Background. Hyperlipidemia is a common clinical chronic disease that increases the incidence of cardiovascular disease. However, although oral drug therapy can reduce blood lipids, long-term drug treatment may cause various side effects. Therefore, it is important to find suitable alternatives for the treatment of hyperlipidemia. The classic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription Danshen decoction (DSD) has been found effective for the treatment of hyperlipidemia. This protocol aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of DSD in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. Methods and Analysis. We will screen all the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which research DSD in the treatment of hyperlipidemia from 7 databases from their inception to July 2022; three investigators will independently screen and select RCTs and extract data and assess the risk of bias. The Cochrane scale, Jadad scale, and GRADE scale will be used to assess the risk of bias, literature quality, and outcome quality, respectively. Review Manager V.5.4 will be used for the meta-analysis, and the results will be presented as the risk ratio (RR) for the binary data and the mean difference (MD) or standardized mean difference (SMD) for the continuous data. Ethical approval and Dissemination. This protocol for a systematic review will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication and ethical approval is not applicable. PROSPERO registration number.CRD42022352467.


The aim of this paper is to prove the existence of the common fixed point for pair of multivalued maps in cone metric spaces and these theorems generalize the recent results of various authors. AMS Subject Classification: 47H10, 54 H25.


Abstract Records of 18 species of the families Micropezidae (1 species), Lonchaeidae (1 species), Lauxaniidae (1 species), Chamaemyiidae (6 species), Agromyzidae (6 species) and Chloropidae (3 species) from glacial sand deposits in the Czech Silesia (NE Czech Republic) are presented and their association with sandy habitats is discussed. All of them are recorded from the Czech Silesia for the first time, 4 are new additions to the fauna of Moravia and 9 for the whole Czech Republic. None of the recorded species is psammobiont but five of them are classified as psammophilous, viz. Micropeza lateralis Meigen, 1826 (Micropezidae), Calliopum geniculatum (Fabricius, 1805) (Lauxaniidae), Cerodontha (Xenophytomyza) leptophallus L. Papp, 2016, Ophiomyia disordens Pakalniškis, 1998 (both Agromyzidae), Aphanotrigonum parahastatum Dely-Draskovits, 1981 (Chloropidae), and Leucopis celsa Tanasijtshuk, 1979 as probably psammophilous. A new easternmost record of M. lateralis (from S. Poland: Godów) is presented and the association of this species and C. geniculatum with growths of Cytisus scoparius is confirmed. Leucopis monticola Tanasijtshuk, 1961, L. celsa and A. parahastatum are recorded from northernmost known localities. These species, and also C. (X.) leptophallus seem to be thermophilous and/or xerophilous and can be considered southern elements in the Silesian fauna of Diptera.


This paper introduces a novel scheme for testing register-transfer level (RTL) controller/data paths using built-in self-test (BIST). The scheme uses the controller netlist and the data path of a circuit to extract a test control/data flow (TCDF) graph. This TCDF is used to derive a set of symbolic justification and propagation paths (known as the test environment) to test some of the operations and variables present in it. If it becomes difficult to generate such test environments with the derived TCDF's, a few test multiplexers are added at suitable points in the circuit to increase its controllability and observability. The test environment of an operation (variable) guarantees the existence of a path from the primary inputs of the circuit to the inputs of the module (register) to which the operation (variable) is mapped, and a path from the output of the module (register) to a primary output of the circuit. Since the search for a test environment is done symbolically, it is very fast and needs to be done only once for each module or register,in the circuit. This test environment can then be used to exercise a module or register in the circuit with pseudorandom pattern generators which are placed only at the primary inputs of the circuit. The test responses can he analyzed with signature analyzers which are only placed at the primary outputs of the circuit. Unlike many RTL BIST schemes, an increase in the data path bit-width does not adversely impact the complexity of our testability analysis scheme since the analysis is symbolic. Every module in the module library is made random-pattern testable, whenever possible, using gate-level testability insertion techniques. This is a one-time cost. Finally, a BIST controller is synthesized to provide the necessary control signals to form the different test environments during testing, and a BIST architecture is superimposed on the circuit. Experimental results on a number of industrial and university benchmarks show that high fault coverage (>99%) can be obtained with our scheme. The average area overhead of the scheme is 6.9% which is much lower than many existing logic-level BIST schemes. The average delay overhead is only 2.5%. The test application time to achieve the high fault coverage for the whole circuit is also quite low.


Today, wastewater irrigation is one of the best options to reduce the stress on limited availability of fresh water and to meet the nutrient requirements of crops. In the present study, the simulation accuracy and performance of the HYDRUS-1D model to predict phosphorus leaching have been evaluated and compared to lysimeter data. More specifically, the effects of irrigation using four types of water (wastewater, effluent, mixture of freshwater and effluent, and freshwater) on three types of soil (sandy loam, loam, and clay loam) have been investigated both experimentally and numerically. Barley was planted as a common agricultural crop. The leachates from lysimeters have been collected and sampled at the beginning, middle, and end of the growing season. These samples have then been analyzed for phosphorous. The results show that the trend of change in nutrient concentration (P) was a function of plant requirement. Maximum process of leaching occurred concurrent with minimum plant requirement. The average phosphorus leaching into the root depths turns out to be insignificant, as it amounts to only 0.65–1.65%. This reassuring result means that wastewater with high concentrations of phosphorus compounds (up to 5–10.3 PO 4 -P mgl −1 ) can just be treated through an intermittent application to the land surface. Overall, a good agreement between experimental- and numerical-model results is obtained, wherefore the model overestimates the mean phosphate leaching during the growing season of the crop slightly. On the basis of these results, soil with loamy texture was considered to be the most suitable type for irrigation with wastewater and effluent. The results of this research indicate that with a proper management program in regard to the types of soil to be used, crops to be cultivated, water quality, and timing maneuver, the negative impacts of low quality water on soil/plant/groundwater systems can be minimized.


. In this paper we introduce a notion of F − quadratic stochastic operator. For a wide class of such operators we show that each operator of the class has unique fixed point. Also we prove that any trajectory of the F -quadratic stochastic operator converges to the fixed point exponentially fast.


A 57-year-old black woman required a daily dosage of 50 mg of warfarin sodium to maintain her prothrombin time in a therapeutic range. The central volume of distribution and clearance of warfarin were normal for this patient. These findings, combined with the patient's requirement for plasma warfarin levels four times greater than those usually required to achieve adequate anticoagulation, indicated that the relative resistance was due to altered pharmacodynamics of warfarin. The only child of the propositus, a daughter, showed a similar relative resistance, confirming that this family is the third to be reported with hereditary resistance to warfarin.


All accounts of language acquisition agree that, by around age 4, children's knowledge of grammatical constructions is abstract, rather than tied solely to individual lexical items. The aim of the present research was to investigate, focusing on the passive, whether children's and adults' performance is additionally semantically constrained, varying according to the distance between the semantics of the verb and those of the construction. In a forced-choice pointing study (Experiment 1), both 4- to 6-year olds (N = 60) and adults (N = 60) showed support for the prediction of this semantic construction prototype account of an interaction such that the observed disadvantage for passives as compared to actives (i.e., fewer correct points/longer reaction time) was greater for experiencer-theme verbs than for agent-patient and theme-experiencer verbs (e.g., Bob was seen/hit/frightened by Wendy). Similarly, in a production/priming study (Experiment 2), both 4- to 6-year olds (N = 60) and adults (N = 60) produced fewer passives for experiencer-theme verbs than for agent-patient/theme-experiencer verbs. We conclude that these findings are difficult to explain under accounts based on the notion of A(rgument) movement or of a monostratal, semantics-free, level of syntax, and instead necessitate some form of semantic construction prototype account.


ABSTRACT We report a pervaporation process to remove water from a solution containing ionic liquid (IL) + solvent + water. Specifically, Nafion-based membranes were employed for the separation, and tributylmethylammonium dimethylphosphate and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) were the IL and solvent, respectively. Membrane swelling in contact with the IL–NMP–H2O solution was accommodated by judicious use of gaskets and membrane supports. The pervaporation fluxes of water and NMP increased with temperature and flow rate of the permeate sweep gas. Among the membranes examined, a commercially available Nafion membrane (XL, Ion Power) provided the highest water (10 mg h−1 cm−2) and NMP (182 mg h−1 cm−2) fluxes. The results show that pervaporation separation is a technologically feasible method to decrease the water content of an IL–NMP–H2O solution from 1 to 0.5 wt%.


This study was prompted by two rubella outbreaks that occurred in northern Greece in the last decade (1993 and 1999) and by periodic changes to the immunisation strategy. It was designed to determine the current status of rubella immunity and vaccination coverage in this region, eight years after the last outbreak in 1999 and seven years after the last epidemiological study in the area. Among the 685 subjects studied the seroprevalence was 83.7% and the total vaccination rate was 31.3%. In people born before the introduction in 1989 of the measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine into the national immunisation programme, higher rates of rubella seropositivity (88.1%) were observed compared to those born after 1989 (77.1%). The vaccination rates for these age groups were 14.8% and 58.1%, respectively. The reason for this difference is the lack of vaccination at the time these people were children, and it underlines the need for a vaccination strategy targeting older people as well. Among women of reproductive age (16-40 years), who represented 44.8% of the study population, 13.9% were susceptible to rubella and only 18.5% were vaccinated. These results indicate that there is a great need for a comprehensive policy designed to protect mostly young adults and women of childbearing age in order to prevent congenital rubella infections. This policy should also include competent surveillance systems for rubella and congenital rubella syndrome and an evaluation of existing immunisation programmes.


This essay is concerned with social and cultural problems of producing, consuming, and using technology. Based on epistemologies of doing, we race and queer the interface while doing technologies as they are located in specific contexts and moments. Our multi-vocal cyberethnographic engagement explores the production of selves at the intersection of online/offline activities. Our narratives shed light on how power works in multiply mediated contexts and reveals how ideology, discourse, and material practice interweave in the production of global/local cyberselves. Situated in her own specific socio-cultural personal context, each one of us attempts to understand the processes of identity production at the computer interface and to capture the (in)visible code that serves as the framework for the interaction.


Multi-joint/multi-degree of freedom (DOF) human arm impedance estimation is important in many disciplines. However, as the number of joints/DOFs increases, it may become intractable to identify the system reliably. A robust, unbiased and tractable estimation method based on a systematic dynamics decomposition, which decomposes a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) system into multiple single-input multi-output (SIMO) subsystems, is developed. Accuracy and robustness of the new method were validated through a human arm and a 2-DOF exoskeleton robot simulation with various magnitudes of sensor resolution and nonlinear friction. The approach can be similarly applied to identify more sophisticated systems with more joints/DOFs involved.


Differential privacy is a privacy technique with provable guarantees which is typically achieved by introducing noise to statistics before releasing them. The level of privacy is characterized by a certain numeric parameter E > 0, where smaller E means more privacy. However, there is no common agreement on how small E should be, and the actual likelihood of data leakage for the same E may vary for different released statistics and different datasets. In this paper, we show how to relate E to the increase in the probability of attacker's success in guessing something about the private data. The attacker's goal is stated as a Boolean expression over guessing particular categorical and numerical attributes, where numeric attributes can be guessed with some precision. The paper is built upon the definition of d-privacy, which is a gencralization of E-differential privacy.


. The paper considers the existence of the maximal possible hyperplane partition of a continuous probability Borel measure in R 4 . The emphases is on the use of the equivariant ideal valued index theory of Fadell and Husseini. The presented result is the tightest positive solution to one of the oldest and most relentless partition problems posed by B. Gr¨unbaum [12].


The alc gene product (gpalc) of bacteriophage T4 inhibits the transcription of cytosine-containing DNA in vivo. We examined its effect on transcription in vitro by comparing RNA polymerase isolated from Escherichia coli infected with either wild-type T4D+ or alc mutants. A 50 to 60% decline in RNA polymerase activity, measured on phage T7 DNA, was observed by 1 min after infection with either T4D+ or alc mutants; this did not occur when the infecting phage lacked gpalt. In the case of the T4D+ strain but not alc mutants, this was followed by a further decrease. By 5 min after infection the activity of alc mutants was 1.5 to 2.5 times greater than that of the wild type on various cytosine-containing DNA templates, whereas there was little or no difference in activity on T4 HMdC-DNA, in agreement with the in vivo specificity. Effects on transcript initiation and elongation were distinguished by using a T7 phage DNA template. Rifampin challenge, end-labeling with [gamma-32P]ATP, and selective initiation with a dinucleotide all indicate that the decreased in vitro activity of the wild-type polymerase relative to that of the alc mutants was due to inhibition of elongation, not to any difference in initiation rates. Wild-type (but not mutated) gpalc copurified with RNA polymerase on heparin agarose but not in subsequent steps. Immunoprecipitation of modified RNA polymerase also indicated that gpalc was not tightly bound to RNA polymerase intracellularly. It thus appears likely that gpalc inhibits transcript elongation on cytosine-containing DNA by interacting with actively transcribing core polymerase as a complex with the enzyme and cytosine-rich stretches of the template.


In order to meet modern industrial and scientific demands the Kraken multi-physics platform's development was recently launched at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The neutronic solver of the framework consists of two calculation chains, providing full core solutions by the Serpent high fidelity code (1) and the AFEN/FENM-based reduced-order diffusion solver called Ants (2) capable of handling square and hexagonal geometries in steady-state. Present work introduces the simulation of a large 3600 MWth Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) described within the activities of the Working Party on Scientific Issues of Reactor Systems (WPRS) of OECD. Full-core 3D results were obtained by Serpent for carbide- and oxide-fuel cores, moreover group constants were generated for Ants utilizing 2D super-cell and single assembly infinite lattice models of Serpent. The continuous-energy Monte Carlo method provided the reference results for the verification of the reduced-order method. Implementing the spatially homogenized properties, 3D solutions were obtained by Ants as well for both core configurations. Comparison was made between the various core designs and codes based on reactivity feedbacks (Doppler constant, sodium voiding, control rod worth) considering power distributions. Regarding reactivity sensitivity on geometry, axial fuel- and radial core expansion coefficients were evaluated as well.


Our research program is designed to carry out state-of-the-art atomic physics calculations crucial to advancing our understanding of fundamental astrophysical problems. We redress the present inadequacies in the atomic data base along two important areas: dielectronic recombination and inner-shell photoionization and multiple electron ejection/Auger fluorescence therefrom. All of these data are disseminated to the astrophysical community in the proper format for implementation in spectral simulation codes.


The Savannah River Site (SRS) stores packages containing plutonium (Pu) materials in the K-Area Complex (KAC). The Pu materials are packaged per the DOE 3013 Standard and stored within Model 9975 shipping packages in KAC. The KAC facility DSA (Document Safety Analysis) credits the Model 9975 package to perform several safety functions, including criticality prevention, impact resistance, containment, and fire resistance to ensure the plutonium materials remain in a safe configuration during normal and accident conditions. The Model 9975 package is expected to perform its safety function for at least 12 years from initial packaging. The DSA recognizes the degradation potential for the materials of package construction over time in the KAC storage environment and requires an assessment of materials performance to validate the assumptions of the analysis and ultimately predict service life. As part of the comprehensive Model 9975 package surveillance program, destructive examination of package 9975-02028 was performed following field surveillance in accordance with Reference. Field surveillance of the Model 9975 package in KAC included nondestructive examination of the drum, fiberboard, lead shield and containment vessels. Results of the field surveillance are provided in Attachment 1. Destructive and non-destructive examinations have been performed on specified components of shipping package 9975-02168. For those attributes that were also measured during the field surveillance, no significant changes were observed. Two conditions were identified that do not meet inspection criteria. These conditions are subject to additional investigation and disposition by the Surveillance Program Authority. The conditions include: (1) The lead shield was covered with a white corrosion layer, and (2) Fiberboard thermal conductivity in the axial direction exceeded the specified range. The Surveillance Program Authority was notified of these conditions and will document the findings by surveillance report. All other observations and test results met identified criteria, or were collected for information and trending purposes.


Corrosion studies of a 20 v/o SiCw/P/M 7091 aluminum composite material were performed. The plate material, which was heat treated to the T-6 and T-7 temper by conventional methods, showed preferential corrosion of the surface layers up to 2-mm thick. The regions of corrosion susceptibility were determined to be due to improper processing and thermal treatments. Cold worked regions due to extrusion were not completely removed by the conventional solution treatment and thus appeared as more corrosion-susceptible. Large-void volume fraction and excessive segregation of SiCw was also noted. Electrochemical, microscopic, and analytical techniques were used in these investigations. Attempts were made to remove the cold-worked regions and study the resultant corrosion properties. Attempts were made to remove the cold worked regions and study the resultant corrosion properties. A comparative analysis of these results is discussed.


During the freezing and frozen storage of unpackaged foods, their surface is exposed to mass transfer with the environment. Basically, ice sublimes and forms a dry, porous layer. This fact alters the sensory characteristics of the products and originates an important quality loss. In this work, a mathematical model was used to predict the thickness of the dehydrated layer, taking into account the influence of operating conditions and food characteristics. Based on the predictions of the numerical model, 2 regression equations were proposed to calculate the size of the dehydrated layer after freezing and storage, having the operating conditions and food properties as parameters. Besides, the frozen storage of the products was studied over different time periods (1, 2, and 3 mo) using beef cylinders and slices, as well as minced beef balls and hamburgers. The dimension of the dehydrated layer and the induced changes in the food surface structure were determined by image analysis and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). The experiments determined an increase in the depth of the dehydrated layer when storage times are longer, which could be adequately related to storage conditions through the predictions from the numerical model and the regression equations.


The recent actions stemming from the Third Plenary Meeting of the 17th Party's Congress of the CCP Central Committee in China, including allowing farmers to transfer their land use rights, commonly known as the Land Use Right Market, represent a big step in both rural land system reform and economic reform. Based on an empirical study and the approach of logistic analysis, this paper introduces the nature and importance of Land Use Right Market in China today and then, with the purpose of investigating reasons why land use right transfers in Hebei have happened so infrequently, it examines variables that have influences on transfer market. It can be concluded that the Land Use Right Market has a strong association with households' per capita land, land property status and farmer's income structure.


The dispersal of spores from lesions of brown (Puccinia recondita f.sp. tritici) or yellow (P. striiformis) rusts of wheat by impacting drops was studied. Using a generator of uniform-size drops, drops of 2.5, 3.4, 4.2 and 4.9 mm in diameter were released from rest at heights of 5, 50 and 100 cm above horizontal and primary leaves uniformly covered with sporulating lesions. Dry-dispersal and rain-splash occurred simultaneously in response to drop impaction. A coloration technique allowed separate counting of dry-dispersed and rain-splashed spores caught on slides. More spores were rain-splashed than dry-dispersed. Neither removal mechanism affected in-vitro germination of spores, which was higher in brown than in yellow rust. For both rusts, the number of both dry-dispersed and rain-splashed spores, as well as their travel distance, increased with drop diameter and fall height. The fall speed of incident drops in relation to diameter and fall height was obtained by solving numerically the equation of vertical drop motion. The number of spores removed by a given impacting drop was found to be a power function of the calculated kinetic energy of the impacting drop. Based on this experimental relationship, a simulation study showed the relevance of rain type in the removal of spores.


Abstract: Although extensive manipulative experiments have been conducted to study the effects of altered precipitation intensity and duration on soil greenhouse gas (GHG; carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O)) fluxes, the general patterns of GHGs to altered precipitation have not been globally described across biomes. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis of 84 published studies to examine the general responses of CO2, CH4, and N2O fluxes to altered precipitation. Our results indicated that increased precipitation significantly increased N2O emissions (+154.0%) and CO2 fluxes (+112.2%) and significantly decreased CH4 uptake (-41.4%); decreased precipitation significantly decreased N2O emissions (-64.7%) and CO2 fluxes (-8.6%) and significantly increased CH4 uptake (+32.4%). Moreover, increased precipitation significantly increased litter biomass and microbial biomass and decreased root biomass and the root:shoot ratio. However, decreased precipitation significantly decreased litter biomass and root biomass and significantly increased root:shoot ratio. These results suggest that precipitation changes could alter the carbon distribution patterns in plants. In addition, the CO2, CH4, and N2O fluxes exhibited diverse responses to different ecosystems, durations of precipitation changes, and changes in precipitation intensity. These results demonstrate that there are many factors that regulate the responses of GHG to precipitation changes.


The epidermal effects of activator (cadmium) or inhibitors (calcium and amiloride) as well as their interactions in active Na transport through bullfrog abdominal skin were analyzed kinetically. Cadmium at 1 mM increased the short circuit (SCC) to 126%. The Hill coefficient (n) for the relation between [Cd2+] and SCC was 0.737, which indicated negative cooperation. Calcium at over 8 mM decreased the SCC to 80% at its maximum effect. Calcium inhibited the Cd2+-induced SCC at lower [Cd2+], and facilitated it at higher [Cd2+]. Calcium acted uncompetitively on the binding reaction of Na+ with a Na entry channel. Cd2+ alone or Cd2+ under the influence of Calcium also acted uncompetitively on the reaction. Amiloride at 5 X 10-5 M inhibited the SCC almost completely. The Hill coefficient in the relation between amiloride and SCC was 0.757, indicating the presence of negative cooperation. In contrast to the effect of calcium, the Cd2+-induced SCC was much reduced at higher [amiloride]. Amiloride inhibited the channel-Na binding reaction in a mixed manner (competitive + noncompetitive), while Cd2+ activated the reaction under the influence of amiloride noncompetitively. From the SCC model based on the hypothesis that the kinetic constants are invariable even under interaction of the activator and inhibitors, the percentage of the various forms of channel.ion complex were calculated. The SCC was then calculated, assuming that is was directly proportional to the sum of the rate of decomposition of channel.Na complex and the higher rate of decomposition of channel.Na.Cdn complex. The above assumption is supported by the fact that there is good agreement between the calculated SCC and experimentally obtained SCC in the mixture of the activator and the inhibitor.


BACKGROUND
Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disorder characterised by thrombosis and/or pregnancy morbidity in the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) based on the Sydney criteria. We aimed to explore the clinico-laboratory features and treatment strategies of APS patients retrospectively.

METHODOLOGY
The medical records of APS patients registered under Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (Kelantan state) between 2000 and 2015 were reviewed.

RESULTS
A total of 17 APS subjects (age 40.7 ± 12.8 years) including 11 primary (64.7%) and six secondary APS (35.3%) patients were identified. The follow-up period was 9.5 ± 6.7 years with male:female ratio of 1.0:4.7. Pregnancy morbidity was the most common clinical manifestation (11/14; 78.6%) followed by recurrent venous thrombosis (10/17; 58.8%). For other clinical features, menorrhagia was the most frequently observed manifestation (4/14; 28.6%) followed by aPLs-associated thrombocytopenia (4/17; 23.5%) and ovarian cyst (3/14; 21.4%). LA and aCL were positive in 94.1% (16/17) and 81.8% (9/11) of the patients, respectively. APTT value (76.7 ± 17.0 sec) was significantly high (p < 0.05). Low intensity warfarin alone was successful to maintain target INR (2.0 - 3.0) and prevent recurrence of thrombosis.

CONCLUSION
The tendency of pregnancy morbidity in this cohort of Malaysian Kelantanese APS patients was high compared to other previously reported APS cohorts. Low intensity warfarin was successful in preventing recurrence of thrombosis, however, APS women receiving long-term anticoagulants should be monitored for possible occurrence of menorrhagia and ovarian cysts.


GP Inference on large datasets is computationally expensive, especially when the observation likelihood is non-Gaussian. To reduce the computation, many recent variational inference methods define the variational distribution based on a small number of inducing points. These methods have a hard tradeoff between distribution flexibility and computational efficiency. In this paper, we focus on the approximation of GP posterior at a local level: we define a reusable template to approximate the posterior at neighborhoods while maintaining a global approximation. We first construct a variational distribution such that the inference for a data point considers only its neighborhood, thereby separating the calculation for each data point. We then train Graph Convolutional Networks as a reusable model to run inference for each data point. Comparing to previous methods, our method greatly reduces the number of parameters and also the number of optimization iterations. In empirical evaluations, the proposed method significantly speeds up the inference and often gets more accurate results than competing methods.


A patient was recently evaluated who had longstanding sarcoidosis with lymphadenopathy and multiple, small lung nodules, and who developed a new, 9 cm solitary pulmonary mass in the right lower lobe. After thoracotomy, this lesion was ultimately found to be lymphomatoid granulomatosis, a rare lymphoproliferative disorder. Radiographic evaluations of patients with this disorder characteristically show multiple, bilateral reticulonodular opacities that follow the bronchovascular bundles; however, presentation with a solitary, large pulmonary mass is rare. The present case illustrates the need for complete evaluation of new clinical and radiographic findings in the setting of chronic lung disease.


Stockholm Water is a water and sewage company with Henriksdal as one of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). At Henriksdal wastewater sludge generated in the wastewater treatment process is digested which generate biogas; a mixture of mainly methane and carbon dioxide. If purified to methane content of 96 - 98 % this gas is called biomethane. Biogasmax is a project aiming to reduce the use of fossile fuels in Europe by providing that biogas is a good technical, economical and environmental alternative as vehicle fuel. The specific aim for Stockholm Water is to increase the biogas production at the existing plant in Henriksdal. Enzymatic treatment of wastewater sludge is an innovative technique earlier proofed to increase the biogas production from wastewater sludge with up to 60 %. The enzyme activity is in turn proven to significantly increase in the presence of a cation binding agent. One aim with this thesis was to investigate if the sludge from Henriksdal wastewater treatment process at all is affected of enzymatic treatment in presence of a cation binding agent since this has shown to have some significance. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) was measured in the liquid phase of sludge after treatment and used as a measurement of treatment effect. Another aim of this thesis was to look into the possibility to increase the methane production from sludge at Henriksdal WWTP. This was investigated through batch laboratory digestion tests. The sludge from Henriksdal WWTP was shown to be a good substrate for the enzymes added. COD in the liquid phase was increased with 17 – 32 % depending on the dose of enzymes and sodium citrate added. Digestion of sludge with a total addition of 18.6 mg enzymes per 1 g total solids (TS) and a concentration of 5 mM sodium citrate increased the methane production with almost 18 % compared to untreated sludge. This equals an increase of 18.3 % when converted to represent a totally blended and continuous digestion chamber at Henriksdal WWTP. The increased methane production also results in a sludge reduction out from the digestion chambers. The increased methane production and sludge reduction though does not fulfil the increased costs for the enzymes and sodium citrate applied. These doses must be decreased and the costs for both enzymes and sodium citrate must be reduced for this technique to be economically feasible in a full scale operation.


The percentage 24-hr lung retention (Ret24), a measure of penetration to the aveoli, of 4 micron monodispersed Teflon particles, aerodynamic diameter 6 micron, was studied in 8 healthy nonsmokers. The particles were inhaled at 0.2 1/sec with maximally deep breaths. Bronchoconstriction was induced by inhalation of a methacholinebromide aerosol for one exposure before and for one exposure after inhalation of the Teflon particles. Airway resistance (Raw) was measured using a whole body pletysmograph before and after the induction of bronchoconstriction and increased on an average by a factor 2-3. Ret24 was significantly lower when the Teflon particles were inhaled during bronchoconstriction than when bronchoconstriction was induced after inhalation of the Teflon particles, 26 +/- 12% and 48 +/- 6% (mean +/- SD), respectively. These experimental data agree fairly well with data on deposition due to impaction and sedimentation using a lung model where the diameters of the airways were varied so that an increase in airway resistance occurs similar to that produced in our experimental subjects. However, the experimental data tended to be lower than the theoretical ones when the particles were inhaled during the induced bronchoconstriction. In this study, where the mucociliary transport system was stimulated by methacholinebromide, the percentage 3-hr retention (Ret3) was highly correlated with Ret24, r = 0.97, i.e., Ret3 can be used instead of the Ret24. This implies that radionuclides with shorter half-lives which give lower radiation doses, can be used, and that subjects can be studied within shorter periods of time.


Iran's nuclear issue has been one of the core issues of International politics. Concurrently, the issue of survival of the State of Israel and the threat perception of the US allies in the Middle East pushed Washington to attenuate  Iran's inchoate nuclear policy. Incubus period during Obama administration even brought about erratic companionship between Israel and Saudi Arabia. This asymmetry-in the span of mere years- has rekindled long-simmering protectionist impulses and Trump administration elected. A new page began being written on the Iran's nuclear issue.


Introduction Frailty is a geriatric syndrome, a clinical state of vulnerability for developing dependency and/or death. Due to its multidimensional nature, Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) constitutes the best strategy to evaluate frailty in older patients. Accumulation of deficits model synthesizes the global assessment of geriatric domains in the Frailty Index (FI) score. Muscle Ultrasound (MUS) has been employed to evaluate muscle mass wasting as tool to assess sarcopenia in late life. The present study aims to evaluate the association between CGA-based FI and MUS measures in a population of hospitalized older adults. Methods Patients aged ≥65 years underwent CGA for the evaluation of the domains of health and functional status, psycho-cognition, nutritional status, socio-environmental condition. Following standard procedure, a CGA-based FI was elaborated, taking into account 38 multidimensional items. Muscle thicknesses (MT) of rectus femoris plus vastus intermedius were measured through MUS axial cross-section. Multivariable regression analysis was employed to determine factors associated with FI. Results The study population consisted of 136 older patients, 87 men (63.9%), with median age of 74 (70–81) years, FI of 0.3 (0.21–0.46), and MT of rectus femoris plus vastus intermedius 29.27 (23.08–35.7) mm. At multivariable regression analysis, FI resulted significantly and independently associated with age and MT. Conclusion Muscle thicknesses of rectus femoris plus vastus intermedius, measured through MUS, resulted to be significantly related to FI in a population of hospitalized older patients. In the CGA-based assessment of frailty, MUS may constitute an additional imaging domain.


The decontamination efficacy of antimicrobial treatments against Campylobacter jejuni on chicken wings was evaluated. Chicken wings surface-inoculated with C. jejuni (3.9 log colony-forming units [CFU]/mL) were left untreated (control) or were treated by immersion (5 s) or in a spray cabinet (4 s) with water, a sulfuric acid and sodium sulfate blend (SSS; pH 1.2), formic acid (1.5%), peroxyacetic acid (PAA; 550 ppm), or PAA (550 ppm) that was pH-adjusted (acidified) with SSS (pH 1.2) or formic acid (1.5%). All evaluated immersion and spray chemical treatments effectively (p < 0.05) lowered C. jejuni populations on chicken wings. Spray application of chemical treatments resulted in immediate pathogen reductions ranging from 0.5 to 1.2 log CFU/mL, whereas their application by immersion lowered initial pathogen levels by 1.7 to 2.2 log CFU/mL. The PAA and acidified PAA treatments were equally (p ≥ 0.05) effective at reducing initial C. jejuni populations, however, following a 24 h refrigerated (4 °C) storage period, wings treated with acidified PAA had lower (p < 0.05) pathogen levels than samples that had been treated with PAA that was not acidified. Findings of this study should be useful to the poultry industry in its efforts to control Campylobacter contamination on chicken parts.


We propose a framework for assessing the existence and quantifying the effect of threshold effects in cross-country growth regressions in the presence of model uncertainty. The method is based on Bayesian model averaging tech- niques and generalizes the Bayesian Averaging of Classical Estimates (BACE) method put forward by Sala-i-Martin, Doppelhofer, and Miller (2004). We ap- ply the method presented in this paper to a set of 21 variables that have been found to be robustly related to economic growth in a cross-section of 88 coun- tries. We find no evidence of robust threshold effects generated by the initial level of GDP per capita. However, we find that the proportion of years a country has been open to trade is an important source of nonlinear effects on economic growth.


Cubital tunnel syndrome (CuTS) is the second most common peripheral nerve compression disease, however, the pathogenesis and pathology of CuTS remain to be fully elucidated. The aim of the present study was to compare the expression pattern of microRNAs (miRNAs) in pachyntic Osborne's ligament with that in control tendinous tissue, and select meaningful miRNAs for further investigation of the clinical pathological mechanism underlying CuTS. A microarray assay was performed to examine the expression profiles of miRNAs in the Osborne's ligament and control tendinous tissues. An online bioinformatics algorithms tool (miRWalk) was used to predict putative target genes for the deregulated miRNAs, and functional annotation was performed by Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Finally, the results of microarray were partially validated using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. The expression of total of 60 miRNAs were found to be significantly different between the pachyntic Osborne's ligament and control tendinous tissues. MiRWalk2.0 predicted 1,804 target genes for these miRNAs, and the GO functional analysis of the predicted genes suggested cellular mechanisms, including metabolic process, regulation of cell growth, cell cycle processes, cell division regulation, cellular metabolic process and signal transmission, were involved. Furthermore, KEGG pathway analysis revealed important pathways, including adherent junction, focal adhesion, lysine degradation, cell adhesion molecules and mitogen-activated protein kinase. Compared with the heathy tissue, Osborne's ligament tissue from patients with CuTS showed a markedly different miRNA expression profile, which suggested that miRNAs may be involved in the pathogenesis of CuTS.


Recent technological developments have paved the way to the employment of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) for monitoring and exploration activities of marine environments. Traditionally, in information gathering scenarios for monitoring purposes, AUVs follow predefined paths that are not efficient in terms of information content and energy consumption. Informative Path Planning (IPP) represents a valid alternative, defining the path that maximises the gathered information. This work proposes a Genetic Path Planner (GPP), which consists in an IPP strategy based on a Genetic Algorithm, with the aim of generating a path that simultaneously maximises the information gathered and the coverage of the inspected area. The proposed approach has been tested offline for monitoring and inspection applications of Posidonia Oceanica (PO) in three different geographical areas. The a priori knowledge about the presence of PO, in probabilistic terms, has been modelled utilising a Gaussian Process (GP), trained on real marine data. The GP estimate has then been exploited to retrieve an information content of each position in the areas of interest. A comparison with other two IPP approaches has been carried out to assess the performance of the proposed algorithm.


The recent extensive application of next-generation sequencing has led to the rapid accumulation of multiple types of data for functional DNA elements. With the advent of precision medicine, the fine-mapping of risk loci based on these elements has become of paramount importance. In this study, we obtained the human reference genome (GRCh38) and the main DNA sequence elements, including protein-coding genes, miRNAs, lncRNAs and single nucleotide polymorphism flanking sequences, from different repositories. We then realigned these elements to identify their exact locations on the genome. Overall, 5%-20% of all sequence element locations deviated among databases, on the scale of kilobase-pair to megabase-pair. These deviations even affected the selection of genome-wide association study risk-associated genes. Our results implied that the location information for functional DNA elements may deviate among public databases. Researchers should take care when using cross-database sources and should perform pilot sequence alignments before element location-based studies.


Over the course of human history, it has been common to use plants for medicinal purposes, such as for providing relief from particular maladies and self-medication. Opium represents one longstanding remedy that has been used to address a range of medical conditions, alleviating discomfort often in ways that have proven pleasurable. Opium is a combination of compounds obtained from the mature fruit of opium poppy, papaver somniferum. Morphine and its biosynthetic precursors thebaine and codeine constitute the main bioactive opiate alkaloids contained in opium. Opium usage in ancient cultures is well documented, as is its major extract morphine. The presence of endogenous opiate alkaloids and opioid peptides in animals owe their discovery to their consistent actions at particular concentrations via stereo select receptors. In vitro expression of morphine within a microbiological industrial setting underscores the role it plays as a multi-purpose pharmacological agent, as well as reinforcing why it can also lead to long-term social dependence. Furthermore, it clearly establishes a reciprocal effect of human intelligence on modifying evolutionary processes in papaver somniferum and related plant species.


End-to-end text spotting aims to integrate scene text detection and recognition into a unified framework. Dealing with the relationship between the two sub-tasks plays a pivotal role in designing effective spotters. Although Transformer-based methods eliminate the heuristic post-processing, they still suffer from the synergy issue between the sub-tasks and low training efficiency. In this paper, we present DeepSolo, a simple DETR-like baseline that lets a single decoder with explicit points solo for text detection and recognition simultaneously and efficiently. Technically, for each text instance, we represent the character sequence as ordered points and model them with learnable explicit point queries. After passing a single decoder, the point queries have encoded requisite text semantics and locations. Furthermore, we show the surprisingly good extensibility of our method, in terms of character class, language type, and task. On the one hand, DeepSolo not only performs well in English scenes but also masters the Chinese transcription with complex font structure and a thousand-level character classes. On the other hand, based on the extensibility of DeepSolo, we launch DeepSolo++ for multilingual text spotting, making a further step to let Transformer decoder with explicit points solo for multilingual text detection, recognition, and script identification all at once. Extensive experiments on public benchmarks demonstrate that our simple approach achieves better training efficiency compared with Transformer-based models and outperforms the previous state-of-the-art. In addition, DeepSolo and DeepSolo++ are also compatible with line annotations, which require much less annotation cost than polygons. The code is available at \url{https://github.com/ViTAE-Transformer/DeepSolo}.


The passive and active electric potential CT method was proposed by using piezoelectric film for identification of cracks and defects. This method is based on the principle of mutual conversion between mechanical strains and electric potential of piezoelectric material. A smart-layer was constructed using the piezoelectric film, and attached on a structure with a defect. When the structure was subjected to a mechanical load, the electric potential distribution appeared passively on the piezoelectric film due to the direct piezoelectric effect. The defect can be identified from the distribution with the help of inverse analysis. It was found that the crack could be identified reasonably, although the defect depth was not well estimated for the defects located far from the layer. When the electric signal was input to the smart-layer, acoustic wave was actively emitted from the layer due to the inverse piezoelectric effect, and a reflected wave was received on the layer. It was found that the depth of the defect could be estimated well. The simultaneous use of the passive method and the active method is promising for the identification of the defect.


This paper presents an efficient method for designing FIR filters by combining the frequency-response masking (FRM) approach with the WLS-Chebyshev method. With the proposed method, the specifications for the base filter in the FRM approach can be relaxed. This is accomplished based on the ability of the WLS-Chebyshev method for finding a good compromise between the minimum attenuation and total energy within the filter's stopband. A typical design performed with the proposed method is included indicating that the total number of multiplications per output sample required is significantly reduced.


Objective: Determining colistin susceptibility according to the reference method is a significant problem for clinical microbiology laboratories. There is a need for a fast, easy-to-apply, and accurate method for laboratories with limited opportunities. In our study, we aimed to evaluate the applicability of the colistin broth disk elution (CBDE) test.

Methods: A total of 193 Gram-negative bacteria, which were isolated from various clinical specimens in our laboratory, were included in the study. Colistin susceptibility was determined by broth microdilution as the reference method. The CBDE test was performed as previously described. For each bacterial isolate, 0, ½, 1, 2, and 4 colistin discs (10 µg; BD) were added to 5 tubes containing cation-adjusted Mueller-Hinton broth (MHB). The final colistin concentrations in the tubes were 0 (growth control), 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 µg/ml, respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentration values were determined by visual evaluation 16-20 hours after the bacterial inoculation.

Results: In the Enterobacterales group, the categorical agreement was 94%, the major error was 5%, and the very major error was 0%. In the non-fermentative bacteria group, the categorical agreement was found to be 94%, the major error 1%, and the very major error 33%, respectively.

Conclusion: The CBDE test is a good alternative to broth microdilution in routine microbiology laboratories for the Enterobacterales group since it provides easy-to-apply, cost-effective testing for colistin susceptibility and has a high categorical agreement compared to the reference microdilution method.

Keywords: colistin, disc elution, antibiotic resistance, broth microdilution, Enterobacterales


: Sacral resection was carried out in two patients presenting chordoma. Clinical and laboratory results are reported, with particular reference to preservation of anal and vesical continence. In the first case, double continence was virtually unaltered after unilateral resection of S2. In the second, continence was markedly perturbed by bilateral resection of S2.


Catalytic reactions that can generate nucleophilic allyl–metal intermediates directly from simple alkenes without prefunctionalization, and ones that produce various homoallylic alcohols diastereo- and enantioselectively are of great importance in organic synthesis. Transformations that accomplish these two tasks simultaneously are in high demand, particularly if the catalysts, substrates and reagents are inexpensive and easy to access. Here we report a catalytic process that chemoselective formation of nucleophilic allyl–cobalt complexes through oxidative allylic C–H cleavage of alkenes followed by site-, diastereo- and enantioselective addition to aldehydes and α-ketoesters. The enantioenriched products that are otherwise difficult to access are obtained in up to 96% yield, with >95:5 dr and 98:2 er. The cobalt-based catalyst is derived from a commercially available chiral phosphine ligand. The utility of the method is demonstrated through enantioselective formal synthesis of lithospermic acid and total synthesis of dihydrodehydrodiconiferylalcohol.


An outbreak of Chikungunya fever occurred in north-east Italy in the summer of 2007. Only 1 fatal case was observed, in an 83-y-old male hospitalized with encephalitis. Viral genome was detected at high level (1.5×108 copies/ml) in the cerebrospinal fluid 7 d after symptoms onset.


This article has as proposal to reflect about aspects that are related to the mental disorders clinic in a psychosocial approach. In this direction, it presents the complex work in the context of the psychosocial approach, considering the transdisciplinary perspective and ratifying the importance of contemplating the culture and the daily life of those who demand for psychological attention, which means a clinic work that includes dialogue and the continuous assessment of assistance committed to the social and historical subject. Therefore, this is a clinic that takes into account the human being in his multiple aspects - individually and collectively -, examining the psychological actions in institutions and communities.


Design of usable and useful interactive systems requires a model that explains the activities and context of use. Similarly, design of instruction requires a valid model that illustrates the activities of student and teacher in class and classroom context. This paper describes a process model for designing and implementing instruction using various multimedia instructional materials. Our model takes a scenario-based approach as its central concept. It conceptualizes the whole process of evolving multimedia instructional material as a double-loop of activities in which teachers and students work together to enrich it. The external loop comprises planning, implementing, checking and evaluating instruction, whereas the internal loop is made up of its implementation, verification, and modification. We provide a formal definition of the scenario used in the double-loop model and illustrate an example of how scenarios are used in the model. We also explain our instruction system, which facilitates activities in the double-loop model. Author


The composition of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) changes in the course of in vitro culture expansion. Little is known how these cell preparations are influenced by culture media, plating density, or passaging. In this study, we have isolated MSCs from human adipose tissue in culture medium supplemented with either fetal calf serum (FCS) or human platelet lysate (HPL). In addition, culture expansion was simultaneously performed at plating densities of 10 or 10,000 cells/cm2. The use of FCS resulted in larger cells, whereas HPL significantly enhanced proliferation. Notably, HPL also facilitated expansion for more population doublings than FCS (43 ± 3 vs. 22 ± 4 population doubling; p < 0.001), while plating density did not have a significant effect on long-term growth curves. To gain further insight into population dynamics, we conceived a cellular automaton model to simulate expansion of MSCS. It is based on the assumptions that the number of cell divisions is limited and that due to contact inhibition proliferation occurs only at the rim of colonies. The model predicts that low plating densities result in more heterogeneity with regard to cell division history, and favor subpopulations of higher migratory activity. In summary, HPL is a suitable serum supplement for isolation of MSC from adipose tissue and facilitates more population doublings than FCS. Cellular automaton computer simulations provided additional insights into how complex population dynamics during long-term expansion are affected by plating density and migration.


Recent advances in deep learning have demonstrated excellent results for Facial Attribute Recognition (FAR), typically trained with large-scale labeled data. However, in many real-world FAR applications, only limited labeled data are available, leading to remarkable deterioration in performance for most existing deep learning-based FAR methods. To address this problem, here we propose a method termed Spatial-Semantic Patch Learning (SSPL). The training of SSPL involves two stages. First, three auxiliary tasks, consisting of a Patch Rotation Task (PRT), a Patch Segmentation Task (PST), and a Patch Classification Task (PCT), are jointly developed to learn the spatial-semantic relationship from large-scale unlabeled facial data. We thus obtain a powerful pre-trained model. In particular, PRT exploits the spatial information of facial images in a self-supervised learning manner. PST and PCT respectively capture the pixel-level and image-level semantic information of facial images based on a facial parsing model. Second, the spatial-semantic knowledge learned from auxiliary tasks is transferred to the FAR task. By doing so, it enables that only a limited number of labeled data are required to fine-tune the pre-trained model. We achieve superior performance compared with state-of-the-art methods, as substantiated by extensive experiments and studies.


This paper presents a decentralised control approach for the hydraulic motor torque provided by a hydrostatic transmission. Based on a control-oriented model of the hydrostatic transmission, a quasi-linear state-space representation with both state-dependent and input-dependent matrices is derived. Using extended linearisation techniques, a combined feedforward and feedback control is designed. Furthermore, a sliding-mode observer estimates unmeasurable states as well as disturbances. The estimates for the disturbances – an external load torque and a leakage oil volume flow – can be used for a disturbance rejection. The proposed overall control structure is investigated thoroughly in simulations and, afterwards, implemented as well as validated on a dedicated test rig.


Abstract. Earthquakes are feared because they often strike so suddenly. Yet, there are innumerable reports of pre-earthquake signals. Widespread disagreement exists in the geoscience community how these signals can be generated in the Earth's crust and whether they are early warning signs, related to the build-up of tectonic stresses before major seismic events. Progress in understanding and eventually using these signals has been slow because the underlying physical process or processes are basically not understood. This has changed with the discovery that, when igneous or high-grade metamorphic rocks are subjected to deviatoric stress, dormant electronic charge carriers are activated: electrons and defect electrons. The activation increases the number density of mobile charge carriers in the rocks and, hence, their electric conductivity. The defect electrons are associated with the oxygen anion sublattice and are known as positive holes or pholes for short. The boundary between stressed and unstressed rock acts a potential barrier that lets pholes pass but blocks electrons. Therefore, like electrons and ions in an electrochemical battery, the stress-activated electrons and pholes in the "rock battery" have to flow out in different directions. When the circuit is closed, the battery currents can flow. The discovery of such stress-activated currents in crustal rocks has far-reaching implications for understanding pre-earthquake signals.


Background: Clinicians need new predictive biomarkers of response to hormonal therapy in patients (pts) with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer (BC). Current treatments used the selective estrogen receptor modulator tamoxifen (Tam) or aromatase inhibitors (AI). Several data from the literature and our preclinical results indicate that cholesterol metabolism pathway is involved in BC oncogenesis and sensitivity/resistance to Tam. Our team has established that Tam modulates cholesterol oxydative metabolism and modulate oxysterol (OS) levels in vitro and in vivo on BC cell lines. Tam is a potent inhibitor of the cholesterol-5,6-epoxide hydrolase (ChEH), which led to the accumulation of cholesterol epoxides (CEs) and the inhibition formation of cholesterol triol (CT). Importantly, we found that CEs mediated the cytotoxicity of Tam in BC. Therefore, an increase in CEs, and no increase in CT could be markers of the efficacy of Tam reflecting its inhibition of ChEH in pts. On the other hand 27-hydroxycholesterol (27HC), another OS, is an estrogen receptor ligand with tumor promoter properties in BC. The 27HC level could constitute a new risk factor for BC development that has to be measured. The impact of AI on cholesterol metabolism is totally unknown, it is thus important to study its impact on OS levels in pts. Methods: We have conducted a monocentric, prospective, clinical trial in pts who must received Tam or AI in adjuvant or metastatic setting for a HR+ BC. The primary end point was the feasibility of detection of circulating OS (CEs, CT and 27HC) in the serum of patients before the first administration of hormonal therapy and at 1 month. Key secondary end points were to measure variations in the concentration of OS according to patients and treatments. 12 different OS including CEs, CT and 27HC were quantified by GC/MS. Results : bCE relative concentration significantly increased in the entire population (p=0.0109) while no increase in CT was measured under HT treatment establishing that Tam inhibited ChEH in pts. It should be noted that an important inter-individual variability in pts was observed according the OS species considered. AI stimulated the accumulation of βCE (p=0.0022) suggesting that they modulate CEs metabolism. We found that AI were not direct inhibitors of ChEH in BC cells suggesting that they modulate CEs level through a different mechanism than Tam. Importantly, we found that letrozol, but not exemestane or Tam, increased the blood level in 27-HC. This suggests that letrozol increased a factor of BC risk since 27HC is a tumor promoter which may be involved in BC recurrence. Conclusion: This pilot study provides the first evidence that circulating OS could be measured in the blood of pts with BC. The clinical utility of OS as biomarkers of sensibility/resistance to hormone therapy needs further clinical investigations. Based on the present study the CE/27HC ratio should be more specifically investigated. The mechanisms involved in the modulation of OS by AI deserve further studies. Citation Format: Florence Dalenc, Luggi Iuliano, Thomas Filleron, Maud Voisin, Henri Roche, Sandrine Silvente-Poirot, Marc Poirot. Circulating oxysterol metabolites as potential new surrogate markers for hormonotherapy in patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer? A pilot study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-05-12.


From 1989 through 1996, 10 children affected by high grade bone tumors of the proximal tibia underwent an intraepiphyseal intercalary resection. The residual epiphyseal bone segment measured less than 2 cm in thickness in all cases and reconstruction always was performed using the combination of a vascularized fibular autograft and a massive bone allograft. The proximal epiphyseal osteosynthesis was fixed by small fragment screws. The aim of this study was to report the growth pattern of the residual proximal tibial epiphysis and to evaluate any possible lower limb discrepancy and/or deformity after the end of skeletal maturity. At current followup six patients were available for the final evaluation. Radiographic documentation included computed tomography scan of both knees before surgery, a panoramic radiographic view and a computed tomography scan of both lower limbs after the end of skeletal growth. The length of both femurs and tibias, the size of the tibial plateau and of the opposite distal femur, and any possible deformity of femur or tibia were measured and compared with the preoperative data. No patient had a limb length discrepancy greater than 3.5 cm. In all cases the ipsilateral femur had a valgus deformity of the hip develop. In two patients this deformity was associated with an elongation of the femur, partially compensating for the shortening of the tibia. The tibial plateau close to reconstruction grew less than the contralateral one (range 2%-8%) but maintained its normal relationship with the distal femur. None of these patients reported any restriction in recreational activities. They could walk, run, and jump. Their functional result according the International Society of Limb Salvage functional grading system was satisfactory in all cases.


From the formation of the first independent African American Protestant denomination in the 1810s and 1820s to the opening decades of the 21st century, independent African American denominations have stood at the center of black religious life in the United States. Their longevity and influence have made them central to the preservation of black beliefs, practices, and rituals; have provided venues to promote movements for black freedom; and have incubated African American leadership in both the church and civic spheres. They have intertwined with every aspect of American and African American life, whether cultural, political, or economic, and they engaged the international involvement of American society and the diasporic interests of black people.
 Parallel assemblies composed of black ministers pastoring black congregations that remained within white denominations also emerged within the traditional white denominations, including the white Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Congregational Protestant groups, plus the Catholic Church. Although they eschewed withdrawing from the white denominations, their extramural bodies functioned as a virtual black ecclesia, or institutional bodies, even though they remained smaller than the growing independent black denominations. Together, the black preachers and parishioners in independent black denominations and inside traditional white denominations maintained churches characterized by proud histories and long records of frontline involvements in black freedom pursuits.


Amild, efficient, and practical method for the one-step synthesis of acyl azides from carboxylic acids using a safe and inexpensive mixed reagent, trichloroisocyanuric acid–triphenylphosphine, is described.


In 2010, there were 8 Japanese encephalitis confirmed cases in south Taiwan (Yunlin County, Chiayi County/City, and Tainan County/City), with the first case occurring in late May and the remaining 7 cases occurring in June. Compared to the last 3 years, the prevalence of Japanese encephalitis in south Taiwan in 2010 was higher than the prevalence threshold of the same periods of the other years. With the purpose of serving as a reference for future investigations, this report documents the processes used and experiences gained from conducting an epidemic investigation of Japanese encephalitis in 2010. Confirmed cases and possible infection sources were investigatd; additionally, possible environmental risk factors for Japanese encephalitis cases were tallied, and the results showed that gutters and pigeon sheds were the most commonplace factors. Additionally, this report provided recommendations on prevention measures, such as thorough methodology of epidemic and environmental investigation, vaccination, health education and promotion, health monitoring, disease surveillance, visits to medical care institutions, and hanging mosquito lamp.


The long-term trend of sea surface salinity (SSS) reveals an intensification of the global hydrological cycle due to human-induced climate change. This study demonstrates that SSS variability can also be used as a measure of terrestrial precipitation on interseasonal to interannual time scales, and to locate the source of moisture. Seasonal composites during El Niño–Southern Oscillation/Indian Ocean dipole (ENSO/IOD) events are used to understand the variations of moisture transport and precipitation over Australia, and their association with SSS variability. As ENSO/IOD events evolve, patterns of positive or negative SSS anomaly emerge in the Indo-Pacific warm pool region and are accompanied by atmospheric moisture transport anomalies toward Australia. During co-occurring La Niña and negative IOD events, salty anomalies around the Maritime Continent (north of Australia) indicate freshwater export and are associated with a significant moisture transport that converges over Australia to create anomalous wet conditions. In contrast, during co-occurring El Niño and positive IOD events, a moisture transport divergence anomaly over Australia results in anomalous dry conditions. The relationship between SSS and atmospheric moisture transport also holds for pure ENSO/IOD events but varies in magnitude and spatial pattern. The significant pattern correlation between the moisture flux divergence and SSS anomaly during the ENSO/IOD events highlights the associated ocean–atmosphere coupling. A case study of the extreme hydroclimatic events of Australia (e.g., the 2010/11 Brisbane flood) demonstrates that the changes in SSS occur before the peak of ENSO/IOD events. This raises the prospect that tracking of SSS variability could aid the prediction of Australian rainfall.


Routine identification of pathogenic microorganisms predominantly based on nutritional and biochemical tests is a time-consuming process. In this study, a method based on FTIR spectroscopy was developed to detect and identify the presence of five possible pathogenic bacteria in ten different microorganism mixtures with each cocktail containing up to three different species at a concentration of 109 CFU/mL. A mathematical approach based on factoring out the common features in the spectral fingerprints was developed and implemented in conjunction with discriminant analysis. FTIR spectra of the mixtures were directly obtained and analyzed using canonical variate analysis based on the discriminant model for the presence of particular species in the pathogenic bacteria mixtures. In nine out of ten mixtures, the predictions were 100% accurate; in one mixture, only one false negative was reported, with no false positives. Results suggest that FTIR spectroscopy combined with a suitable analytical procedure has excellent potential as a fast, powerful, and reliable alternative for identifying a specific foodborne pathogen in a complex and/or competing system.


The focus of this paper is to analyze the feasibility of international portfolio diversification for a potential US investor with a moderate risk aversion. The first section includes the benefits of international portfolio investment with a special emphasis on the diversification aspect. The changes in correlations over different periods are discussed and the investments time horizon importance is stressed. The second section presents the additional costs incurred by maintaining an internationally diversified portfolio, including the risks and constraints involved. The conclusion contains a set of recommendations for a potential investor interested in internationally diversifying his portfolio.


It is well known that a thin phase grating holographically produced exhibits Raman-Nath behavior and a thick phase grating shows Bragg behavior in the diffraction process. In the Raman-Nath regime several diffracted waves are produced. Usually, in a photorefractive material such as a sillenite BSO crystal, volume phase holograms are stored by means of the interference of two coherent beams intersecting inside the crystal. In our work, we analyze the diffraction properties of gratings incoherently stored in a photorefractive medium. To this purpose, an input Ronchi grating is incoherently imaged in a thick BSO crystal. The grating is stored on a birefringence modulation basis. In the reconstruction step, when a collimated beam impinges perpendicularly to the crystal input face several diffracted orders appear in accordance with the Raman-Nath regime. As far as the read-out beam direction is rotated the diffraction efficiency of each order changes. The angular selectivity behavior of the grating in terms of the crystal thickness and the grating period is analyzed. The adequate selection of the write-in parameters allow to highlight a determined order and to achieve multiple storage, without cross-talk.


Consider n identical Kuramoto oscillators on a random graph. Specifically, consider Erdős-Rényi random graphs in which any two oscillators are bidirectionally coupled with unit strength, independently and at random, with probability 0 ≤ p ≤ 1. We say that a network is globally synchronizing if the oscillators converge to the all-in-phase synchronous state for almost all initial conditions. Is there a critical threshold for p above which global synchrony is extremely likely but below which it is extremely rare? It is suspected that a critical threshold exists and is close to the so-called connectivity threshold, namely, p ∼ log  ( n ) / n for n ≫ 1. Ling, Xu, and Bandeira made the first progress toward proving a result in this direction: they showed that if p ≫ log  ( n ) / n, then Erdős-Rényi networks of Kuramoto oscillators are globally synchronizing with high probability as n → ∞. Here, we improve that result by showing that p ≫ log  ( n ) / n suffices. Our estimates are explicit: for example, we can say that there is more than a 99.9996 % chance that a random network with n = 10 and p > 0.011 17 is globally synchronizing.


TRIB2 (tribbles homolog 2) encodes one of three members of the tribbles family in mammals. These members share a Trb (tribbles) domain, which is homologous to protein serine-threonine kinases, but lack the active site lysine. The tribbles proteins interact and modulate the activity of signal transduction pathways in a number of physiological and pathological processes. TRIB2 has been identified as an oncogene that inactivates the transcription factor CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) and causes acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML). Recent research provided compelling evidence that TRIB2 can also act as oncogenic driver in solid tumours, such as lung and liver cancer. In particular, our recent work demonstrated that TRIB2 is dramatically overexpressed in malignant melanomas compared with normal skin and promotes the malignant phenotype of melanoma cells via the down-regulation of FOXO (forkhead box protein O) tumour suppressor activity in vitro and in vivo. TRIB2 was found to be expressed in normal skin, but its expression consistently increased in benign nevi, melanoma and was highest in samples from patients with malignant melanoma. The observation that TRIB2 strongly correlates with the progression of melanocyte-derived malignancies suggests TRIB2 as a meaningful biomarker to both diagnose and stage melanoma. In addition, interfering with TRIB2 activity might be a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of several different tumour types.


The purpose of this study is to develop web-based learning media to improve reading comprehension of dyslexic students. Dyslexia is a condition caused by neurobiological abnormalities that are characterized by difficulty in  recognizing words accurately in spelling and inability to encode symbols which lead to reading disorder. The research method used is research and development. This research develops web-based learning media called LexiRoom learning applications. The LexiRoom web was trialed to dyslexic students of the fourth grade of elementary school and obtained effective results to help students to have better comprehension of words and sentences within a paragraph.


This work describes the main features of the computational system for the electric-energetic operation planning and programming of the Brazilian energetic system. A chain of optimization models with different planning horizons and degrees of detail in system representation compose it. This computational system was proposed to the Brazilian Independent System Operator (ONS) and currently is being gradually implemented. ONS is responsible for central system optimization and dispatch according to clearly defined rules agreed by all industry members and approved by the Regulatory Body (ANEEL). The optimization models also calculate the water values that will form the basis for determining the Wholesale Energy Market (MAE) spot price.


In this paper, we using contraction fuctions in complete fuzzy metric space and establish sequential characterization properties of Lebesgue fuzzy metric space. We prove the existence of common fixed point theorems for  contractions mapping in fuzzy metric space using the property of Lebesgue fuzzy metric space and give a few models on the side of our outcomes. We also inaugurate some motivating results based on Lebesgue complete fuzzy contractive mappings.


Abstract A simple coupled ocean–atmospheric boundary layer model is used to study the annual variability in the eastern tropical Pacific. The air–sea coupling, particularly the feedback of the total wind speed effect on evaporation and wind mixing entrainment, produces a rapid equatorward and westward propagation of annual disturbances. For reasonable parameters, both amplitude and phase of the annual disturbance can be reproduced fairly well over most of the Tropics. It is then suggested that a substantial part of equatorial annual variability may come from the extratropics (say beyond 15°) due to the propagation of coupled waves.


E-learning is the best way of getting knowledge at present especially when it comes to distant education. E-learning is a computer-based educational system that allows you to learn in any place at any time. Earlier e-learning solutions were delivered on CDROMs but nowadays, an online platform is making easier ways for such implementation in terms of scalability as well as usability. Online courses such a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), which is a way of delivering the content of learning online for any person with easy access from any part of the World is becoming much more popular for certification courses. This research paper focuses on the requirements of such implementation as a part of teaching and learning strategy in one of the higher education institutions in Oman. The existing system in these days is Moodle which is one of the Virtual Learning Environments. Through Moodle, teachers are sharing many eLearning based tools with students. It is based on PowerPoint in Moodle learning and different activities on papers. The methodology used in this project is a mixed methodology – quantitative and qualitative, which includes a questionnaire to get more opinions from different people about this research and there also interviews. The study is performed in context to one of the leading private higher education institutions (HEI) in Oman. The proposed research will suggest a new E-Learning application, especially for some practical modules. Based on the above study, researchers have a plan to propose a new framework and solution for practical modules in HEI especially with the integration of MOOC. The large scale implementation of the proposed research and its solution will be on a cloud, in order to provide easy access along with scalability.


Porous coordination polymers (PCPs)/metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are inorganic-organic hybrid materials with a permanent three-dimensional porous metal-ligand network. PCPs or MOFs are inorganic-organic analogs of zeolites in terms of porosity and reversible guest exchange properties. Microporous water-stable PCPs with high water uptake capacity are gaining attention for low temperature heat transformation applications in thermally driven adsorption chillers (TDCs) or adsorption heat pumps (AHPs). TDCs or AHPs are an alternative to traditional air conditioners or heat pumps operating on electricity or fossil fuels. By using solar or waste heat as the operating energy TDCs or AHPs can significantly help to minimize primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions generated by industrial or domestic heating and cooling processes. TDCs and AHPs are based on the evaporation and consecutive adsorption of coolant liquids, preferably water, under specific conditions. The process is driven and controlled by the microporosity and hydrophilicity of the employed sorption material. Here we summarize the current investigations, developments and possibilities of PCPs/MOFs for use in low-temperature heat transformation applications as alternative materials for the traditional inorganic porous substances like silica gel, aluminophosphates or zeolites.


Suppose there is a zero-point field corresponding to the zero-point energy in vacuum. We can use time-dependent perturbation theory to calculate the influence of the field on the energy of atoms. When the field is applied to atoms which are in the ground state initially, the energy change of the atoms shows a linear dependence on time with a constant energy shift. This constant shift is the usual energy shift of atoms.


Changes in Numbers of Some Bird Species in the Agricultural Landscape of Eastern Poland The studies were carried out in eastern Poland, near Siedlce (52°12'N, 22°17'E). The study area covered 788 ha of extensive agricultural landscape. The fieldwork was conducted in 1999-2003 and it comprised 7 counts per season in each year. Tendencies in changes of numbers were followed for 19 bird species. Directional increasing trends in numbers of the Serin (Serinus serinus) and Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana) were revealed. A statistically significant decreases in numbers considered the Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), Corn Bunting (Miliaria calandra) and Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra). For the remaining 14 species — e.g. the Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio), Linnet (Carduelis cannabina), Goldfinch (C. chloris), Whitethroat (Sylvia communis), Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) — no directional tendencies in numbers of breeding pairs were found. A comparison of tendencies in numbers of analysed species with tendencies observed in western Europe and in western Poland showed that the status of birds in the agricultural landscape of eastern Poland was much better. This has probably been caused by lower intensity of farming practice and more diverse mosaic of habitats.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the optimal age for screening endoscopy on patients with dyspepsia without alarm symptoms to avoid missing gastric cancer.

METHODS
A Cross sectional study was performed (2001-2005). 285 cases of patients with dyspepsia and gastric cancer were found at Arzobispo Loayza National Hospital. Cumulative age frequencies and percentiles were used to determine the optimal age for screening endoscopy. Both groups, with and without alarm symptoms were compared using the chi-square test for categorical data. Continuous data was expressed as mean (SD) and was compared with the t- test. Significant values of p were specified as <0.05.

RESULTS
A total of 32,388 upper endoscopic procedures in dyspeptic patients were performed and 285 cases of gastric cancer were diagnosed, 45 cases of them not featuring any alarm symptoms were found. There were no differences in cumulative frequency between the <35 and <40 years old, with a frequency of 0.29 and 0.20 per 1000 endoscopies, respectively. If the age of 40 had been taken as the optimal age for screening, 4 cases of gastric cancer (8.9%) would have been missed (one case per year approximately), one case would have been an early gastric cancer. The 5th percentile was 30.3 years old and the 10th was 39.4. If the age of 45 had been taken as the optimal age for screening, 6 (15%) cases of gastric cancer would have been missed and 12 (27%) cases if the age was 55 years old. There was no statistical difference between gender, age and duration of dyspepsia. On the other hand, relations between type of dyspepsia (ulcerative), type of lesion, position, histology and stage of gastric cancer for both groups were found.

CONCLUSION
It's recommended that the optimal age for endoscopic screening for gastric cancer in dyspeptic patients without alarm symptoms for both genders, should be over 40 years old.


We analytically prove the necessary and sufficient criterion for the full separability of three-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) diagonal states. The corresponding entanglement is exactly calculable for some GHZ diagonal states and is tractable for the others using the relative entropy of entanglement. We show that the biseparable criterion and the genuine entanglement are determined only by the biggest GHZ diagonal element regardless of all the other smaller diagonal elements. We have completely solved the entanglement problems of three-qubit GHZ diagonal states.


CONTEXT
Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) has been associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. However, few studies have specifically examined the association between SCH and myocardial infarction (MI), and the relationship is poorly understood.

OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to evaluate incident MI risk in relation to SCH and severities of SCH among postmenopausal women.

METHODS
We used a population-based nested case-cohort design within the Women's Health Initiative observational study to examine the association between SCH and incident first-time MI risk among postmenopausal women in the United States. SCH was assessed using blood specimens collected at baseline. Participants presenting with normal free T4 levels and with thyrotropin levels of greater than 4.68-6.99 mU/L or 7.00 mU/L or greater were defined as having mild SCH or moderate/severe SCH, respectively. MI cases were centrally adjudicated by trained Women's Health Initiative staff. The primary analysis included 736 incident MI cases and 2927 randomly selected subcohort members. Multivariable adjusted Cox-proportional hazard models were used to assess MI risk in relation to SCH.

RESULTS
Compared with euthyroid participants, the multivariable adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for participants with any SCH was 1.05 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.77-1.44]. HRs for participants with mild SCH, moderate/severe SCH, and moderate/severe SCH and the presence of antithyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb) were 0.99 (95% CI 0.67-1.46), 1.19 (95% CI 0.72-1.96), and 0.90 (95% CI 0.47-1.74), respectively.

CONCLUSION
We did not find evidence to suggest that SCH is associated with increased MI risk among a population of predominantly older postmenopausal women with no prior history of MI.


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006

5434

We have previously shown that mTOR inhibitor (CCI-779) can restore cisplatin sensitivity in cisplatin resistant small cell lung cancer cell (SCLC) line (Mol. Cancer 4:25, 2005). However, not all cisplatin resistant cell lines are sensitive to mTOR inhibitor. In this report, we have investigated the molecular differences in these cisplatin resistant lung cancer cell lines and determined whether reversal of cisplatin resistance is by inhibition of mTOR. Two pairs of lung cancer cell lines and their resistant variants were used: SCLC1/SR-2 and MSCLCS/MSCLCSC. SR-2 exhibits 20 fold resistance to cisplatin and can be completely reversed with 30 ng/ml of CCI-779 whereas MSCLCSC exhibits 7 fold resistance to cisplatin and cannot be reversed with the same dosage. To confirm that the reversal effect is due to inhibition of mTOR, we have used SiRNA to knock down mTOR. Two SiRNA were used with similar result. The maximal effect occurs at 48 hrs. with 80% inhibition and lasts for 72hr. The ID50 of cisplatin was also decreased from 2.5 to 0.2ug/ml in the transfected cell lines which is similar to using CCI-779. The amount of phosphor-4E-BP was also decreased with maximal effect seen at 72 hr. Thus, our results further confirm that inhibition of mTOR can restore cisplatin sensitivity. Since SR-2 expressed higher levels of several genes including elongation factor alpha, hTERT, cyclin D3, Cyclin B replication A protein, RAD 52, RAD51, and Ku80, we determined whether these proteins decrease after addition of CCI-779. Our results show that Elongation factor alpha, hTERT, CyclinD3, Cyclin B, Replication A protein were decreased whereas RAD 52, RAD51 and Ku80 showed no changes. SR-2 cell lines also possess higher levels of pAKT and PDK1 which indicates activation of PI3, a growth stimulatory pathway upstream of mTOR. Thus, by inhibiting mTOR, the survival pathway of cisplatin resistant cells is inhibited. In contrast, MSCLCSC has minute amounts of pAKT as well as phosphor mTOR (cannot be detected by westernblot).In addition, by gene specific array analysis, MSCLCSC only showed increase in elongation factor alpha which can be inhibited by mTOR, whereas RAD51, 52, Ku80 are not affected by mTOR inhibitor. The remaining genes are being investigated. Thus, it is likely that mTOR inhibitor will restore cisplatin resistance in cell lines which have activated PI3 survival pathway and which possess high levels of replication proteins whose translation is controlled by mTOR. Supported by VA Research fund.


Mechanisms of the anticoagulant activity of p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) were studied. The specific antithrombin activity of PABA is aIIa = 7.00 +/- 0.32 IU/mg and the specific antiactivated factor Xa activity is aXa = 6.70 +/- 0.12 IU/mg. Study of the antithrombotic activity of PABA in rats with a model of venous stasis showed that intravenous injection of PABA at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg prevented the experimental thrombosis development 1.5 h after injection. The activity exhibited a peak 3 h after drug injection and ceased by the 5th hour. Equal antithrombotic activity in the rat blood plasma was observed for fraxiparin at a dose of 40 aXa IU/kg and PABA at 25 aXa IE/kg (1.5 mg/kg). At the same time, PABA affected neither the number of thrombocytes nor their response to the thrombocyte aggregation factors (ADP or adrenaline).


Prion diseases are characterized by the presence of the abnormal prion protein PrP(Sc), which is believed to be generated by the conversion of the alpha-helical structure that predominates in the normal PrP isoform into a beta-sheet structure resistant to proteinase K (PK). In human prion diseases, two major types of PrP(Sc), type 1 and 2, can be distinguished based on the difference in electrophoretic migration of the PK-resistant core fragment. In this study, protein sequencing was used to identify the PK cleavage sites of PrP(Sc) in 36 cases of prion diseases. We demonstrated two primary cleavage sites at residue 82 and residue 97 for type 1 and type 2 PrP(Sc), respectively, and numerous secondary cleavages distributed along the region spanning residues 74-102. Accordingly, we identify three regions in PrP(Sc): one N-terminal (residues 23-73) that is invariably PK-sensitive, one C-terminal (residues 103-231) that is invariably PK-resistant, and a third variable region (residues 74-102) where the site of the PK cleavage, likely reflecting the extent of the beta-sheet structure, varies mostly as a function of the PrP genotype at codon 129.


Kernel ridge regression (KRR) is a well-known and popular nonparametric regression approach with many desirable properties, including minimax rate-optimality in estimating functions that belong to common reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces (RKHS). The approach, however, is computationally intensive for large data sets, due to the need to operate on a dense $n \times n$ kernel matrix, where $n$ is the sample size. Recently, various approximation schemes for solving KRR have been considered, and some analyzed. Some approaches such as Nystrom approximation and sketching have been shown to preserve the rate optimality of KRR. In this paper, we consider the simplest approximation, namely, spectrally truncating the kernel matrix to its largest $r < n$ eigenvalues. We derive an exact expression for the maximum risk of this truncated KRR, over the unit ball of the RKHS. This result can be used to study the exact trade-off between the level of spectral truncation and the regularization parameter of the KRR. We show that, as long as the RKHS is infinite-dimensional, there is a threshold on $r$, above which, the spectrally-truncated KRR, surprisingly, outperforms the full KRR in terms of the minimax risk, where the minimum is taken over the regularization parameter. This strengthens the existing results on approximation schemes, by showing that not only one does not lose in terms of the rates, truncation can in fact improve the performance, for all finite samples (above the threshold). In other words, there is nothing to be gained by running the full KRR and one should always truncate. Our proof is elementary and distribution-free, only requiring the noise vector to be isotropic.


3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) lyase deficiency is an inherited metabolic disorder of leucine catabolism showing variability in clinical expression. We have examined the possibility of a biochemical and genetic basis for this heterogeneity by measuring the residual enzyme activities in fibroblast cultured from seven patients. The mean activity of HMG-CoA lyase was 1.1% +/- 0.3% of normal with no significant differences between the patients. Genetic complementation was studied in heterokaryons obtained by fusion with polyethylene glycol using the incorporation of 1-[14C]isovaleric acid into trichloroacetic acid precipitable material to determine the activity of the leucine catabolic pathway. Unfused cells from the patients with a deficiency of HMG-CoA lyase had incorporations of less than 5% of normal. Unfused cells from patients with isovaleric acidemia or a deficiency of 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase also had incorporations of less than 5% of normal, and when fused with cells of patients with a deficiency of HMG-CoA lyase, gave positive complementation with an incorporation of 30% of normal. None of the fusions between the seven different lines deficient in HMG-CoA lyase resulted in increased incorporation. Thus, no evidence was obtained for biochemical or genetic heterogeneity in fibroblasts of these seven patients with a deficiency of HMG-CoA lyase that would account for their different clinical presentations.


Drop-sizing experiments were performed on an electrostatic fan-spray atomizer operated in the airless mode. Tests were conducted with and without application of a high-voltage charge to the electrode tip placed downstream of the nozzle exit. A nonintrusive Malvern 2600 particle sizer, based on the forward scattering of a 5 mW He-Ne laser beam, was used to yield line-of-sight and cross-sectional drop size distributions. The atomizer was traversed across the laser beam, and drop size profiles as a function of distance from the centerline were developed. Enamel paint with a viscosity of 17 cp was sprayed over a differential pressure range of 1.38 to 6.20 MPa. Results indicate that at low injection pressures the charge application has a significant effect on the average drop size and the spatial drop distribution. However, as injection pressure is increased, the electrostatic influence on drop size and distribution decreases. >


In mammals, oocytes are arrested at G2/prophase for a long time, which is called germinal vesicle (GV) arrest. After puberty, fully‐grown oocytes are stimulated by a gonadotropin surge to resume meiosis as indicated by GV breakdown (GVBD). CCNB1 is accumulated to a threshold level to trigger the activation of maturation promoting factor (MPF), inducing the G2/M transition. It is generally recognized that the anaphase‐promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) and its cofactor CDH1 (also known as FZR1) regulates the accumulation/degradation of CCNB1. Here, by using small interfering RNA (siRNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA) microinjection, immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy, immunoprecipitation, time‐lapse live imaging, and immunoblotting analysis, we showed that Septin 4 regulates the G2/M transition by regulating the accumulation of CCNB1 via APC/CCDC20. Depletion of Septin 4 caused GV arrest by reducing CCNB1 accumulation. Unexpectedly, the expression level of CDC20 was higher in Septin 4 siRNA‐injected oocytes than in control oocytes, but there was no significant change in the expression level of CDH1. Importantly, the reduced GVBD after Septin 4 depletion could be rescued not only by over‐expressing CCNB1 but also could be partially rescued by depleting CDC20. Taken together, our results demonstrate that Septin 4 may play a critical role in meiotic G2/M transition by indirect regulation of CCNB1 stabilization in mouse oocytes.


Female empowerment is a prerequisite for a just and sustainable developed society. Being the most developed non-western country, Japan offers an instructive window onto concerns about gender worldwide. Although overall gender equality is advancing in Japan, difficulties remain, especially in achieving equality in the workplace. We draw on theories of ontological commitment and the psychology of fiction to critically analyse the role of popular culture — in this case manga — in the reproduction of gender inequality in the Japanese workplace. We present examples of four of the most popular mainstream manga aimed at working men and women in Japan and show how women are depicted. We argue that the hyper-mediated fictional realism of representative tropes generates an ontological commitment to characters and narratives among consumers that reinforces the reproduction of a culturally exceptionalist national political economic space, one of whose essential defining characteristics is a gendered workplace. Our research suggests important implications for researching the relationship between culture, in all its forms, and spatial variation in persistent institutional biases among varieties of capitalism.