We studied the effect of synthetic pentasaccharide, a low-molecular-weight heparin (enoxaparin), unfractionated heparin and recombinant hirudin on the generation of factor VIIa (FVIIa) and prothrombin activation after in-vitro clotting of human platelet-poor plasma. FVIIa was measured with a new clotting assay that uses recombinant tissue factor truncated to interact only with FVIIa. Residual prothrombin was measured using the conventional clotting assay. FVIIa and residual FII were measured in the liquid - called pseudo-serum (psi-serum) - obtained 1 h after clotting of normal platelet-poor plasma. A kinetic study of the generation of FVIIa was also performed. Coagulation was initiated by triggering the extrinsic, the intrinsic and both associated clotting pathways. Levels of FVIIa in the psi-sera (55+/-15, 258+/-18, and 164+/-18 ng/ml, in the extrinsic, intrinsic and intrinsic + thromboplastin psi-serum respectively; values are means+/-SEM) were significantly increased compared with those in the platelet-poor plasma (3 ng/ml). Pentasaccharide, low-molecular-weight heparin and unfractionated heparin inhibited the generation of factor VIIa or its activity, or both, in a dose-dependent manner in all the experimental systems (60-90% inhibition). A kinetic study revealed that the inhibition of the generation of FVIIa by pentasaccharide and heparins starts 1 min after triggering either the extrinsic or the intrinsic clotting pathway. The downregulation of FVIIa by heparins was effected mainly by their anti-Xa activity, but also by their inhibitory effect on the generation of prothrombinase. Pentasaccharide, enoxaparin and unfractionated heparin significantly inhibited prothrombin activation in both extrinsic and intrinsic experimental system. Hirudin had no inhibitory effect either on the generation of FVIIa or on prothrombin activation in any experimental system.


The objective of the present study was to evaluate the phytochemical constituents, anti-oxidant activity and highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of glycoside compound from apple and avocado fruit methanolic extract. Preliminary screening involved the qualitative methods to detect the presence of flavonoids, phenols, tannins, steroids, amino acids, saponins, proteins, cardiac glycosides, and alkaloids. Glycoside and flavonoid contents were quantitatively estimated. Antioxidant activity pf methanolic extract of fruits was evaluated by studying ferric reducing antioxidant power assay using the standard procedure. The phytochemical analysis of fruit extracts of apple, avocado, pear, peach has revealed the presence of significant secondary metabolites such as steroids, cardiac glycosides, saponins, tannins, phenols, flavonoids, amino acid, and alkaloids. Quantitatively estimated glycoside content was higher in apple and least in avocado fruit extracts, and the flavonoid content was higher in avocado and least in peach fruit extract. The methanolic extract of apple, avocado, pear and peach fruits had shown significant ferric reducing antioxidant power assay. The fruit extracts were subjected to chromatographic fractionation followed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The major and sharp peaks for apple were found at 4 min while that of avocado lies between 1-2 min by using Gallic acid as standard.


In this study, the amount of photocatalytic degradation of perchloroethylene in the gas phase was investigated by a fixed bed continuous-flow tubular photoreactor. The photoreactor consists of a cylindrical glass tube, was filled with glass beads coated with nanoparticles of TiO2, TiO2 doped carbon (TiO2-C). These nanoparticles were synthesized by the sol-gel method and deposited on glass beads using the sol-gel dip technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) were used for the characterization of synthesized materials. The effect of different parameters such as relative humidity, residence time, PCE concentration on the photocatalytic degradation process was investigated by ultraviolet irradiation to achieve the highest possible degradation efficiency. The PCE degradation and byproduct species were monitored and identified with a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer device (GC-MS). Under the optimum experimental conditions, the photocatalytic activities of TiO2, TiO2-C were investigated and compared together. The results showed that photocatalytic activity of TiO2 for degradation of PCE was extremely increased when doped with carbon. For TiO2-C catalyst, under UV irradiation (3000 ppm initial PCE concentration, 30% humidity and 1 min residence time) approximately 96% of the initial PCE was degraded.


Dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) and their putative target genes have been increasingly reported to contribute to colorectal cancer. However, miRNAs that directly target the mutated in colorectal cancer (MCC) gene, a tumor suppressor which is downregulated or inactivated in colorectal cancer, remain largely unknown. By using an array-based miRNA analysis, we identified a group of miRNAs that were dysregulated in human metastatic versus non-metastatic colorectal cancer tissues. One of these miRNAs, miR-4260, was predicted to target MCC in the miRDB database. Results using human HCT116 and HT29 colorectal cancer cell lines showed that miR-4260 mimic enhanced cell proliferation and migration and reduced apoptosis induced by the chemotherapeutic agent 5-fluorouracil while miR-4260 inhibitor had inverse effects. Furthermore, miR-4260 negatively regulated MCC as well as SMAD4 by directly binding to the 3'untranslational region (3'UTR). Using siRNAs targeting MCC or SMAD4, we showed that upregulation of MCC and SMAD4 was essential to mediate the functional roles of miR-4260 inhibitor in colorectal cancer cells. Our in vivo experiments indicated that inhibition of miR-4260 reduced colorectal tumor growth in nude mice subcutaneously implanted with HCT116 cells. Significantly, miR-4260 was increased in human colorectal cancer tissues with simultaneous downregulation of MCC and SMAD4, strongly suggesting the clinical relevance of targeting miR-4260 in the treatment of colorectal cancer. In summary, we identified miR-4260 as a novel oncomiR for colorectal cancer that targets MCC and SMAD4. Inhibition of miR-4260 can, therefore, be a potential therapeutic strategy for colorectal cancer.


Our further achievements in the design, processing and studies of physical properties of elastomer – nanostructured carbon composites as prospective compressive strain sensor materials for robotic tactile elements as well as for other automatic systems are presented. Composites made of polyisoprene matrix and highstructure carbon nanoparticle filler have been designed and manufactured to develop polymer nanocomposites for flexible, entirely polymeric pressure sensing elements. Electrical resistance of the composites as a function of mechanical strain and pressure is studied. SEM pictures of cross-section surface of sensing elements are analyzed.


Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare but unique subtype of non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma that is molecularly characterized by the chromosomal translocation, t(11;14) (q13;q32) leading to the aberrant expression of cyclin D1, although a few cases are positive for cyclin D2 or D3 without expression of cyclin D1 [1, 2]. In the current issue of the Blood Research, Kang et al. reported the results of nationwide retrospective analysis regarding clinical features and treatment outcomes of 131 patients with MCL [3]. This is one of the largest series focused on MCL, especially in Asian patients. In the study, they summarized clinical features and treatment outcomes of MCL and validated the prognostic value of simplified MIPI (Mantle cell lymphoma International Prognostic Index) in Korean MCL patients. Although many studies about other subtypes of lymphomas in Korea including retrospective analyses as well as clinical trials have been reported, there are just a few studies regarding Korean MCL patients. One of the reasons for the lack of studies is the relatively low incidence of MCL because it accounts only for 2% of B-cell lymphomas in Korea [4]. However, peculiar clinical characteristics of MCL different from other subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma might be another reason. First of all, MCL occurs more commonly in elderly patients, and the majority cases of MCL initially follow indolent clinical course without symptoms. Although MCL responds to conventional chemotherapy regimens, the duration of response is relatively shorter than other subtypes, and repeated relapses ultimately lead to death in MCL. This extremely low curability of MCL with conventional chemotherapy has leaded to "watch and wait" strategy for asymptomatic patients or elderly patients similar to the treatment strategy for indolent lymphomas. However, some patients initially present as aggressive disease and need immediate intensive treatments. As a result, there is a wide spectrum of clinical behaviors and various treatment approaches in MCL [1, 5]. This heterogeneity associated with MCL might have made it hard to study.

Owing to lengthy asymptomatic indolent period, MCL patients are commonly diagnosed with advanced stage disease after their extent of disease increased up to the state of producing significant symptoms. Thus, patients might have extensive lymphadenopathy, bone marrow invasion, splenomegaly, and frequent involvement of gastrointestinal tract at diagnosis, and almost all patients finally require treatments during their clinical course [6]. Therefore, the risk-stratification for MCL patients is mandatory for the determination of treatment strategy. As Kang et al. reported its prognostic value, the simplified MIPI incorporating age, performance status, serum lactate dehydrogenase level, and white blood cell count, can predict the survival outcome for patients with MCL [7]. Thus, the risk-adapted treatment approach according to the simplified MIPI might help physicians decide their treatment for MCL patients. As various initial treatment options became available in Korea from intensive treatments such as hyper-fractionated cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone alternating with high-dose cytarabine and methotrexate plus rituximab (R-hyper-CVAD) to standard chemotherapy regimens such as rituximab-CHOP and bendamustine-rituximab (BR), the risk-adapted application of treatment might lead to better survival outcome for MCL patients than that of this retrospective analysis. Especially, considering elderly patients might be more vulnerable to anthracycline-containing chemotherapy-related toxicity, bendamustine in combination with rituximab can be more appropriate for elderly frail patients with MCL. Indeed, the phase III trial comparing BR with R-CHOP demonstrated that BR had a similar response rate to R-CHOP, but BR had less hematologic toxicity as well as significantly lower progression rate than R-CHOP [8]. Furthermore, newer drugs such as Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor (Ibrutinib) and PI3K inhibitor (Idelalisib) might become a useful treatment option for salvage as well as upfront treatment setting considering their promising outcomes in relapsed or refractory MCL patients [9, 10]. Taken together, this report contributes valuable information for the management of MCL patients through a nationwide retrospective analysis of large number of patients with MCL in Korea. A prospective study should be warranted in the near future to overcome the limits of this retrospective study.


The spectrum and decay curves of phosphorescence of mouse liver cells at --180 degrees C was studied using the phosphorescence microscope. The phosphorescence studied was shown to involve two components with different life spans. Part of either component in the total spectrum is estimated. A conclusion is made that at least two different centers (or groups of centers) exist in cells with the same spectral region of phosphorescence with highly diverging life times of triplet states.


The nucleus accumbens core is a key nexus within the mammalian brain for integrating the premotor and limbic systems and regulating important cognitive functions such as motivated behaviors. Nucleus accumbens core functions show sex differences and are sensitive to the presence of hormones such as 17β‐estradiol (estradiol) in normal and pathological contexts. The primary neuron type of the nucleus accumbens core, the medium spiny neuron (MSN), exhibits sex differences in both intrinsic excitability and glutamatergic excitatory synapse electrophysiological properties. Here, we provide a review of recent literature showing how estradiol modulates rat nucleus accumbens core MSN electrophysiology within the context of the estrous cycle. We review the changes in MSN electrophysiological properties across the estrous cycle and how these changes can be mimicked in response to exogenous estradiol exposure. We discuss in detail recent findings regarding how acute estradiol exposure rapidly modulates excitatory synapse properties in nucleus accumbens core but not caudate‐putamen MSNs, which mirror the natural changes seen across estrous cycle phases. These recent insights demonstrate the strong impact of sex‐specific estradiol action upon nucleus accumbens core neuron electrophysiology.


Aimee Pozorski. Roth and Trauma: The Problem of History in the Later Works (1995-2010). New York: Continuum, 2011. xiv+192 pp. $100."Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history."-Abraham LincolnIn 1989, after being based in London for more than a decade, Philip Roth moved back to the United States. As Roth explained to Philip Dodd in a 2008 interview broadcast on the BBC, he had been feeling increasingly detached and remote from his native land. Rejuvenated by his homecoming, Roth became enthralled with a "new subject," that was also an "old subject," America, both the life of the country and its recent history. In essence, as Roth himself put it, he had "discovered America again," and this revival of interest seemed to fuel the surge of new work that has characterized his later career.In Roth and Trauma, Aimee Pozorski surveys these later works, beginning with Sabbath's Theater (1995) and ending with Nemesis (2010), though arguably the heart of the book concerns Roth's American Trilogy (American Pastoral [1997], I Married a Communist [1998], The Human Stain [2000]), The Plot Against America (2004) and Exit Ghost (2007). Heavily influenced by trauma theory, particularly the work of Cathy Caruth, Pozorski reads Roth's historical turn as an extended exploration of the deep psychic and political wounds that fester away under the surface of American national mythmaking. Roth's fiction, Pozorski argues, sets a "sense of history as a traumatic force" against sentimental and idealized versions of the American experience that traffic in naive fantasies like the American dream and simplified appeals to American exceptionalism. Indeed, for Pozorski, American history is traumatic to its very roots; and Roth's propensity, in his later fiction, to reference central figures in the foundational narrative of the United States-such as Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln-despite what appears to be a thematic focus on the post-World War II era indicates a sustained effort to illustrate this "fundamental truth about America" (2).The presence of such figures, Pozorski argues, reflects Roth's "fascination with America's 'traumatic beginnings'"(10). Pozorski draws a parallel between the manner in which these historical reminders of the Founders constantly surface in Roth's later work and the way a trauma survivor or witness will compulsively return to and relive a catastrophic event. The effect, for Pozorski, is a sense of "skewed temporality" in Roth's work, that opens up the possibility of reading his recent fictional treatments of significant historical moments in postwar American life-Vietnam, McCarthyism, the Culture Wars, the Korean War, and 9/11-as indicative of both Roth's literary need to wrestle with the particular traumatic national events that shaped his generation, and of an ongoing encounter with the original traumatic event in American history, the American Revolution, which remains, in Caruth's terms, an "unclaimed experience" that the nation seems compelled to revisit, retell and repeat as it struggles to come to terms with the legacy of its violent founding.This relationship between trauma and history is dramatized, for Pozorski, in the way the lives of unsuspecting individuals in so many of Roth's later novels are shattered by the cultural, political and social shockwaves created by the disruptive national events he revisits in his fiction. The unexpected and contingent nature of history, the way history has of "blind-siding," to use the Rothian term Pozorski prefers, acts as a central narrative force, not just in Roth's fiction, but in the larger story of American democracy. In many ways this perspective chimes with the Lukacsian view of the historical novel as a form that depicts the often dramatic shaping influence of great social and political events on the arch of individual lives.Where it diverges from the classical historical novel, however, is in its repudiation of any narrative of national progress; there is no comforting sense of historical necessity in Roth's fiction. …


Angioedema is a known adverse reaction of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. Although current investigations are in progress, the exact pathogenesis of ACE inhibitor-induced angioedema is still unclear. Most cases of angioedema we have seen remitting from the short-acting ACE inhibitor, captopril, have presented with mild angioedema, controlled with antihistamines and glucocorticosteroids. In contrast, the angioedema induced by the long-acting ACE inhibitors have been serious. Our five patients developed angioedema from either lisinopril or enalapril. Three of five patients presented with severe angioedema requiring intubation, and one of these patients had a tracheostomy. One patient with a history of mild angioedema secondary to captopril subsequently required intubation for his enalapril-induced angioedema.


Aims We examine the average performance of Border Leicester (BL) flocks that are part of LAMBPLAN, Australia's sheep performance recording and genetic evaluation system. We also summarise outcomes from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industry's research on BL improvement, and discuss the performance required for the BL to continue to be a pivotal part of the Australian prime lamb industry. Key results Modest gains have been recorded in the BL in growth since 2000 and faecal egg counts have reduced, suggesting improved worm resistance. The net reproductive rate has slightly improved, while inbreeding continues to increase. In work conducted by the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, an improved BL flock, encompassing selection for multiple births and a broadening of the breed's genetic base, had advantages over purebred BLs in many aspects of performance, including a 19.3% advantage in the net reproductive rate. Advantages in fertility were ~5%, litter size ~7% and lamb rearing ability ~5%. BL improved × Merino and (BL improved × BL) × Merino crossbred ewes also had advantages over traditional BL × Merino ewes in their joining performance when joined to Dorset rams. Conclusions Selection in the BL needs to emphasise traits in a manner consistent with their importance to commercial lamb production. Implications Embracing this selection and broadening the BL's genetic base will assist the BL to maintain its place in the Australian lamb industry.


In generalization refactoring, preconditions and allowable source code modifications depend on type constraints of the refactored program. Type constraints of parameterized types should be considered when applying the refactoring to generic programs, otherwise type errors may be brought into the refactored program. Some type constraint rules for Java generic programs are presented to verify the preconditions in the refactoring. The type constraints can be solved by traversing a type constraint graph. Based on the type constraint graph, a refactoring algorithm for extract interface is proposed.


The objects of the study were recombinant clones of Komagataella phaffii K51 carrying the heterologous proteinase K (PK-w) gene from Tritirachium album integrated into their genome as well as samples of recombinant proteinase K isolated from these clones. The aims of this work were i) to determine whether it is possible to create recombinant K. phaffii K51 clones overexpressing functionally active proteinase K from T. album and ii) to analyze the enzymatic activity of the resulting recombinant enzyme. The following methods were used: computational analysis of primary structure of the proteinase K gene, molecular biological methods (PCR, electrophoresis of DNA in an agarose gel, electrophoresis of proteins in an SDS polyacrylamide gel under denaturing conditions, spectrophotometry, and quantitative assays of protease activity), and genetic engineering techniques (cloning and selection of genes in bacterial cells Escherichia coli TOP10 and in the methylotrophic yeast K. phaffii K51). The gene encoding natural proteinase K (PK-w) was designed and optimized for expression in K. phaffii K51. The proteinase K gene was synthesized and cloned within the plasmid pPICZα-A vector in E. coli TOP10 cells. The proteinase K gene was inserted into pPICZα-A in such a way that – at a subsequent stage of transfection into yeast cells – it was efficiently expressed under the control of the promoter and terminator of the AOX1 gene, and the product of the exogenous gene contained the signal peptide of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae a-factor to ensure the protein's secretion into the culture medium. The resultant recombinant plasmid (pPICZα-A/PK-w) was transfected into K. phaffii K51 cells. A recombinant K. phaffii K51 clone was obtained that carried the synthetic proteinase K gene and ensured its effective expression and secretion into the culture medium. An approximate productivity of the yeast recombinant clones for recombinant proteinase K was 25 μg/ mL after 4 days of cultivation. The resulting recombinant protease has a high specific proteolytic activity: ~5000 U/mg.


OBJECTIVE
To observe the outcome and assess related factors affecting left atrial remodeling after percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV) in patients with mitral valve stenosis.

METHODS
From March 1998 to June 2002, there were 96 mitral valve stenosis patients who underwent PBMV in our hospital. Echocardiographic, 12 leads united electrocardiogram and other clinical datas were collected at preoperation, 1 week after operation, and 4 - 6 years after operation to retrospective analysis. Multiple stepwise regression analysis was used to assess controllable factors of left atrial remodeling.

RESULTS
Left atrial diameter reduced from (44.6 +/- 6.6) cm before PBMV to (42.8 +/- 6.5) cm (P > 0.05) 1 week after PBMV and enlarged to (47.2 +/- 5.7)cm (all P < 0.05) at the end of 4 - 6 years follow up post operation. The mitral valve area (MVA) increased from (1.06 +/- 0.32) cm2 before PBMV to (2.02 +/- 0.43) cm2 1 week after PBMV and (1.98 +/- 0.36) cm2 4 - 6 years post operation (all P < 0.05). Heart function assessed by NYHA classification improved significantly at 1 week and 4 - 6 years after surgery compared with pre-operation (P < 0.01). Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that systolic blood pressure at 4 - 6 years after operation, MVA at 1 week after operation, preoperative atrial fibrillation, Wilkins score < or = 8, preoperative left atrial diameter were the independent predictive factors of left atrial remodeling at 4 - 6 years after PBMV.

CONCLUSIONS
PBMV was an effective therapy option for patients with mitral valve stenosis. Systolic blood pressure at 4 - 6 years after operation, MVA at 1 week after operation, preoperative atrial fibrillation, Wilkins < or = 8, preoperative left atrial diameter are the predictive factors of left atrial remodeling after PBMV.


Knowledge sharing (KS) behavior is one of the main drivers to generate social sustainability. It predicts high organizational performance and innovation capabilities, and creates enjoyment and happiness in helping others. Even if incentives to enhance KS behaviors exist, employees would still be reluctant to share knowledge. For this reason, we test a comprehensive model of sustainable human resource management with the inclusion of KS to explain how to enhance collaborative practices in terms of voluntary knowledge sharing. In a comprehensive model, we incorporate organizational justice, employee perceived organizational support, job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment, and how they relate in order to generate knowledge sharing behavior. Using a sample of 1350 employees working for multinational firms operating in Spain, the present research obtains two main results. First, organizational justice, employee perceived organizational support and affective organizational commitment are positively related with KS. Second, employee perceived organizational support, job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment play a mediating role between organizational justice and KS, which reinforces the positive relationship between both constructs. Consequently, employees would be more willing to cooperate and share in fair organizational contexts, especially when they are satisfied and affectively committed, and when their contributions are valued and recognized. Finally, we discuss human resource management's (HRM) practical interventions and recommendations for future research on sustainable organizations.


W. Lance Bennett is rightly pessimistic about a state with government-run mass media, on the one hand, and unchecked corruption, on the other. The massive and partially acknowledged corruption operates menacingly at all levels of society, a phenomenon mainly of the post-Soviet period. And the situation is bound to worsen as the economic crisis grows. However, it is unlikely that this decade of rampant corruption is the source of most heuristics that Russians use, for the derivation and content of shortcuts to navigate news tend to be drawn from early experiences under Soviet rule.


We report the successful realization of a resistively shunted two-junction high temperature superconducting (HTS) SQUID in which the heterodyne signal generated between the two YBCO grain-boundary junctions is accurately controlled in the range of 1–50 MHz by adjustment of the bias current in the milliampere range through a thin-film on-chip YBCO-Au-YBCO shunt resistor (~25 μΩ). Oscillations in the temperature range 20–60 K and signal powers up to 2 nW in a 20 kHz bandwidth have been recorded.


Vaccine failure attributable to immunodeficiency is common in stressed individuals. During vitamin-B complex and ascorbic acid malnutrition in experimental animals, vaccine failure is accounted for by the atrophy of the immunocompetent organs. In an attempt to improve immunocompetence, a bioimmunomodulator obtained from the supernatant fluid from cultured normal bone-marrow cells was injected following immunization into young animals receiving a diet deficient in vitamins B and C. This treatment improved the immunosurveillence of mice and rats approximately 3 to 4 fold. Peculiarly, this factor failed to evoke immunostimulation in normal immunized animals, probably because of a suppressing mechanism.


Microwave magnetoresistance of lightly doped (nondegenerate) p‐Ge has been studied by the electron spin resonance method, which can record the derivative of the microwave absorption with respect to the magnetic field. The change in the absorption is proportional to that in the conductivity of the semiconductor in the magnetic field (magnetoresistance). It was found that the averaging time of the light and heavy holes effective masses depends on temperature and on the magnetic field direction in a sample. An analysis of the derivative made it possible to determine regions of the fastest effective mass averaging.


Using Sen's capability approach as an analytical framework, this paper attempts to assess and evaluate the Dutch measures for facilitating transitions from unemployment to (gainful) employment. This method is particularly useful in the context of the EU's economically informed flexicurity approach to evaluate the institutional preconditions for effective participation in the labour market. It will be argued that the existing legal measures alone are insufficient to address the difficulties of reintegrating older (long-term) unemployed persons in the labour market. Measures taken to reactivate older unemployed workers merely build upon economic considerations, such as guaranteeing the sustainability of the pensions and social security schemes. Other (non-economic) considerations are often overlooked. This ignores the actual risks: not actually having access to the labour market entails a variety of risks, not only in terms of job, and thus (a partial) income, loss for the employee concerned, but also for the Member States who are obliged to do everything necessary to achieve the EU's goals.


This research considers the ways in which the lives of rough sleepers are understood. In doing so, it considers the ways in which rough sleepers are positioned by services, the ways in which rough sleepers account for their own lives, and the ways in which rough sleepers negotiate and manage their day-to-day experiences.

Analysing previous literature and policy, the research claims that lives might be better understood using a narrative approach alongside other methods. Therefore, it employs methods of life mapping and auto-photography with rough sleepers, alongside participant observation and semi-structured interviews with service providers. These methods aided the understanding of the ways in which each group understands rough sleepers' lives.

The research finds that in contrast to policy and service provider discourses, which often focus on deficits, discourses of poor decision making in ideas of causation, and dichotomies of deservingness, rough sleepers' own accounts focus on the importance of context to develop an understanding of the importance of key life events. Furthermore, the research suggests that understandings of rough sleepers' lives presented in policy and service provider discourses which see these lives as 'chaotic', 'off track' and 'failed' are in stark contrast to rough sleepers own accounts, which entail elements of order, success, and aspirations.

In considering these alternative approaches to understanding the lives of rough sleepers, the study proposes that narrative approaches to engaging with rough sleepers, which recognise the agency that rough sleepers have, could provide a way to better understand the ways in which rough sleepers understand their own lives.


We report the growth of highly oriented microscopic whisker-like crystals in the Bi–Sr–Ca–Cu–O system by means of glassy precursors. The dependence of the growth on the stoichiometric composition and on the temperature and duration of the annealing process has been studied. Chemical impurities have been investigated from the point of view of the morphology, the elemental composition and the crystal structure, identifying the presence of CuAl2O4, Sr1.2Bi0.8O3 and Al. Electrical contacts have been fabricated by means of thermal evaporation and diffusion. Their sizes have been carefully measured, achieving contact resistivity in the range of 0.2–3.7 × 10−6 Ω cm2. A very slow degrading of the contacts and the crystals on a time scale of a few years has been detected. This is associated with a decrease in Tc, which is probably due to oxygen release from the material.


The two emblematic measures of the bill purporting to reform France's capital tax system – involving a dismantling of the country's tax shield and a simplification of its ISF Impots de Solidarite sur la Fortune wealth tax schedules – have been left untouched by the national Parliament. At the same time, the main amendments brought up during the second reading of the 2011 budget - namely the elimination of any tax on French residences owned by non-residents, higher levies on life insurance policies and above a greater taxation of assets acquired through the division of property - have substantially modified the spirit of this bill, even if the financial architecture basically remains the same. In light of this ex post analysis (and after an ex ante analysis from June 2011), we have concluded that even if the reform of capital taxation in no way constitutes the "enormous gift to the rich" that its critics described, contrary to Government statements it is anything but "fully funded" and will probably cost the State €350 million once it is fully operational. We can add to this certain indirect costs associated with the delocalisations that will inevitably occur as a result of measures eliminating current capping mechanisms (and costing around €200 million), meaning that the total annual cost is likely to amount to about €550 million. Less than one year from France's next presidential election, what is politically even more dangerous for the country's current Conservative majority is the reform's surreptitious but substantial deviationism, in spirit at least, as manifested by the twofold rise in property division taxes. This means that the reform is no longer being funded by ISF wealth taxpayers alone but also by middle and upper middle class citizens who are exempt from this tax. In short, the reform offers an open goal to critics denouncing it as a "gift to the rich" and something detrimental to female divorcees. France's parliamentary Conservatives are running a risk of reviving 1986's politically disastrous elimination of the IGF Impot sur les Grandes Fortunes tax, the first version of today's ISF wealth tax.


An Eulerian–Lagrangian modelling approach was employed in order to investigate the flow field, heat transfer and particle distribution in nanofluid flow in a parallel-plate microchannel, with a focus on relatively low Reynolds numbers ( $Re\leqslant 100$ ). Momentum and thermal interactions between fluid and particle phases were accounted for using a transient two-way coupling algorithm implemented within an in-house code that tracked the simultaneous evolution of the carrier and particulate phases while considering timescale differences between the two phases. The inaccuracy of assuming a homogeneous particle distribution in modelling nanofluid flow in microchannels was established. In particular, shear rate and thermophoresis were found to play a key role in the lateral migration of nanoparticles and in the formation of particle depletion and accumulation regions in the vicinity of the channel walls. At low Reynolds numbers, nanoparticle distribution near the walls was observed to gradually flatten in the streamwise direction. On the other hand, for relatively higher Reynolds numbers, higher particle non-uniformities were observed in the vicinity of the channel walls. Furthermore, it was established that convective heat transfer between channel walls and the bulk fluid can either improve or deteriorate with the addition of nanoparticles, depending on whether the flow exceeded a critical Reynolds number of enhancement. It was also established that Brownian motion and thermophoresis had a major role in nanoparticle deposition on the channel walls. In particular, Brownian motion was the main deposition mechanism for nano-sized particles, whereas due to thermophoresis, nanoparticles were repelled away from channel walls. The result of the competition between the two is that deposition gradually increased along the streamwise direction.


In this paper we investigate the probability of failure of a cohesive slope using both simple and more advanced probabilistic analysis tools. The influence of local averaging on the probability of failure of a test problem is thoroughly investigated. In the simple approach, classical slope stability analysis techniques are used, and the shear strength is treated as a single random variable. The advanced method, called the random finite-element method (RFEM), uses elastoplasticity combined with random field theory. The RFEM method is shown to offer many advantages over traditional probabilistic slope stability techniques, because it enables slope failure to develop naturally by "seeking out" the most critical mechanism. Of particular importance in this work is the conclusion that simplified probabilistic analysis, in which spatial variability is ignored by assuming perfect correlation, can lead to unconservative estimates of the probability of failure. This contradicts the findings of other investigators w...


Computer-aided surgery (CAS), the intraoperative application of biomedical visualization techniques, appears to be one of the most promising fields of application for augmented reality (AR), the display of additional computer generated graphics over a real-world scene. Typically a device such as a head-mounted display (HMD) is used for AR. However considerable technical problems connected with AR have limited the intraoperative application of HMDs up to now. One of the difficulties in using HMDs is the requirement for a common optical focal plane for both the real-world scene and the computer generated image, and acceptance of the HMD by the user in a surgical environment. In order to increase the clinical acceptance of AR, we have adapted the Varioscope (Life Optics, Vienna), a miniature, cost-effective head-mounted operating microscope, for AR. In this work, we present the basic design of the modified HMD, and the method and results of an extensive laboratory study for photogrammetric calibration of the Varioscope's computer displays to a real-world scene. In a series of sixteen calibrations with varying zoom factors and object distances, mean calibration error was found to be 1.24/spl plusmn/0.38 pixels or 0.12/spl plusmn/0.05 mm for a 640/spl times/480 display. Maximum error accounted for 3.33/spl plusmn/1.04 pixels or 0.33/spl plusmn/0.12 mm. The location of a position measurement probe of an optical tracking system was transformed to the display with an error of less than I mm in the real world in 56% of all cases. For the remaining cases, error was below 2 mm. We conclude that the accuracy achieved in our experiments is sufficient for a wide range of CAS applications.


A novel technique is demonstrated for the fabrication of silicon nanopillar arrays with high aspect ratios. Our technique leverages on an "antenna effect" present on a chromium (Cr) hard mask during ion-coupled plasma (ICP) etching. Randomly distributed sharp tips around the Cr edge act as antennas that attract etchant ions, which in turn enhance the etching of the Cr edge. This antenna effect leads to a smaller Cr mask size and thus a smaller nanopillar diameter. With optimized SF6 and CHF3 gas flow during ICP etching, we could achieve nanopillar arrays with sub-30 nm diameter, over 20 aspect ratio, and steep sidewall without collapse. The proposed technique may help break the limit of traditional nanopillar array fabrication, and be applied in many areas, such as Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS). A series of SERS simulations performed on nanopillar arrays fabricated by this technique show an obvious Raman spectrum intensity enhancement. This enhancement becomes more obvious when the diameter of the nanopillar becomes smaller and the aspect ratio becomes higher, which may be explained by a high light absorption, the lightning-rod effect, and a greater number of free electrons available at the surface due to the higher density of the surface state.


Universities aspire to deliver graduates who can function well in the industry. However, universities are still receiving comments from the industry that the graduates are not competent to do hands-on work. Lack of hands-on experience as a result of focusing too much in formal education could have contributed to this scenario. Final year project if carefully structured can be used as a tool to overcome this issue. This work describes the effort made to enhance final year students' hands-on learning experience through final year project in industry. Two different projects have been conducted in a beverage can manufacturing company. Both projects have similar intentions which are to improve the productivity level and to minimize material wastes. Duration of one year has been spent in constructing and implementing suitable approach to achieve the project objectives. The final year project conducted has not only contributed to a significant cost savings to the company, but also has added such a valuable learning experience for the students. The final year project has successfully provided them a substantial amount of hands-on experience that complements the textbook knowledge they learned in class. The challenges faced in the implementation of final year project in industry are also discussed in this work.


BACKGROUND
There is still uncertainty about the best procedure to alleviate iron deficiency. Additionally more reliable methods are needed to assess the effect of iron intervention.

OBJECTIVE
We examined the efficacy of daily iron (10 mg), daily and weekly multiple-micronutrient supplementation (10 and 20 mg Fe, respectively) in improving body iron stores of Indonesian infants.

DESIGN
Infants aged 6-12 mo were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 groups: daily multiple-micronutrients (DMM) foodlike tablets (foodLETs), weekly multiple-micronutrient (WMM) foodLETs, daily iron (DI) foodLETs, or daily placebo. Hemoglobin, ferritin, transferrin receptors, and C-reactive protein data were obtained at baseline and 23 wk.

RESULTS
Body iron estimated from the ratio of transferrin receptors to ferritin was analyzed for 244 infants. At baseline, mean iron stores (0.5 +/- 4.1 mg/kg) did not differ among the groups, and 45.5% infants had deficits in tissue iron (body iron < 0). At week 23, the group DI had the highest increment in mean body iron (4.0 mg/kg), followed by the DMM group (2.3 mg/kg; P < 0.001 for both). The iron stores in the WMM group did not change, whereas the mean body iron declined in the daily placebo group (-2.2 mg/kg; P < 0.001). Compared with the daily placebo group, the DMM group gained 4.55 mg Fe/kg, the DI group gained 6.23 mg Fe/kg (both P < 0.001), and the WMM group gained 2.54 mg Fe/kg (P = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
When compliance can be ensured, DI and DMM foodLETs are efficacious in improving and WMM is efficacious in maintaining iron stores among Indonesian infants.


A program was developed to extract hydraulic information required for bridge-scour computations, from the Water-Surface Profile computation model (WSPRO). The program is written in compiled BASIC and is menu driven. Using only ground points, the program can compute average ground elevation, cross-sectional area below a specified datum, or create a Drawing Exchange Format (DXF) fie of cross section. Using both ground points ad hydraulic information form the equal-conveyance tubes computed by WSPRO, the program can compute hydraulic parameters at a user-specified station or in a user-specified subsection of the cross section. The program can identify the maximum velocity in a cross section and the velocity and depth at a user-specified station. The program also can identify the maximum velocity in the cross section and the average velocity, average depth, average ground elevation, width perpendicular to the flow, cross-sectional area of flow, and discharge in a subsection of the cross section. This program does not include any help or suggestions as to what data should be extracted; therefore, the used must understand the scour equations and associated variables to the able to extract the proper information from the WSPRO output.


In terms of the Corona crisis, one of the key areas of strategic procurement negotiating have changed significantly. For the past few months, almost all negotiations have been occurring virtually. But it seems likely that even after the end of the pandemic, the entire work environment for purchasing managers will become even more "virtual". The article provides an overview of recommendations for virtual negotiations in regard to technical set-up, behavior guidance as well as opportunities & risks of multiple communication channels.


The chemokine receptor CXCR3 is implicated in migration of leukocytes to sites of inflammation. Antagonizing CXCR3 could therefore be a potential strategy to inhibit inflammation induced leukocyte migration, and subsequently reduce atherosclerotic lesion formation. In this study we used the CXCR3 specific antagonist NBI-74330 to block CXCR3 mediated signaling in thioglycolate induced peritonitis and diet induced atherosclerosis. Antagonizing CXCR3 with NBI-74330 resulted in a significant reduction in CD4+ T cell and macrophage migration to the peritoneal cavity. Ex-vivo migration studies with cells isolated from the peritoneal cavity after NBI-74330 treatment showed that this reduction in migration was totally CXCR3 dependent. Atherosclerotic lesion formation in both the aortic valve leaflet area as well as the total aorta was significantly inhibited in NBI-74330 treated mice. Lymph nodes draining from the aortic arch were significantly smaller in treated mice and showed enrichment in regulatoryand less activated T cells. This study shows for the first time that treatment with a CXCR3 antagonist results in attenuating atherosclerotic lesion formation, not only by blocking direct migration of effector cells from the circulation to the atherosclerotic plaque, but also by beneficially modulating the inflammatory response in lymph nodes draining from the atherosclerotic lesion.


Platinum thin films have been prepared on Al2O3 substrates by DC magnetron sputtering. Platinum resistance thermometers have been fabricated and their characteristics analysed. We used a UV laser (wavelength 355 nm) to adjust the Pt thin films temperature sensors to 100 Ω at 0°C. As result of setting the Pt resistors to the target value of 109.73 Ω at 25°C, 82.3% of total resistors had a tolerance within ±0.03 Ω and 17.7% were within ±0.06 Ω of A-class tolerance according to DIN EN 60751. The PRTs which were fabricated in this research had excellent characteristics such as high accuracy, long-term stability, wide temperature range, good linearity, good repeatability and rapid response time.


In this talk, we discuss the implications of the renormalization group equations for the neutrino masses and mixing angles in a supersymmetric string-inspired SU(4)×SU(2)L×SU(2)R×U(1)X model with matter in fundamental and antisymmetric tensor representations only. The quark, charged lepton and neutrino Yukawa matrices are distinguished by different Clebsch-Gordan coefficients due to contracting over SU(4) and SU(2)R indices. In order to permit for a more realistic, hierarchical light neutrino mass spectrum with bi-large mixing a second U(1)X breaking singlet with fractional charge is introduced. By numerical investigation we find a region in the model parameter space where the neutrino mass-squared differences and mixing angles at low energy are consistent with experimental data.


The preparation and properties of a new series of nickel(II) complexes with 2-methoxyphenol and its 4-formyl-, 4-nitro-, and 4-formyl-6-methoxy-derivatives are reported. The hydrates of general formula Ni(ligand)2,xH2O dehydrate to yield complexes of the type Ni(ligand)2. Physical measurements show that the ligands produce weak fields and that the complexes contain octahedral nickel(II) with room temperature paramagnetic moments in the normally observed range. There is tentative evidence for methoxy-group co-ordination in some cases and several of the complexes may be polymeric. Zinc(II) complexes of 2-methoxyphenol and 2-ethoxy-4-formylphenol demonstrate that the visible spectra of the nickel complexes are not derived from the ligands.


Based on the operator Hermite polynomials method (OHPM), we study Stirling numbers in the context of quantum mechanics, i.e., we present operator realization of generating function formulas of Stirling numbers with some applications. As a by-product, we derive a summation formula involving both Stirling number and Hermite polynomials.


With prompt administration of appropriate antimicrobial therapy and access to modern intensive care support, fatal pediatric melioidosis is very unusual. We describe cases of two children in whom the possibility of melioidosis was recognized relatively early, but who died of the disease, despite receiving optimal supportive care. We discuss the resulting implications for bacterial virulence factors in disease pathogenesis.


The paper is dedicated to the analysis of homelessness in Romania, in its transformations during transition, as well as the dynamic of the set up aiming to tackle it. The wider context of the analysis is twofold: (i) for comparative purposes, the problem of homelessness worldwide is mainly addressed at the level of measurement methods and policies; innovative measurement techniques and programs implemented overseas are mentioned, in order to understand how the Romanian policies and research compare, and to highlight the range of development opportunities ahead; (ii) the various factors contributing to the occurrence of the social problem are put under scrutiny; homelessness is approached as a structural failure of the society, i.e. an extreme limit of the social inclusion and social development strategy, rather than an individual rebuff. The paper offers an understanding of the factors shaping life trajectories of homeless people. Researches show that family events play a prominent role (divorce, separation, eviction by the household members). The loss or inability to procure a dwelling (as in the case of youth exiting the social protection system) represents also crucial personal event, with a major explanatory role for homelessness. These factors are far more important than poverty per se, as many of the studies show. The paper profiles the multidimensional nature of the social exclusion of the homeless: lack of adequate and sufficient food, repeated sexual, physical and psychological abuses, chronic diseases, discrimination and stigma, total lack of access to social services, lack of identity papers and other categories of interrelated problems. Researches suggest that the phenomenon of homelessness has become acute in Romania, reaching at least its second proliferation wave, as some of the post-revolutionary homeless have given birth to offspring of their own, while the institutional capacity has been almost inexistent for a long time and it is still far insufficient, in conditions of uncertainty regarding the real size and nature of the phenomenon. Most of the intervention capacity is shaped as emergency response to crises situations. The "invisibility" of the phenomenon for the society has been increased by the lack of credible administrative data or research estimates. Interviews conducted by the author complement the scarce supply of recent literature on homelessness, in an attempt to bring this social problem into the focus of research and policy. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n22p504


Abstractα-Pinene, an organic monoterpene, is found in essential oils of pine and coniferous trees. To date, although various biological activities of α-pinene have been demonstrated, its neurotoxicity has never been explored. Therefore in this study, we aimed to describe in vitro antiproliferative and/or cytotoxic properties by 3-(4,5-dimetylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) test, genotoxic damage potentials by single cell gel electrophoresis, and oxidative effects by total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total oxidative stress (TOS) analysis of α-pinene. Statistical analysis of MTT assay results indicated significant (p < 0.05) decreases of the cell proliferation rates in healthy neurons treated with α-pinene at only 400 mg/L, while significant decreases were observed in N2a cells at 100, 200 and 400 mg/L. On the other hand, the mean values of the total scores of cells showing DNA damage were not found significantly different from the control values on both cells. In addition, our results indicated that 10 and 25 mg/L of α-pinene treatment caused increases of TAC levels in primary rat neurons without any alterations of its level in N2a cells. However, α-pinene treatments at higher doses led to increases of TOS levels in both cell types. Overall our results suggest that α-pinene is of a limited therapeutic use as an anticancer agent.


In this study, pathogenic Escherichia coli serotypes (E. coli O157:H7, O26, O111) and their molecular proximity and antimicrobial susceptibility were investigated in RTE foods. A total of 240 samples; consist of 105 stuffed mussel, 56 meatless cig kofte, 54 Russian salad, 25 cheese halva, were analyzed. The conventional culture and serotyping methods for determination of the organisms were performed and further confirmation by PCR was carried out. Confirmed E. coli O157 isolates were genotyped by the enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus(ERIC)-PCR. Antibacterial susceptibility testing of the isolates was performed by disc diffusion method. E. coli was detected in 7 (2.9 %) of 240 samples, including 3 (5.5%) Russian salad, 3 (2.8%) stuffed mussel, 1 (4 %) cheese halva. Two isolates from Russian salad, 1 from stuffed mussel and 1 from cheese halva were identified as E. coli O157 . In addition, stuffed mussel isolate was found to carry stx1 ve hlyA genes whereas one Russian salad isolate carried the stx1 gene. E. coli isolates were found to be resistant to amoxycillin/clavulonic acid, gentamicin and ciprofloxacin, at the rate of 29%, 14% and 29 %, respectively. Only one (14 %) isolate from stuffed mussel was classified as multidrug resistant to three antimicrobials. Furthermore, the isolates, related to O157 and O157:H7, presented different ribotypes in this study. The results provide useful data for the development of public health policy concerning the potential presence of pathogenic antimicrobial resistant E. coli serotypes in RTE foods. Strict surveillance of RTE foods at retail points for emerging pathogens, their antimicrobial resistance patterns and the potential likelihood of cross-contamination is required.


Although only a small contributor to total electricity production needs, built-environment wind turbines (BWTs) nonetheless have the potential to influence the public's consideration of renewable energy, and wind energy in particular. Higher population concentrations in urban environments offer greater opportunities for project visibility and an opportunity to acquaint large numbers of people to the advantages of wind projects on a larger scale. However, turbine failures will be equally visible and could have a negative effect on public perception of wind technology. This roadmap provides a framework for achieving the vision set forth by the attendees of the Built-Environment Wind Turbine Workshop on August 11 - 12, 2010, at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The BWT roadmap outlines the stakeholder actions that could be taken to overcome the barriers identified. The actions are categorized as near-term (0 - 3 years), medium-term (4 - 7 years), and both near- and medium-term (requiring immediate to medium-term effort). To accomplish these actions, a strategic approach was developed that identifies two focus areas: understanding the built-environment wind resource and developing testing and design standards. The authors summarize the expertise and resources required in these areas.


Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, in which pancreatic β cells are destroyed by autoreactive T cells in genetically predisposed individuals. Serum beta cell autoantibody specificities have represented the mainstay for classifying diabetes as autoimmune-mediated and for stratifying risk in first-degree relatives. In recent years, approaches were attempted to solve the difficult issue of detecting rare antigen-specific autoreactive T cells and their significance to etiopathogenesis such as the use of the MHC multimer technology. This tool allowed the specific detection of increased percentages of GAD65 autoreactive T cells by means of HLA A*02:01 GAD65 AA 114–122 pentamers in newly diagnosed diabetics. Here we provide evidence that GAD65 AA 114–122 pentamers can depict a GAD65 AA114-122 peptide expandable population of functionally and phenotypically skewed, preliminary characterized CD3-CD8dullCD56+ 'memory-like' NK cells in PBMC of newly diagnosed diabetics. Our data suggest that the NK cell subset could bind the HLA class I GAD65 AA 114–122 pentamer through ILT2 inhibitory receptor. CD107a expression revealed increased degranulation of CD3-CD8dullCD56+ NK cells in GAD65 AA 114–122 and FLU peptide expanded peripheral blood mononuclear cells of diabetics following GAD65 AA 114–122 peptide HLA A*02:01 presentation in respect to the unpulsed condition. CD107a expression was enriched in ILT2 positive NK cells. As opposite to basal conditions where similar percentages of CD3-CD56+ILT2+ cells were detected in diabetics and controls, CD3-CD56+CD107a+ and CD3-CD56+ILT2+CD107a+ cells were significantly increased in T1D PBMC either GAD65 AA 114–122 or FLU peptides stimulated after co-culture with GAD65 AA 114–122 pulsed APCs. As control, healthy donor NK cells showed similar degranulation against both GAD65 AA 114–122 pulsed and unpulsed APCs. The pathogenetic significance of the CD3-CD8dullCD56+ 'memory-like NK cell subset' with increased response upon secondary challenge in diabetics remains to be elucidated.


Coxsackie adenovirus receptor (CAR) expression is the main mechanism of adenovirus entry into target cells. It is unclear whether CAR expression itself is influenced by transduction with the adenovirus-Rous sarcoma virus-thymidine kinase (ADV-RSV-TK) gene therapy construct or by the subsequent intracellular accumulation of the TK gene product. Antibody generation and characterization, immunocytochemistry, Western blotting and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay were performed to investigate the relationship of gene transfer and CAR expression as well as differences in therapeutic susceptibility of MDAH-2774 and OVCAR-3 cell lines to ADV-RSV-TK gene therapy. CAR expression was observed on the membranes but intracellular translocation of CAR also took place dependent on cellular growth patterns. TK gene expression was dependent on multiplicity of infection (MOI) and thus on vector dose in a linear fashion. Neither TK expression nor ADV transduction influenced CAR expression, or ADV-RSV-TK transduction. Differential susceptibility of different cell lines to TK-induced cell killing by acyclovir metabolites was observed. CAR expression appears not to be influenced by adenoviral transduction or by the accumulation of the TK gene product. Differences in therapeutic sensitivity are most likely mediated by intracellular mechanisms and not by modulation of CAR expression.


Aluminum (Al) alloys are reinforced with carbides and oxides to enhance their properties. Al composites are developed to meet current automotive, shipbuilding, and aviation requirements. In the current study, aluminum 6061 is reinforced with B4C and Cr2O3 separately to fabricate Al6061 + B4C and Al 6061 + Cr2O3 aluminum metal matrix composites (Al MMC). The Al composites were fabricated by stir casting with a wt % in steps of 2%, 4%, and 6%. Joining of Al MMC is essential to develop valuable components. The developed composites were welded using friction stir welding (FSW). FSW is recognized and widely used for joining Al MMC due to premium weld quality with minimum defects. The present study aims to analyze the effect of process parameters and predictive accuracy of the artificial neural network (ANN) and response surface methodology (RSM). The parameters selected for the study are tool rotational speed, tool travel speed, and reinforcement wt %. The FSW was performed based on the experimental design developed by the design expert software. Through RSM analysis, it was found that both the independent factors (tool rotational and tool transverse speed) and the interaction of factors jointly contribute to the FSW joint properties. The higher ultimate strength of 139 MPa and lower tensile strength of 48 MPa are found. As the tool travel speed increase from 20 to 25 mm min−1, ultimate tensile strength increase by about 59%. The average accuracy of RSM was 98.26 and of ANN was 94.86.


In eukaryotes, U3 snoRNA is essential for pre-rRNA maturation. Its 5′-domain was found to form base pair interactions with the 18S and 5′-ETS parts of the pre-rRNA. In Xenopus laevis, two segments of U3 snoRNA form base-pair interactions with the 5′-ETS region and only one of them is essential to the maturation process. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, two similar U3 snoRNA–5′ ETS interactions are possible; but, the functional importance of only one of them had been tested. Surprisingly, this interaction, which corresponds to the non-essential one in X. laevis, is essential for cell growth and pre-rRNA maturation in yeast. In parallel with [Dutca et al. (2011) The initial U3 snoRNA:pre-rRNA base pairing interaction required for pre-18S rRNA folding revealed by in vivo chemical probing. Nucleic Acids Research, 39, 5164–5180], here we show, that the second possible 11-bp long interaction between the 5′ domain of S. cerevisiae U3 snoRNA and the pre-rRNA 5′-ETS region (helix VI) is also essential for pre-rRNA processing and cell growth. Compensatory mutations in one-half of helix VI fully restored cell growth. Only a partial restoration of growth was obtained upon extension of compensatory mutations to the entire helix VI, suggesting sequence requirement for binding of specific proteins. Accordingly, we got strong evidences for a role of segment VI in the association of proteins Mpp10, Imp4 and Imp3.


Tracheobronchial injuries are closely related to orotracheal intubations and chest traumas. Stabbing injuries are very rare and often life threatening because of the damage to vital structures such as the respiratory tract and large arterial or venous vessels. Early diagnosis and treatment of penetrating neck injuries increase survival rates. We report a case of the tracheobronchial section with a penetrating stabbing wound on the left laterocervical area associated with contralateral pneumothorax, requiring urgent surgical pulmonary repair, tracheal suture, and tracheotomy. Prompt action with a multidisciplinary approach resulted in a favorable outcome.


A PMMA-based gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) modified by a plastic crystal succinonitrile (SN) was synthesized using a facile solvent-casting method. The effects of SN additives upon lithium-ion dissociation and ionic conductivity were investigated primarily using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, accompanied by other structural characterization methods. The results show that SN is distributed uniformly in the PMMA matrix with a high content and produces vast dipoles that benefit the dissociation of lithium salt. Hence, the SN-modified GPE (SN-GPE) achieves an excellent ionic conductivity of 2.02 mS·cm−1 and good mechanical properties. The quasi-solid-state ECD fabricated using the SN-GPE exhibits stable cyclability and excellent electrochromic performance, in which the bleaching/coloration response time is 10 s/30 s. These results add significant insight into understanding the inter- and intra-molecular interaction in SN-GPEs and provide a type of practicable high-performance GPE material for solid electrochromic devices.


This paper explores the federated modeling of an op tical data path that interconnects processors and memory in a multicomputer system. By federated modeling, we me an the use of two pre-existing simulation models of di stinct subsystems to form a resulting overall model of the entire system. In this experimental federation, we investi gate mechanisms that facilitate the distinct models work ing together while explicitly minimizing the model integration effort required. This focus yields tra deoffs in both model execution time and (potentially) the fid elity of the overall performance results. These tradeoffs a re investigated quantitatively in the context of a par ticular system under investigation, a multicomputer optical d ta path.


Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is etiologically associated with various maternal, fetal and placental factors, although such an association may not be present in many cases. Maternal factors include hypertensive diseases, autoimmune disorders, certain medications, severe malnutrition, and maternal lifestyle including smoking, alcohol and cocaine use. Fetal etiologies include aneuploidy, malformations, syndromes related to abnormal genomic imprinting, perinatal viral or protozoan infections, preterm birth, and multiple gestation. Placental factors may involve many conditions including anatomical, vascular, chromosomal and morphological abnormalities. Better understanding of these etiologic conditions may lead to improved prediction, prevention and management of FGR.


OBJECTIVE
To understand the status of Oncomelania hupensis snail distribution and diffusion in main drainages of Hexi Reservoir and evaluate the snail control effect of the schistosomiasis control engineering of Hexi Reservoir.

METHODS
The O. hupensis snails were investigated by using the straw curtain method and fishing net method in different areas of the main drainages of Hexi Reservoir, and the results were analyzed.

RESULTS
A total of 1 800 straw curtains were used and 37 snails were found in Naxi stream. Totally 5 870 kg floats were salved and no snails were found.

CONCLUSION
The schistosomiasis control engineering of Hexi Reservoir is effective in the prevention of the snail diffusion, but there are still snails in the upstream. rherefore, the snail surveillance and control need to be strengthened.


In October 1945, Henry Ford II received a telegram in his office at the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan written by Charles "Tex" Thornton, a U.S. Air Force colonel. The telegram presented an opportunity for Ford to deploy a system of statistical control which had been developed and applied successfully in the management of the Army Air Forces. Henry Ford II had recently assumed control of his grandfather's troubled automotive empire, and was looking for experienced auto industry men to help him make Ford a dominant name once again. Thornton had no industry experience whatsoever, but seemed convinced that his ideas could be applicable to Ford's company. Perhaps the Ford Motor Company could use an injection of new ideas. Hiring Thornton and his men could end up being Ford's most inspired move. Or his most disastrous.Learning Objective:To examine the early application of statistical control at the Ford Motor Company.


Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is the causative agent of severe necrotizing pneumonia in swine. Previously, we identified the ohr gene encoding organic hydroperoxide reductase as specifically induced during infection of pigs, induced in vitro by organic peroxides but not other oxygen radicals, and present in A. pleuropneumoniae serotypes 1, 9 and 11 but not in other serotypes (Shea & Mulks, 2002). Through analysis of flanking genomic sequence, we identify a homologue of gst, which encodes glutathione-S-transferase, immediately downstream of ohr and demonstrate that ohr-gst confers low but uninducible Ohr activity to serotype 5. We further identify a genomic island of 9.3 kb, flanked by lysR and araC homologues, in serotypes 1, 9 and 11, which contains ohr and gst. In serotypes 2-8, 10 and 12, this region of the genome contains a 1.1-kb islet with a putative transposase flanked by lysR and araC.


The resolution of optical imaging is limited by diffraction as well as detector noise. However, thermal imaging exhibits an additional unique phenomenon of ghosting which results in blurry and low-texture images. Here, we provide a detailed view of thermal physics-driven texture and explain why it vanishes in thermal images capturing heat radiation. We show that spectral resolution in thermal imagery can help recover this texture, and we provide algorithms to recover texture close to the ground truth. Using a simulator for complex 3D scenes, we discuss the interplay of geometric textures and non-uniform temperatures which is common in real-world thermal imaging. We demonstrate the failure of traditional thermal imaging to recover ground truth in multiple scenarios while our thermal perception approach successfully recovers geometric textures. Finally, we put forth an experimentally feasible infrared Bayer-filter approach to achieve thermal perception in pitch darkness as vivid as optical imagery in broad daylight.


The article provides the analysis of the conditions and results of the processes of political culture development and political socialization of the contemporary youth in the frame of sociological research. The analysis of the conflicting influences of the agents of political socialization (family, system of education, mass media), the difficult circumstances and the challenging economic status of the contemporary Russian youth as well as the macropolitical environment in the country provides an opportunity to arrive at the conclusion concerning the socialization crisis of youth in contemporary Russia.


Although gastric lipomas, an extremely rare tumor, were once found mostly during autopsy studies and laparotomy for upper intestinal hemorrhages and obstruction, we are now able to diagnose these masses with CT scanners and gastrointestinal endoscopy. Surgery is now necessary only under certain circumstances. We present two cases of gastric lipomas with different clinical presentations, both diagnosed preoperatively.


Presents the epidemiology, possible etiology, and pathogenesis of myasthenia, methods of diagnosis of the disease, and clinical picture of critical states. Describes the present-day methods of treating myasthenic and cholinergic crises: programmed plasmapheresis combined with hormone therapy, pulsed therapy with superhigh doses of corticosteroids, and the most novel method for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, intravenous infusions of immunoglobulins. Draws attention to indications for artificial ventilation of the lungs and tracheostomy. Enumerates the drugs which are not recommended for patients with myasthenia. Emphasizes that the use of the whole complex of modern therapeutic methods for the treatment of grave myasthenia helps reduce the mortality to virtually null.


Primary calvarial (excluding jaw) osteosarcoma is rare. We report two cases highlighting their unusual presentation and histopathologic variability – a 30-year-old female who presented with progressively increasing headache and a rapidly growing frontal swelling and a 16-year-old girl who had a rapidly growing mass in the left frontoparietal region which had recurred thrice but was otherwise asymptomatic. The lesions were osteolytic on neuroimaging and histopathological examination confirmed osteosarcoma. These two unusual cases are discussed along with a brief review of literature.


The use of charge-exchange spectroscopy as a diagnostic tool in fusion plasmas is steadily growing. This technique exploits spectral lines produced by charge transfer from hydrogen atoms into highly excited states of impurity ions. The concentrations and transport properties of the dominant, fully ionized low-Z impurities can, therefore, be measured. In addition, it is possible to observe transitions having wavelengths long enough for obtaining accurate Doppler shifts and widths, even in plasmas with temperatures of several keV, and ion temperatures and plasma rotation are increasingly being determined from such spectral lines. In this paper, the atomic physics considerations, including the influence of the plasma environment, are reviewed, and several recent examples of applications to plasma problems are summarized.


The ultrastructural details of mouse oogonia, oocytes and follicular cells from fetal day 12 through postnatal day 3 are presented.

In fetal oogonia and oocytes cytodifferentiation proceeds slowly. The most notable change involves an increase in the number of mitochondria and in the size of the Golgi complex. Oogonial itoses, nuclear synaptinemal complexes, true intercellular bridges and multinucleated cells were observed.

After the formation of unilaminar follicles with growing oocytes, cytoplasmic alterations are striking. The Golgi apparatus, previously predominately of vesicular elements, now becomes lamellar in form and occasionally develops complex anastomosing tubules. There may be important functional significance in the relationship established between the Golgi elements and long endoplasmic reticulum cisternae. The membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum cisternae facing the Golgi complex lack ribosomes and exhibit bud-like evaginations in varying stages of abstriction. Ribosomes are attached to the opposite membrane of the cisternae. Profiles of endoplasmic reticulum are intimately associated with the numerous large mitochondria. Numerous multivesicular and "dense" bodies are present in some oocytes. Zona pellucida formation is initiated in some of the larger unilaminar follicles.

Cytodiferentiation of follicular cells follows a course different from that of the germinal cells in that their cytoplasmic organelles are well differentiated very early in the fetal period. Similarly they send forth the most delicate cytoplasmic extensions which separate adjacent germinal cells. Postnatally, in unilaminar follicles these same cells constitute a flattened epithelial layer containing only a few cytoplasmic organelles. In contrast when these cells become cuboidal and columnar the numerous organelles, as seen in fetal follicle cells, reappear once again. In addition, when the zona pellucida is formed cell processes from these follicle cells extend into it.


[Problem] To enable core element information to be efficiently sent from an active stylus to a sensor controller. [Solution] A method according to the present invention involves using an active stylusand a sensor controller, the method comprising: steps S6-S8 in which the active stylus transmits, in accordance with the detection of a beacon signal BS in step 4, function information CP that includes core element information indicating the type of a core element that constitutes the pen point of the active stylus; a step for acquiring the core element information from the function information CP received by the sensor controller; steps S12, S13 in which the active stylus repeatedly transmits a data signal that includes the writing pressure value applied to the core element; and a step in which the sensor controller 31 derives the position of the active stylus on the basis of the data signal by a method based on the core element information.


Background White maize, which is widely used for complementary feeding and is seldom fortified at the household level, may be associated with the high prevalence of vitamin A deficiency among infants in low-income countries. Objective The nutrient composition of complementary foods based on orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) and cream-fleshed sweet potato (CFSP), maize—soybean— groundnut (Weanimix), and a proprietary wheat-based infant cereal (Nestlé Cerelac) were assessed using the Codex Standard (CODEX STAN 074-1981, Rev. 1–2006) specification as a reference. Additionally, the costs of OFSP complementary food, CFSP complementary food, and Weanimix production at the household level were estimated. Phytate and polyphenols, which limit the bioavailability of micronutrients, were assessed. Methods Energy, macronutrients, and micronutrients listed as essential composition in the Codex Standard were determined and expressed as energy or nutrient density. Results All the formulations met the stipulated energy and nutrient densities as specified in the Codex Standard. The β-carotene content of OFSP complementary food exceeded the vitamin A specification (60 to 180 μg retinol activity equivalents/100 kcal). All the formulations except Weanimix contained measurable amounts of ascorbic acid (≥ 32.0 mg/100 g). The level of phytate in Weanimix was highest, about twice that of OFSP complementary food. The sweet potato-based foods contained about twice as much total polyphenols as the cereal-based products. The estimated production cost of OFSP complementary food was slightly higher (1.5 times) than that of Weanimix. Conclusions OFSP complementary food is a good source of β-carotene and would therefore contribute to the vitamin A requirements of infants. Both OFSP complementary food and Weanimix may inhibit iron absorption because of their high levels of polyphenols and phytate, respectively, compared with those of Nestlé Cerelac.


We show experimentally that in a supercooled liquid composed of molecules with internal degrees of freedom the internal modes contribute to the frequency-dependent shear viscosity and damping of transverse phonons, which results in an additional broadening of the transverse Brillouin lines. Earlier, only the effect of internal modes on the frequency-dependent bulk viscosity and damping of longitudinal phonons was observed and explained theoretically in the limit of weak coupling of internal degrees of freedom to translational motion. A new theory is needed to describe this new effect. We also demonstrate that the contributions of structural relaxation and internal processes to the width of the Brillouin lines can be separated by measurements under high pressure.


This paper describes the development of a new family of ionic liquid crystals based on imidazolium salts and their applications as media for intramolecular Diels Alder reactions. The use of highly organized smectic T phases was shown to be an efficient method to obtain the intramolecular Diels Alder product in high yields, without using high dilution conditions. The ionic liquid crystal media can be recycled in an easy procedure and reused up to at least five times, without loss of reactivity and selectivity.


Abstract: Scale-invariant forms of mass, energy, and linear momentum conservation equations in chemically reactive fields are described. The modified equation of motion is then solved for the classical problems of laminar flow near a rotating disk. The predicted velocity profiles obtained from analytical solutions are shown to be in excellent agreement with the exact numerical calculations of Cochran based on the von Kármán classical theory.


In this paper, we propose and develop the concept of "socio-economic hygiene" to denote the ways in which neoliberal Western urban space is spatially regulated and re-oriented towards consumption in a way that reinforces social exclusion. By connecting genocide literature with that of urban sociology, we parallel "socioeconomic hygiene" with "racial hygiene" in order to highlight similar sociological motivations and spatial tactics within both regimes. This includes the enforcement of a binary within which dominant and subordinate identities are constructed; the naturalization of the "Other" either through biology (in the case of racial hygiene) or place (in the case of socio-economic hygiene); and the micro-political enforcement of ideological genocidal/neoliberal tenets "on the ground," translating ideology into practical social cues. We conclude by tracking how sociological strategies of "hygiene" have moved from racial and biological features to features of place and socioeconomic status, and how BIDs, resembling genocidal states in certain ways, use these strategies to continually justify their own existence.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the frequency, duration, and impact of computer downtime on laboratory operations.

METHODS
Four hundred twenty-two laboratories monitored the frequency of computer system downtime and other computer malfunctions over a period of 30 days. Participants classified each instance of unavailability according to its cause, duration, and consequences. In all, data from 11 967 instances were submitted for analysis.

RESULTS
During the 30-day study period, the participating institutions experienced a median of eight episodes in which all or a primary computer function was unavailable. The cumulative median duration of downtime during these 30 days was 14.3 hours. The most unfortunate 10% of participants reported having 44 or more episodes in which all or a primary computer function was lost during the 30 days, for a cumulative duration of 77.7 or more hours of system unavailability. Computer installations that served two or more full-service laboratories were significantly more likely to experience unscheduled loss of all or a primary computer function than were sites that served only one laboratory, and unscheduled events were more likely to be of longer duration. Participants reported that 1.3% of downtime events required the use of staff overtime to perform required work. Overtime was more likely with longer-than-average periods of downtime and losses that had not been scheduled. Of all the downtime instances, 0.2% led to the release of inaccurate results, and 0.1% led to an adverse clinical outcome. These events were associated with software failure, unscheduled downtime, a site's overall frequency of downtime, particular software vendors, and not having installed a software patch in the previous 1000 days.

CONCLUSIONS
The frequency of laboratory computer downtime varies widely among institutions and is occasionally associated with adverse clinical outcomes or additional staff expense.


Patients with minor to extensive contour defects continue to present a challenge to plastic surgeons. Surgical techniques that were previously used are often associated with a high degree of morbidity and complications. Past experience with fat transplantation has been combined with the latest advances in fat harvesting methods. The patient described in this article had a breast augmentation for symmetry and soft-tissue correction after breast reconstruction following mastectomy. Using fat removed by liposuction, autologous tissue was transplanted by transcutaneous injection. To date, our follow-up on this patient is almost 3 years. Excellent aesthetic results and volume augmentation have been maintained.


In the Briefe zu Beforderung der Humanitat , J. G. Herder engages both Saint-Pierre and Kant in the eighteenth-century debate about perpetual peace, but comes to his own characteristic conclusions. With the last letters of the last collection, Herder analyzes past and present rationalizations for war, finds them hypocritical and self-serving, and proposes a paradigm for peace suggested by a Native American institution instead. An investigation of his formula for peace reveals as well a clear and fundamental link to his definition of Humanitat , the concept at the center of all his thought. Although unable to assert a utopian solution for eternal peace, he nevertheless challenges his readers then and now to temper realism with idealism, skepticism with hope.


Abstract This study develops a preliminary probabilistic seismic hazard model for Vanuatu. The area of investigation, formerly referred to as the New Hebrides, lies in the center of a chain of partly vulcanologically active islands that mark the present-day boundary between the Australia-India plate and the microplate of the North Fiji basin. The seismicity of the Vanuatu arc is dominated by an east-dipping subduction zone, which shows striking structural anomalies in the central part between 14° and 18° S. Our historical catalog contains 7519 events within the Vanuatu region for the period from 1964 to 2003, drawn from the global teleseismic catalogs by the United States Geological Survey/National Earthquake Information Center (USGS/NEIC, see Data and Resources section) and Engdahl et al. (1998). As a measure of seismic hazard, we use horizontal peak ground acceleration (PGA) and horizontal spectral ground acceleration (SGA) at a period of 1 sec. The hazard estimates are based on a logic-tree approach to account for the epistemic uncertainties associated with our analysis. Our results suggest that the entire island arc experiences a high and uniform seismic hazard. Typical values for PGAs range from 0.65 g to 0.77 g with a 10% probability of exceedence in 50 yr. For Port Vila, the capital and largest city in Vanuatu, we additionally present a PGA hazard curve and a uniform hazard spectrum over the period range 0.1–2 sec.


Multitask learning (MTL) aims to develop a unified model that can handle a set of closely related tasks simultaneously. By optimizing the model across multiple tasks, MTL generally surpasses its non-MTL counterparts in terms of generalizability. Although MTL has been extensively researched in various domains such as computer vision, natural language processing, and recommendation systems, its application to time series data has received limited attention. In this paper, we investigate the application of MTL to the time series classification (TSC) problem. However, when we integrate the state-of-the-art 1D convolution-based TSC model with MTL, the performance of the TSC model actually deteriorates. By comparing the 1D convolution-based models with the Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) distance function, it appears that the underwhelming results stem from the limited expressive power of the 1D convolutional layers. To overcome this challenge, we propose a novel design for a 2D convolution-based model that enhances the model's expressiveness. Leveraging this advantage, our proposed method outperforms competing approaches on both the UCR Archive and an industrial transaction TSC dataset.


Background We measured the expression of microRNA (miRNA) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues using the Luminex xMAP bead-based suspension array. We discuss the feasibility of employing this method to detect miRNA in NSCLC and explore its value as a high-throughput miRNA array. Methods We performed the methodological analysis of xMAP with oligoribonucleic acid references. We detected the expression of miR-21, miR, miR-31, miR-222, miR-145 and miR 40 NSCLC cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues by xMAP bead-based suspension array. We selected miR-191 and miR-103 as the house-keeping genes (internal control). We also analyzed the relationship between xMAP and RT-PCR. Results The methodological analysis parameters of xMAP are quite good. The expression of miR-21, miR, miR-31 and miR-222 was higher in NSCLC tissues than in adjacent tissues, while the expression of miR-145 and miR-126 was lower in NSCLC tissues than in adjacent tissues. The expression of miR-145 and miR-126 decreased with disease progression. The intraassay and interassay coefficients of variation were lower in xMAP than in RT-PCR. xMAP proved cheaper and more flexible in detecting multiple miRNAs of one sample. Conclusions The Luminex xMAP bead-based suspension array for detecting miRNA has many advantages, such as allowing a smaller sample size (only 2 μL), no sample amplification, fast detection, high throughput, and flexible combination of multiple detection targets. The high throughput testing technology shows a great advantage in saving time and labor. We found that the Luminex xMAP bead-based suspension array is a good and feasible method for detecting miRNA expression with high-throughput technology.


ABSTRACT: Blue oak woodland is an endemic natural community in the Central Valley region of California. It is dominated by blue oak (Quercus douglasii Hook. & Arn.) and has an understory of annual grasses and forbs. Most blue oak woodlands are found on privately owned cattle ranches which are currently threatened by conversion to housing, vineyards, and cropland. Land trusts are acquiring conservation easements which include terms that allow for continued commercial grazing. Some studies suggest that livestock grazing negatively impacts biodiversity, although others show that it creates a beneficial disturbance regime and can play an important role in controlling invasive plants. There is also concern that grazing may be negatively impacting blue oak seedling regeneration. Our study begins to address the assumption that livestock grazing is a conservation-compatible land use on ranches with conservation easements. Our study questions whether livestock grazing reduces oak seedling density, if invasive non-native plants such as medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae L.) are reduced, and if native species richness is promoted. We monitored oak seedling density and herbaceous plant species cover in grazing exclosures over a period of five years on five cattle ranches in eastern Tehama County. Ranches were all grazed under easement terms set by The Nature Conservancy. Our study demonstrates that commercial livestock grazing practices had mixed affects on some of the conservation values of blue oak woodlands. Livestock grazing reduced oak seedling density, but it remains unknown if reduced densities will affect the long-term reproduction and health of the woodlands. Grazing also reduced the cover of invasive medusahead grass; yet native species richness and cover were not improved by livestock grazing.


© 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) are a focus of research because combine their inherent electrical conductivity and the ability to interact with ions in aqueous solutions or biological systems. However, it is still not understood to what degree the counter ion in CPEs influences the properties of the CPE itself and the performance of electron ic transducers. In order to investigate this, three different conjugated polyelectrolytes, poly(6-(thiophen-3-yl)hexane-1-sulfonate)s (PTHS − X + ), are synthesized, which have the same polythiophene backbone but different X + counter ions: the bulky tetrabutylammonium (TBA + ), tetraethylammonium (TEA + ), and the smallest tetramethylammonium (TMA + ). At the interface with biological systems, thin CPE films have to be stable in an aqueous environment and should allow the inward and outward flow of ions from the electrolyte. Since the studied PTHS − X + have different solubilities in water, the optical properties of pristine PTHS − X + as well as of crosslinked PTHS − X + via UV–vis absorption spectroscopy are investigated additionally. PTHS − TMA + exhibits better aggregation, fast interdiffusion of ions, and fast recovery from the oxidized state. Additionally, spectroelectrochemical and cyclic voltammetric as well as electrochemical capacitance investigations show that PTHS − TMA + can be oxidized to a higher degree. This leads to a better performance of PTHS − TMA + -based organic electrochemical transistors.


One of the most prominent strategies to increase maize grain yield with a higher benefit/cost ratio and a lower environmental impact is the inoculation of plant growth-promoting bacteria. Among other factors, the success of the interaction plant-microorganism depends on genetic traits, therefore, selection of plant genotypes compatible with this association is extremely important to the viability of this technology. This article presents an innovative study that investigates the interactions between Azospirillum brasilense Ab-V5 and 27 genotypes of maize, including 24 experimental hybrids from a partial diallel (denotated Hij as a result of the crosses among the parental inbred lines Li and the tester breeding lines Tj), the variety ST0509 from UEL and the commercial hybrids DKB390 and DKB390H from Monsanto. The plots consisted of treatments with or without inoculation in three replicates and the 27 maize genotypes were randomly distributed in the sub-plots. The inbred lines L2, L3, L6, L11, T2 and T3 present the highest general combining ability, producing the best hybrid combinations. The additive effects of genes are more important than the non-additive effects for all traits evaluated. The most promising experimental hybrids are H2 3', H3 2', H11 2', H11 3' and H12 3'. Significant effect for inoculum was not verified when performed at the seedling stage in the experimental conditions of this study.

 Key words: Zea mays L., Azospirillum brasilense, inoculation, biological nitrogen fixation, combining ability.


In this article, we present the first method to generate plausible sounds while animating crumpling virtual paper in real time. Our method handles shape-dependent friction and crumpling sounds which typically occur when manipulating or creasing paper by hand. Based on a run-time geometric analysis of the deforming surface, we identify resonating regions characterizing the sound being produced. Coupled to a fast analysis of the surrounding elements, the sound can be efficiently spatialized to take into account nearby wall or table reflectors. Finally, the sound is synthesized in real time using a pre-recorded database of frequency- and time-domain sound sources. Our synthesized sounds are evaluated by comparing them to recordings for a specific set of paper deformations.


SUMMARY:  Elevated homocysteine (hyperhomocysteinaemia) in renal patients is a major concern for physicians. Although cause and effect between homocysteine and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has not been established in either the general population or renal patients, there is much evidence that this relationship does exist. Purported mechanisms that may explain this effect include increases in endothelial injury, smooth muscle cell proliferation, low‐density lipoprotein oxidation and changes in haemostatic balance. Renal patients have a much greater incidence of hyperhomocysteinaemia and this may be explained by decreases in either the renal or extrarenal metabolism of the compound. We conclude that data from long‐term placebo‐controlled trials are urgently required to determine whether hyperhomocysteinaemia in renal patients is a cause of CVD events and requires therapeutic targeting.


Abstract 1808 Background: Cancer-testis antigens belonging to the MAGE class I family of genes are commonly expressed in Multiple Myeloma (MM). Expression of MAGE class I genes is associated with an aggressive clinical course of MM and resistance to chemotherapy, suggesting that MAGE genes may confer a survival advantage on myeloma cells. MAGE-C2/CT10 is member of the MAGE class I family of genes thought to be a good candidate for cancer immunotherapy given its very frequent expression in primary myeloma. In normal cells, MAGE-C2/CT10 seems to suppress p53 expression by promoting its polyubiquitination and degradation. However, the function of MAGE-C2/CT10 in malignancies is completely unknown. We, therefore, investigated for the first time the role of MAGE-C2/CT10 in tumor cells derived from patients with MM. Material and Methods: MAGE-C2/CT10 expression was analysed by real-time PCR and western blot in myeloma cell lines (N=8) and in PBMC from healthy donors (N=8). For the functional evaluation of MAGE-C2/CT10 we decided to use myeloma cell line U-266 which constitutively expresses MAGE-C2/CT10 and a missense mutant p53 (A161T) that has partially lost its transcriptional activity. The biological role of MAGE-C2/CT10 was investigated by stably silencing its expression using lentiviral short hairpin RNA (shRNA). The effects of silencing MAGE-C2/CT10 expression on myeloma cell biology were examined by determining the number of viable or apoptotic cells using a colorimetric MTT assay and annexin-V/7AAD staining followed by flow cytometry, In addition, we measured myeloma cell proliferation and the anchorage-independent growth using a BrdU incorporation assay and a colony formation assay, respectively. Finally, we investigated cell cycle phase distribution by flow cytometry and we analyzed the expression of key molecules involved in cell cycle progression and apoptosis using a real-time PCR array as well as western blot. Results: We found MAGE-C2/CT10 to be constitutively expressed in all myeloma cells lines but not in PBMC from healthy donors. Lentivirus-mediated silencing of MAGE-C2/CT10 inhibited significantly the proliferation and the anchorage-independent growth of myeloma cells. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated that the anti-proliferative effect of MAGE-C2/CT10 silencing in U-266 was due to a 70% decrease of cells in the S phase, a cell cycle arrest at both G0/G1 and G2/M transitions and an increase in the subG0/G1 population due to an activation of apoptotic cell death. The serine-threonine checkpoint effector kinase 2 (CHK2) and its substrate, the tumor suppressor protein p53, are essential for cell cycle control, DNA repair and apoptosis. We found that the loss of MAGE-C2/CT10 expression was associated with the activation of CHK2 through phosphorylation at Thr68 as well as the activation of p53 by phosposphorylation at Ser20. Furthermore, we observed a three-fold increase in the endogenous level of p53 protein which correlated with an up-regulation of two transcriptional targets of p53, the cyclin-dependant kinase inhibitor p21WAF1 and the growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible alpha protein (GADD45A), known to be essential for p53-induced G1 and G2 arrest, respectively. Finally, using the Human Apoptosis Profiler PCR array that contains a number of p53 target genes, we found that apoptosis induced by MAGE-C2/CT10 knockdown was due to a more than two-fold increase in the transcription of pro-apoptotic genes like BAX (Bcl2-associated × protein), BAD (BCL2-associated agonist of cell death), Cytochrome c, APAF1 (Apoptosis activating factors) as well as several caspases, which are the down-stream mediators of p53-dependant apoptosis in response to DNA damage. Conclusions: Our collected findings support an anti-apoptotic function of MAGE-C2/CT10 in MM, likely through the regulation of key molecules involved in cell cycle progression and p53-mediated apoptosis. The central role of MAGE-C2/CT10 in the biology of myeloma strongly suggest that this cancer-testis antigen represents a promising target for myeloma-specific immunotherapies or other targeted modes of therapy for MM. Disclosures: Kroger:Fresenius Biotech: Honoraria, Research Funding.