This publication provides an overview, probably for the first time, of the wide range of the work of the goldsmith - from antiquity to the present day. This most precious of metals, so imbued with historical, cultural and social significance has been worked with great skill and creative expression for at least the past 5,000 years.The author explores and illustrates the connections between the worlds of painting, sculpure, architecture and the decorative arts as they apply to and influence the art of the goldsmith.Text in English.


Since completion of the Solar Two molten-salt power tower demonstration in 1999, the solar industry has been developing initial commercial-scale projects that are 3 to 14 times larger. Like Solar Two, these initial plants will power subcritical steam-Rankine cycles using molten salt with a temperature of 565 C. The main question explored in this study is whether there is significant economic benefit to develop future molten-salt plants that operate at a higher receiver outlet temperature. Higher temperatures would allow the use of supercritical steam cycles that achieve an improved efficiency relative to today's subcritical cycle ({approx}50% versus {approx}42%). The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of a 565 C subcritical baseline plant was compared with possible future-generation plants that operate at 600 or 650 C. The analysis suggests that {approx}8% reduction in LCOE can be expected by raising salt temperature to 650 C. However, most of that benefit can be achieved by raising the temperature to only 600 C. Several other important insights regarding possible next-generation power towers were also drawn: (1) the evaluation of receiver-tube materials that are capable of higher fluxes and temperatures, (2) suggested plant reliability improvements based on a detailed evaluation of the Solar Two experience, and (3) a thorough evaluation of analysis uncertainties.


Scientific Workflow Management Systems (SWfMS) have been helping scientists to prototype and execute in silico experiments. They can systematically collect provenance information for the derived data products to be later queried. Despite the efforts on building a standard Open Provenance Model (OPM), provenance is tightly coupled to SWfMS. Thus scientific workflow provenance concepts, representation and mechanisms are very heterogeneous, difficult to integrate and dependent on the SWfMS. To help comparing, integrating and analyzing scientific workflow provenance, this paper presents a taxonomy about provenance characteristics. Its classification enables computer scientists to distinguish between different perspectives of provenance and guide to a better understanding of provenance data in general. The analysis of existing approaches will assist us in managing provenance data from distributed heterogeneous workflow executions.


The current literature review provides a conceptual and empirical framework for understanding child institutional maltreatment. The challenges and vulnerabilities of children placed in alternative residential care are being addressed. Research findings highlight the adversities children experience within residential care. Evidently, although residential settings are meant to protect and promote the wellbeing of children in danger, they expose them to multiple risks including abusive experiences by peers and staff and eventually fuel the circle of abuse. Malpractices within care institutions include physically, psychologically and sexually abusive or neglectful practices. Non – institutional care is gradually gaining awareness along with the need to revolutionize family-based services.


Pregabalin is a structural analogue of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), one of the key inhibitory neurotransmitters in the brain. Its mode of action is believed to be mediated by the alpha-2-delta-1 subunit protein of voltage-gated calcium channels to bring about its anxiolytic, anticonvulsant and antinociceptive effects. Pregabalin has linear pharmacokinetics, undergoes minimal metabolism and is excreted largely unchanged. It has a mean elimination half-life of 6.3 hours. Pregabalin's anxiolytic activity in generalized anxiety disorder has been demonstrated in seven acute randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of four to eight weeks duration, and in one six-month relapse-prevention study at doses of 150-600 mg/day using twice-daily or three-times-daily regimes. The magnitude of pregabalin's anxiolytic effects was similar to that of alprazolam, lorazepam or venlafaxine. However, pregabalin had a more consistent effect on psychic and somatic anxiety factors than the active comparators. Its speed of onset was apparent within one week - similar to the benzodiazepines, but faster than that of venlafaxine. Moreover, pregabalin's anxiolytic effect was apparent in patients with moderate or severe baseline anxiety and high or low baseline severity of sub-syndromic depression. A long-term, 26-week, open-label study showed that pregabalin's anxiolytic effects were maintained, although the fixed-dose design may have contributed to a high attrition rate. Pregabalin showed less cognitive and psychomotor impairment than alprazolam, and it showed different effects on sleep architecture to the latter in terms of REM sleep latency and slow wave stage 3/4 sleep. The most frequently reported adverse events were dizziness and somnolence, although tolerance to these developed within a few weeks. Withdrawal symptoms during a one-week taper phase were mild and were similar after both acute and chronic administration.


Light field (LF) rendering is widely used in free viewpoint video systems (FVV). Different methods have been proposed to employ depth maps to improve the rendering quality. However, estimation of depth is often error-prone. In this paper, a new method based on the concept of effective sampling density (ESD) is proposed for evaluating the depth-based LF rendering algorithms at different levels of errors in the depth estimation. In addition, for a given rendering quality, we provide an estimation of number of rays required in the interpolation algorithm to compensate for the adverse effect caused by errors in depth maps. The proposed method is particularly useful in designing a rendering algorithm with inaccurate knowledge of depth to achieve the required rendering quality. Both the theoretical study and numerical simulations have verified the efficacy of the proposed method.


Cavernous haemangioma (CH) is a vascular malformation described as sinusoidal vascular channels
located within the neural tissue but lacking intervening neural elements. Although spinal cord is not a
frequent site for these lesions, the spinal cord cavernous haemangioma is currently encountered more
frequently with magnetic resonance imaging. Management of both symptomatic and asymptomatic
intramedullary cavernous haemangioma is a matter of debate as these lesions may cause a devastating
spinal cord dysfunction. We present a young patient with thoracic intramedullary cavernous
haemangioma who first presented with two episodes of transient paraparesis before he had a major
intramedullary bleeding that rendered him in paraparesis and incontinence. We emphasize to consider
early surgical resection as soon as possible to prevent potentially irreversible spinal cord damage
secondary to a large or recurrent small bleedings.


We report on the spontaneous formation of nano-sized ionic liquid/water (IL/W) emulsions in a simple system solely composed of an IL and aqueous solution of an inorganic salt. The IL ions play a dual role, that of both a surfactant and the dispersed phase. No extra surfactant is needed to promote emulsification. Droplets generation at the IL/W interface is captured by nanoparticulate and porous films that imprint the morphology of this unstable interface. The emulsion droplets are employed to create core-shell microcrystals with potential functionality.


The serine/threonine kinase Rho-kinase was recently identified as a downstream effector of the small GTPase Rho, mediating effects of Rho on the actin cytoskeleton. Also phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) has been implicated in the regulation of actin polymerization. As the synthesis of PI(4,5)P2 has been suggested to be affected by Rho proteins, we investigated whether Rho-kinase is involved in the control of PI(4,5)P2 levels. Overexpression of RhoA in HEK-293 cells increased phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI4P) 5-kinase activity and concomitantly enhanced cellular PI(4,5)P2 levels, whereas overexpression of the Rho-inactivating C3 transferase decreased both PI4P 5-kinase activity and PI(4,5)P2 levels. These effects of RhoA could be mimicked by overexpression of wild-type Rho-kinase and of the constitutively active catalytic domain of Rho-kinase, Rho-kinase-CAT. In contrast, a kinase-deficient mutant of Rho-kinase had no effect on PI4P 5-kinase activity. Importantly, the increase in PI4P 5-kinase activity and PI(4,5)P2 levels by wild-type Rho-kinase, but not by Rho-kinase-CAT, was completely prevented by coexpression of C3 transferase, indicating that the effect of Rho-kinase was under the control of endogenous Rho. In cell lysates, addition of recombinant RhoA and Rho-kinase-CAT stimulated PI4P 5-kinase activity. Finally, the increase in PI(4,5)P2 levels induced by both Rho-kinase-CAT and RhoA was reversed by the Rho-kinase inhibitor HA-1077. Our data suggest that Rho-kinase is involved in the Rho-controlled synthesis of PI(4,5)P2 by PI4P 5-kinase.


Sickle cell disease (SCD) is characterized by chronic hemolysis, inflammation, vascular dysfunction, and pain. Earlier we showed that mast cell activation contributes to neuroinflammation and pain and is accompanied by increased toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression on mast cells (Vincent et al., Blood 2013), and that genetic deletion of TLR4 ameliorates neurogenic inflammation and hyperalgesia in HbSS-BERK sickle mice. Several other studies have shown increased TLR4 expression in peripheral system and its involvement in sickle pathobiology. We propose that free heme, due to hemolysis, activates TLR4 in the central nervous system in addition to peripheral activation, which further exacerbates neuroinflammation and hyperalgesia. Spinal cords of HbSS-BERK sickle mice show 3-fold mRNA transcripts for TLR4 and a 2-fold increase in hemin as compared to the spinal cords of HbAA-BERK control mice. Therefore, targeting TLR4 with pharmacological inhibitors may provide a therapeutic approach to attenuate peripheral and central inflammation and hyperalgesia. In the present study we examined the potential of pharmacological inhibition of mast cell activation, neuroinflammation and hyperalgesia in HbSS-BERK sickle mice with TLR4 inhibitor, TAK242. Sickle mice were administrated intravenously with TLR4 inhibitor TAK242 (1 mg/kg body weight/day) for 5 days. Sensory testing was performed at baseline at recruitment and periodically during the 5-day treatment and for another 8 days after concluding the treatment to evaluate mechanical hyperalgesia with von Frey filaments, thermal hyperalgesia in response to heat/cold and grip force for musculoskeletal/deep tissue hyperalgesia. Following the 5-day treatment with TAK242, release of cytokines, tryptase (marker of mast cell activation) and substance P released from skin biopsies and spinal cords were analyzed by ELISA. TAK242 significantly decreased the release of tryptase (TAK242: 5.178 ± 0.7613 pg/ml vs vehicle: 8.801 ± 0.9403 pg/ml, p = 0.0181), substance P (TAK242: 11.56 ± 1.945 pg/ml vs vehicle: 25.51 ± 4.283 pg/ml, p = 0.018), and IL-6 (TAK242: 15.59 ± 0.4541 pg/ml vs vehicle: 29.74 ± 0.8249 pg/ml, p = 0.0045) from skin biopsies, suggesting that TAK242 reduced SCD-induced mast cell activation and inflammation. TAK242 also significantly decreased substance P (TAK242: 0.7198 ± 0.0587 pg/mg vs vehicle: 0.931 ± 0.0676 pg/mg, p = 0.0462) and phosphorylation of p38/MAPK (p = 0.0184) in the spinal cord, as well as dorsal cutaneous blood flow (TAK242: 6.392 ± 0.3857 PU vs vehicle: 12.32 ± 0.5575 PU, p < 0.0001), indicating that TAK242 ameliorated SCD-evoked central and peripheral activation of inflammation and nociceptive mechanisms. Furthermore, TAK242 administration gradually reduced the mechanical, deep tissue, and thermal hyperalgesia upto 5-day treatment (p < 0.01, vs vehicle HbSS). However, discontinuation of treatment led to a gradual increase in hyperalgesia observed upto day-8 post-treatment. TAK242 also significantly decreased acute pain induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation and accelerated recovery from injury of hypoxia/reoxygenation. These data reveal the significant therapeutic effect of pharmacological inhibition of TLR4 on inflammation and hyperalgesia in sickle mice. Therapies targeting TLR4 inhibition may be potentially beneficial in ameliorating sickle pathobiology and pain.

Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


For over forty years Perry Anderson, has been one of the most influential figures on the intellectual Left. Through his writings, his publishing, his editing of New Left Review, and teaching at UCLA, he has introduced and disseminated a range of European Marxist opinion to the English speaking world: Deutscher, Gramsci, Sartre, Lukacs, Althusser, Poulantzas, to name a few. His own books are seminal contributions to political theory. This survey of Anderson's works explores a myriad of political writings, considers the evolution of an influential current of New Left thinking from the 1960's onwards, and reviews its engagement with critical theorists such as Brenner, Fukuyama and Jameson.


Introduction: Quality improvement and patient safety (QIPS) activities in healthcare have become increasingly important, but it is unclear what the current national landscape is with regards to how individual EM departments are supporting QIPS activities and evaluating their success and sustainability. We sought to assess how Canadian medical school EM departments/divisions and major Canadian teaching hospitals approach QIPS programs and efforts, with regards to training, available infrastructure, education, scholarly activities, and perceived needs. Methods: We developed 2 electronic surveys through expert panel consensus to assess important themes identified by the CAEP QIPS Committee, including a)formal training/skill capacity; b)operational infrastructure; c)educational activities; d)academic and scholarship, and e)perceived gaps and needs. Surveys were pilot-tested and revised by authors. "Survey 1" (21 questions) was sent by email to all 17 Canadian medical school affiliated EM Department Chairs and Academic Hospitals Department Chiefs; "Survey 2" (33 questions) to 11 identified local QIPS leads in these hospitals. This was followed by 2 monthly email reminders to participate in the survey. We present descriptive statistics including proportions, means, medians and ranges where appropriate. Results: 22/70 (31.4%) Department Chairs/Chiefs completed Survey 1. Most (81.8%) reported formal positions dedicated to QIPS activities within their groups, with a mixed funding model. Less than half of these positions have dedicated logistical support. 11/12 (91.7%) local QIPS leads completed Survey 2. Two-thirds (63.6%) reported explicit QIPS topics within residency curricula, but only 9.1% described QIPS training for staff physicians. 45% of respondents described successful academic scholarship output, with the total number of peer-reviewed QIPS-related publications per center ranging from 1-10 over the past 5 years. A minority of participants reported access to academic supports: methodologists (27.3%), administrative personnel (27.3%), and statisticians (9.1%). Conclusion: This environmental scan provides a snapshot of QIPS activities in EM across academic centers in Canada. We found significant local educational and academic efforts, although there is a discrepancy between the level of formal support/infrastructure and such activities. There remains opportunity to further advance QIPS efforts on a national level, as well as advocating and supporting local QIPS activities.


Spatial variations in the essential aquifer parameters obtained through regular aquifer tests were evaluated for some aquifers of the Neoproterozoic sedimentary aquifers of the Voltaian Basin. Ordinary least squares regression models have also been developed to relate aquifer transmissivity and specific capacity, and well yield and transmissivity. These analyses suggest that in the northern parts of the Voltaian, aquifer transmissivity exists in a non-linear relationship with specific capacity and yield. This is in keeping with the findings of previous research in the southern part of the Voltaian, and deviates from the regular Dupuit-Thiem relationship between the two major aquifer parameters. Lithology specific models have been developed in this study. The exponent of the non-linear models appears to be related to the lithology, and tends to approach unity in the mudstone and siltstone aquifers, whilst manifesting obvious departures from nonlinearity amongst the sandstone aquifers. This study finds that the sandstone aquifers are the most prolific and offer themselves as the best lithologies for drilling successful wells in the area. Linear prediction maps suggest that the most prolific aquifers are located in the northern parts of the study area, where aquifer transmissivity, specific capacity, and well yield values are quite high due to enhanced secondary permeabilities. There has been no obvious relationship between the major aquifer parameters and static water levels, which are quite high in the middle and western sections of the study area. The hydrogeological properties of rocks within the Voltaian appear to be based on discrete structural entities which manifest high variability in the study area. Even within the same lithology, standard deviations are quite high in the data for all the aquifer parameters examined in this study.


The mechanical and electrical properties of beam-cantilever microdevices fabricated from cold-rolled NiTi sheets and sputter-deposited NiTi thin films have been investigated by beam-bending experiments and electrical resistance measurements, respectively. In order to study possible size effects on the martensitic transformation, different device thicknesses have been realized down to grain dimensions of the NiTi sheets of about 20 μm, revealing enhanced transformation hystereses. For actuation control by resistive heating, the achievable displacements and work outputs were determined by the cross-section-dependent heat transfer to the device regions of maximum strain. Optimum heating/cooling performance and hysteresis control have been achieved for NiTi thin film devices with R-phase transformation above room-temperature. In order to demonstrate the potential of the microdevices for actuator applications, prototypes of membrane microvalves have been realised and tested.


Multiform glioblastoma (GBM) is by far the most malignant form
of primary brain tumors with limited therapeutic options.
Median survival is estimated approximately to 12 months with
less than 25% of patients surviving up to 2 years after
diagnosis and less than 10% surviving up to 5 years. Despite
great efforts, standard therapy based on neurosurgery, chemo-
and radiotherapy fails. GBM tumors often avoid immune
surveillance by inhibition of infiltrating immune cells by
paracrine signaling. Among these factors, proteins of TGFb
family are highly involved. In this study, we focused on
expression of TGFbeta1-3, BMP-7, BMP-9, GDF-15 and other growth
factors, immunomodulators or tumor-associated genes in samples
of patients newly diagnosed for GBM. These samples were
analyzed by quantitative PCR and normalized either to control,
healthy brain tissue, or non-malignant disease. We found
significant change of expression several genes of TGFbeta
family that correlates with development of malignant disease.
This study can contribute to better understanding of the strong
immune suppressive phenomenon in GBM patients. This study is
supported by IGA9875-4 of Ministry of Health of the Czech
Republic.


The study aimed to describe how multi-age education is implemented in Brainworks School from the perspectives of teachers, pupils, students and parents. It used a qualitative research design in approaching the study"s objectives. The theoretical and conceptual framework formed the basis of the prepared interview guide and observation guide. In addition to interviews, classroom observations were made. Finally, official school documents were analyzed. Results showed that teachers and students viewed multi-age education as an alternative learning system because it encourages personalized teaching, peer teaching and cooperative learning as different from teaching and learning in most conventional schools. Analysis of documents showed that parents viewed multi-aged education as a system where their children receive personalized, non-traditional education as very different from their children"s previous schools. A new theoretical understanding to multi-age education is established in this study. In the Brainworks School; the parents expect and look for alternative ways of educating their children, the teachers are well-trained in using these alternative ways of teaching, and that the children grew accustomed to and sought more of these alternative ways of learning.


Brassica oleracae var. C. green cabbage, a herbaceous biennial plant with leaves that form a compact head, is an edible vegetable used historically as a medicinal herb for a variety of purported health benefits. The aim of the study was to evaluate the antibacterial activities of ethanolic and methanolic leaf extracts of Brassica oleracae var. C. against clinical isolates of pathogenic bacteria ( S. aureus , E. coli , K. pneumonia and P. aeruginosa ) by agar well diffusion method. The extraction was carried out by cold marceration and qualitative phytochemical analysis was conducted. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids and reducing sugars. The ethanolic and methanolic extracts demonstrated a concentration-dependent antibacterial activity against S.aureus , E.coli , and P. aeruginosa . In conclusion, the ethanolic and methanolic extracts of B. oleracae demonstrated antibacterial activities and these findings could contribute to effective use of the plant. Keywords: Antibacterial, Brassica oleracae , Clinical isolates, Multi-drug resistant, Phytochemical constituents


Background: Comminuted intra-articular fractures of distal radius often result in a painful, stiff, dysfunctional wrist. They may be treated by external fixators or by closed reduction and plaster. Methods: Fifty-five patients of comminuted, intra-articular fractures of distal radius were treated randomly either by closed reduction and plaster immobilisation or by external fixation. The radiological results, functional results and complications in both the groups were analyzed. Results: The outcome of external fixation was significantly better as compared to cast immobilization (p Conclusion: We conclude from this study that external fixator is a better modality of treatment as compared to plaster cast immobilization for intra-articular distal radial fractures. It is also reliable in maintaining the reduction of unstable fractures however it is inadequate in attaining anatomical reduction in many cases when used exclusively. Complications of external fixation, although less frequent than cast immobilization, are potentially serious in nature.


We describe long–term clinical and echocardiographic follow–up in the largest single center cohort of patients underwent aortic valve replacement (AVR) with sutureless Perceval (CorCym, Italy) bioprosthesis.

 Between March 2011 and September 2022, 1237 patients underwent AVR with Perceval bioprosthesis implantation. Mean age was 78 ± 4 years and mean EuroSCORE II was 6.9 ± 2.8%. Concomitant procedures were performed in 272 patients (22%).

 Thirty–day mortality was 1.37% (17/1237). 890 of 951 (93.5%) isolated AVR underwent minimally invasive surgery with a ministernotomy (n = 221) or right minithoracotomy (n = 669) approach. Cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross–clamp times were 80.6 ± 21.5 and 50.1 ± 10.5 minutes for isolated AVR and 145.8 ± 33.6 and 95.8 ± 20.7 minutes for combined procedures. At mean follow–up of 55.09 ± 6.7 months (range: 1–138.5 months), survival was 95.4% and mean transvalvular pressure gradient was 13.3 ± 4.2 mmHg. LV mass decreased from 153.5 g/m2 to 114.6 g/m2 (p< 0.001) and moderate paravalvular leakage occurred in 3 patients without hemolysis not requiring any treatment. Freedom from reoperation was 97.4%. Nine patients required surgical reintervention and 21 patients transcatheter valve–in–valve procedure for structural prosthesis degeneration at mean of 6.3 years after first operation (range: 2–10 years).

 AVR with Perceval bioprosthesis is associated with good clinical results and excellent hemodynamic performance in our eleven–years experience. Structural degeneration rate of Perceval is comparable with others bioprosthetic aortic valve. Sutureless technology may reduce operative time especially in combined procedures and enable minimally invasive AVR.


Wisdom is a special kind of virtue. It is not to be identified with any outstanding cognitive ability—like having a prodigious memory or knowing a lot. Rather it consists in seeing what is most important and most valuable, either within a particular domain or in life as a whole. In the life of a wise person, that insight should be accompanied by traits of character, enabling the person to pursue what is seen as valuable. Viewing wisdom as a capacity for synthetic understanding, I argue for the need for philosophy, even at a time when all of us have much to learn from the sciences.


[1] Real-time forecasts of PM2.5 aerosol mass from seven air quality forecast models (AQFMs) are statistically evaluated against observations collected in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada from two surface networks and aircraft data during the summer of 2004 International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT)/New England Air Quality Study (NEAQS) field campaign. The AIRNOW surface network is used to evaluate PM2.5 aerosol mass, the U.S. EPA STN network is used for PM2.5 aerosol composition comparisons, and aerosol size distribution and composition measured from the NOAA P-3 aircraft are also compared. Statistics based on midday 8-hour averages, as well as 24-hour averages are evaluated against the AIRNOW surface network. When the 8-hour average PM2.5 statistics are compared against equivalent ozone statistics for each model, the analysis shows that PM2.5 forecasts possess nearly equivalent correlation, less bias, and better skill relative to the corresponding ozone forecasts. An analysis of the diurnal variability shows that most models do not reproduce the observed diurnal cycle at urban and suburban monitor locations, particularly during the nighttime to early morning transition. While observations show median rural PM2.5 levels similar to urban and suburban values, the models display noticeably smaller rural/urban PM2.5 ratios. The ensemble PM2.5 forecast, created by combining six separate forecasts with equal weighting, is also evaluated and shown to yield the best possible forecast in terms of the statistical measures considered. The comparisons of PM2.5 composition with NOAA P-3 aircraft data reveals two important features: (1) The organic component of PM2.5 is significantly underpredicted by all the AQFMs and (2) those models that include aqueous phase oxidation of SO2 to sulfate in clouds overpredict sulfate levels while those AQFMs that do not include this transformation mechanism underpredict sulfate. Errors in PM2.5 ammonium levels tend to correlate directly with errors in sulfate. Comparisons of PM2.5 composition with the U.S. EPA STN network for three of the AQFMs show that sulfate biases are consistently lower at the surface than aloft. Recommendations for further research and analysis to help improve PM2.5 forecasts are also provided.


Notch signaling has been implicated in the inhibition of oligodendrocyte differentiation and myelin gene expression during early development. However, inactivation of a particular Notch or Hes gene only produces a mild phenotype in oligodendrocyte development possibly due to the functional redundancies among closely related family members. To uncover the full role of Notch signaling in myelin development and regeneration, we generated the Sox10rtTA/+; TetO‐dnMAML1 double transgenic mice in which expression of dominant negative Master‐mind 1 (dnMAML1) gene can be selectively induced in oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) for complete blockade of Notch signaling. It is found that dnMAML1 expression leads to robust precocious OL differentiation and premature axonal myelination in the spinal cord, possibly by upregulating Nkx2.2 and downregulating Pdgfra expression. Unexpectedly, at late embryonic stages, dnMAML1 expression dramatically increased the number of OPCs, indicating a stage‐dependent effect of Notch signaling on OPC proliferation. In addition, dnMAML1 also significantly enhances axonal remyelination following chemical‐induced demyelination, providing a promising therapeutic target for lesion repair in demyelinating disease.


Research on agricultural value chains can identify strategies for farmers to improve their incomes and livelihood security. The trend in such research, however, has often been to focus on making the chains more effective and efficient via improvements in the relationships between chain actors. Value-chain research has less frequently been applied to the seed sector in identifying how plant breeding can best produce seeds that generate a product with the quality characteristics demanded by output markets. In this article, we report on a research initiative to support maize-seed improvement for the central highlands of Mexico. The research was designed to identify quality traits, demanded in regional maize markets, to add to the list of targeted traits which typically guide plant breeding. We report on the methodological approach and the research findings. We then discuss how these findings are being integrated into ongoing maize-breeding programs for the central highlands of Mexico. We suggest that a value-chain analysis can provide useful guidance to crop-breeding programs, providing plant breeders with information on agronomic characteristics required by producers and quality traits demanded by the market.


The brain is not only a control center of the body but also a part of the way that the body can communicate with external environments. The spatial and temporal events of brain development are well-defined. These processes are sequentially regulated by intrinsic and external factors, such as gene. Disruption of these steps results in malformation and malfunction of the brain. Neurotoxin may affect our developing nervous system as a kind of endogenous and exogenous factor. For classical neurotoxins, such as heavy metals, snake venom, and bacterial toxins, the underlying toxin-mediated physiological pathways are relatively clear, and their antidotes are usually available. However, for atypical neurotoxins, such as air pollutants, food additives, and manufactural compounds, their effects on the nervous system are ordinarily extended and not easy to detect. In addition, the corresponding mechanism is too complex to define. A single and effective antidote against these atypical neurotoxins is uncommon, so prevention is better than cure with this kind of toxin. This chapter starts with the introduction of endogenous and exogenous neurotoxins, how they affect nervous system and their potential antidotes, followed by the impact of atypical neurotoxins in fetal brain development and their possible preventative or therapeutic methods.


Reforming public sector institutions and rethinking the roles of government as agents of change by making their respective states and the environment a better place to live in, are considered to be the significant actions that governments in the post-recession era must undertake. The question is: what can governments do to place their countries on a recovery and high-growth path in the post-2009 recession period? Governments should tailor-make strategies to reform their institutions not only to be effective and efficient in resuscitating, improving and sustaining national economic development, but in accelerating sustained service delivery.


In the past several years there has been a marked increase in our understanding of the pathophysiological hallmarks of glioblastoma development and progression, with specific respect to the contribution of the glioma tumor microenvironment to the rapid progression and treatment resistance of high-grade gliomas. Despite these strides, standard of care therapy still only targets rapidly dividing tumor cells in the glioma, and does little to curb the pro-tumorigenic functions of non-cancerous cells entrenched in the glioma microenvironment. This tumor promoting environment as well as the heterogeneity of high-grade gliomas contribute to the poor prognosis of this malignancy. The interaction of non-malignant cells in the microenvironment with the tumor cells accentuate phenotypes such as rapid proliferation or immunosuppression, so therapeutically modulating one target expressed on one cell type may be insufficient to restrain these rapidly developing neoplasias. With this in mind, identifying a target expressed on multiple cell types and understanding how it governs tumor-promoting functions in each cell type may have great utility in better managing this disease. Herein, we review the physiology and pathological effects of Neuropilin-1, a transmembrane co-receptor which mediates signal transduction pathways when associated with multiple other receptors. We discuss its effects on the properties of endothelial cells and on immune cell types within gliomas including glioma-associated macrophages, microglia, cytotoxic T cells and T regulatory cells. We also consider its effects when elaborated on the surface of tumor cells with respect to proliferation, stemness and treatment resistance, and review attempts to target Neuroplin-1 in the clinical setting.


Problems encountered in fields like scheduling, assignment, vehicle routing are mostly NPhard. These problems need efficient solution procedures. If confronted with an NP-hard problem, one may have three ways to go: one chooses to apply an enumerative method that yields an optimum solution, or apply an approximation algorithm that runs in polynomial time, or one resorts to some type of heuristic technique without any a priori guarantee for quality of solution and time of computing (Aarts & Lenstra, 2003). Heuristics fall under the general heading of local search approaches. Hence, local search techniques are widely used to find "close-to-optimum" solutions to these problems in a "reasonable" amount of time. Tabu search (TS) is one of the most efficient heuristic techniques in the sense that it finds quality solutions in relatively short running time. This chapter will provide a basic description of TS giving insights for novice readers as well as introduce application areas and provide comparisons of TS to other meta-heuristic procedures for the readers with more experience on local search procedures. The chapter will be organized as follows: The second section is going to introduce the basic terminology. For example, definitions for global optimization, local search, heuristics, and meta-heuristics will be provided. The section will also provide brief descriptions of TS as well as the following meta-heuristics to which TS will be compared: simulated annealing (SA), genetic algorithms (GA), ant colony optimization (ACO), greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP), and particle swarm optimization (PSO). Second section is intended to give the readers a good overall view of the "local search" area and let them know that TS will be compared to several other meta-heuristic procedures. In the third section, basic steps of TS, SA, GA, ACO, GRASP and PSO will be described. As the mechanisms of these procedures are explained, differences and similarities between TS and each of the other procedures will be pointed out. Section three will familiarize the readers with the various meta-heuristic procedures that will be discussed throughout the chapter. The fourth section will be dedicated to identifying the different problems for which TS was used to generate solutions. For example; TS has been used to solve scheduling problems, routing problems, and assignment problems. We will try to generate a comprehensive list of the problems to which TS has been applied. This section will provide the reader with an understanding of how TS has been used. In the fifth section, efficiency and effectiveness of TS will be compared to other metaheuristic procedures. Reasons why TS is more efficient and/or effective than some of the O pe n A cc es s D at ab as e w w w .ite ch on lin e. co m


The authors' results from the in vitro and in vivo kidney preparations with blood perfusion changes introduced purposely, and from in vivo canine thighs having blood perfusion changes resulting from thermally induced vasodilation demonstrate the following. First, a multi-input, multi-output, distributed parameter hyperthermia system can be controlled as a set of decoupled, single-input, single-output, non-distributed systems using the multi-point controller described. Second, that the multi-point controller appears to be quite robust, and can successfully compensate for both changes in reference temperature and blood perfusion, the two major variables in hyperthermia treatments. Third, the multi-blood controller can successfully create a relatively uniform plateau of controlled therapeutic temperatures inside the scanned region, with a rapid temperature fall off outside that volume.


We propose a nonparametric and Bayesian method for reconstructing dynamic Positron Emission Tomography (PET) images from clinical data. PET is a nuclear medicine imaging modality that uses molecules labeled with a positron emitting radionuclide. It is then possible to image in vivo molecular interactions of biological processes. Our approach is non-parametric in the sense that the image representing the 4D (3D+t) activity distribution is viewed as a probability density on R3 × R+ and inferred directly from the data, without any prior space or time discretization. Being nonparametric, we do not pre-assume any particular functional form for this space-time distribution. Formulating the nonparametric problem in the Bayesian framework allows to characterize the entire 4D distribution of the unknown. Furthermore, this framework allows to access directly to the reconstruction error. The ability of the proposed model is assessed using data from clinical studies and we evaluate its performance against the conventional independent time-frame reconstruction approach using the maximum likelihood algorithm (ML-EM).


Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) has an effect, either directly or indirectly, on the neural processing of auditory stimuli. Physiological measures are needed to accurately identify and assess ANSD. Sound processing in patients with ANSD is highly variable, and relationships between hearing sensitivity and ability to process speech do not follow the typical hearing loss rules. Auditory function may show changes over time, with progression or fluctuation, or may remain stable. Considerable variation in presentation is observed across patients of all ages and includes milder forms of ANSD. Based on these observations, management should proceed with thorough assessment of individual capabilities. It is important to distinguish between detection (sensitivity) and discrimination of sound, especially in noise, when evaluating function and benefit from various forms of management. Visual information is important for most patients and cochlear implants provide significant benefit when that option is selected. As the understanding of ANSD and the inherent variation among patients advances, the knowledge and methods that we bring to our clinical practices should allow us to more accurately characterize function and implement appropriate management.


In the learning process, the gamification strategy plays an important role in determining the achievement of learning objectives. Learning objectives will be achieved if students are able to engage in active communication both with their peers, facilitators, and with other learning resources. Characteristics of entrepreneurship courses include understanding and appreciation of entrepreneurship, the role of entrepreneurial mental attitude for self-improvement and institutions with core entrepreneurial spirit and entrepreneurial mental attitude through the introduction of entrepreneurial characteristics, growing business interest and tips on successful entrepreneurs, making business plans and making business plans. The aim of entrepreneurship courses is to provide students with an understanding and appreciation of entrepreneurship that is increasingly felt important in the face of globalization. entrepreneurship several links (1) gamification strategies can provide choices and control to students when making a plant business project, (2) gamification strategies can foster confidence in their ability to face and solve challenges, (3) gamification strategies provide material and key answers to entrepreneurship courses, (4) give appreciation for the additional learning taken, and (5) help students establish social interaction through leadership activities or other social interactions. This development research seeks to design a gamification strategy in entrepreneurship courses in the Indonesian Language and Literature Study Program, FKIP UNISDA Lamongan. The Gamification Strategy developed has four basic game components, namely the rules of gamification, feedback (leaderboards, prizes, and medals), goals, and challenges. This research includes the type of development research that uses the Lee and Owl model with the following stages, (1) analyzing needs, (2) pre-test and post-test analysis, (3) design, (4) development, (5) implementation, (6) evaluation. Results of developing a gamification strategy package (1) gamification strategy (2) Lecturer guidance (3) student guide (4) Entrepreneurship book.


Amorphous titania samples prepared by ammonia solution neutralization of titanyl sulphate have been characterized by chemical and thermal analyses, and with reciprocal-space and real-space fitting of wide-angle synchrotron X-ray scattering data. A model that fits both the chemical and structural data comprises small segments of lepidocrocite-type layer that are offset by corner-sharing as in the monoclinic titanic acids H2TinO2n+1·mH2O. The amorphous phase composition that best fits the combined chemical and scattering data is [(NH4)3H21Ti20O52]·14H2O, where the formula within the brackets is the cluster composition and the H2O outside the brackets is physically adsorbed. The NH4+ cations are an integral part of the clusters and are bonded to layer anions at the corners of the offset layers, as occurs in the alkali metal stepped-layer titanates. The stepped-layer model is shown to give a consistent mechanism for the reaction of aqueous ammonia with solid hydrated titanyl sulphate, in which the amorphous product retains the exact size and shape of the reacting titanyl sulphate crystals.


Interaction of radiation emitted or reflected by the ground with the atmospheric constituents gives rise to trouble when remote sensing of the Earth is attempted. In fact atmospheric gases and aerosols are responsible for radiation absorption and scattering; due to these phenomena the radiation field observed by any remote sensing imaging system holds features originated not only by the ground, but also by the atmospheric constituents themselves. Features introduced by the atmosphere must be removed (atmospheric correction), when the retrieval of ground parameters is the main goal of observations. On the other hand they can also be used for extraction of information concerning those atmospheric constituents which originated them. The authors have tried to carry out atmospheric mapping by using the O/sub 2/ band at 0.76 mm and the H/sub 2/O band at 0.94 mm. The utilised band parameters have been the central depth normalised to the continuum intensity, the full-width at half maximum and the band area. The effect of the atmospheric scattering on this kind of band measurements has been investigated. The authors have used the computer code MODTRAN in order to evaluate the ground reflected radiance and the path scattered radiance. Images utilised for the paper have been acquired by the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) over Cuprite (USA) and over Messina (Italy).


Volume 7, Issue 3, May – June 2018 Page 32 Abstract: Bluetooth is a mature technology for a variety of personal computing devices, which are interconnected to form a wireless personal area networks (WPANs). The topology of the WPAN is known as scatternet, which consists of the portable Bluetooth devices. This paper presents a proposed mobility model for the portable Bluetooth devices. Based on the mobility model a dynamic scatternet formation is developed for WPANs that interconnects portable Bluetooth devices. The proposed approach constructs a scatternet within three phases: scatternet backbone formation, device movement detection, and scatternet reformation. Finally, the paper demonstrates the approach with a practical case and then discusses the topics for further study.


We quantify the degree of fine tuning required to achieve an observationally viable period of inflation in the strongly dissipative regime of warm inflation. The ``fine-tuning'' parameter $\lambda$ is taken to be the ratio of the change in the height of the potential $\Delta V$ to the change in the scalar field $(\Delta \phi)^{4}$, i.e. the width of the potential, and therefore measures the requisite degree of flatness in the potential. The best motivated warm inflationary scenarios involve a dissipation rate of the kind $\Gamma\propto T^c$ with $c\geq 0$, and for all such cases, the bounds on $\lambda$ are tighter than those for standard cold inflation by at least 3 orders of magnitude. In other words, these models require an even flatter potential than standard inflation. On the other hand for the case of warm inflation with $c<0$, we find that in a strongly dissipative regime the bound on $\lambda$ can significantly weaken with respect to cold inflation. Thus, if a warm inflation model can be constructed in a strongly dissipative, negatively temperature-dependent regime, it accommodates steeper potentials otherwise ruled out in standard inflation.


1. A large-scale purification of the nitrogenase components from Azotobacter chroococcum yielded two non-haem iron proteins, both of which were necessary for nitrogenase activity and each had a specific activity of approximately 2000 +/- 300 nmol of acetylene reduced/mg protein per min in the presence of sautrating amounts of the other. This procedure freed the Mo-Fe protein from a protein contaminant which had an electron paramagnetic resonance signal at g = 1.94. 2. Both proteins were purified to homogeneity as determined by disc gel electrophoresis and ultracentrifugal analysis. Both proteins were oxygen-sensitive but not cold-labile. Ultracentrifugal analysis indicated that both proteins dissociated to a slight degree at concentrations below 2 mg/ml. 3. The larger of the two proteins had a molecular weight of 227 000 and contained 1.9 +/- 0.3 atoms of Mo, 23 +/- 2 atoms of Fe, 20 +/- 2 acid-labile sulphide and 47 tryptophan residues/mol. The protein consists of 4 subunits of mol. wt 60 000 (approx.). The reduced protein showed electron paramagmetic resonance signals at g = 4.29, 3.65 and 2.013 but not in the area of g = 5 to 6. Upon oxidation abosrbance increased throughout the visible region of the ultraviolet visible spectrum, with a maximum difference between oxidised and reduced protein occurring at 430 nm. 4. The smaller protein had a molecular weight of 64 000 and contained 4 g-atoms of Fe and 4 acid-labile sulphide groups/mol but no tryptophan. It had two subunits of mol. wt 30 800. The reduced protein showed electron paramagnetic resonance signhe protein retained almost full activity after oxidation with phenazine methosulphate. The ultraviolet visible spectrum of oxidised protein was clearly different from that of the oxygen-inactivated protein: it had a sharp peak at 269 nm and a broad absorbance between 340 and 470 nm with a maximum difference between oxidised and reduced forms at 430 nm. Oxygen-inactivated protein showed a sharp peak at 277.5 nm and broad peaks from 305 to 360, 400 to 425 and 435 to 475 nm. 5. Amino acid analyses of both proteins showed that most common amino acids were present with a preponderance of acidic residues. Analyses of compositional relatedness showed that the nitrogenase proteins from A. chroococcum were most closely related to those from A. vinelandii and least so to those from Clostridium pasteurianum.


Integration politics—the networks of policies, institutions, discourses, and initiatives to facilitate the incorporation of immigrants—is not a single discourse or policy, but rather an apparatus of governmentality with great scale and scope. An integrative apparatus is pervasive and affects all national subjects. Analysis of the debates about the 2016 integration law shows that an integrative apparatus is not new, but that various elements of an integrative apparatus emerged in the context of guest worker migration. This apparatus is built upon a racialized hierarchy of subjects and expends significant energy to hide the development of a racialized underclass in Germany.


Thank you for downloading star style hollywood legends as fashion icons. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have search hundreds times for their chosen books like this star style hollywood legends as fashion icons, but end up in infectious downloads. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they juggled with some harmful bugs inside their laptop. star style hollywood legends as fashion icons is available in our book collection an online access to it is set as public so you can get it instantly. Our books collection spans in multiple locations, allowing you to get the most less latency time to download any of our books like this one. Merely said, the star style hollywood legends as fashion icons is universally compatible with any devices to read.


Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency's (DPAA) mission, the fullest possible accounting of our nation's defense personnel lost in action, drives all agency direction. This includes novel applications of multidisciplinary solutions towards maximizing agency capabilities. By building collaborations and harnessing applications for advancing technology, DPAA's Partnerships and Innovations Directorate has been a key facilitator for implementing this imperative and has proven the benefit to challenging the operational status quo. The partnership paradigm represents a game-changing model that forces stakeholders to think differently and creatively, and ultimately deviate from traditional operations.


The article deals with the problem of the duality in the novel "Underground or a Hero of our time" byV.S. Makanin. The focus is on the analysis of the images of the main character's doubles which are the representatives of creative professions. The author reveals their place in the image system of the novel, explores the role they play in the disclosure of the identity of the narrator, his philosophy, his views on the writer's craft and creation in general.


A superhydrophobic polypropylene (PP) coating on the surface of aluminum alloy coupons is unstable because of the existence of metastable state in curing process. Nano-titania particles were added into PP solution to form hierarchical micro- and nano-structures of PP coatings on the surface of aluminum alloy coupons. The morphology of the coatings was observed with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and the corresponding structure and components were investigated with Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD), respectively. The results indicated that nano-TiO2 particles are the main nucleation cores in the curing of the coatings; PP in solution is enclosed in these cores and crystallizes gradually. The coatings can preserve the stable micro- and nano-structure on six months due to the nucleation action of nano-TiO2 particles, and its durable water contact angle (WCA) is about 164 +/- 1.5 degrees.


Study Design: Retrospective study. Objective: To examine whether the presence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) or advanced abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) negatively affects clinical outcomes after decompression surgery for lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS). Methods: The subjects comprised 143 patients who underwent decompressive laminotomy for LSCS and were followed for ≥2 years. Fifty-five patients had CKD (Stage 3-4). Clinical outcome was assessed using the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score before surgery and at 2-year postoperatively. According to the scoring system by Kauppila et al, the AAC score (a surrogate marker of systemic atherosclerosis) was assessed using preoperative lateral radiographs of the lumbar spine. Results: Patient age had weak but significantly negative correlations with both the preoperative JOA score and the JOA score at 2 years after surgery, but did not have a significant correlation with the recovery rate of the JOA score at 2 years postoperatively. The JOA score before surgery, the JOA score at 2-year follow-up, and the recovery rate of the JOA score were slightly lower in the CKD patients than in those without CKD, although there were no significant differences between the 2 groups. On the contrary, the AAC score had a weak but significantly negative correlation with the preoperative JOA score, and had relatively strong and significantly negative correlations with both the JOA score at 2 years after surgery and the recovery rate of the JOA score. Conclusions: At 2 years after surgery, advanced AAC was a significant poor prognostic factor for clinical outcomes of decompression surgery for LSCS.


Graphene features unique electronic, thermal, and mechanical properties, and the flexibility and strong attraction between graphene layers promotes the formation of self-folded nanostructures. Here we study the self-folding of mono- and multilayer graphene sheets, utilizing a coarse-grained hierarchical multiscale model derived directly from atomistic simulation. Our model, developed by enforcing assertion of energy conservation, enables the simulation of graphene folding across a range of length scales from nanometers to micrometers. Through theoretical and simulation analysis we show that the critical self-folded length is πC/γ, where C and γ are the bending stiffness per unit length and the surface energy per unit length.


In the present investigation, TiN/TiAlN-MoS 2 /MoS 2 -Ti multilayer-composite solid lubri- cant coatings were deposited by magnetron sputtering from separate Ti, Al, and MoS 2 targets on D2 tool steel. EDS, X-ray diffraction, microhardness tester, scratch tester, and pin-on-disc tribo system were used to evaluate structural, mechanical and tribological properties of the coating. Pin-on-disc measurements at atmospheric condition against WC ball showed lower wear and friction coefficients. No evidence of interfacial failure(s) of the sub-layers was observed in the adhesion and tribo-wear tests.


Whilst education has been widely recognised as a key tool for development, this has tended to be limited to the incremental changes that education can bring about within a given development paradigm, as opposed to its role in challenging dominant conceptions and practices of development and creating alternatives.

Through a collection of insightful and provocative chapters, this book will examine the role of learning in shaping new discourses and practices of development. By drawing on contributions from activists, researchers, education and development practitioners from around the world, this book situates learning within the wider political and cultural economies of development. It critically explores if and how learning can shape processes of societal transformation, and consequently a new language and practice of development. This includes offering critical accounts of popular, informal and non-formal learning processes, as well as the contribution of indigenous knowledges, in providing spaces for the co-production of knowledge, thinking and action on development, and in terms of shaping the ways in which citizens engage with and create new understandings of 'development' itself. This book makes an important and original contribution by reframing educational practices and processes in relation to broader global struggles for justice, voice and development in a rapidly changing development landscape.


The worldwide incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) are increasing, making it a life-threatening condition due to the higher numbers of people suffering from obesity. Vaspin, an adipokine derived from epicardial adipose tissue, has been reported to reduce inflammation, inhibit apoptosis, and induce autophagy; however, its role in the pathogenesis of AF is not known. In this study, we investigated the role of vaspin in patients with AF and explored the molecular mechanisms using atrial myocytes in vitro. Our data showed that vaspin levels were significantly reduced in the plasma of patients with AF. Lower plasma levels of vaspin were also associated with a higher risk of AF in patients with obesity. Vaspin treatment in vitro alleviated cardiomyocyte injury, atrial fibrosis, atrial myocyte apoptosis, and mitochondrial injury in atrial myocytes following Ang-II stress. Moreover, our results demonstrated that vaspin protected against Ang-II-induced atrial myocyte dysfunction by inducing mitophagy. We also observed that vaspin treatment enhanced the phosphorylation of Fun14 domain-containing protein 1 (FUNDC1) at Ser17 by unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1 (ULK1), resulting in the induction of mitophagy. These positive effects of vaspin were reversed by ULK1 silencing in Ang-II-stimulated HL-1 cells. Our study is the first to propose that vaspin plays a vital role in AF pathogenesis via ULK1/FUNDC1-regulated mitophagy and could be a novel therapeutic target for AF.


Most of Indonesia dryland is covered by acid soil which lead to the decreasing potential yield of the crops. In different areas soybean potential yield also different depends on the different soil pH and the availability of the soil. The objective of the research was to study the potential yield of soybean promising lines in acid soil of Central Lampung, Indonesia. Ten promising lines and two check varieties (Tanggamus and Wilis) were grown in acid soil with pH 4.7. The results showed that the highest seed yield was showed by SC5P2P126.96.36.199-5 with 2.51 t/ha. Other soybean promising lines with seed yield over than 2 t/ha-1 was SJ-5/Msr.126.96.36.199-1-6-1 and the check variety Tanggamus. The highest yield of SC5P2P184.108.40.206-5 was caused by the high number of filled pods and the large of seed size. Other nine promising lines also can be developed to obtained grain yield as many as Tanggamus yield in the area with similar soil and climate conditions.


The design and construction of a 50 mm bore laboratory gas gun capable of velocities up to 1000 m s-1 is described. The performance of the gun is compared with the analytical interior ballistics model of Pidduck and Kent. The adaptation for one-dimensional plate impact experiments, the instrumentation employed and the capabilities of the system are described, and some examples of experimental results obtained are given.


This study addresses infiltration from strip sources of water on the soil surface. The problem arises as the limiting case of furrow irrigation as well as for closely spaced surface drip emitters. Previously, the most common approach used for describing flow from strip sources was numerical modeling based on Richards' equation. This work investigates a third approach borrowed from previous applications for infiltration from disc sources. The assumption is that when the cumulative infiltration is expressed per unit area of the wetted strip, the difference of that value and one‐dimensional infiltration is linear with time. We test the assumption directly by doing numerical experiments with six representative soils and using various strip widths, boundary, and initial water contents. The general conclusions are that the differences between the cumulative infiltration per unit source area for a strip and a planar source are linearly related to time but that a single value of the proportionality factor γ is generally inadequate. Values of γ are found between 0.64 and 1.16. An effort was made to relate γ to soil hydraulic parameters and strip width as well as to the boundary and initial conditions. Once γ is defined, the strip infiltration follows immediately if the corresponding one‐dimensional solution is known without the necessity of performing a two‐dimensional simulation.


BACKGROUND
Although the survival rate of thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) has increased significantly due to the introduction of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE). TTP in patients with mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) has a very high mortality rate and a very small number of reported cases. In TTP, daily TPE is administered until a treatment response is achieved; however, in practice, TPE is often not performed for such long durations.

METHODS
We report a case of TTP with MCTD in a female patient. She had developed thrombocytopenia and hemolytic anemia 9 months after delivery. She had status epilepticus and lapsed into a coma.

RESULTS
The patient was successfully treated with extended sessions of TPE with corticosteroids and rituximab.

CONCLUSIONS
Although the TTP regimen has not yet been established and remains controversial, this report demonstrates the importance of continuing daily TPE until achieving a treatment response.


Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis is not uncommon in people of Asian origin. It presents as sudden onset paralysis resulting from hypokalemia due to intracellular shift of potassium because of thyroid hormone sensitive Sodium-Potassium ATPase. A 34-year-old male with history of weight loss, palpitation and increased sweating for three months presented with sudden onset weakness of both lower limbs, two hours post-dinner. On investigation, he was found to be having hypokalemia as well as thyrotoxicosis. His potassium was corrected and was put on non-selective beta blocker and carbimazole. The patient improved within 24 hours and was discharged with advice to continue with Inderal and Carbimazole and report after one month. Hyperthyroidism should be included in differential diagnosis of sudden onset lower limb weakness.


Increasing antimicrobial resistance of Gram-negative rods is an important diagnostic, clinical and epidemiological problem of modern medicine. Therefore, it is important to detect multi-drug resistant strains as early on as possible. This study aimed to evaluate Eazyplex® SuperBug CRE assay usefulness for beta-lactamase gene detection among Gram-negative rods, directly from urine samples and positive blood cultures. The Eazyplex® SuperBug CRE assay is based on a loop-mediated isothermal amplification of genetic material and allows for the detection of a selection of genes encoding carbapenemases, KPC, NDM, VIM, OXA-48, OXA-181 and extended-spectrum beta-lactamases from the CTX-M-1 and CTX-M-9 groups. A total of 120 clinical specimens were included in the study. The test gave valid results for 58 (96.7%) urine samples and 57 (95.0%) positive blood cultures. ESBL and/or carbapenemase enzymes genes were detected in 56 (93.3%) urine and 55 (91.7%) blood samples, respectively. The Eazyplex® SuperBug CRE assay can be used for a rapid detection of the genes encoding the most important resistance mechanisms to beta-lactams in Gram-negative rods also without the necessity of bacterial culture.


UNLABELLED
The purpose of this article is to review the management of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) from diagnosis through treatment, with a focus on some of the newer and highly promising treatments.

METHODS
The current treatment of low-grade NHL is discussed from the oncologist's perspective for the purpose of establishing a context for the development of radioimmunotherapy.

RESULTS
Despite considerable progress in our understanding of the pathophysiology of NHL, both the prevalence and incidence of these diseases are increasing. Oncologists in the U.S. and Europe currently are trying to use the Revised European-American Lymphoma classification system to accurately categorize patients. Accurate diagnosis of an NHL requires physical examination and radiographic studies to assess nodal enlargement and prognostic features. Treatment for low-grade NHL during the past 30 yr has consisted of high-dose radiation and cytotoxic agents, administered alone or in combination, and high-dose therapy with stem cell transplant. Unfortunately, despite the advent of new drugs and treatment regimens, there has been little or no improvement in outcome. However, recent clinical use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in patients with low-grade or transformed low-grade NHL has resulted in less toxicity than conventional treatments, as well as response rates that are comparable or superior to those achieved with chemotherapy. Therefore, interest is growing in mAbs as therapeutic alternatives for patients with low-grade NHL and those with transformed histology.

CONCLUSION
The treatment paradigm for NHL is expected to change over the next few years to include radiolabeled mAbs, administered alone or in combination with cytotoxic agents.


Complex relationships, following from numerous and complex links between the social-economic factors and the natural advantages of the area (favorable positions of hills and valleys in the relief, availability of water and waterfowls, a moderate continental climate, and a great wealth of high-quality agricultural surfaces) are the basis for the development of the villages and of the agricultural production in the Ljig municipality. Research has been conducted with the purpose of showing, on the basis of available resources of the municipality, how the agriculture and village spaces could best be developed, towards an optimum; local marketable surpluses of farm products could be processed, industrially, for sale, and this means that the existing industrial capacities should be better used and new ones built. Also, the natural and human resources could be used in the servicing sector, and in other non-agricultural businesses. On the basis of analyzed factors, our results suggest that in the Ljig municipality, further development must be based on improvements in the rural zones as multifunctional and integral; these must serve for production, but also for social and cultural purposes. The farms should become economically stronger, and they should more elastically take part in the market economy, using an adequate combination of factors such as: natural resources, demographic processes, and connectedness by traffic infrastructure and other infra- and supra-structures.


RATIONALE
The rapid analysis of volatile compounds, such as fragrances, is important in many commercial industries. The various ambient ionization methods have until now been largely applied to non-volatile or low-volatile compounds with success, and this study develops a semi-quantitative method for volatile compounds in commercial cleaning products.

METHODS
Low-temperature plasma (LTP) ionization was used to perform rapid analysis, determine limits of detection (LODs) and perform chemical imaging on eight fragrances. Several mass analyzers including an ion trap, a quadrupole and an orbitrap were used to rapidly screen volatile compounds from cloth, paper, and glass and determine compositions present in a commercial cleaning product. Peltier cooling was used in some cases to enhance the retention time of compounds on a surface.

RESULTS
This LTP method allowed the detection of fragrances in low picogram absolute amounts from glass, paper and cloth. Quantitation was demonstrated for compounds in a commercial cleaning product 1 min after the product was applied to a vinyl tile surface. High-throughput analysis and simultaneous detection of multiple compounds in a mixture were demonstrated with analysis times of less than 1 min. Modest spatial resolution (better than 1 cm) was achieved with LTP ionization.

CONCLUSIONS
A semi-quantitative method has been demonstrated for the routine analysis of volatile and semi-volatile compounds. This method would be useful in quality control and production environments to determine product persistence, location of analytes and to complement olfactory studies for determining concentrations in the ambient environment.


Our previously developed stochastic trajectory analysis technique has been applied to the calculation of first-passage time statistics of bound processes. Explicit results are obtained for linearly bound processes driven by dichotomous fluctuations having exponential and rectangular temporal distributions.


Within a holographic framework, we consider vector mesons riding on a gravity-dilaton background. The latter one is determined directly from a Schrodinger equivalent potential which delivers a proper $\rho$ meson Regge trajectory. The mapping on the dilaton potential yields a thermodynamic phase structure with a first-order transition.


We investigate the luminescent coupling (LC) effects in a four-junction GaInP/GaAs//GaInAsP/GaInAs concentrator solar cell based on transient open-circuit voltage (Voc) measurements under monochromatic illumination. Photocurrent generation in the non-absorbing GaInAs bottom subcell due to LC from upper subcells shows superlinear behavior with increasing light intensity. Along with this, a Voc enhancement is observed and quantified for illumination intensities that span almost six orders of magnitude. The Voc increase is explained and studied using a series-connected diode model including subcell shunt resistances, capacitances, and LC effects. The impact of unilluminated subcells on the subcell Voc determination is discussed for multi-junction solar cells. Finally, in the analysis of the LC generated photocurrent, namely, the coupling factor from the GaInAsP to the non-absorbing GaInAs subcell, a characteristic dependency on bias voltage is shown and explained by a result of competing photo- and electroluminescence mechanisms.We investigate the luminescent coupling (LC) effects in a four-junction GaInP/GaAs//GaInAsP/GaInAs concentrator solar cell based on transient open-circuit voltage (Voc) measurements under monochromatic illumination. Photocurrent generation in the non-absorbing GaInAs bottom subcell due to LC from upper subcells shows superlinear behavior with increasing light intensity. Along with this, a Voc enhancement is observed and quantified for illumination intensities that span almost six orders of magnitude. The Voc increase is explained and studied using a series-connected diode model including subcell shunt resistances, capacitances, and LC effects. The impact of unilluminated subcells on the subcell Voc determination is discussed for multi-junction solar cells. Finally, in the analysis of the LC generated photocurrent, namely, the coupling factor from the GaInAsP to the non-absorbing GaInAs subcell, a characteristic dependency on bias voltage is shown and explained by a result of competing photo- and electrolu...


PURPOSE OF REVIEW
The association of epilepsy, autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and social cognition is now well recognized. The overlap of these disorders is generating increasing scientific and clinical interest as the comprehensive management of epilepsy has expanded to include the cognitive and social consequences commonly being recognized as an integral part of epilepsy disorders.

RECENT FINDINGS
Recent studies have shown that in individuals with ASD and intellectual disability the rate of epilepsy is as high as 20%. In those with ASD and no intellectual disability the rates of epilepsy are approximately 8%. In epilepsy those most likely to have ASD are those with intellectual disability. There is limited information regarding how often ASD impacts epilepsy and less data on the effect of epilepsy on social cognition. There is a convergence of evidence that when epilepsy coexists with ASD and intellectual disability they share etiopathogenic mechanisms.

SUMMARY
There is a significant and important overlap between epilepsy and ASD and this has important implications for comprehensive care of all individuals with epilepsy. Early recognition of social deficits is essential. Treating the seizures in individuals with epilepsy and ASD is not enough. Clinicians need to be aware of and implement interventions that address the social-cognitive deficits.


National R oads System in Lampung is the Sumatra gateway from Java to the others Provinces in Sumatra island and vice versa, and the highway as the main of development in a region that should comply the needs of the movement of traffic, among others, Fast , Convenient, Safe, D urable, and environmentally friendly. Evaluation or study was conducted to carry out the review section of the Roads System and National Bridge in Lampung based on IRMS and BMS data that is a management tool to see the condition of roads and bridge. Not affiliated between IRMS and BMS have caused the lack of evaluation on the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges on national roads in Lampung. This study aims to correlation between IRMS and BMS that the condition of roads and bridges are related, so that to taking the decision to determine the construction, periodic maintenance or routine maintenance of roads and bridges in Lampung appropriate to the real conditions by prioritizing the bridge specially the periodic maintenance. So that it can be taken a linkage that the time periode for the traffic to move from a place to the other placse is affected by the conditons of the roads and bridge. Nowadays , the result of I RMS and BMS as a benchmark that used by policy makers as a basis for determining future programs like Planning, Maintenance, and Development. While in taking decisions isn't appropriate with the real conditions. Keywords: Correlation Between IRMS-BMS, Road and Bridge Conditions


Recent discussions on minimum wage increase (MWI) and its influences on the economy have mainly focused on the quantitative aspects such as labor cost and employment. However, on the qualitative aspects, MWI could have positive effects by enhancing firm productivity and crowding out marginal firms in the market. These positive effects of MWI can offset, to some extent, its potential negative effects ? the increase of labor cost and the decrease of employment among others. In this regard we empirically examine the impact of MWI on the firm productivity (total factor productivity). Using firm level panel data in the manufacturing industry of Korea, we calculate the influence rates of minimum wage by sector and by size (number of workers) and analyze their effect on the firm productivity. In particular the production functions of the firms are estimated by the way of taking into account endogeneity among input factors, in order to resolve the drawbacks of existing studies ? underestimating capital factor coefficient and overestimating labor factor coefficient. This study finds that the influences of MWI on wage, employment, and productivity differ across sectors and firm sizes. While MWI has shown positive influences on the productivity growth in the manufacturing industry as a whole, each sector demonstrates different direction of effect and the degree of productivity change is also varying by sector. The impacts of MWI on the firm productivity are estimated generally to be more negative for smaller firms but for some sectors the effects are found to be positive. In addition, the wage increases resulted from MWI seem to cause productivity enhancement throughout all sectors in the manufacturing industry. The policy implications of this study are as follows. Considering the empirical finding that MWI causes the increases of productivity in many sectors of the manufacturing industry, it will be desirable to evaluate not only the negative side effects but also the positive effects of MWI for designing future minimum wage policy. Moreover, in spite of the uniform minimum wage, this study finds that the diverse influence rates of minimum wage across firms have differential impacts on wage, employment, and productivity across sectors or different sizes of establishment. This finding could be conducive to discussing about the differentiation of minimum wage scheme by sector or by size.


High aspect ratio p–n junction semiconductors have displayed great potential for emerging photovoltaics owing to enhanced properties such as improved light absorption or trapping effi ciency and facile carrier collection. [ 1–4 ] In the case of bottomup synthesized p–n junction nanowires, additional advantages come from their single-crystalline structure and reduced materials usage, coupled with the fl exibility of non-conventional device substrates. [ 1–3 ] The current rectifi cation in p–n junction semiconductors is based on the transport of minority carriers as opposed to the majority carrier-driven metal–semiconductor Schottky diodes with similar rectifi cation. [ 4 ] The minority carrier lifetime affects both the illuminated and dark characteristics of the photovoltaic cell and directly determines its effi ciency; therefore, its reliable characterization is critical for assessing and optimizing p–n junction nanowire-based photovoltaic devices. Moreover, the electrical and optical properties of p–n junction nanowires depend on the p–n junction geometry, for example, radial vs axial heterostructures, [ 5 ] implying the possible correlation of the nanowire geometry with the minority carrier dynamics and the resulting rectifi cation characteristics. The carrier lifetimes of bottom-up nanowires have been characterized with various techniques, including electron-beam induced current (EBIC), [ 6 , 7 ] photoluminescence (PL) decay, [ 8 ]


Several problems involved in the medical care system in Japan were discussed with emphasis on urological diseases. Costs for the treatment of renal insufficiency are increasing. Financial support by the national government is available for some of the patients under 18 years of age, i.e., those with undescended testis, vesicoureteral reflux and hypospadias.


We undertook the present study to examine the role of insulin during early development of frog when functional pancreas does not exist. Two approaches were adopted to achieve this objective. In the first approach, influence of exogenous insulin on the early embryonic development of the frog Microhyla ornata was studied. In the second approach, the effects of antiserum to insulin on embryonic development were studied. Exogenous insulin stimulated the embryonic development while immunoneutralization of endogenous insulin not only resulted in retardation of development but also induced developmental abnormalities. These results demonstrate the essential role of insulin during early embryonic development of this frog. To our knowledge, such findings have not been reported so far in any amphibian.


Reading is one of language skills that should be acquired by the students who learn English course in junior high school level. In learning a foreign language, students face many problems, especially in comprehending reading text. In reading process, the students have to understand the meaning of the text through their learning styles and combining their background knowledge, experiences, and situation with the information which is stated on the text. This article was to investigate the empirical evidence on the effect of Reciprocal Teaching Technique (RTT) Technique and learning styles on Students' Reading Comprehension. The research was quantitative method and applied quasi-experimental design.  Sample of the research were chosen though simple random sampling technique. Data collecting technique of this research were pre-test and post-test. The data were analyzed by two-ways ANOVA. The findings of the recent study are: (1) there was an effect between teaching method and students' learning styles on students' reading comprehension, and (2) there were differences effect of students' reading comprehension between students who own visual learning style in RTT group and those who own auditory learning style in class. It can be summed up that teaching through applying RRT technique which being supported by learning styles (visual and auditory) are to develop the students' reading comprehension.


We study the transport properties of the charge-density-wave system Fe3O2BO3. ac conductivity measurements for different frequencies are presented for temperatures above and below the structural transition. dc conductivity, as a function of temperature and pressure, yields the variation of the transition temperature with external pressure. Below this transition the conductivity is thermally activated in a wide range of temperature and the gap obtained is strongly pressure dependent. The ac conductivity at sufficiently low temperatures below the transition is ascribed to the excitation of local defects associated with domain walls and which are characteristic of the one-dimensional nature of the Fe3O2BO3 system.


Psychological factors have an important influence on pain perception. Both in the clinic and in experimental settings, distraction has been shown to reduce pain. Further, negative emotions increase pain, whereas positive emotions have the opposite effect. Other more complex psychological states alter the way we feel pain. For instance, empathy for another person who is suffering increases our own pain experience, and expectation of pain relief underlies much of the placebo effect. Neuroimaging studies show a physiological basis for psychological pain modulation, with activity in pain pathways altered by attentional state, positive and negative emotions, empathy and the administration of a placebo. The same psychological factors activate intrinsic modulatory systems in the brain, including those stimulated when opiates are given for pain relief. It is important for the dentist and patients to understand the influence of psychological state on pain transmission. Such an understanding will not only help patients learn how to participate in their own pain control, but will also help the clinician create a fostering environment.


Abstract –  The aim of this article is to give an overview of the art of writing a good manuscript for original articles specifically for the scientific journal Dental Traumatology. Selection of journal, style and language, structure of the original article and important aspects of content and online submission are presented. The authors share their experience in this field from the perspectives of the researcher, editor and publisher.


Individual single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) field effect transistors (FETs) with a 2 nm thick silane-based organic self-assembled monolayer (SAM) gate dielectric have been manufactured. The FETs exhibit a unique combination of excellent device performance parameters. In particular, they operate with a gate-source voltage of only -1 V and exhibit good saturation, large transconductance, and small hysteresis (<or=100 mV), as well as a very low subthreshold swing (60 mV/dec) under ambient conditions. The SAM-based gate dielectric opens the possibility of fabricating transistors operating at low voltages and constitutes a major step toward nanotube-based flexible electronics.


We extend the "fundamentals model" of currency crisis by incorporating the currency substitution effects explicitly. In a regime of free foreign exchange markets and free capital movements the reserve (hard) currencies are likely to substitute for the local soft currency in agents' portfolia that include currency as an asset. Our model shows that, controlling for the fundamentals of an economy, the more pronounced the currency substitution is in a country, the earlier and the stronger is the tendency for the local currency to devalue. The model is implemented by constructing a currency-softness index. Two empirical findings emerge. First, there is a negative relationship between the currency-softness index and the degree of nominal-exchange-rate devaluation. Second, there is a systematic negative relationship between the softness of a currency and the level of economic development. The empirical and policy implications of the model can prove germane in approaching "speculative attacks" on currencies and in evaluating proposed dioramas of the "new architecture" of the international financial system.


A toner supplying device is provided with a container body formed with a toner replenishment opening and adapted to contain toner, a shutter for opening and closing the toner replenishment opening, and an opening/closing structure for causing the shutter to perform opening and closing operations as the container body is mounted into and detached from the apparatus body. The opening/closing structure includes an arm projecting from the shutter in a mounting direction of the container body into the apparatus body and a locking portion attached to the arm. The locking portion includes a first locking claw engageable with and disengageable from a first engageable portion for locking formed at the guiding portion and a second locking claw engageable with and disengageable from a second engageable portion for locking formed at the container body.


Prevention and control are key components of cancer research and the effort to reduce cancer incidence and mortality. The National Cancer Policy Board of the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council ([1][1]) stated that a national strategy for cancer prevention and control (CPC) should be


In this chapter, a hybrid ACOR-based artificial neural network is investigated and applied to solve a Direction of Arrival (DoA) estimation problem. This approach is compared with Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) that has been used broadly in the literature for DoA estimation. The Ant Colony Optimization is a stochastic optimization technique that has attracted much attention towards numerous optimization problems during the past decade. ACO is a subset of swarm intelligence methods in which the collective intelligence emerges in decentralized and self-organized systems with simple individuals. Social insects are distributed systems that carry out complex tasks, having individuals with very simple and rudimentary cognitive abilities. In many cases, these tasks exceed the capabilities of a single individual. In fact, social insects are self-organized systems and some simple principles and processes such as stigmergy can explain their social behaviour. Stigmergy is an indirect communication among individuals, in which different entities communicate by modifying the environment. Ants possess very limited visual and vocal perceptive abilities and some types are totally blind. Hence, the only efficient communication channel in these species is various types of chemicals, which are called pheromones. One specific type of pheromone is the trail pheromone that is deposited for instance while searching for food and the other ants smell the pheromone and tend to follow the paths with high pheromone concentration. Therefore, by indirect communication via pheromone and the simple rule of following the higher density of pheromone, one complex colony-level behaviour is emerged which is finding the short paths to the food. This behaviour is quite above the capabilities of each ant. In fact this collective capability emerges out of microscopic simple processes of pheromone laying and pheromone following. Ant colony optimization is an algorithm, which models foraging behaviour of ants to solve optimization problems and it has inspired many researchers to provide solutions to various combinatorial optimization problems such as travelling salesman problem (Dorigo et al., 1996), routing problem (Schoonderwoerd et al., 1997) and many other NP-hard problems in which the values for discrete variables are found to optimize an objective function. In fact ACO, models ant agents walking on a graph that implies typical discrete problems or structures. Since ACO was originally proposed for discrete optimization problems, its application to continuous domain was not straightforward. Among various adaptations of


Microwave sintering technology has become attractive and gained interest among material researchers due its capability and advantages over conventional sintering. Since two decades ago, intensive researches on microwave sintering have been carried out to sinter ferrous and non ferrous material purposely to produce composites with enhanced properties not achievable via conventional sintering. In this research, the effect of sintering temperature on the microstructure and properties of the sintered 84Fe-11Cr-5Al2O3 composite was investigated. Sintering was carried out in a tubular microwave furnace HAMiLab-V3 under N2 atmosphere. The sintering temperatures were selected between 1100°C to 1400°C with increment of 100°C. A study of microstructure and physical properties was carried out on sintered samples. It was observed that, relative density and porosity was slightly changed with increasing sintering temperature and hardness increased tremendously at sintering temperature of between 1300oC to 1400°C.However, the results showed that the optimum sintering temperature was at 1400°C.


The worldwide rise in the ageing population has led to increasing levels of visual impairment.1 Visual impairment impacts on the individual with the potential to lead to loss of independence, falls, depression and reduced functional ability, and at a population level, there is an impact on the delivery of public health resources.1–3 Not only does visual impairment impact on morbidity, its impact on the risk of mortality has also been reported; it is important therefore to understand its effect at an individual and population level. In this issue of Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health , Zhang et al 4 report the results of a meta-analysis investigating the association between visual impairment and mortality.

Several population-based studies have investigated the association between visual impairment and mortality, however not all studies have demonstrated comparable findings. The Beaver Dam Eye Study reported increased mortality associated with visual impairment and dense cataract over a 5-year period even after controlling for age and gender.5 The Blue Mountains Eye Study also reported an …


We report the discovery by the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey of eight H I features not coincident with stellar counterparts in the Virgo Cluster region. All of the H I clouds have cz < 3000 km s-1 and, if at the Virgo distance, H I masses between 1.9 × 107 and 1.1 × 109 M☉. Four of the eight objects were reported or hinted at by previous studies and "rediscovered" by ALFALFA. While some clouds appear to be associated with optical galaxies in their vicinity, others show no clear association with a stellar counterpart. Two of them are embedded in relatively dense regions of the cluster and are associated with M49 and M86; they were previously known. The others are mostly located in peripheral regions of the cluster. Especially notable are a concentration of objects toward the so-called M cloud, 3°-5° to the northwest of M87, and a complex of several clouds projected roughly halfway between M87 and M49. The object referred to as VIRGOHI 21 and proposed to be a "dark galaxy" is also detected and shown to be a tidal feature associated with NGC 4254.


One-monomer molecularly imprinted magnetic nanoparticles were prepared as adsorbents for selective extraction of bisphenol A from water in this study. A single bi-functional monomer was adopted for preparation of the molecularly imprinted polymer, avoiding the tedious trial-and-error optimizations as traditional strategy. Moreover, bisphenol F was used as the dummy template for bisphenol A to avoid the interference from residual template molecules. These nanoparticles showed not only large adsorption capacity and good selectivity to the bisphenol A but also outstanding magnetic response performance. Furthermore, they were successfully used as magnetic solid-phase extraction adsorbents of bisphenol A from various water samples, including tap water, river water, and seawater. The developed method was found to be much more efficient, convenient, and economical for selective extraction of bisphenol A compared with the traditional solid-phase extraction. Separation of these nanoparticles can be easily achieved with an external magnetic field, and the optimized adsorption time was only 15 min. The recoveries of bisphenol A in different water samples ranged from 85.38 to 93.75%, with relative standard deviation lower than 7.47%. These results showed that one-monomer molecularly imprinted magnetic nanoparticles had the potential to be popular adsorbents for selective extraction of pollutants from water.


BACKGROUND
This study investigated the lumbosacral plexus (LSP) nerve root thickness and ligamentum flavum (LF) thickness and correlated them with age and sex. These findings provided a useful data for spinal nerve root micro-anastomosis surgery and lumbar decompression surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This retrospective study was conducted with 350 individuals with ages ranging from 21 to 80 years of age under magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluated the possible cause of a lower back pain.

RESULTS
According to the morphometric measurements of the LSP root thickness, the diameter gradually increased from L1 to S1. L1 has the thinnest root (3.9 ± 0.81 mm) while S1 has the thickest root (5.45 ± 0.8 mm). The measurements revealed inconsiderable differences in the LSP thickness in relation to age, sex in the study population. Regarding the LF, the thickness of the LF was found to be insignificantly increase with age. Besides, the LF thickness was inconsequentially higher in female. The mean thickness of the right LF at different spinal levels was measured (L2-L3 = 3.19 ± 0.27, L3-L4 = 3.38 ± 0.11 mm, L4-L5 = 3.71 ± 0.29 mm, and L5-S1 = 3.64 ± 0.21 mm). The mean thickness of the left LF was non significantly higher.

CONCLUSIONS
The LSP root and LF thicknesses not related to age or sex.


Considering that platelet response to thrombin receptor activation might be critical for the development of arterial thrombosis, we measured the dense granule release under stimulation by the thrombin receptor activating peptide (TRAP) in a series of 102 healthy volunteers. The threshold TRAP concentration which initiated a secretion ranged from 3 to 20 μm. A good concordance (79%, k = 0.677) between two tests performed at a 1 month interval indicated that platelet response to thrombin receptor activation was characteristic of each individual donor. Since the threshold concentration required to initiate secretion corresponded to the threshold concentration which induced a biphasic aggregation, all volunteers were genotyped for the PlA2 polymorphism, the Pro33 variant of GPIIIa. Platelets from subjects with the PlA2 polymorphism required higher TRAP concentrations to aggregate than those from subjects with no PlA2 allele (P = 0.0012). However, they also required a higher ADP concentration to aggregate. In order to exclude any influence of GPIIIa polymorphism on TRAP‐induced secretion, we studied the variability of platelet response to TRAP among the 77 individuals with no PlA2 allele, and found the same interdonor variability with the same distribution of threshold TRAP concentrations as for the 102 individuals. The results suggest that (i) platelet secretion in response to thrombin receptor activation could be a genetically controlled phenotype independent of the GPIIIa polymorphism; (ii) the PlA2 polymorphism is associated with platelet hypoaggregability.


Pleurotus ostreatus is one of the mushrooms that is widely consumed by Indonesian people. The easy cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus is one of the reasons why Indonesian people choose Pleurotus ostreatus as a cultivated mushroom and is it is also used as a source of income. The main reason why people consume Pleurotus ostreatus is because it tastes good. On the other hand, Pleurotus ostreatus contains many chemical compounds that are beneficial to health, one of which is a rare amino acid compound, ergothioneine. Ergothioneine (EGT; 2-mercapto histidine trimethyl betaine) is an amino acid betaine thio-histidine with a sulfur group that has the potential to be a stable, safe, and strong antioxidant (super antioxidant). In the health sector, ergothioneine antioxidants have the potential to prevent diseases such as cardiovascular, kidney, cancer, and inhibit the growth of tumor cells. In addition, ergothioneine also has the potential to be used as a supplement and medicine. The method used to compile this review article is a literature study of indexed and leading research journals conducted on the Google Scholar database, Science Direct, and PubMed. This review article discusses the ergothioneine content in Pleurotus ostreatus and the health benefits of ergothioneine.


At present, all documented RecJs are exonucleases, degrading single-stranded nucleic acids. Here, we report a novel RecJ, from the extremely alkaliphilic bacterium Bacillus alcalophilus (BaRecJ), which possesses endonuclease activity and can cleave supercoiled DNA. BaRecJ contains the typical DHH and DHHA1 domains, which are conserved in all RecJs, and a functionally unknown PIWI-like domain at the C-terminus. The endonuclease activity originates from the C-terminal domain of BaRecJ which contains PIWI-like domain, and the exonuclease activity from the DHH and DHHA1 domains. Mutational analysis reveals that several important residues affect the endonuclease activity of BaRecJ. Moreover, BaRecJ cleaves specific target sequences at moderate temperature when directed by a phosphorothioate-modified single-stranded DNA (S-modified ssDNA) guide. These findings suggest that BaRecJ is substantially different from any reported RecJs and has the potential to be developed as a new gene editing tool.