Statistics on alcohol consumption in Ireland - Irish people are among the highest consumers of alcohol in the world. We in Ireland are risky and problematic drinkers. The patterns of drinking are as follows:
• It is estimated that 250,000 people are alcohol dependant
• 10% of drinkers drink more than the recommended weekly limit (21 standard drinks for men, 14 for women)
• 28% engage in weekly binge drinking (consuming at least 60g of alcohol on a single occasion)
• A European study in 2006 showed that 54% of respondents in Ireland consumed at least five drinks on one occasion at least weekly. The European average was 28%

In relation to young people:
• A 2006 HBSC study showed that over half of schoolchildren aged 16 or over reported ever having been drunk
• Heavy drinking in adolescence is related to problem alcohol use in adulthood
• People who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence at some time in their lives than those who have their first drink aged 20 or older
• The American Medical Association (2002) stated than an adolescent need only drink half as much as an adult to experience the same negative effects and even occasional binge drinking can damage the young brain
In relation to crime:
• It is clear that there are connections between alcohol and criminal violence
• Garda pulse data for the years 2003-2007 show that the number of drunkenness, public order and assault offences increased by 30%
• The 18-24 age group accounted for 17% of offenders

Fergus explained that reports have been written on the alcohol problem in Ireland in 1996, 2002, 2004 and 2008 yet little action has been taken. He said that he believes that the National Substance Misuse Steering Group will come up with a lot of good and effective proposals in relation to addressing the alcohol issue which will probably include the following sort of actions:
• Increased pricing in general
• Strict restrictions on access to alcohol
• Phasing out advertising and promotions
• A social responsibility levy
• Codes of practice to be regulated by state
• Actions re: underage drinking
• Better monitoring of enforcement

Fergus warned that it will be tough to implement these proposals if they are agreed upon and urged those who know how serious an issue this is to lobby both this government and the opposition parties who are likely to form the next government. He predicts that there will be opposition from the drinks industry and many of the major sporting bodies.


Metoprolol, a cardioselective beta-blocker, was used in two asthmatic, thyrotoxic patients in preparation for thyroidectomy. Adequate reduction in resting heart rate was achieved in both individuals without inducing clinically significant airway obstruction. Beta-1-blockade can be selectively employed in this clinical setting, but patients should be hospitalized and closely monitored for adverse effects on pulmonary function. Metoprolol therapy in patients with reversible airway obstruction is discussed with reference to recent studies on relative cardioselectivity.


Evidence reports summarize the evidence pertaining to various health-related topics. Including evidence from nonrandomized studies into such reports involves a trade-off between availability and bias. We describe a general framework by which information from nonrandomized studies might be integrated reasonably into evidence reports and illustrate its application to a recent evidence report on preventing pulmonary complications among patients with spinal cord injury. The proposed framework, which is based upon the premise that producing a fair summary of the evidence requires only a level of evidence judged by clinical experts to be sufficient to the task at hand, may help focus scarce resources, strengthen the quality and documentation of decisions including evidence from nonrandomized studies, and suggest high-priority areas for future research.


abstract: sociological and economic theories of income and discrimination point to a variety of causes for the existence of sex-specific income differentials. this study starts with a survey of the different theories. in part a of the empirical study an answer is given to the question how much of the difference in income between the sexes can be explained by differences in education, experience or working time. the data analysis in this study is based on german surveys using the human capital model. moreover, consequences of the expansion of education are explored, and a test of becker's employer-discrimination model is carried out. part b deals with effects of the family, job-segregation, social networks and the sex-specific distribution over segmented labor markets.;


This paper assesses the interactions of horizontal fiscal equalisation schemes with debt policy by sovereign regional governments. Local public goods are either financed by debt or taxation. A horizontal equalisation scheme eleviates regional public revenue disparities under horizontal and vertical tax competition. We show that fiscal equalisation schemes have no impact on the optimal central government grant whereas they can either soften or harden the regional budget constraint depending on the specific formulae. Revenue equalisation softens the budget constraint whereas tax base equalisation hardens the budget constraint of poor states.


Abstract In preparation for Christ's Second Coming, nineteenth-century Mormons worked tirelessly to build Zion, a holy city where they could weather the latter-days and plan for the Millennium. Among those who contributed their talents to Zion were poets who set their millennial longing in verse. Their body of work shows how early Mormons drew upon the Bible, new Mormon doctrines, and existing poetic forms to create a literary complement to the developing Mormon eschatology. It also shows how the Mormon concept of Zion evolved over time as historical circumstances necessitated doctrinal adaptations that affected the way Mormons envisioned their earthly haven.


The paralogs CUL4A and CUL4B assemble cullin‐RING E3 ubiquitin ligase (CRL) complexes regulating multiple chromatin‐associated cellular functions. Although they are structurally similar, we found that the unique N‐terminal extension of CUL4B is heavily phosphorylated during mitosis, and the phosphorylation pattern is perturbed in the CUL4B‐P50L mutation causing X‐linked intellectual disability (XLID). Phenotypic characterization and mutational analysis revealed that CUL4B phosphorylation is required for efficient progression through mitosis, controlling spindle positioning and cortical tension. While CUL4B phosphorylation triggers chromatin exclusion, it promotes binding to actin regulators and to two previously unrecognized CUL4B‐specific substrate receptors (DCAFs), LIS1 and WDR1. Indeed, co‐immunoprecipitation experiments and biochemical analysis revealed that LIS1 and WDR1 interact with DDB1, and their binding is enhanced by the phosphorylated N‐terminal domain of CUL4B. Finally, a human forebrain organoid model demonstrated that CUL4B is required to develop stable ventricular structures that correlate with onset of forebrain differentiation. Together, our study uncovers previously unrecognized DCAFs relevant for mitosis and brain development that specifically bind CUL4B, but not the CUL4B‐P50L patient mutant, by a phosphorylation‐dependent mechanism.


The article presents neurophysiologic features of symptomatic focal epilepsy in different age groups. There had been examined 120 children aged from 1 to 17 years with clinically definite diagnosis of symptomatic focal epilepsy. Symptomatic focal epilepsy has a number of features of its clinical course in children. Most significant prognostic criteria in symptomatic epilepsy such changes in the electroencephalogram as epileptiform activity, slowing of background activity and slowing of background activity in combination with focal epileptiform activity. Electroencephalographic evaluation carried out in the dynamics is also important.


Close M dwarf binaries and higher multiples allow the investigation of rotational evolution and mean magnetic flux unbiased from scatter in inclination angle and age since the orientation of the spin axis of the components is most likely parallel and the individual systems are coeval. Systems composed of an early-type (M0.0-M4.0) and a late-type (M4.0-M8.0) component offer the possibility to study differences in rotation and magnetism between partially and fully convective stars. We have selected 10 of the closest dM systems to determine the rotation velocities and the mean magnetic field strengths based on spectroscopic analysis of FeH lines of Wing-Ford transitions at 1 μm observed with Very Large Telescope/CRIRES. We also studied the quality of our spectroscopic model regarding atmospheric parameters including metallicity. A modified version of the Molecular Zeeman Library (MZL) was used to compute Landeg-factors for FeH lines. Magnetic spectral synthesis was performed with the SYNMAST code. We confirmed previously reported findings that less massive M dwarfs are braked less effectively than objects of earlier types. Strong surface magnetic fields were detected in primaries of four systems (GJ 852, GJ 234, LP 717-36 and GJ 3322), and in the secondary of the triple system GJ 852. We also confirm strong 2-kG magnetic field in the primary of the triple system GJ 2005. No fields could be accurately determined in rapidly rotating stars with \upsi sin i \gt 10 km s$^-1$. For slowly and moderately rotating stars, we find the surface magnetic field strength to increase with the rotational velocity \upsi sin i which is consistent with other results from studying field stars. Based on observations made with European Southern Observatory (ESO) Telescopes at the Paranal Observatories under programme ID 81.D-0189.


[Objective]To explore the effect of DanHuangFang(DHF) on the expression of hepatocyte growth factor(HGF)mRNA in the liver regeneration model with partial liver excision in rats.[Methods]The liver regeneration model with partial liver excision in rat was employed.Twenty four Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: the sham operation group,the operation group,the DHF group and the pHGF group.The operation of partial liver excision was carried on in the latter three group rats.From three days before the operation to 48 hours after the operation,the rats in the DHF group were lavaged with 10 g/kg DHF once a day,and intraperitoneally injected with 4.0 ml/kg sodium chloride simultaneously.The rats in the pHGF group were lavaged with 4.0 ml/kg sodium chloride and intraperitoneally injected with 1 ml/100 g pHGF.The rats in the sham operation and the operation group were only lavaged and intraperitoneally injected with 4.0 ml/kg sodium chloride.The expression of HGFmRNA was detected by RT-PCR method.[Results]The expression of HGFmRNA in DHF group was significantly higher than that of the sham operation and the operation group(P0.01).And there was no difference between the DHF group and pHGF group in the expression of HGFmRNA.[Conclusion ]DHF can promote the expression of HGFmRNA in the liver regeneration model with partial liver excision.


As a medical approach to posing contextualized questions that are based on real-life clinical problems, case-based learning (CBL) is used to stimulate and underpin the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes through clinical cases. Good effects were acquired in the practice of CBL teaching in English applied by the College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Responses from both students and teachers reflected that this course approach won their high acceptance and was worthy of use in selected stomatological courses.


We propose Convex Constraint Learning for Reinforcement Learning (CoCoRL), a novel approach for inferring shared constraints in a Constrained Markov Decision Process (CMDP) from a set of safe demonstrations with possibly different reward functions. While previous work is limited to demonstrations with known rewards or fully known environment dynamics, CoCoRL can learn constraints from demonstrations with different unknown rewards without knowledge of the environment dynamics. CoCoRL constructs a convex safe set based on demonstrations, which provably guarantees safety even for potentially sub-optimal (but safe) demonstrations. For near-optimal demonstrations, CoCoRL converges to the true safe set with no policy regret. We evaluate CoCoRL in tabular environments and a continuous driving simulation with multiple constraints. CoCoRL learns constraints that lead to safe driving behavior and that can be transferred to different tasks and environments. In contrast, alternative methods based on Inverse Reinforcement Learning (IRL) often exhibit poor performance and learn unsafe policies.


A novel method based on Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals for the stability analysis of linear systems with constant is introduced. The Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals are provided using polynomial parameters. Stability conditions are derived in the form of linear matrix inequalities. Examples show that these computationally tractable conditions can give tighter stability results than the ones in the literature.


In this article, we establish some new criteria for the oscillation of fourth order nonlinear delay differential equations of the form x(t) + p(t)x(t) + q(t)f(x(g(t))) = 0 provided that the second order equation z(t) + p(t)z(t) = 0 is nonoscillatiory or oscillatory. This equation with g(t) = t is considered in [8] and some oscillation criteria for this equation via certain energy functions are established. Here, we continue the study on the oscillatory behavior of this equation via some inequalities.


The basic objective of the study was to conduct an environmental economic analysis of the various activities taking place in the Bintuni Bay area. The Ministry of Environment was, at that time, starting to close down non-sustainable logging operations while also promoting the conservation of important natural areas. The analysis would provide insights into optimal conservation and development strategies for the resource. Such an analysis needed to be provided quickly to senior policy makers. The entire project from inception, to field work, to analysis, to input into the decision-making process via a workshop of senior policy-makers took less than one-half of one year to complete. Timely delivery of an understandable analytical product was therefore an important aspect of the study.


Early chick embryos were stimulated with local sources of cAMP. Three major effects were observed: bending of the embryonic axis, attraction of cells on the ventral surface of the embryo, and disruption of the blastodisc. Each had a characteristic concentration dependence. These results are compared with those from studies of cells disaggregated from similar embryos.


Emphysema is a pathophysiological hallmark of COPD and characterized by airspace enlargement and impaired alveolar repair processes. Recently, decreased Wnt/β-catenin signalling has been linked to emphysemateous changes in human disease and animal models thereof. Here, we aim to further decipher the underlying mechanisms and image structural changes involved in lung repair processes. We applied an ex vivo tissue culture model from wildtype (C57Bl/6) and Wnt reporter mice (Bat-/TopGal) subjected to elastase treatment or PBS. Tissue slices (300 μm) generated using a vibratome were viable in culture for up to 7 days ex vivo (WST-1: d3 211 ± 68 % vs. d7 241 ± 67 %). Structural integrity of control (C) and emphysemateous (E) lung slices was determined by qPCR and immunofluorescence for lung specific cellular markers as well as live tissue imaging. Functional Sftpc was decreased in E lung slices compared with control and further decreased over time shown by ELISA (d1: 135 ± 19 ng/ml C vs. 82 ± 17 ng/ml E). Wnt signalling activation by LiCl led to an increase in Sftpc expression accompanied by increased β-galactosidase staining in alveolar regions and upregulated target gene expression, such as Axin2, Dkk2 or Lef1. Emphysemateous tissue slices closely reflect COPD-like changes in vivo. Lung slices are viable up to 7 days ex vivo allowing determination of structural changes and cell fate in the diseased lung upon signal pathway modification.


The paper analyzes the transformation processes of the systems of social inequality in the second half of XX century societies. It also views the changes in sociological theories and their research methods brought about by these transformations.


Abstract Objective To evaluate the safety of home births in North America involving direct entry midwives, in jurisdictions where the practice is not well integrated into the healthcare system. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting All home births involving certified professional midwives across the United States (98% of cohort) and Canada, 2000. Participants All 5418 women expecting to deliver in 2000 supported by midwives with a common certification and who planned to deliver at home when labour began. Main outcome measures Intrapartum and neonatal mortality, perinatal transfer to hospital care, medical intervention during labour, breast feeding, and maternal satisfaction. Results 655 (12.1%) women who intended to deliver at home when labour began were transferred to hospital. Medical intervention rates included epidural (4.7%), episiotomy (2.1%), forceps (1.0%), vacuum extraction (0.6%), and caesarean section (3.7%); these rates were substantially lower than for low risk US women having hospital births. The intrapartum and neonatal mortality among women considered at low risk at start of labour, excluding deaths concerning life threatening congenital anomalies, was 1.7 deaths per 1000 planned home births, similar to risks in other studies of low risk home and hospital births in North America. No mothers died. No discrepancies were found for perinatal outcomes independently validated. Conclusions Planned home birth for low risk women in North America using certified professional midwives was associated with lower rates of medical intervention but similar intrapartum and neonatal mortality to that of low risk hospital births in the United States.


In e-learning environments, adaptive learning is a critical requirement to enhance the teaching quality of the e-learning. Adaptive learning feature provides content specific to a student's learning style. Hence, the first step of adaptive learning is to identify the student's learning style and then to determine the appropriate learning content that corresponds to the individual students learning style. This paper proposes a mechanism to predict the adaptive learning content for each student. To prove the usability and availability of the proposed mechanism, this paper implements the proposed mechanism in a scalable e-learning environment. In the scalable e-learning environment, every student can share diverse learning contents distributed in different learning management systems through peer to peer technology. By means of the prediction mechanism, the adaptive learning content can be acquired at the student site in advance of its use. Hence, the waiting time for downloading learning content can be reduced and thus the learning performance is enhanced. Furthermore, the complexity of storage space is decreased since the student only needs to acquire the learning content corresponding to her/his learning style. In addition, this paper also uses the IRIS dataset and real student data to verify the accuracy of the prediction mechanism.


The organism P. aeruginosa is discussed as being of priority importance in the complex sanitary-microbiological evaluation of the quality of the water taken from the Northern rivers to be used for drinking and economic purposes in conditions of the anthropogenic effects.


BACKGROUND
There has been a decrease in the mean gestational age at delivery worldwide mostly due to an increase in deliveries occurring at late preterm period (LPP) with a concomitant rise in the rate of morbidities among newborns delivered at this period.

OBJECTIVES
To report the frequency of common short-term neonatal morbidities in infants born at LPP (between 34(0/7) and 36(6/7) weeks' gestation) and to compare these frequencies with those of full-term infants born at our institution.

MATERIALS & METHODS
A descriptive cohort study (2008-2010) at Makassed General Hospital. All deliveries occurring at LPP constituted the study group (n = 361), while births at or beyond 37 weeks' gestation were considered as controls (n = 2814).

RESULTS
The average rate of deliveries in LPP was 11.4% for the entire study period. The rate of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit admissions, respiratory morbidities, sepsis, jaundice, hypothermia, hypoglycemia and overall neonatal morbidity were all significantly higher in LPP infants when compared to those at term (p-value < 0.013).

CONCLUSION
In our cohort of Lebanese newborns delivered at LPP, significantly higher morbidities were encountered when compared to full-term newborns. Every possible effort should be exerted to avoid elective deliveries during LPP in order to curb the incidence of neonatal morbidities.


Obtaining isolated effects in Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) MRI requires the correction for the influence of B0- and B1-inhomogeneities and the T1 relaxation time during post-processing. We present an extended approach for simultaneous mapping of B0, B1 and T1 using a CEST-like pulse sequence and a regularized neural network-based analysis that provides additional uncertainty estimations. We demonstrate the in vitro and in vivo applicability of the proposed approach, which is trained using simulated data and confirm its accordance with established reference methods.


Social science literature links alcohol consumption and human violence and/or crime. Most of the literature in this field only addresses sociological and demographic issues. Crimes occurrences, however, are also location dependent and can be analyzed using GIS methods. Only a handful of studies have analyzed spatial dimensions of crime incidences and their controlling factors. In this paper, we present an in-depth analysis of crime probabilities and their proximity to alcohol-serving establishments based on the locations of 12,458 reported crimes and 247 alcohol-serving establishments in Savannah, Georgia, for the year 2000. Logistic regression and other GIS methods are employed to determine crime density and crime probability in different distance zones from alcohol-serving establishments. The results of our analysis confirm that density and probability of all types of crimes declines exponentially with increasing distance from alcohol services. Current research cannot control for myriad of confounding variables for criminal behavior. Although our findings are consistent with research on alcohol consumption as a causal agent in violent criminal activity, our method of estimating crime probability in space is unique. The crime probability maps produced using this method can be valuable for police resource allocation and patrolling in many other cities.


Abstract The oculomotor system has long been thought to rely on an accurate representation of eye displacement or position in a successful attempt to reconcile a stationary target's retinal instability (caused by motion of the eyes) with its corresponding spatial invariance. This is in stark contrast to perceptual localization, which has been shown to rely on a sluggish representation of eye displacement, achieving only partial compensation for the retinal displacement caused by saccadic eye movements. Recent studies, however, have begun to cast doubt on the belief that the oculomotor system posseses a signal of eye displacement superior to that of the perceptual system. To verify this, five humans and one monkey (Macaca nemesthna) served as subjects in this study of oculomotor localization abilities. Subjects were instructed to make eye movements, as accurately as possible, to the locations of three successive visual stimuli. Presentation of the third stimulus (2-ms duration) was timed so that it fell before, during, or after the subject's saccade from the first stimulus to the second. Localization errors in each subject (human and nonhuman) were consistent with the hypothesis that the oculomotor system has access to only a damped representation of eye displacement —a representation similar to that found in perceptual localization studies.


The effects of various sugars and sugar derivatives on lung colonization (i.e., metastatic deposition) of the highly metastatic BL6 clone of B16 mouse melanoma cells in syngeneic mice were studied, based on the assumption that carbohydrate structures, particularly those with a Gal terminus, play a crucial role in defining the metastatic potential of B16 cells. After incubation with sugar compounds (usually at 0.1 M concentration), tumor cells were injected via the tail vein into 8-week old female mice. Mice were sacrificed after 18-21 days, and tumor cell colonies in lung were counted under a dissecting microscope. Only methyl beta-D-lactoside and lacto-N-tetraose caused significant reduction (35-45% and 36%, respectively) of metastatic deposition compared to controls. Methyl beta-D-lactoside did not exhibit a growth inhibitory effect on BL6 tumor cells, as determined by several methods: in vitro [3H]thymidine incorporation assay, in vitro plating in RPMI-1640 medium culture under physiological conditions followed by cell counting, and in vivo subcutaneous inoculation of age-matched C57/BL mice followed by tumor measurement. These results indicate that the inhibitory effect of methyl beta-D-lactoside on tumor deposition was not related to its effect on tumor cell growth.


The possible increase of pulmonary diffusing capacity at high altitude is still controversial. During an expedition on Monte Rosa, Italy, experiments were performed on five male subjects, 27–44 years of age, at rest after a sojourn of 7–10 days at an elevation of 4,560 m, using two independent methods. Pulmonary diffusing capacity for CO (DlCO) was determined with the steady-state method at three levels of oxygenation with inspiratory O2 pressures of 80, 150, and 400 mm Hg both at sea level and at altitude. The evaluation of the O2 pressure diffusion gradients in hypoxia, obtained from the alveolar-arterial O2 pressure gra dients and the arterio-alveolar CO2 pressure gradients in hypoxia, permitted the estimation of the diffusing capacity for O2 (DlO02). There was no significant difference between sea level and high altitude in DlCO at the three levels of oxygenation, in the O2 diffusion gradient and in DlCOCO2 with hypoxia.

alveolar-arterial O2 pressure gradient; arterio-alveolar CO2 pressure gradient; high altitude adaptation; acid-base balance of the blood

Submitted on June 17, 1964


The interaction of Bleustein-Gulyaev (BG) waves with light propagating in the SAW sagittal plane is investigated theoretically for crystal cuts of gallium arsenide (GaAs) and bismuth germanium oxide (BGO). The diffraction of the transmitted beam is studied versus the angle between the light's wavevector and the normal to the SAW supporting plate (the depth direction along which the SAW attenuates). The experimental results obtained with a BGO crystal are then reported and compared with the above theory.


Aims: The antenatal period provides an important opportunity for giving advice on healthy lifestyle choices. However, the prevalence of maternal obesity is increasing, and women report that they do not receive counseling. We investigated the information given to pregnant women on gestational weight gain, physical activity, and nutrition during pregnancy in relation with their initial weight status, current gestational weight gain and diagnoses of either pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity or excessive gestational weight gain. Methods: Cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire. Pregnant participants (n = 141) were recruited from a midwife center. They completed a structured questionnaire on the information they received during their pregnancy and we assessed its relationship with their weight. Results: We found that many pregnant women did not receive advice about physical activity, gestational weight gain and nutrition (37.5, 53.2, and 66.2%, respectively). Women with weight problems (pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity and excessive gestational weight gain) were less targeted for counseling, although more than 80% of the women viewed receiving information on these topics as positive. Also, being informed of a weight problem was associated with a greater chance of receiving information about physical activity, gestational weight gain and nutrition (all p < 0.05). However, verbalization of the weight problems was low (14.0% of women with pre-pregnancy overweight were informed of their status). Conclusion: Health professionals should dispense more information, especially on PA and particularly for women with weight problems. Verbalization of the weight problem seems associated with more frequent transmission of information.


Two aspects involved in automatic target recognition namely, (i) Location and identity estimation (LIE) of a target by fusing infrared (IR) and acoustic sensor data, and (ii) centroid tracking for target state estimation using IR sensor data are discussed in this paper. The LIE has been achieved using a combination of Bayesian fusion and one of the three search algorithms namely, metropolis hastings (MH), simulated annealing (SA) and gradual greedy (GG). It was observed that the performance of the GG search algorithms was better in terms of success rate which has been evaluated through Monte Carlo simulations. For tracking of the centroid, an algorithm, where the centroid of the gray level image is tracked using probabilistic data association filter, has been implemented. Simulated data results indicate good tracking performance of this algorithm. For robust tracking of centroid, the track from the imaging sensor was fused with the track from ground-based radar using state vector fusion. It was observed that fusion generates robust tracks even when there is data loss in one of the sensors.


Retroperitoneal extravasation is an extremely uncommon complication of duodenal ulcer perforation. The preoperative diagnosis is difficult and may even be missed at operation. There were, 25 cases reported in the literature. Only one patient was correctly diagnosed preoperatively and only seven patients survived. We describe the first case of retroperitoneal extravasation from perforated duodenal ulcer presenting as scrotal sepsis.


Background and Goal Patients with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) serve as a bridge population to transmit HIV from higher-risk to lower-risk populations. Our goal was to understand the level of risk behaviors and HIV/STD-related knowledge as well as attitudes among STD patients in China. Study Design An anonymous questionnaire was self-administered by 619 STD patients in Guangzhou, China. Results About 70% of the males and 18% of the females had had sex with nonregular sex partners in the previous 6 months; the prevalence of consistent condom use was very low (20% for males and 10% for females). Only 20% to 30% of the respondents stated that they would not practice unprotected sex with nonregular sex partners before their STD was cured. Misconceptions about STD/HIV are very common. STD/HIV-related knowledge, perceived susceptibility of contracting HIV, and perceived efficacy of condom use for HIV/AIDS prevention were significantly associated with anticipated or actual risk behaviors during the infectious period. Conclusion Intervention programs are in urgent need to break the cycle of STD infection in China. These would include promotion of relevant knowledge, condom use, and public education.


The primary element of machining automation is to maximize the utilization of machine tools, which determines the output and lead-time. In particular, 95% of raw materials for wing ribs are cut into chips and 0.6 ton of chips are generated every hour from each machine tool. In order to verify the chip recycling system that controls the chips from the machines in five-axis FMS line, a simulation of the virtual model is constructed using the QUEST simulation program. The optimum speed of the chip conveyor and its operating conditions that directly affect the efficiency of the FMS line are presented including the chip conveyor speed, the maximum capacity of the hopper, and the number of chip compressors


Content-based video copy detection is relevant for structuring large video databases. The use of local features leads to good robustness to most types of photometric or geometric transformations. However, to achieve both good precision and good recall when the transformations are strong, feature configurations should be taken into account. This usually leads to complex matching operations that are incompatible with scalable copy detection. We suggest a computationally inexpensive solution for including a minimal amount of configuration information that significantly improves the balance between overall detection quality and scalability.


In electronic topological Dirac semimetals (DSMs) the conduction and valence bands touch at discrete points in the Brillouin zone and form Dirac cones. They are robust against spin–orbit interaction (SOI) and protected by crystal symmetries. They can be driven to different topological phases by breaking the symmetries. In the low-temperature quantum magnetic systems the magnon dispersions have similar band structures as the electron dispersions, but with positive definite energies. In these magnetic systems SOI manifests in the form of the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI). In this communication, we identify two types of magnonic DSMs in quasi-two-dimensional quantum magnets. The first type is a consequence of topological phase transition between trivial and topological magnon insulators and the second type is intrinsic and protected by crystal symmetries. They are robust against DMI and can be driven to a topological magnon phase by breaking the symmetries. They can be manipulated by an external magnetic field and accessible by the bulk sensitive inelastic neutron scattering experiments.


In this paper, a generalized nonlinear time-varying multibody dynamic model of dual clutch transmissions (DCT) is presented. The model consists of clutches, shafts, gears and synchronizers, and can be used to model any DCT architecture. A nonlinear clutch model is used to determine
 the transmitted power to the transmission at any speed and clutch temperature. The clutch can be a single- or multi-plate clutch and can operate in a wet or dry-clutch configuration. A combined kinematic and powerflow simulation enables calculation of gear, shaft, bearing and clutch quasi-static
 loads as well as gear mesh frequencies following a duty cycle as the input. For the corresponding Linear-Time-Invariant (LTI) system model, natural frequencies and mode shapes are obtained by solving the eigenvalue problem. The modal summation technique is used to determine the steady state
 forced vibration response of the system. For the corresponding NTV system, Newmark's time-step marching based integration is used to determine both the steady state and transient forced vibration response of the system. The DCT model is exercised using a common transmission architecture operating
 at several different operating conditions. The resulting impact of changing operational conditions on gear and bearing loads as well as dynamic transmission error spectra are demonstrated.


SARS-CoV-2 replicates efficiently in the upper airway during prodromal stage with resulting viral shedding into the environment from patients with active disease as well as from asymptomatic individuals. So far, virus spread has been exclusively contained by non-pharmacological interventions (social distancing, face masks, hand washing and several measures limiting business activities or movement of individuals)1,2. There is a need to find pharmacological interventions to mitigate the viral spread, supporting yet limiting the existing health protection measures while an effective and safe vaccine will hopefully become available. Hypothiocyanite and lactoferrin as part of the innate human immune system were shown to have a large spectrum of cidal activity against bacteria, fungi and viruses2,3. To test their virucidal activity against SARS-CoV-2 we conducted an in-vitro study. Here we show a dose-dependent virucidal activity of hypothiocyanite at micromolar concentrations, slightly improved by the presence of lactoferrin. The two substances are devoid of any cytotoxicity and may be administered combined by aerosol to exploit their antiviral activity at the port of entry (mouth, nasal cavity, conjunctiva) or exit (mouth, through emission of respiratory droplets) of SARS-CoV-2 in the human body. Furthermore, aerosol with hypothiocyanite and lactoferrin combined could also have a therapeutic effect in the lower respiratory tract, at the level of gas exchange units of the lung, preventing the devastating infection of alveolar type II cells where ACE2 is highly expressed. An in-vivo validation of in-vitro results is urgently required.


OBJECTIVE
As a kind of malignant tumor in the male genitourinary system, prostate cancer exhibits significantly increased occurrence. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) expression can be seen in the prostate cancer, prostatitis, and other diseases, therefore, lack of diagnostic specificity. The miR-155 expression is abnormally increased in the tumors. Therefore, this study aims to explore the clinical significance of PSA combined miR-155 detection in the early diagnosis of prostate cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A total of 86 patients diagnosed with prostate cancer were enrolled in this study. PSA and miR-155 gene expression in tumor tissue were detected by using Real-time PCR. The serum levels of PSA were measured by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The correlation of PSA and miR-155 expression with age, body mass index (BMI), tumor volume, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, lymph node metastasis (LNM), and other clinicopathological features were analyzed, respectively.

RESULTS
Serum PSA expression and PSA gene in tumor tissue were significantly higher compared to that in adjacent tissues (p<0.05). PSA gene and protein increased significantly with the clinical stage of TNM and decreased following the increase of grade (p<0.05). The miR-155 level was significantly elevated in the tumor tissue compared with para-carcinoma tissue (p<0.05). PSA and miR-155 expressions were positively correlated with TNM stage, tumor volume, and LNM, and negatively correlated with grade (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
PSA and miR-155 were closely related to the clinicopathological features of prostate cancer. Combined detection is helpful for the early diagnosis of prostate cancer.


ABSTRACT. For cavity-nesting birds, tree cavities often represent a critical, defendable, and limiting resource that is frequently under intense interspecific competition. However, the dynamics of interspecific conflict resolution, especially between species of similar size, are often unclear. We experimentally tested aggression and nest-defense behaviors in Gouldian Finches (Erythrura gouldiae) and Long-tailed Finches (Poephila acuticauda), two sympatric, cavity-nesting estrildid finches that are very similar in size, ecology, and nest-site requirements. Mounted taxidermie models of conspecific and heterospecific nest-site competitors (black and red Gouldian Finch morph and Long-tailed Finch models), as well as a control noncompetitor (Black-chinned Honeyeater [Melithreptus gularis]), were presented to Gouldian and Long-tailed finches. These two competing species differed in their overall responses to simulated intruders and in their relative aggression toward conspecific and heterospecific intruders. Long-tailed Finches reacted more quickly to models, approached closer, and were more likely to attack models (i.e., make physical contact) than Gouldian Finches, which suggests that Long-tailed Finches are intrinsically more aggressive. In addition, Long-tailed Finches were more aggressive toward Gouldian Finches than toward conspecific models. By contrast, Gouldian Finches were more aggressive to conspecific models and avoided approaching Long-tailed Finch models. Male Gouldian Finches were particularly aggressive toward conspecifics, and red head-color morphs were more aggressive than black morphs. These results suggest that the outcomes of competitive asymmetries within and between these species are driven by differences in aggression. Together with the substantial overlap in nest-site use, the Long-tailed Finch's aggressive domination of limited nest sites may lead to competitive exclusion of the endangered Gouldian Finch.


OBJECTIVE
Our goal was to evaluate the long-term results of vein bypass grafts for axillary artery occlusion, specifically those placed extra-anatomically to prevent arterial injury in pitchers.

METHODS
With the greater saphenous veins used as the selected conduit, arterial bypass grafts were routed anterior to the pectoralis minor muscle in four baseball pitchers who had occlusion of the axillary artery. We performed a follow-up in excess of 10 years with evaluations of the bypass grafts by ultrasonic duplex scan and magnetic resonance angiography.

RESULTS
All four pitchers treated in this manner returned to the game and played for several seasons without a recurrence of the arterial injury. Long-term evaluation of the bypass grafts did not reveal any structural or functional disorder.

CONCLUSIONS
Axillary artery occlusion in an athlete can be effectively treated with a vein bypass graft placed extra-anatomically, anterior to the pectoralis minor muscle. The greater saphenous vein should be considered the conduit of choice.


OBJECTIVE
The prevalence of dental caries and needs of treatment among schoolchildren in Goiânia-GO, middle-west of Brazil was assessed.

METHODOLOGY
The study population consisted of 6-12-yr-old schoolchildren (n = 1,400) attending public schools located in the urban area of the city, where the water-supply had been fluoridated for 9 years.

RESULTS
Mean dmf-t and DMF-T for the total sample were 2.19 and 2.86, respectively, showing a reduction of 57.1% in the DMF-T as compared to the regional data from the national survey carried out in 1986. At age 12 DMF-T was 4.59, which is above the acceptable level according to the FDI/WHO goal for the year 2000. Percentage of caries-free schoolchildren was very low at all ages (11% of the total sample). The most significant need was for restorative treatment in the treatment deciduous dentition at all ages and in the permanent dentition from age 9.

CONCLUSION
It was concluded that the prevalence of dental caries among schoolchildren in Goiânia-GO is high, comparable to the situation in most Latin American countries and poor regions of developed countries. The results indicate the need for oral health education and preventive programs targeted at the underlying causes of the disease, in the population.


Window is a critical component in the design of energy-efficient buildings. To minimize the heat loss, insulation performance of the glazing has to be improved. Manufacturing of vacuum glazing has been motivated by the possibility of making windows of very good thermal insulation properties for such applications. It is made by maintaining vacuum in the gap between two glass panes. Pillars are placed between them to withstand the atmospheric pressure. Edge covers are applied to reduce conduction through the edge. Accurate measurements have been made of the radiative heat transfer, the pillar conduction and the gas conduction using a guarded hot plate apparatus. Vacuum glazing is found to have low thermal conductance roughly below 1W/m²K. Among the heat transfer modes of residual gas conduction, conduction through support pillar and the radiative heat transfer between the glass panes, the last one is the most dominant to the overall thermal conductance. Vacuum glazing using very low emittance Al-coated glass has an overall thermal conductance of about 0.7W/m²K.


The depression of twitch and tetanic tensions, contractures, and spontaneous activities of various muscle preparations by a selected free fatty acid (Na-octanoate, NaC8) depends on the concentration, the temperature, the time of exposure, and the type of muscle. Among skeletal muscles, there is neither a significant difference between frog and rat twitch muscles nor between fast- and slow-twitch rat muscles at room temperature. Small differences seem to occur between frog tonic and phasic fibres as well as between fast- and slow-twitch rat muscles at 32 degrees C. Smooth muscles are more sensitive than skeletal muscles but less sensitive than papillary muscles in which 0.5 mmol/l NaC8 decrease the contractility by about 50%. The different sensitivity of the various muscle types might be caused by unequal alterations of membrane properties responsible for excitation-contraction coupling. It is supposed that free fatty acids interact with the calcium binding sites of the membranes.


The dominant video question answering methods are based on fine-grained representation or model-specific attention mechanism. They usually process video and question separately, then feed the representations of different modalities into following late fusion networks. Although these methods use information of one modality to boost the other, they neglect to integrate correlations of both inter- and intra-modality in an uniform module. We propose a deep heterogeneous graph alignment network over the video shots and question words. Furthermore, we explore the network architecture from four steps: representation, fusion, alignment, and reasoning. Within our network, the inter- and intra-modality information can be aligned and interacted simultaneously over the heterogeneous graph and used for cross-modal reasoning. We evaluate our method on three benchmark datasets and conduct extensive ablation study to the effectiveness of the network architecture. Experiments show the network to be superior in quality.


There has been an increasing need for faster and more reliable inspection of nuclear reactor vessels during scheduled inspection/refueling/repair outages. The inspection of such a complicated environment presents many challenges. During scheduled outages, the inspection platform (in our system a remotely operated miniature submarine) must be piloted efficiently to remote inspection locations, images and measurements of inspection locations presented to the human inspector, past information about this location recalled and viewed, and decisions made regarding repair activity scheduling. We are developing a new integrated system that employs augmented reality techniques to allow the inspection system operator to efficiently and reliably carry out these tasks. We describe a system that creates a realtime animated synthetic image of the underwater environment being inspected (drawn from CAD models of reactor components) in which a synthesized image of the inspection platform moves. The image is created with respect to an operator selected viewing point. A sensor measures the position and orientation of the actual mini-submarine, and these data are used by the graphics computer to continuously update the animated image. The images to be viewed can be either two or three dimensional. This information is used to assist in guiding the vehicle through the environment. The system display also integrates current inspection data (such as live video images) with past video frames or with past inspection reports and past data to allow fast and reliable inspection decisions to be made. Examples of typical operator display screens are included.


We present an experimental study of the infrared conductivity, transmission, and reflection of a gated bilayer graphene and their theoretical analysis within the Slonczewski-Weiss-McClure (SWMc) model. The infrared response is shown to be governed by the interplay of the interband and the intraband transitions among the four bands of the bilayer. The position of the main conductivity peak at the charge-neutrality point is determined by the interlayer tunneling frequency. The shift of this peak as a function of the gate voltage gives information about less known parameters of the SWMc model such as those responsible for the electron-hole and sublattice asymmetries. These parameter values are shown to be consistent with recent electronic structure calculations for the bilayer graphene and the SWMc parameters commonly used for the bulk graphite.


The pH-dependent activity of wild-type Bacillus circulans xylanase (BcX) is set by the pK(a) values of its nucleophile Glu78 and general acid/base Glu172. Herein, we examined several strategies to manipulate these pK(a) values and thereby shift the pH(opt) at which BcX is optimally active. Altering the global charge of BcX through random succinylation had no significant effect. Mutation of residues near or within the active site of BcX, but not directly contacting the catalytic carboxyls, either had little effect or reduced its pH(opt), primarily by lowering the apparent pK(a) value of Glu78. However, mutations causing the largest pK(a) changes also impaired activity. Although not found as a general acid/base in naturally occurring xylanases, substitution of Glu172 with a His lowered the pH(opt) of BcX from 5.6 to 4.7 while retaining 8% activity toward a xylobioside substrate. Mutation of Asn35, which contacts Glu172, to either His or Glu also led to a reduction in pH(opt) by ~1.2 units. Detailed pK(a) measurements by NMR spectroscopy revealed that, despite the opposite charges of the introduced residues, both the N35H and N35E forms of BcX utilize a reverse protonation mechanism. In this mechanism, the pK(a) value of the general acid is lower than that of the nucleophile, and only a small population of enzyme is in a catalytically competent ionization state. However, overall activity is maintained due to the increased strength of the general acid. This study illustrates several routes for altering the pH-dependent properties of xylanases, while also providing valuable insights into complex protein electrostatics.


Patient group The majority of cats will develop radiographic evidence of degenerative joint disease by the time they are 12 years of age, and many will suffer from a decline in quality of life associated with undiagnosed and untreated orthopedic disease. Practical relevance A focused, efficient orthopedic examination, including gait observation and palpation (awake and under sedation), supplemented with appropriate history, is key in ruling in, or out, clinically important musculoskeletal disease. Identifying problems assists in both developing a diagnostic plan and monitoring response to treatment. Clinical challenges Many clinicians feel uncomfortable in their ability to reliably perform an orthopedic examination in the cat, and diagnosis and evaluation of response to treatment in cats with orthopedic disease can be challenging. Hands-on training in feline orthopedic examination is limited in many veterinary curricula. Additional constraints may include failure to obtain important information in the history that indicates feline orthopedic disease, lack of appropriate facilities in which to conduct a complete orthopedic examination, and inability to obtain the most important information during the time available to conduct the examination. These problems can create gaps in the practitioner's ability to provide excellent care for a large proportion of the feline population. Goals The above challenges can mostly be overcome with advanced planning and with consideration of the unique behavioral aspects related to feline handling. As discussed in this review, the aim of the initial orthopedic examination is to localize the problem to a specific limb, ideally to a region or joint of the limb, which can further direct diagnostics such as radiography or arthrocentesis. This should provide a basis for follow-up and assessment of whether treatment strategies are effective.


Summary
• To examine the mode of dispersal and photobiont selectivity of Fulgensia fulgida we investigated the photobionts associated with the lichens of a community related to the Toninio–Psoretum decipientis association.
• Photobionts and mycobionts were analysed using morphological (light microscopy) and molecular (internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and partial large subunit (LSU) nuclear ribosomal DNA sequencing) techniques.
• The thalli of the mycobiont of F. fulgida, which were identical in their ITS and partial LSU-sequence, contained two strains of Trebouxia asymmetrica, one of them also present in a thallus of Toninia sedifolia. Other co-occurring lichens, namely Squamarina lentigera, Catapyrenium michelii and Collema cristatum, were shown to have Asterochloris irregularis, Myrmecia and Nostoc as photobionts.
• It is suggested that F. fulgida is selective in its photobiont choice, that dispersal of the lichen has occurred by way of ascospores and subsequent independent relichenization events and that F. fulgida and T. sedifolia share the same photobiont pool. The results also suggest possible mechanisms of relichenization and strategies for future research on the selectivity of lichen bionts.


Background The breakthrough of advanced composite materials in various applications has occurred to a smaller extent than might have been expected previously, mainly due to the high integral costs of composite products: a high cost of manufacturing added to the already expensive raw material. There is a clear need for improved costeffectiveness. The key issues are considered to be: cheaper production processes, higher production rates and predictable component accuracy. Thermoplastic composites have a good potential, but the current knowledge of the material behaviour under full-scale production conditions is still inadequate. Academic research can produce the numerical tools to assist in building up the required know-how. Composite forming simulations will be a useful tool to predict e.g. process distortions and the occurrence of wrinkling, thus reducing cost of rework and lead time.


The increased susceptibility of in-plant recycled polyamide 6,6 toward thermooxidation was shown by headspace solid-phase microextraction with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS), tensile testing, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). A correlation between the deterioration in mechanical properties and the formation of degradation products due to thermooxidation was found, and the most prominent decrease in mechanical properties coincided with the largest increase in the abundance of degradation products. The recycled materials had a shorter induction period toward oxidation, and their mechanical properties deteriorated faster than the mechanical properties of virgin material. The same trend was observed with HS-SPME/GC-MS because degradation products were found for recycled materials after oxidation times shorter than those for virgin material. Furthermore, larger amounts of degradation products were formed in the recycled materials. The high sensitivity of HS-SPME/GC-MS as an analytical tool was demonstrated because it was able to detect changes caused by oxidation considerably earlier than the other methods. Unlike DSC and FTIR, it could also show differences between samples recycled for different times. Four groups of degradation products-cyclic imides, pyridines, chain fragments, and cyclopentanones-were identified in thermooxidized polyamide 6,6. After 1200 h of thermooxidation, 1-pentyl-2,5-pyrrolidinedione was the most abundant degradation product. Approximately four times more 1-pentyl-2,5-pyrrolidinedione was formed in polyamide recycled three times than in virgin polyamide. Pyridines and chain fragments behaved toward oxidation and repeated processing like cyclic imides; that is, their amounts increased during oxidation, and larger amounts were formed in recycled materials than in virgin material. The cyclopentanone derivatives were present already in unaged material, and their amounts decreased during oxidation. Cyclopentanones were not formed because of the thermooxidation of polyamide 6,6.


MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that are implicated in several physiological processes such as cell development, proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, immune response and angiogenesis. In the last couple of decades, several studies on miRNA profiling in OSCC have tried to associate miRNAs with clinical characteristics such as relapse, metastasis, and survival, however, the results have been found to vary considerably, sometimes even being contradictory. The main objective of our study was to analyse and verify miRNA expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma in a Spanish population. Second, we attempted to associate the identified deregulated miRNAs with molecular pathways. 8 Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma patients and 8 healthy control samples were analysed by a microarray Affymetrix® miRNA 4.1 array plate and validated with 8 more cases using RT-qPCR. Deregulated miRNAs were studied using Diana Tools miRPath 3.0 to associate miRNA targets with molecular pathways. Microarray analysis identified 80 deregulated miRNAs (35 over-expressed and 45 under-expressed). Only miR-497-5p and miR-4417 maintained its deregulated expression after validation with qPCR. Among the molecular pathways in which deregulated miRNAs could be implicated, the most statistically significant pathway was 'proteoglycans in cancer'. No relationship was found between miR-497-5p or miR-4417 expression and clinical or pathological parameters except of nodular affectation (high miR-4417 expression in patients with nodular affectation, p = 0.035) and radiotherapy (diminished miR-497-5p expression in patients who needed radiotherapy, p = 0.05). We have verified the altered expression of miR-497-5p and miR-4417 in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma samples and related the deregulated miRNAs with the 'proteoglycans in cancer' pathway.


Citrus sinensis was screened for its phytochemical composition and was evaluated for the proximate and elemental analysis. The phytochemical analysis indicated the presence of reducing sugar, saponins, cardiac glycosides, tannins and flavonoids. The elemental analysis indicated the presence of the following mineral elements in various concentrations: Zn, Cu, Mg, and Mn, while Cd and Ni were less than 0.001 and 0.05 respectively, while Cr was about 0.01 in concentration. Proximate analysis also shows that it has a high nutritional value such as carbohydrate, fibre, Ash, fat and protein. These results recommended the consumption of these peels of desired physiochemical properties as sources of food fibres or low-calorie bulk ingredients in food applications requiring oil and moisture retention. © JASEM


Localization of sensor nodes is a fundamental and important problem in wireless sensor networks. In this correspondence, a recursive distributed positioning algorithm is devised with the use of range measurements. Computer simulations are included to contrast the performance of the proposed approach with the conventional semi-definite relaxation positioning method as well as Crameacuter-Rao lower bound.


PERCEIVED DYADIC CULTURAL DISCREPANCIES, INTERGENERATIONAL CONFLICT, AND ETHNOCULTURAL IDENTITY CONFLICT IN ARAB CANADIAN FAMILIES Sarah Rasmi Advisors: University of Guelph, 2012 Susan Chuang and Karl Hennig Research on developmental, family, and cross-cultural psychology has consistently found evidence that discrepancies exist between parents and their youth around individual preferences, social conventions, and personal values. In immigrant families, these issues may be compounded by cultural change. Indeed, some research has found that immigrant parentyouth dyads diverge in their heritage and settlement culture orientations and have different personal values priorities. These discrepancies, in turn, are related to poorer youth and family adjustment. In recent years, some studies have proposed that facets of the parent-youth relationship may buffer the experience of maladjustment as a function of cultural discrepancies. Therefore, this dissertation had two general aims: (1) to examine the extent to which immigrant Arab Canadian youth perceive cultural discrepancies between themselves and their parents, as well as how they relate to individual and familial adjustment; and (2) to identify specific facets of the parent-youth relationship that moderate the association between perceived cultural discrepancies and outcomes. Although research on different cultural groups as well as immigrant and ethnic minority families has increased in recent years, there is a paucity of empirical work examining Arab immigrants in Canada. This dissertation used a mixed-methods approach to comprehensively investigate youth"s perceptions of parent-youth cultural discrepancies and parent-youth relationships, and how they related to intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. Study 1 consisted of a series of semi-structured interviews. Using a narrative approach, 12 immigrant youth were asked to describe their individual and family experiences as Arabs living in Canada. Findings confirmed that youth perceived cultural discrepancies between themselves and their parents, which were associated with increased intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. However, specific aspects of the parent-youth relationship were identified as either a protective (i.e., when they were open, communicative, and supportive) or risk (i.e., when they were marked by emotional distance) factor. Study 2 was a quantitative approach to examine the prevalence of perceived cultural discrepancies, and their association with intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. Specifically, a series of hierarchical regressions were used to test the hypotheses that parent-youth relationships moderated the associations between perceived cultural discrepancies and conflict. Results confirmed that immigrant Arab youth in Canada perceived heritage and settlement culture orientation and values discrepancies between themselves and their parents, that perceived cultural discrepancies were associated with more conflict, and that parent-youth relationships moderated the relationship between perceived cultural discrepancies and conflict. These studies were among the first to examine these issues in immigrant Arab families in Canada. It is imperative to increase our knowledge of Arab families in Canada given their rapid population growth, cultural dissimilarity, the pervasiveness of group misunderstanding and misrepresentation that has been exacerbated post-9/11, and the likelihood that immigration from the Middle East and North Africa will surge following the Arab Spring.


The treatment of patients with cerebral palsy requires the coordination of orthopedic procedures and rehabilitation, using neurophysiological methods. One such method is hippotherapy, which involves the utilization of horseback riding to stimulate the patient's normal reactions. The goal of hippotherapy is to stimulate locomotion, improve the balance and coordination of movement, normalize muscle tension, and eliminate pathological reflexes. The starting position in hippotherapy is sitting astride on horseback. The changes taking place in the dynamics of the horse's movement during the ride evoke motor responses not dependent on the patient's will. Hippotherapy is indicated as therapy in disturbances of muscle tension and disturbances in the motor sphere. This method is not used when the symptoms of CNS damage intensify during therapy, or in cases of neoplastic disease, spinal instability, unstable spondylolisthesis, or inflammation of the bone and joint system. Due to its recreational and sporting aspects, hippotherapy is more easily accepted by patients than indoor exercises.


1. Relationships between distributions of animals and the resources they use can be expected to depend critically on the mobility of individual animals within populations. However, there is little information on the movements of individuals within populations of animals in most natural aquatic systems, so it is difficult to model accurately the processes that underlie their distributions. 2. Aspects of the processes involved in the colonization of vacant areas by streamresident Atlantic salmon Salmo salar (69-114 mm length) were measured under nearnatural conditions. In five separate trials over summer months, groups of salmon were introduced into enclosed 30-m long sections of stream, each comprising three distinct 10-m long regions of habitat. The subsequent movements of each individual fish within the enclosures were monitored remotely and continuously using a passive integrated transponder (PIT) tracking system. 3. Considerable variation was observed between the activity of different individual salmon. Some of the fish (range between trials, 3-33%) settled into localized home ranges without moving between regions, 10-38 % of the fish moved within two regions, and 37-87% of the salmon moved through all three regions of their enclosure. A fraction (0-20%) of some of the populations was particularly mobile and never settled but continued to move throughout all three regions of the enclosure. Within the scale of this current study, it would appear that, for territorial animals such as salmon parr, certain members of the population will settle in new territories after very little exploration of their new environment. 4. The propensity to explore was independent of habitat type, but was directly proportional to the size of the fish. 5. The time from release until 50% of fish in populations settled (excluding the mobile fraction) ranged from 0.3 to to 2.4 days. Activity levels were particularly high and initial movements by fish were directed upstream in trial 1, early in the summer, perhaps reflecting upstream migration by salmon parr within the population of the burn at this time.


This paper reviews present day technology in the field of gearing for modern naval propulsion systems. It gives the Royal Schelde views on some aspects of gearing concept design and discusses gearing noise, being a most important aspect of the naval ship noise signature. The paper describes design features of a number of naval gear transmissions for gasturbine and diesel engine driven surface vessels, such as the Canadian Patrol Frigate Gear Transmission System and the Royal Netherlands Navy M-class frigate gearing.Some future trends and the probability of more stringent requirements concerning underwater noise are discussed.Copyright © 1987 by ASME


In this article the author shares her research from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan where she travelled and conducted interviews. The Constitution of Pakistan governs FATA through the colonial system established by the British in 1901, which is different from the rest of Pakistan's governance structure. As a result the region became isolated and militants reigned free until military operations were conducted in the area. In order to prevent this from happening again the government has to integrate FATA with the rest of Pakistan. The author examines several alternatives available to the government of Pakistan to address FATA's political status. Merging of the tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is analyzed against a separate provincial status for FATA. In conclusion, the article ends with recommendations for Pakistan to address FATA's governance challenge.


Purpose

The resource curse literature suggests that firms operating in non-oil and non-gas industries in petrostates face considerable challenges in securing competitiveness and sustaining themselves. Based on a firm-level survey within a micro-petrostate, Brunei, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between specific HR policies and practices and organisational performance; analyse, compare, and contrast oil and gas with non-oil and non-gas sectors; and draw out the comparative lessons for understanding the potential and performance consequences of HR interventions in resource-centred national economies.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this study were generated from a primary survey administered amongst the HR directors in companies operating in all sectors in Brunei. A statistically representative sample size of 214 was selected.

Findings

The authors confirmed that firms in the oil and gas sector indeed performed better than other sectors. However, the authors found that the negative effects associated with operating outside of oil and gas could be mitigated through strategic choices: the strategic involvement of HR directors in the affairs of the company reduced employee turnover and added positively to financial returns across sectors.

Practical implications

Developing and enhancing the role of people management is still very much easier than bringing about structural institutional reforms: the study confirms that at least part of the solution to contextual difficulties lies within, and that the firm-level consequences of the resource curse can be ameliorated through a strategic choice.

Originality/value

The nature of the present investigation is one of few studies conducted in South East Asia in general and in the context of Brunei, in particular. It also contributes to the authors' understanding whether HR interventions can ameliorate the challenges of operating in a non-resource sector in a resource-rich country.


The rise in incidence and prevalence of dementia will have a large impact on healthcare systems. Canadian researchers report on a scoping and integrative review of research on cognitive impairment in adults aged 65 and above who visited emergency departments (EDs) between 1990 and 2008, to determine the effectiveness of interventions for this population.


Entrepreneurship has been pointed out by researchers as well as policymakers as one of the main drivers of economic growth and development. Over the years, a great deal of research has been conducted on this topic. However, in many cases the investigation is broad and not gender specific. Females encounter different challenges and barriers when compared to males; hence specific gender based entrepreneurial research could assist in the development and improvement of female entrepreneurship (FE). As research findings may in same cases be used either directly or indirectly to improve or amendment management policies, having more high impact data available could prove to be valuable in certain cases. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to highlight the importance of research on female entrepreneurs as a separate study field. In addition, this article aimed to determine whether the number of female entrepreneurship related peer reviewed articles appearing in leading entrepreneurship and management journals in the USA and Europe have increased over the decades. The study follows a theoretical investigation while comparing the data obtained from previous studies conducted from 2003 to current data. Results demonstrate that amongst the 14 leading management and entrepreneurship journals investigated, just one published more than 10 percent of its articles on female entrepreneurial and business management topics. These findings further indicate that, although research on female entrepreneurship as a focussed study field has slightly increased over the decades, there is still room for improvement. Initiatives such as special journal editions on this field could assist in increasing the number of peer reviewed academic research articles and studies carried out on this topic.


"It is not as easy to elicit abnormal physical signs in a bedroom of traditional English winter temperature as in a well heated hospital ward." 1 Pneumonia is common throughout the world, and although its presentation to health care services will vary, many of the di Y culties which physicians and patients face are common. This paper deals with meeting this challenge within the British National Health Service (NHS) but the issues discussed have implications for other health care systems.


Effects of endotoxin on the motility, the permeability of mesenteric blood vessel and endogenous substances (electrolyte (Na, K), histamine, serotonin and primary prostaglandin) in the small intestine of mice were investigated. Diarrhea was induced by intraperitoneal injection of Salmonella typhosa endotoxin in mice. It is suggested that the diarrheal action of endotoxin is due to the acceleration of intestinal motility and/or the facilitation of mesenteric blood vessel permeability. On the other hand, from the observation of blood concentration of acetaminophen and sulfisoxazole, inhibition of drug absorption was suggested in cases of diarrhea induced by endotoxin. This inhibition of gastrointestinal absorption is due to the delay of the gastric emptying rate, the increase of intestinal transit time of drug in the absorption site and the acceleration of mesenteric blood vessel permeability. Then it is conceivable that these actions may be mediated by biogenic amines (serotonin and histamine) and primary prostaglandins.


Abstract. In this paper we look at three families of elliptic curves with rational 3-torsion over a finite field. These families include Hessian curves, twisted Hessian curves, and a new family we call generalized DIK curves. We find the number of -isogeny classes of each family, as well as the number of -isomorphism classes of the generalized DIK curves. We also include some formulas for efficient computation on these curves, improving upon known results. In particular, we find better formulas for doubling and addition on the original tripling-oriented DIK curves and also for addition and tripling on elliptic curves with -invariant 0.


Present mobile devices often support multiple communication technologies. If software developers want to control the configuration or monitor the characteristics of active links their applications will have to use different programming interfaces for each technology and supported platform. We propose an architecture for a unified link-layer API (ULLA) to abstract common metrics and introduce a single interface for retrieving link-layer information. ULLA offers a flexible query interface and a powerful notification mechanism that enable applications to become link-aware. Additionally, special attention was paid to keep the framework extendible for emerging networking technologies. We have implemented prototypes for a Linux notebook and a Windows CL PDA in order to prove the feasibility of the approach. Memory footprint, query duration, and power consumption tests show that ULLA can also be deployed on mobile, resource limited devices


Adobe Experience Manager is a comprehensive web content management (WCM) platform solution for building websites, mobile apps and forms - making it easy to manage your marketing content and assets. WCM infrastructure migration project will upgrade WCM tool to the latest AEM 6.2 version and which run as stand-alone server. It also has version of Apache server which has TLS 1.2 protocol support and hence can provide more security for the hosted applications. All the websites which are created using AEM 6.2 are protected with SSL certificates and OpenAM tool. Mutual Authentication also has been set up between Adobe Experience Manager instance and the dispatcher which would secure the communication between them and make sure that dispatcher talk only to defined publishers. .


Everyone (not just people who have been fired or fear they are about to be) reinvents themselves personally and professionally at some time or other...deliberately or inadvertently, strategically or impetuously. In fact, the author argues that professional reinvention is not only a good defense, but a great offense, pointing out how reinvention can help you take charge of your life as well as accommodate new work world realities. To support and encourage professional reinvention, the author couches the value of being able to transform yourself professionally in the context that health education itself is a profession that is constantly reinventing itself. The article includes a definition of reinvention and discussions about who reinvents themselves and when and why, and stories of six health educators and how they reinvented themselves. The article ends with suggested reinvention pre-requisites to foster successful work life transitions and transformations, and a list of ten tips for successful professional reinvention(s). © 2007 Californian Journal of Health Promotion. All rights reserved.


Geologic conditions and topographic setting are among the most critical factors for assessing rockfall hazards. However, other subtle features of rockfall motion may also govern the runout of rockfall debris, particularly for those sourced from massive cliffs where debris can have substantial momentum during transport. Rocks may undergo collisions with trees and talus boulders, with the latter potentially generating flyrock—launched rock pieces resulting from boulder collisions that follow distinctively different paths than the majority of debris. Collectively, these intricacies of rockfall kinematics may substantially govern the hazards expected from rockfall to both persons and infrastructure located beneath steep cliffs. Here, we investigate the kinematics, including outlier boulder and flyrock trajectories, of seismically triggered rockfalls on 24 June 2020 that damaged campground facilities near Whitney Portal, CA, a heavily used outdoor recreation gateway to the Sierra Nevada mountains. Our results, obtained in part by rockfall runout model simulations, indicate that outlier boulder trajectories resulted from opportunities provided by less steep terrain beyond the talus edge. The influence of trees, initially thought to have served a protective capacity in attenuating rockfall energy, appears to have been negligible for the large boulder volumes (>50 m3) mobilized, although they did potentially deflect the trajectory of flyrock debris. Rockfall outlier boulders from the event were comparable in volume and runout distance to prehistoric boulders located beyond the talus slope, thereby providing some level of confidence in the use of a single rockfall shadow angle for estimating future rockfall hazards at the site.


This paper explores the ontological bases for ethical behaviour between human animals and non-human animals drawing on phenomenology and Buddhist philosophy. Alongside Singer and utilitarianism, I argue that ethical behaviour regarding animals is most effectively justified and motivated by considerations of sentience. Nonetheless, utilitarianism misses crucial aspects of sentience. Buddhist ethics is from the beginning focused on all sentient beings, not solely humans. This inclusivity, and refined interrogations of suffering, means it can furnish more nuanced understandings of sentience. For phenomenology, sentience includes the capacities for self-awareness and, I will argue, a plural self-awareness; the 'I' belongs to a 'we', and the 'we' is constitutive of the 'I'. This 'primordial we' provides the basis for rethinking the moral relations between human animals and non-human animals. I contend finally we thus have an ontological basis in 'interanimality' to explain why we most often do and should care about all sentient beings.


Despite progress in vision-based inspection algorithms, real-world industrial challenges -- specifically in data availability, quality, and complex production requirements -- often remain under-addressed. We introduce the VISION Datasets, a diverse collection of 14 industrial inspection datasets, uniquely poised to meet these challenges. Unlike previous datasets, VISION brings versatility to defect detection, offering annotation masks across all splits and catering to various detection methodologies. Our datasets also feature instance-segmentation annotation, enabling precise defect identification. With a total of 18k images encompassing 44 defect types, VISION strives to mirror a wide range of real-world production scenarios. By supporting two ongoing challenge competitions on the VISION Datasets, we hope to foster further advancements in vision-based industrial inspection.


Good software engineering practices, such as separating concerns and identifying patterns, simplify the critical design decisions in building personalized Web applications. The authors use the object-oriented hypermedia design method (OOHDM) for constructing customized Web applications. Incorporating well-known object-oriented design structures and techniques, OOHDM produces flexible Web application models. Designers can add personalized behavior to these models with minimal code manipulation, and reasoning over design objects yields better insight into the personalization process. Although this article casts the discussion in terms of the OOHDM primitives, the ideas presented can be easily applied to other design approaches, such as WebML.


The authors describe a case of granolumatous rosacea in a 39-year-old male, successfully treated with oral limecycline and topical gel of metronidazole. Granulomatous rosacea is a rare form of classic rosacea, characterized by brownish-red papules or small nodules on a diffusely reddened background and thickened skin. Lesions generally appear on the lateral surfaces of the face and on the neck. Histopathological examination shows perifollicular and perivascular granulomas. The course is chronic and treatment involves oral antibiotics, such as tetracycline and derivates; and topicals, such as metronidazole and topical retinoids.


The life span of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) continues to extend due to advances in treatments and care. The rate of pregnancy for female patients with CF has also continued to rise. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the available literature on female patients with CF and their knowledge of sexual and reproductive health. A priori, the research question was posed: What deficits in sexual and reproductive health knowledge exist among women with cystic fibrosis? Three broad areas of knowledge lacking in female patients with CF were identified: physiological, genetic, and psychosocial. The results imply female patients with CF are not equipped with adequate information for the decision-making process involved in sexual and reproductive choices. Social workers play an important and dynamic role on the multidisciplinary CF care team and can improve the quality of life for women with CF by addressing the psychosocial processes associated with the disease. Because of social work's important role in the holistic care approach to CF and other chronic and debilitating illnesses, social work literature should focus greater attention on these issues.


A gene encoding for arabinose 5-phosphate isomerase (API), which catalyzes the interconversion of d-ribulose 5-phosphate (Ru5P) and d-arabinose 5-phosphate (A5P), has been identified from the genome of Escherichia coli K-12. API is the first enzyme in the biosynthesis of 3-deoxy-d-manno-octulosonate (KDO), a sugar moiety located in the lipopolysaccharide layer of most Gram-negative bacteria. The API gene yrbH is located next to the recently identified specific KDO 8-P phosphatase gene, yrbI. The 328-amino acid open reading frame yrbH was cloned, overexpressed, and characterized. The purified recombinant enzyme is a tetramer and is sensitive to inhibition by zinc cations. API has optimal activity at pH 8.4 and catalytic residues with estimated pKa values of 6.55 ± 0.04 and 10.34 ± 0.07. The enzyme is specific for A5P and Ru5P, with apparent Km values of 0.61 ± 0.06 mm for A5P and 0.35 ± 0.08 mm for Ru5P. The apparent kcat in the A5P to Ru5P direction is 157 ± 4 s–1, and in the Ru5P to A5P direction it is 255 ± 16 s–1. The value of Keq (Ru5P/A5P) is 0.50 ± 0.06. Homology searches of the E. coli genome suggest yrbH may be one of multiple genes that encode proteins with API activity.


BACKGROUND
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) usually presents with intermittent claudication (IC). The aim of the present study was to assess, in clinical practice, the pattern of use of pharmacological therapies for IC in stable PAD outpatients.

METHODS
A propensity analysis was performed using data from the IDOMENEO study, an observational prospective multicenter cohort study. The association between any pharmacological symptomatic IC therapy with different variables was investigated using generalized linear mixed models with pharmacological therapy as response variable and binomial error.

RESULTS
Study population: 213 patients, male sex 147 (69.0%), mean age 70.0±8.6 years. Only 36.6% was under pharmacological treatment for IC, being cilostazol the most used medication (21.6%). Univariate analysis showed a probability of a patient of being assigned to any pharmacological symptomatic IC therapy of 67.0% when Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) <0.6 and 29.8% when ABI>0.6 (P=0.0048), and a propensity to avoid pharmacological treatment for patients with a high number of drugs to treat cardiovascular risk factors (probability of 55.2% for <4 drugs and 19.6% for >4 drugs, P=0.0317). Multivariate analysis confirmed a higher probability of assigning treatment for ABI<0.6 (P=0.0274), and a trend to a lower probability in patients under polypharmacy (>4 drugs: OR=0.13, P=0.0546).

CONCLUSIONS
In clinical practice, only one third of stable outpatients with IC used symptomatic pharmacological therapy for IC. We found a propensity of clinicians to assign any symptomatic pharmacological IC therapy to patients with lower values of ABI and a propensity to avoid this kind of treatment in patients under polypharmacy.


Background and objectives: Fatigue during physical activity occurs because of decreased neuromuscular function. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of three different strategies based on motor task performance on neuromuscular fatigue in healthy men and men with multiple sclerosis (MS). Materials and Methods: We studied age-matched (18–43 years of age) healthy men (n = 15) and men with MS (n = 9). The inclusion criteria for MS subjects were a Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Score <4 and a Fatigue Severity Scale Score >5. Both groups performed one of three exercise trials (with at least a 1-week interval between them) of 100 intermittent isometric knee extensions with flexion of 60°. The three different experimental conditions (ECs) were intermittent isometric contraction tasks with constant, predictable, and unpredictable torque target sequences. The variation of maximal voluntary contraction contractions (MVCs) within the strategies was 25%, 50%, and 75%, with a set average of 50%. All of them had a 5 s contraction and a 20 s rest period. The variables were measured: before exercise, after 100 repetitions (100-Reps), and 1 h after exercise. Results: In all EC tasks, the central activation ratio values of healthy and MS subjects were significantly different; however, no significant differences were observed among the EC tasks. No significant differences were seen in electrically induced torque, MVC torque, muscle temperature, subjective sensation of effort, coefficient of variation, or constant and absolute error after 100-Reps and 1 h after exercise between the two groups and in all EC tasks. Conclusions: Men with MS experienced higher central motor fatigue than did healthy men, but this had no effect on the variability, accuracy, or force sensation of the movements performed.


Values underlie evaluations, but there is no consensus as to whose values should found evaluators' judgments of program quality. The controversial position of critical social theory evaluators—that societal values trump those of evaluation commissioners—is explored in terms of professional issues and standards, historical evolutions, philosophical trajectories, and social responsibility. Attention is given to risks, compensations, and opportunity costs associated with taking (or not) a critical social theory approach to evaluation. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc., and the American Evaluation Association.


Centralization of complex upper gastrointestinal (GI) surgery and the effect on postoperative outcomes, especially mortality, has been reported extensively in the literature. In this review the highest level of evidence on the volume outcome relationship is discussed together with other important aspects that can influence postoperative outcomes. Do high-volume centers and surgeons result in better outcomes after surgery for the different upper GI surgical procedures such as esophageal, gastric, liver and pancreatic tumors? Twelve systematic reviews including four meta-analyses described the effect of hospital and/or surgeon volume on mortality. The majority of reviews (>90%) showed a lower mortality in high-volume hospitals. This correlation was also reported when analyzing the different GI procedures separately for esophageal, gastric, hepatic and pancreatic tumors. The volume discussion has limitations and therefore the relationship between hospital structure and process of care in hospitals and the outcome of surgery has also been acknowledged. Besides surgeon expertise and skills, high-intensity intensive care units, 24/7 availability of interventional radiology, effective prevention and managing of complications and adequate patient selection will influence postoperative outcomes. These forms of hospital structures and process of care might even play a more important role in surgical outcomes.


Sir, The article under criticism (1) and this Letter to the Editor illustrate the difficulty performing epidemiological studies of SIDS materials and in making international comparisons. We have to accept that different countries have their own legislation and procedures concerning their system of death investigation that are seldom, if ever, perfect. This should not prevent scientists from trying to extract information from cause of death statistics. The question is, what conclusions can be drawn from imperfectly investigated and selected materials? There are several definitions of SIDS created by various bodies, e.g. the Seattle, the NICHD and the Stavanger definitions, all varying in the extent of their criteria. The definition by NICHD cited in the Letter is the most extensive. It is hard to demand genetic testing, virological cultivation and toxicological screening in every case. Complete materials for whole countries satisfying these criteria are not possible to find anywhere. The article by Hatton et al. (1) now subjected to criticism suffers from some shortcomings in the selection of the material. The authors of the Letter are right in that respect, but I think their objections go too far. The reasons for criticism are: The NICHD definition of SIDS was not adhered to. This would not have been possible in France. The study was based on pre-post mortem death 1.


Since the ratification of the TRIPS Agreement in 1994, concerns have been relentlessly raised about its potential impact in the South. Faced with the risks and promises made in terms of industrial development and health development, this paper proposes to clarify the political economy of patent in the South through a comparative analysis of Brazilian, Indian and Thai trajectories. This analysis indicates that the strengthening of intellectual property rights may inhibit the development of industrial capabilities in pharmaceuticals and may undermine drugs accessibility in developing countries.


A novel model-free predictive mixed-sensitivity H
 ∞
 control scheme is proposed and applied to grid-connected solar power generation systems. The predictive sensitivity and the predictive complementary sensitivity are defined based on the predictive model. The model-free predictive mixed-sensitivity H
 ∞
 controller is derived from input/output measurements to achieve an optimal predictive mixed-sensitivity performance using a maxmin optimization method. Then, a simulation system for solar power generation systems is established using SimPowerSystems. Finally, the simulations are conduced to show the effectiveness of the proposed model-free controller, which outperforms the conventional proportional-integral and model-free linear quadratic Gaussian controllers in the tracking performance and the robustness of solar power generation systems.


Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease and proinflammatory cytokines such as TNFα and IL-6 play critical roles in the pathogenesis of RA. The blockade of IL-6 signaling by Tocilizumab (TCZ) has shown the clinical efficacy for patients with RA. To clarify the roles of IL-6 signaling in CD4+ T cells in the pathogenesis of RA, we previously compared gene expression profiles of CD4+ T cells by DNA microarray analysis before and after the treatment with TCZ in RA patients who exhibited good clinical responses to the treatment (1, 2), and identified that B cell leukemia/lymphoma 3 (Bcl3), an IκB family member, was down-regulated by TCZ therapy (1). However, the role of Bcl3 expressed in CD4+ T cells in the pathogenesis of RA remains unclear. Objectives The objective of this study is to examine the role of Bcl3 expressed in CD4+ T cells in the pathogenesis of RA. Methods We compared signal intensity of Bcl3 in CD4+ T cells between untreated RA patients and healthy controls by DNA microarray analysis. We examined the roles of IL-6-STAT3 signaling in Bcl3 induction. We also analyzed gene expression profiles of Bcl3-transduced CD4+ T cells by RNA-sequencing analysis. We examined the effect of enforced expression as well as gene silencing of Bcl3 on the development of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells. Finally, we examined a correlation between signal intensities of Bcl3 and Tfh cell-related genes in CD4+ T cells in untreated RA patients. Results Bcl3 levels were significantly higher in RA patients than those in healthy controls. IL-6 induced Bcl3 expression in CD4+ T cells in a STAT3-dependent manner. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the expression of Bcl6, a master regulator of Tfh cell differentiation, was significantly upregulated by the enforced Bcl3 expression (Figure1). The enforced Bcl3 expression increased but the Bcl3 silencing decreased IL-21-producing Tfh-like cells. Bcl3 levels were positively correlated with those of Tfh cell-related genes such as CXCR5, ICOS, and ASCL2 in CD4+ T cells in RA patients. Conclusions Bcl3 is involved in the development of Tfh cells and the pathogenesis of RA presumably by inducing IL-21 production. References Saito Y, Kagami SI, Sanayama Y, Ikeda K, Suto A, Kashiwakuma D, et al. AT-rich interactive domain-containing protein 5a functions as a negative regulator of RORγt-induced Th17 cell differentiation. Arthritis Rheum. 2014;66(5):1185-94. Sanayama Y, Ikeda K, Saito Y, Kagami S, Yamagata M, Furuta S, et al. Prediction of therapeutic responses to tocilizumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: biomarkers identified by analysis of gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells using genome-wide DNA microarray. Arthritis Rheum. 2014;66(6):1241-31. Disclosure of Interest K. Meguro: None declared, K. Suzuki: None declared, J. Hosokawa: None declared, Y. Sanayama: None declared, S. Tanaka: None declared, S. Furuta: None declared, K. Ikeda: None declared, H. Takatori: None declared, A. Suto: None declared, O. Ohara: None declared, H. Nakajima Grant/research support from: Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Co.


A bench test for differential radar cross-section (ΔRCS) measurement is described. The principle is to measure the power difference between the low and high modulation state of the tag and calculate the ratio with the received power. To do this, devices such as an arbitrary generator that replaces the reader, and a real-time spectrum analyser to receive and analyse the signal backscattered by the tag, are used; both devices can be configured in frequency and power. The first measurements are performed manually and the results demonstrate the validity of the proposed method. The automation of the system is carried out in order to make the measurement faster, less hardwork, more precise and more repeatable.


Data centers today consume tremendous amount of energy in terms of power distribution and cooling. Dynamic capacity provisioning is a promising approach for reducing energy consumption by dynamically adjusting the number of active machines to match resource demands. However, despite extensive studies of the problem, existing solutions for dynamic capacity provisioning have not fully considered the heterogeneity of both workload and machine hardware found in production environments. In particular, production data centers often comprise several generations of machines with different capacities, capabilities and energy consumption characteristics. Meanwhile, the workloads running in these data centers typically consist of a wide variety of applications with different priorities, performance objectives and resource requirements. Failure to consider heterogenous characteristics will lead to both sub-optimal energy-savings and long scheduling delays, due to incompatibility between workload requirements and the resources offered by the provisioned machines. To address this limitation, in this paper we present HARMONY, a Heterogeneity-Aware Resource Management System for dynamic capacity provisioning in cloud computing environments. Specifically, we first use the K-means clustering algorithm to divide the workload into distinct task classes with similar characteristics in terms of resource and performance requirements. Then we present a novel technique for dynamically adjusting the number of machines of each type to minimize total energy consumption and performance penalty in terms of scheduling delay. Through simulations using real traces from Google's compute clusters, we found that our approach can improve data center energy efficiency by up to 28% compared to heterogeneity-oblivious solutions.