. The group comprises episodic and chronic clus-ter headache, chronic and episodic paroxysmal hemicra-nia, and SUNCT syndrome. SUNA syndrome (short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with cranial au-tonomic symptoms), although not classified as a TAC, also shares some common characteristics with this group and may include the SUNCT definition. Despite their common elements, the TACs differ in response to therapy, frequen-cy and duration of attacks. They must be differentiated from secundary TACs because of the possible serious and treatable underlying causes, like mass lesions, subarach-noid hemorrhage, pathology in the base of the skull and others


Dr. Segars is theHowardandGeorgeannaSeegar JonesProfessor and Director of the Division of Reproductive Sciences and Women's Health Research in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Johns Hopkins. His primary clinical research interests are assisted reproduction and uterine fibroids. Dr. Segars completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology and a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology at Vanderbilt University followed by a three-year postdoctoral fellowship in molecular biology at NIH as an RSDP scholar. Dr. Segars joined the intramural NICHD program where his laboratory pursued translational, clinical, and basic research relevant to reproduction for 22 years. At NIH he served as head of Unit on Reproductive Endocrinologywithin the Programof Reproductive and Adult Endocrinology of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of ChildHealth and HumanDevelopment. Hewas also Program Director for the NICHD-sponsored Clinical Reproductive Endocrinology Training Program and Medical Director for theWalterReedARTProgramfor18yearsbeforebeingrecruited to Johns Hopkins to head the Howard and Georgeanna Seegar Jones Laboratory. Dr. Segars's laboratory actively pursues basic, translation and clinical investigation of ovarian, and oocyte function and studies of uterine fibroids. Dr. Ayman Al-Hendy is currently a Professor (Tenure) and Director in the Division of Translational Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University (formerly Georgia Regents University) in Augusta,Georgia.Healso servesasDirectorof Interdisciplinary Translational Research, Augusta University and Assistant Dean for Global Translational Research, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University. Dr. Al-Hendy is a Gynecologist and Endoscopic Surgeon at Augusta UniversityMedical Center, Augusta, Georgia with a busy practice that focuses on serving women with symptomatic uterine fibroids. Dr. Al-Hendy graduated from Banha Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Banha, Egypt in 1986. After one year of internship at Banha University Hospital he headed to Finland to earn his PhD in Molecular Medicine from University of Turku, Turku, Finland. He then gained additional postdoctoral training in gene therapy and clinical molecular genetics at McMaster University andMcGill University in Canada before completing clinical residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Saskatchewan and fellowship training in laparoscopic surgery at TorontoUniversity both in Canada. Dr. Al-Hendy is double board certified by the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada and The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In United States of America, Dr. Al-Hendy held various faculty positions at University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, and Meharry Medical College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee before moving to Augusta, Georgia. Dr. Al-Hendy utilizes the methods of basic, translational and clinical research to address important medical diseases. Dr. Al-Hendy medical research interests focus on developing novel therapies including gene and stem cell therapy for premature ovarian failure, endometriosis, and particularly uterine fibroids. He is currently researching the utility of various nutritional supplements as possible nonsurgical therapy for uterine fibroids which impact negatively women health worldwide and burden resources through the high rate of hysterectomy especially in women of color. Recently, Dr. Al-Hendy isolated and characterized surface marker specific stem cells from human and rat fibroid lesions as well as adjacent at risk myometrium and normal myometrium and is utilizing these valuable tools to understand the role of developmental epigenetic reprogramming and early life adverse environmental exposures in adult onset of uterine fibroids especially in women of color. In 2010, Dr. Al-Hendy was awarded the American Society of Reproductive Medicine's (ASRM)2010 Ira and Ester Rosenwaks Award forhis significant contribution to the field of translational Reproductive Biology. In 2014, he received the α Omega α clinician scientist of the year award by the Medical Honor Society and in 2015 the President Achievement Award as well as Rogerio A. Lobo Award by the Society of reproductive Investigations (SRI). Dr. Al-Hendy research is funded by various agencies including NICHD, NIEHS, NIMHD, ODS, NCRR, USDA, and other national and international organizations. He has served as Chair of the NIH Integrative Clinical Endocrinology and Reproduction Richard S. Legro, MD


Reactive oxygen species (ROS) plays a key role in therapeutic effects as well as side effects of platinum drugs. Cisplatin mediates activation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase (NOX), which triggers oxygen (O2) to superoxide radical (O2•-) and its downstream H2O2. Through the Fenton's reaction, H2O2 could be catalyzed by Fe2+/Fe3+ to the toxic hydroxyl radicals (•OH), which cause oxidative damages to lipids, proteins, and DNA. By taking the full advantage of Fenton's chemistry, we herein demonstrated tumor site-specific conversion of ROS generation induced by released cisplatin and Fe2+/Fe3+ from iron-oxide nanocarriers with cisplatin(IV) prodrugs for enhanced anticancer activity but minimized systemic toxicity.


Not long after topical timolol was introduced in 1978, it became one of the most widely prescribed glaucoma medications in the world. Although timolol is considered to be the most significant therapeutic advance in the medical treatment of glaucoma in the 20th century, the 1994 introduction of prostaglandin analogs for glaucoma treatment in Japan marked the end of timolol's domination.


The ongoing development of world trade bolsters the demand for container transport that is safe and resistant to risks. Being important in international logistics and local economy development, container transportation between seaports and the associated hinterland is worth of being studied. In this thesis, we study a concept called resilience and apply it into the context of port-hinterland container transportation network. Resilience is one of the concepts dealing with safety and risk management issues academically, but with its own distinctive characteristics differentiating itself from others like stability and robustness. We firstly propose our definition of resilience in this context based on literature reviews. Next, a model is built to measure it quantitatively from shippers' perspective by adopting stochastic integer programming. This measurement model is then testified to demonstrate its feasibility by a numerical simulation taking the case of Port of Gothenburg and part of its hinterland. By studying thoroughly the resilience concept in general and analyzing the results from the numerical simulation, we discuss the validity and reliability of our contextual resilience definition and the measurement model. We find them to be not only theoretically meaningful but practically useful.


Background and Aims Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is a risk factor for recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) and renal scarring and the risk is correlated with VUR grade. The purpose of this study is to test the role of cystography in infants with febrile UTI when renal ultrasonography is normal. Patients and Methods It is part of a prospective study of 383 infants less than 2 years old at the time of their febrile UTI. 297 (77.1%) had a normal renal ultrasononography (no dilatation): 106 (35%) were males and 229 (77.1%) were less than a year old. Cystography was performed 6 weeks after UTI and DMSA 6 months later. Using cystography as gold standard, a 2 × 2 table was constructed to calculate the value of cystography for the detection of renal scarring and its utility in infants with UTI who have normal ultrasonography. Results 16 patients (5.4%) had renal scarring and six of them (37.5%) had associated reflux. VUR was present in 63 patients (21.2%). Only six (9.5%) had renal damage and 57 (90.5%) had normal DMSA (Fisher's exact test p = 0.1). Sensitivity and specificity were 36.5% and 79.7%, respectively. The diagnostic odds ratio was 2.36 (95% CI 0.82 to 6.76) and the positive likelihood ratio 1.85 (95% CI 0.94 to 3.63). The probability of having a renal scar after a pathological cystography was only 9.5% (95% CI 4.5% to 19.3%). Conclusions Since then, when ultrasound is normal, only 9.5% of infants with VUR had renal scar, cystography does not give additional information, then DMSA should be the next study, cystogram being a redundant imaging study.


Collaborations lead to cost reductions, both monetary and environmentally. However, it is not immediately clear how multiple companies with a shared optimisation problem should arrive at solutions to this shared problem or a fair allocation of the resulting cost or profit. In contrast to the literature, we assume each company, also referred to as a player, to have access to a potentially heuristic algorithm that is used to determine solutions to this shared optimisation problem. Together, the players can use these algorithms to determine solutions to shared problem instances. We call a cooperative game in which player algorithms are explicitly taken into account an algorithm quality induced game (AQI game). In an AQI game, the cost that is allocated to a player also depends on their algorithmic capabilities, that is, the quality of their algorithms. Moreover, it also allows us to model consultants, i.e., players that do have a good algorithm for the shared optimisation problem, but do not contribute in any other manner to the shared operations. In an AQI game, such players can be allocated a profit. In this paper we describe the core of AQI games and analyse the effects of improving the algorithm of a single player and of adding a consultant to a collaboration. Moreover, we present numerical results for 580 800 instances of the AQI game. We quantify the effect of improving an algorithm on the allocated cost to this player. We show that a player in general is allocated less after improving their algorithm, while in some cases the allocated cost increases. Moreover, we find that in general players with a bad algorithm benefit most from the addition of a consultant while players with a good algorithm may not benefit at all. 1Corresponding author. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


In McDiarmid, B. Reed, A. Schrijver, and B. Shepherd (Univ. of Waterloo Tech. Rep., 1990) a polynomial-time algorithm is given for the problem of finding a minimum cost circuit without chords (induced circuit) traversing two given vertices of a planar graph. The algorithm is based on the ellipsoid method. Here we give an O(n2) combinatorial algorithm to determine whether two nodes in a planar graph lie on an induced circuit. We also give a min-max relation for the problem of finding a maximum number of paths connecting two given vertices in a planar graph so that each pair of these paths forms an induced circuit.


A Remote Sensing Satellites Planning system (RSSP) for satellite constellations is responsible for managing these satellites by assigning the imaging tasks to each satellite in the constellation such that the loads are balanced and the resources are well used. The proposed system can be used with heterogeneous constellations that consist of satellites whose different specifications, different orbits' types and/or different payload types. This problem is a combinatorial optimization NP-hard problem modeled in this paper as a Constraint Satisfaction Problem using the Constraint Programming Technique. The output plan is obtained using one of three objective functions (gain maximization, area maximization, and image quality maximization) using four search algorithms (simulated annealing, hill climbing, tabu search and late acceptance) and different planning horizons (one track, one day and one month).


Investigations of the cognitive processes involved in adults' mental arithmetic have shown the importance of phonological rather than visual codes in performance (e.g. Logie, Gilhooly & Wynn; 1994). However, children's subjective descriptions of their strategies in arithmetic reveal much more variable strategy use, suggesting that both slave systems of working memory may be involved in arithmetical performance in this age group. This experiment tested children in two age groups (6 to 7 and 8 to 9 years) on a simple mental arithmetic task under three conditions; baseline, phonological disruption and visuospatial disruption, in an attempt to determine the cognitive processes and strategies being used in arithmetic at various points throughout development. The results showed significant and marked lowering of performance in the younger children with concurrent visuospatial disruption, a smaller effect being observed in the older children. Conversely, while the younger children were unaffected by concurrent phonological disruption the older children were. These results support the hypothesis that children use different strategies at different ages; younger children utilise almost exclusively visuospatial strategies in mental arithmetic, whereas older children use a mixture of phonological and visual-spatial strategies.


This paper presents a method for optimization of costs associated with reliability in radial distribution systems through switch placement using genetic algorithms. An analysis of how the results are impacted by restrictions on the possibilities of allocating switches in one or both ends of each section of the feeder is done. Optimized switch locations are defined to improve restoration and reduce costs associated with reliability. Simulations in real feeders are performed, and the results presented show significant improvements for all tested feeders.


Fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology is a rapid and inexpensive screening test for cancer and its precursors but the technique is underutilized in Nigeria because clinicians are ignorant of its many advantages. A cross sectional descriptive study was undertaken using a pre-tested close and open-ended interview questionnaire administered on 44 junior doctors in the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) a prominent training institution in Nigeria to highlight their general knowledge, perceptions and utilization of the technique. The response rate in this survey was 55 %. Awareness of the FNA among the respondents was high and knowledge of its principal indications, cost effectiveness and limitations was quite good. But there are important gaps in the other aspects of their knowledge of the technique which might explain why so many (50 per cent) had the wrong attitude to its adoption as a first line investigative procedure, particularly with respect to obvious misconceptions about its accuracy and safety. Significantly, many of the junior doctors were unaware of the places of imaging (50 %) and molecular studies (25 %) in routine FNA practice. In our opinion this study has highlighted the need for more physicians' training in FNA in Nigeria. Being a technique that is easily adapted to conditions in the developing countries, it is hoped that this simple test would be used more often in future for pre-operative diagnoses in this and other developing nations.


A diode pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked femtosecond Yb:LSO laser is experimentally demonstrated for the first time. The 54 fs laser pulses at central wavelength of 1052 nm with a bandwidth of 22.5 nm are obtained at the repetition rate of 113 MHz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the shortest pulse duration ever produced from the Yb-doped orthosilicates lasers family.


This concise yet thorough review of renal transplantation has been written by one of the most prestigious transplant groups in the world. Professor Hamburger and his colleagues at Hopital Necker in Paris were one of the very first groups to begin renal transplantation and have maintained an active interest in both experimental aspects of transplantation immunology and clinical renal transplant programs ever since. This book is essentially split in half between experimental aspects of transplantation biology and immunology on the one hand, and clinical techniques and results of renal transplantation on the other. There is also an extensive appendix of 56 pages which outlines in greater detail the surgical and immunological techniques involved in both the clinical and experimental aspects. Each chapter has many subsections, identified in the table of contents and at the beginning of each chapter, so that the reader can quickly identify specific points of interest. An


In this paper we present the implementation of a WebRTC gateway service that can forward ad-hoc RTP data plane traffic from a browser on one local network to a browser on another local network. The advantage compared to the existing IETF STUN (RFC 5389), TURN (RFC 5766) and ICE (RFC 5245) protocols is that it does not require a public host and port mapping for each participating local host, and it works with more restrictive firewall policies. WebRTC implements ICE which combines STUN and TURN probes to automatically find the best connection between two peers who want to communicate. In corporate networks, simple hole punching and NAT traversal techniques typically do not work, e.g. because of symmetric NATs. Dynamic allocation of ports on an external 3rd party relay service is also typically blocked on restricted hosts. In our use case, doctors at hospitals can only access port 80 through the hospital firewall on external machines, and they need to communicate with patients who are typically behind a NAT in a local WiFi network. VPN solutions only work for staff but not between patients and staff. Our solution solves this problem by redirecting all WebRTC traffic through a gateway service on the local network that has a secure tunnel established with a public gateway. The public gateway redirects traffic from multiple concurrent streams securely between local gateway services that connect to it. The local gateways also communicate with browsers on their local network to mimic a direct browser-to-browser connection without having to change the browser runtime. We have demonstrated that this technique works well within the hospital network and arbitrary patient networks, without the need for any individual host configuration. In our evaluation we show that the latency overhead is 18-20 ms for each concurrent stream added to the same gateway service.


The Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF) is an engineering scale demonstration of two advanced coal-fired power systems and several high-temperature, high-pressure gas filtration systems. The PSDF was designed at sufficient scale so that advanced power systems and components could be tested in an integrated fashion to provide data for commercial scale-up. The PSDF is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Electric Power Research Institute, Southern Company Services, Foster Wheeler, Kellogg Brown & Root, Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation (SWPC), Combustion Power Company and Peabody Holding Company.The PSDF is configured into two separate test trains: the Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) transport reactor train and the Foster Wheeler Advanced Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustor (APFBC) train. The APFBC train also includes a topping combustor and gas turbine generator to produce electrical power. The APFBC train is designed for long term testing of the filtration systems and the assessment of control and integration issues associated with the APFBC system.The Siemens Westinghouse Multi-Annular Swirl Burner (MASB) has been developed as the topping combustor for the APFBC application. In this application, the combustion air is vitiated air, a depleted oxygen (10 to 16 vol %), high temperature (1200 to 1400°F) (650 to 760°C) gas stream, which is the exhaust gas from the fluidized bed combustion of solid fuel. The topping combustor fuel is a synthetic low-Btu fuel gas at high temperature (1200 to 1400°F) (650 to 760°C) generated by gasifying coal in the APFBC. The hot MASB combusted gas is expanded through a gas turbine for power generation.Commissioning of the MASB began in January, 1998. Over 400 hours of operation have been accumulated through November 1999. Several improvements have been designed and installed during commissioning. This paper explains the design basis of the MASB, describes design changes implemented at the PSDF and reviews the operational experience of the MASB at the PSDF.Copyright © 2000 by ASME


Resource availability, predation, and sexual selection have all been shown to play an important role in the ecology and evolution of guppies, Poecilia reticulata, but the role of parasitism has received comparatively little attention. In the present study, we examined natural infection levels of wild-caught guppies from the Upper and Lower Aripo River in Trinidad (UA and LA, respectively) and experimentally infected a subsample of fish with an isogenic line of the ectoparasite Gyrodactylus turnbulli. LA fish showed a superior resistance compared to UA guppies during the primary, but not secondary infection 53 days later. Resistance of LA individuals was consistent across experiments, suggesting immunocompetence has a heritable genetic basis. The efficiency of the immune response of UA fish was not correlated across infections. During primary infections, UA fish were highly susceptible, but their resistance was significantly improved during a secondary infection, highlighting the importance of acquired resistance. We discuss the role of innate and acquired resistance, and place our findings in the context of natural gyrodactylid infections.


The hydrodynamic dispersion of a nonadsorbed and nonelectrolyte solute is considered for the case of a flow driven through a straight microchannel by pressure and electric potential differences. The analysis is conducted using a thin double layer approximation developed in the previous paper (Zholkovskij, E. K.; Masliyah, J. H.; Czarnecki, J. Anal. Chem. 2003, 75, 901-909). On the basis of this approach, an expression is derived to address the dispersion coefficient for arbitrary electrokinetic potential, electrolyte type, and cross-section geometry. In the derived expression, the influence of cross-section geometry manifests itself through the channel hydrodynamic radius and through three dimensionless geometrical factors. The procedure for obtaining the geometrical factors is presented for an arbitrary cross-section geometry. The geometrical factors are evaluated for several examples of cross section: (i) unbounded parallel planes; (ii) circle; (iii) annulus; (iv) ellipse; (v) rectangle. The dependency of the dispersion coefficient on different parameters is discussed. It is shown that the dependencies are substantially affected by the cross-section geometry, electrolyte type, and electrokinetic potential.


ABSTRACT In this paper, the effect of both passive and actively-modified vehicle handling characteristics on minimum time manoeuvring for vehicles with 4-wheel torque vectoring (TV) capability is studied. First, a baseline optimal TV strategy is sought, independent of any causal control law. An optimal control problem (OCP) is initially formulated considering 4 independent wheel torque inputs, together with the steering angle rate, as the control variables. Using this formulation, the performance benefit using TV against an electric drive train with a fixed torque distribution, is demonstrated. The sensitivity of TV-controlled manoeuvre time to the passive understeer gradient of the vehicle is then studied. A second formulation of the OCP is introduced where a closed-loop TV controller is incorporated into the system dynamics of the OCP. This formulation allows the effect of actively modifying a vehicle's handling characteristic via TV on its minimum time cornering performance of the vehicle to be assessed. In particular, the effect of the target understeer gradient as the key tuning parameter of the literature-standard steady-state linear single-track model yaw rate reference is analysed.


Abstract : The study summarizes policy lessons for future efforts to monitor possible covert biological warfare programs based on past Iraqi and South African covert biowarfare programs. This comparative case study approach identified several commonalities in past biowarfare programs in developing countries. One was a tendency of governments to recruit some of the brightest students and send them abroad for advanced studies at western universities. This trend changed dramatically after the September 11, 2001, and it is now much more likely that future scientists working for government-sponsored bioweapons programs or for terrorist groups in the developing world will receive their advanced training at nonwestern institutions. A second commonality is that covert biological weapons research and development efforts have focused on exploiting readily available, naturally occurring pathogens for use as weapons of mass disruption or terror, in addition to efforts to develop sophisticated, genetically modified, weaponized organisms delivered in sophisticated delivery systems. Both the Iraqi and South African programs relied heavily on open-source literature to develop biological pathogens at multiple dual-use civilian facilities. This diffusion of covert research and development facilities is likely to increasingly in the future as mobile equipment and production facilities are more readily available for sale to any interested buyer. While these trends will make it difficult to detect preliminary covert biowarfare-related research and development, the full-scale production will continue to be difficult to hide. The second section of this study identified and discusses new biosecurity issues that emerged since September 11, 2001. These security issues increasingly collide with the economic development goals embraced by countries who are trying to increase civilian biotechnology research and development capacity in order to produce high-valued biotechnology exports and jobs.


In recent years, a significant upsurge in the development of new laboratory tests for use in psychiatric practice has occurred. This column discusses salient questions about those tests to help mental health practitioners better understand the potential role of such tests in their clinical practices. These issues are particularly relevant for mental health professionals who prescribe psychotropic medications. The column does not provide an exhaustive list of tests nor does it review the pros and cons of any specific company's tests.


This article provides a background of hepatic encephalopathy, its relation to liver disease as well as its prevalence in the United States. A literature review provides an overview of HE discussing the pathophysiology, evidence-based diagnosis, and grading of the disease severity as well as treatment options and interventions. A large emphasis of the article is placed on nursing's role of identifying and managing hepatic encephalopathy. The authors hope to provide clinical nurses with the tools and information needed to provide evidence-based care to this patient population. Pharmacologic therapies, as well as nutrition for these patients, are other topics reviewed. Education for nurses on the management of hepatic encephalopathy is important, as well as education needed for patients and families to support them through the treatment and follow-up care needed to manage hepatic encephalopathy. The authors also hope to provide nurses with education tips to provide the patients and families they care for during their hospitalization with HE, as well as on discharge from the hospital to prevent reoccurrence of symptoms.


Background: Pig farming is an important source of income and nutrition for rural farmers in Goa. Pig production is threatened by many infectious diseases. The present study reports a respiratory disease outbreak in a total of 200 pigs including adults and piglets with 40% mortality in a pig herd of Large white Yorkshire and crossbreds in South Goa during the winter period in January 2022. Method: The farm was visited and recorded clinical signs and post mortem findings and and samples were collected for bacterial isolation, PCR confirmation of bacterial and viral pathogens and histopathology. Result: The affected pigs showed high fever, reduced feed intake, staggering gate, huddling, difficulty in breathing, cough, and brown to greenish diarrhea followed by death within a span of 3 weeks. Major gross lesions were non-collapsed lungs with severe congestion and localized areas of consolidation, severe congestion of viscera, and enlargement, and presence of multifocal areas of necrosis in the liver. Histopathology of lungs focal or diffuse bronchointerstitial pneumonia and the lymphoid organs showed lymphoid depletion. Pasteruella multocida could be isolated from heart blood and tissues from 3 cases and PCR of the tissue DNA confirmed the presence of P. multocida and Porcine Circo Virus-2 (PCV-2) infection. The study confirms the presence of PCV-2 infection in pig herds in Goa for the first time. The acute mortality can be attributed to the co-infection of the herd with PCV-2 and P. multocida and sudden change in weather patterns with prevailing severe cold conditions during time of outbreak. Sequencing and Phylogenetic analysis of the PCV-2 ORF-2gene showed the PCV-2 virus from Goa is more related to isolates from southern Indian states.


This introductory Handbook first describes the main functions of what are commonly called primary dealers in the government securities markets. It sets out the advantages of primary dealer systems to the authorities running these markets (usually the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank) and explains what the authorities may have to concede to secure the benefits. It analyses which of these considerations may be most relevant in deciding whether or how to develop a system of primary dealers. The analysis would be applicable to any economy, although these questions may currently be most pressing in some of the countries in transition towards a market economy. The Handbook does not specifically deal with the role of financial intermediaries in money markets, as opposed to securities markets, although, particularly in a developing market economy, there may be a fair degree of overlap between these two markets, so that some of the argumentation here could apply equally to the role of specialist financial intermediaries in money markets. This handbook is also available in Russian and Spanish.


Despite the remarkable advances in revascularization strategies made during the last decade, a significant proportion of patients are excluded from either percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting because of unsuitable coronary anatomy. Diffuse severe coronary artery disease, small vessel caliber, chronic total occlusions, or extremely calcified vessels are frequent reasons for deferring revascularization with either percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting. We present a case concerning a middle-aged asymptomatic patient who was treated successfully with percutaneous coronary intervention due to a chronic total occlusion lesion of the left anterior descending artery. Coronary angiography is an inadequate method for the estimation of the burden of atherosclerotic disease in an artery fed by collaterals. Assessment of any residual antegrade flow, and ipsilateral and contralateral collateral filling of the segments distal to the occlusion with invasive or noninvasive techniques, could affect the appropriate decision-making by physicians.


Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the COVID-19 information-seeking behavior of the students in a developing country. This study also explores how the use of information sources changes over time by the students of a public university in Bangladesh.

Design/methodology/approach
An e-mail was sent along with an online questionnaire to 350 students in a public university in Bangladesh. After sending a couple of follow-up e-mails in May and June 2022, we got limited responses. Later in July, we distributed the same questionnaire in the printed form to the students in the seminar library, computer laboratory and in the classroom. Finally, we got back 270 responses, and the response rate was 77.14%. Pearson's correlation coefficient (effect size) and nonparametric test (Mann–Whitney U test) were used to see the differences in using information sources over times and overall understanding of choosing the COVID-19 information sources by the demographic variables.

Findings
This study found that the COVID-19 pandemic has made an increased demand for a variety of information, and the sources of information changes over time before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of the students faced challenges while seeking COVID-19 information which mostly falls under the availability of mis–disinformation. Students used more social media tools during the COVID-19 than the pre-COVID-19 time, and there are some significant relationships found between the students' demographic variables and students' understanding of choosing the COVID-19 information sources.

Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is one of the first to analyze changes in information behavior patterns of students in a developing country and understand the challenges faced by the students during the pandemic.


In this article, it is demonstrated that the electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF–HFP)) nanofibrous mat functionalized with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane is a versatile platform for the fabrication of hybrid nanofibrous mats by covalently attaching various types of inorganic oxide nanoparticles on the nanofiber surface via a sol–gel process. In particular, SiO2-on-P(VDF–HFP) nanofibrous mats synthesized using this method is an excellent ionic liquid (IL) host for electrolyte applications. The IL-based electrolytes in the form of free-standing mats are obtained by immersing SiO2-on-P(VDF–HFP) mats in two types of liquid electrolytes, namely LiClO4/1-butyl-3methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate and bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide lithium salt/1-butyl-1methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide. It is found that the surface attached SiO2 nanoparticles can effectively serve as salt dissociation promoters by interacting with the anions of both ILs and lithium salts through Lewis acid–base interactions. They dramatically enhance the ionic conductivity and lithium transference number of the electrolytes. In addition, better compatibility of the electrolytes with lithium electrodes is also observed in the presence of surface-attached SiO2. Using IL-loaded SiO2-on-P(VDF–HFP) nanofibrous mats as the electrolytes, electrochromic devices display higher transmittance contrast, while Li/LiCoO2 batteries show significantly improved C-rate performance and cycling stability. This class of novel non-volatile electrolytes with high ionic conductivity also has the potential to be used in other electrochemical devices.


Shallow water flows are governed by the shallow water wave equations, also known as the SaintVenant system. This paper presents a finite volume method used to solve the two-dimensional shallow water wave equations and how the finite volume method is implemented in ANUGA software. This finite volume method is the numerical method underlying the software. ANUGA is open source software developed by Australian National University (ANU) and Geoscience Australia (GA). This software uses the finite volume method with triangular domain discretisation for the computation. Four test cases are considered in order to evaluate the performance of the software. Overall, ANUGA is a robust software to simulate two-dimensional shallow water flows.


This paper builds upon existing work regarding the social contexts of interactive on-line content creation. Through an ethnographic examination of local-level music production and distribution in two American college towns, I demonstrate how musicians cultivate audiences through social capital that is exchanged both on-line and off-line. Active social networking is crucial to their music distribution and promotion. Through digital file sharing and social networking sites, musicians mobilize bonded social capital around their image and music. However, they have difficulty bridging the networks they cultivate with a broader audience, despite their desire to do so. This paper concludes with a sketch of the possibilities for musicians to develop bridging social capital, noting that new media industries capitalize on this desire, turning producers of on-line content into consumers of on-line media content and services. By employing a framework of social networks and social capital, this paper contributes more broadly to sociological understanding of how culture is transmitted through social networks and how social capital is an important resource in the ability to gain recognition for one's cultural expressions in the digital age.


Background: Mutations of the TP53 gene induce the production of abnormal p53-protein with a prolonged half-life allowing its detection by monoclonal antibodies. In the following study we examined if elevated levels of p53 correlate with worse prognosis in colorectal cancer. Methods: We have quantified the protein, using an immunoluminometric assay, in 144 cytosols of primary sporadic colorectal cancer tissues and in 96 specimen of normal mucosa. Results: In 112 samples (77.8%) the p53-expression was higher than the cut-off-value of 0.15 ng p53 per mg total protein. Luminometric immunoassay did not correlate with various clinicopathological parameters. Follow-up ranged from 2.4 to 54.3 (mean 25.3) months. During this period, 61 patients developed recurrences of whom 39 died of the underlying disease. Neither univariate nor multivariate analysis showed any statistically significant differences in prognosis between high and low p53 expression. Conclusion: Our investigation revealed that p53-overexpression as measured by a luminometric immunoassay, is not a useful predictor of prognosis in patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma. Overcoming the limit of semiquantitative immunohistochemistry for p53-protein quantitative immunoluminometry may be useful elucidating the relation between serum p53-antibodies and p53 in cytosols.


A randomized study with and without bestatin, a new biological response modifier, was conducted in order to evaluate its survival effect on resected lung cancer. A total of 153 patients (72 with squamous cell carcinoma, 66 with adenocarcinoma, and 15 with other types of cancer) were evaluated. Among the patients with squamous cell carcinoma, the bestatin-treated group had significantly prolonged survival compared to the control group. No significant difference between the two groups was seen in adenocarcinoma.


American businesses annually spend billions of dollars in efforts to improve their employees' writing abilities in the workplace. Current methods of writing instruction are not adequately preparing students for professional environments, and in order to alleviate these issues, adaptations must be made in secondary classrooms to foster writing self-efficacy and mastery. Through the use of reflective writing activities, meaningful assignments, and lesson plans incorporating technology, teachers can help students develop as writers and better prepare them for the workforce.


In a nationwide survey in 2011, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) was found in 5.2% and 40.8% of patients with new and previously treated TB, respectively. These levels of drug resistance are among the highest ever documented in Africa and the Middle East. This finding presents a serious challenge for TB control in Somalia.


Several collections of aerial photographs have been acquired in the Dominican Republic during the last 70 years. Although many of these sources are increasingly becoming available as scanned images, limited digital photogrammetric processing has been done, mainly because of the unaffordable prices of proprietary software licenses and the lack of clear workflows for processing historical photos. Many of the software tools developed in the last two decades, designated as structure-from-motion and multi-view stereo techniques, are bundled within OpenDroneMap, which is an open-source toolkit originally designed for processing aerial drone imagery. The aim of this research was to test the capabilities of this toolkit for the production of accurate orthomosaics, point clouds, and digital surface models from historical aerial photos. A workflow was designed and tested with 10 color aerial photos taken in 2003 of the Ocoa River system, which is located in the southern part of the Dominican Republic. The workflow comprised the preparation of images, selection of ground control points, reconstruction or bundle-block adjustment, dense matching with two different algorithms, and finally the generation of digital surface models (DSMs) and orthomosaics. The results showed that both the orthomosaics and DSMs showed good agreement with the reference data. The main conclusion was that the proposed workflow may be applicable to other historical aerial photographs, with high efficiency and at zero cost.


Aims: Economic gender equality is one of the goals of the Nordic Welfare states. Despite this, there is a considerable gender gap in pensionable income in the European Union, and an unmet need for measures that absorb more of the complexity associated with accumulated (dis)advantages across gender and population groups. The aims of the present study were to examine the gender difference in association between average earned pension points and 1) education and 2) current occupational prestige, and to discuss pension points as a possible indicator of accumulated disadvantages. Methods: We linked a community-based survey, the Hordaland Health study (HUSK), to the national register of insurance benefits (FD-trygd). This made it possible to trace gendered patterns of economic (dis)advantages associated with educational level, career development and gainful work over the life course for 17,275 individuals. Results: We found profound differences in earned accrued pension rights between men and women across socioeconomic strata, and a significant interaction between pension rights and gender in the association with education and occupational prestige. Our findings indicate that men, as a group, may have lower educational attainment and occupational prestige than women, and still earn more pension points throughout their career. These differences place women at risk for future economic strain and deprivation over and above their similarly educated and positioned male counterparts. Conclusions: We suggest that accrued pension rights may be a relevant measure of accumulated (dis)advantages over the course of working life, and a useful indicator when gender equality is measured and discussed.


Motivated by the ideas of Jacob Bekenstein concerning gravity-assisted symmetry breaking, we consider a non-canonical model of f(R)=R+R^2 extended gravity coupled to neutral scalar "inflaton", as well as to SU(2)xU(1) multiplet of fields matching the content of the bosonic sector of the electroweak particle model, however with the following significant difference - the SU(2)xU(1) iso-doublet Higgs-like scalar enters here with a standard positive mass squared and without quartic selfinteraction. Strong interaction dynamics and, in particular, QCD-like confinement effects are also considered by introducing an additional coupling to a strongly nonlinear gauge field whose Lagrangian contains a square-root of the standard Maxwell/Yang-Mills kinetic term. The latter is known to produce charge confinement in flat spacetime. The principal new ingredient in the present approach is employing the formalism of non-Riemannian spacetime volume-forms - alternative generally covariant volume elements independent of the spacetime metric, constructed in terms of auxiliary antisymmetric tensor gauge fields of maximal rank. Although being almost pure-gauge, i.e. not introducing any additional propagating degrees of freedom, their dynamics triggers a series of physically important features when passing to the Einstein frame: (i) Appearance of two infinitely large flat regions of the effective "inflaton" scalar potential with vastly different energy scales corresponding to the "early" and "late" epochs of the Universe; (ii) Dynamical generation of Higgs-like spontaneous symmetry breaking effective potential for the SU(2)xU(1) iso-doublet scalar in the "late" Universe, and vanishing of the symmetry breaking in the "early" Universe; (iii) Dynamical appearance of charge confinement via the "square-root" nonlinear gauge field in the "late" Universe and deconfinement in the "early" Universe.


A spontaneously transformed murine keratinocyte cell line (PAM cell) was found to secrete two nondisulfide-linked collagenous polypeptides with apparent molecular weight (MW) 190-kd and 120-kd. Pulse-chase experiments indicated that the 190-kd polypeptide was secreted into the culture medium in 2 h and processed to the 120-kd collagen component within 4 h. This process was inhibited by EDTA. The 120-kd polypeptide was sensitive to pepsin, and a 50-kd fragment was produced by a mild pepsin treatment at 4 degrees C. A cyanogen bromide peptide map of the 120-kd polypeptide was distinct from that of types I, II, III, IV, and V collagens. These properties indicate similarities to the type VIII-related collagen produced by human astrocytoma cells. The secretion of the collagen rapidly reached a maximum level on the first day of culture and subsequently declined with cell proliferation. An accelerated processing to the 120-kd polypeptide was observed under culture conditions of high cell density. Similar collagens were also found to be produced by normal human keratinocytes. These results indicate that the 120-kd polypeptide is a potentially functional protein that may participate in the formation of the extracellular matrix of keratinocytes.


Although Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) have been used to model Genetic Regulatory Networks (GRNs) in many previous works, their steady-state behaviors are not well studied. However, a phenotype corresponds to a steady-state gene expression pattern and steady-state analysis of GRNs can provide valuable information on the stability of the GRNs, insights into cellular regulatory mechanisms underlying disease development as well as possible interventions for disease control. In this study, the steady-state behaviors of the nonlinear GRN models are analyzed based on time series data. The steady-state solutions and stability of nonlinear GRNs including polynomial model, sigmoidal model and S-system model are discussed in details.


The number and variety of IP applications have hugely increased in the last few years. Among them, peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing applications have become very popular: more users are continuously joining such systems and more objects are being made available, seducing even more users to join. An accurate mapping of traffic to applications is important for a wide range of network management tasks. Besides, traditional mapping approaches have become increasingly inaccurate because many applications use non-default or ephemeral port numbers, use well-known port numbers associated with other applications, change application signatures or use traffic encryption. This paper proposes a framework to identify Internet applications that can be mainly used in situations where existing identification frameworks are not efficient or can not be used at all. The core block of the identification tool is based on neural networks and is able to identify different flow patterns generated by various Internet applications. Neural network based identification relies on a previous identification of the different IP applications that can be obtained offline using any reliable method. In this way, the paper also presents a module to process IP traffic flows and identify the underlying applications using payload analysis techniques. The identification results obtained from this tool are used in the training phase of the neural network identification framework. The accuracy of the identification framework was evaluated by performing a set of intensive tests and the results obtained show that, when conveniently trained, neural networks constitute a valuable tool to identify Internet applications while being, at the same time, immune to the most important disadvantages presented by other identification methods.


D., Oikonomou, G., Sakellariou, A., Theodorou, V., Paschalis, M., Nikolaidis, & A., Jamurtas The main aim of this review is to present the effects of eccentric and concentric exercise on carbohydrate metabolism in animals and humans. We reviewed studies that employed the three most frequently used protocols to compare eccentric with concentric contractions: eccentric and concentric contractions on an isokinetic dynamometer, downhill anduphill running and electrical stimulation. Concentric exercise appeared to diminish muscle glycogen to a greater extent compared to eccentric exercise whereas eccentric exercise induced a lower rate of glycogen replenishment, a lower activation of glycogen synthase activity, a greater decrease in GLUT 4 protein content and a higher increase in insulin resistance. The main mechanism for this great metabolic stress observed after eccentric contractions might be related to the greater and prolonged muscle damage that this type of exercise induces. Muscle-damaging exercise has been related to prolonged myofibrillar disruption and prolonged inflammation – sarcolemma damage, whereas this might impair the functionality of the muscle cell. Therefore, it seems that there might be a connection between the muscle damage and the metabolic impact eccentric exercise provokes. In conclusion, the main finding of the present review is that muscle-damage caused by eccentric exercise might constitute the mechanism for the observed metabolic effects on carbohydrate metabolism. We propose that eccentric exercise should be viewed as a different challenge compared to concentric exercise with regard to its impact on muscle damage and its effect on carbohydrate metabolism. Key words: muscle glycogen, glycogen synthase activity, glucose transporter 4 (GLUT 4), insulin resistance


Athymic nude mice are characterized by deficient cellular immunity due to almost complete absence of functional mature T-lymphocytes. Plasma HDL (the major cholesterol carrier in mice) cholesterol levels in nude mice were found to be reduced by 1.7 fold in comparison to control Balb/c mice. Cellular degradation of HDL by peritoneal macrophages (MPM) that were obtained from nude mice, was 2.5 fold greater in comparison to MPM obtained from Balb/c mice. Since nude mice lack cytokines that can affect lipid metabolism, intravenous administration of 10 micrograms/100g body weight of interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), or transforming growth factor (TGF) on HDL degradation by their PM, were investigated. IL-1 (but not TNF) reduced HDL (50 micrograms of protein/ml) cellular degradation from 810 +/- 34 to 350 +/- 12 ng/mg cell protein (p < 0.01) in nude mice. In control Balb/c mice, however, IL-1 as well as TNF enhanced macrophage degradation of HDL by 56% and 280%, respectively. TGF injection into nude mice (but not control mice) decreased HDL degradation by their MPM by 50%. We, thus, suggest that in nude mice the reduced plasma and HDL cholesterol levels are probably due to increased HDL degradation, which may be secondary to IL-1 and TGF deficiency.


The obligation of accession countries of Central and Eastern Europe to approximate and implement European Union environmental directives has forced the environment on the agenda where it might otherwise be eclipsed by other issues. The result might be improvements over time in the media and subject areas in which the EU has spoken if small, inexperienced and under-funded environmental ministries can manage the tremendous costs and institutional skills that these directives impose. EU accession might diminish NGOs' power in some respects and enhance it in others. The environmental agenda is likely to be set in Brussels, not in response to domestic 'consumer-driven' demand in the foreseeable future. NGOs will have less flexibility to introduce environmental initiatives that are inconsistent with EU demands. But EU membership creates opportunities to police governments' progress implementing the directives. Creative NGOs can monitor and advocate, forcing their governments, in effect, to make good on promises...


BACKGROUND
Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) is characterized by compromised chemoreflexes resulting in sleep hypoventilation. We report a Chinese family with paired-like homeobox 2B (PHOX2B) mutation-confirmed CCHS, with a clinical spectrum from newborn to adulthood, to increase awareness of its various manifestations.

METHODS
After identifying central hypoventilation in an adult man (index case), clinical evaluation was performed on the complete family, which consisted of the parents, five siblings, and five offspring. Pulmonary function tests, overnight polysomnography, arterial blood gas measurements, hypercapnia ventilatory response, and PHOX2B gene mutation screening were performed on living family members. Brain MRI, 24-h Holter monitoring, and echocardiography were performed on members with clinically diagnosed central hypoventilation.

RESULTS
The index patient and four offspring manifested clinical features of central hypoventilation. The index patients had hypoxia and hypercapnia while awake, polycythemia, and hematocrit levels of 70%. The first and fourth children had frequent cyanotic spells, and both died of respiratory failure. The second and third children remained asymptomatic until adulthood, when they experienced impaired hypercapnic ventilatory response. The third child had nocturnal hypoventilation with nadir pulse oximetric saturation of 59%. Adult-onset CCHS with PHOX2B gene mutation of the + 5 alanine expansions were confirmed in the index patient and the second and third children. The index patient and the third child received ventilator support system bilevel positive airway pressure treatment, which improved the hypoxemia, hypercapnia, and polycythemia without altering their chemosensitivity.

CONCLUSIONS
Transmission of late-onset CCHS is autosomal-dominant. Genetic screening of family members of CCHS probands allows for early diagnosis and treatment.


Background: Although intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is now accepted as the treatment of choice for severe male infertility, concerns about its safety and the potential risks for the offspring remain. We reviewed the literature with respect to the prevalence of major congenital malformations after the ICSI technique and supplemented these data with the results of a prospective follow-up study performed in our center. Methods: From January 1994 till June 2000, 776 ICSI cycles were carried out at the Leuven University Fertility Center. The resulting pregnancies (n = 172) were followed for biochemical and obstetrical parameters, prenatal diagnosis and congenital abnormalities. Results: A total of 134/172 (78%) ongoing pregnancies resulted in 132 deliveries of 166 live born children. Two terminations of pregnancy were carried out due to the presence of major congenital anomalies, diagnosed at prenatal ultrasound. Prenatal diagnosis was carried out in 55 fetuses. Two de novo chromosomal aberrations were found. Major congenital abnormalities were observed at birth in 9/150 (6.0%) children. The total malformation rate was 6.5%. Conclusions: The prevalence of congenital abnormalities in children born after ICSI in our center (6.5%) was comparable to the prevalence of congenital abnormalities after ICSI reported in the literature.


In the present study, a flow visualization and heat transfer investigation is carried out computationally on a flat plate with 10x1 array of impinging jets from a corrugated plate. This corrugated structure is an Anti-Cross Flow (ACF) technique which is proved to nullify the negative effects of cross-flow thus enhancing the overall cooling performance. Governing equations are solved using k-omega Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence model in commercial code FLUENT. The parameter variation considered for the present study are (i) three different heights of ACF corrugate (C/D=1, 2 & 3) and (ii) two different jet-to-target plate spacing (H/D=1 & 2). ). The dependence of ACF structure performance on the corrugate height (C/D) and the flow structure has been discussed in detail, therefore choosing an optimum corrugate height and visualizing the three-dimensional flow phenomena are the main objectives of the present study. The three-dimensional flow separation and heat transfer characteristics are explained with the help of skin friction lines, upwash fountains, wall eddies, counter-rotating vortex pair (CRVP), and plots of Nusselt number. It is found that the heat transfer performance is high at larger corrugate heights for both the jet-to-plate spacing. Moreover, the deterioration of the skin friction pattern corresponding to the far downstream impingement zones is greatly reduced with ACF structure, retaining more uniform heat transfer pattern even at low H/D values where the crossflow effects are more dominant in case of the conventional cooling structure. In comparison of the overall heat transfer performance, the difference between C/D=3 & C/D=2 for H/D=2 is significantly less, thus making the later as the optimal configuration in terms of reduced channel height.


FROM a legal and practical point of view, separation is never easy. On the one hand, there is the perceived need to support struggling minorities who demand self determination as an inalienable right. This impulse is demonstrated by the fundamental role of the 1947 UN Human Rights Sub-commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, associated with the post–Second World War decolonization process. Occasionally, this and other UN declarations of self-determination are cited as support for a minority's claims about historical injustice or threats to identity. On the other hand, there are the legal, theoretical, and practical imperatives of maintaining a functioning state-based international system, which require reasonably coherent and stable nations. During the cold war, the international community was willing to recognize the self-determination of peoples as a bulwark against "imperialism" but not at the cost of disrupting the integrity of the state-system. Parts of UN Resolution 1514 reveal the inherent dilemma in granting self-determination:


Purpose: The author hypothesizes that exogenously injected BMP, which is mixed with fibrin glue, can accelerate the healing of a bone-tendon junction injury and increase its holding strength during the early regeneration period. Materials and Methods: A direct injury model of the bone-tendon junction was made using the Achilles tendon-calcaneus bone of 54 rabbits: and the transected Achilles tendon was repaired to its original insertion site using the Krackow method. In Group 1, no additional manipulation was performed. In Group 2, only fibrin glue was injected into the junction between the Achilles tendon and the calcaneus in order to exclude the effect of the fibrin glue. In Group 3, BMP-2 incorporated into the fibrin glue was injected into the junction. The results were evaluated by histological analysis and biomechanical tests at 2, 4, and 8 weeks after surgery. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used for a statistical evaluation. Results: Histological analysis revealed the early appearance of fibrocartilage at 2 weeks in Group 3: the area of the fibrocartilage expanded with time. The biomechanical tests showed significant differences in the maximum stress between Groups 1 and 3, and between Groups 2 and 3, at 2, 4, and 8 weeks. 74.4% of the normal maximum stress was recovered at 8 weeks in Group 3. Conclusion: The combined use of BMP-2 and the fibrin glue can accelerate the healing of an injury of the bone-tendon junction.


PURPOSE
Little is known about the molecular alterations that drive formation and growth of conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). We therefore sought to identify genetic changes that could be used as diagnostic markers or therapeutic targets.

METHODS
The DNA extracted from 10 snap-frozen cSCC tumor specimens and 2 in situ carcinomas was analyzed using array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH), and further examined with NanoString and quantitative PCR.

RESULTS
The number of regions of DNA loss ranged from 1 to 23 per tumor, whereas gains and amplifications ranged from 1 to 15 per tumor. Most large regions of chromosomal gain and loss were confirmed by NanoString karyotype analysis. The commonest alteration was amplification of 8p11.22 in 9 tumors (75%), and quantitative PCR analysis revealed 100-fold or greater overexpression of ADAM3A mRNA from 8p11.22 locus. In addition, recurring losses were observed at 14q13.2 and 22q11.23, both lost in 5 (42%) of the 12 tumors, and at 12p13.31, lost in 4 (33%) of the 12 samples. Of the eight loci associated with the DNA damage repair syndrome xeroderma pigmentosum, three showed loss of at least one allele in our aCGH analysis, including XPA (9q22.33, one tumor), XPE/DDB2 (11p11.2, one tumor) and XPG/ERCC5 (13q33.1, three tumors).

CONCLUSIONS
Conjunctival SCC contains a range of chromosomal alterations potentially important in tumor formation and growth. Amplification of 8p11.22 and overexpression of ADAM3A suggests a potential role for this protease. Our findings also suggest that defects in DNA repair loci are important in sporadic cSCC.


Infanticide has recently been observed in several primate species while female counterstrategies are seemingly rare. The question of why mothers do not increase their resistance to infanticide is investigated using a haploid two‐locus model. A hypothesis that mothers can recover lost offspring by gaining more grandchildren is rejected in most cases, and it is shown that costs and benefits for both males and females have the strongest influence on the evolution of infanticide and obedience to it. An estimation of parameters for a natural population of hanuman langurs suggests that infanticide is more advantageous than noninfanticide and the costs of resistance, compared to obedience, is higher than its benefits. Data from other studies on primate infanticide are discussed in the light of results of the model.


Sample clean-up methodologies based on supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) have been developed for determination of fat-soluble vitamins in foods. This thesis focuses on method development, stressing important issues concerning sample pre-treatment, extraction conditions and collection parameters. It was demonstrated that by using SFE followed by saponification and determination using RP-HPLC with UV and fluorescence detection, quantitative recoveries of vitamins A, E and b-carotene could be obtained in milk, milk powder, minced meat, liver paste, infant formula and canned baby food. The importance of modifying the sample matrix by adding an ethanolic entrainer prior to extraction was stressed. It was also shown that careful optimisation of the collection parameters is essential to accurately determine the vitamins. When solvent collection was employed, the type of solvent had an especially significant impact on the collection efficiency.

In the work reported in this thesis, the possibility of replacing the rather harsh saponification step with on-line enzymatic hydrolysis using lipases was also investigated. Important parameters such as water content, temperature and extraction pressure were examined using several lipases and one esterase. It was shown that immobilised lipase from Candida antarctica type B was superior in terms of activity and operational stability. This on-line extraction/reaction methodology resulted in 100% conversion of retinyl palmitate to retinol (vitamin A), samples sufficiently clean for direct vitamin determination, and quantitative recoveries of vitamins A and E. Moreover, the methodology was fully automated and consumed much smaller amounts of organic solvents than conventional extraction methodologies.

Instead of trying to obtain all the selectivity in the extraction step, work has also been done on using a solid phase trap in the collection step for selectivity enhancement. With a longer trap than is normally used in this type of equipment, it was found that the collection capacity of condensed modifier and coextracted fat was increased, thereby allowing the use of a lower trap temperature without risking analyte breakthrough losses. It was also shown that fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E could be fully fractionated from triacylglycerols in rapeseed oil during the elution step. This methodology was employed for the determination of tocopherols in rapeseed and fish liver oil.


In the teaching and learning process, the speaking skill of German language is still difficult to master. The fact shows that most learners still rarely use German language either in the classroom situation or in the real life. From the research conducted by Nurhani (2007) it is found that one alternative method of learning which can increase university students' participation is the interactive method. One of the main features of this method is the group division which divided a group into large and small group. In this group the interaction between students can be increase. Based on that explanation, this research will developed a certain learning model which can increase the German speaking skill of university students. Few important results from this research are as follow: (1) the model is new to the German Department of UPI, (2) after implementing it three times, both lecturers and students are familiar with the situation developed and the discussion become more attractive and conducive in increasing the students skill especially in speaking, (3) the themes provided are still lack of variation and the lecturer roles as the facilitator of the discussion still needed to be developed, (4) this method can increase the students participation in the teaching and learning process, (5) it is recognized that lecturer have to develop a certain strategy in delivering the model of learning in speaking through the discussion technique, (6) by using Einstieg (introduction), the students are not only capable in knowing the coverage of the theme, but they also can identify the vocabulary and also the terms related to the theme. This will make the discussion more dynamic, (7) lecturer at least has to consider three aspects in group division: first the student's competency, it means that all students with high learning achievement are spread into all group. Second, the time in making the groups. Third the class setting, (8) in the class discussion phase, lecturer must to be able to manage the class situation so that the discussion is not monopolize by few students.


AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 12-16, 2008; San Diego, CA

4454

Background: Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is a molecular chaperone that plays a crucial role in the conformational maturation of numerous oncogenic signaling proteins. Tumor cells are known to express an altered high affinity conformation of Hsp90 to accelerate the folding of proteins and support their rapid growth. We developed fully synthetic small molecules (e.g., BIIB021) that preferentially bind to the tumor specific Hsp90 and inhibit cancer cell growth in a variety of xenograft models. Several Hsp90 inhibitors including BIIB021 are currently being tested in human cancer patients. The pharmacodynamic (PD) activity of Hsp90 inhibitors is presently assessed by a Western blot assay that is both semi-quantitative and difficult to implement in the clinic. We identified and clinically validated three serum biomarkers (e.g., Hsp70, Hsp90α, HER-2 ECD) via a bioinformatics approach as well as traditional methods. Assessment of these serum biomarkers is easy to implement and should facilitate a systematic evaluation of Hsp90 inhibitor therapy in the clinic and could help determine optimal biological dose, selection of formulations and aid in determination of pharmacologically active dose for advanced Phase II clinical trials. Methods: Tumor cell lines (e.g., H146 and BT474) and human PBMC were treated with various doses of novel synthetic Hsp90 inhibitors, BIIB021 and BIIB028. Proteins secreted into the culture medium or interstitial medium (Xenograft models) at various intervals were analyzed by a bioinformatics approach (non labeled multidimensional separation of peptide digests coupled with ESI-MS), Western blotting or selected biomarkers by highly sensitive ELISA methods both on chemiluminescence and colorimetry platforms. Based on these preliminary analyses, at least three secreted pharmacodynamic markers viz., Hsp70, Hsp90α and HER-2ECD were further validated for clinical use and parameters including accuracy, precision, matrix effects and stability were assessed. Additionally, the basal levels of all three PD markers in normal human serum and multiple different cancer patient serum were analyzed and satisfactorily detected within the assay range. Furthermore, the assays for serum Hsp70 and HER-2ECD have been successfully implemented for the analysis of biomarkers in serum from cancer patients undergoing treatment with BIIB021 in Phase I solid tumor trials. Results and Conclusions: Systematic and simpler approaches to monitor the PD activity of Hsp90 inhibitors in the clinic are currently lacking. We report here the identification, development and validation of clinical biomarkers to monitor the bioactivity of Hsp90 inhibitors in early stage clinical trials. These validated assays should be useful in selection of appropriate formulations, dose and monitoring the biological effects of investigational Hsp90 inhibitors in cancer patient trials.


Sharks (Selachimorpha) are iconic marine predators that have survived multiple mass extinctions over geologic time. Their fossil record is represented by an abundance of teeth, which traditionally formed the basis for reconstructing large-scale diversity changes among different selachimorph clades. By contrast, corresponding patterns in shark ecology, as measured through morphological disparity, have received comparatively limited analytical attention. Here, we use a geometric morphometric approach to comprehensively examine the dental morphology of multiple shark lineages traversing the catastrophic end-Cretaceous mass extinction — this event terminated the Mesozoic Era 66 million years ago. Our results show that selachimorphs maintained virtually static levels of dental disparity in most of their constituent clades during the Cretaceous/Paleogene transition. Nevertheless, selective extinctions did impact on apex predator lineages characterized by triangular blade-like teeth, and in particular, lamniforms including the dominant Cretaceous anacoracids. Other groups, such as, triakid carcharhiniforms, squalids, and hexanchids, were seemingly unaffected. Finally, while some lamniform lineages experienced morphological depletion, others underwent a post-extinction disparity increase, especially odontaspidids, which are typified by narrow-cusped teeth adapted for feeding on fishes. This disparity shift coincides with the early Paleogene radiation of teleosts, a possible prey source, as well as the geographic relocation of shark disparity 'hotspots', perhaps indicating a regionally disjunct pattern of extinction recovery. Ultimately, our study reveals a complex morphological response to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event, the dynamics of which we are only just beginning to understand.


There are a number of thermoluminescence (TL) phosphors (and CVD diamond among of them), for which the integrated TL response decreases with the increasing of the heating rate. This effect relates to the thermal quenching (TQ) of luminescence caused by the increasing the non‐radiative recombination with the temperature increasing. In this work we present a new fitting method of evaluation the TQ parameters from a series of experimental TL glow curves recorded with variable heating rates. The method is simple, fast and effective. It quite general and can be applied to any series of TL glow curves consisting of several overlapped peaks and does not assume a particular type of TL kinetics. The only limitation of the method is that the end temperature of heating must be enough to ensure full readout of the analyzed TL peaks for all heating rates. The proposed method was applied to a series of TL glow curves measured with the heating rates from 0.1 to 17 K/s for the undoped CVD diamond film. The evaluated TQ parameters were found to be: an activation energy of 0.37 eV and a dimensionless constant of 3.7 × 103.


We found that the presentation of a H-2Kd-restricted determinant from influenza virus nucleoprotein (NP) to T cells is strictly dependent on expression of the transporter associated with antigen presentation (TAP), regardless of whether NP is expressed as a cytosolic or secreted NP (SNP). Introducing an N-linked glycosylation site into the determinant selectively reduced presentation of SNP. This indicates that glycosylation does not interfere with TAP-transported peptides, and therefore that cytosolic peptides derived from SNP must have been exposed to the glycosylation machinery of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) before their existence in the cytosol. Based on these findings, we propose that TAP-dependent processing of at least some ER-targeted proteins entails the reimportation of protein from the secretory pathway to the cytosol, where the protein is processed via the classical pathway.


This paper integrates research and ideas in the fields of Human-Computer Interaction and Robotics for the creation of a taxonomy for human-robot interaction. By drawing from multiple research fields, a more complete taxonomy is attained. Taxonomy categories include team composition (ratio of people to robots, types of robots), amount of required interaction, decision support provided for the user, and space-time location.


The Devonian oil shales of the eastern United States constitute one of the nation's major energy resources. The eastern Devonian oil shale resource is estimated to exceed 400 billion bbl of synthetic oil, if all surface and near-surface shales of ore quality were strip or deep mined for above-ground hydroretorting. Work done at the Institute of Gas Technology since 1972 under the sponsorship of the American Gas Association, The Gas Research Institute, and the U.S. Department of Energy has shown that if retorted in hydrogen gas at temperatures of 500 to 730°C and pressures End_Page 1285------------------------------ of 20 to 50 atm, the eastern Devonian shales are a viable source of synthetic liquid or gaseous fuels. Experimental work, in equipment capable of processing up to 1 ton/hour of shale, has confirmed the technical and economic feasibility of above-ground hydroretorting of oil shales. Work done to date on nearly 500 samples from 12 states indicates that the HYTORT process can give organic carbon recoveries from 2 to 2.5 times those of conventional retorting of the Devonian shales, so that the HYTORT process yields 25 to 30 gal/ton on syncrude at many localities, compared with 10 to 15 gal/ton using Fischer Assay retort methods. Criteria for inclusion of shale in estimates of recoverable resources for the HYTORT process are (1) organic carbon of at least 10% by weight, (2) overburden of less than 200 ft (59 m), (3) volumetric stripping ratios of less than 2.5 to 1, and (4) stratigraphic thickness of 10 ft (3 m) or more. Resource estimates include: Kentucky (Ohio, New Albany, and Sunbury Shale), 190 billion bbl; Ohio (Ohio and Sunbury Shale), 140 billion bbl; Tennessee (Chattanooga Shale), 44 billion bbl; Indiana (New Albany Shale), 40 billion bbl; Michigan (Antrim Shale), 5 billion bbl; and Alabama (Chattanooga Shale), 4 billion bbl. Recoverable resources have not been identified in West Virginia, Georgia, Oklahoma, Illinois, Arkansas, or Missouri outcrops. Co-production of uranium and metals is a possibility in the areas favorable for syncrude production. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1286------------


Motion planning is a fundamental problem in autonomous robotics. It requires finding a path to a specified goal that avoids obstacles and obeys a robot's limitations and constraints. It is often desirable for this path to also optimize a cost function, such as path length.
Formal path-quality guarantees for continuously valued search spaces are an active area of research interest. Recent results have proven that some sampling-based planning methods probabilistically converge towards the optimal solution as computational effort approaches infinity. This survey summarizes the assumptions behind these popular asymptotically optimal techniques and provides an introduction to the significant ongoing research on this topic.


Cumulus clouds modify their immediate surroundings by detraining their warm, humid updrafts. When clouds are closely spaced, this conditioning of the local environment may alter the properties of the air entrained by neighboring clouds and slow their dilution. This effect has not been quantified, nor has its importance been determined for influencing the amount of convective rainfall from a system of neighboring clouds. Here, a series of idealized numerical simulations, which are based on an observed line of precipitating cumulus congestus clouds, is performed using increasingly smaller cloud spacing to investigate how cloud proximity may alter entrainment, cloud development, and convective rainfall. For clouds of radius R, which is approximately 1 km in these simulations, distances between updraft centers from 4R through 9R are tested. Over this range, the initial clouds all exhibit negligible differences in the directly calculated entrainment rates and in the thermodynamic characteristics of the entrained air. Instead, for cloud separation distances of less than 6R, the subcloud inflow is increasingly disturbed, limiting initial cloud depths and slowing updraft speeds and precipitation onset. Ultimately, however, these same cases produce a new generation of clouds that are stronger and produce more rainfall than for all other cases. The smaller cloud separation distance allows precipitation outflows from the initial clouds to meet and force new, stronger cloud updrafts. For this second generation of clouds, their entrained air is slightly more humid, but the stronger updrafts and ingestion of residual ice and precipitation from earlier clouds appear to be most important for enhancing their rainfall.


The main purpose of this study is to assess the cultural arts in some villages in Sleman district. In particular, this study aims to: 1) describe the types of traditional arts in tourist villages in Sleman district, 2) describe the presentation of traditional art performed in every tourism village in Sleman district, 3) describe the efforts to preserve the kinds of traditional art which are likely developed in the tourist villages in Sleman district. The results reveal that in some developing tourist villages there are many traditional art forms such as dance, traditional music (gamelan), puppet art, traditional games for children, with their own kind of variety. Art traditions in rural tourism are presented in a simple way and yet touched with good aesthetic arts that are still hereditary. The presentation of a certain kind of art attractions is based on the demand of visitors, but some are conducted based on the initiative coming from the tourist village manager. The traditional art in the main tourist village is used to attract visitors to come. It is also used as a venue for traditional art reception, entertainment, cultural recognition, the regeneration of art activists, and community empowerment.


Estrogen receptors (ERs) regulate multiple complex physiological processes in humans. Abnormal ER signaling may result in various disorders, including reproductive system-related disorders (endometriosis, and breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer), bone-related abnormalities, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disease, urogenital tract disease, neurodegenerative disorders, and cutaneous melanoma. ER alpha (ERα), ER beta (ERβ), and novel G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER1) have been identified as the most prominent ERs. This review provides an overview of ERα, ERβ, and GPER1, as well as their functions in health and disease. Furthermore, the potential clinical applications and challenges are discussed.


Background: In traditional medicines, the root of Cnestis palala was used for the treatment of stomach ache, malaria, urinary track disorders and snakebite. The seed was used for poisoning rat and stray dogs. However, the bioactivities and chemical constituents have not been reported. So, this will be the first report.
Material and Methods: Biological investigations of C. palala extracts against bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Propionibacterium acnes, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), fungi (Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton rubrum and Microsporum gypseum), yeast (Candida albicans), tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), malaria (Plasmodium falciparum) and cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and HT-29) were evaluated. The chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques were used for the isolation and identification of pure compounds.
Results: The results showed that the ethanol leaf and bark extracts were active against S. aureus and S. epidermidis. The hexane leaf and seed extracts and petroleum ether bark and root extracts showed strongly inhibition values against MCF-7. Moreover, the petroleum ether bark extract exhibited high inhibition value against HT-29. Seven compounds were isolated as β-sitosterol-glucoside (CP1), hydroquinone (CP2), β-sitosterol (CP3), mixture of fatty acids (CP4) and ethyl caffeate (CP5), scopoletin (CP6) and 2-nonenal (CP7). The CP2 was strongly active against S. aureus and S. epidermidis, the MIC was showed 30.10 µg/ml and 15.05 µg/ml and the MBC was showed 15 µg/ml and 7.5 µg/ml, respectively.
Conclusion: These results suggested that C. palala is a great potential source of anti-microbial agents. Hence, this is the first study, which will be the database for chemical constituents and bioactivities of C. palala.


It is fair to state that performance is one of the most contested terms in our field, clearly evolving and emerging in the last few decades as one of the most significant terms in a wide range of academic disciplines and in society in general. This essay lays out many of the principal critical and theoretical concepts and debates related to performance—performativity, performance studies, performance art, etc.—to illustrate how the field and the lens through which we view it have changed and are continuing to change, as well as how those of us who study Latin American theater fit into the larger picture of examining the embodiment of meaning. This study of some of the main contributions to the discipline and to the creation of the field of performance studies offers an overview of the concepts, scholarship, and bibliography that have helped shape the ways in which we talk about performance.


While the causative agents of encephalo-ophthalmic dysplasia are relatively numerous, the causative mechanisms are fewer in number and operate during or shortly after the second trimester of pregnancy. Causative agents include placental abnormalities and hemorrhages; conditions leading to or associated with premature and multiple births; and possibly certain intercurrent infections of the mother. There is no evidence of a genetic factor. Clinical, pathologic and epidemiologic evidence suggests that lack of oxygen to the fetus may be the most important causative mechanism leading to permanent damage of vascular tissues. Special features of the clinical syndrome are due to the stage of development of the host at the time the injurious agent acted. They are also dependent upon the site and extent of injury, and are modified greatly by secondary changes.


Teamwork and interpersonal communication are indispensable skills for business workers, and most companies are promoting diversity in teams to gain a competitive edge. Although findings suggest that diversity may not be as valuable as it seems for most teams, business workers need to manage diversity successfully. Therefore, the present authors tried to determine whether teams of business students with similar majors held perceptions about issues including conflict, leadership, and friendship that differed from those of mixed majors. Analyses of variance indicated that teams with similar majors expressed their ideas more freely and developed friendships more easily than did teams of mixed majors.


This collaborative self-study uses the metaphor of a braided river to both illustrate and interpret the interwoven, interconnected professional lives of members of the Portfolio Group, a 14-year professional relationship among educators (teachers, specialists, administrators, consultants, professors, researchers) in the southwestern USA. The research is grounded in self-study methodology. Employing a transformation framework, the inquiry identifies and explores shared experiences characterized as transformative for the group or for individuals. The study draws attention to how conversations around important, unsolvable and long-standing concerns are shaped by changing experiences and shifting landscapes. It also highlights the role of shared experience and language in developing cohesion between collaborating educators from disparate contexts and in generating more meaningful interaction. Furthermore, it illustrates the way in which reflection streams continuously throughout our work together.


Using pulsed atomic beam technique and a surface ionization ion microscope, the desorption kinetics and the surface diffusion of the alkalis potassium, rubidium and cesium were investigated on a Si(111)7 × 7-surface at extremely low alkali coverages.

In the temperature range 1120 … 800 K, the mean adsorption lifetime τ(T) = τ0 · exp(Edesi/kT) and the mean diffusion length x(T) - defined in the equilibrium between adsorption, diffusion and desorption - were measured. From these data the diffusion constant D(T) = D0 · exp(-Ediff/kT) was obtained as D = x−2/τ. For temperatures T ⩽ 750 K, the diffusion constant was calculated from nonstationary alkali concentration profiles using the Boltzmann-Matano method.

From the temperature dependence of these quantities the parameters of desorption (Edes,i τ0) and surface diffusion (Ediff, D0) for K, Rb and Cs on Si(111) were obtained. The values of Ediff and D0 are comparably high and may be interpreted by non-localized diffusion according to a model proposed by Bonzel (Surf. Sci. 21 (1970) 45).


HYPRES has developed new fabrication processes for higher critical current density Josephson junctions (JJs). These processes incorporate an additional anodization step for junction insulation, which enables fabrication of junctions down to submicron sizes. A set of new processing tools has been employed, including a high density (ICP) plasma etching of niobium and aluminum, and low temperature plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of interlayer dielectric (SiO/sub 2/) from a TEOS source. A set of new parametric control monitor (PCM) test chips has been designed and implemented. Results of electric and SEM characterization of JJ's, wiring, and contact-hole etching are presented. The critical current spreads and shunt resistance uniformity along with the effects of junction shape are discussed. The critical current 1/spl sigma/ spreads of 1.2% have been achieved for the 4.5 kA/cm/sup 2/ process.


There is a famous epistemic Surprise Examination Paradox (SEP) which was studied for at least half a century. We look at its formalization in MetaPRL logical framework in order to see how the change in its dimensions affects the automatic proof search.


Abstracta-plane GaN on r-plane sapphire substrates suffers from high density defects and rough surfaces. To obtain pit-free a-plane GaN by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, we intentionally grew high-temperature (HT) 3-dimensional (3D) GaN buffer layers on a GaN nucleation layer. The effects of the HT 3D GaN buffer layers on crystal quality and the surface morphology of a-plane GaN were studied. The insertion of a 3D GaN buffer layer with an optimum thickness was found to be an effective method to obtain pit-free a-plane GaN with improved crystalline quality on r-plane sapphire substrates. An a-plane GaN light emitting diode (LED) at an emission wavelength around 480 nm with negligible peak shift was successfully fabricated.


This paper develops a new financial stress measure (Cleveland Financial Stress Index, CFSI) that considers the supervisory objective of identifying risks to the stability of the financial system. The index provides a continuous signal of financial stress and broad coverage of the areas that could indicate it. The construction methodology uses daily public market data collected from different sectors of financial markets. A unique feature of the index is that it employs a dynamic weighting method that captures the changing relative importance of the different sectors of the financial system. This study shows how the index can be applied to monitoring and analyzing financial system conditions.


H-acid adsorbed onto TiO2 surface by sulphonic groups, which were first attacked by free radicals of OH(subscript ads) followed by the cleavage of the naphthalene rings during the photo-degradation of H-acid on TiO2 surfaces. At pH 2.5, H-acid adsorbed onto TiO2 surface by one sulphonic group, which lead to a higher adsorption capacity but weaker adsorption bonds. Photo-degradation rates under this condition were therefore slower than at pH 5.0. At pH 5.0, H-acid adsorbed onto TiO2 surface by two sulphonic groups, which had a lower adsorption capacity but stronger adsorption bonds. Photo-degradation rates were therefore faster, than at pH 2.5. Different adsorption modes were the fundamental reason why the photocatalytic degradation pathways and degradation rates were different under different pH conditions.


'Ui mai koe ki ahau he aha te mea nui o te ao, Maku e ki atu he tangata, he tangata he tangata'* 'Ask me what is the greatest thing in the world, I will reply: It is people, it is people, it is people!' The strategic design and management of New Zealand's economic transformation is a sophisticated and long-term process. Economic transformation is not merely a re-branding exercise, although a forwardthinking national brand strategy could provide the catalyst for promoting the repositioning strategy. New Zealand's economic performance has always been affected by global events, socio-cultural factors and physical constraints – small population size and distance from key global markets. Therefore, New Zealand cannot compete in 'low-road' strategies by simply opening the economy to international trade, investment and technology flow, or by providing cheap labour. New Zealand's economic future will be transformed by significant human capital developments to enable the workforce and businesses to become design-savvy and capable of harnessing and commercialising new technologies, networking globally and adding value to everything we produce that is significantly more innovative and better than that of our competitors. Managing such a 'high-road' economic transformation strategy is both complex and challenging. Systems and processes must be put in place to enable the government, corporations, businesses and universities to work in partnerships and clusters to exploit creativity, innovation and technology to sustain global advantage. Capability development in creativity, innovation and the judicious use of technologies are the greatest assets for New Zealand's economic transformation. A rich pool of creative human capital will enable the nation to integrate its products and services into global value chains – thus adding value, forging new competencies, developing niches, and establishing a high-profile, brands, jobs and wealth for the nation. This paper will discuss these forces in detail, and highlights the agencies to strategically manage the transformation processes along with the government's Growth and Innovation Framework, sector taskforces, country branding, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, and the bold New Zealand design policy to transform an agriculture economy into a design-savvy, high-wage and high-value globally competitive economy.


Laccase has an extensive application on the decoloration of textile dyes and waste-dyeing-water treatment. Reactive black 5 (RB5), a representative azo dye, has complex structure and is low-biodegradable. In this paper, laccase produced by Ganoderma lucidum U-281 was used to decolorize RB5. The optimal parameters for RB5 decolorizing catalyzed by laccase from U-281 were seriatim obtained by single factor optimization method. The results were showed as follows: 25mg/L of initial dye concentration, 2.0U/mL of laccase dosage, 40mmol/L of Cu2+ addition and pH 6.0 at 40℃. Under the optimized conditions, 62.34% and more than 90% of RB5 was decolorized in 4 hours and 24 hours respectively.


Methotrexate, a methyl derivative of aminopterin, is a folic acid antagonist and a known human teratogen; misoprostol is a synthetic prostaglandin E1 analog that causes uterine contractions. Recently, there has been resurgence in the use of methotrexate in combination with misoprostol or of methotrexate alone for the treatment of unwanted or ectopic pregnancies, respectively. This report documents the findings in four infants who were exposed prenatally to methotrexate alone or in combination with misoprostol in a failed attempt at medical abortion or treatment of ectopic pregnancy. All patients demonstrated growth deficiency, with growth parameters <10th centile, and all displayed features consistent with methotrexate and/or misoprostol embryopathy. Since an increasing number of medical abortions are being performed, it is important for physicians to recognize the associated teratogenic effects of these abortifacients. Data from the patients herein described should prompt obstetricians and other health care practitioners who prescribe these medications to counsel their patients regarding these risks, especially if the treatment regimen fails to induce an abortion. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


We propose a broad-band 3/spl times/3 optical coupler based on the principle of evanescent-field coupling between three parallel identical long-period fiber gratings. In particular, we demonstrate experimentally the situation where light is launched into one fiber and coupled equally to the other two fibers. The effects of changing the surrounding refractive index and introducing an offset distance between the gratings on the transmission characteristics of the coupler are investigated. Using three identical 35-mm-long gratings, we find that the peak coupling efficiency increases by 9 and 14 dB, as the surrounding refractive index and the offset distance increase from 1.0 to 1.440 and from 0 to 50 mm, respectively. The side-lobe suppression ratio varies between 16.0 and 23.0 dB. We achieve a total power conversion efficiency of 85% at the resonance wavelength with a surrounding refractive index of 1.420 and an offset distance of 50 mm.


Surface glycoproteins are principal receptors used by pathogens to invade target cells. It has been suggested that mammalian erythrocyte surface glycoproteins function as decoy receptors attracting pathogens to the anucleated erythrocyte and away from their target tissues. Glycophorin A (GYPA) is solely expressed on the erythrocyte surface where it is the most abundant sialoglycoprotein, although its function is unknown. The pathogen decoy hypothesis may be relevant here, as GYPA has been shown in vitro to bind numerous viruses and bacteria, which do not infect erythrocytes. However, it is also a receptor for erythrocyte invasion by the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Analyses of gypa sequence variation among six higher primates and within a human population show that there is a large excess of replacement (nonsynonymous) substitutions along each primate lineage (particularly on exons 2-4 encoding the extracellular glycosylated domain of GYPA) and a significant excess of polymorphisms in exon 2 (encoding the terminal portion of the extracellular domain) within humans. These two signatures suggest that there has been exceptionally strong positive selection on this receptor driving GYPA divergence during primate evolution and balancing selection maintaining allelic variation within human populations. The pathogen decoy hypothesis alone is adequate to explain both these signatures of between-species and within-species diversifying selection. This has implications for understanding the functions of erythrocyte surface components and their roles in health and disease.