Purpose – to reveal the basic ideas of pedagogues and scholars of the past regarding the issue of forming health culture of the younger generation. Material : 22 analyzed literary sources on the issue of formation of physical culture and development of healthy individual. Results. The desire to know the laws of nature, man, to the development of philosophy was a characteristic of the Renaissance period. Ideas recreation areas within the educational system were reflected in the writings of the New Age pedagogues and so-called neo-classical period, which was justified by the need to care about their own health and the mastery of the means of achieving health. Pedagogues were justified wellness ideas within the education of the person. Physical education is defined as a basis for the development of a healthy personality. Conclusions. The problem of formation of physically and mentally healthy personality arose with the emergence of human society and formed, supplemented, reinvents for centuries.


Abstract In a rapidly globalizing world, indigenous knowledge is in mortal danger, and it will require new forms of intellectual property protection to save it. There are fundamental incongruities between Western intellectual property law and indigenous knowledge that prevent the current international intellectual property framework from fully comprehending or addressing the contexts and needs of indigenous knowledge. This article will review the history of international and regional initiatives to develop protection for indigenous knowledge. It will consider the geopolitical context that has informed discussions about protecting the intangible wealth of indigenous peoples, including the recent addition of articulate and impassioned indigenous voices to the conversation. Finally, this article will discuss some of the concerns that have been raised about subjecting indigenous knowledge to a system of formal legal regulation.


In this paper, we study the effect of using different phonological feature sets for detection-based automatic speech recognition in phone recognition tasks. Three phonological feature sets derived from different underlying phonological theories are investigated. Our experiments were conducted on the TIMIT database. By comparing the oracle phone recognition results achieved by assuming that all the phonological features are correctly detected based on each feature set, we show that selecting an appropriate phonological feature set is crucial to the performance of detection-based ASR. The highly accurate oracle phone recognition results show that the performance of the CRF-based backend, which is commonly used in detection-based ASR, is very satisfactory. Comparison of the oracle phone recognition results and the real phone recognition results indicates that investigation of high-accuracy front-end detectors is a key issue in improving the performance of detection-based ASR.


Schizophrenia is very rare before the age of 13, which is known as very early onset schizophrenia. There are few reports which document cases of schizophrenia before 5 years of age. Childhood onset schizophrenia has more chronic course characterized by sever social and cognitive consequences and increased negative and disorganization symptoms. Although diagnostic criteria of schizophrenia according to DSM5 are same as of adult onset but it's very difficult to explore psychopathology such as delusion and hallucination which depend upon cognitive development of the child. Further, the diagnosis of early onset schizophrenia is difficult because of similarity with neurological and metabolic disorder of childhood. This warrants comprehensive evaluation of such cases by multidisciplinary team consisting pediatrician, neurologist and psychiatrist.


Living donor kidney transplantation is the best therapeutic option for endstage renal failure. In spite of being an underused option in our country, it acquires an important role reducing the waiting lists for transplantation because cadaver donation is not enough. Living donor kidney transplantation offers multiple advantages when compared with cadaver donor transplantation: longer graft and patient survival on the short, mid and long-term; the fact that a scheduled procedure allows us to optimize donor and receptor's conditions; and ischemia time between nephrectomy and transplantation can be shortened to a minimum. A good initial function without need of dialysis (up to 90%) and lower incidence of rejection, which diminishes the need of antirejection drugs, should also be emphasized.


THE NUMBER of surgical procedures designed for the treatment of female urinary incontinence is large and the approach manifold.1-6Each has a note of ingenuity and constitutes a more or less satisfactory treatment, yet, in the words of J. P. Greenhill,7"The appearance of new operations for incontinence, year after year, indicates that no one is entirely satisfactory." Most of these methods are suitable only for certain types of incontinence, their field of applicability being largely restricted.8Our surgical armamentarium is still lacking in a method which is successfully applicable in various types of female incontinence. The operation to be described seems to fulfill the above requirement and has given uniformly satisfactory results in 14 consecutive cases, some of which created problems of more than average complexity. True urinary incontinence in the female may be due to either local anatomic impairment of the sphincter mechanism of the


The radical transformation of Chinese society in the previous decades has greatly improved the material lives of most people, but has also led to skyrocketing levels of inequality, and has subjected Chinese youths to unprecedented levels of socio-economic competition. Helping them to succeed in this competitive world necessitates both care and control from their families. This is evident in their scholarly education, but also in the pressure they receive to marry early and well. Both the pressure on their education and on their path towards marriage is imposed on them in the name of support. While many analyses of this situation tie it predominantly to a Confucian ethos imbued into Chinese culture, this article suggests an alternative way to analyze this situation: The revolutionary opposition to inherited privilege paradoxically transformed higher education and marriage into ultra-competitive open markets. Rather than imputing a culturally bounded explanation for this phenomenon, I maintain that the authoritarian-caring parenting style observable in present-day China reflects a situation which finds parallels in other late post-revolutionary societies: the intensification of the educational pressure put on the haves in order to distinguish themselves from the have-nots.


Giant cell reparative granuloma (GCRG) involving the small tubular bones of the hands and feet is a rare entity that can have a wide range of morphologic presentations and can be confused with more aggressive tumors. Awareness of this lesion is important to avoid diagnostic errors and potential mismanagement. We report three cases of GCRG that involve the small tubular bones of the hands and feet, with long-term follow-up periods that confirm a benign course. Previous reports included the differential diagnosis of giant cell tumor, brown tumor of hyperparathyroidism, aneurysmal bone cyst, and non-ossifying fibroma. The presence of chondroid material in two of our cases, one of which also shows atypical nuclei and a periosteal reaction, expands the differential diagnosis to include bone- and cartilage-forming neoplasms.


Local knowledge routing schemes based on virtual coordinates taken from the hyperbolic plane have attracted considerable interest in recent years. In this paper, we propose a new approach for seizing the power of the hyperbolic geometry. We aim at building a scalable and reliable system for creating and managing overlay networks over the Internet. The system is implemented as a peer-to-peer infrastructure based on the transport layer connections between the peers. Through analysis, we show the limitations of the Poincaré disk model for providing virtual coordinates. Through simulations, we assess the practicability of our proposal. Results show that peer-to-peer overlays based on hyperbolic geometry have acceptable performances while introducing scalability and flexibility in dynamic peer-to-peer overlay networks.


We show that a deep neural network can learn the semantics of linear-time temporal logic (LTL). As a challenging task that requires deep understanding of the LTL semantics, we show that our network can solve the trace generation problem for LTL: given a satisfiable LTL formula, find a trace that satisfies the formula. We frame the trace generation problem for LTL as a translation task, i.e., to translate from formulas to satisfying traces, and train an off-the-shelf implementation of the Transformer, a recently introduced deep learning architecture proposed for solving natural language processing tasks. We provide a detailed analysis of our experimental results, comparing multiple hyperparameter settings and formula representations. After training for several hours on a single GPU the results were surprising: the Transformer returns the syntactically equivalent trace in 89% of the cases on a held-out test set. Most of the "mispredictions", however, (and overall more than 99% of the predicted traces) still satisfy the given LTL formula. In other words, the Transformer generalized from imperfect training data to the semantics of LTL.


Space and spatiality play a pivotal role in Michel Foucault's thinking that is also marked by a continuous ambivalence towards psychoanalysis. Both topics have their roots in his earliest and still not very well known writings. By examining those early texts aimed at the nascent structural psychoanalysis of Jacques Lacan, the author demonstrates that Foucault's philosophical preference for space is deeply entangled with his ambiguous relationship to psychoanalysis. Going beyond such reevaluation of Foucault's early works, the paper finally shows how this positioning influenced the later developments of his philosophy.


Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) provide very high scale integration potential, very high switching frequency, and have extremely low power demands, which make the QCA technology quite attractive for the design and implementation of large-scale, high-performance nanoelectronic circuits. However, state-of-the-art QCA circuit designs were not derived by following a set of universal design rules, as is the case of CMOS circuits, and, as a result, it is either impossible or very difficult to combine QCA circuit blocks in effective large-scale circuits. In this paper, we introduce a novel automated design methodology, which builds upon a QCA specific universal design rules set. The proposed methodology assumes the availability of a generic QCA crossbar architecture and provides the means to customize it in order to implement any given logic function. The programming principles and the flow of the proposed automated design tool for crossbar QCA circuits are described analytically and we apply the proposed automated design method for the design of both combinatorial and sequential circuits. The obtained designs demonstrate that the proposed method is functional, easy to use, and provides the desired QCA circuit design unification.


To the Editor. —Recovery of acute tubular necrosis is usually heralded by a diuresis. The following case of protracted acute tubular necrosis as a result of gentamicin sulfate and cephapirin sodium therapy is submitted because of the interesting finding that recovery took place without a substantial diuresis. Report of a Case —On Feb 25, 1977, a 53-year-old woman was admitted after an automobile accident, having sustained multiple pelvic fractures and bilateral knee injuries. During the second hospital week, torn ligaments in both knees were repaired. Approximately nine weeks later, on May 8, fever developed, and 80 mg of gentamicin sulfate was administered every eight hours for an infected surgical wound. Cephapirin sodium therapy, 1 g every six hours, was added on May 11 after isolation ofCitrobacterfreundifrom the wound and because of persistent fever. The infection was drained on May 14 and fever subsided in three days. On May


Today, there has been a decrease in international shipping because of the weakening in global economies. Therefore, shipowners are thinking more about Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO), which can perform functions related to the transporting, storage, and tracking of crude oil from oil wells. Given the huge expense of these special ships, shipowners require workers who can solve problems quickly and secure sustainable production functions in this age of globalization. Furthermore, it is important to design, construct, and maintain facilities so that a ship remains in operation over a long term. This paper discusses a system that uses knowledge-based AR to help workers improve their understanding and deal with pipeline equipment problems safely. In addition, it displays a 3CAD model and status information for products to improve their recognition on the FPSO that they intend to inspect. At the same time, the system works quickly and offers solutions for dangerous circumstances or malfunctions. It thus helps to maintain the functionality of the FPSO throughout its life-cycle.


28 June 2018 was the 100th anniversary of the first presentation on symmetrical components made by Charles LeGeyt Fortescue at the 34th Annual Convention of the American Institute of the Electrical Engineers in Atlantic City (NJ, USA). The introduction of the symmetrical component concept was immediately seen as a milestone for electrical system studies, and many applications have been developed during the ensuing years. Today, refined or advanced contributions to conceptual and practical aspects of electrical applications are still being proposed based on the powerful structure of symmetrical components. This paper recalls the most significant steps made in the electrical engineering field after the introduction of the symmetrical component theory, and indicates recent developments concerning the studies on electrical machines, harmonics and interharmonics in different applications, and the operation of power and distribution systems with distributed energy resources.


Loeys-Dietz syndrome is a recently-characterised genetic disorder with an autosomal-dominant inheritance due to mutations in the transforming growth factor beta-receptor Type 1 or Type 2 genes. We present a Chinese female neonate with genetically-confirmed Loeys-Dietz syndrome, cleft palate, hypertelorism, and an early dilatation of the aortic root and ascending aorta. This syndrome is associated with an aggressive arteriopathy, with an increased risk of dissection and rupture. Early diagnosis, close monitoring and early surgery may prolong the life in affected individuals. Losartan is an emerging therapy that may help slow down the rate of arterial dilatation.


Chemical composition of the hydrodistilled volatile fraction from flowers of four Staphylea L. species (Staphylea colchica Stev., Staphylea elegans Zab., Staphylea holocarpa Hemsl., Staphylea pinnata L.) was determined by the GC/MS method. Compounds in fresh and dried flowers (stored for 1 year) were determined. Mostly, structures of different oxygenated aliphatic hydrocarbons in all four species were found. Different aldehydes, ketones, esters of higher fatty acids, and hexadecanoic acid were identified, with dominating content of tricosane, hexadecanoic acid and also of heneicosane, pentacosane, heptacosane, and nonacosane. In S. pinnata L. (fresh flowers) some nonaliphatic hydrocarbons, and in S. holocarpa Hemsl. (fresh flowers) esters of higher fatty acids were found.


Background: The accuracy of hexapod circular external fixator deformity correction is contingent on the precision of radiographic analysis during the planning stage. The aim of this study was to compare the SMART Taylor spatial frame (TSF) in suite radiographic analysis methods with the traditional manual deformity analysis methods in terms of accuracy of correction. Methods: Sawbones models were used to simulate two commonly encountered clinical scenarios. Traditional manual radiographic analysis and digital SMART TSF analysis methods were used to correct the simulated deformities. Results: The final outcomes of all six analysis methods across both simulated scenarios were satisfactory. Any differences in residual deformity between the analysis methods are unlikely to be clinically relevant. All three SMART TSF digital analyses were faster to complete than manual radiographic analyses. Conclusion: With experience and a good understanding of the software, manual radiographic analysis can be extremely accurate and remains the gold standard for deformity analysis. In suite SMART TSF radiographic analysis is fast and precise to within clinically relevant parameters. Surgeons can with confidence trust the SMART TSF software to provide analysis and corrections that are clinically acceptable.


"company" means a company formed and registered under this Act, that is— (a) a company so formed and registered after the commencement of this Part, or (b) a company that immediately before the commencement of this Part— (i) was formed and registered under the Companies Act 1985 (c. 6) or the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (S.I. 1986/1032 (N.I. 6)), or (ii) was an existing company for the purposes of that Act or that Order,


Previous studies on the mRNA and protein level suggested a cardioprotective role of FGF-1. These presumed actions of FGF-1 and FGF-2, as well as the underlying mechanisms, were investigated in this study. Human recombinant FGF-1 (0.5 microgram/ml, 20 microliters/min) and FGF-2 (2 micrograms/ml) were applied by means of direct intramyocardial infusion (IM) for 60 min prior to a 60 min LAD-occlusion and 120 min reperfusion. Myocardial infarction compared to the region at risk was significantly decreased by FGF-1 and FGF-2 treatment (FGF-1: 51.8 +/- 7.7%, respectively. FGF-2: 57.3 +/- 6.5% v control 83.4 +/- 2.8%, P < 0.05). The increase in survival time was about 33 min, and equalled that of ischemic preconditioning. This effect was caused by the mitogenic part of the molecule, since infusion of a truncated version of FGF-1 (0.5-1 microgram/ml), lacking mitogenicity but maintaining hemodynamic activity, did not induce cardioprotection (78.3 +/- 0.73% v control 83.4 +/- 2.8%). Suramin (0.5 microgram/ml) prevented the observed cardioprotection (77.0 +/- 1.2% v control 83.4 +/- 2.8%) proving that the cardioprotective effect is receptor-mediated. Genistein (0.5 microgram/ml), an inhibitor of tyrosine kinases, abolished the cardioprotection as well (77.2 +/- 2.4% v control: 83.4 +/- 2.8%). Immunohistochemical staining revealed an uptake and translocation of exogenous FGF-1 to a (peri-)nuclear localization in myocytes and into non-myocytes for FGF-2. We conclude that both FGF-1 and FGF-2 are cardioprotective (FGF-1 being more active on a molar basis), and mimic ischemic preconditioning. Their actions are receptor-mediated and receptor activation is involved. Uptake and transport to a (peri-)nuclear localization, seems to be a pathway of minor relevance, since it could not be blocked by tyrosine kinase receptor inhibition. Tyrosine kinase-coupled receptor occupation in general is not protective as demonstrated by the lack of effect with VEGF-infusion.


To understand the contribution of the work-related and extra-professional factors on the risk of insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was prepared on a GoogleDrive form. The questionnaire was distributed online and collected data from 769 responders. The dependent variable was the presence or absence of insomnia. Non parametric tests and correlations were used to find the main predictors linked with a greater chance of developing insomnia. The onset or the aggravation of the insomnia was reported by 41.01% of responders. The maximum rate was in healthcare workers (42.01%). Significant direct correlations were found between insomnia and work load, fear for the inefficiency of the personal protective equipment, changes in workplace, procedures and working schedule, belonging to a vulnerable health group, general psycho-social strain and lack of social recognition. A significant occupational stressor related to insomnia was represented by the contact with COVID-19 patients followed by fear of developing infection at work. The personal perception of risk was found a composite indicator and it was the only non-occupational factor related to insomnia. The best identified predictors for insomnia consisted in work overload (OR=2.13, CI=1.7-2.5, p=0.03), occupations supposing contact with COVID-19 patients (OR=2.04, CI =1.7-2.3, p=0.01), belonging to a vulnerable health group (OR=1.53, CI=1.1-2.3, p=0.001), personal perception of risk (OR=1.26, CI =1.2-1.3, p=0.001) and lack of social recognition (OR=1.21, CI =1-1.3, p=0.02). The study highlights the main risk factors that should be avoided in order or to reduce the occurrence of insomnia and its consequences.


This study was conducted to determine selected metals in soil of the two different locations using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). Eight soil samples were collected from high anthropogenic impact areas at Lojing Highlands, Kelantan. While, six soil samples were taken at untouched area at the Royal Belum Rainforest, Perak. The research is aimed to determine the concentration of metals namely Al, Ba, Mn, Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cd and Se and comparison their concentration with acceptable standard limits. Soil samples were analysis using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). The metals concentration level at the Lojing Highlands were Al > Ba > Mn > Cr > Cu > Pb > Zn > Ni > Cd > Se, while at the Royal Belum rainforest were Al > Ba > Mn > Cr > Zn > Ni > Cu > Pb > Se > Cd. Prom this study, it was discovered that almost all metals concentrations exceed the limit recommended by the U.S. EPA Regulatory limits on heavy metals applied to soil (Adapted from U.S. EPA, 1993) and USEPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Hazardous Waste Land Treatment. Index of Geo-accumulation (Igeo), Contamination Factor (CF) and Pollution Load Index (PLI) were used as pollution indices to identify the levels of pollutions. Considering all the heavy metals studied at the study areas, Lojing Highlands dominated in all the investigations relating to the anthropogenic impact. This is attributed to the anthropogenic point source contamination. Extremely high contents of the metals recorded at the study area are terribly alarming in terms of environmental pollution. Therefore, the residents (mostly children) and workers, who reside and work at such polluted environment, are at serious risk of the heavy metal toxicity. Hence, awareness among the residents needs to be created.


High penetration of renewable energy source makes microgrid (MGs) be environment friendly. However, the stochastic input from renewable energy resource brings difficulty in balancing the energy supply and demand. Purchasing extra energy from macrogrid to deal with energy shortage will increase MG energy cost. To mitigate intermittent nature of renewable energy, energy trading and energy storage which can exploit diversity of renewable energy generation across space and time are efficient and cost-effective methods. But a storage with large capacity will incur additional cost. In addition, due to MG participating energy trading as prosumer, it calls for an efficient trading mechanism. Therefore, this paper focuses on the problem of MG energy management and trading. Energy trading problem is formulated as a stochastic optimization one with both individual profit and social welfare maximization. Firstly a Lyapunov optimization based algorithm is developed to solve the stochastic problem. Secondly the double-auction based mechanism is provided to attract MGs' truthful bidding for buying and selling energy. Through theoretical analysis, we demonstrate that individual MG can achieve a time average energy cost close to offline optimum with tradeoff between storage capacity and energy trading cost. Meanwhile the social welfare is also asymptotically maximized under double auction. Simulation results based on real world data show the effectiveness of our algorithm.


Even if one uses Sanskrit only as the instrument of investigation, it is apparent that Indian culture was a current which, as it flowed and spread, was fed by many a stream and absorbed many a small and stagnant pool. With volume, it gathered often bewildering variety, which was synthesized in a systematic plan. That diverse sources contributed to its making is obvious, but to identify each of them, to survey all the material accepted, and to be reasonably precise in the innumerable details that such a study involves, seems a stupendous and baffling task. It is possible, however, to point out certain instances in which the main tradition embraced smaller group-cultures and incorporated regional elements. As this culture became consolidated throughout India, it employed certain characteristic methods wherever it went, not only in India and the peripheral regions, but in all those trans-Indian territories to which it expanded. Sanskrit was the ultimate medium of transmission used by the main body of this culture and Sanskritization the chief technique of the take-over. Hence an examination of Sanskrit literature, in its different branches, will prove useful in investigating the incorporation of regional and folk elements. Without going into questions of pre-Vedic or Indus Valley cultures, or the problem of contributions by Munda, Austric, Dravidian, and Mongoloid, data can be found in Sanskrit literature which help to illuminate Hindu sociology, religion, and the arts during the historic period.


TiO2 (anatase phase) is the most common semiconductor photocatalyst used in photocatalytic process because it is low cost, non-toxic, water insoluble and it has an advanced oxidation property [1]. Basically, during the process, electrons from the valence band (VB) of TiO2 are excited to the conduction band (CB) by light of higher energy than the respective band gap, resulting in the formation of e−/h+ pair. Electrons in the conduction band can reduce O2 to form superoxide radicals (O2•−) while reactions of valence band holes with surface adsorbed H2O or HO− result in the formation of hydroxyl radicals (HO•), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and protonated superoxide radicals (HOO•). Free electrons/holes, and reactive oxidizing species such as HO2•, HO• and O2•− react with the surface adsorbed impurities including inorganic, organic compounds, and biological species (bacteria, virus, etc.) leading to their decomposition. The efficiency of a photocatalytic reaction mainly depends on the capability of the photocatalyst to generate longer-lived electrons and holes that result in the formation of reactive free radicals. However, there are several limitations to use TiO2 nanoparticles in photocatalytic reactors due to the recombination of photo-generated charge carriers, the photo-excited electrons return back to the valence band, which decreases the photocatalysis efficiency. Moreover, as TiO2 has a large band gap (3.2eV), it can only be stimulated by UV light which is a small fraction (<5%) of solar spectrum. Many methods including doping with ions and heterojunction formation have been demonstrated to reduce photo-excited charge carrier recombination. Among them, The Nitrogen doped TiO2 (NTiO2) was found to be more efficient due to the less formation of recombination centres and it capability to narrow the band gaps and makes the TiO2 catalyst access visible light as an energy source [2]. Other shortcoming is the difficult recovery of TiO2 nanoparticles from treated water. Then, attempts have been made to immobilize TiO2 on different supports such as minerals clay which received wide attention due to their adsorption capacity, low cost and large specific area [3]. The aim of this study is to develop new materials based on the bentonite modified with nitrogen-doped TiO2 (N-TiO2/bentonite) suitable for photocatalysis application under visible light irradiation. A two steps sol-gel method was used to synthesize photocatalysts. The bentonite was first activated and then was used as template for N-TiO2 growth on the sheet. The results showed that, depending on how bentonite was activated (with organic surfactant or acid solution); the obtained photocatalysts have different morphological properties such as particle size, crystalline phase and specific surface area which strongly affect the efficiency of their photocatalytic activity. So, the understanding of this mechanism becomes important for the development of new and enhanced photocatalysts materials. [1] Chong M.N. et al. (2010) Water Res. 44, 2997–3027. [2] Varley J. et al. (2011) Adv. Mater. 23, 2343–2347. [3] Khan M.M. et al. (2014) J. Mater. Chem. A 2, 637–644.


I'd like to consider the social atmosphere in Indian country as this AIS Section of WSSA emerged in 1981.   Native activism, federal policy and legislation, and concurrent social and political developments created a confusing landscape of opportunities and hazards as people like Bob and Vine pushed for new directions in higher education for Native peoples.  Amid the chaos of those times, a number of Native people in higher education circles realized the necessity of relying upon Native perspectives in research, communications and policy-making so that "Indian self-determination" in its broadest sense could become a reality.   I think it was clear to Vine and Bob that Native people and their friends would be needed in greater numbers in new degree programs, new publishing and media ventures, and in academic debate.   Creating and maintaining a Native intellectual crucible is an intergenerational, ever-present challenge, as we all know.  After all, "peoples" live beyond the individuals of any one time.  I think Vine and Bob saw the Native pathway in higher education as many of us continue to see it today.  And, in their efforts to build the AIS program at the University of Arizona and this AIS section in the WSSA annual conference, they applied their own scholarship, their heart-felt commitment and their political savvy to the task.  I think Vine and Bob's legacy sets a high bar for success "doing what can be done" in one's times.


A study was conducted during 2004–06 to assess the carbon storage by the poplar-based agri-silvicultural system and change in the soil organic carbon. There was a dire need to quantify the carbon sequestration potential of poplarbased agri-silvicultural model, besides the productivity of the system. At sixth year, total biomass in agri-silvicultural system was 25.2 tonnes/ha, which was 113.6% higher than sole wheat cultivation. Poplar tree stem alone contributed 21.99 tonnes/ha, which is very significant proportion and goes to the durable products. Net carbon storage (soil + tree/ crop biomass) was 34.61 tonnes/ha in wheat–poplar interface compared to 18.74 tonnes/ha in sole wheat cultivation (soil + crop biomass). After 6 years of poplar planting, organic carbon increased in soil (0–15 cm) by 35.6% than pure wheat crop. Though there was substantial loss in wheat crop yield under poplar but the decrease in wheat yield has been compensated by the poplar trees in terms of biomass, economics and the carbon mitigation potential.


Perforation of the gastrointestinal system by a foreign body is seldom observed in clinical practice; however, it has great importance because it is preventable and can usually be easily treated. In this case report, we present a young male patient, who mistakenly swallowed a foreign body and presented to the emergency service one day later with acute abdomen. The 23-year-old patient was diagnosed with acute appendicitis and underwent emergency laparotomy. During the operation, a plastic object that perforated the terminal ileum lumen and protruded into the abdominal cavity was identified. Along with appendectomy, the foreign body was removed and the ileum was repaired. The detailed history of the patient revealed that he had mistakenly swallowed something one day before the onset of abdominal pain. The patient was discharged on the postoperative seventh day following an uneventful course.


A disability assessment for non-therapeutic reasons is the most common evaluation requested of treating psychiatrists. Mental disorders affect approximately 20 percent of Americans each year. People who are unable to work need some financial assistance. As part of the system, it's our goal to assist them in this process. When a disability claim is filed, psychiatrists take into account the individual's impairments and disabilities. A psychiatrist's evaluation of disability involves knowledge and experience. There are many ethics related challenges, especially when performing disability evaluation of their own patients. Disability training should therefore be part of residency curriculum for training of psychiatry residents.


Flow around an ICE2 high-speed train exiting a tunnel under the influence of a wind gust has been studied using numerical technique called detached eddy simulation. A wind gust boundary condition was derived to approximate previous experimental observations. The body of the train includes most important details including bogies, plugs, inter-car gaps and rotating wheels on the rail. The maximal yawing and rolling moments which possibly can cause a derailment or overturning were found to occur when approximately one third and one half of the train, respectively, has left the tunnel. These are explained by development of a strong vortex trailing along the upper leeward edge of the train. All aerodynamic forces and moments were monitored during the simulation and the underlying flow structures and mechanisms are explained.


Background: Dengue fever is a common virus that has rapidly spread to all parts of the world. Dengue causes two critical disease dengue shock syndrome and dengue hemorrhagic fever. Aim: To determine whether vitamin D levels and the severity of dengue are linked in any way. Study design: Cohort study Place and duration of study: Department of Medicine, Fauji Foundation Hospital Rawalpindi from 15-08-2022 to 15-11-2022. Methodology: The patient's sample was collected to monitor the complete blood picture, including total leukocyte count and hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelets, etc. The severity of dengue was assessed by looking at platelet counts and hematocrit. Results: The mean age was 29.19±16.80 years. There were 51% females and 49% males in the study. Vitamin D levels and platelet levels were weakly correlated with each other (rs= -.408, p= .000). There was a strong, negative correlation between Hb and Vitamin D levels, which was statistically significant (rs= -.704, p= .000). Similarly, hematocrit and highest MCHC also had a strong inverse significant correlation with Vitamin D level (rs= .698, p = .000 and rs= .751, p= .000, respectively). Surprisingly, there were significantly higher vitamin D levels in severe dengue patients than in non-severe ones (p<0.01). Conclusion: Vitamin D levels were higher in severe dengue cases compared to less severe ones, indicating a possible role of vitamin D as a cofactor for predicting disease severity. It is suggested that maintaining an ideal vitamin D level can help avoid the progression of asymptomatic dengue to dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome. Keywords: Vitamin D, Biochemical severity markers, Dengue


Due to advancement of new technology in the field of VLSI and Embedded system, there is an increasing demand of high speed and low power consumption processor. Speed of processor greatly depends on its multiplier as well as adder performance. In spite of complexity involved in floating point arithmetic, its implementation is increasing day by day. Due to which high speed adder architecture become important. Several adder architecture designs have been developed to increase the efficiency of the adder. In this paper, we introduce an architecture that studied of matrix multiplication using IEEE 754 floating point multiplier and different types of adder. Keywords— IEEE 754, Single Precision Floating Point (SPFP), Double Precision Floating Point (DPFP)


The relation between neighborhood characteristics and parenting and the mediating role of maternal depressive symptoms was examined among African American and Euro-American mothers of kindergarten children. Mothers' ratings of neighborhood safety were related to disciplinary strategies for both African American and Euro-American mothers but not to expressions of affection. Interviewers' ratings of safety were related to mothers' use of hostile socialization strategies. Both mothers' and interviewers' reports of safety were linked with maternal depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms mediated the relation between neighborhood safety and inconsistent discipline, suggesting that the influence of safety on inconsistent discipline was due to its impact on maternal depression. Although there were similarities across ethnic groups, the relation between social involvement and mothers' withdrawal of interactions with their children differed across groups.


The effect of different pre-slaughter rest periods at the abattoir before slaughter on the blood biochemical parameters and meat pH of a number of cattle were studied on 2 occasions, once in summer and once in winter. In the first trial, 42 out of a consignment of 50 and in the second trial, 45 out of a consignment of 54 feedlot-finished oxen were randomly selected and divided into 3 groups each. One group was slaughtered on arrival at the abattoir, a second group 3 h after arrival and the third group was rested in the lairage prior to slaughter the following day. Carcasses were subjected to low voltage electrical stimulation at slaughter. Significant differences between the values obtained at the feedlot and those at the abattoir were found in respect of haematocrit, total plasma protein concentration, plasma glucose, plasma creatine kinase, plasma lipid and cortisol concentration in both the trials. In general, however, no great differences were found between the 3 groups in either of the trials. If any, results in respect of some of the blood parameters were in favour of the groups slaughtered as soon as possible after arrival at the abattoir. No significant differences were found in the initial (35-45 min) and ultimate (24 h) pH of the meat between the 6 groups of slaughtered animals in the 2 trials. Exsanguination appeared to be satisfactory in all groups and no differences between groups were found. It was concluded that feedlot cattle transported to an abattoir over a relatively short distance, need not necessarily be rested in the lairage overnight before slaughter.


The quality assurance of synthetic CT (sCT) is crucial for safe clinical transfer to an MRI-only radiotherapy planning workflow. The aim of this work is to propose a population-based process assessing local errors in the generation of sCTs and their impact on dose distribution. For the analysis to be anatomically meaningful, a customized interpatient registration method brought the population data to the same coordinate system. Then, the voxel-based process was applied on two sCT generation methods: a bulk-density method and a generative adversarial network. The CT and MRI pairs of 39 patients treated by radiotherapy for prostate cancer were used for sCT generation, and 26 of them with delineated structures were selected for analysis. Voxel-wise errors in sCT compared to CT were assessed for image intensities and dose calculation, and a population-based statistical test was applied to identify the regions where discrepancies were significant. The cumulative histograms of the mean absolute dose error per volume of tissue were computed to give a quantitative indication of the error for each generation method. Accurate interpatient registration was achieved, with mean Dice scores higher than 0.91 for all organs. The proposed method produces three-dimensional maps that precisely show the location of the major discrepancies for both sCT generation methods, highlighting the heterogeneity of image and dose errors for sCT generation methods from MRI across the pelvic anatomy. Hence, this method provides additional information that will assist with both sCT development and quality control for MRI-based planning radiotherapy.


Background and Purpose This article retrospectively characterized the geometric and dosimetric changes in target and normal tissues during radiotherapy for lung cancer patients with atelectasis. Materials and Methods A total of 270 cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans of 18 lung patients with atelectasis were collected. The degree and time of resolution or expansion of the atelectasis were recorded. The geometric, dosimetric, and biological changes in the target and lung tissue were also quantified. Results There were two patients with expansion, four patients with complete regression, six patients with partial regression, and six patients with no change. The time of resolution or expansion varied. The tumor volume increased by 3.8% in the first seven fractions, then decreased from the 9th fraction, and by 33.4% at the last CBCT. In the LR direction, the average center of mass (COM), boundaries of the tumors gradually shifted mediastinally. In the AP direction, the COM of the tumors was shifted slightly in the posterior direction and then gradually shifted to the anterior direction; the boundaries of the tumors all moved mediastinally. In the SI direction, the COM of the tumors on the right side of the body was substantially shifted toward the head direction. The boundaries of the tumors varied greatly. D2, D98, Dmean, V95, V107, and TCP of the PTV were reduced during radiotherapy and were reduced to their lowest values during the last two fractions. The volume of the ipsilateral lung tended to increase gradually. The V5, V10, V20, V30, V40, and NTCP of the total lung gradually increased with the fraction. Conclusions For most patients, regression of the atelectasis occurred, and the volume of the ipsilateral lung tended to increase while the tumor volume decreased, and the COM and boundary of the tumors shifted toward mediastinum, which caused an insufficient dose to the target and an overdose to the lungs. Regression or expansion may occur for any fraction, and it is therefore recommended that CBCT be performed at least every other day.


This is the first of two articles that will examine the effect that the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI--Social Security) and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs have in maintaining the income of poor and near poor families with children at a level that is at least equal to the poverty threshold. The articles also will evaluate the extent to which these programs augment the income of those families that receive benefits but who still remain below the poverty line, and look at the interaction between the OASDI and SSI programs and other income transfer programs, such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and the Food Stamp program. The primary data source for this article is the second wave of the 1990 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). The principal findings are as follows: (1) During May 1990, OASDI and SSI benefit payments sustained the income of 1.1 million children above the poverty level; (2) these programs alleviated the effects of poverty for an additional 1.3 million children in families whose income remained below the poverty level; and (3) a significant proportion of those families that received OASDI and SSI benefits received additional assistance from other means-tested programs. This article looks only at survey data. The second article will consider survey data matched with SSA administrative records.


Ideological positions regarding social diversity and status inequality are examined as predictors of people's willingness to engage in collective action. Using social dominance theory and social identity theory, we hypothesized that the relationships between ideology, ethnic identification, and orientation toward collective action will vary depending on the position of one's group. Comparisons were made between four U.S. groups: White natives, White immigrants, Black/Latino natives, and Black/Latino immigrants. Groups differed in their endorsement of social diversity and social inequality, as well as in their orientation toward collective action and their ethnic group identification. For all groups, ethnic identity mediated the link between ideology and collective action, but the valence and magnitude of paths differed as a function of ethnicity and immigrant status. Social diversity was more critical for U.S. immigrants (White and Black/Latino); social inequality accounted for more variance in native-born U.S. groups (although in opposite directions for the two groups).


The last decade environmental reporting has been replaced by sustainability reporting, which means that organizations report their impact on economic, social and environmental matters. The purpose of this paper is to study how the development of sustainability reporting has affected the organizations way to report social and environmental subjects. The purpose is also to study if social subjects have been reported more than environmental subjects and to what extent. The organizations that were studied were SJ AB, Green Cargo AB, Posten AB and SAS Group. Because of their business in transporting they all have a negative impact on the environment. The information has been collected from the organizations's annual reports and sustainability reports between the years 2001-2010. The results of the study showed that social matters have been reported more than environmental matters even though the organizations are pressured to report their impact on the environment. One of the reasons for this result is that it has been mandatory since 2008 for state-owned organizations to report sustainability according to GRI's framework.


Tourism and environmental preservation are often conflicting activities, mainly in areas such as coastal lagoons, where seaside mass-tourism comes into contact with a very sensitive ecological system. In this paper we deal with a classical problem of both environmental and tourism economics, the internalization of environmental costs of tourism, focusing on the nautical fruition of the Lagoon of Marano and Grado (North-Eastern Italy, Friuli Venezia Giulia Region). Using different instruments, both theoretical (Carrying Capacity framework, Polluter-Payer principle, Coase compensation) and empirical (Cluster analysis, Log-log regression, Forecasting model, cost and benefit calculation through actual market values), we get the result that a standard Coasian equilibrium (unit external cost equal to unit private benefit) doesn't hold, and a higher coverage of the local berths endowment (i. e. a higher vessels transit in the Lagoon) is more effective for nature conservation than a tempered fruition. Another interesting result is that the best available solution to internalize environmental externality is a mixed one, comprehensive of a command and control rule (a speed-limit prescription), and a compensation scheme.


Cities in developing countries share a pattern of accelerated and largely unplanned urbanization that results in internal socioeconomic inequalities. The modeling of urban growth with spatial distribution of socioeconomic groups has been studied only to a limited extent. This paper proposes a method to simulate both urban growth and the socioeconomic group that is likely to settle in a particular location as a function of local environmental characteristics. Using a cellular automata model, newly urbanized cells are identified and then, as a post-processing step, distributed among five socioeconomic groups in a preferential settlement selection process. A land value map learned with a random forest regressor is used for this purpose. Our case study is Greater Mexico City during the period 1997–2010. We identified that the main features influencing the location of socioeconomic groups are the closest socioeconomic group, the distance to water bodies, and the distance to the urban center. This suggests that the newly urbanized cells are likely to settle in neighborhoods of similar socioeconomic levels. Moreover, the increasing distance from the urban center results in a generally decreasing land value. However, regions with a high land value were also found in remote areas where environmental features that improve the ecosystem services are present.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

Introduction Breast cancer (BC) is the most common female malignancy in Puerto Rico. Cases with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2)/neu oncoprotein overamplification are consistently associated with poor prognosis, poor response to endocrine treatment, and an increased likelihood of recurrence. The objective is to evaluate the prevalence of HER2 /neu gene overexpression among a hospital-based female population of BC cases in Puerto Rico, and to determine its association with other clinical characteristics. Methods This cross-sectional study analyzed data from female patients with invasive BC diagnosed between 2000 and 2005, at the I. Gonzalez Martinez Hospital and the Auxilio Mutuo Hospital (n=1,082) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Information on Her-2 status and other clinical characteristics was retrieved form the hospital's cancer registries and from medical record review. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards of the participating hospitals. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations between relevant clinical characteristics and Her-2 status. Results: The prevalence of Her-2/neu overexpression in our study aas 20.9%, whereas 72.3% of the cases were ER positive and 59.3% were PR positive. In multivariate analysis, women with an age at diagnosis ≤ 50 years were 1.74 (95% CI=1.26-2.41) times more likely to be Her-2 positive as compared with those with an age at diagnosis ≥ 50 years. Regarding ER/PR status, women with ER+/PR- and those with ER+/PR+ were 1.97 (95% CI=1.30-2.98) and 2.15 (95% CI=1.49-3.10) times more likely to be Her-2 positive as compared to those with ER-/PR- status. Finally, women with invasive ductal histology were 1.79 (95% CI=1.08-2.95) more likely to be Her-2 positive as compared to those with invasive lobular histology. Women with tumor grade III/IV, tumor size ≥ 2 cm and lymph node metastasis were also more likely to be Her-2 positive (p<0.05). Conclusions: The prevalence of Her-2/neu overexpression in this population of Puerto Rican patients (20.9) and its association with earlier age at diagnosis, tumor size, lymph node metastasis and other clinical characteristics shows that BC patients with Her-2 positive tumors followed similar profiles as Her-2 positive BC patients in the US population. Results from this study will be useful for the development of future BC prevention and control strategies in Puerto Rico.

Sponsors: This work was supported by an unrestricted grant from Glaxo SmithKline with additional support from the National Institutes of Health and National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) [grant number G12RR03051 and U54CA96297].

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 873.


In the general wireless network, the network terminal often cannot dynamically select the best path to access the network due to the absence of the detailed network parameters, which may cause the performance reduction of the network. In this paper we propose a new Dynamic Access Link Selection Scheme (DALSS) based on the real time network state. The estimation of capacity and available bandwidth of each link are required to fulfill the link selection and alternation. For the terminal users and the network, two advantages of DALSS are presented: 1) a simple initial access link selection scheme is offered to facilitate the transmission establishment for the terminal in the network environment covered by several accessing technologies; 2) a dynamic link alternation method is designed for the terminal to select the better path during the transmission period, which can optimize the network performance. Besides, we propose a proportional distribution principle that may maximize the throughput and optimize the network performance. The efficiency and availability of DALSS are evaluated in the experiment.


Learning with limited data is a key challenge for visual recognition. Few-shot learning methods address this challenge by learning an instance embedding function from seen classes, and apply the function to instances from unseen classes with limited labels. This style of transfer learning is task-agnostic: the embedding function is not learned op-timally discriminative with respect to the unseen classes, where discerning among them is the target task. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to adapt the embedding model to the target classification task, yielding embeddings that are task-specific and are discriminative. To this end, we employ a type of self-attention mechanism called Transformer to transform the embeddings from task-agnostic to task-specific by focusing on relating instances from the test instances to the training instances in both seen and unseen classes. Our approach also extends to both transductive and generalized few-shot classification, two important settings that have essential use cases. We verify the effectiveness of our model on two standard benchmark few-shot classification datasets — MiniImageNet and CUB, where our approach demonstrates state-of-the-art empirical performance.


Introduction Various materials and approaches have been used to reduce the mesh-induced inflammatory response and modify the mesh with tissue-matched mechanical properties, aiming to improve the repair of abdominal wall defects. Materials and Methods In this study, we fabricated a polycaprolactone (PCL)/silk fibroin (SF) mesh integrated with amoxicillin (AMX)-incorporating multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) via electrospinning, grafting and crosslinking, developing a sustainable antibiotic and flexible mesh. AMX was loaded into the hollow tubular MWCNTs by physical adsorption, and a nanofibrous structure was constructed by electrospinning PCL and SF (40:60 w/w). The AMX@MWCNTs were then chemically grafted onto the surfaces of the PCL/SF nanofibers by treating with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyl aminopropyl) carbodiimide/N-hydroxysuccinimide (EDC/NHS) solution for simultaneous crosslinking and coating. The incorporation of AMX into the MWCNTs (AMX@MWCNTs) and the integration of the AMX@MWCNTs with the PCL/SF nanofibers were characterized. Then, the functional mesh was fabricated and fully evaluated in terms of antibacterial activity, mechanical properties and host response. Results Our results demonstrated that the PCL/SF nanofibrous structure was fabricated successfully by electrospinning. After integrating with AMX@MWCNT by grafting and crosslinking, the functional mesh showed undeformed structure, modified surface hydrophilicity and biocompatible interfaces, abdominal wall-matched mechanical properties, and a sustained-release antibiotic profile in E. coli growth inhibition compared to those of PCL/SF mesh in vitro. In a rat model with subcutaneous implantation, the functional mesh incited less mesh-induced inflammatory and foreign body responses than PCL/SF mesh within 14 days. The histological analysis revealed less infiltration of granulocytes and macrophages during this period, resulting in the loosely packed collagen deposition on the functional mesh and prominent collagen incorporation. Discussion Therefore, this designed PCL/SF–AMX@MWCNT nanofibrous mesh, functionalized with antibacterial and tissue-matched mechanical properties, provides a promising alternative for the repair of abdominal wall defects.


We provide the first online algorithm for spectral hypergraph sparsification. In the online setting, hyperedges with positive weights are arriving in a stream, and upon the arrival of each hyperedge, we must irrevocably decide whether or not to include it in the sparsifier. Our algorithm produces an $(\epsilon, \delta)$-spectral sparsifier with multiplicative error $\epsilon$ and additive error $\delta$ that has $O(\epsilon^{-2} n (\log n)^2 \log(1 + \epsilon W/\delta n))$ hyperedges with high probability, where $\epsilon, \delta \in (0,1)$, $n$ is the number of nodes, and $W$ is the sum of edge weights. The space complexity of our algorithm is $O(n^2)$, while previous algorithms require the space complexity of $\Omega(m)$, where $m$ is the number of hyperedges. This provides an exponential improvement in the space complexity since $m$ can be exponential in $n$.


Abstract The linearization of the meteorological equations around a specified reference state, usually applied in NWP to define the linear system of constant-coefficients semi-implicit schemes, is outlined as an unnecessarily restrictive approach that may be detrimental in terms of stability. It is shown theoretically that an increased robustness can sometimes be obtained by choosing the reference linear system in a wider set of possibilities. The potential benefits of this new approach are illustrated in two simple examples. The advantage in robustness is not obtained at the price of an increased error or complexity.


There have been few analyses of heterosexuality in the context of migration, particularly within Asia. As a corrective, in this themed issue we bring together four articles to contribute to debates on the fluidity of heterosexuality and how the performance of heterosexuality has particular spatialities within East and South-East Asia. Each article uses ethnographic methods to produce nuanced analyses of specific and spatially contingent performances of heterosexuality. A migration focus illuminates how spatial dislocation provides opportunities for both men and women to play out different heterosexual identities. At the same time, migrants come across challenges and obstacles to their performances of heterosexuality, such as the state regulation of the migrant body, economic necessity, and gendered and ethnicised behavioural norms.


Objective of the study was investigation of hantaviruses in a new natural reservoir - insectivores, their diversity and geographic distribution in the Western and Eastern Siberia. Materials and methods . Sorex shrews (71 specimens) were captured in Altai Republic, Altai, and Krasnoyarsk Territories, and Omsk Region. All samples were analyzed for hantavirus RNA using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction with subsequent sequencing. Results and conclusions . A total of 12 viral RNA isolates from two Sorex species (S. araneus and S. roboratus) were genetically typed. Sequence analysis of the partial L and S segments identified two distinct hantaviruses. Kenkeme (KKMV) virus was detected in a flat-skulled shrew (S. roboratus) in Altai Territory. This virus was previously found in geographically remote sites in the Sakha Republic and China. New foci of Seewis virus circulation among common shrews (S. araneus), were found in the Omsk Region, Altai and Krasnoyarsk Territories. Previously published and new findings suggest that hantaviruses among shrews are widely distributed over the Russian Federation territory. The widespread circulation of SWSV and KKMV throughout Siberia is an important argument for investigation of their role in human infections.


The recent indoor air quality problem in a newly-built apartment house is resulted from the improvement of airtightness performance and the use of the building material contained harmful chemical substances. As a result, these cause indoor air quality gradually to become worse and the harmful effect on occupant health called Sick House Syndrome. The most effective solution to improve the indoor air quality is to encourage the use of green building material. However, if the house is built with general building material, ventilation with outdoor air is alternative to dilute the pollutant concentration. The purpose of this re-search is to find optimum ventilation time in a newly-built apartment house at which the ventilatoris installed. It is found that the HCHO and toluene concentrations are remarkably decreased with the elapse of ventilation time and the concentration reduction rate is increased with increment of air change rate after one hour after operating the ventilator.


for electronic indexing) The delivery of a therapeutic gene inserted in a vector for somatic gene therapy holds great promise for the future. Encouraging results from the clinical trials of first-generation plasmid-based medicines/ vaccines have further validated the importance of molecular biology and biotechnology research. With newer developments in bioengineering for the mass production and purification of plasmid DNA, gene therapy using non-viral vectors offers opportunities for multiple therapeutic benefits in the healthcare industry. However, low therapeutic success rates due to inefficient delivery systems have blunted the success of gene therapy. This paper examines the status of plasmid DNA in the gene therapy clinical trials, challenges and advances in plasmid DNA based non-viral gene delivery through the different routes of administration, and focuses on the pulmonary route for aerosol gene delivery.


Abstract. Excess nutrient runoff can profoundly alter aquatic habitats and has been associated with changes in host–pathogen interactions. Floating macrophyte mats have been suggested as a management strategy to improve water quality for aquatic communities and, thus, may have the potential to protect hosts from some disease outbreaks. We assessed the impact of ammonium nitrate and sodium phosphate addition in the presence or absence of floating macrophyte mats (blue flag iris [Iris versicolor] and ice dance sedge [Carex morrowii]) on Cope's Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis) metamorphosis to examine whether macrophyte management treatments improve outcomes for amphibians. At metamorphosis, we infected individuals with the amphibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), to assess whether larval treatments resulted in differential susceptibility to this pathogen. We found that nutrient addition significantly increased time to metamorphosis without affecting mass at metamorphosis or survival. Additionally, Bd exposure decreased mass of juvenile treefrogs, regardless of earlier larval environment or condition at metamorphosis. Macrophyte addition had no direct impact on larval anurans, but the aquatic community was altered via fluctuations in aquatic nutrient concentrations. Overall, our study suggests that nutrient exposure and Bd infection individually affect anurans, and larval exposure to nutrients may have latent effects on metamorphosed anurans that could affect future fitness.


In recent years, the interest in and development of communities of practice (CoPs) has undergone exponential growth. However, this uncontrolled expansion has, to a large extent, led to the name of community of practice being attributed to working groups or communities that are not communities of practice. The aim of this work is to shed a little light on this confusion and identify and characterise communities of practice compared with other types of groups or organizational structures. To achieve it, first of all, we are going to introduce an intuitive and agreed definition of community of practice. In a second movement, we will identify and define the principal groups or organizational structures that are used, besides communities of practice, by organizations to improve their strategies when meeting these aims that they are pursuing. We will then present a comparison between these organizational structures or groups and communities of practice. The chapter ends by offering a number of conclusions and providing some guidelines on the future development of communities of practice.


Introduction: The use of natural antioxidants in the treatment and prophylaxis of diseases induced by free radicals has certain advantages. The great need for new compounds to treat this condition is imminent. Medicinal plants represent a viable alternative for this purpose. Annona muricata L. is a plant traditionally used to treat obesity and diabetes mellitus and few studies have described the effect of this plant. Aim: This study aimed to characterize and to investigate the antioxidant effects of the aqueous extract of leaves of A. muricata (AEAM). Methods: Total phenolic and total flavonoid contents and HPLC analysis, as well as the antioxidant capacity by elimination of DPPH, ABTS and NO radicals, inhibition of lipid peroxidation and the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were measured for AEAM (in triplicates). Results were expressed as mean±SEM, and analyzed by ANOVA followed by Tukey´s test. P values <0.05 were considered as significant. Results: Total phenol and total flavonoid contents in the extract were 164.52±1.13 mg/g of gallic acid equivalents and 77.02±0.00 mg/g of quercetin equivalents, respectively. In the HPLC analysis of extract were found five phenolic compounds such as phenolic acids and flavonoids: quercetin 3-glicoside, rutin, chlorogenic acid, catechin and gallic acid were identified. A significant decrease of DPPH radical (relative to the reaction system) was observed at concentrations of 12.5, 25, 50, 100 and 200µg/mL of AEAM (21.06±1.50, 29.60±2.20, 48.74±0.36, 54.51±3.44 and 71.84±0.96%, respectively). Trolox (100µg/mL) also produced antioxidant capacity as it reduced (p<0.001) the DPPH radical (77.5±3.5%). For the radical ABTS was observed difference at concentrations of 1000 and 2000µg/mL of AEAM (38.2±3.2 and 64.2±1.7%, respectively). Trolox (1000µg/mL) also produced antioxidant capacity as it reduced (p<0.001) the ABTS radical (63.0±3.1%). For the radical NO was observed difference at concentrations of 12.5, 25, 50, 100 and 200µg/mL of AEAM (69.5±2.5, 53.3±1.6, 33.2±1.1, 28.5±0.1 and 23.6±0.2 nitrite produced (NP), respectively). Trolox (100µg/mL) also produced antioxidant capacity as it reduced (p<0.001) the NO radical (27.4±0.1 NP).A significant increase in the reducing potential was detected through FRAP assay for the concentrations of 25, 50, 100 and 200µg/mL of AEAM (53.8±7.1, 99.5±7.6, 224.1±9.0 and 472.8±4.0 ferrous sulfate equivalent (FSE), respectively). Trolox (100µg/mL) also increased (p<0.001) this parameter (402.8±14.1 FSE). The basal lipid peroxidation was inhibited at 50, 100 and 200µg/mL of AEAM (19.68±1.89, 48.94±2.79 and 77.59±1.89%, respectively). The concentrations 100 and 200µg/mL of AEAM also inhibited the lipid peroxidation induced by FeSO4 (11.86±3.59 and 24.98±3.36%, respectively). Trolox (100µg/mL) also reduced (p<0.05) the basal and induced lipid peroxidation (55.9±1.7 and 42.6±0.6%, respectively). Conclusion: The present study showed that AEAM possesses antioxidant activity, mainly by neutralizing free radicals and inhibiting lipid peroxidation.


2405 Her2 has become an important therapeutic target for antibody-directed treatment of breast cancer with overexpressed Her2 (3+ or 2+/FISH pos.). Currently, no approved antibody-based therapy is available for breast cancer patients with low Her2 expression (1+ or 2+/FISH neg.). Ertumaxomab is a trifunctional bispecific antibody targeting Her2 and CD3 with selective binding to activating Fcγ type I/III-receptors, resulting in the formation of a tri-cell complex between tumor cells, T-cells and accessory cells. Ertumaxomab therapy resulted in radiographically confirmed clinical responses in a phase I trial involving metastasized breast cancer patients with low and high Her2 expressing tumors. Furthermore, in vitro data demonstrated ertumaxomab cytotoxicity at about 100-fold lower concentrations than trastuzumab using the Her2 high expressing cell line SK-BR-3 (Kiewe et al., CCR, 12:3085, 2006).
 In this study, we compared the ability to mediate tumor cell killing of ertumaxomabto trastuzumab usinglow Her2 expressing tumor cell lines of different origins. Unstimulated PBMCs of healthy donors and the different cell lines were incubated with the respective antibodies at varying concentrations. After 4 days immune effector cells were removed and dose response was measured by evaluating the tumor cell killing using a cell viability assay (XTT). In addition, cytokine pattern in the supernatants were analyzed.
 Under conditions found to be optimal for trastuzumab to kill Her2 overexpressing cells, only ertumaxomab was able to eliminate the tumor cell lines that express Her2 at low level (1+). Cytotoxicity induced by ertumaxomab was observed already at concentrations as low as 1ng/ml and controls demonstrated that tumor cell lysis was dependent on the binding to Her2. In contrast to trastuzumab, ertumaxomab activity was accompanied by a Th1 type cytokine release including IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α and IFN-γ underlining the unique mode of action of trifunctional antibodies. In conclusion, ertumaxomab was able to induce immune effector cell stimulation and cellular cytotoxicity against various tumor cell lines including Her2 low expressing cells. Thus, ertumaxomab may provide a new antibody-based therapeutic option for breast cancer patients with low level expression of the Her2 target antigen who are not eligible for trastuzumab treatment.


We modelled forest vegetation attributes as continuous variables across western Oregon using a multi-image mosaic of Thematic Mapper (TM) data. Four specific attributes were modelled using regression analysis: percent green vegetation cover, percent conifer cover, conifer crown diameter, and conifer stand age. Reference data for the cover and diameter attributes were derived from airphotos, and existing agency polygon databases were used for stand age. We developed and applied a new method for regional mapping called applied radiometric normalization. The method involved development of a set of models for a centrally located 'source' scene which were then extended to 'destination' scenes (neighboring scenes in the TM mosaic). Use of airphotos and existing digital databases in combination with applied radiometric normalization translates to a cost-effective procedure for regional mapping with TM data. Modelling forest attributes as continuous variables enables creation of a flexible forest cover information base, containing important fundamental building blocks for a variety of related classification schemes.


We report here a computer implementation of a recently developed discrete ordinates methodology for efficiently solving a set of multislab atmospheric radiation problems with an arbitrary number and type of stationary layers. Numerical results are presented for a set of typical problems for a multislab model atmosphere in the shortwave. Copyright © 2006 Royal Meteorological Society


The leather industry converts hides and skins, by-products of the meat industry, into a valuable product. The tanning process itself generates by-products. One tonne of hide will yield approximately 200 kg of leather, 250 kg of tanning solid waste, 350 kg nontanning waste, and 200 kg is lost in waste water. Annually, some 108,000 tonnes of solid waste containing approximately 2,700 tonnes of chromium III are generated by tanneries in the EU. Currently, the majority of this solid waste is land-filled.In order to reduce reliance on landfilling, a process has been developed to convert these wastes to useful products.. The process, based on enzymatic hydrolysis, produces a commercially-useful protein solution. Under the reaction conditions used, the protein-chrome complex is converted into insoluble chromic hydroxide which is easily removed from the reaction mixture by filtrationThe model can be used to determine the minimal cost of enyzmatic hydrolysis, under specified conditions. This is the result of a balance between reaction costs and evaporation costs.


Molecular-line observations of star-forming cloud cores indicate that they are not the flattened structures traditionally considered by theory. Rather, they are elongated, perhaps in the direction of their internal magnetic field. We are thus motivated to consider the structure and evolution of axisymmetric, magnetized clouds that start from a variety of initial states, both flattened (oblate) and elongated (prolate). In this first contribution, the clouds are of fixed mass, and are surrounded by a fictitious medium of zero density and finite pressure. We devise a new technique, dubbed the q-method, that allows us to construct magnetostatic equilibria of any specified shape. The mass loading of the field lines then follows from the self-consistent model solution, just the reverse of the standard procedure. We find, in agreement with previous authors, that the field lines in oblate clouds bend inward. However, those in prolate clouds bow outward, confining the structures through magnetic tension. We next follow the quasi-static evolution of these clouds via ambipolar diffusion. An oblate cloud either relaxes to a magnetically force-free sphere or, if sufficiently massive, flattens along its polar axis as its central density runs away. A prolate cloud always relaxes to a sphere of modest central density. We finally consider the evolution of an initially spherical cloud subject to the tidal gravity of neighboring bodies. Although the structure constricts equatorially, it also shortens along the pole, so that it ultimately flattens on the way to collapse. In summary, none of our initial states can evolve to the point of collapse while maintaining an elongated shape. We speculate that this situation will change once we allow the cloud to gain mass from its environment.


The prediction of wave characteristics generated by variable winds under fetch- and duration-limited conditions is considered using a parametric approach and a simplified form of the radiative transport equation. The wind-generated sea surface is characterized in terms of an equilibrium range spectrum with a well defined low wave number cut-off. By relating the local wind velocity to the rate of increase in wave energy and incorporating the refractive and frictional effects of transitional water depths into the formulation, governing equations are derived to predict the development of a wind-wave field in terms of integral properties of the spectrum such as mean period, direction, and significant wave height. Under deep water conditions, governing equations admit simple closed form solutions which are shown to compare very favorably with observational data as well as various wind-wave prediction formulae currently available. Consequently, they are numerically solved first for the case of wind-waves in uniform water depth and then for a circular basin with variable bathymetry as an illustrative general case.


Introduction. Reactivation of BKV infection caused by decrease of immunity associated with organ transplantation can lead to nephropathy and organ loss. Antiviral drugs such as ganciclovir or foscarnet did not display any activity against BK virus. A source of hope can be found in chemotherapeutics usually used in bacterial infections that inhibit the replication of viral genetic material in cells. One of the aforementioned chemotherapeutics is ciprofloxacin. The aim of the study is to evaluate the antiviral activity of ciprofloxacin against BK virus in vitro culture. Materials and method. Initially, the effects of ciprofloxacin on Vero cell viability were assessed with MTT. After determining the 3 largest non-cytotoxic concentrations of antibiotics, their effect on viral replication in cells was determined. 24-h cells culture in DMEM medium supplemented with 10% serum after 2h incubation with a 6.3 x 105 copies/ml infection virus were used to evaluate the effects of different concentrations of ciprofloxacin on the number of BKV copies. Quantification of BKV replication in the culture was performed by real-time PCR. Results. By means of the MTT test, the 3 largest non-cytotoxic ciprofloxacin concentrations were determined as follows: 31.25; 62.5; 125 μg/ml. Cells treated with ciprofloxacin at a concentration of 125 μg/ml display the greatest decrease in BKV replication that equaly 1.8 – 3 log/5.8 – 9.2 Ct, compared to the control of the virus without drugs. A decline in the number of copies of the virus was observed during the lower concentration of the antibiotic (62.5, 31.25 μg/ml) by 1.3 – 2 log/4 – 6.4 Ct and 0 – 0.8 log/0 – 2, 4 Ct, respectively. Conclusions. Ciprofloxacin exhibits antiviral activity against the BK virus by inhibiting its replication in the in vitro culture


Subdivision for curves and surfaces has gained popularity in computer graphics and shape modeling during the past two decades,yet solid/volumetric subdivision has received much less attention. In this paper, we design a subdivision scheme that reproduces the tensor product rule on tensor product meshes and yields smooth limit volumes for arbitrary volume meshes. It also has the ability to conveniently incorporate boundaries and creases into a smooth limit shape of model. It is a hexahedral-based, approximation scheme. According to the existing hexahedralbased, approximation scheme over simple or rough hexahedral meshes it is difficult to get the solid models which designers want to model without using some special rules. We devise a set of solid subdivision rules to facilitate a simple subdivision procedure. In principle, our solid subdivision process is a combination of simple linear subdivision and two rounds of averaging. This process makes no restrictions on the local topology of the meshes. Particularly, it can be applied without any change to meshes with non-manifold topology. We have introduced free parameters to control the shape of models and offer more flexibility to design models over simple or rough meshes network.


Videogame designers combine variable elements such as goals and challenges with repetitive ones ranging from props and textures recurrently used to mechanics that make the player perform the same actions time and again. Despite the importance of repetitive factors to provide for a consistent game experience, repetition can be treated as a symptom of a deficient design by researchers and creators. The pri-mary goal of this paper is to make a point of the importance of repetition in video-game design to help both to study further this aspect of this medium and to offer new insights for game creators. To do so, we first provide a list of some of the most common forms of repetition in which players engage while they play. We also an-alyze three case studies of games that have made use of repetition as a key element of their mechanics to introduce key features and nuances.


The use of sediment accretion rates measured on coastal and estuarine salt marshes as a surrogate for rates of sea-level change rests on the (usually implicit) assumption that marsh maturity is unchanged over the measurement period. This assumption is inherently difficult to test empirically, but a simple mathematical analysis shows that it is true only in a severely restricted case. Under most practical conditions, measured accretion rates either over-estimate or under-estimate the rate of sea-level change. Under certain circumstances, they may indicate an upward trend when the tendency is actually downward. A knowledge of marsh history is critical to the evaluation of such measurements. Sea-level movements estimated from accretion rates are theoretically most reliable in the case of relatively old marshes and comparatively short measurement periods.


Three national charities are to work together to step up the fight against bladder cancer. The Urology Foundation, Action on Bladder Cancer and Fight Bladder Cancer are launching a campaign to put the condition on the public agenda and at the forefront of patients' and politicians' minds. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons.


Analysis of a 13C NMR spectrum of a concentrated broth from Penicillium chrysogenum fermentation revealed the presence of penicillin V and 6-oxo-piperidine-2-carboxylic acid(1) as the principal constituents. The latter lactam, identical to an authentic sample prepared by the cyclization of alpha-aminoadipic acid was present to the extent of 28 mol% of penicillin V. The lactam isolated form the broth was nearly racemic, having a slight excess of the L-isomer. This isolation provides further evidence regarding the biosynthetic precursors of the hydrophobic penicillins.


The present invention relates to an organic photoelectronic device and a display device comprising the organic photoelectronic device, the organic photoelectronic device comprising: an anode; a cathode facing the anode; a light-emitting layer interposed between the anode and cathode; a hole transport layer interposed between the anode and the light-emitting layer; and an auxiliary hole transport layer interposed between the hole transport layer and the light-emitting layer, wherein the hole transport layer comprises a compound represented by chemical formula I, and the auxiliary hole transport layer comprises a compound represented by chemical formula II. Chemical formulas I and II are the same as set forth in the description.


The Axiom of Choice is a foundational statement of set theory: Given any collection {S i : i ∈ I} of nonempty sets, there exists a choice function In the 1930's, Kurt Gödel proved that the Axiom of Choice is consistent (in the Zermelo-Frankel first-order axiomatization) with the other axioms of set theory. In the 1960's, Paul Cohen proved that the Axiom of Choice is independent of the other axioms. Closely following Van der Waerden, this writeup explains how the Axiom of Choice implies two other statements, Zorn's Lemma and the Well Ordering Principle. In fact, all three statements are equivalent, as is a fourth statement called the Hausdorff Maximality Principle. Let S be any set, and let P(S) be its power set, the set whose elements are the subsets of S, P(S) = {S : S is a subset of S}. The proper subset relation " " in P(S) satisfies two conditions: • (Partial Trichotomy) For any S, T ∈ P(S), at most one of the conditions S T, S = T, T S holds, and possibly none of them holds. The two conditions are the motivating example of a partial order. Definition 1.1. Let T be a set. Let ≺ be a relation that may stand between some pairs of elements of T. Then ≺ is a partial order on T if • For any s, t ∈ T , at most one of the conditions s ≺ t, s = t, t ≺ s holds. If for any s, t ∈ T , also at least one of the three conditions in the first bullet holds then the partial order is a total order. A relation ≺ on some pairs from a set T need have nothing to do with any sort of numerical order. Visibly, any subset of a partially ordered set is again partially ordered, and similarly for a totally ordered set.


A dynamic novel coating, consisting of a hydrophilic polymeric matrix and a bubbling agent, has been developed for precise entry and positioning of needles, and accurate collection of biopsy samples. These coated biopsy needles have been successfully used in in vitro trials. The results are discussed here. Potential application areas include vascular, cardiovascular and orthopaedics.


Bovine tuberculosis is a major disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis. Skin tests and slaughter policies have reduced the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in many countries. However, more practical and efficient tools with high sensitivity and specificity values are needed. The aim of the present study was to develop an ELISA using the recombinant proteins MPB70 and p27 from M. bovis in order to detect antibodies against this bacterium in cattle. Sensitivity and specificity were respectively 88.7% and 94.6% for ELISA-MPB70 and 98.1% and 91.9% for ELISA-p27. The use of a serological test such as ELISA with recombinant MPB70 and p27, together with cell tests, may solve some of the problems regarding the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis, such as inconclusive results and the lack of detection in anergic animals in advanced stages of the disease.


Summary 1. The ecological footprint of a road may extend for several kilometres with overlapping effects from neighbouring roads causing a nonlinear accumulation of road effects in the landscape. Availability of preferred habitat, spatial dependencies between roads and habitat types, and fidelity to traditionally used areas further confound our ability to predict population-level responses of animals to growing road networks. 2. To isolate these effects, we developed an individually based movement model using elk Cervus elaphus L. as a model system. Empirically derived movement rules redistributed elk under different amounts of preferred habitat (clearcuts), road densities, and road development schemes. We tracked potential mortality risk (given time spent near roads) and emigration rates (given declining accessibility of foraging habitat). 3. Design of the road network accounted for up to 30‐55% difference in mortality risk and emigration rates, with the largest differences occurring at intermediate road densities (1‐1·5 km km ‐2 ) when road effects began to saturate the landscape. Maintaining roads in association with clearcuts caused a decline in habitat accessibility equivalent to replacing 50‐75% of these foraging patches with conifer forest. A nine-fold difference in potential emigration was observed after varying elk tolerance for declining habitat accessibility despite holding local movement biases constant. 4. Elk responses to growing road networks were non-linear, exposing thresholds for road density that were reflected in the home range occupancy patterns of a large sample of elk in the region. 5. Synthesis and applications . Our approach provides a means of scaling-up complex movement decisions to population-level redistribution, separating the confounding effects of landscape context from road effects, and exposing thresholds in connectivity and mortality risks for wildlife caused by infrastructure growth. Our model indicated that road densities ≤ 0·5 km km ‐2 yielded the highest probability of elk occurrence where elk were hunted (and sensitive to roads), but disassociating roads from foraging habitats or managing human access to roads may maintain effective elk habitat at substantially higher road densities.


Several factors will influence the contribution of nuclear energy to the future energy mix. Among them, the most important are the degree of global commitment to greenhouse gas reduction, continued vigilance in safety and safeguards, technological advances, economic competitiveness and innovative financing arrangements for new nuclear power plant constructions, the implementation of nuclear waste disposal, and, last but not least, public perception, information and education. The paper presents an overview of the current nuclear energy situation, possible development scenarios, of reactor technology, and of non-electric applications of nuclear energy.


Youth social action—activities such as volunteering, campaigning, and fundraising—has gained traction in the UK and internationally in recent years as govern-ments have supported initiatives to encourage adolescents to develop a 'habit' of social action. However, there is not convincing evidence on what a habit of social action is. This study involved a questionnaire with 4518 16–20-year-olds in the UK and finds that moral and civic virtue identity, perceived behavioural control, goal direction, and subjective norms are related to a habit of youth social action. A key contribution of this study is the development and application of a new measure of virtue identity—the Virtue Identity Measure—to which we pay particular attention in this article.


The broadband efficient light‐absorbing property of a metamaterial‐based subwavelength nanoring array in visible regime is reported. The nanoring array can absorb light efficiently with an average absorptivity of 0.97 over the whole visible waveband. In addition, it is found that this kind of super light‐absorbing capability is independent of the incoming light polarization state and can maintain an average of 0.9 for an incident angle as large as ±60° under TM illumination. The perfect absorbing property of the metamaterial‐based nanoring array is attributed to the synergetic effect of the Fabry–Perot resonance and the localized surface plasmon resonance enhancement.


To quantitatively access the effects of drought stress during different growth stages of soybean on development process and yield, a pot-culture experiment was conducted in China's Huaibei Plain with different irrigation treatments over two seasons (2015 and 2016). Two drought stress levels (mild and severe) were applied at four growth stages for the experiment (S: seedling stage; B: branching stage; FPS: flowering and pod-setting stage; and PF: pod-filling stage). The effects of drought stress at different stages on growth and yield were evaluated and compared. Results of this two-year study showed that all growth and yield parameters were significantly affected by the water deficit during the sensitive FPS. Compared to the full irrigation treatment, severe drought stress during FPS caused a 22% loss of final plant height, 61% loss of the leaf area per plant (LAP), and 67% loss of final aboveground dry matter (ADM). Yield components also declined dramatically with water deficits during FPS and PF. Significant seed yield losses of 73–82% per plant were observed in the plants exposed to drought stress during FPS, and were also associated with the highest nonviable pod percentage of 13%. The greatest losses in 100-seed weight (42–48%) were observed under drought stress during PF. A rising trend in response to increasing soil water deficit (SWD) was observed for LAP, yield, and ADM losses. The slope (k) values of these fitting curves varied at different treatments, the highest value of k (7.37 and 8.47 in two years, respectively) was also observed in the sensitive FPS.


PRL compartments were studied in a clonal strain of rat pituitary tumor cells (GH3B6). The cells were pulse-labeled for 10 min with 35S-methionine and then chased for 20 h in the absence or presence of TRH (30 nM) or cycloheximide (3.6 X 10(-5) M), or both. The specific radioactivity (SA) of PRL was followed in the cells and chase medium as a function of chase time and treatments. The transit of labeled and unlabeled PRL has been investigated in cells treated with monensin (1 microM), a drug which is known to perturb the Golgi zone. Newly synthesized PRL was rapidly (15 min of chase) and preferentially released in basal conditions. The pattern of the decay of the SA of PRL released in the medium suggested the existence of at least two PRL pools with different half-lives: 15 min and 3 h, respectively. TRH induced the preferential release of a PRL pool synthesized before the labeling pulse. Monensin decreased the basal release of total radioimmunoassayable PRL without affecting that of the newly synthesized PRL. In contrast, it did not affect the stimulating effect of TRH on the release of unlabeled PRL. These results are in favor of the existence of different intracellular routes for the basal release of PRL (mostly newly synthesized) and the TRH-stimulated release of PRL (mostly stored). Moreover, after 20 h of chase a large fraction (approximately 80%) of the labeled immunoprecipitated material remained intracellularly located and not degraded. This material was not mobilizable by TRH even in the presence of cycloheximide. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis revealed that it consisted of large immunoreactive proteins (mol wt, 45,000 and 50,000) instead of mol wt 23,000 PRL which was found in the medium.


Coxsackievirus B4 (CV-B4) can infect human and murine thymic epithelial cells (TECs). In a murine TEC cell line, CV-B4 can downregulate the transcription of the insulin-like growth factor 2 (Igf2) gene coding for the self-peptide of the insulin family. In this study, we show that CV-B4 infections of a murine TEC cell line decreased Igf2 P3 promoter activity by targeting a region near the transcription start site; however, the stability of Igf2 transcripts remained unchanged, indicating a regulation of Igf2 transcription. Furthermore, CV-B4 infections decreased STAT3 phosphorylation in vitro. We also showed that mice infected with CV-B4 had an altered expression of Igf2 isoforms as detected in TECs, followed by a decrease in the pro-IGF2 precursor in the thymus. Our study sheds new light on the intrathymic regulation of Igf2 transcription during CV-B4 infections and supports the hypothesis that a viral infection can disrupt central self-tolerance to insulin by decreasing Igf2 transcription in the thymic epithelium.


The aminoglycoside nucleotidyltransferase(4') is an enzyme with high substrate promiscuity and catalyzes the transfer of the AMP group from ATP to the 4'-OH site of many structurally diverse aminoglycosides, which results in the elimination of their effectiveness as antibiotics. Two thermostable variants carrying single-site mutations are used to determine the molecular properties associated with thermophilicity. The thermodynamics of enzyme-ligand interactions showed that one variant (T130K) has properties identical to those of the mesophilic wild type (WT) while the other (D80Y) behaved differently. Differences between D80Y and the T130K/WT pair include the change in heat capacity (Δ Cp), which is dependent on temperature for D80Y but not for WT or T130K. The change in Δ Cp with temperature (ΔΔ Cp) with D80Y is dependent on aminoglycoside only in H2O and remains the same with all aminoglycosides in D2O. Furthermore, the offset temperature ( Toff), the temperature difference that yields identical enthalpies in H2O and D2O, becomes larger with an increase in temperature for WT and T130K but remains mostly unchanged for D80Y. Studies in H2O and D2O revealed that solvent reorganization becomes the major contributor to ligand binding with an increase in temperature for WT and T130K, but changes in low-frequency vibrational modes are the main contributors with D80Y. Data presented in this paper suggest that global properties associated with the enzyme-ligand interactions, such as the thermodynamics of ligand binding, may yield clues about thermophilicity and permit us to distinguish those variants that are simply a more thermostable version of the mesophilic protein.


With the explosive growth of online social media (forums, blogs, and social networks), exploitation of these new information sources has become essential. Our work is based on the sud4science project. The goal of this project is to perform multidisciplinary work on a corpus of authentic SMS, in French, collected in 2011 and anonymised (88milSMS corpus: http://88milsms.huma-num.fr). This paper highlights a new method to integrate opinion detection knowledge from an SMS corpus by combining lexical and semantic information. More precisely, our approach gives more weight to words with a sentiment (i.e. presence of words in a dedicated dictionary) for a classification task based on three classes: positive, negative, and neutral. The experiments were conducted on two corpora: an elongated SMS corpus (i.e. repetitions of characters in messages) and a non-elongated SMS corpus. We noted that non-elongated SMS were much better classified than elongated SMS. Overall, this study highlighted that the integration of semantic knowledge always improves classification.


The insights and conclusions of the seven essays regarding the identification of Paul's opponents in Corinth and his relationship to the church there have been incorporated into his commentaries on 1 Corinthians (1968) and 2 Corinthians (1973) and are already well known by readers of those two commentaries. Even so, these essays are still valuable in that Barrett's exegesis is more detailed in these articles than it is in these commentaries produced for a more popular audience.


A game-theoretic approach to linguistic communication predicts that speakers can meaningfully use ambiguous forms in a discourse context in which only one of several available referents has a costly unambiguous form and in which rational interlocutors share knowledge of production costs. If a speaker produces a low-cost ambiguous form to avoid using the high-cost unambiguous form, a rational listener will infer that the high-cost entity was the intended entity, or else the speaker would not have risked ambiguity. We report data from two studies in which pairs of speakers show alignment of their use of ambiguous forms based on this kind of shared knowledge. These results extend the analysis of cost-based pragmatic inferencing beyond that previously associated only with fixed lexical hosts.


Dermatophagoides farinae (Der f 1) is one of leading cause for allergic asthma, and allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT) is currently recognized as the only etiological therapy to ameliorate asthmatic symptom. The current study was designed on the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II pathway, invariant chain (Ii)-segment hybrids as vaccine basis to explore the efficacy of Der f 1 hybrid vaccine by virtue of Ii as carrier in enhancing the protective immune response to asthma. Initially, we engineered a fused molecule, DCP-IhC-ProDer f 1, to deliver ProDer f 1 antigen via specific dendritic cell-targeting peptides to dendritic cells (DCs). Then the DCP-IhC-ProDer f 1 was immunized to the asthmatic models of murine induced by ProDer f 1 allergen. The findings showed that the cytokine repertoire in the murine model was shifted after SIT, including stronger secretion of IFN-γ and IL-10, and a decreased production of IL-4 and IL-17. ELISA determination revealed that the hybrid displayed weak IgE and IgG1 reactivities, and IgG2a levels were elevated. Furthermore, DCP-IhC-ProDer f 1 treatment inhibited inflammatory cell infiltration in the lung tissues. Our results suggest that the DCP-Ihc-ProDer f 1 may be used as a candidate SIT against asthma.