CG methylation (m CG) is essential for preserving genome stability in mammals, but this link remains obscure in plants. OsMET1-2, a major rice DNA methyltransferase, plays critical roles in maintaining m CG in rice. Null mutation of OsMET1-2 causes massive CG hypomethylation, rendering the mutant suitable to address the role of m CG in maintaining genome integrity in plants. Here, we analyzed m CG dynamics and genome stability in tissue cultures of OsMET1-2 homozygous (-/-) and heterozygous (+/-) mutants, and isogenic wild-type. We found m CG levels in cultures of -/- were substantially lower than in those of wild-type and +/-, as expected. Unexpectedly, m CG levels in 1- and 3-y cultures of -/- were 77.6% and 48.7% higher than in shoot, from which the cultures were initiated, suggesting substantial regain of m CG in -/- cultures, which contrasts to the general trend of m CG loss in all wild-type plant tissue cultures hitherto studied. Transpositional burst of diverse transposable elements (TEs) occurred only in -/- cultures, although no elevation of genome-wide mutation rate in the form of single nucleotide polymorphisms was detected. Altogether, our results establish an essential role of m CG in retaining TE immobility and hence genome stability in rice and likely in plants in general.


This paper presents a new methodology of sizing optimization of a stand-alone hybrid renewable energy system. The developed approach makes use of a deterministic algorithm to minimize the life cycle cost of the system while guaranteeing the availability of the energy. Firstly, the mathematical modeling of the principal elements of the hybrid wind/PV system is exposed showing the main sizing variables. Then, the deterministic algorithm is presented and implemented to minimize the objective function which is equal to the life cycle cost of the hybrid system and finally, the obtained results are exposed and discussed.


BACKGROUND
Avian influenza virus (AIV) infection is a major cause of bird or human mortality and morbidity, therefore the rapid identification of the virus is of important clinical and epidemiological implication.

METHODS
A multiplex Reverse Transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) was optimized for the detection of influenza A virus and the H5 and H9 subtypes. The influenza type A specific primers were directed to the region of the influenza A matrix gene that is conserved among most type A influenza viruses. The H5 and H9 primers were directed to H5 and H9 hemagglutinin (HA) gene regions that are conserved among H5 and H9 subtypes. The selected primer sets were used in the RT-PCR for simultaneous detection of matrix, H5 and H9 responding specific sequences in a multiplex format.

RESULTS
Three reaction conditions were optimized which include: i) RT-PCR typing using matrix gene primers for five subtypes of flu A (H1, H3, H5, H7 and H9), ii) RT-PCR subtyping for H5 and H9 subtypes, and iii) multiplex subtyping of H5 and H9. In this study, the multiplex RT-PCR was applied to 147 cloacal and tracheal swabs of clinical poultry cases with similar influenza symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that multiplex RT-PCR assay can be a useful test for rapid detection and subtyping of AIV in clinical samples.


Abstract : The Improved Performance Research Integration Tool (IMPRINT) is a dynamic, stochastic, discrete-event modeling tool used to develop a model of the system of interest. In this project, we used the IMPRINT Pro Forces Module to build models of the crew of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The basic concept underlying the development of a model using the Forces module is that crewmembers spend all of their time in some sort of planned activities/events. In the context of the model, this term refers to activities typically occurring in the ships daily schedule (e.g., specified times for meals, personal time, watch standing [for crewmembers who stand watch], training, preventive maintenance, sleep, etc.). These planned activities, however, are interrupted or augmented by unforeseen emergencies and events (i.e., unplanned activities to which the crew must respond and resolve) such as flooding, collision, equipment casualties, etc. Phase 1 of this effort was focused on model development for naval applicationsspecifically, to validate the use of IMPRINT Pro Forces model simulations for the LCS manpower requirements (Hollins and Leszczynski, 2014). This phase included two tasks. First, to develop the design concept of a model describing the manpower requirements of LCS-1 Freedom. Second, to develop the appropriate manning models in IMPRINT. Phase 1 successfully showed that IMPRINT Pro Forces could be used to estimate manning levels with regard to the distribution of crew rates and required qualifications (Navy Enlisted Classifications [NECs]) for the LCS 1 mission requirements through simulations of planned and unplanned events, based on actual data collected from the LCS crew. Building upon that work, Phase 2 further investigated the usefulness of Forces model simulations by focusing on determining which individual crewmembers should maintain particular qualifications (Albrecht, Fitzsimmons, Chambers, and Schultz, 2014).


Back ground and objectives: Lumbar disc herniation is one of the most important causes of lower back pain and is also one of the most important problems in orthopedic surgery in adults. The study aims to assessment the risk factors for lumbar disc herniation in the city of Mosul. Material and methods: A retrospective study (a case control study) was conducted for a sample of adults consisting of (540) samples as all, divided into two groups of both sex (266) case and 274control, aged between 20 years and 70 years old and above. This study was carried out in the following hospitals: Al-Gomhouri Educational Hospital, Al-Salam General Hospital, and Ibn Sina Medical Center in Mosul. It was conducted for a period of three months from the first of January 2014 till the first of April 2014. The validity of the content was determined by presenting expert questionnaire forms consisting of (17) experts. The data were analyzed by applying the descriptive analysis, which included (frequency distribution, percentage) and deductive statistical analysis, which included patients and the control sample. The internal stability of the questionnaire was applying the Cronbach alpha correlation coefficient . Results:A number of factors were found to be significantly more effective in patients with lumbar disc herniation: gender, age, Residency, family history, increased working hours, back pain during work, working with big effort, psychosocial impact, washing the clothes both way, washing the dishes on the ground increasing the number of children, not doing sports weekly,. eating in sitting position, carrying heavy objects more than 15 kilos, sitting for long periods. Conclusion: LDH is more common in male than female group in a ratio of 1.74:1. The age group most affected with LDH is 40-49 years. LDH is more common in urban areas. BMI has direct effect on LDH especially persons who are with overweight. Married and primary persons have more groups affected with LDH. Family history plays a great role in existing the LDH (63.2%). and the comorbidity diseases (DM.HT) also contributed to the LDH. Employee persons, Average of time work 710 hrs., Satisfaction of time work some of them, Addition work out org. work, Rest time during the work some of them, suffering Back pain during work, need speed during work and working with big effort have high significant in role the study whereas enough time to complete the work not significant . Recommendation: the study recommended the establishment of educational programs for the community through all the media and the inclusion of the subject of disease to nursing students and health institutions aimed to reduce the disease and the study recommended also to reduce weight, doing regular exercises and improve physical activities.


In prior work, a minimal mathematical model of bipedal walking was developed to investigate the experimentally observed entrainment behavior of human locomotion. While that model reproduced several salient properties of human walking, it failed to entrain to periodic perturbations with period longer than preferred walking period. To overcome that limitation, we introduced afferent feedback in the form of leading leg angle control that depended on the energetics of previous steps. The model response to periodic perturbations was again studied in simulation, testing several perturbation periods and initial perturbation phases. This revised model captured important aspects of human locomotion that had been previously observed experimentally: a finite basin of entrainment to both shorter and longer perturbation periods. Regardless of the (random) phases of the step cycle at which perturbations were initiated, all entrained simulations phase-locked with the torque pulses at the end of double stance. However, more than twice as many steps were required to entrain to longer perturbations. The results achieved with this revised walking model emphasize the importance of the oscillatory dynamics of bipedal locomotion and highlight possible applications of gait entrainment as a method for permissive motor guidance in the field of assistive and rehabilitation robotics.


DFIN r IONS ................................................................ 194 iMEPORTANCE OF TRANSFECTION OF FaNEROBAC CL4 E ......5...... 9 NECESSARY CONDMONS FOR QUANTITATIVE TRANSFECTION ASSAYS 195 Direct Dependence of Infective Centers on Nucleic Acid Concentration ...... 195 Kinetics of Transfection .................................................... 196 Reproducibly High Efficiency of Transfection and Competent Cells ..... .... 196 Isolation of Intact, Stable, and Pure Transfecting Nucleic Acids ..... ........ 197 Identification of the Infective Agent ........... ............................. 197 ARTEFACTS PRODUCED IN TRANSFECTION ASSAYS ..................... 198 TECHNIQUES FORPRODUCINGCOMPETENT CElIS OFE.COLAND THEIR RELATIVE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES ..................... 199 Calcium Shock Technique .................................................. 199 Lysozyme-EDTA Spheroplast Technique .................................... 199 Helped Transfection Technique for Lambda Phage DNA .................... 201 Other Techniques for Transfection or Genei'c Transformation of F. coli ..... 201 MECHANISM OF TRANSFECTION AND HELPED TRANSFECTION ..... ..... 202 Structure of the Gram-Negative Cell Envelope ........ ...................... 202 Structure of the Gram-Positive Cell Envelope ........ ....................... 203 Stepwise Analysis of Transfection Techniques ........ ...................... 203 Calcium Shock Method-Mechanism ............ ............................ 203 Lysozyme-EDTA Technique-Mechanism .......... ......................... 204 Helped Transfection-Mechanism ............. ............................. 207 Genetic Transformation Versus Transfection ........ ....................... 208 Role of the Nucleases ofE coli ................. ............................. 209 Effect of DNA Structure on Transfection .......... .......................... 212 New Approaches to the Mechanism of Transfection .......... .............. 213 CATALOGUE OF BACTERIAL TRANSFECTION SYSTEMS. . ................ 214 APPLICATIONS OF TRANSFECTION TO SOLVING PROBLEMS OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY................................................... 214 Heteroduplex Repair ........................................................ 214 Biological Activity of DNA Fragments ........... ........................... 215 FUTURE APPLICATIONS OF TRANSFECTION-OUTLOOK ................. 220 LITERATURE CTED ................................................. 221


AbstractPURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the postoperative follow-up of HIV-positive patients with anal condylomata acuminata, associating recurrence to the AIDS status.
METHODS: Ninety-seven male, homosexual patients with anal condylomata were submitted to surgical treatment from August 1992 to December 1997. Specimens were obtained for histologic investigation of Ki-67 cell proliferation marker and for polymerase chain reaction to define the human papillomavirus type. The patients were advised to return weekly during the first month, and monthly up to the sixth month, to evaluate recurrence. Patients with high-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia remain in follow-up.
RESULTS: Histology revealed low-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia in 81.44 percent of patients and high-grade lesions in 18.56 percent. The results showed that high-grade lesions were not more frequent in late-stage AIDS patients. Ki-67 expression, a cell proliferation marker, was greater in high-grade than in low-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia, but had no association with AIDS status. Nononcogenic human papillomavirus 6 and 11 were the commonest types. Comparing papillomavirus types and anal intraepithelial grade, we noticed that both oncogenic and nononcogenic types were responsible for high-grade lesions. All patients healed and 51 (52.6 percent) had recurrence up to the sixth month. AIDS status and papillomavirus type were not associated with recurrence. However, high-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia patients had more recurrence than those with low-grade lesions. Topical treatment failed in 20 patients (41.6 percent), and these were submitted to new surgical treatment. All of them were in the late stage of AIDS. Three who had high-grade lesions in the first operation had low-grade lesions in specimens from the second surgery. The same histologic pattern was observed in 17 patients who had low-grade lesions in warts removed in the first operation. Other patients with high-grade lesions had no recurrence or evolution to invasive carcinoma from five to ten years of follow-up.
CONCLUSION: High-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia and late-stage AIDS are risk factors for recurrence of anal condylomata.


This study is a qualitative analysis to investigate the extent and characteristics of the influence of the national system of innovation (NSI) on the performance of the biotechnology sector in a developing country. While developing country leapfrogging' would, at first sight, seem to contradict mainstream theorising about latecomer innovation, it fits well with a Gerschenkronian focus on therole of substitutes to overcome major stumbling blocks to economic developmentand the role of institutions such as banks in directing investment. This makes it compatible with an older, more traditional literature. Yet, even though such success can readily be understood for scale-intensive heavy industries with well-established technological trajectories, it does not seem so simple for biotech, where success is still highly uncertain, even for firms in developed countries, and where directed governance structures of the sort authors such as Gerschenkron highlight are not normally deemed useful. To identify what influences the uneven performance of the bioagricultural and biopharmaceutical sectors in Iran, a parallel approach to Gerschenkron's is implemented in this thesis, to determine whether the characteristics of Iran's NSI in biopharmaceuticals differ from those of bioagricultural sector and whether these differences explain the differing performance. The study makes extensive use of interviews as well as documentation to assess the actual unfolding of events. The findings were unexpected at the outset of the project as the uneven development in the biotechnology sector of Iran turns out to have been caused less by technological failure than by regulatory failures on the part of government. This demonstrates that while the government can speed up economic development by overcoming barriers (through for example promoting successful access to technological knowledge, research and development), it can also hamperinnovation by failing to provide appropriate legislation and to adjust laws and regulations to the stage of technological development that the biotechnology sector of a developing country has achieved. Thus Gerschenkron's conclusion about the state as a substitute for economic backwardness' is turned on its head


Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are amongst the most promising inorganic nanomaterials explored so far. Aiming to attain polymeric biomaterials with tailored physical properties for tissue engineering, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-grafted BNNTs were used as reinforcements for biocompatible poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF). The nanocomposites were synthesized via sonication and thermal curing, and their morphology, hydrophilicity, biodegradability, cytotoxicity, thermal, mechanical, tribological and antibacterial properties were examined. Morphological observations revealed that the PEG-g-BNNTs were randomly and uniformly dispersed within PPF, and suggested good compatibility between the covalently functionalized nanotubes and the matrix. The thermal stability, hydrophilicity, water uptake, biodegradation rate and protein absorption capability gradually increased upon increasing PEG-g-BNNTs loading. The nanocomposites displayed superior stiffness and strength compared to PPF, and maintained enough rigidity under physiological conditions to be used for bone tissue regeneration. The friction coefficient and wear rate decreased upon addition of the PEG-g-BNNTs, which is desirable for biomedical applications. The nanocomposites exhibited antibacterial activity against Gram-positive S. aureus and Gram-negative E. coli bacteria, the biocide effect being stronger with increasing nanotube loading, and did not cause toxicity on human dermal fibroblasts.


Packaging material is necessary in the preservation process. Edible films containing essential oils can be incorporated into the conventional food packaging systems with a dual purpose, edible and natural preservative, that can maintain quality, extend the shelf life and reduce the risk of pathogen growth specifically in unprocessed or minimally processed foods like fruits and vegetables. In present study, pumpkin-arrowroot starch based edible film incorporated with carom seed oil at 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% were prepared and studied for the antimicrobial properties. Film with 1.5% Carom seed oil showed exceedingly good antimicrobial activities against E. coli, Staphylococcus and Aspergillus. The films were further studied for physical, mechanical and water vapour transmission properties. The results indicated that the film with 1.5% carom seed oil did not alter the mechanical properties of the film significantly, compared to control film and is ideal for coating to extend the shelf life of food products.


Objective: It is difficult for emergency residents to attend all the lectures that are required because of the limited labor time. The Google Hangouts program for has been used as a remote videoconference to overcome the limit to provide equal opportunities and reduce the time and costs since 2015. This article reports the authors' experiences of running a residency education program using Google Hangouts.
Methods: From 2015, topics on the emergency radiology were lectured to emergency residents in three different hospitals connected by Google Hangouts. From 2017, electrocardiography analysis, emergency radiology, ventilator application, and journal review were selected for the remote videoconference. The residents'' self-assessment score, and a posteducation satisfaction questionnaire were surveyed.
Results: Twenty-nine emergency residents responded to the questionnaire after using the Google Hangouts. The number of participants before and after Hangout increased significantly in other two hospitals. All the residents answered that the score on achieving the learning goal increased before and after the videoconference lectures. All the residents answered that the training program is more satisfactory after using the Google Hangouts than before.
Conclusion: All emergency residents were satisfied and were more confident after the remote videoconference education using the Google Hangouts than before.


Objective: To determine whether the well-being index (WBI) can identify US workers in distress and stratify quality of life (QOL). Methods: We used data from 5392 US workers and 6880 physicians to evaluate the efficacy of the WBI and an expanded version of the WBI (eWBI) to identify individuals with distress (high fatigue, burnout, low QOL, and suicidal ideation) and high QOL. Results: Individuals with distress were more likely to endorse each of the WBI items as well as a greater number of total items (all P < 0.001). The eWBI improved stratification among individuals with low scores and also identified individuals with high QOL in both samples. Conclusions: The eWBI appears to be a useful screening tool to identify individuals in distress across a variety of domains and identify individuals with high well-being.


We present a method of analyzing a set of N time signals fi(t) that consist of local measurements of the same physical observable taken at N sequential locations Zi along the length of an experimental device. The result is an algorithm for reconstructing an approximation F(z,t) of the field f(z,t) in the inaccessible regions between the points of measurement. We also explore the conditions needed for this approximation to hold, and test the algorithm under a variety of conditions. We apply this method to analyze the magnetic field measurements taken on the Compact Toroid Injection eXperiment (CTIX) plasma accelerator; providing a direct means of visualizing experimental data, quantifying global properties, and benchmarking simulation.


The ascomycete Geosmithia morbida and the walnut twig beetle Pityophthorus juglandis are associated with thousand cankers disease of Juglans (walnut) and Pterocarya (wingnut). The disease was first reported in the western United States (USA) on several Juglans species, but has been found more recently in the eastern USA in the native range of the highly susceptible Juglans nigra. We performed a comprehensive population genetic study of 209 G. morbida isolates collected from Juglans and Pterocarya from 17 geographic regions distributed across 12 U.S. states. The study was based on sequence typing of 27 single nucleotide polymorphisms from three genomic regions and genotyping with ten microsatellite primer pairs. Using multilocus sequence-typing data, 197 G. morbida isolates were placed into one of 57 haplotypes. In some instances, multiple haplotypes were recovered from isolates collected on the same tree. Twenty-four of the haplotypes (42%) were recovered from more than one isolate; the two most frequently occurring haplotypes (H02 and H03) represented 36% of all isolates. These two haplotypes were abundant in California, but were not recovered from Arizona or New Mexico. G. morbida population structure was best explained by four genetically distinct groups that clustered into three geographic regions. Most of the haplotypes isolated from the native range of J. major (Arizona and New Mexico) were found in those states only or present in distinct genetic clusters. There was no evidence of sexual reproduction or genetic recombination in any population. The scattered distribution of the genetic clusters indicated that G. morbida was likely disseminated to different regions at several times and from several sources. The large number of haplotypes observed and the genetic complexity of G. morbida indicate that it evolved in association with at least one Juglans spp. and the walnut twig beetle long before the first reports of the disease.


Effect of Septilin, an ayurvedic formulation proven to be effective in the therapy of chronic infections, was investigated on the phagocytic system and humoral response in rats and mice. Septilin exhibited significant protection in E. coli-induced abdominal sepsis in normal mice and in Staphylococcus aureus-induced sepsis in neutropenic mice. It significantly reduced the viable E. coli cells when incubated with neutrophils in rats. Septilin stimulated the phagocytic function of the reticuloendothelial system in mice. In normal rats, Septilin enhanced anti-SRBC hemagglutination antibody titre by 5.7-fold and showed significant protection in cyclophosphamide-induced humoral suppression.


We have written a general-purpose, radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) design program that allows maximum flexibility in picking design algorithms. This program optimizes the RFQ on any combination of design parameters while simultaneously satisfying mutually compatible, physically required constraint equations. It can be very useful for deriving various scaling laws for RFQs. This program has a friendly user interface in addition to checking the consistency of the user-defined requirements and is written to minimize the effort needed to incorporate additional constraint equations. We describe the program and present some examples.


Summary
Studies were undertaken to elucidate the moisture relationships in germinating sugarcane setts* and the precise role of moisture in the early stages of germination.

It was found that when the controlling effect of the apical meristem was removed by cutting the cane into individual, single-budded setts, the water in the cane moved into the bud. It appeared that the meristemic cells of the bud (and root primordia) must attain a certain critical water content before they can start to sprout.

Increasing the water content of setts increased the moisture in the bud and root primordia until they attained the critical level, when sprouting was hastened. Bud and root primordia appeared to compete for water in the sett. Removal of buds hastened the sprouting of root primordia. When the water content of setts was increased the inhibiting influence of buds on the sprouting of root primordia was nullified.

At 96% relative humidity both buds and root primordia sprouted and grew out, but at 85% relative humidity, buds sprouted but root primordia did not. This disparity in the sprouting condition of buds and root primordia appeared to be due to the protective action of the bud-scales. When the water content of the setts was increased both the buds and root primordia sprouted, but the latter dried up shortly thereafter.

Experiments showed that the water in a sett was adequate for the germination of its buds and that, in the early stages, the role of soil water was only indirect.


This study contributes a decision analytic framework to overcome policy inertia and myopia in complex river basin management contexts. The framework combines reservoir policy identification, many‐objective optimization under uncertainty, and visual analytics to characterize current operations and discover key trade‐offs between alternative policies for balancing competing demands and system uncertainties. The approach is demonstrated on the Conowingo Dam, located within the Lower Susquehanna River, USA. The Lower Susquehanna River is an interstate water body that has been subject to intensive water management efforts due to competing demands from urban water supply, atomic power plant cooling, hydropower production, and federally regulated environmental flows. We have identified a baseline operating policy for the Conowingo Dam that closely reproduces the dynamics of current releases and flows for the Lower Susquehanna and thus can be used to represent the preferences structure guiding current operations. Starting from this baseline policy, our proposed decision analytic framework then combines evolutionary many‐objective optimization with visual analytics to discover new operating policies that better balance the trade‐offs within the Lower Susquehanna. Our results confirm that the baseline operating policy, which only considers deterministic historical inflows, significantly overestimates the system's reliability in meeting the reservoir's competing demands. Our proposed framework removes this bias by successfully identifying alternative reservoir policies that are more robust to hydroclimatic uncertainties while also better addressing the trade‐offs across the Conowingo Dam's multisector services.


Computer simulations of the spontaneous self-assembly of phospholipid vesicles (liposomes) have found a bicelle intermediate which curls up into a vesicle. Although coarse-grained (or intermediate-resolution) molecular dynamics simulation studies have been conducted at intermediate (323 K) to high (360 K) temperatures, it is unclear if there exists an 'optimal' temperature that accelerates the bicelle-to-vesicle transition process yet do not cause large deviation of structural properties as observed from simulations at the lower temperatures. Further, use of a lipid mixture that includes a certain fraction of lipids preferring negative curvature (such as dipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine or DPPE) has been shown to again accelerate the transition. But what is the interplay of the temperature and DPPE ratio in accelerating the transition? By conducting a systematic study of simulation temperatures (323 K, 330 K, 340 K, 350 K, 360 K, 380 K, and 400 K) and DPPE percentages (0, 10, 20, and 27) for dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bicelles, I found that 340 K and 10% DPPE would give a DPPC : DPPE vesicle (<20 nm diameter) with structural properties close to the reference state (pure DPPC vesicle at 323 K) but at a much reduced computational cost (about 12× lower). This simulation finding has implications in the acceleration of coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of large unilamellar vesicles (50–500 nm diameter) for drug delivery applications.


The purpose of this design analysis is to document the SAS2H depletion calculations of certain non-rodded fuel assemblies from batches 1, 2, and 3 of the Crystal River Unit 3 pressurized water reactor (PWR) that are required for Commercial Reactor Critical (CRC) evaluations to support development of the disposal criticality methodology. A non-rodded assembly is one which never contains a control rod assembly (CRA) or an axial power shaping rod assembly (APSRA) during its irradiation history. The objective of this analysis is to provide SAS2H generated isotopic compositions for each fuel assembly's depleted fuel and depleted burnable poison materials. These SAS2H generated isotopic compositions are acceptable for use in CRC benchmark reactivity calculations containing the various fuel assemblies.


Using first-principles calculations, the structural and electronic properties of group-IV monochalcogenide monolayers are investigated. It is demonstrated that all the monolayers employed here possess moderate indirect bandgaps. In-plane elastic stiffness calculation demonstrates the structural anisotropy in these materials, further resulting in anisotropic response to in-plane strains in their electronic properties and anisotropic optical properties. The bandgaps of GeX and SnX monolayers can be linearly reduced by applied in-plane compressive strains and the semiconductor-to-metal transition can be realized under large compressive strains; while tensile strains exert less influence on the electronic properties in comparison to compressive strains. Some monolayers will experience indirect-to-direct bandgap transition when subjected to proper strains. A further insight into the variation of bandgaps of these monolayers can be obtained from the changing band edges.


According to the practice of temperature control in dam concrete, within a few days after a concrete block is poured, the temperature at the core of the concrete rises rapidly. The maximum temperature may still exceed the standard even under a relatively perfect post-cooling system, which is mostly caused by failure to quickly and correctly judge the development of the early-age temperature. This study investigates concrete temperature at an early age via in situ monitoring data collected from Baihetan arch dam and Wudongde arch dam. A simplified algorithm of temperature prediction is formed, which only considers the heat released by cement hydration and the cooling effect of cooling pipes. The influence of a cooling pipe on the measuring point of the thermometer is investigated, and a simple empirical formula to calculate the cooling effect is obtained. An equation for the rate of hydration temperature rise is achieved by combining measured data and the formula used to calculate the cooling effect. Furthermore, through the explorations of the related data, it is determined that the cement hydration ratio of the two dams is quite low during concreting. On the basis of the data collected from the field, the method to predict temperature proposed in this study is tested and proven.


When solving mathematical problems, many students know the procedure to get to the answer but cannot explain why they are doing it in that way. According to Skemp (1976) these students have instrumental understanding but not relational understanding of the problem. They have accepted the rules to arriving at the answer without questioning or understanding the underlying reasons for why a certain procedure is carried out. To help students grasp abstract mathematical concepts and form relational understanding of these concepts, research has found that it is often necessary to make use of physical or virtual materials to help scaffold their understanding and/or simplify the abstract idea (Sowell, 1989; Suh & Moyer, 2008). This paper presents some ways in which fundamental concepts such as subtraction with regrouping, equivalent fractions, dividing and multiplying fractions, and measurement topics such as area and perimeter, can be explored and clarified. A range of physical and virtual manipulatives are suggested to help foster and consolidate the relational understanding needed to grasp these concepts. A number of examples are provided which are suitable for teachers from primary through to middle years. Even though some of these concepts seem basic and related to primary mathematics, they are addressed here because they underpin the efficient working out of the more abstract concepts associated with middle school mathematics. Having a strong relational understanding and subsequent mastery of these concepts help prevent misconceptions and errors, and position students better in their mathematics learning. Additionally, these activities and strategies have the potential to help struggling middle school students grasp these basic concepts.


To the Editor: Siru and colleagues have raised potential concerns about the strategy recommended by the Australian Diabetes Society (ADS) and other peak bodies to diagnose gestational diabetes (GDM) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) pandemic.1 In their study, 46% of subjects diagnosed with GDM had a fasting blood glucose level (BGL) < 4.7 mmol/L but elevated postload blood glucose levels, and would be missed by the ADSrecommended strategy. The authors suggested that this exposes women and their newborns to significant risks with the potential for significant harm. No outcome data were provided to justify these assertions.


This paper investigates the presence of fractal dynamics in stock returns. We improve upon existing literature in two ways: i) instead of rescaled-range analysis, we use the more efficient semi-nonparametric procedure suggested by Geweke and Porter-Hudak (GPH, 1983), and ii) to ensure robustness, we apply the GPH test to a variety of aggregate and sectoral stock indices and individual companies' stock returns series at both daily and monthly frequencies. Our results indicate that fractal structure is not exhibited by stock indices, but it may characterize the behavior of some individual stock returns series.


AIMS
Triple negative breast cancer with basal like features (TN-BCBL) do not benefit from hormonal and anti-HER2 therapies. As a considerable fraction of TN-BCBLs shows EGFR deregulation, EGFR-targeted therapies have been proposed as an option. The characterization of EGFR and EGFR-downstream members may therefore provide important predictive information.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Based on morphological and immunophenotypic features, we identified 38 TN-BCBLs that were subsequently investigated for alterations in EGFR signaling pathways. EGFR and PTEN protein levels were studied by immunohistochemistry, EGFR gene status by FISH, EGFR, H-Ras, K-Ras, N-Ras, BRAF and PIK3CA gene mutations by direct sequencing. EGFR overexpression and loss of PTEN expression characterized the majority of TN-BCBLs (76% and 74% of patients, respectively). EGFR gene copy number gain (FISH+) was identified in 51% of analyzable patients. PIK3CA gene mutations were detected in three cases (8%), whereas EGFR, H-Ras, K-Ras, N-Ras and BRAF genes showed no mutations. Overall, out of 17 patients classified as FISH+, 12 cases (70%) showed a concomitant alteration in PI3K/PTEN pathway.

CONCLUSIONS
These results provide evidence that the efficacy of anti-EGFR drugs in TN-BCBL patients could be impaired by frequent alterations in the PI3K/PTEN axis, and suggest that TN-BCBLs could benefit from tailored treatments against this axis.


Rubrics have become popular tools for assessing student writing both in classroom and standardized testing environments. Rubric construction and efficacy, however, is a topic that has been largely sidestepped in the literature and in teacher professional development. Composing an effective rubric — particularly for instructional or formative contexts — is a complex task that requires teachers to think metacognitively about their goals for a writing assignment, identify the assignment's purpose, weight the importance of various textual features, and align these elements to analytic scores. In this article, the authors conduct a textual analysis of initiating texts (i.e. rubrics and assignments) that teachers designed for use with a Scholar writing and peer response assignment. They identify three types of mismatch among the assignments, assessments, and purposes for writing; discuss implications of these mismatches for student writing and learning; and, finally, suggest ways in which online e-learning environments like Scholar might be designed to better support teachers' metacognition around assessment construction.


Variable ballast, a common mechanism in underwater vehichle, is utilized as vertical motion actuator of a spherical URV in order to control its depth positiong. Since the model of this system is nonlinear and controllable therefore state-space feedback linearization is utilized in this depth positioning. The idea of state-space feedback linearization is to algebraically transform all state variable of nonlinear systems dynamics into (fully or partly) linear ones, so that linear control techniques can be applied. This method can stabilize the equilibrium point of this system which is unstable in open loop system. From the control analysis and simulation results, it can be observed that the asymptotical stabilization is achieved by tracking the error. Hence, state-space feedback linearization can also be applied for tracking a trajectory of desired depth position. Keyword: variable ballast, spherical URV, feedback linearization


Stimuli-responsive hydrogels have recently gained interest within shapeshifting applications due to their capabilities to expand in water and their altering swelling properties when triggered by stimuli, such as pH and heat. While conventional hydrogels lose their mechanical strength during swelling, most shapeshifting applications require materials to have mechanical strength within a satisfactory range to perform specified tasks. Thus, stronger hydrogels are needed for shapeshifting applications. Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) and poly (N-vinyl caprolactam) (PNVCL) are the most popular thermosensitive hydrogels studied. Their close-to-physiological lower critical solution temperature (LCST) makes them superior candidates in biomedicine. In this study, copolymers made of NVCL and NIPAm and chemically crosslinked using poly (ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) were fabricated. Successful polymerisation was proven via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The effects of incorporating comonomer and crosslinker on the LCST were found minimal using cloud-point measurements, ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Formulations that completed three cycles of thermo-reversing pulsatile swelling are demonstrated. Lastly, rheological analysis validated the mechanical strength of PNVCL, which was improved due to the incorporation of NIPAm and PEGDMA. This study showcases potential smart thermosensitive NVCL-based copolymers that can be applied in the biomedical shapeshifting area.


Introduction Quinolinic acid (QA) induced striatal lesion is an important model for excitotoxicity that is also used for efficacy studies. To date, the morphological and spectroscopic indices of this model have not been studied longitudinally by MRI. Aims This study aimed to monitor the lesion progression and changes in N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) as viewed by MRI and MRSI, respectively, in vivo over a period of 49 days. Results We found that the affected areas exhibited both high and low apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) even 49 days post QA injection in three of the six tested animals. MRI guided histological analysis correlated areas characterised by high ADCs on day 49 with cellular loss, while areas characterised by lower ADCs correlated with macrophage infiltration (CD68 positive stain). Our MRSI study revealed an initial reduction of NAA levels in the lesioned striatum, which significantly recovered with time, although not to control levels. Total striatum normalised NAA levels recovered from 0.67±0.15 (of the contralateral row) on day 1 to 0.90±0.12 on day 49. Conclusions Our findings suggest that NAA should be considered as a marker for neuronal dysfunction, in addition to neuronal viability. Some behavioural indices could be correlated to permanent neuronal damage while others demonstrated a spontaneous recovery parallel to the NAA recovery. Our findings may have implications in efficacy oriented studies performed on the QA model.


Meat cooking operations are a major source of organic
aerosol emissions to the urban atmosphere, comprising up
to 21 % of the primary fine organic carbon particle emissions
in the Los Angeles area. In the present study, the
chemical composition of meat smoke aerosol is examined
by high-resolution gas chromatography and gas chromatography/
mass spectrometry. The objective is to search
for molecular markers that will confirm the presence of
meat smoke aerosol in urban atmospheric samples. More
than 75 organic compounds are quantified, including the
series of the n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids, n-alkenoic acids,
dicarboxylic acids, n-alkanals, n-alkenals, n-alkanones,
n-alkanols, furans, lactones, amides, nitriles, polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons, steroids, and pesticide residues.
Prominent among the compounds emitted are n-hexadecanoic
acid (i.e., palmitic acid), n-octadecanoic acid (i.e.,
stearic acid), cis-9-octadecenoic acid (i.e., oleic acid), nonanal,
2-octadecanal, 2-octadecanol, and cholesterol. Although
cholesterol can be emitted from other sources,
cholesterol concentrations measured in the West Los Angeles
atmospheric aerosol are consistent with the cholesterol
mass emission rates determined from meat cooking
source tests.


"Satoshi Kon makes an art of Japanese anime."-Rolling Stone The head-spinning anime fantasy Paprika (2006) introduced new viewers to one of Japan's most visionary directors. Satoshi Kon crashed onto the world scene in 1997 with his smart slasher-thriller Perfect Blue. His subsequent films range from the silver-screen romance of Millennium Actress (2001) to the socially conscious comedy Tokyo Godfathers (2003) and the surreally satirical TV series Paranoia Agent (2004). This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the work and vision of Satoshi Kon, with background and analysis of the key reality-warping films by anime's premier illusionist. This timely new collection follows the 2007 US release of Kon's latest film, Paprika, which was met with an enthusiastic welcome from his fans. For many, Paprika was a first introduction to Kon's work; other fans have been following his career avidly from its early days. Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist will satisfy newcomers and long-term fans alike. Andrew Osmond is a British freelance film reviewer and journalist who was part of the "Akira generation" of anime fans. He has been writing about cartoons and anime for ten years and has interviewed numerous anime professionals, including Satoshi Kon. His articles and reviews have appeared in Animerica, Total Anime, Neo, Manga Max, SFX, Sight and Sound, Empire, and many other magazines.


LAY ABSTRACT
Autistic people are more likely to have mental and physical health problems than non-autistic people. Annual health checks could reduce these problems by finding and treating them early. Annual health checks are yearly medical appointments where a primary healthcare provider (such as a doctor or nurse) can check things like a patient's weight and heart rate and ask if they have any worries about their health. In this study, we wanted to understand what might encourage primary healthcare providers to use annual health checks with their autistic patients. First, we spoke to 10 autistic people and 11 primary healthcare providers. Using the findings from these conversations, we created an online survey for primary healthcare providers in England. We used the findings from the interviews and survey to help us understand what would encourage primary healthcare providers to offer annual health checks for autistic people. Our participants said that a lack of time and staff would make it hard to provide health checks. To help, they said other members of staff (such as nurses and healthcare assistants) could do the health checks, rather than doctors. They also said parts of the process could be made automatic to save time (e.g. sending automatic reminders). Knowledge about autism was important too (e.g. knowing about the common conditions autistic people have, and how to best support autistic patients). Participants said training on these topics, produced and delivered with autistic people, could encourage them to use annual health checks with their autistic patients.


OBJECTIVE
The human Ureaplasma species are the microbes most frequently isolated from placentae of women who deliver preterm. The role of Ureaplasma species has been investigated in pregnancies at <32 weeks of gestation, but currently no studies have determined the prevalence of ureaplasmas in moderately preterm and late-preterm (hereafter, "moderate/late preterm") infants, the largest cohort of preterm infants.

METHODS
Women delivering moderate/late preterm infants (n = 477) and their infants/placentae (n = 535) were recruited, and swab specimens of chorioamnion tissue, chorioamnion tissue specimens, and cord blood specimens were obtained at delivery. Swab and tissue specimens were cultured and analyzed by 16S ribosomal RNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of microorganisms, while cord blood specimens were analyzed for the presence of cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors.

RESULTS
We detected microorganisms in 10.6% of 535 placentae (443 were delivered late preterm and 92 were delivered at term). Significantly, Ureaplasma species were the most prevalent microorganisms, and their presence alone was associated with histologically confirmed chorioamnionitis in moderate/late preterm and term placentae (P < .001). The presence of ureaplasmas in the chorioamnion was also associated with elevated levels of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (P = .02).

CONCLUSIONS
These findings have important implications for infection and adverse pregnancy outcomes throughout gestation and should be of major consideration for obstetricians and neonatologists.


Recent studies on the seasonal dynamics of secondary tissue formation in Mediterranean trees have shown that xylogenesis depends on species and site conditions, but many questions still remain open. On the other side of the cambium, even less information is available about phloem structure and timing of its formation. We analysed intra-annual phloem variation in width and cell traits in the conducting, non-collapsed phloem (CPH) of Pinus pinea and Pinus halepensis at Mediterranean sites in southern Italy and Spain. In all investigated trees, it was possible to differentiate among the non-conducting, collapsed phloem (NCPH), and the CPH. CPH showed no evident annual growth layers; no differences in radial dimensions of early- and late phloem sieve cells, and no cyclic patterns of axial parenchyma distribution. Since it was not possible to study the seasonality of the phloem growth, we analysed the entire CPH. CPH width showed seasonal fluctuations and was generally the widest during the maximum cambial activity and narrowest during summer and winter. The radial size of newly formed sieve cells varied in relation to seasonal dynamics of cambial activity and fluctuations in local weather conditions. The number of axial parenchyma cells in CPH increased during the summer. The observed intra-annual variations in CPH width and structure seemed to be correlated with seasonal weather conditions in order to ensure a sufficient amount of conducting phloem tissue for translocation of photosynthates and signalling molecules to the actively growing tissues along the stem of a tree growing in the harsh Mediterranean conditions.


X-ray tomography allows to obtain the three-dimensional (3d) structure of weakly interacting objects, such as tissue samples in biomedical imaging or nanoscale structures in materials science, with high spatial resolution. However, sufficient contrast can often only be achieved when employing phase contrast techniques. One of the latter is in-line holography, a scanning-free method that, in combination with highly brilliant synchrotron sources, enables rapid image acquisition. This opens up the possibility to study 3d dynamics in time-resolved X-ray phase-contrast tomography.
This work first presents methods for fast and high quality numerical propagation and approaches for combined reconstruction of the phase-information and the 3d structure from a set of holograms. In particular, it is shown how tomographic consistency can be used as a powerful constraint in phase-retrieval, making use of the novel concept of virtual free-space propagation of entire 3d objects. Attention is brought to several practical aspects concerning the experimental realisation of time-resolved tomography, as well as the numerical implementation of the data analysis steps. Two types of samples -- namely a burning wooden match and sedimenting silica micro-spheres in a water-filled capillary -- are used to demonstrate some of the challenges of time-resolved phase-contrast tomography, and how they can be overcome.
In this context, a new approach to minimize motion-related artefacts in tomography is presented. The technique, termed ``backpropagation along dynamically curved paths", is based on the development of an initial motion model using an optical flow analysis of direct reconstructions. The motion model is then fed into the tomographic reconstruction geometry, allowing to reconstruct structure and dynamics simultaneously with considerably improved quality.
Second, the trajectories of thousands of sedimenting micro-spheres are measured simultaneously. The reconstruction provides a detailed insight into the processes and hydrodynamic interactions in a sedimentation regime that is barely accessible by established methods.


Gene therapy has emerged as an exciting and promising strategy of cancer therapy. Improved molecular biology techniques and a greater understanding of the mechanisms involved in lung cancer pathogenesis allowed a variety of genes to be validated as molecular targets for gene therapy. A variety of gene therapy strategy have been explored in the pre-clinical research. These include replacement of defective tumor suppressor genes, inactivating oncogenes, introducing suicide genes, immunogenic therapy, and antiangiogenesis-based approach. Clinical trials of gene therapy for lung cancer showed the feasibility of delivering a variety of agent as well as highlighted problems with the delivery of therapeutic constructs. Although some may consider the initial results of these novel therapies to be disappointing, they underscore the complexity of these approaches and the likelihood that these approaches will be effective only when used in a coordinated fashion in the proper clinical context. This review provides an update on our current understanding of lung cancer biology and examines several important issues in cancer gene therapy. In addition, recent results of clinical trials of gene therapy for lung cancer are presented.


The paper examines the way that policy of governmental intervention can promote innovation and achieve a leading role in global markets. Innovation is a major driver of economic development and what drives competition in modern age, allowing nations a competitive position through investments in technology. The nature of innovation changed significantly in the last decades, and it is today based on technological advancement and openness to global developments. As the world is changing, competition between countries accelerates, and the role of governments in technology development is critical. The paper argues that the most significant role in innovation is provided by governments, which need to create new markets rather than just supervise them. Israel is a leader in innovation, providing the perfect example for the success of governmental policy to encourages innovation. The country is known as the "Start-up Nation", which means that its economic growth is linked to technology and innovation. This policy promotes innovation by the government, which is deeply involved in the market and dictates the scope of technological advancement.


The Internet and the World Wide Web have become integral parts of the lives of many modern individuals, enabling almost instantaneous communication, sharing and broadcasting of thoughts, feelings and opinions. Much of this information is publicly facing, and as such, it can be utilised in a multitude of online investigations, ranging from employee vetting and credit checking to counter-terrorism and fraud prevention/detection. However, the search needs and behaviours of these investigators are not well documented in the literature. In order to address this gap, an in-depth qualitative study was carried out in cooperation with a leading investigation company. The research contribution is an initial identification of Open-Source Intelligence investigator search behaviours, the procedures and practices that they undertake, along with an overview of the difficulties and challenges that they encounter as part of their domain. This lays the foundation for future research in to the varied domain of Open-Source Intelligence gathering.


Results of treatment of 48 patients with postoperative peritonitis using programmed relaparotomy are adduced. Indications for application of the method are determined. New antiseptic agent "Palisan" was used for the abdominal cavity sanation. Analysis of complication is conducted. Lethality was 18.75%.


Background: Cases of discordant responses in multiple myeloma (MM) patients after thalidomide therapy have been sometimes reported, in which extramedullary masses progress or present de novo with a simultaneous serum monoclonal protein reduction. Patients and Methods: We hereby report, for the first time, on two cases of MM patients with extramedullary myeloma localizations that developed during Velcade (bortezomib, PS341) treatment with a concomitant serum monoclonal protein reduction. Results: We observed in both patients a very good response in the serum monoclonal protein level, while extramedullary lesions appeared in the central nervous system and subcutaneously. Conclusions: We discuss pharmacokinetics of bortezomib and physiopathology of this unusual event and review the literature.


SUMMARY Fish otoliths consist of >90% calcium carbonate, the accretion of which depends on acellular endolymph. This study confirms the presence of plasma membrane calcium ATPase 1a isoform (Atp2b1a) in the auditory and vestibular system of a teleost fish. As shown by in situ hybridization, zebrafish atp2b1a is expressed mainly in larval otic placode and lateral-line neuromast as well as in the hair cells within the adult zebrafish inner ear chamber. Zebrafish atp2b1a knockdown by antisense morpholinos reduced the number of hair cells and produced malformation of semicircular canals and smaller otoliths. These defects coincide with unbalanced body orientation. The formation of smaller otoliths in atp2b1a morphants may stem from an impairment of calcium supply in the endolymph. However, otolith formation persists in most morphants, suggesting that other zebrafish Atp2b isoforms or paracellular pathways may also transport calcium into the endolymph. These results suggest that Atp2b1a plays an important role for normal development of the auditory and vestibular system as well as calcium transport in the inner ear of zebrafish.


BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE
ZD1839, an anilinoquinazoline, is an orally active, selective epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which has been approved for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer by FDA. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is of epithelial origin with overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor and it remains unclear whether ZD1839 is useful in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of ZD1839 on nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines.

METHODS
The effect of ZD1839 on nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells (CNE1, CNE2, SUNE1) was determined by MTT assay. The effect of ZD1839 combined with cisplatin (DDP) or 5-fluouracil (5-FU) on nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell CNE2 was also evaluated. Burgi formula was adopted to analyze combination effect. The distribution of cell cycle and cell apoptosis rate were analyzed by flow cytometry.

RESULTS
The proliferation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines CNE1, CNE2, and SUNE1 was inhibited by ZD1839, and the effect was dose-dependent. The value of IC50 for the effect of ZD1839 on nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines CNE1, CNE2, and SUNE1 was 3.9 micromol/L, 5.6 micromol/L, and 5.5 micromol/L, respectively. ZD1839 could enhance the effect of DDP and 5-FU on CNE2 cells. The Q values by Burgi formula were 1.19+/-0.02 and 1.12+/-0.10, respectively. When CNE2 cells were treated with ZD1839 at the concentration of 0, 1.95, 3.9, 7.8, 15.6, 31.25 micromol/L, the percentages of G(0)/G(1) phase were (46.8+/-1.7)%, (48.8+/-1.6)%, (51.3+/-1.3)%, (54.0+/-1.3)%, (61.5+/-2.2)%, and (71.2+/-1.4)%, respectively; the percentages of S phase were (37.5+/-1.3)%, (35.8+/-1.6)%, (31.8+/-2.1)%, (34.3+/-2.7)%, (27.2+/-2.9)%, and (27.6+/-2.4)%, respectively;the percentages of G(2)/M phase were (15.7+/-0.4)%, (15.3+/-0.1)%, (16.9+/-0.9)%, (11.7+/-1.4)%, (11.3+/-0.7)%, and (1.1+/-0.8)%, respectively. When CNE2 cells were treated with ZD1839 at the concentration of 0, 1.95, 3.9, 7.8, 15.6, 31.25, 62.5 micromol/L, the rates of CNE2 cell apoptosis were (1.6+/-0.3)%, (1.7+/-0.3)%, (2.3+/-0.4)%, (3.3+/-0.4)%, (3.9+/-0.8)%,(8.0+/-1.1)%,and(14.3+/-2.3)%, respectively.

CONCLUSION
ZD1839 inhibits the proliferation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells and enhances the effect of cytotoxic drugs.ZD1839 induces CNE2 cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase and higher concentration of ZD1839 could induce apoptosis.


Since two years ago, the COVID-19 virus has spread strongly in the world and has killed more than 6 million people directly and has affected the lives of more than 500 million people. Early diagnosis of the virus can help to break the chain of transmission and reduce the death rate. In most cases, the virus spreads in the infected person's chest. Therefore, the analysis of a chest CT scan is one of the most efficient methods for diagnosing a patient. Until now, various methods have been presented to diagnose COVID-19 disease in chest CT-scan images. Most recent studies have proposed deep learning-based methods. But handcrafted features provide acceptable results in some studies too. In this paper, an innovative approach is proposed based on the combination of low-level and deep features. First of all, local neighborhood difference patterns are performed to extract handcrafted texture features. Next, deep features are extracted using MobileNetV2. Finally, a two-level decision-making algorithm is performed to improve the detection rate especially when the proposed decisions based on the two different feature set are not the same. The proposed approach is evaluated on a collected dataset of chest CT scan images from June 1, 2021, to December 20, 2021, of 238 cases in two groups of patient and healthy in different COVID-19 variants. The results show that the combination of texture and deep features can provide better performance than using each feature set separately. Results demonstrate that the proposed approach provides higher accuracy in comparison with some state-of-the-art methods in this scope.


In this paper we show that the cohomology of a connected CW –complex is periodic if and only if it is the base space of a spherical fibration with total space that is homotopically finite dimensional. As applications we characterize those discrete groups that act freely and properly on R n × S m ; we construct non–standard free actions of rank two simple groups on finite complexes Y ≃ S n × S m ; and we prove that a finite p–group P acts freely on such a complex if and only if it does not contain a subgroup isomorphic to (Z/p) 3 .


In the Bosch-proprietary "advanced porous silicon membrane process", porous silicon (PSi) is used for the first time in high-volume industrial production of microelectromechanical devices. Nanoporous silicon acts as an auxiliary layer during manufacturing of monolithically integrated pressure sensors in a mixed-signal IC process supplemented by microelectromechanical-systems-specific steps in the front end of line. In this paper, the technical design and performance of a fully automated production tool capable of high-volume fabrication of PSi under the specific constraints of a semiconductor manufacturing environment are discussed. The process requires stringent control on the PSi layer thickness, uniformity, porosity, and morphology. The impact of chamber and electrode geometry, the electrolyte flow, and the mode of current coupling into the wafer back side on the uniformity of the PSi layer is addressed. The need for a well-defined PSi morphology demands high reproducibility and stability of the electrolyte composition, particularly with respect to the hydrofluoric acid concentration.


This paper explores the connections between particle scattering and quantum information theory in the context of the non-relativistic, elastic scattering of two spin-1/2 particles. An untangled, pure, two-particle in-state is evolved by an S-matrix that respects certain symmetries and the entanglement of the pure out-state is measured. The analysis is phrased in terms of unitary, irreducible representations (UIRs) of the symmetry group in question, either the rotation group for the spin degrees of freedom or the Galilean group for non-relativistic particles. Entanglement may occurs when multiple UIRs appear in the direct sum decomposition of the direct product in-state, but it also depends of the scattering phase shifts.


The content, fractionation, solubility and functional properties of wheat bran proteins as well as the effects of pH and/or NaCl concentration on some of these functional properties were investigated. The protein content of the bran was found to be 16.80%. Albumin and glutelin are the major fractions of wheat bran proteins. The minimal protein solubility was observed at pH 5.5, the maximum at pH 11.5. The emulsifying capacity, activity and emulsion stability as well as foaming capacity and foam stability were greatly affected by pH and salt concentrations. Lower values were observed at acidic pH and high salt concentration. The least gelation concentration of wheat bran proteins was found to be 16% when the proteins were dissolved in 1.0 M NaCl. The total protein was highly viscous and dispersable with water-holding capacity of 4.20 mL H2O/g protein, oil-holding capacity of 1.70 mL oil/g protein and bulk density of 0.29 g/mL while dispensability was found to be 77.30%.


The present paper deals with the field observations recorded on the traditional indigenous therapeutic applications of the plants Butea monosperma (Lam.) seeds used by the inhabitants of the Sagar district, M.P. (India). Even today a number of plants of the local flora are used for curing various ailments and diseases. The information is given in a tabular form as scientific names of plants in alphabetic order followed by family, part used, effective against, and target animals. Information on local/vernacular names of plants, uses, parts used names of ailments and modes of usage are given in detail. Information on traditional uses and commercial uses as well as biological activities of the related species is included on the basis of the existing relevant literature so as to present a comprehensive account. In this review we compiled available literatures from libraries, scientific journals and online database query's on plants and remedies used in traditional medicinal systems for such diseases.


During the VT year the VDP and the trainer could choose to progressively check and complete each of the competencies listed and using the skills evaluation document make the appropriate record. Any areas of further training needs would be identified and a learning plan implemented. The whole process would be supervised by the VT advisor group who could be the resource for further training or support in conjunction with the VDP and trainer. This would be a self evaluation with external validation by the trainer and advisor group similar to the AEGD model in the USA. This would be an assessment that was valid, reliable and feasible as identified by Freeman. The use of a skills evaluation procedure would be similar to a LEP which would support the validity of the process. A record of completion of each key skill (competency) could be made using the supplied paper work and presented periodically as a log of achievement to the VT Advisor group. Of course the whole process also relies on the fact that the trainers need to be competent themselves in using practice based assessment, and an appropriately resourced pilot programme will be needed to make this an effective tool in assessing the overall competency of new graduates in vocational training.


The aim of this study was to compare the ability and efficiency of dental hygienists, after preliminary training as orthodontic auxiliaries, with post-graduate orthodontists. The study was cross-sectional and prospective. The sample consisted of five second-year hygienists and five qualified orthodontists from Manchester University Dental Hospital. All subjects carried out a range of orthodontic exercises on phantom head typodonts. The ability and efficiency for each task was measured, and comparison made between hygienists and orthodontic groups. There was no statistically significant differences between hygienists and orthodontists in terms of their ability to carry out potential orthodontic auxiliary procedures. However, orthodontists were more efficient (P < 0.05). The ability of hygienists to carry out potential orthodontic auxiliary tasks after appropriate training is supported. Trained orthodontists are more efficient than newly trained hygienists in carrying out potential orthodontic auxiliary tasks.


This paper reports the study of 1:1 matched case-control for eighty-three cases of primary lung squamo-carcinoma and seventy-one cases of primary lung adenocarcinoma from urban districts of Nanjing. The result of conditional analysis reveals that cooking oil fume is a common risk factor for lung squamo-carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Its relative risk and population attributable risk (%) are 3.8138, 3.4466 and 51.56%, 60.99% respectively. Besides, smoking, family history of tumors, fuel types and keeping warm by coal stove in winter are selected as risk factors for lung squamo-carcinoma, while history of chronic bronchitis and family history of tumors are screened as risk factors for lung adenocarcinoma. Summary population attributable risk for all five factors of lung squamo-carcinoma and all three factors of lung adenocarcinoma are 99.47% and 76.65% respectively.


INTRODUCTION
The National Academy of Medicine called for increased research on nutritional supplement use among military members. Current research has suggested potential health risks posed by energy drink consumption. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of energy drink consumption and beliefs about nutritional supplements in a U.S. military population.

METHODS
Data were collected by means of an anonymous 44-item survey that was administered to and completed by 302 naval aviation candidates (100% response rate) enrolled in aviation preflight indoctrination (API) at Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL.

RESULTS
Bivariate correlations indicated a statistically significant relationship between beliefs regarding the safety of energy drinks, energy drink consumption frequency, and personal beliefs regarding supplements [r(202) = -0.23]. The negative correlational coefficient indicated an inverse relationship between favorable perceptions on supplements and energy drink consumption.

DISCUSSION
This study assessed beliefs about the safety of nutritional supplements among API candidates and to examine if a relationship between nutritional supplement beliefs and energy drink consumption exists. Results indicated a significant inverse relationship between API candidates' beliefs regarding consumption frequency and safety of energy drinks as well as beliefs regarding supplement use. Results also suggested that the more positively an API candidate perceived nutritional supplements, the less frequently energy drinks were consumed. The findings of this study indicated a weak inverse relationship between the beliefs/use of energy drinks and beliefs regarding the effectiveness of nutritional supplement use among naval aviation candidates.Sather TE, Woolsey CL, Delorey DR, Williams RD Jr. Energy drink and nutritional supplement beliefs among naval aviation candidates. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2018; 89(8):731-736.


SYNOPSIS: This study examines the role of revenue in valuing firms beyond earnings and investigates whether this (1) is pervasive or limited to certain situations in which earnings may be less informative, (2) is sensitive to nonlinearity in the relation between returns and earnings, and (3) has changed over time. Our analysis indicates that revenue is useful both as a summary measure for valuation purposes and in conveying new information to the market, after controlling for earnings information. These results are not driven by technology firms, extreme earnings news or loss situations, or by model misspecification because of nonlinearities. The role of revenue in firm valuation is greater, and the role of earnings is smaller, in extreme earnings situations. We also find that revenue is more useful in summarizing the performance of technology firms and for profit observations. While the combined ability of revenue and earnings to summarize contemporaneous value-relevant information has remained stable ov...


Routing is aprocess of determinin ga path between source and destination upon request of data transmission. A secured Routing is typically required to avoid the attack occurred in routing. The sensor operates on the battery power it is very important to make efficient use of energy for sensor to increase the lifetime of the network. Distributed energy efficient secured routing for wireless sensor network will deal with both security and energy of the wireless sensor network. Security is provided by evaluating the trust value for each and every node in sensor network and also the energy is also evaluated for each and every node to find the neighbor node for securely routing the information. Existing System deal with the cryptographic technique to provide the security in routing hence attacks are not avoided Proposed system deal with both the security and energy Of the wireless sensor network, hence the attacks occurred are reduced.


A series of novel photocrosslinked biobased shape-stabilized phase change materials (PCMs) based on octadecanol, eicosanol and docosanol have been prepared by UV technique for the purpose of thermal energy storage applications. Epoxidized soybean oil was reacted with acrylic acid to form acrylated soybean oil (ASO). The structure and composition, cross-section morphology, thermal stability performances and phase change behaviors of ASO and UV-cured PCMs were examined by using Attenuated total reflection fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis system (TGA), scanning electron microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. The results indicate that the UV-cured biobased PCMs possess perfect phase change properties and a suitable working temperature range. The heating process phase change enthalpy is measured between 30 and 68 J/g, and the freezing process phase change enthalpy is found between 18 and 70 J/g. The decomposition of UV-cured PCMs started at 260 °C and reached a maximum of 430 °C. All the biobased UV-cured PCMs improved latent heat storage capacity in comparison with the pristine ASO sample. With the obtained results we conclude that, these materials promise a great potential in thermal energy storage applications. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43757.


The ever increasing demand for denser flash memories leads to the multilevel (ML) storage approach, where any memory cell is programmed to one of m=2/sup n/ predetermined states and can hence store n bits. This 64 Mb 4-level cell (2b/cell) flash memory device uses a triple-metal triple-well p-bulk 0.18 /spl mu/m CMOS process featuring shallow trench isolation (STI) for denser memory array packing. The device (programming channel hot electron injection, erasing Fowler-Nordheim tunneling) is organized in 64 identical sectors (512 rows by 1024 columns) with a NOR architecture. Data input/output (I/O) can be selected (16 or 32). A dedicated pad supplies the I/O buffers to allow direct interfacing to external low voltage (i.e., 1.8 V) devices, as is required in most portable applications. The pull-up p-channel transistor in the output buffer is driven with a negative-bootstrapped voltage to provide adequate drive capability at low supply voltage (switching time is 10 ns with a 50 pF load at 1.8 V). All high voltages needed for memory operation (programming, erasing, and reading) are generated on-chip by charge-pump voltage multipliers, starting from the single 3 V supply. Reading can be both in asynchronous mode (130 ns access time) and in burst mode. For the latter, continuous and pipeline modes are provided, with up to 50 MHz data rate and different data output latency and burst size. Both sequential and interleaved data output is available. To achieve sufficiently tight threshold voltage distributions, stair-case-gate voltage programming and program and verify techniques are used.


The application of the Pd/Al2O3 catalyst in allyl alcohol isomerization and subsequent aldol condensation and heterocyclization reactions is described. The activity of Pd/Al2O3 in these transformations is suggested to be due to the participation of the Lewis acidic sites of the support in the activation of the alcohol towards oxidative dehydrogenation by the metal and subsequent hydride transfer. The resulting enol(ate)/aldehyde could undergo further reactions promoted by the acid–base properties of the support. In the aldol condensation reactions of the isomerization product, electron poor aromatic aldehydes and heteroaromatic aldehydes showed the highest activity, while aromatic aldehydes bearing electron donating substituents reacted after transformation to the corresponding N-tosyl imines. 1,2-Disubstituted aromatics gave heterocyclic products in one-pot multistep reaction sequences.


G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are allosteric membrane proteins mediating cellular signaling. GPCRs exhibit multiple inactive and active conformations, and the population balance between these conformations is altered upon binding of signaling molecules (or ligands). However, the nature of the conformational ensemble or the mechanism of the conformational transitions is not well understood. We present a multiscale computational approach combining a coarse-grained discrete conformational sampling method with fine-grained molecular dynamics investigating the effect of various ligands binding on the ensemble of conformations sampled by human β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR). We show that the receptor, in the absence of any ligand, samples an extensive conformational space that includes breathing of the orthosteric ligand binding site and shear motion of the transmembrane helices 5 and 6 against the other helices. The shear motion is similar to the reorganization of the intracellular regions of TM3, TM5, and TM6 observed in the crystal structure of the active state of GPCRs. The binding of agonist norepinephrine or partial agonist salbutamol leads to the selection of a subset of conformations including active and inactive state conformations, while inverse agonist carazolol selects only inactive state conformations. The dynamics of water observed during the simulations provides an explanation for the conformational changes observed in the solution-based fluorescence spectroscopic measurements on agonist activated β2AR, which could not be explained by the agonist bound β2AR crystal structure. This study shows that the receptor activation depends on both the low energy states and the range of the conformations sampled by the receptor.


For the most part, children who succeed in the educational system can attest to the role parental involvement has played in their success. While some families have reneged on their responsibility or have left it up to other units in society, it is an almost undeniable fact that families are the most important point of reference insofar as educating children is concerned. In this regard, Andrea M. Nelson-Royes' book, Families as Partners: The Essential Link in Children's Education underscores the critical role parents and families play in the life of children, and offers a range of suggestions as to how families can be helped to appreciate this role. The information contained therein seeks to empower parents and families and critically looks at the interplay between schools, children (disabled and normal) and families themselves.


Despite substantial and growing knowledge about its biology, pancreatic cancer is constantly evading new treatment strategies due to its chemoresistant nature. Thus, the aim of many oncologists is to identify and evaluate drugs with novel mechanisms of action to overcome resistance. Nemorosone, a polyisoprenylated benzophenone isolated from the flower resin of Clusia rosea, showed extraordinary cytotoxic and antitumoral activity on a panel of cancer cell lines. To assess its potential in more detail for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, the effects of nemorosone on three pancreatic cancer cell lines known to be very chemoresistant were analyzed by cytotoxicity/apoptosis assays as well as gene expression profiling. cDNA microarray data of 3500 genes were analyzed to identify pathways and molecular networks affected by treatment with nemorosone in order to shed light on its molecular mechanism of action. Results were validated using quantitative RT-PCR, RNAi-mediated gene silencing and immunofluorescence. After 72 h of incubation, nemorosone showed a remarkable IC50 of 5 µM on all pancreatic cancer cell lines in comparison to 40 µM on normal fibroblasts. Nemorosone induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Interestingly, apoptosis rate was dependent on the degree of differentiation of the cell line, with MIA-PaCa-2 (undifferentiated cell line) exhibiting the highest rate of apoptosis and almost no signs of apoptosis in normal fibroblasts. Gene expression analysis after treatment revealed a strong induction of the cell cycle regulator p21 and, consequently, massive down-regulation of many genes associated with the cell cycle and DNA synthesis. The induction of the stress-response protein GADD153 as well as anti-oxidative proteins and many down-stream targets of ATF4 suggests the involvement of the endoplasmic reticulum stress response. It is concluded that these events trigger the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis which results in the fast loss of mitochondrial membrane potential as measured by voltage-dependent staining with JC-1. RNAi-mediated knock-down of GADD153 resulted in a significant reduction of apoptosis rate in MIA-PaCa-2 cells. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that the rapid depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane in cancer cells is also due to ion fluxes from the endoplasmic reticulum to mitochondria, leading to the disturbance of ER homeostasis and, finally, apoptosis. Thus, considering its high efficacy on undifferentiated cells and lower cytotoxicity on normal cells, nemorosone is a potential drug candidate for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer which is the fifth most common cancer-related cause of death in the western world. Note: This abstract was not presented at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010 because the presenter was unable to attend. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3572.


Twenty-one patients were treated during the acute stage of a myocardial infarction for failure of the left or right ventricle. The systematic use of varying rates of flow of intravenous trinitrin (between 0.6 and 4.8 mg/h) was designed to find out for each patient the optimal effect on the cardiac index. The fall in pulmonary capillary pressure, obtained within 10 to 15 minutes, is proportional to the flow rate of trinitrin, and reaches 48% of its original value at a perfusion rate of 4.8 mg/h. The lowering of systemic arterial pressure is also proportional to the flow rate, and reaches 13% at a flow of 4.8 mg/h. The cardiac index and systolic index were significantly improved at flow rates of 1.2 to 2.4 mg/h, and lowered the pulmonary capillary pressure to levels of 17.6 mm of mercury and 15.3 mm of mercury respectively. Trinitrin given intravenously is very well tolerated, but it often become less effective after 24 hours of treatment, which implies that haemodynamic measurements must be made several times a day, and the speed of infusion often increased. The improvement in immediate and late prognosis is discussed relative to the initial values and Weber's index of survival.


The study of gene mutation is one of the hot topics in the field of life science nowadays, and the related detection methods and diagnostic technology have been developed rapidly. Sequencing technology plays an indispensable role in the definite diagnosis and classification of genetic diseases. In this review, we summarize the research progress in sequencing technology, evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of 1(st) ~3(rd) generation of sequencing technology, and describe its application in gene diagnosis. Also we made forecasts and prospects on its development trend.


The Indian Medical Association (IMS) supports the need for a National Health policy. It is believed that active involvement of the people in a health care system is essential for the implementation of the program. The following 7 objectives are recommended by the IMA: 1) health care is a right recognized by the State; 2) health care must be integrated with national development since it is dependent on socioeconomic and cultural factors; 3) health care is perceived by the State as an investment not a consumption; 4) the State has a responsibility for providing health care; 5) scientific health education must be encouraged; and 7) the ultimate goal is to provide health care to every individual. The IMA emphasizes the need for cooperation between the medical profession and the people for implementation of a positive health care policy.


Pakistan is facing acute energy crisis of its history. The electricity shortfall is so high that all the sectors of society are facing electricity breakdown. The major task of the government is also the sustainability of power sector of the country. Power sector is dependent on imported fuels like furnace oil, coal and diesel. Decentralized development of renewable energy is the demand of the time. Pakistan is blessed with the huge population of livestock whose dung can be utilized for biogas production. Biogas is a cheap, clean and renewable source of energy for dairy farmers which can solve energy demand of farm and home with one time investment.This study was carried out to find out the economic impact of domestic scale cow/buffalo dung based biogas plants installed by Pakistan Dairy Development Company (PDDC). This study was carried out in villages of District Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. A sample of 72 farmers was selected who were having biogas plants and were using them for more than six months using purposive sampling technique. It was found out by the study that 41.4 percent of the families were using biogas plants form 18-24 months and 69.4 percent of the families were having large size i.e. 20 cubic meter biogas plants. Majority of the families (41.7 percent) constructed biogas plants with cost of 50,000 to 60,000 Pak Rupees per biogas plant. Financial savings because of using biogas were of importance as 30.6 percent of the families were saving 3000-3500 Pak Rupees per month and 20.8 percent of the families were saving more than 3500 Pak Rupees per month because of the usage of biogas. The size of biogas, family members and cost of biogas are significantly associated with the savings because of using biogas plants. Biogas technology is a successful technology for the areas having raw material and space. Government should popularize biogas technology in rural areas to meet the energy demand of rural masses. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of biogas plants on the rural households.


We work
on photon production through annihilation and Compton, and annihilation with
scattering (AWS) processes through a quark-gluon plasma (QGP) in high energy
nuclear collision incorporating the parametrization factors in strong coupling
value and thermal dependent quark mass obtained through a coupling value. We
find that photon yield increases with the increasing of the temperature and
dominated by early times. We also compare the influence of coupling value on
the spectrum of thermal photons. The production rate of photons is observed in
the range of low and intermediate transverse momentum. The results are compared
with other work.


Objective: 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (20-HETE) which is the major metabolites of arachidonic acid catalysed by cytochrome P-450 (CYP) 4A isoforms, is an important substance for the regulation of vascular tone and renal tubular function. Previous studies showed that angiotensin II (Ang II) stimulated the renal CYP activity and 20-HETE production in preglomerular arteries and renal tubules. However, the regulation of CYP4A expressions by Ang II in kidney has not been fully clarified. Design and Method: Experiments were performed on 8 week-old SD rats at Ang II at low dose (AL, 0.17 mg/kg/min, sc) and high dose (AH, 0.70 mg/kg/day, sc) by using osmotic mini pump, with or without angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor blocker candesartan (CAN1, 1 mg/kg/day; CAN3, 3 mg/kg/day in drinking water) which were fed for 1 week. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured by tail-cuff method. The expressions of CYP4A isoform in the kidney section were examined by immunoblot analysis. Results: Ang II significantly increased SBP in AH group, but not in AL group (control, 109 ± 2; AL, 115 ± 5; AH, 164 ± 8 mmHg). In the control group the CYP4A1, 4A2, and 4A8 proteins were highly expressed in the renal cortex, lowly expressed in the inner strip of outer medulla, and barely detectable in the inner medulla. Ang II dose-dependently increased the all CYP4A isoform expressions in the renal cortex and the inner strip of outer medulla (CYP4A1, 24% and 222%; CYP4A2, by 51% and 258%; CYP4A8, by 52% and 550% at high dose group). Candesartan treatment alone did not affect the CYP4A isoform expression, but it did dose-dependently inhibit the Ang II-increased CYP4A expression. Conclusions: Ang II increases CYP4A isoform expressions in the kidney through AT1 receptor. The Ang II-unregulated CYP4A expressions may play an important role in hypertension and renal function.


Transformations constitute significant key components of an automated model-driven engineering solution. As metamodels evolve, model transformations may need to be co-evolved accordingly. A conducted experiment on transformations' co-evolution highlighted the existing gap in the literature where only limited few co-evolution scenarios are covered without supporting alternatives that occur in practice. To make matters worse, when a developer needs to drift apart from the proposed co-evolution, no automatic support is provided to the developer. This paper first proposes a change propagation-based co-evolution of transformations. The premise is that knowledge of the metamodel evolution can be propagated by means of resolutions to drive the transformation co-evolution. To deal with particular cases where developers must drift from the proposed resolutions, we introduce a composition-based mechanism that allows developers to compose resolutions meeting their needs. Our work is evaluated on 14 case studies consisting in original and evolved metamodels and ETL Epsilon transformations. A comparison of our co-evolved transformations with the 14 versioned ones showed the usefulness of our approach that reached an average 96% of correct co-evolution. On three other case studies, our composition-based co-evolution showed to be useful to eight developers in selecting resolutions that best meet their needs. Among the applied resolutions, four developers applied six resolutions that were the direct result of a composition.


This paper investigates the roles that participative mapping activities, known as 'PGIS' play –or can play– in the context of a spatial policy making process. Based on prior research we have noticed that the use of spatial models and geo-information repeatedly deepens the conflict between different actor-coalitions. The debates often focus on particular spots or lines on the map, being an infrastructure, a national park, a development site, etc. Based on the evaluation of various participatory policy processes in the Netherlands, we come to the conclusion that many controversies over (GIS-) maps root in a few typical core dilemmas. With help of discourse analysis, a method that we adopted from policy sciences, we have analyzed a few cases in depth. From these case studies, we have elicited ten strategies how people dealt with the dilemmas while using map sketches, geo-databases, GIS-analyses, spatial designs or local knowledge. The strategies vary from (1) placing the problem in a wider context –and extending the region represented on the planning maps, through (2) reframing the problem –and recasting the legend items on the map, till (3) acting strategically by manipulating the map picture –for instance by hiding controversial boundaries or by adding 'lightning-rods' on the maps (which shift the attention of stakeholders towards other issues). In this paper, we will discuss the different strategies and we will illustrate them with examples. We aim to contribute to the conference topic by addressing concrete strategies how practitioners can cope with so-called map controversies in deliberative policy making.


The potential distribution of critically rare or endangered species is necessary to assess species conservation status and guide recovery plans. Habitat models based on remotely sensed geospatial data are increasingly used to predict the suitability of sites for rare and endangered species, but in rapidly changing landscapes, habitat evaluations must reflect temporal as well as spatial variation of environmental suitability in order to properly inform management. We used field measurements of species occurrence, a 22-yr time series of satellite images, and the Maximum Entropy modeling approach (Maxent) to monitor spatio-temporal variation in habitat suitability of an endangered butterfly that uses riparian wetlands modified by beaver activity. We modeled the niche of the St. Francis' satyr Neonympha mitchellii francisci in an environment of remotely sensed metrics and projected the niche model over space and time to evaluate habitat dynamics and target sites for reintroduction efforts. Suitable habitat for the subspecies is currently distributed across the study area; however, most of the suitable area is unoccupied, and patches of the most suitable habitat have shifted over time in response to beaver activity and subsequent wetland succession, suggesting a negative interaction between dispersal limitation and landscape dynamics. Landcover changes complicate the recovery of critically threatened species such as N. m. francisci, but habitat monitoring over time can improve recovery plans, offer adaptive management strategies, and provide more exact criteria for species status assignment. Spatio-temporal extensions of the niche/habitat concept are made possible by long-term archives of remotely sensed data, and will likely prove most useful in rapidly changing landscapes.


The mixed addenda heteropoly acid H{sub 5}PMo{sub 10}V{sub 2}O{sub 40} dissolved in 1,2-dichloroethane with tetraglyme, forming the (tetraglyme){sub 3}-H{sub 5}PMo{sub 10}V{sub 2}O{sub 40} complex, catalyzes the aromatization of cyclic dienes at moderate temperatures in the presence of molecular oxygen. Dehydrogenations of exocyclic dienes such as limonene show that dehydrogenation is preceded by isomerization to their endocyclic isomers. Aromatization takes place by successive one-electron transfers and proton abstractions from the organic substrate to the heteropoly acid the latter being reoxidized by dioxygen coupled with the formation of water.


In "Practice guideline recommendations summary: Disease-modifying therapies for adults with multiple sclerosis: Report of the Guideline Development, Dissemination, and Implementation Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology," Rae-Grant et al. provided recommendations for use of disease-modifying therapy in patients with multiple sclerosis. Dr. Saltonstall, for Sanofi Genzyme, identified the following 3 concerns regarding teriflunomide in the recommendations: (1) characterization of teriflunomide as being transmitted in sperm and intercalating with DNA leading to teratogenicity unless treatment with chelation therapy is administered; (2) notation that teriflunomide should be switched to another agent if a person develops malignancy; and (3) indication that teriflunomide data are not Class I evidence.


This paper investigates the influence of pulsed magnetic fields (PMFs) on amplitude of evoked, compound action potential (CAP) recorded from the segments of sciatic nerve in vitro. PMFs were applied for 30 min at frequency of 0.16 Hz and intensity of 15 mT. In confirmation of our previous reports, PMF exposure enhanced amplitude of CAPs. The effect persisted beyond PMF activation period. As expected, CAP amplitude was attenuated by antagonists of sodium channel, lidocaine, and tetrodotoxin. Depression of the potential by sodium channels antagonists was reversed by subsequent exposure to PMFs. The effect of elevated potassium concentration and veratridine on the action potential was modified by exposure to PMFs as well. Neither inhibitors of protein kinase C and protein kinase A, nor known free radicals scavengers had any effects on PMF action. Possible mechanisms of PMF action are discussed. Bioelectromagnetics. 36:386–397, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Abstract Social constructivism is not among the most popular theoretical approaches used in forecasting in International Relations. The article argues that constructivism suffers from the same limitations as any other paradigm in IR, therefore, there is no reason to exclude this theory from forecasting effort. In this paper, social constructivism is perceived to offer a new conceptual framework for sound and robust projections of the future. The core of our concept is constituted by the term of collective habitus. Habitus is a relatively stable, yet mutable social structure that can enable deliberations about future. It is based on a long-term history study programme of the School of Annales, as we identify long lasting habits-like patterns of behaviours among IR actors.