We describe a case with severe pre-eclampsia with poor obstetric outcome. This patient developed oliguria and received multiple doses of furosemide which probably contributed to the poor outcome. This case presentation reminds of the risks associated with pre-eclampsia in which both blood volume and utero-placental blood flow are already decreased. This condition was further worsened by diuretics.


In December 1991, Britain's first wind farm was connected to the grid. Concurrently in the latest NFFO round, proposals for 49 projects totalling almost 200 MW were approved by the Government. Wind power is on the verge of widespread commercial development in the UK. This review looks at the technology of wind turbines, the economics and the environmental impact of wind farms.


The study aimed to provide confirmatory status on traditional usage of Detarium microcapum against urinary and intestinal infections and serve as an alternative in fighting against multi-drug resistance. Hence, the determination of chemical constituents of stem bark using GC-MS because of its sensitivity and high resolving power in identifying compounds, and test the antibacterial potential of methanol crude extract on some bacteria associated with the diseases claimed to be treated by traditional healers. Bacterial isolates were collected, and zone of inhibition diameter (ZID), minimum inhibition concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and minimum bacteriostatic concentration (MBS) were conducted to determine antibacterial activity. At the same time, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify the phytoconstituents. The mean ZID (mm) ranged from 17.3±21 to 20.0±35 mm and showed a statistical significance difference at P< 0.05 for S. aureus, E. coli, and K. pneumonia. The MIC ranged from 11.67±7.6 to 4.17±1.4 mg/L, MBS 16.67±5.8 to 5.00±00, MBC 20.0±00 to 5.0±00, in order of increasing concentrations. Inspection of the MBC/MIC ratio indicated a bactericidal effect across isolates. From the GC-MS analysis, twenty-six phytochemical constituents were identified, primarily fatty acids or their esters. Chemical constituents' from D. microcapum methanol crude extract were identified. The antibacterial activity of some compounds directly correlates with the bioactivity of the same isolated and tested elsewhere, from a different source, thus its potential and therefore supporting the claim for its traditional usage. The research recommends in-depth research toward identifying specific active compounds for public health solutions.


Forty genotypes of chickpea were evaluated for assessing genetic divergence for different quantitative characters for improving yield potential of chickpea by using Mahalanobis D2 statistics. The genotypes were grouped into
 seven clusters suggesting considerable amount of genetic diversity in the material. The intra-cluster D2 value ranged from 0.00 to 9.06 while, intercluster D2 value ranged from 4.07 to 55.71. The maximum intra cluster distance was exhibited by
 cluster V followed by cluster II and cluster I. Cluster III had mono- genotype and emerged with contained highest cluster mean value grain yield per plot. Cluster II has highest mean value for number of pods per plant and lowest mean value for days
 to 50% flowering, days to maturity and plant height. Maximum contribution toward the total divergence was exhibited by 100-seed weight followed by number of pods per plant and minimum by days to maturity. Cluster IV and VI showing maximum inter
 cluster distance and crossing of genotypes Sabour chana-1 (BRC-1), GCP 105, PBC 503, DC 16-2, NBeG 776, RVSSG 42, G2016-43, GL 14042, IPC 2013-21, GNG 2338, GNG 2375 and KWR 108 from cluster VI suggested for improving grain yield per plot, 100-seed
 weight and earliness in flowering and ultimately enhancing the yield and chances of getting better recombinants in segregating generations.


In the era of quantitative biology, it is increasingly required to quantify confocal microscopy images. If possible, quantification should be performed in an automatic way, in order to avoid bias from the experimenter, to allow the quantification of a large number of samples, and to increase reproducibility between laboratories. In this protocol, we describe procedures for automatic counting of the number of intracellular compartments in Arabidopsis root cells, which can be used for example to study endocytosis or secretory trafficking pathways and to compare membrane organization between different genotypes or treatments. While developed for Arabidopsis roots, this method can be used on other tissues, cell types and plant species.


We have presented a comprehensive study of using chemical dealloying methods to control the morphology of nanoporous-antimony (NP-Sb) and the size of Sb particles. For the first time, depending on the regulation of the Al–Sb alloy composition, coral-like NP-Sb (NP-Sb70), honeycomb-like NP-Sb (NP-Sb80) and Sb particles (Sb10, Sb30 and Sb45) with different sizes were prepared through chemical dealloying of Al30Sb70, Al20Sb80, Al90Sb10, Al70Sb30 and Al55Sb45 (at%) alloy ribbon precursors respectively, a top-down process. The NP-Sb70 delivered a high capacity of 573.8 mA h g−1 after 200 cycles at a rate of 100 mA g−1 with good rate capability as anode for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). The excellent electrochemical performance is because of its innovative electrode design, which ensures strong structural integrity, high sodium ion accessibility, and fast electrode transport. This scalable strategy shall pave the way for the mass production of large-capacity electrodes for SIBs and other energy storage systems, providing new guidelines for the optimization of the synthesis of nanostructures.


Abstract:Malaysia's non-alignment and pro-Arab policies can be traced back to Konfrontasi, Indonesia's challenge to the formation of Malaysia in 1963. Indonesia's reckless attempt to win the conflict through military action prompted a formal complaint from Malaysia to the United Nations. When African and Asian member in the Security Council expressed opposition to Indonesian aggression towards Malaysia, Indonesia sought support from the next largest sub-group in the Afro-Asian bloc, the Arab states. At first, Arab sympathies swayed towards Indonesia, persuaded by its misrepresentation of Malaysian policies towards Israel. Realising this, Malaysia adopted a pro-Arab and non-aligned position to win Arab support. By early 1964 non-alignment had become Malaysia's de facto foreign policy, although the policy was not formalised until 1970.


Setting clear achievable goals that enhance reputational status has been shown to direct the energies of adolescents into socially conforming or non-conforming activities. It appears to be the case that following transition from Intensive English Centres (IECs) into mainstream schooling, students from African refugee backgrounds experience difficulties in attaining the goals they had initially set, and in light of this become non-conforming. This present study investigates the goal setting, reputational status, and behaviour of 60 students from African refugee backgrounds prior to and following their transition into mainstream schooling. Findings revealed that prior to mainstream schooling, while in an IEC, these adolescents set specific academic goals, were highly committed to attaining them, sought a socially conforming reputation, and did not involve themselves in non-conforming activities. Within 6 months of transitioning into mainstream classes, however, these same adolescents set social goals commensurate with a non-conforming reputation, attached great importance to these goals, and evidenced significant increases in their delinquent and aggressive behaviour and significant reductions in their connectedness to school and teachers. These findings have important implications for assisting adolescent students from refugee backgrounds to develop clear, self-set achievable goals, and in supporting them through the process of attaining them following transition to mainstream schooling.


School health programs traditionally have involved health services, health instruction, and a safe school environment. Likewise, school health services have been provided by nurses, physicians, and appropriate administrative personnel. In the 1990s, increased integration of primary care services through school-based clinics expanded traditional activities of school health programs. Consequently, more chronically ill children, particularly technology dependent children, have entered the regular school setting, requiring that schools be prepared to manage these chronically ill students who come to school with new morbidities and technological dependencies. This statewide survey examined the number and kind of special needs children in the regular school setting in Pennsylvania, as well as the personnel, programs, policies, and resources available to support these children.


Wireless ad hoc networks of sensor nodes are envisioned to be deployed in the physical environment to monitor a wide variety of real-world phenomena. Wireless sensor networks (WSN's) are becoming popular in military and civilian applications such as surveillance, monitoring, disaster recovery, home automation and many others. Almost any sensor network application requires some form of self-configuration and autonomic functionality. Following IBM's initiatives towards Autonomic computing many architectures and protocols for network self-organization and management have been proposed and being implemented. The paper presents concept of Autonomic Computing with respect to Wireless Sensor Network. The paper introduces Wireless sensor network basics, design goals and challenges along with current and future applications. It articulates basic needs of incorporating autonomic computing principles into the design of Wireless Sensor Networks. The paper also outlines recent contributions to Autonomic network architectures, research projects, proposed architectures and routing protocols for Autonomic Wireless Sensor Networks.


Friction stir processed (FSPed) aluminum alloys generally exhibit good mechanical properties pertaining to the textural feature, dynamic recrystallization (DRX), aging effect and are commonly accompanied by a thermal mechanical affected zone (TMAZ), and these are important metallurgical factors which cause inhomogeneous deformation problems. Therefore, a 1050 aluminum alloy sheet was used to eliminate the aging effect on the microhardness distribution and tensile properties. From the microhardness profile, a significant data fluctuation variation and microhardness drop could be recognized as the feeding speed slowed to 1.1 mm/s. It is reasonable to suggest that this is closely related to the subtle microstructural changes of dynamic recrystallized grains which were a consequence of the friction stir process heat input. In addition, a significant f110gh001i crystal aggregation was observed in the center of SZs of O-FSPed samples, where h001i aligned closely along the processing direction (PD) while h110i aligned along the transverse direction (TD). The higher Taylor factors of the O-FSPper specimens were responsible for higher flow stress than that of the O-FSPpar specimens. One the other hand, the revolutionary pitch is an insignificant factor for tensile properties. Experimental results imply that FSP possesses great potential to improve the formability especially of cold-rolled H14 tempered sheets, as a partial modification method when a proper feeding speed is properly selected. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.MRA2008460]


This book postulates the proposition that small economies exhibit a higher degree of outward orientation and structural adaptability, compared to their larger counterparts within the context of the European Union and two case studies (i.e. Catalonia and New Zealand). The number of nations has doubled in the last half of the century to around 200 independent economic units. Moreover, the break-up of the former Soviet bloc into a large number of small independent nations in Central and Eastern Europe, and the continued threat of separatist groups (i.e. Canada, Spain, and Sri Lanka) have sparked economists' interest to focus on the size of nations once again. This book offers a more comprehensive measurement of smallness than the conventional one for the analysis of the globalization strategies and flexibility of countries to overcome smallness. Small independent economic units, when economically successful, tend to be more export focused in manufacturing, likely to specialize in differentiated manufactures, more actively involved with direct overseas businesses, more sensitive in strategically managing exchange rates, likely to be in a better position to achieve price stability, more actively involved in international trade through varying degrees of economic integration, likely to have a higher degree of flexibility, more actively involved to forge a complementary government-firm relationship, and likely to have a higher degree of corporatism.


Improved pumping geometries and tailored cavity modes result in a 32% optical-to-optical slope efficiency for TEM00 output from a transversely diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser. Energies of 60 mJ are obtained for multimode operation and 50 mJ for single-mode operation, which represent an 80% extraction of the multimode energy as TEM00 output. The electrical slope efficiency for TEM00 operation is 17%.


The syariah banking industry in Indonesia is experiencing various growth in accordance with national economic growth. One indicator of the growth of syariah banks can be seen from the growth in assets. The phenomenon of decreasing asset growth that occurs in syariah banks encourages the need for further research. This study aims to determine and analyze the effect of the number of office networks, Non Performing Financing, Financing to Deposit Ratio, returns on third party funds and the BI rate on the growth of syariah bank assets in West Java Province. This study uses secondary data published by the Financial Services Authority and Bank Indonesia. The research period is January 2016 to December 2019. The data analysis method used in this study is multiple linear regression analysis, which previously tested the classical assumptions and then tested the hypothesis. The results showed that only the return on third party funds had an effect on asset growth, while the number of office networks, Non-Performing Financing, Financing to Deposit Ratio and BI rate had no effect on the growth of syariah bank assets in West Java Province.


Regulated cell death (RCD) plays a fundamental role in human health and disease. Apoptosis is the best-studied mode of RCD, but the importance of other modes has recently been gaining attention. We have previously demonstrated that adult rat hippocampal neural stem (HCN) cells undergo autophagy-dependent cell death (ADCD) following insulin withdrawal. Here, we show that Parkin mediates mitophagy and ADCD in insulin-deprived HCN cells. Insulin withdrawal increased the amount of depolarized mitochondria and their colocalization with autophagosomes. Insulin withdrawal also upregulated both mRNA and protein levels of Parkin, gene knockout of which prevented mitophagy and ADCD. c-Jun is a transcriptional repressor of Parkin and is degraded by the proteasome following insulin withdrawal. In insulin-deprived HCN cells, Parkin is required for Ca2+ accumulation and depolarization of mitochondria at the early stages of mitophagy as well as for recognition and removal of depolarized mitochondria at later stages. In contrast to the pro-death role of Parkin during mitophagy, Parkin deletion rendered HCN cells susceptible to apoptosis, revealing distinct roles of Parkin depending on different modes of RCD. Taken together, these results indicate that Parkin is required for the induction of ADCD accompanying mitochondrial dysfunction in HCN cells following insulin withdrawal. Since impaired insulin signaling is implicated in hippocampal deficits in various neurodegenerative diseases and psychological disorders, these findings may help to understand the mechanisms underlying death of neural stem cells and develop novel therapeutic strategies aiming to improve neurogenesis and survival of neural stem cells.


ABSTRACT Can curvature drive preference, perceived familiarity, complexity, stability and approachability for architectural façades? In this study, we generated four versions of the same reference building, varying only the amount of curvature introduced in the façade. Participants' judgments were measured using three experimental methodologies. Multidimensional scaling on forced choices showed that the curved façade was the most preferred. Multidimensional unfolding on ranking task showed that the majority of participants expressed higher preferences for the curved façade compared to the sharp-angled and rectilinear ones. Ratings on different psychological variables provided supporting evidence for curvature significantly influencing liking and approachability judgments. Results from image analyses –using a dynamical model of the visual cortex and a model that characterizes discomfort in terms of adherence to the statistics of natural images – matched behavioural data. We discuss the implications of the findings on our understanding of human preferences, which are intrinsically dynamic and influenced by context and experience.


Background Diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP) is a usual complication of diabetes with a high incidence and mortality. Many diabetes-related studies have been published in various journals. However, bibliometrics and visual analyses in the domain of DPNP research are still lacking. The study aimed to offer a visual method to observe the systematic overview of global research in this field from 2011 to 2021. Methods The publications from the Science Citation Index Expanded in Web of Science (WOS) in the past 11 years (from 2011 to 2021) were collected and sorted out, and those related to DPNP were extracted and analyzed. The article language was limited in English. Then, CiteSpace V was used for the bibliometric analysis of the extracted literature. Results A total of 1,422 articles met the inclusion criteria. A continuous but unstable growth in the amounts of papers published on DPNP was observed over the last 11 years. The subject sort of the 1,422 papers mainly concentrates on Endocrinology Metabolism, Clinical neurology and Neurosciences from the WOS. According to the research contribution in the field of DPNP, the United States occupies a leading position, with the highest amounts of publications, citations, open access, and the H- index. Conclusion This study provides a visual analysis method for the trend of DPNP, and offers some hidden serviceable information that may define new directions for future research.


A two-stage 3.1- to 10.6-GHz ultrawideband CMOS low-noise amplifier (LNA) is presented. In our design, a parallel resistance-capacitance shunt feedback with a source inductance is proposed to obtain broadband input matching and to reduce the noise level effectively; furthermore, a parallel inductance-capacitance network at drain is drawn to further suppress the noise, and a very low noise level is achieved. The proposed LNA is implemented by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company 0.18-μm CMOS technology. Measured results show that the noise figure is 2.5-4.7 dB from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz, which may be the best result among previous reports in the 0.18-μm CMOS 3.1- to 10.6-GHz ultrawideband LNA. The power gain is 10.9-13.9 dB from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz. The input return loss is below -9.4 dB from 3.1 to 15 GHz. It consumes 14.4 mW from a 1.4-V supply voltage and occupies an area of only 0.46 mm2.


To serve the intricate and varied demands of image editing, precise and flexible manipulation of image content is indispensable. Recently, DragGAN has achieved impressive editing results through point-based manipulation. However, we have observed that DragGAN struggles with miss tracking, where DragGAN encounters difficulty in effectively tracking the desired handle points, and ambiguous tracking, where the tracked points are situated within other regions that bear resemblance to the handle points. To deal with the above issues, we propose FreeDrag, which adopts a feature-oriented approach to free the burden on point tracking within the point-oriented methodology of DragGAN. The FreeDrag incorporates adaptive template features, line search, and fuzzy localization techniques to perform stable and efficient point-based image editing. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our method is superior to the DragGAN and enables stable point-based editing in challenging scenarios with similar structures, fine details, or under multi-point targets.


Gassiep and coauthors have made several key observations regarding associations between laboratory investigations and mortality in bacteremic melioidosis cases. Though there is significant decline in the mortality rates of bacteremic melioidosis cases across various endemic areas attributed to increased awareness, with early diagnosis and optimal management the mortality of bacteremic melioidosis still remains as high as 66%. As pointed out rightly by the authors, there is limited information available regarding the association of various laboratory parameters at presentation with melioidosis severity and mortality. In recent years, we have witnessed efforts to examine the clinical characteristics of patients with bacteremia caused by specific pathogens. In this context, we elaborate on the role of laboratory-based investigations in distinguishing septicemic melioidosis cases from other causes of septicemia, in addition to their role as prognostic indicators in melioidosis. In a prospective study at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha State, from July 2018 to March 2020, we identified 33 culture-confirmed cases of melioidosis among a total of 196 patients presenting with community acquired sepsis and/or pneumonia. We compared laboratory parameters between these 33 culture confirmed melioidosis cases and 163 nonmelioidosis cases presenting with community acquired sepsis and/or pneumonia. Median hemoglobin level (9.5 g/dL [interquartile range (IQR) 4.3–12]) and platelet count (219310/mm, (IQR [19–646]) of melioidosis cases were significantly lower compared with those of the nonmelioidosis cases (10.9 g/dL [IQR 2.4–16.3]), P50.001 and 309310/mm, ([IQR 50– 856], P50.003). On admission median Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score (4 versus 3, P50.009) and median quick SOFA (qSOFA) score (2 versus 1, P , 0.001) was higher in melioidosis cases compared with nonmelioidosis cases. Out of 33 confirmed melioidosis cases, 7 died (7/33, 21%). Various hematological and biochemical test results and risk factors were compared between the survivors and nonsurvivors; on bivariate analysis, there was no significant association between specific laboratory parameters or risk factors (diabetes mellitus, alcoholism, chronic kidney disease, malignancy, or bacteremia) and mortality. In our study, higher SOFA or qSOFA and lower median hemoglobin level and platelet count at admission were predictive of melioidosis among patients presenting with community acquired sepsis. In another recent study, median modified SOFA score was higher in patients presenting with Burkholderia pseudomallei bacteremia compared with that with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. In our study of a small cohort of 33 culture-confirmed melioidosis cases, we did not find association between specific hematological or biochemical test results or tested risk factors and mortality. Detailed analysis of baseline laboratory parameters stratified by pathogen group should be attempted in large-scale studies to improve the selection of empiric antimicrobial therapy and predict patient outcomes.


Recent developments in the technology of weaponry have brought about a reconsideration of the "geopolitical" importance of Canadian northern spaces to the physical-security interests of the two superpowers, and especially of the United States. Those technological developments have been apparent in three areas : ballistic missile defence (BMD), nuclear-propelled (and sometimes-armed) submarines, and air-launched cruise missiles (ALCM). Both the BMD and nuclear-submarine issues have generated much debate of late in Canada ; considerably less attention has been accorded the analysis of developments in the domain of the ALCM. It is with this latter weapon-system and in particular with the manner in which Washington regards Soviet ALCMs, that this article is concerned. Argued here is the view that the perceived Soviet ALCM threat has been of major importance in the recent modernization of North American air-defence Systems. In addition to discussing the development and consequences of Soviet ALCMs, this article also explores the extent to which technological transformations in weapons-systems might also have the effect of achieving conceptual transformations in strategic analysis. A major sub-theme of the article is the contention that technological variables have been occasioning a reconsideration of the manner in which theorists of international relations and strategic studies have been assessing the relationship between geographical configuration and the perceived strategic significance of states. The article observes that the once-moribund field of "geopolitics" has been undergoing a modest revival among theorists, in part because of changes in those weapons technologies in discusses.


Nahanni Range Road in Yukon starts at km108 of the Robert Campbell Highway and leads towards Northwest Territory. Heavy rains, snow melt and the spring freshet in June 2012 wiped out culverts at three locations on Nahanni Range Road. More than 100 miners, mill workers and exploration companies were out of work due to the wash outs and a major mining company shut down operations as this was the only road link to that part of the country. The rehabilitation of the road including the river crossings became a priority. The tender package was prepared and advertised within 48 hours in response to the emergency situation. There were some unknown conditions since the road was not accessible and as a result extra work was also anticipated during construction. Many design decisions had to be made on site during construction. Contractors were informed about the upcoming tender with short closing date and as a result six companies participated in the tender. Contract was awarded to the lowest bidder. Three modular oil field type bridges were purchased from Northern Mat & Bridge Ltd to replace three washed out culvert locations. Three bridges were installed on temporary structures in about a week, and the road was opened to the public. All bridges were reinstalled on permanent structures during the next two months and have 50 years expected service life. This paper describes the project objectives, award process and details that revealed to be a cost-effective solution for Yukon Territory. For the covering abstract of this conference see ITRD record number 201310RT334E.


Wind turbines within an array do not experience free-stream undisturbed flow fields. Rather, the flow fields on internal turbines are influenced by wakes generated by upwind unit and exhibit different dynamic characteristics relative to the free stream. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard 61400-1 for the design of wind turbines only considers a deterministic wake model for the design of a wind plant. This study is focused on the development of a stochastic model for waked wind fields. First, high-fidelity physics-based waked wind velocity fields are generated using Large-Eddy Simulation (LES). Stochastic characteristics of these LES waked wind velocity field, including mean and turbulence components, are analyzed. Wake-related mean and turbulence field-related parameters are then estimated for use with a stochastic model, using Multivariate Multiple Linear Regression (MMLR) with the LES data. To validate the simulated wind fields based on the stochastic model, wind turbine tower and blade loads are generated using aeroelastic simulation for utility-scale wind turbine models and compared with those based directly on the LES inflow. The study's overall objective is to offer efficient and validated stochastic approaches that are computationally tractable for assessing the performance and loads of turbines operating in wakes.


Cell-cell communication and physical interactions play a vital role in cancer initiation, homeostasis, progression, and immune response. Here, we report a system that combines live capture of different cell types, co-incubation, time-lapse imaging, and gene expression profiling of doublets using a microfluidic integrated fluidic circuit (IFC) that enables measurement of physical distances between cells and the associated transcriptional profiles due to cell-cell interactions. The temporal variations in natural killer (NK) - triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell distances were tracked and compared with terminally profiled cellular transcriptomes. The results showed the time-bound activities of regulatory modules and alluded to the existence of transcriptional memory. Our experimental and bioinformatic approaches serve as a proof of concept for interrogating live cell interactions at doublet resolution, which can be applied across different cancers and cell types.


The paper by Drs S.G. Graham and M.C. Luxton (Anaesthesia 1989; 44: 581-5) prompted us to investigate the figures for a nonteaching hospital obstetric unit. We have a 50-bedded obstetric unit located 220 metres from the main hospital; the latter contains a six-bedded intensive care unit (ICU). All critically ill obstetric patients and a variable number of high dependency patients are admitted to the ICU. We analysed all those patients who required admission to the ICU between 1 January 1985 and 31 December 1989 using the same criteria as Graham and Luxton. There were 9425 deliveries; of which 13 were admitted to the ICU. Haemorrhage was the most common cause for admission (30.8%); three postpartum and one antepartum. Anaesthesia accounted for 23% (n = 3); there were two cases of aspiration and one suxamethonism apnoea confirmed by laboratory tests. Asthma was precipitated during anaesthesia in three cases (23%). Two cases of severe pre-eclampsia (15.4%) and a case of supraventricular tachycardia at Caesarean section (7.7%) completed the list. There were no deaths during the period of the survey. Seven of the 13 patients (53.9%) remained on the ICU for less than 48 hours; the mean duration of stay was 3.5 days. Six patients required ventilatory support. The mean duration of mechanical ventilation was 2 days. Six (46.2%) had indwelling intra-arterial cannulae; five (38.5%) had central lines with no pulmonary artery catheters used. Inotropic support was never used, but in the last 2 years, all critically ill patients were given prophylactic renal dose infusions of dopamine. Seven of the 13 patients (53.8%) had no coagulopathy. However three (23.1%) needed more than four units of blood. The first was a known case of Von Willebrand's disease; the second needed 18 units of blood to keep up with the severe haemolysis as a result of the HELLP syndrome (Haemolysis Elevated Liver and Low Platelets).' The third case was a PPH at 34 weeks after vaginal delivery of a dead fetus. She developed disseminated intravascular coagulation initially, followed by a severe pulmonary embolus 3 days later. Hypertensive diseases in pregnancy accounted for two cases; one, a severe pre-eclampsia superimposed on essential hypertension, and the other the case of HELLP. Control of hypertension proved difficult in both; both we& discharged on oral antihypertensives and at subsequent post-natal checks remained normotensive. Our retrospective study did not reveal any cases of adult respiratory distress syndrome. However, there were three cases of asthma precipitated at the time of induction of general anaesthesia for emergency section. One of these was a 17-year-old primigravida whose previous asthma history had not been elicited. She was also a heavy smoker. She developed status asthmaticus at induction, received controlled ventilation of the lungs for 9 days in ICU and made slow recovery. She subsequently gave up smoking. Nine of the 13 patients (69.2%) made full recovery, four (30.8%) had some degree of slight or moderate disability. The true figures for the life-threatening complications are difficult to establish, it is even more difficult to ascertain the near misses. Our data reveal that there were 1.38 admissions per 1000 deliveries. However, if there was a distinction made between high dependency and intensive care patients (the latter needed ventilation and (or) intensive monitoring) then only nine were ICU cases. This gives a 'corrected' figure of 0.96 admissions per 1000 deliveries; compared to Graham and Luxton's figures of 1 per lOOO!


We report the observation of large electronic g-factors in magic number main group bimetallic nanoclusters by performing Stern-Gerlach deflection experiments at 10 K. The clusters AlPb12 and InPb12 exhibit values of g = 3.5-4.0, whereas GaPb12 clusters surprisingly reveal a value of g < 2.0. Multireference ab initio methods are applied to unmask the origin of the g-factors and to gain insight into the electronic structure. The interplay of the pyritohedral molecular symmetry, a particularly strong spin-orbit coupling involved in the ground state, and the presence of low-lying degenerate excited states causes large positive g-factors in AlPb12 and InPb12. Contrarily, the spin-orbit coupling in the GaPb12 ground state is completely quenched. This is due to the d-block contraction lowering the nonbonding Ga 5s orbital and consequently forming an icosahedral ground state. Thus, endohedral p-doped tetrel clusters, composed of purely main group elements, state a novel and unique class of magnetic compounds and their study contributes to a more profound understanding of the metal-metal interaction in polynuclear clusters as well as magnetism at the molecular level.


Structure and immune adjuvant propertieS of cpG-dna abstract. Bacterial DNA, along with other bacterial pathogen-associated molecular structures, may activate both innate and adaptive immune systems. This activity is associated with by nonmethylated CpG dinucleotides, which are present in the bDNA molecule, and it may be simulated by synthetic CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs). Non-methylated CpG motifs are recognized by Toll-like receptor 9 that triggers the induction of cell signaling pathways, activating proinflammatory cytokine synthesis by immune competent cells, and triggering the immune protection mechanisms. In present review we consider structure, functions, adjuvant features, immune properties and potential clinical applications of bacterial DNA and various classes of synthetic non- methylated CpG-ODNs. (Med. Immunol., vol. 12, N 6, pp 469-476)


The purpose of this study was to investigate the transformation and apoptosis of NIH/3T3 cells treated with nickel (Ni) smelting fumes. Cytotoxicity of NIH/3T3 cells was detected with a methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) colorimetric assay. The cell translation model was established by cell focus translation using two types of Ni-smelting fumes from a Ni smelting plant in China. The transformed focus was determined by soft agar culture assay. The apoptotic characteristics of NIH/3T3 cells treated with Ni-smelting fumes were detected by flow cytometry using Annexin V-FITC and PI as markers. The DNA fragment of apoptosis in NIH/3T3 cells treated with nickel smelting fumes was detected by observing agarose electrophoresis and morphological characteristics of cells under electron microscopy. With increase in exposure time, growth of NIH/3T3 cells was inhibited. The NIH/3T3 cell transformation model was established successfully using two Ni-smelting fumes, and the transformed cells grow in soft agar. No apoptosis peak was detected by flow cytometry. Apoptotic cells characterized by necrosis were observed using electron microscopy. There was no apparent "ladder" observed by DNA fragment analysis. Data indicated that Ni-smelting fumes produced cytotoxicity by mechanisms associated with necrosis but not apoptosis.


Application of English textbooks for Integrated Language Skills (ILS) development of bi-lingual students remains a challenge for English language teachers through integrated classroom activities in Pakistan. This research measured the opinion of the English teachers of private schools of District Central Karachi about the application of English textbook to develop ILS of bi-lingual students through integrated classroom activities. Literature reported that locally designed English textbooks in Pakistan proved insufficient related to interactive classroom activities for students and as a pedagogical resource for the teachers. A survey was designed bearing 45 items related to 6 variables from diversified dimensions of the research objectives. Five hundred questionnaires were received and fed in SPSS for data analysis and treatment. The findings proved that the current classroom activities based on prescribed English textbooks were not supportive to develop ILS of bi-lingual students. A significant difference in the opinion of male and female was found about application of English textbooks related to classroom activities, experiential learning, reflective thinking skills, teachers' perception and affective factors in second language acquisition process. Regression model predicted that Second language acquisition was based on classroom activities, experiential learning and teachers' perception about the application of English textbook. This study recommends that reading skill must be emphasized more in English textbooks with speaking, writing and listening skills for ILS development of bi-lingual students.


Background and aims: Sexual satisfaction (SS) and a desirable quality of sex life are known as prerequisites for the physical and mental health of individuals. This study was designed to evaluate the role of the first childbirth and its associated factors in life satisfaction and the quality of life of married women in Shahrekord. Methods: This self-control cohort study was conducted on 124 married women who were planning to have their first pregnancy from January 2018 to February 2019. The convenience sampling method was used to select the samples. The questionnaires utilized in this research included the Demographic Information Questionnaire, the Married Women's Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire, and the Sexual Quality of Life-Female Questionnaire. The data were analyzed by independent t test, chi-square, and Pearson correlation coefficient using SPSS, version 22. Results: The mean scores of SS and the quality of sexual life before pregnancy and one year after delivery were 63.45±13.62 and 52.38±13.59, as well as, 88.40±14.19 and 71.08±13.29, respectively. In this study, there was a significant relationship (P±0.041) between changing the quality of sexual life and good economic status of individuals, as well as irregular menstrual status and contraceptive methods (natural birth control). Further, the relationship between residence and change in SS was significant so that people living in cities had the most change in SS compared to those living in rural areas (P±0.046). Conclusion: SS and its dimensions, including physical and psychological barriers, dominant cultural values, and husband-related factors, as well as the mean score of the quality of sex life one year after delivery, were lower than before pregnancy.


Hoan T. T., Kien, T. T. & Hien, T. Q. (2022). Determination of suitable cutting height for green fodder Trichanthera gigantea grown for animal feed. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 28 (3) , 516–520 An experiment in order to determine the suitable cutting height of Trichanthera gigantea was carried out at Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, Viet Nam during 2019 – 2020. The experiment consisted of 4 different treatments (NT) respectively to 4 different cutting heights at the first harvesting that were NT1: 30 cm; NT2: 45cm; NT3: 60 cm and NT4: 75 cm measured from ground level. Each treatment was carried out in an area of 23.4 m 2 with 5 replicates; the design was in randomize block. The other factors such as density, fertilizer, and cutting intervals ... were similar among treatments. Results showed that dry matter and crude protein yields were higher in treatments with higher cutting levels; dry matter yield of NT1, NT2, NT3 and NT4 was 7604, 10 972, 12 914 and 12 927 kg/ ha/ year, respectively. That of crude protein was 1959; 2826; 3327 and 3330 kg/ ha/ year respectively. Based on dry matter and crude protein yields and statistical analysis data, it was con cluded that for the first harvesting, the cutting height should be 60 cm.


Methods for the group identification of hydrocarbons of the following classes have been examined: paraffins, olefins, conjugated dienes, acetylenes, naphthenes, and aromatic hydrocarbons. Methods of consecutive group analysis of complex industrial mixtures have been specially considered. The bibliography includes 118 references.


Background: Bacterial multidrug resistance (MDR) is particularly common in Gram-negative bacilli (GNB), with important clinical consequences regarding their spread and treatment options. The prevalence of drug-resistant cases is increasing globally. MDR has become a major problem for the treatment of bacterial infections and is becoming greatest challenge to public health. Quantification of the prevalence and the common antimicrobial coresistance patterns of MDR GNB (MDRGNB) isolates would have important implications for patient care.

Aim and Objective: The aim of this study was to know the prevalence of multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacteria.

Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was done from January 2021 to December 2021 at the Department of Microbiology, GMERS Medical College and Hospital, sola, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Species identification was done by bacterial growth and standard biochemical reaction. Drug susceptibility testing of isolates was done by Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method following Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. MDR was defined as acquired resistance to at least one agent in three or more antimicrobial categories. Stool samples were not included in this study.

Results: The 1-year records of a total of pathogens were studied. The highest number of pathogens were isolated from blood cultures (19%), followed by wound swabs (19%) then urine (10.3%) then sputum and pleural fluid (8.5%). The most frequently isolated pathogens were Klebsiella spp. (32.8%), Escherichia coli (28.8%), Acinetobactor spp. (20.8%), and Pseudomonas spp. (9.6%). Gram-negative isolates exhibited high overall resistance to all used antibiotic classes. All isolates showed 100% susceptibility to colistin.

Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the most common MDR-GNB isolate is Klebsiella Pneumonii in intensive care units department in blood, pus, and sputum sample. The study findings will be part of a strict antibiotic stewardship (AMS) program and also indicate that AMS should begin at primary and secondary health-care centers to prevent antimicrobial resistance.


AIMS
We sought to compare the effect of intracoronary beta-radiation on the vessel dimensions in de novo lesions using three-dimensional intravascular ultrasound quantification after balloon angioplasty and stenting.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Forty patients (44 vessels; 28 balloon angioplasty and 16 stenting) treated with catheter-based beta-radiation and 18 non-irradiated control patients (18 vessels; 10 balloon angioplasty and 8 stenting) were investigated by means of three-dimensional volumetric intravascular ultrasound analysis post-procedure and at 6-8 months follow-up. Total vessel (EEM) volume enlarged after both balloon angioplasty and stenting (+37 mm(3) vs +42 mm(3), P=ns), but vessel wall volume (plaque plus media) also increased similarly (+33 mm(3) vs +49 mm(3), P=ns) in the irradiated patients. Lumen volume remained unchanged in both groups (+3 mm(3) vs -7 mm(3), P=ns). In the stent-covered segments, neointima at follow-up was significantly smaller in the irradiated group than the control group (8 mm(3) vs 27 mm(3), P=0.001, respectively), but the total amount of tissue growth was similar in both groups (33 mm(3) vs 29 mm(3), P=ns).

CONCLUSIONS
Intracoronary beta-radiation induces vessel enlargement after balloon angioplasty and/or stenting, accommodating tissue growth. Additional stenting may not play an important role in the prevention of constrictive remodelling in the setting of catheter-based intracoronary beta-radiotherapy.


Articulatory distinctive features, as well as phonetic transcription, play important role in speech-related tasks: computer-assisted pronunciation training, text-to-speech conversion (TTS), studying speech production mechanisms, speech recognition for low-resourced languages. End-to-end approaches to speech-related tasks got a lot of traction in recent years. We apply Listen, Attend and Spell~(LAS)~\cite{Chan-LAS2016} architecture to phones recognition on a small small training set, like TIMIT~\cite{TIMIT-1992}. Also, we introduce a novel decoding technique that allows to train manners and places of articulation detectors end-to-end using attention models. We also explore joint phones recognition and articulatory features detection in multitask learning setting.


It is well known that three quarters of the world contain saline water. The saline water contains amounts of salt dissolved in water to a concentration of parts in per millions (ppm) includes sodium chloride, Sodium sulfate and magnesium sulfate. Compaction of Base coarse layer is usually done by water which is considered tap water. Cites near shores often need coastal roads to act as service roads parallel to shore lines. For this matter, the use of saline water in compaction is considered a main objective in this situation due to the decrease in transportation cost of Tap water used in hauling and compaction of base coarse layer. This research studies the effect of saline water on the mechanical properties of the unbounded granular material used in base coarse layer. The study compares the results between the use of saline water and standard tap water by subjecting both samples to different lab tests such as California baring ratio (CBR) and modified proctor. The results showed that saline water could be used successfully in the operation of constructing base coarse layer with good results concerning the amount of absorbed water content and maximum dry density of the base coarse layer which will result in good compaction. In addition, the CBR test results showed high evaluation of strength for samples contained saline water. The study used Dolomite material for base coarse layer from Jabal Ataqa as one of the most used aggregate types in Egypt through construction.


We report on the behaviour of a low-noise two-stage SQUID amplifier, which is strongly coupled to high-Q electrical resonators operating at audio frequencies. The behaviour of the system has been made stable, without adding noise, by means of a damping network. Thanks to the very high quality factor of the resonator, it is possible to evaluate the back action noise of the SQUID amplifier. The additive noise is evaluated as usual by measuring the open input noise. From measurements of back action and additive noises, performed in the temperature range 1.33 K–4.17 K and at 1.67 kHz and 11 kHz, the approximate noise temperature T'n of the SQUID amplifier is evaluated and its minimum value corresponds to 120 quanta. Besides providing a full noise characterization of the SQUID amplifier, this system constitutes a simulator of a cryogenic resonant gravitational wave detector as regards operation frequency, quality factors and stability problem. On the basis of these results the operation of a resonant gravitational wave detector with an amplifier with energy sensitivity better than 100 seems achievable.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the correlation between susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) manifestation and serum cystatin C level for delayed graft function (DGF).

METHODS
The conventional MRI, SWI and serum cystatin C of 27 cases with DGF in nephrotransplantation center in Third Affiliated Hospital of Suzhou University from September 2014 and August 2015 were retrospectively analyzed.By contrasting conventional MRI images of transplanted kidney in DGF, the imaging manifestations of benign tumors such as cysts and angiomyolipomas were excluded on SWI images, and then making the renal cortex as the reference, if the abnormal signal lesions were found in the transplanted kidney, the location and signal intensity would be analyzed. The differences in serum cystatin C level between DGF groups without and with abnormal signal lesions were compared by using independent-sample t-test.The correlation between SWI manifestation and serum cystatin C level for DGF was assessed with Spearman rank correlation analysis.

RESULTS
A total of 15 cases were found without abnormal signal lesions and the average value of their serum cystatin C level was (2.92±0.44) mg/L.A total of 12 cases were found with abnormal low signal lesions located at junctional zone between cortex and medulla, and the average value of their serum cystatin C level was (6.91±0.96) mg/L. The differences in serum cystatin C level between the two DGF groups were statistically significant (t=-4.040, P=0.000). There was a positive correlation between the abnormal low signal lesions on SWI and serum cystatin C level (r=0.660, P=0.000).

CONCLUSION
The status of renal function impairment could be reflected by being with or without abnormal signal lesions on SWI. A relatively big renal function impairment may be predicted by the appearance of abnormal low signal lesions at junctional zone between cortex and medulla on SWI.


The 5-HT syndrome in rats is composed of head weaving, body shaking, forepaw treading, flat body posture, hindlimb abduction, and Straub tail. The importance of the brainstem and spinal cord for the syndrome is underlined by findings of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT)-induced denervation supersensitivity in response to 5-HT-stimulant drugs. For head weaving and Straub tail, supersensitivity occurred when the neurotoxin was injected into the cisterna magna or spinal cord, for forepaw treading in cisterna magna, and for hindlimb abduction in the spinal cord. Although 5,7-DHT-related body shaking increased in the spinal cord, the sign decreased when injected into the striatum, indicating the modulatory influence of the basal ganglia. Further details on body shaking are provided by its reduced response to harmaline after 5-HT depletion caused by intraventricular 5,7-DHT, electrolytic lesions of the medial or dorsal raphe, and lesions of the inferior olive caused by systemic injection of 3-acetylpyridine along with those found in Agtpbp1pcd or nr cerebellar mouse mutants. Yet the influence of the climbing fiber pathway on other signs of the 5-HT syndrome remains to be determined.


Aim: Many cohort studies have shown that increased trans fatty acid (TFA) intake increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease. However, whether TFA intake is directly associated with the development of diabetes mellitus (DM) remains unknown. Methods: We performed the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test in two Japanese cohorts: a cohort of 454 native Japanese living in Hiroshima, Japan, and a cohort of 426 Japanese-Americans living in Los Angeles, USA, who shared identical genetic predispositions but had different lifestyles. Serum elaidic acid concentration was measured and compared, and its association with insulin resistance was assessed. Results: Serum elaidic acid concentrations were significantly higher in the Japanese-Americans (median, 18.2 µmol/L) than in the native Japanese (median, 11.0 µmol/L). The serum elaidic acid concentrations in the native Japanese DM group (16.0 µmol/L) were significantly higher compared with those in the normal glucose tolerance (10.8 µmol/L) and impaired glucose tolerance (11.7 µmol/L) groups. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that serum elaidic acid concentrations were significantly positively associated with homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values after adjusting for various factors. Conclusions: These results suggest that excessive TFA intake worsens insulin resistance and increases the risk of developing DM even in the native Japanese, whose intakes of animal fat and simple carbohydrates were presumed to be lower than those of the Japanese-Americans.


What Is Recombinant DNA Technology RDT or Generic Engineering is a process of manipulation of genes to produce an altered organism. The generic material of one organism is introduced into the genome of another organism. Mistake in the sequencing of genes can produce generic defects, it also arises due to errors in DNA replication often leading to genetic drift. ADA deficiency It is a kind of genetic disorder which is caused by the mutation in Adenosine Deaminase enzyme. It causes accumulation of metabolic substances thus affecting the immune system causing Severe Combined Deficiency (SCID). SCID arises from a variety of molecular defects including defects in Y chain, various signaling molecules like JAK-3 and IL-7 receptor. Absence of ADA results in accumulation of deoxydenosine in the intracellular compartments. Gene Therapy This technique involved introduction of altered drugs to treat an infection. The DNA is administered and it reaches the damaged cell and disrupts the protein. The mutated gene that causes the disease is replaced with a healthy gene. It is said to be one of the promising techniques to treat infections. Gene Therapy approach to treat ADA 1. Use of Retroviral VectorsSuch vectors were made from a retrovirus and were created by replacing harmful retroviral genes with normal ADA genes. These vectors were mixed with T cells which were extracted from a person's blood and grown in culture dishes. Then the retroviral vectors entered the T cells and implanted the normal ADA gene into T cell chromosome. 2. Q PCR determination of vector copy number-Q PCR was performed with primers and probe to amplify MND-ADA vector. The TAMRA probe was used to detect MND-ADA and GCsapM-ADA vector. All reactions were performed on 7900 sequence detector system. A lot of research work is going to develop permanent cure for ADA deficiency. Early diagnosis and treatment of active infection to treat SCID is essential. Unlike T cells which live for a few months, stem cells live throughout the patient hence they need lifetime supply of ADA. Citation: Padhi, A. Applications of Recombinant DNA Technology in treating ADA deficiency [Abstract]. In: Abstracts of the NGBT conference; Oct 02-04, 2017; Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India: Can J biotech, Volume 1, Special Issue, Page 176. https://doi.org/10.24870/cjb.2017a162


Authentication in the Open Grid Protocol establishes an application
layer association between a client application and a remote service
responsible for managing the end user's identity. The objective of
authentication is to verify the user of a client application possesses
appropriate credentials before granting capabilities sufficient to
assert control over the user's agent and digital assets.


Malignant transformation is frequently accompanied by obvious changes in cytoarchitecture, but the importance of these changes has been difficult to assess in view of the large number of other cellular changes that also occur. In this study, we transfected the SV40-immortalized human bronchial epithelial cell line, BEAS-2B, with human wild-type beta or gamma actin gene expression plasmids to induce cytoskeletal changes and to determine whether this was associated with altered cellular growth properties. Cells expressing the exogenous full-length actin genes underwent a fibroblastoid change in morphology which was reflected in changes in their pattern of actin cable organization, and acquired both the ability to grow under anchorage-independent conditions and resistance to the normal growth inhibitory effects of fetal bovine serum. These phenotypic changes correlated with changes in actin mRNA levels, but not with changes in actin protein levels. The phenotypically altered cells were not tumorigenic when injected subcutaneously in athymic nude mice, and they retained the ability to suppress the tumorigenic potential of a lung carcinoma cell line, HuT-292. Therefore, alteration of the cytoskeleton of immortalized human bronchial epithelial cells resulted in the acquisition of some properties commonly found in malignant cells, but did not result in tumorigenicity.


Summary Polyphenols are chemicals found in tobacco that are affected by the method used to cure the leaf and, as a result, can be useful in the characterization of tobacco products. The purpose of this work was to develop an analytical method to investigate the levels of six polyphenols found in tobacco leaves and tobacco products: 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid (chlorogenic acid), 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid (cryptochlorogenic acid), 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid (neochlorogenic acid), kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside (nicotiflorin), quercetin 3-O-rutinoside (rutin), and 6-methoxy-7-hydroxycoumarin (scopoletin). Extraction conditions for sample preparation using PLE and instrument conditions for analysis by UPLC-MS/MS were optimized and validated. Results from the analysis of 30 cured tobacco leaves are presented and discussed in the context of each curing method represented. Results from the analysis of various tobacco products are also presented and trends observed across product types are discussed in the context of the applicability of the validated method. Total polyphenol levels for flue-cured, Oriental, and air-cured leaves were determined to be in the ranges of 18–41 mg/g, 5–27 mg/g, and 0.5–3 mg/g respectively. Similarly, cigarette polyphenol levels were found in the range of 4–16 mg/g and cigar polyphenol levels were less than 1.5 mg/g. The trends observed in the results for the tobacco leaf samples are consistent with expectations regarding the fate of polyphenols under the conditions commonly used in curing procedures. The results for the tobacco products demonstrate that the validated method can be used to study polyphenol content in cigarettes and a variety of cigar types including pipe tobacco cigars.


We show that there exists a T-duality symmetry between two-dimensional warp drives and two dimensional Tolman-Hawking and Gidding-Strominger baby universes respectively correlated in pairs, so that the creation of warp drives is also equivalent to spacetime squeezing. It has been also seen that the nucleation of warp drives entails a violation of the Bell's inequalities. These results are generalized to the case of any dynamically accelerating universe whose creation is also physically equivalent to spacetime squeezing and to the violation of the Bell's inequalities, so that the universe we are living in should be governed by essential sharp quantum theory laws and must be a quantum entangled system.


The innumerable pathologists who have known Ed Gall as a goldenpenned semasiologist for many years eagerly have awaited this Gall and Brunson pathology textbook. With the renowned ability of these two gentlemen, anything less than a literary and scientific masterpiece would have been most surprising. No surprise! These authors have put together a glittering cast of 38 contributors who collaborate individually or in pairs on 28 incisive and authoritative chapters. The humble reviewer is inclined to write no more, musing that "when the nightingale has sung, all the sparrows lie silent." The traditional orientation of pathology textbook chapters into "general pathology" and "organ systems" is largely ignored. Instead, there is a deliberate interweaving of general, experimental, and systemic pathology resulting in a happy blend of understandable interrelated phenomena in most areas. Alas. This principal strength of the book is at once its principal weakness. The disadvantage of this approach is


Hopanoids are present in vast amounts as integral components of bacteria and plants with their primary function to strengthen rigidity of the plasma membrane. To establish their roles more precisely, we conducted sequencing of the whole genome of Rhodomicrobium udaipurense JA643T isolated from a fresh water stream of Udaipur in Himachal Pradesh, India, by using the Illumina HiSeq pair end chemistry of 2 × 100 bp platform. Determined genome showed a high degree of similarity to the genome of R. vannielii ATCC17100T and the 13.7 million reads generated a sequence of 3,649,277 bp possessing 3,611 putative genes. The genomic data were subsequently investigated with respect to genes involved in various features. The machinery required for the degradation of aromatic compounds and resistance to solvents as well as all that required for photosynthesis are present in this organism. Also, through extensive functional annotation, 18 genes involved in the biosynthesis of hopanoids are predicted, namely those responsible for the synthesis of diploptene, diplopterol, adenosylhopane, ribosylhopane, aminobacteriohopanetriol, glycosyl group containing hopanoids and unsaturated hopanoids. The hopanoid biosynthetic pathway was then inferred based on the genes identified and through experimental validation of individual hopanoid molecules. The genome data of R. udaipurense JA643T will be useful in understanding the functional features of hopanoids in this bacterium.


A study of the abundance, size, distribution and composition of platinum-group minerals in samples from a section of the
Merensky Reef at Impala Platinum, on the farm Reinkoyalskraal, in the western Bushveld Complex, South Africa, has shown that
melanorite, leuconorite and anorthosite contain a PGM assemblage that consists almost exclusively of Pt and Pd
bismuthotellurides, predominantly moncheite and merenskyite. In the chromite-rich lithologies, this assemblage of Pt–Pd–Bi
telluride PGM is joined by a Pt–Pd–Rh sulfide PGM assemblage of cooperite, braggite and an unnamed Cu–Pt–Rh sulfide, with
laurite and rare Sn-bearing PGM. This additional assemblage tends to be Pd-poor. The PGM are rarely enclosed by chromite. All
the PGM are predominantly associated with base-metal sulfides, either as euhedral PGM or laths forming an exsolution texture
within the base-metal sulfides. Rhodium, present as the unnamed Cu–Pt–Rh sulfide, is associated with pyrrhotite and pentlandite.
Throughout this section of the reef, the PGM are commonly located at the edge of base-metal sulfides adjacent to serpentine,
chlorite and amphibole that form on the edges of silicate grains. In the chromite-poor samples, Pt–Pd–Bi tellurides and their
associated base-metal sulfides are located commonly within silicates, including plagioclase and quartz. The chromite-bearing
rocks in this section of the Merensky Reef are enriched in Os, Ir, Ru, Rh and Pt. We test three models for the formation of the
PGM: coprecipitation of PGM and chromite, crystallization of PGM from a sulfide liquid, and redistribution of PGE and base
metals by hydrous intercumulus fluid. The strong association of PGM with base-metal sulfides suggests that the PGE were
collected by an immiscible base-metal sulfide liquid. This liquid crystallized as Mss, with Rh being concentrated in the Mss, and
then as Iss. These exsolved to pyrrhotite, pentlandite and chalcopyite and PGM. In the chromite-rich layer, we note a lack of
minerals containing Pd in the PGM assemblage. No one model satisfactorily explains the PGM distribution. Rather, the PGM
observed are likely to result from late, low-temperature processes superimposed on the magmatic ones.


OBJECTIVE
Existing evidence on the relationship between religious involvement and health indicates that organizational religious involvement, such as attendance at services, is associated with better health. Findings concerning other dimensions of religious involvement, such as prayer, are inconsistent and analyses often neglect the potential influence of other correlated dimensions.

DESIGN
Using cross-sectional data from 22 diverse European countries in the European Social Survey, including 18,129 men and 21,205 women, three dimensions of religious involvement (frequency of attendance at religious services; frequency of private prayer; self-assessment as a religious person) were studied.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Poor self-rated health (SRH).

RESULTS
When analyzed separately, less frequent attendance was associated with poor health in men and women. Associations were weaker with less frequent prayer and lower religiousness. In models with all dimensions together, the association with attendance was strengthened and prayer became significantly inversely associated with health.

CONCLUSIONS
The frequency of attendance at religious services and private prayer had opposite associations with self-rated health, resulting in negative confounding. These results are consistent with social contact being important in any health benefits from religious involvement and highlight the importance of using multidimensional measures.


The electrocardiogram (ECG) is the major diagnostic instrument for the analysis of cardiac electrophysiology; this is due to two simple reasons, first because it is not invasive and secondly because an ECG is a source of accurate information about the heart functionality. For these reasons, in the last years, the ECG has attracted the interest of many scientists, who have developed algorithms and models to investigate the cardiac disorders. The aim of this paper is to introduce a novel dynamic model to simulate pathologic ECGs. We discuss a generalization of a well known model for normal ECG signals generation and we show that it can be extended to simulate the effects on ECG of some cardiac diseases. We also represent the 3D vector trajectory of the cardiac cycle by reconstructing the heart dipole vector (HDV) from the Frank lead system. Finally, we propose to generate the complete 12-lead ECG system by the HDV projection. The results shows this a powerful tool for pathologic ECG generation, future research will be devoted to set up an extensive synthetic ECG database which could open the door to new theories about the genesis of the ECG as well as new models of heart functionality.


The lattice oxygen content (y ) is measured and the effective charge (n ) on Cu is calculated for the T´-type Gd1.85-x Prx Ce0.15 CuOy 0.0 x 1.85 compounds. It is found that the superconductive response (Tc onset) of the samples is related to n . Whenever n 1.87 (±0.01), the compounds are superconducting. The optimum Tc is seen for n ~1.79 which is in good agreement with the values of n (1.77 n 1.84) calculated from the reported y in different optimum Tc T´-cuprates. This brings out a universality in the interrelationship between n and Tc .


The extraction of the cardiac Purkinje system (PS) from intensity images is a critical step toward the development of realistic structural models of the heart. Such models are important for uncovering the mechanisms of cardiac disease and improving its treatment and prevention. Unfortunately, the manual extraction of the PS is a challenging and error-prone task due to the presence of image noise and numerous fiber junctions. To deal with these challenges, we propose a framework that estimates local fiber orientations with high accuracy and reconstructs the fibers via tracking. Our key contribution is the development of a descriptor for estimating the orientation distribution function (ODF), a spherical function encoding the local geometry of the fibers at a point of interest. The fiber/branch orientations are identified as the modes of the ODFs via spherical clustering and guide the extraction of the fiber centerlines. Experiments on synthetic data evaluate the sensitivity of our approach to image noise, width of the fiber, and choice of the mode detection strategy, and show its superior performance compared to those of the existing descriptors. Experiments on the free-running PS in an MR image also demonstrate the accuracy of our method in reconstructing such sparse fibrous structures.


We reported previously that NSC606985, a camptothecin analogue, induces apoptosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells through proteolytic activation of protein kinase Cdelta. Here, we analyzed protein expression profiles of fractionated nuclei, mitochondria, raw endoplasmic reticula, and cytosols of NSC606985-induced apoptotic AML cell line NB4 cells by two-dimensional electrophoresis combined with MALDI-TOF/TOF tandem mass spectrometry. In total, 90 unique deregulated proteins, including 16 compartment-compartment translocated ones, were identified. They contributed to multiple functional activities such as DNA damage repairing, chromosome assembly, mRNA processing, biosynthesis, modification, and degradation of proteins. More interestingly, several increased oxidative stress-related proteins mainly presented in mitochondria, while upregulated glycolysis proteins mainly occurred in the nuclei. With their functional analyses, the possible roles of these deregulated proteins in NSC606985-induced apoptosis were discussed. Collectively, these discoveries would shed new insights for systematically understanding the mechanisms of the camptothecin-induced apoptosis.


Malignant neoplasms of the thyroid are relatively infrequent tumors which present, like most pathological processes of this gland, as nodules. The commonest types are carcinomas, divided into papillary, follicular, medullary, insular and anaplastic carcinoma. Much less frequent are lymphomas and other non-epithelial malignancies. The fine-needle aspiration biopsy (F.N.A.B.) is the first choice method to investigate nodular thyroid lesions and to detect malignant tumors.


Plasma cathodes are insert free devices that are developed to be employed as electron sources in electric propulsion and ion source applications as practical alternatives to more commonly used hollow cathodes. Inductively coupled plasma cathodes, or Radio Frequency (RF) plasma cathodes, are introduced in recent years. Because of its compact geometry, and simple and efficient plasma generation, RF plasma source is considered to be suitable for plasma cathode applications. In this study, numerous RF plasma cathodes have been designed and manufactured. Experimental measurements have been conducted to study the effects of geometric and operational parameters. Experimental results of this study show that the plasma generation and electron extraction characteristics of the RF plasma cathode device strongly depend on the geometric parameters such as chamber diameter, chamber length, orifice diameter, orifice length, as well as the operational parameters such as RF power and gas mass flow rate.


The aim of the investigations was to evaluate the cariostatic effects of a modified toothpaste technique using fluoride (F) toothpaste. The modification consisted of an active mouthrinse with the toothpaste slurry and a sip of water for one minute after brushing. Toothpaste technique and salivary F concentration after toothbrushing were recorded in a caries active and a caries inactive group. The level of F in whole saliva, the concentration of F in plasma, the effect on demineralised enamel and dentine samples, and the accumulation of F in interdental plaque when using the modified toothpaste technique were studied. In a 3-year clinical trial, 4-year old children were trained in the toothpaste technique. The results showed that in the caries active group, the water rinsing was more thorough and more water was used compared to a caries inactive group. Rinsing with water and eating immediately after toothbrushing decreased the F level in whole saliva. Mouthrinsing with either a NaF solution or a slurry of toothpaste foam and water increased the F concentration in saliva compared to when a single or double water rinse was performed. The degree of F absorption in plasma, the accumulation of F in approximal plaque and the interdental clearance after toothbrushing were strongly related to the mode of water rinsing. The degree of demineralisation of enamel and dentine at approximal sites was also related to the mode of water rinsing. The clinical study showed that the cariostatic effect of the modified toothpaste technique resulted in 26% less approximal caries in the test group. It is concluded that a toothpaste technique where a slurry rinse was carried out after brushing increased the efficacy of F toothpaste.


Modeling single-atom reactivity Noble metals often perform best for demanding reactions such as oxygen reduction, an effect often explained by the position of their d-band. One way to minimize the cost of noble metals is to disperse them as single atoms. To model the reactivity of supported single atoms, Hulva et al. evaporated different transition metals such as nickel, silver, and iridium on an Fe3O4(001) support. Single atoms adsorbed in the same twofold site between underlying rows of surface iron atoms. In studies of CO adsorption as a proxy for reactivity, the d-band was strongly affected by the charge transfer to the support and CO-induced structural changes. These effects can weaken the adsorption energy compared with the expected values based on electronic structure alone. Science, this issue p. 375 Single metal atoms supported on iron oxides have chemical properties defined by their local coordination environment. Understanding how the local environment of a "single-atom" catalyst affects stability and reactivity remains a challenge. We present an in-depth study of copper1, silver1, gold1, nickel1, palladium1, platinum1, rhodium1, and iridium1 species on Fe3O4(001), a model support in which all metals occupy the same twofold-coordinated adsorption site upon deposition at room temperature. Surface science techniques revealed that CO adsorption strength at single metal sites differs from the respective metal surfaces and supported clusters. Charge transfer into the support modifies the d-states of the metal atom and the strength of the metal–CO bond. These effects could strengthen the bond (as for Ag1–CO) or weaken it (as for Ni1–CO), but CO-induced structural distortions reduce adsorption energies from those expected on the basis of electronic structure alone. The extent of the relaxations depends on the local geometry and could be predicted by analogy to coordination chemistry.


To date no metal-free stars have been identified by direct observations. The most common method of constraining their properties is searching the spectra of the most metal-poor stars for the chemical elements created in the first stars and their supernova (SN). In this approach, modelled SN yields are compared to the observed abundance patterns in extremely metal-poor stars. The method typically only uses the abundance ratios, i.e. the yields are diluted to the observed level. Following the usual assumption of spherical symmetry we compute a simple lower limit of the mass an SN can mix with and find that it is consistent with all published simulations of early chemical enrichment in the interstellar medium. For three different cases, we demonstrate that this dilution limit can change the conclusions from the abundance fitting. There is a large discrepancy between the dilution found in simulations of SN explosions in minihaloes and the dilution assumed in many abundance fits. Limiting the dilution can significantly alter the likelihood of which supernovae are possible progenitors of observed CEMP-no stars. In particular, some of the faint, very low yield SNe, which have been suggested as models for the abundance pattern of SMSS0313−6708, cannot explain the measured metal abundances, as their predicted metal yields are too small by two orders of magnitude. Altogether, the new dilution model presented here emphasizes the need to better understand the mixing and dilution behaviour of aspherical SNe.


Most recent self-supervised learning (SSL) algorithms learn features by contrasting between instances of images or by clustering the images and then contrasting between the image clusters. We introduce a simple mean-shift algorithm that learns representations by grouping images together without contrasting between them or adopting much of prior on the structure or number of the clusters. We simply "shift" the embedding of each image to be close to the "mean" of the neighbors of its augmentation. Since the closest neighbor is always another augmentation of the same image, our model will be identical to BYOL when using only one nearest neighbor instead of 5 used in our experiments. Our model achieves 72.4% on ImageNet linear evaluation with ResNet50 at 200 epochs outperforming BYOL. Also, our method outperforms the SOTA by a large margin when using weak augmentations only, facilitating adoption of SSL for other modalities. Our code is available here: https://github.com/UMBCvision/MSF


This paper proposes an effective harmony search (HS) based heuristics method for the no-wait flow-shop scheduling optimization. The purpose of this paper is to minimize the total flow time. Firstly, the basic HS optimization mechanism, FSSP is presented and the total flow time is calculated by a novel method. Secondly, a largest-order-value rule is used to transform harmony in harmony memory from real vectors to job sequence so that the harmony search can be applied for FSSP. Improvising rule of new harmony is expatiated and high effective algorithm parameters are set for optimization object. Thirdly, HS and Insert-and interchange-based neighbor search, is proposed to solve the FSSP. At last, simulations and comparisons demonstrate the efficiency, effectiveness and robustness of harmony search algorithm for no-wait FSSP.


Several recent approaches for robust speech recognition are developed based on the concept of stochastic vector mapping (SVM) that perform a frame-dependent bias removal to compensate for environmental variabilities in both training and recognition stages. Some of them require stereo recordings of both clean and noisy speech for the estimation of SVM function parameters. In this paper, we present a detailed formulation of a maximum likelihood training approach for the joint design of SVM function parameters and HMM parameters of a speech recognizer that does not rely on the availability of stereo training data. Its learning behavior and effectiveness is demonstrated by using the experimental results on the Aurora3 Finnish connected digits database recorded by using both close-talking and hands-free microphones in cars.


Fuzzy logic is a powerful theory to make a decision which is usually irresolute for one thing or another, making it difficult to reach a final agreement. So, fuzzy connectives have been extensively studied in computer science and widely used in practical applications such as decision-making pattern recognition also including medical diagnosis, clustering analysis and image processing [3]. Fuzzy implications and aggregation functions are mainly study in this work in order to obtain new representative members in the class of fuzzy QL-operators by analysing related mathematical properties. Thus, the aggregating fuzzy QL-subimplications are introduced. They are obtained by action of the OWA-operator performed over the family of the product triangular subnorms along with standard fuzzy negation and the probabilistic sum. As the main results, this family of QL-subimplications extend related QL-implications by preserving their corresponding properties. For that, let U be the unitary interval (U  [0, 1]). Consider the subconorm Si : U2  U , Si(x, y)  1  1i (1  x  y  xy) for i  1, the product t-norm T : U2  U , T (x, y)  xy and the standard fuzzy negation NS : U  U , NS(x)  1 x. An n-tuple of real numbers belonging to Un can be aggregate to a single real number on U by an aggregation function, which is a non-decreasing operator satisfying the following boundary conditions: A(0, 0, . . . , 0)  0 and A(1, 1, . . . , 1)  1. Let σ : Nn  Nn be a permutation function ordering the elements: xσ(1)  xσ(2)  . . .  xσ(n). Let w1, w2, . . . , wn be non negative weights (wi  0) such that their sum equals one ( n i0wi  1). For all x  Un, the n-ary aggregation function A : Un  U called OWA-operator is given as: A(x) n i0 wixσ(i). (1) According with [4, 5], a function I : U2  U is a fuzzy subimplication if it satisfies the boundary conditions I(1, 1)  I(0, 1)  I(0, 0)  1 together with the left antitonicity and right isotonicity. When a subimplication also verifies I(1, 0)  0, it is called a fuzzy implication [1]. Additionally, QL-(sub)implication is a fuzzy (sub)implication defined, for all x, y  U by the following expression: IS,N,T (x, y)  S(N(x), T (x, y)), (2) when T (S) is a t-(co)norm and N is a strong fuzzy negation. This work is supported by the Brazilian funding agencies CAPES and FAPERGS (Ed. PqG 06/2010, under the process number 11/1520-1). Proposition 1. Let ρ : U  U be an automorphism [2]. The function Ji : U2  U and its conjugate fucntion Jρi : U 2  U , given in Eq.(3) and Eq.(4) respectively, are both fuzzy QL-subimplications: Ji(x, y)  Si(NS(x), TP (x, y))  1 1 i (x x2y), (3) Jρi (x, y)  S ρ i (N ρ S(x), T ρ P (x, y))  ρ 1 ( 1 ρ(x) i (1 ρ(x)ρ(y)) ) , x, y  U. (4) Such family of fuzzy QL-subimplications is referred as J . Proposition 2. The QL-subimplication Ji, Jρi  J verify the properties: I1 : If S(N(x), x)  1 then I(x, 1)  1, for all x  U ; I2a : If x1  x2 then I(x1, 0)  I(x2, 0), for all x1, x2  U . I2b : If y1  y2 then I(1, y1)  I(1, y2), for all y1, y2  U . In [6], an k-ary function FA : Uk  U is called as (A,F)-operator and given by: FA(x1, . . . , xk)  A(F1(x1, . . . , xk), . . . , Fn(x1, . . . , xk)), x1, . . . , xk  U. (5) Proposition 3. Let TP  {Si(x, y)  1  1i (1  x  y  xy) : i  1} be a family of t-subnorms. The function TOWA : U2  U is a t-subconorm given by Eq.(6) in the following: SOWA(x, y) n i0 wiSσ(i)(x, y),x, y  U. (6) As the main result, we present the subclass of fuzzy QL-subimplication represented by a t-norm TP , the standard negation NS together with a t-subconorm SP , which is obtained by aggregating n fuzzy t-subconorms of the family SP . Theorem 1. For all x, y  U , the function JOWA : U2  U is a QL-subimplication, given by JOWA(x, y)  SOWA(NS(x), TP (x, y)). (7) Proposition 4. The QL-subimplication JOWA verify Ik for k  {1, 2a, 2b}. Concluding, by Prop. 4, the operator JOWA preserves the main properties of QL-subimplications. Further work considers the interrelations between this class of subimplications and their possible conjugate functions. Another interesting issue is related to dual constructions of QL-subimplications.


Background Few studies have analyzed the impact of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on workplace insertion and occupation of patients in France. However, the overall negative impact of RA on work capacity has been shown previously. Objectives To investigate the contribution of different socio-economic and clinical factors to absenteeism and loss of work capacity in a population of RA patients below 60 years of age in France in 2012. Methods A national retrospective survey was conducted in a population of patients recruited by rheumatologists practising in hospitals or private practices during a visit, and/or were members of a patients association (ANDAR). The patients responded to a structured telephone interview with an investigator. The data collected included the current employment situation and its history, the functional impact of RA (Health Assessment Questionnaire [HAQ] score), the frequency of flares, work stoppages and disability allowance. Results 503 patients agreed to participate, and 488 were interviewed (97%). In this study population (mean age 49.5±7.7 years and 84.4% women), the disease duration of RA was 12.2 (±9.2) years. 364 patients (74.6%) were employed, 31 (6.4%) unemployed and 93 (19.1%) were out of the labor market. For the 31 unemployed patients, the impact of RA occured as a factor of loss of employment and restriction of access to the labor market. For the 93 patients out of the labor market, discontinuation of professional activity was due to RA for three quarters of them (73%), explained by fatigue (75%), pain or stiffness (25%), or difficulty in moving (25%). The main results of the group of 364 patients in employment according to the HAQ score are shown below. The mean HAQ score was low (0.8) and the mean disease duration was 11.6 years. The proportion of patients receiving biological treatment was very high (60.4%), compared with 24.8% of patients under 60 years of age in the French national representative claims database ("Echantillon Généraliste des Bénéficiaires") in 2011. This high proportion may also explain the low HAQ. With a HAQ score equal or greater than 1.5, 68.4% of patients reported at least one work stoppage in the last 12 months for an average of 91.6 days; this proportion was 48.3% for all active employees (p<0.0001). Regression analyses suggest that the HAQ score is the major factor contributing to absenteeism, regardless of patients' socio-economic characteristics. Conclusions The impact of RA on work capacity is important, affecting work stoppages, loss of employment and part-time work. Lost productivity associated with RA is related to the level of HAQ, which suggests that better control of the disease would reduce this loss of productivity. Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge Costello Medical Consulting for editorial assistance which was funded by UCB Pharma. Disclosure of Interest P. Bertin: None declared, F. Fagnani Grant/research support: UCB Pharma, Consultant for: CEMKA-EVAL, A. Duburcq Grant/research support: UCB Pharma, Consultant for: CEMKA-EVAL, A. Woronoff: None declared, P. Chauvin: None declared, G. Cukierman Employee of: UCB Pharma, S. Tropé-Chirol: None declared, J.-M. Joubert Employee of: UCB Pharma, G. Kobelt: None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.2361


Two kinds of new phosphorus-containing crosslinked polymer materials were prepared via thiol-ene photopolymerization and their properties were studied. In order to prepare these crosslinked polymer materials, multifunctional monomer tris(allyloxymethyl)phosphine oxide (TAOPO) was synthesized from an eco-friendly raw material, tetrakis(hydroxymethyl) phosphonium sulfate (THPS). Crosslinked poly(phosphine oxide) networks were then produced by a thiol-ene reaction in which TAOPO reacts with the two kinds of polythiol under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. The new crosslinked polymers possess long-term hydrolysis-resistance property because the monomer TAOPO contains a phosphorus–carbon bond. The crosslinked polymers have a high gel content, high dielectric constant, low dielectric loss, and excellent transparency with a high refractive index and high Abbe number. DMA and TGA results indicated that all cured poly(phosphine oxide) were uniform networks and exhibited a high thermal stability.


Abstract Background There is a gap in our knowledge of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a population presumed healthy, so this study aimed to assess the associations between HRQoL, demographics and clinical variables. Methods The participants were attendees, presumed healthy, at 40 pre-selected model family medicine practices (MFMPs), aged between 30 and 65 years and recruited during a preventive check-up in 2019. Each MFMP pragmatically invited 30 attendees to voluntarily participate. The EQ-5D questionnaire was administered as a measure of HRQoL; the independent variables were demographic characteristics, smoking, alcohol consumption, stress perception, physical activity, signs of depression, cardiovascular risk, body mass index, blood pressure values, and blood sugar and lipidogram laboratory test values. Ordinal logistic regression was used to calculate associations between self-assessed quality of life, demographics, and clinical variables, with P<0.05 set as statistically significant. Results Of 986 participants, 640 (64.9%) were women and 346 (35.1%) men, aged 42.7±8.6 years. The average values for the EQ-5D-3L were 0.91±0.15. In the multivariate model, a positive association between adequate physical activity (p=0.003), and a negative association between higher age (p<0.001), female gender (p=0.009), signs of depression (p<0.001), stress (p=0.013), and EQ-5D score were identified. Conclusion Given that physical activity was shown to be positively associated with HRQoL, it is of the utmost importance for family physicians to motivate their middle-aged patients, especially women and those with signs of depression and excessive stress, to adopt a more rigorously physically active lifestyle.


Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-redirected T-cells have given rise to long-term durable remissions and remarkable objective response rates in patients with refractory leukemia, raising hopes that a wider application of CAR technology may lead to a new paradigm in cancer treatment. A limitation of the current autologous approach is that CAR T-cells must be manufactured on a "per patient basis". We have developed a standardized platform for manufacturing T-cells from third-party healthy donors to generate allogeneic "off-the-shelf" engineered CAR+ T-cell–based frozen products. This platform utilizes Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nuclease (TALEN) gene editing technology to inactivate the TCRα constant (TRAC) gene, eliminating the potential for T-cells bearing alloreactive TCR9s to mediate Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD). We have previously demonstrated that editing of the TRAC gene can be achieved at high frequencies, obtaining up to 80% of TCRβα negative cells. This allows us to efficiently produce TCR-deficient T-cells that have been shown to no longer mediate alloreactivity in a xeno-GvHD mouse model. We have adapted this allogeneic platform to the production of T cells targeting CD123, the transmembrane alpha chain of the interleukin-3 receptor, which is expressed in tumor cells of patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia as well as CS1 a glycoprotein highly expressed on tumor cells of patients with multiple myeloma. We will present both in vitro and in vivo data demonstrating specific anti-tumor activity of engineered CAR T cells against cell lines expressing the targeted antigen. Citation Format: Roman Galetto, Celine Lebuhotel, Isabelle Chion-Sotinel, Patricia Francon, Agnes Gouble, Julianne Smith. Allogenic CAR T-cells for adoptive immunotherapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; September 16-19, 2015; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(1 Suppl):Abstract nr B016.


Excised tulip bulb scale segments were able to generate adventitious buds when cultured on a modified Murashige-Skoog medium fortified with auxin and kinetin. Transferring the buds to a medium low in auxin and kinetin induced further development. Bulb formation occured at the proximal end of buds receiving a chilling treatment at 5°C, but failed to occur in unchilled buds. The optimal duration of the chilling period was found to be about 80-100 days. Bulb formation was enhanced by the application of NAA together with kinetin at low concentrations, although at high concentrations formation was delayed. Sucrose was also necessary for bulb formation, and its optimum concentration was found to be range between 4 and 6%. Culture temperature for the bulb formation was optimal at 25t.


In history, as in other disciplines, there are lumpers and splitters. Jonathan Israel, whose Revolutionary Ideas weighs in at nearly 900 pages, counts as a mega-lumper. The work, which offers much more than avoirdupois, champions a striking and contentious thesis: namely, that the French Revolution strove to enact the script of 'Radical Enlightenment' that Israel has sketched out in four meaty earlier volumes. Largely responsible for the achievement, he argues, was a grouping he identifies as 'Brissotin' that transformed the radical materialist strand under the Ancien Régime into a democratic philosophy of 'human rights, equality and free expression' (p. 703). Israel's penchant for lumping means that he runs roughshod over many problems that preoccupy the splitters among us. His loosely identified and baggy, twentyto thirty-strong Brissotin grouping includes individuals from political formations often at odds with them. Vicious attacks by Camille Desmoulins (here accounted a Brissotin) contributed mightily, for example, to sending Brissot to the guillotine. (Oddly, too, despite Israel's contention that the group was socially unrepresentative of the political class at this time, proportionately it seems to include quite as many lawyers and professionals as the national assembly as a whole.) At least these Brissotins, the stars of Israel's show, have their ideas ventilated and examined in this work. The same cannot be said of the 'Robespierrists', against whom the Brissotins 'struggled for the soul of the Revolution' (p. 591). Although Israel flies the flag of intellectual history, his approach to Robespierre is highly psychologistic: Robespierre was a 'self-confessed dictator' (p. 541; the 'self-confessed' is based on a clear misreading of a phrase in one of Robespierre's speeches) who suffered from 'megalomania, paranoia and vindictiveness' (p. 449). His grouping was characterized less by ideas than by crude political practices — the 'dragooning of public opinion' and 'lies and distortions' (pp. 52, 217), in a nutshell. An 'authoritarian populist', Robespierre practised a form of 'proto-fascism' (p. 164). Israel even views the Terror largely in terms of Robespierre's pathological zeal for disposing of Brissotin enemies. One would never know that Robespierre was also involved in conducting a war against allied Europe into which the Brissotins had led France. R. R. Palmer's classic Twelve Who Ruled (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1941) is in the bibliography but Israel has not digested its lessons. Parts of Revolutionary Ideas, notably sections highlighting the importance of outright republicanism in the Revolution's early years, will stimulate fruitful debate. So it seems a shame that Israel rarely engages with the work of other scholars, even some of those who analyse republicanism (for example, Raymonde Monnier and Keith Baker). Symptomatically, most of the footnotes are references to often manifestly cherry-picked quotations from primary sources. It is sadly characteristic of his approach that historians who do not accept what he characterizes as 'the proper view' on the Revolution (vix. his own, one assumes) are considered victims of 'historiographical obscurantism' (p. 703). This is one way of conducting a debate, I suppose, but I hope not one that catches on.


In this work, welding fume samples were collected in a welding plant, where corrosion-resistant steel and unalloyed structural steel were welded by gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and manual metal arc welding (MMAW) techniques. The welding fumes were sampled with a fixed-point sampling strategy applying Higgins-Dewell cyclones. The following solutions were used to dissolve the different species of Ni and Mn: ammonium citrate solution [1.7% (m/v) diammonium hydrogen citrate and 0.5% (m/v) citric acid monohydrate] for 'soluble' Ni, 50:1 methanol-bromine solution for metallic Ni, 0.01 M ammonium acetate for soluble Mn, 25% acetic acid for Mn(0) and Mn(2+) and 0.5% hydroxylammonium chloride in 25% acetic acid for Mn(3+) and Mn(4+). 'Insoluble' Ni and Mn contents of the samples were determined after microwave-assisted digestion with the mixture of concentrated (cc). HNO(3), cc. HCl and cc. HF. The sample solutions were analysed by inductively coupled plasma quadrupole mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The levels of total Ni and Mn measured in the workplace air were different because of significant differences of the fume generation rates and the distributions of the components in the welding fumes between the welding processes. For quality control of the leaching process, dissolution of the pure stoichiometric Mn and Ni compounds and their mixtures weighing was investigated using the optimized leaching conditions. The results showed the adequacy of the procedure for the pure metal compounds. Based on the extraction procedures, the predominant oxidation states of Ni and Mn proved to be very different depending on the welding techniques and type of the welded steels. The largest amount of Mn in GMAW fumes were found as insoluble Mn (46 and 35% in case of corrosion-resistant steel and unalloyed structural steel, respectively), while MMAW fumes contain mainly soluble Mn, Mn(0) and Mn(2+) (78%) and Mn(3+) and Mn(4+) (54%) in case of corrosion-resistant steel and unalloyed structural steel, respectively. According to the results of the leaching procedures, GMAW fumes are rich in oxidic Ni (79%), while Ni compounds in welding fumes generated during MMAW are mainly in easily soluble form (44%). The crystalline phases were identified in each welding fume by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) technique as well. From the XRPD spectra, it is clear that GMAW fumes contain predominantly magnetite (FeFe(2)O(4)). In case of structural steel welding, there was a little amount of ferrite (alpha-Fe) also found. Welding fume generated during MMAW of structural steel contained a complex alkali-alkali earth fluoride phase (KCaF(3)-CaF(2)) and some magnetite and jakobsite (MnFe(2)O(4)). The XRPD results did not fully confirm the ones obtained from the extraction experiments. However, some results, for example the rate of soluble Ni and Mn compounds compared to the total, can be useful for further investigations of welding fumes.


This article describes how current applications - communications and mobile systems - have employed FPGAs because they are more flexible than ASICs yet with higher speed and lower power consumption than CPUs. This has happened in spite of the fact that we require HDL experts to program them. New applications that can benefit from variable-grain parallelism are hot prospects to emerge as killer applications in the near future, especially as improvements in data movement are made. Enabling these new killer applications can only be accomplished by increasing designer productivity. Graphical tools that provide reusable components and means of expressing parallelism hold great promise in achieving these goals