Habitat fragmentation reduces populations and can cause disappearance in species of restricted distribution. High degrees of endemism make many cacti species vulnerable to fragmentation Mammillaria eriacantha, a cactus endemic to central Veracruz, is restricted mainly to 22 isolated vegetation fragments each surrounded by cultivated land. The objective of this study was to estimate the population size of M. eriacantha and describe certain characteristics of the population and its habitat, considering fragmentation as a variable in the sampling design. Based on two-stage cluster sampling, six fragments of vegetation were randomly chosen. Within each fragment, ten plots of 5 × 5 m were randomly selected and the abundance of M. eriacantha within each plot was recorded, along with number of flowering adults, height of each individual and distance to the closest neighbouring M. eriacantha. In each plot, percentage of rockiness and coverage of grasses and canopy was recorded. Size structure of M. eriacantha was described, as well as its density, population size, number of adults, and spatial distribution pattern. Population variables were correlated with those of habitat. The estimated M. eriacantha population size for the total fragment area (9.53 km2) was 1,081,125.7 plants. Mammillaria eriacantha distribution was homogeneous, and no habitat variable was found to correlate with the measured M. eriacantha population characteristics. Notwithstanding the considerable size of the M. eriacantha population, the ongoing transformation of its habitat by exploitation and modification for agriculture could modify its population structure and abundance, so the establishment of sound management and conservation of this species is an important issue.


This study aims to offer a conceptual framework that elaborates on how tourists' perception of contradictory features in reviews' factuality and comprehension – within a single hotel review and across multiple hotel reviews – trigger attitude ambivalence and psychological discomfort, which determine their behaviors – choice deferral and hotel booking intentions. It also investigates the moderating role of anticipated conflicting reactions (ACRs) through contradictory features on consumers' attitude ambivalence.,Using a Chinese setting, researchers collected data from 524 inbound tourists who were the consumers of hotels in Beijing. The study used IBM Amos 23.0 to test measurement and structural models for the proposed relationships. It also used PROCESS macro 3.4 for the moderation analysis.,The findings reveal a positive association between contradictory features in reviews and the resulting ambivalence that affects consumers' discomfort and leads to the decision to defer the choice of hotel. Conversely, consumers' discomfort has a positive impact on the hotel booking intentions. ACRs have positive moderating effects on the associations between contradictory features and consumers' attitude ambivalence.,By investigating the contradictory features in hotel reviews, this study extends the body of research on dual information processing (i.e. the heuristic–systematic model) and the literature on service management, psychological behaviors, travel intermediaries and hotel firms. Future research directions are recommended for tourism and hospitality researchers.


Despite an increasing number of studies demonstrating that young children selectively learn from others, and a few studies of children's selective teaching, the evidence almost exclusively comes from Western cultures, and cross-cultural comparison in this line of work is very rare. In the present research, we investigated Japanese and German children's selective learning and teaching abilities. We found clear cultural differences. Japanese children were better at selectively teaching an ignorant person over a knowledgeable person than at selectively learning from knowledgeable others. By contrast, German children were better at choosing to learn from a knowledgeable rather than from an ignorant person than at selectively teaching ignorant others. The present findings suggest that the development of human learning and teaching, especially the tendency to take into account others' knowledge status, is strongly affected by cultural background.


Neuroimaging studies of speech processing increasingly rely on artificial speech-like sounds whose perceptual status as speech or non-speech is assigned by simple subjective judgments; brain activation patterns are interpreted according to these status assignments. The naïve perceptual status of one such stimulus, spectrally-rotated speech (not consciously perceived as speech by naïve subjects), was evaluated in discrimination and forced identification experiments. Discrimination of variation in spectrally-rotated syllables in one group of naïve subjects was strongly related to the pattern of similarities in phonological identification of the same stimuli provided by a second, independent group of naïve subjects, suggesting either that (1) naïve rotated syllable perception involves phonetic-like processing, or (2) that perception is solely based on physical acoustic similarity, and similar sounds are provided with similar phonetic identities. Analysis of acoustic (Euclidean distances of center frequency values of formants) and phonetic similarities in the perception of the vowel portions of the rotated syllables revealed that discrimination was significantly and independently influenced by both acoustic and phonological information. We conclude that simple subjective assessments of artificial speech-like sounds can be misleading, as perception of such sounds may initially and unconsciously utilize speech-like, phonological processing.


In Geosynchronous SAR (GEO SAR), because of the increase of orbit height, the signal propagation delay time reaches up to hundreds of milliseconds, and the synthetic aperture time also reaches up to hundreds of seconds which will result in a curved synthetic aperture trajectory, thus the "Stop-and-Go" assumption and conventional imaging methods of low earth orbit SAR (LEO SAR) will lose effect in GEO SAR. In addition, because the angular velocity of earth rotation is approximately equal to that of satellite rotation, the Doppler parameter and resolution analysis in LEO SAR cannot be directly used too in GEO SAR either. In this paper, firstly, the accurate slant range model in GEO SAR is created based on the consideration of the error of "Stop-and-Go" assumption, and then the improved imaging method is proposed to compensate for the error of "Stop-and-Go" assumption and the effect of the curved synthetic aperture trajectory. Finally, based on the generalized ambiguity function (GAF) and projection theory, the accurate Doppler gradient vector is analytically obtained based on the consideration of earth rotation in GEO SAR, and the accurate resolution calculation in arbitrary direction is also derived in detail. All the simulation results verify the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed imaging method and resolution analysis method.


This paper describes the floral biology and pollination of Camaridium ochroleucum Lindl. It is an epiphyte on trees and fallen logs in campina and campinarana forming large clusters of individuals, however isolated individuals can also be observed. It has many of osmophores located on the lip. With ammonium hydroxide the lip acquired an intense color yellow. Melipona ilustris and Trigona fulviventris are flower visitors able to remove the pollinia. Depending on where deposited these species are able to remove the pollinarium during body cleaning. Pollen thieves were also observed, such as Tetragona handlirschii and Apidae 1. The species is self-incompatible and has low fruit set in natural conditions.


Based on analyses of high‐speed video recordings of cloud‐to‐ground lightning in Brazil and the USA, the characteristics of positive cloud‐to‐ground (+CG) leaders are presented. The high frame rates permitted the average, 2‐dimensional speeds of development along the paths of the channels to be resolved with good accuracy. The values range from 0.3 to 6.0 × 105 ms−1 with a mean of 2.7 × 105 ms−1. Contrary to what is usually assumed, downward +CG leader speeds are similar to downward −CG leader speeds. Our observations also show that the speeds tend to increase by a factor of 1.1 to 6.5 as they approach the ground. The presence of short duration, recoil leaders (RLs) during the development of positive leaders reveal a highly branched structure that is not usually recorded when using conventional photographic and video cameras. The existence of the RLs may help to explain observations of UHF‐VHF radiation during the development of +CG flashes.


Rural Kiosks are important infrastructural pillar in rural regions for internet and basic technology facility all around the world. They are also known as Tele-centers or Common Service Centers and are majorly used by government to promote Electronic Governance. The major characteristic of setting up of Rural Kiosk is their appropriate location so that people from rural region can avail the services at minimum travel cost and time. There are lot of traditional schemes used by researchers in past for location allocation but this paper proposes the usage of Fuzzy C-Means clustering and BAT algorithm to optimize the location of Rural Kiosk. The meta-heuristic approach has produced better results as compared to normal graph theories in past. The experiment has been conducted on a random data set of 72 village locations from India and their clusters are formed. It is found that using only Fuzzy C-Means clustering to allocate the center and by using it in combination with BAT algorithm produced up to 25% of efficient results. This can drastically help the key stakeholders in allocation of these Rural Kiosks at right places so as to maximize their utility.


Introduction: Soluble mesothelin-related peptides (SMRP) have been reported as potential markers for the diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). We wondered, whether a combination with a carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) test might improve the relatively low diagnostic yield of the SMRP test. Methods: In a retrospective study, SMRP (mesothelin) and CEA serum concentrations were measured, using commercially available kits, in 93 previously untreated MPM patients, 75 patients with benign asbestos disease, and 139 patients suffering from lung cancer (LC). Results: The differentiation between MPM, LC, and benign asbestos disease could be improved by applying the ratio mesothelin/CEA. Whereas CEA expression was found to be low in MPM, most LC patients had elevated CEA serum levels. The area under curve (AUC) of the receiver operator characteristics curve for mesothelin alone was found to be only 0.708. For mesothelin/CEA the AUC of the receiver operator characteristics curve increased to 0.978. The sensitivity was 93% (69%) at 95% (100%) specificity for the differentiation between MPM and LC. Comparison of MPM and benign asbestos disease showed that the AUC was 0.887 and the sensitivity 56% (47%) at 95% (100%) specificity. In contrast, the AUC for the mesothelin test alone was only 0.715, and for the CEA test alone it was 0.16. An average increment in sensitivity of 38% (range, 16%–63%) could be achieved by the quotient mesothelin/CEA compared with the sensitivity of mesothelin alone. Conclusion: The diagnostic yield of the mesothelin test can be considerably improved when combined with a CEA test with regard to the differential diagnosis between MPM and LC and between MPM and benign asbestos disease.


AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study was to compare fall rates in older hospital inpatients with and without cognitive impairment. Relationships between age, gender, mobility, cognitive impairment, care dependency, urinary incontinence and medical disciplines were investigated.

BACKGROUND
Falls are common in older people with cognitive impairment, but studies in the hospital setting are rare.

DESIGN
A secondary analysis of three nationwide prevalence studies in German hospitals from the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 was conducted.

METHOD
Trained staff nurses used a standardised instrument to collect data about accidental falls within the last two weeks in their institutions and about other patient characteristics. Data from 9246 patients aged 65 years or older from 37 hospitals were analysed.

RESULTS
The fall rate for cognitively impaired patients was 12·9%, while only 4·2% of older persons without cognitive impairment experienced a fall. Comparison between medical disciplines showed great differences concerning fall risk for confused and non-confused inpatients. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, the odds-ratio association of cognitive impairment and falls was 2·1 (CI 1·7-2·7). Higher age (OR 1·5, CI 1·2-1·9), greater care dependency (OR 1·6, CI 1·1-2·1), reduced mobility (OR 2·6, CI 1·9-3·7) and being a patient on a geriatric ward (OR 1·8, CI 1·1-2·9) were also statistically significant predictors in this model.

CONCLUSIONS
Cognitively impaired older people constitute a high-risk group for accidental falls in hospitals.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
Fall prevention strategies in the hospital setting should address cognitively impaired inpatients as an important high-risk group.


Summary  Information about on-ground vegetation restoration activities (e.g. fencing and revegetation) is critical if natural resource management (NRM) groups are to monitor progress towards restoration targets, assess the efficacy of their interventions and adaptively learn from different actions. However, in Australia, there are few practical guidelines for recording data, making it difficult to consistently compare actions between sites and through time. Records of primary information are particularly important given the ongoing national investment in vegetation restoration activities. With the aid of six-case study areas in different landscapes, robust guidelines and tools were developed and incorporated into VegTrack, a methodology, which allows groups to develop their own vegetation restoration activity database. VegTrack differentiates spatial data from attribute data storing each in different databases (a GIS and a relational database management system respectively). We describe the process which enables NRM groups to develop their own database, and provide a Microsoft Access 2003 version of VegTrack to allow NRM groups to commence activity recording. To demonstrate the utility of the VegTrack method in different situations and to encourage consistency across study areas, we describe the application of the guidelines for several scenarios including riparian revegetation, corridors disrupted by roads and infill plantings.


C-26 colon adenocarcinoma cells transduced with the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) gene form large tumors when injected into sublethally irradiated mice. These tumors regress when leukocyte function is reconstituted. Electron microscopy and immunocytochemical analysis of regressing C-26/G-CSF nodules indicates that tumor destruction is due mainly to hypoxia resulting from the functional loss of tumor vasculature and is only marginally due to direct cytolysis. Desegregation of basal lamina, cell swelling, and loss of junctions characterized the vessels within regressing tumors. Tumor cells were necrotic or filled with lipid vacuoles regardless of the distance from nearby vessels. Damage of tumor vasculature was dependent on the infiltrating leukocytes and the cytotoxic cytokines they produced. Locally produced interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) induced vascular cellular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and E-selectin on tumor vessels. Treatment with monoclonal antibodies to interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) or TNF-alpha blocked tumor regression by inhibiting VCAM-1 and E-selectin expression on tumor-associated endothelial cells resulting in a reduced number of infiltrating leukocytes. Thus, C-26/G-CSF tumor regression presents features typical of hemorrhagic necrosis that occurs through the cytokines produced by infiltrating leukocytes in response to G-CSF.


Introduction/Background The tumor suppressor miR-34 family is transcriptionally induced by p53. Clinical significance of the various miR-34 family members has not been studied in ovarian cancer. Methodology In 228 ovarian cancers and in 19 non-neoplastic fallopian tube samples we analysed miR-34a/b/c expression in relation to clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome. Results We found significantly lower levels of miR-34a/b/c in ovarian cancers as compared to control-tissues (P=0.002, P<0.001, P<0.001, respectively). Expression of miR-34b/c revealed an inverse correlation with BRCA1/2 mRNA-expression (BRCA1: miR34b/c P=0.002 each; BRCA2: miR-34b/c P<0.001 each), the same was true for miR-34a and BRCA2 mRNA-expression (P<0.001). The miR-34 family expression was found to be significantly lower in type 2 in comparison to type 1 cancers (P<0.001) and in TP53-mutated compared with TP53-wild-type ovarian cancers (P<0.001, P=0.002, P=0.004, respectively). When low grade serous ovarian cancers were compared with high grade serous cancers the respective miR-34a/b/c expression was 2.6-, 40.8- and 32.3-fold higher. The expression of each of the miR-34 family members was revealed to be of independent prognostic relevance regarding progression free survival (miR-34a: HR 0.6, P=0.033; miR-34b: HR 0.2, P=0.001 and miR-34c: HR 0.3, P=0.002, respectively). For overall survival independency of the prognostic value was confined to miR-34b (HR 0.4, P=0.016) and miR-34c (HR 0.6, P=0.049). Conclusion Our findings suggest that downregulation of miR-34 family is a crucial part in ovarian cancer development. Low miR-34 levels are linked to a worse overall survival and progression free survival and may indicate a more aggressive disease. Disclosure Nothing to disclose.


Computational thinking and coding are thinking skills that are recently expected to be acquired by elementary school children as the era of the industrial revolution 4.0 requires students to be familiar with the use of technology. In some developed countries, the two skills have been included in elementary school curriculum. However, the situation is different in the context of Indonesia since teachers or instructors who are able to provide these skills are inadequate. Therefore, this training was intended to socialize and educate the application of coding and computational thinking, especially to elementary school teachers so that they have the ability to equip their students with those skills. The participants of this training were teachers of Labschool UPI Purwakarta. The training was conducted in one day containing the concepts and practices of ICT and computational thinking as well as coding for kids. The result of satisfaction questionnaire distributed to the participants after the training shows a good level of satisfaction in terms of training materials, delivery of materials, and the usefulness of activities as much as 71,4%, 57,1% and 92,9% consecutively. The teachers hope that follow-up trainings are carried out to increase their knowledge and ability in developing technology-based learning.


The image of housing as the wobbly pillar under the welfare state has been widely used in recent years, and is clearly an attractive metaphor in the present period as residualisation deepens and privatisation continues. However, this paper is concerned with the early years of the postwar welfare state, when conditions for a securely founded housing service were, arguably, more conducive than they are today. Accordingly the paper focuses on policy work in the 1940s, drawing on new research on Public Record Office files, to reveal the amount of wartime planning within Whitehall for postwar housing policy, and the extent of continuity between the pre and post 1945 periods. It is shown that under the wartime coalition government there was considerably more planning for housing after the war than is acknowledged in the existing literature, and that this work shaped policy under the Labour government of 1945–51. Housing emerged as the wobbly pillar under the welfare state because of the amount of detailed wartime planning and Labour's acceptance of its analysis and prescriptions. Whereas most accounts concentrate on the size of the late 1940s building programme (and judge the government accordingly), the argument here is that to understand how housing emerged as the wobbly pillar it is necessary to look beyond quantity to the question of why a self-proclaimed socialist government failed to challenge the market dominance of housing provision.


In the February 1978 issue of the Annals, Price and Posner [4] reported a fourth case of chronic paroxysmal hemicrania (CPH). They and the original investigators, Sjaastad and Dale [5] , stress its distinct temporal profile and pharmacology in distinguishing it from typical cluster headache. The following case may represent a transitional form in that the patient initially had typical cluster and subsequently developed a pattern consistent with CPH.


PURPOSE
We compared pupil size measurements obtained with the Orbscan and autorefractometer to the Colvard Infrared pupillometer in order to determine their respective clinical advantages.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
We prospectively measured the pupil diameter in 94 eyes of 47 normal patients using the Colvard device, the Nikon NKR 8000 autorefractometer, and the Orbscan device. For each device, two successive measurements were taken to determine its reproducibility. We also studied the relationship with the contralateral eye (i.e., difference and correlation). The measurements obtained with the different devices in different light intensities were compared and studied using regression analysis.

RESULTS
Pupil diameter measured using the Orbscan had the highest reproducibility (mean difference between the two successive measurements: 3.8% or 0.15mm) and showed the smallest difference between the two eyes (5.0% or 0.19mm) and the strongest correlation with the contralateral eye (r=0.93; p<0.001). Scotopic Colvard measurements and autorefractometer measurements with low light settings were not significantly different (5.86mm versus 5.86mm; p=0.48). Autorefractometer measurements with low light settings showed the strongest correlation with the scotopic Colvard measurements (r=0.84; p<0.001). The Orbscan measurements were less correlated with the scotopic or photopic Colvard measurements (r=0.73; p<0.001 and r=0.51; p=0.003, respectively). For the Colvard pupillometer, the correlation between photopic measurements and scotopic measurements was also poor (r=0.51; p<0.001).

CONCLUSION
Pupil size measurements with the autorefractometer may be advantageous before refractive surgery. Measuring pupil size in photopic conditions, as with the Orbscan, cannot screen people with large pupils in mesopic conditions.


ABSTRACT The Irish party system has been exceptional both for the weakness of its left-right conflict and for its long-run stability. How then can party competition on policy, and particularly competition between the main parties, be characterised? This study examines the Irish party system from an issue competition perspective, examining the party system agenda and asking whether Irish party competition is marked by differences in issue focus. New data from Irish party manifestos (1981–2020) coded within the framework of the Comparative Agendas Project show that rather than competing by focusing on different issues, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's issue focus is very similar and has moved in parallel over time. Nor is a distinct focus on new issues evident in Sinn Féin's offering as they have emerged as a major party. Moreover, it finds that 'new politics' issues have remained marginal and it examines how this has occurred using the 'crucial case' of environmental policy. While differences in issue focus do not help us to distinguish the main parties, the politics of competence continues to have an important role and positional politics may be coming to the fore.


Partial financial indexation in Chile has produced a system in which most bank deposits are 30-day nonindexed deposits or 90-day indexed deposits. This paper uses data on the interest rates of these financial assets to test the joint hypothesis of rational expectations, efficient arbitrage, and a time-invariant liquidity premium. The data are also used to test whether the indexed/nonindexed interest spread is an accurate predictor of future changes in inflation, as the Fisher effect dictates. The significant implications of this empirical analysis for monetary policy are discussed.


This brief is concerned with the analysis problem of global exponential stability in the mean square sense for a class of linear discrete-time recurrent neural networks (DRNNs) with stochastic delay. Different from the prior research works, the effects of both variation range and probability distribution of the time delay are involved in the proposed method. First, a modeling method is proposed by translating the probability distribution of the time delay into parameter matrices of the transformed DRNN model, where the delay is characterized by a stochastic binary distributed variable. Based on the new method, the global exponential stability in the mean square sense for the DRNNs with stochastic delay is investigated by using the Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and exploiting some new analysis techniques. A numerical example is provided to show the effectiveness and the applicability of the proposed method.


A theoretical model of children's dependency on teachers and other caregivers in elementary school was tested and supported in this study. Based on attachment theory and social-cognitive theory, parental intrusiveness and children's separation anxiety were hypothesized to heighten dependent behaviors with school caregivers. Families of children in Grades K–5 participated. Parent- and child-report measures with good psychometric properties were employed. Parental intrusiveness and children's separation anxiety were associated with clingy, dependent relationships with school caregivers in cross-informant correlational analyses. Intrusiveness and separation anxiety jointly accounted for 18%–29% of the variance in dependency scores. Results are consistent with attachment models of continuity between parent–child relationships and relations with other caregivers. Practice recommendations for teachers and school providers are given. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 823–837, 2007.


Stochastic evolution equations for turbulent Benard convection are derived from the Boussinesq equations by transforming the inertial forces into a sum of systematic linear transport terms and random nonlinear fluctuating forces by means of the projection operator method. Then the heat flux and the velocity fluxes of turbulent Benard convection are formulated in terms of the temperature gradient and the velocity gradient explicitly with turbulent transport coefficients. It is found that turbulence produces interference between the velocity flux of the vertical velocity component and the heat flux that is similar to the interference between the electric current and the heat flux in the thermoelectric phenomena of metals, so that the heat flux is generated not only by the temperature gradient but also by the velocity gradient. The large-scale flows of turbulent Benard convection are characterized by this interference effect. It is also shown that a simple scaling law holds for the Rayleigh number and the Prandtl number dependence of the turbulent transport coefficients in the hard turbulence region, as in the case of the scaling law of the Nusselt number discovered by Castaing et al. (1989).


Much has been studied on the role of the acoustic reflex in the communication process. Aim: To examine the responses of the contralateral acoustic reflex in children with normal hearing and phonological disorders. To investigate the relationship of the level of severity of phonological disorder. To measure the chances of it affecting all the frequencies tested. Materials and Methods: The study was based on the analysis of medical charts from 70 children with phonological disorders, and 24 females and 46 males, aged between 5 and 7 years. Audiological tests were analyzed to exclude children with hearing loss, evaluation of the contralateral acoustic reflex and the level of severity of phonological disorder. Study Design: Prospective. Results: All children showed change in the contralateral acoustic reflex. There was no significant relationship between the level of severity of phonological disorders and changes in the acoustic reflex for both genders. Female children showed no statistically significant value in the relationship between the frequencies, except at 500 Hz. Male children had more significant relationship in the association between changes in frequencies tested. Conclusion: It is believed that children with phonological disorders exhibit changes in the contralateral acoustic reflex.


The paper describes a two-phase method of multiobjective task solution in mechanical engineering according to steerability and stability criteria. The method allows to solve tasks involved in automotive design subject to roadway covering characteristics in the driver-vehicle-road system. The paper describes laws of suspension adjustment by stiffness and damping parameters subject to various road conditions.


Abstract. Steps leading to the present-day electromagnetic theory made in the 19th Century are briefly reviewed. The progress can be roughly divided in two branches which are called Continental and British Electromagnetics. The former was based on Newton's action-at-a-distance principle and French mathematics while the latter grew from Faraday's contact-action principle, the concept of field lines and physical analogies. Maxwell's field theory and its experimental verification marked the last stage in the process.


A novel micromechanical models are developped to predict the relationship between the porosity and the strength of the previous concrete material. Based on the three phase composite sphere assemblage model with coated pore-concrete inclusions embedded in a fictitious effective medium then the strain, stress mean fields and the effective properties of material are constructed. Illustrative applications are reported by comparing the theoretical predictions with the experimental to show pertinence of model.


This paper provides an overview of both permanent and temporary skilled migration to Australia and outlines some of the recent changes that have been made specifically to address labour market concerns and encourage more 'demand-driven' sponsored skilled migrants. The establishment in 1945 of Australia's first government department dedicated specifically to immigration is considered to have been a world first. Since then, approximately seven million permanent migrants have settled in Australia through either the Migration Program for skilled and family migrants or the Humanitarian Program for refugees and those in refugee-like situations. The emphasis of Australia's Migration Program has evolved from its original focus of attracting migrants simply to increase Australia's population, to an emphasis on attracting skilled migrants in order to meet Australia's labour needs. As the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) notes: Today, the goal of immigration, settlement and citizenship policy is no longer seen in the simple terms of opening a gate to help populate the nation. It is about building Australia's future through the well-managed entry and settlement of people. Policies and programs aim to both manage complex migration flows to and from Australia, while optimising their economic and social impact in the national interest. As a result, while Migration Program numbers are at similar levels to some of the intakes in the past, the balance of the program is now quite different. Over the last decade more places have been allocated for permanent skilled migrants than any other category. In May 2012, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship announced a planned intake for the 2012–13 Migration Program of 190 000 permanent migrants with the majority of places allocated to skilled entrants (129 250 places in the skill stream, 60 185 places in the family stream and 565 special eligibility places for former residents). The growth of temporary skilled migration to Australia over the last decade has also been significant. However, it is important to note that Migration Program figures issued by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) only include the number of visas issued for permanent residence—temporary workers are counted separately and are not included in these figures.


In listeners with sensorineural hearing loss, loudness recruitment is typically observed and can be attributed to a loss or dysfunction of the outer hair cells (OHC). On the level of the basilar membrane (BM), OHC loss results in a reduced gain for low-level signals, changing the BM input-output function. This amount of low-level gain loss cannot be directly estimated from the overall hearing loss as characterized by pure-tone audiometric thresholds. However, from a modelling perspective, a hearing aid might be successful if it is able to compensate the gain loss and thus restore the compressive BM input-output function of a normal-hearing listener. Here, psychoacoustic temporal masking curves (TMC) and adaptive categorical loudness scaling data (ACALOS) of the same normal-hearing (NH) and hearing-impaired (HI) subjects were used to estimate gain loss. A linear model was fitted to predict gain loss from audiometric thresholds and from the steepness of the loudness function. Comparison of the predicted gain loss in HI and the gain in NH lead to a gain prescription rule. This prescription was tested with a conventional hearing-aid compressor and a model-based version, which compares simple NH and HI auditory models in real time.


This research was planned to evaluate postpartum discharge readiness situation of women who had vaginal deliveries at hospital as being a descriptive, cross sectional study. This research was made in a state hospital between 01.03.2012-01.04.2012 to 110 women who had vaginal deliveries. In data collection, individual data collection form, Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale–New Mother Form (RHD-NMF) was used. The average age of participants was 25.30±5.32 and 38.2% of them have primary school education and 51.8% of them lived in the province the longest. 66.4% of mother's did not receive any information about discharge and 31.8% of them took it from nurses and nursing students. The first three mostly information given subjects to mothers before discharge are 47.3% baby's gas extraction, 46.4% perineal cleaning of the baby, 40.9% umbilical cord care and least information given subject is 87.3% postpartum exercises. 41.8% of the mothers stated that who helped them the most in the baby care is mothers in laws. 74.5% of the participants stated that they feel ready themselves for hospital discharge. The mean score of RHD-NMF was 142.09±43.76, respectively the mean scores of subscales are: personal status 52.56±12.82, knowledge status 44.63±17.97, ability status 19.04±7.75, expected support 25.85±11.15. According to our study results, although more than half of mothers feel themselves ready for discharge, their scale scores were found moderate, their ability and expected support subscale scores were found lower. Mothers should be given more extensive information by health staff before discharged.


The phytochemical screening of Artichoke leaves aqueous extract (ALE) was undertaken and its protective effect against carbon tetrachloride (CCL4)-induced hepatotoxicity in rats was studied. Fifty mature male rats were randomized into 5 equal groups as follows: (1) negative (normal) control, (2) positive (intoxicated non-treated) control, (3) standard (Silymarin-pretreated, 50 mg/kg), (4) pretreated with ALE in dose 200 mg/kg and (5) pretreated with ALE in dose 400 mg/kg, respectively. CCL4 was subcutaneously injected to all groups except the negative control during the last week of experiment to induce hepatotoxicity. Silymarin and ALE were orally given to rats in daily doses for 6 weeks. At the end of experiment, rats were weighed, sacrificed and blood samples were collected for serum biochemical analyses. Livers of the sacrificed rats were taken for assaying activities of antioxidant enzymes and histopathology. The phytochemical screening revealed that ALE contains flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, tannins, glycosides, and devoid of resins and triterpenes. Oral pretreatments with ALE increased body weight gain; normalized serum levels of AST, ALT and ALP enzymes, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein, and total bilirubin, and increased levels of total proteins. There were also increases in activities of tissue superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase antioxidant enzymes with mitigation of renal tubular necrosis induced by CCL4 in the liver. These results denote that ALE has hepatoprotective, hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects in hepatotoxic rats. Therefore, intake of Artichoke leaves as herbal tea may be beneficial for patients who suffer from liver diseases.


Douglas Gough & Michael McIntyre proposed, in 1998, the first global and self-consistent model of the solar tachocline. Their model is however far more complex than analytical methods can deal with. In order to validate their work and show how well it can indeed represent the tachocline dynamics, I report on progress in the construction of a fully nonlinear numerical model of the tachocline based on their idea. Two separate and complementary approaches of this study are presented: the study of shear propagation into a rotating stratified radiative zone, and the study of the nonlinear interaction between shear and large-scale magnetic fields in an incompressible, rotating sphere. The combination of these two approaches provides good insight into the dynamics of the tachocline.


—This paper proposes a model for predicting the piezoresistive effect in microflexures experiencing bending stresses. Linear models have long existed for describing piezore-sistivity for members in pure tension and compression. However, extensions of linear models to more complex loading conditions do not match with experimental results. A second-order model to predict piezoresistive effects in tension, compression, and more complex loading conditions is proposed. A reduced form of the general second-order model is presented for thin flexures in bending. A three-step approach is used to determine the piezoresistive coefficients for this reduced-form model. The approach is demonstrated for two sets of n -type polysilicon. The predictive ability of the model is investigated by comparing the results to the experimental results using the new piezoresistive model and coefficients. One of the ways to implement the model is with multiphysics finite element analysis (FEA). The piezoresistive FEA for flexures algorithm is a FEA implementation of the unidirectional form of the model for flexures. The results presented in this paper are for the simplified cases of long thin flexures experiencing bending and axial loads. This new model could contribute to optimized sensors and feedback control of microdevices, nanopositioning, and self-sensing microdevices.


Dynamic recrystallization (DRX) of 99.9999% aluminum single crystal at room temperature was examined under frictionless deformation mode. To exclude the self-heating of the specimen due to applied high strain, a microcrack that localizes the stress at a very small region was intentionally introduced by controlled local necking. For the in situ observation of DRX, a specially designed in situ microdeformation device was positioned inside an electron backscattered diffraction system chamber. Recrystallized grains showed relatively random texture and preferred growth direction. The subgrains with low-angle grain boundaries formed by dynamic recovery transformed into small grains with high-angle grain boundaries, acting as nuclei for discontinuous dynamic recrystallization and growing by further deformation. The DRX in pure aluminum can take place under frictionless tensile deformation conditions at room temperature, and the stress localization and high purity are key issues for the DRX of aluminum at room temperature.


Topographic variables such as slope and elevation partially explain spatial variations in aboveground biomass (AGB) within landscapes. Human activities that impact vegetation, such as cattle grazing and shifting cultivation, often follow topographic features and also play a key role in determining AGB patterns, although these effects may be moderated by accessibility. In this study, we evaluated the potential to predict AGB in a rural landscape, using a set of topographical variables in combination with indicators of accessibility. We modeled linear and non-linear relationships between AGB, topographic variables within the territorial boundaries of six rural communities, and distance to roads. Linear models showed that elevation, slope, topographic wetness index, and tangential curvature could explain up to 21% of AGB. Non-linear models found threshold values for the relationship between AGB and diffuse insolation, topographic position index at 19 × 19 pixels scale and differentiated between groups of communities, improving AGB predictions to 33%. We also found a continuous and positive effect on AGB with increased distance from roads, but also a piecewise relationship that improves the understanding of intensity of human activities. These findings could enable AGB baselines to be constructed at landscape level using freely available data from topographic maps. Such baselines may be of use in national programs under the international policy Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.


Intestinal pseudo-obstruction (IPO) is a rare complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We present a 32-year old female with SLE for seven years. She was admitted with profound fatigue, frequent vomiting, colicky abdominal pain, diarrhoea and intermittent dysuria for the past 12 months. Imaging studies revealed dilated small and large bowel loops with thickened intestinal wall and multiple fluid levels. Urinary tract involvement was also demonstrated. The patient responded well to immunosuppressive treatment. IPO in the context of SLE has been described only in anecdotal case reports. Half of the cases developed this complication during the course of lupus as in the present case. Concomitant ureterohydronephrosis was present in approximately two-thirds of the cases. Early recognition of the syndrome is necessary for the institution of the appropriate medical treatment and prevention of inappropriate surgical intervention.


Lolium perenne L. (perennial ryegrass), and Lolium multiflorum Lam. (annual or Italian ryegrass), differ in several traits related to seed yield. Generally, L. multiflorum spikes are larger than L. perenne spikes, and have more spikelets, more florets per spikelet, larger seeds and awns. The greater number of spikelets and florets and larger seeds are associated with higher seed yield in L. multiflorum. Ryegrass (Lolium sp.) cultivars are produced by seed multiplication and understanding the genetics of seed production traits would aid in plant improvement. A total of 30 QTL for seed production related traits were identified in this study. The QTLs were primarily located on linkage groups 2 and 4 which appear to be the most important for distinguishing L. multiflorum and L. perenne. These QTL will be used to develop molecular markers for marker-assisted breeding and screening of L. perenne seed lots to detect seed contamination with L. multiflorum.


We report our studies on spectral sensitivity of meander-type, superconducting NbN thin-film single-photon detectors (SPDs), characterized by GHz counting rates of visible and near-infrared photons and negligible dark counts. Our SPDs exhibit experimentally determined quantum efficiencies ranging from ∼0.2% at the 1.55 μm wavelength to ∼70% at 0.4 μm. Spectral dependences of the detection efficiency (DE) at the 0.4 to 3.0-μm-wavelength range are presented. The exponential character of the DE dependence on wavelength, as well as its dependence versus bias current, is qualitatively explained in terms of superconducting fluctuations in our ultrathin, submicron-width superconducting stripes. The DE values of large-active-area NbN SPDs in the visible range are high enough for modern quantum communications.


In this study, we demonstrated the in vitro and in vivo formation of carcinogen-lipid adduct and its correlation with DNA or protein adducts. The lipids from serum or hepatocyte membranes of Sprague-Dawley rats, human serum and standard major lipids were in vitro reacted with benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and B[a]P metabolites. 7, 8-Dihydroxy-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene(BPDE-I), an ultimate carcinogenic form of B[a]P, was covalently bound to triglyceride (TG). BPDE-I-TG adducts isolated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) were further detected by high-performance liquid chromatography. TGs, including triolein, tripalmitin and tristearin, showed positive reactions with BPDE-I. However, cholesterol, phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidyl-ethanolamine, phosphatidyl-inositol and sphingomyelin) and non-esterified fatty acids (palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and stearic acid) did not react with BPDE-I. In addition, other B[a]P metabolites (B[a]P-phenols and -diols) did not react with TG. TG appeared to be the most reactive lipid yet studied with respect to its ability to form an adduct with BPDE-I. There was a clear-cut dose-related formation of [1,3-(3)H]BPDE-I-lipid adducts in vitro between TG and [1,3-(3)H]BPDE-I. In an animal study, BPDE-I-TG was also formed in the serum of rats orally treated with B[a]P (25 mg/rat). Also, obvious correlations between [(3)H]B[a]P related-biomolecule adducts (DNA or protein) or lipid damage and the BPDE-I-TG adducts were obtained in various tissues of mice i.p. treated with [(3)H]B[a]P. These data suggest that TG can form an adduct with BPDE-I, as do other macromolecules (DNA, RNA and protein). Therefore, a carcinogen-lipid adduct would be a useful biomarker for chemical carcinogenesis research and cancer risk assessment.


ABSTRACT Background: Hypertension is a major public health problem worldwide and a key factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD). Detection and treatment of CKD is of paramount importance. Albuminuria is one of the earliest screening markers recommended in patients at increased risk for CKD. Objective: We conducted this study to determine the prevalence of persistent albuminuria (PA) in newly diagnosed hypertensive subjects and to study its associated risk factors. Methods: A total of 173 (72%) of 240 subjects among 1340 newly diagnosed hypertensive subjects from an ongoing community-based cohort study who had been screened once for the presence of albuminuria were retested for the presence of PA in this study. Urinary albumin concentration (UAC) in mg/L and albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) in mg/g creatinine were determined in a spot morning urine sample by nephelometry. Results: The prevalence of PA signifying CKD was 9.3% with 95% confidence interval (CI) of 7.8–10.8% by UAC and 8.1% by ACR method (95% CI: 6.6–8.4%). Subjects with PA had mean age of 56.4 ± 11.4 years and 50% were males. Factors independently associated were male gender (odds ratio [OR], 1.92 (95% CI: 1.24–2.97)) and age less than 55 years with positive family history of kidney disease (OR, 15.51; 95% CI: 7.35–32.97). Among measurable variables, high cholesterol levels (p = 0.001), and progressively higher levels of systolic blood pressure (p < 0.001) were associated with risk of PA. Conclusion: Hypertensive kidney damage is already present in a significant number of newly diagnosed hypertensives suggesting late detection of hypertension.


The experiment we conducted was to test the effect of temperature on dissolved oxygen, considering the fact that decomposers' metabolisms increase as temperature increases, which results in them consuming more oxygen. The problem we tackled is why some bodies of water have a lower level of dissolved oxygen than others do. Our experiment is unique because we are testing the effects of temperature on dissolved oxygen content in water from the west end of the Dolese Pond in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. To answer this question we measured the amount of dissolved oxygen in samples of pond water at varied temperatures. We ran multiple experiments in which we took samples of the Dolese Pond water, heated it, and tested the amount of dissolved oxygen. This research will be valuable because it will show the affect overheating has on aquatic life.


Convection that penetrates the tropopause (overshooting convection) rapidly transports air from the lower troposphere to the lower stratosphere, potentially mixing air between the two layers. This exchange of air can have a substantial impact on the composition, radiation, and chemistry of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). In order to improve our understanding of the role convection plays in the transport of trace gases across the tropopause, this study presents a 10 year analysis of overshooting convection for the eastern two thirds of the contiguous United States for March through August of 2004 to 2013 based on radar observations. Echo top altitudes are estimated at hourly intervals using high‐resolution, three‐dimensional, gridded, radar reflectivity fields created by merging observations from available radars in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) network. Overshooting convection is identified by comparing echo top altitudes with tropopause altitudes derived from the ERA‐Interim reanalysis. It is found that overshooting convection is most common in the central United States, with a weak secondary maximum along the southeast coast. The maximum number of overshooting events occur consistently between 2200 and 0200 UTC. Most overshooting events occur in May, June, and July when convection is deepest and the tropopause altitude is relatively low. Approximately 45% of the analyzed overshooting events (those with echo tops at least 1 km above the tropopause) have echo tops extending above the 380 K level into the stratospheric overworld.


The ability of an agent to do well in new environments is a critical aspect of intelligence. In machine learning, this ability is known as $\textit{strong}$ or $\textit{out-of-distribution}$ generalization. However, merely considering differences in data distributions is inadequate for fully capturing differences between learning environments. In the present paper, we investigate $\textit{out-of-variable}$ generalization, which pertains to an agent's generalization capabilities concerning environments with variables that were never jointly observed before. This skill closely reflects the process of animate learning: we, too, explore Nature by probing, observing, and measuring $\textit{subsets}$ of variables at any given time. Mathematically, $\textit{out-of-variable}$ generalization requires the efficient re-use of past marginal information, i.e., information over subsets of previously observed variables. We study this problem, focusing on prediction tasks across environments that contain overlapping, yet distinct, sets of causes. We show that after fitting a classifier, the residual distribution in one environment reveals the partial derivative of the true generating function with respect to the unobserved causal parent in that environment. We leverage this information and propose a method that exhibits non-trivial out-of-variable generalization performance when facing an overlapping, yet distinct, set of causal predictors.


Active fiber composites comprised of long circular fibers embedded in an epoxy polymer, where the fibers are made of the piezoelectric ceramic lead zirconate titanate. The active fiber composites use interdigitated electrodes, which produce electric field lines parallel to the fiber direction instead of through-the-thickness. It is noted, however, that the d33 of the active fiber composite is almost a third that of the lead zirconate titanate, mainly because of the significant mismatch in dielectric properties between the epoxy matrix and the ceramic fibers. The objective of the current work is to investigate the effects of active fiber composite geometry and polymer properties on the overall performance of active fiber composite in terms of mechanical displacement and electric potential. An active fiber composite model that considers several fibers, epoxy matrix, and electrode fingers (interdigitated electrodes) as part of the representative volume element is developed and implemented using finite element method. The model examines the effect of the interdigitated electrode parameters such as the spacing between the electrode's fingers and their width. The other parameters examined are the fiber diameter and matrix properties. This parametric study will lead to an optimized geometry and matrix that can be used for the manufacturing of next-generation active fiber composites with higher performance than what is currently available.


We consider the inverse scattering problem for the following Hartree-type equation: In this paper it will be shown that there are formulae for determining σ and λ from the small-amplitude limit of the scattering operator.


Objective: Balance testing after concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can be useful in determining acute and chronic neuromuscular deficits that are unapparent from symptom scores or cognitive testing alone. Current assessments of balance do not comprehensively evaluate all 3 classes of balance: maintaining a posture; voluntary movement; and reactive postural response. Despite the utility of reactive postural responses in predicting fall risk in other balance-impaired populations, the effect of mTBI on reactive postural responses remains unclear. This review sought to (1) examine the extent and range of available research on reactive postural responses in people post-mTBI and (2) determine whether reactive postural responses (balance recovery) are affected by mTBI. Design: Scoping review. Methods: Studies were identified using MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Dissertations and Theses Global, PsycINFO, SportDiscus, and Web of Science. Inclusion criteria were injury classified as mTBI with no confounding central or peripheral nervous system dysfunction beyond those stemming from the mTBI, quantitative measure of reactive postural response, and a discrete, externally driven perturbation was used to test reactive postural response. Results: A total of 4747 publications were identified, and a total of 3 studies (5 publications) were included in the review. Conclusion: The limited number of studies available on this topic highlights the lack of investigation on reactive postural responses after mTBI. This review provides a new direction for balance assessments after mTBI and recommends incorporating all 3 classes of postural control in future research.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains a poor prognosis hematological malignancy. The introduction of aggressive chemotherapy with allogeneic stem cell transplantation has resulted in improved clinical outcomes in younger patients. However, the treatment results in unfit elderly AML population remain disappointing. New strategies should be introduced to improve the prognosis in this group of patients. Areas covered: This review presents and discusses the mechanism of action, safety and efficacy of sapacitabine in AML patients. Expert opinion: Sapacitabine, a novel nucleoside analog, seemed to be a promising new agent for AML treatment. Its oral bioavailability and tolerable toxicity profile allow the drug to be used in an outpatient setting, especially in elderly unfit patients. Sapacitabine is known to have antileukemic activity in randomized clinical trials. In AML patients, sapacitabine monotherapy offered no advantage over low-intensity cytarabine treatment, and the combination of sapacitabine with decitabine was not significantly more effective than decitabine alone. However, the oral administration of sapacitabine allows it to be used in AML maintenance therapy.


Thermal radiation from bulk disorderly placed nonresonant emitters is incoherent, broadband and isotropic. In an external magnetic field the thermal radiation from any source is circularly polarized. Here we propose a thermal radiation source which emits circularly polarized radiation and which is not placed in a magnetic field. The thermal source consists of a slab waveguide with etched chiral metasurface. Due to the absence of a mirror symmetry of the metasurface, the thermally generated electromagnetic waves become circularly polarized. In this letter we discuss the origin of this phenomenon in details. Using the Fourier modal method we analyze the eigenmodes of the structure and the emissivity spectra. We demonstrate that the degree of circular polarization in an optimized structure can be as high as 0.87.


Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are a promising cell source for drug screening. For this application, self‐renewal or differentiation of the cells is required, and undefined factors in the culture conditions are not desirable. Microfluidic perfusion culture allows the production of small volume cultures with precisely controlled microenvironments, and is applicable to high‐throughput cellular environment screening. Here, we developed a microfluidic perfusion culture system for hiPSCs that uses a microchamber array chip under defined extracellular matrix (ECM) and culture medium conditions. By screening various ECMs we determined that fibronectin and laminin are appropriate for microfluidic devices made out of the most popular material, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). We found that the growth rate of hiPSCs under pressure‐driven perfusion culture conditions was higher than under static culture conditions in the microchamber array. We applied our new system to self‐renewal and differentiation cultures of hiPSCs, and immunocytochemical analysis showed that the state of the hiPSCs was successfully controlled. The effects of three antitumor drugs on hiPSCs were comparable between microchamber array and 96‐well plates. We believe that our system will be a platform technology for future large‐scale screening of fully defined conditions for differentiation cultures on integrated microfluidic devices. Biotechnol. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2014;111: 937–947. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Dopamine is a commonly used pressor agent. Frequently recognized side effects other than occasional reports of pedal gangrene respond to reduction of dose. Because a number of compounds interfere with vitamin B6 and dopamine toxicity in animals is modified by B6, we studied the dopamine-vitamin B6 interaction in rabbits. Six animals received 40 mg dopamine/kg and 10 mg pyridoxine injections; 6 received dopamine and saline. Dopamine administration led to an average fall of 20% (p = 0.04) in plasma pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) levels, which declined 42% by day 5. Three days later, a 25% decrease persisted (p = 0.03). Dopamine with pyridoxine caused a PLP rise of 65% (p = 0.007), but the post-study level was 28% lower than baseline (p = 0.04). We interpret our data to mean that dopamine reduced PLP levels during and 3 days after the study, and that dopamine appeared to increase the requirements for B6. We worry that dopamine given with other drugs, ie gentamicin, digoxin and theophylline which are frequently used in critical care settings, could aggravate alterations of requirements for or body stores of vitamin B6, creating B6 deficiency.


Persistent infection of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) and the expression of E6 and E7 oncoproteins are the main causes of cervical cancer. Several prophylactic HPV vaccines are used in the clinic, but these vaccines have limited efficacy in patients already infected with HPV. Since HPV E7 is vital for tumor-specific immunity, developing a vaccine against HPV E7 is an attractive strategy for cervical cancer treatment. Here, we constructed an HPV16 E7 mutant that loses the ability to bind pRb while still eliciting a robust immune response. In order to build a therapeutic DNA vaccine, the E7 mutant was packaged in an adenovirus vector (Ad-E7) for efficient expression and enhanced immunogenicity of the vaccine. Our results showed that the Ad-E7 vaccine effectively inhibited tumor growth and increased the proportion of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ)-secreting CD8+ T cells in the spleen, and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in a mouse cervical cancer model was achieved by injecting with HPV16-E6/E7-expressing TC-1 cells subcutaneously. Combining the Ad-E7 vaccine with the PD-1/PD-L1 antibody blockade significantly improved the control of TC-1 tumors. Combination therapy elicited stronger cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses, and IFN-γ secretion downregulated the proportion of Tregs and MDSCs significantly. The expressions of cancer-promoting factors, such as TNF-α, were also significantly down-regulated in the case of combination therapy. In addition, combination therapy inhibited the number of capillaries in tumor tissues and increased the thickness of the tumor capsule. Thus, Ad-E7 vaccination, in combination with an immune checkpoint blockade, may benefit patients with HPV16-associated cervical cancer.


We analyze a two-firm scenario where each company sells two products with their competition focused primarily on price. If firms are given the option to bundle their products, we wish to determine whether both or one of them choose to bundle, how they set prices, and whether or not they are better off. Also, product bundling has the dual benefits of reduced search costs for the consumer and lower production costs for the manufacturer. We characterize the impact of these effects on the profitability of bundling strategies.


We explore thick accretion disks around rotating attractors. We detail the configurations analysing the fluid angular momentum and finally providing a characterization of the disk morphology and different possible topologies. Investigating the properties of orbiting disks, a classification of attractors, possibly identifiable in terms of their spin-mass ratio, is introduced; then an attempt to characterize dynamically a series of different disk topologies is discussed, showing that some of the toroidal configuration features are determined by the ratio of the angular momentum of the orbiting matter and the spin mass-ratio of the attractor. Then we focus on "multi-structured" disks, constituted by two o more rings of matter orbiting the same attractor, and we proved that some structures are constrained in the dimension of rings, spacing, location and an upper limit of ring number is provided. Finally, assuming a polytropic equation of state we study some specific cases.


The effect of halothane, fentanyl, Innovar, thiopental, and ketamine on inspiratory output, vagal influence, and chest wall reflex was assessed in seven cats lightly anesthetized with pentobarbital, using the method of airway occlusion with and without rapid vagal cooling. All anesthetics depressed inspiratory output, as expressed by deltaP/deltat, of the first occluded inspiration. However, only halothane depressed peak inspiratory output (Pmax). Phasic vagal influence was markedly depressed by 2% halothane but was preserved under other anesthetics. The ability to induce tonic vagal influence (expiratory muscle recruitment) was lost under halothane. Inspiratory inhibitory chest wall reflex was evident in two cats during airway occlusion. Addition of any test anesthetic abolished the reflex. It is concluded that halothane should be avoided in studies dealing with assessment of vagal influence.


Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the degree of preoperative pain and trismus with the development of complications following the repair of isolated unilateral compound mandibular body fractures using a closed reduction technique. Subjects and Methods: This was a 7-year prospective study carried out at the Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria. Of a total of 97 patients, 83 (85.6%) subjects (66 males, 17 females, ratio 5:1) were preoperatively evaluated for trismus and pain in a blinded manner by a single examiner, and complications were recorded postoperatively. The data obtained were statistically analyzed with EPI Info 2008 software. Results: Of the 83 patients treated, 13 (15.7%) developed complications. The fractures were most common in the age range of 21-40 years (n = 45, 54.2%). The age (p = 0.02) and gender (p = 0.01) distribution of the subjects was significant. The more severe the limitation of mouth opening (p = 0.03) and pain (p = 0.04) before treatment, the more complications developed, and these significantly affected treatment outcome. Impaired mastication and facial asymmetry (n = 17, 41.5%) were the most common complications. Conclusion: This study showed that posttrauma pain and trismus due to unilateral mandibular body fractures may be associated with the development of complications. An adequately powered prospective study treating patients at 5 or 7 days is required in order to make the case for later intervention.


Purpose: Tumor cell metastasis constitutes a major problem in the treatment of cancer. Because the cure rate of metastatic tumors is very low, new therapeutic approaches are needed. Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) is a molecular chaperone that is recognized as a new target for the treatment of cancer. Here, we examine the value of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against HSP90, mAb 4C5, as a potential marker in malignant melanomas. Moreover, we investigate the possibility to use mAb 4C5 as an inhibitor of melanoma cell invasion and metastasis. Experimental Design: Paraffin blocks of formalin-fixed human melanoma tumor tissues were used to prepare tissue microarrays. The B16 F10 melanoma cell line was used in all the in vitro experiments. To assess melanoma cell invasion, the wound-healing assay and the Matrigel invasion assay were applied. To evaluate the effect of mAb 4C5 on tumor metastasis, we used an experimental model of metastatic melanoma. Results: Immunohistochemical studies done on a panel of malignant melanomas showed positive immunostaining with mAb 4C5 in all cases. mAb 4C5 inhibits B16 F10 cell invasion by binding to surface HSP90 because it is not internalized. mAb 4C5 significantly inhibits melanoma metastasis in C57BL/6 mice inoculated with B16 F10 cells. Conclusions: mAb 4C5 could be potentially used as a novel specific marker for malignant melanomas. mAb 4C5 inhibits melanoma cell invasion in vitro by binding to cell surface HSP90 expressed on B16 F10 melanoma cells. Finally, this antibody significantly inhibits melanoma metastasis, thus rendering it a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of cancer metastasis.


In many practical applications in various areas, such as engineering, science and social science, it is known that there exist bounds on the values of unknown parameters. For example, values of some measurements for controlling machines in an industrial process, weight or height of subjects, blood pressures of patients and retirement ages of public servants. When interval estimation is considered in a situation where the parameter to be estimated is bounded, it has been argued that the classical Neyman procedure for setting confidence intervals is unsatisfactory. This is due to the fact that the information regarding the restriction is simply ignored. It is, therefore, of significant interest to construct confidence intervals for the parameters that include the additional information on parameter values being bounded to enhance the accuracy of the interval estimation. Therefore in this paper, we propose a new confidence interval for the coefficient of variance where the population mean and standard deviation are bounded. The proposed interval is evaluated in terms of coverage probability and expected length via Monte Carlo simulation. Keywords—Bounded parameters, coefficient of variation, confidence interval, Monte Carlo simulation.


The influence ofplatelet-enriched plasma (PEP) ofpain intensity was estimated using a visual-analogous scale and the Wormac questionnaire in patients with knee osteoarthrosis (KOA). Beneficial effect on all variables studied was documented within I month after the onset of therapy. It was totally absent after 3 months in severe KOA but was apparent in typical KOA. Positive dynamics throughout months 1 and 3 was observed only in patients with early manifestations of KOA. It persisted during all 12 months of the study.


Background. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist as an ovulation trigger effectively re-duces the ovarian hyperstimulation risk in in vitro fertilisation protocols, at the same time requir-ing an effective luteal phase support in embryo transfer cycles. Objectives. A review of modern approaches to luteal support after the ovulation trigger switch in in vitro fertilisation/intracytoplasmic sperm injection protocols; assessment of feasibility and safety of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist in the post-transfer period. Methods. Literature sources were mined in the PubMed, eLibrary, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Cyberleninka databases at a depth of 10 years. The query keywords were: gonado-tropin-releasing hormone agonist, luteal phase support, ovulation trigger, in vitro fertilisation, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. Results. The review included 35 records selected from the 96 analysed total. The analysis reveals a sensible ef fi ciency of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist for the luteal phase support, improved success of in vitro fertilisation/intracytoplasmic sperm injection and embryo transfer strategies, improved pregnancy outcomes. Microdosing of chorionic gonadotropin to supplement standard progesterone luteal support also improves the pregnancy outcome rate in assisted reproduction, however, at the risk of late ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and should be applied with caution. Conclusion. Administration of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist for luteal support may improve pregnancy outcomes in in vitro fertilisation/intracytoplasmic sperm injection protocols in patients with the ovarian hyperstimulation risk after the ovulation trigger switch. Neverthe-less, further research is necessary into the ef fi cacy and safety of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist for luteal support in embryo transfer cycles.


Abstract Ammopiptanthus mongolicus is a tertiary relict evergreen broad-leaf shrub in family Fabaceae with remarkable tolerance to desiccation and low temperature. In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome of A. mongolicus. The total genome length was 475,396 bp and contained a total of 127 genes, including 79 protein-coding genes (28 novel genes, 45 known functional genes, and six known orf genes), three rRNA genes, and 45 tRNA genes. Most of the genes were single-copy genes, only six were duplicated and two were multi-copy. The mitochondrial genome also contained 'promiscuous' sequences from the chloroplast, 16 intact tRNAs of mitochondrial origin, and 29 intact and potentially functional chloroplast-derived tRNAs. The overall GC content of the mitochondrial DNA was 42.75%. A neighbour-joining phylogenomic analysis showed that A. mongolicus was closely related to Medicago truncatula, which also belongs to family Leguminosae.


Abstract Lophiogobius ocellicauda, which is a small demersal fish and inhabited brackish and freshwater environment of estuary, is a kind of forage fish of some predaceous economic fish. In this paper, the complete mitochondrial genome of L. ocellicauda was firstly determined. The genome is 16,663 bp in length and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes and 2 main non-coding regions (the control region and the origin of the light strand replication). The complete mitochondrial genome base composition is 26.4% for T, 28.4% for C, 29.2% for A and 16.0% for G, with a slight A + T bias of 55.6%. Within the control region, the termination associated sequence, central and conserved sequence block domains were found.


An efficient compression algorithm is vital for storage and transmission of video
signal. Many video coding standards such as ISO MPEG-1/2 and ITU-T
H.261/262/263 apply block motion estimation and compensation algorithms to exploit
temporal redundancies where reduction is the key to high performance in video
coding. The full search algorithm is a brute force for block motion estimation method
used in the standards. It offers the best quality so far but its high computational
complexity makes it unsuitable for real-time implementations. This thesis proposes
and demonstrates a new scanning order that will minimize the computational
complexity of the matching process especially in full search algorithm either with
similar or acceptable degradation in quality performance. [Continues.]


As Database technology widely used in various fields, during the process of DB application, human error, system instability, damage to storage media and so on may result in the lost of important data. It will lead to a huge disaster for individual and businesses, especially for the online businesses. So how to do DB recovery in the shortest time and in a most effective way many companies focus on. Before one Change accumulation solution that optimization of DB log in advance for IMS was put forward to speed up the process of IMS DB recovery. This paper focus on a more effective DB recovery solution research that is the optimization of change accumulation solution and compare the performance between them in IMS Database.


A lithological and palaeomagnetic analysis of Late Weichselian glaciolacustrine deposits from two ancient periglacial lakes was carried out in the valley of the Shuja (S Karelia) and Ust-Pjalka (S-E Kola Peninsula) rivers, NW Russia. The rhythmic structure of the varved clays is interpreted as turbiditic with systematic differences between the proximal and distal areas of accumulation. In the proximal area the textural and structural properties of the deposits towards both distal and (partly) lateral directions are described. It is shown that the proximal varve successions are incomplete while distally they are continuous. The accumulation of one varve (DE rhythm, second order cycle) during one year is consistent with palaeomagnetic data. Significant differences in magnetic parameters and in the palaeomagnetic "records" of declination-inclination between proximal and distal varves are established. Analysis of palaeomagnetic properties was combined with lithological analysis in all sections. Locally, the varved clays in the proximal area could be used for palaeomagnetic research. Taking into account the erosion of underlying deposits by turbidity currents and inclination shallowing, these sediments could not precisely record palaeosecular variation (PSV). The distal varved clays (represented by the DE rhythms) are clearly most useful both for varve-clay chronology and PSV recovery. The palaeomagnetic declination and inclination records are correlated with chrono- and magnetostratigraphy scheme of NW Russia. This paper also examines lithology-dependent "inclination error" and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility in glaciolacustrine sediments.


Accurate calculation of mutation rates for viruses and viroids is necessary for evolutionary studies and to evaluate adaptation potential. However, estimation of in vivo mutation rates is complicated by selection, which leads to loss or proliferation of certain mutations. To minimize this concern, lethal mutations, including nonsense and non-synonymous mutations, have been used to determine mutation rates for several viruses and viroids, including Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd). However, this approach has limitations, including focus on a relatively small number of genome sites and the possibility that mutations may not actually be lethal or may be maintained by wild type individuals. To avoid selection bias altogether, we sequenced minus-strand PSTVd dimers from concatemeric replication intermediates. The underlying rationale is that mutations found in only one of the monomers were likely generated de novo during RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription of the circular plus-strand RNA genome. This approach yielded an apparent Pol II error rate of ~1/1837 nucleotides per transcription cycle, and an estimated mutation rate of ~1/919 nucleotides for a single replication cycle. Remarkably, de novo mutations were nearly absent from the most conserved, replication-critical regions of the PSTVd genome, suggesting that sequence conservation is a consequence of both essential function and template optimization for greater Pol II fidelity. Such biased fidelity may constitute a novel strategy to ensure population success while allowing abundant sampling of sequence space in other genome regions. Comparison with variants in progeny populations derived from a cloned, wild type PSTVd master sequence revealed that most de novo mutations were lost through selection.


The DynaLearn interactive learning environment enables learning by having learners create conceptual models of system's behavior. This paper reports on exploratory evaluation studies using the DynaLearn software, carried out with learners studying environmental science. Two three-day modeling sessions were conducted in two consecutive years with two students exploring the evolving prototype of the software. The learners worked on assignments designed to achieve specific learning goals. To investigate conceptual changes on behalf of the learner, a set of parameters was applied for semantic text analysis of written pre- and posttests. The evaluation results show key changes occurring in knowledge structure and content in both years for both students. Indications of an effect of prior knowledge on the magnitude of conceptual change were found. The results confirm the potential of DynaLearn for inducing causal and interlinked understanding of environmental systems.


For the last decades, the performance of the lithium-ion battery (LIB) has been significantly improved and its applications have been expanding rapidly. However, its performance has yet to be enhanced.In the lithium-ion battery development, it is important to elucidate the electrode structure change in detail during the charge and discharge cycling. In particular, solid electrolyte interface (SEI) formed by decomposition of the electrolytes on the graphite negative electrode surface should play an important role for battery properties. Therefore, it is essential to control the structure and composition of SEI to improve the battery performance. Here, we conducted a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) study to elucidate the structures of the SEI during the charge and discharge process using LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 [1] cathode and graphite anode. [2] Since SEI is a lithium-containing compound with high activity, it was observed without being exposed to the atmosphere. The electrodes including SEI were sampled after dismantling batteries with cutoff voltages of 3V and 4.2V for the charge process and 3V for the discharge process. Fig.1 shows SEM images of the graphite electrode surface during the charge and discharge process. The change of the SEI structure during the process was clearly observed. Further, TEM images showed that the SEI grew thicker during the charge process and becomes thinner when discharged. These results with regard to the reversible SEI structure could give a new insight for the battery development.jmicro;63/suppl_1/i21/DFU056F1F1DFU056F1Fig. 1.SEM images of the graphite electrode surface:(a) before charge process;(b) with charge-cutoff voltage of 3.0V; (c) with charge-cutoff voltage of 4.2V; (d) with discharge-cutoff voltage of 3.0V.


Aspirin (ASA) represents an important risk factor for gastric mucosal injury. Recently, vitamin C releasing aspirin (ASA-VitC) has been shown to reduce gastric toxicity of ASA in animal model of gastric injury. The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of ASA and ASA-VitC on the gastric mucosal damage before and after Helicobacter pylori (Hp) eradication in 10 young healthy Hp-positive volunteers. All subjects underwent endoscopy at day 0 (before ASA or ASA-VitC treatment) and at day 3 following treatment (1.6 g ASA/day or 1.6 g ASA + 0.96 g Vit C/day). In addition, in vitro experiments were performed in which gastric mucosal cell line (MKN-45 cells) was incubated with ASA or ASA-VitC alone or in combination with H.pylori. Expression of constitutive and inducible NO synthase (cNOS, iNOS) was analyzed by Western blot. Moreover, COX-2 expression was analyzed in gastric biopsies at mRNA and protein level by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. In humans, treatment with ASA-VitC induced significantly less gastric mucosal lesions than plain ASA. Furthermore, in comparison to plain ASA, ASA-VitC caused stronger inhibition of cNOS and increase in iNOS expression in the gastric mucosa. In vitro studies demonstrated a significant increase in iNOS expression in MKN-45 cells incubated with Hp. This effect was aggravated by the addition of ASA, but not ASA-VitC, to MKN-45 cells incubated with H.pylori. Both ASA and ASA-VitC stimulated the COX-2 expression in the gastric mucosa. We conclude that ASA-VitC in comparison with ASA induces less gastric mucosal damage and this protective effect may be due to its inhibitory effect on iNOS expression.


Multi-MeV proton beams can be generated by irradiating thin solid foils with ultra-intense (>1018 W/cm2) short laser pulses. Several of their characteristics, such as high bunch charge and short pulse duration, make them a complementary alternative to conventional radio frequency-based accelerators. A potential material science application is the chemical analysis of cultural heritage (CH) artifacts. The complete chemistry of the bulk material (ceramics, metals) can be retrieved through sophisticated nuclear techniques such as particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). Recently, the use of laser-generated proton beams was introduced as diagnostics in material science (laser-PIXE or laser-driven PIXE): Coupling laser-generated proton sources to conventional beam steering devices successfully enhances the capture and transport of the laser-accelerated beam. This leads to a reduction of the high divergence and broad energy spread at the source. The design of our hybrid beamline is composed of an energy selector, followed by permanent quadrupole magnets aiming for better control and manipulation of the final proton beam parameters. This allows tailoring both, mean proton energy and spot sizes, yet keeping the system compact. We performed a theoretical study optimizing a beamline for laser-PIXE applications. Our design enables monochromatizing the beam and shaping its final spot size. We obtain spot sizes ranging between a fraction of mm up to cm scale at a fraction of nC proton charge per shot. These results pave the way for a versatile and tunable laser-PIXE at a multi-Hz repetition rate using modern commercially available laser systems.


The quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) TaSe3 attracts considerable attention for its intriguing superconductivity and possible interplay with nontrivial topology and charge density wave (CDW) state. However, unlike the isostructural analogues, CDW has not been observed for TaSe3 despite its quasi-1D character that is supposed to promote Peierls instabilities and CDW. Here we synthesize TaSe3 mesowires (MWs) using a one-step approach. For the MW of ~300 nm thick, a distinct CDW transition occurs at 65 K in the resistivity measurement, which has not been reported before and is further evidenced by the Raman characterization and susceptibility measurement. For comparison, we have also prepared bulk single crystal TaSe3. Although no anomaly appears in the resistivity and magnetoresistance measurements, the carrier type detected by Hall effect varies from n-type to p-type below 50 K, suggesting a reconstruction of Fermi surface that could be associated with CDW. The enhancement of CDW in the MWs is attributed to the reduced dimensionality. TaSe3 is demonstrated to be a promising platform to study the correlation and competition of CDW and superconductivity in the quasi-1D systems.


OBJECTIVES
To measure the reliability of a data-gathering from by analysing the concordance between observers, and to check the efficacy of the corrective measures applied to improve it.

DESIGN
A pre-test/post-test design, without a control.

SETTING
Urban Health Centre.

PATIENTS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS
Random selection of 50 clinical records from the list of Type 2 diabetics in the centre's computerised files.

INTERVENTIONS
Alterations in the data-gathering form in order to improve concordance between two independent observers, measured by means of the Kappa index for qualitative variables and absolute concordance for quantitative ones. The quality criteria defined by the Diabetes in Primary Health Care Study Group were applied.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
The Kappa index average improved after the intervention from 0.71 to 0.89 (p = 0.019). There were no significant changes in concordance for quantitative variables (6 out of 8 items with 100% concordance at start and finish).

CONCLUSIONS
It is important to verify the reliability of the measuring instruments. Our results justify this concern: two independent observers do not always obtain the same reading from the same source. Concordance improved significantly when the form was altered, so guaranteeing greater data-gathering reliability and improving the overall quality of the research.


Since the legalization of abortion in Israel in the late 1970s, only aggregate information on legal abortions has been available. A brief history of the public debate and relevant legislation concerning induced abortions in Israel is presented in the first part of this report. The second part presents estimates of the extent of illegal abortions in Israel during the years 1980-83. These estimates were obtained through standardization based on data for selected countries where the abortion law is similar to or more liberal than that in Israel, the system of abortion registration is more reliable and detailed, and the prevailing contraceptive habits and attitudes of women are known. Estimates indicate that: a) the total number of abortions in Israel is about half that quoted by the media from nonscientific sources, and b) the annual number of illegal abortions constitutes between 25 and 30% of the estimated total number of abortions.


Investigations into the nature of the principle of least action have shown that there is an intrinsic relationship between geometrical and topological methods and the variational principle in classical mechanics. In this work, we follow and extend this kind of mathematical analysis into the domain of quantum mechanics. First, we show that the identification of the momentum of a quantum particle with the de Broglie wavelength in 2-dimensional space would lead to an interesting feature; namely the action principle δS = 0 would be satisfied not only by the stationary path, corresponding to the classical motion, but also by any path. Thereupon the Bohr quantum condition possesses a topological character in the sense that the principal quantum number n is identified with the winding number, which is used to represent the fundamental group of paths. We extend our discussions into 3-dimensional space and show that the charge of a particle also possesses a topological character and is quantised and classified by the homotopy group of closed surfaces. We then discuss the possibility to extend our discussions into spaces with higher dimensions and show that there exist physical quantities that can be quantised by the higher homotopy groups. Finally we note that if Einstein's field equations of general relativity are derived from Hilbert's action through the principle of least action then for the case of n = 2 the field equations are satisfied by any metric if the energy-momentum tensor is identified with the metric tensor, similar to the case when the momentum of a particle is identified with the curvature of the particle's path.


AbstrAct Dystrophic scoliosis in neurofibromatosis is identifiable by being an acute-angle kyphoscoliosis involving a short segment of the spine and producing severe deformity that associated with the dystrophic changes of the spine result in real surgical challenges. We report the clinical case of a 15-year male with severe dystrophic kyphoscoliosis at the thoracolumbar area, with apex at T9, scoliosis with a Cobb angle of 107 °, and segmental kyphosis of 110.7°. The patient underwent a three-stage surgery, performed through a posterior approach, involving a vertebral column resection (VCR) and titanium mesh replacement, and achieving a kyphosis correction of 56% and a scoliosis correction of 59.8%. The patient experienced no major complications nor sequelae and had a favorable course. The VCR is a powerful and demanding surgical technique that allows for the management of the complex kyphoscoliosis deformity to achieve spinal balance; however, it is not without complications, especially neurological and pulmonary complications, which may be unavoidable. Our patient's quality of life has improved significantly.


Understanding how natural selection has shaped the genetic architecture of complex traits and diseases is of importance in medical and evolutionary genetics. Bayesian methods have been developed using individual-level data to estimate multiple features of genetic architecture, including signatures of natural selection. Here, we present an enhanced method (SBayesS) that only requires GWAS summary statistics and incorporates functional genomic annotations. We analysed GWAS data with large sample sizes for 155 complex traits and detected pervasive signatures of negative selection with diverse estimates of SNP-based heritability and polygenicity. Projecting these estimates onto a map of genetic architecture obtained from evolutionary simulations revealed relatively strong natural selection on genetic variants associated with cardiorespiratory and cognitive traits and relatively small number of mutational targets for diseases. Averaging across traits, the joint distribution of SNP effect size and MAF varied across functional genomic regions (likely to be a consequence of natural selection), with enrichment in both the number of associated variants and the magnitude of effect sizes in regions such as transcriptional start sites, coding regions and 5'- and 3'-UTRs.


This study gives an overview of bank taxation as an alternative to prudential regulations or non-revenue taxation. We review existing bank taxation with a view to eliminating distortions in the tax system, which have incentivized banks to engage in risky activities in the past. We furthermore analyze taxation of financial instruments trading and taxation of banking products and services and their ability to finance resolution mechanisms for banks and to ensure their stability. In this respect, we put forward the following arguments: (1) that a financial transaction tax is economically inefficient and potentially costly for the economy and may not protect taxpayers; (2) that a bank levy used to finance deposit guarantee and bank resolution mechanisms is potentially useful for financial stability, but that it poses the threat of double taxation, together with the proposed Basel-III Liquidity Coverage Ratio; and (3) that we support the elimination of exemption from value added tax (VAT) for financial services in order to provide banks with a level playing field, while retaining exemption for basic payments services. This is expected to improve efficiency by reducing the wasteful use of financial services.


This report describes a research project that was conducted from August 15, 1985 to February 28, 1992. The project was based on the ultrasonic studies of natural and synthetic silicate melts, and the study of Brillouin scattering of synthetic silicates and oxides. Measurements of the compressional wave velocity and attenuation can be established using the ultrasonic methods. Temperature dependences of silicates can be established by the Brillouin scattering. (MB)


Background Chronic oral quercetin reduces blood pressure and restores endothelial dysfunction in hypertensive animals. However, quercetin (aglycone) is usually not present in plasma, because it is rapidly metabolized into conjugated, mostly inactive, metabolites. The aim of the study is to analyze whether deconjugation of these metabolites is involved in the blood pressure lowering effect of quercetin. Methodology/Principal Findings We have analyzed the effects on blood pressure and vascular function in vitro of the conjugated metabolites of quercetin (quercetin-3-glucuronide, Q3GA; isorhamnetin-3-glucuronide, I3GA; and quercetin-3′-sulfate, Q3'S) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Q3GA and I3GA (1 mg/kg i.v.), but not Q3'S, progressively reduced mean blood pressure (MBP), measured in conscious SHR. The hypotensive effect of Q3GA was abolished in SHR treated with the specific inhibitor of β-glucuronidase, saccharic acid 1,4-lactone (SAL, 10 mg/ml). In mesenteric arteries, unlike quercetin, Q3GA had no inhibitory effect in the contractile response to phenylephrine after 30 min of incubation. However, after 1 hour of incubation Q3GA strongly reduced this contractile response and this effect was prevented by SAL. Oral administration of quercetin (10 mg/Kg) induced a progressive decrease in MBP, which was also suppressed by SAL. Conclusions Conjugated metabolites are involved in the in vivo antihypertensive effect of quercetin, acting as molecules for the plasmatic transport of quercetin to the target tissues. Quercetin released from its glucuronidated metabolites could be responsible for its vasorelaxant and hypotensive effect.


Increasing amount of industrial and commercial chemical discharge into the aquatic environment has led to pathological side effects on aquatic organism. Water soluble fraction (WSF) of crude oil can pollute water and cause histopathological alterations in fish. Therefore, sea water pollution with crude oil could detrimentally impact the fish health. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of different concentrations of WSF on muscle of yellow fin sea bream. The fish were exposed to 0% (control), 2%, 4%, 8% and 16% of WSF for a period of 21 days. The histopathological alterations were examined in four categories of circulatory, degenerative, proliferative and inflammatory. Inflammatory changes in control group was lower than that in 8% and 16% WSF exposed groups (p<0.01), and in 2 % and 4% WSF exposed groups was lower than that in 8% and 16% WSF exposed groups (p<0.01). In conclusion, the present study showed the effect of concentration and period of exposure to WSF on yellow fin sea bream. Iran is one of oldest Middle East producers of crude oil, so monitoring adverse histopathological effect of pollution could help keep yellow fin sea bream from waterborne pollution and prepare the ground for further studies. * Corresponding Author: Haghighi Khiabanian Asl  email@example.com


Abstract The decade of 1950–60 was unique in terms of the establishment of a supranational Arab union, known as the United Arab Republic. However, this union was ill born due to certain frictions between Arab states in the Middle East. There were divergences between the visions of Arab Nationalism for each state and this caused a troubling process for this supranational initiative. This study considers these frictions as the main reasons behind why the UAR was an unsuccessful attempt and further why the Arab Nationalism dissolved afterwards. The divergence between two competing visions of Arab Nationalism is symbolized through the competition between Iraqi prime minister Abd al-Karim Qasim and Egyptian president Gamal Nasser. The domestic, regional and global circumstances for these two countries and their leaders are analyzed in order to illustrate how these frictions became a reality and divided the Arab stance.


In the isolated dog ileum perfused with constant flow, nitroglycerin (NTG) produced dose-dependent arteriolar and venous dilatation. Experiments were performed in 22 ileum preparations to advance the study on the pre- and postcapillary resistances, functional capillary pressure, capillary filtration coefficient (CFC) and vascular compliance. At venous pressure (Pv) of 0, 10 and 20 mm Hg, and intra-arterial infusion of NTG in a submaximal dose (30 microgram/min) reduced the total and precapillary resistances, but did not change the postcapillary resistance and functional capillary pressure. This agent slightly increased the CFC calculated from a Pv range of 0 to 10 mm Hg and significantly increased the CFC value calculated from a Pv change of 0 to 20 mm Hg. At Pv = 0 mm Hg, NTG infusion caused a regional volume pooling by 1.2 +/- 0.4 mg/100 g. The vascular compliance in terms of delta blood volume/delta Pv was also significantly increased after NTG. The myogenic responses (reduction in CFC and increase in precapillary resistance) to an elevation of Pv were essentially identical before and after NTG infusion. The results suggest the NTG at the dose used acts primarily on the arterioles, precapillary sphincters and postcapillary capacitance vessels. The postcapillary resistance vessels (mainly the venules) are little affected. Although the resistance and exchange vessels are dilated by NTG, the myogenic constriction of these vessels upon Pv rises is not significantly altered.


Quantifying the agri-food export competitiveness of the Republic of Moldova sets the task to determine those indices and aspects that actually form the sectoral image. Going beyond the familiar expressions of export performance, the paper highlights the competitiveness' dynamics, logistical and tariff approach items. Making abstraction of other factors, we reach conclusions and recommendations on reflected nuances both in terms of micro-management, as well as government policies.