We reported previously that the sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase type 3 (SERCA3) gene is expressed in many tissues and in a subset of cells such as endothelial, epithelial, and lymphoid lineages. Here we analyzed the mechanisms involved in the regulation of transcription of the SERCA3 gene in endothelial cells. The promoter of the murine SERCA3 gene was isolated, and a single transcription initiation site located 301 bp upstream of the translation initiation site was identified. Analysis of the transcriptional activity of fragments of the SERCA3 promoter showed the existence of a minimal promoter region located between bases −97 and +153 that contains one ETS-binding site (EBS) and two Sp1 elements that are essential for basal transcription. Mutation of the EBS or of the Sp1 sites abolished the basal activity of the promoter. We identified Ets-1 and Sp1 among endothelial nuclear factors that recognize the EBS and Sp1 sites on the promoter. Furthermore, transactivation of the −97/+301 promoter fragment by Ets-1 requires the presence of both the EBS and Sp1 sites, suggesting an interaction of the transcription factors on the gene promoter. Finally, overexpression of Ets-1 induced the expression of SERCA3 in endothelial cells and in fibroblasts.


Electrolyte-gated organic field-effect transistors (EGOFETs), based on ultrathin pentacene films on quartz, were operated with electrolyte solutions whose pH was systematically changed. Transistor parameters exhibit nonmonotonic variation versus pH, which cannot be accounted for by capacitive coupling through the Debye-Helmholtz layer. The data were fitted with an analytical model of the accumulated charge in the EGOFET, where Langmuir adsorption was introduced to describe the pH-dependent charge buildup at the quartz surface. The model provides an excellent fit to the threshold voltage and transfer characteristics as a function of the pH, which demonstrates that quartz acts as a second gate controlled by pH and is mostly effective from neutral to alkaline pH. The effective capacitance of the device is always greater than the capacitance of the electrolyte, thus highlighting the role of the substrate as an important active element for amplification of the transistor response.


Tanzanian .ne.tz Domain Delegation Details - .tz is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Tanzania. .co.tz: commercial.ac.tz: schools granting baccalaureate degrees.go.tz: governmental entities.or.tz: not-for-profit organizations.ne.tz: network infrastructure.


For a graph representation of a dataset, a straightforward normality measure for a sample can be its graph degree. Considering a weighted graph, this corresponds to sum of rows in a similarity matrix. The measure is intuitive given the abnormal samples are usually rare and they are dissimilar to the rest of the data. In order to have an in-depth theoretical understanding, in this manuscript, we investigate the graph degree in spectral graph clustering based and kernel based point of views and draw connections to a recent kernel method for the two sample problem. We show that our analyses guide us to choose fully-connected graphs whose edge weights are calculated via universal kernels. We show that a simple graph degree based unsupervised anomaly detection method with the above properties, achieves leading accuracy compared to other unsupervised anomaly detection methods on average over 10 widely used datasets. We also provide an extensive analysis on the effect of the kernel parameter on the method's accuracy.


Introduction:
 Inflammation contributes to both injury and recovery after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Our previous studies showed that blood-derived CCR2
 +
 monocytes/macrophages infiltration induces brain injury in acute ICH, whereas these cells are also essential for hematoma clearance at later stage of ICH. However, the mechanism that educates macrophages (MΦ) to change from classical activation to assisting in recovery in the hemorrhagic brain is still missing. In wound healing, contact with apoptotic cells induces macrophage alternative activation.

 Hypothesis:
 Apoptotic erythrocytes activate phosphatidylserine (PtdSer) receptors on MΦ to decrease MΦ proinflammatory response and induce MΦ alternative activation to aid in hematoma clearance.

 Methods:
 Bone marrow-derived macrophages were treated with thrombin to induce MΦ proinflammatory activation and to mimic ICH
 in vitro
 . We used PHK-26 labeled-apoptotic erythrocytes and recombinant annexin V to competitively inhibit PtdSer-receptor interactions to study the effect of apoptotic erythrocytes on MΦ phenotype and erythrophagocytosis ability. RT-qPCR and immunofluorescence were performed to detect MΦ polarization genes expression and the engulfment of erythrocytes.

 Results:
 Exposure to apoptotic erythrocytes decreased proinflammatory genes TNF-alpha (∼50%) and CD86 (∼30%) up-regulation induced by thrombin (10 U/ml) treatment for 12 hour (Figure). Recombinant annexin V (10μg) abolishes the benefit from apoptotic erythrocytes and reduces MΦ erythrophagocytosis.

 Conclusions:
 Macrophage alternative activation and erythrophagocytosis is induced by exposure to apoptotic erythrocytes in a PtdSer-dependent manner. Targeting PtdSer sensing receptor on MΦ could be a potential therapeutic strategy to promote MΦ alternative activation and subsequently to enhance hematoma clearance in ICH.


Interline Dynamic Voltage Restorer (IDVR) comprises of several Dynamic Voltage Restorers (DVRs) connected to different distribution feeders in the power system sharing common energy storage. One of the DVR provides for voltage sag compensation appearing in that feeder, while the other DVRs restore the energy in the common dc-link thus dynamically maintaining the voltage of DC link capacitor constant by importing power from the other feeders. Restoration of the DC link energy plays an important role in the capability of the individual DVR in the IDVR to mitigate deep sags with long durations. In this paper the restoration of the DC link energy of the IDVR is achieved by the utilizing the phase shifting transformers (PST) which assist the respective DVR during its power control mode. A controlled switching action is provided to choose the appropriate connection of PST to the feeders depending upon the voltage sag condition. The proposed novel concept is examined in a test power system with IDVR.


Urban waterfronts are liminal zones of heightened sensory experience, particularly haptic experiences: the immediate bodily experiences of touch, proprioception and kinaesthesia (body position and movement). Such experiences are generated through direct contact with natural and built environments, strongly mediated by cultural and historical meanings, and they are crucial to forming physical and emotional understandings of the body and the environment. Research on haptic experiences is part of broader interests in 'sensory history' as an alternative form of cultural and environmental analysis that has been garnering interest from a range of disciplines over the past several decades (see for example the work of Constance Classen, Alain Corbin, David Howes and Mark M. Smith). The potential value of 'sensory history' to studies of the built environment lies in drawing attention away from the overweening and potentially generalizing dominance of 'the visual' as a critical category in humanities research. This paper aims to highlight the latent value of the senses of touch, balance and movement, sensations so strongly a part of everyday experience as to often remain largely unnoticed. The heightened sensory environment of cities at the water's edge makes them ideal locations to explore the history of such ephemeral experiences. Case studies focus on the Perth City Baths and the Water Chute, two early 20 century features of the Perth foreshore, exploring how technological and cultural change shaped haptic experiences of the river and the foreshore at the turn of the century. The case studies focus on the themes of novelty, pleasure, thrill and risk and consider how changing forms of recreation allowed for broadly sensuous rather than primarily visual experiences of the foreshore.


Level of detail (LoD) techniques provide efficient and established tools to represent 3D models, while these are well documented and applied with proven results there is not much research and proven results that offer a solution that is both compatible with MPEG-4 (Motion Picture Experts Group) facial animation standard, and which considers a human face mesh simplification. In this paper we present our work on an adaptive LoD algorithm and attempt to preserve the human face features and simplify animation streams when possible by analysing the scene and the model. Our approach is to apply continuous LOD to a MPEG-4 compliant model using an extension of Garland's Quadric-Based Surface algorithm. This is achieved with a novel approach that attempts a selective model simplification that is both compatible with MPEG-4 and also could simplify animation


The aim of this article is to probe the concept of spiritual education in Seyyed Hosein Nasr`s thoughts and to compare it with the current definitions of the concept. This study has been done through the qualitative method called transcendental analysis. Therefore, that concept was conceptualized through investigating and eliciting the requisite assumptions from Nasr`s philosophical approach. Findings showed that in Nasr`s thoughts, spiritual education is the process of actualizing all the innate potentialities of human as a whole towards his or her monotheistic nature through developing knowledge, love, righteous actions and acquiring virtues to transcend his or her existential layers to train his or her spirit, to know the Ultimate Reality and to return to his or her prototype in God. It is acquirable by taking action based on a heavenly religion. The aim of spiritual education is to know the Ultimate Reality intuitively. Compared to the current definitions, the concluded concept is more similar to that of Carr's and Tabatabaie's ideas while it is different from Miller, Duff and Bigger's perspectives.


This Learned Discourse discusses what happens when scientists forget their training and become ensnared in ''transparent falsehoods''. Bioaccumulation Importance of lipid analysis and implications for bioaccumulation Shortcomings of current approaches to lipid normalization are provided along with recommendations for improved assessments of bioaccumulation potential. Nanoparticles Including nanoparticle mixtures in human health risk assessment , Kumar Simultaneous exposures from air to different nanoparticles should be considered in human health risk assessments. This Learned Discourse comments on the assessment of carbon nanoparticles (NPs: fullerenes and carbon nanotubes) from air under current human health risk assessment (HHRA) procedures, and presents the case for considering simultaneous exposures of different NPs. A modification in the steps for conducting HHRA of NPs is suggested. and effects assessments, co-occurrence and combined toxicity (NPs), particles that have at least one dimension the 100-nm range, can occur as mixtures in air. The of human exposure by inhalation to mixtures of NPs needs to be considered in HHRA. However, the exposure stages


Combustion gas particulate entrainment from rotary kiln hazardous waste incinerators (HWI) is a necessary design data requirement because of its impact on the design and operation of the downstream process equipment. The particulate leaving the rotary kiln off-gases may slag in the secondary combustion chamber (SCC). The potential to slag and the problems slagging can cause are dependent upon the SCC burner design, the mineralogical composition of the praticulate, and the SCC operating temperature.

Some entrained particulate may adhere to the walls or fall out in the SCC as a dust/stag; the remainder of the particulates will be conveyed by the flue gas to the downstream air pollution control (APC) system. If a wet APC system is used, the particulates would be discharged to a wastewater treatment system (WTS) or publicly operated treatment works (POTW).

A literature search was conducted to determine the knowledge base for particulate carry-over from a countercurrent rotary kiln processing sedimentary solids. No data existed for this type soil. A pilot test was, therefore, conducted to experimentally measure the potential entrainment rate of this material. A detailed discussion of the entrainment mechanisms, pilot test equipment, sampling procedure, test conditions simulating the commercial operation, particle size distribution (PSD) of the ash sample, percent carry-over rate, and measured PSD of the kiln particulate carry-over are presented in this article. A mathematical model was developed by the authors to predict the pilot test results. The PSD of incinerator ash was used to calculate percent carry-over rate and PSD of the entrained solids. A comparison of experimental versus estimated results for estimating entrainment are presented in this article.


In the paper, a review of recent results in the realisation theory of systems having multilinear input/output response functions is given. Such systems form a subclass of the more general class of polynomial systems, which in turn are a very special class of nonlinear system. It is shown that, in the bilinear case, the problem has essentially been resolved by two important results: an extension of the uniqueness result for canonical realisations of linear systems to the polynomial case, and a computable criterion for the quasireachability of realisations of bilinear response functions. These results, together with those of Kalman's early investigations into multilinear response functions, lead to an explicit canonical realisation procedure. In the general multilinear case, however, only a few results are available, and the many questions which remain to be resolved are described.


Since 2002, the US government has encouraged business investment using accelerated depreciation policies that significantly reduce investment costs. We provide the first in-depth analysis of this stimulus on employment and earnings. Our local labor markets approach exploits cross-industry variation in policy generosity interacted with county-level industry location data. This strategy identifies the partial equilibrium effects of accelerated depreciation. Places that experience larger decreases in investment costs see an increase in employment and earnings. In contrast, the policy does not have positive effects on earnings-per-worker. Overall, our findings suggest federal corporate tax policy has large effects on local labor markets. (JEL D25, G31, H25, H32, J23, J31, R23)


Locomotor performance constitutes a major component of whole-animal performance and is involved in several fitness-related behaviors. Locomotor capabilities may also correspond positively or negatively to sexually selected traits (e.g., male ornamentation and/or courtship displays). Negative correlations are predicted if secondary sexual traits take the form of morphological modifications that impose physical or energetic limitations. We tested this cost of secondary sexual traits by comparing locomotor performance in male Schizocosa wolf spiders that exhibit two distinct phenotypes. These phenotypes vary in the presence/absence of a morphological feature assumed to function as sexual ornamentation—foreleg brushes. Given the conspicuously large brushes of hair on the brush-legged phenotype, we expected these males to suffer in locomotor performance. We tested this cost by comparing locomotor performance among male phenotypes (brush-legged and non-ornamented) and females at immature and adult life stages. We did not find strong support for costs of brushes on locomotion. First, brush-legged males showed similar average speeds and endurance as both non-ornamented males and females. Second, while brush-legged males were slower at maximum speeds than non-ornamented males as matures (but not as immatures), they were no slower than mature females. Further, we found no variation in endurance among phenotypes or life stages. Finally, brush size did not correspond to speed. Patterns of morphological variation in traits other than ornamentation may explain these patterns: when morphological variation in leg lengths was accounted for, differences in maximum speed among groups disappeared. We suggest that the faster speeds achieved by non-ornamented males arise as a by-product of selection on morphology and musculature potentially necessary for vigorous courtship.


This work presents an implementation of neocognitron neural network, using a high performance computing architecture based on GPU (graphics processing unit). Neocognitron is an artificial neural network, proposed by Fukushima and collaborators, constituted of several hierarchical stages of neuron layers, organized in two-dimensional matrices called cellular planes. For the high performance computation of face recognition application using neocognitron it was used CUDA (compute unified device architecture) as API (application programming interface) between the CPU and the GPU, from GeForce 8800 GTX of NVIDIA company, with 128 ALU's. As face image databases it was used a face database created at UFSCar, and the CMU-PIE (Carnegie Mellon University pose, illumination and expression) database. The load balancing was achieved through the use of cellular connections as threads organized in blocks, following the CUDA philosophy of development. The results showed the feasibility of this type of device as a massively parallel data processing tool, and that smaller the granularity and the data dependency of the parallel processing, better is its performance.


The understanding and management of hemorrhagic shock have evolved significantly over the last 400 years. Injured patients in shock mandate immediate surgeon involvement. Every graduating surgical resident and every surgeon taking trauma call should thoroughly understand the concepts of damage control resuscitation and be prepared to care for these patients. This review seeks to revisit the history of hemorrhagic shock and the evolution of damage control resuscitation.


Summary
Individuals infected with Schistosoma mansoni were skin-tested with extracts of (1) dry and powdered cercariae of S. mansoni; and (2) dry and powdered adult Fasciola hepatica and Pneumoneces medioplexus. The skin tests were performed before treatment and for prolonged periods of time up to four years after treatment of the parasitic infection.
Using the cercarial antigen, the reactions were positive in above 90 per cent of the patients in all instances both before and after treatment. With the antigens from Fasciola hepatica and Pneumoneces medioplexus the percentage of positive reactions diminished greatly after treatment. The schistosome ova in the liver and other organs may continue to sensitize the host for short periods of time after death of the adult worms as a result of treatment. Also, positive intradermal reactions may be due to infection with a small number of adult worms which can not be detected by fecal or biopsy examinations.
Individuals with circulating microfilariae of Wuchereria bancrofti were skin-tested with antigen from Dirofilaria immitis and Litomosoides carinii and with antigen prepared from concentrated microfilariae. Positive reactions to the three types of antigen were observed in over 90 per cent of the individuals tested before as well as two years after treatment.


Recently, speech scientists have been motivated by the great, success of building margin-based classifiers, and have thus proposed novel methods to estimate continuous-density hidden Markov model (HMM) for automatic speech recognition (ASR) according to the notion that the decision boundaries determined by the estimated HMMs attain the maximum classification margin as in learning support vector machines. Although a good performance has been observed, the margin used in the ASR community is often specified as a parameter that has no explicit relationship with the HMM parameters. The issues of how the margin is related to the HMM parameters and how it directly characterises the generalisation capability of HMM-based classifiers have not been addressed so far in the community. In this study, the authors attempt to formulate the margin used in the soft margin estimation framework as a function of the HMM parameters. The key idea is to relate the standard distance-based margin with the concept of divergence among competing HMM state Gaussian mixture model densities. Experimental results show that the proposed model-based margin function is a good indication about the quality of HMMs on a given ASR task without the conventional needs of running experiments extensively using a separate set of test samples.


Angularly substituted trans-fused hydroindanes are now accessible by the direct and convergent union of trimethylsilyl (TMS)-alkynes with 4-hydroxy-1,6-enynes by a process that forges three C–C bonds, one C–H bond, and two new stereocenters. The annulation is proposed to proceed by initial formation of a Ti–alkyne complex (with a TMS-alkyne) followed by regioselective alkoxide-directed coupling with the enyne, stereoselective intramolecular cycloaddition, elimination of phenoxide, 1,3-metallotropic shift, and stereoselective protonation of the penultimate allylic organometallic intermediate. Several examples are given to demonstrate the compatibility of this reaction with substrates bearing aromatic and aliphatic substituents, and an empirical model is presented to accompany the stereochemical observations.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the technical details and short-term effects of radiofrequency obliteration of varicose veins of lower extremities guided by combined venography and ultrasound.

METHODS
Thirty-seven patients with varicose veins of lower extremities were treated with radiofrequency obliteration using Olympus Celon RFiTT® under combined guidance of venography and ultrasound. The indications included varicose veins of lower extremities and reflux of the great saphenous vein confirmed by ultrasound. The contraindications included deep vein thrombosis, cardiac pacemaker, severe cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases or coagulation disorders. Under ultrasound guidance, the saphenous vein around knee level was punctured using a 21G needle, and a 7F sheath was introduced. Through the sheath a venography was made, and an Olympus Celon ProCurve radiofrequency catheter was inserted and advanced to the great saphenous vein under road map, and the catheter tip was positioned at the point 2 cm below the sapheno-femoral junction. The swelling anesthesia was made under ultrasound guidance. Then the radiofrequency obliteration was performed with pressing of the treatment section. The venography was repeated to ensure optimal outcomes. If necessary the radiofrequency obliteration could be repeated once to twice. After that the superficial varicose veins were stripping by small incisions under local anesthesia. After operation, medical decompression stocking was utilized immediately and sustained for three months. The clinical data, intraoperative radiation dose, exposure time and short-term effects were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTS
After the operation, all the patients walked out of the operating room by themselves. The success rate of operation was 100%. The intraoperative radiation dose was 1.78-10.12 mGy (mean 6.56 mGy), and the exposure time was 61-448 s (mean 161 s). By 3 months follow-up, the symptoms were alleviated in all the 37 patients, and the occlusion rate was 100%. No complications such as skin burns, ecchymosis and deep venous thrombosis were found.

CONCLUSION
The short-term effects of radiofrequency obliteration using Olympus Celon RFiTT® system in a manner of twice fixed point followed by once reciprocating radiofrequency were satisfactory. Radiofrequency obliteration of great saphenous veins guided by venography and ultrasound has not only the advantages of minimal trauma and rapid recovery, but also the advantages of accurate location, exact effect and avoidance of complications.


The present study was conducted to investigate the survivability of post-thawed bovine embryos for direct transfer. Bovine ovaries were collected at a local slaughterhouse. The cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC) were aspirated from 2 to 8 mm antral follicles using a syringe with an 18-gauge needle. Selected COC were washed in HEPES-buffered tissue culture medium (TCM-199) supplemented with 5% FBS. Sets of 15 COC were matured for 22 h in 50-μL droplets of TCM-199 supplemented with 5% FBS, 10 μg mL-1 of LH, 10 μg mL-1 of FSH, that had been previously covered with mineral oil and equilibrated in an atmosphere of 5% CO2, 5% O2, and 90% N2 at 39°C. Mature COC were fertilized with frozen-thawed semen treated with BO medium (Brackett and Oliphants Biol. Reprod. 12, 260-274). All oocytes and embryos were placed in CR1aa medium culture system for in vivo embryo production. The Korean native cows that were between days 8 and 12 of their estrous cycles were superovulated with 28 mg of porcine follicle stimulating hormone (FSH, Antorine-R10; Kawasaki Mitaka Pharmaceutical, Tokyo, Japan) in twice daily i.m. injections, with a gradual decrease over 4 days. For embryo freezing, Day 7 and 8 blastocysts were equilibrated for 15 min in 1.5 M, and 1.8 M ethylene glycol(EG) was used as a cryoprotectant. Embryo was loaded into 0.25 mL straw and directly into a cooling chamber (CL-863, USA) and kept at -7°C for 10 min, including time for seeding, and further cooled to -35°C at -0.3°C. After 2 min at this temperature, they were plunged into liquid nitrogen. Thawing was performed by keeping straws at room temperature for 10 s, followed by immersion in water bath at 35°C and 37°C. Embryos were evaluated at 24, 48, and 72 h post thawing. Embryos that survived were recorded as either blastocysts that had expanded or hatched at 24 h or had hatched at 72 h. All of the results were analyzed by ANOVA using the STATVIEW program. After frozen the blastocysts cultured without serum, better survivability for frozen embryos was seen in the 1.8 M EG with 0.5% BSA (bovine serum albumin) group than 1.5 M EG with 0.5% BSA (75.7 v. 72.7). The survivability of frozen-thawed embryos was significantly higher in the 37°C water bath than 35°C (85.7% v. 70.8%). However, there was no difference in the total cell number of thawed embryos (142 ± 13 v. 137 ± 12), and chromosome abnormality higher than in vivo frozen-thawed embryos. In conclusion, the results suggest that the thawing temperature at 37°C may be optimal for better in vitro survival of frozen-thawed embryos produced in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the data suggest that embryo freezing system may provide reasonable conditions for embryo transfer.


Generating multivariate Poisson random variables is essential in many applications, such as multi echelon supply chain systems, multi-item/multi-period pricing models, accident monitoring systems, etc. Current simulation methods suffer from limitations ranging from computational complexity to restrictions on the structure of the correlation matrix, and therefore are rarely used in management science. Instead, multivariate Poisson data are commonly approximated by either univariate Poisson or multivariate Normal data. However, these approximations are often not adequate in practice.

In this paper, we propose a conceptually appealing correction for NORTA (NORmal To Anything) for generating multivariate Poisson data with a flexible correlation structure and rates. NORTA is based on simulating data from a multivariate Normal distribution and converting it into an arbitrary continuous distribution with a specific correlation matrix. We show that our method is both highly accurate and computationally efficient. We also show the managerial advantages of generating multivariate Poisson data over univariate Poisson or multivariate Normal data. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Three cases of type IV congenital pouch colon associated with low anorectal anomaly are reported here. Pouch colon may be a cause of intractable constipation in children operated for low anorectal anomaly. Excellent results can be obtained by exicision of the pouch. The radiological and pathological features of this condition are discussed.


Preliminary data suggest drug resistance plays a major role in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and is linked to the aberrant expression of molecules such as Glutathion S-Transferase pi (GST pi) that catalyzes the nuclear conjugation of a broad variety of reactive electrophiles to the glutathion. We investigated in vitro the effect of the inhibition of GSTpi activity on the chemosensitivity of MCL cell lines by inhibiting the nuclear transport of GSTpi with Agaricus bisporus leptine (ABL). Methods. Four MCL cell lines (Granta, NCEB, REC and UPN1) were analyzed for GSTP1 transcript expression by RT-PCR analysis and for GSTP1 genetic Ile105Val polymorphism. The effect of ABL on the 4 MCL cell lines viability was examined using cells pre-treated with ABL (40μg/ml) for 10 h followed by treatment with various concentrations of doxorubicin (DOX), cisplatin (CDDP), cytarabin and bortezomib for 48 h. The cell viability was estimated by MTT assay repeated three times. Results. All the 4 cell lines expressed GSTPI transcript. Two of them (UPN1 and REC) were heterozygous for Ile105Val polymorphism, whereas NCEB and GRANTA were homozygous GSTP1-105Ile which has been correlated with an enzyme of high activity. DOX, CDDP, cytarabin and bortezomib have cytotoxic effects compared to non-treated cells, without any difference between the 4 MCL cell lines when considering their genetic polymorphism status. Co-administration of ABL caused a significant increasis of the cytotoxicity of CDDP and bortezomib in all cell lines (Student test: p between 0.0004 to 0.02 for CDDP; and p between 0.013 and 0.05 for velcade, depending on the cell lines). Co-administration of ABL caused an increasis of the cytotoxicity of cytarabin in 3 cell lines, the 4 th being actually tested. No influence of ABL was detected on the cytotoxic effect of DOX. The analysis of the nuclear and the cytoplasmic localizations of GSTpi is currently realized by immunohistochemistry. Conclusion. These results suggest that inhibition of the nuclear transfer of GSTpi increases in vitro the MCL sensitivity to CDDP, cytarabin and velcade but not DOX.


Due to urbanization, industrialization and population increase, a substantial increase occurred in the number of vehicles and hence large numbers of end-of-use tires are being disposed every year. The vast majority of these tires are stockpiled or used as a fuel for combustion which, in both cases, affects the environment detrimentally. The use of tire rubber in cement-stabilized aggregate mixtures (CSAMs) will ensure beneficial use of large quantities of these waste materials, saving natural resources and may enhance the properties of CSAMs especially these related to brittleness and sensitivity to fatigue failure.

Research was undertaken to investigate, at macro and mesoscale levels, the effect of both rubber and degree of stabilization and their combination on the behaviour of CSAMs in terms of the most influential pavement design properties under different static and dynamic modes of loading. These properties are strength, stiffness and fatigue. A range of testing equipment, methodologies and tools was developed, suggested and implemented to perform this investigation. Further investigation was also conducted to provide better understanding of the damage and failure mechanism through quantitative studying of the fractured surface, internal structure and surface cracking patterns under different testing modes.

The results of this study revealed that the addition of rubber has a negative effect on the compaction efficiency, compressive, flexural and tensile strengths while the stiffness, under different testing modes, was slightly reduced. In addition, a tougher mixture was produced after rubber-modification which means a change from a brittle to a more ductile behaviour. This behaviour was observed through different stiffness modulus evaluation methods. On the other hand, increase in cementation level has resulted in an increase in both strength and stiffness for both reference and rubberized mixtures. However, the decrease in the mixtures' strength due to rubberization was more obvious in highly cemented mixtures than the lightly cemented ones. On the other hand, a greater decline in the mixtures' stiffness, due to rubber incorporation, was observed at low cement contents. This behaviour is related to the void-like behaviour which depends, to large extent, on the relative stiffness between rubber and surrounding matrix.

Quantification of the fractured surfaces and cracking pattern utilizing the photogrammatry and fractal dimension concepts, respectively, revealed that the addition of rubber resulted in rougher and more tortuous cracks and increases disperse-ability of these cracks. This means the rubber-modification changed the cracking pattern which implies better load transfer through the cracks and less risk of reflection cracking.

The investigation of the internal structure, at mesoscale level, showed that the cracks were propagated through the rubber particles at all investigated cementation levels. This contributed to a lengthening of the crack path and to the delaying of crack propagation by absorbing and relieving the stresses at the crack tip, especially at the microcrack level. The latter mechanisms are behind toughness and fatigue improvement. Evaluation of rubber distribution revealed uniform distribution and this decrease as rubber content increases.

The results also indicated an improvement in the fatigue life for all rubber replacement levels. This was valid at all cementation levels. In terms of modulus degradability, rubberization of the cemented mixture has only a slight effect on this property while larger permanent deformation was accumulated after rubber inclusion. It was observed that the poorly cemented mixtures showed greater stiffness modulus degradation. Pavement analysis and design study showed that the decrease in the mixtures' strength overshadowed any improvement due to both mitigation of mixtures' stiffnesses or fatigue life enhancement. However, this is not the case for poor rubber mixtures where this mixture showed better behaviour than the reference mixtures.


Aligned CNx nanotubes were fabricated by pyrolyzing ethylenediamine on p-type Si(111) substrates deposited by Fe catalysts. Scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the CNx nanotubes. The CNx nanotubes about 20μm in length and 50-100?nm in diameter have the "bamboo-like" structure and worse crystallinity. Field emission measurements of the CNx nanotubes indicated that 20μA/cm2 current densities were observed at an electric field of 1.4V/μm,and 1.280mA/cm2 were obtained at 2.54V/μm. No current saturation was found under higher electric field. The CNx nanotubes exhibit better field emission properties than carbon nanotubes and BCN nanotubes that have been grown under same experiment conditions only using different precursor solution. The emission mechanism of CNx nanotubes is also discussed based on their "bamboo-like" structures.


The impact of phenolic compounds on the human body depended on the type, content, bioavailability, and antioxidant activity. After digestion, different phenolic compounds had different changes of bioavailability and antioxidant activity, which needed to be considered in the application. In this experiment, the structural stability and antioxidant activity of 27 phenolic compounds (phenolic acids, flavonols, flavonoids, and flavanones) were investigated during the in vitro simulated digestion. This experiment eliminated the influence of food matrix, provide a basis for regularity for the changes of phenolic substances in different materials. Results showed that the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds with different structures varied, and there was a conformational relationship between the structure and stability. After oral digestion, most of the phenolic compounds underwent degradation and the cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) values decreased to a large extent (p < 0.05). After gastric digestion, the content (p > 0.05) and CAA values (p < 0.05) of most phenolic compounds increased. However, after intestinal digestion, the phenolic compounds were degraded to a greater extent, and different structures of phenolic compounds had different changes in CAA values (p < 0.05). In general, the CAA values of most phenolic compounds after in vitro digestion were lower than the initial value. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ehylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) values of phenolic acids and flavonols decreased after in vitro simulated digestion (p < 0.05), while the values of DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP of most flavonoids (p < 0.05) increased. The increased oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC) values were found in most phenolic acids, flavonols, and flavonoids (p < 0.05), and most flavanones showed unremarkable changes in ORAC values (p > 0.05). In general, the changing trend of chemical-based antioxidant activity was consistent with the content of phenolic compounds.


BACKGROUND: Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) adversely affect a person's general health and the lives of their family and friends. These disorders are also the most undertreated mental illness with severe implications for public health. Hence, the present study aimed to employ the WHOQOL-BREF to assess the quality of life (QoL) of AUDs patients seeking treatment at de-addiction centers and identify the demographic variables associated with the QoL dimension scores. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among alcohol dependents taking treatment in de-addiction centers in Dakshina Kannada District, Karnataka. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was administered to 124 subjects. Multiple regression analysis was carried out to identify the demographic variables associated with the QoL dimension scores. RESULTS: The domain mean scores were between 50 and 60 on the 0 to 100 scale. Age, social class, residential area, marital status, and years of drinking were the demographic variables found to be significantly associated with the dimension scores. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians should monitor the effect of alcoholism on QoL, and a multidisciplinary treatment plan with elements from the medical, social, and psychiatric fields should be used. The demographic variables should be considered while managing patients with AUDs.


Night migrations of insects above the surface boundary layer were studied by direct observations with an entomological radar, and by direct aerial sampling with a kite-borne net, in an area in New South Wales inhabited by large fledging populations of Chortoicetes terminifera (Wlk.). The aerial catches and radar echo-modulation observations suggested that the majority of migrants detected by the radar were locusts, and this conclusion was supported indirectly by light-trap catches and by observations of take–off at dusk. Night flights of locusts began at dusk with a mass take-off and continued on a diminishing scale until about midnight. Displacements were all approximately downwind and to the north, under the influence of a southerly airflow which prevailed throughout the six-day study period. A quantitative radar observation procedure was used to estimate locust aerial densities and migration rates, and to observe the variations of these quantities with height and time; typical and extreme values for all the principal migration quantities are presented. The flight paths of the locusts were estimated from radar observations of target tracks, and probable source areas at distances of up to 200 km to the south were identified; a major overflight which probably originated 150 km away was detected on one occasion. Northward movements of C. terminifera during anticyclonic conditions may help to explain how populations are redistributed in the periods between the long-range southward invasion movements for which this species is well-known.


Abstract Discrete choice models estimated over a large household database, show the impacts of demographics, household behavior, health status, obesity issues and prices on household servings of fruits and vegetables. These impacts are ranked from the most to least effects on daily servings. A major result is the importance of obesity and calorie issues relative to other major demand drivers.


Cushing's syndrome is a condition caused by high levels of glucocorticoids, or most commonly as a result of prolonged exposure to exogenous steroids. Clinical features include diabetes, hypertension, obesity, skin atrophy, immune suppression and delayed wound healing. We report a patient with iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome, in whom long‐term topical steroid therapy was used to treat varicose eczema, which contributed to the development of type 2 diabetes, morbid obesity, sleep apnoea and chronic wound sepsis. In this case, repeated hospital admissions and systemic antibiotics were associated with considerable comorbidity. Aggressive local treatment, consisting of potassium permanganate soaks and irrigating gels, was highly effective in reducing the amount of exudate, pain and preventing from further deterioration of the patient's legs.


Childhood AML survival outcomes and treatment related adverse events remain less than optimal despite recent treatment advances. Intensive chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), when suitable, are the mainstay of current therapy for newly diagnosed patients. Newer agents, such as gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GMTZ), a calicheamicin coupled anti-CD 33 monoclonal antibody, have been evaluated in adults and in phase 1 studies in children. We report data from a COG open-label pilot of intensive chemotherapy containing GMTZ in selected therapy cycles for pediatric AML patients. The primary objective was to determine the safety of adding single dose GMTZ to an intensive two course induction adapted from the Medical Research Council (MRC) regimen. The complete remission rate of the induction regimen and the safety of adding a single dose of GMTZ to one course of post-remission intensification therapy were also evaluated. Eligible patients were newly diagnosed children (≥1 month old to ≤21 years old) with de novo AML excluding those with Down syndrome and those with acute promyelocytic leukemia. Accrual occurred from December 2003 to November 2005 at COG institutions. Enrollment included 350 patients with 340 patients that were determined to be eligible by protocol guidelines. Treatment consisted of a remission induction phase (induction I and induction II) followed by intensification I, II, and III or intensification I and matched related donor HSCT. Cycle regimens were cytarabine, daunorubicin, etoposide (ADE) 10+3+5 plus GMTZ on day 6 (induction I), ADE 8+3+5 (induction II),high dose cytarabine and etoposide (AE) (intensification I), mitroxantrone, cytarabine (MA) plus GMTZ on day 7 (intensification II), and Capizzi II (intensification III). A busulfan - cyclophosphamide conditioning regimen was used for those children receiving HSCT as part of their consolidation treatment. The median length of each cycle was 36, 35, 35, 48, 48, and 111 (HSCT) days respectively. Median time (in days) for recovery of ANC and platelet counts by cycle was Induction 1: ANC 35, platelets 35, Induction II: ANC: 33, platelets: 33, Int 1: ANC 34, platelets 34, Int II: ANC 51.5, platelets 46, Int III: ANC 49, platelets 48 and HSCT: ANC 110.5, platelets 110. Median follow-up for all eligible patients alive at last contact is 775 days. Overall results show that the induction I complete response (CR) was 83%, refractory disease (RD) with 5 – 20% BM blasts was 8.6%, RD failure with >20% BM blasts was 5.2%, CNS relapse/persistent disease or developed 2nd malignancy combined represented 1.5%, and death rate was 1.5%. The cumulative induction (induction I and II) CR was 87%, RD 1.6%, RD failure 8.5%, and death 2.6%. 3 year EFS from study entry was 49% ± 7% while OS was 63% ± 6%. Patients in remission after induction I had DFS 56% ± 7% and OS 65% ± 8%. For patients in remission after induction II, the DFS (58 ± 7%) and OS (67% ± 8%) were similar to those patients achieving remission after the 1st cycle. Treatment related mortality (TRM) for induction I and induction II was 9% and 7% respectively. Children with a matched related donor for transplant had an improved 3 year risk of relapse (RR) when compared to those with no donor: 22% ± 12% compared to 39% ± 9% (p=0.053). The most common non-transplant related adverse events (grade 3 or higher) reported include anorexia, febrile neutropenia, and hypokalemia. Veno-occlusive disease (VOD) was reported in 18 patients (5%): 2 patients during intensification II, 8 patients during HSCT and 8 patients during the follow-up phase. Overall, AAML03P1 therapy shows a continued historical trend for improvement in OS and EFS when compared to the previous COG AML trial (CCG-2961). TRM in this pilot study is similar to that observed in CCG-2961. VOD, a key targeted toxicity, occurs in only a small percentage of patients and is within the published rates observed with other therapies for AML. This study shows that GMTZ can be safely added to this MRC based regimen. The determination of whether GMTZ improves patient outcome is being studied in the ongoing COG Phase III randomized trial, AAML0531.


Assessments of subjects by multiple raters are completed in several health research and practice arenas. As observed in interrater comparisons of checklists during assessment, raters generally make mistakes in assessment. Despite these errors, the average scores on all the checklists have been historically used to represent the subjects' true scores. The effect of the assessment rater error on these average scores has been seldom studied. In the present study, the effect of random rater error on subjects' average scores was investigated mathematically. The analysis based on a mathematical model revealed that average scores were truly representative only in special cases where raters made no assessment errors. In addition, average scores were poor estimates of the true score due to random assessment error. A new, more precise formula to estimate subjects' true scores was proposed. The method to apply this formula to actual checklist assessment data was demonstrated.


: The phase transformation behavior from austenite upon cooling in a 1.5Mn-1.5Si-0.2C steel was in situ monitored using dilatometry, X-ray and neutron diffractions. The starting temperature of ferrite transformation was in good agreement between dilatometry and neutron diffraction, whereas much higher in X-ray diffraction. Such a discrepancy in transformation temperature is attributed to the change in chemical composition near the surface of a specimen heated to elevated temperatures in a helium gas atmosphere for X-ray diffraction. In situ neutron diffraction enables us to investigate the changes in lattice constants of ferrite and austenite, which are affected by not only thermal contraction but also transformation strains, thermal misfit strains and carbon enrichment in austenite. Pearlite transformation started after carbon enrichment in austenite reached approximately 0.7 mass% and contributed to diffraction line broadening.


Turbulent burning velocity is the most important parameter in analyzing pre-mixed combustion simulation of spark ignition engines. It depends on the laminar burning velocity and turbulence intensity in the combustion chamber. The first term can be predicted if one knows fuel composition, physico chemical properties of the fluid. The second term strongly depends on the geometry of the combustion chamber and fluid movement during the combustion process. One cannot suggest a general expression for different cases of engine. Thus, for accuracy modeling, one should determine turbulent burning velocity in the combustion chamber of each case of engine individually. In this study, the turbulent burning velocity is defined by a linear function of laminar burning velocity in which the proportional constant is defined as the turbulent burning velocity coefficient. This coefficient was obtained by analyzing the numerical simulation results and experimental data and this is applied to a concrete case of a Honda Wave motorcycle engine combustion chamber that fueled with compressed biogas. The results showed that the turbulent burning velocity coefficient in this case is around 1.3 when the average engine revolutions is in the range of 3000 rpm to 6000 rpm with biogas containing 80% Methane. We can then predict the effects of different parameters on the performance of the engine fueled with compressed biogas by simulation.


Summary Aim: The integrated value of coronary calcium scoring added to myocardial perfusion assessment in hybrid PETCT imaging remains poorly defined. In the present study, we sought to determine the relationship between calcium burden, other risk factors, and tissue perfusion in a group of patients with chest pain and predominantly intermediate likelihood for coronary artery disease. Patients, methods: In 70 patients, coronary calcium scores (CCS) were obtained in addition to rest/dipyridamole stress 82Rb perfusion images using a GE Discovery Rx hybrid PET-CT system. From static perfusion images, summed rest, stress and difference scores (SRS, SSS, SDS) were calculated using a 20-segment model. Absolute CCS was determined according to Agatston and age-, gender-, and ethnicity-matched CCS percentiles were calculated using the MESA database. Results: SSS, SRS and SDS were abnormal (.4) in 25 (36%), 17 (24%), and 12 (17%) patients. Mean CCS according to Agatston was 180 ± 446(range 0.2122), and CCS percentile was 42 ± 43(range 0.99). Absolute CCS correlated mildly but significantly with SSS (r = 0.31, p = 0.01), while CCS percentile did not (r = 0.11, p = 0.36). Of 49 patients with normal perfusion, 25 (57%) had CCS = 0, and 8 (18%) had a CCS percentile .75th. Of 35 patients with a CCS = 0, 26 (74%) had normal perfusion. Individuals in whom review of patient records revealed events during follow-up (n = 10) had significantly higher SSS than those where no events were recorded (6.0 ± 7.2 versus 2.9 ± 3.1, p = 0.03), and there was a trend towards higher CCS percentiles (62 ± 36 versus 35 ± 43, p = 0.06). Conclusion: Coronary calcifications and myocardial tissue perfusion, as interrogated in a single PET-CT imaging session, show only partial agreement in patients with chest pain. Both tests seem to reflect different pathophysiologic components, and may be complementary for definition of individual disease patterns.


In vivo 1-photon calcium imaging is an increasingly prevalent method in behavioural neuroscience. Numerous analysis pipelines have been developed to improve the reliability and scalability of pre-processing and ROI extraction for these large calcium imaging datasets. Despite these advancements in pre-processing methods, manual curation of the extracted spatial footprints and calcium traces of neurons remains important for quality control. Here, we propose an additional semi-automated curation step for sorting spatial footprints and calcium traces from putative neurons extracted using the popular CNMF-E algorithm. We used the automated machine learning tools TPOT and AutoSklearn to generate classifiers to curate the extracted ROIs trained on a subset of human-labeled data. AutoSklearn produced the best performing classifier, achieving an F1 score > 92% on the ground truth test dataset. This automated approach is a useful strategy for filtering ROIs with relatively few labeled data points, and can be easily added to pre-existing pipelines currently using CNMF-E for ROI extraction.


Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression has been reported in various human cancers. HER2-targeted therapies showed clinical responses in humans with HER2-positive tumors. The incidence of canine primary lung cancer (cPLC) is increasing, but there are no effective systemic therapies for dogs with late-stage cPLC. HER2-targeted therapy could be an option for cPLC, but HER2 expression in cPLC remains unknown. We evaluated HER2 expression in cPLC. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that 3 samples (19%) scored 3+; 8 (50%), 2+; 5 (31%); and 1+ and 0 (0%), 0. Of the cPLC tissues, 69% were HER2 positive (scored ≥2+). These data would lead to further evaluation of the role of HER2 in cPLC as a mechanism of malignancy and therapeutic target.


Space-charge and axial-field effects are discussed for a free-electron laser with an axial-guide magnetic field. It is found that the maximum gain increases with the beam density and gain saturation occurs for high beam density. The laser frequency is upshifted and downshifted in the low and high density cases respectively. The regimes which permit the amplifying effect of the guide field and the stabilities of both the electron trajectories and the electrostatic mode are found. The maximum amplifying coefficient of the guide field is also obtained by using the stability conditions.


Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is an important organic pollution parameter in water system because it indicates the amount of organic matters in water sample. Since the standard method of BOD measurement (BOD5) takes 5 days to complete, it is not practical for rapid environmental pollution monitoring. In the present study, an effective ferricyanide-mediated microbial biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) biosensor was constructed and used for rapid BOD determination in a water system. Prior to biosensor fabrication, microorganisms were first isolated from various water systems and then screened for their ability to use a redox mediator for organic degradation. The selected microorganism was immobilized onto the surface of the electrode tip for BOD measurement. The performance of the developed biosensor was then optimized, characterized and validated using synthetic organic solutions and real water samples. Several different types of microorganisms were isolated from different organic-rich environmental sources and their ability to use ferricyanide during organic (standard glucose-glutamic acid solution) degradation were effectively assessed using ferricyanide-mediated BOD assay. Chromobacterium violaceum R1 (isolated from river water) was found to be a potential microorganism to be used as a biological sensing element in the biosensor. The technology of ultramicroelectrode (UME) was incorporated into the biosensor during transducer fabrication. The electrode tip (transducer) was fabricated in two-electrode configuration (10-µm Pt working electrode and 1-mm Pt counter electrode). Living C. violaceum R1 cells were immobilized onto the surface of the UME working electrode by using calcium alginate gel and further enclosed by a layer of polyamide membrane. Glucose-glutamic acid (GGA) solution and OECD synthetic wastewater were used as the standard solutions. The amperometric measurement was optimized at +450 mV operating potential and 30 mM ferricyanide in a 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) at 26°C. The developed biosensor exhibited a linear response ranging from 20–225 mg O2 L-1 BOD5 for standard GGA solution and 25–230 mg O2 L-1 BOD5 for OECD synthetic wastewater, with a response time of 30 min. Repeatability and reproducibility of the biosensor were within the limits set by the APHA—less than 15.4%. The biosensor is applicable for rapid BOD measurement of samples with a high content of fast and easily assimilated compounds. When used to estimate the BOD of various wastewaters, the developed biosensor gave values comparable to those obtained using the conventional BOD5 method. Hence, a biosensor has been successfully developed for rapid determination of BOD in water samples.


For centuries, cancer has been a lingering dark cloud floating on people's heads. With rapid population growth and aging worldwide, cancer incidence and mortality are growing rapidly. Despite major advances in oncotherapy including surgery, radiation and chemical therapy, as well as immunotherapy and targeted therapy, cancer is expected be the leading cause of premature death in this century. Nowadays, natural compounds with potential anticancer effects have become an indispensable natural treasure for discovering clinically useful agents and made remarkable achievements in cancer chemotherapy. In this regards, OSW-1, which was isolated from the bulbs of Ornithogalum saundersiae in 1992, has exhibited powerful anticancer activities in various cancers. However, after almost three decades, OSW-1 is still far from becoming a real anticancer agent for its anticancer mechanisms remain unclear. Therefore, in this review we summarize the available evidence on the anticancer effects and mechanisms of OSW-1 in vitro and in vivo, and some insights for researchers who are interested in OSW-1 as a potential anticancer drug. We conclude that OSW-1 is a potential candidate for anticancer drugs and deserves further study.


UNLABELLED
The aims of this study were to investigate the anti-tumor effects of consecutive low-dose cisplatin (LD-CDDP) in comparison with single high-dose CDDP (HD-CDDP) in combination with caffeine.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Human fibrosarcoma cells (HT-1080) were transplanted in BALB/C-nu mice. According to the administration of CDDP and caffeine, 5 groups were defined: HD-CDDP, LD-CDDP, HD-CDDP +caffeine, LD-CDDP +caffeine and control group. The total dose of CDDP was 3.5 or 6 mg/kg. CDDP was injected i.p. bolus (HD-CDDP) or divided into 5 days (LD-CDDP). Caffeine was injected i.p. at a dose of 60 mg/kg twice a day for 4 days.

RESULTS
Significant inhibition of tumor growth and prolongation of survival time were recognized in the HD- and LD-CDDP groups with and without caffeine compared to the control group. The caffeine-assisted groups had no advantage compared to the CDDP alone groups.

CONCLUSION
The effects of LD-CDDP were similar to the effect of HD-CDDP.


Using an ensemble of sources and current concepts, this book proposes new ways of conceiving the place of the caravan and the dynasty in Maghribian historical experiences and modes of identification.


In this paper, we propose a scheme of a long-lived broadband superefficient multiresonator quantum memory in which a common resonator is connected with an external waveguide and with a system of high-quality miniresonators containing long-lived resonant electron spin ensembles. The scheme with 4 miniresonators has been analyzed in details and it was shown that it is possible to store an input broadband signal field to the electron spin ensembles with quantum efficiency 99.99%. The considered multiresonator system opens the way to elaboration of efficient multiqubit quantum memory devices for superconducting quantum computer.


with a late systolic mitral murmur as the only abnormal sign is good, apart from the risk of bacterial endocarditis, which occurred in 5 cases. From a review of their own and other published cases, Allen et al. found no justification for the belief that ventricular ectopic beats are dangerous and no evidence that sudden death occurs in such patients, provided that care is taken to exclude those with ischaemic or myocardial heart disease.


The key points of this article are anorexia and cachexia are: A major cause of cancer deaths. Several drugs are available to treat anorexia and cachexia. Dyspnea in cancer usually is caused by several factors. Treatment consists of reversing underlying causes, empiric bronchodilators, cortico-steroids--and in the terminally ill patients-opioids, benzodiazepines,and chlorpromazine. Delirium is associated with advanced cancer. Empiric treatment with neuroleptics while evaluating for reversible causes is a reasonable approach to management. Nausea and vomiting are caused by extra-abdominal factors (drugs,electrolyte abnormalities, central nervous system metastases) or intra-abdominal factors (gastroparesis, ileus, gastric outlet obstruction, bowel obstruction). The pattern of nausea and vomiting differs depending upon whether the cause is extra- or intra-abdominal. Reversible causes should be sought and empiric metoclopramide or haloperidol should be initiated. Fatigue may be caused by anemia, depression, endocrine abnormalities,or electrolyte disturbances that should be treated before using empiric methylphenidate. Constipation should be treated with laxatives and stool softeners. Both should start with the first opioid dose.


Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) overexpression is found in a wide variety of human cancers and is linked to all stages of tumorigenesis. Elevated tumor COX-2 expression is associated with increased angiogenesis, tumor invasion, suppression of host immunity and promotes tumor cell resistance to apoptosis. Previous reports have linked the COX-2 product prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) to the abnormal activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase/Erk kinase pathway. Here we show that PGE2 is able to rapidly stimulate Erk phosphorylation in a subset of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines. This effect is not evident in bronchial epithelial cells. In contrast to previous reports in colon cancer, we found that Erk activation as well as cellular proliferation induced by PGE2 was not inhibited by pretreatment of the cells with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors. Activation of the Erk pathway by PGE2 was also resistant to src kinase inhibitors but sensitive to the protein kinase C inhibition. PGE2 effects are mediated through four G protein-coupled receptors. Selective inhibition of EP receptors revealed the possible involvement of Ca2+-dependent signaling in PGE2-mediated activation of Erk. Our data indicate the presence of an EGFR-independent activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase/Erk pathway by PGE2 in NSCLC cells. These findings provide evidence for the possible link between tumor COX-2 overexpression and elevated Erk-mediated cancer cell proliferation and migration. Importantly, these findings suggest that COX-2 overexpression may contribute to EGFR inhibitor resistance in NSCLC.


Though Friedrich Schiller enjoyed prominent literary standing and great popularity in 19th-century literary England, his influence has been largely neglected in modern scholarship on the period. In this text, Deborah Guth explores the substantial evidence of the importance of the playwright and philosopher's thought to Eliot's novelistic art. Guth demonstrates the relationship of Schiller's work to Eliot's plotting of moral vision, the tensions in her work between realism and idealism (which an understanding of Schiller redefines substantially), and her aesthetics. The specific focus of the study is the Schillerian subtext of George Eliot's work and a resultant reassessment of her realism. However, the intertextual methodology, applications of Iser's thinking on the translatability of cultures, and a placement of Eliot in a German context serve as a gateway for reconsidering Eliot's contributions in these areas, as well. While modern scholarship on Eliot has focused on gender analysis, New Historicism and cultural materialism, the frame remains largely English. Guth contends that the immense continental underpinnings of Eliot's writing should lead us to re-situate her beyond national boundaries, and view her as a major European, as well as English, writer.


Nowadays, people gather and exchange information through internet prevalently. The increasing use of electronic means of data communications, coupled with the growth of computer usage, has extended the need to protect information. PKI can enhance the mechanism of user's authentication, provides the electronic signature of electronic document and protect data with non-repudiation. So, making a secure management system to coincide PKI is a very important issue. In this paper, we present our effort in the design and implementation of a Live-CA CD/DVD on an open source environment to build a CA management system very quickly and develop CA client software by using the Borland C++ Builder 6 to manage every operation of certificate authority with IC card to enhance the security of user's private key.


Parrondo paradox is a counter-intuitive phenomenon where two losing games can be combined to win or two winning games can be combined to lose. When we trade stocks with a history-dependent Parrondo game rule (where we buy and sell stocks based on recent investment outcomes) we found Parrondo paradox in stock trading. Using stock data of the KRX from 2008 to 2010, we analyzed the Parrondo paradoxical cases in the Korean stock market.


The effect of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) on cerebral blood flow (CBF) was studied in 10 patients with chronic cerebral infarction. Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured by single photon emission computed tomography before and after they received PGE1 120 microg daily for 2 weeks. The rCBF of the brainstem, cerebellum, and frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes increased significantly after PGE1 administration. PGE1 also significantly increased the rCBF of the non-infarcted area adjacent to infarction. The results indicate that PGE1 increases the CBF of patients with chronic cerebral infarction without causing the intracerebral steal phenomenon.


: Up to now, better convenience and portability were important factors in the development of the cosmetics and achieved by immersing low viscosity makeup water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion into the impregnation material. Conventionally, polyurethane sponges having porous network structures and hard textures have been dominantly used. It has an advantage of easy to manufacture because of its good impregnation property due to its structural characteristics. However, it releases emulsion too much at first use, and shows unexpected dramatic decline during the period of usage. In this study, we studied on makeup W/O emulsion with various features and developed the new foaming sponge, which showed excellent formability and proper absorption and discharge ability of cosmetic composition through the combination of natural rubber (NR) and styrene butadiene rubber (SBR). This impregnation material is characterized by the softness of elasticity like a rubber, high elongation and uniform output. We confirmed that this material can be used to develop makeup products using various oils depending on polarity and controlling the viscosity of the makeup W/O emulsion. Thus, it is concluded that these results provide valuable information in developing new cosmetics impregnation materials.


Background: Insufficient physical activity is a growing public health challenge among Nigerian adolescents. Significant information gap exists on the drivers of the physical activity behaviours of in-school adolescents in Nigeria. This study was conducted to identify the factors influencing the physical activity behaviours of in-school adolescents within the school settings. Methods: This was a qualitative study conducted in 12 public and private schools in two local government areas of Oyo state, Nigeria. Two key sources of data were used: six key informant interviews with school principals and six focus group discussions with classroom teachers using pre-tested guides. Data was analysed using thematic analysis.Results: Several factors influence the physical activity behaviours of adolescents. Personal characteristics such as adolescents' sex and age and social factors such as norms associated with gender participation in sports, cultural and religious views influenced the physical activity behaviours of the adolescents. The negative attitudinal dispositions of parents and teachers and low prioritisation of physical education were identified as critical barriers to physical activity participation. Other school-related factors such as increasing demand for classroom academic time, inadequate funding for schools which limits the recruitment of physical health education teachers, provision of facilities and equipment as well as security threats and brawling associated with competitive school-based sporting events were identified also as limiting opportunities for the effective implementation of policies and programmes for physical activity in schools.Conclusions: Drivers of insufficient physical activity among in-school adolescents are multifactorial. Implementation of holistic, multi-component interventions which address the individual, parental, social and school-level factors and limit students' participation and opportunities for physical activity in schools are recommended.


This monograph is a thoughtful re-examination of Greek notions of human progress in the fifth century. The author, starting from a critique of Dodds's The Ancient Concept of Progress by Lloyd-Jones, shows that then, no more than in later antiquity, was there an 'Idea of Progress', if that implies the belief that the human race is bettering itself as a whole, all the time and in all respects. The book includes a helpful analysis of Thuc. 1.1-19; it might have been worth bringing out how in the whole of Thucydides military strength, or the search for it, is seen to undo civilization, since the historian's work is, in part, the tragedy of progress in power. But the author's point is well made in any case; and he clearly illustrates what is often true, that it was not the Greeks who 'lacked' a modern idea (or dream), but rather we who should learn from their cool and serious scrutiny of man.


OBJECTIVE
Over the last several years, the Finite Element Analysis (FEM) has been widely recognized as a reference method in different fields of study, to simulate the distribution of mechanical stress, in order to evaluate the relative distribution of loads of different nature. The aim of this study is to investigate through the FEM analysis the stress distribution in fixed prostheses that have a core in Zirconia and a ceramic veneer supported by implants.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
In this work we investigated the mechanical flexural strength of a ceramic material (Noritake(®)) and a of zirconium framework (Zircodent(®)) and the effects of the manufacturing processes of the material commonly performed during the production of fixed prostheses with CAD/CAM technology. Specifically three point bending mechanical tests were performed (three-point-bending) (1-3), using a machine from Test Equipment Instron 5566(®), on two structures in zirconium framework-ceramic (structures supported by two implant abutments with pontic elements 1 and 2). A further in-depth analysis on the mechanical behavior in flexure of the specimens was conducted carrying out FEM studies in order to compare analog and digital data.

RESULTS
The analysis of the data obtained showed that the stresses are distributed in a different way according to the intrinsic elasticity of the structure. The analysis of FPD with four elements, the stresses are mainly concentrated on the surface of the load, while, in the FPD of three elements, much more rigid, the stresses are concentrated near the inner margins of the abutments. The concentration of many stresses in this point could be correlated to chipping (4) that is found in the outer edges of the structure, as a direct result of the ceramic brittleness which opposes the resilience of the structure subjected to bending.

CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of the UY linear displacement confirms previous data, showing, in a numerical way, that the presence of the ceramic is related to the lowering of the structure. So, the reference values are those of the linear lowering obtained in the Mechanical Test and in our FEM analysis. zirconium framework with four elements 4,227 10(-2)mm.zirconium framework with ceramic structure with four elements 2,266 10(-2) mm.That suggests that the presence of ceramics halves the flexion capabilities of the prosthetic materials.


A configurable, record capacity extensible and nonuniformity reducible of high speed camera is designed in this paper. The CMOS image sensor lupa-300 which is produced by Cypress Corporation is used for the system. There is nonuniformity existed in the sensor. The two point method of the image with real time correction algorithm has applied to process the image nonuniformity. Then the corrected image is storied into the NandFlash array. To improve the record speed and extend record capacity, the pipelining and parallel bus mechanism is adopted. The experiment which is based on hardware platform indicates the camera can take about 250f/s at a resolution of 640∗480, the consistent storage speed is up to 614.4 Mb/s, consistent transmit from flash to Camera Link speed up to 1.093Gb/s. The system record time is up to 18.6 minutes.


This series is devoted to continuing research at the interfaces of ecology and ethics (embedded in the multiple fields of philosophy and ecology) to broaden our conceptual and practical frameworks in this transdisciplinary field. Confronted with global environmental change, the academic community still labors under a tradition of strong disciplinary dissociation that hinders the integration of ecological understanding and ethical values to comprehensively address the complexities of current socio-ecological problems. During the 1990s and 2000s, a transdisciplinary integration of ecology with social disciplines, especially economics, has been institutionalized via interdisciplinary societies, research programs, and mainstream journals. Work at this interface has produced novel techniques and protocols for assessing monetary values of biodiversity and ecosystem services, as illustrated by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. At the beginning of the 2010s, however, an equivalent integration between ecology and philosophy still remains elusive. This series undertakes the task to develop crucial theoretical and practical linkages between ecology and ethics through interdisciplinary, international, collaborative teamwork. It aims to establish a new forum and research platform to work on this vital, but until now insufficiently researched intersection between the descriptive and normative domains. The scope of this series is to facilitate the exploration of sustainable and just ways of co-inhabitation among diverse humans, and among humans and other-than-human co-inhabitants with whom we share our heterogeneous planet. It will address topics integrating the multiple fields of philosophy and ecology such as biocultural homogenization, Planetary or Earth Stewardship.


Analysis of a network in terms of vulnerability is one of the most significant problems. Graph theory serves as a valuable tool for solving complex network problems, and there exist numerous graph-theoretic parameters to analyze the system's stability. Among these parameters, the closeness parameter stands out as one of the most commonly used vulnerability metric. Its definition has evolved over time to enhance ease of formulation and applicability to disconnected structures. Furthermore, based on the closeness parameter, residual closeness, which is a newer and more sensitive parameter compared to other existing parameters, has been introduced as a new graph vulnerability index by Dangalchev. In this study, the outcomes of the closeness and residual closeness parameters in Harary Graphs have been examined. Harary Graphs are well-known constructs that are distinguished by having $n$ vertices that are $k$-connected with the least possible number of edges.


Play is an enjoyable and developmentally useful part of early childhood, and parent-child play is a highly productive mechanism by which children learn to participate in the world. We conducted an observational lab study to examine how 15 parent-child pairs (children age 4-6) respond to and play with tablet apps as compared to analog toys. We found that parents and children were less likely to engage with each other or to respond to each other's bids for attention during play sessions with tab-lets versus play sessions with toys. We also observed that specific design features of tablet devices and children's apps-such as one-sided interfaces, game paradigms that demand continual attention, and lack of support for parallel interaction-are the primary mechanism shaping these differences. We provide guidance suggesting how children's apps might be re-designed to preserve the ad-vantages of digital play experiences while also evolving to build in the advantages of traditional toys.


Lumbar loading causes increased intervertebral pressure and is an important factor in low back pain. However, it is difficult to quantitatively judge the actions that affect lumbar load and the magnitude of lumbar load increase. Low back pain occurs not only in the workplace but also during activities of daily living. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the factors inducing low back pain by measuring movements in various planes and determining the magnitude of the lumbar load. Accordingly, the lumbar spine should be examined during various movements. Several studies have examined vertebral bodies in the anteflexion posture. Howev-er, the relationship between body flexion angle and vertebral body angle during lateral flexion and rotation re-mains unknown. In this study, we proposed an estimation method for changes in vertebral body angle during lateral flexion and rotation in the lumbosacral region using a wearable sensor system we previously developed. The accuracy of the proposed estimation method was evaluated and demonstrated using X-ray images.


The emerging field of Human-Robot Interaction is undergoing rapid growth, motivated by important societal challenges and new applications for personal robotic technologies for the general public. In this talk, I highlight several projects from my research group to illustrate recent research trends to develop socially interactive robots that work and learn with people as partners. An important goal of this work is to use interactive robots as a scientific tool to understand human behavior, to explore the role of physical embodiment in interactive technology, and to use these insights to design robotic technologies that can enhance human performance and quality of life. Throughout the talk I will highlight synergies with HCI and connect HRI research goals to specific applications in healthcare, education, and communication.


In the pursuit of new leishmanicidal natural products, 5,7,4'-trihydroxyflavan [1] and the new product, 5,7-dihydroxy-4'-methoxyflavan [2], were isolated from the Guianian medicinal plant Faramea guianensis.


Reading through mobile phones is increasingly popularized worldwide, particularly among young adults. However, few researchers investigate EFL learners' attitudes towards smartphone-based reading. The present research conducted a questionnaire survey to explore EFL learners' perceptions and beliefs by integrating the reading attitude model with the technology acceptance model UTAUT2. One hundred ninety-two participants responded to the questionnaire. The statistical data analysis, including t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA), indicated that Chinese EFL learners were generally positive in smartphone-based reading. Although they did not show keen feelings about it or form a habit of using the smartphone for EFL reading, they could perceive its usefulness and ease of use and positively believed in its future use in EFL reading. Additionally, gender differences did not impact EFL learners' overall attitudes. Still, participants' interest in English and experiences in mobile reading did suggest positive influences on their attitudes towards reading through the phone. Finally, the implications of the results and pedagogical practice of smartphone use in EFL reading are discussed.


SUMMARY Most aquatic insects do not survive subzero temperatures and, for those that do, the physiology has not been well characterized. Nemoura arctica is a species of stonefly widely distributed throughout arctic and subarctic Alaska. We collected nymphs from the headwaters of the Chandalar River, where we recorded streambed temperatures as low as –12.7°C in midwinter. When in contact with ice, autumn-collected N. arctica cool to –1.5±0.4°C before freezing, but individuals survived temperatures as low as –15°C, making this the first described species of freeze-tolerant stonefly. N. arctica clearly survive freezing in nature, as winter-collected nymphs encased in ice demonstrated high survivorship when thawed. In the laboratory, 87% of N. arctica nymphs frozen to –15°C for 2.5 weeks survived and, within one month of thawing, 95% of the last-instar nymphs emerged. N. arctica produce both glycerol and ice-binding factors (e.g. antifreeze protein) in response to low temperature. Hemolymph glycerol concentrations increased from 3 mmol l–1 to 930±114 mmol l–1 when temperatures were decreased from 4°C to –8°C, and N. arctica continued to produce glycerol even while frozen. Although the hemolymph of individual cold-acclimated nymphs occasionally exhibited more than a degree of thermal hysteresis, typically the hemolymph exhibited only hexagonal crystal growth, indicating a low concentration of ice-binding factor. Hemolymph of nymphs acclimated to subzero temperatures had recrystallization inhibition. These results demonstrate that, in the face of freezing conditions, N. arctica exhibit overwintering adaptations similar to those of terrestrial insects.


The global pandemic of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is predominantly a respiratory illness, but gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations of variable severity have been reported. In patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, observational studies have demonstrated the elevation of pancreatic enzymes as surrogate markers for pancreatic injury without evidence of acute pancreatitis (AP). We report a case of AP in a patient with COVID-19 with SARS-CoV-2 as possible etiological agent with imaging evidence of pancreatitis. We hypothesize a causal relationship of SARS-CoV-2 in this patient with an otherwise unexplained presentation of AP after excluding the common causes. We postulate that AP in COVID-19 could be related to the abundant expression of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE 2) receptors in the pancreas which serve as viral entry binding receptors for SARS-CoV-2 or due to direct viral involvement of the pancreas. Although there seems to be an association between diabetes and AP, the available data regarding the etiological role of diabetes in causing AP is very limited. We also propose that imaging studies such as computerized tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen should be considered in the diagnosis of AP in patients with COVID-19 infection to exclude the false positive amylase and lipase.


Methyl Bromide in the United States is supplied by only four firms (two producers and two importers) who reap windfall profits from MB restrictions. Since 1992 we estimate that over $300 million in cumulative windfall profits have resulted from restrictions on Methyl Bromide and currently run between $65 to $80 million annually. We examine the factors that influenced this price rise, the changes in quota premiums and deadweight losses under trade and no-trade scenarios; and how methods to capture and redistribute windfall profits will alter efficiency and equity.


Sewage sludge is often separately handled from solid wastes with possible technical problems and diseconomies. Combined composting, incineration and landfilling would allow operating modalities to be optimised and costs reduced. To correctly perform management operations and fulfill legal requirements, standardized characterization methods and guidelines of good practice are required. So CEN established the Technical Committee 308 in support to the development of European regulations. Regarding composting, the development of a Biowaste Directive, which includes the evaluation of biological stability, has been undertaken in European Union, and within the context of co-incineration CEN/TC308 published Guidelines dealing with the combined incineration of sludges and household waste. Landfilling is a known disposal practice, but sludge landfilling involves several difficulties, mainly due to its poor physical and biological stability. In this paper main aspects of co-management of sewage sludge and solid wastes are briefly outlined, and developments in European regulations and characterization procedures summarised. Keywords Characterization; co-management; municipal solid wastes; regulations; sewage sludge


This study was an action research which employed regular classroom tests to help students learn and understand some concepts in electricity and magnetism. The participants of the study were 35 Level 200 B.Ed. (Basic Education, JSS Option) pre-service science teachers of the University of Education, Winneba in the Central Region of Ghana. The first phase of the study consisted of a pre-intervention test to gauge the level of the pre-service teachers. The second phase was the implementation of the intervention. The pre-service science teachers were taught for twelve weeks and made to take an essay-type test fortnightly on the concepts they have learnt within the week and the previous weeks. The study used qualitative and quantitative data gathering instruments, pre-service teachers' fortnightly tests and end-of-semester examination. The test items used were teacher-constructed based on the cognitive level of the students and the instructional objectives stipulated in the course outline. Most of the responses the pre-service science teachers provided in the fortnightly tests reflected understanding of the concepts learnt. The tests motivated the pre-service teachers to learn which resulted in an  improvement in their  understanding of concepts in the concepts being taught. The outcome of the study shows that pre-service science teachers should be tested regularly in the classroom in order to maximize their learning output. Keywords: pre-service science teachers, regular classroom tests, concept of electricity and magnetism


In the effort to construct intelligent computer systems, a primary consideration is how to represent large amounts of knowledge in a fashion that permits their effective use and interaction. Indeed, many researchers in the field of artificial intelligence have come to believe that knowledge representation is the fundamental issue in the attempt to understand intelligence. The presentations in this session explore this issue and describe two current important knowledge representation methodologies, namely frames and semantic nets.


With the aim of finding out the pattern of food consumption in different socioeconomic areas of the city of Valencia and examining if the sales data from the supermarkets make up an information source which is capable of detecting inequalities and revealing trends, the sales figures of a chain of supermarkets, referring to 10 food products during 1989 and 1990 were studied. Foods were considered as "healthier" (fruit, vegetables, skimmed milk, fresh fish and chicken), "less healthy" (pork, butter and cakes) and foods indicative of a "new style of eating" (pre-cooked frozen foods and frozen food products). The ratio of between "healthier" food sales and sales of "less healthy" foods is directly related to the socio-economic level of the population. The higher the socioeconomic level, the higher, the ratio of proportions of "healthier" and less healthy" food. This pattern was similar for 1989 (2.78 in lower level districts and 3.32 in higher level districts, and in 1990 (2.92 and 4.09 respectively) (p < 0.01). From these results, we deduce the need for developing different activities for the promotion of healthy foods according to social groups.


The modern mechanization and rationalization of production procedures have recently reduced the intensity of work in most factories. However, it has been pointed out that monotonous inactive work and/or co-operative work can in some sense impose stronger mental and physical stresses which may induce ill health in workers. In this study, assuming the assembly and adjustment of videotape-recorders on a belt conveyor to be representative of monotonous inactive and co-operative work, changes in oxygen consumption, heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, critical flicker fusion and subjective symptoms of fatigue throughout a workday have been followed for six female workers engaged in this type of work. The main results obtained were as follows: The average oxygen consumption of six workers was 230 ml/min, almost unchanged during the work. The belt conveyor work indicated the metabolic rate of 0.3 in terms of relative metabolic rate. The net daily energy expenditure due to the work was only about 100 kcal. The average heart rate during assembly and adjustment were respectively, about 1.4 and 1.2 times the average heart rate at rest. The blood pressure and the rate of oxygen removal increased slightly as the work progressed in assembly work, but did not increase at all in adjustment work. The critical flicker fusion and body temperature showed little change during the work.


The aim of this study was to evaluate if differential learning in a preclinical dental course impacted the performance of dental students in a practical exam (preparation of a gold partial crown) immediately after the training session and 20 weeks later compared to conventional learning. This controlled study was performed in a preclinical course in operative dentistry at a dental school in Germany. Third-year students were trained in preparing gold partial crowns by using either the conventional learning (n=41) or the differential learning approach (n=32). The differential learning approach consisted of 20 movement exercises with a continuous change of movement execution during the learning session, while the conventional learning approach was mainly based on repetition, a methodological series of exercises, and correction of preparations during the training phase. Practical exams were performed immediately after the training session (T1) and 20 weeks later (T2, retention test). Preparations were rated by four independent and blinded examiners. At T1, no significant difference between the performance (exam passed) of the two groups was detected (conventional learning: 54.3%, differential learning: 68.0%). At T2, significantly more students passed the exam when trained by the differential learning approach (68.8%) than by the conventional learning approach (18.9%). Interrater reliability was moderate (Kappa: 0.57, T1) or substantial (Kappa: 0.67, T2), respectively. These results suggest that a differential learning approach can increase the manual skills of dental students.


= Abstract = The present studies were conducted to confirm the hypothesis that xanthine ox idase-linked cytotoxic oxygen free radicals play an important role in producing the reperfusion injury of ischemic myocardium. The reperfusion injury was induced in isolated, Langendorff preparations of rat hearts by 60 min of global ischemia with aortic clamping followed by 20 min of reperfusion with oxygenated Krebs- Henseleit solution. Upon reperfusion of ischemic hearts, the release of creatine phosphokinase, lactic dehydrogenase and a lipid peroxidation product, malondialdehyde into the coronary effluent was abruptly increased. The increase of the enzymes and malondialdehyde was supprressed significantly in the presence of superoxide dismutase or catalse during the reperfusion period. In the hearts removed from rats pretreated with a specific xanthine oxidase inhibitor, allopurino1(20 mglkg, orally 24 hrs and 2 hrs before study}, the increased release of the enzymes and malondialdehyde was also significantly de pressed. This effect of allopurinol was comparable to that of oxygen radical scavengers. When ferricytochrome C was infused to the hearts starting with reperfusion, the SOD-inhibitable re duction of ferricytochrome C increased during the first minute of reperfusion. Hydrogen perox ide measured in the coronary effluents also increased markedly with the similar time course as ferricytochrome C reduction. In the hearts treated with allopurinol, however, both the ferricy tochrome C reduction and HzO z were not increased significantly. Myocardial content of xanth ine oxidase was determined for D-form, O-form and D/O-form separately in the normal con trol hearts and the ischemic ones. Total enzyme content was similar in both hearts. Compared with the normal control, however, the ischemic hearts showed lower activities in D-form and D/O-form, and higher activity in the oxygen radical producing O-form. The proportion of O-form to the total enzyme was much higher in the ischemic heart than in the normal control heart. After 60 min of ischemia, myocardial content of total adenine nucleotides were reduced to 40% of the normal control value, while their catabolic products, hypoxanthine and xanthine were accumulated significantly. These. results provide evidence that xanthine oxidase is in volved in the production of oxygen free radicals during the reperfusion of ischemic heart, and plays a contributing role in the genesis of reperfusion injury.


Islamic NGOs provide relief and humanitarian assistance to poor communities during emergencies, natural disasters (prolonged drought and floods), famine and epidemics. Others are engaged in long-term development activities, including community development, agriculture, water, health and education in the least-developed Muslim countries. Some Islamic NGOs are involved in Da'wa (i.e. Islamic call, an equivalent to Christian evangelism), conversion to Islam as well as in publishing, broadcasting and disseminating Islamic teaching and values. However, Islamic NGOs distinguish themselves from other NGOs by the fact that voluntarism is a religious duty in Islam, and those NGOs which profess an Islamic identity claim also to be advancing a Muslim way of life and expanding the Islamic umma (community) world-wide. As there is no distinction between ethics and law in Islam, there is also no distinction between social, economic, political and religious functions of NGOs beyond the activities in which they are engaged. This paper examines the varieties of ways in which Islamic NGOs have left their imprints on the African continent, arguing that some of these NGOs have been used as a vehicle for spreading political Islam at an accelerated rate combining faith and material rewards among the disfranchised Muslim poor. In common with western-style NGOs, Islamic NGOs have gained a considerable outreach and become part of the global NGO movement, with all its promises and setbacks. On the one hand, Islamic NGOs comprise a modernizing force operating in the field of development, on the other, they agitate for an exclusive Muslim community (umma), hence embodying two contradictory discourses: one reinforces global or universal values, and the other usurps the specificity of Islam. Muslim NGOs seek to solve this contradiction by being cronies to militant Muslim groups, including an emergent tide of indigenous African Islamic fundamentalist movements.


This study further examined the contention of Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump and Smith (1990) that stress management techniques should be matched to the symptoms manifested by performers. It also investigated the changes in cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence of novice rock climbers in a non-competitive situation. Thirty male subjects completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) on four occasions prior to their first rock climb. According to the dominant type of state anxiety shown, subjects were placed in two intervention groups: Cognitively anxious (n = 10) and Somatically anxious (n = 9). Both groups were taught Applied Relaxation (somatic technique). Subjects (n = 11) in which neither somatic nor cognitive anxiety was dominant formed the control group. All subjects completed a twelve week intervention. The data were analysed using three, three-way analyses of variance (group, climb and time-to-climb) with repeated measures on the second and third factors. Results confirmed within this study that the more efficacious approach is to reduce anxiety with a method directed at the dominant type of anxiety being experienced by the performer. Results also indicated a rise in cognitive anxiety and a reduction in self-confidence as subjects drew nearer in time to each of their three climbs, findings which did not reflect previous research in competitive situations.


Causality problems appear in synchronous formalisms basically when one emits an absent signal. Several strategies have been developed to reject programs with causality problems. Strategies based on potential functions are studied, and several formal semantics using these functions are defined for a fragment of the synchronous language Esterel. Implementation in Java of these strategies is also presented. This implementation is based on SugarCubes which is a set of Java classes for reactive programming.


Standing accretion shock instability (SASI) is one of the candidates to solve the mystery of why we cannot reproduce the explosion with the present core-collapse supernova models. We have studied this phenomenon with including neutrino heating and realistic EOS and found that SASI may enhance neutrino heating. Although g-mode of proto-neutron star may enhance the SASI growth, the simulations just including the pressure perturbation as a mimic of g-mode induced sound wave reveal no significant effect on the shock dynamics. Moreover, we discuss the required conditions toward the possible laboratory experiment of SASI.


This paper proposes an iterative inter-cluster interference (ICI) cancellation method for cooperative base station systems on the downlink/uplink. System level simulations were conducted with the parameter sets of cluster size and iteration order. The result showed that even in the imperfect CSI case, the spectral efficiency performance of the proposed method with the optimum parameter set is comparable to that of cooperative transmission/reception via MU-MIMO which can completely remove inter-cell interference. In addition, since the proposed method can be practiced in a simple manner, it also has a remarkable advantage to reduce computational complexity. It is a practical way to realize the nationwide wireless systems.