Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune-neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system. The prevalence of pain is between 29% and 86% and besides neuropathic pain, somatic pain types may also emerge together or separately. In this study we aimed to analyze the relationship between pain and other clinical features in MS. Ma te ri als and Met hods: One-hundred cases who were followed in MS clinic and who have complaints of pain, were included in this study. We evaluated pain type and localization during patients were filling in the forms. We applied Visual Pain Scale (VPS), Ashworth Spasticity Scale (ASS) and Beck Depression Scale (BDS). Re sults: When female and male patients were compared, there were no statistical differences between age, disease duration and EDDS scores. Seventy seven percent of cases complained of neuropathic pain, 21% of cases had Lhermitte symptoms. Trigeminal neuralgia has been observed in 1% of cases and 55% of neuropathic extremity pain. In 60% of the cases nociceptive pains, in 12% of the cases joint-extremity-muscle pain, in 47% headache and in 1% painful tonic spasms were present. Pain depending on the treatment was observed only in 2% of the cases. The pain score was high in patients with spasticity and depression. Although there was reasonable positive correlation between age, EDDS score and VPS, poor correlation was obtained between disease period and number of attacks. Conclusion: These findings indicate that MS pain is related with spasticity, disability and depression and these clinical findings should be taken into account during pain treatment. (Turkish Journal of Neurology 2014; 20:79-83)


The incidence of tuberculosis is increasing due to the appearance of new drug-resistant variants. A thorough understanding of the disease organism is essential in order to create more effective drugs. In an attempt to understand better the poorly studied lipid metabolism of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), we identified and characterized its fatty acid β-oxidation complex (trifunctional enzyme (TFE)). TFE is an α(2)β(2) complex consisting of two types of polypeptides catalyzing three of the four reactions of the β-oxidation of fatty acids. The kinetic constants (k(cat) and K(m)) show that the complexed α chain is more active than the individual α chain. Crystal structures of Mtb TFE (mtTFE) reveal that the quaternary assembly is strikingly different from the already known Pseudomonas fragi TFE (pfTFE) assembly due to the presence of a helical insertion (LA5) in the mtTFE-β subunit. This helical insertion prevents the pfTFE mode of assembly, as it would clash with helix H9A of the TFE-α chain. The mtTFE assembly appears to be more rigid and results in a different substrate channeling path between the α and the β subunits. Structural comparisons suggest that the mtTFE active sites can accommodate bulkier fatty acyl chains than in pfTFE. Although another thiolase (FadA2), more closely related to human TFE-β/thiolase, is present in the Mtb genome, it does not form a complex with mtTFE-α. Extensive phylogenetic analyses show that there are at least four TFE subfamilies. Our studies highlight the molecular properties of mtTFE, significantly extending the structural knowledge on this type of very interesting multifunctional enzymes.


Sixty-six patients who succeeded in storing a sufficient volume of autologous blood (mean±SD; 1097±452ml) using KL-3R3 solution contained in blood bags before elective surgery were included in this study, a five week phase 3 clinical trial of the whole blood preservative solution KL-3R3, commonly known as CPDA-1 (citrate phosphate dextrose adenine) solution. The mean time required for sufficient storage of autologous blood was 23.4±6.9 days, with 40 of the 66 (60.6%) requiring more than 21 days, a period of time that would have resulted in time expiration had we used the citrate-phosphate-dextrose (CPD) or acid-citrate-dextrose (ACD) solution bags which are presently commercially available. Sixty of the 66 patients (90.9%) completed their operations using only autologous blood units. After eliminating three patients who were administered recombinant erythropoietin, the efficacy of KL-3R3 was evaluated as effective in 61 (96.8%) of the 63 patients evaluated (markedly effective 57 (86.4%) and effective 4 (6.1%). Furthermore, in 48 of 56 patients (85.7%), in whom we were able to measure the autologous blood recovery rate after 24 hours of transfusion were estimated effective (markedly effective 29 (51.8%) and effective 19 (33.9%)). In sixty-three patients who had hematological and biochemical laboratory data, vital signs, and urinary data recorded both before and after receiving autologous blood units. RBC counts and hemoglobin levels and platelets counts decreased, and WBC counts increased after returning autologous blood at operation, changes observed commonly under surgical stress. Hemolysis markers such as GPT, indirect bilirubin, and LDH were slightly increased the day after operation, but returned to normal the second day after operation. Other data moved within normal limits expect urine occult blood. Hematuria was observed immediately after transfusion of autologous blood units, but this finding was observed transiently (the first day after transfusion 45.7% and the second day 13.3%). The safety was evaluated in sixty-five patients' blood bags by sight observations and bacterial culture tests, and no abnormal findings or bacterial propagation were detected. One patient was excluded from the safety evaluation because he was operated on within a week of initial predeposition. Two-hundred-thirty-eight KL-3R3 preserved blood bags were transfused in the 66 patients, in one (1/238, 0.4%) which had be discarded because of a large clot formation. In sixty-one patients, both the efficacy and the safety tests of KL-3R3 were rated for usefulness, with all 61 confirmed useful. The laboratory data of the 26 patients whose autologous blood were used within 21 days and the 40 patients whose autologous blood contained at least one unit that exceeded 21 days preservation was compared, with no significant differences observed.Our results confirmed that, in clinical trial of KL-3R3 preserved autologous blood units, all the criteria of effectiveness, safety and usefulness were satisfied.


This study was carried out to investigate the potential uptake of heavy metals (Pb, Ni, and Cd) by Pteridium aquilinum plant from aqueous solutions. The whole plant strands were cultured in 36 experimental pots containing 5, 10 and 15 (mg/L) of Pb2+, Ni2+ and Cd2+ aqueous solutions. The plants were harvested after 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours of exposure and segmented into leaves, stem and root, respectively. The heavy metals content in the plant parts were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer version VGP 210. The highest actual accumulations for Pb, Ni and Cd were recorded in the root at 15 mg/L of the aqueous solution after 96 hours of exposure with mean values of 4.29±0.04, 4.06±0.01 and 0.65±0.00 mg/kg, respectively.  The highest total actual accumulations recorded in the plant were 9.19±0.14, 10.80±0.03, and 1.23±0.04 mg/kg for Pb, Ni and Cd, respectively. The accumulation of the heavy metals in the plant parts was in this order; root > stem > leaves. The results reveal that, the accumulation of heavy metals in the plant increases with increase in the concentration of the aqueous solutions and the duration of exposure to the aqueous solutions. The uptake of heavy metals by the plant is in this order; Ni > Pb > Cd. The translocation factor (TF) recorded for Pb, Ni and Cd in the plant were all greater than 1 (>1) except for Cd at exposure duration of 96 h in the 15 mg/L Cd2+ aqueous solutions, with the highest TF values of 2.500, 1.886 and 1.601, respectively. This indicates that more of the heavy metals were stored in the shoot. P. aquilinum is therefore described as a good accumulator plant, which could be used for phytoextraction of Pb, Ni and Cd in aqueous solutions of the metals.

 Key words: Phytoremediation, Pteridium aquilinum, heavy metals, contamination, translocation factor.


A concise matrix notation is introduced, leading to a very simple statement of the resolution principle of mechanical theorem proving in the propositional calculus. The refinements of general resolution can also be stated easily using this notation. In addition, the notation has lead to the development of three new techniques of theorem proving which are described and proved complete.


The paper reviews the modeling of damage by the microplane model and presents extensions required for cyclic loading. The general microplane constitutive model is implemented in a three-dimensional finite element code and used in damage and bifurcation analysis of various structures. The results of the analysis are compared with test results and some of the comparisons are shown in the present paper.


A series of new perovskite-type mixed conducting ceramics Sm1-xSrxAl1-yFeyO3-δ (SSAF) were prepared by the organic gel method combined with solid state sintering technique. The thermal decomposition and phase inversion processes of the gel precursors and phase structure of the sinters were analyzed by means of TG—DTA, XRD and FTIR. The relative density of the ceramics was measured by Archimedes method, and the electrical conductivity of the samples in air was studied by the direct current four-wire method. The effects of sintering temperature and concentrations of Sr and Fe on the structures, electrical properties and transport mechanism of the samples were investigated. The results show that the well-crystallized nanopowders with tetragonal perovskite structure can be obtained by calcining the gel precursors at 900 ℃ for 5 h. With increasing the sintering temperature, both the electrical conductivity and relative density of SSAF9155 ceramics become large initially and then decrease, and the sample sintered at 1 450 ℃ for 5 h has the highest relative density and electrical conductivity. The electrical conductivities of SSAF ceramics are dominated by p-type electronic conduction and increase with increasing Sr and Fe doping content. Besides, the electrical conductivities of these samples increase with increasing temperature in medium-low temperature region and obey the Arrhenius relationship, indicating that the mechanism of electronic transport is the hopping of p-type small polaron. The apparent activation energies for SSAF ceramics decrease with increasing Fe doping content, but increase with increasing Sr doping content.


Let X1 = (W1, Y1), . . . , Xn = (Wn, Yn) be n pairs of independent random variables. We assume that, for each i ∈ {1, . . . , n}, the conditional distribution of Yi given Wi belongs to a one-parameter exponential family with parameter γ(Wi) ∈ R, or at least, is close enough to a distribution of this form. The objective of the present paper is to estimate these conditional distributions on the basis of the observation X = (X1, . . . , Xn) and to do so, we propose a model selection procedure together with a non-asymptotic risk bound for the resulted estimator with respect to a Hellinger-type distance. When γ does exist, the procedure allows to obtain an estimator γ̂ of γ adapted to a wide range of the anisotropic Besov spaces. When γ has a general additive or multiple index structure, we construct suitable models and show the resulted estimators by our procedure based on such models can circumvent the curse of dimensionality. Moreover, we consider model selection problems for ReLU neural networks and provide an example where estimation based on neural networks enjoys a much faster converge rate than the classical models. Finally, we apply this procedure to solve variable selection problem in exponential families. The proofs in the paper rely on bounding the VC dimensions of several collections of functions, which can be of independent interest.


Among a large collection of hemolysis-negative mutants obtained by mutagenesis of the Hly plasmid pHly152 with Tn5, we have isolated two classes of mutants which are defective in the transport of hemolysin across the outer membrane. The two cistrons (hylBa and hlyBb) which are affected in these mutants are located adjacent to each other on the hly determinant but are transcribed from different promoters. Recombinant plasmids were constructed which carry the two functions as combined or separated cistrons. These were shown to complement the two types of transport mutants. Studies on the compartmentation of hemolysin in these two classes of mutants indicate that most hemolysin (greater than 70%) in hlyBa mutants is located in the periplasmic space, whereas in hlyBb mutants a larger portion of hemolysin is associated with the outer membrane fraction. The phenotypic appearance of colonies from hlyBb mutants is that of beta-hemolytic Escherichia coli strains, indicating that a substantial portion of hemolysin has already reached the outside of the outer membrane without being released into the medium. Release was achieved readily when hlyBb mutants were complemented with a recombinant plasmid carrying hlyBb.


A modified hydrothermal protocol (MHT) has been adopted for the synthesis of a single-crystal of CoV2O6·2H2O. The crystals grew as a result of prolonged hydrothermal reaction between precursor salts of CoCl2 and ammonium vanadate. At first, the adopted reaction conditions resulted in nanowires of CoV2O6·4H2O. Then with increased reaction time, nanowires changed to single crystals of molecular formula CoV2O6·2H2O. The nanowires have lengths of several tens of micrometers and average diameter of 100 nm. The well defined structure crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system having space group Pnma and it displays a = 5.5647(2) A, b = 10.6870(5) A, c = 11.8501(5) A, α = β = γ = 90.00°. Here, each vanadium atom is tetrahedrally connected to four oxygens where two oxygens are connected to vanadium atoms and another two connected to cobalt atoms. Magnetic moment measurement of the nanowires indicates that antiferromagnetic ordering is observed at around 14.9 K and 6.8 K and field induced antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic (spin-flop-type) transitions have been observed at a low temperature (5–8.8 K) range while these are absent in the as-synthesized single crystals.


In preparation for the 2010 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Treatment Guidelines, the CDC convened an advisory group in April 2009 to examine recent abstracts and published literature addressing the diagnosis and management of STDs. This article summarizes the key questions, evidence, and recommendations for the diagnosis and management of uncomplicated Chlamydia trachomatis infection in adolescents and adults that were considered in development of the 2010 CDC STD Treatment Guidelines. The evidence reviewed primarily focused on specimen types used for nucleic acid amplification testing for chlamydia diagnosis, considerations in screening men for chlamydia and repeat testing after infected men receive treatment, and the natural history of chlamydia.


I found the study by Trevisani et al.' to be of particular interest. The study was well written and thorough. However, I believe that some of their conclusions would have been different had they used more powerful, and perhaps more appropriate, statistical tests in analyzing some of their data. For example, the authors in their discussion stated that their study "provides evidence that at the time of [hepatocelMar carcinoma] HCC diagnosis, the grade of cell anaplasia does not differ according to the underlying liver pathology" (in this case, the presence or absence of cirrhosis). A reanalysis of their data on Edmondson grades, as presented in Table 3, in fact, suggests the contrary. Using the chi-square test for trend, which is one of the tests most appropriate for analyzing data that have ordered categories,' their data appear to show the following:


Neural and skeletal communication is essential for the maintenance of bone mass and transmission of pain, yet the mechanism(s) of signal transduction between these tissues is unknown. The authors established a novel system to co-culture murine long bone osteocyte-like cells (MLO-Y4) and primary murine dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons. Assessment of morphology and maturation marker expression on perlecan domain IV peptide (PlnDIV) and collagen type-1 (Col1) demonstrated that PlnDIV was an optimal matrix for MLO-Y4 culture. A novel matrix-specificity competition assay was developed to expose these cells to several extracellular matrix proteins such as PlnDIV, Col1, and laminin (Ln). The competition assay showed that approximately 70% of MLO-Y4 cells preferred either PlnDIV or Col1 to Ln. To co-culture MLO-Y4 and DRG, we developed patterned surfaces using micro-contact printing to create 40 μm × 1 cm alternating stripes of PlnDIV and Ln or PlnDIV and Col1. Co-culture on PlnDIV/Ln surfaces demonstrated that these matrix molecules provided unique cues for each cell type, with MLO-Y4 preferentially attaching to the PlnDIV lanes and DRG neurons to the Ln lanes. Approximately 80% of DRG were localized to Ln. Cellular processes from MLO-Y4 were closely associated with axonal extensions of DRG neurons. Approximately 57% of neuronal processes were in close proximity to nearby MLO-Y4 cells at the PlnDIV-Ln interface. The surfaces in this new assay provided a unique model system with which to study the communication between osteocyte-like cells and neurons in an in vitro environment.


Purpose: In spite of all the efforts and researches on anticancer therapeutics, an absolute treatment is still a myth. Therefore, it is necessary to utilize novel technologies in order to synthesize smart multifunctional structures. In this study, for the first time, we have evaluated the anticancer effects of BCc1 nanocomplex by vitro and in vivo studies, which is designed based on the novel nanochelating technology. Methods: Human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF-7) and mouse embryonic fibroblasts were used for the in vitro study. Antioxidant potential, cell toxicity, apoptosis induction, and CD44 and CD24 protein expression were evaluated after treatment of cells with different concentrations of BCc1 nanocomplex. For the in vivo study, mammary tumor-bearing female Balb/c mice were treated with different doses of BCc1 and their effects on tumor growth rate and survival were evaluated. Results: BCc1 decreased CD44 protein expression and increased CD24 protein expression. It induced MCF-7 cell apoptosis but at the same concentrations did not have negative effects on mouse embryonic fibroblasts viability and protected them against oxidative stress. Treatment with nanocomplex increased survival and reduced the tumor size growth in breast cancer-bearing balb/c mice. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that BCc1 has the capacity to be assessed as a new anticancer agent in complementary studies.


The emergence of community care centres in India in recent decades has facilitated the provision of outreach services including psycho-social support and routine medical care to assist individuals living with HIV/AIDs. Since 1992 a range of government initiatives have been implemented that have led to an increasing trend focusing on community-based care. This paper focuses on the current role of community care centers in India, highlighting key services in addressing the needs of individuals and families in managing the challenges associated with HIV/AIDs. The paper also highlights barriers to access of patient-centered services for the treatment of HIV/AIDs within the Indian context.


Thousands of DNA methylation (DNAm) array samples from human blood are publicly available on the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), but they remain underutilized for experiment planning, replication, and cross-study and cross-platform analyses. To facilitate these tasks, we augmented our recountmethylation R/Bioconductor package with 12,537 uniformly processed EPIC and HM450K blood samples on GEO as well as several new features. We subsequently used our updated package in several illustrative analyses, finding (1) study ID bias adjustment increased variation explained by biological and demographic variables, (2) most variation in autosomal DNAm was explained by genetic ancestry and CD4+ T-cell fractions, and (3) the dependence of power to detect differential methylation on sample size was similar for each of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), whole blood, and umbilical cord blood. Finally, we used PBMC and whole blood to perform independent validations, and we recovered 40-46% of differentially methylated probes (DMPs) between sexes from two previously published epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS).


Magneto-acoustic oscillations were excited in a non-uniform, current-carrying plasma column. Measurements of the oscillating axial magnetic flux at a number of excitation frequencies were used to determine the equilibrium plasma properties. In agreement with previous theoretical studies, the radial profile of the plasma density is shown to be accurately determined, while it is not possible to obtain detailed information on the radial profile of the equilibrium magnetic field.


The flow over the linear low-pressure turbine cascade MTU-T161 at Re = 90,000 is analyzed using Delayed Detached Eddy Simulations (DDES). At this operating point, the low Reynolds number and the high loading of the blade result in a separation bubble and a separation-induced transition of the flow over the suction side. The utilized DDES method is based on a vorticity-based formulation to calculate the subgrid length scales and it incorporates the one-equation γ-transition model.
 The computational model of the MTU-T161 cascade consists of one blade passage, including the diverging viscous sidewalls. To reproduce realistic operating conditions and to mimic the experiments, synthetic turbulence is prescribed at the inlet of the computational domain.
 Several studies are performed to assess the accuracy and performance of the DDES one-equation γ-transition model against experimental data and a benchmark LES. The primary focus is on the prediction of the separation and the separation-induced transition mechanism. First of all, a systematic grid convergence study is conducted and grid criteria are derived in order to ensure a satisfactory agreement of the flow metrics, such as isentropic Mach number, friction coefficient distribution and total pressure wake losses at mid-span with experimental data. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the DDES model parameters, such as shielding function and subgrid length scale is presented and the effect of these parameters on the prediction accuracy of the separation bubble region is analyzed.
 The analysis of the suction side boundary layer indicates that the turbulent kinetic energy should be resolved and modeled properly in order to represent the separation bubble correctly. In particular, the correct prediction of the separated shear layer above the separation bubble is of utmost importance. The results of the simulations reveal higher demands on grid resolution for such transitional flows than typically have been reported in the literature for turbulent boundary layers. This higher demand on grid resolution results in more expensive simulations than Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS). Nevertheless, DDES requires less computing time than wall-resolved Large Eddy Simulations (LES). Additionally, the results of the transitional DDES model are compared to DDES without a transition model, RANS eddy viscosity model and a reference LES.
 The results show that the DDES approach needs to be coupled with a transition model, such as the one-equation γ-transition model, in order to capture the flow topology over a highly loaded turbine blade correctly. The benefit of the DDES one-equation γ-transition model becomes particularly evident when predicting the separated shear layer, transition process and the subsequent reattachment. The RANS eddy viscosity turbulence and transition models applied within our study are not able to predict the aforementioned mechanisms accurately. For highly loaded turbine blades in particular, the accurate prediction of flow separation and potential reattachment is crucial for the aerodynamic design of turbines, since large parts of the total pressure loss are generated in the separated region. For this reason, the DDES one-equation γ-transition model can be a good compromise in terms of predictive accuracy and computational costs.


Given the increasing attention to traditionally less "rational" entrepreneurial behaviors, such as bricolage, we used grounded theory techniques to study 23 diverse entrepreneurs. From this, we developed a five–category typology of entrepreneurial behavior that includes art, craft, engineering, bricolage, and brokerage. Themes such as self–perceived identity, organization of space, integration of materials, sense of personal limits, and responsiveness to changing market conditions were observed along categorical lines. We discuss the significance of the typology and each category's associations with venture longevity and financial performance for practitioners and for the study of entrepreneurship.


We report the use of a terahertz (THz) receiver fabricated using a photoconductive antenna mounted upon a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR). It is shown that the relative performance of the device is in accordance with the reflectivity curves of the DBR. At maximum reflectivity the device improved upon the reference THz signal by up to 30%. In addition, we characterize the saturation of the device with laser pump power and it is shown that the device exhibits an improved optical efficiency when compared to the reference receiver.


ABSTRACT Biofilm formation on implantable medical devices is a major impediment to the treatment of nosocomial infections and promotes local progressive tissue destruction. Staphylococcus epidermidis infections are the leading cause of biofilm formation on indwelling devices. Bacteria in biofilms are highly resistant to antibiotic treatment, which in combination with the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance among human pathogens further complicates treatment of biofilm-related device infections. We have developed a novel plasma coating technology. Trimethylsilane (TMS) was used as a monomer to coat the surfaces of 316L stainless steel and grade 5 titanium alloy, which are widely used in implantable medical devices. The results of biofilm assays demonstrated that this TMS coating markedly decreased S. epidermidis biofilm formation by inhibiting the attachment of bacterial cells to the TMS-coated surfaces during the early phase of biofilm development. We also discovered that bacterial cells on the TMS-coated surfaces were more susceptible to antibiotic treatment than their counterparts in biofilms on uncoated surfaces. These findings suggested that TMS coating could result in a surface that is resistant to biofilm development and also in a bacterial community that is more sensitive to antibiotic therapy than typical biofilms.


This paper identifies direct costs and opportunity costs of bio-safety regulation for four transgenic products in the Philippines: Bt eggplant, Bt rice, ringspot-virus resistant papaya, and virus resistant tomatoes. It finds that direct regulatory costs while significant, are generally smaller than the research costs for technology development. However, both research and regulatory costs are overshadowed by even a relatively brief delay in product release, which may occur due to unexpected regulatory delays.


We can say that postmodernism, which emerged in the second half of the twentieth century, brought a radical freedom to art by breaking up the understanding of art and the mindset of modernism, and ignored the hierarchical distinction between high culture and popular culture by removing the boundaries between art and daily life. In addition, postmodernism, which opposes the originality of art and that it is a product of genius, did not hesitate to make a deliberate return to the previous arts and to reinterpret them, arguing that art can also exist from repetitions. Thus, postmodern artists turn towards homogeneous elements in order to reach contemporary goals and ideas; They used the work itself as a new idea and a useful style by focusing on concepts such as "possessing", "imitation", "copying". In this article, the art understanding of Manola Valdes, one of the important living artists of today, has been examined with examples; The existence of a fictional new aesthetic structure, which is mostly "purified", "reduced" and lacking depth, is observed in his works woven through material, form, light and color. The works of many important artists from Renaissance to modernism served as an "excuse" in his works, and he transformed the works he took as reference into original works in line with the concept of Appropriation of postmodernism. Keywords: Manolo Valdes, Postmodernism, Irony, Pastigy, Appropriation


The topological index of a graph gives its topological property that remains invariant up to graph automorphism. The topological indices which are based on the eccentricity of a chemical graph are molecular descriptors that remain constant in the whole molecular structure and therefore have a significant position in chemical graph theory. In recent years, various topological indices are intensively studied for a variety of graph structures. In this article, we will consider graph structures associated with zero-divisors of commutative rings, called zero-divisor graphs. We will compute the topological indices for a class of zero-divisor graphs of finite commutative rings that are based on their edge eccentricity. More precisely, we will compute the first and third index of Zagreb eccentricity, the eccentricity index of geometric arithmetic, the atomic bonding connectivity eccentricity index, and the eccentric harmonic index of the fourth type related to graphs constructed using zero-divisors of finite commutative rings $ \mathbb{Z}_{p^n}. $


Brown algae is a source of sodium alginat raw material. One type of brown algae that is found to grow in Indonesian waters is Sargassum echinocarphum. Brown algae including one type of seaweed that grows in many waters of Indonesia, especially the waters of Eastern Indonesia. Alginat is a pure polysaccharide of uronic acid contained in a brown algae cell wall arranged in the form of long linear chain alginic acids with levels reaching 40% of the total dry weight. The alginat form in general is sodium alginat, a water soluble alginat salt. The purpose of this research is to know the quality of alginat include alginat rendamen, water content, ash content, and viscosity. Conventional extraction methods from brown algae into sodium alginat produces the highest yield percentage of 32.42%, resulting from the extraction for 7 hours at 60 C. The lowest average yield percentage resulted in 5 hours extraction process of 2.78%, the average water content of 20.37 - 23.30%, the mean ash content of 22.28 - 34.87%, and the viscosity ranged between 18, 0 - 19.8 Cp.


To assess the effect of hypoxia on cellular thallium-201 (201Tl) uptake and washout independent of coronary flow, we studied thallium kinetics during normoxia and hypoxia in cultured chick ventricular cells. Monolayers of contracting ventricular cells grown on coverslips were placed in a chamber and perfused to asymptote with media containing 201Tl. Perfusates were equilibrated with 5% CO2-95% air or 5% CO2-95% nitrogen for normoxia and hypoxia, respectively. Washout thallium kinetics were then observed during perfusion with unlabeled media. Twenty paired experiments were performed, randomly alternating the sequence of normoxia and hypoxia. Pharmacokinetics for thallium were determined by computer using standard formulae. Thallium uptake and washout were best described by assuming that intracellular thallium was contained within a single compartment. Cellular thallium uptake, as well as transfer rate constants for thallium uptake and for thallium washout during normoxia and hypoxia, were compared using paired t-tests. During normoxia and hypoxia, respectively, thallium uptake was 22 +/- 7% and 19 +/- 7% of asymptote (p less than 0.01); the compartmental rate constant for uptake by the cell was 0.16 +/- 0.07 min-1 and 0.15 +/- 0.06 min-1 (N.S.); and the transfer rate constant for washout from the cell was 0.26 +/- 0.06 min-1 and 0.23 +/- 0.05 min-1 (p less than 0.01). We conclude that there was a small (14%) decrease in thallium uptake during hypoxia. The rate of thallium uptake and washout was slightly less during hypoxia, although only the rate of washout was significantly less. These data show that cellular accumulation of thallium and the rate of washout of thallium were minimally decreased by hypoxia independent of blood flow.


Phase-resolved optical emission spectroscopy is a powerful tool to investigate the excitation mechanisms within the radio-frequency (RF) cycle of capacitively coupled RF plasmas. In this paper, the optical emission of oxygen, hydrogen, and argon atoms is investigated over a wide range of process parameters. The spatially (axial) and temporally resolved spectroscopy reveals four prominent emission patterns.


In this paper, segmentation of coronary arteries of heart is done. The source data is filtered using t wo dimensional DICOM (Digital imaging & Communications in Medicine) images taken from the 64 Slice Comput ed tomography Scan Data of the heart, using a filter t o highlight only the coronary arteries regions. The work has been implemented using an Intel (R) Core (TM) i3 at 2.20 GHz using MATLAB version 126.96.36.1997. Segmentation o f coronary arteries of heart has been done on 2-Dimensional CT (Computed Tomography) isolated data. The system ha s been developed using different image processing function s in MATLAB software.


This paper considers a screening mechanism which deals with information asymmetry of demand in launching a new private label product through a distribution channel where the retailer has private information on demand. An uninformed manufacturer proposes a lump sum payment contract, which a retailer either accepts or rejects. Rejection yields zero profits for both retailer and manufacturer. If the retailer accepts, the manufacturer sets a wholesale price to maximize her expected profit, and the retailer responses with an optimal retail price. Particularly, when the parameters satisfy certain conditions, there exists a unique separating equilibrium, which both firms make their optimal decisions. The uninformed manufacturer can use a lump sum transfer payment T as an instrument to screen the informed retailer's type on demand. It is shown whether the uninformed player can screen the informed player's type or not by designing a transfer payment contract, it ties in the player's market power within the distribution channel.


We study the correlation between the thickness of the neutron skin in finite nuclei and the nuclear symmetry energy for isotopic chains of even-even Ni, Sn, and Pb nuclei in the framework of the deformed self-consistent mean-field Skyrme HF + BCS method. The symmetry energy, the neutron pressure, and the asymmetric compressibility in finite nuclei are calculated within the coherent density fluctuation model using the symmetry energy as a function of density within the Brueckner energy density functional. The mass dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy and the neutron-skin thickness are also studied together with the role of the neutron-proton asymmetry. A correlation between the parameters of the equation of state (symmetry energy and its density slope) and the neutron skin is suggested in the isotopic chains of Ni, Sn, and Pb nuclei.


This paper proposes an autonomous train control system based on inter-train communication. In this new system, there is no logical central device and trains can communicate with each other autonomously. The train itself produces the position and calculates the permitted track speed. Therefore, the distance between trains can be shortened and a smooth brake pattern can be obtained. For building this system without hindering the current system operations, the gateway-based replacement technology and its test methods are explained. The assurance of test methods has been evaluated by comparing the on-line/off-line properties of the proposed technology.


High speed flow past many aligned, sequential aerofoils is considered, particularly concentrating on the regime where the gaps between the blades and the ground are small, using theory and computation. The flows considered are two-dimensional and laminar with a focus on the physical flow mechanisms for high-Reynolds-number flows. In particular: viscous–inviscid interaction that determines much of the flow between each blade and the ground, strong upstream influence, abrupt pressure jumps at each leading edge, and significant downstream influence and slip-streaming effects. Calculations are presented for the pressures and shear stresses, the lift, the frictional drag and the velocity profiles. The asymptotic limits of small and large clearance are considered. Numerical results suggest a near periodic many-blade limit emerges once enough blades are passed.


PURPOSE
To present a normative volumetric database, spanning 5 decades of life, of cerebrospinal fluid, subarachnoid cerebrospinal fluid, total brain volume, total ventricular volume (component ventricular volumes of lateral, temporal horn, and third and fourth ventricles) and estimates of white and gray matter, based on a multispectral segmentation of brain MR. This database is presented as a reference for future studies comparing pathologic states.

METHOD
One hundred ninety-four healthy subjects, ranging in age from 16 to 65 years, received standard axial intermediate- and T2-weighted spin-echo MR images. Multispectral segmentation and volume analysis were performed using ANALYZE.

RESULTS
Normative volumetric estimates, both uncorrected and corrected for differences in total intracranial volume, were obtained for all subjects and presented by decade and sex. Age-related cerebrospinal fluid changes were evident for both male and female subjects. Most gender differences were eliminated by correction for differences in total intracranial volume. Standard and fast spin-echo acquisition methods gave comparable volume estimates. Total brain volume measurements from MR compare favorably with data from large autopsy series.

CONCLUSION
Although there may be limitations to generalizations, these normative data tables can provide a comparison index for contrasting pathologic groups with a normative sample.


Objective: To explore the relative factors of cardiac sudder death(SCD) and the therapies.Methods: The usual etiology,inducement and Successful resuscitation rate of SCD in 108 cases were analysed. Results: It was relationship between SCD and coronery heart disease,electrolyte disorder,heart failure, malignant arrhythmia, periopertion and so on.Conclusion: For the SCD high risk patients, the precipitation causes and etiologic factors should be gotten rid of,and the drug or intervetional therapies should be undertaken,when required.


Probabilistic mixture models have been widely used for different machine learning and pattern recognition tasks such as clustering, dimensionality reduction, and classification. In this paper, we focus on trying to solve the most common challenges related to supervised learning algorithms by using mixture probability distribution functions. With this modeling strategy, we identify sub-labels and generate synthetic data in order to reach better classification accuracy. It means we focus on increasing the training data synthetically to increase the classification accuracy.


The purpose of this research was to determine the ethical leadership behaviours of school administrators and organizational commitment of teachers. The study was a relational research model. The study was consisted of 590 branch teachers working in the secondary schools which are located in both Siirt center and its districts in 2009-2010. Ethical Leadership Scale was used to determine the principals' ethical leadership behaviours according to teachers' point of view. In addition 'Organizational Commitment' scale developed by Balay (2000b) was also used to determine the organizational commitment levels of teachers. The result of the study indicated that there is negative and low relation between organizational commitment of teachers in terms of adaptation in respect to practices related to all dimensions of ethical leadership behaviours of school administrations. Also, there is a positive and medium level relation between the ethical leadership sub-dimensions such as tolerance, justice, responsibility, democracy and teachers' identification commitment. Regression analysis indicated that the responsibility sub-dimension of ethical leadership behaviour positively predicted the identification commitment.


In this era of globalization business competitions among the company increased. Companies need knowledge of information technology to support companies to be able to predict the future and help the whole system to improve services. Business Intelligence as a system that can help management by providing predictions, patterns, and assisting in decision making. In designing and implementing Business Intelligence for coal production and reserves division using Business Intelligence Roadmap method. Business Intelligence Roadmap is one of the methods of Business Intelligence that can be used because it is adaptive and detail which consists of 6 phases and 18 stages. By implementing Business Intelligence within the coal company environment is expected to support the strategic decisions related to the plans and predictions of coal production that need to be taken, so the management of coal production operations can run well, and it can produce business information in a short time. Data and information generated also become more accessible and easier to understand with focused on making reports in the form of visualizations such as diagrams and


In this work we analyse the parameterised complexity of propositional inclusion (PINC) and independence logic (PIND). The problems of interest are model checking (MC) and satisfiability (SAT). The complexity of these problems is well understood in the classical (non-parameterised) setting. Mahmood and Meier (FoIKS 2020) recently studied the parameterised complexity of propositional dependence logic (PDL). As a continuation of their work, we classify inclusion and independence logic and thereby come closer to completing the picture with respect to the parametrised complexity for the three most studied logics in the propositional team semantics setting. We present results for each problem with respect to 8 different parameterisations. It turns out that for a team based logic L such that L-atoms can be evaluated in polynomial time, the MC parameterised by teamsize is FPT. As a corollary, we get an FPT-membership under the following parameterisations: formulasize, formula-depth, treewidth, and number of variables. The parameter teamsize shows interesting behavior for SAT. For PINC the parameter teamsize is not meaningful, whereas for PDL and PIND the satisfiability is paraNP-complete. Finally, we prove that when parameterised by arity, both MC and SAT are paraNP-complete for each of the considered logics.


High heterogeneity has been reported among cohort studies investigating the association between metformin and pancreatic cancer survival. Immortal time bias may be one importance source of heterogeneity, as it is widely present in previous cohort studies and may severely impair the validity. Our study aimed to examine whether metformin therapy improves pancreatic cancer survival, and to assess the impact of immortal time bias on the effect estimation of metformin in cohort studies. PubMed, EMbase and SciVerse Scopus were searched. Pooled relative risks (RRs) were derived using a random‐effects model. Pooled RR from the six studies without immortal time bias showed no association between metformin and mortality in pancreatic cancer patients (RR 0.93, 95% CI 0.82, 1.05; p = 0.22 and I2 = 75%). In contrast, pooled RR from the nine studies with immortal time bias showed a reduction of 24% in mortality associated with metformin (RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.69, 0.84; p < 0.001 and I2 = 1%). From a meta‐regression model, existence of immortal time bias was associated with a reduction of 18% in the effect estimate of metformin on pancreatic cancer survival (ratio of RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.70, 0.96; p = 0.02). In conclusions, cumulative evidence from cohort studies does not support a beneficial effect of metformin on pancreatic cancer survival. The association between metformin and pancreatic cancer survival has been greatly exaggerated in previous cohort studies due to the wide existence of immortal time bias. More rigorous designs and statistical methods are needed to account for immortal time bias.


Lyme disease (LD) is the most common tick-borne infectious disease in the Northern hemisphere. LD can present with a wide range of symptoms depending on time since infection; from localised skin reactions such as erythema migrans, to widespread multi-system involvement. There may be non-specific symptoms of malaise, aching joints and muscles, and cognitive effects. Treatment with antibiotics is effective, especially if started in the early stages of infection. There is rising awareness of LD by the general public through media coverage and high-profile celebrity cases. Greater awareness has benefits, such as increased diagnosis and treatment of LD. However, cases in the media tend to highlight delays in diagnosis and complications of LD, which can lead to high levels of patient anxiety about the risks of LD.


Electric power systems (EPS) are exposed to disconnections of their elements, such as transmission lines and generation units, due to meteorological factors or electrical failures. Thus, this research proposes a smart methodology for the re-entry of elements that have been disconnected from the EPS due to unforeseen events. This methodology is based on optimal AC power flows (OPF-AC) which allow verifying the state of variables such as voltage, angular deviation, and power (these variables are monitored in normal and fault conditions). The proposed study considers contingencies N-2, N-3, N-4, and N-5, for which the disconnection of transmission lines and generation units are carried out randomly. The analysis of the EPS after the disconnections of the elements is carried out by means of the contingency index, with which the impact that the disconnections of the elements have on the EPS is verified. In this way, the optimal route is generated to restore the elements that went out of operation, verifying that when the elements re-enter the acceptable limits, voltage and voltage angle are not exceeded. According to the results of the methodology used, it was found that NM contingencies can be applied in the proposed model, in addition to considering stability restrictions, modeled as restrictions on acceptable voltage limits, and a new restriction for the voltage angle between the differences of the bars.


PurposeRecent years have witnessed a rise in interest in neuromarketing from academia and industry, as it offers practical tools for determining consumers' subconscious reactions to marketing stimuli. Despite this, the current state of neuromarketing research is not well supported by empirical data. To offer a thorough overview of the studies conducted on this discipline in the past few years, a bibliometric analysis of neuromarketing is carried out, taking into account its techniques, key areas and publication patterns trends from several viewpoints.Design/methodology/approachThis study searched 463 documents for the web of science databases published during the previous sixteen years and visualized them. The graphical display of data was created using the VOS Viewer software.FindingsElectroencephalogram (EEG) appeared as a predominantly tool used in neuromarketing research. EEG is either used alone or together with Human Eye-Tracking (HET). "Emotions" was identified in the study as a crucial area of neuromarketing, among other pertinent concepts. The study's results also showed that authors from the United States produced the most articles on neuromarketing, followed by those from the United Kingdom and Spain. The publishing trend, sources and major contributors in neuromarketing are identified using Web of Science data from 2006 to 2021. Overall, the research provides insight into neuromarketing's past, present and future as well as the most widely utilized analytical techniques.Originality/valueThe study's conclusions will be of interest to researchers in understanding the journals that publish neuromarketing research, the themes that contributors and writers have identified, and the countries where research is carried out. This is the first comprehensive study, to the authors' knowledge, that provides a general summary of the key trends in neuromarketing research throughout its history. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first thorough study that offers a broad overview of the most important developments in neuromarketing research from 2006 to 2021.


Plant response to soil Cd is highly variable. Plants varying in Cd accumulation pattern were evaluated to determine if Cd was taken up from similar or different pools in soils. Three metal-contaminated soils (pH 8) and a noncontaminated soil were labeled with 109 Cd using a carrier-free 109 CdCl 2 solution. Rye grass (Lolium perenne L.), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), and the Zn- and Cd-hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens J. Presl & C. Presl were grown on these soils and harvested. The isotopic composition of Cd in plant shoots (IC,) was measured and the isotopic composition in the soil solution (IC S ) was calculated using the isotopic exchange kinetics (IEK) method. The Cd concentrations in shoots ranged from 0.1 to 2.3 mg kg -1 in rye grass, 0.4 to 8.3 mg kg -1 in lettuce, and 8.7 to 647 mg kg -1 in T. caerulescens. The IC P values were similar among species, suggesting that the same pool of soil isotopically exchangeable Cd was accessed despite variations in Cd uptake pattern. The IC P values were similar to the IC S , suggesting that the IEK method assesses the pool that is phytoavailable. Despite the high soil pH, more than 50% of the total soil Cd was isotopically exchangeable within 90 d. Lettuce and rye grass took up less than 1% of the exchangeable Cd while T. caerulescens extracted up to 22% of this pool. In conclusion, plants representing a wide array of behavior toward Cd take up the metal from a similar pool of soil Cd, which is assessed by the IEK method.


Recent work in learning ontologies (hierarchical and partially-ordered structures) has leveraged the intrinsic geometry of spaces of learned representations to make predictions that automatically obey complex structural constraints. We explore two extensions of one such model, the order-embedding model for hierarchical relation learning, with an aim towards improved performance on text data for commonsense knowledge representation. Our first model jointly learns ordering relations and non-hierarchical knowledge in the form of raw text. Our second extension exploits the partial order structure of the training data to find long-distance triplet constraints among embeddings which are poorly enforced by the pairwise training procedure. We find that both incorporating free text and augmented training constraints improve over the original order-embedding model and other strong baselines.


INTRODUCTION
In this study, we compare three different longitudinal clustering methods. As a case study, the comparison of the methods is conducted for the development of loneliness from middle childhood to young adulthood. The aim is to explore how two nonparametric longitudinal cluster methods compare with a model-based latent class mixture model approach.

METHODS
The trajectories of loneliness of 130 young people between 9 and 21 years of age, were analyzed to find a set clusters within these trajectories. The data for this study were obtained from the Nijmegen Longitudinal Study on Infant and Child Development (The Netherlands). Loneliness was measured at four waves at the age of 9, 13, 16, and 21 years. The nonparametric methods are in the R-packages kml and traj, and the model-based in the lcmm package.

RESULTS
All methods indicated that the optimal number of clusters to describe the heterogeneity across the trajectories was three. The kml and lcmm methods showed the most similarity in shape of all clusters and fitted the data relatively well, while the traj method yielded somewhat different shapes and didn't fit the data well.

CONCLUSIONS
All three methods corroborate the literature in this field by finding that the largest portion of subjects experience stable and low levels of loneliness. However, the clustering methods also reveal that there is a portion of subjects that experience changes in loneliness during adolescence. By comparing the results of nonparametric clustering methods to the latent class mixture model, this study equips researchers with an example of how to implement these models and thereby contributes to the literature on longitudinal clustering in the social sciences. Altogether the analyses show that it might be useful to investigate different algorithms to identify the most robust solution.


In this paper, we study the effects of channel estimation error on the bit error rate (BER) of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing systems in multipath Rayleigh fading channels. Due to the additive white Gaussian noise and the intercarrier interference caused by the residual carrier frequency offset, the channel estimation based on the training symbols is not perfect. We characterize the performance degradation resulting from imperfect channel state information by deriving the BER formulas for BPSK, QPSK, and 16-QAM modulation schemes. Simulation results validate the accuracy of our derived formulas.


Abstract. Land cover changes at watershed scale constitute key issues in general hydrology. Wildfires are one of the drivers of the changes in vegetation, which might affect hydrological fluxes and the water balance. The Västmanland fire in central Sweden burned 14 000 hectares and removed the Boreal forest in this area during the summer 2014. In here, we have studied the change in flow signatures during 3 years after the wildfire. In the empirical experiment we used a paired catchment methodology to compared 2 catchments highly affected by the wildfire with 2 unaffected catchments nearby, of similar character and climate to avoid the impact of natural variability in the analysis of wildfire impact. The average size of the catchments is 20 km2 and a total of 23 catchment characteristics of flow and physiography were defined, trying to isolate each of the hydrological processes affected by the wildfire. We used both in situ flow measurements and remote sensing information (e.g. yearly volume at the outlet of the subbasins, fraction of vegetation or fraction of snow). The results show a change in the snow dynamics over the burnt areas with shorter duration of the snow season and a higher stream flow during autumn. This is probably related to an earlier snowmelt due to an increase indecent solar radiation over the snow cover without the canopy and the change in interception and transpiration from vegetation after the wildfire, respectively.


First principles calculations of rutile-type TiO 2 :S have been performed to investigate the effect of sulfur solutes on the electronic structure. Plane-wave pseudopotentials method has been employed and atomic relaxationswere fully taken into account. All possible geometric configurations for sulfur solutes within a 12-atoms supercell have been examined changing sulfur concentration of x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1. Theoretical direct band gap is found to decrease as sulfur concentration is increased. The dependence on the sulfur concentration is weaker than that was predicted in literature. Both the optimization of solute configuration and atomic relaxation are found to be essential for quantitative evaluation of the electronic structures in the alloy.


It is argued that the access matrix model of M.H. Harrison, W.L. Ruzzo and J.D. Ullman (HRU) (1976) has extremely weak safety properties; safety analysis is undecidable for most policies of practical interest. An alternate formulation of the HRU model is presented that gives strong safety properties. This alternative formulation is called the extended schematic protection model (ESPM). ESPM is derived from the schematic protection model (SPM) by extending the creation operation to allow multiple parents for a child, as opposed to the conventional create operation of SPM, which has a single parent for a child. It is shown that, despite its equivalence to HRU, ESPM, retains a tractable safety analysis for a large class of protection schemes that are of practical interest.<<ETX>>


Assessed 88 infants at risk for mental retardation on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and a measure of visual recognition memory at 3 months corrected age. Bayley scales were administered again when the infants were 1-year-old. At 3 months of age the Bayley scales and the measure of visual recognition memory were not significantly correlated. Both measures, however, showed significant correlation to the Bayley scales administered at 1 year of age. Results from regression analyses indicated that each measure at 3 months of age was related to a different source of variance in the 1-year measure. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that at 3 months of age the visual recognition memory measure is a better early window into later cognitive development than the Bayley scales.


We consider a network of collaborative peers that aim at distributedly estimating the network cardinality. We assume nodes to be endowed with unique identification numbers (IDs), and we study the performance of size estimators that are based on exchanging these IDs. Motivated by practical scenarios where the time-to-estimate is critical, we specifically address the case where the convergence time of the algorithm, i.e., the number of communications required to achieve the final estimate, is minimal. We thus construct estimators of the network size by exploiting statistical inference concepts on top of the distributed computation of order statistics of the IDs, i.e., of the M biggest IDs available in the network. We then characterize the statistical performance of these estimators from theoretical perspectives and show their effectiveness in practical estimation situations by means of numerical examples.


OBJECTIVE
To study whether Exendin-4(Ex-4) could influence oxidative stress in PC12 cells induced by methylglyoxal and its underlying mechanism.

METHODS
PC12 cells were cultured with methylglyoxal (0,0.25,0.50,0.75,1.0,2.0 mmol/L) for 12~48 h, or PC12 cells were pretreated with Ex-4 (25, 50, 100, 200 nmol/L) for 24 h then incubatedwith methylglyoxal (0.75 mmol/L) for 24 h. MTT assay was used to measure cell viability. Fluorescent probe method was used to detect reactive oxygen species (ROS) expression. Xanthine oxidase method was used to detect superoxide dismutase (SOD)activity. With pretreatment of Exendin-4 (100 nmol/L) for 24 h,the expressions ofP-IκBα, Inhibitor of NF-κB-α IκBα were detected by Western blot after PC12 cells were exposed to methylglyoxal (0.75 mmol/L) for 1 h.

RESULTS
Following methylglyoxal administration, cell viability was gradually decreased in a dose-and time-dependent manner. Pretreatment with Ex-4 for 24 hours, cellviability were gradually increased compared with methylglyoxal-alone group. Pretreatment with Ex-4 (100 nmol/L) for 24 hours, ROS expression was reduced by65.30% (P<0.01) compared with methylglyoxal-alone group, ROS expression in NAC-pretreatment group was reduced by 107.40% (P<0.01); SOD activity in the Ex-4 pretreatment group was increased by 5.30 U/mg prot (P<0.01), SOD activity in the NAC pretreatment group was increased by 8.53 U/mg prot (P<0.01);the ratio of P-IκB-α/IκB-α in the Ex-4 pretreatment group was reduced by 25.50% (P<0.01), the ratio of P-IκB-α/IκB-α in the NAC pretreatment group was reduced by 35.14% (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates that Ex-4 can increase the viabilities of PC12 cells and protect PC12 cells from oxidative stress induced by methylglyoxal, the mechanism may involve in suppressing the activation of protein IκB-α.


Quenching of the excited triplet state of 2-benzoylthiophene (BT) by 3-methylindole (CH_3InH) leads to several neutral radicals resulting from formal hydrogen-atom abstraction. The transient absorption spectra of the BT ketyl radical (BTH) and the N-centered (CH_3In) radical are directly detected by laser flash photolysis. From the differences between the spectra in the presence and the absence of oxygen, the C-centered skatolyl radical (CH_2InH) is also observed. Accordingly, product studies demonstrate the formation of homodimers as well as cross-coupling products. They include BTH dimers (BTH-BTH, two stereoisomers), indolyl dimers (three different products) and products derived from reaction of skatolyl and BT ketyl radicals.


Backgrounds and aims: The evolution of multi-resistant pathogens is seriously threatening our ability to provide modern healthcare. Many of the mobile resistance factors in clinics appear to originate from environmental bacteria. In this thesis, strategies are developed and applied to explore and identify novel antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) captured and carried by different mobile genetic elements on a largescale. The primary aim is to identify novel, mobile ARGs that could become, or that already are, a threat to the public health. Method: We used targeted amplicon sequencing (Paper I) and functional metagenomics of amplified gene cassettes (Papers II and III) that were recovered from two polluted environments. In Paper IV, we studied the associations between insertion sequences (ISs) and ARGs by analyzing all sequenced bacterial genomes. Moreover, several thousand metagenomic runs were analyzed to estimate the abundance of ARGs (including novel ARGs) and ISs. Results and discussions: In Paper I, we found a novel mobile sulfonamide resistance gene providing a high level of resistance when expressed in E. coli. By using functional metagenomics (Papers II and III), we identified a completely new integronborne aminoglycoside resistance gene that was already present, but previously not identified, in multi-resistant clinical isolates collected from patients in Italy, as well as in two food-borne Salmonella enterica isolates from the USA. Moreover, we described and characterized the first ampCs encoded as integron gene cassettes with increased transmission opportunities to move between different bacterial species. Metagenomic analysis showed that all three genes are spread in different geographical locations and were abundant in wastewater environments. In Paper IV, ISs and tentative composite transposons with strong associations with ARGs were identified, and we proposed that these could be explored further to discover novel ARGs, for example with an amplicon sequencing approach. Finally, metagenomic analyses shed light on the environments that potentially contain such ISs. Conclusions: Targeted amplicon sequencing and its integration with functional metagenomics were successful in finding novel resistance gene cassettes that have already accumulated in pathogens or have the potential to do so. With a well-designed strategy, the content of ISs could be explored to identify unknown mobile ARGs in addition to those associated with integron gene cassettes. Finally, the information produced in this thesis is the initial seed for an accessible web application useful in studying the association between ISs and ARGs.


Beam-based BPM offset calibration was carried out for Injector II at the C-ADS demonstration facility at the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP), Chinese Academy of Science (CAS). By using the steering coils integrated in the quadrupoles, the beam orbit can be effectively adjusted and BPM positions recorded at the Medium Energy Beam Transport of the Injector II Linac. The studies were done with a 2 mA, 2.1 MeV proton beam in pulsed mode. During the studies, the "null comparison method" was applied for the calibration. This method is less sensitive to errors compared with the traditional transmission matrix method. In addition, the quadrupole magnet's center can also be calibrated with this method.


Pulse oximeters and other light based sensor types are used to monitor arterial blood oxygen levels, heart rate, and much more that rely on LEDs and photodiodes. The conventional method of using photodiodes to detect light signals is accurate, but requires relatively expensive hardware processing to extract the signal. Digital sensing of light using an LED provides a low-cost alternative by using a voltage threshold timing method. However, the accuracy of this method is dependant on the microcontroller clock speed and suffers from variable sample rate (100 us to 10 ms). This paper develops a model for a digital light sensing method using only a microcontroller's ADC and timer, and an LED. Using the voltage discharge curve of a reverse biased LED, the sensor is capable of accurately detecting light intensities ranging from 0–3885 mcd at a sample period of 500 us. A linear relationship was found through the incident light intensity ranges of 0 to 3880 mcd. The model fit the expected experimental values, with an estimated photocurrent ranging from 10 pA to 55 nA. With an R2 of 0.9997, the model demonstrates the digital sensing method linearly responds to incident light intensity and can simplify the design of pulse oximeters and similar light based sensor types.


The Blue Revolution promises to transform wild marine fish into docile domesticates, fish hunters into harvesters. As commercially fished marine species continue to face extinction in the wild due to overfishing, pollution, global climate change and a host of other anthropogenic assaults, 'culture' has emerged as a keyword in the field of marine fisheries management. Like the terrestrial dreams and grandiose visions
of their Green comrades a half-century earlier, Blue revolutionaries advocate the application of scientific expertise, industrial technology and trans-national capital in their oceanic culturing projects. These
culturing projects influence and seek to transform human identity and ways of living as much as the genetic make-up, behaviours and metabolism of the wild fish species that are targeted for domestication.


Shallow lakes are common across the entire Arctic. They play an important role as methane sources and wildlife habitats, and they are also associated with thermokarst processes which are characteristic of permafrost environments. Many lakes freeze to the ground along their rims and often over the entire extent during winter time. Knowledge on the spatial patterns of ground-fast and floating ice is important as it relates to methane release, talik formation and hydrological processes, but no circumpolar account of this phenomenon is currently available. Previous studies have shown that ground-fast ice can easily be detected using C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) backscatter intensity data acquired from satellites. A major challenge is that backscatter intensity varies across the satellite scenes due to incidence angle effects. Circumpolar application therefore requires the inclusion of incidence angle dependencies into the detection algorithm. An approach using ENVISAT ASAR Wide Swath data (approximately 120 m spatial resolution) has therefore been developed supported by bathymetric measurements for lakes in Siberia. This approach was then further applied across the entire Arctic for late winter 2008. Ground-fast ice fraction has been derived for (1) two million lake objects larger than 0.025 km² (post-processed GlobeLand30), (2) a 50 x 50 km grid and (3) within certain zones relevant for climate studies (permafrost type, last glacial maximum, Yedoma). Especially lakes smaller than approximately 0.1 km² may freeze completely to the ground. The proportion of ground-fast ice increases with increasing soil organic carbon content in the proximity of the lakes. This underlines the importance of such lakes for emission studies and the need to map the occurrence of ground-fast lake ice. Clusters of variable fractions of ground-fast ice occur especially in Yedoma regions of Eastern Siberia and Alaska. This reflects the nature of thaw lake dynamics. Analyses of lake depth measurements from several sites suggest that the used method yields the potential to utilize ground-fast lake ice information over larger areas with respect to landscape development, but results need to be treated with care, specifically for larger lakes and along river courses.


AIM
Policy responses to the growing burden of alcohol-related disease fail to consider the interrelated nature of substance misuse and the potential for complex interactions in response to alcohol-specific interventions. This paper considers possible aggregate level responses to the alcohol policy and whether alcohol policy can be expected to reduce overall harm.

METHODS
A review and discussion of the relevant literature was conducted.

RESULTS
Evidence indicates that those at greatest risk consume stronger alcoholic beverages more frequently, that they are likely to complement their consumption with a range of intoxicants and that they are more likely to substitute alcohol with other substances.

CONCLUSIONS
Policies aimed at reducing alcohol consumption can be successful. However, evidence suggests a significant minority of consumers are likely to substitute or complement consumption with a range of intoxicants suggesting that policy is unlikely to reduce all-cause mortality and morbidity. Further research into the nature of substitution and complementarity is required.


Managing water resources is a critical issue because of scarcity and reduced reliability related to climate change.
The GRACE mission has emerged as the first satellite able to measure total water storage variations and solve
water budgets with sufficient accuracy and spatial sensitivity to monitor hydrological systems at spatial scales
greater than 400 km. The objective of this study was to assess the use of GRACE satellite data for monitoring
water storage changes in river basins globally and to provide increased access to the data to hydrologists through
a Google Earth product. A global basin-scale GRACE dataset (including error estimates) was developed in this
work, based on processing methods validated on the intensively monitored US High Plains Aquifer. A total of
218 river basins were delineated (156 basins and 62 sub-basins) based on the Total Runoff Integrating Pathways
(TRIP) to cover all continents and compatible with GRACE resolution. GRACE data from two centers (CSR RL4
monthly data and GRGS RL2 10 day data) were processed for bias, leakage, and glacial isostatic adjustment to
provide total water storage (TWS) changes from 2002 – 2010. The corrected GRACE time series are compared
with water storage simulated by various Land Surface Schemes (LSM). The availability of GRACE data for river
basins through Google Earth, along with analysis of errors, should greatly facilitate the use of GRACE data by
hydrologists and advance our understanding of spatio-temporal variations in water storage in river basins globally.
The highly-engineered Euphrates-Tigris basin will be shown as an example to highlight the significant interest of
GRACE data for basin-scale water management.


Obstruction of tympanostomy tubes is a potentially significant complication, sometimes requiring replacement of the nonfunctioning tube. Early blockage can occur secondary to bleeding during the tube placement procedure. Delayed obstruction is usually caused by inspissated secretions or epithelial casts. We briefly report our treatment of 9 cases of delayed ventilation tube obstruction that were associated with the use of an ototopical antibiotic/steroid suspension.


Bamboo fiber was treated using a high-pressure enzyme hydrolysis process. The process performance was compared with the pulping and bleaching process for bamboo fiber. Several analytical methods, including field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, and differential scanning calorimetry, were employed to determine the physicochemical and thermal properties of the treated cellulosic bamboo fiber. It was found that the pressurized enzyme hydrolysis treated bamboo fiber had the most uniform morphological structure, along with lowest crystallinity and highest thermal stability. Thus, utilizing high-pressure enzyme hydrolysis is the most effective process for treating fiber to remove non-cellulosic components from the raw material, including lignin, hemicelluloses, and waxy materials.


Manufacturing has traditionally been regarded in the development literature as having special ?growth-pulling? or ?growth-enhancing? properties. The share of manufacturing in GDP has been declining slightly over time in South Africa, while that of services has been growing. This study focuses on the ?Hirschmanian? channels through which sectoral growth can lead or support aggregate economic growth, using input-output tables to investigate intersectoral linkages in the South African economy. Manufacturing is found to be especially important as a source of demand for the services sector and the rest of the economy through its strong backward linkages. This draws attention to possible negative implications of a decline in manufacturing on the South African economy.


Biodiversity offsetting is a tool to balance ecological damage caused by human activity with new benefits created elsewhere. Offsetting is implemented by protecting, restoring or managing sufficiently large areas of habitat. While there are concerns about the true feasibility of offsetting, they are becoming a common policy tool world‐wide. Operationally uncomplicated, quantitative approaches to spatial analysis of offsets are rare and their use is often restricted by the availability of suitable spatial data. We describe a practical method for offsets that builds upon two layers of relatively easily sourced spatial data, a balanced spatial priority ranking and a weighted range size rarity map. Together with (a) spatial information about impact and offset areas, and (b) extra parameters for the effectiveness of avoided loss and the amount of leakage expected, we can evaluate whether the proposed offset exchange represents a credible no net loss or net positive impact with an upward trade. The priority ranking and range size rarity maps can be produced in various ways, most notably using existing conservation planning tools. Here we used the standard outputs of the Zonation spatial prioritization software. We illustrate the method and associated visualization in the context of offsetting of boreal forests in Finland, where forests experience high and increasing pressures from forestry and bioenergy sectors. The example is timely as there is political demand for the uptake of biodiversity offset policies in Finland, and boreal forests are the most common biotope. The methods described here are applicable to biomes around the world. The described tools are made available as r scripts that utilize standard Zonation outputs, thus providing direct linkage to any past or future Zonation applications. As a limitation, the present methods only apply to avoided loss offsets.


Steam explosion after sulphur dioxide impregnation of wood chips is an effective method for improving the enzymatic digestibility of cellulose in the softwood Pinus radiata. Digestibility of pretreated fiber was progressively increased by altering the conditions of steam explosion. With increasing digestibility, there was an observed increase in fiber porosity as measured by the solute exclusion technique. Accessible pore volume and accessible surface area to a 5‐nm dextran probe positively correlated with both 2‐ and 24‐h digestion yields from pretreated fiber. The increase in accessibility was probably the result of hemicellulose extraction and lignin redistribution. A subsequent loss in accessibility, brought about by structural collapse or further lignin redistribution, resulted in a corresponding loss in digestibility. It appears that steam explosion increases cellulose digestibility in P. radiata by increasing fiber porosity.


An earlier article in the Quarterly Economic Commentary (Hayton, 1992) considered the likely impact of reform upon local economic development. This was written at a time when the details of the economic development power were not known. The publication of the Reform Bill (Local Government etc (Scotland) Bill) in late 1993 means that the present article is able to look in greater detail at the power and compare it with the English and Welsh legislation. This enables its likely impact to be considered. The starting point is to look at the background to the legislation.


Objective: This study aimed to describe the urodynamic characteristics of post-transplant kidney patients with LUTS who were indicated for urodynamics. Material & Methods: This research is a cross-sectional study conducted at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital between 2011-2017. Data were collected from patients who had undergone urodynamic examination after kidney transplantation due to LUTS/urinary retention. Data were collected from the patient's medical record. Results: A total of 536 patients underwent kidney transplants at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital from 2011-2017. Eleven patients (2%) developed LUTS and then underwent urodynamic examination with an average age of 41.4 (30.1 ± 52.6) years. Six patients (55%) had type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and 5 patients (45%) had hypertension (HT). A total of 6 out of 11 patients (54%) experienced urinary retention of which 4 subjects (67%) had decreased bladder compliance, 4 (67%) patients experienced detrusor overactivity (DO), 3 patients (50%) had bladder outlet obstruction (BOO), while 2 patients (33%) experienced detrusor underactivity (DU) respectively. Of 5 patients without urinary retention, decreased bladder compliance was found in 1 patient (20%), DO in 2 patients (40%), BOO in 1 patient (20%), and no subject experienced DU. In both groups, no subject was discovered to experience any urinary incontinence. Conclusion: Small number of post renal transplantation patients developed LUTS and half of which accompanied by urinary retention. Among these patients, urodynamic examination revealed detrusor overactivity as the most common underlying problem followed by decreased bladder compliance, BOO, and detrusor underactivity


Green open space is one of the important components to manage the city in order to realize the mandate of law Number 5 Year 2008. The implementation of the green open space in Semarang City hasn't fully reached 30 %. Green open space has various type and benefits, one of them is the Tinjomoyo Tourism Forest which the planning and management itself should involve Local Government Agencies of Semarang including Regional Development Planning Board and Departent of Cultural and Tourism. In making strategic planning of Green Open Space including Tinjomoyo Tourism Forest, it needs some things that support and great commitment of the parties involved, which is poured in the form of a initial agreement, understanding of the mandate in the Organization including the action that should be performed as well as regulatory support, alignment with the mission and purpose of which are owned by the identification of fulfilment, response to stakeholder, philosophy and the uniqueness of the Organization, assessment of external factors (political, economic, social and technological) and internal factors (resources, strategies, the effectiveness of performance) which subsequently obtained 7 strategic issues identified and tested with litmus tests so that each of the formulation strategy obtained can be applied in the planning of the Green open spaces of Semarang, in particular Tinjomoyo Tourism Forest. To develop The Green Open Space can be done with the main strategy, that is cross-sector coordination, supported by other strategies that are improving the quality of human resources, harnessing the investor according to regulations, doing communication with all stakeholders including the public society, optimizing organizational performance through its vision and mission, taking advantage of the conducive political condition in Semarang city as well as the improvement of planning quality and budgeting of green open space, each of them is contained in the programs and activities that are relevant.


Variants of forming of the arteries of upper abdomen were studied. Peculiarities of their location in different variants were considered using 75 visceral complexes. A description of the original variant of hepatic artery is given. 2 laws of arrangement of the arteries in the upper abdomen were formulated corresponding with all the anatomic variants known that explain predominant location of right and left hepatic arteries.


Renewable energy development in southern California is receiving increasing attention due to potential impacts on wildlife habitats and water sources. This study was designed to quantify and map, for the first time, sub-surface water sources from springs in the Lower Colorado Desert area of southern California using satellite radar data and 30 years of Landsat satellite image data. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data was used to identify sub-surface water sources not already documented as springs or seeps in the National Hydrography Database. Landsat imagery starting in 1985 was used to characterize vegetation growth patterns at these suspected spring locations detected from SAR analysis. Results showed a total of 104 potential spring locations across the Lower Colorado Desert study area, 19 of which were detected within Solar Energy Zone (SEZ) development boundaries, roughly evenly split between Riverside East and Imperial East, and 13 of which (both inside and outside SEZs) showed relatively high green vegetation index values over the period of 1985 to 2015 that would depend on non-precipitation water sources associated with active springs.


This summary article presents an overview of the molecular relationships among the voltage-gated potassium channels and a standard nomenclature for them, which is derived from the IUPHAR Compendium of Voltage-Gated Ion Channels. The complete Compendium, including data tables for each member of the potassium channel family can be found at http://www.iuphar-db.org/iuphar-ic/.


ABSTRACT This paper explores a teaching practice that considers equality in social studies in a Swedish upper secondary school. The questions explored were: What become produced within the teaching practice? and How to encounter these issues without reproducing them? To explore these questions I put to work a theoretical framework of feminist post-humanism and a participatory methodological approach. This meant that I collaborated with one teacher and participated in planning and teaching activities. The analysis of the teaching practice focuses on three events involving cries, lines and stairs; these events display the complex processes in which norms and categorizations are produced and revealed how both stabilizations and tensions became enacted within the teaching. In the concluding remarks, I further discuss these tensions in terms of troubles and hopes and elaborate on the encounter between social studies curriculum and a feminist post-humanist approach.


Freezing of Gait (FOG) is one of the most disabling gait disturbances of Parkinson's disease (PD). The experience has often been described as "feeling like their feet have been glued to the floor while trying to walk" and as such it is a common cause of falling in PD patients. In this paper, EEG subbands Wavelet Energy and Total Wavelet Entropy were extracted using the multiresolution decomposition of EEG signal based on the Discrete Wavelet Transform and were used to analyze the dynamics in the EEG during freezing. The Back Propagation Neural Network classifier has the ability to identify the onset of freezing of PD patients during walking using these features with average values of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity are around 75%. This results have proved the feasibility of utilized EEG in future treatment of FOG.


We used UV resonance Raman (UVRR) to examine the spatial dependence of the T-jump secondary structure relaxation of an isotopically labeled 21-residue mainly Ala peptide, AdP. The AdP penultimate Ala residues were perdeuterated, leaving the central residues hydrogenated, to allow separate monitoring of melting of the middle versus the end peptide bonds. For 5 to 30 degrees C T-jumps, the central peptide bonds show a approximately 2-fold slower relaxation time (189 +/- 31 ns) than do the exterior peptide bonds (97 +/- 15 ns). In contrast, for a 20 to 40 degrees C T-jump, the central peptide bond relaxation appears to be faster (56 +/- 6 ns) than that of the penultimate peptide bonds (131 +/- 46 ns). We show that, if the data are modeled as a two-state transition, we find that only exterior peptide bonds show anti-Arrhenius folding behavior; the middle peptide bonds show both normal Arrhenius-like folding and unfolding. This anti-Arrhenius behavior results from the involvement of pi-bulges/helices and 3(10)-helix states in the melting. The unusual temperature dependence of the (un)folding rates of the interior and exterior peptide bonds is due to the different relative (un)folding rates of 3(10)-helices, alpha-helices, and pi-bulges/helices. Pure alpha-helix unfolding rates are approximately 12-fold slower (approximately 1 micros) than that of pi-bulges and 3(10)-helices. In addition, we also find that the alpha-helix is most stable at the AdP N-terminus where eight consecutive Ala occur, whereas the three hydrophilic Arg located in the middle and at the C-terminus destabilize the alpha-helix in these regions and induce defects such as pi-bulges and 3(10)-helices.


In this study, the performance of Malaysian Islamic unit trust is investigated based on consistency of ranking and can be considered as an alternative approach in evaluating portfolio performance. The Sign Test is employed to investigate consistency of ranking. The results of this study indicate that only four unit trusts namely Public Islamic Equity and CIMB Islamic Sukuk (both for short term investment) and Public Islamic Balance and CIMB Islamic Balance (both for medium term investment) exhibit non-random behavior in ranking which implies that the two unit trusts exhibit consistency and predictability in ranking. All other unit trusts show that the consistency in ranking is random and unpredictable consistent with the efficient market hypothesis.


The Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea since 1972 have attempted reconciliation, but without durable success. The latter's building of a nuclear arsenal erased the progress achieved in 1989–1992 and 1998–2008. Assessed here is whether the new leaders of both Koreas since 2012 might be able to resume progress toward reconciliation. Ultimately, Park alone cannot sustain progress toward reconciliation unless she receives substantial domestic political support and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un responds constructively to her effort.


Finding an unsupervised decomposition of an image into individual objects is a key step to leverage compositionality and to perform symbolic reasoning. Traditionally, this problem is solved using amortized inference, which does not generalize beyond the scope of the training data, may sometimes miss correct decompositions, and requires large amounts of training data. We propose finding a decomposition using direct, unamortized optimization, via a combination of a gradient-based optimization for differentiable object properties and global search for non-differentiable properties. We show that using direct optimization is more generalizable, misses fewer correct decompositions, and typically requires less data than methods based on amortized inference. This highlights a weakness of the current prevalent practice of using amortized inference that can potentially be improved by integrating more direct optimization elements.


Vanadium(IV)-doped titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) photocatalyst powders were prepared by the sol-gel method and characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller-specific surface area, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. V-doping in the TiO(2) increases the crystal grain size, which decreases the specific surface areas of powders. This V-doping changes the band gap of TiO(2), leading to extend the absorption to visible light regions (400-800 nm). Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) in water was investigated as a function of the vanadium content in TiO(2) and was found to follow pseudo first-order rate kinetics. Appropriate content of V-doping is an effective means to improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO(2) for MB degradation under visible light irradiation.


Background: Suicide bomb injuries vary in form and magnitude. From the onset of the second Palestinian "intifada" in October of 2000 until January of 2004, 577 victims of suicide bombings were admitted to the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center. A single bomber carrying a handbag or belt containing multiple metal objects and explosives carried out most of the attacks. As a result, many of the victims suffered massive tissue destruction in addition to conventional blast injuries. Methods: This article describes the management of this trauma-related "syndrome" of combined primary and high-magnitude secondary blast injury. Results: The management of the extensive soft-tissue damage is described and two representative cases presented. Conclusion: Suicide bombing–related injuries in their present form are a true challenge for the reconstructive surgeon.


The authors demonstrate two applications of Raman scattering for the characterization of low-dimensional structures: they measure the plasmon properties of a modulation-doped multiple quantum well with multiple subband occupation by Raman scattering and hence determine the electronic subband structure and the subband occupation. Secondly, they report work on the phonon properties of silicon-germanium strained layer superlattices. Using a fully three-dimensional model they calculate the 3D phonon dispersion of confined and extended superlattice phonons and measure the phonon spectra using Raman spectroscopy.


The accurate flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to protein is essential for all living organisms. An astonishing array of quality-assurance mechanisms have evolved to ensure that high degree of fidelity is maintained at every stage of this process. One of the most fascinating quality-control mechanisms involves tmRNA, also known as SsrA or 10Sa RNA. tmRNA is a versatile and highly conserved bacterial molecule endowed with the combined structural and functional properties of both a tRNA and a mRNA. The tmRNA system orchestrates three key biological functions: (1) recognition and rescue of ribosomes stalled on aberrant mRNAs, (2) disposal of the causative defective mRNAs, and (3) addition of a degradation tag to ribosome-associated protein fragments for directed proteolysis. Although not essential in Escherichia coli, tmRNA activity is essential for bacterial survival under adverse conditions and for virulence in some, and perhaps all, pathogenic bacteria. Recent evidence suggests that in addition to its quality-control function the tmRNA system might also play a key regulatory role in certain physiological pathways. This review will focus on recent advances in our understanding of the structural properties, mechanistic details, and physiological significance of this unique RNA and its principal protein partners.


Some U.S. law reformers, labor advocates, policymakers, scholars, and politicians have begun to favor laws that promote sectoral bargaining. The aim is to revive collective bargaining and labor unions, which barely represent 6% of the private sector workforce. Sectoral bargaining is a collective bargaining system where employers and unions bargain terms and conditions of employment at the industrial or sector level. It contrasts with employeror plant-based bargaining promoted by U.S. federal law, specifically the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Evidence shows that workers are more widely represented in collective bargaining and economic inequality is less widespread in countries with sector-based systems of collective bargaining. However, the evidence also shows that sectoral bargaining does not necessarily increase union membership. The opposite might prevail, as it may encourage free riding. Some U.S. advocates of sectoral bargaining highlight the case of New York State, where the government convened sector-based minimum wage boards authorized under its minimum wage legislation to increase wages in the fast-food sector to $15 an hour. The New York government convened the wage boards because the Fight for $15, a union-supported group advocating for "$15 and a union," had applied pressure. After the government increased wages in the sector, a new group called "Fast Food Justice" formed to represent workers in the sector. However, the group is not a "union," and neither it, nor the Fight for $15, bargained with employers about wages. Whether wage boards can revive labor thus remains an open question. 1. Professor of Law and Co-director, Institute for Law of the Workplace, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. The author thanks Kate Andrias, Bernadette Atuahene, Ana Ermida, Matthew Finkin, Tristan Kirvin, and Sergio Gamonal for comments and editorial suggestions. He also thanks participants of University of Iowa College of Law, faculty workshop, the 2019 Colloquium on Scholarship of Employment and Labor Law, and the 2019 Chicago-Kent Law Review symposium participants. All errors and omissions remain with the author. Direct all inquiries to email@example.com. 4239ckt_95-1 S heet N o. 68 S de B 062/202


"Song of the Swallows", which won the Caldecott Medal when it was first published in 1948, was written and illustrated by Leo Politi. It tells the famous story of the yearly return of the swallows to the Mission San Juan Capistrano through the eyes of a small child, Julian, the bell ringer of the Mission, tells Juan, a young boy who also lives at the Mission, the story of the swallows and how - without anyone really knowing why or how - they return each year from their winter home in South America to San Juan Capistrano in California. Thrilled by the story, Juan makes his own small garden in the hope that at least one family of swallows will nest there when they return. This delightful book also includes the music and lyrics for "La Golondrina", a song about the swallows that Politi composed himself, and Spanish phrases are sprinkled throughout the story.


Six rhabdomyosarcomas were assessed by means of a battery of enzyme histochemical methods. The reactions were compared with those of a small number of other tumours belonging to the small‐cell tumour category. Four of the rhabdomyosarcomas were positive for myophosphorylase and acetylcholinesterase. Myoblasts were strongly reactive for adenosine triphosphatase at alkaline pH and after acid pre‐incubation, whereas the small undifferentiated neoplastic cell of the four alveolar rhabdomyosarcomas showed also discernible cytoplasmic reaction, but only after acid pre‐incubation. Other tumour categories revealed positive staining for adenosine triphosphatase with acid pre‐incubation but the degree of reaction was minimal by comparison. Other enzyme reactions were variable and, generally, did not distinguish between different tumour categories. It is concluded that enzyme histochemistry has a potential role in the diagnostic evaluation of the small cell tumour and should be included in the growing list of special techniques that may assist the pathologist confronted with this problem.


Abstract Background Refugees report elevated rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but are relatively unlikely to seek help for their symptoms. Mental health stigma is a key barrier to help-seeking amongst refugees. We evaluated the efficacy of an online intervention in reducing self-stigma and increasing help-seeking in refugee men. Methods Participants were 103 refugee men with PTSD symptoms from Arabic, Farsi or Tamil-speaking backgrounds who were randomly assigned to either receive an 11-module online stigma reduction intervention specifically designed for refugees ('Tell Your Story', TYS) or to a wait-list control (WLC) group. Participants completed online assessments of self-stigma for PTSD and help-seeking, and help-seeking intentions and behaviors at baseline, post-intervention, and at a 1 month follow-up. Results Intent-to-treat analyses indicated that, compared to the WLC, TYS resulted in significantly smaller increases in self-stigma for seeking help from post-treatment to follow-up (d = 0.42, p = 0.008). Further, participants in the TYS conditions showed greater help-seeking behavior from new sources at follow-up (B = 0.69, 95% CI 0.19–1.18, p = 0.007) than those in the WLC. The WLC showed significantly greater increases in help-seeking intentions from post-intervention to follow-up (d = 0.27, p = 0.027), relative to the TYS group. Conclusions This is the first investigation of a mental health stigma reduction program specifically designed for refugees. Findings suggest that evidence-based stigma reduction strategies are beneficial in targeting self-stigma related to help-seeking and increasing help-seeking amongst refugees. These results indicate that online interventions focusing on social contact may be a promising avenue for removing barriers to accessing help for mental health symptoms in traumatized refugees.