To respond appropriately to diverse stimuli, cells harbour numerous receptor pathways yet share downstream signalling components. Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MPK) cascades, present in all eukaryotes, act as central hubs shared amongst diverse signalling pathways. How signalling specificity is maintained within a single plant cell-type is not well understood. We engineered a genetic background for direct comparisons of a developmental and an immunity pathway in the Arabidopsis root endodermis. We show the two pathways maintain distinct outputs despite similar MPK phosphorylation patterns. Systematic activation of all individual MPK Kinases (MKKs) in the endodermis revealed that different MKK groups can drive distinct outputs. We propose that specificity is achieved through a balance of combinatorial activation and cross-pathway inhibition within the MPK cascade. Our findings demonstrate the ability of MPK cascades to generate diverse outputs in one plant cell-type, providing new insights into the mechanisms contributing to signalling specificity.


Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta is believed to play a key role in the development of many autoimmune and malignant diseases, such as radiation and drug-induced organ disease. The aim of the present study was to determine messenger RNA (mRNA) production of TGF-beta 1 in the lungs of C57Bl6 mice after low-dose whole-body irradiation. Control (irradiated) and irradiated angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor-treated animals were simultaneously examined. The ACE inhibitor group received butylaminiperindopril for 9 days after irradiation (7 Gy) at a daily dose of 0.1 mg/kg per rectum. On day 9 all mice were sacrificed and the production of mRNA TGF-beta 1 in lung tissue was determined semiquantitatively using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. In butylaminiperindopril-treated mice, a decrease in transcript of TGF-beta 1 (to 59% in comparison with controls) was observed.


Cadmium Sulphide (CdS) quantum dots (QDs) were deposited on nanostructured TiO2 film using a modified Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) method. Nanostructured TiO2 on FTO glass and Platinum on FTO are used as photoelectrode and Counter electrode respectively. High resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) image revealed CdS QDs adsorbed on nanostructured TiO2. The photovoltaic characteristics and impedance spectroscopy properties of CdS quantum dot sensitized solar cell (QDSSC) were analyzed under air mass 1.5 illuminations. At the SILAR adsorption time of 2 min (10 cycles), the QDSSC measured a short circuit current density of 2 mA/cm and an open circuit voltage of 0.45 V under air mass 1.5. In a widespread frequency range, the capacitance –voltage, the conductance –voltage, the series resistancevoltage measurements were carried out for the QDSSC applications. A conduct of positive to negative capacitance was observed from the measured characteristics of capacitancevoltage which is attributed to the injection of electrons from FTO electrode into TiO2.


Background: The standardized assessment of Ki-67 labeling index (LI) plays pivotal roles in identifying the patients (pts) with primary breast cancer who could benefit from systemic chemotherapy, in particular among pts with estrogen receptor(ER)-positive cancers. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the inter-observer concordance of the assessment of Ki-67 LI in archival materials. Methods: Six surgical pathologists specializing in breast pathology from different Japanese institutions participated in this study. All slides were prepared from archival tissues of breast cancer fixed in 10% buffered formalin for 24 hours in a single institution (KU). Three independent studies were conducted. Study 1) Six consecutive slides were prepared from 5 cases. A slide from each case was stained with MIB-1 (DAKO, Denmark) in each institution according to their routine methods. Total of 30 stained slides were assessed for Ki-67 LI by each pathologist using two different modes of assessment. One is the scoring system in which the rate of positive cells was scored from 1 (0–9 %) to 10 (90–100%) without counting the cell number. The second one is the counting system in which approximately 1000 cells in total were counted in the hot spots and the positive rate was calculated. Study 2) Twenty tumors with Ki-67 LI ranging from 5 to 25 (15 ± 10) %, stained in a single institution (KU) were assessed by each pathologist by the counting system. Study 3) In order to avoid variations by assessment in varied microscopic fields and to further evaluate the variation of threshold of immunointensity interpreted as positive by different pathologists, fifteen printed photographs of Ki-67-stained slides were sent and assessed for Ki-67 LI by each participating breast pathologist. Results: Study 1) The counting system demonstrated a better correlation of Ki-67 LI among six pathologists than the scoring system {the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), 0.66 (95% confidence interval 0.52–0.78) for the counting system, 0.57 (0.42–0.72) for the scoring system}. The two assessment systems showed a moderate correlation {ICC, 0.68 (0.60–0.75)}. Study 2) The assessment of Ki-67 LI in 20 slides with Ki-67 LI of 5 to 25 % demonstrated a correlation similar to that in the specimens with an unrestricted range of Ki-67 LI in the study 1 {ICC, 0.68 (0.50–0.81) for the study 2, 0.66 (0.52–0.78) for the study 1}. Study 3) The assessment of Ki-67 LI in the same photographs yielded a considerably significant concordance among six pathologists {ICC, 0.94 (0.88–0.97)}. Conclusion: The counting system turned out better than the scoring system in terms of the inter-observer agreement of the Ki-67 LI assessment. The degree of concordance was by no means influenced by the range of Ki-67 LI. The concordance of the Ki-67 LI assessment among six participating pathologists was significantly high when the assessed field was fixed using the same photographs for evaluation, suggesting that the selection of the fields for evaluation is critical. These results suggest that identification of hot spots for evaluation is pivotal for obtaining the accurate Ki-67 LI of breast cancer and still images of these hot spots could provide reproducible results. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-01-02.


The directions of the road are divided into two, the right-hand side and left-hand side of the road, by the convention and specific native method in...


Whereas trust is the cornerstone of any market's functioning, it is of particular importance in markets that are unregulated, illiquid, and opaque, such as the art market. This study examines the role of authenticity, as captured by provenance information in auction catalogs, on the probability of auctioned oil paintings, watercolors, and prints being sold; their price formation; and returns. Auction catalogs include four authenticity dimensions: pedigree (ownership "blockchain," descendance information; type of past owners, such as renowned collectors; and past sales records), exhibition history (e.g., in famous museums or galleries), literature coverage (e.g., in catalogues raisonnés or authoritative press), and certification (e.g., artist's physical testimonial, expert opinions). We find that trust, proxied by provenance information, increases the probability of a work being sold by up to 4%, leads to hammer price premiums up to 54%, and increases annualized returns by 5%–16%. To address potential endogeneity problems between the provision of provenance and past prices/price expectations, we perform quasi-natural experiments in difference-in-differences settings on auction houses' provenance policy changes following authenticity litigation and on a contamination effect of the discovery of fakes and forgeries on the oeuvre of forged artists. We also test transactions less affected by past prices, such as estate sales following the death of a collector. The findings on the relation between provenance and prices are robust to artist reputation, artistic style, auction house reputation, art market liquidity, and artist career timing. This paper was accepted by Tomasz Piskorski, finance. Funding: Yuexin Li gratefully acknowledges supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 72204257] and the Area Studies Fund of Renmin University of China [Grant AS2022002]. This study is partially funded by the Tilburg Alumni Fund. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4633 .


ledge, although it leaves the problems of the other gates in the area (Minucia, Flumentana) still unresolved. B. Tamm (pp. 145-91) poses various questions about the Domus Flavia on the Palatine and documents its fate down to the present day. Certain conclusions emerge: the facade is shown on a sestertius of A.D. 95-6; the Palace probably survived until the first half of the sixth century; the square in front of it was not at a significantly lower level. But its entrances, its decoration, and much else remain puzzles. Among the other contributions, A. Boethius (pp. 9-19) uses the Tomb of the Thatched Roof at Caere to illustrate archaic Etruscan techniques of roofand bed-construction; G. Guadagno (pp. 21-6) dates the inscription of C. Cornelius Gallus on the Vatican Obelisk between 1 August 30 B.C. and his appointment as Prefect of Egypt; J. J. Jully (pp. 27—62) reviews the evidence for metal-trading in the Western Mediterranean by the Etruscans and the 'Semites' (i.e. Phoenicians, Cypriote, Carthaginians, etc.); K. Kerenyi (pp. 63—74) writes characteristically about Prometheus as an Existence-myth; S. Nordstrom (pp. 97-120) illustrates the depiction of birds (and other animals) in native Spanish art of second and first centuries B.C. Finally, in an Italian version of the last chapter of his forthcoming Jerome Lectures, E. Sjoqvist (pp. 129-43) discusses some of the differences between the Greeks of Sicily and of Greece itself. He considers the interaction between the Sicilian Greeks and the natives, as seen especially at Morgantina. He also argues that the effects of the mixed populations of Sicilian cities and of the large areas of land at their disposal are to be seen reflected in their spacious and eclectic art and architecture.


Transition-based parsing is a widely used approach for dependency parsing that combines high efficiency with expressive feature models. Many different transition systems have been proposed, often formalized in slightly different frameworks. In this article, we show that a large number of the known systems for projective dependency parsing can be viewed as variants of the same stack-based system with a small set of elementary transitions that can be composed into complex transitions and restricted in different ways. We call these systems divisible transition systems and prove a number of theoretical results about their expressivity and complexity. In particular, we characterize an important subclass called efficient divisible transition systems that parse planar dependency graphs in linear time. We go on to show, first, how this system can be restricted to capture exactly the set of planar dependency trees and, secondly, how the system can be generalized to k-planar trees by making use of multiple stacks. Using the first known efficient test for k-planarity, we investigate the coverage of k-planar trees in available dependency treebanks and find a very good fit for 2-planar trees. We end with an experimental evaluation showing that our 2-planar parser gives significant improvements in parsing accuracy over the corresponding 1-planar and projective parsers for data sets with non-projective dependency trees and performs on a par with the widely used arc-eager pseudo-projective parser.


Genito-urinary function is a watershed field interesting several areas of medical concern. Neurophysiological studies allow objective assessment of central, peripheral and autonomic pathways in the nervous system contributing to topographical localisation of lesions. The authors describe different methods used, namely somatosensory evoked potentials by pudendal nerve stimulation, bulbo-cavernous reflex, cutaneous sympathetic reflex, transcranial cortical or spinal magnetic stimulation and single fiber EMG. Abnormalities in neurological diseases are presented.


Background Intense interest surrounds the recent expansion of US National Institutes of Health (NIH) budgets as part of economic stimulus legislation. However, the relationship between NIH funding and cardiovascular disease research is poorly understood, making the likely impact of this policy change unclear. Methods The National Library of Medicine's PubMed database was searched for articles published from 1996 to 2006, originating from U.S. institutions, and containing the phrases "cardiolog," "cardiovascular," or "cardiac," in the first author's department. Research methodology, journal of publication, journal impact factor, and receipt of NIH funding were recorded. Differences in means and trends were tested with t-tests and linear regression, respectively, with P≤0.05 for significance. Results Of 117,643 world cardiovascular articles, 36,684 (31.2%) originated from the U.S., of which 10,293 (28.1%) received NIH funding. The NIH funded 40.1% of U.S. basic science articles, 20.3% of overall clinical trials, 18.1% of randomized-controlled, and 12.2% of multicenter clinical trials. NIH-funded and total articles grew significantly (65 articles/year, P<0.001 and 218 articles/year, P<0.001, respectively). The proportion of articles receiving NIH funding was stable, but grew significantly for basic science and clinical trials (0.87%/year, P<0.001 and 0.67%/year, P = 0.029, respectively). NIH-funded articles had greater journal impact factors than non NIH-funded articles (5.76 vs. 3.71, P<0.001). Conclusions NIH influence on U.S. cardiovascular research expanded in the past decade, during the period of NIH budget doubling. A substantial fraction of research is now directly funded and thus likely sensitive to budget fluctuations, particularly in basic science research. NIH funding predicts greater journal impact.


A combination of systematic and bibliometric literature review is applied. For bibliometric analysis a citation network analysis, keyword cluster analysis, burst detection analysis and the total citation score are evaluated. So far, literature mainly deals with creation of digital building models. However, in the operational phase of a building, updating digital building models is essential in order to use the digital building models for applications like maintenance, facility management and conversion planning. In this paper approaches and methods to update digital building data are examined systematically to reflect the current state of scientific knowledge. This will identify and compare update approaches for digital building models. Nine interrelated research areas can be identified that deal with updating digital building information. Based on the body of knowledge on the topic "Updating of digital building models", research gaps and poorly represented research areas are identified. One gap in research is the use of photogrammetry to update individual buildings during their operational phase. In addition to strong research areas such as geoscience, which has produced update approaches over the years, areas like factory planning have been identified which hardly consider approaches to updating as-built data. Only the most important and largest research areas involved have been considered. A more detailed examination would be possible, but would go beyond the scope of this paper. This paper is the first to analyse updating approaches in a detailed, systematic, and bibliographic manner. The holistic view of the topic of updating approaches of digital building models helps to get an overview of existing approaches. Especially because in building operation up-to-date digital plan documents of the building are increasingly needed, this overview is necessary.


Th e article discusses the functioning of the Film Council during its activity in Telewizja Polska in 2014–2015 . In less than two years the Council consisting of over a dozen members from several TVP's departments recommended almost forty coproductions for feature  fi lms, regulated procedures for the endorsement of coproduction agreements and aimed to develop TVP's in fl uence in the process of  fi lm promotion and distribution. According to Polish  fi lm law, the Council's job was to stimulate the development of the Polish cinema.


The success of cross pollination by bees (Apis mellifera L. and Bombus ssp.) depends on the number of flowers and the pattern of flower opening of a plant. Four cultivars of faba bean, Vicia faba L. ('Wierboon,' 'Minica,' 'Black Russian,' and 'Violetta di Policoro') were studied for their patterns of flowering time and the implications on seed yield. Diurnal observations were made on 20 plants of three replications for each cultivar and for every 2 h from 0900 to 1700 h on 5 consecutive days. Time series models were used to fit the data, and the second-order autoregressive model was found adequate. The fitted models indicated that Minica had a sharp daily flower-ropening peak compared with the other cultivars and that the peak flowering time was less regular in Wierboon than in other cultivars. These implied that Minica produced the most new flowers to display to bees but they were concentrated in a few hours; Wierboon tended to prolong its flowering peak when bees had decreased their visits to flowers. Although the flower patterns varied according to cultivars, the peaks of flowering time were similar. Usually, the number of flower openings increased from 0900 to 1500 h and then decreased. The number of new flowers opening peaked between 1500 and 1700 h.


Synthetic clays were prepared hydrothermally at 300° to 350°C and 15,000 psi from gels with compositions calculated to give a series of octahedrally and tetrahedrally substituted, 2:1-type layer silicates with charges of 0.5N, 1N, 1.5N, 2N, 2.5N, and 3N, where N equals the "normal" layer charge of montmorillonite. Besides montmorillonites and beidellites, the products also contained other components, kaolinite, saponite, paragonite and possibly amorphous materials, depending on the initial gel compositions. Cation exchange capacities of <2µ fractions treated for removal of amorphous constituents were within the narrow range of 0.95–1.35 meq per g rather than 0.45–2.70 meq per g as calculated from initial gel compositions. Comparisons between the expanding properties of these materials showed that the beidellites expanded less readily than the montmorillonites upon solvation with glycerol vapor and tended to give single interlayer complexes. These differences were most pronounced when Mg was the saturating ion, although they were also apparent with Ca. The K-saturated montmorillonites gave greater expansion than the beidellites on hydration at 100 per cent r. h. The montmorillonites also exhibited greater rehydration than the beidellites after heating at 400°–500°C. Beidellite exhibits properties of expansion that are intermediate between those of montmorillonite and vermiculite. The results of this investigation are consistent with the existence of somewhat stronger ionic attractions in the beidellites than in the montmorillonites. The source of the charge thus has an effect upon the properties of expansion.


This paper studies the relationship between firms' corporate governance quality and information content of stock trades. Following Hasbrouck (1991) method, a trade's information content is defined as persistent impact of trade innovation on stock price. Using firm-level governance data, we show that the information content is negatively correlated with firms' corporate governance quality for the S&P 100 companies. Further analysis shows that board of directors is the main governance mechanism contributing to the negative correlation, while audit, anti-takeover, and compensation do not play a significant role. Our results provide empirical evidence to support the theory that corporate governance improves firms' information environment. It provides guidance on governance system design to reduce information asymmetry.


Currently, different legal systems are starting to demand criminal responsibility of corporate bodies. The Opinion on the New Criminal Code, prepared by the Justice and Human Rights Commission of the Congress of the Republic of Peru, follows this trend, proposing an exemption from liability in case the corporate body counts with a criminal compliance. Given this situation, in this article, the authors answer the arising questions: what does criminal compliance stands for? What are the accessory consequences of the criminal liability of corporate bodies in our current legislation? What are the novelties that the Opinion on the New Criminal Code introduces?


The Resilience Doughnut is an ecological and Solution-Focused model outlining the seven contexts where resilience skills can be developed. The premise of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the online resilience doughnut measurement tool. The analysis contains item analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Each context was explored as a separate subtest. The results showed the model to be a good fit with Cronbach alpha coefficient between .63 and .87. Cor relations were conducted with the subscales of the Strength and Difficulties (SDQ) questionnaire and The Resilience scale for Adolescents (READ) revealing that the stronger the resources (RD) the greater the levels of personal and social compe tence and the lower the emotional and behavioural difficulties experienced. Im plications for further study are discussed noting the validity of enhancing existing strong social resources to develop resilience.


High-sensitivity cardiac troponins (hs-cTnI and hs-cTnT) contribute to a progression in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases: acceleration of diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (early diagnostic algorithms: 0-1 h, 0-3 h), and earlier initiation of optimal treatment, expansion of diagnostic and prognostic potential (earlier detection of myocardial damage during chemotherapy, endocarditis, myocarditis and other diseases). However, increased sensitivity slightly reduced the specificity and created the need for a more thorough interpretation of elevated levels of hs-cTnI and hs-cTnT in a number of pathologies that damage cardiomyocytes. In addition, there was a need to introduce reference levels of hs-cTnI and hs-cTnT (99 percentile), taking into account sex. Recently, there has also been information about circadian (diurnal) variations in hs-cTnT and hs-cTnI levels. We analyze in detail the results of clinical studies that found circadian changes in hs-cTnI and hs-cTnT. Possible mechanisms underlying these changes in hs-cTnT and hs-cTnI concentrations are discussed.


Mechanical properties of polyelectrolyte multilayer films were studied by nanoindentation using the atomic force microscope (AFM). Force-distance measurements using colloidal probe tips were systematically obtained for supported films of poly(L-lysine) and hyaluronan that are suited to bio-application. Both native and covalently cross-linked films were studied as a function of increasing layer number, which increases film thickness. The effective Young's modulus perpendicular to the film, Eperpendicular, was determined to be a function of film thickness, cross-linking, and sample age. Thick PEM films exhibited a lower Eperpendicular than thinner PEM, whereas the Young's modulus of cross-linked films was more than 10-fold larger than native films. Moduli range from approximately 20 kPa for native films up to approximately 800 kPa for cross-linked ones. Young's moduli increased slightly with sample age, plateauing after approximately 4 weeks. Spreading of smooth muscle cells on these substrates with pre-attached collagen proved to be highly dependent on film rigidity with stiffer films giving greater cell spreading.


Capital structure alludes to how an organization finances its operations whether through shareholders equity, debt or a blending of both. This study was aimed to find out the determinants of capital structure in Manufacturing and Service Sectors of Pakistan and examine which capital structure theory (Trade off theory or Pecking order theory) is relevant in Pakistani context. For study secondary data was collected from financial statements of 30 Companies and then data was analyzed through Correlation and Multi Regression analysis. Results showed that leverage has negative significant relationship with tangibility in both sectors which conformed Pecking order theory is followed by firms in both sectors. Profitability has negative significant relationship with leverage in manufacturing sectors whereas it has positive non-significant relationship with leverage in service sectors. This result revealed that manufacturing sectors follow Pecking order theory whereas service sectors support Trade off theory. Moreover in manufacturing sectors growth and leverage have negative significant relationship whereas in service sectors both variables show positive non-significant relationship. Manufacturing sectors support Trade off theory but service sectors support Pecking order theory. Size and leverage show positive non-significant relationship in manufacturing sectors whereas show positive significant relationship in service sectors. Due to positive sign, they follow Trade off theory. Effective tax rate has positive non-significant relationship with leverage. Positive sign shows firms follow Trade off theory in both sectors but due to non-significant result the effective tax rate not found to be a significant determinant of capital structure. This study will help corporate managers and decision makers to make optimal capital structure decision .


A robust opto-electronic device simulation tool is extended to model the phonon bottleneck in edge-emitting 1.3µm InGaAsN double quantum well (QW) laser diodes. Both the steady state operation and the transient response of the phonon bottleneck are examined as a function of injection current and heatsink temperature. It is found that the hot phonon population can raise the electron and hole temperatures in the QW active region by up to 7K above the equilibrium lattice temperature at moderate injection currents. At high injection currents, it is found that the phonon bottleneck can significantly decrease the optical power.


The progressive integration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues into the corporate decision making is a cultural change process, which can be described, planned, measured. It speeds up sustainable transformation of governance, strategies and business models of companies.

The first edition of this Report analysed the changes in some key behaviours of the company organisation and of the board of directors (BoDs) in the occasion of the first year of implementation of the Directive 2014/95/UE, transposed in Italy by the Legislative Decree no. 254/2016 (the Decree). This second edition of the Report measures the progression of behaviours analysed in 2019 and surveys additional actions considered important for the transformation.

The first section focuses on non-financial reporting and on the abstracts of Strategic plans presented to investors in order to study the evolution of corporate culture and organisation towards ESG/multicapital integration. Subsequently, the Report explores whether companies consider non-financial issues relevant also at the board level, through both a documental analysis (based on the examination of the guidelines issued by companies prior to the 2019 board appointment and of the corporate governance reports; second section) and a Survey involving directors and statutory auditors that are members of Nedcommunity, the Italian Association of non-executive and independent directors, carried out for the fourth year by Nedcommunity and Methodos (third section).

In order to track the progression of the cultural transformation, the information collected in this Report was clustered in three stages: Awareness, Capabilities and Engagement (see the chart below). Awareness is the precondition for change. It gathers behaviours of the company structure and the BoDs that are coherent with a first acknowledgement of the importance of ESG issues and that could kick-off the transformation process. Compared to 2018, the number of companies acting the different behaviours in the Awareness cluster is unchanged or has in some cases increased. The area Capabilities is intermediate in the transformation journey, when new skills, behaviours and mindsets are trained to accelerate the process. Compared to the previous year, this area records improvements, which in some cases are significant. This is the case of the behaviours linked to stakeholder engagement in the materiality analysis: external stakeholder engagement is indeed described in 70 cases (44 last year); engagement with the top management rose from 47 to 69 cases. There is also a slight increase in the number of companies integrating their reporting tools (from 9 to 11). With regards to boards, improvements are found in the integration of ESG into board renewal guidelines and in the board self-evaluation. The integration of remuneration packages with ESG criteria is also included in this intermediate phase because it is considered a driver towards change. The area Engagement is the most advanced in the ESG/multicapital transformation of strategies and business models. In this phase new behaviours are spontaneously carried out by the boards and the corporate organisation. This part of the analysis covers the abstracts of the Strategic plans presented to investors in the road shows, published in the Investor Relation section of the websites of the companies, in order to verify how and to what extent they describe a strategy that integrates financial and non-financial issues. Five companies (all in the Energy/Oil and Gas industry) fully integrate in their strategy issues that generate value in the short and long term and describe the connections between financial and non-financial matters. Among these companies, one mentions the materiality analysis as a pillar of its Strategic plan.


Incorporating the direct-conversion architecture, a 5-GHz band radio transceiver front end chipset for wireless LAN applications is implemented in a 0.25-/spl mu/m CMOS technology. The 4-mm/sup 2/ 5.25-GHz receiver IC contains a low noise amplifier with 2.5-dB noise figure (NF) and 16-dB power gain, a receive mixer with 12.0 dB single sideband NF, 13.7-dB voltage gain, and -5 dBm input 1-dB compression point. The 2.7-mm/sup 2/ transmitter IC achieves an output 1-dB compression of -2.5 dBm at 5.7 GHz with 33.4-dB (image) sideband rejection by using an integrated quadrature voltage-controlled oscillator. Operating from a 3-V supply, the power consumptions for the receiver and transmitter are 114 and 120 mW, respectively.


Background: Dentin desensitizers may change the properties of smear layer and have adverse effects on the bonding performance of adhesive systems. Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of bioactive glass (BG), hydroxyapatite, and diode laser desensitization on shear bond strength of resin composites to dentin at different time intervals. Materials and Methods: Seventy-two caries-free maxillary premolars were selected. Buccal surfaces were flattened to expose dentin. Teeth were divided into four groups (Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4) according to treatment modality (control with no pretreatment, Sensodyne Repair and Protect, Teethmate Desensitizer, diode laser). Bonding was performed using self-etch adhesive followed by composite buildup. Universal testing machine was used to determine shear bond strengths immediately after bonding, after 3 months, and 5 months storage in artificial saliva. Results: Pretreatment with BG and hydroxyapatite desensitizers increased, whereas diode laser decreased mean shear bond strength of composite to dentin as compared to control group. No statistical significant difference in shear bond strength values was seen in groups after storage. Conclusion: Desensitizing toothpastes incorporating remineralizing agents not only occluded open dentinal tubules but also increased shear bond strength of composite to dentin.


We transmit 32 channels at 43 Gb/s over 2730 km using only single-stage EDFA line amplifiers and an original system configuration, with dispersion-compensating higher-order fiber modules at the beginning of the span


Many commercial microprocessor architectures support translation lookaside buffer (TLB) entries with multiple page sizes. This support can be used to substantially reduce the overhead introduced by TLB misses incurred when the processor runs an application with a large working set. Applications are currently not able to take advantage of this hardware feature because most commercial operating systems support only one page size. In this paper we present a design that provides general purpose operating system support that allows applications to use multiple page sizes. The paper describes why providing this support is not as simple as it first seems. If not designed carefully, adding this support will require significant modifications and add a lot of overhead to the operating system. The paper shows how our approach simplifies the design without sacrificing functionality and performance. In addition, applications need not be modified to make use of this feature. The design has been implemented on IRIX 6.4 operating system running on the SGI Origin platform. We include some performance results at the end to show how our design allows applications to take advantage of large pages to gain performance improvements.


ABSTRACT:That competition over degrading land and shrinking natural resources—exacerbated by climate change—has played a role in Sudan's and Darfur's conflicts is widely accepted, even though assessments differ as to the extent of such a role. The Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) reflects this reality by devoting considerable space to issues such as land possession, cooperation between herders and farmers, sustainable management of natural resources, and environmental protection. Accordingly, this article analyzes the provisions of the JPA that are concerned with land-and environment-related aspects; and it gives a preliminary assessment of their implementation. The article concludes that while the JPA shows considerable awareness of the critical role that the protection of the environment and sound management of natural resources can play in building more peaceful societies, the implementation of the relevant provisions is currently very limited. A bottom-up approach, which genuinely involves all Sudan's regions and sectors of society, appears indispensable for the effective implementation of the provisions in question and for sustainable peace in Sudan.


: Aim: To evaluate the capability of ascitic fluid dipstick results for pH, glucose, and protein in order to predict a low serum-ascites albumin gradient (SAAG) at the bedside of the patient in the emergency department (ED). Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted for a year duration from January 2019 to January 2020 in the emergency department of the Mayo Hospital Lahore. All patients with diagnostic or therapeutic paracentesis of ascitic fluid were considered as eligible patients. Exclusion criteria included clinical suspicion of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (PAS), any contraindication to paracentesis and patients refusing to participate in the study. Dipstick values were obtained at the patient's bedside. A low SAAG ascitic fluid was defined as the study outcome. We also used our study population as a test group to evaluate an equation proposed in one previous study: K = 0.012 Protein−0.012 Glucose−3.329 pH+23.498 Results: A total of 50 patients were enrolled in the study. Based on multivariate regression analysis, dipstick values for protein and glucose were independently predictive of a low SAAG ascitic fluid (P = 0.23, OR = 1.04; and P = 0.001, OR = 0.81, respectively). The formula proposed in one of the previous studies was tested by our data set, with sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) at 84%, 83%, 84%, and 80%, respectively. Conclusion: Dipstick test for ascitic fluid pH, glucose and protein has acceptable sensitivity and specificity as a supportive point test, but cannot be recommended as an alternative to SAAG based on available results.


Dyspepsia is a common clinical problem. Its causes include peptic ulcer disease, gastroesophageal reflux, and functional (nonulcer) dyspepsia. A detailed clinical description of pain does not reliably differentiate the cause. Approximately 80% of gastroscopies are performed for the investigation of dyspepsia. "Gastritis" is diagnosed endoscopically in 59% of all stomachs, although in only 3% are the changes severe. Pathologic examination of unselected gastric biopsy specimens reveals that abnormalities are present in 62–73%, but there is only a weak correlation between endoscopic and histologic findings. For these reasons, it is recommended that endoscopic examination should always be accompanied by biopsy. Ideally, biopsies should be taken in a systematic fashion to include sampling of antrum and corpus. Recent evidence suggests that gastric infection by Helicobacter pylori initially presents as a superficial gastritis. Later it may become atrophic with development of intestinal metaplasia. The onset of atrophic changes may be related to the duration of infection, the strain of the infecting organism, associated dietary factors, or as-yet undefined host factors related to immunity. Persistent superficial gastritis predisposes to duodenal ulcer and gastric mucosa–associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. Atrophic gastritis predisposes to gastric ulcer and adenocarcinoma. Evidence is accumulating that in some patients, pernicious anemia may be an end result of H. pylori–induced atrophic gastritis. Reactive gastropathy is a relatively common finding in gastric biopsies; in most instances it is associated with either reflux of duodenal contents or therapy with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Lymphocytic gastritis, eosinophilic gastritis, and the gastritis associated with Crohn's disease are distinct morphologic entities. Lymphocytic gastritis and eosinophilic gastritis have a variety of clinical associations. Carditis is a controversial topic: currently opinions are divided as to whether it is the result of gastroesophageal reflux or a proximal extension of H. pylori infection from the remainder of the stomach.


Purpose: To present long‐term results of systematic near‐miss and actual error reporting and analysis system based on a web‐based tool and effects of formal process improvement structure on error rates and safety culture in radiation therapy (RT). Materials and Methods: An internally developed web‐based system was used to report, track, and analyze errors and near‐misses in a large RT department for almost two years. The system was designed as an efficient and effective process for collecting, storing, and analyzing the failure rate data in individual RT facilities. The aim of the system was to support process improvement in patient care and safety. The reporting tool was designed so individual events could be reported in as little as two minutes. Events were categorized based on functional area, type, and severity of failure. The events were processed and analyzed by a formal process improvement group which used the data and statistics collected through the web‐based tool for guidance in reengineering clinical processes. The results for the first nineteen months of clinical use of the system are presented. Results: The collected data and the process improvement structure resulted in measureable safety and error rate improvements in several clinical areas. The collected data was also very effective in identifying ineffective measures and efforts which did not produce improvements in clinical processes. The overall process demonstrated that it was possible to establish and maintain a high functioning safety culture in radiation oncology. The error reporting compliance, though voluntary, was very high and consistent from the inception of the process through the date of this report. Conclusions: Near‐miss and actual error collection process in RT can result in quantifiable safety and error rate improvements and more importantly it can result in a sustainable safety culture.


This study aimed to assess banking service quality in Vietnam and to make a comparison of customers' a nd bank staff's perceptions of this based on six dimensions of the BSQ (bank service quality) model suggested by Bahia & Nantel (2000). All the data were collected through questio nnaires which were delivered to two groups: custome rs and bank staff in some large banks in Vietnam. Descriptive s tatistical approach, ANOVA, independent t-test, and ulti-regression were then used to describe and analyze these six di mensions as well as to take them into a comparison of banking service quality perceptions between the above two g roups. The results of this study showed two importa nt conclusions. Firstly, there were three significant differences i n customers' and bank staff's perceptions about the price, service portfolio, and general banking service quality. Sec ondly, both customers and bank staff had the same o pinions and evaluations about the important levels of six dimen sio s, with effectiveness and assurance the most i portant factors and service portfolio as the least important one. F inally, this study was one of the first concernimg banking service quality in Vietnam, based on the BSQ (Bahia & Nante l, 2000) model. Useful insights were obtained into the importance of banking service quality perceived by customers a nd bank staff, which can stimulate debates and disc ussions on building a quality standard system, strengthening s ervice quality in banks' operations in Vietnam, as well as improving customers' and bank staff's satisfaction and loyalt y.


This paper presents a novel approach to reduce power in multimedia devices. Specifically, we focus on JPEG2000 as a case study. This paper indicates that by utilizing the in-built error resiliency of multimedia content, and the disjoint nature of the encoding and decoding processes, ultra low power architectures that are hardware fault tolerant can be conceived. These architectures utilize aggressive voltage scaling to conserve power at the encoder side while incurring extra processing requirements at the decoder to blindly detect and correct for encoder hardware induced errors. Simulations indicate a reduction of up to 35% in encoder power depending on the choice of technology for a 65-nm CMOS process.


This book contains a highly condensed and almost complete description of modern developments in optimal control of systems. Although the text is described as an introduction to the basic concepts and principles employed in optimal estimation and control of dynamic systems, the concentration of material is such that it would provide a formidable first exposure to the subject. Its value is primarily a comprehensive and critical reference book on modern techniques in optimisation theory and their applications to dynamic systems.


The authors present a rare case of a meningioma in the anterior part of the third ventricle in a 10-year-old boy which was successfully removed through a right-sided transventricular approach. The literature is reviewed.


Is business ethics a contradiction in terms? Absolutely not, says Robert Solomon. In fact, he maintains that sound ethics is a necessary precondition of any long-term business enterprise, and that excellence in business must exist on the foundation of values that most of us hold dear. Drawing on twenty years of experience consulting with major corporations on ethics, Solomon clarifies the difficult ethical choices all people in business face. He uses an "Aristotelian" approach to remind readers that a corporation--like an individual--is embedded in a community, and that corporate values such as fairness and honesty are meaningless until transformed into action. Without a base of shared values, trust and mutual benefits, today's national and international business world would fall apart. In keeping with his conviction that virtue and profit must thrive together, Solomon both examines the ways in which deficient values actually destroy businesses, and debunks the pervasive myths that encourage unethical business practices. Complete with a working catalog of virtues designed to illustrate the importance of integrity in any business situation, this compelling handbook contains a gold mine of wisdom for either the small business manager or the corporate executive struggling with ethical issues.


The company's performance is based on how much profit it generates. The profit generated by the company can not be separated from operational costs and taxes that must be spent. Therefore, operating costs and income tax are considered as expenses in the company that can reduce net profit. This study aims to find out the effect of Total Operating Expenses and Income Tax Expense on Net Income For The Year of PT. Indocement Tunggal Prakasa Tbk. The method used is descriptive method with quantitative approach using statistical method to test hypotheses. The results showed that Total Operating Expenses partially negatively had no significant effect on Net Income For The Year, with a contribution of 13.4%. Income Tax Expense partially positively had a significant effect on Net Income For The Year, with a contribution of 72.7%. Total Operating Expenses and Income Tax Expense simultaneously had a significant effect on Net Income For The Year, with a contribution of 72.7% .


Objective: To examine the relationship between emotional well-being, patient activation and social support in a cohort of adults with severe obesity who underwent gastric bypass surgery from January to December 2012. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Subjects: Of a total population of 129 people, aged 18 - 68 years, at a local hospital in central Norway, 64 (50%) responding to the questionnaire, 52 (81%) being women. Main Outcome Measures: The World Health Organization—Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5), the 13-item Patient Activation Measure (PAM-13), a 16-item instrument on the frequency and content of social support, and demographic and clinical data. Results: A significant positive association was found between higher level of patient activation and better emotional well-being (P = 0.02) in linear regression analysis. A higher level of family support was significantly associated with better emotional well-being (practical social support from the family (P = 0.04), emotional social support from family (P = 0.01) and from friends (P = 0.005)). Conclusion: Screening tools for emotional well-being should be used systematically in postoperative consultations to recognize those who need a more individually tailored post-surgery follow-up care after gastric bypass surgery. In addition, health care providers in both specialist and primary health care settings should consider assessing the level of social support as part of regular follow-up routines.


This paper is a continuation of Part I where the authors treated the Fourier analysis of chaotic time series generated by a chaotic interval map. Here, we perform multiresolution analysis by using wavelet coefficients and characterize some necessary and sufficient conditions for the occurrence of chaos by the exponential growth with respect to the number of iterations n of certain sums of the wavelet coefficients.


Recent advances in drug-eluting stent (DES) technology have succeeded in preventing restenosis. In addition to inhibiting smooth muscle cell proliferation, DES greatly inhibits the local inflammatory response in the acute phase after implantation, leading to prevention of restenosis. However, a unique issue in DES implantation is an impairment of reendothelialization, which may result in abnormal wound healing. Consequently, a late-phase inflammatory relapse could appear in the long term after DES implantation. In this study, we measured serum levels of inflammatory markers, including interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-a, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, matrix metalloproteinase-9, and myeloperoxi- dase, as well as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein at fol- low-up coronary angiography (mean 9 months) in 54 patients who received DES stenting who did not experience restenosis, and compared them with 51 patients receiving bare-metal stents (BMS) without restenosis. The level of IL-6 was over the measurement threshold (C2.22 pg/ml) in 12 patients (21 %) in the DES group, but in only 2 patients (4 %) in the BMS group (P = 0.003). IL-8 was significantly higher in the DES group than in the BMS group (4.51 ± 2.40 vs 3.84 ± 1.34 pg/ml, P = 0.015). The levels of other biomarkers were similar between the two groups. DES showed an increase in inflammatory cytokines in the late phase after implantation in comparison with patients who received BMS, suggesting late-stage inflammation. There- fore, the wound-healing response after DES implantation might be different from that after BMS.


This research was carried out to determine the effects of different water application levels on the vegetative growth, flower bud formation and yield of sweet cherry trees irrigated by micro-sprinkler systems during the growing season 2002-2004. The trees were subjected to five irrigation treatments based on adjusted coefficients of Class A pan evaporation (0.50E pan , 0.75E pan , 1.00E pan , 1.25E pan , 1.50E pan. ). Mean yield per tree and trunk cross sectional area was 0.70-2.40 kg and 0.01-0.05 kg/cm2 respectively at different irrigation water levels. Vegetative growth parameters and flower bud formation were not changed significantly except for the trunk diameter by the treatments at the end of the second year. Irrigation levels did not affect statistically significantly fruit quality parameters such as fruit weight, flesh/seed ratio, water soluble solids (%), pH, titratable acidity (g/100 ml) and inverted and total sugars. Only flesh firmness values were statistically significant at P<0.005 probability level with respect to the irrigation levels.


The η phase in the Au-Cd binary system has been synthesized, and the structure has been analyzed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The compound η-AuCd(4) crystallizes in the hexagonal space group P6(3)/m (No. 176). The unit cell contains ∼273 atoms. The compound AuCd(4) represents a √3a × √3a × c superstructure of the AgMg(4) type. The structure can be well described by icosahedral and trigonal-prismatic clusters. A phase transition to the high-temperature ε phase occurs exothermically at around 578 K. The compound is formed at a sharp valence electron concentration of 1.8 e/a. The compound can be understood within the framework of the Hume-Rothery stabilization mechanism.


Objective The overall incidence of aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH) in western populations is around 9 per 100 000 person-years, which confers to a lifetime risk of around half per cent. Risk factors for aSAH are usually expressed as relative risks and suggest that absolute risks vary considerably according to risk factor profiles, but such estimates are lacking. We aimed to estimate incidence and lifetime risks of aSAH according to risk factor profiles. Methods We used data from 250 patients admitted with aSAH and 574 sex-matched and age-matched controls, who were randomly retrieved from general practitioners files. We determined independent prognostic factors with multivariable logistic regression analyses and assessed discriminatory performance using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Based on the prognostic model we predicted incidences and lifetime risks of aSAH for different risk factor profiles. Results The four strongest independent predictors for aSAH, namely current smoking (OR 6.0; 95% CI 4.1 to 8.6), a positive family history for aSAH (4.0; 95% CI 2.3 to 7.0), hypertension (2.4; 95% CI 1.5 to 3.8) and hypercholesterolaemia (0.2; 95% CI 0.1 to 0.4), were used in the final prediction model. This model had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.73 (95% CI 0.69 to 0.76). Depending on sex, age and the four predictors, the incidence of aSAH ranged from 0.4/100 000 to 298/100 000 person-years and lifetime risk between 0.02% and 7.2%. Conclusions The incidence and lifetime risk of aSAH in the general population varies widely according to risk factor profiles. Whether persons with high risks benefit from screening should be assessed in cost-effectiveness studies.


We want to create interactive surface design systems which provide intuitive interfaces to parametric surface representations. In this paper, we show how the technique of Differential Manipulation can be used in constructing such interfaces. It allows surface manipulation issues to be treated separately from surface representation issues. Arbitrary differentiate functions of representation parameters can be used to control the surface. Constraint and optimization techniques can be used to enhance interaction and control many surface degrees of freedom at once. We provide examples of the technique's use in our interactive surface modeling program.


The goal of this paper is to determine the state of extreme air temperature
 in Republic of Srpska and to establish their thresholds as the limits of
 unsuitability of the climate. The air temperature much above and much below
 was investigated. The spatial distribution of minimal air temperatures in
 Republic of Srpska during the studied period 2006-2010 shows the meridian,
 parallel and altitude regularity. The average annual maximums increase slowly
 from the north towards the south and insignificantly from the west towards
 the east of Republic of Srpska.


Recent advances in 3d electron microscopy are yielding ever larger reconstructions of brain tissue, encompassing thousands of individual neurons interconnected by millions of synapses. Interpreting reconstructions at this scale demands advances in the automated analysis of neuronal morphologies, for example by identifying morphological and functional subcompartments within neurons. We present a method that for the first time uses full 3d input (voxels) to automatically classify reconstructed neuron fragments as axon, dendrite, or somal subcompartments. Based on 3d convolutional neural networks, this method achieves a mean f1-score of 0.972, exceeding the previous state of the art of 0.955. The resulting predictions can support multiple analysis and proofreading applications. In particular, we leverage finely localized subcompartment predictions for automated detection and correction of merge errors in the volume reconstruction, successfully detecting 90.6% of inter-class merge errors with a false positive rate of only 2.7%.


We investigate by means of gas-phase ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy complemented by quantum-chemical calculations how the frontier levels of the 4,4'-bis(N-m-7tolyl-N-phenylamino)biphenyl (TPD) molecule are affected upon substitution of the terminal aryl rings with methoxy groups or fluorine atoms. These results provide strategies to modulate energy barriers at metal/organic or organic/organic interfaces involving TPD and its derivatives; it is shown that the change in the energy of the HOMO level of TPD upon derivatization is strongly affected by inductive effects taking place in the σ skeleton.


Oxidation rates of four nuclear grade graphite products --- Union Carbide TS1792m Poco AFX-5Q, FMI 4D Weave C-C Composite, and Pfizer pyrolytic --- were measured from 800 to 1800{degree}C for two air flow rates. With the resulting data, power balance modeling was used to predict the rates of graphite tile loss for the proposed Compact Ignition Tokamak (CIT) reactor under different accident scenarios. Experimental results show that above {approximately}1000{degree}C the reaction rate is controlled by the oxygen supply. Below this temperature the reaction rate is controlled by chemical kinetics and oxygen supply. Calculated activation energies for these two kinetic regions were 18.8 and 47.5 kJ/mol, respectively. An accident scenario was proposed in which both a top and a bottom viewing port seal were broken while tile surface temperatures were still at 1100{degree}C. Predictions based upon simple energy balance modeling indicate that a significant portion of the protective tiles on the CIT vacuum vessel could be oxidized, possibly releasing a significant amount of hazardous tritium oxide. Further analytical studies are proposed. 22 refs., 12 figs., 1 tab.


Petroleum-based plastics are the major cause of environmental pollution because the plastics need years to be degraded. The difficulties in handling waste of petroleum-based plastic have motivated researchers to produce environmentally friendly plastic materials that are biologically degradable; one of them is polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). Polyhydroxyalkanoate is natural biodegradable biopolymers produced by bacteria as an intracellular carbon  and  energy storage. This polymer is an alternative source of plastics  with similar physical properties to petroleum-based plastic.It can be easily biodegraded aerobically and anaerobically. This study examined the potential of one superior isolate as PHA producers, i.e.,Brevibacterium sp. B45. Brevibacterium sp. B45 was cultivated in Ramsay's minimal medium with inoculum concentrations were 1, 2, and 3% (v/v)and glucose concentrations were 1, 3, and 5% (w/v). The cultivation of  Brevibacterium sp. B45 was carried out in a 500 mL Erlenmeyer flask on a shaker incubator with 150 rpm and 30 oC for 72 hours. PHA recovery was carried out by chloroform extraction and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR), and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) methods. The highest yield of dried biomass (2.92%) was obtained using 3% inoculum and 3% glucose. The melting temperature (Tm), enthalpy (ΔHf), and crystallinity (Xc) of the PHA product were 172.1 °C, 61.04 J g-1, and 41.08%, respectively. Data of SEM show that a porous surface characterized morphological of purified PHA grains. The functional units of purified PHA grains were C=O, CH3, C-O, C-O-C, C-C, C-H, and -OH. The purified PHA grains show a similar spectrum to the standard Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB). Therefore, it could be assumed that PHA produced by Brevibacterium sp. B45 was most likely PHB.


The brain interprets sensory inputs to guide behavior, but behavior disrupts sensory inputs. In primates, saccadic eye movements displace visual images on the retina and yet the brain perceives visual stability, a process called active vision. We studied whether active vision is Bayesian. Humans and monkeys reported whether an image moved during saccades. We tested whether they used prior expectations to account for sensory uncertainty in a Bayesian manner. For continuous judgments, subjects were Bayesian. For categorical judgments, they were anti-Bayesian for uncertainty due to external, image noise but Bayesian for uncertainty due to internal, motor-driven noise. A discriminative learning model explained the anti-Bayesian effect. Therefore, active vision uses both Bayesian and discriminative models depending on task requirements (continuous vs. categorical) and the source of uncertainty (image noise vs. motor-driven noise), suggesting that active perceptual mechanisms are governed by the interaction of both models.


The enhanced reactivity exhibited by six pseudo-alpha-bases, RC[triple bond]CZ(-) (R = H and Cl; Z = O, S, and Se) in gas-phase E2 reactions with ethyl chloride was examined at the G2(+) level. It is found that anomalous reactivity is observed despite the fact that these chalcogen bases do not possess adjacent lone-pair electrons. The influence of the halide leaving groups on the alpha-effect and the origin of the alpha-effect in the E2 reactions of ethyl halides are investigated and discussed.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the age- and sex-specific prevalence of age-related maculopathy (ARM) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in citizens of Reykjavik, Iceland, who were 50 years and older.

DESIGN
Random sample, cross sectional.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Response rate was 75.8%. The presence and severity of various characteristics of drusen and pigmentary changes that are typical of ARM and AMD were determined by grading stereoscopic color fundus photographs, using the international classification and grading system for ARM and AMD.

RESULTS
We were able to evaluate 1021 right-eye and 1020 left-eye macular photographs. There was no statistically significant difference between right and left eyes. In people aged 50 to 59 years, 4.8% of participants (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.6-7.0) were found to have intermediate soft drusen measuring 63 to 125 micro m in either eye; 1.2% (95% CI, 0.0-2.3) had large soft distinct drusen larger than 125 micro m; and 0.6% (95% CI, 0.0-1.4) had large soft, crystalline, or semisolid drusen. The same figures for those 80 years and older were 18.2% (95% CI, 9.8-26.6), 10.9% (95% CI, 4.0-17.8), and 25.5% (95% CI, 18.4-32.6), respectively. Geographic atrophy was found in either eye in 9.2% of those participants 70 years and older (95% CI, 5.6-12.7), and exudative macular degeneration was found in 2.3% of participants 70 years and older (95% CI, 0.5-4.1).

CONCLUSION
Geographic atrophy was found to be more common in our study than in other population-based studies.


To date, no safe vaccine or antivirals for Zika virus (ZIKV) infection have been found. The pathogenesis of severe Zika, where host and viral factors participate, remains unclear. For the control of Zika, it is important to understand how ZIKV interacts with different host cells. Knowledge of the targeted cellular pathways which allow ZIKV to productively replicate and/or establish prolonged viral persistence contributes to novel vaccines and therapies. Monocytes and endothelial vascular cells are the main ZIKV targets. During the infection process, cells are capable of releasing extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs are mediators of intercellular communication. We found that mosquito EVs released from ZIKV-infected (C6/36) cells carry viral RNA and ZIKV-E protein and are able to infect and activate naïve mosquito and mammalian cells. ZIKV C6/36 EVs promote the differentiation of naïve monocytes and induce a pro-inflammatory state with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) mRNA expression. ZIKV C6/36 EVs participate in endothelial vascular cell damage by inducing coagulation (TF) and inflammation (PAR-1) receptors at the endothelial surface of the cell membranes and promote a pro-inflammatory state with increased endothelial permeability. These data suggest that ZIKV C6/36 EVs may contribute to the pathogenesis of ZIKV infection in human hosts.


ALICE is one of the four experiments at the LHC located at CERN. As part of the upgrade of the detector, the current Inner Tracking System (ITS) will be replaced by an all silicon detector constructed from pixel sensors with a pitch of 27x29 μm^2 using CMOS Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPs) technology. The goal of this upgrade is to enable precise measurements of low momenta particles by significantly improving the impact parameter resolution, tracking efficiency and readout capacity. The detector consists of 7 concentric layers split into two barrels, an inner barrel and an outer barrel. To construct a layer in the detector several sensors are arranged and glued to an Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) and electrically connected through wirebonds to create a hybrid module. These modules are then joined together to make the staves and then finally the barrels that vary in size depending on the layer. The module production was carried out at five assembly sites and has now mfinished. In total over 2500 modules were produced with a yield of 84% for detector grade modules. Each module underwent wire pull tests to assess the quality of the bonds, extensive electrical tests to evaluate the functionality of the module and classify it based on the results. Metrology was also carried out on selected modules to better understand the mechanical properties and the quality of the assembly during the construction phase. This proceeding will present the assembly procedure of the modules, give details and results of the tests carried out and a summary of the production as a whole.


The most important determinant of the outcome of treatment of tuberculosis (TB) patients is the access that they have to reliable diagnosis and treatment services organized within a national tuberculosis programme (NTP) as part of DOTS, the name of the WHO-recommended TB control strategy. Accurate evaluation of treatment outcomes requires inclusion of all patients diagnosed, including those not registered; part of routine NTP management should therefore involve regular cross-checks between laboratory diagnostic registers and NTP treatment registers. Finally, control services should take into consideration the type of TB, the presence of concomitant infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and patient characteristics.


Poor pastoralist women in Eastern Sudan have improved their livelihoods by producing alternative animal feed from local resources. They are able to do so after receiving training from a local pastoralist organisation, supported by Oxfam Novib's partner PENHA. The women managed to improve the productivity of their goats so that they produce more milk and give birth to more kid goats. The increased household income is used to improve health and support the education of their children.


A molecular model developed for resonances observed in medium light heavy-ion collisions is described. At high spins in Si + Si (oblate-oblate system), a stable dinuclear configuration is found to be equator-equator touching one. The normal modes around the equilibrium are investigated. These modes are expected to be the origin of a large number of resonances observed. Furthermore, due to the axially asymmetric shape of the stable configuration of Si + Si, the system rotates preferentially around the axis with the largest moment of inertia, which gives rise to wobbling motion (K-mixing). Energy spectra for the normal modes and for the extended model including the wobbling motion are given.


INTRODUCTION
Monoclonal antibody (mAb) cG250 recognizes carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX), overexpressed on clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). (124)I-cG250 is currently under clinical investigation for the detection of ccRCC. However, the (124)I label is rapidly excreted from the tumor cells after internalization of the radiolabeled mAb. We hypothesized that labeling cG250 with the residualizing positron emitter (89)Zr would lead to higher tumor uptake and more sensitive detection of ccRCC lesions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Nude mice with CAIX-expressing ccRCC xenografts (SK-RC-52 or NU-12) were i.v. injected with (89)Zr-cG250 or (124)I-cG250. To determine specificity of (89)Zr-cG250 uptake in ccRCC, one control group was i.v. injected with (89)Zr-MOPC21 (irrelevant mAb). PET images were acquired using a small animal PET camera and the biodistribution of the radiolabeled mAb was determined.

RESULTS
The ccRCC xenografts were clearly visualized after injection of (89)Zr-cG250 and (124)I-cG250. Tumor uptake of (89)Zr-cG250 was significantly higher compared with (124)I-cG250 in the NU-12 tumor model (114.7% ± 25.2% injected dose per gram (%ID/g) vs. 38.2 ± 18.3%ID/g, p=0.029), but in the SK-RC-52 the difference in tumor uptake was not significant (48.7 ± 15.2%ID/g vs. 32.0 ± 22.9%ID/g, p=0.26). SK-RC-52 tumors were not visualized with (89)Zr-MOPC21 (tumor uptake 3.0%ID/g). Intraperitoneal SK-RC-52 lesions as small as 7 mm(3) were visualized with (89)Zr-cG250 PET.

CONCLUSION
ImmunoPET imaging with cG250 visualized s.c. and i.p. ccRCC lesions in murine models. This confirms the potential of cG250 immunoPET in the diagnosis and (re)staging of ccRCC. PET imaging of ccRCC tumors with (89)Zr-cG250 could be more sensitive than (124)I-cG250-PET.


According to the rhetoric of the post-war welfare state, citizens should have equal access to social benefits and protection based on human needs, rather than place of residence (Wincott, 2006). But under China's socialist system and neoliberal reform, Chinese social citizenship has been eroded for various political and economic goals. Are there positive changes in Chinese social citizenship after a decade of social policy development? By interviewing 24 migrant college graduates working in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the current study confirms institutional progress in social policy for people's social protection. But these post-neoliberal social programmes are far from enough to help migrant graduates perform full social citizenship in urban regions. By studying social inclusion of educated but disadvantaged youth under neoliberal and post-neoliberal reforms, the study contributes to a growing body of literature analysing social citizenship and social policy in China.


The European employment strategy initiated in 1997 is critically dependent upon the further integration of women into the labor market. The European Union has set a specific target employment rate for women of 60 percent by 2010 and is also committed to providing more and better child care facilities. This gender focus is reinforced by the requirement for gender mainstreaming in all aspects of European employment policy. There is an implied Europe-wide, universal policy of encouraging female labor-market participation and reducing the care work performed by domestic labor. However, the European Commission continues to have limited competence in areas of family, social, and welfare policy. As a result, these common employment objectives for women are thus being pursued against a background of quite different systems of social, family, welfare, and indeed labor-market organization. These systems have different economic and employment implications, such that the outcomes of the common European employment strategy will also be highly variable.


A time-decaying Dirac equation is suggested. For a free particle with rest mass about 0.5GeV, the live-time is about 10 −25 second in the rest frame.


Chemicals are everywhere. Many are natural and safe, others synthetic and dangerous. Or is it the other way around? Walking through the supermarket, you might ask yourself: Should I be eating organic food? Is that anti-wrinkle cream a gimmick? Is it worth buying BPA-free plastics?

This new edition of Chemistry in the Marketplace provides fresh explanations, fascinating facts and funny anecdotes about the serious science in the products we buy and the resources we use. It might even save you some money.

With chapters on the chemistry found in different parts of our home, in the backyard and in the world around us, Ben Selinger and Russell Barrow explain how things work, where marketing can be deceptive and what risks you should really be concerned about.

Chemistry in the Marketplace is a valuable resource for university lecturers, high school teachers and students of chemistry and chemistry related subjects and disciplines, such as biochemistry, microbiology and science in society.


This study combines ethnological, historical, and dendroecological data from areas north of the Arctic Circle to analyze cultural aspects of Sami use of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) inner bark as regular food. Bark was peeled in June when trees were at the peak of sapping, leaving a strip of undamaged cambium so the tree survived. As a result, it is possible to date bark-peeling episodes using dendrochronology. The paper argues that the use of Scots pine inner bark reflects Sami religious beliefs, ethical concerns, and concepts of time, all expressed in the process of peeling the bark. A well-developed terminology and a set of specially designed tools reveal the technology involved in bark peeling. Consistent patterns with respect to the direction and size of peeling scars found across the region demonstrate common values and standards. Peeling direction patterns and ceremonial meals relating to bark probably reflect ritual practices connected to the sun deity, Biejvve.


Large-amplitude pH oscillations have been measured during the oxidation of sulfur (IV) species by the bromate ion in aqueous solution in a continuous-flow stirred tank reactor in the absence of any additional oxidizing or reducing reagent. The source of the oscillation in this simple chemical reaction is a two-way oxidation of sulfur (IV) by the bromate ion: (1) the hydrogen-ion-producing self-accelerating oxidation to sulfur (VI) (SO4(2-)), and (2) a hydrogen-ion-consuming oxidation to sulfur (V) (S2O6(2-)). In such a way, both the H+-producing and H+-consuming composite processes required for a pH oscillator take place in parallel in a reaction between two reagents in this system. A simple reaction scheme, consisting of the protonation equilibria of SO3(2-) and HSO3-, the oxidation of HSO3- and H2SO3 by BrO3- to SO4(2-), and the oxidation of H2SO3 to S2O6(2-) has successfully been used to simulate the observed dynamical behavior. Simulation with this simple scheme shows that oscillations can be calculated even if only about 1% of sulfur (IV) is oxidized to S2O6(2-) along with the main product SO4(2-). Agreement between calculated and measured dynamical behavior is found to be quite good. Increasing temperature decreases both the period length of oscillations in a CSTR and the Landolt time measured in a closed reactor. No temperature compensation of the oscillatory frequency is found in this reaction.


The tumour necrosis factor family molecule RANKL (RANKL, TRANCE, ODF) and its receptor RANK are key regulators of bone remodelling and regulate T cell/dendritic cell communications, and lymph node formation. Moreover, RANKL and RANK are expressed in mammary gland epithelial cells and control the development of a lactating mammary gland during pregnancy and the propagation of mammalian species. Importantly, RANKL and RANK are essential for the development and activation of osteoclasts and bone loss in response to virtually all triggers tested. Therapeutically, inhibition of RANKL function via the decoy receptor osteoprotegerin completely prevents bone loss at inflammed joints and has partially beneficial effects on cartilage destruction in all arthritis models studied. Modulation of these systems provides a unique opportunity to design novel treatments to inhibit bone loss and crippling in arthritis.


A free-standing plasma beam can be generated in a large volume process chamber as a continuation of a surface wave excited plasma column bounded within a dielectric plasma chamber. This phenomenon occurs if the threshold values of the gas flow and microwave power are reached. The typical values are quartz plasma chamber diameter of 20–40 mm, microwave power of 1–1.5 kW at 2.45 GHz, argon flow of 500–6000 sccm and pressure of 50–500 Pa. The length of the free-standing beam can reach many tens of centimetres. The mechanism of free-standing beam creation and an explanation for its shape and properties is proposed, based on analysis of the charged particle balance in the beam. Crucial for this explanation is the gas flow in the free-standing beam zone. The results of a flow dynamic simulation are presented. The spatial distributions of neutral particle velocities are used as input for the model, which predicts the electron concentration profiles. Good agreement of the modelled and measured electron concentration distributions in radial and axial directions of the free-standing beam is obtained.


BACKGROUND
An unknown number of asylum seekers arriving in Denmark have been exposed to torture or have experienced other traumatising events in their country of origin. The health of traumatised asylum seekers, both physically and mentally, is affected upon arrival to Denmark, and time in asylum centres leads to further deterioration in health.

METHODS
One hundred forty-two (N=142) newly arrived asylum seekers were examined at Center Sandholm by Amnesty International Danish Medical Group from the 1st of September until the 31st of December 2007.

FINDINGS
The asylum seekers came from 33 different countries, primarily representing Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Chechnya. Of the asylum seekers, 45 percent had been exposed to torture--approximately one-third within the year of arrival to Denmark. Unsystematic blows, personal threats or threats to family, degrading treatment, isolation, and witnessing torture of others were the main torture methods reported. The majority of the asylum seekers had witnessed armed conflict, persecution, and imprisonment. The study showed that physical symptoms were approximately twice as frequent and psychological symptoms were approximately two to three times as frequent among torture survivors as among non-tortured asylum seekers. However, even the health of non-tortured asylum seekers was affected. Among the torture survivors, 63 percent fulfilled the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, and 30-40 percent of the torture survivors were depressed, in anguish, anxious, and tearful in comparison to 5-10 percent of the non-tortured asylum seekers. Further, 42 percent of torture survivors had torture-related scars.

INTERPRETATION
Torture survivors amid newly arrived asylum seekers are an extremely vulnerable group, hence examination and inquiry about the torture history is extremely important in order to identify this population to initiate the necessary medical treatment and social assistance. Amnesty International Danish Medical group is currently planning a follow-up study of the present population which will focus on changes in health status during their time in Denmark.


Background Serum levels of the heterodimer S100A8/A9 have shown to correlate well with disease activity and structural abnormalities in patients across several inflammatory rheumatic diseases and seems crucially involved in cartilage destruction in osteoarthritis (OA) in murine models. Earlier we found that S100 serum levels correlate with development of human OA. However, whether there is an association between S100A8/A9 levels and clinical and structural data in patients with established OA is unknown. Objectives To explore the association between the proinflammatory protein S100A8/A9 serum level with clinical data and structural abnormalities in patients with established knee, hip or hand OA. Methods A cross sectional exploratory study was conducted with 162 patients fulfilling the ACR clinical criteria for knee (n=57), hip (n=47) or hand OA (n=58). Clinical data consisted of pain, stiffness, function, ESR and C-reactive protein serum levels. Pain, stiffness and function subscales were calculated and normalized using the WOMAC questionnaires for knee and hip OA and AUSCAN index for hand OA. Outcome measures for structural abnormalities included the K&Lscore (for hand OA mean score), sum score of osteophytes and joint space narrowing grades using the OARSI atlas. In case of non-normal distribution, outcome measures were dichotomized using the median split method. The association between serum levels of S100A8/A9 (independent) and clinical data (dependent) or structural abnormalities (dependent) was analyzed using linear regression or logistic regression when appropriate. For multivariate analyses, α < 0.10 was set. Results The mean age was 56 years, 71% was female and 61% had K&L score ≥ 2. In the hand OA group, the mean age was higher and more women were included. Furthermore, hand OA patients reported the longest duration of symptoms, least pain and had the highest normalized sum score of osteophytes. The knee patients reported the highest pain score and had the least sum score of osteophytes. The serum S100A8/A9 level did not differ between knee, hip and hand OA patients. For all joints together, serum S100A8/A9 level was negatively associated with the normalized sum score of osteophytes after adjustment for sex and BMI (adjusted OR 0.99 (95% CI 0.97-1.00, p=0.06) and positively associated with ESR (adjusted OR 1.002 (95%CI 1.000-1.004 p<0.05) for each increase of S100A8/A9 with 1 ng/ml. For hand OA patients, a negative association of S100A8/A9 with sum score of joint space narrowing was found (adjusted OR 0.993 (95%CI 0.984–1.001) p < 0.10). Conclusions Results from this cross sectional exploratory study do not support a role for serum S100A8/A9 levels as biomarker for clinical (normalized pain, stiffness and function) and structural outcome in established knee, hip and hand OA patients. The inverse relation with the sum score of osteophytes and joint space narrowing and the positive association with ESR underlines the previous finding that S100A8/A9 may reflect inflammatory synovial processes in patients with OA before structural abnormalities occur and warrant further exploration in longitudinal studies. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


This study was designed to evaluate the effect of aqueous leaves extract Camellia sinensis on serum glucose levels and liver enzyme markers in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by a single dose of intraperitoneal injection of 150mg/kg bwt of alloxan, and 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg bwt of the extract was administered orally to different groups of diabetic rats for 3 weeks. A significant decrease (p<0.05) in serum glucose, Total bilirubin (TB) and the liver marker enzymes (Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP)) was observed in groups 4 and 5. The hypoglycemic effects as well as its effects on liver enzymes makes it an attractive recipe for the prophylactic treatment of diabetes. Keywords: Camellia sinensis , diabetes, liver marker enzymes, rats.


Through the prism of Russian participation in the Bologna Process, a keynote initiative designed to harmonize the European higher education systems, the article analyzes the international political role of one of the main elements of soft power — higher education. Globalization and the spread of modern computer and communication technologies is steadily weakening the traditional "tools" of countries' power and influence. Aware of the changing political context, Russia is increasing its attention to and use of various public diplomacy tools, aimed primarily at working with foreign publics. Providing higher education services is one of the most efficient tools of promoting a country's positive image abroad. Moreover, it also contributes to the development of Russian human capital.


SIR,-As we are likely soon to arrive at the truth as to the value of the two operations for glaucoma now before the profession, from a calm consideration of that subject, rather than one-sided a priori theorising, it is somewhat relevant to these operations to particularise the fact that the most tangible objection of Mr. Hancock to iridectomy is that of the danger or necessity of administering chloroform in these latter cases, but not in his operation. Having carefully watched dozens on dozens of these iridectomy operations under chloroform, I think there is not any accident whatever likely to occur, if the patient, as in cataract cases, is brought fully and deeply under the anesthetic. It is not so, however, if the chloroform is exhibited only in very very small quantities, and each small additional dose (as it certainly does) increases the agitation of the patient. We are still as it were in the infancy of anesthetics, watching by the cradle of this new birth of our time; and it seems desirable from year to year to seek the advice and opinions of experienced hospital surgeons and others as to whether chloroform increases generally in favour, and what are the conditions where it may be expected to act with the greatest satisfaction and safety; but still we too often overlook the minor question of how to administer it. We owe the large and interesting subject of " resection of joints entirely to chloroform whether for good or evil, might form a fit subject of debate at another time; or rather, we owe such operations as resection of the knee-the experimentum crucis of resections-not, as often said, to this or that surgical school, but to the secondary accident or subject of etherisation. The diagnosis of very painful diseases about joints, the hipjoint especially, has also undergone a most beneficial revolution from the same cause; and many very painful joints are now saved, which not many years ago would have been removed by amputation; the mobility of the joint, as tested by chloroform, being quite perfect in such cases, which formerly was discovered when the leg or arm was cut off, but now while the limb is still capable of being saved. Practical men, otherwise (judging in a measure from books and journals) still display the most unnecessary fears occasionally as to the mischievous effects of chloroform. In trephine case (where, unfortunately, about two-thirds of the patients die of the trephine and the original injury, and where chloroform would, a priori, be deemed in the last degree dangerous), it has been used with good results. Again, in puerperal convulsions, it is often prescribed in very large doses with wonderful success; and even in cases of placenta prwvia and abnormal presentations, with hlemorrhage, it facilitates the operation of turning, without increase of hmmorrhage. In the suffocation of croup in children, another operation where it might be deemed inadmissible, Dr. Fock has given twenty-four cases where chloroform was administered previously to the operation of tracheotomy, and in each case with marked benefit. In the practice of eye-surgery, these two operations in glaucoma have recently excited immense controversy; many scores of cases have been treated (all the cases alike), one set by one operation, another set by the other, without the slightest difference as to final result, except that one set of cases were benefited, as it was erroneously surmised, by having no chloroform! The real fact is, chloroform in these cases may do mischief, or it may not. Minimum doses excite the patient, and throw forward the ball of the eye; the small muscles of the globe, like those of the perinaeum in lithotomy, are made rigid; the muscular crura of the diaphragm, through which pass the cesophagus and eighth pair of nerves, are in a similar condition (this latter, I am now certain, is the cause of vomiting). We have, therefore, the danger of this bulging of the eye, aggravated by the vomiting, probable escape of the vitreous, and blindness; but all this is saved by giving the chloroform as deeply as the patient will bear it. Roger de Coverley's dictum in the judge's ear, that "much may be said on both sides", rather illustrates the discussion on iridectomy and the danger of chloroform; but this is really the practical explanation of the whole matter. The vomiting is perhaps the accident most to be feared. The cardiac end of the stomach, with its par vagum, is as sensitive to impressions that cause vomiting as the pyloric end is entirely insensible to such impressions. If the chloroform is pushed well into the third stage, the irritation of the diaphragmatic crura on this part ceases, and so of the spasm of the little muscles in the orbit. Where vomiting is very troublesome, I have found a little champagne the best of all our remedies, and, after it, creasote, hydrocyanic acid, and the salts of cerium, which probably act in a similar manner. I am, etc, CHARLES KIDD. Sackville Street, Piccadilly, February 23rd, 1861.


Traditional herbal remedies stimulate and modulate the immune system, and it is thought that their glycoproteins and polysaccharides are responsible for this activity. We prepared crude water, protein, and polysaccharide extracts from Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz, Helianthus annuus L., Scutellaria barbata D. Don, and Hedyotis diffusa Willd, respectively, and compared their immune-stimulating activities in vitro and in vivo. All protein and polysaccharide samples of the plants led to greater lymphocyte proliferation and TNF-α and IL-6 production in cultured splenocytes than did the crude water extracts at the same concentrations tested. In addition, the protein and polysaccharide samples did not contain lectin- or lipopolysaccharide-like molecules, so glycoproteins were deduced to be responsible for the lymphocyte stimulation. Oral administration with each of the samples enhanced the hen egg-white lysozyme (HEL)-specific humoral immune and lymphocyte proliferative responses in HEL low-responder C57BL/6 mice. Splenocytes from the mice fed the samples showed significantly greater increases in the level of IFN-γ, but not IL-4, after stimulation with HEL compared with that from the untreated control. However, higher increases in HEL-specific IgG1, IgG2b, and IgG3 rather than IgG2a were found in the mice fed the samples. These results indicate that the sample-mediated enhancement of anti-HEL-specific humoral immune responses was due to the stimulation of B lymphocytes rather than a selective priming of helper T cell populations. Collectively, we suggest that glycoproteins and/or polysaccharides of traditional herbal remedies enhance cellular and humoral immune response induction and thus could be useful for patients who need enhanced immune function.


Background Medicines reconciliation at discharge is a key strategy to ensure proper drug prescription and the effectiveness and safety of any treatment. Purpose To analyse the effectiveness of an information technology-based medicines reconciliation intervention to reduce reconciliation errors at discharge. Material and methods A quasi-experimental interrupted time series study carried out in the cardio-pneumology unit of a general hospital from February to April 2013. The study consisted of three phases: pre-intervention, intervention and post-intervention, each involving 23 days of observations. The intervention consisted of incorporating a pharmacist in the medical team, who included the patient's pre-admission medicines in an information technology-based application integrated into the electronic clinical history of the patient. The effectiveness was evaluated by a segmented regression analysis of the mean daily proportion of reconciliation errors per patient in the discharge report using the Prais–Winsten method. The types of error identified and their potential seriousness were then analysed, as was the effectiveness of the intervention to reduce the errors considered to be of clinical importance. Results 321 patients (119, 105 and 97 in each phase, respectively) were included in the study. For the 3966 medicines recorded, 1087 reconciliation errors were identified in 77.9% of the patients. Pharmaceutical intervention led to a gradual reduction in these errors (β 3 = −0.42; p = 0.553), especially in the case of those of clinical importance (β 3 = −0.54; p = 0.029). When pharmaceutical intervention was withdrawn, the number of errors increased again, both overall (β 4 = 29.06; p = 0.003) and in the case of clinically important errors (β 4 = 10.8; p = 0.002). Most errors involved omission of medicines (46.7%) or incomplete prescription (43.8%), 35% being considered of clinical importance. Conclusion The proposed intervention highlighted the high incidence of reconciliation errors at discharge and was effective in reducing both the overall percentage of errors and those considered to be of clinical importance. References and/or Acknowledgements We would like to thank the participating patients and physicians who supported our study. No conflict of interest.


Protein phosphorylation is one of the most important post-translational modifications. Organisms utilize this reversible reaction of proteins to control many cellular activities, including signal transduction, apoptosis, gene expression, cell cycle progression, cytoskeletal regulation, and energy metabolism. Abnormal protein phosphorylation is deeply related to carcinogenesis and neuropathogenesis. Methods for monitoring the phosphorylation status of proteins are, thus, very important with respect to the evaluation of diverse biological and pathological processes. Recently, we reported that a dinuclear metal complex of 1,3-bis[bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)-amino]propan-2-olato acts as a novel phosphate-binding tag molecule, Phos-tag, in an aqueous solution under physiological conditions. The Phos-tag has a vacancy on two metal ions that is suitable for the access of a phosphomonoester dianion (R-OPO(2)3*) as a bridging ligand. The resulting 1:1 phosphate-binding complex, R-OPO(2)3*-(Phos-tag)3+, has a total charge of +1. A dinuclear zinc(II) complex (Zn2+-Phos-tag) strongly binds to phenyl phosphate dianion (K(d)=2.5 x 10(-8) M) at a neutral pH. The anion selectivity indexes against SO(2)4*, CH3COO*, Cl-, and bisphenyl phosphate monoanion at 25 degrees C are 5.2 x 10(3), 1.6 x 10(4), 8.0 x 10(5), and>2 x 10(6), respectively. A manganese(II) homologue (Mn2+-Phos-tag) can also capture the R-OPO(2)3* anion, such as phosphoserine, phosphotyrosine, and phosphohistidine, at an alkaline pH. By utilizing the Phos-tag molecule and its derivatives, we developed convenient and reliable methods for the detection of phosphorylated proteins. We believe that our Phos-tag technology will result in great progress in phosphoproteomics.


Design processes for complex systems often begin with low-fidelity models and progressively incorporate higher fidelity tools. Existing multifidelity optimization approaches generally attempt to calibrate low-fidelity models or replace low-fidelity analysis results using data from higher fidelity analyses. This paper proposes a fundamentally dierent approach that uses the tools of estimation theory to fuse together information from multifidelity analyses. This approach is combined with maximum entropy characterizations of model inadequacy and global sensitivity analysis for fidelity management, resulting in a Bayesian-based approach to mitigating risk in multifidelity multidisciplinary design optimization. The method is demonstrated on a wing-sizing problem for a high altitude, long endurance vehicle.


If curriculum is to reflect the goals of a nation and the needs of its students, it makes sense for teachers to participate in its creation. In fact, curriculum design has long been associated with the idea of teacher contribution. Thepresent effort tries to prove that Saudi EFL teachers can be active participantsrather than passive recipients. They can convey vital information to curriculum designers instead of being blindly subjected to ahighly centralized educational system. The study also provides a consideration of role requirements and the competencies of teachers as curriculum leaders. The data collected from semi-structured interviews indicate that teachersareneither involvednor informed in the process ofcurriculum design and that theirengagement is merelywithin their own classrooms walls. Although they play a central role in the process of education, yet they miss the passion of belongingas little attention, if any, is given totheir voices.


This paper introduces the extreme value theory(EVT) of VaR into the research on the price risk of Chinese soybean spot market and American soybean future market. As some improvement, this paper introduces partial regression coefficient, clustering and runs test into the threshold value model. On base of extreme value theory threshold value model can do quantitative management well for extreme price risk of small probability with great loss in different markets. The improvement of traditional threshold model is feasible and can gain ideal result. Based on the empirical results, the difference between two spot markets is discussed. There is similarity of extreme price risk in Chinese spot market and American futures market. The price of American futures market in the past has long influence on that in the future. The market relevance between American markets is stronger than that between Chinese markets. Furthermore, the difference between manufacturer risk and purchasing risk in each market is also discussed.


One of the key factors of the OLSR routing protocol is the MPR selection algorithm, which is based only on the reachability of each neighbor, not taking into consideration how they are moving. As a result, the selected MPR set may be unstable. One way to improve the stability of the MPR set is through spatial mobility metrics that are able to promptly monitor the degree of movement correlation between a node and its neighbors. However, we show that current metrics have limitations on capturing the spatial correlation in the various states of collective motion. Through an enhanced spatial mobility metric, we propose a MPR selection algorithm, which was integrated into a new mobility-aware OLSR protocol. The new technique provided an performance gain in terms of packet delivery ratio and end-to-end delay, besides presenting fewer out of order packets.


Field-programmable gate arrays are widely considered accelerators for compute-intensive applications. A critical phase of FPGA application development is finding and mapping to the appropriate computing model. These models differ from models generally used in programming. For example, whereas parallel computing models are often based on thread execution and interaction, FPGA computing can exploit more degrees of freedom than are available in software. This enables models with highly flexible fine-grained parallelism and associative operations such as broadcast and collective response. Several case studies demonstrate the effectiveness of using FPGA-based accelerators in molecular modeling.


The UT-FX team participated in the de-identification subtask and the complaint and diagnosis subtask of the NTCIR10 MedNLP pilot task. This report describes our approach to solving the two subtasks.