Background: Receptor tyrosine kinase alterations have played a significant role in therapeutic decisions for cancer due to their oncogenic nature and response to targeted small molecule kinase inhibitors. Increased genomic profiling of tumors using hybrid-capture based next-generation sequencing approaches now reveal the presence of previously unknown fusions and alterations involving kinases in a diverse set of cancers. Here we report the presence and therapeutic significance of recurrent and novel fusions involving RET, a known oncogenic tyrosine kinase receptor, in breast cancer. Methods: Comprehensive genomic profiling on formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded patient tumor tissues was performed using FoundationOne platform that covers the entire coding region for 315 cancer-related genes and introns of 28 genes involved in rearrangements at a depth of 500-1000X (Foundation Medicine, MA). Out of 23 rearrangements, two representative RET fusion expression vectors were synthesized and expressed in non-tumorigenic cell lines (breast MCF10A and mouse 3T3 fibroblasts) and were evaluated for RET kinase signaling, drug response, and tumorigenicity. Results: RET gene fusions, the canonical NCOA4-RET and a novel, noncanonical RASGEF1A-RET fusion, were identified in two separate breast cancers and both include exons required to retain the intact kinase domain of Ret. The novel RASGEF1A-RET fusion includes the non-coding region of RASGEF1A potentially resulting in a truncated RET protein using an alternate internal start site in exon 11 of RET. In vitro characterization of both fusions expressed in mouse 3T3 and human MCF10a cell lines revealed constitutive kinase activation and subsequent downstream signaling as evidenced by phosphorylation of Ret, Erk and Akt. This is the first reported noncanonical RET rearrangement resulting in a 5' truncated but functional RET kinase. Non-tumorigenic cell lines with stable expression of either rearrangement showed transformed phenotypes assessed by changes in morphology, enhanced growth rate, colony forming ability, and tumor formation in mice. RET fusion-transformed cells were exquisitely sensitive to treatment with RET inhibitors when evaluated in both short-term and long-term functional assays. NCOA4-RET was found by CGP in an index case of metastatic ER+/HER2+ breast cancer that had radiographic evidence of disease progression while on trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and anastrazole. Subsequent treatment with cabozantinib plus anastrazole led to a rapid clinical and radiographic response. Conclusion: CGP techniques involving hybrid-capture based approaches can identify previously unreported but recurrent RET gene fusions in breast cancer. Here, we show that RET fusions including both canonical and non-canonical complex rearrangements are functional and may represent promising therapeutic targets in selected breast cancer patients. Citation Format: Bhavna S. Paratala, Jeffrey S. Ross, Casey B. Williams, Whitney Petrosky, Kirstin A. Williams, Jon Chung, Sonia C. Dolfi, Shridar Ganesan, Siraj Ali, Brian Leyland-Jones, Kim M. Hirshfield. RET rearrangements as promising therapeutic targets in breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3018. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-3018


Since 1994, Moldova engaged in a systematic process of devolution by recognizing the need to share substantial powers to its sub-national governments. Devolution remains yet largely an asymmetrical endeavor prone to conflicts and centrifugal rifts. By 1994 Constitution, some territories have been entitled to get far-reaching devolved powers, while others remained the object of centralist policies, receiving but some embryonic shares of self-governance. As part of its domestic conciliation policy, Moldova recognized a sort of 'internal self-determination' to the region of Gagauz settlements, suggesting a readiness to employ this model for another conflict-prone region Transnistria. Any variable of political settlement will extensively depend not only on the legal and political elements of the negotiated status-quo, but also on the strategic interaction of domestic actors, national-wide consensus on the costs and benefits of integration, external actors agenda, as well as on the perceived success or failure of the regional autonomy devolution. This region represents only 4.5% of the country's population; central government faced a challenging task to reconcile the special provisions of the Gagauz autonomy, making sure that the national legislation is also homogenously implemented across the country. This reflects an essential asymmetry between the 'conventional SNGs' and other SNG belonging to the Gagauz region. Devolution is also advancing for cities and villages, but their autonomy is rather limited. Based on local autonomy principles, Government pursues the objective to define and implement a strategy of devolution, first of all as a matter of political necessity, and second as an element of its adaptation to the norms and standards of local governments in Europe. These asymmetries create a playground for increased interactions between the agents of this game, with rules, tradeoffs that can be modeled with the game theory variations.


This paper presents the architecture and implementation of a highly versatile beamforming ASIC (VBASIC) for application in broad-band fixed wireless access systems. The architecture accommodates a large number of user-programmable parameters, which broaden the chip's application base to a variety of present and future systems for fixed wireless access. These features include: (a) a novel structure for variable-rate interpolation that allows operation at any user specified symbol rate from 625 kBaud to 10 MBaud; (b) operation in both the transmit and receive modes; (c) support for arrays consisting of up to 64 elements; (d) a unique shaping filter structure with programmable canonic signed digit coefficients; (e) complete reconfiguration of all parameters on a per-time-slot basis; and f) digital intermediate-frequency interface. The resulting layout measures 7.1 mm on each side in the 0.6-/spl mu/m HPCMOS14 process and consists of a total of 787 987 transistors.


This Chapter applies the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas to business' role in the 'War on Terror'. Specifically, it uses Levinasian ethics to explain how organisations, often with an abundance of ethical resources, become associated with military drones strikes against civilians, and offers ideas that challenge this practice. The chapter comprises several sections beginning with a brief introduction to the 'War on Terror' and the use of military drones. A concise discussion about business ethics and just war theory follows after which, the chapter explains Levinas' ethics and his views on war. These ideas are applied to transform business ethical practice in this controversial area. The Chapter concludes with a summary of its main points.


BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY
There is increasing interest in aortic valve-sparing and repair techniques for the treatment of aortic insufficiency (AI) and/or root aneurysm. The results of bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) repair at the authors' institution were evaluated. An attempt was made to assess the mode of failure and to identify surgical methods that provide durable repair results.

METHODS
Aortic valve repair for BAV was performed in 71 patients (62 men, nine women; mean age 41.5 +/- 13.2 years) between 1993 and 2005. Repair techniques included cusp free margin plication (n = 47), subcommissural annuloplasty (n = 27), free margin reinforcement (n = 10), and cusp triangular resection (n = 7). Thirteen patients had remodeling of one or both aortic sinuses, and 16 had reimplantation of the aortic valve. The ascending aorta and arch were replaced in 29 and five patients, respectively. Concomitant mitral and coronary bypass surgeries were performed in 10 and three patients, respectively.

RESULTS
There were no operative deaths. Early postoperative echocardiography revealed no or trace AI in 54 patients and mild AI in 17. There was only one late death which was non-cardiac-related. Eight-year freedom from endocarditis, thromboembolism and anticoagulation-related hemorrhage was 90%, 100% and 100%, respectively. Eight-year freedom from AI grade > or =3+ (moderate) and aortic valve replacement were 44% and 82%, respectively. At the latest follow up, 89% of patients were in NYHA functional class I. Patients who underwent aortic valve-sparing procedures had more stable valve function than those who had cusp repair and subcommissural plication.

CONCLUSION
BAV repair is a safe procedure with good early functional results. However, recurrent AI remains a problem at five to eight years of follow up. Since dilation of the aortic root is a common cause of AI and a common feature of patients with BAV, aortic valve-sparing reimplantation operations should provide better long-term outcomes.


ABSTRACT Current research on return to work (RTW) for employees with common mental disorders suffers from two limitations. First, research mostly focuses on the influence of resources during the absence period ignoring the resources which may facilitate sustainable RTW, i.e. employees continuing to work and thrive at work post-return. Second, research tends to view the work and non-work domains separately and fails to consider the interaction of resources at the individual, group, leader and organisational levels, once back at work. In the present position paper, we present an integrated framework and a preliminary definition of sustainable RTW. Based on current occupational health psychology theory and existing research on RTW, we develop ten propositions for the resources in and outside work, which may promote sustainable RTW. In addition to the individual, group, leader, and organisational levels, we also argue for the importance of the overarching context, i.e. the societal context and the culture and legislation that may promote sustainable RTW. Our framework raises new questions that need to be addressed to enhance our understanding of how key stakeholders can support employees with common mental health disorders staying and thriving at work.


This research will study the feasibility of glass solar chimney walls (GSCW) compared with one-layered glass walls (OLGW) for the tropical climate present in Bangkok, Thailand. GSCW uses the concept of indoor natural ventilation operated by heat transfer to air gap of double-layers glass wall. The research methodology is constructed of 2 sample houses and data collection over 3 seasons, data comparison and regression model for forecasting indoor temperature. The result found that GSCW had a lower indoor temperature than OLGW as an average difference in temperature of 1.63-1.30 °C, 2.46-1.80 °C and 1.36-1.28 °C for rainy, winter and summer respectively. The comparisons of energy saving from air conditioning with OLGW were 6-12%, 9-14% and 5-11% for rainy, winter and summer respectively. The reliability of regression models were calculated by R² around 0.7 – 0.89 and satisfied when fitted with experimental data. The GSCW concept can be used in office buildings or mini buildings which stand alone outdoor and will be suitable for tropical areas in the world and can help to sustain energy and the environment.


CdS nanorods were synthesized via a hydrothermal route in NaOH solution and characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),powder X-ray diffraction(XRD),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction(SAED).The influences of NaOH concentration and hydrothermal time on morphology and crystalline structure of CdS nanorods were studied,and a probable growth mechanism was proposed.The feasibility of recycling of mother liquor was also investigated.The visible light photocatalytic activity of CdS nanorods was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue(MB).The experimental results showed that NaOH solution played a role of complexing agent in the growth of CdS nanorods and was the key factor in the formation of rod-like morphology.The sample obtained in optimal experimental condition was CdS nanorod with an average diameter of ca.200 nm and a length up to ca.4 μm.The CdS nanorods were hexagonal single-crystals with high crystallinity growing along the direction,and showed good photocatalytic activity and stability under visible light.


A strong-motion earthquake recorder for the direct measurement of one point on the response spectrum curve is described, and results obtained with the instrument under field conditions are compared with those obtained by a standard spectrum analysis of accelerograph records. The device has the advantages of low initial cost and of low maintenance expense, and can thus be installed in relatively large numbers. A network of such instruments located at points having various local geological conditions is proposed as a supplement to the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey strong-motion seismograph system.


This study examined the total, direct and indirect effects of climatic variables (temperature and rainfall) on crop yields maize in a given region and in neighbouring regions, through a spatial panel analysis of five administrative regions of Mali over a 30-year period (1988 - 2017). Our results show that temperature and rainfall have direct, indirect and total effects on maize yields. In other words, the effect on regions closely linked to the region where the change in temperature or rainfall occurred will be greater than the effect on more remote regions. In addition, the coefficient of variation of precipitation and the interaction between temperature and precipitation as well as the area sown all have negative impacts on maize yields. However, maize yields are negatively correlated with drought. This means that maize production in the local area is declining as a result of increased extreme weather events. Based on these findings, policy makers need to take into account that conditions in the surrounding areas can influence maize yields and that spillover effects differ between crop types. Investments in agricultural research and development should be encouraged to counteract the effects of climate change.


ABSTRACT It is unclear, whether proprioceptive dysfunction in developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is localized affecting only specific joints or whether it is generalized affecting proximal and distal joints. Thus, this study assessed position sense acuity at the elbow and wrist in twenty children with DCD (age: 9–11 yrs.) using a joint position matching paradigm. Position sense bias (systematic error) at either joint was not significantly higher in DCD children when compared to typically developing children (TD). However, DCD children exhibited significantly lower position sense precision (random error) than TD children at both elbow and wrist. That is, response reliability to proprioceptive stimuli is altered in DCD. Our findings are consistent with a view that proprioceptive dysfunction in DCD is generalized in nature.


The absorption and scattering efficiency factors for cobalt nanoparticles over wavelengths ranging from 400 – 1200 nm were calculated. The maximum values and corresponding radii of the absorption efficiency were shown to be dependent upon the incident light wavelength. The highest scattering factor values in the studied spectral range were between 2.2 and 2.4. If the absorptivity of the matrix increases, absorption of the light by cobalt nanoparticles begins to dominate over scattering process. The obtained results allow us to predict the optical properties for composite materials based on a transparent matrix with cobalt nanoparticles, which is essential for the accurate modeling of such systems' behavior under laser irradiation.


Cyanobacterial blooms are a worldwide environmental problem and frequently occur in eutrophic lakes. Organophosphorus mineralization regulated by microbial alkaline phosphatase provides available nutrients for bloom regeneration. To uncover the dynamics of bacterial alkaline phosphatase activity and microbial backgrounds in relation to organophosphorus mineralization during the decomposition process of cyanobacterial blooms, the response of alkaline phosphatase PhoX-producing bacteria were explored using a 23-day mesocosm experiment with three varying densities of Microcystis biomass from eutrophic Lake Taihu. Our study found large amounts of soluble reactive phosphorus and dissolved organophosphorus were released into the lake water during the decomposition process. Bacterial alkaline phosphatase activity showed the peak values during days 5~7 in groups with different chlorophyll-a densities, and then all decreased dramatically to their initial experimental levels during the last stage of decomposition. Bacterial phoX abundances in the three experimental groups increased significantly along with the decomposition process, positively related to the dissolved organic carbon and organophosphorus released by the Microcystis blooms. The genotypes similar to the phoX genes of Alphaproteobacteria were dominant in all groups, whereas the genotypes most similar to the phoX genes of Betaproteobacteria and Cyanobacteria were also abundant in the low density (~15 μg L-1 chlorophyll-a) group. At the end of the decomposition process, the number of genotypes most similar to the phoX of Betaproteobacteria and Cyanobacteria increased in the medium (~150 μg L-1 chlorophyll-a) and high (~1500 μg L-1 chlorophyll-a) density groups. The released organophosphorus and increased bacterial phoX abundance after decomposition of Microcystis aggregates could potentially provide sufficient nutrients and biological conditions for algal proliferation and are probably related to the regeneration of Microcystis blooms in eutrophic lakes.


&NA; Batrachotoxin causes sustained opening of voltage‐gated sodium channels. Toxin binds irreversibly to wild type channels; however, it dissociates rapidly fromchannels with mutation F1710C in transmembrane segment IVS6. This dissociation requires channel activation, suggesting that the activation gate guards the toxin‐binding site. Here we show that activity‐dependent toxin dissociation was not affected by external sodium, arguing against a binding site within the pore, and demonstrate that dissociation occurred only during the first few milliseconds after membrane depolarization, as if the toxin leaves its binding site during closed states that precede the final open state in the activation pathway. Toxin interaction with preopen states may facilitate subsequent channel opening, thus accounting for the batrachotoxin‐induced negative shift in channel activation. NeuroReport 14:1353–1356 © 2003 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.


In this paper the whole history of Beta distribution has been reviewed, pointing out the anticipative contribution of Corrado Gini, who already in 1911, dealing with a probabilistic problem in demography, proposed the Beta distribution to give an initial distribution to the possible probabilities of a future event. Some of the several proposed extensions of Beta distribution are outlined, and the role of Beta as conjugate prior in Bayesian inference is evidenced. Finally, some of the most interesting applications of Beta and related distributions are summarized.


The manuscript attempts to explore the periodicity in the distribution of galaxies in the recently reported Saraswati supercluster and the Stripe 82 region containing it as an example. The report of 120 Mpc periodicity in the Abell galaxy clusters by power spectrum analysis is the motivation behind the study. The power spectral analysis across the central part of the Stripe 82 region shows a periodic variation of 3.09° or 71 Mpc in fractal dimension whereas an average angular periodicity of 3.45° or 94 Mpc is observed across the Stripe 82 region. This refers to the periodicity of complexity or cluster density of galaxy distribution. The texture of the distribution pattern understood through lacunarity analysis indicates a near symmetric distribution. Fractal dimensions like box-counting dimension, information dimension and correlation dimension are also found through multifractal analysis. While the information dimension tells about the distribution density of galactic points, the correlation dimension details the distribution of galaxies in the neighbourhood.


The use of bioactive molecules derived from medicinal plants in wound healing has recently attracted considerable attention in both research and public interest. In this work, we demonstrated the first attempt to incorporate the extract from Thai red onion skins in hydrogel patches intended for transdermal delivery. The red onion skin extract (ROSE) was first prepared and evaluated for cytotoxicity by MTT assay with both L929 and human dermal fibroblast cells. Hydrogel patches with porous microstructure and high water content were fabricated from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) by electron beam irradiation and characterized for their physical, mechanical, morphological, and cytocompatible properties prior to the loading of ROSE. After decontamination by electron beam irradiation, the in vitro release profile exhibited the burst release of extract from ROSE-coated hydrogel patches within 5 h, followed by the sustained release up to 48 h. Finally, evaluation of skin permeation using Franz cell setup with a newborn pig skin model showed that the permeation of ROSE from the hydrogel patch increased with time and reached the maximum of 262 µg/cm2, which was well below the cytotoxicity threshold, at 24 h. These results demonstrated that our ROSE-coated hydrogel patches could potentially be used in transdermal delivery.


We report on high-resolution observations of two dM1 stars: Gl 867A, an active dM1e star, and Gl 205, a less active dM1 star. The wavelength coverage is from 3890 to 6820 A with a resolving power of about 45 000. The difference spectrum of these two stars allows us to make a survey of spectral lines sensitive to magnetic activity. We chose these two stars because, to within measurement errors, they have very close properties: Gl 867A has R = 0.726 R� , [M/H] = 0.080 dex and T eff = 3416 K, and Gl 205 has R = 0.758 R� ,[ M/H] = 0.101 dex and T eff = 3493 K. We find that besides traditional chromospheric lines, many photospheric lines are 'filled-in' in the active star spectrum. These differences are, most of the time, weak in absolute fluxes but can be large in terms of differences in the spectral-line equivalent widths. We calculate the differences in surface fluxes between these two stars for many spectral lines. We derive the radiative budgets for two dM1e stars: Gl 867A and AU Mic. We show that the sum of the numerous spectral lines represents a significant fraction of the radiative cooling of the outer atmosphere. We also re-investigate the cooling from the continuum from the visible to the extreme ultraviolet; we find that earlier predictions of the calculations of Houdebine et al. (Paper V) are in good agreement with observations. We emphasize that if this radiative cooling is chromospheric in character, then in chromospheric model calculations, we should include the radiative losses in Ca I ,C rI ,V I ,T iI and Fe I. From simple constraints, we derive model chromospheres for quiescent and active regions on Gl 205. We show that the quiescent regions have a strong absorption Hα profile. The plage regions show a filled-in intermediate activity Hα profile. We also present possible spectral line profiles of quiescent and active regions on Gl 867A.


Twenty-eight Hemarthria altissima introductions were evaluated according to their dry matter (DM) yield, plant height and tillering. On the basis of the highest DM yields at a harvest interval of 60 days during the short- and long-day season, total annual yield in 1988-90 and the weed infestation rates, the best five introductions were selected for the present discussion. Of these five selections, introductions PRPI 13188 and 13207 gave consistently higher DM yields during the short-day season and the whole experimental period. During the long-day season of 1988 and 1989 the DM yields of the five introductions were very similar, without significant differences among the five accessions. Introduction PRPI 13188 showed significantly higher DM yields during the short day season of 1989-90 than introductions PRPI 13208, 13206 and 13202. On the other hand, introduction PRPI 13207 showed the lowest weed infestation rates during both years. In terms of the development during the establishing period, introductions PRPI 13188 and 13207 showed an average soil cover relative to that of the other introductions. At 16 weeks, introductions PRPI 13188 and 13207 were the tallest. In addition to the excellent DM yields of introductions PRPI 13188 and 13207, both introductions showed good adaptations in terms of their development during the establishment period.


The ultrastructure of 18 metaphase-II oocytes after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was analysed from 30 min to 8 h following the microinjection. Three control metaphase-II oocytes were not injected. The 21 oocytes were embedded individually and examined in serial pole-to-pole sections. Seventeen oocytes had been matured in vitro from the germinal vesicle stage and showed ultrastructural alterations due to long-term culture. In microinjected oocytes, membrane-bound vacuoles and oolemma inclusions were found at the injection site. The ICSI oocytes showed evidence of plasma-membrane damage and increased oocyte exchange processes with residual and multivesiculated bodies. Gamete membrane fusion was not observed. Acrosome reaction was observed within the ooplasm 15 min after ICSI. Sperm elements were not incorporated into any oocyte vacuole. Onset of oocyte activation was associated with sperm chromatin decondensation. Cortical granules were released at 60 min and two pronuclei were formed at 6 h after ICSI. The male and female pronucleus formation was asynchronous. The findings suggest specific ICSI-related morphological features of early fertilization.


Bullying affects from fifteen percent to thirty percent of all students in the United States. It results in serious emotional problems for its victims and is a consistent predictor of later criminal behavior among its perpetrators. It is a major force behind dropout rates and absences, and for those who are not completely driven away from schooling, it serves as a constant interference with learning. It is among today's most detrimental and pervasive threats to educational equity in our schools. Bullying, nevertheless, does not typically command the moral and legal attention that other forms of harassment receive, even though it is often the forerunner of those types of harassment and can be just as damaging or even more so. Because the moral case for holding schools responsible for protecting victims of bullying at school rests on different grounds than for preventing discrimination, bullying tends to defy the legal theories most often employed to combat traditional discrimination. Victims are left without remedies, and schools are left with little legal incentive to act. The chapter first describes the problem of bullying and the educational solutions for addressing the problem. It then proposes that courts refine the tort of negligent supervision and recognize the connection between school passivity toward bullying cultures and the substantial injuries that occur for victims of bullying. That refinement requires no novel theories of liability, no excursions into uncharted legal territory, no radical reorganization of schools, and no radical revision of the law. There is nothing radical about calling inattentiveness and professional blindness what it is: it is negligence. And when children are subjected to brutality because of that negligence, there is nothing radical about holding schools accountable to those children.


We report a 35-year-old man diagnosed as having CNS cryptococcosis with multiple cryptococcomas, presenting with headache, papilloedema and impaired mental function in a previously healthy man. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination revealed lymphocytic pleocytosis with low glucose level. Gram's stain, acid fast bacilli stain and Indian ink examination were all negative. CSF cryptococcal antigen was positive, however, several fungal cultures were negative. Early cranial CT scan showed focal cerebritis over the right temporal lobe while subsequent imaging studies showed multiple contrast-enhancing masses with severe surrounding brain oedema over bilateral frontoparietal areas. Brain biopsy showed cryptococcal granulomatous lesions. Treatment was successful with antifungal agents and steroids without surgical removal.


Hierarchically porous monolithic materials are advantageous as adsorbents, catalysts and catalyst supports due to the better accessibility of reactants to the active sites and the ease of recycle and reuse. Traditional synthetic routes, however, have limitations in designing hierarchical porosity as well as the mechanically stable monolithic shape in inorganic phosphate materials, which are useful as adsorbents and catalysts. We present a low-temperature, one-step liquid phase synthesis of hierarchically porous zirconium phosphate (ZrP) monoliths with tunable compositions (from Zr(HPO4)2 (Zr : P = 1 : 2) to NaSICON (Na super ionic conductor)-type ZrP (Zr : P = 1 : 1.5)) as well as macropore size (from 0.5 to 5 μm). The as-synthesized ZrP monolith with a high reactive surface area (600 m2 g−1) and relatively high mechanical strength (Young's modulus 320 MPa) was applied to ion adsorption. A simple syringe device inserted tightly with the ZrP monolith as a continuous flow setup was demonstrated to remove various toxic metal ions in aqueous solutions, which shows promising results for water purification.


The challenges to achieve sustainable development within planetary boundaries in Africa are immense. This article outlines the extent to which the current regulatory and policy frameworks in Angola ensure sustainable development, do not contribute to human rights violations, and secure the social foundation for humanity within planetary boundaries.

There are multiple economic, social, political and legal challenges in Angola, which are hindering the enforcement of sustainability and human rights regulations. The article shows that while the effective protection of the environment and its people has been echoed in relevant sustainable development legislation and policies by the State in Angola it does not fully correspond with people´s daily-lived experience. In this context, because social and planetary boundaries are complex and interdependent, the role of private actors and public cooperation with African states is essential. Businesses play a key role in ensuring that the Angolan State honours its commitment to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, all of this must go hand in hand with not creating false expectations among its people. It is necessary to strengthen the enforcement of the national regulatory framework and policies in order to ensure that companies operating in the country adhere to, and contribute to, the achievement of human rights and sustainable development in order to secure the social foundation for humanity.


Despite a great deal of research undertaken by historians, archaeologists and other maritime scholars, there remains a rather poor understanding of the design and construction of ships that sailed the Red Sea and Indian Ocean in antiquity. Similarly, there are few indications as to whether any unifying features existed that made them particularly suited to sailing in monsoonal conditions or within enclosed sea basins, or both. This kind of information is important to gain a deeper understanding of the types of boats used to carry cargo over long-distance trade routes in these pioneering times, early on in the shift to a globalised economy. It could also provide indirect evidence for port and harbour infrastructure available along these routes. This paper will evaluate the current state of knowledge concerning the types of vessels that plied the Red Sea and Indian Ocean trade routes from the Ptolemaic to the Roman period.


Four-component Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations are applied to study the tunnelling conductance spectra G(E) of half-metallic ferromagnet/ferromagnet/s-wave superconductor tunnel junctions. It is found that only for noncollinear magnetizations, there exists nonzero G(E) structure within the energy gap, which is a signature of appearance of the novel Andreev reflection and spin-triplet pairing correlations.


The synthesis of 1-(2-alkyl-2-phenylethyl)-1H-imidazoles was accomplished starting from the corresponding phenylacetonitriles. Via alkylation, esterification, and sodium borohydride reduction-in the presence of lithium iodide-beta-phenylalconols were obtained. Mesylation of these alcohols and refluxing with imidazole in dimethylformamide furnished title compounds, which were active in vitro against dermatophytes, yeasts, other fungi, and gram-positive bacteria and in vivo as well as in vitro against Candida albicans.


Previous research has shown that secondary schools frequently differ from one another in the way they deal with their pupils' "instrumental" and "expressive" needs and thus may exert an influence on the attitudes of their pupils which may have some effect on their attendance, independent of the effects of adverse social attitudes and family circumstances.

The present study has pursued this area of inquiry but has changed the focus from general instrumental and expressive needs to four specific factors (namely, job activity preferences; job satisfactions; perceptions of the teacher and peer behaviour in school and spare time leisure activities) and the responses to them by 46 poor attenders and a matched group of good attenders.

These poor attenders (20 boys and 26 girls) and their controls who were drawn from stage S2 and stage S3 of a "bottom-tier" comprehensive school, participated in the first year of the study (data collected in May 1978). During the second year of the study (data collected in May 1979) seven poor attenders were "lost".

The measuring instruments used were (a) The Crowley Occupational Interests Blank, (b) Finlayson's School Climate Index and (c) a local activities questionnaire.

With only minor exceptions, the responses of the two groups were similar and consistent. Although, when selected, the matched/matched pairs were clearly differentiated with respect to their attendance records, they were not so in terms of the factors examined. There was a trend for the good attenders to be absent more and become more like the poor attenders as they grew older.

Attempts were made to identify where the school could use knowledge of poor attenders' job interests and satisfactions to help influence attitudes and reduce absenteeism.

There was no evidence that the bad attenders felt the teachers to be less concerned or more punitive.

The relationships between teachers and pupils were seen to be of prime importance.


This brief presents a Lyapunov theory-based weight adaptation scheme for a multilayered neural network (MLNN) mainly used to classify a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) problem. Initially, the MLNN system is linearized using Taylor series expansion. Then, the weight adaptation scheme is designed based on the Lyapunov stability theory to iteratively update the weight. In the design, the Lyapunov function has to be well selected to construct an energy space with a single global minimum. Hence, the Lyapunov theory-based MLNN acts as a MIMO classifier for face recognition. Analysis and discussion on Lyapunov properties of the proposed classifier are included. The performance of the proposed technique is tested on the Olivetti Research Laboratory database for face classification, and some comparisons with existing conventional techniques are given. Simulation results have revealed that our proposed system achieved better performance.


The Kenyan government has a lot of interest in the empowerment of women and youth as it believes that they will be the cornerstone of Kenya's economic development. Therefore, the establishment of effective and efficient leadership skills among women group leaders in the Women Enterprise fund (WEF) is critical for the performance of these groups since leadership is considered a critical indicator of organizational and group success. This study, therefore, sought to establish the effect of the group leaders' decision making skills on performance of the women groups. The target population was 53 women groups. The sample size used was 307 respondents. Simple random sampling was used. Questionnaires were used to collect data. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. The inferential statistics involved the use of Pearson's correlation and regression analysis. The results indicated that leaders' decision making skills have an influence on the Women Enterprise group's performance. Decision making is a major attribute of a good leader. Leaders, who listen considerately to their followers opinions before making a decision, tend to get good results as compared to their counterparts who use non-participative approach. This is in situations when followers are highly qualified, experts and professionals (Koontz & Weihrich, 2010). The results indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between performance of the women groups and decision making skills of the group leaders. This is in view of the correlation coefficient (r =.486) which depicts that the two variables are related. This reveals that any positive change in decision making skills leads to increased Women Enterprise groups' performance. The study concludes that leaders' decision making skills will improve the performance of an organization or group. It is recommended that leaders should be sensitized on the importance of guiding their groups through decision making processes for quality decisions. The art of making decisions should be urgently included in capacity building programmes.


Membrane filtration has become firmly established as a primary process for ensuring the purity, safety and efficiency of treatment of water or effluents. Several researches have been performed to develop and design membrane systems in order to increase the accuracy and performance of the processes. In this study, a lattice Boltzmann method for the cake layer has been developed using particle dynamics based on an immersed boundary method and the cake layer formation process on membrane has been numerically simulated. Case studies including various particle sizes were also performed for a microfiltration process. The growth rate of the cake layer thickness and the permeation flow rate along the membranes were predicted. The results of this study agreed well with that of previous experiments. Effects of various particle diameters on the membrane performance were studied. The cake layer of a large particle tended to be growing fast and the permeation flow going down rapidly at the beginning. The layer thickness of a small particle increased constantly and the flow rate was smaller than that of the large particle at the end of simulation time.


The increasing and rapid development in technologies, infrastructures, computational power, data availability and information flow has enabled rapid scientific advances. These entail transdisciplinary collaborations that maximize sharing of data and knowledge and, consequently, results, and possible technology transfer. However, in emerging scientific fields it is sometimes difficult to provide all necessary expertise within existing collaborative circles. This is especially true for marine biotechnology that directly addresses global societal challenges. This article describes the creation of a platform dedicated to facilitating the formation of short or mid-term collaborative networks in marine biotechnology. This online platform (https://www.ocean4biotech.eu/map/) enables experts (researchers and members of the marine biotechnology community in general) to have the possibility to showcase their expertise with the aim of being integrated into new collaborations/consortia on the one hand, or to use it as a search tool to complement the expertise in planned/running collaborations, on the other. The platform was created within the Ocean4Biotech (European transdisciplinary networking platform for marine biotechnology) Action, funded under the framework of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST). To build the platform, an inquiry was developed to identify experts in marine biotechnology and its adjunct fields, to define their expertise, to highlight their infrastructures and facilities and to pinpoint the main bottlenecks in this field. The inquiry was open to all experts in the broad field of marine biotechnology, including non-members of the consortium. The inquiry (https://ee.kobotoolbox.org/single/UKVsBNtD) remains open for insertion of additional expertise and the resulting interactive map can be used as a display and search tool for establishing new collaborations.


TLR4 signaling is critical for providing effective immune protection but must be tightly controlled to avoid inflammation-induced pathology. Previously, we reported extensive and direct interactions between TLR and Siglec families of Pattern Recognition Receptors. Here, we examined the biological significance of this interaction during infection. We found that Siglec-E is required for E. coli-induced endocytosis of TLR4. Siglec-E-deficient dendritic cells infected with E. coli fail to internalize TLR4. This leads to sustained TLR4 on cell surface and activation of NF-κB and MAP kinase p38, resulting in high levels of TNF-α and IL-6 compared with wild-type dendritic cells. In contrast to the signaling events occurring at the plasma membrane, as a result of the inability to internalize of TLR4, Siglec-E-deficient dendritic cells were also defective for TRIF-mediated IFN-β production in response to E. coli infection. Furthermore, we found that accumulation of ubiquitinated-TLR4 and binding of E3 ubiquitin ligase Triad3A to TLR4 was increased significantly in bone marrow-derived dendritic cells from wild-type mice, but not from Siglec-E-deficient mice, after E. coli infection. This represents a newly discovered mechanism that regulates the signaling of TLR4 during E. coli infection.


The managers of the telecommunication infrastructure face the challenge of detecting and removing anomalies in the area of energy consumption. New technologies such as smart meters present new possibilities for the control and optimization of energy consumption. The aim of the article is to present the framework of a tool for the detection of anomalies related to energy consumption. The developed multi-criteria system for anomaly detection (MSFAD) consists of three methods: time series prediction with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), categorization based on absolute energy consumption and segmentation with the use of relative changes in energy consumption. The framework was tested on the energy consumption logs received from a telecommunications company. The analyses show that combining these methods may lead to improved feedback and increase the number of anomalies detected. That, in turn, would allow for a faster response, and increase the quality of the services provided.


In a deeply-coupled GPS/INS integrated system, the use of the inertial aiding information can improve the tracking loop performance and make the system more robust. To meet this requirement, the inertial aiding information should have sufficient accuracy in short-term (such as the sampling interval of GPS, e.g. 1sec). The MEMS (Micro-Electro Mechanical System) IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) can be a promising candidate due to its small size and low cost. There should be no doubt that MEMS INS (Inertial Navigation System) can aid the GPS receiver tracking loop by eliminating the dominant part of the motion dynamic stress, considering that the INS errors induced by the receiver motion dynamics is much less than the motion dynamic itself, when the receiver manoeuvres. So the only concern the side effect caused by MEMS INS, which determine whether MEMS IMU is qualified for deep integration, is its navigation error independent with the motion dynamics (i.e. manoeuvre-independent error). This paper assesses this side effect of MEMS INS in terms of providing Doppler aiding data in to the GPS carrier tracking loop through a thorough error propagation analysis. The Laplace transform analysis is applied to the simplified INS error dynamic equations under stationary condition and find out the transfer relation between the error sources and the velocity estimation errors. Then the velocity error is converted to Doppler aiding error and substitute into the GPS tracking loop to analyze the corresponding carrier phase error. Results show that the largest velocity error caused by maneuver-independent errors is less than 0.1m/s during the typical GPS update interval (e.g. 1 sec), which meets the real road test results. The consequent carrier phase tracking error caused by the maneuver-independent error of MEMS INS is below 1.2 degree, which is much less than receiver inherent errors (e.g. the oscillator error and thermal noise). Conclusion can be reached that even the low-end MEMS IMUs have the ability of aiding the GPS receiver signal tracking although it induces some additional errors.


We integrate perspectives from the literature on contingency, dynamic capabilities, and the natural resource-based view of the firm to propose how dimensions of the general competitive environment of a business will influence the development of a dynamic, proactive corporate strategy for managing the business–natural environment interface. We also explain how certain characteristics of the general business environment—uncertainty, complexity, and munificence—moderate the relationship between the dynamic capability of a proactive environmental strategy and competitive advantage. We conclude with a discussion of implications for research and practice.


Human rights and fundamental freedoms are the inherent rights of every human being on the planet, they are, as a rule, universal, indivisible and inalienable. Human rights are there, around and between us, every day and every moment of that day. In addition to the state territory, the inhabitants populating that territory and the public authorities, human rights are nowadays an indispensable, fourth element of the state. It is the duty of every democratic state to protect the basic human rights and fundamental freedoms of every human being, without discrimination on any grounds: sex, race, color, property, origin, political or other opinion. In addition to civil and political rights, which are somehow always in the focus of observation of all of us (certainly because of their importance), human rights and freedoms of the second generation, i.e. economic, social and cultural rights, must not be neglected. These rights will be mostly in focus of this paper, and especially their status and implementation from the perspective of a special institution that deals with the promotion and protection of human rights - the Institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina.


The population enjoying ski had increased since 1970's in Korea. Recently, that of snowboarders has increased rapidly among young population. Patterns of injuries are somewhat different between two sport activities. The most commonly injured region is knee among skiers and wrist among snowboarders. Head injury, spinal injury, and abdominal injury are not so common but a few serious injuries had been reported in Korea. To prevent or minimize injuries, proper pre-seasonal training including muscle strengthening, proper selection of equipments, and instruction for both sport technique and protection for safety are important. Also primary care for the injured as well as delivery system for seriously injured population should be established.


The role of the boundary plasma in determining the power and particle balance of tokamak discharges is discussed. Detailed boundary plasma measurements of edge density, edge temperature, deuterium influx and carbon influx are reported from ohmically heated TFTR discharges over a range of plasma densities. The experimental results are compared with predictions from a simple zero-dimensional model based on power and particle balance. Reasonable agreement is obtained. More detailed impurity modelling is performed with the LIM impurity production and transport code. The complementary modelling approaches reveal, amongst other results, the important role of the sputtering yield at the limiter in determining the central effective charge of the discharge, the ability of a densified boundary plasma to screen impurities from the central plasma and the importance of cross-field particle transport to the TFTR limiter. The authors demonstrate that, under the conditions of this experiment, the behaviour of the boundary plasma and its effect on the central plasma appear to be explicable using rather simple considerations of power and particle balance


The effect of the different training samples is
different for the classifier when pattern recognition system is established.
The training samples were selected randomly in the past protein disulfide bond
prediction methods, therefore the prediction accuracy of protein contact was
reduced. In order to improve the influence of training samples, a prediction method
of protein disulfide bond on the basis of pattern selection and Radical Basis
Function neural network has been brought forward in this paper. The attributes
related with protein disulfide bond are extracted and coded in the method and
pattern selection is used to select training samples from coded samples in
order to improve the precision of protein disulfide bond prediction. 200
proteins with disulfide bond structure from the PDB database are encoded
according to the encoding approach and are taken as models of training samples.
Then samples are taken on the pattern selection based on the nearest neighbor
algorithm and corresponding prediction models are set by using RBF neural
network. The simulation experiment result indicates that this method of pattern
selection can improve the prediction accuracy of protein disulfide bond.


The study of proteins immobilized on biomimetic or biocompatible electrodes represents an active field of research as it pursues both fundamental and technological interests. In this context, adsorption and redox properties of cytochrome c (Cyt) on different electrode surfaces have been extensively reported, although in some cases with contradictory results. Here we report a SERR spectroelectrochemical study of the adsorption and electron transfer behaviour of the basic protein Cyt on electrodes coated with amino-terminated monolayers. The obtained results show that inorganic phosphate (Pi) and ATP anions are able to mediate high affinity binding of the protein with preservation of the native structure and rendering an average orientation that guarantees efficient pathways for direct electron transfer. These findings aid the design of Cyt-based bioelectronic devices and understanding the modulation by Pi and ATP of physiological functions of Cyt.


A new architecture of multiplier-andaccumulator (MAC) for high-speed arithmetic. By combining multiplication with accumulation and devising a hybrid type of carry save adder (CSA), the performance was improved. Since the accumulator that has the largest delay in MAC was merged into CSA, the overall performance was elevated. The proposing method CSA tree uses 1's-complement-based radix-2 modified Booth's algorithm (MBA) and has the modified array for the sign extension in order to increase the bit density of the operands. The proposed MAC showed the superior properties to the standard design in many ways and performance twice as much as the previous research in the similar clock frequency. We expect that the proposed MAC can be adapted to various fields requiring high performance such as the signal processing areas. KeywordsMultiplier and accumulator, Carry save adder, Booth algorithm, Standard design


The complex effects of ozonation on the photophysical and size-based properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM) were investigated using two DOM isolates, Suwannee River Fulvic Acid (SRFA) and Pony Lake Fulvic Acid (PLFA). A size exclusion chromatography system paired with absorbance, fluorescence, and total organic carbon detection was used to determine the fluorescence quantum yield (Φf) as a function of the apparent molecular weight (AMW). Size-based fractions of each isolate were collected and irradiated to measure singlet oxygen (1O2) quantum yield (Φ1O2). Φf decreased with ozonation in low AMW fractions, while increasing in high AMW fractions. Φ1O2 increased with ozone dose in low AMW fractions from ∼2 to ∼7% and ∼3 to ∼11% for PLFA and SRFA, respectively, indicating that these are the most photoreactive fractions of DOM. Decreases in Φf and concomitant increases in Φ1O2 in low AMW fractions indicated that chemical transformations occurred, likely including the conversion of phenols to quinones, particularly in SRFA. Results further suggest that the photoactive and fluorescent fractions of DOM are likely independent pools of chromophores from different AMW fractions. In PLFA, a linear response in Φ1O2, specific UV absorbance at wavelength 254 nm (SUVA254), and Φf with ozonation indicated the equal distribution of ozone-reactive moieties.


For centuries, the cannabis plant has been used as a source of food, fiber, and medicine. Recently, scientific interest in cannabis has increased considerably, as its bioactive compounds have shown promising potential in the treatment of numerous musculoskeletal and neurological diseases in humans. However, the mechanisms that underlie its possible effects on neurodevelopment and nervous-system functioning remain poorly understood and need to be further investigated. Although the bulk of research on cannabis and cannabinoids is based on in vitro or rodent models, the zebrafish has now emerged as a powerful in vivo model for drug-screening studies and translational research. We here review the available literature on the use of cannabis/cannabinoids in zebrafish, and particularly in zebrafish models of neurological disorders. A critical analysis suggests that zebrafish could serve as an experimental tool for testing the bioactivity of cannabinoids, and they could thus provide important insights into the safety and efficacy of different cannabis-extract-based products. The review showed that zebrafish exhibit similar behaviors to rodents following cannabinoid exposure. The authors stress the importance of analyzing the full spectrum of naturally occurring cannabinoids, rather than just the main ones, THC and CBD, and they offer some pointers on performing behavioral analysis in zebrafish.


To be immune to variations in illumination, a vision system needs to be able to decompose images into their illumination and surface reflectance components. Most computational studies thus far have been concerned with strategies for solving the problem in the restricted domain of 2-D Mondrians. This domain has the simplifying characteristic of permitting discontinuities only in the reflectance distribution while the illumination distribution is constrained to vary smoothly. Such approaches prove inadequate in a 3-D world of painted polyhedra which allows for the existence of discontinuities in both the reflectance and illumination distributions. The authors propose a two-stage computational strategy for interpreting images acquired in such a domain. The first stage attempts to use simple local gray-level junction analysis to classify the observed image edges into the illumination or reflectance categories. Subsequent processing verifies the global consistency of these local inferences while also reasoning about the 3-D structure of the object and the illumination source direction.<<ETX>>


With the recent advances in consumer electronics and the need for noninvasive biometric recognition systems, face recognition has become a viable option at least computationally. The aim of this paper is to present a complete face recognition system that works in real time, and is robust to illumination and expression for the most part. The system was developed to study the feasibility of employing facial recognition in relatively controlled environments like that of an ATM machine. The system employs a statistical skin color model to detect faces and then extracts them for eye detection that works within the framework of EBGM (Elastic Bunch Graph Matching) algorithm. Finally, face graphs are extracted and matched to those within a database. The final prototype was tested using a 1.3 megapixel USB webcam and a Pentium 4 2.4 GHz processor.


The case‐bearing moths of North America are represented by a single genus, Coleophora, which contains approximately 144 described species. All are external seed or leaf miners that inhabit portable silk cases during most of the larval stage. Architectural and ecological characters from larval cases were used in cladistic analysis to investigate existing case groups for 32 North American species of Coleophora. Cladistic analysis confirmed monophyly of certain case groups, but not of others. Host‐plant preferences were also examined. The pattern of host plant use reflects more closely preference for certain plant tissues (seeds versus leaves) and growth forms (herbaceous versus woody) with exploitation of different plant taxa, rather than preference for certain plant taxa with exploitation of different plant tissues.


Despite the recent advances in out-of-distribution(OOD) detection, anomaly detection, and uncertainty estimation tasks, there do not exist a task-agnostic and post-hoc approach. To address this limitation, we design a novel clustering-based ensembling method, called Task Agnostic and Post-hoc Unseen Distribution Detection (TAPUDD) that utilizes the features extracted from the model trained on a specific task. Explicitly, it comprises of TAP-Mahalanobis, which clusters the training datasets' features and determines the minimum Mahalanobis distance of the test sample from all clusters. Further, we propose the Ensembling module that aggregates the computation of iterative TAP-Mahalanobis for a different number of clusters to provide reliable and efficient cluster computation. Through extensive experiments on synthetic and real-world datasets, we observe that our task-agnostic approach can detect unseen samples effectively across diverse tasks and performs better or on-par with the existing task-specific baselines. We also demonstrate that our method is more viable even for large-scale classification tasks.


Experimental and theoretical electron-excitation cross sections are reported for the 2 s2p P →2s2p2 P and→2s2p2 D transitions in O. The transition energies are centered at 8.85 and 15.7 eV, respectively. Measurements are made using the energy-loss merged-beams method. The center-of-mass energy range covered is 6.1 ~below threshold ! to 19.3 eV. Comparison is made with results of new calculations in a 25-stateR-matrix theory and with results in a previous eight-state R-matrix calculation. The presence of rich resonance structure is confirmed in both experiment and theory. In most cases there is good agreement in the magnitude of cross section, and energy location of the resonances.


The MRC UKALL XA trial for patients aged 15 years and over with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia was designed to evaluate short blocks of intensive 'AML‐style' treatment. Between 1985 and 1992, 618 eligible patients were entered into the trial. 450 patients were randomized to receive early intensification at 5 weeks, late intensification at 20 weeks, both, or neither. Unlike the concurrent children's trial, UKALL X, which was of similar design, UKALL XA does not demonstrate a clear benefit for intensification, although there was a significant reduction in the relapse risk due to the early block. The estimated increase in disease‐free survival at 5 years was 2% with 95% confidence interval from 1% reduction to 5% increase. There may be a real difference between the effect of these treatments in adults and in children, but this result may be somewhat weakened by poorer compliance, with a greater proportion of adults not receiving the treatment arm to which they were randomized.


ABSTRACT This article critically examines the whitening of Romani women's intersectional experience by white feminist movements and its implications for the perpetuation of anti-Roma racism. It argues that the dismissal of race is not a mere oversight, but rather a deliberate political strategy aimed at maintaining existing power dynamics. The centralization of race as a political lens is explored as a means to understand and address the challenges faced by Romani women in their struggle for emancipation and political agency.


The congenital heart disease univentricular heart (UVH) occurs with an incidence of 0.04-0.5% in newborns and is often treated with the Fontan procedure. In this intervention, the cardiac circulation is transformed into a singular circulation with only one ventricular chamber pumping. Hemodynamics the singular ventricle is a major research topic in cardiology and there exists a relationship between fluid dynamical features and cardiac behavior in health and disease. By visualizing the flow using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models, an option is created to investigate the flow in patient-specific geometries. CFD simulation of the pathological single right ventricle in contrast to the healthy left ventricle is the research object of the present work. The aim is the numerical comparison of the intraventricular flow within the ventricles. Based on this, flow formation in different anatomies of the ventricles is investigated. Patient-specific measurements of ventricles from three-dimensional real-time echocardiographic images served as the basis for the simulations with five single right ventricle (SRV) patients and two subjects with healthy left hearts (LV) investigated. Interpolation of these data reproduced the shape and continuous motion of the heart during a cardiac cycle. This motion was implemented into a CFD model with a moving mesh methodology. For comparison of the ventricles, the vortex formation as well as the occurring turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and washout were evaluated. Vortex formation was assessed using the dimensionless vortex formation time (VFT). The results show significantly lower values for the VFT and the TKE in SRV patients than for the compared LV Patients. Furthermore, vortex formation does not progress to the apex in SRV patients. These findings were confirmed by a significantly lower washout in SRV patients. Flow simulation within the moving ventricle provides the possibility of more detailed analysis of the ventricular function. Simulation results show altered vortex formation and reduced washout of SRV in comparison to healthy LV. This information could provide important information for the planning and treatment of Fontan patients.


1. The present investigation is a sequel to two earlier papers in these 'Proceedings.' In II a theory of the electron was proposed which led to a prediction of the value of the constant 2π e 2 / hc . The theory involved an appeal to the analogies of classical dynamics, which frequently prove useful though precarious; it has been my purpose to substitute a more satisfactory geometrical basis. In a problem of this kind, concerned with the whole question of the significance of the methods of quantum theory, it is unlikely that finality can have been reached even at the second attempt; but I think that the progress is now sufficient to justify publication. According to II the value of hc /2π e 2 was 136. I remarked that, as it represented the number of degrees of freedom of a system, small mistakes were unlikely; nevertheless I appear to have made such a mistake, and the new prediction is 137 (16). The 136 symmetrical degrees of freedom are a generalisation of rotations and translations in space; but it is characteristic of a pair of electrons that they possess one special degree of freedom unlike the others which has no analogue in the theory of a single electron, viz., an alteration of the proper distance between them; and whereas the 136 rotations are relative to the frame of reference employed, the odd degree of freedom represents alteration of an absolute quantity (the interval). The mistake in the earlier theory was not so much in overlooking this degree of freedom (for it there appeared as the rotation which "interchanges the identity of the two electrons") as in not recognising its distinctness from the others. No one of the 136 relativity transformations can play the part of this non-relativity or gauge transformation.


In last decade gradual decrease in numbers of reported cases of tetanus was observed. In 2005, 15 cases of tetanus (10 women and 5 men) were reported in Poland. All those cases were among people of age 50 or more. In 2005 6 deaths were recorded All cases were unvaccinated or vaccination status was unknown. Only in 2 cases post exposure anatoxin was applied. The data show effectiveness of vaccination program in younger age groups, but they also show need for promotion of post exposure prophylaxis, especially among older people both in rural and in urban areas. No case of neonatal tetanus was noted in Poland since 1984.


Article Info Background: Students' physical health, performance, and comfort can be improved by designing equipment according to the needs of their body dimensions. This study aimed to establish a comprehensive database of anthropometric dimensions of students in Khorramabad, Lorestan, Iran. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted to estimate 22 anthropometric students' dimensions in a sample of 4872 randomly selected students who belonged to the Lor ethnic group. The anthropometric dimensions were measured by a digital caliper and a standardized anthropometric instrument. Data were analyzed using a t-test, and the results were reported in tabular form. Results: The results showed that elementary school students' body dimensions were larger in girls, except for chest depth, abdominal depth, and buttock-knee length. Anthropometric estimates of middle school students indicated that most anthropometric dimensions of girls were larger than boys; for example, the average height in girls with 1531.87 ±72.84 was greater than boys with 1528.16±101.79 mm. Findings in high school students showed that most anthropometric parameters of boys were larger than girls. Also, the t-test showed a significant difference between the means of all measured parameters except the variable of buttock-knee length in male and female students (P <0.05). Conclusions: Given the anthropometric differences obtained in this study, it can be concluded that in designing school equipment, especially desks and chairs, it is necessary to pay special attention to age, gender, level of education, and ethnicity of students in particular.


The study was conducted at Wolmera district, western Oromia region, Ethiopia. A total of 12 women farmers were selected purposively to implement the activity. Sweet lupin demonstration was conducted to evaluate and crate awareness on sweet lupun technologies, food recipes and to analyze the macro and micronutrient composition of the varieties. The mean grain yield result of this variety was 2300 kg ha -1 with a minimum of 1900 and a maximum of 2800 kg ha -1 , respectively. Sensory evaluation test was made on sweet lupin recipes made in combination with wheat flour, field pea flour and alone using hedonic scaling method. A total of 112 participants out of which 62 were male and 50 were female were involved to taste the food recipe made from sweet lupin. The result of sensory evaluation indicated that the incorporation of 25% of sweet lupin flour (SLF) to the biscuit is more accepted by the panelists than 50% SLF substitution to the biscuit. The acceptability of bread containing 25% SLF was excellent. For Pulse stew 50% SL substitution level for 50% FP flour and 100% SLF alone has no any difference in acceptance among the panelists. The result also revealed that a very good acceptability of 100% SL Roasted and Boiled can also be prepared from sweet lupin. The lab analysis result of macro- and micronutrient composition content of sweet lupin grain as compared to field pea grain showed that mean protein and fat contents of sweet lupin were 31.6% and 8.3%, respectively, while the grain protein and fat contents field pea were 22.32% and 3.6% respectively. Sweet lupin grain has also the highest mineral contents of zinc, iron and calcium whereas, but field pea has higher contents of potassium and sodium. The demonstration of new varieties of sweet lupin with low alkaloid and high protein content has resulted in a renewed interest in utilization of lupin as source of protein for human and livestock nutrition.


Lie symmetry reduction of some truly "variable coefficient" wave equations which are singled out from a class of (1 + 1)-dimensional variable coefficient nonlinear wave equations with respect to one and two-dimensional algebras is carried out. Some classes of exact solutions of the investigated equations are found by means of both the reductions and some modern techniques such as additional equivalent transformations and hidden symmetries and so on. Conditional symmetries are also discussed.


Rationale: Transgenic mice with cardiac specific overexpression of mutated &agr;B-crystallin (CryABR120G) display Desmin-related myopathy (DRM) with dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure. Our previous studies showed the presence of progressive mitochondrial abnormalities and activation of apoptotic cell death in CryABR120G transgenic hearts. However, the role of mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis in the overall course of the disease was unclear. Objective: We tested the hypothesis that prevention of apoptosis would ameliorate CryABR120G pathology and decrease morbidity. Methods and Results: We crossed CryABR120G mice to transgenic mice with cardiac specific overexpression of Bcl-2. Sustained Bcl-2 overexpression in CryABR120G hearts prolonged CryABR120G transgenic mice survival by 20%. This was associated with decreased mitochondrial abnormalities, restoration of cardiac function, prevention of cardiac hypertrophy, and attenuation of apoptosis. CryABR120G misfolded protein aggregation was significantly reduced in the double transgenic. However, inhibition of apoptotic signaling resulted in the upregulation of autophagy and alternative death pathways, the net result being increased necrosis. Conclusion: Although Bcl-2 overexpression prolonged life in this DRM model, in the absence of apoptosis, another death pathway was activated.


—We propose the technique of extended processing of cross-well seismic data for reflection imaging. Based on the analysis of the wave field and synthetic modeling, a graph for processing cross-well data is developed to separate the reflections in the presence of a boundary of a sharp change in the velocity of elastic waves. The migration of the reflected waves from the time scale to the depth is performed by solving a forward problem for each source–receiver pair. As a result, the position of the reflection points is calculated, after which all the traces are stacked based on the binning grid. The input information for performing migration and solving a forward problem is the velocity characteristic of the massif, which is calculated using traveltime tomography on direct body waves obtained from the same data set of cross-well survey and vertical seismic profiling. The resulting depth seismic section has a much higher resolution than that of vertical seismic profiling and ground-based shallow seismic studies. This opens up the opportunity of identifying different small natural or technogenic objects in the interwell space.


This study was begun with the thought that fixation of opposing vertebrae resulting from complete removal of an affected disk at the site of the spondylolisthesis would produce a much simpler and more effective fusion of the spine than the customary fusion with bone grafts. The observations from the series of patients operated on has led to unexpected conclusions; i. e. (1) that the spondylolisthesis is usually responsible for only part and at times none of the symptoms, (2) that in most (not all) instances it is not the spondylolisthesis or even the disk at its site that causes the symptoms but rather another disk or disks and (3) that therefore cure usually depends more on removal of the other disk or disks than on the one at the site of the spondylolisthesis, though this too must be extirpated. The principal reasons for these seemingly paradoxical conclusions are that: 1.


Performance analysis of Scheduling Algorithms in Simulated Parallel Environment that enables to make the system to evaluate and compare the performance of various Scheduling Algorithms. Efficiency of scheduling algorithms is essential in order to attain optimal performance from parallel programming systems. The proposed work consider a connected set of workstations as a "pool of processors" to analyze the performance of scheduling algorithms. Scheduling algorithms select the best possible subset of workstations for a task to minimize its completion time. Virtualization of parallelization environment is carried out with the help of simulated program, which simulates all components of actual processors so as to give best possible outcome. Such simulated framework will provide the stage for the young researchers to model and evaluate their scheduling policies on virtual parallel environment. The paper presents first come first serve, smallest job first and round robin scheduling approaches where general problem is analyzed and modeled for a simple scenario. The performance of proposed schemes is evaluated and benefits are highlighted in terms of Response time, Turnaround time, Waiting Time, Total Turnaround time based on simulation study.


3D face tracking using one monocular camera is an important topic, since it is useful in many domains such as: video surveillance system, human machine interaction, biometrics, etc. In this paper, we propose a new 3D face tracking which is robust to large head rotations. Underlying cascaded regression approach for 2D landmark detection, we build an extension in context of 3D pose tracking. To better work with out-of-plane issues, we extend the training dataset by including a new set of synthetic images. For evaluation, we propose to use a new recording system to capture automatically face pose ground-truth, and create a new test dataset, named U3PT (Unconstrained 3D Pose Tracking). Theperformance of our method along with the state-of-the-art methods are carried out to analyze advantage as well as limitations need to be improved in the future.


Abstract Patients with complex chronic disorders, such as asthma, present clinicians with important management problems. The identification of a clinical syndrome usually leads to the diagnosis of the disease entity. The next concern involves classification and a choice as to whether to use a few inclusive categories or multiple exclusive categories. Patients with asthma have multiple clinical syndromes, and these can be described as phenotypes. The use of cluster analysis allows investigators to identify phenotypes with less clinical bias. However, the identification of a particular phenotype does not necessarily provide much insight into the underlying pathogenesis. In asthma, the pathogenetic events are complex and multiple and require a classification based on endotypes. This difficulty introduces the idea of causation and models for causation. Asthma probably does not have a single universal necessary cause. However, it does have multiple sufficient component causes. Understanding these components and their interactions potentially leads to better treatment trials and more focused drug therapy. Clinicians need to identify asthmatic patients and classify them into particular phenotypes; they should also wonder about causation. Clinical investigators need to use these phenotypes to identify more homogenous groups of patients to study the underlying pathogenesis and establish endotypes. Focusing on causation can improve our understanding of disease entities, disease classification, and disease causation. This review outlines ideas relevant to causation in nearly all diseases.


Ranking spam in the Social Media and Social Network market refers to fake or deceptive activities which have a purpose of striking up the products and the services for different interests in the popularity list. Indeed, it becomes more and more repeated for Social Networks to use sheltered means, such as inflating their products sales or posting services of the product ratings, to commit ranking spam. While the importance of preventing ranking spamming has been recognized, we provide a holistic inspection of ranking spam and propose a spamming detection system for social network. We propose to exactly locate the ranking spam by mining the active periods, namely leading sessions, of social network. Such sessions can be influenced for detecting the actual rating instead of spammed rating of product rankings. by modeling social networks ranking, rating and review behaviors in the course of statistical proposition tests.


We have designed a new experiment (E923) at the BNL-AGS to search for the T-violating polarization of the muon normal to the decay plane of the KMU3 decay. The experiment aims to search for T-violation beyond the Standard Model; such a search is motivated by the need for a stronger CP violation source to account for the baryon asymmetry of the Universe. The experiment will be performed with in-flight decays from an intense (2.10e7 K/sec) 2 GeV/c separated K+ beam in an existing beam-line at the AGS. We expect to analyze more than 10e9 events to obtain the sensitivity of (delta P_t = +-0.00013) at 1 sigma, corresponding to the sensitivity of +-0.0007 to Im(xi), an improvement by 40 over the present limit on the same measurement. This paper describes the motivation for this experiment as well as other measurements of the same type. The experimental technique and the sensitivity is also described.


Consider two hypothetical employees: the first has a disorder causing an incapacitating, brief seizure at work; the second needs surgery in the next few weeks to remove a cancerous tumor, the recovery from which will render her unable to work for a long, indefinite period of time. A routine analysis of laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) almost certainly requires employers to accommodate the first employee, at least once, as a minutes-long leave is eminently reasonable and would be unlikely to impose undue hardship. Yet, a growing chorus of courts has held that, putative unreasonableness and potential undue hardship notwithstanding, the indefinite and/or long-term nature of the second employee's accommodation is disqualifying because it prevents that employee from regular attendance which, ostensibly, is as an essential function of the job. In other words, these courts have conditioned disability leave on an ability to work occasionally, or "now and again" in the idiomatic sense, excluding leaves that remove the employee from the workplace indefinitely or for a long time. In this Article, I flip the script. Viz., I contend that employers never need to accommodate the first employee because that employee, at the time the accommodation would begin, is unable to work. I also argue that courts must reassess accommodating the second employee, grounding a denial of disability leave as an accommodation only on unreasonableness or undue hardship grounds, because taking leave does not imply a present-tense inability to perform the essential functions of the position. Finally, while I decline to supplement extant scholarship on whether indefinite leave is unreasonable, I add that employees must demonstrate a reasonable possibility of returning to work eventually to qualify for accommodations. Hence, I posit that disability leave must be conditioned on employees' ability to work "now" and "again" in the literal sense. To defend this thesis, I present a nuanced, linguistic examination of the relevant statutory texts; an analysis of deference owed to agency interpretations; and a review of legislative history that prior scholarship has yet to examine. I also clarify the lower courts' burgeoning, but confused, debates over accommodating disability leave generally, indefinite disability leave, and long-term disability leave, the last of which was recently considered by the Supreme Court in a petition for certiorari that the Court ultimately denied, hopefully allowing the lower courts sufficient time to pursue clarity. Finally, I situate this Article amidst extant legal scholarship on disability leave as an accommodation and harmonize its thesis with other federal laws. I conclude by recognizing the normative appeal of a broad entitlement to disability leave as an accommodation and arguing that, in an era where the rule of law is respected out of convenience and not principle, we must abide by all of our laws, even those with which we disagree. As such, I call for amending the ADA before courts inflict a damaging and destabilizing, albeit accurate, textualist blow to it by excluding employees who cannot work presently from its scope.


Increased neuronal NOS (nNOS) mRNA expression was found in the renal medulla of diabetic rats (Shih et al, Diabetologia 43: 649-659,2000). To furher investigate either hyperglycemia or high renal tubular glucose level enhanced renal nNOS synthesis, we measured nNOS mRNA in phlorizin-treated rat kidney. Male Wistar rats were divided into: (1) control (C,n=5); (2) phlorizin-treated control (C-P,n=5); (3)steptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (DM, n=6); (4) phlorizin-treated diabetic rats (DM-P,n=5). Phlorizin (40 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally administrated for 12 days after diabetic induction for 16 days. The mean blood glucose level of C, C-P, DM and DM-P groups were 119 ±4.9, 114±3.8, 438±15 and 202±12mg/dl, respectively. Daily urinary glucose excretion were 0.009±0.001, 3.0±0.13, 11.7±2.3 and 8.8±2.2 g/day. The relative nNOS/s-actin mRNA ration in renal outer and inner medulla of DM 92.40±0.21 and 1.40±0.15)significantly increased as compared to C (1.00±0.28 and 1.00±0.18) and C-P (0.38±0.09 and 0.75 ±0.12). The relative nNOS/s-actin mRNA ratios of outer and inner medulla in DM-P (1.50±0.34 and 0.88±0.06)are significantly decreased as compared to DM group. The nNOS-s-actin mRNAratios of outer and inner medulla are significantly correlated with blood glucose level (r=0.696 and r=0.445), but not with urinary glucose excretion rate (r=0.378 and r=0.210)in four groups. Our results indicate that increased renal nNOS mRNA expression may directly be regulated by hyperglycemia, but not by high renal tubular glucose level in diabetic rat kidneys.


Computational mediation can unlock access to existing creative fabrication tools. By outfitting an otherwise purely mechanical hand-operated knitting machine with lightweight sensing capabilities, we produced a system which provides immediate feedback about the state and affordances of the underlying knitting machine. We describe our technical implementation, show modular interface applications which center the particular patterning capabilities of this kind of machine knitting, and discuss user experiences with interactive hybrid computational/mechanical systems.


Abstract A correction procedure is proposed to account for the effect of secondary X-ray fluorescence near grain boundaries in electron microprobe analysis. The procedure is based on the Monte Carlo simulation method, which is used to calculate the X-ray spectrum emitted by the mineral couple (i.e., the mineral of interest with the neighboring mineral). The contribution of secondary fluorescence from the neighboring mineral, which appears in the simulated spectrum in a natural way, is then subtracted from the measured k-ratio and thereafter conventional matrix corrections are applied. The Monte Carlo simulation algorithm used is largely based on the general-purpose simulation package PENELOPE. In order to assess the reliability of this code, simulated "apparent" element profiles are compared with electron microprobe measurements found in the literature, in which the effect of secondary fluorescence was characterized and the reliability of the different assumptions underlying the proposed procedure is discussed. Finally, the procedure is used to assess data from the olivine-clinopyroxene thermobarometer in a spinel lherzolite xenolith. The application of the secondary fluorescence correction leads to: (1) higher systematic pressure estimations than those obtained from uncorrected data, with lower uncertainties; and (2) a better agreement between the olivine-clinopyroxene temperature estimations and those estimated using the two-pyroxene thermometer. Estimated P-T conditions indicate a decompressional path with a slight decrease in temperature from core to crystal rim. However, if the effect of secondary fluorescence is not taken into account, an apparent heating event is observed.


Abstract BACKGROUND. Excision of facial cutaneous carcinomas requires further reconstruction in a combined team with plastic surgeons. Among the traditional risk factors, the unprotected occupational exposure to sunlight can be identified. Giant masses at the level of the nose are frequently squamous carcinomas in origin. Moreover, repeated tumor trauma favours local-regional and remote extension. MATERIAL AND METHODS. We present step by step the surgical management of an old woman with a nasal mass of 58/36/20 mm. Also, the patient presented right genian tumefaction of approximately 6 months in evolution. RESULTS. The patient was submitted to surgical resection with free margins, leaving a considerable nasal and genian groove defect. Teaming up with the plastic surgeon, we applied complex reconstruction techniques with a satisfactory aesthetic and functional result. The histopathologic diagnosis confirmed our suspicion of an acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma with lymph nodes metastasis. CONCLUSION. Our case exhibited traditional risk factors, living in a rural environment. The tumor degree of aggressiveness was increased by repeated self-inflicted trauma. Late presentation to healthcare services implied complex facial reconstruction for the combined resection of the nasal tip and genian lymph node.


We studied the effect of inserting 0.5 nm-thick spacer layers (Ti, V, Cr, Mo, W) at the Pt/Co interface on the spin-orbit torques, Hall effect, magnetoresistance, saturation magnetization, and magnetic anisotropy. We find that the damping-like spin-orbit torque decreases substantially for all samples with a spacer layer compared to the reference Pt/Co bilayer, consistently with the opposite sign of the atomic spin-orbit coupling constant of the spacer elements relative to Pt. The reduction of the damping-like torque is monotonic with atomic number for the isoelectronic 3d, 4d, and 5d elements, with the exception of V that has a stronger effect than Cr. The field-like spin-orbit torque almost vanishes for all spacer layers irrespective of their composition, suggesting that this torque predominantly originates at the Pt/Co interface. The anomalous Hall effect, magnetoresistance, and saturation magnetization are also all reduced substantially, whereas the sheet resistance is increased in the presence of the spacer layer. Finally, we evidence a correlation between the amplitude of the spin-orbit torques, the spin Hall-like magnetoresistance, and the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. These results highlight the significant influence of ultrathin spacer layers on the magnetotransport properties of heavy metal/ferromagnetic systems.


This research examines the effects of brand association reminding on brand extension evaluations. The current research demonstrates that perceived fit can be manipulated by reminding consumers of shared brand associations. Study 1 demonstrates that in an unsuitable brand extension with a low perceived fit, the perceived fit can be elevated by making a brand, that is similar to the core brand in certain aspects, in the extension category accessible. Study 2 tests the managerial implications of Study 1 by modifying the experimental paradigm to remind respondents of shared concepts between the core brand and the extension, with extension ads containing brand association attributes extracted from the core brand. The ads for the extensions are also found helpful in elevating the proposed unsuitable extension than the suitable extension.


Perception and navigation frequently require us to maintain sensory information in memory, while also processing new sensory inputs as they arise. Recent fMRI research has uncovered regions in human frontal cortex that coordinate these diverse processes. Across various attention and working memory (WM) tasks, these regions can be separated into two distinct networks. Each shows a response preference for either auditory or visual stimuli, yet in addition, each can be flexibly recruited based on the information domain (i.e., temporal or spatial) of the task, regardless of sensory modality. Motivated by the sensory and functional specializations these networks display, we investigated whether dual-task interference is affected by similarity between the tasks in sensory modality (auditory or visual) and information domain. Participants performed a novel dual-task paradigm involving different combinations of WM and Intervening tasks, while two temporally sensitive physiological signals, pupillometry and electroencephalography (EEG), were measured. Convergent evidence from behavioral performance, pupil dilation amplitudes, and event-related potentials (ERPs) indicates that dual-task interference is greatest when the tasks match in both sensory modality and information domain. However, differences also arise in the patterns of dual-task interference across these metrics, highlighting the differential strengths and sensitivities of each. The results are consistent with increased interference when multiple tasks compete for shared cognitive control resources due to a common sensory modality or information domain.


INTRODUCTION: The primary nasal lymphoma is an uncommon extranodal tumor and represents 0.44% of all Extranodal lymphomas in this region. The primary nasal lymphoma derives from the T-lineage in nearly 75% of the cases. OBJECTIVE: To describe a case of nasosinusal lymphoma of T Natural Killer cells, attended in the Clinical Hospital of the Federal University of Goias. CASE REPORT: 48-year-old female patient with diffuse tumefaction in the left hemiface of firm-elastic consistency and painful upon digital compression. Face sinuses tomography identified a total maxillary veiling to the left and some posterior ethmoidal cells. With the diagnostic hypothesis of a tumor affection, we opted for the surgical removal via a transmaxillary approach and the material was sent for biopsy. The histopathological exam diagnosed a highly necrotic tumor of angiocentric pattern, polymorphic and atypical lymphoid population (T /NK Lymphoma); with the prognosis, the patient was submitted to chemical therapy with total regression of the facial edema. FINAL COMMENTS: The otorhinolaryngologist must be attentive as regards the existence of lymphomas among the nasosinusal diseases, because the early diagnosis improves the survival as it prevents metastases, growth and local destruction.


The current financial crisis is a clear, though painful, example of excess procyclicality in banking. Procyclical behavior is well rooted in both theoretical and empirical grounds.1 Banking supervisors know that lending mistakes are more prevalent during upturns: borrowers and lenders become overconfident about investment projects and tend to lower credit standards. During recessions banks suddenly turn conservative and tighten lending standards. Moreover, a monetary policy that remains lax for too long may increase the risk-taking incentives of banks as they search for yield. Tools are needed to cope with the excess procyclicality that the lending cycle injects into the real economy. One such tool is anticyclical loan loss provisions like those applied in Spain over the past nine years. Spain's provisioning system offers a way to both address the adverse impact of the lending cycle on banks' financial positions and deliver appropriate information to investors by correcting the bias in the measurement of profits and incurred losses over time.2 Anticyclical loan loss provisions are no "silver bullet" for dealing with the current crisis. But they are one of the tools that can be used to enhance the resilience and stability of the banking system.


Many small- and medium-sized physician practices have developed specific programs and models toward becoming a successful patient-centered medical home. This article reports on a case-control quality improvement study of a multilingual population health management program for chronic disease management at International Community Health Services. In its first 2.5 years of operation, the International Community Health Services Population Health Management program for patients with hypertension and diabetes is associated with significant improvements in key health outcome measures for blood pressure and hemoglobin A1c control. This has significant implications for similar practices.


A novel single-phase Buck converter for power factor correction is proposed. It features simple control due to the constant duty ratio PWM used. It can obtain unity power factor by selecting a suitable LC filter at its input to force the voltage of capacitor to operate in discontinuous capacitor voltage mode. And by using another resonant LC filter at its output, it can not only eliminate the input current distortion at the vicinity of the zero crossing of the supply but also drastically reduce the 100 Hz output voltage ripple. The validity of analysis is confirmed by simulation results and experimental results.


The structure of Sm2.75C60 is determined using the Rietveld method; it is found that Sm2.75C60 is isostructural with Yb2.75C60. Raman spectra are displayed, and there is an anomalously broad distribution of vibrational structures for the low-frequency Hg modes and around the Ag(2) mode, which can be related to the complexity of the Sm2.75C60 structure. The Hg(2) mode is split into five components, allowing a quantitative analysis based on the electron-phonon coupling theory.


The introduction of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) to the global pharma market has been revolutionizing the pharmaceutical industry and has opened new routes for treating various types of cancers and incurable diseases. In the past two decades, a noticeable part of clinical practices has been devoting progressively to these products. The first step to develop such an ATMP product is to be familiar with other approved products to obtain a general view about this industry trend. The present paper depicts an overall perspective of approved ATMPs in different countries, while reflecting the degree of their success in a clinical point of view and highlighting their main safety issues and also related market size as a whole. In this regard, published articles regarding safety, efficacy, and market size of approved ATMPs were reviewed using the search engines PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. For some products which the related papers were not available, data on the relevant company website were referenced. In this descriptive study, we have introduced and classified approved cell, gene, and tissue engineering-based products by different regulatory agencies, along with their characteristics, manufacturer, indication, approval date, related regulatory agency, dosage, product description, price and published data about their safety and efficacy. In addition, to gain insights about the commercial situation of each product, we have gathered accessible sale reports and market size information that pertain to some of these products.