Background There are known clinical benefits associated with investments in nursing. Less is known about their value. Aims To compare surgical patient outcomes and costs in hospitals with better versus worse nursing resources and to determine if value differs across these hospitals for patients with different mortality risks. Methods Retrospective matched-cohort design of patient outcomes at hospitals with better versus worse nursing resources, defined by patient-to-nurse ratios, skill mix, proportions of bachelors-degree nurses and nurse work environments. The sample included 62 715 pairs of surgical patients in 76 better nursing resourced hospitals and 230 worse nursing resourced hospitals from 2013 to 2015. Patients were exactly matched on principal procedures and their hospital's size category, teaching and technology status, and were closely matched on comorbidities and other risk factors. Results Patients in hospitals with better nursing resources had lower 30-day mortality: 2.7% vs 3.1% (p<0.001), lower failure-to-rescue: 5.4% vs 6.2% (p<0.001), lower readmissions: 12.6% vs 13.5% (p<0.001), shorter lengths of stay: 4.70 days vs 4.76 days (p<0.001), more intensive care unit admissions: 17.2% vs 15.4% (p<0.001) and marginally higher nurse-adjusted costs (which account for the costs of better nursing resources): $20 096 vs $19 358 (p<0.001), as compared with patients in worse nursing resourced hospitals. The nurse-adjusted cost associated with a 1% improvement in mortality at better nursing hospitals was $2035. Patients with the highest mortality risk realised the greatest value from nursing resources. Conclusion Hospitals with better nursing resources provided better clinical outcomes for surgical patients at a small additional cost. Generally, the sicker the patient, the greater the value at better nursing resourced hospitals.


An attempt has been made to analyze the possibility to use nonequilibrium thermodynamics for the soil dynamic open systems' treatment. Entropy change of such a system is expressed by the entropy sum produced within the system and the entropy coming from or going into the outer sphere. In the steady state, dynamic soil‐formation processes occur within an organized structure and are characterized by stable parameters close to equilibrium. Accordingly, when examining soil, one can proceed from the conventional thermodynamic equilibrium. However, the matter of Onzager‐Prigozhin general phenomenological theory applicability to soil processes is more complicated. To study soil stability it is necessary to go beyond the limits of linear thermodynamics.


ABSTRACT Monolithic integrated micro-supercapacitors (MIMSCs) with high systemic performance and cell-number density are important for miniaturized electronics to empower the Internet of Things. However, fabrication of customizable MIMSCs in an extremely small space remains a huge challenge considering key factors such as materials selection, electrolyte confinement, microfabrication and device-performance uniformity. Here, we develop a universal and large-throughput microfabrication strategy to address all these issues by combining multistep lithographic patterning, spray printing of MXene microelectrodes and controllable 3D printing of gel electrolytes. We achieve the monolithic integration of electrochemically isolated micro-supercapacitors in close proximity by leveraging high-resolution micropatterning techniques for microelectrode deposition and 3D printing for precise electrolyte deposition. Notably, the MIMSCs obtained demonstrate a high areal-number density of 28 cells cm−2 (340 cells on 3.5 × 3.5 cm2), a record areal output voltage of 75.6 V cm−2, an acceptable systemic volumetric energy density of 9.8 mWh cm−3 and an unprecedentedly high capacitance retention of 92% after 4000 cycles at an extremely high output voltage of 162 V. This work paves the way for monolithic integrated and microscopic energy-storage assemblies for powering future microelectronics.


Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers and frequently metastasizes to the liver. TGF-β signaling has been shown to regulate cancer metastasis by promoting epithelial to mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cell (CSC) phenotypes. Smad2 is a key element downstream of TGF-β. In this study, we showed that hsa-hsa-miR-140-5p-5p directly targets Smad2 and overexpression of hsa-miR-140-5p in colorectal cancer cell lines decreases Smad2 expression level, which leads to decreased level of cell invasion and proliferation, as well as increasing cell cycle arrest. Ectopic expression of hsa-miR-140-5p in colorectal CSCs inhibited CSC growth and sphere formation in vitro by disrupting autophagy, an essential process for cancer cell survival and chemoresistance. We have systematically identified the targets of hsa-miR-140-5p involved in autophagy. Furthermore, overexpression of hsa-miR-140-5p in CSCs abolished the tumor formation as well as metastasis in vivo by using subcutaneous xenografts and tail vein injection of CSCs in NOD/SCID mice. In addition, there is a progressive loss of hsa-miR-140-5p expression from normal colorectal mucosa to primary tumor tissues, with further reduction in liver metastatic tissues, quantified by qRT-PCR. The functional and clinical significance of hsa-miR-140-5p suggests that it is a key regulator in colorectal cancer progression and metastasis. As a result, it may have potential as a novel therapeutic molecule to treat colorectal cancer. Citation Format: Haiyan Zhai, Andrew Fesler, Jingfang Ju. Hsa-miR-140-5p inhibits colorectal cancer stem cell invasion and metastasis by suppressing Smad2 and autophagy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3117. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3117


Semi−definite Embedding (SDE) is a recently proposed to maximize the sum of pair wise squared distances between outputs while the input data and outputs are locally isometric, i.e. it pulls the outputs as far apart as possible, subject to unfolding a manifold without any furling or fold for unsupervised nonlinear dimensionality reduction. The extensions of SDE to supervised feature extraction, named as Supervised Semi−definite Embedding (SSDE) was proposed by the authors of this paper. Here, the method is unified in a mathematical framework and applied to a number of benchmark data sets. Results show that SSDE perform very well on high−dimensional data which exhibits a manifold structure.


Liver fibrosis is characterized by the excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) components, and activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are a primary source of ECM. Several studies have revealed that the induction of HSC senescence may reduce liver fibrosis. The effect of interleukin-10 (IL-10) on the senescence of activated HSCs is not fully understood. Therefore, the present study examined its effects and potential mechanisms in activated primary rat HSCs. Collagenase perfusion and density gradient centrifugation methods were used to isolate rat HSCs. HSCs were identified by autofluorescence, Oil Red O staining and immunocytochemical analysis. Activated HSCs were treated with 0, 10, 20 or 40 ng/ml IL-10 for 24 h. Senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) staining, flow cytometry analysis and a cell counting kit-8 assay were performed to detect the senescence, apoptosis and viability of rat HSCs, respectively. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blot analysis and enzyme linked immunosorbent assays were used to detect the expression of senescence-associated proteins and cytokines. Freshly isolated rat HSCs exhibited a striking blue-green autofluorescence and HSC retinoid droplets were stained bright red by Oil Red O. Immunocytochemical analysis demonstrated the cytoplasmic expression of HSC markers desmin and α-smooth muscle actin. The number of SA-β-Gal positive HSCs, the apoptotic rate and the expression levels of p53, p21 and tumor necrosis factor-α were significantly increased following IL-10 treatment. HSC viability and IL-6 and IL-8 expression levels were significantly decreased compared with the control group. In summary, primary rat HSCs were successfully isolated and IL-10 was demonstrated to promote the senescence of activated primary rat HSCs through the upregulation of p53 and p21 expression.


The Fc receptor (Fc gamma R) of the murine macrophage cell line, J774, was purified by immunoaffinity chromatography then subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and amino-terminal sequencing. FcR material judged to be pure by these criteria was digested with a number of enzymes to identify the cysteine residues engaged in disulfide bonds within the native structure. The results clearly establish that the mouse macrophage Fc gamma R contains two intrachain disulfide bonds, each of which connects adjacent cysteine residues within the two putative extracellular domains of the molecule. In addition, each disulfide-bonded domain was shown to contain two authentic sites of N-linked glycosylation. Extensive peptide sequencing resulted in the unexpected identification of peptide fragments from a fourth Fc gamma R whose sequences were highly homologous to sequences surrounding the two Cys residues in the amino-terminal domain of both alpha and beta 1 Fc gamma R. The fourth Fc gamma R contains a disulfide-bonded amino-terminal domain similar to beta 1 Fc gamma R.


A new method for introducing robustly bound organic functional groups on silica surfaces is developed. Compared to conventional monomer immobilization procedures, the new vinylsilane-impregnated polymer based protocol can be employed for the preparation of various organic group functionalized silicas that are stable under both acidic and basic conditions. Organic functional groups can be readily introduced by one-step Rh(I)-catalyzed hydroacylation reaction or appended by Suzuki coupling reactions.


OBJECTIVE
The GH-releasing peptide GHRP-6, has been found to interact with specific receptors in somatotrophs, causing cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) rise and GH release. Moreover, this peptide has been demonstrated to stimulate the secretion of pituitary hormones other than GH, i.e. ACTH and prolactin, this effect being generally attributed to a central action. In this study we evaluated whether the pituitary action of this peptide is restricted to cell type of somatotroph lineage.

METHODS
The effect opf GHRP-6 on [Ca2+]i was tested in cell preparations obtained from a series of human pituitary adenomas (9 GH-secreting adenomas, 7 nonfunctioning adenomas, 3 ACTH-secreting adenomas, 2 TSH-secreting adenomas and 1 prolactinoma) loaded with the Ca2+ indicator fura-2.

RESULTS
GHRP-6, at concentrations higher than 1 nmol/l, significantly increased [Ca2+]i in all tumours, with the exception of the 3 ACTH-secreting adenomas in which the peptide was ineffective at any concentration tested (from 1 nmol/l to 1 micromol/l). By contrast, in all ACTH-secreting adenomas, both corticotrophin-releasing hormone and pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide caused a marked [Ca2+]i increase. In tumours responsive to GHRP-6, the peptide caused a typical biphasic [Ca2+]i rise due to Ca2+ mobilization from the intracellular stores and Ca2+ influx through voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels.

CONCLUSIONS
These data indicate that almost all tumoral pituitary cell types are targets of GHRP-6 action, the only exception being corticotrophs.


The article examines the motivation and role of the insider activism that resulted in the preservation of a major historical site of female incarceration, the Parramatta Female Factory Precinct, in suburban Sydney. For much of the 20th century the site was a "Girls' Home," in which children who had committed no offense were incarcerated under child welfare regulations and literally treated like criminals. Life in the institution was characterized by routine extreme maltreatment of children, many of whom have carried the psychological legacy of their time there throughout their lives. A group of survivors, moved to preserve and reclaim the space, spent many years contending with obdurate and indifferent bureaucracies before successfully having the site Heritage-listed, and it is now a member of the international Sites of Conscience. The Precinct's significance as a site of feminist carceral history is discussed, and its place in today's cultural landscape examined.


OBJECTIVE
The emergence of positive psychology propelled scientific interest in the causal relationships between subjective well-being (SWB; e.g., happiness, life satisfaction [LS], positive affect) and physical health. However, it is becoming a controversial topic. Indeed, dependent on approach, LS is either considered a cause (top-down) or an effect (bottom-up). The aim of the present study was to investigate both cross-lagged and simultaneous effects between LS (as an enduring component of SWB) and physical health (as measured by self-perceived health and self-reported diseases), using 8-year longitudinal data from a sample of older adults.

METHOD
The study included 899 participants aged 64 to 97 years and assessed 5 times over an 8-year period. Cross-lagged and simultaneous models were specified and estimated using structural equation modeling.

RESULTS
Both cross-lagged and simultaneous coefficients indicated that poor health significantly predicted subsequent levels of life dissatisfaction, but LS did not predict subsequent levels of health.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings contradict, at least in our older sample, the postulates of positive psychology, and support the bottom-up approach to well-being as well as the popular adage, "As long as you've got your health."


Higher pharmaceutical education in China,since its establishment,has been unprecedented in scale.Under the guidance in line with the principle and policy of cooperative education in the higher education,in order to train the innovative.Entre-preneurial and composite-based pharmacy talents,the authors put forward some ideas and views.


Objective: to define the state of venous outflow after femoral vein harvesting for aortoiliac reconstruction. Material and methods. The distant results of 22 aortoiliac reconstructions with deep femoral veins performed at Gomel Regional Vascular Surgery Department over 2010-2015 have been studied. 5 patients were operated for late complications (false aneurisms) of previous aorto-femoral bypass, 8 patients were treated for acute prosthetic infection and 9 patients underwent initial surgery for terminal stage of critical limb ischemia. Results and discussion. The group of the patients after initial reconstructions revealed significant edema and lymphorea immediately after the surgery. It was not necessary to perform fasciotomy in all the cases. There were no signs of chronic venous insufficiency in all the patients in the remote postoperational period. Conclusion. The application of femoral vein for aortoiliac bypass is safe from the point of view of venous morbidity. Outflow disturbances were transient in all the cases and no additional treatment was needed.


The effects of self-fertilization and outcrossing on progeny characteristics at several stages of the life cycle were compared in greenhouse experiments on two Leavenworthia populations with high levels of natural self-fertilization. Both the L. uniflora and L. crassa populations appear to have considerable genetic load, as progeny from selfing had lowered survival and fertility than outcrossed progeny. These data were used to estimate the mutation rate to deleterious alleles per diploid genome per generation, and the estimates are very high, consistent with the few other data available.


Additional means are needed for evaluating the quality of stallion spermatozoa in semen doses for AI. Mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) has been linked to fertility in some species, but is rarely used in the evaluation of cooled stallion semen; metabolic activity may be associated with reactive oxygen species production (ROS). In the present study, ΔΨm and ROS production were measured in doses of cooled stallion semen. The effect of colloid centrifugation on these parameters was also investigated. In this case, colloid centrifugation involves centrifuging a sperm sample through a silane-coated silica colloid formulation to retrieve the most robust spermatozoa. High and low ΔΨm in cooled stallion semen varied between stallions and between ejaculates, but was not affected by single-layer centrifugation (SLC). The SLC-selected spermatozoa produced significantly less hydrogen peroxide than controls (P < 0.001), which could explain the increased longevity and retention of fertilising capacity seen in previous studies. For SLC samples, ΔΨm was positively associated with viable spermatozoa that were not producing reactive oxygen species (r = 0.49; P < 0.001) and negatively associated with ROS production (for superoxide: r = -0.4, P < 0.01; for hydrogen peroxide: r = -0.39, P < 0.05). There was no clear association between ΔΨm and ROS production in control samples.


The simplex algorithm is a powerful technique, widely used to find the optimal solution of linear programming problems. Pivot rule is the most important first step of the simplex algorithm in the maximization degeneracy problems of LP for selecting the entering variable/work column (to obtain the smallest ratios) and after than leaving variable for pivot equation. The selection of an effective pivot rule leads the smallest number of iterations of the optimal solution of L.P. The selecting of most negative number (for entering variable) in the maximization problems is known as G.B Dantzig's pivot rule. The purpose of this paper is to model an algorithm that improves in the entering and leaving variable for the maximization degeneracy problems of LP. In this article, we have introduced a powerful technique for pivot rule which reduces the number of iterations to obtain the optimal solution as compare to Dantzig's pivot rule. This article gives better concept of selection the entering variable as well leaving variable. This article also gives a helpful imminent into the unique and constructive performance of the proposed method by coverage computational experiments.


Ten invariant multivariate testing problems involving the real, complex, or quaternion structure of covariance matrices are considered. In each problem the the maximal invariant statistic and its distribution are described, as well as the maximum likelihood estimators and likelihood ratio test statistics. These results are obtained by means of a new, unified method based on invariance arguments. of ca Statis cs Andersson s was done ile Washington.


JAPANTOKYO-- A 1995 law that led to Japan's first-ever 5-year plan for science and technology has helped boost spending and the number of scientists being trained, but it has been less successful in ensuring that the increased funding is well spent. That's the preliminary verdict of a committee of the country's top science policy-makers, in an interim report released last week. The committee hopes to submit a final report in about a year.


This article identifies how a cohort of preservice teachers educated during the No Child Left Behind Era thought about the teaching of writing when they entered a secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teacher preparation program. Most participants shared the beliefs that: (1) writing was primarily the demonstration of specific skills, often on a standardized test; (2) alternatives to the five-paragraph essay would be extra, with formulaic writing central to instruction; (3) teachers had little role in student writing development beyond assigning writing; (4) feedback on writing should be 'objective' and tied to a grade; and (5) the purpose of ELA is primarily to teach literature. Authors believe identifying preservice teachers' beliefs about writing and the role of the writing teacher at the beginning of a program can help teacher educators design experiences to expand students' notions of literacy and of writing instruction.


This paper aims to provide some suggestions to the Chinese carbon finance development by comparing the foreign countries' policy supports to the carbon finance. It takes angles from the following aspects: the definition of carbon finance, the current developments of global carbon finance. Then the paper summarizes the characters of carbon finance developments from different countries based on the countries from Kyoto Protocol Annex I and others in the world. The paper compares the developments in the following aspects, legislations of climate changing and carbon finance, policies towards carbon finance development and the platform for the carbon trading. Finally, the paper gives some suggestions to the Chinese carbon finance developments.


The microwave-assisted oxidative degradation of poly(alkyl methacrylates) namely poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(ethyl methacrylate) (PEMA), and poly(butyl methacrylate) was investigated. The kinetic parameters were compared to that obtained by thermal oxidative degradation. The molecular weight distributions (MWDs) were simulated using continuous distribution kinetic models. The MWD of polymer was expressed as a \gamma-distribution, and the mathematical solutions were developed in terms of \gamma-distribution parameters. The MWD of degradation mixture approaches an exponential distribution under both oxidative thermal degradation and microwave-assisted oxidative degradation of poly(alkyl methacrylates), indicating random chain cission. The degradation of PEMA was investigated in the presence of three different oxidizers. The hydrogen abstraction from polymer and the oxidative random chain scission of polymer radicals were found to be the important steps in the overall mechanism of microwave-assisted
oxidative degradation of poly(alkyl methacrylates). The model developed can be used to predict degradation rate of the polymer in the presence of any oxidizers by knowing
only the dissociation rate constant of the oxidizer


Introduction the bone marrow microenvironment consists of various types of cells and their secreted extracellular matrix components that surround capillary-venous sinusoids, and plays a key role in the regulation of hematopoiesis. In general, extracellular matrix components interact with each other to form a structural framework that supports tissue organization and positional cues that regulate cellular processes. Megakaryocytes are rare cells in the bone marrow and, besides platelet release, growing evidences attribute new functions to these cells in the generation and maintenance of the bone marrow cell niche. Recent evidences, by our group, demonstrated that megakaryocytes are involved in matrix deposition and remodeling, as demonstrated by their role in fibronectin fibrillogenesis and the expression of matrix cross-linking enzymes, such as factor XIIIa, essential in the dynamic of megakaryocyte-matrix component interactions. Interestingly, individual extracellular matrix components were demonstrated to play a role in the regulation of megakaryocytes development in vitro. Fibronectin was shown to regulate megakaryocyte maturation and proplatelet extension, while type III and type IV collagens were demonstrated to support proplatelet formation in vitro. In contrast, type I collagen is an important physiological inhibitor of platelet release in vitro. However, little is known about the exact localization as well as function of these matrix components in vivo.

Results in this work we have analyzed the spatial distribution of megakaryocytes and extracellular matrix components by immunofluorescence in murine femur sections. We found that megakaryocytes were predominantly located in the femur diaphysis with only 20% of megakaryocytes within 50μm from the endosteal surface and more than 80% of megakaryocytes located less than 50 μm from a sinusoid. Correlation between megakaryocyte distance from sinusoids and dimension suggested a gradient of maturing megakaryocytes towards the vascular niche. Next, we deciphered bone marrow extracellular matrix component composition by western blotting and mapped the location in situ of different collagens (I, III, IV, VI) and glycoproteins (fibronectin, laminin). We found that all these proteins were differently located in the endosteal and sinusoidal districts supporting the concept that regulation of hemopoiesis, in the bone marrow, may also depend from matrix distribution. Further, we showed, for the first time, that megakaryocytes were surrounded by a pericellular matrix mainly composed of fibronectin, laminin and type IV collagen. Interestingly, these three proteins were also demonstrated to promote thrombopoietin-dependent megakaryocyte differentiation in in vitro cultures of bone marrow hemopoietic progenitor cells. Finally, fibronectin, laminin and type IV collagen were also demonstrated to be expressed and synthesized by differentiated megakaryocytes in vitro as demonstrated by PCR and western blotting analysis. Most importantly, megakaryocyte expression of these extracellular matrix components was up-regulated in vivo during bone marrow reconstitution upon drug induced myelosuppression and, at a lesser extent, thrombocytopenia.

Conclusions all together these results suggested that megakaryocytes are important extracellular matrix component-producing bone marrow cells and that released extracellular matrix components support megakaryopoiesis and concur to the generation of bone marrow niches.

Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Aim. This paper serves as the outline for a simulation that nurse educators can use to better prepare graduate students for the clinical setting and ensure the student's essential competencies prior to clinical practicum. Background. Educators often struggle with whether nurse practitioner students are sufficiently prepared for their clinical practicum once they have successfully completed the didactic component of their coursework. Method. This paper addresses the methods by which one institution uses standardized patients in a simulation laboratory to better prepare the graduate students for their first clinical practicum. The implications of using clinical simulation to enhance both student and faculty learning are addressed. Results. Simulation done prior to a student's clinical practicum prepares the student for patient cases in the clinical setting. Conclusion. Clinical simulation can enhance the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that nurse practitioner students need in the clinical setting.


This article describes an efficient training method for online streaming attention-based encoder-decoder (AED) automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems. AED models have achieved competitive performance in offline scenarios by jointly optimizing all components. They have recently been extended to an online streaming framework via models such as monotonie chunkwise attention (MoChA). However, the elaborate attention calculation process is not robust against long-form speech utterances. Moreover, the sequence-level training objective and time-restricted streaming encoder cause a nonnegligible delay in token emission during inference. To address these problems, we propose CTC synchronous training (CTC-ST), in which CTC alignments are leveraged as a reference for token boundaries to enable a MoChA model to learn optimal monotonie input-output alignments. We formulate a purely end-to-end training objective to synchronize the boundaries of MoChA to those of CTC. The CTC model shares an encoder with the MoChA model to enhance the encoder representation. Moreover, the proposed method provides alignment information learned in the CTC branch to the attention-based decoder. Therefore, CTC-ST can be regarded as self-distillation of alignment knowledge from CTC to MoChA. Experimental evaluations on a variety of benchmark datasets show that the proposed method significantly reduces recognition errors and emission latency simultaneously. The robustness to long-form and noisy speech is also demonstrated. We compare CTC-ST with several methods that distill alignment knowledge from a hybrid ASR system and show that the CTC-ST can achieve a comparable tradeoff of accuracy and latency without relying on external alignment information.


Data from a subsample of women (N = 4,235) in two waves of the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (NLSY) are used to examine the relationship between parental alcoholism and alcohol use in adult life. Dyadic cohesion in marital communication (frequency of interaction and agreement on substantive issues that affect couples) is investigated as a resilience factor that could potentially mitigate adverse drinking outcomes in adult children of alcoholics (ACAs). A moderated mediation model is estimated using a Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) regression analysis. The results indicated that an imputed transmission of risk for drinking vulnerability in women ACAs, controlling for nonACA status, was effectively moderated by positive dyadic interaction.


Here we develop a computationally efficient method that evolves cross-shore profiles of sand beaches with or without cliffs along natural and urban coastal environments and across expansive geographic areas at decadal to centennial time-scales driven by 21st century climate change projections. The model requires projected sea level rise rates, extrema of nearshore wave conditions, bluff recession and shoreline change rates, and cross-shore profiles representing present-day conditions. The model is applied to the ~470-km long coast of the Southern California Bight, USA, using recently available projected nearshore waves and bluff recession and shoreline change rates. The results indicate that eroded cliff material, from unarmored cliffs, contribute 11% to 26% to the total sediment budget. Historical beach nourishment rates will need to increase by more than 30% for a 0.25 m sea level rise (~2044) and by at least 75% by the year 2100 for a 1 m sea level rise, if evolution of the shoreline is to keep pace with rising sea levels.


Abstract Information on the predation rate of Eastern Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) and Western Fox Snakes (Pantherophis vulpinus) on waterfowl, particularly ducklings, is minimal. Most information that exists focuses on the percent of waterfowl found in the diet of sampled turtles or snakes. Although this information is useful, it does not elucidate the potential effect of reptile predation on waterfowl populations by measuring predation rate (i.e., the number of sampled ducklings consumed by reptile predators). We attempted to determine this by tracking the fate of 448 day-old Mallard (Anas platyrhychos) ducklings from 1991–1994 on the Upper Mississippi River. A total of 120 ducklings were preyed upon during the study (26.7% predation rate). Of these, 13 were consumed by Eastern Snapping Turtles (2.9% predation rate) and four by Western Fox Snakes (0.8% predation rate). Predation rate by reptiles was lower than mammals and similar to that of fish and birds, but several depredations with undetermined sources could have been caused by Eastern Snapping Turtles. For a proper perspective on predation impacts on duckling populations, one must also consider the influence of habitat quality as it relates to the interactions of predation, food resources, and cover.


OBJECTIVE
Depression and sleep disturbance often co-occur, and both have been found to negatively impact cognitive functioning. This study aims to examine sleep as a potential mediator between depression and cognitive functioning in college athletes.

METHOD
897 collegiate athletes (F = 230) completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery including self-reported symptom measures. The Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Screen was used to measure depression, and the Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS) sleep cluster was used to quantify sleep disturbance. Depression was examined dichotomously (depressed/non-depressed). Neurocognitive functioning was examined via z-score composites of attention/processing speed (A/PS) and memory. Two mediation analyses, with depression as the independent variable, sleep disturbance as the mediator, and A/PS or memory performance as outcomes were conducted using the SPSS PROCESS macro, with 5000 bootstrap samples and 95% confidence interval.

RESULTS
In the first mediation, depression was significantly associated with poorer A/PS performance (ß = -0.13, p = 0.02) and greater sleep disturbance (ß = 1.89, p < 0.001). Sleep disturbance was also negatively associated with A/PS performance (ß = -0.01, p = 0.03). After controlling for sleep disturbance, the relationship between depression and A/PS performance became non-significant (ß = -0.10, p = 0.08, indirect effect = -0.08, 95%CI[-0.057,-0.004]), indicating mediation via sleep disturbance. In the second mediation model, depression was not significantly associated with memory performance, so the mediation was discontinued.

CONCLUSIONS
Sleep disturbance fully mediated the relationship between depression and A/PS performance. This suggests that sleep problems account for the relationship between depression and A/PS. Future work should examine interventions aimed at improving sleep in depressed college athletes which may translate to better academic and athletic performance through improved attention and processing speed.


We study how multiple charge excitations appear in the resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) spectra of metals. The single excitations in the problem are the plasmons and electron-hole pairs, and multi-excitation processes are usually neglected. However, at small momentum transfer the multi-excitation contributions may dominate the signal and one needs to understand how to interpret the data. In particular, we demonstrate how to"decode"the total multi-excitation intensity and extract the plasmon dispersion. While our calculations are based on the random phase approximation, which does not allow to obtain quantitatively precise results in the entire region of parameters, we expect them to capture semi-qualitatively all features expected for charged Fermi-liquid states, including universal and singular properties of the RIXS spectra.


Assessment of right ventricular (RV) function is an essential component of the diagnosis and management of patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). Today, this assessment is performed using two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE), which is challenging due to the complex geometry of the right ventricle. We hypothesized that 3D reconstruction of RV endocardium from 2DE images would provide accurate RV volume measurements. The aim of this study was to validate these measurements in against cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) reference. Methods. Eleven PAH patients were recruited for same day 2DE and CMR imaging. 2DE images of the right ventricle were acquired in standard imaging planes using a 3D spatial localization device. 3D reconstruction was performed using dedicated software to obtain end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes (ESV, EDV). (VentriPoint). CMR images were analyzed to provide RV volume reference values using Simpson9s method of disks. Results. Image acquisition was feasible in all 11 patients allowing reconstruction of the ventricular cast and volume measurements at end-systole and end-diastole. Both ESV and EDV correlated highly between modalities. Bland Altman analysis showed minimal biases and narrow limits of agreement. Conclusion. This study indicates that this novel technique may provide accurate measurement of RV volumes in PAH patients.


A primary feature of several giant, conformable, sediment-hosted lead-zinc deposits is the occurrence of sulfide ore in a series of discrete lenses interlayered with barren sedimentary units, suggestive of protracted episodic mineralization events. Recently, certain workers have invoked episodic dewatering of basin brines for the formation of Mississippi Valley-type lead-zinc deposits. Thus, each of these two types of major lead-zinc deposits could represent products of a fundamental sedimentary brine expulsion process, the former operating mainly in rift environments, the latter mainly in epicratonic basins.


A 57-year-old woman fell from a ladder as it slipped away from the wall and came to rest lying prone on the ladder with both arms extended above her head. The only significant finding was severe pain in both shoulders which was treated with Entonox and morphine.

Examination of both upper limbs revealed no bony tenderness or neurovascular deficit. Immobilisation of the cervical spine was felt necessary in view of the mechanism of injury, so the patient was log-rolled from the ladder onto a long board with the arms supported in extension. Gentle attempts were made to restore the limbs to a neutral position but this resulted in extreme pain and the arms appeared locked; from first principles, a bilateral inferior shoulder dislocation was surmised. The patient was secured to the board with …


The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Outcomes Project emphasizes competency outcome assessment by residency programs. Many residency programs are unprepared to undertake valid competency assessments. Family medicine educators, however, often have substantial experience in competency-based evaluation. We developed a program, with more than 240,000 US dollars of funding from our dean's office, through which our family medicine educational unit provided support to more than 60 residency programs in various specialties. This program assisted directors of these 60 programs to understand the ACGME competency domains, develop measurable competencies for their discipline, and develop evaluation tools to assess those competencies. We were thus able to "sell" our expertise to other programs and generate income for our department.


Several 3D dosimeters are commercially available. However, there are many circumstances that require a customized 3D dosimeter. Examples include feasibility tests of non-standard treatment modalities, inhomogeneous tissue configurations, unique shapes and sizes and teaching. In this session, general approaches for preparing radiochromic dosimeters, Fricke and polymer gel dosimeters, micelle gel and silicone dosimeters were presented. Advise will be given to developers of new 3D dosimeters. For optical readout, light absorption and scatter can limit the practical size of dosimeters. Specifically, increasing from 5 to 15 cm diameter dosimeters is optically challenging. Strategies to maximize initial optical transmission were presented. For MRI readout, the dose resolution is determined by both the dosimeter sensitivity and the pulse sequence parameters and the accuracy is determined by the sensitivity of the dosimeter to temperature and dose rate, next to imaging performance. For X-ray CT imaging, the dose resolution is determined by the sensitivity of the dosimeter which largely depends on the polymer density that can be achieved. The importance of characterizing the dosimeter in terms of dose sensitivity and stability, spatial integrity, dose rate and fractionation dependence, oxygen and ambient light sensitivity, temperature sensitivity and thermal history were emphasized. The dosimeter requirements also dictate the types of vessels and scanners appropriate for readout. For example, the preferred dosimeter formulation may include a compound that is incompatible with the preferred vessel.


Multi-touch displays based on infrared (IR) light offer many advantages over alternative technologies. Existing IR multi-touch devices either use complex custom electronic sensor arrays, or a camera that must be placed relatively distant from the display. FiberBoard is an easily constructed compact IR-sensing multi-touch display. Using an array of optical fibers, reflected IR light is channeled to a camera. As the fibers are flexible the camera is free to be positioned so as to minimize the depth of the device. The resulting display is around one tenth of the depth of a conventional camera-based multi-touch display. We describe our prototype, its novel calibration process, and virtual camera software based on existing multi-touch image processing tools.


The $\pi$ and $\pi\pi$ decay widths of the excited charm mesons are calculated using a Hamiltonian model within the framework of the covariant Blankenbecler-Sugar equation. The pion-light constituent quark coupling is described by the chiral pseudovector Lagrangian.


Gelatin is a versatile biopolymer obtained from a partial hydrolysis of collagen. Gelatin is commonly used in formulation of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, encapsulating the active ingredient. For these applications the dissolution profile of the matrix in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is of crucial importance. The dissolution of a gelatin matrix in the GIT may be seen as a two-step procedure: gel-sol transition of the gelatin network, followed by diffusion of the peptide strands from the concentrated matrix to the bulk liquid. Thus, it is clear that the melting temperature is important in gelatin gel dissolution investigations. Depending on the raw material (bovine or porcine sources) and extraction conditions, gelatins with wide variations in molecular size distribution – and therefore varying rheological properties/melting temperatures – may be obtained. Dissolution studies are generally time consuming and therefore it would be advantageous to predict the dissolution profile without performing in vitro measurements. The scope of this work was to evaluate if any of the physico-chemical properties of the gelatin matrices can be used to predict the dissolution profiles of the gelatin gels.


Students' perceptions on AR applications have gained researchers' interest in the field of ICT-enhanced teaching and learning, especially in recent years. The current study investigates students' perceptions concerning their learning and immersive experiences gained using AR quizzes with formative self-assessment purposes in a science education university course during one semester. The research followed the mixed-method approach, and the data were collected sequentially by questionnaires and focus group discussions. A descriptive statistical analysis and a thematic analysis were conducted, respectively. Fifty-one (51) students participated in the quantitative data collection procedure and ten (10) of them participated in the focus groups. The results indicate that students are in favor of AR quizzes which justify their stance based on the learning gains and the immersive experiences. AR was underlined to play a significant role by creating an engaging environment of immersion. The findings support the positive stances of students over the combination of AR and formative self-assessment and highlight the role of immersion supported by AR technologies. Additionally, based on the relatively long period of application, the findings create doubts concerning the influence of the novelty effect on students' positive stances toward AR.


ABSTRACT Drawing on the data provided by Russian panel study 'Trajectories in Education and Careers' (TrEC), we explore the different rationales pupils employ in deciding their education path in grade nine. Drawing on the relative risk aversion theory we show how young people's decision-making logics are aimed at class maintenance and risk management. Using a qualitative methodology we show that the decision to continue into grade ten with the view to enter a university program is largely a 'non-decision' informed by class-appropriate ambition. While students from higher socio-economic backgrounds 'automatically' enrol in grade ten, students of lower socio-economic backgrounds tend to opt for vocational education in the hope of 'fast-tracking' to adulthood and the world of work. Drawing on the concept of a 'cultural narrative' we also demonstrate that what is considered 'rational,' 'safe', 'risky,' etc. is both class- and culture-specific.


This paper studies platooning and headway/gap characteristics of traffic flow in highway short-term and long-term work zones under various car-following patterns. The relationship between traffic volume and the percentage of vehicles in platoons is developed, along with some statistical models for platoon size and headway/gap size distribution. An in-depth analysis of data reveals that vehicles in work zones with higher speed limits maintain shorter car-following time gaps than those in work zones with lower speed limits, even though more time is needed to stop a faster vehicle. This unusual combination of higher speeds and shorter car-following time gaps in work zones may contribute to the high proportion of rear-end collisions among all work zone-related accidents. This paper also presents a new method for evaluating rear-end collision potential, including the probability and the number of vehicles involved in rear-end collisions, by analyzing platoon and gap characteristics for locations without crash records during a construction period.


In the magmatic area of Sudetes covering the Karkonosze granite and adjacent volcano-sedimentary Intrasudetic Basin a study of atmospheric radon activity was performed by means of SSNTD Kodak LR-115. The study was completed by gamma spectrometric survey of eU and eTh determined by gamma activity of radon decay products 214 Bi and 208 Tl respectively. In the case of the western part of the Karkonosze granite area the radon decay products activity in the granitic basement was found to be as high as 343 Bq/kg for 214 Bi and 496 Bq/kg for 208 Tl respectively. Atmospheric radon content measured by means of Kodak LR115 track detector at the height of 1.5 m was found as high as 70 Bq/m 3 in the regions, where no mining activities took place. However in the eastern part of the granitic massif in the proximity of abandoned uranium mine atmospheric radon content was found to be 6000 Bq/m 3 . In the case of sedimentary basin where sedimentary sequence of Carboniferous rocks has been penetrated by younger gases and fluids of volcanic origin uranium mineralization developed. The region known from its CO2 outburst during coal mining activity is characterized by good ventilation of the uranium enriched geological basement resulting in increased atmospheric radon activity being in average 72 Bq/m 3 . In the vicinity of coal mine tailing an increase up to 125 Bq/m 3 can be observed. Seasonal variations of atmospheric radon content are influenced in agricultural areas by cyclic cultivation works (plough) on soils of increased uranium content and in the case of post-industrial brownfields varying rates of radon exhalation from tailings due to different meteorological conditions.


We investigated defect states in band gaps of one-dimensional photonic lattices with delicate modulations of gain and loss that respect parity-time-symmetry (PT-symmetry), viz. n(z) = n*(-z). For the sake of generality, we employ not only periodic structures but also quasiperiodic structures, e.g. Fibonacci sequences, to construct aperiodic PT lattices. Differed from lossless systems for which the defect state is related to only one exceptional point (EP) of the S-matrix, we observed the splitting of one EP into a pair after the introduction of judiciously designed gain and loss in those PT systems, where the defect state enters a non-threshold broken symmetry phase bounded by the EP pair. Some interesting properties associated with defect states and EP splitting are demonstrated, such as enhanced spectral localization, double optical phase abrupt change, and wavelength sensitive reversion of unidirectional transparency.


Toona sinensis, popularly known as Chinese toon or Chinese mahogany, is a perennial deciduous arbor belonging to the genus Toona in the Meliaceae family, which is widely distributed and cultivated in eastern and southeastern Asia. Its fresh young leaves and buds have been consumed as a very popular nutritious vegetable in China and confirmed to display a wide variety of biological activities. To investigate the chemical constituents and their potential health benefits from the fresh young leaves and buds of T. sinensis, a phytochemical study on its fresh young leaves and buds was therefore undertaken. In our current investigation, 16 limonoids (1-16), including four new limonoids, toonasinenoids A-D (1-4), and a new naturally occurring limonoid, toonasinenoid E (5), were isolated and characterized from the fresh young leaves and buds of T. sinensis. The chemical structures and absolute configurations of limonoids 1-5 were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic data analyses. All known limonoids (6-16) were identified via comparing their experimental spectral data containing mass spectrometry data, 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance data, and optical rotation values to the data reported in the literature. All known limonoids (6-16) were isolated from T. sinensis for the first time. Furthermore, the neuroprotective effects of all isolated limonoids 1-16 against 6-hydroxydopamine-induced cell death in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells were assessed in vitro. Limonoids 1-16 exhibited notable neuroprotective activities, with EC50 values in the range from 0.27 ± 0.03 to 17.28 ± 0.16 μM. These results suggest that regular consumption of the fresh young leaves and buds of T. sinensis might prevent the occurrence and development of Parkinson's disease (PD). Moreover, the isolation and characterization of these limonoids that exhibit notable neuroprotective activities from the fresh young leaves and buds of T. sinensis could be very significant for researching and developing new neuroprotective drugs used for the prevention and treatment of PD.


The problem of chaotic behavior in quantum mechanics is investigated against the background of the theory of quantum-nondemolition (QND) measurements. The analysis is based on two relevant features: The outcomes of a sequence of QND measurements are unambiguously predictable, and these measurements actually can be performed on one single system without perturbing its time evolution. Consequently, QND measurements represent an appropriate framework to analyze the conditions for the occurrence of ''deterministic randomness'' in quantum systems. The general arguments are illustrated by a discussion of a quantum system with a time evolution that possesses nonvanishing algorithmic complexity.


We constructed area-level indicators of successful ageing in Taiwan. Area-level successful ageing was defined as follows: the living environment in a community/city is beneficial for physical, psychological and social health, and the people living in the area are well informed about the issues that pertain to maintaining health and behave in ways that promote their health. A modified Delphi method and analytical hierarchy process were used, with eight experts completing three successive rounds of questionnaires to determine the appropriate dimensions and indicators. In total, 65 indicators of area-level successful ageing were suggested. The weights of the six dimensions of the area indicators were determined as follows: health status (0.273), health lifestyle (0.182), social participation (0.166), health-care resources and utilisation (0.164), social environment (0.113) and natural environment (0.102). Nationwide survey data and government statistics were used to describe the profiles of 23 cities and counties in Taiwan with respect to successful ageing. Degree of ageing and geographic location were not related significantly to the total successful ageing scores of the cities/counties. However, urbanisation was correlated negatively to the total score (Spearman's rho = -0.43), the dimensions health status (rho = -0.54), health lifestyle (rho = -0.52), and natural environment (rho = -0.43), and degree of ageing was related moderately and negatively to health lifestyle (rho = -0.39). There were significant differences in health lifestyle and natural environment according to geographic location. These area indicators will be helpful to local governments for monitoring and improving successful ageing within their communities.


Background: Adhesive capsulitis is common and can cause stiffness and pain. Diabetes and dyslipidemia are known to be associated with adhesive capsulitis. However, there is no report of any association between serum lipid levels accompanied by diabetes patients.
Objective: To assess association between serum inflammatory lipoproteins and adhesive capsulitis accompanied by diabetes.
Methods: This is a case-control study was conducted in Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. We investigated all the patients who visited our clinic because of their shoulder problems from January to June-2017.  Among those patients, 375 were diagnosed with adhesive capsulitis. Of these, we excluded 44 patients (11%) who had no laboratory results. Individuals with normal shoulder function (bilaterally pain-free, with full range of motion and no shoulder muscle weakness), no thyroid dysfunction, and no previously diagnosed systemic diseases. Individuals in the first control group had neither adhesive capsulitis nor diabetes. Individuals in the second control group had newly diagnosed diabetes without adhesive capsulitis.
Results: Demographic data, serum lipid levels, and the prevalence of dyslipidemia for the 25 patients with adhesive capsulitis accompanied by diabetes and 75 individuals of two control groups were matched by age and sex. For the patients with adhesive capsulitis, the mean duration of symptoms was 5.8±2.7 months; the median interval between initial examination and blood sampling was 6.0 days (interquartile range [IQR], 1.0–8.0). Low-density lipoprotein and non HDL were associated with adhesive capsulitis accompanied by diabetes. Specifically, patients with adhesive capsulitis and diabetes had greater odds ratios of hyperlow-density lipoproteinemia when compared with individuals with neither adhesive capsulitis nor diabetes (OR, 3.19; 95% CI, 1.21–8.38; p =0.019) and when compared with individuals without adhesive capsulitis but with newly diagnosed diabetes (OR, 5.76; 95% CI, 1.67–19.83; p= 0.005). Similarly, patients with adhesive capsulitis accompanied by diabetes had greater odds ratios of hypernonhigh-density lipoproteinemia when compared with individuals with neither adhesive capsulitis nor diabetes (OR, 7.39; 95% CI, 2.72–20.09; p < 0.001) and when compared with individuals without adhesive capsulitis but with newly diagnosed diabetes (OR, 3.26; 95% CI, 1.40–7.61; p = 0.006).
Conclusions: Inflammatory lipoproteinemias, particularly hyperlow-density lipoproteinemia and hypernonhighdensity lipoproteinemia, are associated with adhesive capsulitis accompanied by diabetes. Further research is needed to evaluate whether inflammatory lipoproteinemias are a cause, a related cofactor, or an aggravating factor in the development of adhesive capsulitis in people who have diabetes.


THE present heavy toll of road accidents is rightly a matter for concern,and right-thinking people will support the efforts being madeto deal with the problem. However, a good deal of loose thinking goes on which serves to hinder rather than to help the solution of the problem, even though it comesfrom sincereand enthusiasticpeople, The principal corrective for this is a better understanding of the relevant facts, and for this reason attention is drawn to an analysis of traffic fatalities in Queensland since the beginning of the century reported by S. E. Solomon,GovernmentStatistician,Brisbane,in his Bulletin No. 33 of 1956. He makesthe rather arrestingstatement that an aspect frequently overlooked which is in the favour of the growth in motor transportationis that it has made possible a vastly increasedamount of travel at a cost in lives proportionatelyless than that causedby the smaller amount of much less comfortable locomotion that operatedin the days before motor vehicles. Few will dispute the advantagesof increasedopportunity to travel and greatercomfort, but it will be news to many that the cost in lives is proportionately less. To illustrate his point, Solomon first presentsa table of deaths (total figures) recorded in Queenslandin five-year periods from 1901 to 1955 and due to injuries by, first, vehicles and second, animals (chiefly horses). As one might expect, the numbers in the first group steadily increase (apart from a suddendrop in the period 1941-1945) and those in the secondgroup show a steadydecline. The trend 'is similar (but much lessstriking for vehicles) when the deathsare shown per million of population. Solomon points out that up to the first World War, animals, mostly horses,were killing more people each year than vehicles-thevehicles involved being mostly horse-drawn. During those years the motor vehicle was an unimportantfactor. Then motor transportbeganto develop rapidly, with the result that by the early thirties deathscausedby animals had dropped sharply to one-tenth of their previous level, while those due to vehicles had increasedto take their place. When, however, we look at the figures for all deaths (vehicles and animals together) the interesting fact emergesthat the level was almost constantfrom 1901 to 1935. There is no doubt, as Solomon states, that the averageamount of road travel per head had risen greatly in this period, and "thus the motor vehicle was introduced and supplanted the older forms of transport as a much safer means of locomotion". Then cameanotherphase,in the period from 1936 to 1940, when the total rate of fatalities rose with a concurrentsteep increasein the number of vehicles. It fell againduring the war years,when vehiclesand vehiclefuel were in short supply, rose a little in the five years after the war, and then rosesharplybetween1951 and 1955. In this last period the numberof vehiclesgreatly increased, and so did the amount of travel by the averageperson. The position is put into perspectiveby a table for the twenty-five years, 1931 to 1955, in which the deaths are shown in relation to the number of motor vehicles on the register. Here we find an actual decline in the figures, which are in the successivefive-year periods (expressed as deathsper 100,000 motor vehicles) 788, 867, 634, 573, 595. Solomon puts it another way, stating that vehicle fatalities during the recent twenty-five years have increasedmore slowly than the numberof vehicles in use. He continues: "If it is assumedthat the amountof travel has increasedin proportion to the numberof vehicles, the conclusionemergesthat, in spite of the mounting toll of the roads, travel has becomesafer. The increasednumber of fatalities is due to the larger volume of transportnow operating." This is obvious enough when the facts are put clearly, and the apparentparadox disappears. Possibly the idea will be disturbing to people who have grown used to thinking of road safety in certain terms, the implication of which is that the rising toll of the road is the direct fault of the motorist. Everyone will agree that every accident is one too many, and that a considerableproportion of accidents (perhapsnearly all) can be prevented, in theory at least. On the other hand travel has becomesimpler, more comfortableand on the averagesafer than it was. The essentialproblemof the future is, in Solomon's words, "to meet big further increasesin the density of motor traffic, and at the sametime to prevent its toll of deathsfrom keeping pace with it, and even to reduce it". The motorist should by all means be trained and encouragedin positive aspectsof safer driving; but this analysis (and there is no reason to doubt that it has generalapplication,althoughbasedon Queenslandfigures) offers no support to those who would wave a big stick at the individual modern motorist, deploring his recklessness in contrast to the way they did things in the "good old days".


We investigate the Luminosity Function (LF) of the cluster of galaxies Abell 566. The photometric data of 15 intermediate-bands are obtained from the Beijing-Arizona-Taiwan-Connecticut (BATC) photometric sky survey. For each of the 15 wavebands, the LF of cluster galaxies is well modelled by the Schechter function, with characteristic luminosities from –18.0 to –21.9 magnitude, from the a- to the p-band. Morphological dependence of the LF is investigated by separating the cluster members into `red' and `blue' subsamples. It is clear that late type galaxies have a steeper shape of LF than the early type galaxies. We also divided the sample galaxies by their local environment. It was found that galaxies in the sparser region have steeper shape of LF than galaxies in the denser region. Combining the results of morphological and environmental dependence of LFs, we show that Abell 566 is a well relaxed cluster with positive evidence of galaxy interaction and merger, and excess number of bright early type galaxies located in its denser region.


DESCRIPTION Since the first Polyurethanes book was published in 1987, and reprinted with updates in 1990, the world of polyurethanes has changed dramatically. This edition has been completely re-structured, re-written and enlarged by approximately 50%. It provides a greater focus on the whole range of components used to produce polyurethanes, a more detailed analysis of environmental issues and extended views on the applications for polyurethanes. As with the previous editions, this book provides a comprehensive survey of these remarkable materials, again presented in a readable manner, and continues to provide both an easily-understood introduction for those with limited knowledge of chemistry as well as detailed coverage for the more chemically-minded.


Er,O-codoped GaAs (GaAs:Er,O) was grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (OMVPE) using tris(dipivaloylmethanato)erbium [(C11H19O2)3Er: Er(DPM)3] at different growth temperatures (Tg). In photoluminescence (PL) measurements, Er-related PL lines partly assigned as an Er-2O center were observed in the samples grown at Tg = 500 – 550° C. The result revealed that the self formation of Er-2O center was accomplished by an incorporation of oxygen atoms in the Er(DPM)3 source. In the dependence of a H2 flow rate through the Er source on the PL properties, the intensity of the Er-related PL increased as that of the band-edge PL of GaAs host decreased. The correlation of PLs shows a highly efficient energy-transfer from GaAs host to the 4f-shell of Er ions in the GaAs:Er,O samples.


The medication-taking behaviour of pregnant women during the first two trimesters of pregnancy was assessed to ascertain whether they were appropriately using over-the-counter (OTC) preparations during pregnancy. 578 (55.7%) women completed and returned a questionnaire, of which 248 (42.9%) reported using one or more medications to treat one of the six common ailments listed in the questionnaire. The majority of medicines purchased were for heartburn and indigestion and which are considered safe to use during pregnancy. However, there were seven (1.9 %) reports of women using oral decongestants which are deemed inappropriate. This study suggests that most women are using available information to make appropriate decisions about OTC medicine use during pregnancy. However, warnings pertaining to the use of oral decongestants may need to be more prominent or woman may need better education on how to interpret them.


Modern agricultural commodity markets are simultaneously governed by a physical and a financial market element. Whether financial "index trading" activity influences price levels on the futures markets has been investigated by empirical studies using Granger Causality Analysis. A critical review of these studies reveals inconclusive results. Based on sensitivities of the method, reasons for limited interpretability of results may be omitted determinants of financial trading activity, failure to consider the informational efficiency of markets, time-varying and feedback effects of boundedly rational heterogeneous trading strategies and limitations in specifying adequate theoretical variables from existing data.


In case that the climatic or farming conditions have changed in a region, it is possible to anticipate that the core parameters of drainage constructions will not be adequate for the current needs. Some of these constructions might be over-dimensioned, which would be inconsistent with current terms of nature and water resources protection. On the other hand, the valuable contribution the regulation of the water regime of origi - nally waterlogged lands and swamps indisputably brought along and thus enabled the agricultural use of drained lands would be depreciated to a certain extent. In this paper, some scenarios of probable climatic changes in the Czech Republic's territory and the anticipated effect of these changes on the components of the hydrologic water discharge from drained agricultural and forest catchments are studied. The function of drainage systems on selected experimental lands is examined. However, not only probable changes in precipitation, tempera - ture and water runoff should be taken into account, but also changes in the way of farming, i.e. changes in the agricultural conditions and data that played a decisive role in the calculation of the basic parameters of these construction projects, for instance, the spacing of parallel drains or trenches or the depth of their laying. In the Czech Republic about 1.1 million ha of total agricultural land was drained by the end of the twentieth century. In some localities of Eastern and Southern Bohemia up to 80% of agricultural land was drained. To what extent the above-mentioned climatic changes and the changes in the way of farming influence the drainage system and whether adjustments of these systems are required are the questions we tried to answer at least partly in this contribution. The effect of climatic changes on the hydrologic balance and/or on the runoff from the catchments significantly varies up to ± 150% provided that we compare average runoff. The influence of changes in the way of farming on the hydrologic balance manifests itself in a more concrete, but negative way, and that demands a concrete reaction on the part of the water management control. It is therefore vital to take such measures of regulation of the water regime of soil for the existing drainage systems that will ensure both the drainage phase and the phase of runoff retardation. Single-function and obsolete drainage systems should be converted into systems with controlled drainage and irrigation functions - the double-function control systems.


Polysaccharides, lipids and amino acid profiles were investigated to understand the nutritional value of Caulerpa racemosa and Ulva fasciata from the Philippines. The results revealed that both species contain high amounts of proteins (8.8–19.9% for C. racemosa and 8.0–11.1% for U. fasciata). The portions of the total amino acids that were essential amino acids (EAAs) (45.28 ± 0.12% for C. racemosa and 42.17 ± 0.12% for U. fasciata) out were comparable to FAO/WHO requirements. Leucine, valine, isoleucine, and lysine are the dominant EAAs in C. racemosa, while leucine, valine, lysine, and phenylalanine are those in U. fasciata. The fatty acid profiles are dominated by monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids in C. racemosa (56.2%), while saturated fatty acids (72.1%) are dominant in U. fasciata. High C18/C20 polyunsaturated fatty acid ratios were recorded in both species. Mineral contents for both seaweeds were within levels considered safe for functional foods. Total pigment content of C. racemosa (140.84 mg/g dw) was almost 20 times higher than that of U. fasciata (7.54 mg/g dw). Hot water extract (HWE) from C. racemosa showed in vitro antiherpetic activity without cytotoxicity. Nutritional characteristics confirmed that C. racemosa could be potentially used as a nutritious and functional food items for human consumption.


Abstract. This document presents measurements of the cross-sections for the inclusive production of isolated prompt photons and di-photon events in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy √ s = 7 TeV, performed by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Photon candidates are identified by combining information from the calorimeters and from the inner tracker. Residual background in the selected sample is estimated from data based on the observed distribution of the transverse isolation energy in a narrow cone around the photon candidate. The results are compared to predictions from next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations.


Calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron, and phosphorus concentrations were measured in rhizomes, leaves, and floral stalks of a Typha glauca community during the growth season of 1968. Leaf—length and plant—organ moisture contents were also determined and used as indicators of physiological aging. Seasonal fluctuation was found in all ions examined in the soil and plant parts analyzed. The ions studied were grouped into three categories with reference to apparent seasonal fluctuations of ionic concentrations. Concentration changes of calcium and possibly magnesium in plant tissue were inversely related to apparent changes in substrate concentration. Changes in concentration of potassium and phosphorus in floral stalks and leaves were inversely related to apparent changes in ion concentration in the rhizome, although not related to changes in the substrates. Changes in concentration of sodium and iron in all plant parts sampled were directly related, but no relationship was detected between the apparent changes in concentration in plant tissue and those in the substrates.


Mn-Cu catalysts were tested for selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3. Influence of initial reaction temperature was studied for NOx conversion in which reaction temperature was changed three patterns. NOx conversion of catalysts calcined at 200, 300 and 340°C was measured during the changing temperature. Hydrogen conversion efficiency of calcined catalysts was also measured in the H2-TPR system. The deactivation effect of SO2 on catalyst was investigated with the on-off control of SO2 supply. The catalyst which calcined above 340°C was somewhat deactivated with thermal shock. The reason of deactivation was draw from the results of surface area and hydrogen conversion.


Low-level trace element determinations by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in environmental samples, e.g., groundwater, can be seriously hampered by spectral interferences originating from matrix-components and/or the argon plasma. Two approaches to reduce the level of interference were investigated: variable step size simplex optimization with a number of response factors (analyte signals, precision, oxide and other polyatomic interferences) was applied to reduce simultaneously a number of molecular ion interferences; and nitrogen was added to the aerosol carrier gas and the nitrogen flow rate was used as an additional variable in the simplex optimization. Simplex optimization alone resulted in a more consistent choice for the settings of the instrumental variables and in reduction of the levels of polyatomic interferences. By the addition of nitrogen spectral interferences were further reduced by a factor of 1.5 to 3. For each set of optimum instrumental settings the spectral interferences were quantified as apparent analyte concentrations. Final levels of interference were <3 µg l–1 for Cr, Cu, Ni, Se and Zn, and <10 µg l–1 for As and V in 0.02 mol l–1 Na, 0.02 mol l–1 Cl, 0.01 mol l–1 Ca, 0.01 mol l–1 Mg or 0.004 mol l–1 SO4 solutions. Matrix-induced sensitivity changes were also reduced by the addition of nitrogen.


Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) is a collective term for the symptoms arising from the prolonged use of vibrating hand tools. An investigation into the literature on available screening tools for HAVS was conducted. A screening tool is used for the quick identification of certain symptoms without a full medical check-up, and is for use by mine medical personnel for the determination of workers with HAVS symptoms and those without. Twenty-two non-exposed volunteers were tested with the screening tools and 42 rock drill operators. Only the rock drill operators had a medical examination and standardised tests for HAVS, to determine their HAVS diagnosis and severity. This diagnosis was used as the standard for the evaluation of existing screening tools and for the developed screening tool's sensitivity for the detection of HAVS symptoms. The screening tools chosen were a traditional tuning fork, a similar tuning fork but mounted into a box with a set excitation unit and a two-point discriminator set a 3mm, 6mm, and 10mm apart. The results showed that a screening questionnaire that specifically focuses on the symptoms of HAVS has better sensitivity and specificity to identify cases. A two-point discriminator with variable distance points, where patients have to distinguish between one pin prick and two, was able to identify HAVS cases when the distance was set at 3 mm. However, the sensitivity of the two-point discriminator was lower than the sensitivity of the questionnaire.


A preliminary study was carried out to determine the variables affecting SME business adoption of cloud accounting. A convenience purposive sample was used in this study to choose the targeted SME companies in Sungai Petani, Kedah. From May to June 2021, data was collected online using a Google form. A total of 77 respondents were noted out of the 100 Google forms that were disseminated. Pearson's correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were performed on the data. The results of this study demonstrated that adoption of cloud accounting among SME enterprises was significantly influenced by cost and security. According to the findings, SME enterprises should be targeted for intense cloud accounting promotion in order to take advantage of the system's cost saving and optimum security. This will increase awareness of the benefits of cloud accounting in transforming a traditional business into a digital business. Due to the nature of this study, the findings are not generalizable. It is suggested that a more comprehensive study in Malaysia on cloud adoption should be conducted in the future.


Restoring Tropical Forests is a user-friendly guide to restoring forests throughout the tropics. Based on the concepts, knowledge and innovative techniques developed at Chiang Mai University's Forest Restoration Research Unit, this book will enable improvements in existing forest restoration projects and provide a key resource for new ones. The book presents three aspects of the restoration of tropical forest ecosystems: the concepts of tropical forest dynamics and regeneration that are relevant to tropical forest restoration, proven restoration techniques and case studies of their successful application, and research methods to refine such techniques and adapt them to local ecological and socio-economic conditions.


SummaryThe authors have prepared cryoprecipitate (Red Cross, Antwerp) as indicated by Pool. They have administered this product to 6 hemophiliacs (Stuivenberggasthuis, Antwerp) who totalised 20 hemorrhagic episodes. The assay of factor VIII has been performed according to the method described by Bounameaux. The clinical and laboratory outcome was very satisfactory.


This study analyzed the psychometric properties of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire-12 (INQ-12; Van Orden, Witte, Gordon, Bender, & Joiner, 2008a), designed to test Joiner's interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide. Study participants included 785 U.S. undergraduates (58.6% female; 77.2% White; ages 18-25). Confirmatory bifactor analyses discerned a general factor for overall distress, while also supporting separate subfactors for perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. The scale's factor structure did not vary by gender, and internal consistency reliability was strong among the male and female samples. Correlational analyses supported the scale's content validity. Overall, the analyses preliminarily support continued use of the INQ-12.


We report observation of cavity-mediated cooling of a single 85Rb atom in the intermediate coupling regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics. A weak blue-detuned probe laser and a strong far-red-detuned dipole-force-trap laser were both coupled to a Fabry-Pérot cavity, into which a single Rubidium atom was introduced by using gravity. We measured the survival probability of an atom in the dipole-force trap in the presence of cavity-mediated cooling for various reduced levels of the probe laser's power upon the entry of the atom into the cavity. The highest survival probability was observed when the intracavity probe photon number was (4.9 ± 0.5) × 10−6, for which the atom stayed in the trap for up to 0.3 sec with a survival probability larger than 10%.


The purpose of this investigation is to define the level of socio-economic empowerment of South African women by identifying their lingerie buying behaviour in the Durban area. This research set out to establish if there are relationships between the following three variables: * The level of emancipation of women - If they are high or low In socio-economic emancipation according to criteria identified in the literature review * Their buying motivations - When buying lingerie, do they consider it as a pleasurable and enjoyable experience or a task to complete? * The type of shops they patronise - Shops with a high level of service or self-service shops In order to reach this aim, the literature review provided information about the evolution of women since the beginning of the 1960's, about the evolution of South African women, especially since the end of the Apartheid system, and finally, about the influence of these evolutionary changes on fashion and on the lingerie field in particular. The purpose was to emphasise the link that exists between the level of empowerment of women and their fashion buying habits. Thus, it has been established that women do not only buy to please the members of their family, but also to affirm their personal identity. Moreover, four categories of women were identified according to their level of emancipation; that is, whether they are career oriented (plan to work or career women) or whether they are home ivprevent


Aqueous zinc-ion batteries form a key post-Li-ion batteries to cater the rising demand for grid storage. Fe-based compounds can be used as economical cathodes for zinc-ion batteries. Herein, we explored iron-based flourophosphate as a potential polyanionic cathode. Involving the Fe3+/2+ redox process, it can reversibly intercalate Zn2+ yielding a capacity of ∼80 mA h g-1, involving a solid-solution mechanism. Polyanionic Fe-based phosphate frameworks can be harnessed as potential low-cost cathodes for secondary zinc-ion batteries.


The size effect on the free vibration and bending of a curved FG micro/nanobeam is studied in this paper. Using the Hamilton principle the differential equations and boundary conditions is derived for a nonlocal Euler-Bernoulli curved micro/nanobeam.  The material properties vary through radius direction. Using the Navier approach an analytical solution for simply supported boundary conditions is obtained where the power index law of FGM, the curved micro/nanobeam opening angle, the effect of aspect ratio and nonlocal parameter on natural frequencies and the radial and tangential displacements were analyzed. It is concluded that increasing the curved micro/nanobeam opening angle results in decreasing and increasing the frequencies and displacements, respectively. To validate the natural frequencies of curved nanobeam, when the radius of it approaches to infinity, is compared with a straight FG nanobeam and showed a good agreement.


Objectives: The phenotypic triad of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) associated with palmoplantar keratoderma and woolly hair has been previously associated with homozygous mutations in both plakoglobin and desmoplakin, which are both critical components of the desmosome. We present here a clinical and genetic study of a consanguineous pedigree in which 2 siblings present with ARVC with left ventricular involvement and associated mild palmoplantar keratoderma and woolly hair. Methods: Clinical evaluation of the 2 patients and their family members was undertaken along with a homozygosity-mapping approach to identify the relevant gene and sequencing analysis to identify the causative mutation. Results: The homozygosity-mapping approach excluded the involvement of both plakoglobin and desmoplakin in this pedigree. However, an extended region of homozygosity in both affected cases was revealed at the chromosome 18 desmocollin/desmoglein cluster, genes which encode components of the desmosome. Sequence analysis of the democollin-2 gene, located within this cluster, revealed a homozygous single-base deletion in exon 12 (1841delG). This mutation is predicted to lead to a frame shift and a premature termination codon at position 625 (S614fsX625). Conclusions: This is the first reported case of a mutation in desmocollin-2 associated with autosomal recessive ARVC.


To develop noninvasive methods for levee inspection, we carry out shallow, active, and passive seismic investigations at three sites along levees in the New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, area: Industrial Canal, London Avenue Canal, and 17th Street Canal. These sites sustained damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and have since been rebuilt. Recorded ambient noise data are processed using the common-midpoint spatial autocorrelation method. Dispersion curves obtained with active surface-wave methods and passive wave methods, which use both L-shaped and linear sensor arrays, show internally consistent similarities. Minimum frequencies range from 0.6 to 2 Hz and maximum frequencies range from 10 to 30 Hz. Nonlinear inversion of 2D S-wave velocity models generates velocity-depth cross sections that extend approximately 400–1000 m along levees and provide information to depths of 40–60 m. Resultant S-wave velocity (VS) profiles are generally consistent with existing drilling logs and the results of laboratory tests. Beneath the London Avenue Canal wall, VS values (130–170 m/s) likely correspond to saturated, unconsolidated sands, and a low-velocity (50–100 m/s) zone at depth to 15 m beneath the 17th Street Canal matches low-rigidity clays observed in geotechnical logs. Comparison to active surface-wave methods at the Industrial Canal site display similar results but highlight that while active methods have better resolution in the upper few meters, passive methods may be acquired more quickly.


This hybrid autobiographical/critical paper takes its cue from Yvonne Owuor's paper in this volume, "Reading our Ruins: A Rough Sketch." In her piece, Owuor combines a meditation on ruins—as physical, human, social and political—with the perspective of an autopsy, or "seeing for oneself". In my paper I try to "see for myself" and in myself what it means to consider the ruins of District Six and the responses, individual and institutional, to its violent destruction. More specifically, I try to account for a recent oral history project completed by the District Six Museum which resulted in the writing of a food story and cookbook, District Six Huis Kombuis Tafel: Food and Memory Stories Cookbook (2016). My paper intersperses this critical account with italicised fragments of my own memoir (a work in progress) on District Six, apartheid's psychic violence, home and food, that relate directly or tangentially to the critical segments. The memoir fragments provide a parallel tale of inner life that at times relates to and supplements the critical discourse, but also at times casts it into doubt.


MICROTUBULE-ASSOCIATED protein 2 (MAP2) and neuron-specific protein (NeuN) immunostains were used to demonstrate neurotoxic effects in mature hippocampal slice cultures exposed to ethanol (50, 100, 200 mM) for 4 weeks. At the low dose the density of MAP2 immunostaining in the dentate molecular layer was 118% of the control cultures, with no detectable changes in CA1 and CA3. At 100 mM no changes were detected, while 200 mM ethanol significantly reduced the MAP2 density in both dentate (19%) and hippocampal dendritic fields (CA3, 52%; CA1, 55%). At this dose NeuN staining showed considerable loss of CA3 pyramidal cells and moderate loss of dentate granule cells, as seen in vivo. The results indicate that brain slice cultures combined with immunostaining for cytoskeleton and neuronal markers can be used for studies of ethanol and organic solvent neurotoxicity.


The attraction of hundreds of millions of web searches per day provides significant incentive for many content providers to do whatever is necessary to rank highly in search engine results, while search engine providers want to provide the most accurate results. The conflicting goals of search and content providers are adversarial, and the use of techniques that push rankings higher than they belong is often called search engine spam. Such methods typically include textual as well as link-based techniques, or their combination.


The present proposal, as an area of opportunity, addresses the empowerment of indigenous women, as a mechanism that seeks to achieve the development of management skills of sustainable productive organizations in the short, medium and / or long term, create individual commitment to develop their own potentialities and to generate an answer for their social change and human development. This in support of the strategy to combat poverty and social exclusion, through the development of productive projects, through the management of sustainable productive organizations that seek to improve the living conditions and social position of indigenous women. The importance of the research is that it seeks to deepen the social exclusion processes present in indigenous women, in order to propose alternative solutions in order to overcome their condition of multidimensional poverty and that seek to strengthen the actions for empowerment in the development of their management capacities themselves that are elements that promote the development of sustainable productive organizations.


Worldwide, every day human beings generate millions of tons of Faecal Sludge (FS), which is rich in water, nutrients, energy, and organic compounds. Yet FS is not being managed in a way that permits us to derive value from its reuse, while at the same time, millions of farmers struggle with depleted soils and lack of water. In most of the developing countries, energy for cooking is mainly derived from cutting of trees, either as wood or charcoal. Resource recovery and reuse from FS can create livelihoods, enhance food security, support green economies, reduce waste and contribute to cost recovery in the sanitation chain. Many studies have reported on the different technologies used for FS treatment, such as dewatering and bio-stabilization. The commonly used dewatering technology is sand drying bed, which occupied a large space and has a low dewatering rate. To enhance the dewatering rate of FS as well as reducing the size of the sand drying bed, the use of chemical conditioners has been done. Despite the fact that they have been used successfully, chemical conditioners are expensive, have health and environmentally hazardous. In recent years, attempts have been made to use local conditioners to tackle the drawbacks experienced from chemical conditioners. Although the feasibility of applying local conditioners for FS dewatering has been studied, its potentials on FS treatment have not been well documented. This review indicates that there is potential for local conditioners linked with dewatering, enhancing of FS resources recovery and in reducing costs of operating and maintaining FS treatment plant. Moreover, local conditioners have the potential in contribution to socio-economic development in Tanzania through renewable energy production, income generation and food- health security, soil and water conservation, eco-sanitation and reduction of environmental degradation.


BackgroundThe pandemic corona virus outbreak is having an impact on the lives of every member of the society with lockdown measures to limit the virus spreading through Schools shutting down, limited contact with family and friends, as well as social and leisure activities severely curtailed. This also necessitated unavoidable changes to various healthcare services provision worldwide.Emotional, behavioural, Neurodevelopmental and Intellectual disorders (EBNDID) including ADHD, Autism, Epilepsy and Cerebral palsy affect up to 15% of the childhood population.ObjectivesWe aimed to identify pragmatic changes made to services provision for Children and Young people (CYP) with EBNDIDs and help disseminate examples of best practice among CCH Clinicans, while preparing for future pandemic lockdowns.MethodsWe carried out a literature review about the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare services provided for children and adolescent with ADHD from several databases including Pubmed, PMC, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO and Ovid, with no limitations in terms of language and date of publication from inception to Dec 2020. This was supplemented by an online scoping survey among selected members of the George-Still Forum (National ADHD Network) run between June and July 2020.Results62 responses were obtained from the online (62% rate). Several national and international professional bodies provided clinical guidance to clinicians about necessary service modifications to ensure that patients continue to have access to best evidence-based care despite the limitations imposed by the pandemic, but the awareness among frontline Paediatricians was limited. The clinical recommendations have centred around (i) expansion of various forms of remote and online services, (ii) Infection control strategies (iii) and staff redeployment to areas of higher clinical demands. 8% of the surveyed clinicians were not aware of any specific guidance for CYP with EBNDIDs.Due to significant restriction to direct face-to-face clinician contacts and redeployment of staff from Community Child Health (CCH) services, many core clinical activities became limited and most new referrals were kept on hold except for urgent services. CCH teams experienced significantly increased waiting lists. During the pandemic, many CCH services increased their telemedicine capacity exponentially. Telephone consultation was the commonest method of remote contact with patients (98%).Preliminary report has confirmed that the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff and patient communities have been disproportionately affected by morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 infection. Parents and carers were encouraged to make more effective use of online resources including contacting NHS 111 or the GP and only if necessary to going the nearest Emergency Unit.A wide array of online resources designed for CYP with EBNDID and their families including webinars, online videos, sleep tips, post-diagnosis support etc have become more popular.ConclusionsThe pandemic has significantly impacted on routine service provision for new referral s to CCH clinics and for the existing patients. Discontinuation of medical treatment necessitated by health service disruptions should be avoided during the future pandemic lockdowns to avoid serious detrimental effects of escalating challenging behaviour among CYP with EBNID, stressful parent-child and intra-sibling relationships and exacerbation of family disruptions.


Two small free range flocks with 32 hens, whose Salmonella enteritidis contaminated eggs caused salmonellosis in man, were investigated for localisation of the agent. Salmonella enteritidis phage type 4 was isolated from 12 of 32 hens (37.5%). Eight hens (25%) harbored the bacterium in the ovary and/or the oviduct. The rapid slide agglutination test with Salmonella pullorum-antigen revealed 21 positive hens (66%). All eight hens with Salmonella enteritidis phage type 4 in the reproductive tract were seropositive. The significance of these findings for the control of Salmonella enteritidis phage type 4-infections in poultry is discussed.


Background It is hypothesized that education and marriage are resilience factors protective against senile dementia.Methods We investigated the resilience of elderly persons from dementia by considering the interactions between educational levels and marriage status. Four sociodemographic variables (age, sex, educational level, and marital status) were collected from 1177 elderly Chinese participants, for whom the mini-mental state examination score (MMSE score) was measured and severe cognitive impairment (MMSE score = 0) was identified.Results Lower educational level coupled with being widowed caused a greater risk of severe cognitive impairment (relative risk [RR] 1.48; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.20-1.82; p < 0.001) for high-age elderly participants (age range: ≥80) than those low-age counterparts (age range: ≥60 and <80). By contrast, higher educational level coupled with being married leveled this age-related risk of cognitive loss (RR 0.91; 95% CI 0.65-1.27; p = 0.62). Further findings suggest that synergistically cognitive protection effect for education and marriage was only observed among high-age elderly persons, instead of among low-age ones.Conclusions Being well-educated and being married synergistically protected delayed cognitive function for elderly people. However, longevity is a prerequisite for realizing this benefit.


Loss of miR-15/16 on chromosome 13q14 is the most common genetic alteration in CLL. Recently, we discovered that miR-15/16 target BCL2, an antiaptoptic gene we discovered and named in 1984. Thus, loss of miR-15/16 leads to overexpression of BCL2 (the driver) and causes sensitivity of CLL cells to the antiBcl2 drug venetoclax that is capable of inducing complete remission of CLL in patients and was approved by the FDA in April 2016. The discovery of the involvement of miR-15/16 in CLL also indicated that alterations in genes not encoding proteins can cause cancer. Before our publication of 2002, the dogma was that alterations in protein coding genes, oncogenes, and suppressor genes, cause cancer. We speculate that by looking at other targets of miR-15/16 we might discover other biomarkers that are overexpressed because of miR-15/16 loss, providing novel opportunities to discover targetable targets. Since it seems likely that among the billions of leukemic cells in patients, there are a few that do not respond to the drug—for example, because of mutations in the Bcl2 pocket binding the drug—it is important to develop other drugs capable of killing CLL cells because they have lost miR-15/16. We propose to define whether loss of miR-15/16 may lead to overexpression of specific surface markers that can be targeted by specific monoclonal antibodies. The availability of these antibodies will allow the killing of the same leukemic cells by using a combination of the antibodies and venetoclax minimizing the possibility of drug resistance. Finally, we will assess the role of a new family of short noncoding RNAs we have discovered, ts-RNAs, in the pathogenesis of CLL. Citation Format: Carlo M. Croce. The new genetics and treatment of CLL [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr SY32-01. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-SY32-01


The relationship between extracellular calcium concentration and isovolumic systolic pressure developed by left ventricles was studied in Langendorff-perfused rat hearts. At diastolic pressure lower than 15 mmHg the isovolumic systolic pressure increased when external calcium was changed from 0.5 to 1.25 mM. Pressure stabilized when external calcium was increased to 3.5 mM but then declined at 5 mM Ca2+. At higher diastolic pressures (20 and 25 mmHg) systolic pressure increased only up to 1.25 mM Ca2+, and declined with further increases in external calcium concentration. This behavior is probably related to "calcium overload" of the preparations at external calcium concentrations greater than 3.5 mM associated with a decreased perfusion pressure gradient at higher diastolic pressures.


We use the non-relativistic R-matrix method to treat ultralow-energy electron scattering from the alkaline-earth atoms Mg, Ca, and Sr. The sensitivity of the predictions for the scattering length is analysed by comparing results obtained from a variety of structure and collision models. We estimate the electron scattering lengths to be −2.5a0 for e−–Mg, −12a0 for e−–Ca, and −18a0 for e−–Sr, respectively.


Vicinal dithiol-containing proteins (VDPs) play an important role in maintaining the structures and functions of proteins through the conversion between dithiols and disulfide bonds. The content of VDPs reflects the redox status of an organism. To specifically and expediently detecting VDPs, we developed a turn-on mono-arsenical fluorescent probe (NEP) based on the intramolecular charge transfer mechanism. The naphthalimide was chosen as a fluorophore and linked with the receptor moiety (cyclic dithi-aarsane) via carbamate segment. In the presence of VDPs, NEP displays a strong green fluorescence signal produced by the cyclic dithiaarsane cleavage and subsequent intramolecular cyclization to liberate fluorophore. Furthermore, NEP exhibits high selectivity towards VDPs over other protein thiols and low molecular weight thiols. The favorable properties of NEP enable it readily to de-tect VDPs in live cells and in vivo. In addition, a remarkable decrease of VDPs in Parkinsonism was disclosed for the first time, highlighting that regulating VDPs level has a therapeutic potential for Parkinsonism.