retaining the category to mobilize their political activities. It explores how these groups reconstitute the category in the course of their activism. It suggests that it is not possible to approach questions of political deployments of the category lesbian without an internal view of activist engagements. Group histories, movement careers, interpersonal relationships, infighting, and activists' life experiences are rich sources of such information that do not get adequately registered in a focus on the macro environments of activism. These aspects will be the focus of this research. The dissertation addresses the widely remarked gap between what activists do by banking on 'lesbian' and 'gay' identity terms and what theorists do by destabilizing those terms. What are activists' personal stakes in this category? How are their political affiliations reflected in their use of the term? How do they negotiate the competing demands of practice versus theory, unified political identity versus its deconstruction? What binds them to the category in terms of affect? How does their political work resignify the category of lesbian in the sexual political landscape of India? I approach these questions through the methodological framework of identity work, suggesting that any identity that is part of political labor has to be accomplished through activities. Using four case studies, I investigate the premium groups of Indian activists have placed on the word 'lesbian' across four instances of their identity work with the word: 1. Stree Sangam's re-naming activity; 2. CALERI's mandate for 'lesbian' visibility; 3. the Loving Women working class 'lesbian' life history research; and 4. the Sahayatrika Project's human rights documentation of "'lesbian' suicide." Broadly the dissertation argues that in order to apprehend the various deployments and meanings of the category lesbian in Indian contexts, an account of the multiple investments informing individual and collective identity work is necessary. By 'investments' I mean personal, political and affective interests that arise in the category 'lesbian' as a result of activists' identity work with, on, and around this word. I am concerned with the continuous conscious negotiation of those investments as activists constantly seek to accomplish the 'lesbian' articulation that mobilizes their activity.


The author reviews The Revolutionary Romanticism of Shelley, a critical biography by I. Neupokoeva (Goslitizdat, Moscow, 1959, 470 pp.) which shows the poet as a child of his age and relates his creative output to his social as well as his esthetic views. Literaturnaya Gazeta, 1961, No. 3.


Despite the significant importance of camels to Sudanese economy but their markets still not well developed. The main constraints include poor market infrastructure, lack of market organization, inadequacy of market finance and transport services, these constraints are affecting marketing efficiency. Information of spatial market integration provides indication of competitiveness, the effectiveness of arbitrage, and the efficiency of pricing, however, markets that are not integrated may convey inaccurate price signal that might distort producers marketing decisions and contribute to inefficient production. The main objective of this study is to investigate price movements among important camel markets in Sudan to explore their performance and pricing efficiency. The study focused on scrutinizing the Camel markets in Sudan by considering the prices of five livestock markets which were Elobied, Omdurman, Sennar and Nyala. The study covered the periods from January 1995 to December 2011. The results showed that Omdurman camel market transforms the signal of prices toward other markets in the long run concluded that these markets were cointegrated, and the system was centered on Omdurman which mean the market was demand driven in the long run. Policies may draw attention to turn consumer behavior towards camel meat consumption. Clear strategy may be developed to improve the camel meat industry and exporting activities through developing the slaughterhouse and freezing, cooling storage, transportation and insures the health services in national capital.


Rats were trained in a straight runway on a series consisting of 4 elements, each element being defined in terms of the number of .045-gm. Noyes pellets used as reward on 4 runway trials separated by about 20 sec. The series elements were 2, 6, 12, and 0 (2-6-12-0). The animals were trained each day on 3 such series, the series themselves being separated within a day by about 12 min. for 28 days before introducing a new transfer series to assess the relevance of the order of the series elements. In previous experiments with the simpler series, 2-12-0, alterations in order of elements eliminated the animals' tendencies to run much slower to the terminal nonreward element of the series, but transfer was clearly shown here when we shifted from 2-6-12-0 to 6-12-2-0. That is, the animals continued on the transfer test to approach the terminal element slowly, a result which we interpret as supporting the view that the rats either counted the rewarded trials and used that count to predict terminal nonreward, or they behaved on the basis of cues associated with the ordinal position of the trial.


The characterization of future wave-storms and their relationship to large-scale climate can provide useful information for environmental or urban planning at coastal areas. A hybrid methodology (process-based and statistical) was used to characterize the extreme wave-climate at the northwestern Black Sea. The Simulating WAve Nearshore spectral wave-model was employed to produce wave-climate projections, forced with wind-fields projections for two climate change scenarios: Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5. A non-stationary multivariate statistical model was built, considering significant wave-height and peak-wave-period at the peak of the wave-storm, as well as storm total energy and storm-duration. The climate indices of the North Atlantic Oscillation, East Atlantic Pattern, and Scandinavian Pattern have been used as covariates to link to storminess, wave-storm threshold, and wave-storm components in the statistical model. The results show that, first, under both RCP scenarios, the mean values of significant wave-height and peak-wave-period at the peak of the wave-storm remain fairly constant over the 21st century. Second, the mean value of storm total energy is more markedly increasing in the RCP4.5 scenario than in the RCP8.5 scenario. Third, the mean value of storm-duration is increasing in the RCP4.5 scenario, as opposed to the constant trend in the RCP8.5 scenario. The variance of each wave-storm component increases when the corresponding mean value increases under both RCP scenarios. During the 21st century, the East Atlantic Pattern and changes in its pattern have a special influence on wave-storm conditions. Apart from the individual characteristics of each wave-storm component, wave-storms with both extreme energy and duration can be expected in the 21st century. The dependence between all the wave-storm components is moderate, but grows with time and, in general, the severe emission scenario of RCP8.5 presents less dependence between storm total energy and storm-duration and among wave-storm components.


Low birth weight (LBW) is a risk factor for neonatal and infant morbidity and mortality. In Brazil the highest percentages of low birth weight occur in regions of higher socio-economic status. The scope of this article is to ascertain the spatial distribution of low birth weight rates and the correlation with social and service indicators. The scale is ecological taking all the Brazilian states as units of analysis. The spatial analysis technique is the methodology used together with data from SINASC, IPEA and IBGE for 2009. Higher rates of low birth weight are found in the south/southeastern states (Global Moran: 0.267, p = 0.02). Clusters of the high-high type in the Southeast and of the low-low variety in states in the Amazon region are detected. The spatial inequality of low birth weight reflects the socio-economic conditions of the states. More developed regions have higher rates of low birth weight, therefore, the presence of the service and its use decrease infant mortality and increase LBW.


This paper was presented at the 9th Tamil Internet Conference 2010, held in Coimbatore, India from 23 – 27 Jun 2010


Shwasakuthara Rasa (SKR) is a well known herbo-mineral formulation indicated in all kinds of Shwasa and Kasa. It is a Khalveeya Rasayana. In different classics SKR has been present with different composition. Aims and Objectives: In current attempt all references were compiled and studied in terms of their composition, method of preparation, dose, adjuvants and indications and contribution of various texts regarding these formulations. Materials and Methods: References of SKR were collected from various available classical texts, some dissertations, and articles from various journals were also reviewed in this attempt. Results: Shwasakuthara Rasa, Prathama Shwasakuthara Rasa, Dwiteeya Shwasakuthara Rasa, Maha Shwasakuthara Rasa, Bruhat Shwasakuthara Rasa, Shwasari Rasa are the different names given to it. In all these formulations the ingredients remains the same, but the quantity of Maricha varies from one part to ten parts and Pippali, Shunti varies from one part to six parts each. Conclusion: SKR is first time mentioned in Rasendra Sara Sangraha of 15th century AD. Shwasakuthara Rasa is the name given in maximum texts which is Sagandha, Niragni Khalveeya rasa yoga having Maricha as a chief ingredient in maximum references.Â


This paper presents a study of the attenuation of broadband random acoustic disturbances, when using a feedback active headrest system, as originally suggested by Olson and May. Previous studies showed that a practical active headrest can be designed for tonal disturbances using feedforward controllers. However, many applications, such as jet aircraft and cars, require feedback systems to control random disturbances over a wide frequency bandwidth. In this work, robust feedback controllers are designed to control broadband random disturbances in the low-frequency range based on measured data from a laboratory headrest system. The results show that a practically useful performance can be achieved, but only if the controller is designed to minimize the pressure at a "virtual microphone" close to the listener's ears, and that the performance is maintained reasonably well with movements of the listener's head. The paper emphasizes the importance of both the acoustics and the control in the design of broadband active headrest systems.


Landslides cause every year worldwide severe damages to the population. A quantitative knowledge of the impact of landsliding phenomena on the society is fundamental for a proper and accurate assessment of the risk posed by such natural hazards. In this work, a novel approach is proposed to evaluate the spatial and temporal distribution of societal landslide risk from historical, sparse, point information on fatal landslides and their direct human consequence.s (Rossi et al., Accepted). The approach was tested in Italy, using a detailed catalogue listing 5571 fatalities caused by 1017 landslides at 958 sites across Italy, in the 155-year period 1861 – 2015. The model adopting a Zipf distribution to evaluate societal landslide risk for the whole of Italy, and for seven physiographic and 20 administrative subdivisions of Italy. The model is able to provide estimates of the frequency (and the probability) of fatal landslides, based on the parameters, namely (i) the largest magnitude landslide F, (ii) the number of fatal events E, and (iii) the scaling exponent of the Zipf distribution s, which controls the relative proportion of low vs. large magnitude landslides. Different grid spacings, g and circular kernel sizes, r were tested finally adopting g = 10 km and r = 55 km. Using such geometrical model configuration, the values of the F, E and s parameters were derived for each grid cells revealing the complexity of landslide risk in Italy, which cannot be described properly with a single set of such parameters. Based on such modeling configuration. This model configuration allowed to estimate different risk scenarios for landslides of increasing magnitudes, which were validated checking the anticipated return period of the fatal events against information on 130 fatal landslides between 1000 and 1860, and eleven fatal landslides between January 2016 and August 2018. Despite incompleteness in the old part of the record for the low magnitude landslides, and the short length and limited number of events in the recent period 2016 – 2018, the anticipated return periods are in good agreement with the occurrence of fatal landslides in both validation periods. Despite the known difficulty in modelling sparse datasets, the proposed approach was able to provide a coherent and realistic representation and new insight on the spatial and temporal variations of societal landslide risk in Italy.


Brazil nut oil is highly valued in the food, cosmetic, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, as well as other sectors of the economy. This work aims to use the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) technique associated with partial least squares regression (PLSR) and principal component analysis (PCA) to demonstrate that these methods can be used in a prior and rapid analysis in quality control. Natural oils were extracted and stored for chemical analysis. PCA presented two groups regarding the state of degradation, subdivided into super-degraded and partially degraded groups in 99.88% of the explained variance. The applied PLS reported an acidity index (AI) prediction model with root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC) = 1.8564, root mean square error of cross-validation (REMSECV) = 4.2641, root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) = 2.1491, R2cal (calibration correlation coefficient) equal to 0.9679, R2val (validation correlation coefficient) equal to 0.8474, and R2pred (prediction correlation coefficient) equal to 0, 8468. The peroxide index (PI) prediction model showed RMSEC = 0.0005, REMSECV = 0.0016, RMSEP = 0.00079, calibration R2 equal to 0.9670, cross-validation R2 equal to 0.7149, and R2 of prediction equal to 0.9099. The physical–chemical analyses identified that five samples fit in the food sector and the others fit in other sectors of the economy. In this way, the preliminary monitoring of the state of degradation was reported, and the prediction models of the peroxide and acidity indexes in Brazil nut oil for quality control were determined.


Toxic megacolon is the most dreadful complication arising in patients affected with inflammatory bowel diseases. Its incidence is rather rare, bur mortality rate is significantly high (about 40% of cases). Pathological modifications occurring in toxic megacolon deeply influence evolution and prognosis of this complication and, consequently, surgical choices. Starting from the pathophysiology of toxic megacolon, the Authors review their experience with acute colitis, emphasizing the need for a radical treatment, as only total colectomy can assure, versus Turnbull's operation or more decompression of the bowel. To save the colon means, in fact, to leave the source of sepsis "in situ". The authors experienced Turnbull's procedure only in one of the patients observed with "quoad vitam" poor results.


Studies have linked dysbiosis of gut microbiota to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). However, dysbiosis only referring to structural changes without functional alteration or focusing on luminal microbiota are incomplete. To fully investigate the relationship between gut microbiota and clinical symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Diarrhea (IBS-D), fecal samples, and rectal mucosal biopsies were collected from 69 IBS-D patients and 20 healthy controls (HCs) before and during endoscopy without bowel preparation. 16S rRNA genes were amplified and sequenced, and QIIME pipeline was used to process the composition of microbial communities. PICRUSt was used to predict and categorize microbial function. The composition of mucosa-associated microbiota (MAM) was significantly different in IBS-D patients compared to HCs; while no difference in luminal microbiota (LM). MAM, but not LM, was significantly positively correlated with abdominal pain and bloating. A greater number of MAM functional genes changed in IBS-D patients than that of LM compared with HCs. Metabolic alteration in MAM not in LM was related to abdominal pain and bloating. There was a close relationship between the composition and function of MAM and clinical symptoms in IBS-D patients which suggests the important role of MAM in pathogenesis and therapies in IBS-D and it should be highlighted in the future.


We present a stereo algorithm designed for speed and efficiency that uses local slanted plane sweeps to propose disparity hypotheses for a semi-global matching algorithm. Our local plane hypotheses are derived from initial sparse feature correspondences followed by an iterative clustering step. Local plane sweeps are then performed around each slanted plane to produce out-of-plane parallax and matching-cost estimates. A final global optimization stage, implemented using semi-global matching, assigns each pixel to one of the local plane hypotheses. By only exploring a small fraction of the whole disparity space volume, our technique achieves significant speedups over previous algorithms and achieves state-of-the-art accuracy on high-resolution stereo pairs of up to 19 megapixels.


Melanocytes are essential for skin homeostasis and protection, and their defects in humans lead to a wide array of diseases that are potentially extremely severe. To date, the analysis of molecular mechanisms and the function of human melanocytes have been limited because of the difficulties in accessing large numbers of cells with the specific phenotypes. This issue can now be addressed via a differentiation protocol that allows melanocytes to be obtained from pluripotent stem cell lines, either induced or of embryonic origin, based on the use of moderate concentrations of a single cytokine, bone morphogenic protein 4. Human melanocytes derived from pluripotent stem cells exhibit all the characteristic features of their adult counterparts. This includes the enzymatic machinery required for the production and functional delivery of melanin to keratinocytes. Melanocytes also integrate appropriately into organotypic epidermis reconstructed in vitro. The availability of human cells committed to the melanocytic lineage in vitro will enable the investigation of those mechanisms that guide the developmental processes and will facilitate analysis of the molecular mechanisms responsible for genetic diseases. Access to an unlimited resource may also prove a vital tool for the treatment of hypopigmentation disorders when donors with matching haplotypes become available in clinically relevant banks of pluripotent stem cell lines.


Red pepper is dried for use as a spice. When using solar energy to dry it, there are no energy costs but using other energy sources such as fuel or electricity, the production cost of red pepper spice increase. Due to the fact that energy is becoming expensive globally, it can be envisaged that osmotic dehydration gains more popularity as a pre-processing dehydration step. In this study, red pepper samples were cut into square and immersed in the osmotic solutions prepared at three different concentrations, a defined ratio (sample/solution; g/ml) and several temperatures during osmotic dehydration process time. Water activity, color, solid content, water loss and solid gain of samples were determined during osmotic dehydration process taking place in solutions at different concentration, temperature and time. Statistically, all dependent variables have effect on osmotic dehydration. 60 min of the process was found as the critical point for water loss-solid gain relation. The effect of concentration was significant on water activity of sample. Water activities of samples whose initials were greater than 0.90 reduced below the level of 0.8 at the end of dehydration time, with the exception of a few samples; visible color values were influenced by the process. Key words: Red pepper, sea salt, water activity color, osmotic dehydration.


Specific genotype-phenotype correlations have been identified in conventional-type papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC). In contrast, the genetic alterations underlying the pathogenesis of the follicular variant of PTC (FV-PTC), which shares some clinicopathologic and molecular features with both PTC and FTC, remain to be clarified. This entity shows a PAX8-PPARg fusion gene (associated with FTC), more frequently than BRAF or RET-PTC alterations (associated with PTC). Herein, we report, for the first time, an FV-PTC with the simultaneous occurrence of both RET-PTC and PAX8-PPARg alterations. Neoplastic cells were of the wild type for BRAF and H,K,N-RAS, had an apparently normal karyotype by conventional cytogenetics, and had a balanced genome by array comparative genomic hybridization analysis. In fact, submicroscopic chromosome rearrangements producing RET-PTC3 and PAX8-PPARg chimeric genes were found by interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization. We demonstrated that these 2 genetic alterations coexisted in the same tumor and were confined to 2 different clones. Our findings indicate that molecular heterogeneity, although an uncommon phenomenon, may occur in thyroid carcinoma and demonstrate the coexistence in a case of FV-PTC not only of the histologic but also of the molecular features of both PTC (RET-PTC) and FTC (PAX8-PPARg).


Kutcher, H. R., Turkington, T. K., Clayton, G. W. and Harker, K. N. 2013. Response of herbicide-tolerant canola (Brassica napusL.) cultivars to four row spacings and three seeding rates in a no-till production system. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 1229-1236. Appropriate management practices are important to reduce input costs and to optimize yield and crop quality. The objective of this study was to determine the optimum row spacing (23, 31, 46 and 61 cm) and seeding rate (3.2, 6.4 and 9.6 kg ha-1, or 87, 173 and 260 seeds planted m-2) for two herbicide-tolerant canola (Brassica napus L.) cultivars (an open-pollinated and a hybrid) under a no-till production system. Plant density and yield varied with row spacing, with the effect being linear in both cases. Plant density decreased with wider row spacing, from 112 plants m-2 at the 23-cm row spacing to 83 plants m-2 at the 61-cm row spacing. Yield decreased with wider row spacing, from 2397 kg ha-1 at the 23-cm row spacing to 2138 kg ha-1 at the 61-cm row spacing. Results from this study indicate that herbicide-tolerant cultivars of canola grown in no-till production systems under conditions of adequate soil fertility, effective weed management, minimal disease pressure, and good flea beetle control, produced the highest plant densities and yields at row spacing of 24-31 cm, that seeding rates in the range of 3.2-9.6 kg ha-1 had no effects on yield, and that a hybrid cultivar performed better than open-pollinated cultivars in terms of plant density, earliness and duration of flowering, and seed size. The study helps to better define the response of plant density and seed yield in herbicide-tolerant canola cultivars to changes in row spacing and seeding rate. In particular, the results of this study suggest that plant density may not be a reliable predictor of canola yield, although row spacing is an important consideration.


In the following study genomic DNA was extracted from eight Jasmine species. DNA fingerprinting was performed by the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR. RAPD has been one of the most commonly used molecular techniques to develop DNA markers since it does not require prior knowledge of a DNA sequence. RAPDPCR produced a spectrum of amplification products which are characteristics of the selected Jasmine DNA. From the DNA fingerprinting, Dendrogram was constructed and genetic similarity matrix were estimated which revealed variations between selected species of Jasmine. A total of 15 random primers were used for conducting the RAPD analysis. The primers were OPZ5, OPZ6, OPZ7, OPZ8, OPZ9, OPZ10, OPZ11, OPZ12, OPZ13, OPZ14, OPZ15, OPZ18, OPZ19, OPZ20, OPZ21 and OPZ22. Of these selected random primers OPZ8, OPZ9, OPZ10 produced clear banding patterns which were used for constructing Dendrogram. OPZ8 produced a total 58 bands ranging from 7-11, OPZ9 produced a total 91 bands ranging from 10-13 and OPZ 10 produced a total 49 bands ranging from 5-8 for eight jasmine samples. Most of the bands were monomorphic with some polymorphic bands which can be used for marker development for these jasmine species. The described approach holds great promise for genetic diversity polymorphism, cultivar characterization and genetic population conservation of Jasmine species.


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Glioblastoma (GBM), the most common and lethal malignancy of the brain, is typified by high degrees of histologic and molecular heterogeneity. The majority of GBM harbor amplification and/or mutations of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), most frequently EGFR (40-50%) or PDGFRA (∼15%). We recently documented that a subset of glioblastoma harbors independent focal amplification of two or more RTKs, most commonly PDGFRA and EGFR. This phenomenon lends genetic evidence to support that co-expression of more than one RTK in the same cell serves a functional purpose in conferring selective growth advantage to GBM.

In this study we demonstrate that EGF stimulates endogenous interaction between activated EGFR and PDGFRA, assessed using reciprocal coimmunoprecipitation and proximity ligation assays in patient-derived GBM tumor-sphere lines of multiple genotypes. EGF leads to phosphorylation of PDGFRA Y720. This transactivation and subsequent activation of Shp2 are abolished by EGFR inhibitors gefitinib or lapatinib at low concentrations. Evidence of EGFR-PDGFRA interaction was found in the majority of GBM tumorsphere lines where both receptors were expressed. We used multichannel phospho-FACS in a panel of tumorsphere lines to characterize the cell-to-cell heterogeneity of EGFR and PDGFRA expression levels and how these levels affect p-Akt and p-ERK baseline activity, response to ligands and response to targeted receptor inhibition. Indeed, high expression of both EGFR and PDGFRA identifies tumor cells with elevated MAPK and PI3K pathway activity. Notably, these tumor cells have high downstream pathway activation in the absence of explicit stimulation by ligand and appear to be refractory to dual RTK inhibition. Taken together, these data underscore the role of tumor cell RTK heterogeneity in therapeutic resistance to RTK inhibitors in GBM. This study also highlights a possible mechanism that heterotypic RTKs in the same cell may utilize to achieve growth advantage.

Citation Format: Debyani Chakravarty, Alicia Pedraza, Angela H. Liu, Jesse Cotari, Gregoire Altan-Bonnet, Cameron W. Brennan. Role of intratumoral cell heterogeneity on therapeutic efficacy in glioblastoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4627. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-4627


Membrane permeabilization stimulated by high-voltage electric pulses has been used to deliver cell-impermeable exogenous molecules. The electric field effect on the cells depends on various experimental parameters, such as electric field strength, the number of electric pulses, and the electroporation medium. In this study, we show the influence of the electroporation medium on membrane permeabilization stimulated by electrical short-circuiting via an aqueous droplet in dielectric oil, a novel methodology developed by our previous investigations. We investigated the membrane permeabilization by three methods, influx of calcium ions, uptake of nucleic acid-binding fluorophores (YO-PRO-1), and calcein leakage. We demonstrated that the external medium conductivity had a significant impact on the cells in all described experiments. The short-circuiting using a low-conductivity electroporation medium enhanced the formation of both transient and irreversible membrane pores. We also found that clathrin-mediated endocytosis contributed to YO-PRO-1 uptake when a cell culture medium was used as an electroporation medium.


Reversible lysine acetylation is one of the most important protein posttranslational modifications that plays essential roles in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. However, only a few lysine deacetylases (KDACs) have been identified in prokaryotes, perhaps in part due to their limited sequence homology. Herein, we developed a 'clip-chip' strategy to enable unbiased, activity-based discovery of novel KDACs in the Escherichia coli proteome. In-depth biochemical characterization confirmed that YcgC is a serine hydrolase involving Ser200 as the catalytic nucleophile for lysine deacetylation and does not use NAD+ or Zn2+ like other established KDACs. Further, in vivo characterization demonstrated that YcgC regulates transcription by catalyzing deacetylation of Lys52 and Lys62 of a transcriptional repressor RutR. Importantly, YcgC targets a distinct set of substrates from the only known E. coli KDAC CobB. Analysis of YcgC's bacterial homologs confirmed that they also exhibit KDAC activity. YcgC thus represents a novel family of prokaryotic KDACs. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05322.001


In this paper, we introduce a factor graph based positioning algorithm in wireless cellular networks using time difference of arrival (TDoA) measurements provided by the base stations. The localization process of the mobile station results in a nonlinear estimation problem which cannot be solved analytically. The well-known iterative Gauss-Newton based method as standard solution fails to converge for certain geometric constellations and bad initial values, and thus, it is not suitable for a general processing in cellular networks. Hence, we propose a TDoA positioning algorithm in the factor graphs framework. We show that this approach achieves very accurate positioning estimates by moderate computational complexity


Forecasting driving behavior or other sensor measurements is an essential component of autonomous driving systems. Often real-world multivariate time series data is hard to model because the underlying dynamics are nonlinear and the observations are noisy. In addition, driving data can often be multimodal in distribution, meaning that there are distinct predictions that are likely, but averaging can hurt model performance. To address this, we propose the Switching Recurrent Kalman Network (SRKN) for efficient inference and prediction on nonlinear and multi-modal time-series data. The model switches among several Kalman filters that model different aspects of the dynamics in a factorized latent state. We empirically test the resulting scalable and interpretable deep state-space model on toy data sets and real driving data from taxis in Porto. In all cases, the model can capture the multimodal nature of the dynamics in the data.


Moral and value judgments are viewed by many people as at base subjective, nonrational, and incapable of proof. In academic moral philosophy this view is reflected in the dominance in much of this century of what is known as meta-ethics-roughly, the logical analysis of moral language and of the structure of moral reasoning. Meta-ethics is concerned largely with philosophical questions about ethics rather than with substantive moral theories or issues themselves. This focus on meta-ethics, as well as the linguistic or analytic movement in philosophy generally, has vastly increased the philosophical sophistication and rigor of contemporary ethics. But on the debit side, moral and, in turn, political philosophers often have had very little to say directly relevant to the pressing moral issues of our time, and students as well as the general public have learned to look elsewhere for serious reflection on these issues. This is not to say that substantive moral and political philosophy has ceased to exist. Utilitarianism, the view that human actions and social institutions are morally justified to the extent that they tend to maximize the happiness of those they affect, has long engaged the interest and allegiance of many moral philosophers; it is a simple and systematic theory, capable of serving both as an individual ethic and as a social and political philosophy. But utilitarianism has the fatal drawbacks of conflicting at important points with most persons' considered moral judgments, particularly those on justice, and of failing to provide a firm basis for our western liberal political tradition with its emphasis


Understanding the physical characteristics of the indoor environment that affect human health and wellbeing is the key requirement underpinning the beneficial design of a healthcare facility (HCF). We reviewed and summarized physical factors of the indoor environment reported to affect human health and wellbeing in HCFs. Altogether, 214 publications were selected for this review. According to the literature, there is strong scientific evidence to show that following indoor environmental factors have beneficial effects for all user groups when appropriately designed or implemented: the acoustic environment, ventilation and air conditioning systems, the thermal environment, the visual environment (e.g. lighting, and views of nature), ergonomic conditions and furniture. In contrast, the effect of special layouts and room type and floor coverings may be beneficial for one group and detrimental for another. Some of the physical factors may, in themselves, directly promote or hinder health and wellbeing, but the factors can also have numerous indirect impacts by influencing the behaviour, actions and interactions of patients, their families and the staff members. The findings of this research enable a good understanding of the different physical factors of the indoor environment on health and wellbeing and provide a practical resource for those responsible for the design and operation of the facilities as well as researchers investigating these factors. However, more studies are needed in order to inform the design of optimally beneficial indoor environments in HCFs for all user groups.


We propose a time-space discretization of a general notion of quasistatic growth of brittle fractures in elastic bodies proposed in [13] by G. Dal Maso, G.A. Francfort, and R. Toader, which takes into account body forces and surface loads. We employ adaptive triangulations and prove convergence results for the total, elastic and surface energies. In the case in which the elastic energy is strictly convex, we prove also a convergence result for the deformations.


In studies of academic resilience, the concept is typically operationalized by pre-defined cutoff values of students' achievement level and their social background. A threat to the validity of such arbitrary operationalizations is that students around the cutoff values may be misclassified. The main objective of the current study is to apply a modeling approach to identify academically resilient students. Data come from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2016. The primary method used was latent profile analysis. The study demonstrates that it is possible to identify a group of academically resilient students using a set of variables indicating achievement level and protective factors. Even though results suggest that academically resilient students have higher reading achievement compared to other less-advantaged students, it is evident that they have higher interest and confidence in reading than the non-resilient groups. A sensitivity analysis for other countries indicated similar results. Implications stemming from the results are discussed.


Delineating the molecular mechanisms that are responsive to work overload is crucial to understanding the adaptive processes controlling skeletal muscle mass. We have examined the molecular events associated with increased workload by using microarray analysis to begin to define the mechanotransduction responsive transcription programs in skeletal muscle. Microarray analysis identified 112 mRNAs that were expressed differentially in the soleus muscle of sham‐operated vs. gastrocnemius‐ablated rats. These genes can be classified into cell proliferation, autocrine/paracrine, extracellular matrix, immune response, intracellular signaling, metabolism, neural, protein synthesis/degradation, structural, and transcription. These findings dramatically increase the number of known, differentially expressed mRNA during early skeletal muscle hypertrophy. In toto, our findings indicate that work overload induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy alters autocrine/paracrine signaling, intracellular signaling, and transcription factor expression, which likely results in a dramatic change in cellular metabolism, cell proliferation, and muscle structure. These data enhance our understanding of the complex molecular mechanisms controlling skeletal muscle mass in response to increased physical activity.


Detailed geological structure study of western Cauvery delta in Thanjavur and Thiruvarur district induced new idea about different types, classification and specification of Lineaments. In delta region, generally rift causes development of much subsequent fracture system. This fracture system has identified through geo information techniques and classified as Micro and Macro level lineaments based on their length, orientation, Azimuth principle and arrangement of vegetation. Lineament study is used to identify past tectonic trends and seismic risk assessment also lineament classification map much useful for Earth quake resistant design engineers and it is differ from seismicity map. For this study GIS and Remote Sensing techniques contribute major role and IRS PS LISS IV satellite image has used


A Simple, precise and stability indicating RP-HPLC method for simultaneous estimation of Travopost and Timolol in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage form has been developed and validated.The chromatographic separation was carried out on Intersil ODS (150X4.6mm, 5µ) column using acetonitrile: buffer in the ratio of 10:90 % v/v as mobile phase .The flow rate was 1ml/min and effluent was detected at 213nm.The retention time of Travopost and Timolol were found to be 2.516 and 6.198min respectively. The method was linear over the concentration range of 12.5-75 µg/ml and 10-60 µg/ml for Timolol and Travopost respectively. The method was found to be precise as indicated by the repeatability analysis showing %RSD less than 2.Percentage recoveries for Travopost and Timolol were 100.27 and 100.41% respectively .All the validation parameters were determined and found within the limits as per ICH guidelines, which indicates validity of the method. Travopost and Timolol subjected to the stress conditions of acid, base, peroxide, thermal, UV& neutral degradation. The degradation products were well resolved from the main peak and its impurities, proving stability indicating ability of the method.


Examination of seven ammonite-calibrated palynological samples across the Oxfordian/Kimmeridgian boundary in the Flodigarry sections at Staffin Bay, Isle of Skye, northern Scotland, has revealed dinoflagellate cyst assemblages in general terms in line with previous contributions. The sparse occurrence of Emmetrocysta sarjeantii, Perisseiasphaeridium pannosum and Senoniasphaera jurassica slightly above the proposed Oxfordian/Kimmeridgian boundary may be used as a palynological approximation of the base of the Kimmeridgian. The high abundance of tests resembling modern zygnemataceous chlorophycean alga Spirogyra in two samples above the Oxfordian/Kimmeridgian boundary horizon is probably associated with increased eutrophication and possible association with "green tides". This bloom is proposed as a palynofloral proxy event for the boundary in the Flodigarry section. According to previous studies, various eutrophication events may have a correlation potential in Subboreal Europe.


Investigation was carried out on the effect of processing conditions such as temperature, pressure and porosity on permeability of palm fruit cake. It was observed that increasing the temperature of the crude palm oil from 30 to 75°C, pressure from 2.88 to 3.82 kPa and porosity from 9.2 to 27.3% increases the permeability of the palm fruit cake. The statistical analysis of the effects of the processing factors on permeability indicates that temperature and porosity are significant at 99.99% while pressure was significant at 95%. A permeability model applicable to the practical palm oil expression was also developed in the study.


We have investigated platelet morphology and function in human maternal‐newborn pairs. Fibrinogen concentration and factor‐VIII activity in plasma were also determined. Our results showed that, compared to maternal platelets, neonatal platelets were poorly responsive to adenosine diphosphate, adrenaline and collagen. Uptake of labelled serotonin by neonatal and maternal platelets was the same, but release of the radioactivity was reduced in the former. Phagocytic activity of neonatal platelets, demonstrated with latex particles, was similar to that of maternal platelets. Although the ultrastructure of neonatal platelets approximated that of maternal platelets, immature appearing platelets were occasionally found in the neonatal samples. An unanticipated finding was that platelet aggregation induced by ristocetin was more vigorous in neonatal than in maternal platelet‐rich plasma samples. Furthermore, neonatal plasma, which had lower fibrinogen and factor‐VIII content than maternal plasma, facilitated maternal platelet aggregation by ristocetin and showed a greater ability than maternal plasma to promote ristocetin‐induced aggregation of platelets of a patient with von Willebrand's disease. These results indicate that the plasma of neonates contains large quantities of the ristocetin‐dependent platelet aggregation factor (RAF), probably more than is in maternal plasma, despite the higher levels of factor‐VIII procoagulant activity in the latter. Thus, in the newborn, there is a clear dissociation between factor‐VIII clotting activity and the RAF activity.


In the literature, superlinear convergence of implementable polynomial-time interior point algorithms to solve semi-definite programs (SDPs) can only be shown by (i) assuming that the given SDP is nondegenerate and modifying these algorithms, or (ii) considering special classes of SDPs, such as the class of linear semi-definite feasibility problems, when a suitable initial iterate is required as well. Otherwise, these algorithms are not easy to implement even though they can be shown to have polynomial iteration complexities and superlinear convergence. These are besides the assumption of strict complementarity imposed on the given SDP. In this paper, we show superlinear convergence of an implementable interior point algorithm that has polynomial iteration complexity when it is used to solve the homogeneous feasibility model of a primal-dual SDP pair that has no special structure imposed. This is achieved by only assuming strict complementarity and the availability of an interior feasible point to the primal SDP. Furthermore, we do not need to modify the algorithm to show this.


BACKGROUND
The Deaf community reports limited access to health promotion information and care. Literature review, key informant interviews, and focus groups generated a clearer understanding of the community. Health care providers, educators, and policymakers could improve medical care to the Deaf community by: 1) better understanding its culture and language; 2) creating more health education programs specifically for the Deaf community; 3) developing opportunities for more deaf people and American Sign Language (ASL) users to enter the health professions; and 4) creating incentives for hearing health care providers to become ASL proficient.


As electricity generation from intermittent energy sources (wind, sun, tides) is gaining momentum, it becomes increasingly important to price these electricity sources efficiently. Conventional flat feed-in-tariffs ignore the heterogeneity of these sources. Taking into account the degree of substitutability or complementarity of these sources with respect to each other and with respect to stochastic demand variations, this paper derives optimal pricing instruments composed of a feed-in-tariff (FIT) and a capacity-augmentation-tariff (CAT). An empirical analysis looks at wind and solar farms operating in Ontario in order to determine the optimal use of FIT-CAT pricing. The magnitude of optimal price differentiation turns out to be economically significant. Furthermore, the emergence of grid-scale electricity storage underscores the need to price energy and capacity separately.


Background CDKN2A (9p21 locus) and NF2 (22q locus) genes are inactivated in most Malignant Pleural Mesotheliomas (MPM). Few other recurrent molecular abnormalities have been described as well. A better understanding of the molecular pathways is needed to identify potential additional driver genes. We did an integrated analysis of chromosomal copy number variations from MPM specimens and cells lines. Patients and Methods In order to describe genomic profiles, we performed microarray Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH) (Agilent 400K). Analyses were carried out using genomic DNA samples extracted from 26 MPM primary tumours (frozen sections) and 5 MPM cell lines (Four ATCC cell lines and one cell line established in our laboratory from a pleural effusion). Subsequently the results were correlated with the baseline characteristics of the patients. Results The mean age of the patients was 60 years (30-81). The sex ratio (M/F) and the histologic epithelioid type were 1.6 and 69% respectively. Our results showed that MPM are characterized by a complex pattern of genetic changes where losses of genomic regions are more frequent than gains. Common losses (30-70%) were clustered at chromosomal regions: 1p36.13, 1p13.3, 1q21.3-1q24.2, 1p22.3-1p12 (41%) (NRAS gene), 1p36.33-1q21.2 (30%) (JUN gene) 3p22.1-3p14.2 (59%) (BAP1, RASSF1 genes), 4q13.2, 6p21.32, 6q14.1-6q27 (63%) (ROS1 gene), 7q36.1, 8p23.1, 9p24.1, 9p22.1-9p21 (52%) (CDKN2A gene), 10p11.1-10q26.3 (30%) (RET, PTEN genes), 11q25, 14q11.2, 14q32.33, 15q11.2, 15q14, 22q11.22-22q13.33 (63%) (NF2 gene). Common gains (30-50%) were located at chromosomal regions 1q44, 8p11.22, 11q11, 12p13.31, 15q11.2, 16p11, 20p13, 22q11.23, Xq22.2. The most common deletions (D) and amplifications (A) (>20%) defined as having a log2(ratio) ≤-1.0 and ≥1.0 respectively were located at chromosomal regions: 1p31.1 (A, D), 1q21, 1q24.2 (D), 6p21.32, 6q16.3, 6q27 (D), 7q22.1 (D), 8p11.22 (A), 9p21.3, 9q34.2 (D), 12p13.2 (D), 14q32.33 (D), 16q23.1, 16q22.1 (WWOX gene)(D), 20p13 (A, D), 22q11.23 (D). Higher frequency of genetic alterations was noted in cell lines than tumour specimens. Different patterns of genetic changes were observed according to gender, stage, histology, smoking history, asbestos exposure and performance status. Conclusion Our study confirmed the complexity pattern of genetic changes in MPM through high-resolution microarray CGH analysis. We found high number of chromosomal imbalances not yet well identified. Some correspond to known genes and others could be the areas of unknown genes involved in its development that we will try to identify thereafter. Moreover, identifying patient subgroups seems essential for having a more individualized therapy and personalized medicine in MPM (e.g. MOSCATO trial, ongoing in our cancer center). Citation Format: Jacques Raphael, Nicolas Dorvault, Cedric Orear, Bastien Job, Vincent Thomas de Montpreville, Francois Leroy-Ladurie, Philippe Girard, Pierre Validire, Gwenael Le Teuff, David Planchard. Chromosomal imbalances detected by microarray CGH in malignant pleural mesothelioma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1217. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-1217


ABSTRACT This study was designed to investigate whether the degree of mindfulness exhibited by a sample of Thai students had an effect on the level of anxiety they experienced in English as a second language (ESL) public speaking classes, and whether such an effect was related to the students' level of performance in communicating in English during classroom presentations. The student sample (N = 333) was selected from four marketing major courses in a leading private international university in Thailand, all of which were taught by foreign instructors. Data were collected at different times and from multiple sources in order to lower the possibility of common method bias. The evidence from the Partial Least Squares regression analysis showed that students who reported higher levels of trait and state mindfulness while speaking English tended to experience less anxiety during their presentations. The students who reported low anxiety also obtained higher scores on their presentations than did those who reported high levels of anxiety. The analysis also found that state mindfulness appeared to have stronger explanatory power in predicting ESL public speaking anxiety than did trait mindfulness.


REL, Rapidly Extenslble Language System, permits a variety of languages to coexist within a single computer system. Here the term "language" is understood to include a particular data base. New languages may be defined by constructing a new base language with its syntax and semantics, by extending the terminology from a given base level in order to reflect specific concepts, or by associating a given base language with a certain data base. REL consists of an operating environment, a language processor, and the set of currently defined languages. The structural properties of these languages which determine the characterization and organization of the language processor are described. In particular, representation and manipulation of syntax and semantics are discussed, the mechanism of language extension is outlined, and the concept of a generator is


We show that the category whose objects are families of Markov processes on Polish spaces, with a given transition kernel, and whose morphisms are transition probability preserving, surjective continuous maps has semi-pullbacks, i.e., for any pair of morphisms fi:Si→S (i = 1, 2), there exists an object V and morphisms πi:V→Si (i = 1, 2) such that f1∘π1 = f2∘π2. This property holds for various full subcategories, including that of families of Markov processes on locally compact second countable spaces, and in the larger category where the objects are families of Markov processes on analytic spaces and morphisms are transition probability preserving surjective Borel maps. It also follows that the category of probability measures on Polish spaces and measure-preserving continuous surjective maps has semi-pullbacks. A main consequence of our result is that probabilistic bisimulation for labelled Markov processes on all these categories, defined in terms of spans of morphisms, is an equivalence relation.


Increased competition and uncertainty characterise the new economy, introducing significant pressures to supply chain participants, calling for capital investments only in value adding/revenue-generating assets. The tendency of companies to expand their control through the entire supply chain seems to attract significant managerial attention. On the other hand, large manufacturer and distributor firms have developed specific competences that do not expand to all the levels of the supply chain. In order to confront the lack of knowledge and expertise companies can either outsource the specific operation or acquire a company that is specialized in the specific field. In this paper we focus on warehousing decisions and investigate three different warehousing policies and ownership structures of the warehousing facilities.