Objective: This study evaluated the fracture strengths of endodontically treated teeth restored with prefabricated posts with different post lengths. Material and methods: Thirty freshly extracted canines were endodontically treated. They were randomly divided into groups of 10 teeth and prepared according to 3 experimental protocols, as follows; Group 1/3 PP: teeth restored with prefabricated post and composite resin core (Z250) with post length of 5.0mm; Group 1/2 PP and Group 2/3 PP: teeth restored with prefabricated post and composite resin core (Z250) with different combinations of post length of 7.5mm and 10mm, respectively. All teeth were restored with full metal crowns. The fracture resistance (N) was measured in a universal testing machine (crosshead speed 0.5mm/min) at 45 degrees to the tooth long axis until failure. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (α=.05). Results: The one-way analysis of variance demonstrated no significant difference among the different post lengths (P>.05) (Groups 1/3 PP = 405.4 N, 1/2 PP = 395.6 N, 2/3 PP = 393.8 N). Failures occurred mainly due to core fracture. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that an increased post length in teeth restored with prefabricated posts did not significantly increase the fracture resistance of endodontically treated teeth.


Over the last few decades, urban areas in Bangladesh have had dramatic growth as a result of rapid population expansion and technological and political changes. Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh has experienced a higher rate of urban growth in recent decades and it has transformed into a megacity. This creates many challenges, especially about how to feed, shelter and generate employment in a sustainable way. As such, the city is characterized by a high level of poverty and social vulnerability, poor infrastructure and social services, poor quality of the physical and social environment, and inefficient urban management. This paper provides a general understanding of urban policy and urbanization in Bangladesh and tries to embrace the related issues and challenges hindering national urban policy in Bangladesh. There are many priority matters requiring attention like the formulation of national urban policy, promoting good governance, enacting appropriate legislation for land-use control, related human resource and sustainable development in Bangladesh. Poverty reduction is one of the most significant parts of urban policy for viable urbanization in this developing country. Bangladesh should formulate a corresponding focus in its national urban policy. Donors should provide the necessary financial backing for such a sustainable and equitable urban policy for Bangladesh.


This research took an Interpretative Phenomenological approach to explore the school experience of young people of African-Caribbean descent. Four young people aged 16-18 were interviewed using a semi-structured format. Data generated from the interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Three Master themes were drawn from the young people's accounts; Wanting to succeed; Fitting in; and Transcending challenge. From the participants' accounts it was interpreted that the young people valued learning, although they demonstrated differing significance that learning held for them. The young people made distinctions between schooling and education, sometimes being critical of schooling whilst continuing to value education. It was interpreted from the accounts that participants demonstrated both a desire to achieve and progress, as well as self-belief in their ability to do so. Concepts of 'Success' were drawn from the young people's accounts including personal ownership of personal effort, overcoming challenge, achieving beyond expectations and aspiring to reach full potential. Agency, resilience and resistance were discernible in the young people's accounts and revealed themselves through expressions of positive self-concept, aspiration, self determination, challenging negative expectations, growing out of experience, application of coping strategies, goal orientation and demonstrations of autonomy.
The young people experienced varying degrees of fitting in to their school environment, which appeared to be mediated by how they experienced their racialised identity in their school setting, the emotional experiences they had in school and the level to which they experienced a sense of belonging. The young people who experienced a greater sense of belonging attended diverse schools, they described the sense of being one of many and experienced their schools as safe and caring places. For others, school was experienced as an uncomfortable place, wherein they experienced a sense of being 'othered' and of being treated unfairly.
Implications for schools focus on the need to develop a positive school ethos through which young people are able to feel valued and cared for, developing understanding of the cultural and 'racial' dynamics at play within the school environment and how these may be experienced by pupils of African-Caribbean descent, and addressing issues of diversity in the setting. Implications for Educational Psychologists (EPs) focussed on ways in which they can apply their psychology to support schools in understanding the needs of pupils of African-Caribbean descent, however, it is also suggested that the profession participate in introspective exploration related to its understanding of inequality.


Due to the complexity of scientific processes, computing and storage resources in a scientific workflow are often needed on an uneven basis, thus, the demand of resources is elastically changing during a run of a workflow. Most existing workflow scheduling algorithms only consider a computing environment in which the number of compute resources is bounded. Resources assigned to a workflow cannot be automatically determined on demand of the size of the workflow and are not released to the environment until an execution of the workflow completes. The salient features of service-oriented computing have brought a new opportunity to schedule workflows on resources with elastically changing demand, as they allow resources to scale on demand as usage changes through dynamic provisioning. To address this issue, we firstly formalize a model of a service-oriented computing environment and a workflow graph representation for the environment. Then, we propose SCPOR, a scientific workflow scheduling algorithm that is able to schedule workflows in need of elastically changing compute resources. Our extensive experiments and comparisons for compute-intensive and data-intensive workflows have shown that SCPOR not only outperforms several representative workflow scheduling algorithms in optimizing workflow execution time, but also enables resources to scale elastically during workflow execution.


During the last years there has been a wide reduction in institution places in psychiatric health care. The purpose of this study was to present how psychiatric patients experience their situation at home, and in what situations they need help from the psychiatric community nurses. Data were gathered from eleven qualitative interviews with eight patients. A hermeneutical approach and method was used in the study. The main focus was on the quality of life of the patients. The patients expressed a need of having an informal contact with the nurses and that the nurses focused on motivation and practical action. Three main factors showed out to be the causes related to the need of help. The first factor was the experience of psychological pain. The second factor was the experience of loneliness, and the third factor was related to the tendency of passivity. The patients need for help and guidance was therefore often related to emotional support, social contact and activities.


Biodiversity education for sustainable development is crucial for the challenges of the 21st century and provides us with an excellent context for interdisciplinary study or issues based teaching. A pedagogical consideration of such courses is just as critical as the content i.e. the biodiversity ideas being communicated. Experiential learning and constructivist approaches to teaching and learning are important strategies to help students make value judgements and to reflect on their own behaviour. At the core of constructivism is a "view of human knowledge as a process of personal cognitive construction, or invention, undertaken by the individual who is trying, for whatever purpose, to make sense of her social or natural environment" (Taylor 1993). Thus when teaching students about the natural environment with a view to promoting sustainable practices, constructivist teaching makes good sense. The learning process is based in the personal experiences of the students and the acquisition of knowledge is the product of activities that take place in particular cultural contexts. Knowledge is constructed by the learners in the sense that they relate new elements of knowledge to already existing cognitive structures (Bruner 1993). Thus this approach to teaching can help overcome some of the challenges of teaching in higher education today, notably students with a wide variety of experiences, prior knowledge and goals. If we compare the traditional science curriculum with that of constructivist approaches the benefits are further outlined.


Introduction The tradition of advocacy remains an essential underpinning of our mission. Virtually every person who has worked in the field of aging over the past forty years has called him- or herself an advocate at some point, and meant it. And for most, it has been true. I think of myself as a veteran of many years and many battles (some of which were really important and, in the spirit of full disclosure, some of which were not), and I take advocacy to be a very important subject. So, to be asked by the editorial board of Generations to be guest editor of an edition on advocacy was a real honor. It meant that I was going to have the opportunity to ask people who are giants in our field to write pieces that would be guided by my vision. And, I could ask people far more articulate than I to communicate complexities that I would be hard-pressed to elucidate. I had to ask myself, was I up to it, since my primary qualifications rest largely on being an ex-public official. So, after the inevitable failure of good sense to overcome the urges of ego, I accepted. In thinking through what might be written about advocacy for people in the field of aging, the first task was to decide what to concentrate on. Advocacy means many things to different people. As a result, we could choose a specific kind of advocacy to focus on, and try to treat a number of applications of it, sorting through contexts, why a particular approach was selected, what its success was, and the like. Or, we could try to look at the issue of advocacy at one particular level of government, say, the federal level, and examine advocacy on even one issue from many angles. What are the approaches to advocacy that were tried on an issue? Which ones worked and which ones failed? (It would seem the second category might have more to choose from.) And, how has advocacy in Washington changed over the years and since September 11, 2001? Perhaps because of my own professional history, and perhaps because so many things that affect the lives of older people are not decided at the federal level, I think it would be a disservice to Generations readers to concentrate exclusively on federal advocacy. Most of them work in the field (with real people), or teach those who will, and most of the actual service rendered to older people, while it might be connected to federal policy, is administered by state governments. Still other services come from purely local resources. In this issue, we needed to touch on them all. The next consideration was how "intellectual" to be about this. Advocacy is something that is rarely analyzed directly. We think of the work of lawyers, consumer advocates, and the like. There is published material on advocacy processes, usually oriented to the passage of legislation, and various organizations have developed numerous programs to train people in advocacy techniques. But, not a lot has been written about advocacy itself. The last task, which was both a joy and a challenge, was to recruit authors for this edition. As you all know, the field of aging has some of the most articulate and best-informed advocates and students of the many aspects of advocacy in the United States, and it was a joy to work, albeit briefly, with each of those in our assembled collection. The challenge came from having to choose among so many who would have made great contributions. With all due respect to those who were not able to be involved, our contributors to this issue have donc a wonderful job and, as I had hoped, have taught me a lot. I have learned the humbling lesson that most successful editors must have always known. You look good when you find authors who know a lot more about things and can write about them better than you can. We tried to strike a balance in some way. First of all, advocacy for older people has many meanings, and it has a historical context. Our authors Elias Cohen and Rob Hudson perfectly set the scene and give us the tools for thinking about the rest of the issue. …


A two-step procedure has been described for the total reconstitution of 50S ribosomal subunit from E. coli. RNA and proteins are mixed with stoichiometry of 1:1.2 and incubated at 44 degrees C in 4.0 mM Mg2+ followed by a second incubation at 50 degrees C in 20 mM Mg2+ (Dohme and Nierhaus, J. Mol. Biol. 107, 585 (1976)). A modified method recently reported makes use of an altered preparation technique for the RNA and proteins and requires an RNA to protein stoichiometry of 1:2.5 and 7.5 mM Mg2+ in the first incubation (Amils et al., Nucl. Acid Res. 5, 2455 (1978)). The latter requirements are not compatible with the findings obtained with the first procedure. A comparison of the various RNA and protein fractions from the different groups revealed that the Mg2+ dependence of reconstitution is a function of the RNA preparation, whereas the stoichiometry depends upon the technique used for isolation of the protein fraction. The different RNA preparations were compared in the electron microscope.


There are several mechanisms by which users can gain insight into where their packets have gone, but no mechanisms allow users undeniable proof that their packets did not traverse certain parts of the world while on their way to or from another host. This paper introduces the problem of finding "proofs of avoidance": evidence that the paths taken by a packet and its response avoided a user-specified set of "forbidden" geographic regions. Proving that something did not happen is often intractable, but we demonstrate a low-overhead proof structure built around the idea of what we call "alibis": relays with particular timing constraints that, when upheld, would make it impossible to traverse both the relay and the forbidden regions. We present Alibi Routing, a peer-to-peer overlay routing system for finding alibis securely and efficiently. One of the primary distinguishing characteristics of Alibi Routing is that it does not require knowledge of--or modifications to--the Internet's routing hardware or policies. Rather, Alibi Routing is able to derive its proofs of avoidance from user-provided GPS coordinates and speed of light propagation delays. Using a PlanetLab deployment and larger-scale simulations, we evaluate Alibi Routing to demonstrate that many source-destination pairs can avoid countries of their choosing with little latency inflation. We also identify when Alibi Routing does not work: it has difficulty avoiding regions that users are very close to (or, of course, inside of).


A novel series of superconducting cuprates with the nominal compositions (Pb0.5Cd0.5)Sr2(Y1-xCax)Cu2O7- delta is reported. These readily form as the (Pb, Cd)-1212 phase in air and they exhibit superconductivity without the need for annealing or quenching treatments. The highest transition temperature recorded in these materials is 92 K as measured by the onset of diamagnetism.


Background: Despite recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) regarding infant safe sleep practices, 39% of sleep-related infant deaths (SRID) occur among African American (AA) families each year. Effective interventions that promote AA parents/caregivers' safe sleep practices for infants could help reduce SRID. Objective: To identify appropriate safe sleep interventions that increased compliance of AAP recommendations to reduce the risk of SRID among AA mothers/caregivers, a literature review was conducted. Methods: PubMed, EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar search engines were utilized to identify evidence-based research studies, published in English from 2000-2019 in the U.S that demonstrated the effectiveness of safe sleep interventions for AA parents/caregivers based on the AAP recommendations. Findings: The literature review revealed that multiple-element interventions such as free cribs and related materials, and safe sleep education increased adherence to AAP recommendations as evidenced by the majority mothers using the crib and adopting safe sleep recommendations. Conclusion and Recommendations: Although multiple interventions including education are valuable, culturally appropriate research is needed to better understand what specific intervention(s) will work to increase adherence to the AAP safe sleep recommendations among the remaining 39% of AA parents/caregivers who contribute disproportionately to the SRID disparity. Behavioral and environmental barriers preventing the adoption of safe sleep interventions also need to be studied in this target group of AA parents/caregivers. It is recommended that findings from these highly targeted evidence-based culturally appropriate studies be used to focus on funding, prevention programming, and policies toward the causes of SRID to close the disparity gap.


This study was carried to investigate the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of seasonal salted-Kimchi cabbage order to provide basic data for optimal salting and storage condition of seasonal Kimchi cabbage. Generally, fall season samples had slightly higher pH and acidity value than the other seasonal salted Kimchi cabbage. The soluble solids content of spring, summer, fall and winter samples were 5.95%, 6.18%, 6.29% and 7.76%, respectively. The salt content of all the seasonal salted Kimchi cabbage samples were insignificant. The number of microbial bacteria in the summer samples were generally much more significant than spring and winter samples. There was no significant difference in the color of seasonal salted Kimchi cabbage. As for the texture properties, the firmest samples in the surface rupture test were the spring samples (force: 4.92 kg), and the hardest samples in the puncture test were the summer samples (force: 11.71 kg). In the correlation analysis of the quality characteristics of seasonal samples, the soluble solids content and hardness of the seasonal salted Kimchi cabbage was significantly correlated at 1% significance level. Also, in the principal component analysis, F1 and F2 were shown to explain 27.28% and 35.59% of the total variance (62.87%), respectively. The hierarchical cluster analysis of the quality characteristics of seasonal samples, the samples were divided into three groups: spring cabbage group, summer cabbage group and fall and winter cabbage group.


The problem in improving the positioning precision of a permanent magnet linear synchronous motor (LSM) is the large detent force caused by the permanent magnet. The detent force is thought to arise from the difference of the position of a permanent magnet end and a tooth position. If one detent force is independent from the other, we can reduce the total detent force of the permanent magnet linear synchronous motor by the arrangement of a permanent magnet end and a tooth. This paper presents are improvement of the arrangement of the permanent magnet end of a linear synchronous motor in order to reduce the detent force by using numerical analysis.


In shot peened α-brass surface layer {111} type planar defects anddeformation microtwins have been observed by means of TEM analysis. Thedensity of microtwins decreases with the increase of layer depth. The enhancementof fatigue strength and the unrelaxation of residual stress after shot peening areconcerned in the substructures of strengthened layer.


A dietary supplement containing an extract of the Basidiomycete fungus Agaricus blazei Murill with potential chemopreventive, antineoplastic and immunopotentiating activities. Agaricus blazei Murill extract contains high levels of phytochemicals, especially beta-D-glucans. Beta-D-glucans may promote dendritic cell (DC) maturation; increase interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and immunoglobulin levels; and may enhance natural killer (NK) cell activity, potentially boosting anti-tumor host immune responses.


Examines the effect of the quality of a salesperson's relationship with a customer on the likelihood of retaining that customer's business. Assesses the effects of high/low‐quality buyer‐salesperson relationships on obtaining referrals and recommendations from a customer. Results indicate that buyers who rated the quality of their relationship with their salesperson as above average were more likely to remain. In addition, above average buyer‐salesperson relationships were more likely to generate recommendations and referrals from customers. Suggests that a salesperson's efforts to build relationships are rewarded by greater customer retention and increased business through referrals and recommendations.


A second-order integrated LC bandpass delta-sigma modulator is presented. This modulator is implemented in a 0.5-/spl mu/m bipolar process and can be used for digitizing radio frequency or high intermediate frequency signals. It employs an integrated LC resonator with active Q-enhancement and two nonreturn-to-zero digital-to-analog pulse-shaping feedback loops. The modulator test chip achieves a signal-to-noise ratio of 57 dB over a 200-kHz bandwidth for converting a 950-MHz signal, and dissipates 135 mW with a 5-V supply.


There are few references in the literature to the Guillain-Barre syndrome as a complication of antirabies vaccination. The complication of polyneuritis in the Pasteur treatment of rabies is well known. In Remlinger's 1 comprehensive statistical analysis of 234 neuroparalytic accidents, polyneuritis comprised one of the three clinical forms of neurologic complications of the therapy. The clinical picture of the polyneuritis is adequately described in the various neurologic texts. Brain 2 emphasized the frequency of involvement of the facial nerve, while Nielsen 3 rather tersely commented, "The picture of polyneuritis occurs with rather frequent facial paralysis. This... form of disease resembles somewhat the Guillain-Barre syndrome"; but he did not pursue the subject further. The only case report found in the literature concerning polyneuritis associated with albuminocytologic dissociation as a complication of antirabies vaccination was that by Marinescu and Draganesco. 4 They described the development of the Guillain-Barre syndrome in a man


We introduce the problem of mesh optical network protection based on multiple logical ring/cycles. A two-staged problem formulation as well as classical ring finding algorithms are first discussed. A state-of-art protection cycle (p-cycle) finding algorithm is then proposed. This algorithm is scalable and especially suitable for sparse mesh networks. Finally, the performance of the algorithm is gauged by running on some real world network topologies.


Two different test facilities were operated over a period of eight month to clean exhaust air from two chicken stables. The exhaust air was initially cleaned by a dry working dust filter and subsequently scubbed with an acidified washing solution. Volumetric flow, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide as well as ammonia were measured quasi continuously. The particulate matter reduction was detected 45 times and the odour reduction three times over the measuring period. At filter load between 2300 and 2600 m3/(m2 . h) an overall ammonia mass reduction up to 88% was achieved, if the scrubbing was operated with a pH value below 5. The particulate matter reduction was 73% (particle size range 1.3 - 1.6 um) and 99% (particle size range >5.0 um), respectivly. In spite of a good ammonia and particulate matter reduction the calculated odour reduction was insufficient with 16 - 37%. The typical odour perception from a chicken house could also not be eliminated.


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 45, 2004

1469

The thyroid hormone receptors (TR) are members of the nuclear receptor family that play key roles in the regulation of metabolism and cell and tissue differentiation. Consistent with these important roles it has become increasingly well documented that dysregulation of TR expression or function contributes to the development and or progression of diverse cancers. In contrast however, the importance of TRs to either normal or malignant haemopoiesis has been relatively under studied. We have therefore used conventional and real-time quantitative RT-PCR to study the expression of TRα1 and TRβ1 in primary AML cells and cell lines and compared these to the expression of the same receptors in normal primary blast cells and cells of the FDCP-mix murine model of myelopoiesis. The most striking observation has been that whereas TRβ1 expression was readily detected in primary normal blast cells and in FDCP-mix cells at all stages of differentiation from blasts to erythrocytes, granulocytes or monocytes, none of the AML cell lines had detectable TRβ1 expression. We similarly failed to detect TRβ1 expression in 144 of 278 AML samples at time of entry to the United Kingdom Based MRC AML 12 trial. Thus it is unlikely that loss of TRβ1 expression by AML cell lines represents a tissue culture based artefact. We therefore undertook to re-express TRβ1 in HL-60, K562, U937 and KG1a cells. These experiments used a MSCV based bicistronic retroviral vector containing GFP as a marker signal and an interstitial ribosomal entry site (IRES) for co-ordinate expression of TRβ1. We routinely achieved transfection of all cell lines with both vector control MSVC plasmids and TRβ1 bearing plasmids. However, beyond 15h there was reduced viability and GFP expression amongst TRβ1 transfected cells when compared to vector control cells in all cell lines. In more detailed studies using KG1a cells we also observed that proportion of GFP positive cells co-expressing Annexin V was greater in TRβ1 expressing cells than in GFP positive cells transfected with control vector. Furthermore, whereas 72h control transfected cultures retained GFP expressing cells after sorting at 24h, TRβ1 transfected cultures retained very few. These data suggest that re-expression of TRβ1 in AML cell lines induces apoptosis. Thus the frequent loss of TRβ1 by AML cells may represent a novel and important mechanism whereby the tumour cells avoid apoptosis.


The present invention comprises a pseudopolymorph of (-)-cis-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-8[4R-(3S-hydroxy-1-methyl)piperidinyl]-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one hydrochloride, a method of making same, a pharmaceutical composition and methods of using the pseudopolymorph.


We report here the discovery of new near-equal-mass trans-Neptunian Binary (TNB) L5c02 and the the putative detection of a second TNB (L4k12) among the detections in the second and third years of the Canada-France Ecliptic Plane Survey (CFEPS). These new binaries (internal designations L4k12 and L5c02) have moderate separations of 0.4″ and 0.6″, respectively. The follow-up observation confirmed the binarity of L5c02, but L4k12 still lacks follow-up observations. L4k12 has a heliocentric orbital inclination of ∼35°, marking this system as having the highest heliocentric orbital inclination among known near-equal-mass binaries. Both systems are members of the classical main Kuiper belt population. Based on the sample of objects searched, we determine that the fraction of near-equal-mass wide binaries with separations >0.4″ is 1.5% to 20% in the cold main classical Kuiper belt, and if our detection of the binarity L4k12 holds, 3% to 43% in the hot main classical objects are binary. In this article we describe our detection process, the sample of objects surveyed, and our confirmation observations.


Background: Dual speci�city phosphatase 7 (DUSP7) is a protein belonging to a broad group of phosphatases that can dephosphorylate phosphoserine/phosphothreonine as well as phosphotyrosine residues within the same substrate. DUSP7 has been linked to the negative regulation of mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK), and in particular to the regulation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2). MAPKs play an important role in embryonic development, where their duration, magnitude, and spatiotemporal activity must be strictly controlled by other proteins, among others by DUSPs. Methods: In this study, we focused on the effect of DUSP7 depletion on the in vitro differentiation of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Undifferentiated stem cells as well as cells at various days of in vitro differentiation protocol were used for analysis using mainly qPCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD). Statistical analysis was assessed by t-test and by one-or two-way ANOVA, and by Bonferroni's Multiple Comparison post hoc test. Values of P < 0.05 were considered to be statistically signi�cant ( ∗ p < 0.05). Results: We showed that even though DUSP7 knock-out ES cells do retain some of their basic characteristics, when it comes to differentiation, they preferentially differentiate towards neural cells, while the formation of early cardiac mesoderm is repressed. Conclusions: Our data indicate that DUSP7 is necessary for the correct formation of neuroectoderm and cardiac mesoderm during the in vitro differentiation of ES cells.


Knowing information is important for students, especially information about the college. The fame of using SMS gateway as the information spread media which has much deficiency, such as the needs of credit as the sending media and cannot searching message. Nowadays some message delivery media based on Android come up with the lack in some aspects. For an instant, the user of a group can send a message in the group's chat rooms so that the important message can jumble with the other information.
In this research, we will offer an application that is able to give real-time information. The information used one line system so that it cannot jumble with the other information. The information contain the alarm that has benefit to remind the user and then the message searching feature to help the user to look for the previous information, the usage of website technology as the data organizing be able to be accessed by the administrator, furthermore the usage of mobile device with android based can be accessed more easily and also the usage of API from firebase to send a message in the real time. This research resulted in applications that can support needs such as providing information specifically in realtime and have an alarm feature activity.

Keywords :  Notifikasi, Firebase Cloud Messaging, Android, PHP, MySQL


Although molecular biology evidence suggests a strong link between HPVs and anogenital neoplasias, evidence from clinical studies is still less convincing. Thus, the recognition of both overt and subclinical HPV infection has become increasingly important. We studied the correlation between HPV DNA and cytologic, colposcopic and natural history findings in a defined group of women. The study population consisted of 150 HPV DNA positive cases (mean age 25.7 years, SD 7.4) and 69 randomly selected HPV DNA negative controls (mean age 27.3 years, SD 7.9) enrolled in an ongoing study of the natural history of genital HPV infections. All cases and controls had normal cervicovaginal cytology at the enrollment. A commercial dot-blot technique hybridization test (Virapap and Viratype, Digene Diagnostics, USA) was used for HPV DNA testing of cervicovaginal scrapes. Five percent of the patients had HPV 16/18, 31% had HPV 31/33/35, 15% had more than one of the three HPV DNA groups ("mixed"), and 15% had untypable HPV DNA. Cases and controls were followed by repeat examinations every 4th month. The mean follow-up time was 12.2 months (SD 8.7) for the cases, and 12.8 months (SD 6.9) for the controls. The study endpoint was defined as the presence of cytologic changes consistent with CIN. The overall prevalence of atypical transformation zone (ATZ) findings was 45% in the controls and 56% in the cases, with no significant differences between the specific HPV DNA groups. Although vulvar or vaginal abnormalities (acetowhite epithelium, squamous papillomatosis, filaments, satellite lesions, fissures, papules or exophytic condylomas) were more commonly seen in the cases than in the controls, the difference was significant only for condylomas and fissures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


We present a novel route for the preparation of amino acid-derived cyclic imide dioxime derivatives. Readily accessible amino acids were conveniently converted to their corresponding cyclic imide dioximes in simple synthetic steps. The aim of this work was to describe and compare the iron-chelating and antioxidant properties of synthesized compounds in relation to their molecular structure, and in particular, which of those features are essential for iron(II)-chelating ability. The glutarimide dioxime moiety has been established as an iron(II)-binding motif and imparts potent anti-Fenton properties to the compounds. Compound 3 was shown to strongly suppress hydroxyl radical formation by preventing iron cycling via Fe-complexation. These findings provide insights into the structural requirements for achieving anti-Fenton activity and highlight the potential use of glutarimide dioximes as antioxidants.


Purpose
This paper provides the backdrop to the other seven articles in this WHATT 2018 theme issue dedicated to Guyana. This paper looks back and ahead at the development of tourism in Guyana. The purpose of this paper is to enable the reader to have a clear understanding of the provenance of the industry over the past 50 years and how that evolution informs the possible direction and future of the industry up to the year 2025 and beyond.

Design/methodology/approach
As would be expected of any study that examines the antecedence of a phenomenon, there is reliance to a significant degree upon historical material and interviews. The former comprises studies done by tourism consultants and researchers in Guyana, as well as publications from government agencies and sources. Further, especially in the quest for information relating to contemporary policies and developments, the interview method has been used.

Findings
This paper establishes that the evolution of tourism in Guyana is a movement from obscurity and insignificance to prominence and vibrancy. From being off the tourism map for many decades, Guyana is now enhancing its profile in the Caribbean region and carving a "green niche" for itself in the nature and adventure travel market.

Originality/value
This paper provides special value to persons working in the development of tourism, in either the public or private sector.


We have constructed a cDNA-expression library of approximately 100,000 members from embryonic chicken smooth-muscle mRNA using the plasmid-expression vectors pUC8 and pUC9. Using an immunological screening procedure and 32P-labeled cDNA probes, we have identified and isolated clones encoding smooth-muscle tropomyosin. Plasmid pSMT-10 (approximately 1100 base pairs) was found to hybrid-select mRNA for smooth-muscle alpha-tropomyosin. DNA-sequence analysis revealed that pSMT-10 contained the entire coding region for alpha-tropomyosin and portions of the 5'- and 3'-untranslated regions. Comparison of the derived amino acid sequence of smooth-muscle alpha-tropomyosin with known skeletal-muscle (rabbit and chicken) and platelet (equine) sequences revealed extensive homology between the various proteins. The smooth-muscle tropomyosin shows the greatest sequence divergence from the skeletal-muscle tropomyosins at the COOH-terminal region. In contrast, the smooth-muscle tropomyosin is most homologous to the platelet tropomyosin at the COOH-terminal end. The relationship of the various tropomyosin sequences to function (e.g. interactions with troponin) are considered.


Background & Problem Statement:Universities need improve the evidence of their contributions to society; an alternative is the self-evaluation of intellectual capital as complement to financial perspective. Failure to measure or to report on intellectual capital can result in excessive costs and high volatility, underinvestment, misallocation of resources and the risk of improper valuation.Objectives:Compare the intellectual capital (human capital, structural capital, relational capital and technological capital) in two Mexican public universities.Compare perception of directors, managers and academics about intellectual capital levels in their universities.Hypothesis:H1: There are differences in the perceived levels of intellectual capital (human capital, structural capital, relational capital and technological capital) in two Mexican public universities.H2: The hierarchical level (executives, managers and academics) significantly influences the perception of the level of intellectual capital (human capital, structural capital, relational capital and technological capital).H3: The interaction between the educational institution (U1 and U2) and hierarchical level (executives, managers and academics) generate a differentiation in the perception of intellectual capital (human capital, structural capital, relational capital and technological capital).Method/Procedure:It is a probabilistic study with two independent samples of 516 subjects (n1=287 and n2= 229). The scale of Intellectual Capital for Public Institutions of Higher Education was used in the collection of primary data. It's integrated for 45 questions using multiple choice formats as the Guthman scale with two ends: appropriate- inadequate. Low scores reflect low levels of intellectual capital. Levels of reliability between .879 and .964 were reached. During the implementation process of the questionnaire it was guaranteed anonymity and confidentiality. For data analysis, Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was computed to simultaneously detect the statistical significance of differences between the means of the four dependent variables (human capital, structural capital, relational capital and technological capital) and categories of the two independent variables (organization and position). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was computed to test hypotheses 1 and 2. For hypothesis 3 preceded to a two-factor ANOVA (2X3) fixed effects.Results:Differences between the two institutions and between hierarchical levels (executives, managers and academics) regarding the perceived level of intellectual capital are confirmed. Intellectual capital is higher in U2 than in U1, although both must be better. Highest score corresponded to relational capital; lower score was in the human capital to U2 and structural capital to U1. Middle managers have better perception of human capital and structural capital; executives perceive better the relational capital and technological capital. Academics perceive greater gap between the existing and the required intellectual capital. No differences in the interaction between school (organizational level) and hierarchical levels (individual level) in the capital intellectual observed.Conclusions:These findings serve to justify the investment in intellectual capital and inform internal and external stakeholders of the skills, resources and commitment with which the institution has to contribute to a better society. From the differentiated perception of intellectual capital in these educational institutions, can lead to the conclusion that the ability to acquire and exploit intangible resources depends on the location in time and space of each organization. It urgent the intellectual capital management as a proactive choice based on knowledge. On the one hand, the mission of the intellectual capital management is train qualified personnel, generate knowledge and disseminate culture; on the other, few actions toward generating own resources and must optimize what they have available. We must prove that the practical sense of intellectual capital is the creation of value.


The exhibition A Fateful Journey: Africa in the Works of El Anatsui began at the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, in September 2010. My two main goals as curator were to dedicate a large-scale show to one living black African artist and to represent Anatsui's artworks through narratives of both art history and cultural anthropology. The second goal would not likely be accepted by artworld professionals in Africa, for contemporary African art and artists have unfortunately been suspended between the ethnological museum and the art gallery and between cultural anthropology and art history. But there might be a positive way to examine this situation and meaningfully represent art from a variety of viewpoints, including cultural anthropology and related fields. This exhibition is designed to develop a new site shared by multiple narratives and to encourage curators and art galleries in Japan to turn their eyes to art worlds outside Euro-America.


This paper addresses human capital in the Arctic in relation to tourism. More specifically, with an ever-increasing number oftourists recognizing the attractiveness of the Arctic, tour companies ar ...


Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Purpose: To describe and evaluate the effectiveness of a new technique to close 23-gauge sclerotomies in transconjunctival pars plana vitrectomy. Materials and Methods: A prospective, consecutive, interventional study of 90 eyes of 90 patients who underwent 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy with the introduction of the new sealing technique was conducted. The 23-gauge sclerotomies were hydrated with a 30-gauge needle inserted in the scleral stroma near the scleral opening. Results: A total of 90 eyes of 90 patients were recruited in the study. The number of the eyes requiring suture for sclerotomy closure was 3.3% (3 of 90), and the sclerotomies requiring suture were 1.4% (4 of 270). Three eyes had hypotony on Day 1. No statistically significant difference was registered between preoperative intraocular pressure and postoperative intraocular pressure on Days 15 and 30. No leaking of endotamponade bubble filling was noticed on Day 1. No postoperative complications were registered during the follow-up period. Conclusion: The intrascleral stroma hydration is a simple and fast technique that does not require extra surgical materials.


Twenty-seven isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis from patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis or infected cerebrospinal fluid shunts were examined for susceptibility to antimicrobial agents. Subpopulations resistant to 20 and 100 μg of methicillin per ml were present in 63% of the isolates (methicillin-resistant isolates). Subpopulations resistant to 20 μg of nafcillin and cephalothin per ml were found in every methicillin-resistant isolate but with frequencies (10−5.0 ± 0.5 and 10−6.4 ± 0.9, respectively) which were not always detectable by susceptibility testing. Resistance to ≥1.6 μg of penicillin per ml was found in 80% of isolates. Cephalothin, cefazolin, and cefamandole were more active than cefoxitin or cephradine, and gentamicin was more active than tobramycin or amikacin; rifampin was the single most active agent against all isolates. There was no difference in susceptibility between prosthetic valve endocarditis and cerebrospinal fluid shunt infection isolates. Among methicillin-resistant isolates, the phenotypic expression of resistance to methicillin or nafcillin but not to cephalothin could be enhanced by 48 h of incubation with each drug. Isolates containing no methicillin-resistant subpopulations were killed by incubation with methicillin, nafcillin, or cephalothin. High-level resistance to rifampin emerged in both methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive isolates after 8 to 24 h of incubation with this drug. The presence or absence of antibiotic-resistant subpopulations among S. epidermidis isolates and their selection during treatment should be considered when therapy is devised.


The inherent limitations of mobile devices necessitate information to be delivered to mobile clients to be highly personalized according to their profiles. This information may be coming from a variety of resources like Web servers, company intranets, email servers. A critical issue for such systems is scalability, that is, the performance of the system should be in acceptable limits when the number of users increases dramatically. Another important issue is being able to express highly personalized information in the user profiles, which requires a querying power as that of SQL on relational databases. Finally, the results should be customized according to user needs, preferences and the mark up language of their mobile device. Since the queries will be executed on the documents fetched over the Internet, it is natural to expect the documents to be XML documents.This paper describes an architecture for mobile network operators to deliver highly personalized information from XML resources to mobile clients. To achieve high scalability in this architecture, we index the user profiles rather than the documents because of the excessively large number of profiles expected in the system. In this way all queries that apply to a document at a given time are executed in parallel through a finite state machine (FSM) approach while parsing the document. Furthermore, the queries that have the same FSM representation are grouped and only one finite state machine is created for each group which contributes to the excellent performance of the system as demonstrated in the performance evaluation section.To provide for user friendliness and expressive power, we have developed a graphical user interface that translates the user profiles into XML-QL. XML-QL's querying power and its elaborate CONSTRUCT statement allows the format of the results to be specified. The results to be pushed to the mobile clients are converted to the markup language of the mobile device such as Wireless Markup Language (WML), CHTML or XHTML by the delivery component of the system.


Background
Accurate assessment of movement limitations and compliance monitoring of exercises to restore movement are necessary to tailor treatments for individuals with motor deficits. Although several commercial-grade technologies are available to clinicians for evaluating movement limitations, they require one-on-one time-consuming assessments with limited reproducibility across care settings. To address these limitations, a wearable inertial sensors for exergames (WISE) system has been designed with: (I) an animated virtual coach to deliver instruction and (II) a subject-model whose movements are animated by real-time sensor measurements from the WISE system worn by a subject. This paper examines the WISE system's accuracy and usability for the assessment of upper limb range of motion (ROM).

Methods
Seventeen neurologically intact subjects were recruited to participate in a usability study of the WISE system. The subjects performed five shoulder and elbow exercises for each arm instructed by the animated virtual coach. The accuracy of ROM measurements obtained with the WISE system versus those obtained with the Kinect™ were compared using the root mean square error (RMSE) of the computed joint angles. The subjects additionally completed a system usability scale (SUS) to evaluate the usability of the virtual coach for tutoring ROM exercises.

Results
The absolute agreement between the WISE and Kinect devices was moderate to very good and it was limited because the Kinect sensor suffers from occlusion. The Bland-Altman limits of agreement for the exercises in the coronal and transverse planes were within the acceptable limits of ±10°. The SUS response data produced relatively high third and first quartile scores of 97.5 and 82.5, respectively, with the interquartile range of 15 and the minimum score of 65, suggesting that the subjects were interested in using the animated virtual coach for tutoring ROM exercises.

Conclusions
An animated virtual coach-based WISE system for mHealth is presented, tested, and validated for guided upper limb ROM exercises. Future studies with patient populations will facilitate the use of these devices in clinical and telerehabilitation settings.


Through field surveys and evaluation on several widened concrete pavements, issues on construction and design related problems are broken down into three categories to be discussed ; poor smoothness, influence of traffic vibration on concrete curing, and poor connection to the existing pavement. There are many places where about 100㎜ only of the marginal strip is removed and where defects such as widening and faulting are observed. Also cracks arise again from the patched areas due to stress concentration near the joint. Roughness on the widened concrete pavement was evaluated and there are some stations where the smoothness limit is over passed. For design consideration, shortage of the required force in the tie-bar is expected in case of road widening specially from 3 lanes to 4 lanes. Finally the average pull-out force of specimens made from the current practice was about 57% of the required force. New connecting methods were suggested in this study.


Abstract Spruce and beech wood specimens were sanded with four different grain sizes. Surface morphological and chemical changes were determined by roughness measurement, surface free energy determination according to acid-base theory and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. An analysis model was proposed to describe chemical changes due to sanding and the data were analysed according to it. It could be shown that spruce and beech behave similarly over a wide range and that chemical changes are non-linear functions of grain size and thus surface roughness. A maximum of surface free energy and a maximum of carbon C1s sub-peak ratio (ratio of carbon bonded to a single non-carbonyl oxygen to carbon bonded only to hydrogen or other carbon atoms) was found for middle grain size.


The susceptibility of fetal rat skin to neoplastic induction with Shope papilloma virus (SPV) was studied. While a high proportion of fetal rat skin grafts infected with SPV and transplanted to the cheek pouches of cortisone-treated hamsters became papillomatous, only a small proportion of similar grafts placed in syngeneic rats became transformed. Those papillomas which did develop in the fetal rat skin grafts in syngeneic hosts always regressed. The regression was preceded and accompanied by a lymphocytic infiltration. An explanation for these observations may be that rats are capable of recognizing a new antigen in syngeneic epidermal cells transformed by SPV, and of subsequently mounting an effective immunologic attack against the papilloma cells.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the association between the presence of phosphoinositide-phospholipase C beta1 (PI-PLCbeta1) mono-allelic deletion with the clinical outcome of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients.

METHODS
PI-PLCbeta1, PI-PLCbeta4, and PI-PLCgamma1 cytogenetic investigations were performed on 80 newly diagnosed MDS patients (18 low risk, 26 intermediate 1, 18 intermediate 2, 18 high risk) comparing the results with the clinical outcome of the patients. Moreover, fluorescent in situ hybridization results were validated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Finally, PI-PLCbeta1 gene and protein expression were assessed by both real-time PCR and immunocytochemical experiments.

RESULTS
Collectively, 35 (43.75%) of 80 of the MDS patients showed a specific mono-allelic deletion of PI-PLCbeta1. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a significant association (P < .0001) between the PI-PLCbeta1 mono-allelic deletion and a higher risk of evolution into acute myeloid leukemia (AML), since 23 of 35 MDS patients (65.7%) bearing the PI-PLCbeta1 mono-allelic deletion evolved into AML. Even in multivariate analysis, the PI-PLCbeta1 mono-allelic deletion retained a higher significance, with a P < .001, as a prognostic factor of evolution into AML (odds ratio [OR] 1.83; 95% CI, 2.26 to 17.24; P = .00045). Finally, PI-PLCbeta1 deletion was related to an altered gene and protein expression.

CONCLUSION
PI-PLCbeta1 mono-allelic deletion is associated with a worse clinical outcome in MDS patients, hinting at the identification of a new group at higher risk of AML evolution and representing a reliable prognostic tool. Moreover, targeting PI-PLCbeta1 pathways might emerge as a new therapeutic strategy for MDS.


Combining the traditional methods with online information marketers has discovered a successful marketing pattern. The traditional marketing methods of print, television, and direct mailings are being complemented with the use of e-marketing strategies; thus saving time and money. Over the last two decades it has been noticed that the human lifestyles are changing faster than their thoughts. This study is focused on the middle income house-holds with a monthly income ranging from 30k to 60k. This research study comprehends the level of awareness and acceptance of internet marketing amongst the consumers in this defined income group. It also helps understand the perception of these consumers about on-line shopping and its various aspects. The study involves a sample size of 593 working consumers both males and females between the age of 25 yrs to 45 yrs. The most important finding of the study includes the fact that, there are sites where these consumers are comfortable and confident shopping while there are an other few which they do not trust. Key words: On-Line Shopping, Internet Purchases, Accepted Online Shops


The efficiency for conversion of a positron beam into a positronium (Ps) beam by charge exchange from molecular nitrogen has been investigated in the range of Ps kinetic energy, EPs = 30–250 eV. Measurements have also been made for the production efficiency of collimated Ps from molecular hydrogen in order to make a direct comparison with previous work. The results show that while H2 remains the best converter at lower energies, N2 becomes more efficient from 90 eV upwards. Using N2 as a production gas for collimated Ps, the accessible energy range for Ps scattering is increased by at least 100 eV. A measure of the differential Ps formation cross-section from N2, as well as indirect estimates of Ps–N2 total cross-sections, have also been obtained.


Creative Nation confirmed the shift by federal governments to viewing popular music as part of the Australian cultural economy, where the 'contemporary music' industries were expected to contribute to economic growth as much as providing a set of creative practices for musicians and audiences. In the 19 years between Creative Nation and Creative Australia, much has changed. This article examines relationships between the music industries, governments and audiences in three areas. First, it charts the funding of popular music within the broader cultural sector to illuminate the competing discourses and demands of the popular and classical music sectors in federal budgets. Second, it traces configurations of popular music and national identity as part of national policy. Third, the article explores how both national policy documents position Australian popular music amid global technological and regulatory shifts. As instruments of cultural nationalism, Creative Nation and Creative Australia are useful texts in assessing the opportunities and limits of nations in asserting coherent national strategies.


This paper proposes a new data table decomposition algorithm to address problems in extracting rules from massive data tables, e.g. low effectiveness, low computing speed and long rule length. With rough set theory, in the perspective of improving classification correctness and sub data table purity, this paper brings up attribute selection measure, and proposes to stop decomposing process to reduce the length of rules. Decompose data table with measures, and finally obtain a rule set with certain supportiveness. The length of obtained rules is short, the effectiveness of decision analysis is high, and it effectively overcomes the impact of noise on rough set data analysis.


Background Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are being seen and treated with increasing frequency in youth athletes, with the goal of returning patients to sports activity. This is particularly important for youth athletes, for whom sports provide physical, social and psychological development. Objectives To perform a systematic review of the orthopaedic surgery literature to investigate for any associations between treatment strategy and return to athletic activity after ACL tear in youth athletes under age 18 years. Data sources PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane computerised databases. Study eligibility criteria Inclusion criteria: (1) <18 years of age, (2) investigation of a relationship between time to treatment and consequent rates of returning to preinjury levels of athletic activity, (3) original research article (eg, not a review, case report or meta-analysis). Exclusion criteria: (1) revision ACL surgery, (2) language other than English, and (3) not a clinically based study. Participants Youth <18 years old with ACL tears. Interventions Acute ACL reconstruction, delayed ACL reconstruction, non-operative management. Synthesis methods Qualitative synthesis. Results Twenty studies met inclusion and exclusion criteria, of which four evaluated return to play after acute ACL reconstruction (ACLR), five studies evaluated return to play after delayed ACLR, and nine evaluated return to play after ACLR with an unspecified injury-to-surgery time interval. Two studies investigated return to play in a non-operative cohort. Of the 18 surgical studies, 14 employed a soft tissue transphyseal reconstruction. Rates of return to play were 78–100% after acute ACLR, 84–100% after delayed ACLR, 41–100% after ACLR with an indeterminate injury-to-surgery time interval and 6–52% after non-operative treatment of ACL tear. Limitations Several studies did not provide details about the timing of injury-to-surgery, and study heterogeneity precluded combining results in quantitative meta-analysis. Furthermore, the amount of time to full postinjury recovery remains largely unstudied. Conclusions and implications of key findings Based on available literature, there appears to be an improved rate of return to athletic activity after ACLR when compared with non-operative treatment. Future research should directly focus on time to return to sports activity, while taking into account the unique aspects of ACL reconstruction and non-operative management in youth athletes. This is of particular importance in children and adolescents given the physical, social and psychological development that occurs with sports participation. Trial registration number CRD42015027536.


A boy developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome (erythema multiforme) 2 weeks after taking a course of slow-release theophylline at the age of 9 years. He had suffered from bronchial asthma since early infancy. He did not attend for dental treatment until the age of 14 years, when panoramic radiography demonstrated varying degrees of arrested root development in the permanent dentition.


The German Empire of 1871, although unified politically, remained deeply divided along religious lines. In German Nationalism and Religious Conflict, Helmut Walser Smith offers the first social, cultural, and political history of this division. He argues that Protestants and Catholics lived in different worlds, separated by an "invisible boundary" of culture, defined as a community of meaning. As these worlds came into contact, they also came into conflict. Smith explores the local as well as the national dimensions of this conflict, illuminating for the first time the history of the Protestant League as well as the dilemmas involved in Catholic integration into a national culture defined primarily by Protestantism. The author places religious conflict within the wider context of nation-building and nationalism. The ongoing conflict, conditioned by a long history of mutual intolerance, was an integral part of the jagged and complex process by which Germany became a modern, secular, increasingly integrated nation. Consequently, religious conflict also influenced the construction of German national identity and the expression of German nationalism. Smith contends that in this religiously divided society, German nationalism did not simply smooth over tensions between two religious groups, but rather provided them with a new vocabulary for articulating their differences. Nationalism, therefore, served as much to divide as to unite German society.


The recent advances made by biotechnology have been swift and sundry. Technological developments seem to happen sooner than they can be ethically reflected upon. One such trend is the endeavours launched to try and enhance human beings and what it means to be human with movements such as transhumanism, advocating strongly that we should overcome our natural limitations by any means available. With both critics and advocates utilising the expression 'playing God', the question of human enhancement is one in which the interplay between church and society comes compellingly to the fore. In this contribution, I wish to examine the bioethical challenges that technologies such as genetic engineering, robotics and nanotechnology raise, specifically from a theological perspective on human enhancement and indicating some paths that future research might take. Christian anthropological views on what it means to be human, especially to be created imago Dei [to the image of God] will provide the doctrinal and theological support to this contemplation.


The Kenya Adolescent Reproductive Health Project (KARHP) was launched in October 1999 in Busia and Vihiga districts as a three-year operations research study to determine the feasibility, cost, and effectiveness of implementing systematic interventions that address the reproductive health (RH) needs of adolescents aged 10–19 years. This USAID-funded project is part of the Population Council's Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program's global operations research. PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health) is implementing the project, in collaboration with the Ministries of Health, Education, and Home Affairs, Heritage, and Sports. The objective of the study is to establish the effectiveness of interventions designed to increase adolescents' RH knowledge, delay the onset of sexual activity, increase adolescent use of RH services, and reduce risky sexual behavior. The community-based intervention comprises two components. The first is geared toward sensitizing stakeholders in the community about the need for adolescent RH services and information. The second provides services and information to adolescents through out-of-school peer educators. This document provides an update on the KARHP project.


Multidimensional Synchronous Dataflow (MDSDF) [15][7] is a model of computation that has been proposed for specifying multidimensional multirate signal processing systems such as image and video processing algorithms. The model is an extension of synchronous dataflow (SDF) [14] and has all of the desirable properties of the SDF model such as static schedulability, exposition of data and functional parallelism, and a visually pleasing syntax well suited for block diagram signal processing environments such as Ptolemy [6] and Khoros [13]. However, the MDSDF model as specified in [15] is limited to modeling multidimensional systems sampled on the standard rectangular lattice. Since many multidimensional signals of practical interest are sampled on non-rectangular lattices, for example, 2:1 interlaced video signals, and many multidimensional multirate systems use non-rectangular multirate operators like hexagonal decimators, it is of interest to have models that are capable of representing and simulating such systems. This report describes an extension of the MDSDF model that allows signals on arbitrary sampling lattices to be represented, and that allows the use of non-rectangular downsamplers and upsamplers.


Purpose. The latency of adaptation of the human vergence system to a change in convergence or divergence forced upon it by a prism was investigated in this pilot study. Methods. Adaptation was stimulated by a 5–s period of binocular vision through a prism of 0 Δ, –8Δ, or 8 Δ. Immediately thereafter and for a further period of 45 s, lateral heterophoria was monitored subjectively by an automated version of Duane's screen and parallax test. Adaptation was calculated from the phoria 40 s after the end of binocular vision. Tests were performed at 0.4 m. In the first test session, there was screening during the binocular period to test for flaws in the screening method. In the second session, there was no screening during the binocular period and phoria measurement was started without changing the power of the prism. In the third session, the prism was restored to 0 Δ after the period of binocular vision. Immediately after the last 5–s test, tests were repeated with 1 s of binocular vision. The subject had excellent visual acuity, stereoacuity, and stereolatency. Results. The test functioned correctly and showed good repeatability. The greatest adaptation to 8 Δ was 59%. This was obtained with only 1 s of binocular vision. There was adaptation to – A with 5 s of binocular vision but it was obscured by adaptation to 0 Δ or 8 Δ which persisted from previous tests. Discussion. The reason why the subject's latency was not found more precisely is explained. Additional evidence is presented in support of the finding that prism adaptation can take place within 1 s (perhaps less) of binocular vision, and the persistence and dominance of adaptation to base-out prism at near is pointed out. Guidelines are proposed for the experimental measurement of prism adaptation latency.


The effects of the neurosteroid 3alpha-hydroxy-5alpha-pregnane-20-one (allopregnanolone) on synaptic and GABA-evoked currents in acutely dissociated neurons from the medial preoptic nucleus of rat were investigated by perforated-patch recordings under voltage-clamp conditions. The effect of 2.0 microM allopregnanolone on GABA-evoked currents depended strongly on the GABA concentration: the currents evoked by 100 microM GABA were markedly depressed and the desensitization was faster, but the decay after GABA application was prolonged. In contrast, the currents evoked by 1.0 microM GABA were markedly potentiated, the activation was faster, a prominent desensitization was induced, and the decay after GABA application was prolonged. In the absence of externally applied GABA, 2.0 microM allopregnanolone induced a slow current that could be attributed to Cl-. Allopregnanolone did not significantly affect the amplitude of spontaneous tetrodotoxin-insensitive (miniature) synaptic currents (mIPSCs) originating from synaptic terminals releasing GABA onto the dissociated neurons. However, the mIPSC decay phase was dramatically prolonged, with half-maximal effect at approximately 50 nM allopregnanolone. A qualitatively similar effect of allopregnanolone was seen when KCl was used to evoke synchronous GABA release. The frequency of mIPSCs was also affected, on average increased 3.5-fold, by 2.0 microM allopregnanolone, suggesting a presynaptic steroid action.


Introduction The human gut mucosal cellular response to oral vaccination has never been directly assessed. We studied the cognate cellular immune response to the live oral typhoid Ty21a vaccine in the gut mucosa of human volunteers, and compared it with that seen in peripheral blood. Methods 27 healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to a vaccinated (n=14) or a control (n=13) group for Ty21a typhoid vaccine. Peripheral blood was collected from all volunteers prior to vaccination and 18 days following immunisation or recruitment. Mucosal samples (15 jumbo biopsies from duodenum (n=25) ± colon (n=18)) were collected from all volunteers at gastroscopy +/− sigmoidoscopy on day 18. Mononuclear cells were isolated from mucosal tissue by disruption and collagenase digestion, and from blood by differential centrifugation. Cells were stimulated with Ty21a or control antigens, and stained for surface phenotype and intracellular cytokine production. Antigen-specific IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2 production was determined by flow cytometric analysis for CD3+/CD8+ and CD3+/CD8− (CD4+) lymphocytes. Humoural IgA, IgM and IgG responses in blood were examined in relation to mucosal and peripheral cellular responses. Results Oral immunisation with Ty21a significantly increased the proportion of antigen-specific cytokine-producing CD8-positive (p<0.05) and CD8-negative (p<0.05) lymphocytes within the duodenal mucosa, but no specific response was seen in colon. CD8-negative lymphocytes within the duodenal mucosa adopted a significantly more poly-functional phenotype following vaccination, expressing 2 or 3 cytokines simultaneously, while in contrast antigen-specific cytokine-producing CD8-positive lymphocytes in the duodenal mucosa were mono-functional expressing a single cytokine. In blood, the proportion of antigen-specific cytokine-producing CD8-positive lymphocytes was increased (p<0.05) following oral vaccination, but there was no significant increase in cytokine-producing CD4-positive lymphocytes. Differences in functionality of antigen-specific cytokine responses were less marked in peripheral blood lymphocytes following vaccination. Conclusion These data show an antigen-specific response in human gut mucosal lymphocytes following oral vaccination, and directly demonstrate different immune functionality of CD8-positive compared to CD8-negative mucosal lymphocytes. These responses were more informative than surrogate measurements in peripheral blood lymphocytes. The absence of a detectable cognate response from the colon may indicate compartmentalisation of the gut mucosal response to the embryological mid-gut, where typhoid antigen is likely presented at immune inductive sites. Competing interests None declared.


A ternary mixed oxide Zn1−xMgxO has been doped with aluminium to create a range of transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) with tunable refractive index as well as work function. Conductive material was synthesised up to a magnesium concentration of x=0.45, although the conductivity is reduced compared to standard ZnO:Al. The changes in band gap, work function and conductivity have been attributed to a modified band structure and energetic position of the aluminium induced donor state.


American foulbrood (AFB), caused by the spore-forming bacterium Paenibacillus larvae is the most serious disease affecting the larval and pupal stages of honey bees worldwide. Field studies were conducted to evaluate the optimum dosage of tylosin tartrate for controlling infections of American Foulbrood in artificially inoculated colonies. The absence of larvae with clinical symptoms demonstrated that tylosin tartrate at the doses of 1,000 mg and 1,200 mg per colony were effective for the elimination of clinical signs for up to 365 days. On the other hand, cherry jelly used as attractant increased the consumption of the antibiotic. Tylosin tartrate at a doses of 1,000 mg a.i. plus cherry jelly is a valuable tool for controlling AFB infections.


Introduction: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease in diabetes patients. The angiotensin AGT M235T gene polymorphism, which is linked to the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), has been extensively studied in DN patients, but the results are still conflicting. The current study's goal is to conduct a meta-analysis to assess the relationship between AGT M235T gene polymorphism and DN susceptibility. Methods: Fourteen case-control studies related to AGT M235T polymorphism and DN were searched using PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases. Genotype data from the T2DM and T2DN groups were collected from all papers. The pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95 percent confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated employing a random-effects model to assess the relationship. Results: There were no statistically significant link between AGT M235T and DN risk in dominant (P=0.801, OR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.66-1.38), allelic (P=0.933, OR: 1.01; 95% CI: 0.75-1.37) and recessive (P=0.374, OR: 1.21; 95% CI: 0.80-1.83) genetic models. Further, the stratified analysis based on ethnicity did not reveal significant link between AGT M235T and DN risk in Asian (Dom OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 0.63-1.82) and the Caucasian populations (Dom OR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.49-1.21). In all three models, there was a high degree of heterogeneity between studies. Publication bias was not seen. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the AGT gene M235T polymorphism does not contribute to DN risk. However, validation of this association will require multi-center and large population-based studies.


This book brings together three areas of current public debate - sexuality, gender, and obesity - that will be of interest to curriculum workers, critical educators, physical educators, and professionals working in the areas of health, recreation, and sport. The book provides a critical examination of discrimination based on sexuality, gender, and body size in Canadian physical education. It illustrates how students with queer bodies - whether lesbian, gay, transgendered, or overweight or fat - cope with homophobia, transphobia, and fat phobia in physical education. Drawing from qualitative interviews with forty people, the book reveals how students are marginalized, in a variety of ways, because they do not conform to taken-for-granted ideas about healthy or athletic bodies. Using psychoanalytic, feminist, and queer theories, the book calls for critical educators to work toward ethical encounters with queer bodies in order to address these forms of discrimination in schools, physical education, and sport settings.


The mashes of soybean paste were preparea using the conventional meju fermented naturally by wild microoganisms or the new types of meju fermented by pure cultures of Aspergillus oryzae, Bacillus natto and B. subtilis to elucidate changes during the aging period. The results obtained are as follows ; The soybean paste made with conventional meiu and Asp. oryzae meju showed higher content of amino nitrogen than those of B, natto and B. subtilis meju. Soybean paste made with conventional meju contained a little more content of total and reducing sugars than other soybean pastes. ph during aging period was higher than 5.0 for the Asp. oryzae paste while less than 4.5 for B. subtilis paste. Aspartic acid. threonine, serine, glutamic acid, glycine, alanine, cystine, valine, methionne, leucine and histidine for Asp. oryzae paste ; tyrosine, arginine and proline for conventional meju paste; and isoleucine and phenylalanine for B. subtilis paste were found to be peak amount 90 days after the preparation. The content of total free amino acid was high in the order of Asp. oryzae paste, conventional paste, B. natto paste and B. subtilis paste.


There has been considerable effort expended by theorists to explain the occurrence and nature of high temperature superconductivity (HTS) in oxide systems. Although it is generally believed that electron pairing is consistent with all of the measurements, there is no consensus on the nature of the pairing or the microscopic mechanism for HTS. Two areas of focus are the mechanism for binding the pairs and the characterization of the paired state. It has been argued that the pairing boson can be a phonon as in the standard BCS theory and its refinements. However, objections have been raised about various models based on phonons. Other proposals suggest using plasmons, excitons, demons, and magnons for pairing. Many of the models proposed have attractive features, but again, there are shortcomings or insufficient experimental support. Some suggestions such as the RVB model claim that the normal state is not a Fermi liquid and that the standard approaches are not applicable. This has provided added motivation for studying the normal state in more detail. Because of the complexity of the oxide superconductors and the observation of strong phonon, electronic, and spin effects, it is still difficult to provide verdicts for the proposed pairing mechanisms except in those cases where detailed calculations have been done. The expected short coherence lengths put restrictions on the nature of the pairs. Because of this, HTS theories range from BCS pairing to Bose-Einstein condensation. An overview consisting of some history, background, and a discussion of some specific theoretical proposals is given here. Some suggestions are made for using experiment to reduce the number of promising theoretical choices. For non-oxide systems, a discussion is given of the possibility of phonon-induced superconductivity in metallic hydrogen in the range of 230 K.


MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that have been identified in animals, plants, and viruses. These small RNAs play important roles in post-transcriptional regulation of various cellular processes, including development, differentiation, and all aspects of cancer biology. Rapid-onset T-cell lymphoma of chickens, namely Marek's disease (MD), induced by Gallid alphaherpesvirus 2 (GaHV2), could provide an ideal natural animal model for herpesvirus-related cancer research. GaHV2 encodes 26 mature miRNAs derived from 14 precursors assembled in three distinct gene clusters in the viral genome. One of the most highly expressed GaHV2 miRNAs, miR-M4-5p, shows high sequence similarity to the cellular miR-155 and the miR-K12-11 encoded by Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, particularly in the miRNA "seed region." As with miR-K12-11, miR-M4-5p shares a common set of host and viral target genes with miR-155, suggesting that they may target the same regulatory cellular networks; however, differences in regulatory function between miR-155 and miR-M4-5p may distinguish non-viral and viral mediated tumorigenesis. In this review, we focus on the functions of miR-M4-5p as the viral ortholog of miR-155 to explore how the virus mimics a host pathway to benefit the viral life cycle and trigger virus-induced tumorigenesis.


Purpose
To characterize the clinical and biological properties of biodegradable collagen matrices (BCMs) for possible glaucoma drainage device implantation.

Methods
A total of 68 refractory glaucoma eyes, followed up postoperatively for at least 6 months, were consecutively enrolled after retrospective chart review. The BCM-augmented Ahmed valve implantations (BAAVI) using our Ologen-6 and Ologen-7 valves were performed and compared with a conventional method. Complete surgical success was defined as an IOP of ≤21 mm Hg (IOP 1) or ≤17 mm Hg (IOP 2) without antiglaucoma medications. Qualified success was defined as an IOP ≤21 mm Hg with or without antiglaucoma medications. The biological properties of each BCM were assessed by enzymatic degradation rates via collagenase under ocular physiological conditions.

Results
The mean ages and preoperative IOPs were similar for the groups. In the conventional, BAAVI with Ologen-6, and BAAVI with Ologen-7 groups, complete success rates with target IOP 1 were 29.2%, 40.0%, and 66.7%; those with target IOP 2 were 12.5%, 30.0%, and 45.8%; qualified success rates were 45.8%, 55.0%, and 75.0%, respectively. The enzymatic degradation rate of Ologen-7 was significantly slower than that of Ologen-6 (12.5 × 10-3 vs. 28.8 × 10-3).

Conclusions
The surgical success rate was highest in the Ologen-7 BAAVI group, with the lowest dependency on postoperative antiglaucoma medication use compared with the conventional and Ologen-6 BAAVI groups. The clinical results correlated with the different biological and physicochemical properties based on the degree of enzymatic degradation and on the structural morphology.


I describe very briefly the new libraries of empirical spectra of stars covering wide ranges of values of the atmospheric parameters T ef f , log g, [Fe/H], as well as spectral type, that have become available in the recent past, among them the HNGSL, MILES, UVES-POP, ELODIE, and the IndoUS libraries. I show the results of using the IndoUS and the HNGSL libraries, as well as an atlas of theoretical model atmospheres, to build population synthesis models. These libraries are complementary in spectral resolution and wavelength coverage, and will prove extremely useful to describe spectral features expected in galaxy spectra from the NUV to the NIR. The fits to observed galaxy spectra using simple and composite stellar population models are discussed.


Online social networks pose particular challenges to designing effective algorithms and protocols. Apart from their distributed nature, their behaviour depends on user behaviour and is difficult to test at a realistic scale. Stochastic graph transformation systems can model the operation of such networks but due to the inherent complexity they are hard to analyse. Techniques such as model checking and simulation, which can be used to verify a range of quantitative properties, do not scale well to systems with large graphs and state spaces. Aiming for an efficient alternative, we propose to derive a system of differential equations approximating the average evolution of the network. Variables in these equations represent numbers of occurrences of patterns selected to observe structural features. To keep the number of patterns small, rather than aiming for a fully accurate model we approximate complex patterns by the composition of simpler ones. We describe the approximation and its implementation based on critical pair analysis, illustrate and validate the process by examples of a social network protocol for P2P content policing and a voter model. We will also point out limitations in our approach to approximation and the use of differential equations more generally and discuss how they can be overcome.


Catheters placed in the portal and hepatic veins of dogs were maintained in position for 2–4 weeks, and experiments were performed in the unanesthetized state no less than 3 days after the operative procedure. Hepatic uptake of nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) was determined from the portal-hepatic NEFA difference and the hepatic blood flow. Hepatic NEFA uptake was found to increase with fasting and after administration of epinephrine. It was found to decrease after the administration of glucose and insulin. It was concluded that these factors did not directly influence the liver to alter its NEFA uptake but that the liver responded primarily to the concentration of NEFA in the blood entering it.


The aim of this study was to develop an oxygen scavenger and antioxidant active packaging material for fried peanuts. The packaging solution, which has been made at the laboratory previously, has been developed by cast film extrusion and is composed of low-density polyethylene-ethylene vinyl alcohol-polyethylene terephthalate (LDPE/EVOH/PET)-based films containing β-carotene (CAR). In comparison with film without additive, developed film presented an orange colouring (higher L* and b* values and lower a* values) and an increase in oxygen induction time (OIt) from 4.5 to 14.1 min. The incorporation of β-carotene to the formulation also brings about a significant effect on the thermal stability as maximum degradation temperatures increased around 1%. Regarding the oxygen absorption capacity of the films, values of 1.39 ± 0.10 mL O2 per g of film at laboratory scale and 1.7 ± 0.3 mL O2 per g of multilayer (ML)/LDPE_CAR were obtained, respectively, after 3 days, proving the suitability of the packaging solutions as oxygen absorbers. To validate the packaging solution, the oxidative stability of fried peanuts packed in fabricated multilayer β-carotene bags was evaluated for 3 months at 40 °C. The hexanal content remained constant during this period. Meanwhile, peanuts packed in ML without β-carotene increased their hexanal content to 294%. This fact indicated a lower extent of oxidation in fried peanuts compared to food samples packaged in control films, suggesting the potential of ML/LDPE_CAR films as sustainable and antioxidant food packaging systems to offer protection against lipid oxidation in foods. Sensory evaluation confirmed that ML/LDPE_CAR films provided the peanut samples with an extra aroma due to the volatile degradation products of β-carotene (such as β-cyclocitral or 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-ol).


Abstract The local descriptors based on a binary pattern feature have state-of-the-art distinctiveness. However, their high dimensionality resists them from matching faster and being used in a low-end device. In this paper we propose an efficient and feasible learning method to select discriminative binary patterns for constructing a compact local descriptor. In the selection, a searching tree with Branch&Bound is used instead of the exhaustive enumeration, in order to avoid tremendous computation in training. New local descriptors are constructed based on the selected patterns. The efficiency of selecting binary patterns has been confirmed by the evaluation of these new local descriptors' performance in experiments of image matching and object recognition.


Additive manufacturing (AM) is a production method with great potential for creating complex geometries and reducing material and energy waste. Numerical simulations are crucial to minimize fabrication failures and optimize designs. Nevertheless, the high computational cost of simulating the multi-scale behaviour of AM processes is a challenge. To address this, an Arlequin-based method is proposed, which uses two distinct meshes to capture the high thermal gradients near the melt pool: a coarse mesh for the entire domain and a fine mesh that moves with the heating source. Additionally, a change of variable simplifies calculations on each time step by transforming the moving fine mesh into a fixed mesh. The proposed methodology has the potential to reduce computational costs and improve the efficiency of AM simulations.


Introduction Global developmental delay (GDD) affects 1%–3% of the population of children under 5 years of age, making it one of the most common conditions presenting in paediatric clinics; causes are exogenous, genetic (non-metabolic) or genetic (metabolic). Recent advances in biotechnology and genetic testing mean that the investigations available to perform for children under 5 years are increasing and are more sensitive than previously. This change in availability and type of testing necessitates an update in the recommendations for investigating GDD. Methods We conducted a review of the literature from 2006 to 2016 to identify articles with evidence relating to the investigation of developmental delay in children under the age of 5 years. We collated the evidence into first-line and second-line investigations and, where available, on their yield and cost implications. Results We have provided up-to-date guidance for first-line and second-line investigations for children with GDD under the age of 5 years. Recent evidence demonstrates that genetic testing for all children with unexplained GDD should be first line, if an exogenous cause is not already established. Our review of the literature demonstrates that all patients, irrespective of severity of GDD, should have investigations for treatable conditions. Evidence demonstrates that the yield for treatable conditions is higher than previously thought and that investigations for these metabolic conditions should be considered as first line. Additional second-line investigations can be led by history, examination and developmental trajectories. Discussion We may need to update present recommendations in the UK for investigation of developmental delay. This would include microarray testing as first line and a more thorough approach to investigations for metabolic disorders that can be treated. Clinical assessment remains vital for guiding investigations.


The influence of three types of diets on the number and symmetry of sex comb teeth (male secondary sexual character) as well as on behavioral trait (mating success) was tested in fruit fly in laboratory conditions. Mating experiments were conducted with three Drosophila melanogaster strains reared more than one year on different food. The quality of the diet itself had no influence on the number of sex comb teeth, neither on their symmetry. The size of sex comb and levels of fluctuating asymmetry were similar in mated and unmated males. However, males developed on different substrates showed differences in mating success: males of the "banana strain" and of the "cornmeal strain" were more successful in achieving copulations than males of the "tomato strain". It seems that some other traits (morphological, physiological, and behavioral) were more important for male mating success than tactile stimuli provided by sex combs during the courtship.


Objective: To evaluate which immigrant groups to Canada are at increased risk of diabetes (DM) after gestational diabetes (GDM), including the influence of time since migration. Research Design and Methods: This retrospective cohort study used administrative data within a universal healthcare system. Included were women with GDM who had given birth in Ontario, Canada, 2006-2014. Women from each World region were compared to native-born/long-term residents of Canada for risk of DM using Cox regression. Results were further evaluated by time since immigration (0-5, 5-10, 10-20 years vs. native-born/long-term residents [referent]), adjusting for age at index pregnancy, income, BMI, parity and any hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. Results: A total of 8630 women with GDM were followed for a median of 4.9 years. Relative to native-born/long-term residents (incidence rate 29.2 person-years), the age-adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) for DM were higher among women from South Asia (1.28, 95% confidence interval, CI 1.20-1.36), Latin America/the Caribbean (1.42, 95% CI 1.28-1.57), and Sub-Saharan Africa (1.59, 95% CI 1.39-1.83). Relative to native-born/long-term residents, the aHR for DM were 1.42 (95% CI 1.20-1.67) for those residing 0-5 years, 1.19 (95% CI 1.00-1.42) 5-10 years, and 1.41 (95% 1.20-1.65) 10-20 years since immigration. Conclusions: Certain broadly-defined immigrant groups are at a significantly higher future risk of developing diabetes after having GDM, especially those who are recent immigrants. Disclosure J. S. S. Ho: None. L. Lipscombe: None. S. H. Read: Employee; Self; Certara. L. Rosella: None. H. Berger: None. D. Feig: Advisory Panel; Self; Novo Nordisk. K. Fleming: None. J. G. Ray: None. B. R. Shah: None. S. Sarma: None.


Measurements of the ultrasonic attenuation in niobium crystals at frequencies from 290 to 1280 Mc/s over the temperature range 1.4 to 25 °K are presented. The sound was propagated in the (100), (110) and (111) directions. The equipment used and the techniques of measurement are described. The electronic attenuation in superconducting niobium at temperatures just below its transition temperature (9.9 °K) is found to be less than that predicted by the B. C. S. theory, but the results can be correlated with recent heat capacity data. Similar measurements of ultrasonic attenuation and heat capacity in vanadium show a normal B. C. S. behaviour. The apparent anomaly in niobium is shown to be related to the high value of its coupling ratio Tc/θ. The energy gap parameter, 2∆(0), in niobium is shown to be anisotropic, having minima in the directions of high symmetry, but the anisotropy is much less than that found in tin.


Many powerful molecular biology tools have their origins in natural systems, including restriction modification enzymes and the CRISPR effectors, Cas9, Cas12, and Cas13. Heightened interest in these systems has led to mining of genomic and metagenomic data to identify new orthologs of these proteins, new types of CRISPR systems, and uncharacterized natural systems with novel mechanisms. To accelerate metagenomic mining, we developed a high-throughput, low-cost droplet microfluidic-based method for enrichment of rare sequences in a mixed starting population. Using a computational pipeline, we then searched in the enriched data for the presence of CRISPR-Cas systems, identifying a previously unknown CRISPR-Cas system. Our approach enables researchers to efficiently mine metagenomic samples for sequences of interest, greatly accelerating the search for nature's treasures.


In 2020, 55 million people worldwide were living with dementia, and this number is projected to reach 139 million in 2050. However, approximately 75% of people living with dementia have not received a formal diagnosis. Hence, they do not have access to treatment and care. Without effective treatment in the foreseeable future, it is essential to focus on modifiable risk factors and early intervention. Central auditory processing is impaired in people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its preclinical stages and may manifest many years before clinical diagnosis. This study systematically reviewed central auditory processing function in AD and its preclinical stages using behavioural central auditory processing tests. Eleven studies met the full inclusion criteria, and seven were included in the meta-analyses. The results revealed that those with mild cognitive impairment perform significantly worse than healthy controls within channel adaptive tests of temporal response (ATTR), time-compressed speech test (TCS), Dichotic Digits Test (DDT), Dichotic Sentence Identification (DSI), Speech in Noise (SPIN), and Synthetic Sentence Identification-Ipsilateral Competing Message (SSI-ICM) central auditory processing tests. In addition, this analysis indicates that participants with AD performed significantly worse than healthy controls in DDT, DSI, and SSI-ICM tasks. Clinical implications are discussed in detail.


Given that much research stresses out the positive homework impact on the students' achievements in learning a foreign language, this study examines the English languageelementary students'opinionson homeworkin order to depict whether the Republic Kosovo's elementary schools emphasize the significant role of homework in the foreign language teaching and learning process. Therefore, qualitative interviews with 30 English language elementary students from the sixth grade are conducted as a method for collecting data. The sample consists of 30 interviews' transcript, and the analysis rests upon coding and the interpretative-inductive approach. The research results showthat the elementary education in the Republic of Kosovo recognizes the homework importance and that homework playsa significant role in students'success, i.e. it helps students to learn the lessons better and also allows them to become independent learners


We propose a simple configuration of a one-dimensional parallel array of Josephson junctions in which the pinning potential for trapped fluxons lacks inversion symmetry (ratchet potential). This system can be modelised by a set of non-linear pendula with alternating lenghts and asymmetric harmonic couplings. We show, by molecular dynamics simulation, that fluxons behave as single particles in which the predictions for overdamped thermal ratchets can be easily verified.


BACKGROUND
The high incidence of goiter is believed to modify the characteristics and etiology of thyrotoxicosis. The aim of the present was to study the etiologic types and clinical characteristics of thyrotoxicosis of patients from two areas of different endemic goiter.

METHODS
Two hundred twelve patients (184 women and 28 males) were studied with clinical and analytical data of thyrotoxicosis. The patients were consecutively seen in the endocrinology units of two different hospitals over the last 4 years. One hundred eight patients pertained to the area of the Xeral Hospital in Lugo (inland zone) and 104 pertained to the area of the Juan Canalejo Hospital from La Coruña (coastal zone). The clinical data of thyrotoxicosis, thyroxin concentration and thyroid gammagraphies were evaluated.

RESULTS
The different etiological types were: Graves disease (GD): Lugo: 20 (19%), La Coruña 57 (55%; p less than 0.001). Toxic multinodular goiter (TMG): Lugo 53 (49%), La Coruña 29 (28%; p less than 0.001). Toxic adenoma (TA): Lugo 23 (21%), La Coruña 13 (13%). Hyperthyroidism by iodine: Lugo: 8 (7%), La Coruña 3 (3%). Other diagnosis: Lugo: 4 (3%), La Coruña 2 (2%). Although the frequency of thyrotoxicosis was much greater in women the percentage distribution of the etiologic types was similar in the two sexes. Symptoms were more frequent in patients with GD with respect to TMG. The presence of auricular fibrillation was more frequent in patients with TMG (38%) than in those presenting GD (4%; p less than 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS
Toxic multinodular goiter is the most common cause of thyrotoxicosis in the zones of high endemic goiter. On lowering endemic goiter the percentage of TMG is lowered and that of Graves disease is raised. The symptomatology of thyrotoxicosis is more evident in GD with relation to other etiologic types, but auricular fibrillation is more frequent in TMG. The high prevalence of toxic nodular goiter and hyperthyroidism by iodine suggests the important pathogenic role of the increase of the ingestion of iodine in the form of iodized salt or drugs with iodine.