We experimentally demonstrate multichannel wavelength multicasting for two nonreturn-to-zero quadrature phase-shift keying(NRZ-QPSK) channels based on four-wave mixing(FWM) in semiconductor optical amplifier(SOA). Through the interaction with the two pumps in SOA, the input two 25 Gb/s NRZ-QPSK channels are successfully simultaneously multicast to five and two new wavelengths, respectively. All the multicast channels are with a power penalty less than 2.5 d B at a bit error rate(BER) of 10-3. A characterization of the system performance using conversion efficiency and BER as figures-of-merit in terms of pump and signal powers is also presented. The results indicate that the pump and signal powers can be optimized to eliminate the introduced deleterious nonlinear components. The wavelengths of the two NRZ-QPSK channels and the two pumps need to be specified to avoid the crosstalk induced by high-order FWM.


Studies of patients who are colour blind as a result of brain damage show that colour contributes much more to our perception of the visual world than merely the registration of hue.


In this article, we present an emergent capacity development approach that we are developing through participatory action research in Peru and Ecuador, which we call 'systemic theories of change' (STOC), for organisational capacity development. We argue that capacity development should be understood as systemic learning. The STOC approach promotes reflection about how we as individuals, organisations, and broader social groups and societal configurations, understand how change occurs. This makes it possible to build improved strategic and methodological clarity about how we might continually develop the capacities to contribute more effectively to emergent, social change in highly complex environments.


It is clear from John 20.31 that Christology is the central concern of the author of the Fourth Gospel, and this article is an attempt to survey some of the main features of the Christology of the fourth evangelist. When classical Christology was being formulated in the period of the creeds and the great councils the Fourth Gospel played an important, indeed a major role in the debates. If our understanding of that Gospel has now changed and developed, and if classical Christology is constantly being re-examined, those factors only underline the importance of a constant return to and re-evaluation of the original sources in general and the Fourth Gospel in particular.


In the present study an analysis was made of the effect of establishing two levels of authority (Total or Partial) in the obedient behavior of schoolchildren under two test situations: one with no response cost for disobedient responses (NRC) and the other, with response cost for disobedient responses (RC). The level of authority was determined by the number of power functions, as proposed by Ribes (2001) that were wielded in the experimental situation. At the beginning of the experiment, half of the participants were exposed to a condition of Total Authority consisting of three sessions of computer games in the presence of the experimenter while he wielded the four power functions (prescription, regulation, supervision and the administration of consequences). The other half of the participants was exposed to a condition of Partial Authority in which these three sessions took place in the presence of the experimenter while she wielded only two of these functions (prescription and regulation). Subsequently, by means of a puzzle-solving activity that allowed for two types of response: one permitted (obedience) and another forbidden (disobedience), the participants were exposed to a baseline phase and to test phases alternating NRC and RC conditions. It was observed that the participants who were exposed to a Total Authority figure gave fewer disobedient responses than the participants exposed to a Partial Authority figure. Further more, it was observed that regardless of the level of authority that was established, the participants who started the test sessions with an NRC condition gave fewer disobedient responses than those starting with an RC condition. The results are discussed in terms of the effect of the presence of an authority figures who wield power functions in different ways, and in terms of their interaction with the response cost implemented in the situation.


The trichothecene, deoxynivalenol (DON), is a common mycotoxin found in wheat and corn. Detection methods for DON have limitations in accuracy, sensitivity, ease of use, and turn-around time. Two methods, thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) for DON detection and quantification were compared. The methods varied considerably in the amounts of DON detected in 51 different grain samples, with the ELISA method showing higher concentrations than the TLC method. Much of the unaccounted-for DON may have been lost during sample preparation for the TLC method. Recovery rates for the TLC method at DON levels of 1 and 5 ppm were 46% and 25% in corn grits and 32% and 26% in ground wheat respectively. Recovery rates for the ELISA method at 1 and 5 ppm levels were both 96% in corn grits and respectively 83% and 69% in ground wheat. The ELISA method was much faster and less laborious than the TLC method and did not use organic solvents, which are required in the TLC method.


Many nations often do not effectively enforce or interpret their laws and regulations against their own officers or against transnational corporations because they do not want them to leave with jobs and money. Since 1789, federal courts in the United States have been able to assert subject matter jurisdiction over foreign plaintiffs' tort suits under the Alien Tort Statute. Due to foreign relations and other concerns, U.S. courts have limited the reach of the Alien Tort Statute by limiting its subject matter jurisdiction and by relying on a myriad of justiciability doctrines, including the political question doctrine, forum non conveniens, the act of state doctrine, the international comity doctrine, and exhaustion. Requiring foreign plaintiffs to exhaust remedies in a foreign court before suit may be brought in the United States contravenes congressional intent and is not mandated by international law. This requirement will likely thrust some parties into inadequate or corrupt judicial systems. With the gravity of claims brought under the Alien Tort Statute, courts should follow the Supreme Court's cue in not imposing an exhaustion requirement for suits brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. A possible alternative is the use of abstention to protect parties' interests and the public interest in fair and just determination.


For the first time, sufficient numbers of molecular markers that reveal polymorphism in cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) have become available for diversity assessments. In this study, the amount and distribution of genetic variation within and among six peanut botanical varieties, as well as its partitioning among three continents of origin, was assessed at 12 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci by means of 10 sequence-tagged microsatellite site (STMS) primers. Eighty-nine alleles were revealed, varying from 2 to 17 per locus with an average of 7.4 alleles per locus. Greater differentiation was observed between varieties (Fst = 0.33), compared with between continents (Fst = 0.016). However, maximum differentiation was observed among continents within varieties (Fst = 0.366) for three varieties. Rogers' modified distance among varieties revealed the similarity of three varieties of subspecies fastigiata Waldron, namely fastigiata, vulgaris C. Harz, and aequatoriana Krapov. & W.C. Gregory. It did not support the inclusion of var. peruviana Krapov. & W.C. Gregory in this grouping. In addition, the results suggest that subsp. hypogaea var. hypogaea and var. hirsuta Kohler are not closely related and therefore should not hold the same subspecific ranking. Discriminant function analysis reveals a high degree of accordance between variety delimitation on the basis of morphological and molecular characters. Landraces from Africa and Asia were more closely related to each other than to those from South America. Nei's unbiased estimate of gene diversity revealed very similar levels of diversity within botanical varieties. Landraces from South America had the highest diversity, and possessed 90% of alleles, compared with Africa (63%) and Asia (67%).


Abstract Total nitrogen and nicotine contained in cigarette smoke condensate and condensate fractions have quantitatively been estimated. The results show that only 5 to 36 % of total nitrogen can be related to nicotine. It is tried to determine the balance of nitrogen in smoke condensate. The calculations made suggest that, for example within the group of nitrogenous compounds, there might be smoke constituents which are still unknown and which occur at relatively high concentrations.


Understanding the mechanisms of change of digital therapeutics is a critical step to improve digital health outcomes and optimize their development. Access to and engagement with digital content is arguably a core mechanism of change of these interventions. However, the mediational role of app engagement has been largely unexamined. To evaluate the mediational effect of engaging with a digital therapeutic for smoking cessation designed for adults with psychiatric disorders. Secondary analysis of a pilot clinical trial of 62 adults with serious mental illness who were randomized to receive either a tailored digital therapeutic (Learn to Quit) or a digital therapeutic for the general public (NCI QuitGuide). Engagement was captured using background analytics of app utilization, including (a) number of interactions with app content, (b) minutes/day of app use, and (c) number of days used. The main outcome was reductions in cigarettes per day from baseline to the four-month endpoint. Mediational analysis followed the Preacher and Hayes bootstrap method. Number of application interactions fully mediated reductions in cigarettes per day in the Learn to Quit application but not in QuitGuide (Average Causal Mediation Effect = .31, p = .02). Minutes/day of app use played an uncertain role, and number of days used was not a significant mediator. Results suggest that one of the mechanisms of action of the Learn to Quit device, engagement with theory-based content, functioned as intended. Future research of digital therapeutics should emphasize granular approaches to evaluating apps' mechanisms of action.


The paper considers the various and potential meanings of commercialisation (or market-oriented agriculture) for Ethiopia. Much attention has been paid recently to high-tech, large-scale, export-oriented enterprises such as floriculture: but international evidence and Ethiopian realities demonstrate that this is only one of many complementary pathways to commercialisation. Most of Ethiopia\'s small farm households are already engaged with markets to varying degrees: improving the terms of that engagement is likely to have a greater and more widespread impact on poverty than a few large ventures, and should be given equal policy attention.

Policy debates on commercialisation of agriculture are not new in Ethiopia: various approaches and strategies have been dominant in different periods of history. While improving productivity, increasing foreign currency earnings through export and developing a strong agro-industrial sector were the focus of policy attention in the 1950s and 1960s; accelerating growth and poverty reduction have been much more the focus of recent attempts to increase the commercial orientation of farm households.

We suggest that four types of commercial farms can currently be discerned in Ethiopia:
- Farming households in marginal or remote areas who have had relatively little interaction with markets until now, but who have the potential and interest to benefit from greater commercialisation or more advantageous interactions;
- Farming households living in more productive and market-linked areas, and/ or growing highly commercialised crops (such as coffee and tea), who have a long experience of production for the market;
- Small investor-farmers, mostly educated and town-based, some of them agricultural professionals, who have begun to establish farming businesses in the last few years in response to the freeing up of land regulations; and
- Large capital-intensive business ventures.

Different policy support is likely to be needed for different agro-ecological and socio-economic environments and for different groups of farming households, but all can benefit from (and contribute to) enhanced market oriented agricultural growth. Whichever pathways are followed, the destination should be increased income and improved quality of life for rural Ethiopians.
 Ethiopian Journal of Economics Vol. 16 (1) 2007: pp. 43-56


The present work offers the results from the realized investigation to laboratory scale for the obtaining of nickel hydroxide with characteristic such that can be used for the production of batteries, catalysts and pigments, among other applications. It was determined the influence of the temperature, the pH and the time of retention in the efficiency of nickel precipitation, cobalt and manganese in form of hydroxides. The conditions under which you can achieve a bigger nickel precipitation starting from a solution of nickel sulfates, cobalt and manganese, in presence of an ion ammonium donor were established


We describe a method that uses total internal reflection (TIR) at the water-air interface inside a large, transparent tank filled with water to measure the interface's deflections. Using this configuration, we obtain an optical setup where the liquid surface acts as a deformable mirror. The setup is shown to be extremely sensitive to very small disturbances of the reflecting water surface, which are detected by means of visualising the reflections of a reference pattern. When the water surface is deformed, it reflects a distorted image of the reference pattern, similar to a synthetic Schlieren setup. The distortions of the pattern are analysed using a suitable image correlation method. The displacement fields thus obtained correlate to the local spatial gradients of the water surface. The gradient fields are integrated in a least-squares sense to obtain a full instantaneous reconstruction of the water surface. This method is particularly useful when a solid object is placed just above water surface, whose presence makes the liquid surface otherwise optically inaccessible.


To listen to the podcast associated with this article, please select one of the following: iTunes, Google Play, or direct download. OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in CT manifestations of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pneumonia and those of influenza virus pneumonia. MATERIALS AND METHODS. We conducted a retrospective study of 52 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and 45 patients with influenza virus pneumonia. All patients had positive results for the respective viruses from nucleic acid testing and had complete clinical data and CT images. CT findings of pulmonary inflammation, CT score, and length of largest lesion were evaluated in all patients. Mean density, volume, and mass of lesions were further calculated using artificial intelligence software. CT findings and clinical data were evaluated. RESULTS. Between the group of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and the group of patients with influenza virus pneumonia, the largest lesion close to the pleura (i.e., no pulmonary parenchyma between the lesion and the pleura), mucoid impaction, presence of pleural effusion, and axial distribution showed statistical difference (p < 0.05). The properties of the largest lesion, presence of ground-glass opacity, presence of consolidation, mosaic attenuation, bronchial wall thickening, centrilobular nodules, interlobular septal thickening, crazy paving pattern, air bronchogram, unilateral or bilateral distribution, and longitudinal distribution did not show significant differences (p > 0.05). In addition, no significant difference was seen in CT score, length of the largest lesion, mean density, volume, or mass of the lesions between the two groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION. Most lesions in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia were located in the peripheral zone and close to the pleura, whereas influenza virus pneumonia was more prone to show mucoid impaction and pleural effusion. However, differentiating between COVID-19 pneumonia and influenza virus pneumonia in clinical practice remains difficult.


The effects of pH, buffer constituents, duration of storage, presence of air, heavy metal ions, extracting solvents and various additives and cofactors on the aerial oxidation of some aliphatic primary and secondary hydroxylamines were investigated. Copper ions were particularly effective catalysts of the oxidation reaction. Conditions to minimize this transformation are described.


Biological invasions occur increasingly and worldwide due to anthropogenic interconnections between previously isolated biota. In marine environments, fouling organisms that attach on ship hulls are transported into new habitats and can have a severe impact on the local species pool and thus on ecosystem functioning. The success of non-native species depends on several factors. Within a fouling community, there can be positive interactions that increase
the stability of fouling communities, thus enhancing the possibility of a species within the community to persist long enough to complete its life cycle. In consequence, the risk of dispersal and establishment in the new environment increases. To examine the persistence of fouling communities under changed environmental conditions, I mimicked the transport of marine fouling communities to a new environment. Artificial hard substrata were submerged
in the Gulf of Finland at two different sites to allow local species to settle for 2 and 4 months. After that, half of the communities grown on the substrata from one site were transported and paired with communities of the same successional stage from the other site, and vice versa.
Subsequently, the communities were sampled bi-weekly to measure the abundances of all macrofouler species and the amount of available settlement substratum. This method provided the raw data for the Bray-Curtis similarity index, which allowed quantifying the convergence of the transplanted towards the non-transplanted communities over time. I used the speed of convergence as a measure for the structural stability of communities in the face of
environmental change. Despite a low convergence rate, a small species pool, and similar abiotic conditions, the age of the fouling communities and the site conditions significantly affected the convergence process in the Gulf of Finland. I examined the impact of different properties of community age on the convergence process and found no correlation with diversity, which is discussed to be one of the most important factors determining community stability. Instead, single species identity determined the convergence process, while the level of exposure to wave action apparently influenced the speed of convergence between
transplanted and non-transplanted communities at the two sites in general. My results suggest that attention should be paid to species interactions within fouling communities to assess the possible invasion success of single fouling organisms that arrive as part of these assemblages.


This article develops a data-driven forecast of repair parts for the M109A6 Paladin self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, and this forecast drives a discrete-event simulation to assess requirements for Additive Manufacturing (AM) to be a feasible part of the U.S. Army's expeditionary supply chain. Actual part demand from the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) feeds a sample-path-based forecasting method to obtain part demand for each scenario. A simulation of a conceptualized deployed Army 3D-printing facility integrated into the supply chain evaluates the performance and feasibility of the different operational policies. Results indicate current technology could support one battery (or smaller unit) for parts below 100 cubic inches while keeping performance comparable with OIF. These results are incorporated in realistic recommendations for how the Army can potentially improve its supply chain practices with this progressive technology.


Wind power exploitation development to provide electricity has had more acceleration in recent years in compare with other sources of providing electrical energy in the world. Since, regions with the potential of wind energy are not necessarily close to consumers, analyzing and modeling of wind farms in order to distribute system load and to study the electrical and mechanical changes of them is important in many aspects and generally, wind farms which are connected to electricity system by radius and local grids, will face possibility of transferring provided power of wind farms problem when the position of consumers is far from mentioned units where, using FACTS devices are considered in order to keep stability and to create provided electricity transferring conditions to consumers. In this paper, a wind farm modeling and UPFC using are studied to solve the wind farms power transmission problems.


We review some interrelated aspects of thick braneworlds which arise within the framework of 5D gravity coupled to a bulk scalar field. When studying localization of 4D gravity in this smooth version of the thin brane Randall-Sundrum model, a kind of dichotomy emerges: if one requires the geometry of the system to be completely smooth, then there is no mass gap in the spectrum of metric fluctuations since it contains just a single massless bound state, interpreted as a 4D graviton, and a tower of massive states starting from zero mass; on the other side, as far as one demands the existence of a mass gap in the graviton spectrum of the theory (in this case there are two bound states, a massless 4D graviton and a massive excitation separated from a continuous spectrum of massive Kaluza-Klein excitations) naked singularities arise at the boundaries of the Riemannian manifold, a fact that obligates one to impose unitary boundary conditions, which are equivalent to eliminating the continuous spectrum of gravitational massive modes, in order to render these singularities harmless from the physical point of view, providing in this way a viable model.


Domain generalization refers to the problem of training a model from a collection of different source domains that can directly generalize to the unseen target domains. A promising solution is contrastive learning, which attempts to learn domain-invariant representations by exploiting rich semantic relations among sample-to-sample pairs from different domains. A simple approach is to pull positive sample pairs from different domains closer while pushing other negative pairs further apart. In this paper, we find that directly applying contrastive-based methods (e.g., supervised contrastive learning) are not effective in domain generalization. We argue that aligning positive sample-to-sample pairs tends to hinder the model generalization due to the significant distribution gaps between different domains. To address this issue, we propose a novel proxy-based contrastive learning method, which replaces the original sample-to-sample relations with proxy-to-sample relations, significantly alleviating the positive alignment issue. Experiments on the four standard benchmarks demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Furthermore, we also consider a more complex scenario where no ImageNet pre-trained models are provided. Our method consistently shows better performance.


The property tax is essentially a tax placed on property owners by the municipality. Cities outside of New York City may use only revenue sources authorized by New York State, and the property tax is one of those few sources. The property tax is based on the value of the property. The tax is calculated by multiplying a property's taxable assessment by the tax rate that applies to the tax jurisdiction where the property is located.


Abstract   An effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic requires a thorough epidemiological interview of reported cases. The interviewer's skills and preparation directly affect the outcome of the investigation. This study applied a self-assessment survey of the COVID-19 patient interviewing skills on a local public health department workforce. The findings may be used to improve the quality of the interview process and the overall response to the pandemic at a community level. A 50-item questionnaire using a four-point Likert scale was adapted from the COVID-19 Patient Interview Skills Assessment Form created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and applied to 50 healthcare workers involved in epidemiological investigation of COVID-19 cases in Almada and Seixal, two municipalities of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, from January to April of 2021. The most frequently executed steps concern checking patient data in advance (92%), questioning symptoms (97.2%), contact tracing (100%) and determining isolation periods for high risk contacts (100%). Least performed tasks include confirming the testing technique used (50%), asking about hospitalization (44.4%), assessing conditions for home isolation (44%), explaining how to self-monitor symptoms (61%) and checking if the patient understood the instructions (47%). In addition, 8% admitted to not always keeping patient information confidential. While caution is necessary as the data was limited to a single public health local department, our findings show that a majority of healthcare workers fulfill the essential steps of an epidemiological investigation. Areas in need of improvement include inquiring about infection severity, assessing social conditions for quarantine and confirming instructions for self-monitoring and follow-up. In line with CDC recommendations, we believe regular evaluation and feedback of case investigators' skills are crucial to quality assurance of a public health department. Key messages A detailed interview provides critical data for monitoring infected individuals and quickly trace, test and isolate those who might have been exposed, thus breaking chains of transmission. The results of this assessment can be used to introduce training measures such as shadowing and role-playing to ensure continued improvement in epidemiological investigations.


Introduction. The study of pharmacokinetics of medicinal substances and evaluation of their pharmacokinetic parameters is a necessary stage of pharmaceutical development of original medicinal agents, allowing to choose the composition and dosage form of the preparation. This is due to obtaining characteristics of all processes that occur in the body of an animal (human), from the absorption of a drug from the place of administration to its excretion from the body. Aim. To conduct a study of the pharmacokinetics of the pharmaceutical substance and the complex compounds based on it to confirm the pharmaceutical development of a drug of 1-[2-(2-benzoylphenoxy)ethyl]-6-methyluracil and to justify the optimal composition of the ready dosage form (GLP). Materials and methods. The study was carried out on male rabbits with a single oral administration of investigated objects in one dose. Plasma concentrations of 1-[2-(2-benzoylphenoxy)ethyl]-6-methyluracil were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) detection. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by extramodel method of statistical moments. Results and discussion. Assay 1-[2-(2-benzoylphenoxy)ethyl]-6-methyluracil quantification in rabbit blood plasma by HPLC has been developed and validated in the concentration range 10–720 ng/ml in accordance with modern requirements and satisfies them for all indicators. Assay was applicated to analysis of plasma samples obtained from laboratory animals after a single oral administration of a substance and solid dispersion systems of 1-[2-(2-benzoylphenoxy)ethyl]-6-methyluracil in one dose. The main pharmacokinetic parameters of the studied objects were calculated after obtained plasma concentrations of 1-[2-(2-benzoylphenoxy)ethyl]-6-methyluracil. It was found that the solid dispersion system with Kollidon 17PF has the greatest relative bioavailability from the examined objects; its relative bioavailability to the substance by oral administration was 583 %. Conclusion. The solid dispersion system method increased the bioavailability of 1-[2-(2-benzoylphenoxy)ethyl]-6-methyluracil. Obtained results confirmed correctness of solid dispersion system selection drug e composition and technology development. Conflict interest. The authors declare that they have no obvious and potential conflicts of interest related to the publication of this article.


This Measure Guideline provides information to help residential builders and retrofitters with the design, specification, selection, implementation, installation, and maintenance issues of transitioning from tank-type water heaters to tankless water heaters. The report compares the differences between tankless and tank-type water heaters, highlighting the energy savings that can be realized by adopting tankless water heaters over tank-type water heaters. Selection criteria and risks discussed include unit sizing and location, water distribution system, plumbing line length and diameter, water quality, electrical backup, and code issues. Cost and performance data are provided for various types of tankless and tank-type water heaters, both natural gas fired and electric. Also considered are interactions between the tankless water heater and other functional elements of a house, such as cold water supply and low-flow devices. Operating costs and energy use of water distribution systems for single- and two-story houses are provided, along with discussion of the various types of distribution systems that can be used with tankless water heaters. Finally, details to prepare for proper installation of a tankless water heater are described.


Finding our way between places, through spaces, has been documented using various techniques of mapping. Maps are often thought of as products that allow us to find our way between places. However, they have various other uses and meanings, existing as both scientific and cultural artefacts. Mobile phone technologies have evolved, allowing for the integration of global positioning systems (GPS). The inclusion of GPS in 'smart phones' such as the iPhone now allows users to view the spaces they are moving through in new ways. This article examines how we are now remapping places through mobile technologies, which poses the question of how our relationship with local spaces may be changing. It focuses on Foursquare, the Layar AR browser and the iPhone game Argh as examples of how our sense of place and mapping are evolving through user-generated input.


origin is difficult to explain . However . it may be related to the aetiology of the disease wh ich is at present. unknown. although immune com plexes have recenlly been implicated.' Such complexes can be detected in seruin of patients with PBC. resulting in activation of complement by the alternate pathway and producing tissue damage. There could . possibly. be some genetic factors in Chinese which result in a difference in handl ing antigen or antibody with protect ion from tissue damage. However . it seems possible that diagnosis of PBC in Chinese persons may have been missed by lack of awareness or a preponderance of other disease processes. Persons w ith PBC may be asymptomat ic. or they may present w ith associated diseases. for example. rheumatoid arthritis. pernicious anaemia. telang iectasia or other autoimmune diseases ." Female Chinese patients are reluctant to seek medical advice. in our experience. for tolerable symptoms such as jaundice or pruritus. II is possible that a more vigorous pursuit of hepatosplenomegaly or elevated serum alkaline phosphatase levels in the Singapore population might reveal further instances of PBC. K. P. LIM. K. T. Ho. H. M. GWEE. H. L. CHAN. University Department of Medicine (II) . Singapore General Hospital. Singapore .


We tested the acceptability of three new lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNSs) in two independent phases among 18 8-12-month-old healthy rural Malawians and their caregivers. In phase 1, acceptability was assessed by offering three new LNSs in random order, and an LNS already determined to be acceptable, Nutributter(®), each added to 30 g of warm maize porridge over three consecutive days. In phase 2, infants from each village were provided one of the new supplements for a 2-week home-use trial. Outcome measures included the amount consumed, time completion of the dose and the maternal rating of likeability on a 5-point scale. The supplements were rated acceptable if consumption was over 50% of the offered dose in phase 1. The mean (95% confidence interval) proportion of the LNS test meals consumed under direct observation was 88% (82-94%) for LNS-10gM, 90% (84-95%) for LNS-20gM, 87% (79-95%) for LNS-20gNoM, and 86% (83-90%) for Nutributter. The median (25th and 75th centile) time (minutes) for completing the offered test meal was 4 (2, 7) for LNS-10gM, 5 (3, 6) for LNS-20gM, 4 (3, 8) for LNS-20gNoM and 4 (2, 6) for Nutributter. During both phases, almost all caregivers rated all study foods very likeable for themselves and their children, with mean scores slightly lower among the caregivers than among the infants. In the home-use phase, the test foods were almost exclusively used by the study participants with minimal sharing with siblings and other household members. Some infants were reported to prefer the new investigational products over traditional complementary food. Considering that the novel LNS was largely acceptable. Efficacy trials are now needed to assess their impact on child growth and development.


Activated sludge model No. 1 (ASM1) and activated sludge model No. 3 (ASM3) can simulate correctly the behaviour of a pilot membrane bioreactor treating old landfill leachates. Both models show similar results, which are consistent with measured data. In this work, a simplified calibration procedure is applied including hydrodynamic and oxygen transfer characterization. The wastewater characterisation was based on a physical–chemical method combined with a BOD analysis for the COD fractions and on standard analysis for nitrogen forms. Default parameters were used for both models; despite this, good simulations were obtained showing the flexibility and accuracy of the well-achieved ASM family models. The sensibility analysis performed allows identification of the most important kinetic, stoichiometric and operational parameters that should be measured to confirm or replace default values. In this specific case, the simulation is most sensitive to heterotrophic yield, particularly under anoxic conditions.


In this paper, we propose the concept: the BI Sweet Spot. The BI Sweet Spot ecosystem includes mobile computing, cloud computing and Big Data. We provide an overview for each of the key components and explain how these three components support the BI Sweet Spot. We also discuss best practices for managing these essential components. This study is the first-of-its-kind work in the BI research that considers the inter-relationships and the combined effect of mobile,


In this study we report on a novel pair of cis-regulatory motifs in promoter sequences of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The motif pair exhibits extraordinary genomic traits: The order and the orientation of the two motifs are highly specific, and the distance between them is almost always one of two frequent distances. In contrast, the sequence between the motifs is variable across occurrences. Thus, the motif pair constitutes a nearly combinatorial sequence configuration. We further show that this module is conserved among, and unique to, the entire Caenorhabditis genus. By analyzing several gene expression data sets, our data suggest that this motif pair may function in germline development, oogenesis, and early embryogenesis. Finally, we verify that the motifs are indeed functional cis-regulatory elements using reporter constructs in transgenic C. elegans.


In this work, biogenic hydroxyapatite (BHap) obtained from cattle bone waste is proposed as an adsorbent of this dangerous pollutant. Density functional theory (DFT) and calorimetric studies were developed to study the interaction between BHap and glyphosate (GLY). A strong interaction was found in the experiments through the measurement of immersion enthalpy, confirmed by the exothermic chemisorption obtained with DFT calculations. These results suggest that hydroxyapatite is a promising adsorbent material for GLY adsorption in aqueous solutions. In addition, it was determined that the GLY–hydroxyapatite interaction is greater than the water–hydroxyapatite interaction, which favors the GLY adsorption into this material.


An extension of the 2-reaction theory of synchronous machines as developed by R. H. Park is given in this paper for machines having capacitance in the armature circuit. General equations for predetermination of the performance under certain abnormal conditions of machines having balanced 3-phase capacitance in the aramture circuit are presented.


The objective of the paper is to make explicit the paving operations, the related asphalt temperature and density data, and the logistic process, as a fundamental step to identify improvement opportunities. For that, temperature data, roller compactor trajectories, asphalt density, paver speed, and trucks logistics, were collected. The results, analysis, and feedback received, point to specific opportunities for improvement, including avoiding the paver start-stop cycles, uniform compaction of the entire pavement surface, and definition of roller compaction strategy.


Background: Diseases caused by opportunistic pathogens are the major clinical signs of HIV infected and AIDS patients with parasitic infection being part of the common causes of morbidity and mortality. Objectives: This was a cross-sectional study to determine the sero prevalence of serum antibodies to three parasitic infections namely Entamoeba histolytica , Schistosoma sp. and Toxoplasma gondii , which are opportunistic infections among HIV/AIDS patients. Methods: One thousand and eighty patients that attended three healthcare institutions in Lagos were recruited for the study through convenience sampling method. Venous blood was collected from the recruited patients and screened for HIV infection as well as the presence of serum antibodies to three parasitic infections. All positive sera samples were confirmed for HIV infection. Result: The results revealed that 65/1080 (6%) of the recruited patients were HIV sero-positive. In addition, 5/65 (7.7%) of the HIV positive patients had E. histolytica co-infection, 1/65 (1.5%) had  Schistosoma sp. co-infection while 2/65 (3.1%) had T. gondii co infection. The results also indicated that the proportion of patients with E. histolytica was significantly higher among HIV sero-positive patients than the sero-negative patients (P = 0.031). Conclusion: The study showed the opportunistic potential of the three parasitic infections among HIV/AIDS patients in the study area. Keywords:  HIV, AIDS, Seropositive, Seronegative, Toxoplasma gondii , Entamoeba histolytica ,  Schistosoma haematobium


The racemates and several enantiomers of 2-phenoxypropionic acids, bearing alkyl, acetyl, benzyl, benzoyl, phenyl, difluorophenyl, Cl, NO2 groups on the aromatic moiety, were investigated as potential analgesic-antiinflammatory drugs. The enantiomers, whose absolute configuration has been previously determined by us, were prepared by chiral resolution of the diastereoisomeric salts of the racemates with cynchonidine. The enantiomeric excess was determined by chiral chromatography. The chiroptical properties of the dextroisomers were investigated by CD. The pharmacological properties of the racemates and the enantiomers were monitored by analgesic-antiinflammatory activity tests as well as by gastrotolerability and acute toxicity tests. Some compounds were shown to be superior to ASA and ketoprofen because they have higher or similar analgesic properties, with less gastroulcerogenetic activity. Furthermore low acute toxicity was found for the compounds with high values of ED50. Correlations between the configuration of the enantiomers and their activity are not evident. For the most active compounds, the activity of one of the enantiomers is superior to that of the racemates. This is particularly true for (S)-3, (R)-15 and (S)-18.


This study was conducted to explore the effects of sulfur containing amino acids on redox status and morphological parameters in the rat ileum tissue. Male Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into the following groups: Group K (saline (1 ml/day, i.p.)), Group M (methionine (0.8 mmol/kg/day, i.p.)), Group C (methionine (0.8 mmol/kg/day) + L-cysteine (7 mg/kg/day), i.p.) and Group N (methionine (0.8 mmol/kg/day) + N-acetyl-L-cysteine (50 mg/kg/day), i.p.). Activities of antioxidant enzymes in the ileum were analyzed to profile oxidative status. Morphometric analysis included measurement of villus height (μm), tunica mucosa thickness (μm), tunica muscularis thickness (μm), the total thickness of the ileal wall (μm) and the number of cells in the lamina propria (per 0.1 mm2 of tissue). Results showed that methionine treatment reduced the activity of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, GPx, CAT) and the GSH content compared to the control group (p > 0.05). The application of methionine reduced the following parameters statistically significant compared to the control group: length of the ileal villi (p < 0.01), tunica mucosa thickness (p < 0.01), and ileal wall thickness (p < 0.01). We concluded that methionine induced the changes in the gut redox status, which implied oxidative stress occurrence. L-cysteine and N-acetyl-L-cysteine both exhibited antioxidant properties.


This thesis explores the experiences of four English language teachers in Turkey who moved
from teaching in either high schools or language schools to teaching English to young
learners. The study follows these teachers in their first year of teaching in primary school,
describes the changes they went through in their approach to teaching English, and identifies
the influences on these changes.
The background to this research was an educational reform which introduced English
into the primary curriculum. After this reform, there was a shortage of English teachers at the
primary level. A common solution was to recruit English teachers from other levels of the
educational system. Three of the participating teachers taught in high school before they
moved to teach English in the primary school. One of the participating teachers taught
English to adults in a language school before moving to the primary level.
The data for the study was generated through systematic interviews with the teachers,
as well as regular observations of their classes, over the course of the school year. The
interpretation of the data was informed by the existing literature on teaching English to young
learners and the literature on teacher change.
At the end of the school year, all of the teachers said they would like to continue
teaching English in the primary school. In adjusting to teaching children, the teachers mainly
focused on developing class management strategies. The teachers did not, however, focus on
maximising opportunities for learning the target language. The main influences on the
teachers' change were in-service training, textbooks, as well as interaction with and support
from colleagues. The research contributes to the debate of how to best facilitate the
introduction of English into primary schools, and calls for further research into teacher
development in the context of such curricular reforms.


This study aimed to gain a better understanding of the molecular circuitry of Schmid-type metaphyseal chondrodysplasia (SMCD), and to identify more potential genes associated with the pathogenesis of SMCD. Microarray data from GSE72261 were downloaded from the NCBI GEO database, including collagen X p.Asn617Lys knock-in mutation (ColXN617K), ablated XBP1 activity (Xbp1CartΔEx2), compound mutant (C/X), and wild-type (WT) specimens. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened in Xbp1 vs. WT, Col vs. WT and CX vs. WT, respectively. Pathway enrichment analysis of these DEGs was performed. Transcription factors (TFs) of the overlapping DEGs were identified. Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) was performed to find modules of DEGs with high correlations, followed by gene function analysis and a protein-protein interaction network construction. In total, 481, 1,530 and 1,214 DEGs were identified in Xbp1 vs. WT, Col vs. WT and CX vs. WT, respectively. These DEGs were enriched in different pathways, such as extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction and metabolism-related pathways. A total of 7 TFs were found to regulate 19 common upregulated genes, and 4 TFs were identified to regulate 21 common downregulated genes. Two significant gene co-expression modules were enriched and DEGs in the 2 modules were mainly enriched in different biological processes, such as ribosome biogenesis. Moreover, Kras (downregulated), Col5a1 (upregulated) and Furin (upregulated) were both identified in the regulatory networks and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. On the whole, our findings indicate that the Kras, Col5a1 and Furin genes may play essential roles in the molecular mechanisms of SMCD, which warrants further investigation.


AIM
We reviewed the clinical use of daptomycin in daily practice.

MATERIALS & METHODS
Efficacy and safety were assessed in 175 consecutive patients given daptomycin for at least 72 h.

RESULTS
Daptomycin was given as rescue treatment in 50.9% of cases. Bloodstream infection (34.8%) and skin/soft-tissue infection (19.4%) were the most frequent. In 62.3% of patients, the dose of ≤ 6 mg/kg/day was administered. Staphylococcus spp. were isolated in 52.6% of cases (MRSA in 9.5%, CoNS in 34.3%) and Enterococcus spp. in 8.7%. Clinical success was 75% and microbiological eradication 48.6%. Two patients discontinued daptomycin due to hemolytic anemia of unlikely and possible relationship with daptomycin, respectively.

CONCLUSION
Daptomycin was effective and well tolerated in patients with severe Gram-positive infections.


not more than 200 words) Playing a commercial PC or consol game is a highly visual activity, regardless of whether the purpose is entertainment or situated learning as discussed in the Serious Games field. If more information about the visual attention of the player can be recorded and easily analysed, important design information can be extracted. A range of different eyetracking equipment exists on the market and has been used in many studies over the years. However, very few studies describe dynamic stimuli involving the visual interaction of the user/player with a moving 3D object displayed on a computer screen. The reasons for this are that methods and software developed for eyetracking studies of static 2D stimuli are inappropriate for dynamic 3D stimuli, and manual analysis of dynamic 3D visual interaction is extremely time consuming. In order to address this, the authors have developed a software interface between the TobiiTM eyetracking system and the HiFi Game Engine for use in automated logging of dynamic 3D objects of gaze attention. This report describes the verification study performed to assess the performance of this integration between the eyetracker, logging tools and game engine. Detailed analysis shows effective results within the derived accuracy range, which is certainly sufficient for studies from a small scale to large scales necessary for extensive statistical analysis. The work presented in the report has been conducted in collaboration between FOI, Blekinge Institute of Technology and Gotland College.


Procedure Appropriateness Category Relative Radiation Level Radiography chest Usually Appropriate ☢ CT chest with IV contrast Usually Not Appropriate ☢ ☢ ☢ CT chest without and with IV contrast Usually Not Appropriate ☢ ☢ ☢ CT chest without IV contrast Usually Not Appropriate ☢ ☢ ☢ MRI chest without and with IV contrast Usually Not Appropriate O MRI chest without IV contrast Usually Not Appropriate O US chest Usually Not Appropriate O


A dictionary-based approach for extracting repetitive patterns in music aiming at music feature extraction and indexing for audio database management is proposed. In this system, segmentation is achieved with the tempo information, and a music score is decomposed into bars. Each bar is indexed to construct a bar index table. Then, an adaptive dictionary-based compression algorithm known as Lempel Ziv 78 (LZ-78) is applied to the barrepresented music scores to extract repetitive patterns. Finally, pruning is applied to this dictionary to remove non-repeating patterns and to combine shorter repeating patterns into a longer one. The LZ78 algorithm is slightly modified to achieve better results in the current application context. Experiments performed on a popular music database of MIDI files demonstrated that the proposed algorithm extracts repeating melodies effectively with a speed of four times faster compared to the traditional linear search approach.


Author(s): Khasawneh, Khaled N. | Advisor(s): Abu-Ghazaleh, Nael | Abstract: Cyberattacks are the fastest growing crime in the U.S., and they are increasing in size, sophistication, and cost. These attacks use vulnerabilities to compromise systems to leak Information (Yahoo 2016, Marriott 2018, and Facebook 2019), steal identity information (Equifax 2017), or even effecting politics (by attacking the governmental election process). Traditionally, security researchers and practitioners have viewed security as a software problem -- originating in software and to be solved by software. Recently, the Spectre and Meltdown attacks have shown that hardware should also be considered when evaluating the system security. Conversely, because many aspects of security are computationally expensive, hardware can play a role in promoting software security through computational support as well as the development of new abstractions that promote security. Under this general umbrella, the research in this dissertation pursues two research directions that demonstrate how hardware can promote software security, and how we can design hardware that is secure against Spectre and Meltdown attacks. In the first direction, security exploits and ensuant malware pose an increasing challenge to computing systems as the variety and complexity of attacks continue to increase. In response, software-based malware detection tools have grown in complexity, thus making it computationally difficult to use them to protect systems in real-time. Against this drawback, hardware-based malware detectors (HMDs) are a promising new approach to defend against malware. HMDs collect low-level architectural features and use them to classify malware from normal programs. With simple hardware support, HMDs can be always on, operating as a first line of defense that prioritizes the application of more expensive and more accurate software-detector. In this dissertation, our goal is to make HMDs practical for deployment in two ways: (1) Improving the detection accuracy of HMDs: We use specialized detectors targeted towards a specific type of malware to improve the detection of each type. Next, we use ensemble learning techniques to improve the overall accuracy by combining detectors. We explore detectors based on logistic regression (LR) and neural networks (NN). The proposed detectors reduce the false-positive rate by more than half compared to using a single detector, while increasing their sensitivity. We develop metrics to estimate detection overhead; the proposed detectors achieve more than 16.6x overhead reduction during online detection compared to an idealized software-only detector, with an 8x improvement in relative detection time. NN detectors outperform LR detectors in accuracy, overhead (by 40\%), and time-to-detection of the hardware component (by 5x). Finally, we characterize the hardware complexity by extending an open-core and synthesizing it on an FPGA platform, showing that the overhead is minimal. (2) Make them resilient to evasion attacks: we explore the question of how well evasive malware can avoid detection by HMDs. We show that existing HMDs can be effectively reverse-engineered and subsequently evaded, allowing malware to hide from detection without substantially slowing it down (which is important for certain types of malware). This result demonstrates that the current generation of HMDs can be easily defeated by evasive malware. Next, we explore how well a detector can evolve if it is exposed to this evasive malware during training. We show that simple detectors, such as logistic regression, cannot detect the evasive malware even with retraining. More sophisticated detectors can be retrained to detect evasive malware, but the retrained detectors can be reverse-engineered and evaded again. To address these limitations, we propose a new type of Resilient HMDs (RHMDs) that stochastically switch between different detectors. These detectors can be shown to be provably more difficult to reverse engineer based on resent results in probably approximately correct (PAC) learnability theory. We show that indeed such detectors are resilient to both reverse engineering and evasion, and that the resilience increases with the number and diversity of the individual detectors. Our results demonstrate that these HMDs offer effective defense against evasive malware at low additional complexity. In the second direction, the recent Spectre and Meltdown attacks show that speculative execution, which is used pervasively in modern CPUs, can leave side effects in the processor caches and other structures even when the speculated instructions do not commit and their direct effect is not visible. Therefore, they utilize this behavior to expose privileged information accessed speculatively to an unprivileged attacker. In particular, the attack forces the speculative execution of a code gadget that will carry out the illegal read, which eventually gets squashed, but which leaves a side-channel trail that can be used by the attacker to infer the value. Several attack variations are possible, allowing arbitrary exposure of the full kernel memory to an unprivileged attacker. In this dissertation, we introduce a new model (SafeSpec) for supporting speculation in a way that is immune to the side- channel leakage necessary for attacks such as Meltdown and Spectre. In particular, SafeSpec stores side effects of speculation in separate structures while the instructions are speculative. The speculative state is then either committed to the main CPU structures if the branch commits, or squashed if it does not, making all direct side effects of speculative code invisible. The solution must also address the possibility of a covert channel from speculative instructions to committed instructions before these instructions are committed (i.e., while they share the speculative state). We show that SafeSpec prevents all three variants of Spectre and Meltdown, as well as new variants that we introduce. We also develop a cycle accurate model of modified design of an x86-64 processor and show that the performance impact is negligible (in fact a small performance improvement is achieved). We build prototypes of the hardware support in a hardware description language to show that the additional overhead is acceptable. SafeSpec completely closes this class of attacks, retaining the benefits of speculation, and is practical to implement.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between endometrium laminin (LN) expression and irregular uterine bleeding in Norplant users.

METHODS
Eighteen endomerium samples obtained during day 10-14th from Norlant users for 1/2, 1 or > 2 years respectively with irregular bleeding were studied morphologically and immunohistochemically for LN expression. Six normal proliferative endometria and 18 connterpacts with regular bleeding were used as control.

RESULTS
In Norplant users, endometrial glands decreased in numbers and asynchromized in appearance. The LN expression on basal lamina of glandular epithelium and vascular endothelium was lower in those with irregular bleeding as compared with regular bleeders (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
The decline of LN expression may related to irregular bleeding in Norplant users.


The feasibility to implement fast-chemistry reactions in a three-dimensional large eddy simulation (LES) of a turbulent reacting flow using a filtered density function (FDF) technique is studied. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is used as an representative reaction due to the stiff nature of the ordinary differential equation (ODE's) describing the kinetics. In FDF/LES, the chemistry needs to be evaluated many times for a large number of fictitious particles that are tracked in the flow, and therefore a constraint is put to the CPU time needed to solve the kinetics. Pope (1997) developed an in situ adaptive tabulation (ISAT) to treat complex chemistry computationally very efficiently when many evaluations of the chemistry are needed. Kolhapure and Fox (1999) successfully applied ISAT to LDPE using a quasi steady state assumption (QSSA). In the present paper, the aim is to optimize the latest version (ISAT Version 4.0, Pope, 2003) for the full LDPE reaction (i.e. without QSSA), in terms of accuracy and speed up by varying the error tolerance and the number of trees used by ISAT. For this purpose, a pairwise mixing stirred reactor (PMSR) is employed, since it forms a stringent test for the chemistry solver due to the large accessed region of composition space that can be established. For a number of trees of Ntree = 8 and an error tolerance of etol = 10−5 the best overall performance of ISAT was obtained: compared with direct integration, a speed up factor of more than ten combined with an relative error in temperature of about 1% was found.Copyright © 2004 by ASME


Abstract 100

Purpose: This trial aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of sequential treatment with rituximab and CHOP-21 in patients with PTLD unresponsive to reduction of immunosuppression. Methods: An ongoing prospective, multicenter, international phase II trial was initiated in January 2003. Initially patients were treated with a fixed sequence of rituximab at days 1, 8, 15 and 22 (4R) followed by four cycles of CHOP-21 combined with G-CSF support starting 4 weeks after the last dose of rituximab (sequential treatment, ST). Based on the results of an earlier interim analysis showing that the response to rituximab predicts OS the trial was amended in 2007 introducing risk stratification according to the response to 4R (risk stratified sequential treatment, RSST). In RSST patients achieving a complete remission after 4R (low risk) continue with four 3-weekly courses of rituximab monotherapy while patients in PR, SD or PD (high risk) are followed by four cycles of R-CHOP-21 + G-CSF. Results: This is a scheduled interim analysis after inclusion of a total of 104 patients. The median follow up is 34.0 months for ST (64 pts.) and 9.1 months for RSST (40 pts.). 61 ST and 35 RSST patients were diagnosed with monomorphic PTLD, 3/5 with polymorphic PTLD. 27/23 patients were kidney, 3/0 kidney+pancreas, 15/8 liver, 13/6 heart, 6/3 lung or heart+lung transplant recipients. Median age at diagnosis of PTLD was 53/60 years (mean age: 48/56 years). 59%/58% of patients had an advanced stage of disease (Ann Arbor III/IV) and 49%/47% of tumors were EBV positive. 75%/75% of patients had late PTLD (i.e. later than 1 year after transplantation). LDH was elevated in 71%/64% of patients, respectively. The overall response rate (ORR) to 4 initial courses of rituximab monotherapy ( 4R , N=104) was 54% with a CR-rate of 32% and the subsequent completion of treatment with CHOP or R-CHOP allowed a clear increase of the response (p<0.0001, [Fig. 1][1]). With ST the final ORR was 89% (CR rate: 69%). 86%, 75% and 75% of patients were without disease progression at one, two and three years, respectively ([Fig. 2a][2]). Disease free survival was 87%, 78% and 70% at one, two and three years. There were 6 early treatment associated deaths (9%) resulting from infections (1 from CMV-colitis, 1 from PcP-pneumonia, 1 from fulminant hepatitis, 3 from sepsis) and 2/64 patients died from refractory PTLD. Two further patients died due to hemorrhage during treatment. With RSST the ORR was 90% and 73% achieved a complete remission. 90% of patients were without disease progression at one year ([Fig. 2a][2]). There was one early treatment related death due to infection (2.5%). This patient died from sepsis secondary to intestinal perforation in response to R-CHOP treatment. 2/40 patients died from refractory PTLD. With 1 event in 16 patients in both, the ST and the RSST-arms, subsequent consolidation with rituximab monotherapy (RSST) seems not to be inferior to consolidation with 4 cycles of CHOP (ST) in patients with a CR after 4R. Up to now there is no difference in toxicity between CHOP and R-CHOP in ST/RSST. Patients failing to achieve a complete remission with 4R (72 patients) seem to benefit from the subsequent escalation from CHOP to R-CHOP ([Fig. 2b][2]). Conclusions: This is the largest prospective study in PTLD. Sequential treatment with rituximab and CHOP-21 + G-CSF is well tolerated and highly effective with a treatment related mortality of less than 10% and an efficacy of up to 90%. In comparison to historic series of rituximab monotherapy, significantly more patients achieve a CR with sequential treatment and time to progression (TTP) is very much prolonged. In comparison to historic series of CHOP, sequential treatment is much better tolerated. This may result from a lower tumor burden and a better patient fitness at the time chemotherapy is applied. Introduction of risk stratification according to the response to 4 courses of rituximab monotherapy might further improve these results restricting chemotherapy related toxicity to high risk patients while these data suggest that low risk patients can effectively be treated with extended rituximab monotherapy. Thus, risk stratified sequential treatment (RSST) might further improve OS in this difficult to treat disease.

![Figure 1:][3]

Figure 1:
Complete remission rates after four initial courses of rituximab monotherapy (4R) and after completion of therapy in the ST and RSST treatment arms

![Figure 2:][3]

Figure 2:
A: Time to tumor progression (TTP, N=104) and B: overall survival (OS) of patients not achieving a CR with 4 courses of rituximab (N=72) in the ST and RSST treatment approach

Disclosures: Trappe: Hoffmann La Roche Ltd.: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; AMGEN GmbH: Research Funding. Choquet: Hoffmann La Roche Ltd.: Consultancy, Honoraria. Oertel: Hoffmann La Roche Ltd.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Leblond: Hoffmann La Roche Ltd.: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Ekman: Hoffmann La Roche Ltd.: Honoraria. Duhrsen: Hoffmann La Roche Ltd.: Honoraria, Research Funding. Salles: Hoffmann La Roche Ltd.: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Morschhauser: Hoffmann La Roche Ltd.: Honoraria. Riess: Hoffmann La Roche Ltd.: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; AMGEN GmBH: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding.

 [1]: #F1
 [2]: #F2
 [3]: pending:yes


In proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains, stakeholders that extend the chain are selected according to the amount of stake they own. In S&P 2019 the "Ouroboros Crypsinous" system of Kerber et al. (and concurrently Ganesh et al. in EUROCRYPT 2019) presented a mechanism that hides the identity of the stakeholder when adding blocks, hence preserving anonymity of stakeholders both during payment and mining in the Ouroboros blockchain. They focus on anonymizing the messages of the blockchain protocol, but suggest that potential identity leaks from the network-layer can be removed as well by employing anonymous broadcast channels.In this work we show that this intuition is flawed. Even ideal anonymous broadcast channels do not suffice to protect the identity of the stakeholder who proposes a block.We make the following contributions. First, we show a formal network-attack against Ouroboros Crypsinous, where the adversary can leverage network delays to distinguish who is the stakeholder that added a block on the blockchain. Second, we abstract the above attack and show that whenever the adversary has control over the network delay – within the synchrony bound – loss of anonymity is inherent for any protocol that provides liveness guarantees. We do so, by first proving that it is impossible to devise a (deterministic) state-machine replication protocol that achieves basic liveness guarantees and better than (1−2f) anonymity at the same time (where f is the fraction of corrupted parties). We then connect this result to the PoS setting by presenting the tagging and reverse tagging attack that allows an adversary, across several executions of the PoS protocol, to learn the stake of a target node, by simply delaying messages for the target. We demonstrate that our assumption on the delaying power of the adversary is realistic by describing how our attack could be mounted over the Zcash blockchain network (even when Tor is used). We conclude by suggesting approaches that can mitigate such attacks.


Silver bismuth tungstate (AgBiW(2)O(8)) nanoparticles were prepared for the first time by solution combustion synthesis by using the corresponding metal nitrates as the precursor and urea as the fuel. These nanoparticles were subsequently modified with Pt catalyst islands using a photocatalytic procedure and used for the photogeneration of syngas (CO+H(2)). Formic acid was used for this purpose for the in situ generation of CO(2) and its subsequent reduction to CO. In the absence of Pt modification, H(2) was not obtained in the gas products evolved. These results were compared with those obtained with acetic acid in place of formic acid. The combustion process was simulated by thermogravimetry and the synthesized powder was characterized using transmission electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance UV/Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, surface area measurements, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Tauc plots derived from the diffuse reflectance data yielded an optical band gap of 2.74 eV. The photocatalytic activity of these nanoparticles was superior to a sample prepared by solid-state synthesis. Mechanistic aspects are finally presented, as are structural models and electronic calculations, using density functional theory (DFT).


ABSTRACTWuri Handayani Bojonegoro is the students with mild mental retardation are hard to recognize currency values and implement it in their daily life. It was reflected based on the average scores of the students in their initial written test which were under the standard. Since the 4th Grade students' capability in SLB-C Tut Wuri Handayani Bojonegoro, especially they who have mild mental retardation, in recognizing currency values is low, the author conducts a classroom-action research aiming at describing the improvement of students' capability to recognize currency values by means of role play methodData collection methods employed in this study were observation, documentation, and test. Meanwhile, data analysis was conducted by descriptive-reflection analysis based on the cycles.This study was conducted in 2 cycles. Each cycle was performed in two meetings. The capability to recognize currency values owned by 4th Grade Students with mental retardation at SLB-C Tut Wuri Handayani Bojonegoro shows an improvement and is more than the success indicators of the action. For the students' liveliness, the percentage is 81% and the result of written test of the students' capability to recognize currency values is 86%.The conclusion of the results shows that the role play method can improve the capability of 4th Grade Students with mild mental retardation at SLB-C Tut Wuri Handayani Bojonegoro to recognize currency values. Therefore, the findings of the study may be used as a reference for the teachers in improving the capability of students with mild mental retardation to recognize currency values.Keywords: money, role play


Since 1979, the authors have performed five types of microsurgical flap (including myocutaneous flap) graft to treat 40 patients with disorders of leg and foot. In the treatment of inflammatory diseases, good results were obtained owing to the following important points: 1) the operation was performed with inflammation well controlled or localized, particularly in chronic osteomyelitis; 2) indication for each type of microsurgical flap was made carefully; 3) isolation of flap was carried out gently, bleedings were thoroughly stopped by ligation.


In the latter half of the past decade, the electronics business became a part of the telephone business. Quite unexpectedly, many parts of the electronics industry - particularly data switch makers - found their economic welfare tied to four decades of regulatory experimentation. In this experimentation, regulators wanted to develop competitors in various parts of the telephony industry. One catalyst for the change was the US Telecommunications Act of 1996 - the first major alteration to US federal communications law in more than 60 years. At the same time, the Internet exploded into commercial use, fueling the demand for bandwidth affiliated with data transmission. The general public does not widely understand these changes. This is understandable, because the events themselves were genuinely complicated. Nonetheless, if you have an eerie sense that these changes did not go well, you are right. Many of these new competitors have gone bankrupt. Some analysts now view US transmission capacity as needlessly overbuilt. Others view this crash as marking the beginning of the end to deregulation for local telephony. This situation will take some explaining.


A pilot plan of medical studies was started in 1974 as a tentative solution to problems found in general medical practice and in medical education. This article is only a part of the integral evaluation and describes the attitudes assumed by the students when confronted with sets of objectives. Their responses are evaluated and will be used in the prosecution of determined aims.


Almost 150 years ago a London doctor combined maps of cholera deaths and water pumps to discover the source of a deadly epidemic, and the case has since become an acclaimed use of spatial analysis taught to generations of geography students worldwide. Moving forward to the present day, data mining techniques are now radically changing the way supermarkets think about product placement within their stores, and telephone customers are moving away from their traditional "YellowPages" directories and turning instead to enhanced "YellowMap" products. While these are all very positive examples, on the other hand a recent UK government hearing into the establishment of an underground radioactive waste repository determined not to proceed with this major project after the results of groundwater hydrology modelling were rejected because they could not be validated.


The flood of Rural-Urban drift continues to flow in favour of the urban areas, paradoxically, as food flows from the rural areas into urban areas. This poses a dilemma of tragic proportions: people desert the villages to death and over-populate the urban areas to explosion, forgetting that life or death of the rural areas signifies the same for urban areas. This paper examines some causes, effects and ways of balancing the equation to attain, maintain, and sustain a harmonious symbiotic coexistence between Rural and Urban areas. This work identifies inadequate housing and stock of infrastructure as formidable factors that induce the decisions about where people may willingly live happily. @JASEM


The outbreak of a pandemic, occurring after a hundred years, has taken the world by storm The knowledge attained from the past epidemics has helped establish various supportive, symptomatic and preventive measures Some possible therapeutic actions of substances against the concomitant SARS 2 COVID have been tested However, evidence from randomised controlled trials in humans is not available to support the recommendation of any of the investigational therapies, including vaccines for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 at this time With the rapid structural changes and the constantly mutating and unpredictable nature of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the development of a definitive treatment regimen is even more challenging Hence, management is only aimed at supportive therapy/ symptomatic treatment In the meantime, community mitigating procedures to keep the sudden surge of cases at bay are in place, and the best healthcare workers are working tirelessly in finding a cure A significant hurdle faced is the foreboding uncertainty about the virus-host relationship as well as the development and progression of the epidemic even today The numerous modalities have been discussed to give an overview of the best approach for the treatment of the SARS-CoV-2 positive patients which include the contemporary antiviral drugs, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, immunoglobulin therapies, vaccines and homoeopathic remedies


In this paper, I claim that a traditional insight that Korean subject honorification involves syntactic agreement is basically correct, contrary to Kim and Sells (2007), although I follow their position that previous accounts which are based on an [Hon] feature on a noun cannot be maintained due to numerous counterexamples. In order to capture the insight and explain the counterexamples, I propose that what is involved is agreement in terms of a [Speaker Honorification] feature under a Spec-head configuration and its interactions with some non-linguistic conventions concerning honorification. I further propose that the agreement host is not in Spec, but in head, since the feature is interpretable on -si/o, while it is uninterpretable on a noun. This leads me to propose that -si/o forms Agr in Korean and head-Spec agreement is involved in Korean subject honorification.


Epigenetic changes play a crucial role in human cancer development. DNA methylation is a central epigenetic process that regulates levels of gene expression. Changes in DNA methylation that occur in human tumors include global DNA hypomethylation and site-specific CpG island promoter hypermethylation. Long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1) is a repetitive DNA retrotransposon that duplicates via a copy-and-paste genetic mechanism. As LINE-1 constitutes approximately 17% of the human genome, the extent of LINE-1 methylation is regarded as a surrogate marker of global DNA methylation. In a variety of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, LINE-1 hypomethylation is strongly associated with a poor prognosis, supporting its potential role as a prognostic biomarker. In this article, we summarize current knowledge regarding LINE-1 methylation and its prognostic impact in GI cancers.


In the present research, variability in essential oil (EO) composition of five Dorema aucheri populations collected from natural habitats in different regions of Iran, were investigated. The EO content of populations varied from 0.28 to 0.68%. According to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis, β‐caryophyllene (7.17 – 35.73%), thymol (23.45 – 29.64%), β‐gurjunene (2.58 – 5.89%), carvacrol (1.32 – 2.67%) and cuparene (1.97 – 2.98%) were the major components. Hierarchical cluster, principal component and canonical correspondence analyses classified the studied populations into three groups based on major EO components. The environmental parameters of the collected sites were also evaluated. According to the results, it might be suggested that sandy soils with high mean annual precipitation were major environmental factors influencing the amount of β‐caryophyllene, while thymol, cuparene and caryophyllen oxide increased in silty and clay soils. Finally, the population collected in high altitudes and clay soils had higher amount of β‐gurjunene.


Agriculture plays a multifunctional role in a district's development. Bali is an Indonesian province that uses rustic regions as a gateway to the agricultural sector, which supports the tourism industry. In 2020, this sector was responsible for 15% of Bali's gross domestic product, ranking second among 17 sectors (the sector of providing convenience, food and drink took the lead at 18%). The purpose of this review was to plan the development typology of the sector and assess the variables causing changes in the agricultural sector's impact in the Bali region. The investigation was focused on the Bali area, and it was completed with the intention of examining expansions in agrarian land in Bali. Klassen typology and ISM were used in the research. The farming, ranger service, and fisheries areas were placed in quadrant II as a result of this review. According to the ISM analysis, land conversion, reduced water discharge, and the decline in productivity of farmers affect the agricultural sector's performance in the short term; the budget for the agricultural sector, agricultural subsidies, and the synergy between agriculture and tourism affect the agricultural sector's performance in the medium term. Meanwhile, the application of new technology, the existence of subak, the marketing system's orientation, and the strengthening of the agricultural agroindustry are all important long-term factors. As a result, increasing the agricultural sector's growth can be accomplished by establishing an industry for processing raw materials, integrating regional regulations and awig-awig, and providing appropriate incentives for farmers.
Keywords: agricultural sector, the existence of subak, awig-awig


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the inhibitory effect of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on growth and angiogenesis of gastric cancer and to explore its molecular mechanism.

METHODS
Heterotopic tumor was established by subcutaneously injection with SGC-7901 cells in nude mice. Once the tumor was established, the mice were allocated randomly into two groups and received intraperitoneal injection of EGCG or phosphate buffered saline respectively. Tumor growth was measured by caliper in two dimensions, and angiogenesis was determined with tumor microvessel density (MVD) by immunohistochemistry. Protein levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(Stat3) in tumor cells and tumor tissues were examined by Western blot. VEGF release in tumor culture medium was determined by ELISA and VEGF mRNA expression in tumor cells by RT-PCR.

RESULTS
Intraperitoneal injection of EGCG significantly inhibited the growth of gastric cancer[(0.32+/-0.08) g vs(0.81+/-0.12) g, t=7.24, P<0.01], and an average of 60.4% suppression of primary tumor growth was observed. Microvessel density in tumor tissues receiving EGCG treatment was also markedly reduced(15.2+/-4.3 vs 24.6+/-6.6,t=3.41,P<0.01),and an average of 38.2% suppression was observed. EGCG treatment markedly reduced VEGF protein level in vitro and in vivo. Secretion and mRNA expression of VEGF in tumor cells were also suppressed by EGCG in a dose-dependent manner. This inhibitory effect was associated with reduced activation of Stat3. Stat3 activation was dose-dependently suppressed by EGCG in tumor cells, and an average of 53.5% reduction was observed in tumor tissues, but EGCG treatment did not change total Stat3 expression.

CONCLUSION
EGCG reduces expression of VEGF in gastric cancer by inhibiting activation of Stat3, thereby inhibits tumor growth and angiogenesis of gastric cancer.


A review of the literature on the central nervous system (CNS) effects of repeated centrifuge acceleration studies involving G-induced loss of consciousness (G-LOC) reveals that remarkably few adverse effects have been reported, aside from the G-LOC itself, even in subjects with numerous exposures. However, most of the followup studies were performed before the availability of sophisticated neuropsychological tests and non-invasive means of imaging the CNS, such as computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), brain electrical activity measurement (BEAM), and positron emission tomography (PET). Further, only a handful of long-term followup studies have been done. Thus, although repeated G-LOC may have induced some long-term adverse CNS effects, either organic or functional, little has been done to detect them. Even granted that some damage may be done, this risk must be weighed against the risk of aviators of similar damage from high +Gz exposures in flight, and even more against the risk of fatal G-LOC aircraft accidents. Volunteers for centrifuge acceleration studies should be fully informed about what is known and not known in this regard. As an ancillary measure, head restraints may be useful in avoiding postural trauma to the cervical spine, or impact injury to the head when G-LOC occurs and the head snaps forward and down.


Droughts are complex phenomena that typically evolve slowly over time. They originate through interactions between the atmosphere and the land surface, but show delayed evolution as they cascade through soil moisture, surface, and groundwater supplies, sometimes resulting in prolonged and insidious impacts on regional hydrological systems. While previous studies have observed this cascade phenomenon at select in situ locations, the temporal characteristics of drought cascades have never been quantitatively estimated at large scales using primarily remote sensing techniques. Here, we use satellite observations of vapor pressure deficit, Precipitation, and terrestrial water storage, and reanalysis‐based estimates of column soil moisture to characterize cascade phenomena for four major US drought case studies. By mapping the time evolution through this suite of variables, we observe large‐scale behavior generally consistent with theory and are able to quantify emergent patterns in the evolution of drought signals that may support improved future predictability.


We study the effects of management of the PT-symmetric part of the potential within the setting of Schrödinger dimer and trimer oligomer systems. This is done by rapidly modulating in time the gain/loss profile. This gives rise to a number of interesting properties of the system, which are explored at the level of an averaged equation approach. Remarkably, this rapid modulation provides for a controllable expansion of the region of exact PT-symmetry, depending on the strength and frequency of the imposed modulation. The resulting averaged models are analysed theoretically and their exact stationary solutions are translated into time-periodic solutions through the averaging reduction. These are, in turn, compared with the exact periodic solutions of the full non-autonomous PT-symmetry managed problem and very good agreement is found between the two.


In today's world, it is essential that each member of the management team, especially in such a specific area as safety, that psychosocial competences play a key role in the success of a particular undertaking, and even for the entire career of a person. Selected issues of social psychology related to the work of a safety manager are nowadays the basis for creating plans to educate such a specialist. This is mainly due to the fact that every manager works not with artificial intelligence, but with living people. In the case of a security manager, it should be added that in unpredictable situations. The article in the post-research part has a practical character. The development of efficient mechanisms based on sociopsychological proposals can, to a large extent, as in the case study indicated, increase the effectiveness of both the work and the team.


Intermediate electrical conductivity (IEC, 100-105 S/m) objects are increasingly important to properly detect and classify. For the US Military, carbon fiber (CF) "smart bomb" unexploded ordnance (UXO) are contaminating training ranges. Home-made explosives (HME) may also fit in this conductivity range. Objects in this conductivity range exhibit characteristic quadrature response peaks at high frequencies (100 kHz-15 MHz). Previous efforts towards electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensing of IEC targets have required single-turn, small-diameter transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) loops. These smaller loops remain electrically short in the high frequency EMI (HFEMI) range (100 kHz-15 MHz), a necessary feature, but provide low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), especially at low frequencies (1000 Hz-10 kHz). We propose a modification to our pre-production HFEMI instrument which has a hybrid low frequency/high frequency transmit coil. This hybrid system uses many turns in the traditional range, and a single wire turn at HFEMI frequencies, to maximize SNR across a wider EMI band. The turns which are not current carrying in high frequency mode must have negligible inductive coupling to the single current-carrying turn, low enough that any coupling is suitable for background subtraction. This is enforced by mutually disconnecting every turn from every other turn. The instrument uses the same calibration techniques as previously introduced,1 namely background subtraction and ferrite compensation. This paper dis- cusses engineering tradeoffs, compares results to numerical models and actual data from an advanced induction sensor, shows improvement in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at traditional EMI frequencies, and shows the same ability to detect IEC targets in the HFEMI band.


Lower urinary tract infections (UTI) more readily evolve towards acute pyelonephritis (AP) during pregnancy. It should thus be considered as a serious situation. UTI screening is not routinely achieved but appears advisable because the treatment notably reduces the occurrence AP. The effectiveness of urinary testing by dipstick is good even though it can't compete with the sensitivity and specificity of urine culture. AP mainly increases the risk of prematurity. Prompt therapy should be carried out since renal function could be compromised by parenchymal infection. Unfavourable outcome mainly occurs in complicated UTI that it may reveal but that can often be drawn out form the patient's medical history.


Let $f:M\to \mathbb{R}$ be a Morse function on a connected compact surface $M$, and $\mathcal{S}(f)$ and $\mathcal{O}(f)$ be respectively the stabilizer and the orbit of $f$ with respect to the right action of the group of diffeomorphisms $\mathcal{D}(M)$. In a series of papers the first author described the homotopy types of connected components of $\mathcal{S}(f)$ and $\mathcal{O}(f)$ for the cases when $M$ is either a $2$-disk or a cylinder or $\chi(M)<0$. Moreover, in two recent papers the authors considered special classes of smooth functions on $2$-torus $T^2$ and shown that the computations of $\pi_1\mathcal{O}(f)$ for those functions reduces to the cases of $2$-disk and cylinder.
In the present paper we consider another class of Morse functions $f:T^2\to\mathbb{R}$ whose KR-graphs have exactly one cycle and prove that for every such function there exists a subsurface $Q\subset T^2$, diffeomorphic with a cylinder, such that $\pi_1\mathcal{O}(f)$ is expressed via the fundamental group $\pi_1\mathcal{O}(f|_{Q})$ of the restriction of $f$ to $Q$.
This result holds for a larger class of smooth functions $f:T^2\to \mathbb{R}$ having the following property: for every critical point $z$ of $f$ the germ of $f$ at $z$ is smoothly equivalent to a homogeneous polynomial $\mathbb{R}^2\to \mathbb{R}$ without multiple factors.


The adhesion and friction between individual nanotubes was investigated in ambient using a dynamic atomic force microscope AFM operating in force-calibration mode to capture force-versus-distance curves. A multiwalled carbon nanotube MWNT tip attached to a conventional AFM probe was brought into contact with and then ramped in vertical direction against a single-walled carbon nanotube SWNT bridge suspended over a2 -m-wide trench. The interaction between nanotubes altered the oscillation amplitude, phase lag, and average deflection of AFM cantilever, from which the interacting forces between nanotubes are quantitatively derived. During ramping, a stick-slip motion was found to dominate the sliding between the nanotubes. The stick was attributed to the presence of high-energy points, such as structural defects or coating of amorphous carbon, on the surface of the MWNT tip. The coefficients of static friction and shear strength between nanotubes were evaluated to be about 0.2 and 1.4 GPa, respectively. They are about 2 orders of magnitude larger than the kinetic counterparts. The kinetic values are on the same order as that measured previously by sliding a MWNT tip across a SWNT bridge in lateral direction.


Next to environmental aspects, establishing areas for safe and economically viable automated driving in mixed-traffic settings is one major challenge for sustainable development of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). This work investigates safety in the interactions between AVs, human-driven vehicles, and vulnerable road users, including cyclists and pedestrians, within a simulated urban environment in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. New junction and pedestrian models are introduced, and virtual AVs with an occlusion-aware driving system are deployed to deliver cargo autonomously. The safety of applying this autonomous cargo delivery service is assessed using a large set of Surrogate Safety Indicators (SSIs). Furthermore, Macroscopic Fundamental Diagrams (MFDs) and travel time loss are incorporated to evaluate the network efficiency. By assessing the impact of various measures involving Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communications, infrastructure modifications, and driving behavior, we show that traffic safety and network efficiency can be achieved in a living lab setting for the considered case. Our findings further suggest that V2X gets implemented, new buildings are not placed close to intersections, and the speed limit of non-arterial roads is lowered.


The twenty-four species of Lonchaeidae (lance flies) known from Australia commonly breed in a wide variety of organic matter, including fruit and vegetables. The metallic-green tomato fly (Lamprolonchaea brouniana) is the best known species, being an agricultural pest. However its common name is also applied to other similar bright metallic goldengreen lance flies. Australian lance flies are generally relatively poorly understood taxonomically, with few species descriptions including (1) both male and female adults, (2) detailed descriptions of larval diagnostic morphological characters, and (3) molecular characterisation of the barcoding COI mitochondrial DNA region (no lance flies having been sequenced to date). The latter two could provide valuable tools to assist in identifying this species from larvae found in food produce, the most common life stage encountered, which are currently sometimes confused with economically important tephritid fruit fly larvae. In the current study we redescribe the morphological characteristics of adults, larvae and pupae as well as characterise the COI gene from the most common Australian lonchaeid fruit pest, L. brouniana, to enable an accurate species diagnosis. We provide a key to known Australian Lamprolonchaea species, and clarify the taxonomy of L. brouniana, including designating type material. This species appears to be restricted to Australia, and has been most commonly collected from the temperate south. Life history characteristics, including the timing of occurrence and host plant use, were also examined. Over the last decade south-eastern Australian larval samples were found over the warmer summer and autumn months from various fruit, most often (>70%) from tomato fruit, and not normally in association with other serious primary pests, such as Queensland Fruit Fly (Bactrocera tryoni).


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

Background and Aim: Liver regeneration occurs after liver damage by ischaemia, hepatitis, or in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients receiving hepatic resection or liver transplantation. Understanding the molecular bases of this process will provide novel therapeutic approaches for patients with various liver diseases. Previous studies suggested the linkage between CD44, a multifunctional cell surface receptor, and liver regeneration. The detailed role of this receptor in liver regeneration, however, remained unclear. The present study aimed at elucidating the role of CD44 in liver regeneration. Materials and Methods: A mouse model of liver regeneration induced by partial hepatectomy (PH) was employed. Serum and liver tissues were collected at different time points after PH. ELISA was performed to measure hyaluronic acid (ligand for CD44) level in serum. Flow cytometry was done to characterize liver cell populations after PH. Liver regeneration was quantified by measurement of liver mass and by immunohistochemical staining for PCNA (a proliferation marker). Quantitative PCR was performed to compare gene expression pattern of 46 genes between CD45− CD44+ cells and their CD44− counterparts. Results: Firstly, serum hyaluronic acid level was elevated at the early stage of liver regeneration. Secondly, by flow cytometry, an increase in CD45− CD44+ cell population was found. Thirdly, immunohistochemical analysis revealed active hepatocyte proliferation during this period. Interestingly, the hepatectomy-induced cell proliferation was suppressed after treating mice with anti-CD44 antibody, suggesting a functional role of CD44 in liver regeneration. Lastly, dysregulation of genes involving in cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and metabolism of hyaluronic acid was disclosed in CD45− CD44+ cells. Conclusion: The present study indicated that CD44-mediated pathways are required for liver regeneration, which may have therapeutic implications in treating liver diseases, including HCC.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3862. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3862


The East Qinling orogenic belt can be divided into North and South Qinling erogenic belts by the Shangdan fault. The granitoids, especially the late Paleozoic - early Mesozoic granitoids, are widely distributed in North Qinling and South Qinling orogenic belts. Pb, Nd and Sr isotopic compositions and some trace element ratios for the collision-type granitoids were measured. The data are used to evaluate the granitic magma source and to probe the chemical composition of deep crust where the granitic intrusions were emplaced. The studies indicate that the South Qinling collision-type granitoids came from the South Qinling middle-lower crust and the North Qinling collision-type granitic batholiths were also derived from the South Qinling middle-lower crust rather than from the North Qinling block itself. These results provide direct evidence for the South Qinling continental crust underplating beneath the North Qinling block in the continent-continent interaction stage of the East Qinling orogenic belt.


The study was designed to see the effect of CAI as a strategy on the academic achievement of senior high school (SHS) students in the subject area of mathematics. The sampled classes were assigned to two groups on the basis of their achievement scores in the pre-test. Two different treatments were applied during the study. The experimental group received instruction via CAI with the researcher as a facilitator while the control group was taught by the researcher using the conventional approach. Both groups took an achievement test just after the treatment was over to determine the treatment effect. Analysis of data revealed that both the CAI and the traditional approach have led to increase in students' performance in the teaching and learning of Pie Chart and Histogram in Core Mathematics but the CAI approach has led to much gain in terms of students' achievement than the traditional approach in the teaching and learning of Pie Chart and Histogram in Core Mathematics. It was concluded that the CAI was equally effective for the students in the experimental group because it helped students to develop Mathematical concepts adequately with limited teacher guidance.


This study reveals the entropy analysis of hydromagnetic pumping flow of Williamson fluid through a 2-D symmetric channel carrying cilia. Propulsive metachronal waves are mobilized by whipping and beating of uniformly distributed cilia which follow elliptic trajectory movements in the parallel direction of flow. The flow is resisted by a uniform transverse magnetic field. The entire study is carried out in wave frame of reference. After implying lubrication approximations, the governing equations of the present flow problem are solved by perturbation method. Effects of physical parameters of interest on various flow quantities, the total entropy generation number and the Bejan number are plotted and discussed. It is observed that fluid velocity and temperature is enhanced in the core channel region for small values of Hartmann number and cilia length. It is also noticed that the entropy generation and the Bejan number are decreasing function of magnetic field. Near the channel center, irreversibility due to fluid friction is dominant but at the channel wall heat transfer irreversibility effects are observed to be substantial. The confined bolus reduces in size for small values of cilia length parameter and large values of Hartmann number.