Completely overlapped space-fed subarrays have been shown to provide sufficient pattern control to enable (modestly) wide-band arrays using time delays at the input to each subarray and phase shifters at the array face. These configurations are bulky, but have been proposed for space-based use as well as for certain ground-based applications that do not have severe volume constraints. Other applications for space-based and airborne radar require much more compact, constrained array feed networks, but until now there have been few appropriate constrained networks for inserting time delay at the subarray ports without causing high sidelobes. This paper describes one such network that, at the outset, provided far lower sidelobes than the usual contiguous subarrays, but retained closely spaced high lobes near the main beam. This paper presents a synthesis procedure that alters the subarray patterns and reduces nearly all array sidelobes to levels determined by tolerance errors. Several examples are presented that synthesize sidelobes at -40 dB. The resulting network operates over 70% to 80% of the maximum theoretical bandwidth.


The damaging effect of formalin on DNA and the inhibition of PCR are serious problems in molecular studies. The aims of the project were to investigate the possibility of using formalin-fixed, Steedman's preserved museum specimens in molecular investigations, especially organisms with unstudied genomes. A number of DNA extraction protocols and different pre-washing/drying regimes were tested. These gave different levels of success, but a guanidinium-based protocol developed in this study gave the best results. RAPD-PCR methodology was employed to test its applicability on preserved specimens, and it was used as a test of the efficiency of DNA extraction/amplifications and for developing species-specific PCR primers. Attempts to amplify mitochondrial DNA sequences with the six mitochondrial genes were mostly unsuccessful. Sporadic amplifications were obtained with primers of 16S and COIII genes.

 This study provided the first molecular data on deep-sea fish (Nezumia aequalis and N. micronychodon) exclusively using formalin-fixed, Steedman's preserved museum specimens. Two genomic sequences of these fishes were determined and submitted to the GenBank database under accession numbers AY826774 - AY826792. Three specific primer sets (RAPD-derived) for Nezumia aequalis and N. micronychodon were designed to amplify PCR product sizes 300 bp - 350 bp. This study has demonstrated that an appropriate strategy and molecular approach could lead to the successful use of museum and other formalin-fixed archival collections even on organisms with unstudied genomes.

 Supplementary evidence, related to the method of preservation, the usage of particular DNA extraction protocol and PCR marker system, was obtained from ten differently preserved mackerel (Scomber scombrus) specimens.

 This study confirmed that the DNA extracted from preserved specimens possesses unique characteristics that make molecular investigations very difficult. Because of this, it is proposed that DNA extracted from preserved specimens should be referred to as "archival DNA (arDNA)".


Neurodevelopmental disorders are a category of diseases that is not yet fully understood. Due to their common traits and pathways, often it is difficult to differentiate between them based on their symptoms only. A series of hypotheses are trying to define their etiology, such as neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and immunology, but none have managed to explain their multifactorial manifestation. One feature that may link all theories is that of oxidative stress, with a redox imbalance as well as several other markers of oxidative damage (on lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids) being observed in both postmortem samples of the brain of patients with schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. However, the implication of oxidative stress in pathology is still distrustfully looked upon. For this purpose, in the current paper, we were interested in reviewing the implications of oxidative stress in these disorders as well as the impact of N-acetylcysteine on the oxidative status with a focus on the glutathione level and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor. We were also interested in finding papers targeting the use of antioxidant properties of different plant extracts.


We give more precise asymptotic behaviour of the spectrum of a singular integro-differential operator and find the regularized trace of its inverse operator. Bibliography: 12 titles.


Reading instruction at the elementary level lacks the implementation of research-based strategies. The purpose of this case study was to explore the process of data-driven professional development in two grade 1 classrooms in order to strengthen classroom reading instruction. The participants include the two classroom teachers and the researcher acting as a coach and member of the collaborative grade-level team. The setting is an elementary school that has been successfully implementing the Response to Intervention model for three years. This case study focused on the use of student achievement data within the RTI model and coaching to strengthen Tier 1 classroom reading instruction by infusing the instruction with research-based practices. A logic model was used to compare observed events with theoretically-predicted events. Data collection included field notes, observations, interviews, and student achievement data (AIMSweb). Qualitative data analysis, including coding, helped to provide a thick description of the process, while student achievement data provided descriptive data regarding the ultimate outcomes observed within the two classrooms.


The driving engine of the superconducting accelerator of the European X-ray Free-Electron Laser (XFEL) are 27 Radio Frequency (RF) stations. Each of an underground RF station consists from multi-beam horizontal klystron which can provide up to 10MW of power at 1.3GHz. Klystrons are sensitive devices with limited lifetime and high mean time between failures. In the real operation the lifetime of the tube can be thoroughly reduced by failures. To minimize the influence of service conditions to the klystrons lifetime the special fast protection system named as Klystron Lifetime Management System (KLM) has been developed. The main task of this system is to detect all events which can destroy the tube as quickly as possible and switch off driving RF signal or HV. Detection of events is based on comparison of model of high power RF amplifier with real signals. Implementation is done in Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). For the XFEL implementation of KLM is based on the standard Low Level RF (LLRF) Micro Tele-communications Computing Architecture (MTCA.4 or xTCA). This article focuses on the klystron model estimation and implementation of KLM in FPGA. Results of the system implemented on MTCA.4 architecture will be presented in the end.


PNCPy was prepared by anodic polymerization and its properties in both doped and undoped state were characterized. The doping level of the oxidized material has been found to be larger than that of other conducting polymers; the more relevant electrochemical properties of the doped material were retained after undoping. SEM and AFM data are consistent with a lumpy surface and a multidirectional growing of the polymer chains. Finally, PNCPy has been combined with PEDOT to prepare three-layer systems with enhanced electroactivity and electrostability. Results suggest that PNCPy is a potential candidate for the fabrication of electric circuit components that are able to block the current flow below a given potential.


Turnover has been known to negatively impact the company effectiveness and success. Yet, research on Generation Y and Z has shown that their loyalty to stay in one company is low. This study aims to see the influence of work life balance and work engagement to turnover intention on Millennial and Generation Z in Indonesia. Survey to 178 respondent was conducted to Millennial and Generation Z workers. The relationships between variables were analyzed using PLS. The result showed that work life balance negatively and significantly influences turnover intention. However, this study failed to see the significant relationship between work engagement and turnover intention. This study contributes to the literature of Millennial and Generation Z, specifically on factors influencing the turnover intention.


Medically intractable tonic and atonic seizures may be responsive to either vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) or corpus callosum section. VNS has been shown to be effective and is associated with very low morbidity. Callosotomy is a more ambitious procedure, with a higher risk of complications but greater likelihood of seizure improvement.


Technical performance of two solar drying technologies was evaluated: Solar Greenhouse Drying (SGD) with auxiliary heating system, and Direct Solar Drying (DSD) in order to evaluate its effect on antioxidant activity (AA) and total flavonoids of blackberry (rubus spp) waste destined. The SDG and DSD results were compared with those of the dehydrated samples in an electric stove (ES). The fresh and dried fruits were evaluated; the blackberry seedless pulp was used. The AA and flavonoids showed degradation of 70% and 20% compared to the fresh sample. For both compounds, SGD is the one that offers the greatest conservation.Keywords: solar drying; antioxidant capacity; flavonoids; blackberry pulp (rubus spp); solar energy


Serbia presents itself as a country skillfully balancing between the European Union (EU), Russia, and Asia, trying to maintain good political and economic relations with the biggest players on the international arena. The Covid-19 pandemic and China's media-publicized assistance to Serbia has affected the perception of which countries are seen as Belgrade's true allies. At the same time, Serbia remains a EU candidate country (membership negotiations officially started in 2014) and the European Union is not only Serbian biggest trading partner, but also the biggest donor. The main aim of the article is to compare the distinctive meaning that EU membership and cooperation with non-EU countries (mainly China and Russia) has for Serbian political parties, taking into account that the Covid-19 pandemic and the 'vaccine diplomacy' influenced the Serbian public discourse and perception on who is the Belgrade's most trustful partner.


The research focuses on how to improve the employment rate of the computer science and technology major graduates. The paper first described why the employment of this major was low by carried on the thorough investigation and analysis. Then it described the feasibility construction scheme of computer science and technology characteristic major of Xuchang University which is an applied college. The scheme consisted of two parts. One part was the foundation construction which supported characteristic major construction and the other was the connotation construction of characteristic major. Implementation of the scheme has effectively improved the employment rate of students. The major's characteristics is gradually taking shape.


This paper proposes a probabilistic optimization method that produces optimal bidding curves to be submitted by an aggregator to the day-ahead electricity market and the intraday market, considering the flexible demand of his customers (based in time dependent resources such as batteries and shiftable demand) and taking into account the possible imbalance costs as well as the uncertainty of forecasts (market prices, demand, and renewable energy sources (RES) generation). The optimization strategy aims to minimize the total cost of the traded energy over a whole day, taking into account the intertemporal constraints. The proposed formulation leads to the solution of different linear optimization problems, following the natural temporal sequence of electricity spot markets. Intertemporal constraints regarding time dependent resources are fulfilled through a scheduling process performed after the day-ahead market clearing. Each of the different problems is of moderate dimension and requires short computation times. The benefits of the proposed strategy are assessed comparing the payments done by an aggregator over a sample period of one year following different deterministic and probabilistic strategies. Results show that probabilistic strategy reports better benefits for aggregators participating in power markets.


A human placental lambda gt11 cDNA library was screened with an antisera directed against a peptide of the first intracellular loop of the G-protein linked photoreceptor bovine rhodopsin. A clone, pHPS{sub 1}-2 was identified and a 1,788 bp EcoRI restriction fragment sequenced. The putative open reading frame encodes a protein that is similar to other membrane receptor proteins by a variety of criteria. Immunoblot analysis of a lambda lysogen of pHPS{sub 1}-2 indicates that the determinant of antibody recognition does not lie in the predicted open reading frame. This determinant arose as a fusion product of beta-galactosidase and the extreme 5{prime} region of pHPS{sub 1}-2. The nature of this putative protein is undetermined.


The present study aimed to assess the effect of tissue hypoxia induced by sodium cyanide (NaCN) on male mice fertility and the protective role of ethyl pyruvate (EP). A number of 30 adult mice were assigned to three groups: 1) a control group, 2) a treatment group treated with 2 mg/kg of NaCN, and 3) a treatment group treated with 2 mg/kg of NaCN, along with 40 mg/kg EP (NaCN+EP). After 35 days, animals were anesthetized and serum, sperm, and tissue samples were taken. The results demonstrated a significant decrease in sperm quality, reproduction potency, and anti-oxidant potential, as well as an increase in lipid peroxidation in the NaCN group (p <0.05). Moreover, the use of EP effectively restrained the disastrous effects of tissue hypoxia. It can be concluded that EP can moderate the complications resulting from tissue-hypoxia that is related to testes parameters.


The characterization of network flows is relevant for multiple applications, in particular for security applications, such as the detection of covert channels in real time. Typically, the characterization of network flows is performed by capturing information of all the packets of the relevant flows and analyzing their characteristics, for example, performing machine learning classification based on the distribution of their sizes. However, this solution consumes many resources, affecting network performance, and typically can only perform the classification at a later time. In this work, we evaluate the possibility of exploring the recent advances in SDN networks, programmable switches, the P4 programming language and probabilistic data structures (also called sketches) to characterize the flows in the switch itself thus reducing the amount of network data that need to be stored and analyzed to identify covert channels. We present a software architecture for programmable switches that allows us to characterize flows using two layers of filtering, each using a sketch, to first reduce the high amount of flows being processed, limiting the number of misclassified flows that do not contain covert channels. Our solution allows us to monitor 5K flows while keeping an accuracy of 0.95 in the detection of covert flows, representing an increase in analysis capacity of 20 times for the same amount of memory on the switch in the absence of sketches.


The basal ganglia and thalamus play an important role in cognition, procedural learning, eye movements, control of voluntary motor movements, emotional control, habit development, and are structures that are severely impacted by neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, or Tourette syndrome. To understand the structural connectivity of cortical and subcortical circuits in the healthy human brain could thus be of pivotal importance for detecting changes in this circuitry and to start early intervention, to assess the progress of movement rehabilitation, or the effectiveness of therapeutic approaches in neuropsychiatry. While conventional clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is able to provide detailed information about connectivity at the macro level, the sensitivity and specificity of such structural imaging methods put limits on the amount of detail one can obtain when measuring in vivo connectivity of human basal ganglia and thalamus at routine clinical magnetic field strengths. In contrast, the multiband diffusion echo planar imaging method, which acquires multiple slices simultaneously, enables high resolution imaging of these abovementioned brain structures with only short acquisition times at 3-Tesla and higher magnetic field strengths. To unleash the greater potential of information embedded in data acquired with this technique, complementary data processing pipelines are required. Here, we use a protocol composed of multiband diffusion-, T1- and susceptibility weighted data acquisition sequences and introduce an associated pipeline based on combined manual and automated processing. The design of this data processing pipeline allows us to generate comprehensive in vivo participant-specific probabilistic patterns and visualizations of the structural connections that exist within basal ganglia and thalamic nuclei. Moreover, we are able to map specific parcellations of these nuclei into sub-territories based on their connectivity with primary motor-, and somatosensory cortex. This data processing strategy enables detailed subcortical structural connectivity mapping which could benefit early intervention and therapy methods for human movement rehabilitation and for treating neuropsychiatric disorders.


Quantum systems are invariably open, evolving under surrounding influences rather than in isolation. Standard open quantum system methods eliminate all information on the environmental state to yield a tractable description of the system dynamics. By incorporating a collective coordinate of the environment into the system Hamiltonian, we circumvent this limitation. Our theory provides straightforward access to important environmental properties that would otherwise be obscured, allowing us to quantify the evolving system-environment correlations. As a direct result, we show that the generation of robust system-environment correlations that persist into equilibrium (heralded also by the emergence of non-Gaussian environmental states) renders the canonical system steady state almost always incorrect. The resulting equilibrium states deviate markedly from those predicted by standard perturbative techniques and are instead fully characterized by thermal states of the mapped system-collective coordinate Hamiltonian. We outline how noncanonical system states could be investigated experimentally to study deviations from canonical thermodynamics, with direct relevance to molecular and solid-state nanosystems.


We address a denial of service attack on low-latency communication, wherein a cognitive adversary, armed with a full-duplex radio, can simultaneously measure the energy levels on the victim's frequency band besides jamming it. First, we show that traditional countermeasures such as frequency hopping cannot mitigate such attacks. To circumvent this problem, we propose two cooperative relaying schemes, namely: semi-coherent fast-forward half-duplex and semi-coherent fast-forward full-duplex relaying schemes, wherein the victim node seeks the assistance of a helper node in its vicinity, that can either work in half-duplex or full-duplex mode, to instantaneously multiplex the victim's messages in its message to the destination. In the former scheme, the victim is required to continue transmission on the jammed band, whereas the helper node is asked to overhear the victim's frequency band to multiplex their information in its frequency band. In the latter scheme, the victim and the helper node cooperatively pour fraction of their power on both frequency bands so as to reliably communicate their messages on the helper's frequency band. Extensive analysis on the choice of the power splitting factor between the frequency bands is presented besides proving that both schemes successfully engage the adversary on the jammed frequency band.


Dear Editor, Although published in 2003, the article "Linear programming applied to healthcare problems"() is very up-to-date and important for the first contact with linear programming, particularly in the field of health. Congratulations to the author for this initiative. I analyzed this work to use it in a undergraduate degree in Mathematics. However, I observed the solutions obtained for the two problems described present inconsistencies that may lead readers with little experience to make mistakes. For the diet problem, the [...]


Various new scheduling problems have been arising from practical production processes and spawning new research areas in the scheduling field. We study the parallel multi-stage open shops problem, which generalizes the classic open shop scheduling and parallel machine scheduling problems. Given m identical k-stage open shops and a set of n jobs, we aim to process all jobs on these open shops with the minimum makespan, i.e., the completion time of the last job, under the constraint that job preemption is not allowed. We present an efficient polynomial-time approximation scheme (EPTAS) for the case when both m and k are constant. The main idea for our EPTAS is the combination of several categorization, scaling, and linear programming rounding techniques. Jobs and/or operations are first scaled and then categorized carefully into multiple types so that different types of jobs and/or operations are scheduled appropriately without increasing the makespan too much.


Customers are any organizations' best assets. As an increasing number of organizations realize the importance of becoming more customer-centric in today's competitive economy, they are also discovering that they must deliver knowledge about their customers, products, and services internally (i.e across multiple organizational functions) and externally (i.e at all customer touch points). Therefore, enterprise executives are interested in knowing the Critical Success Factors that will drive their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technological initiatives. CRM technological initiatives help foster a customer-centric business strategy, the diffusion of knowledge, a unified face to all customers, and a holistic view of customers. There is no empirical research, to our knowledge, that delves into an understanding of the Critical Success Factors behind CRM technological initiatives. Nor has it been demonstrated that different profiles of Critical Success Factors exist for specific CRM technological initiatives such as Customer Support and Service (CSS), Sales Force Automation (SFA), and Enterprise Marketing Automation (EMA). This thesis compiles the Critical Success Factors of CRM technological initiatives using empirical data from 101 organizations across Canada. The Partial Least Squares (PLS) Structural Equation Modeling method was used to analyze the collected data. A comparison between 57 adopters of CRM technology and 44 non-adopters of CRM technology indicates that the levels of strategic perceived benefits, top management support, and knowledge management capabilities differ between these two independent groups. The core finding of this study reveals that technological readiness, alone, does not lead to successful CRM technological initiatives. Possessing knowledge management capabilities emerges as the most significant critical success factor of CRM technological initiatives and is strongly related to technological readiness. Top management support is significant for all CRM technological initiatives with the exception of the SFA CRM Infrastructure.


Delta roboti Mechanical systems that allow a rigid body (called endeffector) to move with respect to a fixed base play a very important role in numerous applications. A rigid body in space can move in various ways, in translation or rotary motion. These are called its degrees of freedom (DOF). The position and the orientation of the end-effector (called its pose) can be described by its generalized coordinates. As soon as it is possible to control several degrees of freedom of the end-effector via a mechanical system, this system can be called robot [1, 3]. From this aspect, consisting of three subsystems: sensorial, control and decision-making, and actuation subsystem. The sensorial subsystem establishes a feedback with the environment. The control and decision-making subsystem represents the 'thinking' centre of the robot, its 'brain'. Together, the sensorial and control subsystems make up a cognitive system. Finally, the actuation subsystem is used to affect the environment, making such an impact on it that the environment changes [2]. It was concluded that the serial robots are inappropriate for tasks requiring either the manipulation of heavy loads, or a good positioning accuracy, or to work with high dynamic parameters.


Traditional research on moderator variables in personality has focused on measures of relative consistency. In contrast, using Goldberg's (1992) adjectives representing the Big Five personality traits, the authors examined the applicability of moderator variables to measures of personality coherence. The authors considered 3 traditional moderator variables (interitem variability, construct similarity, and scalability) and one new moderator variable: the temporal stability of response patterns. Across 2 studies, individuals with temporally stable response patterns had higher levels of personality coherence, as measured by self-other profile agreement and informant profile consensus, than did individuals with less temporally stable patterns. By comparison, the normatively based moderator variables did not moderate self-other profile agreement and informant profile consensus. The implications for personality structure and coherence are discussed.


BACKGROUND
Ghrelin is a novel growth hormone-releasing peptide that causes a positive energy balance by stimulating food intake and inducing adiposity and has effects on growth. Many children with congenital heart disease (CHD) present with growth retardation and malnutrition owing to multifactorial reasons.

AIM
To evaluate the circulating level of ghrelin in Egyptian children with congenital cyanotic and acyanotic heart disease and its relation to anthropometric measurements.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study included 40 patients with cyanotic and acyanotic CHD (18 cyanotic and 22 acyanotic) and 18 age- and sex-matched healthy control children. All children were subjected to measurement of height, weight, body mass index (BMI) and serum ghrelin was measured using ELISA technique.

RESULTS
Weight, height and BMI were significantly lower in cyanotic and acyanotic patients compared to the control group (p = 0.0001). Serum ghrelin levels were significantly higher in children with cyanotic and acyanotic CHD in comparison to the controls (p = 0.0001). There was a significant negative correlation between ghrelin and BMI in the three groups (r = -0.534, p = 0.023; r = -0.558, p = 0.007; r = -0.608, p = 0.007 respectively for cyanotic, acyanotic and the control groups).

CONCLUSION
Circulating ghrelin level was elevated in children with congenital cyanotic and acyanotic heart disease, and was associated with a decrease in BMI. This elevation in ghrelin level may represent malnutrition and growth retardation in those patients as obvious by anthropometric measures too. This may suggest that ghrelin may have an important role as a compensatory mechanism in the regulation of the metabolic balance in them.


Accepted 22 January, 2017 Abstract The objective of the study was to show the feasibility and efficiency of a mini PCNL in a modified supine (Valdivia) position, as well as sealing the nephrostomy channel using a haemostyptic (gelatine matrix with thrombin) in a random comparative study. Between 6/2014 and 10/2015, 57 prospective randomised patients were analysed. All patients presenting with stones up to 4 cm were included in the analysis. The procedures were performed in the Valdivia position, using a mini nephroscope with 18 Charr Amplatz shaft. At the end of surgery the nephrostomy channel was sealed and secured using a haemostyptic (tubeless group, n=30). In the control group (n=27), the mini PCNL was performed using the abdominal approach and nephrostomy closing procedure. The surgery time, duration of the ureter stents, post-operative analgesic requirements, haemoglobin clearance, stone free rates and complications were recorded according tq the Clavien-Dindo classification tables. The surgery time (78 vs 90 min), duration of ureter stent retention (3,2 vs 4,0 d), duration of hospital stay (4,8 vs 6,2 d), haemoglobin clearance (0,61 vs 0,63 mmol/l), macro-haematuria (1,6 vs 2,3 d), analgesic requirements (2,1 vs 2,6 times post-operative Novalgin), stone free (90 vs 81,5%) and complications (3 vs 7) were reduced in the tubeless group. The initial data relating to the tubeless mini PCNL in a Valdivia position shows that this modification may be implemented without an increase in complications. The total treatment process is, from all patient perspectives, easier and faster. However, the results shown must be verified in a larger cohort to confirm reliability.


The "Longman Pronunciation Dictionary" is designed to reflect English as it is spoken. In the introduction, the author discusses the general features of spoken English and discusses trends in speech. Short usage notes throughout the dictionary draw attention to possible pitfalls and to aspects of pronunciation which often present problems for learners of the language. The words included cover not only ordinary and technical vocabulary, but also proper names, placenames, family names, personal names, names from literature and mythology and names of companies and commercial products. Both British and American varieties are covered. Pronunciation shown covers Received Pronunciation and General American; assumes a modernized version of RP and also includes a number of British English near-RP forms. The alphabet of the International Phonetic Association is used. Each word is shown with its recommended pronunciation, while alternative pronunciations in common use are given in lighter type. The pronunciation is divided into syllables and special attention is drawn to words which are, or are not, pronounced alike. In addition, there are authoritative statements on controversial words recording the preferences of a panel of specialists and special treatment of affixes and combining forms which reflect their pronunciation in different phonetic environments and their effects on stress. There are also notes on typical features of English pronunication paying attention to the needs of learners of the language.


RP-127

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a muscle disorder resulting from mutations or deletions in the dystrophin gene that results in loss of protein expression. Loss of dystrophin in muscle leads to defects in physiology and progressive muscle wasting that typically result in premature death due to cardiac dysfunction or respiratory failure. One approach to therapy in DMD involves delivery of therapeutics designed to cause skipping of the relevant mutated or deleted exon in the dystrophin gene, ultimately stimulating production of a truncated, but functional, dystrophin protein. To evaluate various therapeutic strategies like exon skipping, we attempted to identify potential biomarkers and to develop a quantitative strategy to measure and identify dystrophin protein isoforms in human skeletal muscles by MS. We used human muscle biopsy specimens to analyze dystrophin isoforms from normal human muscle and DMD muscle. Proteins from normal and DMD muscles were extracted and separated. LC/MS/MS spectra were acquired in a data-dependent mode. Proteins were searched against the human IPI Database. Data processing was done using Bioworks 3.3 for peptide ID based on Xcorr vs Charge state. The identified proteins of Normal (1013) vs DMD (865) muscle were classified by Babelomics. Their cellular component distributions were mitochondria (5.2/ 8.8%), intracellular (24.1/24.8%), membrane (14.8/11%), cytoskeleton (17.1/13.6%), cytoplasm (17.6/14.7%), nucleus (7.1/10.8%). Our results revealed the identification of proteins involved in nucleotide metabolism, Ca2+ handling, cellular stress response, key bioenegetic processes and biomarkers like dystrophin, utrophin, calpain and troponin. ICAT analysis followed by mass spectrometry detected levels of dystrophin. Improvements on the yield and recovery of dystrophy-related and clinically relevant tagged proteins are currently in progress.


Multimedia documents differ significantly from traditional documents composed of text and geometric graphics. The introduction of continuous media such as audio, video, and computer-generated graphics imposes new requirements on document representation and information storage. We designed an architecture for creating multimedia documents by means of a logical structure, a layout structure, and a rendering scenario, which is a schedule for document playback.


Vegetation is a crucial part of the water and carbon cycle. Through photosynthesis carbon is assimilated for biomass production, and oxygen is released into the atmosphere. During this process, water is transpired through the stomata, and is redistributed in the plant. Transpired water is refilled by uptake of water from the root zone in the subsurface. Transpiration by vegetation accounts for most of the total evaporation from land on a global scale. In some ecosystems, such as tropical rainforests, transpiration even makes up more than 70% of total evaporation. Periods of low water availability, water stress, leads to irreversible damage to plants, and can eventually lead to plant death. To prevent this, various mechanisms are activated by the vegetation to survive. Transpiration is reduced as a result of vegetation water stress, which can affect the water and carbon cycle on local, regional, and even global scales. Additionally, water stress in crops is one of the major reasons for harvest losses, threatening food security. However, many effects of vegetation water stress on crops and tropical forests remains poorly understood. New satellite observations provide opportunities for better detection and understanding of vegetation water stress. Recent research suggests that radar remote sensing might yield valuable insights into vegetation water content. Radar backscatter is sensitive to vegetation because of direct backscatter from the canopy, and through two-way attenuation of the signal as it travels through the vegetation layer. The degree of interaction of radar waves with the vegetation is mainly a function of the vegetation dielectric constant, which is in turn primarily influenced by vegetation water content. Over the last years, various studies have reported links between anomalies in radar backscatter and vegetation water stress. This has led to the hypothesis that radar backscatter is sensitive to vegetation water stress. Additional field measurements of vegetation water content and dielectric constant, in combination with radar backscatter are necessary to test this hypothesis. This is what inspired this thesis. Based on a combination of field measurements using new sensors, models, and radar backscatter, this thesis focuses on understanding the effects of water stress on plant dynamics, identifying early signatures of vegetation water stress, and exploring the opportunities of early water stress detection using radar remote sensing. This thesis studies the effects of vegetation water stress across scales, from individual leaves to rainforests. A new method is presented that allows measurements of leaf dielectric properties on living plants. First, the method is tested on tomato plants in a controlled environment. By measuring tomato plants with and without water stress, it is demonstrated that there is a significant difference in the leaf dielectric properties of stressed and unstressed tomato plants. Second, this same method is used under field conditions. Using data sets of corn plants with and without water stress, it is demonstrated that water stress changes plant water content, resulting in significant changes of leaf dielectric properties. Using the field data from the stressed corn field, a modeling study was done to investigate the sensitivity of radar backscatter to water stress. Here, it is shown that total and leaf water content can change considerably during the day, leading to observable differences in radar backscatter. To study the effects of water stress in tropical rainforests, accelerometers were placed on trees in the Brazilian Amazon to measure tree sway. Tree sway depends on various tree properties, and this thesis demonstrates that the measured tree acceleration is sensitive to tree mass, intercepted rainfall, and tree-atmosphere interactions. Using five months of acceleration data from 19 trees, an effect of the transition from the wet to the dry season was found. This thesis hypothesizes that this was caused by water related changes in tree mass, or leaf fall in response to increased tree water deficit. Finally, coinciding field data on tree water content and tree water deficit, and radar backscatter, were used to demonstrate the sensitivity of radar backscatter to increased water stress. During the transition from wet to dry season, a strong drop was found in radar backscatter, which is explained by a rapid increase in measured tree water deficit. For years, the hypothesis that radar backscatter is sensitive to vegetation water stress has been discussed. Yet, a lack of observations withheld this hypothesis to be tested. This thesis uses field data of crops, and trees in tropical forests, and modeling approaches to finally demonstrate that vegetation water stress results in significant changes in plant water status, which lead to observable variations in radar backscatter.


Multiple myeloma is the second most common type of hematologic malignancy. It is a B‐cell malignancy that affects the bone marrow and often results in thrombocytopenia as well as renal dysfunction. Treatment options range from oral and intravenous chemotherapy to bone marrow transplantation and supportive care. Carfilzomib was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2012 as a treatment option for patients with refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least two previous therapies and have demonstrated recent disease progression. According to the product labeling, the frequency of tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is less than 1% in patients treated with carfilzomib. To our knowledge, no postmarketing events of TLS have been reported or published. We describe a 55‐year‐old man with relapsed multiple myeloma who developed a case of TLS that occurred after he received his first two doses of carfilzomib therapy on days 1 and 2; he also had chronic kidney disease secondary to his neoplastic disease. Beginning on day 4, his uric acid levels spiked to critical levels, prompting the use of rasburicase, which returned the levels to within normal limits. His phosphorus and creatinine levels increased during days 5 and 6. On day 8, the patient died, likely due to a combination of disease progression and the adverse effects of treatment. Use of the Naranjo adverse drug reaction probability scale indicated a probable relationship (score of 6) between the patient's development of TLS and carfilzomib therapy. The Hill criteria were used as a secondary measure to ensure causality, which also suggested a link between the patient's development of TLS and the administration of carfilzomib. This case report shows that even the most unlikely of adverse events may occur with medications, especially in the case of a new or recently approved medication. Caution must be taken when deciding to treat and when choosing hydration and premedications with regard to biologic and chemotherapeutic medications. In this case, additional hydration may have been considered. Although given the extent of the adverse reaction combined with the patient's underlying renal dysfunction, extra fluid may or may not have proven beneficial. The use of prophylactic rasburicase or allopurinol could have been considered, but these measures are not typically used with multiple myeloma due to the low incidence of TLS. All things considered, this unlikely adverse reaction may occur in certain patients. If other cases such as this occur, it may be advisable to use TLS prophylaxis in the future in certain patient populations, including those with renal dysfunction or worsening disease states.


Structural monitoring of critical bridge structures can greatly benefit from the use of wireless sensor networks (WSNs), however energy harvesting for the operation of the network remains a challenge in this setting. While solar and wind power are possible and credible solutions to energy generation, the need for positioning sensor nodes in shaded and sheltered locations, e.g., under a bridge deck, is also often precluding their adoption in real-world deployments. In some scenarios vibration energy harvesting has been shown as an effective solution, instead.This paper presents a multihop vibration energy-harvesting WSN system for bridge applications. The system relies on an ultra-low power wireless sensor node, driven by a novel vibration based energy-harvesting technology. We use a receiver-initiated routing protocol to enable energy-efficient and reliable connectivity between nodes with different energy charging capabilities. By combining real vibration data with an experimentally validated model of the vibration energy harvester, a hardware model, and the COOJA simulator, we develop a framework to conduct realistic and repeatable experiments to evaluate the system before on-site deployment.Simulation results show that the system is able to maintain energy neutral operation, preserving energy with careful management of sleep and communication times. We also validate the system through a laboratory experiment on real hardware against real vibration data collected from a bridge. Besides providing general guidelines and considerations for the development of vibration energy-harvesting systems for bridge applications, this work highlights the limitations of the energy budget made available by traffic-induced vibrations, which clearly shrink the applicability of vibration energy-harvesting technology for WSNs to low traffic applications.


Solo dining is on the rise. Not only is there a surge of single-person households, changes in lifestyles, and busy schedules, which are attributed to the increase of solo diners, but the act of dining out per se has become one of America's most popular pastimes as much as attending a sporting event or a show. Thus, solo diners are typically taking every opportunity to visit restaurants—from an upscale independent restaurant to a casual fast-food chain—to experience delicious food. Nonetheless, the segment of solo diners has been neglected in the literature and in practice in spite of the emphasis placed on excellent service quality and customer satisfaction as a means to attract people to return to an establishment. In an attempt to fill in the gaps left by previous studies, the current study examines the interrelationship among solo diners' perceived quality of restaurant attributes, satisfaction, and return patronage intentions. A web-based survey was conducted to collect data from solo diners in the United States. Results of the study indicate that perceived quality of the food, service, and physical environment attributes positively affected satisfaction and return patronage intentions. The results also showed that satisfaction had a positive influence on return visits. Finally, the mediating role of satisfaction among the three perceived qualities of food, service, and physical environment attributes and return patronage intentions are found to be effective. The conceptual model of the current study provided new knowledge for understanding the important yet under-researched segment of solo diners in the hospitality industry. Findings of this study also offered insights into managerial decisions regarding food quality improvement, employee training, and optimal deployment of physical environment attributes.


Designing an effective criterion and learning algorithm for find the best structure is a major problem in the control design process. In this paper, the fuzzy optimal control methodology is applied to the design of the feedback loops of an Exothermic Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor system. The objective of design process is to find an optimal structure/gains of the Robust and Optimal Takagi Sugeno Fuzzy Controller (ROFLC). The control signal thus obtained will minimize a performance index, which is a function of the tracking/regulating errors, the quantity of the energy of the control signal applied to the system, and the number of fuzzy rules. The genetic learning is proposed for constructing the ROFLC. The chromosome genes are arranged into two parts, the binary-coded part contains the control genes and the real-coded part contains the genes parameters representing the fuzzy knowledge base. The effectiveness of this chromosome formulation enables the fuzzy sets and rules to be optimally reduced. The performances of the ROFLC are compared to these found by the traditional PD controller with Genetic Optimization (PD_GO). Simulations demonstrate that the proposed ROFLC and PD_GO has successfully met the design specifications.


The purpose of the study was to assess the role of radionuclide imaging of hyperthyroid patients with no suspicion of nodules. (99)Tc(m) radionuclide scans performed on all 190 patients referred over a 2-year period with symptoms and thyroid function tests compatible with thyrotoxicosis were retrospectively reviewed. 73% of patients were referred by a hospital clinician and 27% were referred direct from the general practitioner. Referral letters and, where applicable, the clinical notes were reviewed and patients with suspected thyroid nodules were excluded. The results of (99)Tc(m) thyroid scans of the 190 patients (age range 23-93 years, mean 48 years) were reviewed. 152 (80%) patients had Graves' disease, 10 (5.3%) had Graves' disease with nodules, 6 (3.2%) had Graves' disease with non-functioning nodules, 5 (2.6%) had viral thyroiditis, 5 (2.6%) had autonomously functioning nodules and 12 (6.3%) were normal studies. Therefore, 20% of patients had a diagnosis other than solely Graves' disease. These diagnoses are important with respect to clinical management. In conclusion, routine radionuclide imaging is worthwhile, as a significant proportion of patients with clinical "Graves' disease" in this study would have received incorrect treatment without the result of this scan.


The relationship between the active sites of the bifunctional enzyme chorismate mutase-prephenate dehydratase has been examined. Steady-state kinetic investigations of the reactions with chorismate or prephenate as substrate and studies of the overall conversion of chorismate to phenylpyruvate indicate that there are two distinct active sites. One site is responsible for the mutase activity and the other for the dehydratase activity. Studies of the overall reaction using radioactive chorismate show that prephenate, which is formed from chorismate, dissociates from the mutase site and equilibrates with the bulk medium before combining at the dehydratase site. No evidence was obtained for direct channeling of prephenate from one site to the other, or for any strong interaction between the sites.


New and innovative antibacterial drugs research from plants is a best strategy to overcome the world problem about bacterial diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in-vitro antibacterial activity and the phytochemical profile of various extracts from Hygrophila auriculata (Schumach.) Heine, Nelsonia canescens (Lam) Spreng and Peristrophe bicalyculata (Retz.) Nees; three acanthaceae species widely used in folk medicine of Burkina Faso. The inhibition diameter determination of the eleven bacteria strains and the Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) of the plants extracts and fractions were evaluated using standards methods. All extracts were also evaluated for their phenolic contents. The results showed that all extracts and fractions exhibited good bacteria inhibition and have a wealth of phenolic compounds. Comparing the MIC of extracts and fractions, E. coli (CPI: 105182) strain was best inhibited and N. canescens butanol fraction presented the best activity. As regard phytochemical profile, highest values of total phenolics, total flavonoids, total flavonols and total tannins were obtained with N. canescens fractions. The results could justify the traditional used of these species against infectious diseases. This study shows that these three medicinal plants and especially N. canescens are good candidate for isolate new et innovative antibacterial compounds.


The paper deals with the traditional problem of multiobjective optimal reconfiguration applied to power distribution systems considering the safety issue in the formulation. The applications are devoted to the solution of the posed problem in networks in which coexist energy sources with unearthed neutral point and resonant earthed neutral point. After a brief review of the most recent papers on optimal reconfiguration, the paper outlines the safety problem and provides a solution to the multiobjective problem using the Non dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II aiming at: minimal power losses operation, safety check at distribution substations and load balancing among the HV/MV transformers. Finally test results on a large MV distribution network are reported and discussed and a comparison between the Non dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II and a Fuzzy Evolution Strategy Algorithm is presented.


nomics" made by the CMA's Bureau of Research and Planning. To this journal the honor that has come to our medical association is the more welcome in that it gives us a chance to add a word or two of our own. Those who guide the workings of the California Medical Association have long recognized that the Bureau is a reliable supplier of the factual information needed for initiating and carrying out the programs and the negotiations of a progressive state medical association. Murray Klutch, director of the Division of Socio-Economics and Research, guides staff efforts in support of the Bureau Activities. The staff is a swift and versatile gatherer of intelligence for the support of either advocacy or defense in contested matters; it is equally able in developing information to permit the association to decide what new directions it ought to be taking. In short, the Bureau frequently makes the difference between wondering and knowing, between fumbling and decisive action, between the wrong course and the right one. We are pleased that the solid worth we long have recognized almost unconsciously is now deliberately celebrated for what it is.


A new approach is described for selecting pole and slot numbers for fault-tolerant permanent-magnet machines so that there is inherently negligible coupling between phases (regardless of other design detail). The preferred slot and pole number combinations thereby help to ensure that a fault in one phase does not undesirably affect the remaining unfaulted phases. Other well-known criteria for fault-tolerant operation, including high phase inductance, also have to be met. It is demonstrated how particular slot and pole combinations can be used to eliminate low pole number armature MMF, thereby reducing the vibration and stray loss present during normal operation.


High-speed differential interfaces implementing specific solutions for low-power consumption and low-EMI disturbances are vastly used in mobile platforms. In these devices, the slew rate is suitably controlled, the communication scheme alternates data-bursts followed by power-saving states, the voltage swing and the common-mode level are reduced. To achieve these targets, a key role in voltage-mode output drivers is played by an internal voltage-regulator. The latter exhibits a rich dynamic behavior, with non-negligible effects on the transmitter outputs, that need to be carefully characterized. In this paper, a modeling strategy based on a few key enhancements of state-of-the-art solutions is presented, leading to compact and accurate models. The feasibility and strengths of the proposed approach are verified on a low-power high-speed voltage-mode driver.


*These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: The time-to-tumor recurrence can predict the prognosis of hepatobiliary cancers following curative-intent resection. Therefore, for patients with gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) of stage T1b–T3 who had undergone R0 resection, we investigated the risk factors for early recurrence of GBC and their prognosis. Patients and Methods: A total of 260 patients with GBC with T1b–T3 disease and an R0 margin were identified. Their clinicopathologic characteristics, perioperative details and prognostic data were reviewed. Survival analyses were carried out using the Kaplan–Meier method. Logistic regression models were used to identify the risk factors for early recurrence. Results: The optimal cutoff for early recurrence was 29 months. Early recurrence tended to result in relapse far from the primary tumor, and such patients tended to have significantly worse overall survival. Multivariate analysis revealed that T3 disease, N1/N2 stage, poor differentiation of tumor, and lymphovascular invasion (LI) were associated with a greater risk of early recurrence. Patients diagnosed as having GBC incidentally and who had the risk factors of early recurrence were more likely to benefit from re-resection 2–4 weeks after a cholecystectomy. Conclusion: T3 stage, N1–N2 stage, poor differentiation, and LI were independent risk factors associated with early recurrence for patients with GBC with stage T1b–T3 disease after R0 resection.


What problem was addressed? There is need to define use of diagnostic and operative hysteroscopy before ICSI in evaluating, treating abnormalities of uterine cavity, and to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of hysteroscopy in diagnosis of endometritis, in infertile women attending National infertility center, Misurata Libya. Use of hysteroscopy before ICSI helps in tackling of uterine factors, and can improve the outcomes, reduce the costs, and alleviate anxiety due to failure of ICSI. What was tried? Interventional prospective study of 208 infertile cases candidate for ICSI. Hysteroscopy used to diagnose and treat abnormalities detected before ICSI. Evaluation of sensitivity, specificity, calculated to assess diagnostic hysteroscopy for detecting endometritis in infertile female. What lessons were learned? Abnormal uterine findings were detected in 89.2% of cases, treated before starting ICSI. Hysteroscopy showed 90.2% sensitivity and 90% specificity in evaluation of endometritis. After use of diagnostic hysteroscopy pregnancy occurred spontaneously in 12.9% of cases and in 26.9% after ICSI. Between the two groups there was significant difference statistically only in the duration of infertility and presence of adhesions. Use of hysteroscopy before ICSI has high sensitivity and specificity in detecting endometritis. Hysteroscopic use can by itself improve the chances of spontaneous pregnancy..


In addition to being an iron transporter, the transferrin receptor (TfR) has been shown to play a role in T cell activation. Stimulation of the TfR with specific Abs results in T cell proliferation, IL-2 secretion, and protein kinase C activation. In this paper we have analyzed early events caused by activation of the TfR. We have found several protein substrates to be tyrosine phosphorylated upon TfR stimulation in the human Jurkat T cell line. Interestingly, the TfR induced tyrosine phosphorylation in cell lines expressing TCR but not in TCR-negative mutants. Restoration of the TCR surface expression in these mutants reestablished the ability of the TfR to induce tyrosine phosphorylation. This result suggests that activation through the TfR is functionally dependent upon the expression of the TCR. Moreover, the functional relationship of the TfR with the TCR complex is also supported by data showing that TfR stimulation resulted in the tyrosine phosphorylation of the TCR zeta-chain; conversely, stimulation of the TCR complex resulted in an increased tyrosine phosphorylation of the TfR. More importantly, the TfR is shown to associate physically with the TCR zeta-chain as well as with the zeta-binding ZAP70 tyrosine kinase. The TfR/zeta complex is expressed on the cell surface independent of the expression of the other subunits of the TCR complex. We suggest that the TfR/zeta complex is responsible for transducing the TfR-induced signals, and that it could serve to amplify signals delivered by Ag binding to the TCR.


The potential proliferative activity, expressed as labelling index, has been studied in 24 cases of bladder transitional cell carcinomas. The data showed a wide range of values, varying between 0.4 and 36%. The average proliferative activity was 3.2%. An analysis of the connection between the labelling index and the histological grading has also brought out the existence of a gradient of proliferative activity; average values of 1.6-2.53% and 3.49%, respectively, were found for grades I-II and grade III.


One of the most critical problems throughout the world is air pollution, causing the death of millions of individuals annually, and it is reported that 90% of the global population breathes polluted air. Among the components of air pollution, the most harmful ones are the heavy metals, which can remain non-degraded in nature for a long time, bio-accumulate in living organisms, and be toxic or carcinogenic at low concentrations. Hence, monitoring and reducing heavy metal pollution in the air are high-priority research topics. Heavy metals can accumulate within various organs of plants grown in an environment with an increased level of heavy metal pollution. The metal analyses on these organs can provide insight into the heavy metal pollution in the air. In the present study, the concentrations of aluminum (Al), one of the most important heavy metals, were determined in the different organs of five plant species grown in regions with different traffic densities. Remarkable changes were observed in the Al concentrations in all the organs of species, which were examined here by organ and traffic density. The highest values were obtained from the organs of plants grown in no-traffic regions.


The increasing participation of women in competitive athletics raises once again the question of what influence, if any, menstruation has on their performance. Does the menstrual flow, and do the secondary symptoms associated with it, constitute a real handicap, and if so should competitive sport be avoided at this time ? The problem has always been a difficult one, for the performers naturally tend to minimize any adverse symptoms, knowing that absence from the sport owing to a constantly recurring disability would diminish their chances of success in a highly competitive field. They are also supported in this by the tradition that exercise is "a good thing" for dysmenorrhoea and by the belief inculcated by their (male) trainers that anyway the whole thing is "psychological " and best ignored. G. K. Doring1 has recently made an attempt to elucidate the problem by assessing the " muscle-power co-ordination quotient " of athletic effort in the different phases of the menstrual cycle. The relevant psychological factors associated with menstruation were investigated at the same time by using the O'Connor psycho-motor co-ordination scale and the euphoric index described by R. A. McCance and colleagues.2 The results show, as might be expected, a diminution in athletic performance during the menstrual flow, but an even more notable reduction in the premenstruum. This last is ascribed to the psychological depression sometimes found in this phase, but concurrent retention of water must be a factor of at least equal importance here. The optimum time of the cycle is apparently the immediate post-menstrual phase, when the performance of individual muscles and neuromuscular co-ordination are at their maximum efficiency. When menstruation coincides with the date of a competition Doring recommends its postponement by giving norethisterone premenstrually. While this is usually effective it is doubtful if the benefits of the delay are not offset by the undesirable side-effects so often produced by this medication. However, where dysmenorrhoea or menorrhagia are severe, it is certainly worth while trying it. Pregnancy is generally regarded as a complete contraindication to strenuous physical effort, and it is routine practice to prohibit competitive sport as soon as it is diagnosed. It is, however, rare to encounter abortion produced in this way, and races have been won before no" without any ill effect on an unsuspected pregnancy. Thc well-implanted ovum is extremely difficult to dislodge in this way, and it is common knowledge that normal pregnancy is generally unaffected by exercise. It is best however, not to take unnecessary risks, for the exact degree of placental fixation is always problematical, and the old advice to limit physical activity to a reasonable extent is still applicable to all women in early pregnancy.


E-cadherin is the major adhesion protein associated with epithelial cells and loss of its expression is diagnostic of the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). Findings from our laboratory, suggest that EMT, detected as the loss of E-cadherin expression, may regulate tumor cell radiosensitivity, i.e. cells that have undergone EMT are relatively radioresistant compared to the lines that have retained the epithelial phenotype, which typically are relatively radiosensitive. To definitively test this hypothesis we compared expression levels of E-cadherin and other EMT related markers in ER-a negative (MDA-MB-231 and Hs578t) and ER-a positive (MCF-7) human breast cancer cells. We observed that many ER-a negative lines, were also E-cadherin negative, and the ER-a positive lines were positive for E-cadherin expression. Clonogenic cell survival assays showed that the cell lines expressing estrogen receptor (MCF-7) and had high expression of E-cadherin, were also more sensitive to increasing doses of radiation. Treatment of MCF-7 cells with 100nM siRNA to E-cadherin for 72 hrs made the cells more resistant to radiation with the surviving fraction changing from 42.3% in control cells to 56.4% in siRNA treated cells. In contrast, ER negative cells (MDA-MB-231 and Hs578t) had no detectable expression of E-cadherin and were more radioresistant. We transfected MDA-MB-231 and Hs578t cells with a CDH1 -expression vector and isolated stable clones, which were then tested for radiosensitivity. Cells transfected with the backbone vector (pCMV) served as controls. Restoring E-cadherin expression radiosensitized both, MDA-MB-231 and Hs578t cells, compared to the control vector cell line, suggesting that restoration of E-cadherin expression in mesenchymal-like cells produces a radiosensitizing effect. These observations suggest that ER-a signaling might regulate E-cadherin and implied that this regulation might influence EMT and radioresistance. Overall, our results suggest that the EMT status of breast cancer cells governs their response to radiation. A detailed investigation of the mechanism is ongoing. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-02-08.


Hurricanes threaten the petroleum industry in the United States and are expected to be influenced by climate change. This study presents an integrated framework for hurricane risk assessment of petroleum infrastructure under changing climatic conditions, calculating risk in terms of monetary loss. Variants of two synthetic probabilistic storms and one historical storm (Hurricane Ike) are simulated using the SWAN+ADCIRC model, representing a range of potential scenarios of impacts of a changing climate on hurricane forward speed and sea-level rise given uncertainties in climate projections. Model outputs inform an infrastructure impact and cascading economic loss analysis that incorporates various sources of uncertainty to estimate five types of losses sustained by petroleum facilities in surge events: land value loss, process-unit damage loss, cost of spill clean-up and repair of aboveground storage tanks, productivity loss, and civil fines. The proposed risk assessment framework is applied as a case study to seven refineries along the Houston Ship Channel (HSC), a densely-industrialized corridor in Texas. The results reveal that either an increase in mean sea level or a decrease in storm forward speed increases the maximum water elevations in the HSC for storms that produce maximum wind setup in Galveston Bay (FEMA 33 and FEMA 36), resulting in larger economic loss estimates. The role of refinery features such as storage capacity and average elevation of the refinery and its critical equipment in the refinery response to hurricane hazards is studied, and the probability distribution of refinery total loss and the loss risk profile in different hurricane scenarios are discussed. Loss estimates are presented, demonstrating the effects of hurricane forward speed and sea level on the losses for the refineries as well as the HSC. Such a framework can enable hurricane risk assessment and loss estimation for petroleum infrastructure to inform future policies and risk mitigation strategies. Potential policy implications for a region like the HSC are highlighted herein as an illustration.


The COVID-19 pandemic altered human behavior around the world. To maintain mental and physical health during periods of lockdown and quarantine, people often engaged in outdoor, physically distanced activities such as visits to parks and greenspace. However, research tracking outdoor recreation patterns during the pandemic has yielded inconsistent results, and few studies have explored the impacts of COVID-19 on park use across diverse neighborhoods. We used a mixed methods approach to examine changes in park use patterns in cities across North Carolina, USA, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an emphasis on impacts in socially vulnerable communities (based on racial/ethnic composition and socioeconomic status). First, we surveyed a demographically representative sample of 611 urban residents during August 2020 to assess their use of outdoor park spaces before and during the pandemic. Second, we used cell phone location (i.e., geo-tracking) data to document changes in park visits within 605 socioeconomically diverse urban census tracts before (July 2019) and during (July 2020) the pandemic. Data from both methods revealed urban park use declined during the pandemic; 56% of survey respondents said they stopped or reduced park use, and geo-tracked park visits dropped by 15%. Park users also became more homogenous, with visits increasing the most for past park visitors and declining the most in socially vulnerable communities and among individuals who were BIPOC or lower-income. Our results raise concerns about urban park use during the COVID-19 pandemic and suggest pre-existing health disparities in socially vulnerable communities might be exacerbated by inequitable access and utilization of parks and greenspace.


The fouling behavior of UF membranes by secondary effluent of municipal wastewater was investigated using both original PVDF membranes and PVA, PVP and PMMA modified PVDF membranes. The results showed that the structure parameters of UF membranes were optimized by blending; PVP and PVA could effectively improve the hydrophilicity and permeate flux of the membranes. The hydrophilicity and structure properties of UF membrane had stronger effect on the anti-fouling properties. Pore plugging resistance was the main reason for the unrecoverable fouling. For UF membranes with stronger hydrophilicity, there was some flux reduction in the initial filtration, which was attributed to the formation of concentration polarization layer. However, this layer can be easily removed and the irreversible fouling index (r(ir)) was 0, thus guaranteeing the membrane a better anti-fouling property. The dense membrane surface could prevent low-molecular-weight pollutants from entering the internal pores of the membrane. For UF membrane with fully developed macropores in the cross-section and loose spongy layer structure, pollutants deposition to membrane internal pores, which would cause membrane pore plugging, could be effectively inhibited. In contrast, for membranes with porous surface and not fully developed macropores in the cross-section, pore plugging was more prone to occur. As a result, flux declined seriously and was difficult to be recovered by physical cleaning, which gave rise to the irreversible fouling.


Bypass grafts to the dorsalis pedis artery provide excellent revascularization to ischemic foot. It is a durable and effective procedure for limb salvage. Axillo femoral-popliteal procedure offers a reasonable alternative in high-risk patients. We are reporting 2 cases of such procedures from Apollo hospitals, Dhaka. Right Popletial to Dorsalis pedis artery anastomosis was done in a 32 years old man. Interposition venous graft was done from the right popliteal artery to dorsalis pedis artery. Axillo-Bi Femoral-Bi Poplileal Bypass Grafting: was done in a 59 years old man. Knitted fabric strength graft was used. Both the patients were doing well in postoperative period. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pulse.v5i2.20270 Pulse Vol.5 July 2011 p.65-71


Document authors cannot routinely afford the overhead imposed by current semantic annotation tools. Some characteristics of their task can be exploited to provide them with a tool that will reduce the effort required to create both the document content and their accompanying semantic annotations. SemanticWord is such a semantic annotation tool. SemanticWord is an environment based in MS Word that integrates content and markup authoring, providing customizable tools that allow simultaneous generation of content and semantic annotations, an annotation scheme that allows annotations to be reused when content is reused, a customizable library of templates containing partially annotated text, and an automatic information extraction system with the tools for refining and augmenting its output.


BACKGROUND
The prognostic implications of clinically silent coronary artery fistula (CAF) and its intermediate/long-term outcomes after transcatheter closure have not been well studied, especially in children.

AIMS
This study intended to determine the prognostic implications of asymptomatic CAF and to evaluate the intermediate follow-up outcomes following transcatheter occlusion with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in children.

METHODS
Eighteen children with congenital CAF were divided into two groups: the intervention group (n = 14; maximal coronary artery diameter [MCD] ≥5 mm and/or fistulous orifice diameter [FOD] >2 mm), and the non-intervention group (n = 4; MCD <5 mm and FOD ≤2 mm). Patients in the intervention group received percutaneous occlusion with PDA occluder. Clinical outcomes and follow-up data were analyzed and compared between different groups.

RESULTS
Patients with clinically silent CAF were followed for 8-130 months. At the mean follow-up of 36 months, patients in the non-intervention group did not show any changes in the measured parameters over time. In contrast, patients in the intervention group showed significant increase of MCD (8.31 ± 2.16 mm to 12.75 ± 3.01 mm; P=.001) and FOD (3.75 ± 3.42 mm to 4.82 ± 1.81 mm; P=.03). In addition, 3 cases of aneurysm formation and 2 cases of mild heart failure were detected before the patients received the attempted transcatheter closure. A total of 14 patients underwent cardiac catheterization with an attempt to close the CAF. Placement of occlusion devices succeeded in 10 patients (71.5%) and failed in 4 patients (28.5%). Ten children with successful transcatheter closure were followed 3-62 months (median, 36 months). At the medial time of 36 months, all patients with closure were in New York Heart Association functional class I and asymptomatic. The MCD decreased from 9.66 ± 3.86 mm to 7.82 ± 3.83 mm (P=.36).

CONCLUSION
All asymptomatic CAFs in children with MCD ≥5 mm and/or FOD >2 mm should be closed as early as possible to prevent later complications. Transcatheter closure of CAF using the PDA occluder is an effective and safe approach in appropriately selected children and showed favorable intermediate-term follow-up outcomes.


ATTORNEY'S LIEN-LABLTY OF THE OBLIGORS ON AN APPEAL BOND FOR THE CHARGING LIEN OF AN ATTORNEY-The plaintiff, acting as attorney for A, procured a judgment against A's husband, B. Pending the appeal, B, in collusion with A, satisfied the judgment upon which the plaintiff had a lien for his services. The satisfaction was set aside by judicial action. A and B are now insolvent, and this is an action against the sureties on the appeal bond to recover the amount of the lien. Held: Plaintiff can recover. Rabenstein 2). Morehouse, -128 Misc. 385, 219 N. Y. Supp. 56o (1926). By common law, and in most states now by statute, an attorney has a charging lien for his fee and costs upon the judgment which he recovers for his client This lien, in most jurisdictions, amounts merely to a right to the equitable interference of the court to have the judgment held as security "for his costs, although in at least one state,' it has the same status as an equitable assignment of the judgment. Under the latter view of the charging lien, the attorney could recover in some states on the theory that the bond is security for the judgment, and the security passes to the assignee.' Other states hold the contract of surety to be entirely independent of the judgment and hence the assignee could not recover except upon a theory of beneficiary to the surety contract. Under the former view of the status of a charging lien (and this seems to be the view taken in the principal case) the attorney should not be able to recover on any theory of contracts. He is not a party to the contract, and he was not intended by the parties to have any enforceable rights under the contract. His position is that of an incidental beneficiary.' Under a liberal construction of the statute which requires the filing of appeal bonds,' the bond may be said to redound by law to the benefit of anyone interested in the situation. This construction has been accorded to other official bonds, such as construction bonds. It is submitted that the conclusion reached in the principal case is desirable and may be logically supported, not on a theory of contracts, but by such justifiable construction of these statutes.


Autonomous mobility in rough terrain is becoming increasingly important for planetary exploration rovers. Increased knowledge of local terrain properties is critical to ensure a rover's safety, especially when driving on slopes or rough surfaces. This thesis presents two methods for using on-board sensors to identify local terrain conditions. The first method visually measures sinkage of a rover wheel into deformable terrain, based on a single color or grayscale image from a camera with a view of the wheelterrain interface. Grayscale intensity is computed along the rim of the wheel, and the wheel-terrain interface is identified as the location with maximum change in intensity. The algorithm has been shown experimentally to give accurate results in identifying the terrain characteristics under a wide range of conditions. The second method classifies terrain based on vibrations induced in the rover structure by rover-terrain interaction during driving. Vibrations are measured using an accelerometer on the rover structure. The method uses a supervised learning approach to train a classifier to recognize terrain based on representative vibration signals during an off-line learning phase. Real-time terrain classification uses linear discriminant analysis in the frequency domain to identify gross terrain classes such as sand, gravel, or clay. The algorithm is experimentally validated on a laboratory testbed and on a rover in outdoor conditions. Results demonstrate the robustness of the algorithm on both systems. Thesis Supervisor: Steven Dubowsky Title: Professor of Mechanical Engineering


In man, the age at which obstructive changes in the prostate occur is often characterized by degenerative lesions in other parts of the body. In no organ or group of organs are these lesions of more importance than in the cardiovascular system. The heart may be so severely damaged that a very slight additional load will induce complete heart failure, or it may be only partially efficient, in which case the enfeebled circulation will affect unfavorably the function of other organs, such as the brain and the kidneys. The diminished activity of these organs will react again on the heart, thus establishing a vicious circle which ends in death. Prostatic obstruction in itself may augment the damage already present in the cardiovascular system. Pain, anxiety and loss of sleep impose on the heart a very real burden. Unquestionably the toxemia attendant on renal insufficiency has a deleterious effect on the


Modification of the European Cooperative Group (EEC) criteria for Sjögren's Syndrome (SS) should lead to less confusion in diagnosis and therapeutic trials. The proposed EEC modification will require either a positive minor salivary gland biopsy or a positive autoantibody against Sjögren's-associated A (Ro) or B (La) antigen. This modification will decrease the proportion of women fulfilling EEC criteria from 3-5% to about 0.5%, which is similar to San Diego and San Francisco criteria. Genetic studies have shown increased frequency of alleles for peptide transporter genes TAP1 (0101) and TAP2 (0101) genes as well as tumor necrosis factor microsatellite a2 alleles. Although these markers confer markedly increased risk, they are found in only a small proportion of patients. An increased frequency of drug (antibiotic) allergy and other allergic manifestations appears present in patients with SS and may be linked to HLA-DR3. Hepatitis C as a cause of sicca symptoms, positive anti-nuclear autoantibodies, and mixed cryoglobulinemia is increasingly reported in different parts of the world. Antibodies against muscarinic M3 receptor and expression of costimulatory molecules (CD80 and CD86) by ductal epithelial cells may play a role in pathogenesis. Treatment with pilocarpine is effective in double-blind trials and low dose oral alpha interferon looks promising in initial open studies. In pregnant patients who exhibit evidence of neonatal heart block, treatment with dexamethasone is preferred over prednisone, since the placenta is unable to metabolically activate the latter compound.


Answers criticism of Lewis for setting up "caricatures" of villains in That Hideous Strength and then killing them hideously at the Belbury banquet. Notes "the contrast of festival and horror is [...] a very old element in literature and human culture" and the relationship of humans to animals is appropriate to Romance as Frye defines it. Includes a map of Edgestow by Patterson.


alpha-Linolenic acid (ALA; 18 : 3n-3) and stearidonic acid (SDA; 18 : 4n-3) are on the biosynthetic pathway of EPA (20 : 5n-3) and DHA (22 : 6n-3). The n-3 fatty acid in rapeseed oil is ALA while Echium oil contains both ALA and SDA. To determine the comparative efficacy of ALA- and SDA-rich oils in enriching broiler meat with n-3 PUFA, we offered diets supplemented with rapeseed oil (rapeseed group) or Echium oil (Echium group) for 35 d to two groups of chicks (age 21 d). There were no differences in carcass weight (2.20 (sem 0.06) v. 2.23 (sem 0.05) kg), boned, skinless thigh muscle (494 (sem 20.5) v. 507 (sem 16.7) g), boned, skinless breast muscle (553 (sem 13.4) v. 546 (sem 11.6) g) or organ weights (heart, liver and gizzard) between the two groups. The total intramuscular fat (IMF) percentage of thigh (8.0 (sem 0.64) v. 8.1 (sem 0.62) %) and breast muscles (2.3 (sem 0.24) v. 2.0 (sem 0.19) %) were also similar between the groups. In contrast, the concentrations of most of the individual n-3 fatty acids (ALA, SDA, EPA and docosapentaenoic acid) were all higher in the Echium than the rapeseed group (P < 0.05). However, differences in DHA concentrations were significant in breast but not thigh muscle IMF. The total n-3 yields/100 g serve thigh muscle were 265 and 676 mg for the rapeseed and Echium groups, respectively (P < 0.0001). The corresponding values for equivalent breast muscles were 70 and 137 mg, respectively (P < 0.01). We conclude that Echium oil is a better lipid supplement than rapeseed oil in changing the concentration and yield of n-3 fatty acids, except DHA, in broiler meat.


Healthcare AI holds the potential to increase patient safety, augment efficiency and improve patient outcomes, yet research is often limited by data access, cohort curation, and tooling for analysis. Collection and translation of electronic health record data, live data, and real-time high resolution device data can be challenging and time-consuming. The development of real-world AI tools requires overcoming challenges in data acquisition, scarce hospital resources and high needs for data governance. These bottlenecks may result in resource-heavy needs and long delays in research and development of AI systems. We present a system and methodology to accelerate data acquisition, dataset development and analysis, and AI model development. We created an interactive platform that relies on a scalable microservice backend. This system can ingest 15,000 patient records per hour, where each record represents thousands of multimodal measurements, text notes, and high resolution data. Collectively, these records can approach a terabyte of data. The system can further perform cohort generation and preliminary dataset analysis in 2-5 minutes. As a result, multiple users can collaborate simultaneously to iterate on datasets and models in real time. We anticipate that this approach will drive real-world AI model development, and, in the long run, meaningfully improve healthcare delivery.


Recently Uemura and co-workers described the structure of aburatubolactam A (1, Figure 1), a macrolactam isolated from the culture broth of a Streptomyces sp. bacterium, SCRC-A20, that was separated from a marine mollusk collected near Aburatubo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.[1a] Aburatubolactam A is a member of a growing class of tetramic acid-containing macrolactams including cylindramide A,[1b] geodin A,[1c] xanthobaccin A,[1d] ikarugamycin,[1e] discodermide,[1f] and the alteramides.[1g] These mixed polyketide-amino acid metabolites have been isolated from a number of sources including sponges, marine bacteria and terrestrial bacteria,[2] and display a diverse range of biological activities including cytotoxicity, anti-microbial activity, and inhibition of superoxide generation. In this Communication we describe a synthesis of aburatubolactam A.

Figure 1

Structure of Aburatubolactam A (1) and synthesis strategy.

Our strategy for the synthesis of aburatubolactam A is based on the coupling of two domains: a subunit containing the bicyclo[3.3.0]octane (2), and a 3-hydroxyornithine-derived subunit (3, Figure 1). The bicyclo[3.3.0]octane ring system was ultimately envisioned to arise from a ring-opening—ring-closing metathesis of functionalized bicyclo[2.2.1]heptene 4. [3,4]

The synthesis commenced with a Diels-Alder reaction of commercially available ketone 6 with cyclopentadiene in the presence of 20 mol % of MacMillan's catalyst 8 to give ketone 7 in 65% yield (endo:exo >98:2, 93% ee, Scheme 1).[5] Conversion to the enone 4 was readily achieved in 80% yield by Saegusa oxidation of the trimethylsilyl enol ether derived from 7.[6] When enone 4 was subjected to 2.5 mol% of Grubbs' catalyst 9 under an ethylene atmosphere, rapid and smooth reorganization to the desired bicyclo[3.3.0]octene 5 occurred in 90% yield.[7]

Scheme 1

Synthesis of the bicyclo[3.3.0]octene. a) 20 mol% 8, H2O, 65%; b) LiHMDS, TMSCl, THF then Pd(OAc)2, MeCN, 80%; c) 2.5% 9, CH2=CH2 (1 atm), CH2Cl2, 90%. LiHMDS=lithiumhexamethyl disilazide, TMS=trimethylsilyl.

Further elaboration of 5 was accomplished by reduction of both alkenes (Pd/C, H2) to give fused bicyclic ketone 10 in 94% yield (Scheme 2). Introduction of the C6 and C13 side chains was achieved by a sequence beginning with enolate acylation with Mander's reagent,[8] followed by reduction of the ketone with NaBH4. Elimination of the resultant alcohol by mesylation and treatment with sodium hydride in MeOH-THF (5:1) provided 11 in 64% overall yield from 10. The C13 side chain was introduced by employing Majetich's fluoride-mediated Sakurai allylation9 in DMF-DMPU to give 12 in 78% yield as a 4:1 mixture of inseparable C6 diastereomers favoring the undesired stereochemistry (viz 12a). This ratio could be improved to 2:1 in favor of the desired stereochemistry (viz 12b) by protonation of the silylketene acetal derived from 12a with HCl. Subsequent iodolactonization facilitated separation of the diastereoisomers, and gave 13 in 58% yield for the two steps, along with recovered 12a. This sequence also provided a mechanism for recycling material. Treatment of iodolactone 13 with Zn dust in AcOH/EtOH, followed by reduction of the acid with LAH provided alcohol 14 in 86% yield (2 steps).

Scheme 2

Elaboration of the bicyclo[3.3.0]octene. a) 10% Pd/C, EtOAc, H2 (balloon), 94%; b) 1. LDA, NCCO2Me, THF-DMPU then NaBH4, MeOH, 74% (2 steps); 2. MsCl, DMAP, Et3N, CH2Cl2 then NaH, THF-MeOH, 87% (2 steps); c) allyltrimethylsilane, TBAF, THF-DMPU, 78%, ...

Advancement of alcohol 14 to 2 involved cross metathesis of butene-1,4-diol derivative 16 catalyzed by 15 to give 13 in 95% yield (Scheme 3). Oxidation with Dess-Martin periodinane, followed by olefination with (iodomethylene)triphenylphosphorane under Stork-Zhao[10] conditions provided vinyl iodide 19 in 82% yield. Conversion of the iodide to the stannane by treatment with tert-BuLi in the presence of tributyltin chloride also resulted in removal of the pivalate to give alcohol 20 in 85% yield. Treatment of this alcohol with Dess-Martin periodinane and subsequent Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction yielded stannyl dioxenone 2 in 60% overall yield (2 steps).

Scheme 3

Completion of the carbocyclic domain 2. a) 16, 10% 15, CH2Cl2, 95%; b) 1. Dess-Martin periodinane, CH2Cl2; 2. [Ph3P+ CH2I]I-, NaHMDS, THF, 82% (2 steps); c) t-BuLi, Bu3SnCl (internal quench), THF, 85%; d) 1. Dess-Martin periodinane, CH2Cl2; 2. 17, KHMDS, ...

The synthesis of the β-hydroxyornithine subunit 3 began with Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation of α,β-unsaturated ester 21 to give diol 22 in 90% yield and >98% ee (Scheme 4). Introduction of the nitrogen was achieved by cyclic sulfite formation and opening with sodium azide. Subsequent silylation provided ether 23 in 80% yield over the three steps. Reduction of the azide and nosylation[11] led to 24 in 94% yield, and was followed by introduction of the methyl group by Mitsunobu reaction to give 25, and removal of the nosyl group with thiophenoxide provided amine 3 (82% from 24).

Scheme 4

Synthesis of the β-hydroxyornithine subunit. a) AD mix α, 90%; b) 1. SOCl2, Et3N; 2. NaN3, DMF, 55°C; 3. TBSOTf, 2-6-lutidine, CH2Cl2, 80% (3 steps); c) 1. Pd/C, H2, EtOAc; 2. NsCl, i-Pr2NEt, CH2Cl2, 94% (2 steps); d) MeOH, Ph ...

After exploring a number of unsuccessful end game strategies that paralleled those employed for cylindramide, the synthesis was completed as shown in Scheme 5.[12] Coupling of the two halves of the molecule was achieved by heating dioxenone 2 with amine 3 in toluene under reflux for 6 hours (Scheme 5). Subjection of the sensitive β-ketoamide product to Stille coupling with tert-butyl-β-iodoacrylate, followed by Lacey-Dieckmann cyclization, led to tetramic acid 26 in 50% yield (over three steps from 2). Macrocyclization was achieved by simultaneous removal of the Boc carbamate and tert-butyl ester with TFA and treatment of the resulting compound with DEPC[ and Et3N in DMF for 12 hours. Removal of the TBS group with HF provided aburatubolactam A in 46% yield for the 3 steps. Data for an analytical sample of synthetic aburatubolactam A obtained by semi-preparative HPLC matched that obtained for an authentic sample provided by Professor Daisuke Uemura.

Scheme 5

Completion of the synthesis. a) 1. PhMe, 110 °C; 2. tert-butyl-β-iodoacrylate, Pd2(dba)3, Ph3As, NMP; 3. NaOMe, MeOH, 50% (3 steps); b) 1. TFA, CH2Cl2; 2. DEPC, Et3N, DMF, rt; 3) HF, MeCN, 46% (3 steps). NMP=N-methylpyrrolidinone, TFA=trifluoroacetic ...

In conclusion, we have described a 23 step route that leads to aburatubolactam A and that further highlights the utility of tandem metathesis reactions in a target oriented setting.


As at 20 May 2011, the Immigration Department was detaining 6,729 individuals, mostly asylum seekers who have arrived by boat. Two-thirds of them have already spent more than six months in detention. Some 1,645 detainees are held on Christmas Island, in facilities assessed by the Commonwealth ombudsman to be "not sustainable" and by the Australian Human Rights Commission as "not an appropriate place in which to hold people in immigration detention". The ombudsman recommends that unaccompanied minors or families with children should be processed on the Australian mainland. The Commission recommended stopping the use of Christmas Island altogether. The Department reiterated its commitment to initial processing on Christmas Island. In this Journal in 2004, two papers highlighted the dire psychological circumstances of children and families in prolonged immigration detention. This editorial examines the damage and risk of damage for the current population of immigration detainees. Our focus is children, but no-one should ignore the plight of any person in prolonged incarceration. About 60% of asylum seekers, most of them male, are held in immigration detention centres on Christmas Island, in remote mainland areas and in Darwin, Sydney and Melbourne. The Christmas Island detention centre is grossly over-crowded, with a standard operating capacity of 400, a surge capacity of 800. In May 2011 it held 1,612 people. The Human Rights Commission found poor and unhygienic amenities in the detention centre. ("They were required to drink water out of the bathroom taps, which had a sign above them saying, 'Do not drink this water'.") The Commission raised concerns about excessive security measures in detention centres in both 2009 and 2010, noting that the "use of maximum security environment to detain virtually all single adult males is ... inconsistent with the Government's policy".


Special challenges for the elderly in the health sector such as the emergence of degenerative problems, non-communicable diseases, and mental health problems as well as economic problems in the form of reduced work productivity, limited employment opportunities, and poverty are the biggest threats to the welfare of the elderly. Most of the elderly in the Mojotengah, Menganti, Gresik areas only do their daily activities at home. Many elderly people experience health problems but do not seek treatment due to distance and financial constraints. Therefore it can be said that the area has the potential to develop the potential of the elderly. The purpose of this activity is to form elderly cadres and conduct training on health checks and pioneering a hydroponic business as a means to improve the standard of living of the elderly
The implementation method is carried out by forming elderly cadres aged over 55 years. 30 residents were selected to become elderly cadres who then carried out 2 trainings consisting of training on inspection and use of medical devices as well as hydroponic training. Activities are carried out once a month.
The results of the implementation of the empowerment of the elderly in the Mojotengah area replace Gresik, namely that cadres have been formed. Cadres are not only at the RW level but also representatives of each RT. After training on the use of medical devices in collaboration with the puskesmas, the elderly cadres who had been trained were able to apply these activities. Besides that, after the hydroponic training, most of the plants managed to grow quite well, the plants produced can be consumed, only the quality of the plants produced is still not optimal due to differences in temperature and air quality, so that in the future it is hoped that further programs can be carried out related to the problem of hydroponic planting and marketing.


In the WindowsXP operating system, the method of data exchange and subroutine transfer between Visual Basic and Fortran are discussed. By transferring Fortran's dynamic-link library in Visual basic, the function of real time inspecting the computational process and the purpose for calculation visualization is realized. The engineering example about the application of the mixed-language programs to the visual flow numerical simulation is also given.


Although azithromycin (1 g orally in a single dose) is not recommended for treating gonorrhea, it is still used in some parts of the world, and it is widely used either to treat Chlamydia trachomatis infections or, in combination with expanded-spectrum cephalosporins, to treat simultaneous infections with both chlamydia and gonococci (7). A higher dose of 2 g of new formulations of azithromycin with a lower incidence of gastrointestinal intolerance may be more effective (9), but recent descriptions of gonococcal strains showing azithromycin resistance or high-level azithromycin resistance (AzHLR; MIC of azithromycin, >256 mg/liter) would make that treatment untenable if strains of this type were to emerge elsewhere and spread (1, 2, 6).

Decreased susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to azithromycin is due mainly to the overproduction of an mtrCDE-encoded efflux pump induced by mtrR mutations (10) but also to the presence of the mef gene, whose code for an efflux pump has been associated with resistance of gonococci to macrolides (3).

Recently, a gonococcal strain isolated in Argentina for which the MIC of azithromycin was >2,048 mg/liter was described. Neither mutations in the promoter region of the mtrR gene explaining the AzHLR nor the presence of the mef gene was observed in this strain (2).

Mutations in the peptidyltransferase loop in domain V of 23S rRNA alleles have also been associated with macrolide resistance in N. gonorrhoeae (5), and now the Argentinian strain with AzHLR has been analyzed for the presence of these mutations within domain V. A two-step PCR method was followed (5) to analyze three gonococcal strains isolated in Argentina showing different levels of azithromycin susceptibility: the strain with AzHLR (azithromycin MIC, >2,048 mg/liter) mentioned above (strain 1782), one isolate (strain 2498) for which the azithromycin MIC was 8 mg/liter (indicating resistance), and one susceptible gonococcal strain (3783; azithromycin MIC, 0.06 mg/liter). The sequences obtained in this study were compared with those (Gene Bank accession numbers {"type":"entrez-nucleotide-range","attrs":{"text":"AF450074 to AF450081","start_term":"AF450074","end_term":"AF450081","start_term_id":"22901255","end_term_id":"22901262"}}AF450074 to AF450081) corresponding to azithromycin-resistant gonococcal strains and associated with mutations at this level (5).

The susceptible Argentinian strain did not show mutations in the sequenced fragment from any of the four copies of the 23S rRNA rrl gene. In strain 2498, for which the MIC was 8 mg/liter, all four alleles were found to contain C2599T, which has been associated with this level of resistance (5). The strain showing AzHLR did not have this particular mutation but presented an A2143G mutation (N. gonorrhoeae numbering) in all four alleles. This mutation, which corresponds to A2059G in Escherichia coli, has not been reported to occur in gonococci, but it has been associated with macrolide resistance in Helicobacter pylori, several Mycobacterium species, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Propionibacterium species and more recently in Treponema pallidum (4, 8). Adenosine 2058 or neighbor nucleotides (such as A2059) are the key for macrolide interaction on the ribosome (8), and A2143G is strongly suggested to be responsible for the AzHLR in gonococcal strain 1782, isolated in Argentina.

The finding observed for the strain for which the MIC was 8 mg/liter is also interesting: all alleles showed a C2599T mutation, but a dinucleotide (TT) insertion in the promoter region of the mtrR gene, which has also been associated with reduced susceptibility to azithromycin (2), was also found. Ng et al. (5) observed a spontaneous N. gonorrhoeae mutant strain with the same mutation in four rrl alleles and a T insertion in the promoter region of the mtrR gene for which the MIC was 4 mg/liter. As far as we know, Argentinian strain 2498 is the first clinical isolate with both mechanisms of resistance, and it illustrates how gonococcal strains are continuously adapting under antibiotic selection pressure.