Trypanosoma brucei contains two tandemly arranged genes for glycerol kinase. The downstream gene was analysed in detail. It contains an ORF for a polypeptide of 512 amino acids. The polypeptide has a calculated molecular mass of 56 363 Da and a pI of 8.6. Comparison of the T. brucei glycerol kinase amino-acid sequence with the glycerol kinase sequences available in databases revealed positional identities of 39.0-50.4%. The T. brucei glycerol kinase gene was overexpressed in Escherichia coli cells and the recombinant protein obtained was purified and characterized biochemically. Its kinetic properties with regard to both the forward and reverse reaction were measured. The values corresponded to those determined previously for the natural glycerol kinase purified from the parasite, and confirmed that the apparent Km values of the trypanosome enzyme for its substrates are relatively high compared with those of other glycerol kinases. Alignment of the amino-acid sequences of T. brucei glycerol kinase and other eukaryotic and prokaryotic glycerol kinases, as well as inspection of the available three-dimensional structure of E. coli glycerol kinase showed that most residues of the magnesium-, glycerol- and ADP-binding sites are well conserved in T. brucei glycerol kinase. However, a number of remarkable substitutions was identified, which could be responsible for the low affinity for the substrates. Most striking is amino-acid Ala137 in T. brucei glycerol kinase; in all other organisms a serine is present at the corresponding position. We mutated Ala137 of T. brucei glycerol kinase into a serine and this mutant glycerol kinase was over-expressed and purified. The affinity of the mutant enzyme for its substrates glycerol and glycerol 3-phosphate appeared to be 3. 1-fold to 3.6-fold higher than in the wild-type enzyme. Part of the glycerol kinase gene comprising this residue 137 was amplified in eight different kinetoplastid species and sequenced. Interestingly, an alanine occurs not only in T. brucei, but also in other trypanosomatids which can convert glucose into equimolar amounts of glycerol and pyruvate: T. gambiense, T. equiperdum and T. evansi. In trypanosomatids with no or only a limited capacity to produce glycerol, a hydroxy group-containing residue is found as in all other organisms: T. vivax and T. congolense possess a serine while Phytomonas sp., Leishmania brasiliensis and L. mexicana have a threonine.


User defined recursive types are a fundamental feature of modern functional programming languages like Haskell, Clean, and the ML family of languages. Properties of programs defined by recursion on the structure of recursive types are generally proved by structural induction on the type. It is well known in the theorem proving community how to generate structural induction principles from data type declarations. These methods deserve to be better know in the functional programming community. Existing functional programming textbooks gloss over this material. And yet, if functional programmers do not know how to write down the structural induction principle for a new type - how are they supposed to reason about it? In this paper we describe an algorithm to generate structural induction principles from data type declarations. We also discuss how these methods are taught in the functional programming course at the University of Wyoming. A Haskell implementation of the algorithm is included in an appendix.


In South Africa the majority of civil engineers are as a rule not well acquainted with the electrical resistivity method and are unaware of the method9s strengths and weaknesses. This paper is aimed at providing a better understanding of the method and describes some of its characteristics. These include the Dar Zarrouk parameters, equivalence, and suppression. The advantages of the Schlumberger configuration over that of the Wenner configuration and of a bilogarithmic representation of sounding curves instead of a linear one are discussed briefly. It is shown that empirical methods of interpretation can be completely unreliable. Finally the skin effect is mentioned which restricts the use of a.c. or commutated current in field surveys.


Unconsumed food impacts on the environment via the wasteful use of resources in its production and via its disposal. Householders would ideally only generate food waste that is not considered edible (unavoidable food waste) and the disposal of edible food (avoidable food waste) would be prevented, mitigating both the environmental impacts of food waste and reducing consumers' wasted expenditure on uneaten food. This study aimed to elucidate if and how householders' food waste behaviour might be changed via interventions in the form of a leaflet highlighting the impacts of avoidable food waste. The composition of avoidable food waste set out for kerbside collection was assessed in relation to interventions intended to reduce avoidable food waste and in relation to households' economic status. Two parallel interventions were tested, setting out to householders the impacts of avoidable food waste on (1) the environment, and (2) personal finances. Avoidable food waste set out by affluent and low income households, considered in terms of total weight, life-cycle stage and product group, did not change significantly after delivery of either leaflet. Neither of the interventions tested had a discernible impact on the quantity and composition of avoidable food waste in these terms. We propose that initiatives to reduce food waste may be more successful if focused on positive actions to improve householders' efficiency in their food use, directed by insight provided by analysis of avoidable food waste within product groups and in relation to life-cycle stage.


Labels on products are meant to influence consumer behavior. Consumers buying products labeled as eco-friendly may hope to help conserve the environment, but eco-labels vary in their claims and credibility. We define three types of wildlife-friendly eco-labels, according to their potential to conserve wildlife, and describe barriers to convincing consumers of their claims. Eco-labels we term "Supportive" donate revenues to conservation organizations and are, at best, indirect interventions, opaque to consumer scrutiny. "Persuasive" eco-labels certify manufacturing/collection practices, under the assumption that wildlife will benefit as a result. "Protective" eco-labels certify wildlife conservation, which can gain the highest level of credibility, but require the greatest verification effort. Proving that producers conserved wildlife is costly, time-consuming, and technically challenging, because wild animals ignore property boundaries and experience mortality and dispersal irrespective of people, but the...


Formative research, in the context of the teaching-learning processes of higher educational institutions, is a pedagogical strategy in which professors and students participate, using research as a teaching strategy for students to develop discovery-based learning. Formative research includes various strategies, such as the implementation of research seedbeds. Research seedbeds are communities of extracurricular learning and voluntary participation, wherein students, through a guided and progressive exercise, develop competencies for research through training activities, extracurricular workshops and research projects. This systematic literature review focuses on research seedbeds as a pedagogical strategy within the context of the formative research of higher educational institutions. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology, this paper covers 17 articles published in Scopus and Web of Science databases. The analysis of the current state of knowledge about research seedbeds allows the identification of the critical factors for the formation and consolidation of research seedbeds. Based on the literature review, these factors have been grouped into the following dimensions: (i) factors related to the formation of research seedbeds; (ii) factors related to the organization of research seedbeds; (iii) factors related to the dynamics of the management of research seedbeds; and (iii) factors related to the stakeholders of research seedbeds (institution, professor/tutor and students). Additionally, the study suggests several directions for further research in this domain.


GIS-based web map service is all the more accessible to the public. Among others, location query services are most frequently utilized, which are currently restricted to only one keyword search. Although there increases the demand for the service for querying multiple keywords corresponding to sequential activities(banking, having lunch, watching movie, and other activities) in various locations POI, such service is yet to be provided. The objective of the paper is to develop the k-IPS algorithm for quickly and accurately querying multiple POIs that internet users input and locating the search outcomes on a web map. The algorithm is developed by utilizing hierarchical tree structure of -tree indexing technique to produce overlapped geometric regions. By using recursive -tree index based spatial join process, the performance of the current spatial join operation was improved. The performance of the algorithm is tested by applying 2, 3, and 4 multiple POIs for spatial query selected from 159 keyword set. About 90% of the test outcomes are produced within 0.1 second. The algorithm proposed in this paper is expected to be utilized for providing a variety of location-based query services, of which demand increases to conveniently support for citizens` daily activities.


Interest rate is an important measuring tool in the organizations to establish effective profitability of investments. The purpose of all organization is to maximize its earnings and wealth of its investors an efficient interest rate is the solution. In Mombasa county cooperative organizations had been experiencing fluctuations of interest rate as a result of mainly demand and supply of the credit markets. The shortfall of these loanable funds had forced depositors to shift their demands to other financial institutions rather than cooperative organizations. Sometimes members of the cooperative withdrew from these cooperative and deposits their investment to other financial markets forcing the cooperative to borrow external in order to lend at high interest rate. This study aimed at analyzing the effect of interest rate on organizations performance in the cooperative sector. This was elaborated by investigating the three components which included an investigation on interest rate on deposits, short term and long term loans disbursed to borrowers. This further explored theoretical, empirical literature and conceptual framework of interest rate and the organization performance. It consequently reviewed analytical theories and empirical studies on the three variables to investigate the relationship between the interest rate on deposits, short term and long term loans. The study showed increase of interest rate on short term and long term loans had reduced performance on organizations in the cooperative sector. This in contrast to interest on deposits which had positive performance on the organizations. It further concluded that for short term and long term loan, increase in interest rate had a negative performance in the organizations. Therefore it recommended that high interest rate on loans had a negative performance in the organization performance.


This article examines how academic disengagement (being off task, unenthusiastic and uncurious about learning) is facilitated by the hidden curriculum (the values, norms and beliefs transmitted via the structure of schooling), and mediated by race, ethnicity and gender for students in a working class elementary school. Additionally, we contextualize how a teacher was challenged by the hidden curriculum in her attempt to make her classroom environment engaging for all students. Participants included a young white female teacher and 21 second grade, low-income students, of whom approximately 50% were white and 50% were Black or Latino/a. A teacher interview and fieldnotes covering 8 hours a week over 3 months comprised the data. Results indicated that students were required to show their engagement in particular ways that related to control and conformity. When they did not, they were reprimanded, which led to academic disengagement and the transmission of the hidden curriculum's message that school was not a place for them. This process was especially salient for Black and Latino boys, which indicated that the hidden curriculum was institutionalized. Results also showed that the hidden curriculum was a structural limitation for the teacher, as she was often thwarted in her attempts to create an academically engaging learning environment. Implications include strategies for school change and reform, including making the hidden curriculum more visible. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Causal reductions in cardiovascular disease (CVD) with the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) are supported by randomized trials, but the ability of nonrandomized studies to provide causal inferences in nutritional epidemiology is questioned. The "Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra" (SUN) project, conducted during 1999–2019 with 18,419 participants, was used to try to refute non-causal explanations for the inverse association found between adherence to the MedDiet and reduced CVD risk. A framework of different analytical strategies is proposed: alternative definitions of the exposure, exploration of residual confounding, resampling methods, depiction of absolute risks across the follow-up period, trial emulation, and negative controls. Additionally, we calculated the rate advancement period (RAP). We found that one standard deviation increase in the most frequently used MedDiet score was associated with a 29% relative reduction in CVD risk (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 14–41%), which is almost identical to that found in 2 randomized trials. The RAP of CVD would be postponed by an average of 7.9 years (95% CI: 1.6 to 14.2 years) by switching from low (MDS = 0 to2) to high (MDS = 7 to 9) adherence to the MedDiet in the fully adjusted model. Sensitivity analyses, graphical representations of absolute risks, trial emulation, and negative controls also supported causality. In conclusion, a framework of analytical approaches supported the causal effect of the MedDiet on CVD prevention using observational data. Similar methodology could be applied for causal inferences regarding other hypotheses.


The pressure sensitivity of the phase of light propagating in an optical fiber is studied both analytically and experimentally. The analysis, which takes into account the exact composition and geometry of multilayer fibers, is utilized to identify coating properties which optimize the fiber acoustic sensitivity. In order to predict the fiber acoustic sensitivity, the elastic parameters of commonly used coating materials, thermoplastics, and UV curable elastomers have been studied in bulk samples as a function of frequency ( 10^{2}-10^{4} Hz) and temperature ( 0-35\deg C). The analytically predicted frequency dependence of the acoustic sensitivity is found to be in agreement with that obtained experimentally from fibers with coatings of various materials.


The spread of pandemic COVID-19 has drastically disrupted every aspect of human life including education. It has created an unprecedented test on education. In several educational institutions across the globe, campuses have closing down and teaching-learning has shifted online. Internationalization has slowed down considerably. In India, around 32 crore learners have started moving schools/colleges and all educational practices have finished. Despite all these challenges, the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have reacted positively and managed to ensure the continuity of teaching-learning, research, and service to the society with some tools and techniques during the pandemic. This article highlights an open book exam as an evaluation approach through the use of ICT in HEIs in India. In this pandemic situation, it may be helpful for higher education. But some limitations are existing. However, through the efforts of all of us, we have to come forward for the overall welfare of the society by solving these problems while keeping ourselves as safe as possible.


Background and Aim: Catheter-based atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation primarily for pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) has become a significant therapeutic alternative for symptomatic and drug-refractory AF patients. It is evident that AF time and left atrium diameter (LAD) have the most critical impact on AF recurrence. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the role of coronary artery dominance for predicting AF recurrence after cryoballoon PVI. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical, laboratory, and angiographic data from consecutive patients who underwent coronary angiography and successful cryoballoon PVI. Images of the coronary angiography were retrospectively reviewed for the coronary artery dominance by two experienced observers. The coronary artery system was classified as right dominant (RD) and left dominant. Results: A total of 140 patients without coronary artery disease and structural heart disease who underwent successful cryoballoon PVI were included in the study. There were 101 RD (72%) and 39 left-dominant (28%) patterns. A total of 26 patients (22%) had developed AF recurrence during follow-up. AF recurrence rates were 41% in the left coronary-dominant group and 15% in the right coronary-dominant group (P = 0.001). According to AF recurrence after cryoballoon PVI, only follow-up time (15.7 ± 2.4 vs. 14 ± 1.8 months, P = 0.001), LAD (41.8 ± 2 vs. 40.6 ± 1.8 mm, P = 0.003) and coronary artery disease (CAD) (left CAD, 51.6% vs. 21.1%, P = 0.001) were significantly associated with AF recurrence. AF recurrence rates in multivariable logistic regression analysis according to AF recurrence after cryoballoon PVI, follow-up time, LAD, and CAD were independent predictors of AF recurrence. Conclusions: Our findings suggested that left CAD may be related to AF recurrence after cryoballoon PVI. Coronary artery dominance may be an additional predictor of AF recurrence if supported by larger prospective studies.


An imaginary but realistic scenario is presented in order to stimulate thought and discussion about ethical dilemmas faced by those responsiblefor psychiatric cases. The method is designed to achieve greater consistency in two areas: in professional discussions of ethical problems and in public accountability for these problems. It is proposed in this paper that arguments for and against intervention can be evaluated by attributing to each argument a 'telo' and/or 'delo' value, depending on the possible consequences of intervention and the degree to which intervention would infringe or safeguard the rights of the individual concerned. The main purpose of the proposed method is to 'objectify' existing intuitive ideas and personal viewsfor the purpose of arriving at a balanced quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the decisions that are often required in psychiatric care.


Remote user authentication is important to protect web-based services offered over the Internet. The use of smart cards was proposed to avoid the storage of password table in the server. Further protection of user information in the smart cards can be done by imposing a fingerprint verification mechanism. The Lee, Ryu and Yoo (LRY) scheme which provides both smart card based authentication and fingerprint verification is found to be vulnerable to various attacks. This paper proposed an improvement to the LRY scheme which is able to withstand the attacks of the LRY scheme.


This working paper looks at the Frascati Manual (FM) framework for Research and Development (R&D) statistics and the System of National Accounts (SNA) framework of comprehensive economic accounts - giving an overview of their shared history and analysing similarities and differences in their approaches to measuring R&D following a fundamental change of the treatment of R&D in the 2008 SNA. The working paper also highlights the various actions taken in the 2015 revision of the FM which respond to National Accounts data needs and thereby aims to provide a common platform for collaboration and dialogue between FM and SNA practitioners. Finally, the FM and SNA R&D statistics are presented and their conceptual, data, and coverage underpinnings compared, helping to elucidate issues that need to be communicated to users so that they can better understand and interpret these related but different R&D statistics.


Analog fiber-optic links are used in a variety of microwave applications, including cable-TV and cellular-telephone distribution, as well as antenna remoting. The RF insertion loss and output power obtainable from externally modulated links is primarily limited by photodetector optical-power handling capabilities. Using traveling-wave concepts similar to those in microwave distributed amplifiers, we demonstrate the principle of traveling-wave detector arrays (TWDAs) in which discrete photodiodes are embedded within an artificial transmission line. By feeding these detectors with suitably time-delayed optical signals, this arrangement coherently combines multiple RF photocurrents into a single output. This paper presents the theory, construction details, and results of two- and four-element TWDA's operating up into the Ku-band. We demonstrate a two-element TWDA yielding a 6-dB improvement in insertion loss and RF output power with 12 GHz of operating bandwidth, and a four-element TWDA yielding 12-dB improvement up to 18 GHz.


Abstract Reliable low-cost positioning for precision manufacturing processes requiring clean-room, extreme-temperature or vacuum environments is key for microelectronics manufacturing, packaging, machine tool and high-precision inspection industries. The integrated multidimensional positioner presented herein is a major technological breakthrough and may offer competitive advantages in both cost and performance relative to current practices. Specifically, this integrated positioner can generate all required fine and coarse motions with only one levitated moving part, namely the platen, and have potential to satisfy the dynamic performance specifications necessary for next-generation deep-submicron microelectronics manufacturing equipment. Absence of particulate contamination without mechanical contact between the single moving part and the machine frame makes this technology highly suited to clean-room operation. In this paper, the design concept, electromechanical design and fabrication and assembly of all the key parts in the development of this multidimensional positioner are presented. A dynamic model and feedback controllers were derived and implemented. This prototype positioner currently has a planar travelling range of 160mm × 160mm with a position resolution of 30nm, position repeatability of 30nm, position noise of 10nm r.m.s. and platen dimensional stability of 32.7 μm. The maximum velocity achieved so far is 0.4m/s with 2m/s2 acceleration. Various experimental results verified the utility of this positioner in precision manufacturing applications.


The focus of the paper is on the derivation of sensitivity equations for transient heat transfer problems modeled by different discretization processes. Two examples will be used in this study to facilitate the discussion. The first example is a coupled, transient heat transfer problem that simulates the press molding process in fabrication of composite laminates. These state equations are discretized into standard h-version finite elements and solved by a multiple step, predictor-corrector scheme. The sensitivity analysis results based upon the direct and adjoint variable approaches will be presented. The second example is a nonlinear transient heat transfer problem solved by a p-version time-discontinuous Galerkin's Method. The resulting matrix equation of the state equation is simply in the form of Ax = b, representing a single step, time marching scheme. A direct differentiation approach will be used to compute the thermal sensitivities of a sample 2D problem.


The aim of the present study was to investigate patients' satisfaction with removable implant restorations with two or four implants compared to a complete denture (CD) in the edentulous mandible. 20 patients in each group were asked to fill out a questionnaire ("Patient satisfaction related to the prosthetic restoration") before treatment, after six months and three years. With implant restorations, either implant-retained (IRET) or implant-supported (ISUP), greater improvements in prostheses retention and pain reduction were achieved in comparison to complete dentures. In addition, restrictions related to food selection were resolved for most implant patients. Despite great inter-individual differences, there was a tendency for larger improvements of almost all parameters with IRET, except chewing ability, which was rated best with ISUP. Long-term results revealed that patients with ISUP (four implants) assessed prostheses retention with the highest ratings compared to those with IRET and CD (p = 0,0147). These results indicate that an improvement in functional and psychological parameters can be achieved with two implants, whilst stabilization with four implants improves prosthesis retention, chewing ability and pain reduction in the long term. Maintenance efforts were more complex for implant restorations than for CD and imply a recall at least once a year.


The aim of this research is to analyze the concentration and deconcentration development of cruise ports in the Mediterranean area by utilizing the concentration ratio (CR), the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI), the Gini coefficient, and shift share analysis (SSA). The results of analysis indicated a concentration trend in the West Mediterranean. The cruise ports located in Venice, Piraeus, Naples and Livrno in Adriatic and East Med region lost cruise passengers, while the those in West Mediterranean gained the passengers and showed the trend of concentration. This paper providing the shifting passengers among cruise ports that indicates the competitiveness of cruise ports for industrial stake holders to better understand the cruise ports such as tourist boards, ship agents, and port agents.


Although neural machine translation (NMT) has advanced the state-of-the-art on various language pairs, the interpretability of NMT remains unsatisfactory. In this work, we propose to address this gap by focusing on understanding the input-output behavior of NMT models. Specifically, we measure the word importance by attributing the NMT output to every input word through a gradient-based method. We validate the approach on a couple of perturbation operations, language pairs, and model architectures, demonstrating its superiority on identifying input words with higher influence on translation performance. Encouragingly, the calculated importance can serve as indicators of input words that are under-translated by NMT models. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that words of certain syntactic categories have higher importance while the categories vary across language pairs, which can inspire better design principles of NMT architectures for multi-lingual translation.


OBJECTIVE
We reviewed our series of stage Ta bladder cancer patients with a long-term follow-up in order to clarify the prognosis of these patients, especially those who have repeated recurrences.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A retrospective study was done on 88 patients with stage Ta bladder cancer who were treated between 1971 and 1990 at our hospital. All patients reviewed were followed up for at least 5 years.

RESULTS
Fifty-three patients out of 88 had recurrence, and the number of recurrences ranged from one to eleven. In the first recurrence, the 5- and 10-year recurrence-free rates were 53.4% and 37.1%, respectively. In the second recurrence, those rates were 25.7% and 15.9%, respectively. Comparisons of the recurrence-free rates between the first recurrence and that of more than 2 times yielded statistically significance (p < 0.01). On the other hand, when the recurrence-free rates of those patients showing recurrence more than 2 times were compared no statistical significance was observed among them. In addition, most patients with multiple recurrences also tended to show a long tumor-free period at some point. In eight patients a stage-up of > or = T1 developed during the study period. No characteristics of the tumors, including the multiplicity of the recurrence, was found to correlate with the stage-up.

CONCLUSIONS
Most patients with multiple recurrences demonstrated a long tumor-free period at some point, and, moreover, in some of those patients there was also a possibility that no further recurrence occurred. In addition, frequent recurrence was not associated with increased incidence of stage-up. Based on these findings, multiple recurrence is not thought to be an especially ominous sign, and therefore bladder-preserving therapy is indicated for such patients.


Vanadium(III) complexes [V(2,6-pdc)2(H2O)2]·2H2O (1) and V(2,6-pdc)(htba)(H2O)2 (2), (2,6-pdc = 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid, htba = 2-acetoxy-4-trifluoromethylbenzoic acid) have been synthesized by the reaction of V2(SO4)3 with 2,6-pdc (for 1) or 2,6-pdc and htba (for 2) under hydrothermal conditions at 120 °C for 36 hours. Because the vanadium(III) was easily oxidized into higher oxidation states, we included the reducing agent vitamin C to protect the vanadium(III) center. The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, IR and UV-vis spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Structural analysis revealed that the central metal V atoms in the complexes 1 and 2 were seven-coordinate, forming pentagonal bipyramid geometries. The complexes catalyzed the bromination of the organic substrate phenol red in the presence of H2O2, bromide and buffer. Compared with vanadium complexes having other oxidation states, the vanadium(III) complexes had better catalytic activity (the maximum reaction rate constant was 2.424 × 102k(mol L−1)−2 s−1). The mimicking vanadium haloperoxidases also overcame some serious disadvantages of natural enzymes. Therefore, the reaction system described herein can be considered as an effective model for hydrogen peroxide determination.


IntroductionCompetitive bouldering (CB) has recently been added to the program of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and is a discipline of sport climbing completed on low height artificial walls with landing mats to ensure safety (2,4,9). On the international level, CB is organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) and consists of (a) a qualification round with five boulders, (b) a semi-final round with four boulders, and (c) a final round with four boulders (3). According to the IFSC-rules, the average number of handholds per boulder is four to eight and the maximum number of handholds is twelve (3). Moreover, an attempt is considered successful when an athlete grips the marked finishing hold with both hands or achieves a defined standing position on the top of the boulder (3). With regard to the athlete's scoring, competitors are ranked after each round according to the number of successfully completed boulders (top) and the total number of attempts to complete these boulders (3). The rotation period system in the qualification and semi-final round requires that all boulders must be climbed in a prescribed order and with a fixed climbing time of five minutes for each boulder and a resting period between two boulders equal to the climbing time (3).With regard to the state of the art, scientific investigations remain sparse and numerous training methods published in coaching manuals and climbing magazines have not been investigated empirically (2,5,9). Therefore, little is known on how to maximize individual performance in CB (4,5). Macdonald and Callender (2011) investigated the athletic profile of highly accomplished bouldering athletes and found that their handgrip and climbing specific finger strength was superior to that of non-climbing controls and elite sport climbers. These results suggest that maximum grip strength can be considered a key factor in CB. Medernach et al. (2015a) investigated thirty-four male bouldering athletes' use of fingerboards in the presence and absence of vibration stimulation to increase grip strength and found significant grip strength increases in both the vibration regimen (+7.3%, P With the purpose of testing objective data on how to establish strength and conditioning regimens, La Torre et al. (2009) and White and Olsen (2010) investigated the time-motion analysis of the movement demands of CB athletes. In the study of La Torre et al. (2009), the climbing times in eleven Italian elite climbers during two national bouldering competitions were investigated and the authors found a total bouldering time per problem of 65 ± 20 s and a total bouldering time for the entire competition round of 391 ± 85 s. However, it remains unclear as to what extent and how these findings can be applied in the implementation of training regimens in elite CB because the competition mode differed from the current IFSC-rules with a maximum bouldering and rest time for each problem of 6 min and a total number of six boulders. Moreover, the authors did not differentiate between female and male participants and the presence of a mixed sample could have, for instance, an influence on the total number of attempts or the overall bouldering time.In a similar study, White and Olsen (2010) performed a time motion analysis of CB athletes and investigated six bouldering athletes during a national competition and found that athletes attempted a problem an average of 3.0 ± 0.5 times with attempts lasting 28.9 ± 10.8 s and rest periods of 114 ± 31 s between the attempts. However, data were collected on a small sample with six athletes, and the competition mode differed again from the current IFSC-rules with a total bouldering time of 6 min to complete a problem. …


A good decision is made usually from gathering adequate information, working out the importance of individual factors, and choosing the best course of action. The quantity and quality of the information, the process of highlighting the important factors, and the duration to process the decision are critical. Nowadays, outsource hiring and recruitment companies have played an important role in many industries, for reducing the search duration and increasing the likeliness of employing the right person. However, there are too many human resource (HR) companies in the market. Submitting a request for each of them would need huge amount of time and effort to process. Intelligent autonomous Web services would be the best solution to solve this problem. Further, this can reduce the chance of human errors and bias. Therefore, e-HR Matchmaking Service (e-HR) is proposed to provide a standardized human resource searching, platform via the Web services, returning candidates from many different sources. The e-HR integrates with the sources¿ candidate management system and retrieves the relevant candidates matching the requirements. Also, the e-HR weights each result with configurable ranking criteria and presents the best matching results to the requesters, assisting them to make the best decision on hiring and hence reducing the effort of searching and interviewing.


This review of the literature found that perceived lack of time is the main barrier to evidence-based practice for nurses. A lack of information technology skills and access affects nurses' use of research evidence. Nurses tend to base the selection of information sources on convenience and accessibility rather than quality. They also tend to rely on colleagues as information sources and prefer to refer to them than to printed or computerised sources.


According to the international standards circuits for electrical devices in the area of high risk of electrocution should be protected by high sensitivity residual current devices. In order to achieve effectiveness of protection against electric shock, residual current devices should be capable of detecting a waveform of residual current under the given conditions. Laboratory tests performed by the author indicate that tripping current of residual current devices is strictly dependent on the residual current waveform. In some cases the tripping current for a distorted residual current may be much higher than for a sinusoidal waveform. For residual current with high-order harmonics, as in circuits with variable speed drives, some residual current devices do not trip at all. In the paper a comparison of tripping current of residual current devices for various residual current waveforms is presented. The impact of the waveform of residual current on the effectiveness of protec-tion against electric shock with the use of residual current devices is discussed. Ill. 4, bibl. 11, tabl. 2 (in English; abstracts in English, Russian and Lithuanian).


Recent issues of Geoscientist have devoted many column inches to the need for geological
mapping skills, and more recently, Desmond Donovan has questioned whether new geological
mapping is needed in the UK at all.
If the process of mapping is simply to replace an existing geological map with a new one,
showing more faults and more detailed stratigraphy, we'd be inclined to agree. However the skill
commonly described as 'geological mapping' is really about acquiring and communicating a
spatially constrained 3D understanding of the properties and structure of the geosphere, using
all the field observations, subsurface data and skills at our disposal.
It is also all about understanding the events and environments of the geological past as well as
those operating now and in the future, which will help us manage resources, hazards and
environmental change. It is about mapping and understanding the impacts we are having and
their interactions with the landscape, the atmosphere and oceans, especially in cities.
Most importantly of all, it is about working with the users of geological knowledge to ensure
the delivery of environmental and economic benefits. The needs and priorities for geological
mapping are driven not by a simple peer-group assessment of the quality and accuracy of
existing maps, but by the gap between what we know, and what we need to know, as
communicated by our clients, stakeholders and taxpayers. Those needs continue to change, so
the law of diminishing returns does not apply.
In this form, geological mapping is alive and well as a skill and priority activity in BGS.
We continue to recruit geologists into our onshore survey, marine, groundwater, energy and
international programmes, and candidates with 'mapping' skills remain at a considerable
advantage in those recruitment competitions. Computers cannot replace those skills, but
they are wonderful tools for assembling and analysing multidisciplinary data sets and
communicating the results of 'mapping' as maps, models and a plethora of online services,
products and apps. It is true that BGS is winding down its production of traditional, lithoprinted
geological maps, but this is simply because there are now alternative and increasingly diverse
technologies for delivering the results of geological mapping and ensuring that the outcomes
meet society's needs.
As we approach the 200th anniversary of William Smith's great map, to be celebrated by the
Society in 2015, it is fitting to remember that Smith was driven by the needs of the industrial
revolution. The map was the best technology at his disposal, not an end in itself.


This article explores the reasons for persistent memory wars surrounding the Northern Ireland conflict in Irish and Northern Irish politics between the leading political groups including Sinn Féin, political unionism, the Irish and British governments. I expand on existing literature on commemoration and memory in Northern Ireland to explain how constitutional, political, communal, personal, moral and generational factors together encourage conflicting memories surrounding the past to continue in Northern Irish and Irish politics. Politically, what is remembered about the conflict is used to challenge contemporary political opponents. Selective conflict memories also seek to support ongoing constitutional objectives regarding Irish unification in the present. In addition, individual leaders' and communal experiences of the conflict are recalled to assist the pursuit of justice and commemorate communal suffering. Each political group seeks to morally justify their past actions based on their conflict experience too. The emergence of a post-conflict generation of voters also means that political leaders draw comparisons between the past and present to encourage the youth to support their ongoing constitutional objectives, political strategies and leadership. The conclusion suggests that contested memories and commemorations in Irish and Northern Irish politics are particularly persistent because the constitutional question has not been resolved.


The study investigated influence of some factors on the performance of selected West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) candidates. It also examined the relationship between these factors and candidates' performance. Factors investigated include socio-economic background of the candidates (SEB), study hours (SH), attitude towards English Language (ATTENG) and attitude towards Mathematics (ATTMAT). Secondary schools in Lagos State were divided into private and public secondary schools. Simple random sampling was used to select five out of the six educational districts in Lagos State. Then one public and one private secondary schools were selected in each of the five educational districts earlier selected in stage one. Thereafter, 30 senior secondary school III students were selected in each of the ten schools (5 public and 5 private schools). A total of 600 candidates (consisting of male and female participants) were expected, however, only 564 participants with complete data were found suitable for the study. An instrument tagged "Candidates Rating Scale (CRS)" was developed and used to measure their SEB, SH, ATTENG and ATTMA which were the independent variables while candidates' scores at WASSCE was used as the dependent variable. Obtained data were analyzed by using multiple regressions. The results of the study indicate that there exists a positive correlation between WASSCE grades and all the variables in Mathematics but correlate with socio economic background only for English language.


Experiments in dense, ultracold gases of rubidium Rydberg atoms show a considerable decrease of the radiative excited state lifetimes compared to dilute gases. This accelerated decay is explained by collective and cooperative effects, leading to superradiance. A novel formalism to calculate effective decay times in a dense Rydberg gas shows that for these atoms the decay into nearby levels increases by up to three orders of magnitude. Excellent agreement between theory and experiment follows from this treatment of Rydberg decay behavior.


Fuzzing consists of repeatedly testing an application with modified, or fuzzed, inputs with the goal of finding security vulnerabilities in input-parsing code. In this paper, we show how to automate the generation of an input grammar suitable for input fuzzing using sample inputs and neural-network-based statistical machine-learning techniques. We present a detailed case study with a complex input format, namely PDF, and a large complex security-critical parser for this format, namely, the PDF parser embedded in Microsoft's new Edge browser. We discuss and measure the tension between conflicting learning and fuzzing goals: learning wants to capture the structure of well-formed inputs, while fuzzing wants to break that structure in order to cover unexpected code paths and find bugs. We also present a new algorithm for this learn&fuzz challenge which uses a learnt input probability distribution to intelligently guide where to fuzz inputs.


charged particles that span a broad range of energies. Some of the particles may be trapped within the materials of the spacecraft. Recent data indicates that an S-band phased-array antenna on a spacecraft may experience electrostatic discharges from such ion deposition at the elements of the array. These discharges may induce RF interference of sufficient magnitude to degrade transponder performance. This issue is addressed by considering the degradation to a binary phase shift keying (BPSK) signal. A simple model for the electrostatic phenomenon is described, and error probabilities are evaluated. The discharges and induced pulse rates are shown to be well below the interference level.


With the general public spending increasing amounts of time in virtual gaming worlds, it is relevant to explore social influence dynamics that can occur in virtual reality settings. Three studies tested the hypothesis that transportation into a virtual game heightens susceptibility to influence from in-game health communications. Study 1 participants played a first-person shooter game that had either landscape paintings or graphic anti-DUI (drive under the influence of alcohol) messages embedded in the background of scenes. Results indicated that, to the extent gamers were transported into the virtual experiences in the game, willingness to DUI was reduced by the presence of anti-DUI graphic messages. Study 2 explored potential mechanisms driving this effect and revealed evidence that transportation disrupts counter-arguing among individuals who might otherwise resist real-world influence attempts. Study 3 replicated Studies 1 and 2 findings but also pointed to a potential "boomerang effect" that can occur when transportation is not achieved in a game. Discussion focused on the potential positive and negative consequences of embedding persuasive health communications into the background of virtual gaming worlds.


Building on recent advances in defining Wilsonian renormalization group (RG) flows, and the notion of scales in particular, for background-independent theories, we present a first investigation of the renormalization of the 4D spin-foam path integral for quantum gravity, both analytically and numerically. Focusing on a specific truncation of the model using a hypercubic lattice, we compute the RG flow and find strong indications for a phase transition, as well as an interesting interplay between the different observed phases and the (broken) diffeomorphism symmetry of the model. Most notably, it appears that the critical point between the phases, which is a fixed point of the RG flow, is precisely where broken diffeomorphism symmetry is restored, which suggests that it might allow us to define a continuum limit of the quantum gravity theory.


The apparent failure of economists thus far to establish a positive empirical link between interest rates and saving does not, by itself, discredit the hypothesis of a direct structural relationship between the two, ceteris paribus. This structural relationship may be shifting about in response to changes in exogenous variables, such as tastes and technology, in a way that is consistent with any type of reduced-form correlation between interest rates and saving in the data. This point is demonstrated within a simple model of optimal saving, interest rates, and economic growth. The different implications of endogenous versus exogenous growth are explored in this context. Copyright 1993 by The editors of the Scandinavian Journal of Economics.


RATIONALE
Elental® is an elemental diet widely used as a nutritional supplement for Crohn's disease (CD) patients in Japan. Elental® contains amino acids as nitrogen sources and does not contain selenium (Se), and the δ13 C and δ15 N values of Elental® are markedly higher and lower, respectively, than those of a normal diet.

METHODS
We compared the δ13 C and δ15 N values and Se concentration in the scalp hair of CD patients with those of control subjects who ate a regular diet, and estimated the amount of Elental® ingested as a supplement. The δ13 C and δ15 N values and the Se concentrations were quantified using isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), respectively.

RESULTS
An increase in Elental® ingestion increased the δ13 C value in the hair of CD patients (p <0.05), while it reduced the δ15 N value (p <0.05) and tended to reduce the Se concentration in female patients.

CONCLUSIONS
The amount of Elental® ingested could be estimated by the δ13 C and δ15 N values in the hair of CD patients. Furthermore, the Se deficiency in female patients may be predicted from the δ13 C and δ15 N values.


A growing body of evidence indicates that Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous plutons recorded changing sources during tectonic evolution of the Klamath Mountain province. The data set now includes U-Pb zircon ages and zircon trace element compositions determined by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Thirteen rock samples were dated, and these data refine thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) data where inheritance was problematic, or provide new U-Pb ages. Individual plutonic suites, previously defined on the basis of crystallization age, isotope and elemental compositions, and petrogenetic style, show characteristic inherited zircon age ranges and zircon trace element patterns. Moreover, ages of inherited zircons in these suites are distinct and, in at least three suites, indicate the presence of cryptic (unexposed) source rocks. The zircon data complement oxygen, Nd, and Sr isotope whole-rock data that, when taken together, suggest a number of major changes in the crustal column with time. Middle Jurassic magmatism began with the oceanic(?) arc-related western Hayfork terrane comprising volcanic, volcaniclastic, and plutonic components. After regional thrusting on the ca. 170-Ma Wilson Point thrust, the Ironside Mountain batholith and Wooley Creek suite of plutons were emplaced. The former shows little evidence of interaction with the crust, but the latter contains Middle Jurassic inheritance and Sr, Nd, and oxygen isotope signatures suggestive of interaction with metasedimentary crustal rocks. Following Nevadan thrusting (ca. 153–150 Ma), emplacement of western Klamath suite plutons in the western Klamath Mountains province involved significant assimilation of Galice Formation metasedimentary rocks. This activity was followed by emplacement of tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (ttg) plutons in the eastern Klamath Mountains province, which were derived by partial melting of metabasic rocks. Their zircon trace element signatures indicate diverse magma histories and, at least locally, multiple magma sources. Inherited zircons in ttg plutons suggest late Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic sources, younger than the Josephine ophiolite. The youngest magmatism in the Klamath Mountains province consists of broadly granodioritic plutons, which, on the basis of limited data, show variable petrogenesis and zircon inheritance. At least one of these plutons (136-Ma Yellow Butte pluton) contains a ca. 150-Ma inheritance that indicates the presence of Late Jurassic crustal rocks beneath the eastern Klamath terrane.


The key role of permanent grasslands for the conservation of biodiversity, and more generally for the preservation of environment quality, is clearly established. However, the total area covered by grassland is reg- ularly declining in most EU countries. A way to stop the decline of their surfaces is to underline the economic potential of grasslands for breeders and their value. In this perspective, we studied the links between forage services and biodiversity through the survey of a network of 47 permanent grasslands from Pyrenees, Massif Central, Jura and Vosges. Grasslands were followed during 2 years (2009-10) considering the seasonal dynam- ic of forage characteristics and botanical and functional composition. Forage services of grasslands were esti- mated measuring production and quality (digestibility, crude protein content), and biodiversity by indicators of botanical diversity (species richness, percentage of entomophilous species, number of oligotrophic species, botanical families). We showed a strong link between quality of permanent grasslands and biodiversity. The pro- ductive grasslands presented a lesser interest for biodiversity. We also showed that permanent grasslands could provide simultaneously biodiversity and forage services or only forage services or biodiversity.


The Bcl-2 family of proteins regulate the process of cell death. Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL are potent anti-apoptotic members that are overexpressed in a number of malignancies, providing a means to evade cell death, which has been described as a characteristic hallmark of cancer. Several lines of evidence suggest that Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL possess anti-oxidant properties. Overexpression of Bcl-2 is protective against menadione and hydrogen peroxide induced cell death and causes an increase in intracellular levels of glutathione (GSH), the most abundant antioxidant defense. In the present study, we utilized a novel small molecule to test effects of Bcl-2 inhibition on intracellular redox status. ABT-737 is a first generation inhibitor of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL and Bcl-w and and acts as a mimic of the BH3-only antagonists of these family members. Exposure of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) cells to ABT-737 caused a dose dependent increase in intracellular levels reactive oxygen species (ROS), namely superoxide and hydrogen peroxide. This dose dependent increase in intracellular oxidants was significantly less pronounced in cells treated with the less active enantiomer of ABT-737. A greater than 50% decrease in intracellular GSH levels was seen with similar doses of ABT-737 and the combination of buthionine sulfoximine, an agent that depletes GSH levels further, with ABT-737, caused synergistic cell death. These data were verified using cells transfected with a tetracycline repressable Bcl-2 expression plasmid. Taken together, our data identifies a novel sequelae for Bcl-2 inhibition: the induction of oxidative stress. Combination therapies utilizing ABT-737 or its analogs may be devised based on the observed effects on the redox environment.


The influence of several soil management systems on the mineral nutrition and production of citrus trees was studied. This study was mode in an experimental orchard installed in 1949 with Hamlin orange on sweet orange (Citrus sinensis Osbeck). Differential treatments were started in 1953. Since 1956 all plots received uniform fertilizer applications and liming. The cultural treatments employed are as follows: clean cultivation with herbicide; clean cultivation plus a cover crop of velvet bean (Stizolobium aterrimum Pip. & Trac.) planted in the spring and cut down in the fall; clean cultivation plus a cover crop of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) planted in the spring and cut down in the fall; molasses grass (Melinis minutiflora Beauv.) mulch; and superficial soil plowing. Leaf samples of the spring cycle were collected from each treatment at regular intervals, from October, 1957 to March, 1959, and analysed for N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Mn. The seasonal variations in mineral composition of the leaves were studied in relation to the crop harvest in 1958. Grass-mulched plots showed low level of nitrogen in the leaves in comparison with those which did not receive this treatment. Therefore, extra nitrogen fertilizer may be required to prevent competition for nitrogen due to mulching practices in citrus orchards. Mulched plots produced the highest yields every year, followed by clean cultivation plus cover crop of velvet bean, while clean-cultivated plots produced the lowest. Orange yields and leaf phosphorus levels showed similar trends. From this evidence it seems reasonable a preference for cultural practices which enable the trees to accumulate phosphorus. Mulch and lime as dolomitic limestone used together increased calcium and magnesium absorption by trees, so decreasing the probability of a magnesium deficiency os a result of the large amount of potassium made available by the mulch decomposition. I ron and manganese absorption by trees decreased in the mulched plots. The low levels of leaf iron were quite consistent in this treatment throughout the seasons. Clean cultivation plus a cover crop of velvet bean seems to be a promising cultural practice for citrus, regarding the increased orange yields and the low cost of its installation. The economics use of mulch, assuming the amount of grass required, is limited to the cost in obtaining mulching material.


Various parts of the turmeric plant have been used as medicinal treatment for various conditions from ulcers and arthritis to cardiovascular disease and neuroinflammation. The rhizome's curcumin extract is the most studied active constituent, which exhibits an expansive polypharmacology with influence on many key inflammatory markers. Despite the expansive reports of curcucmin's therapeutic value, clinical reliability and research repeatability with curcumin treatment are still poor. The pharmacology must be better understood and reliably mapped if curcumin is to be accepted and used in modern medical applications. Although the polypharmacology of this extract has been considered, in mainstream medicine, to be a drawback, a perspective change reveals a comprehensive and even synergistic shaping of the NF-kB pathway, including transactivation. Much of the inconsistent research data and unreliable clinical outcomes may be due to a lack of standardization which also pervades research standard samples. The possibility of other well-known curcumin by-products contributing in the polypharmacology is also discussed. A new flowchart of crosstalk in transduction pathways that lead to shaping of nuclear NF-kB transactivation is generated and a new calibration or standardization protocol for the extract is proposed which could lead to more consistent data extraction and improved reliability in therapy.


Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) is defined as the formation of microvascular channels by genetically deregulated cancer cells and is often associated with high tumor grade and cancer therapy resistance. This microcirculation system, independent of endothelial cells, provides oxygen and nutrients to tumors, and contributes also in part to metastasis. VM has been observed in ovarian cancer and in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and shown to correlate with decreased overall cancer patient survival. Thus, strategies designed to inhibit VM may improve cancer patient treatments. In this study, sortilin (SORT1) receptor was detected in in vitro 3D capillary-like structures formed by ES-2 ovarian cancer and MDA-MB-231 TNBC-derived cells when grown on Matrigel. SORT1 gene silencing or antibodies directed against its extracellular domain inhibited capillary-like structure formation. In vitro, VM also correlated with increased gene expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and of the cancer stem cell marker CD133. In vivo ES-2 xenograft model showed PAS+/CD31- VM structures (staining positive for both SORT1 and CD133). TH1904, a Doxorubicin-peptide conjugate that is internalized by SORT1, significantly decreased in vitro VM at low nM concentrations. In contrast, VM was unaffected by unconjugated Doxorubicin or Doxil (liposomal Doxorubicin) up to μM concentrations. TH1902, a Docetaxel-peptide conjugate, altered even more efficiently in vitro VM at pM concentrations. Overall, current data evidence for the first time that 1) SORT1 itself exerts a crucial role in both ES-2 and MDA-MB-231 VM, and that 2) VM in these cancer cell models can be efficiently inhibited by the peptide-drug conjugates TH1902/TH1904. These new findings also indicate that both peptide-drug conjugates, in addition to their reported cytotoxicity, could possibly inhibit VM in SORT1-positive TNBC and ovarian cancer patients.


ABSTRACT Vertex colouring is among the most important problems in graph theory which has been widely applied across different real-world problems. In vertex colouring problem (VCP), the goal is to assign a distinct colour to each vertex of the graph in such a way that no two adjacent vertices have the same colour. This paper presents a fuzzy irregular cellular automaton (FICA) for finding a near-optimal solution for the VCP. FICA is an extension fuzzy cellular automaton (FCA) in which the cells of the automaton can be arranged in an irregular structure. The aim of the proposed method is to reap the benefits of both FCA and irregular cellular automata while minimising their drawbacks. To evaluate the proposed method, various computer simulations have been conducted on a variety of graphs. The results suggest that the proposed method is able to achieve better results in terms of the minimum number of required colours and the execution time of the algorithm, compared to other peer algorithms.


Background Childhood obesity affects one in ten children in England by age 5, and one in five by age 11. Existing evidence suggests a possible relationship between caesarean section (CS) birth and higher risk of overweight/obesity in childhood, however maternal obesity is a strong confounder in this relationship. With CS rates rising by 4% globally per year, we aimed to examine the relationship between mode of delivery and overweight/obesity in childhood. Methods SLOPE is a linked population-based cohort of anonymised routine antenatal, birth and child healthcare records in Hampshire, UK (2003–2018). Delivery method was categorised into unassisted vaginal delivery, assisted vaginal delivery and CS (including elective and emergency). Child body mass index (BMI) was measured as part of the National Child Measurement Programme in England. Children were identified as overweight/obese if their age- and sex-adjusted BMI was above the 85th percentile. Generalised linear modelling for outcome at two time points; 4–5 years (n=30,229) and 10–11 years (n=14,305) was conducted, adjusting for clustering within families. Modelling was introduced in stages with the choice of covariates informed by a Directed Acyclic Graph, first adjusting for maternal BMI, then adding in confounders including maternal age, ethnicity, educational attainment, parity, smoking status at booking appointment, pre-eclampsia, and previous CS (model C) and then birthweight and gestational age at birth as potential mediators (model M). Analyses were also stratified by maternal BMI category (underweight: Results Of children delivered by CS, 25.0% and 33.7% were overweight/obese by 4–5 years and 10–11 years respectively, compared to 21.9% and 31.0% respectively with vaginal births. In unadjusted analysis, CS was associated with increased risk of overweight/obesity at 4–5 years (relative risk (RR) 1.13, 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI) 1.08–1.19), and at 10–11 years (RR 1.08, 95% CI 1.02–1.14), however both were attenuated by adjusting for maternal BMI. In stratified analyses, CS delivery was associated with increased risk of childhood overweight/obesity at 4–5 years only in normal weight women (model C: RR 1.15, 95% CI 1.04–1.27, model M: RR 1.14, 95% CI 1.02–1.26), but not in 10–11 year models. Conclusion Maternal weight status at the start of pregnancy is a strong confounder in the relationship between mode of delivery and childhood overweight/obesity. In stratified analyses, this association was evident only for children of normal weight women. If this relationship is causal, the potential mechanisms need to be explored.


Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) is one of the mysteries of dermatology. An association between spontaneous CIU and contact allergy sensitization is possible. In this study, we aimed to test the hypothesis that contact allergy might play a role in disease in CIU patients. Furthermore, we examined if patch testing should be routinely performed in patients with chronic urticaria (CU). Ultimately, we concluded that patch testing should be included among the diagnostic procedures for CU.


INTRODUCTION
A ruptured uterus is a life-threatening obstetric complication that remains a major public health concern in low-income countries, particularly in Africa. It is a significant cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. In Uganda, the prevalence remains high largely because most women do not deliver in health facilities. Further review of this problem may be helpful in the development of appropriate preventive strategies.

METHODS
A five-year retrospective review of all cases of ruptured uterus admitted to Mityana Hospital, Uganda from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2007 was conducted.

RESULTS
Out of 14,656 deliveries, 73 cases of ruptured uterus were recorded, resulting in a ratio of 1 in 200. The highest incidence was in patients aged 20-24 years old, of parity 1-4 and residing in the Kassanda sub-county. Other predisposing factors included not attending antenatal care (67.1 percent), which was associated with rupture at home or with traditional birth attendants (TBAs) (Odds Ratio [OR] 6.29; 95 percent confidence interval [CI] 2.01-19.67), obstructed or prolonged labour (68.5 percent), which increased the likelihood of rupture before admission (OR 3.28; 95 percent CI 1.05-10.26), residing more than 10 kilometres from the hospital (64.4 percent), which increased the likelihood of rupture before admission (OR 3.62; 95 percent CI 1.16-11.32) and the existence of previous scars (19.2 percent), which decreased the likelihood of rupture before admission (OR 0.24; 95 percent CI 0.07-0.81). All the women had surgery, of which 14 percent had a total hysterectomy, 22 percent had a subtotal hysterectomy, 25 percent had a repair and bilateral tubal ligation, and 39 percent had a repair only. Eight percent of the women died, while seven percent of the babies were born alive.

CONCLUSIONS
Uterine rupture is a disturbing problem in Uganda. There is a need to put in place a functional referral system for pregnant women that links the community and TBAs to the hospital, and a need to intensify information, education and communication programmes to encourage women and their partners to use the reproductive health services that are available to them. In addition, greater accessibility to equipped health facilities, the use of a partogram to monitor labour and timely interventions will go a long way to reducing uterine rupture.


THE VOGT-KOYANAGI-HARADA (VKH) syndrome is a relatively rare multisystem disease. This syndrome has been frequently reported by ophthalmologists; however, there has been a noticeable absence in the otolaryngologic literature. The most consistent finding is uveitis. It may also include alopecia, poliosis, vitiligo, and dysacousia. Through the years the term dysacousia has been used with this syndrome when there were associated auditory problems. The true definition of the term is a condition in which ordinary sounds produce discomfort or pain. 1 Although dysacousia does not apply to the patients we have seen, we will continue to use the term in this paper. Vogt, in 1906, is given credit for the first description. In 1929, Koyanagi reviewed the literature which was composed of 16 cases, four of which were his own. He described headache, fever, bilateral anterior uveitis, dysacousia, vitiligo, poliosis, and alopecia. In 1926, Harada described five instances of the syndrome


Polyphosphate glucokinase (PPGK) is an enzyme that transfers a terminal phosphate group from polyphosphate to glucose, producing glucose 6-phosphate. A petri dish-based double-layer high-throughput screening strategy was developed by using ultrathermostable Phytagel as the first layer instead of agar or agarose, followed by a redox dye-based assay for rapid identification of ultrathermostable PPGK mutants. The best mutant featuring both great thermostability and high activity could produce glucose 6-phosphate from glucose and polyphosphate without in vitro ATP regeneration. ABSTRACT Thermostability and specific activity of enzymes are two of the most important properties for industrial biocatalysts. Here, we developed a petri dish-based double-layer high-throughput screening (HTS) strategy for rapid identification of desired mutants of polyphosphate glucokinase (PPGK) from a thermophilic actinobacterium, Thermobifida fusca YX, with both enhanced thermostability and activity. Escherichia coli colonies representing a PPGK mutant library were grown on the first-layer Phytagel-based plates, which can remain solid for 1 h, even at heat treatment temperatures of more than 100°C. The second layer that was poured on the first layer contained agarose, substrates, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), the redox dye tetranitroblue tetrazolium (TNBT), and phenazine methosulfate. G6PDH was able to oxidize the product from the PPGK-catalyzed reaction and generate NADH, which can be easily examined by a TNBT-based colorimetric assay. The best mutant obtained after four rounds of directed evolution had a 7,200-fold longer half-life at 55°C, 19.8°C higher midpoint of unfolding temperature (Tm), and a nearly 3-fold enhancement in specific activities compared to those of the wild-type PPGK. The best mutant was used to produce 9.98 g/liter myo-inositol from 10 g/liter glucose, with a theoretical yield of 99.8%, along with two other hyperthermophilic enzymes at 70°C. This PPGK mutant featuring both great thermostability and high activity would be useful for ATP-free production of glucose 6-phosphate or its derived products. IMPORTANCE Polyphosphate glucokinase (PPGK) is an enzyme that transfers a terminal phosphate group from polyphosphate to glucose, producing glucose 6-phosphate. A petri dish-based double-layer high-throughput screening strategy was developed by using ultrathermostable Phytagel as the first layer instead of agar or agarose, followed by a redox dye-based assay for rapid identification of ultrathermostable PPGK mutants. The best mutant featuring both great thermostability and high activity could produce glucose 6-phosphate from glucose and polyphosphate without in vitro ATP regeneration.


A decade ago, Alfred Kahn challenged regulators to adopt more efficient telephone pricing policies. They have yet to respond and instead have maintained a system of inefficient cross-subsidies. While some argue that the current system promotes universal telephone service, a careful examination reveals that the cross-subsidies do not further that goal. Professors Kaserman and Mayo argue that regulators maintain the current system because they believe that its pattern of cross-subsidization benefits a politically influential class-local residential customers. Kaserman and Mayo contend, however, that the regulators are wrong. the benefits from the current cross-subsidies are so diffused that abolishing them will not ultimately affect individual customers.


The investigational biotherapeutic agent, B43(anti-CD19)-pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP) immunotoxin, has shown substantial anti-leukemic activity in SCID mouse models of human B-lineage leukemia and lymphoma. In this report, we describe the results of a comprehensive preclinical toxicity study which determined the toxicity profile of B43-PAP in BALB/c mice. Administration of unconjugated B43 monoclonal antibody was not associated with any toxicity, whereas B43-PAP caused dose-limiting and cardiac and renal toxicities which were fatal. In addition, B43-PAP also caused multifocal skeletal myofiber necrosis, which was associated with abnormal gait and lethargy. Notably, parenteral administrations of methylprednisolone, pentoxyphylline, or dopamine were able to markedly reduce B43-PAP related toxicity. This study provides a basis for further evaluation of the toxicity of B43-PAP in monkeys and humans.


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

Crucial to the adoption of next-generation sequencing within clinical cancer research is the ability to deeply sequence hundreds to thousands of targeted genomic regions across a large number of patient samples. Several targeting (PCR) and capture (hybridization) methods have been developed for next-generation sequencing, however these methods have limited utility with cancer patient specimens due to drawbacks such as large input DNA quantity requirements, wasted off-target sequencing, high cost of reagents, low sample throughput, specialized equipment, and inflexible content design. We developed TargetRich cancer gene panels employing Nested PatchPCR, which enables the targeted sequencing of hundreds of genomic regions in large numbers of patient samples to fully and efficiently utilize next-generation sequencers. Nested PatchPCR required only 250 ng genomic DNA, and was compatible with the fragmented DNA obtained from formalin fixed paraffin embedded samples (FFPE). No special equipment was needed, only a standard PCR machine. Patient samples were processed in parallel in a single 96-well plate. For each patient sample, we simultaneously amplified hundreds of exons from genes that are frequently mutated in cancer. We utilized standard library construction and barcoding methods to sequence targeted genes from 96 patient samples on a single Illumina GAIIx flowcell. The TargetRich cancer gene panels were highly specific; 95% of sequencing reads aligned to the targeted regions. The high percentage of on-target sequence data and focused content, allowed us to achieve high coverage across the loci (average of 400X read depth) for the sensitive detection of cancer mutations. We have created two cancer panels: CR (157 regions covering exons from 10 genes) and CS (760 regions covering exons from 62 genes) for use on the Illumina MiSeq, GAIIx & HiSeq platforms. Additionally, a CR panel for the Ion Torrent PGM has been developed with platform-specific primers added during the Nested PatchPCR reaction, allowing direct sequencing of products without time-consuming library construction.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-412. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-LB-412


Models where the baryon (B) and lepton (L) numbers are local gauge symmetries that are spontaneously broken at a low scale are revisited. We find new extensions of the standard model which predict the existence of fermions that carry both baryon and lepton numbers (i.e., leptoquarks). The local baryonic and leptonic symmetries can be broken at a scale close to the electroweak scale and we do not need to postulate the existence of a large desert to satisfy the experimental constraints on baryon number violating processes like proton decay.


Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques are becoming the approaches of choice for the construction of scaffolds in tissue engineering. However, the development of 3D printing in this field brings unique challenges, which must be accounted for in the design of experiments. The common printing process parameters must be considered as important factors in the design and quality of final 3D-printed products. In this work, we study the influence of some parameters in the design and fabrication of PCL scaffolds, such as the number and orientation of layers, but also others of "hidden" importance, such as the cooling down rate while printing, or the position of the starting point in each layer. These factors can have an important impact oin the final porosity and mechanical performance of the scaffolds. A pure polycaprolactone filament was used. Three different configurations were selected for the design of the internal structure of the scaffolds: a solid one with alternate layers (solid) (0°, 90°), a porous one with 30% infill and alternate layers (ALT) (0°, 90°) and a non-alternated configuration consisting in printing three piled layers before changing the orientation (n-ALT) (0°, 0°, 0°, 90°, 90°, 90°). The nozzle temperature was set to 172 °C for printing and the build plate to 40 °C. Strand diameters of 361 ± 26 µm for room temperature cooling down and of 290 ± 30 µm for forced cooling down, were obtained. A compression elastic modulus of 2.12 ± 0.31 MPa for n-ALT and 8.58 ± 0.14 MPa for ALT scaffolds were obtained. The cooling down rate has been observed as an important parameter for the final characteristics of the scaffold.


Recent research shows the potential of utilizing data collected through Web 2.0 applications to capture changes in a domain's terminology. This paper presents an approach to augment corpus-based ontology learning by considering terms from collaborative tagging systems, social networking platforms, and micro-blogging services. The proposed framework collects information on the domain's terminology from domain documents and a seed ontology in a triple store. Data from social sources such as Delicious, Flickr, Technorati and Twitter provide an outside view of the domain and help incorporate external knowledge into the ontology learning process. The neural network technique of spreading activation is used to identify relevant new concepts, and to determine their positions in the extended ontology. Evaluating the method with two measures (PMI and expert judgements) demonstrates the significant benefits of social evidence sources for ontology learning.


: This study was carried out to test the recycling post-harvest medium from other mushroom bottle cultivation as a secondary medium of the oyster mushroom. In the post-harvest medium from winter mushroom and king oyster mushroom cultivation, oyster mushroom varieties in Chunchu-2ho and Manchuri fruit bodies yields compared with control group tend to be low. After recycling the post-harvest medium, it was replaced by basal medium up to 50%, of which the fruit bodies with stable yield increase from 10% to 30% were increased.


We report successfully integrating webinar and blogging into an undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry seminar course. Commercial collaboration software linked speaker-operated slides with two-way voice and video effectively connecting the audience and presenter from different states. Student responses to the technology and seminar content were documented on an open, accessible blog site designed for the seminar course. Over 80% of student blog posts confirmed that the remote presenter had a strong presence in the lecture hall and that both the presentation technology and seminar content were well received compared to traditional "in-person" presentations. This low-cost, easily adaptable seminar format allows chemistry departments to greatly enhance the diversity of seminar speakers and learning experiences for their majors. Additionally, our successful experience of coupling webinar and blogging can serve as a template across disciplines and educational levels.


In this paper, we study periodic query scheduling for data aggregation with minimum delay under various wireless interference models. Given a set Q of periodic aggregation queries, each query Qi ∈ Q has its own period pi and the subset of source nodes Si containing the data. We first propose a family of efficient and effective real-time scheduling protocols that can answer every job of each query task Qi ∈ Q within a relative delay O(pi) under resource constraints by addressing the following tightly coupled tasks: routing, transmission plan constructions, node activity scheduling, and packet scheduling. Based on our protocol design, we further propose schedulability test schemes to efficiently and effectively test whether, for a set of queries, each query job can be finished within a finite delay. Our theoretical analysis shows that our methods achieve at least a constant fraction of the maximum possible total utilization for query tasks, where the constant depends on wireless interference models. We also conduct extensive simulations to validate the proposed protocol and evaluate its practical performance. The simulations corroborate our theoretical analysis.


Background: Many studies have reported an association between observers' self-attractiveness and their preference for sexual dimorphism across different physical domains, including the face, voice, and body. However, the results of these studies are inconsistent. Here, a meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the association between observers' own attractiveness and their dimorphic preference. Methods: Major electronic databases including PsycINFO, Web of Science, PubMed, ProQuest, and Google Scholar were searched during April 2017 (the first time) and April 2018 (the second time). The effect size computation and moderating effect analyses were conducted separately for masculine and feminine preferences. Results: We identified 5,359 references, of which we included 25 studies (x = 55, x = number of the effect size) with 6,853 participants in the meta-analysis. Across these studies, the correlation between observers' own attractiveness and their sexual dimorphic preference was 0.095 (x = 55) and that for preference for masculinity (x = 39) and femininity (x = 16) were 0.102 and 0.076, respectively. The results of the funnel plot, Egger's regression method, and fail-safe number suggested that there was no obvious publication bias. The relationship depended on the relationship context (short or long-term), opposite or same sex (the gender of the observer and host), measures of observers' self-attractiveness (subject or objective), and preference task (e.g., attractiveness rating, forced-choice, and face sequence test). Furthermore, for female participants, using a hormonal contraceptive also influenced their masculinity preference. The effect size for the preference for a masculine body and voice was larger than that for facial masculinity. Conclusion: We found a small but significant correlation between self-attractiveness and physical dimorphic preference, the relationship was moderated by the relationship context, same/opposite-sex, and contraceptive using. These three moderating effects represented the observer's trade-off on good genes, good provider and good father (3Gs) consistent with the life history strategies. Besides, measurement of observers' attractiveness, type of preference task and stimuli may also involve the relationship.


Background: Epistaxis is bleeding through nose. It is most common emergency situation in ENT that is disastrous to the patient and troublesome to treat for doctors. It is seen that 60% population experiences epistaxis in their life time and only 6% went to take consultation. The study aims to evaluate incidence, etiology, provoking factors and cost effective management. Subjects and Methods: A 3 years retrospective study between September 2015 to August 2018 carried out in Anugarah Narayan Magadh Medical College & Hospital, Gaya on 98 admitted epistaxis patients. Results: Total 11,667 patients came in ENT department among them 2,723 patients with nasal complain. Incidence was0.84% among all cases and 3.6% among nasal problems. No obvious cause seen in 34 cases (34.23%) then cardiovascular cause in 32 cases (32.65%) then infection in19.32% and lastly by trauma in 5.68%. Maximum patients in 40-50 years age group 36% and minimum in 70-80 years 1%. Most patients belong to urban76 cases (77.27%) and middle age 36 cases (36.36%). Males are more prone 57 cases (57.95%) with ratio 1.39:1. Mostly in January-March months 45 cases (46.59%). Most patients came with unilateral epistaxis 86 cases (87.5%). About 26cases (26.14%)came with single episode whom urgent treatment required. Well managed with Nonsurgical method to 85 patients (86.73%) by anterior nasal packing (ANP) in 43 cases (43.87%) and chemical cauterization to 19 cases(19.30%) while surgical treatment given to 13 patients (13.26%).Some required electrocauterization 16 cases (16.32%) with bipolar. Mean hospital stay length 3.2 days. Blood transfusion required in 7cases (7.14%). Conclusion: Cost effectively anterior nasal packing is best conservative indirect method and electrocauterization is very effective direct method.


This paper presents an efficient CMOS dc-dc converter with fast transient recovery. A fast-transient control operating in conjunction with a linearly scaled gate-driving technique is used to concurrently improve the transient response and light-load efficiency of a dc-dc converter. The controller operates under a pulse-width modulation mode during steady state and enables a saturation mode during transient to attain fast transient response. The linearly scaled gate-driving technique optimizes the gate-driving voltage with respect to the changing load leading to lower gate-driving loss and better light-load efficiency. A prototype chip was implemented using a commercial 0.35-μm CMOS process to validate the proposed techniques. The measurement result shows a 5% increase in light-load efficiency and achieves an overall maximum efficiency of 90%. Moreover, the transient recovery time of a 450 mA step load change is less than 9 μs.


Objective:To determine whether adjusting for comorbidities significantly affects hospital quality measurement compared with adjusting for injury severity alone. Background:Pre-existing conditions have a significant impact on mortality after injury. The impact of including comorbidities on hospital quality measurement is not well understood. Methods:Retrospective cohort study using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2005–2006). The Trauma Mortality Probability Model (TMPM-ICD9) was re-estimated with and without the addition of the comorbidity measures in the Agency for Health Research and Quality comorbidity algorithm. Hospital quality was measured using an adjusted odds ratio (OR) obtained using hierarchical logistic regression modeling. The OR quantifies the likelihood that trauma patients treated at a specific hospital are more or less likely to die compared with patients treated at an average hospital. Hospitals with an adjusted OR significantly greater than, or less than 1 were classified as low-quality or high-quality outliers, respectively. Pairwise comparison of hospital quality based on TMPM-ICD9 with and without comorbidity information were performed using the intraclass correlation coefficient, the Spearman correlation coefficient, the Bland-Altman Plot, and the kappa statistic. Results:There was nearly perfect agreement between hospital ranking based on TMPM-ICD9 and TMPM-ICD9 with comorbidities. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.943 (95% CI, 0.931–0.951), the Spearman correlation coefficient was 0.953 (95% CI, 0.944–0.960), and the kappa statistic was 0.863 (95% CI, 0.792–0.934). The odds of a patient dying in the worst 5% hospitals was 1.73 (95% CI, 1.61–1.86), whereas the odds of a patient dying in the best 5% of the hospitals was 0.37 (95% CI, 0.31–0.44). Conclusion:In this large study of 148,280 trauma patients in 511 hospitals, we found no evidence that adding comorbidites to the risk-adjustment model used to benchmark hospital performance changes hospital ranking. In addition, there appears to be significant variability in mortality outcomes between the best and worst performing hospitals. This difference in outcomes across hospitals may represent a significant opportunity to improve health outcomes for injured patients.


Several important biological processes are initiated by the binding of a protein to a specific site on the DNA. The strategy adopted by a protein, called transcription factor (TF), for searching its specific binding site on the DNA has been investigated over several decades. In recent times the effects obstacles, like DNA-binding proteins, on the search by TF has begun to receive attention. RNA polymerase (RNAP) motors collectively move along a segment of the DNA during a genomic process called transcription. This RNAP traffic is bound to affect the diffusive scanning of the same segment of the DNA by a TF searching for its binding site. Motivated by this phenomenon, here we develop a kinetic model where a 'particle', that represents a TF, searches for a specific site on a one-dimensional lattice. On the same lattice another species of particles, each representing a RNAP, hop from left to right exactly as in a totally asymmetric simple exclusion process (TASEP) which forbids simultaneous occupation of any site by more than one particle, irrespective of their identities. Although the TF is allowed to attach to or detach from any lattice site, the RNAPs can attach only to the first site at the left edge and detach from only the last site on the right edge of the lattice. We formulate the search as a first-passage process; the time taken to reach the target site for the first time, starting from a well defined initial state, is the search time. By approximate analytical calculations and Monte Carlo (MC) computer simulations, we calculate the mean search time. We show that RNAP traffic rectifies the diffusive motion of TF to that of a Brownian ratchet, and the mean time of successful search can be even shorter than that required in the absence of RNAP traffic. Moreover, we show that there is an optimal rate of detachment that corresponds to the shortest mean search time.


Multiphase relative permeability is a key parameter in reservoir simulation. Typically, end-point based correlations are employed in order to obtain such curves for reservoir simulation purposes. However, those correlations are not capable of capturing micro-scale physical phenomenon which can significantly affect flow pattern at larger scales. Consequently, it is necessary to obtain a scale-up methodology in order to transfer the micro-scale physics to reservoir-scale. The objective of this research is developing a scale up procedure which can be applied to multi-phase flow properties obtained by micro-scale flow simulation to compute the equivalent macro-scale and core-scale flow properties having the micro-scale flow properties. Two different sets of media are employed: media representing unconsolidated oil sands and media based on experimental data obtained from the Mesaverde formation located in the Poweder River Basin. The former is used for validating the scale up methodology since not all the required information is available in the experimental data set. Pore scale network modelling is used for calculating micro-scale multi-phase flow properties such as porosity, and absolute and relative permeability. Then the generated subsegments are populated in space to reconstruct the macro scale medium. Flow properties of such medium are then obtained by network modelling and the proposed scale-up methodology and the results are compared. Furthermore, macro-scale media are distributed in space in layers and stacks of increasing and decreasing permeability to form a core-level medium. Single and multi-phase flow properties are then calculated by applying a pressure drop across the core. Permeability and relative permeability curves are calculated using the combination of mass balance, equation of state, and Darcy equation assuming steady-state flow while capillary pressure curve is obtained using the modified Leverett-J function procedure used in micro-to-macro scale up section. Results show good agreement between the expected and calculated properties for both unconsolidated and consolidated media. Finally, physical behavior observed at micro and macro scale is transferred to the core scale.


Abstract Structures of calcium-rare-earth (Ca-RE) fluorocarbonate minerals from southwest China have been investigated using selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). They are described as combinations of layers of bastngsite-(Ce), CeFCO3 (B layers), and synchysite-(Ce), CeFCO3‧CaCO3 (S layers) (Donnay and Donnay, 1953). We report here the discovery of six new, regular, mixed-layer structures in parisite-(Ce) observed using SAED and HRTEM. The symmetry, cell parameters, chemical formulae and stacking of the structural unit layers, etc., were determined for each. The regular, mixed-layer structures are formed by stacking unit layers of bastnäsite-(Ce) and synchysite-(Ce) in varying proportions along the c axis. HRTEM shows that there are different distribution modes for the Ce-F ion layers, the CO3 ion groups between the Ce-F ion layers and the CO3 ion groups between the Ce-F and Ca ion layers. The minerals may be regarded as polymorphs with the same chemical composition and the same spacing of the unit layers, but different arrangements of ion layers in the structural unit layers and different stacking sequences of the structural unit layers.


The reliability and reproducibility of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technology is still a great challenge in bio-related analysis. Prussian blue (PB)-based SERS tags have attracted increasing interest for improving these deficiencies due to its unique Raman band (near 2156 cm−1) in the Raman-silent region, providing zero-background bio-Raman labels without interference from endogenous biomolecules. Moreover, the stable PB shell consisting of multiple layers of CN− reporters ensure a stable and strong Raman signal output, avoiding the desorption of the Raman reporter from the plasmonic region by the competitive adsorption of the analyte. More importantly, they possess outstanding multiplexing potential in biological analysis owing to the adjustable Raman shift with unique narrow spectral widths. Despite more attention having been attracted to the structure and preparation of PB-based SERS tags for their better biological applications over the past five years, there is still a great challenge for SERS suitable for applications in the actual environment. The biological applications of PB-based SERS tags are comprehensively recounted in this minireview, mainly focusing on quantification analysis, multiple-spectral analysis and cell-imaging joint phototherapy. The prospects of PB-based SERS tags in clinical diagnosis and treatment are also discussed. This review aims to draw attention to the importance of SERS tags and provide a reference for the design and application of PB-based SERS tags in future bio-applications.


ABSTRACT In this article, I draw from organizational imprinting theory to illuminate the impact of the Soviet legacy on contemporary Russian economic geography and regional policy. I argue that central coordination in the creation and regulation of Russian urban agglomerations is connected to a socialist imprinted paradigm associated with the Soviet economic regionalization model and territorial-production complexes (TPCs). I conduct a qualitative historical study to analyze the role of the foundational environment and the dynamics in the development of this imprint. I propose that this imprint effect is prone to reproduction in contemporary regional development strategies and community-based paradigms due to exaptation and cultural-cognitive persistence. The article extends the literature of socialist imprinting by demonstrating how imprints may emerge, transform, and affect localized organizational communities in transition economies and highlights the role of imprinted paradigms in policymaking and regional development.


The growing influence of service industries has prompted greater attention being paid to service operations management. However, service managers often have difficulty articulating the veritable effects of their service innovation. Especially, the performance evaluation process of service innovation problems generally involves uncertain and imprecise data. This paper presents a 2-tuple fuzzy linguistic computing approach to dealing with heterogeneous information and information loss problems while the processes of subjective evaluation integration. The proposed method based on group decision-making scenario to assist business managers in measuring performance of service innovation manipulates the heterogeneity integration processes and avoids the information loss effectively. Keywords—Group decision-making, Heterogeneity, Linguistic computing, Multi-criteria, Service innovation


Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) is a neurodegenerative disorder which mostly presents in early life and is associated with a premature death. Here, we report a 50-year-old Saudi male who presented with cerebellar ataxia and whole exome sequencing identified a previously undescribed, homozygous mutation in the CLN5 gene (c.562T>C; p.Phe188Leu). This mutation was predicted to be pathogenic based on bioinformatics tools scoring; PolyPhen-2 (1) and SIFT (0.0). He did not have a visual impairment, cortical atrophy or cognitive decline, which were reported in previous adult cases associated with CLN5 mutation. This case, therefore, further expands the molecular and clinical phenotype associated with CLN5 mutation. It also highlights the role of next-generation sequencing analysis in providing early insights and diagnosis of rare hereditary disorders.


The roosting sites of a male Copper Pheasant Syrmaticus soemmerringii, were confirmed by radio tracking in the Tama Forest Science Garden, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Hachioji, Tokyo. One ground site, one presumable ground site used for six nights (both narrow flat areas on a high, steep slope), and six arboreal sites used for 33 nights, (tree branches 1-5 m off the ground), were found. The particular sites were presumably chosen because they offered easy escape from terrestrial predators.


Although previous research has documented a relationship between sexual media exposure and sexual stereotyping, it is not known whether and how personality factors moderate this relationship. In this experimental study (N = 90) I examined 1) whether there is a difference in sexual stereotypes of adolescents who watched neutral versus sexual clips and 2) whether extraversion and impulsivity have a moderating effect on this relationship. Results from Repeated Measures ANOVA's show no causal effect of exposure to sexual video clips on sexual stereotypes of adolescents. Furthermore, extraversion and impulsivity do not moderate this relationship. For future research I recommend to measure whether certain personality types (undercontrol, overcontrol and ego-resilience), instead of individual personality traits, have a moderating effect on the relationship between exposure to sexual media and sexual stereotypes.