Considers the problem of querying multimedia presentations based on content information. Multimedia presentations are modeled as presentation graphs, which are directed acyclic graphs that visually specify the presentations. We present a graph data model for the specification of multimedia presentations and discuss query languages as effective tools to query and manipulate multimedia presentation graphs with respect to content information. To query the information flow throughout a multimedia presentation, as well as in each individual multimedia stream, we use revised versions of temporal operators Next, Connected and Until, together with path formulas. These constructs allow us to specify and query paths along a presentation graph. We present an icon-based graphical query language, GVISUAL, that provides iconic representations for these constructs and a user-friendly graphical interface for query specification. We also present an OQL-like language, GOQL (Graph OQL), with similar constructs, that allows textual and more traditional specifications of graph queries. Finally, we introduce GCalculus (Graph Calculus), a calculus-based language that establishes the formal grounds for the use of temporal operators in path formulas and for querying presentation graphs with respect to content information. We also discuss GCalculus/S (GCalculus with Sets) which avoids highly complex query expressions by eliminating the universal path quantifier, the negation operator and the universal quantifier. GCalculus/S represents the formal basis for GVISUAL, i.e. GVISUAL uses the constructs of GCalculus/S directly.


Author(s): Paini, Anna Maria | Abstract: Analyzing the relevant issues concerning contemporary Alpine spaces, Vinigo, Italy could be considered one of such intermediate spaces. Vinigo is a mountain village with an elevation of 1,025 m situated in the Belluno province of the Veneto Region, Italy. It is one of the oldest settlements in the Ladin area in the Dolomites, which have been included in the Unesco World Heritage List in 2009. Local Cultural Models include 'Causal Model of Nature 2' although it is difficult to locate the place that animals have in this causal model. Not only today families no longer have active stables but our interlocutors, when asked about the activities connected to taking the animals to the higher fields in the past, focused more around moments of sociality with the elderly or with peers or around the heavy work required by collecting hay (to feed the animals once they were taken back in the village) than about narratives centered on the animals.


The optical properties of quantum dots (QD) make them excellent candidates for bioimaging, biosensing, and therapeutic applications. However, conventional QDs are comprised of heavy metals (e.g., cadmium) that pose toxicity challenges in biological systems. Synthesising QDs without heavy metals or introducing thick surface coatings, e.g., by encapsulation in micelles, can reduce toxicity. Here, we examined the toxicity of micelle encapsulated tetrapod-shaped Mn-doped ZnSe QDs, comparing them to 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA)-capped Mn-doped ZnSe QDs prepared by ligand exchange and commercial CdSe/ZnS QD systems that were either capped with MPA or encapsulated in micelles. HepG2 cell treatment with MPA-coated CdSe/ZnS QDs resulted in a dose-dependent reduction of viability (MTT assay, treatment at 0–25 μg/mL). Surprisingly, no reactive oxygen species (ROS) or apoptotic signaling was observed, despite evidence of apoptotic behavior in flow cytometry. CdSe/ZnS QD micelles showed minimal toxicity at doses up to 25 μg/mL, suggesting that thicker protective polymer layers reduce cytotoxicity. Despite their shape, neither MPA- nor micelle-coated Mn-doped ZnSe QDs displayed a statistically significant toxicity response over the doses investigated, suggesting these materials as good candidates for bioimaging applications.


Enteric Salmonella is one of the food microbial pathogens. Among all the subspecies, Salmonella typhimurium LT2, of which chromosomal DNA has been sequenced and found out to be similar to that of Escherichia coli, is one of the major microorganisms for the current research study. Methionine biosynthesis is an essential metabolic pathway for bacterial growth. The final step for methionine biosynthesis is mediated by the metE-encoded MetE enzyme (cobalamin-independent methionine synthase). In this study, via constructing the Salmonella chromosomal DNA library, we identified the regulators of metE through a genome-wide screen. Our results revealed that the genes rseB, metB, ycjE, fabI, nifU, and nifS may encode the products that affect the expression of metE. These genes fall into catagories with a wide variety of cellular functions, suggesting the expression of metE as well as methionine biosynthesis may be under complicated regulations in enteric Salmonella. Furthermore, the gene-library based screening method used in this study is also likely to be applied for other related study.


Background Remission is considered a therapeutic target in the management of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In 2010, new remission criteria were proposed by ACR/EULAR to achieve better patient outcomes. We have previously shown that, in RA patients, these new remission criteria resulted in better functional outcomes than those associated with DAS28 remission. Nevertheless, progressive functional impairment still occurred in a few patients who maintained the new ACR/EULAR remission criteria. Objectives To evaluate clinical factors associated with the progression of functional impairment in Japanese RA patients who successfully maintained the new ACR/EULAR remission criteria, based on the Institute of Rheumatology, Rheumatoid Arthritis (IORRA) cohort in our institute. Methods We established the IORRA cohort, a large observational cohort of RA patients, in our institute beginning in October 2000. Clinical parameters were collected biannually (in April and October). RA patients who were in DAS28 remission in April 2008 (baseline) and those who completed all IORRA assessments every 6 months from April 2008 to October 2010 (6 data collections) were selected for this study. All patients were evaluated based on whether they achieved the new ACR/EULAR remission criteria at each data collection. Functional disability was assessed by J-HAQ, the validated Japanese version of HAQ. The remission criteria of the Boolean trial were used as the new ACR/EULAR remission criteria. Patients who met the Boolean trial remission criteria for more than 5 times were identified as those who maintained the Boolean trial remission criteria. Changes in the J-HAQ score between October 2010 and April 2008 were assessed for these patients. The differences in baseline clinical characteristics between patients whose J-HAQ score increased and those with unchanged or decreased scores were statistically analysed by logistic regression analysis. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to calculate the cut-off point at baseline to assess significant changes in J-HAQ scores. Results A total of 916 RA patients in DAS28 remission at baseline completed all IORRA data collections in the succeeding 2.5 years. Among them, 248 patients maintained the Boolean trial remission criteria (female, 76.2%; mean age, 59.6 years; mean RA disease duration, 10.4 years; mean DAS28, 1.9; mean J-HAQ score, 0.09). Twenty-five of them had increase in the J-HAQ scores, and their mean J-HAQ score in October 2010 was 0.50. Simple regression analysis showed that the increase in the J-HAQ score was significantly correlated with a longer RA disease duration (p<0.01) and higher baseline J-HAQ score (p<0.01). Multiple regression analysis also confirmed that the increase in the J-HAQ score was significantly correlated with these two baseline variables (p<0.05). The cut-off point at baseline for RA disease duration was 12 years, whereas that for the J-HAQ score was 0.125. Conclusions To prevent functional impairment even in patients who maintain the ACR/EULAR remission criteria, it would be important to maintain the Boolean trial remission criteria before functional impairment occurs. Disclosure of Interest K. Ochi: None Declared, E. Tanaka: None Declared, K. Shidara: None Declared, K. Ikari: None Declared, A. Nakajima: None Declared, A. Taniguchi: None Declared, S. Momohara: None Declared, H. Yamanaka Speakers bureau: Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Astellas Pharma Inc., Wyeth K.K., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Banyu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Abbott Japan Co., Ltd., Eisai Co., Ltd., Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Taishotoyama Pharmaceuti, 2, Abbott, Eisai Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Hoffmann-La Roche, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Pfeizer Inc.


Summary From 1981 to 1986 antenatal cardiotocographic monitoring was performed on 9,992 high‐risk pregnancies selected from a total obstetrical population of 31,518 patients (31.7%). A critical fetal reserve pattern was detected in 89 patients (0.9%) whose pregnancies resulted in 68 surviving infants, 19 perinatal deaths and 2 sudden infant deaths. Since 47.4% of the infants who died in the perinatal period did so because of a related congenital malformation, such a defect should be excluded in the fetus with critical fetal reserve, by ultrasonography, before delivery (there is usually insufficient time for fetal karyotyping). Sixty‐three (92.6%) of the surviving children were assessed at our Growth and Developmental Clinic and disabilities were detected in 16 (25.4%); however, the disability was major in only 5, including 2 children with Down syndrome. The quality of survival of infants born from pregnancies complicated by critical fetal reserve was satisfactory as 60 of 63 children (95.2%) had neither a major disability related to intrauterine hypoxia identified by the cardiotocographic pattern, or had one likely to significantly interfere with their quality of life. Our results suggest that pregnancies can be continued until the cardiotocographic pattern becomes critical in order to gain fetal maturity, without compromise to the fetal brain.


We have previously reported that 1-benzyl-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-α-d-galactopyranoside (GalNAcα-O-bn), an inhibitor of glycosylation, perturbed apical biosynthetic trafficking in polarized HT-29 cells suggesting an involvement of a lectin-based mechanism. Here, we have identified galectin-4 as one of the major components of detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs) isolated from HT-29 5M12 cells. Galectin-4 was also found in post-Golgi carrier vesicles. The functional role of galectin-4 in polarized trafficking in HT-29 5M12 cells was studied by using a retrovirus-mediated RNA interference. In galectin-4–depleted HT-29 5M12 cells apical membrane markers accumulated intracellularly. In contrast, basolateral membrane markers were not affected. Moreover, galectin-4 depletion altered the DRM association characteristics of apical proteins. Sulfatides with long chain-hydroxylated fatty acids, which were also enriched in DRMs, were identified as high-affinity ligands for galectin-4. Together, our data propose that interaction between galectin-4 and sulfatides plays a functional role in the clustering of lipid rafts for apical delivery.


Abstract Talc particulates were ground by a high-speed rotor mixer without grinding media (beads) under atmospheric condition in order to evaluate the performance of the mixer. The median diameter of the ground sample decreases with an increase in both rotational speeds of the rotor and the vessel, and with a decrease in the clearance in the working space. The grinding limit can be controlled by the operational conditions. The grinding limit is correlated with the tangential force acting on the particulates calculated from the particulates motion simulated by the Particle Element Method regardless of the rotational speeds and the clearance.


A novel frequency selective surface (FSS) for reducing radar cross section (RCS) is proposed in this paper. This FSS is based on the random distribution method, so it can be called random surface. In this paper, the stacked patches serving as periodic elements are employed for RCS reduction. Previous work has demonstrated the efficiency by utilizing the microstrip patches, especially for the reflectarray. First, the relevant theory of the method is described. Then a sample of a three-layer variable-sized stacked patch random surface with a dimension of 260 mm×260 mm is simulated, fabricated, and measured in order to demonstrate the validity of the proposed design. For the normal incidence, the 8-dB RCS reduction can be achieved both by the simulation and the measurement in 8 GHz–13 GHz. The oblique incidence of 30° is also investigated, in which the 7-dB RCS reduction can be obtained in a frequency range of 8 GHz–14 GHz.


We prospectively assessed the infectious complications of esophageal injection sclerotherapy (EIS) in 38 patients who underwent 104 procedures. Blood cultures were taken prior to and five and ten minutes after injection of the sclerosing agent in all procedures in an attempt to determine the frequency of positive blood cultures. Surveillance cultures were obtained from each patient's pharynx and from the biopsy channel of the endoscope to identify potential sources of bacteremia. The rate of blood culture positivity before injection was not significantly different from that after injection (1.9% vs 4.3%). In only one procedure was the same organism isolated five and ten minutes after sclerotherapy. The isolate in both samples was a Corynebacterium species. Endoscope surveillance cultures were positive prior to 42 of 102 procedures, although none of those organisms subsequently were isolated in the blood cultures. Since the rate of positive blood cultures following EIS is no greater than that before the procedure, the use of prophylactic antibiotics is unnecessary.


Abstract It has become almost routine practice to incorporate balance exercises into training programs for athletes from different sports. However, the type of training that is most efficient remains unclear, as well as the frequency, intensity and duration of the exercise that would be most beneficial have not yet been determined. The following review is based on papers that were found through computerized searches of PubMed and SportDiscus from 2000 to 2016. Articles related to balance training, testing, and injury prevention in young healthy athletes were considered. Based on a Boolean search strategy the independent researchers performed a literature review. A total of 2395 articles were evaluated, yet only 50 studies met the inclusion criteria. In most of the reviewed articles, balance training has proven to be an effective tool for the improvement of postural control. It is difficult to establish one model of training that would be appropriate for each sport discipline, including its characteristics and demands. The main aim of this review was to identify a training protocol based on most commonly used interventions that led to improvements in balance. Our choice was specifically established on the assessment of the effects of balance training on postural control and injury prevention as well as balance training methods. The analyses including papers in which training protocols demonstrated positive effects on balance performance suggest that an efficient training protocol should last for 8 weeks, with a frequency of two training sessions per week, and a single training session of 45 min. This standard was established based on 36 reviewed studies.


Primary chronic daily headache can be subdivided into transformed migraine, chronic tension-type headache, hemicrania continua, and new daily persistent headache. We proposed and tested criteria in 150 consecutive outpatients with chronic daily headache. Based on preliminary analysis, we revised the criteria for transformed migraine. Using the International Headache Society criteria, 43% of the patients could not be classified; using our old criteria, 25% could not be classified; however, using our new criteria, we were able to classify 100%. Seventy-eight percent had transformed migraine, 15.3% had chronic tension-type headache, and 6.7% had other headache disorders. NEUROLOGY 1996;47: 871-875


Purpose: This study was done to identify the differences in effectiveness of disinfections for surgical hand scrubbing according to the duration of scrubbing and the type of disinfectant. Method: From June 30 to August 14, 2003, the data were collected from 30 surgical nurses and surgeons in one general hospital in P city, Korea. All participants washed their hands with two different disinfectants and four different scrubbing times, they placed both finger tips on a blood agar plate and using sterile cotton tips microbes were collected from their palms, nails and forearms. Results: The first hypothesis of this study(with same disinfectant, there will be no difference in effect of disinfection in surgical hand scrub among four time groups) was supported. The second hypothesis of this study(with same duration of surgical hand scrub, there will be no difference in effect between two disinfectants) was also supported. Conclusion: There are no differences in effectiveness of disinfection for surgical hand scrubbing according to duration of the scrubbing and the type of disinfectant. So it is concluded that the effectiveness of disinfection depends more on the exactly how the scrubbing is done rather than the duration of scrubbing or the type of disinfectant.


2Fertility Clinic, Vilnius, Lithuania Human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G) is a non-classical HLA class I molecule which can be expressed in the membrane-bound or soluble form and is well known for its tolerogenic properties. Increasing interest is now being addressed to the soluble forms, because they might have prognostic properties in the implantation and pregnancy process. The aim of our study was to evaluate a correlation between embryo cleavage, morphology and soluble human leukocyte antigen G (sHLA-G) levels, to estimate the impact of sHLA-G concentration on pregnancy outcome. Materials and methods: The study was performed on a group of infertile patients with various infertility indications. In vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) procedure were used for insemination. After 72 h, on the day of transfer, the embryo morphology was evaluated, emryo transfer (ET) according to embryo morphology was performed, the supernatants of the transferred embryos were collected and stored at –90 °C. For the quantitative measurement of soluble forms of Human Leukocyte Antigen-G in cell culture supernatant we used the ELISA method. The ELISA kit from EXBIO Praha measures soluble HLA-G1 and HLA-G5 isoforms, plates are coated with mem-G9 MoAb and components are ready to use. The analysis of results was performed using the Statistics Package for Social Sciences SPSS 12.0. Results: A total of 16 couples participated in this study. In all, 145 embryo culture supernatants were tested for sHLA-G. Soluble form of human leukocyte antigen G was detected in 12 (9.0%) embryo culture samples (range, 0.4–20.5 IU/ml). The production of human leukocyte antigen did not depend on the morphological criteria of the embryo. No significant differences were found between sHLA-G concentration in patients from the IVF and ICSI groups. sHLA-G levels did not differ significantly in the embryo cleavage rate and pregnancy outcome. Conclusions: day 3 embryos secrete sHLA-G to the surrounding medium; the level of those soluble molecules can be detected using ELISA. The concentration of the human leukocyte antigen did not correlate with the number of blastomere and with the morphological criteria of the embryo. SHLA-G might be one of the markers of embryo implantation potential after IVF / ICSI procedures as a factor that helps to achieve and maintain pregnancy, but further investigations are required.


An experimental study of exhaust emissions of a diesel engine is carried out using biodiesel-diesel-ethanol (indicated as BDE), and results compared with both petroluem diesel fuel and biodiesel-diesel blend known as B20. Biodiesel used in this study was obtained from waste cooking oils. Experiments were conducted on a 4-cylinder, naturally aspirated and DI diesel engine at speed characteristics of full engine load. An increase in brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) for blended fuels were observed compared with diesel fuel. A reduction in carbon monoxide (CO) was found for blended fuels while emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) were slightly higher for B20, and lower for BDE compared with diesel fuel.


A numerical study was carried out to describe the flow field structure of an oxide melt under 1) the effect of internal radiation through the melt (and the crystal), and 2) the impact of surface tension-driven forces during Czochralski growth process. Throughout the present Finite Volume Method calculations, the melt is a Boussinnesq fluid of Prandtl number 4.69 and the flow is assumed to be in a steady, axisymmetric state. Particular attention is paid to an undulating structure of buoyancy-driven flow that appears in optically thick oxide melts and persists over against forced convection flow caused by the externally imposed rotation of the crystal. In a such wavy pattern of the flow, particularly for a relatively higher Rayleigh number , a small secondary vortex appears nearby the crucible bottom. The structure of the vortex which has been observed experimentally is studied in some details. The present model analysis discloses that, though both of the mechanisms 1) and 2) end up in smearing out the undulating structure of the flow, the effect of thermocapillary forces on the flow pattern is distinguishably different. It is shown that for a given dynamic Bond number, the behavior of the melt is largely modified. The transition corresponds to a jump discontinuity in the magnitude of the flow stream function.


Model selection based on observed data sequences is used to decide between different model structures within the class of multinomial, Markov, and hidden Markov models. In a unified Bayesian treatment, we derive posterior probabilities for different model structures without assuming prior knowledge of transition probabilities. We emphasize the following tests: 1) Given a particular data sequence of n outcomes, is each state equally likely? 2) Do the data support an independent model, or is a Markov model a more plausible description? 3) Are two data sequences generated from a) the same Markov model? b) the same hidden Markov model? For Markov models and independent multinomial models, all results are exact. For hidden Markov models, the exact solution is computationally prohibitive, and instead, an approximate solution is proposed


INTRODUCTION
Hormonally inactive carcinoids represent a significant proportion of all carcinoids tumours. Classical biochemical and hormonal parameters are not suitable for the diagnosis and follow-up of these tumours. However, the tumour marker chromogranin A that is characteristic for several neuroendocrine tumours and secreted by the majority of these tumours as well, may offer a better means of diagnosis and follow-up. Somatostatin receptors are expressed by hormonally inactive carcinoids and the presence of these receptors has important diagnostic and therapeutic consequences.

CASE REPORT
The authors present the history of a patient with a hormonally inactive bronchial carcinoid tumour. After surgical removal of the bronchial carcinoid, liver metastases developed which were found to be somatostatin receptor positive. Somatostatin analogue treatment was introduced, followed by Yttrium-isotope labelled somatostatin analogue therapy. Serum chromogranin A was elevated before somatostatin treatment, and gradually decreased in parallel with therapy. The size of liver metastases remained unchanged during treatment.

CONCLUSIONS
Chromogranin A can be efficiently applied for the clinical follow-up of hormonally inactive carcinoid tumours. Somatostatin analogues may be effective for preventing tumour progression not only in hormone-secreting but also in hormonally inactive carcinoid tumours.


Alternative wireless topologies, e.g., an underlay network of Pico-cells, are increasingly seen as being necessary to enhance capacity and coverage in next generation wireless systems. Such networks of closely-spaced base-sites have to contend with high interference issues, wherein interference mitigation via power control or interference co-ordination may not be sufficient. Capacity can be significantly enhanced by Co-ordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) techniques, which allow co-operative signal processing to jointly decode user's signals, especially given fast communication links between the nodes. In this paper, we present a cooperative system design for the uplink of LTE for providing high capacity solutions in dense deployments. We propose non-linear receiver algorithms for inter-cell interference suppression and cancellation based on a decentralized multistage cancellation architecture using user-specific clustered Pico-cell antennas. An interference cancellation method acting on post-antenna combined signal is proposed to reduce the computational complexity of the receiver. The decoding latency inherent in multistage receivers is another key bottleneck, which is addressed in this paper by a method to predict the ACK/NACK status at the output of the multistage receiver before actually doing the cancellation. Simulation results for a dense stadium deployment of Pico-cells are presented that show significant capacity gains with the proposed approaches.


1. Functional alterations of the mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS) may be an important factor in the pathogenesis of infection in acute pancreatitis (AP). In the present study, MPS activity was investigated in rats and hepatic blood flow (HBF) was also determined. 2. A total of 122 male Wistar rats were divided into three groups: 1, AP group (N = 51); 2, sham-operated (SO) (N = 49); 3, intact group (IG) (N = 22). AP was induced by retrograde injection of 0.5 ml of 2.5% sodium taurocholate saline into the main biliopancreatic duct under ketamine chloride anesthesia. SO animals were submitted to the same surgical steps as AP animals except for AP induction. 3. Each experimental group was subdivided into two subgroups. The first subgroup was submitted to the study of MPS activity as follows: each group was injected with colloidal 198Au and liver clearance parameters were determined 2 h (N = 11), 12 h (N = 10) and 24 h (N = 10) later in the AP group, and 2 h (N = 9), 12 h (N = 10) and 24 h (N = 11) later in the SO group. In the second subgroup, HBF was assessed using 131I-bromosulphalein at 2 h (N = 10) and 24 h (N = 10) in the AP group and at 2 h (N = 10) and 24 h (N = 10) in the SO group. The IG was submitted to both radioactive tracer studies. Each animal was used for only one experiment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Within the European Union order, the national public administrations play a very important role. They are responsible for the enforcement and the control of the execution of the policies of the European Communities, in all the states of the European Union, in the interest of the respective governments. Although the European Union has a central administration, she doesn't have external agencies. Applying the European instructions and regulations depends on the national governments. Because of rules such as mutual recognition, each government depends on the quality of executing the Community policy, for the purpose of achieving its own responsibilities. The role of the public administration in the European unification is a decisive one; and this is not only because the public administration is connected to the institutional and governmental mechanisms, but also because the real, practical, technical and "aesthetic" convergence of different administrative cultures is the key element of the European integration. Thus we are faced not only with a new supra-national institutional order, but also with a new juridical order given by the integration through law.


The mean production factor, or broadband averaged cross-section, for solar wind charge-exchange (SWCX) with hydrogen producing emission in the ROSAT 1 4 ?> keV (R12) band is ( 3.8 ± 0.2 ) × 10 − 20 ?> count degree−2 cm4. The production factor is expected to be temporally variable, and that variation is roughly 15%. These values are derived from a comparison of the long-term (background) enhancements in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey with magnetohysdrodynamic simulations of the magnetosheath. This value is 1.8–4.5 times higher than values derived from limited atomic data, suggesting that those values may be missing a large number of faint lines. This production factor is important for deriving the exact amount of 1 4 ?> keV band flux that is due to the Local Hot Bubble, for planning future observations in the 1 4 ?> keV band, and for evaluating proposals for remote sensing of the magnetosheath. The same method cannot be applied to the 3 4 ?> keV band as that band, being composed primarily of the oxygen lines, is far more sensitive to the detailed abundances and ionization balance in the solar wind. We also show, incidentally, that recent efforts to correlate XMM-Newton observing geometry with magnetosheath SWCX emission in the oxygen lines have been, quite literally, misguided. Simulations of the inner heliosphere show that broader efforts to correlate heliospheric SWCX with local solar wind parameters are unlikely to produce useful results.


Corticosteroids have a pleiotropic mechanism of action and influence a great number of cellular functions. This does not only result in a broad therapeutic effect, but in a large number of adverse events as well. It has been shown that about 60 % of all patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Germany are receiving corticosteroids and about every fifth of them more than the equivalence of 7.5 mg prednisone per day. Already small doses increase the risk f. e. for osteoporosis or cataract, as well as for severe infections. The benefit of a treatment with low dose corticosteroids in inhibiting the radiological erosivity of the disease is low and does not outweigh the risks.


Globular clusters are main astrophysical laboratories to test
and modify evolutionary models. Thought to be rather
homogeneous in their local elemental Distribution of members,
results suggest a wide variety of chemical peculiarities.
Besides different main sequences, believed to be caused by
different helium abundances, peculiarities of blue
horizontal-branch stars and on the red giant branch were found.
This whole zoo of peculiar objects has to be explained in the
context of stellar formation and evolution. The tool of Delta a
photometry is employed in order to detect peculiar stars in the
whole spectral range. This three filter narrow band system
measures the flux distribution in the region from 4900 to 5600A
in order to find any peculiarities around 5200A. It is highly
efficient to detect classical chemically peculiar stars of the
upper main sequence, Be/Ae, shell and metal-weak objects in the
Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds. We present Delta a photometry
of 2266 stars from 109 individual frames for three globular
Clusters (NGC 104, NGC 6205, and NGC 7099). A comparison with
published abundances, for three horizontal-branch stars, only,
yield an excellent agreement. According to the 3 sigma
detection limit of each globular cluster, about 3% of the stars
lie in abnormal regions in the diagnostic diagrams. The first
observations of three widely different aggregates give very
promising results, which will serve as a solid basis for
follow-up observations including photometric as well as
spectroscopic studies.


Was there a chance, between 853 and 841 bce, to prevent the rise of Assyria to supreme power in the Near East, and thus the invention of imperialism as a political concept? Which imperfections in human behaviour in general, or which flaws in the characters of the protagonists specifically, must have been absent to ensure a more favourable course of events? No deuteronomism without Assyria: thus the present essay tries to forecast how the world of today would look if this way of thought had never arisen.


In Reply. —Dr Farrell may not have understood the full implications of "market dynamics" in the title of my article. Like "Old Man River," the dynamic of a market is just to keep rolling along, which is why Farrell is correct in describing managed care as "a distorted solution to a distorted market." However, most of the distortions in the structure of the health market are on the buyer side, not the provider side of the market. The lack of systematic assistance for improving consumer know-how in purchasing health services and the failure of employer-sponsored insurance to incorporate more directly consumer sensitivity to the costs of care are, I believe, the 2 principal remaining market shortcomings. Managed care has not contributed to solving either of these flaws. Instead of helping consumers become knowledgeable about purchasing health care service, it has restricted consumer choices of allowable providers and therapies. However, by making employees


The present study investigated the efficiency of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) technology in treating effluent from soy sauce industry which is categorized as a high strength wastewater. The combination of anaerobic and aerobic granulation technology in SBR system was used in this study which was efficiently treated COD from the soy sauce wastewater where 87% of removal was achieved. Ammonia and colour was removed at a maximum of 87 and 76%, respectively, in the SBR system. Matured, dense and compact granules with 2.5 mm in diameters were developed with a good settling velocity (45 m/h) and 28 mL/gSS of sludge volume index (SVI). Hence, AGS technology was proven as an excellent treatment for soy sauce wastewater for being discharge into the environment, as the effluent was treated in one biological reactor with high hydraulic and organic loadings besides less production of sludge. In this study, the capabilities of AGS technology in treating relatively higher concentration of organic impurities present in the soy sauce wastewater were demonstrated.


Greenfield Online, the first online market research company, is an example of an e-business that has continued to be successful despite recent retrenchments in the Internet sector. Their core business involves developing and implementing customized market research studies. At the time of this case, they also sold "off-the-shelf" reports related to online shopping trends for specific groups of products. This case describes operations at Greenfield Online's "Digital Consumer Score" using three modeling techniques--process mapping, data flow diagramming, and entity-relationship diagramming. The simultaneous use of these techniques illustrates how they relate to each other, and demonstrates their applicability within an e-business environment. After the descriptive models set the stage, the economics of manually-performed back office processes are evaluated through a present value analysis of labor costs. The organization is left with open questions regarding how to improve the Digital Consumer Store's back office operations.


developing a serious complication. A simple example of this situation is provided by the potential risk of myocardial infarction after operation of anaesthesia, for it is well known that the patient who is anaesthetised within a few weeks of having had a myocardial infarction is very much at risk of developing another one in the immediate postoperative period, while a patient of similar age and build, and possibly even with similar general disease of the vascular system, but who has not had an episode of myocardial infarction in the past, will go through an anaesthetic and operation without serious complications. It would then be reasonable for the first patient to expect to have the question of recurrency of myocardial infarction discussed with him or with her before the operation is performed, whereas it would be equally reasonable for the anaesthetist who was dealing with the second type of patient to say nothing about this type of complication, even though it does occur in an appreciable number of patients, but not often enough to cause it to be a matter of concern in the immediate pre-operative discussions with the patient.


Diverse pathogens, plant hosts, insect vectors, and non-vector herbivores coexist and interact in natural systems. An example is the cooccurrence of insects Bemisia tabaci Q and Frankliniella occidentalis and the pathogens tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) and tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) on the same plant. In addition, both TYLCV and TSWV are persistently transmitted in these insect species. However, TSWV reduces the fitness of B. tabaci Q; therefore, we investigated whether TSWV affects the transmission of TYLCV to tomato. Both TYLCV and TSWV are persistently transmitted. Although B. tabaci Q cannot transmit TSWV, we found that this insect species is able to acquire and retain this virus serotype, indicating that the effects of TSWV on TYLCV transmission in the current study result from effects on the vector. The acquisition, retention, and transmission of TYLCV by B. tabaci Q were reduced when the insect vector contained TSWV. Additionally, the TYLCV acquisition and transmission by B. tabaci Q were reduced when the host plant was inoculated with TSWV before TYLCV or simultaneously with TYLCV. We also found that F. occidentalis fecundity and transmission of TSWV were reduced when F. occidentalis contained TYLCV. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that persistently transmitted viruses can restrict the transmission of other viruses by affecting their insect vectors.


[Objective] The research aimed to optimize the ultrasonic-assisted extraction technology of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides.[Method] By comparing with the traditional technology,the liquid ratio,the extraction time and the extraction power were selected to do the orthogonal test of ultrasonic-assisted extraction.Moreover,the extraction products in the optimization condition were analyzed by the infrared spectrum.[Result] The optimized technology of ultrasonic-assisted extraction method:extraction time 40 min,extraction power 100 W and liquid ratio 1∶ 20.The yield of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides was 4.724%.In addition,the infrared spectrum analysis result showed that the extraction products had the polysaccharides.[Conclusion] The ultrasonic-assisted extraction method was quick,efficient and saved the energy.Moreover,the extraction yield was high,and it greatly improved the utilization ratio of medicinal herbs.


34-year-old woman presented with a 3-month history of ulcerated plaques on the palate and gingiva. Physical examination revealed two ulcerated lesions with irregular margins on the hard palate (Panel A) and gingival mucosa (Panel B). The palatal bone and maxillary alveolar process were focally denuded of their mucosal covering. Computed tomography of the paranasal sinuses, nose, and orbit with the use of contrast material revealed no evidence of mass or lymphadenopathy. Nasal endoscopy was normal. Culture of a palatal biopsy specimen was positive for Staphylococcus aureus. Histopathological findings were negative for cancer. The patient began receiving intravenous antibiotic agents and was doing well until day 10, when she presented with fever and intermittent swelling on the left side of her face. Two weeks later, the palatal lesion had enlarged (Panel C), and a second biopsy was performed. Histopathological examination revealed an extranodal natural-killer-cell–T-cell lymphoma, nasal type. This is a nonHodgkin's lymphoma with extranodal presentation within the upper aerodigestive tract, commonly involving the nasal cavity, nasopharynx, and paranasal sinuses. The patient received radiotherapy and modified SMILE chemotherapy (consisting of asparaginase, methotrexate, ifosfamide, etoposide, and dexamethasone) and underwent autologous bone marrow transplantation. At 8 months, she remains in remission, with no evidence that the lymphoma has recurred.


Abstract The distribution of the mosquito larvae in the breeding habitats varies at the spatial scale depending on the availability of the resources and the predators. This proposition was assessed through the observation of the spatial distribution of Culex larvae (Culex tritaeniorhynchus) in artificially constructed rice field habitats. Using a binomial generalized linear model with logit link, the disparity in the abundance of the larvae was evaluated to justify the effects of light (light vs shade), vertical (surface vs bottom), and horizontal (wall vs center) distribution as explanatory variables. Under light availability, the spatial occupancy of the mosquito larvae was higher in the center than in the walls of the mesocosms. However, the larval orientation was higher on the surface than at the bottom of the mesocosms in all instances. In comparison to open spaces, the larval aggregation was higher in the presence of the floating vegetations like Azolla and Lemna, indicating that the habitat heterogeneity of the mesocosms influenced the distribution of the mosquito larvae in the available spaces. A reduction in the larval aggregation pattern in the spaces was observed in the presence of the predator (Anisops sp.) reflecting the possible evasion tactics of the mosquito larvae. The observations suggest that the mosquito larvae may utilize the vegetation in the rice field habitats quite effectively and occupy empty spaces of predators. The results may be considered as a prototype of the prospective localization of the mosquito larvae in the rice fields and help to frame the strategies of spraying the biopesticides to achieve optimal efficacy in mosquito regulation.


We reported recently that splenocytes from concanavalin A-stimulated mice rapidly incorporated [3H]thymidine into non-mitochondrial DNA that was detergent soluble and distributed in size classes between 200 and 5000 base pairs. In this report we show that small [3H]thymidine-labeled oligonucleotides (less than 100 base pairs long) appear by 15 min. Subsequently, [3H]thymidine in small oligonucleotides diminishes as incorporation into larger size classes of detergent-soluble DNA occurs in a pattern that is stable for at least 3 hr. Although incorporation of [3H]thymidine into the oligonucleotides is not sensitive to aphidicolin or hydroxyurea, the appearance of [3H]thymidine in larger species is blocked by both drugs. These results indicate that the enzymatic process involved in synthesis of oligonucleotides is somehow distinct from the process involved in synthesis of larger detergent-soluble size classes. Synthesis of the latter may be replication related.


Galectin-1, a member of a family of highly conserved glycan-binding proteins, has emerged as a regulator of immune cell tolerance and homeostasis. This endogenous lectin widely expressed at sites of inflammation and tumour growth, has been postulated as an attractive immunosuppressive agent to restore immune cell tolerance and homeostasis in autoimmune and inflammatory settings. On the other hand, galectin-1 contributes to different steps of tumour progression including cell adhesion, migration and tumour-immune escape, suggesting that blockade of galectin-1 might result in therapeutic benefits in cancer. Recent findings implicating galectin-glycoprotein lattices as selective regulators of inflammatory responses have provided new insights into the understanding of the molecular bases of galectin-1-induced immunoregulation. Here the authors review the dual role of galectin-1 as a selective immunosuppressive agent in T helper (TH)1 and TH17-mediated inflammatory/autoimmune disorders and a potential therapeutic target in cancer and metastasis.


The seismic safety of nuclear power plants has always been emphasized by the effects of accidents. In general, the seismic safety evaluation of nuclear power plants carries out a seismic probabilistic safety assessment. The current probabilistic safety assessment assumes that damage to the structure, system, and components (SSCs) occurs independently to each other or perfect dependently to each other. In case of earthquake events, the failure event occurs with the correlation due to the correlation between the seismic response of the SSCs and the seismic performance of the SSCs. In this study, the EEMS (External Event Mensuration System) code is developed which can perform the seismic probabilistic safety assessment considering correlation. The developed code is verified by comparing with the multiplier n, which is for calculating the joint probability of failure, which is proposed by Mankamo. It is analyzed the changes in seismic fragility curves and seismic risks with correlation. As a result, it was confirmed that the seismic fragility curves and seismic risk change according to the failure correlation coefficient. This means that it is important to select an appropriate failure correlation coefficient in order to perform a seismic probabilistic safety assessment. And also, it was confirmed that carrying out the seismic probabilistic safety assessment in consideration of the seismic correlation provides more realistic results, rather than providing conservative or non-conservative results comparing with that damage to the SSCs occurs independently.


Study aid Environmental organizations in the Czech Republic has three main objectives. The first is a probe into the history books of facts and two prominent Czech environmental movement – Hnuti Duha and Nesehnuti. This probe only gives some idea of the specificity of Czech environmental movement in comparison with the world, but also enables you to know and understand the formulas that are in the development of both movements emerged and emerging. The second objective is to attempt to identify the basic ideological source of two Czech environmental movement after 1989. In this part of our study aid will be the analysis of concepts, which significantly affected the main representatives (mover) selected green movement. Whether it's a combination of names such as E. Goldsmith, A. Naess, H. Librova or J. Keller with Hnuti Duha, or M. Bookchin, K. Warren and J. Keller with Nesehnuti, it is a link that explains several major watershed in the development of these movements and is therefore an important part of their self-understanding and understanding. By combining the objectives one and two at the same time we are indirectly responding to the question of whether or not are these two Czech selected movements radical environmental movement. Another indirect goal of the entire textbook is to arouse the interest not only of the Czech environmental movement and organization, but also the critical (or in older words analytical) thinking as a way of relating to the world. Ultimately, the point is not primarily about whether we think green, blue or red, but whether we can within our own concept of the world to find weaknesses and vice versa realize and appreciate the strong points of the concepts with which we internally disagree.


Interdisciplinary deliberative research has grown tremendously over the last decade. Theorists are attending more carefully to the findings of empirical research. And empiricists are framing their research in ways that are tailored to track normative-theoretical concerns. The recent surge in empirical work on deliberation, however, has led to a huge proliferation of research designs, general measurement strategies, operational criteria, and even definitions of the phenomenon. The diversity in these approaches has become sufficiently great that it seems worthwhile to step back and take stock lest the expanding deliberative research community dissipate its energies in an ironic lack of effective communication across theoretical and methodological approaches. I survey the main sources of theoretical diversity among normative theories of deliberation, along with the diversity of basic strategies for measuring deliberation that follow from them.


The antioxidant activities of twelve naphthalene compounds containing (E)-1-((3-iodophenylimino)methyl) naphthalen2-ol (NAPH1), (E)-1-((3-bromophenylimino) methyl) naphthalen-2-ol (NAPH2), E)-1-((4-bromo-2-(trifluoromethoxy) phenylimino) methyl) naphthalen-2-ol, (E)-1-((4-bromo-2-(trifluoromethoxy) phenylimino) methyl)naphthalen-2-ol (NAPH3), (E)-1-((2-methoxy-5-(trifluoromethyl) phenylimino) methyl) naphthalen-2-ol (NAPH4), (E)-1-((naphthalen-2ylimino) methyl) naphthalen-2-ol (NAPH5), (E)-1-((2-bromo-3-methylphenylimino) methyl) naphthalen-2-ol (NAPH6), (E)-N-((2-ethoxynaphthalen-1-yl)methylene)-3-methylaniline (NAPH7), (E)-4-ethoxy-N-((2-ethoxynaphthalen-1-yl) methylene) aniline (NAPH8), (E)-N-((2-ethoxynaphthalen-1-yl) methylene) naphthalen-1-amine (NAPH9), (E)-1-(2,5difluorophenyl)-N-((2-ethoxynaphthalen-1-yl) methylene) methanamine (NAPH10), (E)-N-((2-ethoxynaphthalen-1-yl) methylene)-4-fluoroaniline (NAPH11), (E)-N-((2-ethoxynaphthalen-1-yl)methylene)-2-ethylaniline (NAPH12) were investigated in vitro by antioxidant activity (phosphomolybdenum assay), reducing power, H2O2 scavenging activity, metal chelating effects and lipid peroxidation. Scavenging activities of the naphthalen compounds were tested against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, hydroxyl and superoxide anion radicals. Most of them are potent antioxidant, radical superoxide anion scavengers and in vitro inhibition of lipid peroxidation. The compounds; NAPH5, NAPH10 and NAPH12 were found to exhibit promising antioxidant profiles at 10 and 50 mM concentrations. Among these, NAPH5 at higher concentration was the most active compound in inhibiting lipid peroxidation as shown in the homogenates of kidney, heart and spleen. The presented results validate that NAPH5, NAPH10 and NAPH12 can be possessed as a source of antioxidant potential and a rich source of synthetic antioxidant for medicinal or foods. DOI :  http://dx.doi.org./10.17576/JSKM-2018-1601-06


Neural Machine Translation (NMT) learns from examples, and thus often lacks robustness against noise. Previous work has shown that integrating noise into the training process is effective at improving such robustness, but this solution can be inefficient due to the exponential number of string perturbations, i.e., exponential in the number of words or characters. To robustify the translation input, we treat human phonetic interaction throughout history as a pre-compiled computational device. This device implements a many-to-one function that converts text into phonetics. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first in Machine Translation, to apply the phonetic algorithms Soundex, NYSIIS, and MetaPhone to foreign word/character sequences. We also apply another linguistic representation, the logogram inference, Wubi, for Chinese. To explain why phonetic encodings improve NMT, we introduce, quantify, and empirically verify our hypothesis: "one phonetic representation usually corresponds to words that are semantically diverse." Driven by our hypothesis, we simulate this "natural" phonetic device and introduce an artificial method called random clustering. We achieved significant and consistent improvements overall language pairs and datasets we experimented with: French-English, GermanEnglish, and Chinese-English in IWSLT'17, with up to nearly 2 BLEU points over the stateof-the-art. Moreover, our approaches are more robust than baselines when evaluated on unknown noisy or out-of-domain test sets, with up to about 5 BLEU point increase.


Abstract Three Avena fatua (wild oat) populations resistant to imazamethabenz, flamprop, and fenoxaprop-P were identified from the northwest agricultural region of Manitoba, Canada. These populations were identified after producer reports of failure of imazamethabenz to provide satisfactory control in the field. Although these A. fatua populations had previously been exposed to other herbicides, primarily ACCase inhibitors, imazamethabenz had never before been applied. In growth room experiments, resistant (R) plants were 7.2 and 8.7 times more resistant to imazamethabenz and flamprop, respectively, than susceptible (S) plants, as measured by the ratio of dosages required to inhibit shoot dry matter accumulation by 50% (GR50 R/S). The three populations did not differ significantly (P < 0.05) in levels of resistance to imazamethabenz. Similarly, the populations did not differ in levels of resistance to flamprop. The populations differed in their response to fenoxaprop-P; levels of resistance for two populations were 2.0-fold, while the remaining population was 2.9-fold. An experiment conducted in 1995 in one of the infested fields confirmed multiple herbicide resistance, with A. fatua panicle numbers in August being 36, 128, and 44% of untreated controls at recommended dosages of imazamethabenz, flamprop, and fenoxaprop-P, respectively. Three additional populations of A. fatua with multiple herbicide resistance from other areas of Manitoba were identified in a 1996 field experiment. For the six A. fatua populations in the 1996 experiment with multiple herbicide resistance, panicle numbers expressed as a percentage of the untreated controls varied from 44 to 77% for imazamethabenz, 57 to 83% for flamprop, and 43 to 88% for fenoxaprop-P (commercially recommended dosage of each herbicide). Multiple herbicide resistance in A. fatua is not rare; screening of A. fatua seed samples from across Manitoba and Saskatchewan has identified a number of additional R populations. The evolution of herbicide resistance in the absence of direct selection is a very serious development as producers with multiple herbicide resistance in A. fatua are left with a very limited number of herbicide options for selective control in crops commonly grown in western Canada. Nomenclature: Fenchlorazole-ethyl, ethyl-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-5-trichloromethyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxylate; fenoxaprop-P-ethyl; flamprop-methyl; imazamethabenz-methyl; Avena fatua L. AVEFA, wild oat; Triticum aestivum L. 'Teal', 'Domain', spring wheat.


Background Persistent systemic inflammation leads to multidistrectual body dysfunctions. Attenuation of inflammation may improve patients' functional and life prognoses. We hypothesized that essential amino acids (EAAs) given to elderly patients in rehabilitation after acute diseases may be associated with a reduced inflammatory state. Therefore, this retrospective study investigated whether the supplementation of EAAs – modulators of immune competence – was associated with a reduced inflammation rate in elderly patients. Methods The medical records of 282 patients admitted to the rehabilitation (rehab) institute after acute index events (surgery or medical diseases) (age: 81.18 ± 8.58 years; females: 67.9%) were analyzed. Results 46 patients (16.3% of the entire population) had received EAA supplements (S), whereas the remaining 236 patients had not (N-S). Systemic inflammation (I) (serum C-reactive protein (CRP) > 0.5 mg/dL) was present in 67.4% of the I-S group and 57.2% of the I-N-S group. During rehab, the I-S group (but not the I-N-S group) showed a reduction in CRP levels (p = 0.03) and an increase in circulating lymphocytes (p = 0.035), immune cells of the adaptive immune system. C-reactive protein levels remained virtually unchanged in non-inflamed patients who received supplements but increased in non-inflamed patients who did not receive supplements (p = 0.05). Stratified for developed infections, CRP levels reduced in S patients (p = 0.008) but did not in N-S patients. Conclusion EAA supplementation was associated with reduced inflammation in both inflamed and infected patients. In addition, EAA supplementation was associated with increased circulating lymphocytes in inflamed patients.


We propose a novel strategy to optimize sensing performance of the Bloch surface wave (BSW) biosensor. First of all, a one-dimensional photonic crystal with an omnidirectional photonic bandgap is designed. Except for sustaining the BSW, the omnidirectional photonic bandgap guarantees a tiny full width at half maximum (FWHM=0.84  nm) for the reflection dip induced by BSW resonance. Then, the specific dependence of wavelength sensitivity on incident angle is obtained by the Bloch impedance-matching method. Study shows that wavelength sensitivity increases with the decreases in incident angle (larger than the critical angle). At the same time, when the incident angle approaches the critical angle (θ=67.5  deg), wavelength sensitivity increases rapidly (Sλ=1570  nm/RIU). Moreover, theoretical research reveals that biosensor sensitivity can also be further enhanced by other system parameters. Combining the tiny FWHM of the reflection dip and large wavelength sensitivity, the figure of merit of the optimized biosensor can reach as high as 1869  RIU-1. These results enable the design of biosensors with high performance in a predictable manner.


Introduction Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) disease is thought to occur in one-third of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) patients. Currently, there is no gold standard investigation for patients with suspected LPR. The ResTech Dx-pH measurement system is reported to be capable of detecting liquid or aerosolized acid reflux in the upper airway, and may be a valid objectifiable measure of LPR. The authors postulated that elevated ResTech Dx-pH results may be related to poor oesophageal clearance of acid. Methods 38 consecutive patients referred for investigations of LPR underwent standard stationary oesophageal manometry and ambulatory dual channel pH-metry with sensors 5 and 20 cm above the lower oesophageal sphincter. The ResTech Dx-pH sensor was placed in the oropharynx transnasally. The RYAN composite score was generated by the ResTech Dx-pH analysis software. A positive RYAN score would suggest high levels of pharyngeal acid exposure. Patients were stratified into two groups based on the total percentage of time pH<4 detected in the distal channel of pH-metry. Group A had a total percentage of time more than 4.5% and Group B less than 4.5%. Results Five patients were excluded in the analysis due to technical or equipment errors. In Group A (n=16), 50% of the patients had positive RYAN score. The average age of these patients with positive RYAN score was significant higher (58±12.5 vs 43±12.7 years, p=0.0389) compare to patients with negative RYAN score. In Group B (n=17), 47% had positive RYAN score. Their average age was higher (55±9.4 vs 43±13.8 years, p=0.0581). The observed proximal and distal amplitude of oesophageal contractions within the RYAN score subgroups of Group A and B did not differ significantly. However, mid oesophageal contraction amplitude was significantly higher in Group A (47±25.9 vs 22±8.1 mm Hg, p=0.04894). There was no difference in lower oesophageal sphincter (LOS) pressure in between RYAN subgroups in Group A. However, the LOS pressure was significantly lower in patients with positive than negative RYAN score in Group B (9±2.6 vs 14±3.9 mm Hg, p=0.01347). Conclusion In this tertiary-referred population with LPR symptoms, almost 50% had significant acidification in the upper airway possibly explaining their symptoms. Poor oesophageal clearance of refluxed acid, reflected in reduced contraction amplitude in the oesophageal body may also play a role. Interestingly, patients with normal distal acidification who have high levels of pharyngeal acid exposure tend to have lower LOS pressure and poor body motility.


We theoretically investigate the interaction of two in-phase and out-of-phase Peregrine solitons in a Kerr nonlinear medium, addressing both the cases of first- and second-order solitons. Upon adjusting the interval between the solitons, their interactions exhibit different properties. If the interval is sufficiently large, two Peregrine solitons will propagate individually and will not interact each other. However, if the interval is not very large, the Peregrine solitons will strongly interact and display varying behavior.


The aim was to measure variations in threshold for operative treatment of approximal caries in permanent teeth and the use of restorative materials, compared with results from studies conducted in Norway in 1983 and 1995. In 2009, a precoded questionnaire was sent electronically to 3,654 dentists with E-mail addresses in the member register of the Norwegian Dental Association. The questions were related to caries, treatment strategies and choice of dental materials. Replies were obtained from 61% of the dentists after two reminders. Restorative treatment of approximal lesions confined to enamel, based on radiographic appearance, was proposed by 7% of the dentists, compared with 66% in 1983 and 18% in 1995. Younger dentists, significantly more often than older, would defer operative treatment of approximal lesions until the lesion was visible in dentine. While tunnel preparation most often was the preparation of choice in 1995 (47%), saucer-shaped preparation was most favoured in 2009 (69%). Tunnel preparation was only preferred by 4% of the dentists. Resin composite was the restorative material preferred by 95%, compared with 16% in 1995. The corresponding values for conventional glass ionomer cement (GIC) were 1 versus 22%, for resin-modified GIC 1 versus 7%, and for a combination of GIC and resin composite 2 versus 22%. Compomer was preferred by 1% of the respondents. The authors conclude that treatment concepts for approximal caries have changed considerably during the last 26 years. In 2009, only 7% of dentists reported that they would treat approximal caries operatively before the lesion reached dentine.


TIMP-2 protein has been intensively studied as a promising anticancer candidate agent, but the in vivo mechanism underlying its anticancer effect has not been clearly elucidated by previous works. In this study, we investigated the mechanism underlying the anti-tumor effects of a TIMP-2 fusion protein conjugated with human serum albumin (HSA/TIMP-2). Systemic administration of HSA/TIMP-2 effectively inhibited tumor growth at a minimum effective dose of 60 mg/kg. The suppressive effect of HSA/TIMP-2 was accompanied by a marked reduction of in vivo vascularization. The anti-angiogenic activity of HSA/TIMP-2 was directly confirmed by CAM assays. In HSA/TIMP-2-treated tumor tissues, MMP-2 expression was profoundly decreased without a change in MT1-MMP expression of PECAM-1-positive cells. MMP-2 mRNA was also decreased by HSA/TIMP-2 treatment of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Zymographic analysis showed that HSA/TIMP-2 substantially decreased extracellular pro-MMP-2 activity (94–99% reduction) and moderately decreased active MMP-2 activity (10–24% reduction), suggesting MT1-MMP-independent MMP-2 modulation. Furthermore, HSA/TIMP-2 had no effect on in vitro active MMP-2 activity and in vivo MMP-2 activity. These studies show that HSA/TIMP-2 potentiates anti-angiogenic activity by modulating MMP-2 expression, but not MMP-2 activity, to subsequently suppress tumor growth, suggesting an important role for MMP-2 expression rather than MMP-2 activity in anti-angiogenesis.


AIM
To investigate the role of activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) in glucose deprivation (GD) induced colorectal cancer (CRC) drug resistance and the mechanism involved.

METHODS
Chemosensitivity and apoptosis were measured under the GD condition. Inhibition of ATF4 using short hairpin RNA in CRC cells under the GD condition and in ATF4-overexpressing CRC cells was performed to identify the role of ATF4 in the GD induced chemoresistance. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression of drug resistance gene 1 (MDR1), respectively.

RESULTS
GD protected CRC cells from drug-induced apoptosis (oxaliplatin and 5-fluorouracil) and induced the expression of ATF4, a key gene of the unfolded protein response. Depletion of ATF4 in CRC cells under the GD condition can induce apoptosis and drug re-sensitization. Similarly, inhibition of ATF4 in the ATF4-overexpressing CRC cells reintroduced therapeutic sensitivity and apoptosis. In addition, increased MDR1 expression was observed in GD-treated CRC cells.

CONCLUSION
These data indicate that GD promotes chemoresistance in CRC cells through up-regulating ATF4 expression.


This paper reviews the physiology of antidiuretic hormone, including the factors involving the formation, storage and release of the hormone, the metabolism of vasopressin and its physiologic and pharmacologic effects on water and electrolyte transport. The consequences of both deficiency and excess of the hormone are also discussed.


The unceasing growth of space debris led space agencies to develop prediction tools to simulate in orbit objects evolution. The French space agency (CNES) started in early 2012 to develop its own population evolution tool, MEDEE (Modelli ng the Evolution of Debris in the Earth Environment). This tool has been developed to realisticall y simulate the different orbital events contributing to the space objects evolution. Among them, we can name explosions and colli sions, natural and planned re-entries, and future launches. MEDEE is also able to simulate some mitigation measures to try to stabili ze the future near earth orbit for the next centuries, and de facto the in-orbit population evolution [1]. This paper has a double goal: it first details a new post processing method used to simulate active debris removal (ADR) with various parameters values, without any rerun of time-consuming Monte Carlo simulations usuall y needed to converge to a reliable statistical result. The validation process is also described. The second goal of this paper is to use this post-processing method so as to apply it to previous MEDEE runs with different objects selection methods. Effects on the in orbit population evolution with different ADR configurations will be analysed.


Epicardial fat is hormonally active tissue and has a direct impact on the myocardium state and coronary blood flow. The relationship of epicardial fat size and waist circumference with different clinical and metabolic parameters and coronary atherosclerosis severity in patients with ischemic heart disease is discussed.


The reported annual temperature increase and significant precipitation drop in Armenia impact the country's ecosystems and biodiversity. The present study surveyed the geographical distribution of the local wild beet species under the ongoing climate change conditions. We showed that B. lomatogona, B. corolliflora and B. macrorhiza are sensitive to climate change and were affected to various degrees, depending on their location. The most affected species was B. lomatogona, which is at the verge of extinction. Migration for ca. 90 and 200–300 m up the mountain belt was recorded for B. lomatogona and B. macrorhiza, respectively. B. corolliflora was found at 100–150 m lower altitudes than in the 1980s. A general reduction in the beet's population size in the native habitats was observed, with an increased number of plants within the populations, recorded for B. corolliflora and B. macrorhiza. A new natural hybrid Beta x intermedium Aloyan between B. corolliflora and B. macrorhiza was described and confirmed using chloroplast DNA trnL-trnF intergenic spacer (LF) and partially sequenced alcohol dehydrogenase (adh) of nuclear DNA. An overview of the wild beets reported in Armenia with the taxonomic background, morphological features, and distribution is provided. Conservation measures for preservation of these genetic resources are presented.


Based on the results of milk performance of lactating cows, 15 659 Black-and-White with varied addition of HF genes was evaluated in the course of lactation milk production depending on the length of the dry period before the full lactations investigated. Breast plotted curves according to selected groups of animals Wood's model. The average milk yield of ECM, the study population was: 6 573 kg of standard lactation and 7 063 kg in the lactation lasted an average of a full 352 days. It also showed that these cows, calving over the years 1995–2008 were marked by very high persistence of lactation. The average monthly decline in milk production after peak lactation was 3.52% (LPI = 31.7%). Of the four genetic groups rated highest in the persistence of lactation (the lowest rate of LPI) had a cow with the shortest period of the dry, less than 45 days in three groups of genes, Black-and-White animals which, in its genotype from 50.1 to 75% HF, from 75.1 HF to 99.9% and cows Polish Holstein-Friesian (100%). Monthly average daily milk yield decrease in ECM from 1 month of lactation, for these groups of animals ranged from 1.9% to 3.4%.


In the first half of the twentieth century Addison's literary critical and theoretical works were understood as early formulations of a literary aesthetics, as important theoretical statements on wit and imagination, as pioneering exercises in the analysis and sponsorship of vernacular literary texts, as influential popularisations of philosophical ideas. These writings have in recent decades however been less regularly a subject of attention. Indeed, in the 1980s and 1990s, Addison's essays in literary criticism and theory were often treated as though they were covert works of political ideology, as affirmations of 'a hierarchic Chain of Seeing'. This essay takes Addison at his literary-critical word. It stresses the epistemological, rather than the sensational, elements in Addison's critical theorising. In particular, it argues that Addison the critic was fundamentally concerned with recognisably Aristotelian pleasures of mimesis. As readers we take a double mimetic pleasure, not only from our recognition of literature's imitations of the natural world, but also from our recognition of the contextual particulars—political, historical, literary, discursive—which inform writings of earlier times.


Wartime changes in flour milling have been estimated to have more than doubled the intake of cereal fiber in England and Wales, Ireland, and Switzerland for periods of at least 6 years. These circumstances were used to test the hypothesis that cereal fiber inhibits colon carcinogenesis. Age-standardized rates for deaths attributed to bowel cancer were plotted from 1931 to the mid-1970s for England and Wales, Ireland, Switzerland, New Zealand, the US, and Australia. The ratio of the mortality rate observed 11 to 15 years after the change in extraction rates to that predicted from the prewar trend correlated with the increase in estimated cereal fiber consumption. The slope of the regression line suggested that any protective effect from cereal fiber was more modest than that inferred from other studies. The disparity between studies would be less if cereal fiber inhibited more than one stage of the process of carcinogenesis. Trends in six other countries with insufficient data for quantitative analysis were generally consistent (with the exception of those for Norway). The limitations of historical cause-of-death registrations as measures of cancer onset rates and the multiplicity of other changes during wartime require that our results be interpreted with caution.


Recent advances in the cryptographic field of "Zero-Knowledge Proofs" have sparked a new wave of research, giving birth to many exciting theoretical approaches in the last few years. Such research has often overlapped with the need for private and scalable solutions of Blockchain-based communities, resulting in the first practical implementations of such systems. Many of these innovative constructions have developed in parallel, using different terminologies and evolving into a fragmented ecosystem, calling for their consolidation into the more stable domain of "Verifiable Computation". In this master thesis I propose a unifying Verifiable Computation model for the simplification and efficient comparison of all cryptographic proof systems. I take advantage of this model to analyse innovative technologies (Homomorphic Authenticators, Verifiable Delay Functions) which developed into their own specialised domains, and I attempt to make them more accessible for newcomers to the field. Furthermore, I expand on the future of Verifiable Computation, Universal proof compilers and "Proofs of All", by approaching the state-of-the-art zk-STARK construction from a more accessible and informal design perspective.


We have developed a single-step method for the purification of NADP(+)-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase from Entamoeba histolytica and NAD(+)-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is based on the affinity for zinc of both enzymes. The amebic enzyme was purified almost 800 times with a recovery of 54% and the yeast enzyme was purified 30 times with a recovery of 100%. The kinetic constants of the purified enzymes were similar to those reported for other purification methods. With mammalian alcohol dehydrogenase, we obtained a 40-kDa band suggestive of purified alcohol dehydrogenase, but we failed to retain enzymatic activity in this preparation. Our results suggest that the described method is more applicable to the purification of tetrameric alcohol dehydrogenases.


Target tracking is an important application of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). A primary criterion of wireless sensor networks is the energy efficiency. This paper proposes a cluster-based approach for collaborative single target tracking in dense wireless sensor networks. In this approach, the sensor nodes collectively monitor and track the movement of the target. This involves detecting, clustering and localization of target. Detection of target is initiated by the phenomenon emitted by the target. Sensor nodes are dynamically clustered based on received signal strength. The function of leader sensor node is to compute the location of target, based on the information obtained from other sensor nodes in its cluster. An energy-based target localization algorithm is used to localize the target. This paper focuses on tracking error and energy management involved in tracking the target.


To determine the clinical characteristics and outcome of Nocardia infection in patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), we reviewed data on 28 episodes of Nocardia infection in 23 patients with CGD. All episodes involved pulmonary infection. The frequency of disseminated nocardiosis was 25% for the case series overall, but it was 56% among episodes in patients receiving neither interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) nor sulfonamide prophylaxis. Patients receiving prophylaxis with IFN-gamma and/or a sulfonamide were significantly less likely to have disseminated nocardiosis than were patients not receiving these medications, and no patient receiving both medications developed disseminated nocardiosis. One-third of the patients had concomitant fungal infections, and 2 patients had concomitant Legionella infections. The majority of patients were successfully treated with a sulfonamide-containing regimen, even though some patients had developed Nocardia infection while receiving sulfonamide prophylaxis. Nocardia infections in patients with CGD are not usually fatal if treated properly, and prophylaxis with IFN-gamma and a sulfonamide may protect against dissemination.


Rubber workers exposed to a hexamethylenetetramine-resorcinol (HR) adhesive system reported an excess of acute symptoms and significant reductions in expiratory flow rates at low lung volumes. Smokers exhibited greater reductions in flow rates than nonsmokers. The greatest reductions in ventilatory capacity were associated with HR exposure. There was a moderate association of reduced flow rates with respirable particulate in the HR exposed workers only.


ABSTRACT This paper examines the conditions of trustworthy science advice mechanisms, in which scientists have a mandated role to inform public policymaking. Based on the literature on epistemic trust and public trust in science, we argue that possession of relevant expertise, justified moral and political considerations, as well as proper institutional design are conditions for trustworthy science advice. In order to assess these conditions further, we explore the case of temporary advisory committees in Norway. These committees exemplify a de facto trusted and seemingly well-functioning science advice mechanism. Still, this mechanism turns out to poorly realize some central conditions of trustworthy science advice. From this we draw three lessons. Firstly, it remains crucial to distinguish between well-placed and de facto trust. Secondly, some conditions of trustworthy science advice seem more significant than others and there are thresholds for realizing each condition. Thirdly, not only does the institutional design and organization of science advice matter more than often recognized; the trust and trustworthiness of the broader social and political context and institutional environment make a difference as well.


Early diagnosis of hemochromatosis may prevent the numerous risks of iron overload. One of the most common early manifestations of this disease is arthropathy. The clinical and radiologic findings of hemochromatosis arthropathy are discussed. Diagnosis is suggested by simple laboratory tests and confirmed by liver biopsy with measurement of hepatic iron content. Treatment includes the removal of the excess body iron by phlebotomy. Unfortunately, symptoms of arthropathy tend to be resistant to phlebotomy.


In the era of increasingly modern technology as it a today industrial growth in the world is growing rapidly, the competition is getting tougher. One of the companies engaged on services, namely PT. Shinta VR. PT Shinta VR is engaged in serving and providing technology services for making learning videos in the field of education and as well as several types of games on interactive three dimensional form. Activities that have been running so far have shortcoming and weakness, especially in creating their product rating system, until now product assessment from customer data is still done manually or on writing. To overcome the problems that exist at PT.Shinta VR, the author intends to develop a website based product assessment application system as a VR product assessment system from customer data, product data and assessment data. The development model used is the Waterfall model. This application will describe the activities generated at each design stage. The result to be archived from this research is that the website application is able to manage customer data and assessment data more neatly, the conclusion of this study can help staff and admins optimize time and know that the system build can help staff and admins.


In humans, 80% of nicotine is metabolized to the inactive metabolite cotinine by the enzyme CYP2A6, which can also activate tobacco smoke procarcinogens (e.g., 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone). Previously, we demonstrated that individuals who are nicotine-dependent and have defective CYP2A6 alleles (*2, *3) smoked fewer cigarettes; however, we recognize that the genotyping method used for the CYP2A6*3 allele gave a high false-positive rate. In the current study we used improved genotyping methods to examine the effects of the defective CYP2A6*2 and CYP2A6*4 alleles on smoking behavior. We found that those with the defective alleles (N = 14) smoked fewer cigarettes per day than those homozygous (N = 277) for wild-type alleles (19 versus 28 cigarettes per day, P <.001). In addition, we identified a duplicated form of the CYP2A6 gene, corresponding to the gene deletion CYP2A6*4 allele, developed a genotyping assay, assessed the gene copy number, and examined its prevalence in Caucasian smokers (N = 296). We observed an ascending rank order for plasma cotinine and breath carbon monoxide levels (an index of smoke inhalation) in individuals with null (CYP2A6*2 and CYP2A6*4) alleles (N = 14), those homozygous for wild-type (CYP2A6*1/*1) alleles (N = 277), and those with our newly identified CYP2A6 gene duplication (N = 5). The phenotype, as determined by plasma nicotine/cotinine ratios, had a descending rank order for these three genotype groups that did not reach significance. Although further characterization is required for the duplication gene variant, these results extend our previous findings and suggest a substantial influence of CYP2A6 genotype and phenotype on smoking behavior.


Techniques to classify defects have been used for decades, providing relevant information on how to improve systems. Such techniques heavily rely on human experience and have been generalized to cover different types of systems at different maturity levels. However, their application to safety-critical systems development and operation phases neither is very common, or at least not spread publicly, nor disseminated in the industrial and academic worlds. This practical experience report presents the results and conclusions from applying a mature Orthogonal Defect Classification (ODC) to a large set of safety-critical issues. The work is based on the analysis of more than 240 real issues (defects) identified during all the lifecycle phases of 4 safety-critical systems in the aerospace and space domains. The outcomes reveal the challenges in properly classifying this specific type of issues with the broader ODC approach. The difficulties are identified and systematized and specific proposals for improvement are proposed.


The covid-19 pandemic affects all aspects of human life, including the economy. Investments, transactions, and other financial services got a surprising shock as the effects of the pandemic. However, as time goes by, the pandemic starts to re-normalize turning into a new normal. Even, some countries in the Asia Pacific commencing a new-normal life, like, China, South Korea, and Singapore. Despite the good news, it seems the grassroots is not fully recovered from the shock. Therefore we argue that the positive outlook may not give a lot of positive senses and confidence, hence skepticism in the economy persists, especially in economic growth, despite some aspects, such as international banks or financial institutions in Asia set an optimist target. Further, this paper would like to explain the Behavioral Political Economy perspective and the case of CIMB Group in Indonesia for capturing regional political economy explanation and analyzed the relation of grassroots condition and the target's positivism post the pandemic, as Indonesia is the second-largest market in the Asia Pacific and CIMB is one of the prominent universal bank groups in ASEAN and beyond.


Background It is imperative that an accurate assessment of risk of death is undertaken preoperatively on all patients undergoing an emergency laparotomy. Portsmouth-Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enumeration of Mortality and Morbidity (P-POSSUM) is one of the most widely used scores. National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) presents a novel, validated score, but no direct comparison with P-POSSUM exists. We aimed to determine which would be the best predictor of mortality. Methods We analysed all the entries on the online NELA database over a four-and-a-half-year period. The Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness of fit test was performed to assess model calibration. For the outcome of death and for each scoring system, a non-parametric receiver operator characteristic analysis was done. The sensitivity, specificity, area under receiver operator characteristic curve and their standard errors were calculated. Results Data pertaining to 650 patients were included. There were 59 deaths, giving an overall observed mortality rate of 9.1%. Predicted mortality rate for the P-POSSUM score and NELA score were 15.2% and 7.8%, respectively. The discriminative power for mortality was highest for the NELA score (C-index = 0.818, CI: 0.769–0.867, p < 0.001), when compared to P-POSSUM (C-index = 0.769, CI: 0.712–0.827, p < 0.001). Conclusions The NELA score showed good discrimination in predicting mortality in the entire cohort. The P-POSSUM over-predicted observed mortality and the NELA score under-predicted observed mortality.


Background:Despite the high prevalence of heart failure in low- and middle-income countries, evidence concerning patient-reported burden of disease in advanced heart failure is lacking. Objective:The aim of this study is to measure patient-reported symptom prevalence and correlates of symptom burden in patients with advanced heart failure. Methods:Adult patients diagnosed with New York heart Association (NYHA) stage III or IV heart failure were recruited from the emergency unit, emergency ward, cardiology ward, general medicine wards, and outpatient cardiology clinic of a public hospital in South Africa. Patients were interviewed by researchers using the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale–Short Form, a well-validated multidimensional instrument that assesses presence and distress of 32 symptoms. Results:A total of 230 patients (response, 99.1%), 90% NYHA III and 10% NYHA IV (12% newly diagnosed), with a mean age of 58 years, were included. Forty-five percent were women, 14% had completed high school, and 26% reported having no income. Mean Karnofsky Performance Status Score was 50%. Patients reported a mean of 19 symptoms. Physical symptoms with a high prevalence were shortness of breath (95.2%), feeling drowsy/tired (93.0%), and pain (91.3%). Psychological symptoms with a high prevalence were worrying (94.3%), feeling irritable (93.5%), and feeling sad (93.0%). Multivariate linear regression analyses, with total number of symptoms as dependent variable, showed no association between number of symptoms and gender, education, number of healthcare contacts in the last 3 months, years since diagnosis, or comorbidities. Increased number of symptoms was significantly associated with higher age (b = 0.054, P = .042), no income (b = −2.457, P = .013), and fewer hospitalizations in the last 12 months (b = −1.032, P = .017). Conclusions:Patients with advanced heart failure attending a medical center in South Africa experience high prevalence of symptoms and report high levels of burden associated with these symptoms. Improved compliance with national and global treatment recommendations could contribute to reduced symptom burden. Healthcare professionals should consider incorporating palliative care into the care for these patients.


An explanation is given of the application of the complex Bessel function series approximation model of the memoryless amplitude and phase characteristics of nonlinear devices. Confusion had arisen because of the choice of a value of a parameter in the approximating expression. The practice had been to choose this simply as though it was just an arbitrary constant which scales the input, or as an optimizing parameter in the effort to get a best fit of the approximation to the measured data. By examining the derivation of the particular approximation, a determining and important link between this parameter and the desired operating dynamic range of the nonlinear characteristic being approximated is shown. How values for this parameter are calculated in terms of input overdrive relative to device saturation is also shown. In examining the origin of the approximating expressions, an alternative and simpler derivation to that given by J.C. Fuenzalida et al. (1973) is presented that is based on the work of M.J. Eric et al. (1972). >


This paper outlines major theoretical and methodological problems in Quality of Work Life (QWL) research within organisational studies and discusses possible solutions, based on extensive literature analysis. An electronic search in the Scopus database found 1,244 publications utilising the QWL concept. From this sample we selected 387 papers dealing directly with QWL and compiled a final set of publications for detailed review. The literature analysis revealed the absence of a clear and concrete understanding of QWL, various (and often incomplete) approaches to QWL content and indicators and interference between QWL and other concepts such as 'job satisfaction', which all resulted in a general confusion about the notion in academic discussions. As a possible solution, we suggested distinguishing clearly and including the following in the single integrative research instrument: 1) an aggregate subjective QWL measurement tool and 2) an aggregate objective QWL measurement tool. Finally, we present arguments for a new understanding of QWL, combining subjective and objective measures in the context of a general integration between 'working conditions' and 'needs satisfaction' approaches.


Adnexal torsion of enlarged ovaries during early pregnancy is an infrequent but serious complication of menotropin therapy. Over 4 years, we encountered four cases of adnexal torsion among 648 menotropin-induced pregnancies. Multiple gestation may be a predisposing factor. The history of exogenous gonadotropin use, the acute clinical presentation, and the use of pelvic sonography facilitate the diagnosis. Although adnexectomy is well tolerated and pregnancy outcome is acceptable, future efforts should involve identifying preventive measures and more conservative means of therapy in these women


The term lament has become a household label in OT studies since Hermann Gunkel's 1933 groundbreaking work, Einleitung in die Psalmen. After seven decades of research into OT lament, the term now identifies, in contrast to classical English usage, an established genre that connotes significant theological implications. This article explores how English and German NT commentators pre- and post-Gunkel have appropriated this term in relation to a sampling of NT passages. In essence, it argues that NT commentators consistently label Matt 2:18, 23:37–39, Luke 13:34–35, 19:41–44, and 23:27–31 as laments while inadvertently overlooking Gunkel's form-critical contribution to biblical studies. This oversight has theological implications on these passages and results in an inconsistent interdisciplinary use of lament terminology between OT and NT scholars.


Carbohydrate ingestion before and during endurance exercise delays the onset of fatigue (reduced power output). Therefore, endurance athletes are recommended to ingest diets high in carbohydrate (70% of total energy) during competition and training. However, increasing the availability of plasma free fatty acids has been shown to slow the rate of muscle and liver glycogen depletion by promoting the utilization of fat. Ingested fat, in the form of long-chain (C16-22) triacylglycerols, is largely unavailable during acute exercise, but medium-chain (C8-10) triacylglycerols are rapidly absorbed and oxidized. We have shown that the ingestion of medium-chain triacylglycerols in combination with carbohydrate spares muscle carbohydrate stores during 2 h of submaximal (< 70% VO2 peak) cycling exercise, and improves 40 km time-trial performance. These data suggest that by combining carbohydrate and medium-chain triacylglycerols as a pre-exercise supplement and as a nutritional supplement during exercise, fat oxidation will be enhanced, and endogenous carbohydrate will be spared. We have also examined the chronic metabolic adaptations and effects on substrate utilization and endurance performance when athletes ingest a diet that is high in fat (> 70% by energy). Dietary fat adaptation for a period of at least 2-4 weeks has resulted in a nearly two-fold increase in resistance to fatigue during prolonged, low- to moderate-intensity cycling (< 70% VO2 peak). Moreover, preliminary studies suggest that mean cycling 20 km time-trial performance following prolonged submaximal exercise is enhanced by 80 s after dietary fat adaptation and 3 days of carbohydrate loading. Thus the relative contribution of fuel substrate to prolonged endurance activity may be modified by training, pre-exercise feeding, habitual diet, or by artificially altering the hormonal milieu or the availability of circulating fuels. The time course and dose-response of these effects on maximizing the oxidative contribution of fat for exercise metabolism and in exercise performance have not been systematically studied during moderate- to high-intensity exercise in humans.


Aerial Recovery of Micro Air Vehicles: Orbit Estimation and Tracking Daniel C. Carlson Department of Mechanical Engineering Master of Science Aerial recovery of autonomous micro air vehicles (MAVs) presents many unique challenges due to the difference in size and speed of the recovery vehicle and MAV. This thesis presents algorithms to enable an autonomous MAV to estimate the orbit of a recovery vehicle and track the orbit until the final docking phase. Methods for estimating ellipses that are rotated out of the x− y plane are developed and demonstrated through simulation. These algorithms are shown to be robust to noise and stable numerically. Parameter update methods that are computationally inexpensive, such as recursive least squares and Kalman filtering, are discussed and simulated. A discussion is given of orbit tracking algorithms for circular orbits, and these methods are expanded to include elliptical orbits. These algorithms enable the MAV to track the recovery vehicle's orbit, based on a vector field approach. The tracking algorithms are divided into lateral and longitudinal controllers that allow for tracking of inclined orbits. Finally, the hardware and software setup for live flight tests is discussed. Flight test results are given that validate the functionality of the orbit estimation and orbit tracking algorithms.


We develop a theoretical formulation for the large-scale dynamics of galaxy clusters involving two spherical 'isothermal fluids' coupled by their mutual gravity and derive asymptotic similarity solutions analytically. One of the fluids roughly approximates the massive dark matter halo, while the other describes the hot gas, the relatively small mass contribution from the galaxies being sub- sumed in the gas. By properly choosing the self-similar variables, it is possible to consistently transform the set of time-dependent two-fluid equations of spherical symmetry with self-gravity into a set of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs). We focus on the analytical analysis and discuss applications of the solutions to galaxy clusters.


The clinical diagnosis 'erosion' is made from characteristic deviations from the original anatomical tooth morphology, thus, distinguishing acid induced tissue loss from other forms of wear. Primary pathognomonic features are shallow concavities on smooth surfaces occurring coronal from the enamel-cementum junction. Problems from diagnosing occlusal surfaces and exposed dentine are discussed. Indices for recording erosive wear include morphological as well as quantitative criteria. Currently, various indices are used making the comparison of prevalence studies difficult. The most important and frequently used indices are described. In addition to recording erosive lesions, the assessment of progression is important as the indication of treatment measures depends on erosion activity. A number of evaluated and sensitive methods for in vitro and in situ approaches are available, but the fundamental problem for their clinical use is the lack of re-identifiable reference areas. Tools for clinical monitoring are described.


We analyze the performance of the randomized multiple- choice allocation process in the fixed density model. We show that the allocation process leads to O(log log n) expected maximal bin load when Theta(n) balls are allocated into n bins, where each ball is inserted into the less loaded bin among two bins chosen independently and according to two fixed but possibly different bounded probability densities. Other results are presented.


Background high in fiber that controls blood sugar levels. Currently, it is included in the Philippine National Unified Health Research Agenda for 2011–2016. The study will help patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus achieve optimal nutrition and prevent complications. Objectives To determine the effects of brown rice on the following parameters- Fasting Blood Glucose and Random Blood Glucose levels, Blood Pressure, Body Weight, and Body mass Index. Methods Using quasi-experimental design, subjects were purposively selected from Mandaluyong City (n=24). The inclusion criteria are: 25–60 years old, diagnosed with Type II DM within 1–3 years, and without complications. Subjects were divided and randomly assigned into two groups. The experimental group received Harvester's® brown rice and were asked to take 1 cup of brown rice per meal daily for 8 weeks. The non-equivalent comparison group remained to eat white rice using the same measurement for the same period. Monitoring and compliance were assessed using scheduled and unscheduled visits of at least twice a week. Using measuring devices, laboratory test, and monitoring tools, the effects of brown rice in the five parameters were measured- FBS and RBS levels, BP, body weight and BMI. Devices were calibrated before the tests. The differences between the two groups were tested across all parameters using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Z, Likelihood Chi- Square, and Paired Samples Student's t-test. Result Those who were given brown rice showed statistically significant decrease in FBS, RBS, body weight and BMI from pre-test to week 3, 5, 7 and post-test (p-values<0.05). The effects of brown rice is significant as early as week 3. Conclusion Brown rice is an effective dietary management for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetic patients must be informed to include brown rice in their diet. These results provide basis for nurses in providing health education regarding positive effects of brown rice.