The impact of everything on society, in general, is increasingly visible, and we find ourselves in a permanent state of transformation and improvement due to the dizzying proliferation of technologies. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) drives the modern world in education, sports, engineering, management, health, tourism, economics, and communication. All have connections, either because ICT is used as a tool or because ICT is the way to solve problems. Starting from these ideas, we decided to create a Special Edition of RESSAT, collecting a wide range of articles and different perspectives regarding the use of ICT around the world. Different areas of knowledge are using and interacting with these new resources, creating a new space for access and production of learning, contributing at the same time to the elimination of barriers so that all people might approach technology in a Global World.


Clinical success of regenerative medicine for treating deep-tissue skin injuries depends on the availability of skin grafts. Though bioengineered constructs are tested clinically, lack of neovascularization provide only superficial healing. Thus constructs, which promotes wound healing and supports vascularization has gained priority in tissue engineering. In this study, chitosan-collagen-fibrinogen (CCF) scaffold was fabricated using freeze-drying method without using any chemical crosslinkers. CCF scaffolds proved cytocompatibility and faster healing in in vitro scratch assay of primary human adult dermal fibroblasts cells with progressively increasing vascular endothelial growth factor-A and reducing vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 expressions. Skin regeneration evaluated on in vivo full thickness wound model confirmed faster remodeling with angiogenic signatures in CCF scaffold-implanted mice. Histopathological observations corroborated with stereo-zoom and SS-optical coherence tomography images of wound sites to prove the maturation of healing-bed, after 12 days of CCF implantation. Therefore, it is concluded that CCF scaffolds are promising for skin tissue regeneration and demonstrates pro-angiogenic potential.


Background: It is known that chronic sustained hyperglycemia and its consequent oxidative stress causes diabetic complication in type 2 diabetes. It has been further proven that glycemic variability causes oxidative stress. The aim of this study is to measure the average daily risk range (ADDR)-index of glycemic variability, and to evaluate relevant variables. Methods: We measured the blood glucose level of type 2 diabetic patients who were treated with multiple daily injections from January to July, 2008. The blood glucose levels were checked four times a day for 14 days and were conversed according to the ADRR formula. The degree of glycemic variability was categorized into non-fluctuation and fluctuation groups. We collected patient data on age, sex, duration of diabetes, body mass index, HOMAIR, HOMAβcell and HbA1c. Results: A total of 97 patients were enro lled in this study. The mean ag e, duration of diabetes, HbA1c and mean ADRR were 57.6 ± 13.4, 11.5 ±8.5 years, 10.7 ± 2.5%, and 26.6 ± 9.8, respectively. We classified 18.5% of the patients to the non-fluctuation group, and 81.5% to the flu ctuation group. ADRR was significantly correlated with duration of diabetes, fasting and postprandial glucose, fructosamine, HbA1c and BMI and HOMAβcell. In addition, this study confirmed that BMI, HOMAβcell and HbA1c were ADRR-related independent variables. Conclusion: ADRR can be used as an index for blood glucose fluctuation in type 2 diabetic patients. Measuring ADRR in patients with low BMI and a long duration of diabetes is helpful to improve the effectiveness of their care. (Korean Diabetes J 33:31-39, 2009)


This paper presents a novel predictive coding scheme for image-data compression by vector quantization (VQ). On the basis of a prediction, further compression is achieved by using a dynamic codebook-reordering strategy that allows a more efficient Huffman encoding of vector addresses. The proposed method is lossless, for it increases the compression performances of a baseline vector quantization scheme, without causing any further image degradation. Results are presented and a comparison with Cache-VQ is made.


The serine/threonine kinase mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) integrates pathways involved in cell cycle regulation and apoptosis and has been shown to be aberrantly activated in AML. mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) serine threonine kinase is involved in cell cycle regulation and apoptosis. mTOR inhibitors are a class of signal transduction inhibitors, originally developed as immunosuppressive agents, with antineoplastic activity in solid tumor models. Acute myelogenous leukemia blasts and stem cells have been reported previously to be inhibited by rapamycin, an mTOR inhibitor. As a single agent, rapamycin has minimal activity, however, suggesting that for meaningful clinical efficacy, it would require combination with other agents. We have therefore begun to examine its effects in combination with other signal transduction inhibitors and demethylating agents. Rapamycin by itself had minimal inhibitory effect on AML cell lines or primary AML samples. However, in combination with the c-kit inhibitor, imatinib mesylate, 2.5–25 uM, rapamycin demonstrated synergistic inhibition of AML cell lines such as MV411 as measured in a standard MTT assay (combination index 0.32 to 0.576 as determined with the Calcusyn program),, indicating strong synergism. In this cell line, rapamycin by itself demonstrated no significant inhibitory activity. Synergism with imatinib mesylate was also noted in the U937 and HL60 cell lines but not in the KG1a cell line. The combination of rapamycin and imatinib inhibited AKT phosphorylation to a greater extent than either agent alone in both the MV411 and U937 cell lines, but the combination did not effectively inhibit ERK phosphorylation. Inhibition of phosphorylation of p70S6 kinase by the combination of 20 uM imatinib mesylate and 80uM rapamycin did not occur to a greater extent than that seen with rapamycin alone, although phosphorylation of 4EBP1 was inhibited to a greater extent when both agents were added concurrently. When AML cell lines were exposed to 5-azacytidine alone, 1 to 16 uM, the IC50 was 4–8uM. 5-azacytidine increased apoptosis above control whereas rapamycin by itself had minimal effect on apoptosis as assessed in an Annexin V flow cytometric assay. In the U937 cell line, the combination index for the U937 cell line was 0.465 (10 uM 5-azacytidine and 100 nM rapamycin), indicating synergism. For MV411, the combination index was 0.736, for KG1a, 0.118, and for HL60, no synergism was noted. Exposure to the combination of 5-azacytidine and rapamycin resulted in greater suppression of AKT and 4EBP1 phosphorylation than did either agent singly. These data suggest that simultaneous targeting of more than one signaling pathway may improve inhibition of leukemic cell growth. Furthermore, combining signal transduction inhibitors with hypomethylating agents may also result in effective suppression of AML proliferation.


We present new 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages for hornblende, muscovite, and biotite from metamorphic and plutonic rocks from the Yukon-Tanana Upland, Alaska. Integration of our data with published 40 Ar/ 39 Ar, kinematic, and metamorphic pressure (P) and temperature (T) data confirms and refines the complex interaction of metamorphism and tectonism proposed for the region. The oldest metamorphic episode(s) postdates Middle Permian magmatism and predates the intrusion of Late Triassic (215-212 Ma) granitoids into the Fortymile River assemblage (Taylor Mountain assemblage of previous papers). In the eastern Eagle quadrangle, rapid and widespread Early Jurassic cooling is indicated by 188-186 Ma 40 Ar/ 39 Ar plateau ages for hornblende from plutons that intrude the Fortymile River assemblage, and for metamorphic minerals from the Fortymile River assemblage and the structurally underlying Nasina assemblage. We interpret these Early Jurassic ages to represent cooling resulting from northwest-directed contraction that emplaced the Fortymile River assemblage onto the Nasina assemblage to the north as well as the Lake George assemblage to the south. This cooling was the final stage of a continuum of subduction-related contraction that produced crustal thicken- ing, intermediate- to high-P metamorphism within both the Fortymile River assemblage and the structurally underlying Lake George assemblage, and Late Triassic and Early Jurassic plutonism in the Fortymile River and Nasina assemblages. Although a few metamorphic samples from the Lake George assemblage yield Jurassic 40 Ar/ 39 Ar cooling ages, most yield Early Cretaceous 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages: hornblende 135-115 Ma, and muscovite and biotite 110-108 Ma. We interpret the Early Cretaceous metamorphic cooling, in most areas, to have resulted from regional extension and exhumation of the lower plate, previously tectonically thickened during Early Jurassic and older convergence. 1051


Background: Lateral pelvic lymph node dissection (LPLD) in rectal cancer has been carried out in several major centers. However, there are still many controversial issues regarding this method such as feasibility, safety, and oncological outcome. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term outcomes, safety, and feasibility of LPLD. Methods: This was a retrospective study. A total of 117 patients with lower rectal cancer (clinical stage II/III) below the peritoneal reflection underwent surgery between January 2019 and November 2020 at 108 Military Central Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam. Results: Total amount of 25 patients underwent laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (TME) plus LPLD and 92 patients underwent laparoscopic TME without LPLD. The rate of lateral pelvic lymph node metastasis in the LPLD group was 16% (4/25), of which 12% (3/25) were on the left side and 4% (1/25) were on the right side. The rate of intraoperative complications in the LPLD group was significantly higher at 16.0% (4/25) compared with 3.3% (3/92) in the TME only group (p = 0.037). There were no statistically significant differences in the rate of postoperative complications between the two groups (24.0% of patients in the LPLD group compared with 26.1% patients in the no LPLD group, p = 0.832). Conclusion: Pelvic lymphadenectomy has an important role in the treatment of advanced lower rectal cancer. LPLD is a safe and feasible procedure. However, it is necessary to study a larger number of patients with a longer follow-up period to fully evaluate oncological outcomes.


Aim: to evaluate the maternal and neonatal outcome of caesarean section in second stage of labour. Material and Methods: This prospective observational study was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital Gaya, Bihar, India for one year. Total 200 patients were included into the study. All caesarean sections performed at full cervical dilatation over this time period. Results: Among the 200 patient's majority of them were in the age group of 20-30 years (73.5%) . about 77.5% of the patients were primigravidae and only the remaining 22.5% were multigravida. 82.5% of patients from BPL socioeconomic class and 17.5% only from APL socioeconomic class. The commonest indications for doing caesarean section in the second stage of labour were cephalo pelvic disproportion, fetal distress and obstructed labour. Incidence of PPH was 27 out of 200 cases (13.5%). Post-operative wound infection was seen in 12(6%) and Post-operative fever was seen in 32(16%) out of 200 cases. There were no cases of maternal deaths reported. The mean operative time was 51.7 min .The mean length of hospital stays was 6.8 days .Mean weight of the babies of the second stage caesarean section was 3.4kg. 11(5.5%) babies were admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and 26 (13%) to neonatal nursery for management of respiratory distress, sepsis, jaundice, and observation.25(12.5%) babies had Neonatal jaundice and There were 2 neonatal deaths reported. Conclusion: Caesarean sections during the second stage are increasing in prevalence and are associated with significant long-term psychological and physical maternal morbidity.


Context
Exenatide is a Glucagon-like Peptide-1 receptor agonist, which is widely used for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Limited and conflicting results are present about the effect of exenatide on the thyroid gland.

Objective
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of exenatide treatment on structural and functional features of the thyroid gland in patients with T2DM.

Design
The study was a prospective study, performed between 2015 and 2017. The laboratory values and thyroid ultrasonography features were compared before and after exenatide treatment.

Subjects and Methods
The study included 39 obese diabetic patients. After inclusion to the study exenatide was started and patients were followed up for 6 months. Total thyroid volume, thyroid function tests, serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and calcitonin levels, the size and appearance of thyroid nodules were compared between baseline and after 6 months of treatment.

Results
Exenatide at a dose of 5μg bid was started, increased to 10 μg bid after 4 weeks. We found a statistically significant decrease in thyroid volume (p=0.043) and serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels (p=0.007), whereas serum ATPO. ATGl, fT4, fT3, CEA and calcitonin levels did no change with 6 months of exenatide treatment. There were no significant differences in the size and appearance of the thyroid nodules with treatment. The thyroid volume decrease was not correlated with TSH, body mass index and HbA1c reduction.

Conclusion
Exenatide treatment for 6 months decreased serum TSH levels and thyroid volume, but had no effect on thyroid nodules and serum CEA and calcitonin levels.


PURPOSE
To determine the probability of transmission of a Staphylococcus aureus strain from a contact lens case, to the contact lens (CL) surfaces, to the cornea, on the basis of bacterial adhesion forces measured by using atomic force microscopy (AFM).

METHODS
Adhesion forces between S. aureus strain 835 probes with rigid and soft CLs, storage cases, and porcine corneas were measured with AFM and used to calculate Weibull distributions, from which the transmission probability from one surface to another was derived. Bacterial transmission probabilities from force analyses were compared with experimentally obtained transmission data.

RESULTS
After bond-strengthening, S. aureus adhered to the surface of a lens case with a median force of 10.8 nN. Adhesion forces were different on the soft and rigid CLs (7.7 and 13.6 nN, respectively). Adhesion forces on porcine corneas amounted to 11.8 nN. Data variations were used to calculate the Weibull distribution, from which the probability of transmission from the lens case to a CL and from the CL to the cornea can be directly read. Final transmission probabilities from lens case to the cornea were slightly higher for the rigid (24%) than for the soft (19%) CL. Bacterial transmission determined experimentally increased with increasing contact times, but were within the range of the probabilities derived from Weibull analyses.

CONCLUSIONS
Probabilities of bacterial transmission from contaminated lens cases to corneas can be derived from Weibull analyses of measured forces of adhesion to the surfaces involved.


A facile and efficient route for the homogeneous and highly stereoselective monohydration of substituted methylenemalononitriles to (E)-2-cyanoacrylamides catalyzed by copper(II) acetate monohydrate in acetic acid containing 2% water is described, and a mechanism is proposed. The protocol has proved to be suitable for the monohydration of dicyanobenzenes and 2-substituted malononitriles.


Abstract #1019 Introduction Sentinel lymph node biopsy is now standard practice in axillary staging in breast cancer. It is associated with less morbidity than an axillary node clearance. A drawback of sentinel node biopsy is the need for a second surgical procedure if the sentinel node shows metastases. Clinical examination of the axilla has been the standard pre-operative assessment but this has been shown to be unreliable. More recently ultrasound has been used to identify axillary metastases pre-operatively. The aim of our study is to assess the role of pre-operative ultrasound and fine needle aspirate cytology in refining the selection of patients for whom sentinel node biopsy is appropriate.
 Methods Three hundred patients with primary operable invasive breast cancer had axillary ultrasound preoperatively. If the ultrasound was normal the patient was offered a sentinel node procedure. If it identified equivocal nodes a fine needle cytology was performed. If the cytology was benign a sentinel node biopsy was performed. If the cytology was malignant then an axillary node clearance was performed. In cases where pathological nodes were identified on imaging, cytology was performed to confirm malignancy. An axillary node clearance was then performed.
 Results. Eighty three percent of our patients (n=249) had a normal axillary ultrasound pre-operatively. Of these 74.5% had a benign sentinel node biopsy. Sixty two percent of patients with equivocal nodes on pre-operative imaging had metastases on final histology (n=19). Of these 63% (n=12) were correctly identified pre-operatively with fine needle aspirate cytology of the equivocal node and had an axillary node clearance performed form the outset. Ultrasound identified pathological nodes in 7% of our patients (n=20). Malignancy was confirmed on cytology and an axillary node clearance was performed.
 Using ultrasound and fine needle aspirate cytology to assess the axilla pre-operatively sentinel node biopsy was performed in 265 patients (88%). Of these, 74.8% had a benign final histology. Thirty two patients had a pre-operative diagnosis of nodal metastases and had an axillary node clearance. All 32 had lymph node metastases on final histology. Factors that predicted for a malignant sentinel node were lymphovascular invasion (p Conclusion Eighty eight percent of our patients had a sentinel lymph node biopsy to stage the axilla. Pre-operative ultrasound combined with cytology correctly determined the status of the node in 78% of cases. Our rate of second axillary operations was reduced by 32%. Importantly all patients diagnosed with node metastases pre-operatively and advised to have an axillary node clearance did have metastases on final histology. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 1019.


The Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas is an example of a hospital started by a community with a predetermined plan to establish a close university relationship. The community wished to have the quality of medical care that is available in a teaching hospital. The community leaders came to the university authorities and offered complete control over the professional activities of this hospital. Furthermore, they wanted to locate it on the medical school campus. However, for lack of space, this was not possible. The subsequent development has been successful. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas has exercised its control of professional matters judiciously. The creation of a potential 500-bed community hospital has been an exciting and challenging experience. This did not happen overnight. Ten years of planning were required to bring this institution to reality. This is an example of the willingness of the community and the practicing physicians


Aim/Purpose: This paper describes a technologies education model for introducing Simulation Learning and Extended Reality (XR) solution creation skills and knowledge to students at the tertiary education level, which is broadly applicable to higher education-based contexts of teaching and learning.

Background: This work is made possible via the model's focus on advancing knowledge and understanding of a range of digital resources, and the processes and production skills to teach and produce playable educational digital content, including classroom practice and applications.

Methodology: Through practice-based learning and technology as an enabler, to inform the development of this model, we proposed a mixed-mode project-based approach of study within a transdisciplinary course for Higher Education students from the first year through to the post-graduate level.

Contribution: An argument is also presented for the utility of this model for upskilling Pre-service Teachers' (PSTs) pedagogical content knowledge in Technologies, which is especially relevant to the Australian curriculum context and will be broadly applicable to various educative and non-Australian settings.

Findings: Supported by practice-based research, work samples and digital projects of Simulation Learning and XR developed by the authors are demonstrated to ground the discussion in examples; the discussion that is based around some of the challenges and the technical considerations, and the scope of teaching digital solutions creation is provided.

Recommendations for Practitioners: We provide a flexible technologies teaching and learning model for determining content for inclusion in a course designed to provide introductory Simulation Learning and XR solution creation skills and knowledge.

Recommendation for Researchers: The goal was to provide key criteria and an outline that can be adapted by academic researchers and learning designers in various higher education-based contexts of teaching and inclusive learning design focused on XR.

Impact on Society: We explore how educators work with entities in various settings and contexts with different priorities, and how we recognise expertise beyond the institutional interests, beyond discipline, and explore 'what is possible' through digital technologies for social good and inclusivity.

Future Research: The next step for this research is to investigate and explore how XR and Simulation Learning could be utilised to accelerate student learning in STEM and HASS disciplines, to promote knowledge retention and a higher level of technology-enhanced learning engagement.


Objective: Evaluate the biocompatibility of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) on the electrospun low-diameter silk fibroin scaffold (LD-SFS). Methods: 400 nm silk fibroin nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning technique and were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The OECs were isolated and purified by the modified differential adherent velocity method. Then, the purified OECs were seed on the poly-L-lysine and electrospun silk fibroin scaffold. The nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR) p75 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were used to identify OECs by immunofluorescence staining. The MTT and flow cytometric assay were used to detect the proliferation and apoptosis effect of OECs on the different scaffolds. Results: The SEM showed that the average diameter of the fibers was about 400 nm and the nanofibers constituted a three-dimensional structure with porous network and smooth surface. The morphology of OECs on the LD-SFS group was similar to that on the poly-L-lysine (PLL) group. In addition, MTT and flow cytometric assay also showed that there was no significant difference between the two scaffolds in the proliferation and apoptosis activity. Conclusion: LD-SFS may serve as an ideal tissue engineering scaffold for the olfactory ensheathing cells.


The complexity of networking mechanisms will increase significantly because of the dense deployment of radio base stations in ultra-dense mobile networks. As a result, the existing networking mechanisms may be unable to efficiently manage ultra-dense mobile networks. To solve this problem, we propose a data driven network optimization framework which integrates the big data analysis methods with networking mechanisms. In the proposed framework, we adopt big data analysis methods to divide densely deployed base stations into groups. Then, each group of base stations are managed with networking mechanisms independently. In this way, the complexity of the networking mechanisms is reduced. The key challenge in designing the framework is to optimally group base stations into clusters in real time. Addressing this challenge, the proposed framework consists of an offline machine learning module and an online base station clustering and network optimization module. The offline machine learning module predicts the optimal number of base station groups in the next time interval based on the historical data. The online base station clustering and network optimization module clusters base stations and optimize the network in real time. The performance of the proposed data-driven network management framework is validated through network simulations with real network data traces.


With the popularity of smart electrical appliances and home energy management systems, there have been a massive amount of data generated about the electricity consumption. This data can be beneficial for the utility companies as it provides the behaviour patterns of customers, and thus useful decisions can be made to optimize the load on the grid. In this work, we propose and implement a two-way communication system between the transformer agent (TA), attached to a neighbourhood's electric transformer, and its customer agents (CAs), attached to each house in that neighbourhood. Once data is collected at the TA, it is communicated to the utility which can control and suggest any changes in consumption behaviours. In our system, CAs form a self-healing mesh network with the TA using IP-based Wi-Fi, while TAs communicate with the utility headquarters using the LTE network. Our system is implemented in compliance with the IEEE 2030.5 standard requirements, also known as smart energy profile 2.0. We have performed several tests across the Carleton University campus. We have also tested and implemented this system in real neighbourhoods in Ottawa, including Sandcherry and Viewmount sites to prove the system's operation and reliability.
The data obtained from the communication system is stored in a database hosted by IBM Cloud services. Our aim in this work is not only to communicate the data but ii to further process it and help the utility companies design better demand side management (DSM) programs to ensure efficient transmission and distribution of energy. This solves the problem of balancing electric demand and supply at the grid and also reduces peak demands, which helps lower the electricity bills for the consumers. In this context, we analyze the household electricity consumption data to forecast energy consumption for short-term (hours/days ahead) and long-term (weeks/months ahead). To this end, we use and compare seven different machine learning models predicting the energy consumption: linear regression, polynomial regression, support vector regression (SVR) using linear kernel, SVR using Gaussian kernel(SVR-G), SVR using the polynomial kernel, feed-forward neural networks (FFNN), and recurrent neural networks (RNN) using long-short-term memory (LSTM) neurons. To measure the accuracy of these models, we compute three different error metrics: the normalized mean absolute percentage error (NMAPE), the normalized root mean square error (NRMSE), and R2 also known as the coefficient of determination. We then propose a novel approach for short-term load forecasting by combining the power of multiple models and evaluate its performance on a real energy consumption dataset that is publicly available by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Results show that our proposed model performs better than existing models for time series energy forecasting.


Abstract Project management is all planning, implementation, controlling and coordination a project from early the (idea) the end project to en sure of the project appropriately time, money and quality. Selection method scheduling project is also one the very policy note in order to obtain result in according with the original plans. This thesis specifically discuss how project management planning the construction of Muhammadiyah Bandung University. The research was conducted by means of a survey into the field and study of literature. This thesis analysis includes volume calculation, Needs of labor, materials and equipment, Bar chart, Cash flow, S Curve, method of CPM (Critical Path Method) is a method of identifying critical work paths or items. Forwards calculation, backwards calculation, free float and total float.


The objective of the study is to demonstrate an effect of manual feeding on the level of farmer's exposure to airborne contaminants in the confinement nursery pig house. The levels of all the airborne contaminants besides respirable dust, total airborne fungi and ammonia were significantly higher in the treated nursery pig house with feeding than the control nursery pig house without feeding. Although there is no significant difference in respirable dust and total airborne fungi between the treatment and the control, their concentrations in the treated nursery pig house were also higher than the control nursery pig house. The result that the level of ammonia in the treated nursery pig house is lower than the control nursery pig house would be reasoned by the mechanism of ammonia generation in the pig house and adsorption property of ammonia to dust particles. In conclusion, manual feeding by farmer increased the exposure level of airborne contaminants compared to no feeding activity.


There are indications that the status of hormone receptors in breast cancer tissue is related to the success of chemotherapy to treat breast cancer. Remissions are recorded in 60% of the cases of endocrine treatment of patients with positive evidence of cytoplasmic hormone receptors. It must be kept in mind however that any given cancer tissue sample is not representative for all metastases locations. Depending on the hormone receptor content of each section different parts of the tumor could react differently to hormone treatment and even sections with the same receptor content can react differently to treatment. The criteria for the determination of a remission are too strict. The carbon absorption method or the more common agargel electrophoresis can be used to determine the level of receptor content in a tissue sample.


Small RNAs (sRNA) are important molecules for gene regulation in plants and play an essential role in plant-pathogen interactions. Researchers have evaluated the relationship between viral infections as well as the endogenous accumulation of sRNAs and the transcriptional changes associated with the production of symptoms, little is known about a possible direct role of epigenetics, mediated by 24-nt sRNAs, in the induction of these symptoms. With the use of different RNA directed DNA methylation pathway mutants and triple demethylase mutants, here we demonstrate that the disruption of RdDM pathway during viral infection produced alterations in the plant transcriptomic changes (because of the infection) and in symptomatology. This study represents the initial step in exposing that DNA methylation directed by endogenous sRNAs has an important role, uncoupled to defense, in the production of symptoms associated with plant-virus interactions. Significance statement The crop yield losses induced by phytoviruses are mainly associated with the symptoms of the disease. DNA modifications as methylation, can modulate the information coded by the sequence, process named epigenetics. Viral infection can change the expression patterns of different genes linked to defenses and symptoms. This work represents the initial step to expose the role of epigenetic process, in the production of symptoms associated with plants-virus interactions.


We consider a recent proposal to solve the cosmological constant problem within the context of brane world scenarios with infinite volume extra dimensions. In such theories bulk can be supersymmetric even if brane supersymmetry is completely broken. We propose a setup where unbroken bulk supersymmetry appears to protect the brane cosmological constant. This is due to a non-trivial scalar potential in the bulk which implies a non-trivial profile for a bulk scalar field. In the presence of the latter bulk supersymmetry appears to be incompatible with non-vanishing brane cosmological constant. Moreover, in this setup the corresponding domain wall interpolates between an AdS and the Minkowski vacua, so that the weak energy condition is not


A theory of self-organisation of periodic surface thermodeformation (TD) fields in crystals irradiated by laser pulses is developed. The period of the TD structure is obtained as a function of the pulse duration and the temperature of the medium. The theoretical results are in a good agreement with the experimental data on quasi-periodic damage of Si surfaces by laser pulses of various durations.


When faced with a hypervascular mediastinal tumor, mediastinal hemangioma should be taken into consideration. Although it is uncommon, considering this important diagnosis may avoid a possible extensive surgery that is not necessary.


Initial Public Offering (IPO) is an import moment for a company in order to increase its possibility to grow. Such process is not easy and it requires a long preparation and several disclosure decisions. During the IPO process the company is not alone but it is supported and controlled by several players likewise underwriters that is the entity that underwrites, manages and places the shares that will be offered to the public; venture capitalist that has financed the start-up phase and would like to monetize its investment, market agent (NYSE and NASDAQ) that offer the platform to link providing different entrance conditions and regulators (SEC) that control the full process in order to protect investors.


Welcome to the latest issue of SIRCCULAR, an issue which includes some of the highlights from our recent conference — 'Making the Margins Mainstream'. This event not only focused on education but saw Anna Fowlie challenge us all to look at what we can do in our current roles to support improved outcomes for all our looked after children and care leavers. In this issue, we are delighted to tell you about the 'A-Z of Residential Child Care', a new publication born out of SIRCC's 10th anniversary as well as to give you news about the growing residential child care workers association in Scotland. As we look ahead into 2011, one thing is certain – we will all be facing a year of challenges and potential change. Jennifer writes about this on the next page. On the back page, you will see that this is part of the theme for our 2011 National Conference in Glasgow, when will be thinking about culture change.


The lectins from the sponge Aaptos papillata were isolated by affinity chromatography using polyleucyl blood group A + H substances from hog stomach linings as an absorbent and eluting with 3 M MgCl2. Further separation on diethylaminoethylcellulose and preparative disc electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gave the three fractions, Aaptos lectins I, II, and III. They were essentially homogenous in polyacrylamide electrophoresis and sedimentation analysis: a small second component was seen in lectins I and II in immunoelectrophoresis at high concentration. The S20,W0 values for Aaptos lectins I, II, and III were 3.5, 6.0, and 5.5. By electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate with an without beta-mercaptoethanol Aaptos lectin I showed two bands corresponding to molecular weights of 12 000 and 21 000; Aaptos lectins II and III gave only one band of molecular weight of 16 000. In isoelectric focusing, Aaptos lectin I showed bands at pH 4.7 and 5.4 and in the range between 6.8 and 7.6, while Aaptos lectins II and III were almost identical with bands at pH 3.8, 4.7 to 4.9, and 5.3. Aaptos lectin I differed from II and III in amino acid composition but the latter two were very similar. They contained no significant carbohydrate. Aaptos lectin I reacted best with blood group substances with terminal nonreducing N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues precipitating about two-thirds of the lectin N added while blood group substances with terminal nonreducing DGalNAc were almost inactive. However, Aaptos lectin II was completely precipitated by blood group substances and glycoproteins containing terminal DGalNAc, DGlcNAc, or sialic acid residues. Aaptos lectin III had a precipitation pattern similar to Aaptos lectin II. DGlcNAc but not DGalNAc inhibited precipitation of Aaptos lectin I by blood group substances and N, N', N'', N'''-tetraacetylchitotetraose was the best inhibitor and was 2000 times more active than DGlcNAc. Precipitin reactions with Aaptos lectin II were inhibited by equal amounts of DGlcNAc and by sialic acid which were four times more potent than DGalNAc. N,N',N''-triacetylchiotriose was the best inhibitor and was 13 times better than DGlcNAc. At 37 degrees C three to four times higher amounts of inhibitor were necessary to inhibit precipitation of Aaptos lectin II than were needed at 4 degrees C, indicating higher affinity of blood group substances for Aaptos lectin II with increasing temperature. Aaptos lectin I was precipitated by the monofunctional hapten p-nitrophenyl-alphaDGalNAc, while p-nitrophenyl-betaDGalNAc did not precipitate and was a good inhibitor. Both phenomena indicate involvement of hydrophobic bonds.


BACKGROUND
The aim of medical disciplinary law (as part of the Dutch law 'Wet BIG') is to safeguard the quality of professional practice in the health services. Quantitative data about Dutch medical disciplinary law is sparse: little is known about the nature, quantity and the verdicts of disciplinary law complaints against psychiatrists and residents.

AIM
Gaining insight in Dutch medical disciplinary law, in particular with regard to number and nature of disciplinary law complaints against psychiatrists(-psychotherapist) and psychiatry residents.

METHOD
Descriptive retrospective study. We examined all medical disciplinary law cases against psychiatrists(-psychotherapist) and psychiatry residents in the period 2015-2019.

RESULTS
In the study period the regional medical disciplinary courts handled 353 cases against psychiatrists(-psychotherapist) and residents psychiatry, on average 70.6 per year. 321 of these cases were against psychiatrists and 32 against residents. Complaint density was 1.74 for psychiatrists and 0.37 for residents. Subject of most cases was 'wrong diagnosis', followed by 'wrong therapeutic plan' and 'incorrect communication'. The number of cases resulting in a disciplinary measure was on average 31%: warning (49%), reprimand (30%), (conditional) suspension (15%). In 17 cases the professional was (partially) denied to practice. CONCLUSIONS Within Dutch psychiatry little attention is paid to disciplinary law, despite the fact that psychiatrists are relatively often confronted with disciplinary law complaints. The current explorative analysis underlines the need for further research, especially on the difference between male/female psychiatrists and an international comparison with respect to complaints about (sexual) misconduct.


Numerous studies have been conducted on football 'hooliganism' with the majority of this work ignoring the immediate, environmental conditions that facilitate opportunities for crime in the football match day context. Consequently, the existing theoretical framework for explaining why crime emerges during football matches remains incomplete. This thesis aims to fill this gap for understanding modern football-related crime and disorder. The thesis uses a predominantly environmental criminology framework to explore whether crime opportunity theories can make sense of crime patterns observed around previously unexplored English domestic football stadia. It is crime event-oriented, focussing on how variation in the ecology of the area around stadia on match days and a set of counterfactual days when the stadium is not used facilitates different criminal opportunities. This is achieved primarily through the analysis of police-recorded crime data for three kilometre areas surrounding a sample of five stadia for the period 2005- 2010. The thesis focuses on three components of crime events - where they occur, when they occur, and why a disproportionate amount of it clusters in some neighbourhoods and not others. Despite the contrasting physical environment around the five stadia, the findings suggest very similar spatial and temporal crime patterns in the area surrounding stadia when they are used relative to when they are not and thus lend support to environmental theories of crime in the football context. The findings also help draw attention to where and when crime is elevated on football match days. The implications of the research for reducing the unintended and unwanted side-effect of football that is desired for the positive utilities it brings, in particular the practicality of employing situational crime prevention in the context of English domestic football are discussed.


Cacti of the genus puntia are an economically important crop. Understanding the mechanisms they possess to protect against UV radiation is important for assessing their possible response to climatic change. Measurements of the concentrations of UV-screening compounds and epidermal transmittance for two species of platyopuntia, Opuntia engelmannii Salm-Dyck. and O. phaeacantha Engelm. during 1998 and 1999 were used to investigate the UV-protection afforded by the cactus epidermis. A UV-radiative transfer model was used to investigate the interception of UV radiation on differently oriented surfaces. We show that vertical morphology itself confers significant protection against UV radiation compared to a horizontal surface. Concentrations of UV-screening flavonoids were found to vary depending on the UV exposure of different surfaces. West-facing surfaces had lower concentrations than east-facing surfaces, although theoretically they should be identical. This might be explained by the higher mean temperatures on west-facing surfaces. Although UV-absorbing soluble flavonoids in the epidermis block both UV-B and UV-A, the structure of the epidermis alone may be sufficient to remove up to 94% of the UV-B portion of the spectrum. These data yield insights into possible mechanisms of recent declines in cacti populations.


Marketing managers routinely use purchase intentions to predict sales. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors associated with an increased or decreased correlation between purchase intentions and actual purchasing. In two studies, we examine data collected from a wide range of different settings that reflect the real world diversity in how intentions studies are conducted. The results indicate that intentions are more correlated with purchase: 1) for existing products than for new ones, 2) for durable goods than for non-durable goods, 3) for short than for long time horizons, 4) when respondents are asked to provide intentions to purchase specific brands or models than when they are asked to provide intentions to buy at the product category level, 5) when purchase is measured in terms of trial rates than when it is measured in terms of total market sales, and 6) when purchase intentions are collected in a comparative mode than when they are collected monadically.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Operating room throughput is influenced by the efficiency of the perioperative process (for nonoperative time) and by the surgeon (for operative time). Operative time is thought not to be easily amenable to deliberate reductions. We tested the hypothesis that gradual improvements in operative time had allowed one surgeon to perform additional cases during scheduled hours.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The surgeon had been working in both a high-throughput and a conventional operating room for more than 1 year prior to the study. During the studied interval, we applied statistical process control analysis to time data for the surgeon performing full days of complex laparoscopic operations. Separate analyses were conducted for the conventional and high-throughput operating rooms. The average operative time for each day and the number of cases per day were plotted against sequential days for each environment.

RESULTS
Midway through the studied interval, there was a discrete 17-minute drop in operative time in both the high-throughput and the conventional environment. Throughput increased from two cases per day to three per day in the high-throughput environment. The average end time for the three-case days was 17:15 (range 16:04-18:32). Longer average operative and nonoperative times in the conventional rooms precluded performing three complex cases during regular work hours.

CONCLUSION
There was a sudden, rather than a gradual, reduction of operative time leading to extra cases being performed. This coincided with (1) the surgeon being assigned a new fellow and (2) administrative commitment to finish three cases per day. Our original hypothesis was negated, but other controllable causes for changes in surgical throughput were identified.


In a previous study (Tybjaerg-Hansen et al, Atherosclerosis 1990;80:235-242), we identified nine patients heterozygous for the apolipoprotein B (apo B) arginine-to-glutamine (Arg3,500----Gln) mutation (familial defective apolipoprotein B-100 [FDB]). Six of these had been diagnosed clinically as familial hypercholesterolemic (FH) heterozygotes. We have since examined low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor function in the FDB index patients and in three of their families. Skin fibroblasts from seven of seven unrelated FDB patients from whom cell lines were established exhibited normal high-affinity binding and degradation of normal LDL in vitro. In the three families, a raised plasma LDL concentration did not segregate with a haplotype of two polymorphic restriction sites at the LDL receptor locus. We conclude that the clinical and biochemical signs of classical FH can occur in the presence of the FDB mutation and a normal LDL receptor gene. In a four-generation family with 11 proven or presumed FDB heterozygotes, expression of the mutation ranged from normal plasma LDL concentrations and no clinical signs in two individuals, to hypercholesterolemia and death from myocardial infarction at age 31. Variable expression of the FDB mutation could not be explained conclusively by variation in diet, body mass index, smoking habit, apo E genotype, or plasma Lp(a) concentration.


Objective To describe characteristics of dosing history in patients prescribed a once a day antihypertensive medication. Design Longitudinal database study. Setting Clinical studies archived in database for 1989-2006. Participants Patients who participated in the studies whose dosing histories were available through electronic monitoring. Main outcome measures Persistence with prescribed antihypertensive treatment and execution of their once a day drug dosing regimens. Results The database contained dosing histories of 4783 patients with hypertension. The data came from 21 phase IV clinical studies, with lengths ranging from 30 to 330 days and involving 43 different antihypertensive drugs, including angiotensin II receptor blockers (n=2088), calcium channel blockers (n=937), angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (n=665), β blockers (n=195), and diuretics (n=155). About half of the patients who were prescribed an antihypertensive drug had stopped taking it within one year. On any day, patients who were still engaged with the drug dosing regimen omitted about 10% of the scheduled doses: 42% of these omissions were of a single day's dose, whereas 43% were part of a sequence of several days (three or more days—that is, drug "holidays"). Almost half of the patients had at least one drug holiday a year. The likelihood that a patient would discontinue treatment early was inversely related to the quality of his or her daily execution of the dosing regimen. Conclusions Early discontinuation of treatment and suboptimal daily execution of the prescribed regimens are the most common facets of poor adherence with once a day antihypertensive drug treatments. The shortfalls in drug exposure that these dosing errors create might be a common cause of low rates of blood pressure control and high variability in responses to prescribed antihypertensive drugs.


At the 25th anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty, this paper reviews the merits of introducing a safe sovereign asset for the eurozone. The triple euro area crisis showed the costly consequences of ignoring the 'safety trilemma'. Keeping a national safe sovereign asset (the German bund) as the cornerstone of the financial system is incompatible with having free capital mobility and maintaining economic and financial stability in a monetary union. The euro area needs a single safe sovereign asset. However, eurobonds are only foreseen after full fiscal integration. To address the safety trilemma member countries must therefore act as the joint sovereign behind the euro and choose from two options. First, they could establish a credible multipolar system of safe national sovereign assets. For this purpose, they could all issue both senior and junior tranches of each national government bond in a proportion such that the expected safety of the senior tranche is the same across countries while the junior tranche would absorb any sovereign default risk. Additional issuance of national GDP-linked bonds could insure governments against a deep recession that might lead to a self-fulfilling default and thereby help to make the junior tranche less risky. The second option is that the member countries together produce a common safe sovereign asset for a truly integrated and stable monetary union by creating synthetic eurobonds comprising both a safe senior claim and a risky junior claim on a diversified portfolio of national government bonds. This appears a more effective solution to the safety trilemma – especially when euro area governments would also issue national GDP-linked bonds – but it requires flanking measures to control for moral hazard. JEL Classification: F33, F34, G15, H63, H70


The Standard for Efficient Cryptography (SEC) 1, Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), Version 1.0 [23] is a freely available specification of selected ECC techniques. Because of many developments in ECC since its publication in September, 2000, SEC1 would benefit from a revision. This document summarizes Certicom's proposed modifications to SEC 1, v. 1.0. 1 Schedule and Version Numbering The revision of SEC 1 shall be Version 2.0. A first draft of the Version 2.0 will be released for public comment around February 18, 2005, as Draft 1.5. Please direct any comments to the SECG mailing list. 2 Revisions to Core ECC Techniques The revised standard will continue to serve as consolidated specification of selected ECC techniques. The revisions primarily function to increase security, and secondarily to improve performance and maintain consistency with other parallel standards efforts. The following list summarizes the revisions to the ECC techniques: 1. Key transport mechanisms where a key agreement scheme is combined with a key wrap algorithm, for consistency with NIST SP 800-56 [18]. ∗Certicom Research


BACKGROUND
Hyperhomocysteinemia, which is often associated with low folate status, is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and several other pathologies. The four most common functional polymorphisms in genes involved in folate/homocysteine metabolism are methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T and A1298C, methionine synthase (MS) A2756G, and cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) 844ins68. The pathogenic impact of these variants is under active investigation in many laboratories. However, conventional genotyping methods, mostly using PCR followed by restriction enzyme digestion, often are compromised by partial fragment digestion. There is, therefore, a need to develop more reliable approaches to genotyping the above polymorphisms that may be applied in large-scale studies.

METHODS
Sequence-specific heteroduplex generators for each of the MTHFR and MS single nucleotide polymorphisms were generated by site-directed mutagenesis. These were subcloned into a single construct, pHcyHG-1, which could be multiplexed with a simple PCR amplification across the CBS 844ins68 polymorphic site to generate composite genotype-specific banding patterns from individual genomic DNA samples that could be electrophoretically resolved.

RESULTS
The "multiplex heteroduplexing" method yielded unambiguous MTHFR, MS, and CBS genotypes in a single-tube reaction that could be analyzed in a single gel run.

CONCLUSIONS
This method permits unambiguous genotyping of the four most common functional variants of enzymes involved in folate/homocysteine metabolism. It is rapid, reproducible, and inexpensive, and requires no special preparative or analytic facilities; consequently, it will facilitate large-scale studies of the genetic basis of hyperhomocysteinemia and the many pathologies that have been associated with this phenotype.


BACKGROUND
Giant fibroadenoma of the breast is a rare benign breast tumour which seldom grows to a giant size, it is even rarer for this benign tumour to grow rapidly, ulcerate spontaneously and present like a fungating breast tumour in a way mimicking breast cancer.

CASE PRESENTATION
This is a presentation of a 14 year old premenarchal girl with a massive ulcerating and fungating left breast mass that was initially thought to be a fungating locally advanced breast carcinoma on clinical examination. Further examination of the morphology of the resected surgical specimen and histological examination confirmed it to be giant fibroadenoma of the breast. It was successfully managed by partial mastectomy and breast reconstruction with an excellent result and a high degree of patient satisfaction was achieved.

CONCLUSION
Though a rare clinical entity benign breast tumour can present like a fungating breast cancer and this must be bore in mind especially in young adolescent patients presenting with ulcerating breast tumour.


Negative campaigning presents parties with a collective action problem. While parties would prefer to have their competitors attacked, potential backlash effects from negative messages mean that individual politicians typically lack the incentives to carry out such attacks. We theorize that parties solve this problem by implementing a division of labour that takes into account the incentives of individual office holders, their availability for campaign activity, and media relevance. Drawing on these arguments we expect that holders of high public office and party leaders are less likely to issue attacks, leaving the bulk of the 'dirty work' to be carried out by party floor leaders and general secretaries. Examining almost 8000 press releases issued by over 600 individual politicians during four election campaigns in Austria, we find strong support for our theoretical expectations.


The translation of brain dynamics into natural language is pivotal for brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). With the swift advancement of large language models, such as ChatGPT, the need to bridge the gap between the brain and languages becomes increasingly pressing. Current methods, however, require eye-tracking fixations or event markers to segment brain dynamics into word-level features, which can restrict the practical application of these systems. To tackle these issues, we introduce a novel framework, DeWave, that integrates discrete encoding sequences into open-vocabulary EEG-to-text translation tasks. DeWave uses a quantized variational encoder to derive discrete codex encoding and align it with pre-trained language models. This discrete codex representation brings forth two advantages: 1) it realizes translation on raw waves without marker by introducing text-EEG contrastive alignment training, and 2) it alleviates the interference caused by individual differences in EEG waves through an invariant discrete codex with or without markers. Our model surpasses the previous baseline (40.1 and 31.7) by 3.06% and 6.34%, respectively, achieving 41.35 BLEU-1 and 33.71 Rouge-F on the ZuCo Dataset. This work is the first to facilitate the translation of entire EEG signal periods without word-level order markers (e.g., eye fixations), scoring 20.5 BLEU-1 and 29.5 Rouge-1 on the ZuCo Dataset.


This study used behavioral measures and ERP difference waves to measure the underlying brain processes during the categorization of grammatical vs ungrammatical stimuli according to a lab learned phonotactic rule. The results show that participants learned the simple rule at the behavioral level (as measured with d-prime, a sensitivity measure to rule violations). This rule learning is also reflected in the brain response to violations of the rule, which is indexed by the P3 rare-minus-frequent difference waveform. The neural results indicate that this learning took the form of a neural commitment. Participants learned the rule and used it to make active predictions, categorizing words as ungrammatical at the exact point of violation. This ability must be instantiated at the neural level, meaning rapid neural tuning has occurred in this lab setting.


The evaluation of risk within a scene is a new and emerging area of research. With the advent of smart enabled homes and the continued development and implementation of domestic robotics, the platform for automated risk assessment within the home is now a possibility. The aim of this thesis is to explore a subsection of the problems facing the
detection and quantification of risk in a domestic setting. A Risk Estimation framework is introduced which provides a flexible and context aware platform from which measurable elements of risk can be combined to create a final risk score for a scene. To populate this framework, three elements of measurable risk are proposed and evaluated: Firstly, scene stability, assessing the location and stability of
objects within an environment through the use of physics simulation techniques. Secondly, hazard feature analysis using two specifically designed novel feature descriptors (3D Voxel HOG and the Physics Behaviour Feature) which determine if the objects within a scene have dangerous or risky properties such as blades or points. Finally, environment interaction, which uses human behaviour simulation to predict human reactions to detected risks and highlight areas of a scene most likely to be visited.
Additionally methodologies are introduced to support these concepts including: a simulation prediction framework which reduces the computational cost of physics simulation, a Robust Filter and Complex Adaboost which aim to improve the robustness and training times required for hazard feature classification models. The Human and Group Behaviour Evaluation framework is introduced to provide a platform from which simulation algorithms can be evaluated without the need for extensive ground truth data. Finally the 3D Risk Scenes (3DRS) dataset is introduced, creating a risk specific dataset for the evaluation of future domestic risk analysis methodologies.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the uptake of universal vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy, its effectiveness in preventing vitamin D deficiency and the factors associated with these.

DESIGN
The regional public health organisation in Ayrshire, Scotland has a policy of universal provision of vitamin D supplements (10µg/d) to all pregnant women for the duration of their pregnancy. Pregnant women in this area were recruited at their 12 week antenatal appointment. Blood samples were collected at the 12 week and 34 week appointments. To account for the seasonal variation, women were recruited in two cohorts; summer and winter. Telephone interviews were conducted at 34 weeks to assess uptake of vitamin D supplements during pregnancy. Other variables were obtained from medical records.

SETTING
The study was conducted in the NHS Ayrshire and Arran Health board in Scotland.

PARTICIPANTS
612 pregnant women (aged 15-44) living in Ayrshire (latitude 550), Scotland.

RESULTS
66% took supplementation as recommended. Consumption of supplementation was significantly associated with a higher median serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations at 34 weeks. Despite this at 34 weeks, 33% of the summer cohort had insufficient or deficient vitamin D status, while 15% of the winter cohort had insufficient or deficient status. In multivariable analysis only adherence and season were independent predictors of vitamin D status.

CONCLUSIONS
While supplementation improved and maintained vitamin D status during pregnancy, it was not adequate to ensure all those insufficient at 12 weeks achieved sufficient status at the end of pregnancy.


As health care becomes more complex, interest in the benefits of coordination of care has increased. Especially patients that are being treated jointly by more than one physician (shared care), are vulnerable to adverse effects resulting from inadequate coordination and communication. We describe a study in which care providers support shared care by using computer-based patient records for data storage, and structured electronic data interchange as a means of communication. In this study, we are aiming at the development and implementation of protocols for shared care.


To further explore the localization of the N-deglycosylation involved in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated quality control system we studied HepG2 cells infected with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and its ts045 mutant, as in this system oligosaccharide release can be attributed solely to the VSV glycoprotein (G protein). We utilized the restricted intracellular migration of the mutant protein as well as dithiothreitol (DTT), low temperature, and a castanospermine (CST)-imposed glucosidase blockade to determine in which intracellular compartment deglycosylation takes place. Degradation of the VSV ts045 G protein was considerably greater at the nonpermissive than at the permissive temperature; this was reflected by a substantial increase in polymannose oligosaccharide release. Under both conditions these oligosaccharides were predominantly in the characteristic cytosolic form, which terminates in a single N-acetylglucosamine (OS-GlcNAc(1)); this was also the case in the presence of DTT, which retains the G protein completely in the ER. However when cells infected with the VSV mutant were examined at 15 degrees C or exposed to CST, both of which represent conditions that impair ER-to-cytosol transport, the released oligosaccharides were almost exclusively (> 95%) in the vesicular OS-GlcNAc(2) form; glucosidase blockade had a similar effect on the wild-type virus. Addition of puromycin to glucosidase-inhibited cells resulted in a pronounced reduction (> 90%) in oligosaccharide release, which reflected a comparable impairment in glycoprotein biosynthesis and indicated that the OS-GlcNAc(2) components originated from protein degradation rather than hydrolysis of oligosaccharide lipids. Our findings are consistent with N-deglycosylation of the VSV G protein in the ER and the subsequent transport of the released oligosaccharides to the cytosol where OS-GlcNAc(2) to OS-GlcNAc(1) conversion by an endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase takes place. Studies with the ts045 G protein at the nonpermissive temperature permitted us to determine that it can be processed by Golgi endomannosidase although remaining endo H sensitive, supporting the concept that it recycles between the ER and cis-Golgi compartments.


We report the first method for synthesizing binary semiconductor materials by scanning probe block copolymer lithography (SPBCL) in desired locations on a surface. In this work, we utilize SPBCL to create polymer features containing a desired amount of Cd(2+), which is defined by the feature volume. When they are subsequently reacted in H(2)S in the vapor phase, a single CdS nanoparticle is formed in each block copolymer (BCP) feature. The CdS nanoparticles were shown to be both crystalline and luminescent. Importantly, the CdS nanoparticle sizes can be tuned since their diameters depend on the volume of the originally deposited BCP feature.


Unrecognised psychiatric and medical conditions can lead poorer health outcomes, lower health-related quality of life and increased mortality in people with autism, compared with the general population. A reasonable adjustment required in mainstream services is patient prioritisation by clinicians with knowledge and understanding of autism. Developed as part of the revised autism strategy, the recently developed autism competency framework lists the range of capabilities that psychiatrists who treat people with autism should have. Psychiatrists could lead the workforce transformation required to make the reasonable adjustments to mainstream mental health services needed to improve outcomes for people with autism.


This exhibition is a collation of images, videos and photographs used in social media for the protest movements in the UK, with a focus on disabled people, during this era of austerity. It shows the importance of citizen journalism when mainstream journalism is said to have ignored the voices of disabled people engaging in protests. This is a look back into the protests held in the last five years of Conservative Lib Dem Coalition government from 2010.


PURPOSE
To determine the appropriate choice of imaging techniques for localization of nodular lesions of parathyroid glands.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
First, computed tomographic (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), ultrasonographic (US), and technetium 99m methoxyisobutyl-isonitrile (MIBI) scintigraphic images in 49 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism were retrospectively evaluated. A single-blind, prospective study that included 16 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism was then conducted. MR, US, scintigraphic, and color Doppler US images of the neck were obtained and analyzed.

RESULTS
In the retrospective study, CT, MR imaging, and US had low sensitivity (13%, 17%, and 27%, respectively) and specificity (39%, 65%, and 65%, respectively). Scintigraphy had 57% sensitivity and 85% specificity. In the prospective study, the use of latest-generation MR and US equipment and the participation of experienced operators led to improved sensitivity and specificity for these techniques. The combination of US and scintigraphy resulted in improved sensitivity (96%), specificity (83%), and positive and negative predictive values (88% and 94%, respectively), relative to the results obtained with either method alone. Doppler US was of little help in the setting of small glands.

CONCLUSIONS
The combination of (99m)Tc MIBI scintigraphy and US performed by well-trained operators with up-to-date instruments appeared to be the best diagnostic tool for the preoperative diagnosis of parathyroid disease.


Early screening is essential for effective intervention and treatment of individuals with mental disorders. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a noninvasive tool for depicting neural activity and has demonstrated strong potential as a technique for identifying mental disorders. Due to the difficulty in data collection and diagnosis, imaging data from patients are rare at a single site, whereas abundant healthy control data are available from public datasets. However, joint use of these data from multiple sites for classification model training is hindered by cross-domain distribution discrepancy and diverse label spaces. Herein, we propose few-shot domain-adaptive anomaly detection (FAAD) to achieve cross-site anomaly detection of brain images based on only a few labeled samples. We introduce domain adaptation to mitigate cross-domain distribution discrepancy and jointly align the general and conditional feature distributions of imaging data across multiple sites. We utilize fMRI data of healthy subjects in the Human Connectome Project (HCP) as the source domain and fMRI images from six independent sites, including patients with mental disorders and demographically matched healthy controls, as target domains. Experiments showed the superiority of the proposed method compared with binary classification, traditional anomaly detection methods, and several recognized domain adaptation methods.


Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a rare disease in most populations; however, in areas of Southeast Asia and North Africa and in the Arctic, undifferentiated NPC is the most frequent pharyngeal malignancy. Although smoking and alcohol have been established firmly as synergistic risk factors for other pharyngeal carcinomas, previous studies on the association between these risk factors and NPC have not been consistent. Therefore, the authors analyzed this relation in a cohort of Singapore Chinese, which is a population with a high incidence of NPC.


Ras GTPases become functionally active when anchored to membranes by inserting their lipid modified side chains. Their role in cell division, development, and cancer has made them targets of extensive research efforts, yet the mechanism of membrane insertion and the structure of the resulting complex remain elusive. Recently, the structure of the full-length H-ras protein in a DMPC bilayer has been computationally characterized. Here, the atomic interactions between the H-ras membrane anchor and the DMPC bilayer are investigated in detail. We find that the palmitoylated cysteines and Met182 have dual contributions to membrane affinity: hydrogen bonding by their amides and van der Waals interaction by their hydrophobic side chains. The polar side chains help maintain the orientation of the anchor. Although the overall structure of the bilayer is similar to that of a pure DMPC, there are localized perturbations. These perturbations depend on the insertion depth and backbone localization of the anchor, which in turn is modulated by the catalytic domain and the linker. The pattern of anchor amide-DMPC phosphate/carbonyl hydrogen bonds and the flexibility of Palm184 are important in discriminating between different modes of ras-DMPC interactions. The results provide structural arguments in support of the proposed participation of ras in the organization of membrane nanoclusters.


The sudden outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) originated from Wuhan, China. SARS-CoV-2 causes severe respiratory illness and becomes a major threat for humanity. Recently the entire scientist, researchers and physicians all over the countries focused to find the treatment of this pandemic disease. Numerous drugs and or vaccines have been trialed for prevention and treatment against 2019-nCoV but no therapy has been shown effective to date. Currently, numerous vaccines are under clinical investigation and mRNA-1273 vaccine (LNP- encapsulated mRNA vaccine encoding S protein) from Moderna is ahead. Although chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir and many other drugs had recommended against SARS-CoV-2, but still they are not the guarantee treatment of COVID-19. Recently, India, America, Russia and China introduced vaccines against COVID-19 in the market, however assurance of their 100% effectiveness are doubtful.  The speed of daily new cases threatens the world and urges the scientist to crack this pandemic condition.


Using resource dependency theory and transaction-cost economics theory, we examined the simultaneous effects of a vertical integration strategy and environmental complexity on home health agency (HHA) referrals by hospitals. Discharge data for calendar year 1990 from 61 Pennsylvania hospitals were analyzed. Using hospital ownership of home health agencies and urban versus rural location as the primary independent variables, a logistic regression model calculated the probability of HHA referral, after controlling for long-term care beds and patient characteristics. Results showed that HHA ownership was a significant predictor of home health referrals for both rural and urban hospitals, although the effect was greater for urban hospitals. These results suggest that hospitals are actively using referrals to home healthcare in response to environmental pressures. As these pressures increase, hospitals will benefit from tight linkages with home health providers.


Given a Laurent polynomial F and its amoeba AF. We relate here the question of the BIBO
stability of a multi linear time invariant system with a rational transfer function.
 We formulate very simple criteria for BIBO strong or
weak stability in terms of the position of the origin 0 with respect to the
amoeba AF and suggest an algorithmic procedure in order to test such property.


In this work, we have addressed three projects with the application of Microfluidics: With the technology of Total Internal Reflection Velocimetry, we realised the nano-PTV of fluid flow within 800 nm close to solid surface. We achieved unprecedented accuracy of measurement compared with the state of art, by determining precisely the wall position, and by Langevin simulation, which takes into account of the sources of biases, such as Brownian motion, shear stress, electrostatic repulsion between particles and the wall, effect of out of focus, etc. We achieved ±5 nm and ± 10 nm accuracy on the slip length determination for sucrose solution and for water. The no-slip condition on hydrophilic surface is confirmed, and a positive slip length on hydrophobic surface is clearly illustrated. This result demonstrated that the nano-PTV by TIRF is a quantitative methodology for the study of fluid flow near solid surface. We collaborated with A. Leshansky to study quantitatively the mechanism of step emulsification. The dispersed fluid and continuous fluid are co-flowing in a confined Hele-Shaw channel, before going into an unconfined pool. Drops are formed at the intersection between shallow channel and the pool. Two phases - step emulsification and large drops - are distinguished based on a well defined capillary number. We found good agreement between experiments and theory, on the step emulsification droplet size, dispersed fluid pinching dynamics, and on the shape of free interface between dispersed fluid and continuous fluid prior to pinching. We collaborated with a group of petroleum companies (AEC), to develop a technology which has potential application to the Enhanced Oil Recovery. Nano particles synthesized by the AEC is supposed to perform phase transition or deliver signals once in touch with oil. The principal idea consists in sending these nano particles into the porous media underground along with the injection fluids, and recollect them on the production well side. According to the information they deliver, the distribution of oil may be mapped. We constructed a micro model based on microfluidic technology, which mimics the complex structure of porous media of rocks. The AEC synthesized nano particles are injected into the micro model, their motion and retention can be observed in real time. This work provides important information on the particle motion in porous media, which cannot be realised in conventional core experiments.


Surveys the history of the Second Vatican Council and the sixteen documents it promulgated. Highlights materials that reveal the vision of Catholic faith presented by the Council from a theological perspective. Includes the preparatory materials, working document, diaries and schema from the time of the Council.


Document classification tasks were primarily tackled at word level. Recent research that works with character-level inputs shows several benefits over word-level approaches such as natural incorporation of morphemes and better handling of rare words. We propose a neural network architecture that utilizes both convolution and recurrent layers to efficiently encode character inputs. We validate the proposed model on eight large scale document classification tasks and compare with character-level convolution-only models. It achieves comparable performances with much less parameters.


Seventy-one of 85 consecutive patients with endoscopically confirmed active benign gastric ulcers completed an 8-week study to evaluate the effects on healing of famotidine 40 mg given as a single dose at night. The healing rate in the 48 patients in whom the ulcers were associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) or aspirin (ASA) use was compared with that in the 23 patients with idiopathic ulcers. Endoscopy, symptom assessments, antacid use, hematology, and serum chemistry were performed at weeks 4 and 8 of treatment. Famotidine 40 mg at bedtime healed 63 (89%) of the 71 ulcers at 8 weeks; the healing rate for NSAID/ASA-associated ulcers was 46 (96%) of 48, which was significantly greater than that for idiopathic ulcers (17 of 23; 74%) (P = 0.0119). Of the 54 patients who returned a questionnaire 1 to 2 years after completing the study, 20% were still taking an NSAID/ASA (mainly for cardiovascular prophylaxis). About half of the patients surveyed were taking anti-ulcer medication. None of these patients had experienced any serious ulcer complication. The results of this study suggest that differentiating NSAID/ASA-induced ulcers from idiopathic ulcers may be important with regard to healing rates and duration of therapy.


Solutions of morphin and its esters, when introduced into the skin, produce local reactions, consisting of the urticarial wheal with an erythematous areola (Sollmann and Pilcher 1 ). The lesions are quite like those formed in susceptible individuals by the local inoculation of foreign proteins, and in probably all individuals by inoculation of histamin or any one of a series of definite chemical substances (Sollmann 2 ). This local reaction to the morphins raised a number of interesting questions, some of which will be considered in this paper. Perhaps the most important of these concerns the possibility of the modification of the local reaction by habituation. Does the high degree of tolerance to the toxic actions of the morphins that is acquired by addicts extend also to the local reactions? or, stated conversely, does the local reaction vary with changes in the systemic susceptibility, as is the case with desensitization or "habituation" to


Abstract Background The oral health condition in rural areas remains compromised due to insufficient healthcare providers. Implementation of teledentistry through videoconferencing in these areas can improve this situation when trained personnel are able to carry out real-time consultations of the patients with a pediatric dentist. Aim To observe the feasibility of using teledentistry for an oral examination, consultation, and education, and also to assess the participant's satisfaction regarding the use of teledentistry for a routine dental checkup. Materials and methods An observational study was carried out with 150 children aged 6–10 years. About 30 primary health centers (PHC)/Anganwadi (AW) workers were trained to perform the oral examination with the intraoral camera (IOC). Four self-constructed and nonstructured questionnaires were prepared to understand the knowledge, awareness, and attitude of the participants toward pediatric dentistry and their acceptance of teledentistry. Results A total of 83.3% of children were not scared and felt that the use of IOC was better. About 84% of the PHC/AW workers found teledentistry very convenient, easy to learn, and adapt. And around 92% thought that teledentistry is time-consuming. Conclusion Teledentistry is a possible way to provide pediatric oral health consultation in rural areas. It can save time, stress, and money for people in need of dental treatment. How to cite this article Agarwal N, Jabin Z, Waikhom N. Assessing Videoconferencing as a Method of Remote Consultation in Pediatric Dentistry. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(5):564-568.


The problem of observer design is addressed for output-injection nonlinear systems. A major difficulty with this class of systems is that the state equation involves an output-dependent term that is explicitly dependent on unknown parameters. As the output is only accessible to measurement at sampling times, the output-dependent term turns out to be (almost all time) subject to a double uncertainty, making previous adaptive observers inappropriate. Presently, a new hybrid adaptive observer is designed and shown to be exponentially convergent under ad-hoc conditions.


Introduction: Preeclampsia has high prevalence and important complications. According to the possibility of being a relationship between Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency and preeclampsia and the controversial results of few studies which done in this topic, the present study was carried out to investigate the relationship between G6PD and preeclampsia. Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 115 postpartum women with or without preeclampsia. Sampling method was available. Demographic variables and clinical laboratory results (levels of G6PD enzyme, hemoglobin, red blood cells and reticulocytes) were assessed. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 16 and kolmogorov-smirnov, t-test, non parametric and chi-square tests. P value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: 115 women with mean age of 28.4±5.4 years were divided into two groups of postpartum women with history of preeclampsia (n=58) and without history of preeclampsia (n=57). The G6PD enzyme level (p<0.001) and reticulocytes level (p=0.005) were significantly lower in women with preeclampsia. There was significant difference in mean of systolic and diastolic blood pressure between two groups (p<0.001). But the differences of mean age (p=0.207), gravidity (p=0.194), gestational age (p=0.1), mean of hemoglobin (p=0.104) and mean of red blood cell (p=0.163) were not statistically significant in both groups. Conclusion: G6PD enzyme and reticulocytes levels are significantly lower in women with preeclampsia.


Introduction Gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a technique developed in the East but its adoption in the West has been slow to take off due to the relatively higher risk of complications including bleeding and perforation. The aim of this study was to analyse the efficacy and safety data when this technique was used in a single large UK tertiary referral centre. Method A prospectively compiled database of all gastric ESDs carried out in a large tertiary referral centre between 2009 and 2017 was reviewed by two independent researchers. All gastric ESDs in our institution were discussed in a specialist MDT prior to resection. Post-resection histology were reviewed in the same MDT and further management decisions were made based on consensus. Results A total of 50 gastric ESDs were performed during the study period by a single operator. The mean age of patients was 73 years and 31 were male. Lesion characteristics are as shown in Table 1. Site  Cardia Antrum Body Pylorus  20 13 9 4 Size (mm) median, range 25 5 – 70 Paris classification  IIa IIa + IIc Is Ip Isp IIb  18 15 11 2 3 1 The en-bloc resection rate was 90% (45/50 patients). 16% had scarring due to previous resections (8/50 patients). Histological assessment was carried out for all patients apart from 1 where the lesion was not retrieved. Of the lesions retrieved 51% of the lesions contained cancer, 33% contained dysplasia, 12% hyperplastic, 2% carcinoid and 2% GIST. R0 resection rate was 71.4% which includes 6 patients with known submucosal (SM) invasion that underwent salvage ESD as they were not fit for curative surgery. The overall rate of complications in this series was 12% (5 bleeding, 1 perforation – all managed endoscopically). The median length of follow-up was 11 months. Recurrence was detected in 3 patients and all these patients were managed with further endoscopic resection. Conclusion Gastric ESD is a safe and effective technique in managing gastric neoplasia in a UK setting.The R0 resection rates for curative resection are high and complication rates are low. Gastric ESD should be considered a viable treatment option for early gastric neoplasia in the UK. Disclosure of Interest K. Kandiah: None Declared, S Subramaniam: None Declared, P Bhandari Conflict with: Receives educational grants from Fujifilm, Olympus and Pentax


W. Thurston suggested a method for computing hyperbolic volume of hyperbolic 3-manifolds, based on a triangulation of the manifold. The method was implemented by J. Weeks in the program SnapPea, which produces a decimal approximation as a result. For hyperbolic 2-bridge links, we give formulae that allow one to find the exact volume, i.e. to construct a polynomial and to find volume as an analytic function of one of its roots. The computation is performed directly from a reduced, alternating link diagram.


Public health professionals increasingly must implement evidence-based strategies in challenging local environments. To effectively apply evidence-based policies and programs within their real-world practice, public health professionals frequently need additional training. We present a curriculum-design framework that guides the development and delivery of professional learning opportunities to more effectively bridge public health research and practice. The framework ensures an appropriate integration of concepts, applied-skills, tools and adult-learning methods. To demonstrate the framework's potential, we describe four types of learning opportunities focused on injury and violence prevention. We explore the need for more consistent investment in training, technical assistance, and job-shaping to support the professional needs of a workforce that is quickly turning over and inadequately prepared for the rapidly changing circumstances of modern public health practice. Carolyn Crump introduces the topic by describing a curriculum-design framework that addresses training scope, conceptual integration, perspective diversity, pedagogical heuristics, and educational materials. Four training models help demonstrate the framework's potential and application: i) Annual meetings; ii) Webinars/Workshop; iii) 6 month Academy; iv) Two-Stage Institute. The subsequent presentations provide details of each model. Jennifer Woody presents Model #1 (Annual Meeting) which has occurred among a network of southern states. With limited resources, the network scoped their learning opportunity as a thematic alignment of concepts rather than sequential integration, and emphasises a diversity of practitioner contribution. Formal presentations from both researchers and practitioners, and informal cultural/social networking events, provide opportunities to identify need and interest for more integrated learning opportunities. James Emery presents Model #2 (Webinars/Workshop). With more support and a national reach, the IPOP Training Academy identified a training scope of three webinars followed by a 3 day skills-building workshop. Webinar #1 presents a public health problem. Webinar #2 presents federal, state, and/or local strategies applied to the problem. Selected teams attend Webinar #3 to receive tools for gathering information they bring to the 3 day workshop. Tools can be applied to team projects and feedback provided from instructors and other participants. Nidhi Sachdeva presents Model #3 (6 month Academy). With limited funding and a state-based emphasis, the NC Injury Free Academy modified their training scope into a 6 month experience where teams are coached while also attending two, in-person, 2 day sessions. Diverse community coalitions are selected with a goal to purposefully increase local IVP practitioner skills. Each team is assigned a professional coach who facilitates their progress, reviews materials, and provides instructional support. Carolyn Crump presents Model #4 (Two-Stage Institute). With adequate support, the training scope is expanded to provide two stages of instruction: CORE conceptual learning for individuals (five 1 day workshops to learn a sequence of basic public health and IVP concepts and methods), followed by ENHANCED learning for teams of 4–6 people (seven-month project with 4 in-person training/coaching sessions). Steve Marshall provides a brief concluding summary and articulates the need for more consistent investment in training, technical assistance, and job-shaping to support the workforce's evolving needs and capacity for IVP practice. The proposed format is a series of presentations of varying length with slides.


This review examines the clinical, morphological, and systemic factors related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cutaneous manifestations. The EMBASE, Medline, and Pubmed Central databases were searched from February 1, 2020 until April 25, 2020, using the search words "(COVID-19 OR SARS-CoV-2 OR coronavirus-19) AND (skin OR cutaneous OR dermatologic)". Cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 were included. The cutaneous manifestations can be classified into 2 types. Patients with inflammatory reactions consisted of morbilliform, varicella-like, urticarial eruptions, and vesiculobullous manifestations. These manifestations were mainly found on the trunk, limbs, and faces of patients and had mainly positive COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction findings (97.7%). Furthermore, there were 516 patients with acral vascular lesions: chilblains, livedo lesions, cutaneous small-vessel vasculitis, and other noninflammatory purpura. These were often nonpruritic (88%) and not seen in severe disease (88.7%). The cutaneous lesions have potential for early diagnosis of COVID-19 and prevention of disease transmission. The implications of COVID-19 in the field of dermatology continue to evolve as more clinical data becomes available.


A novel optical technique is used to investigate the dynamics of coagulation of particle suspensions with aluminum salt. The relative size of aggregates formed during coagulation, expressed as a "coagulation index," can be continuously measured by this technique. Coagulation of clay particles with aluminum sulfate is examined at various aluminum concentrations, solution pH, and mixing intensities. Results indicate that the coagulation index provides valuable information about aggregate dynamics and coagulation mechanisms with aluminum salts.


Loss of heterozygosity (LOH), which is detected with polymorphic DNA markers by comparing constitutional and tumor genotypes, has been observed at a number of different chromosome arms in primary breast tumors. These include 1p, 1q, 3p, 11p, 13q, 17p and 18q. We present here the results of a screening of all non-acrocentric chromosome arms, including those of the X chromosome, with at least one polymorphic marker per arm, in a total of 86 breast carcinomas. This dataset, termed an allelotype, indicates that in addition to the chromosome regions listed above, allelic loss may be observed in more than 30% of informative cases on 6q, 8q, 9q, 15q, and 16q. Multiple LOH involving at least two different chromosomes in a single tumor was observed in approximately 75% of the investigated tumors, and revealed complex chromosome involvement. Six different combinations of concurrent LOH at two different chromosome arms were found to be significantly correlated (r greater than 0.45; P less than 0.01). Tumors showing LOH at 3p or 17p were preferentially aneuploid, while LOH at 6q and 17q was inversely correlated with the number of positive lymph nodes and age respectively.


This article is about Eroticism as a key-concept in the psychological understanding of the human mind. The meaning of the term can be defined as follows: Eroticism is the way humans experience sexuality as a self-sufficient mental activity. Sexuality underlies different social rules in varying cultural contexts and may lead to different ways of thinking, but there is no evidence that cultural diversity actually leads to fundamentally different ways of feeling. The constant disposition for recreational rather than procreational sex makes eroticism a medium of human creativity. In this sense, eroticism is considered a central factor in the process of hominisation. The crucial cognitive competence which makes for the uniqueness of our species is due to the transformation of sexuality into eroticism and its disposition for social learning. In the animal kingdom, sex contributes to the welfare of the horde, while in human society eroticism contributes to individual self-recognition and paves the way to moral awareness. Methodologically, I plead for a cooperation of psychological and anthropological research, each utilizing and combining the complementary aspects of both approaches.


Measuring semantic relatedness has received much attention for uses in many fields such as information retrieval and natural language processing. For handling synonymous problem in distributional-based measures, many researchers are investigating how to exploit semantic features in lexical sources to form knowledge-based measures. In the knowledge-based measures, a hierarchy model is used to measure the relatedness between words based on only the taxonomical features extracted from a provided lexical source. In this paper, a new knowledge feature-based measure is proposed to build the semantic vector of a word construct on taxonomical and non-taxonomical feature of relation words. The proposed measure utilised the topological parameters that weight the importance of each element in the semantic vector. One of the gold dataset used to assess the proposed model and compare the findings with other related works. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed model on measuring semantic relatedness between words. In this paper, the research framework is identified based on the observations made on the previous related works that have been conducted for semantic representation and semantic relatedness measures. The required data in this research includes the semantic knowledge-based approach and the evaluation datasets. The semantic knowledge that will be used throughout of this research is extracted from English WordNet 3.1. On the other hand, the evaluation datasets covers the gold standard benchmarks which have been used for evaluating the semantic relatedness measurements and text mining tasks. Finally, the evaluation is preform to evaluate the proposed method (PM) based on approach in this research, in which obtained the result have been analyzed, to discuss and compare based on different performance measure and finding the strength and weakness in this paper, to alternative the semantic representation correlated to this research, to designing and develop the topical-based on the semantic representation method for text mining from Social media.


Introduction Although monoclonal immunoglobulin (Ig) production by myeloma cells is one of the central features of the disease, genotypic identification of the clonal Ig sequence remains understudied in multiple myeloma (MM). Here, using extensive RNA-seq data, we study molecular features of clonal Ig rearrangements, as well as their association with other MM markers and patient outcome. Methods We performed deep RNA-seq on purified CD138+ MM cells from 429 newly-diagnosed uniformly-treated patients with long clinical follow-up. For each sample, we performed de novo assembly using sequences that appeared in the library with a frequency of at least one in a million. Germline V and J genes were then BLASTed against the assembled contigs to determine the clonal germline genes and pinpoint mutations. Using the sequences reconstructed from the Ig contigs and the BLAST output, we ran IgBLAST to fully characterize the predominant Ig V(D)J sequence. Results We tested the accuracy of our approach by looking at 24 technical duplicates and one triplicate. In all cases, the predicted gene and gene allele were consistent across replicates. Next, we evaluated our large patient cohort, identifying IGHV3 as the most common clonal VH gene subgroup (53.3%), followed by IGHV4 (17.8%) and IGHV1 (15.6%). Importantly, we observed a significant association between poorer prognosis and IGHV3, both for progression-free survival (PFS) (p=0.0019) and overall survival (OS) (p=0.012). IGHV3-30 (11%, the most commonly rearranged VH gene) and IGHV3-9 (4.8%) were the drivers behind this poor prognosis (IGHV3-30: PFS p=0.021; OS p=0.013) (IGHV3-9: PFS p=0.002). IGHV3-30 was even more preferentially rearranged than in normal B-cell VH repertoires from previous studies (8.5%, 6.3%) and ours (2%). Remarkably, these results sharply contrast with what has been observed in CLL. In this malignancy, IGHV3-30 use has been seen to be underrepresented and usually characterizes an indolent clinical course, while IGHV3-21 and possibly IGHV3-23 carry poor prognosis. We predicted light chain usage through the presence of clonal VL sequences. The most frequent VL genes were from the κ locus (69.4% total): IGKV1-33 (12.4%), IGKV1-5 (11.3%), IGKV3-20 (9.9%) and IGKV1-39 (8.0%). Del(22q) was observed more frequently in patients with IGλ (OR=10.0, p=6e-15) and, within this group, del(22q) was more frequent if Vλ belonged to the more centromeric V-clusters C or B, in contrast to cluster A (OR=8.4, p=5e-4). Remarkably, patients with Vλ gene from cluster A presented worse OS (vs. Vk: p=0.0079; vs. Vλ B,C: p=0.067). The proportion of mutated bases was higher in the heavy chain than in the light chain (mean 7.0% vs. 4.8%, max 14.6% vs. 14.3%), and it was associated with OS (heavy p=0.0020, light p=0.036, both=0.0056), but not PFS. Interestingly, mutated Ig in CLL results in a more benign clinical course. We further found that 24.9% and 22.7% of the mutations lay within WRCY or RGYW AID motifs in the light and heavy chains respectively (enrichment p The usage of IGHV3 genes and the AID WRCY/RGYW motif ratio were independent markers of each other (p=1) and of other markers of poor prognosis in MM, such as presence of either t(4;14) or del(17p) (IGHV3 p=0.10; motif ratio p=0.49). In conclusion, de novo Ig heavy and light chain assembly using RNA-seq identifies interesting biology, may provide MM markers and highlights a novel application of high-throughput genomics. Disclosures Anderson: OncoPep Inc.: Equity Ownership, Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees. Avet-Loiseau: sanofi: Consultancy; celgene: Consultancy; amgen: Consultancy; janssen: Consultancy.