The progression of human brain, bladder and prostate cancers, considered inflammatory cancers, is characterized by the acquisition of metastatic and drug resistance profiles which remain major impediments to the efficacious delivery of therapeutic intervention. Recent localization and protein interaction studies of the sphingolipid metabolism protein, serine palmitoyltransferase-1, SPTLC1, suggest a signaling, other than metabolic role during cellular response to diverse stress stimuli. The current study examined chemosensitivity to genotoxic compounds by a set of SPTLC1 recombinant cancer cell lines. When exposed to the anti-cancer drugs celecoxib and fenretinide, SPTLC1 localization as determined by confocal immunofluorescence microscopy showed its translocation to focal adhesion sites. This allows for possible interaction and crosstalk with other stress response proteins involved in regulating cell growth, differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, migration and other processes by which cells respond to stress stimuli. Stress-inducible gene expression profile of cytochrome p450 transcripts shows differential attenuation of the Cyp1A1, 1A2 and 3A4 species. Altered expression of the genes for the cytochrome p450 xenobiotic metabolism proteins can have profound effect on the toxicity of anticancer drugs especially those with narrow therapeutic window. Taken together, the heterologous expression of a C-terminal modified SPTLC1 gene in the human cancer cell lines used in this study was found to mediate an altered drug response profile consistent with acquisition of a multidrug resistance phenotype. This is exemplified in increased resistance to anti-proliferative effect of therapeutic drugs, differential attenuation of transcriptional expression of Cyp450 species, as well as, chemical induced DNA fragmentation. The observations further support a general role for SPTLC1 in cellular stress response and its potential contribution in cellular resistance to cytotoxic drugs.


Rapid technological advances have made possible interventions that have significantly improved the survival of sick infants and children. Notable among these is the use of intravascular catheters in the treatment of critically ill pediatric patients, particularly premature infants and other high-risk neonates. These advances have led to improved survival; unfortunately, they have been associated with multiple complications that result in morbidity and mortality. The increasing list of complications is extended by Daniels et al 1 in this issue of the AJDC in a report on paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, resulting from right atrial positioning of a central venous catheter in a neonate. The complications of arterial and venous catheters fall into several causal categories: perforation, sepsis, vessel scarring, improper placement, thrombotic and embolic events, and other causes. The relative risks of arterial v venous placement and the preferable position of the tip of umbilical arterial catheters will not be discussed beyond


Abstract The genetic variant A1 of bovine β-casein (β-Cn) presents a His residue at a position 67 of the mature protein. This feature makes the Ile66-His67 bond more vulnerable to enzymatic cleavage, determining the release of the peptide β-Cn f(60–66), named β-casomorphin 7 (BCM7). BCM7 is an opioid-agonist for μ receptors, and it has been hypothesized to be involved in the development of different non-transmissible diseases in humans. In the last decade, studies have provided additional results on the potential health impact of β-Cn A1 and BCM7. These studies, here reviewed, highlighted a relation between the consumption of β-Cn A1 (and its derivative BCM7) and the increase of inflammatory response as well as discomfort at the gastrointestinal level. Conversely, the role of BCM7 and the effects of ingestion of β-Cn A1 on the onset or worsening of other non-transmissible diseases as caused or favored by still need proof of evidence. Overall, the reviewed literature demonstrates that the "β-Cn A1/BCM7 issue" remains an intriguing but not exhaustively explained topic in human nutrition. On this basis, policies in favor of breeding for β-Cn variants not releasing BCM7 and consumption of "A1-like" milk appear not yet sound for a healthier and safer nutrition.


Computed tomography (CT scanning) has been undertaken in 51 patients with bladder tumours, 15 of whom subsequently had pathological examination of the bladder to confirm the extent of tumor spread. Concordance between the CT and pathological staging (80%) was as good as that between clinical and pathological staging (73%). Most of the inaccuracies of clinical staging were underestimations of the extent of muscle invasion, whilst the inaccuracy of CT involved overstaging. The principal areas where CT might improve the accuracy of clinical staging are in patients with invasive tumours who after transurethral resection have no mass palpable on bimanual examination, and in patients following radiotherapy who might be candidates for salvage cystectomy but in whom assessment of the spread of tumour is difficult because of post-irradiation fibrosis. Data from a much larger series are required to ascertain whether the additional information provided by CT will produce any improvement in patient management.


ABSTRACT Bartonella species constitute emerging, vector-borne, intravascular pathogens that produce long-lasting bacteremia in reservoir-adapted (natural host or passive carrier of a microorganism) and opportunistic hosts. With the advent of more sensitive and specific diagnostic tests, there is evolving microbiological evidence supporting concurrent infection with one or more Bartonella spp. in more than one family member; however, the mode(s) of transmission to or among family members remains unclear. In this study, we provide molecular microbiological evidence of Bartonella henselae genotype San Antonio 2 (SA2) infection in four of six Danish family members, including a child who died of unknown causes at 14 months of age.


Phylogenetic comparative methods correct for shared evolutionary history among a set of non-independent organisms by modeling sample traits as arising from a diffusion process along on the branches of a possibly unknown history. To incorporate such uncertainty, we present a scalable Bayesian inference framework under a general Gaussian trait evolution model that exploits Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC). HMC enables efficient sampling of the constrained model parameters and takes advantage of the tree structure for fast likelihood and gradient computations, yielding algorithmic complexity linear in the number of observations. This approach encompasses a wide family of stochastic processes, including the general Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) process, with possible missing data and measurement errors. We implement inference tools for a biologically relevant subset of all these models into the BEAST phylogenetic software package and develop model comparison through marginal likelihood estimation. We apply our approach to study the morphological evolution in the superfamilly of Musteloidea (including weasels and allies) as well as the heritability of HIV virulence. This second problem furnishes a new measure of evolutionary heritability that demonstrates its utility through a targeted simulation study.


Hotels and casinos have long suspected that guest comments and ratings posted on review sites influence key operating metrics like future bookings. Recent developments in social media analytics have finally provided the opportunity to firmly establish this relationship, and understand the conditions under which the relationship holds. In this session, you learn how to incorporate operational data into social media analytics. We discuss emerging categories of social media analytics for hospitality, which operational data sources are most closely linked to social media, and how to determine whether there is a statistically significant relationship between guest sentiment and future bookings.


Hydrodynamic instability and resulting interfacial turbulent mixing are studied in a liquid/gas shock-tube configration. HYDRA, an AWE three dimensional Eulerian Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) code, is used to numerically investigate such phenomena. In addition, the cavitation formation and its effect on the turbulent mixing, by adding a small amount of gas premixed with water, are presented and discussed. ‡


The spatial variations in agro-climatic conditions, socio-economic set-up and the cultural milieu have a direct as well as indirect influence over the domestication of animals. The domestication of plants and animals are greatly influenced by physical factors like terrain, geomorphic processes and agro-climatic conditions. Among all geographical factors climate plays a dominant role in the development of dairy farming as climate is instrumental in the formation of botanical environment which ultimately determines the vegetation and animal association. In Ladakh, vegetation is very sparse, rains are very scanty and most of the land comprises cold desert and barren mountains devoid of any vegetative cover. The region has short agricultural season and production of maximum edible biomass is possible only through the development of pastures, fodder and crop roughages. As a result, dairy farming becomes an integral part of agriculture in this region. Among the various basic human needs that the animals fulfil, milk is the most important one. Dairy animals are the best means to convert local vegetative biomass into useful products and work. The milk conversion process is however, controlled by genetic and non-genetic factors of the milch animals. In this region, the native breed of dairy animals are mostly of indigenous zebu type (Bos indicus). They are late maturing animals with low yield of milk and have short lactation period. In this paper, an attempt has been made to compare the productive and reproductive performance as well as the relative profitability of crossbred cows, local cows, dzomos and yaks in the cold arid region of Ladakh. All the biological parameters of dairy animals such as age at first calving, lactation yield, and milk yield are higher among the crossbred cows followed by dzomo, as compared to their indigenous counterparts. The average daily milk yield per local cow was found to be 1.80 kgs, crossbreds 5.74 kgs, dzomo 2.63 kgs and yak 2.03 kgs. The study reveals that crossbred cows are more economical, provide higher yield and profitability than the local animal stock. Popularisation of crossbred cows in Ladakh region could prove to be quite beneficial and at the same time provide round the year employment to beneficiaries resulting in significant increase in their levels of income.


This part presents a dynamic model for predicting the impact compressive responses of warp-knitted spacer fabrics under various loading conditions using quasi-static compressive stress–strain data. The model was established based on a nonlinear mass-spring-damper system by considering spacer yarns as nonlinear springs with damping effect and representation of their stiffness by the constitutive model developed in Part I. Based on the dynamic model, the impact compressive responses of a typical warp-knitted spacer fabric was parametrically studied in terms of damping ratio, initial velocity, striker mass and contact area. The study indicates that damping can reduce the peak acceleration and peak displacement regardless of loading conditions, and the increase of the initial velocity can enhance the damping effect. Increasing initial velocity or striker mass while keeping the counterpart constant can increase the peak acceleration and peak displacement. However, at a constant kinetic energy, either increasing striker mass or decreasing initial velocity can reduce the peak acceleration, but the peak displacement keeps constant. The study also shows that an optimal size of the spacer fabric exists for achieving minimal peak acceleration under impact at a certain kinetic energy. Experimental validation by drop-weight impact tests demonstrates that the predictions of the dynamic model are in satisfactory agreement with the experimental results. Using the quasi-static compressive data from a simple test, this dynamic model can numerically simulate the full time-response of warp-knitted spacer fabrics under various impact conditions.


In this paper, a Fourier transform infrared focal-plane-array detector was used to image the "bond-stretching" vibration mode observed near sigma=1120 cm-1 of highly Ge-doped graded-index multimode optical fibers (GI-MMFs). We show that the distribution of the peak wavenumber sigma is nonuniform across the core and cladding of the MMF, i.e., sigma is smaller in the core due to the Ge-doping. Next, as calibration curves between sigma and the fictive temperature Tf are not available in the literature for highly Ge-doped glasses (above 7w%), we have determined calibration curves from 1w% to 30w% in Ge. Then, we have applied these corrections in order to estimate, for the first time to our knowledge, the fictive-temperature distribution within multimode-fiber cross section. Using these curves, we show that Tf is higher at the fiber edges, presumably due to faster cooling. Furthermore, there is also a Tf increase in the center of the core (i.e., higher Ge content)


The aim of the study is to reveal the underlying structure of issues of university students taking online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The overall design of the study includes a review of contemporary literature and field survey for data collection and analysis. Discourse of literature coupled with expert opinion has been employed for identification of issues. Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) is used for the determination of intra-issue relationships and analyzing the underlying structure. Cross impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC analysis) is used as a technique for classifying issues on the basis of driving–dependence power. Results of the literature show that there are 21 major issues faced by the students taking online classes. ISM shows that lack of institutional guidelines, lack of regulators' guidelines, stress of pandemic situation, and abrupt (not planned) start of online classes are the most critical issues. MICMAC analysis reveals that there is no autonomous issue, 4 (i.e., connectivity issue, shy to use technology, lack of institutional guidelines, and stress of pandemic situation) are independent, 6 other issues are dependent, and the remaining 11 are linking. This is a valuable study having practical implications for regulators, students, parents, and society to understand the current problem. It is an original attempt that contributes toward literature in the form of a structural model and a diagram of classification of issues.


Building on our 2017 article focussing on school library staff perceptions of teachers' information literacy, this article reports on the information literacy (IL) understandings and skills of teachers in post primary schools throughout Northern Ireland. Results of a comprehensive online teacher survey (n=426) indicated that despite misplaced confidence in their own skills, teachers' IL understandings and skills were underdeveloped. The majority of respondents had neither received IL training nor included IL instruction in their teaching. The significance of these findings for theory, practice and policy relating to the teaching of IL skills, which are intended to equip young people to become active citizens and members of a skilled workforce, is discussed.


Ruminal methanogenesis has disadvantageous effects on ruminant animals and environment of atmosphere. Inhibition of methane produced through reduction of carbondioxide has been conducted by bacteriological approach. The approach involved the isolation of bacteria from rumens of sheep (IBD) and buffalo (IBK) using medium for CO-utilizing acetogens. The isolate of bacterium was multiplied with the usual culture medium and then used as inoculum to degrade a substrate of King grass under constant temperature (390C) for 48 hours. Fresh rumen fluid of sheep (CRDS) was used as comparing inoculum. Measurementswere carbondioxide and methane gasses, pH, volatile fatty acid (VFA) and NH3-N contents, bacterial count, and dry matter digestibility ( in vitro DMD). The data measured were analyzed by using completely randomized design. The results showed that morphological cell of IBD was oval pleomorphic with Gram negative type, and cell of IBK was rod with Gram negative type. Percentage of CH4 produced by inoculum of IBD was lower than CRDS but was not significantly different (29.47 vs. 33.07%), while the percentage of methane produced by inoculum of IBK was very significantly lower than CRDS (24.29 vs. 33.07%) (P<0.01). Acetate/propionate ratio as a result of substrate fermentation by inoculum of IBD (3.55) and IBK (3.79) were very significantly higher than that of CRDS (2.43) (P<0.01) . It is concluded from this experiment that isolates used were effective to inhibit the methanogenesis and the species contained in the isolates were indicated to be homoacetogenic bacteria. Key words: Bacterial isolate, acetogen medium, methanogenesis, inhibitor


We demonstrate wavelength demultiplexing into a raster-scanned 8/spl times/9 array by combining a 1/spl times/8 arrayed waveguide grating with a free-space grating multiplexer. 9 diffraction orders from each AWG output are separated onto a 2D array on an InGaAs camera or coupled into a scanned output fiber. This first proof-of-principle device had 0.2 nm channel -20 dB width, >35 dB spectral extinction and 15 to 25 dB insertion loss over the 70 nm operating range.


The Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) scheme represents the dominant radio interface for broadband multicarrier communication systems. However, with insufficient Cyclic Prefixes (CP), Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI) and Inter-Carrier Interference (ICI) occur due to the time-varying multipath channel. This means that the performance of the system will be degraded. In this paper, we investigate the interference problem for a MIMO Discrete Wavelet Transform (MIMO-DWT) system under the effect of the downlink LTE channel. A Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) decoder is used to estimate the decoded signal. The proposed iterative algorithm uses the estimated decoded signal to compute the components required for ICI/ISI interference reduction. In this paper, Iterative Interference Cancellation (IIC) is employed to mitigate the effects of interference that contaminates the received signal due to multiple antenna transmission and a multipath channel. An equalizer with minimum mean square error is considered. We compare the performance of our proposed algorithm with the traditional MIMO-OFDM scheme in terms of bit error probability under insufficient CP. Simulation results verify that significant improvements are achieved by using IIC and MIMO-IIC for both systems.


Plants provide pharmacological important substances. Preliminary phytochemical screening is a vital step to detect and isolate bioactive constituents who may lead to provide ecofriendly environment and help in novel drug discovery. The study was design to investigate the phytochemical screening of various solvents extract of different parts of Carica papaya . Phytochemicals, also known as bioactive constituents are secondary metabolites of plants which have medicinal uses. Alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, saponin, tannin, glycosides are bioactive constituents present in Carica papaya commonly known as papaya plant. Papaya has not only neutraceutical value, it has potential medicinal properties also . The crude extract obtained from the leaves ,bark and peel of Carica papaya in various solvents like petroleum ether, benzene, chloroform, acetone, ethanol, aqueous and extracts were subjected to phytochemical screening .The test conducted in triplicate and the qualitative determination of different metabolites was done using analytical standards published in a text book. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of saponin in the extract of leaf and bark on the other hand it is absent in the peel of papaya. This research paper will be helpful for pharmaceutical industry in discovery of novel drug.


The possibility that CO2 emitted as a consequence of burning fossil fuels may have an impact on climate stimulated a lot of research on the evolution of the emissions and the possibility of remedies.

Here we analyze first the evolution of CO2 emission historically, by looking at the mix and quantity of fuels used. This mix evolves from wood to nuclear energies with an intermezzo of coal, oil and gas, the fossils. The intermezzo lasts about 400 years.

These fuels are made of carbon and hydrogen in different proportion and we have discovered that the ratio evolves in favor of hydrogen following a simple logistic for more than 200 years, formally pointing to a pure hydrogen economy for the end of this century.

That fact that hydrogen has to emerge as the central fuel is shown here to evolve out of the history of fuels consumption. Nuclear appears to have the quintessential characteristics to be the primary energy source.


The 21st century has seen a sharp increase in identity politics. Both European countries and the Americas have faced movements to re-examine their pasts. In the case of Spain, the socialist government of Pedro Sanchez passed legislation to reinterpret the post civil war period. In the case of Mexico, the administration of Lopez Obrador has re-opened old wounds by requesting a formal apology from the King of Spain and from the Pope for the conquest of Mexico. The present exploratory essay deals with an understudied aspect of this ideological debate over cultural identity, the role of the descendants of important historical figures in contemporary identity politics. There is a certain element of an re-enactment of history in the words and deeds of the descendants of Moctezuma II and of Christopher Columbus which at times resembles Aztec rituals involving temporary possession of their persons by the spirit of their ancestors.


We examined the relationship of fetal plasma immunoreactive adrenocorticotropic hormone (IR-ACTH), arginine vasopressin (AVP) and cortisol to fetal arterial pO2 (PaO2), oxygen saturation (SaO2), change (delta) in PaO2 (delta PaO2) or SaO2 (delta SaO2) in fetal sheep at 125-139 days of gestational age. Fetal sheep were exposed to two levels of hypoxemia induced by altering the inspired percent oxygen to the mother for 1 h without fetal acidemia. Fetal carotid arterial IR-ACTH, AVP and cortisol concentrations during hypoxemia were correlated with fetal PaO2, SaO2, delta PaO2 and delta SaO2 by applying simple regression analysis. For IR-ACTH, a strong correlation was obtained with SaO2, delta SaO2 and delta PaO2 after log transformation to IR-ACTH. For AVP, strong correlation coefficients were obtained with delta SaO2, SaO2, delta PaO2 and PaO2 after reciprocal transformation to AVP, but for cortisol a strong correlation was obtained only with delta PaO2 after log transformation to cortisol. We conclude that during fetal hypoxemia without acidemia, there is a strong correlation between IR-ACTH and SaO2, delta SaO2, delta PaO2 but not PaO2, between AVP and delta SaO2, SaO2, delta PaO2, or PaO2, and between cortisol and delta PaO2.


Artificial DNA looping peptides were engineered to study the roles of protein and DNA flexibility in controlling the geometry and stability of protein-mediated DNA loops. These LZD (leucine zipper dual-binding) peptides were derived by fusing a second, C-terminal, DNA-binding region onto the GCN4 bZip peptide. Two variants with different coiled-coil lengths were designed to control the relative orientations of DNA bound at each end. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays verified formation of a sandwich complex containing two DNAs and one peptide. Ring closure experiments demonstrated that looping requires a DNA-binding site separation of 310 bp, much longer than the length needed for natural loops. Systematic variation of binding site separation over a series of 10 constructs that cyclize to form 862-bp minicircles yielded positive and negative topoisomers because of two possible writhed geometries. Periodic variation in topoisomer abundance could be modeled using canonical DNA persistence length and torsional modulus values. The results confirm that the LZD peptides are stiffer than natural DNA looping proteins, and they suggest that formation of short DNA loops requires protein flexibility, not unusual DNA bendability. Small, stable, tunable looping peptides may be useful as synthetic transcriptional regulators or components of protein–DNA nanostructures.


This article examines the emergence of the remedial constructive trust in Singapore, and the consequential need to rethink the distinction between personal and proprietary claims. The focus will be on the implications of the constructive trust for the insolvency or bankruptcy regime.


Abstract Current strategies to improve graft outcome following kidney transplantation consider information at the HLA loci. Here, we used exome sequencing of DNA from ABO compatible kidney graft recipients and their living donors to determine recipient and donor mismatches at the amino acid level over entire exomes. We estimated the number of amino acid mismatches in transmembrane proteins, more likely to be seen as foreign by the recipient's immune system, and designated this tally as the allogenomics mismatch score (AMS). The AMS can be measured prior to transplantation with DNA for potential donor and recipient pairs. We examined the degree of relationship between the AMS and post-transplantation kidney allograft function by linear regression. In a discovery cohort, we found a significant inverse correlation between the AMS and kidney graft function at 36 months post-transplantation (n=10 recipient/donor pairs; 20 exomes) (r2>=0.57, P<0.05). The predictive ability of the AMS persists when the score is restricted to regions outside of the HLA loci. This relationship was validated using an independent cohort of 24 recipient donor pairs (n=48 exomes) (r2>=0.39, P<0.005). In an additional cohort of living and mostly intra-familial recipient/donor pairs (n=19, 38 exomes), we validated the association after controlling for donor age at time of transplantation. Finally, a model that controls for donor age, HLA mismatches and time post-transplantation yields a consistent AMS effect across these three independent cohorts (P<0.05). Taken together, these results show that the AMS is a strong predictor of long-term graft function in kidney transplant recipients. One Sentence Summary Prediction of long-term kidney graft function with exome sequencing


Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and other selenoproteins (SeP) are involved in the detoxification of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS is implicated in preeclampsia (PE). Generation of ROS and antioxidant effect of total GPx in women with PE was estimated. Since we found a significant decrease in total GPx level of women with PE, we were motivated to characterize at a molecular level SeP present in GPx (GPx 1–4, 6). Other SeP including selenoprotein P (SEPP), selenoprotein S (SELS) and thioredoxin reductase (TXNRD) were also analyzed since literature suggests that they also play a critical role in down regulation of oxidative stress (OS) in PE. Non SeP GPx were also analyzed for comparison purposes. Serum GPx was measured in venous blood samples of women with PE (Group A; n=25) and normotensive pregnant women (Group B; n=32) spectrophotometrically. Intracellular ROS generated by peripheral blood mononuclear cells was measured using flow cytometry. Molecular characterization of the SeP was done by sequence analysis at nucleotide, codon and amino acid levels. Intracellular ROS level was significantly increased in Group A as compared to Group B. ROS and GPx were significantly negatively correlated in both Group A and Group B. SePs involved in PE, primarily belonged to two nucleotide biasing groups, AT and GC. Dinucleotide usage and codon preferences in these two groups were found to be in accordance with their respective compositional bias. Such nucleotide compositional bias seemed to be major factor driving their selective codon choices. These SePs differ within themselves with respect to their relative amino acid abundance.


Contents Unit 1: Life and death Unit 2: Nature or nurture Unit 3: Boys and girls Unit 4: Past and present Unit 5: Work and play Unit 6: Home and away Unit 7: Kill or cure Unit 8: Bricks and mortar Unit 9: Words and pcitures Unit 10: Rain or shine Unit 11: Sink or swim Unit 12: Crime and punishment


Despite the marked decline in mortality of acute appendicitis over the past 50 years, the rate of perforation and negative appendectomy remains unchanged. The most effective means of controlling human suffering and economic cost associated with appendicitis is the identification and correction of factors responsible for perforation. Negative appendectomy rates have been relatively stable over the decades. Progress in diagnosis and diagnostic imaging still has not provided a foolproof non-invasive test to rule out the presence of appendicitis accurately. Clinical assessment determines the treatment and the clinical observation should be done by the surgeon. The use of H2-receptor antagonists has not reduced emergency admission of patients with duodenal ulcer. Mortality associated with perforated peptic ulcer remains high in spite of advances in surgical management. The patients with acute obstructed cholecystitis usually reach the surgeon with more advanced stage of the disease which results in increased morbidity and subsequently increased cost for undergoing cholecystectomy. If the patient develops severe diffuse peritonitis, the mortality could reach 30%. This is in spite of aggressive surgical treatment, potent antibiotics, modern intensive care and diagnostic procedures. To improve the results, more advanced treatment to avoid the development of peritonitis and more effective antibiotics to control the inflammation will be needed.


A significant theoretical advantage of search-and-score methods for learning Bayesian Networks is that they can accept informative prior beliefs for each possible network, thus complementing the data. In this paper, a method is presented for assigning priors based on beliefs on the presence or absence of certain paths in the true network. Such beliefs correspond to knowledge about the possible causal and associative relations between pairs of variables. This type of knowledge naturally arises from prior experimental and observational data, among others. In addition, a novel search-operator is proposed to take advantage of such prior knowledge. Experiments show that, using path beliefs improves the learning of the skeleton, as well as the edge directions in the network.


IN HIS TANTALIZING LITTLE ESSAY "Jane Austen and the Moralists," philosopher Gilbert Ryle suggested Jane Austen's novels have much in common with the eighteenth-century moral and aesthetic philosophy of the Third Earl of Shaftesbury (276-91). Ryle himself did not follow up on this insight; and to my knowledge, no one else has either. Ryle's observation, however, seems particularly--even uniquely--appropriate to Mansfield Park of all Jane Austen's novels. Her novels are indeed very different from one another: if we read attentively we find--despite Austen's unmistakeable character and style throughout them all--that each has also a distinct subject matter and finely tuned vocabulary to match. The language and subject matter of Mansfield Park bear remarkable affinities to Shaftesbury's, which may have significant implications for our understanding of Austen's views on the relation between morality and religion. Further, the affinities suggest that she took to heart Shaftesbury's recommendations for the reform of English manners--his advice specifically directed to "authors" for the moral "improvement" of the English national character. If this is the case, it means that in Mansfield Park Jane Austen may have risen to a fully mature recognition and acceptance of her role as potentially one of England's great authors who, like Shakespeare, would become part of every Englishman's "constitution." Shaftesbury's Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times (a collection of earlier essays first published together in 1711) was enormously popular in the eighteenth century, reprinted more often than any other English work except John Locke's Second Treatise (Den Uyl vii). Popular though it was, it was also highly controversial, for Shaftesbury's apparent Deism--his celebration of Nature and Reason--looked scandalously close to atheism. Shaftesbury's attack on Thomas Hobbes's argument that human nature is naturally selfish and violent, and his claim that we are in fact naturally virtuous, while more congenial with religious views, nonetheless emphasized a natural piety of human kindness and affection that threatened to displace God with nature and human beings. Arguing that our moral sense or affection for virtue is the foundation of morality, human society, and indeed of religion itself, he likened this moral sense to a sense of harmony in music and proportion in architecture, conflating moral and aesthetic taste in a way that has won him a permanent place in the history of aesthetics. This is barely a thumbnail sketch of his ideas and their importance, but deliberately so; I do not want the tail wagging the dog here by having Shaftesbury dominate this essay. Since Mansfield Park is our real focus of interest, I will accordingly discuss the novel on its own terms as much as possible, with Shaftesbury coming in by the way. Our best point of departure is the wonderful scene that finds Fanny, Edmund, Mary Crawford, and others gathered at an open window of the house, "looking out on a twilight scene" (l08). Gradually, the others depart, leaving Fanny and Edmund to stand alone together gazing out at the night. Finally, Edmund turns from Fanny and the window, back to the lights, the music, the people, and above all to Mary Crawford, leaving Fanny alone (112-13). The description and conversation between Fanny and Edmund here is pure, unadulterated Shaftesbury--full of the language and sentiments for instance of his delightful dialogue "The Moralists," subtitled "A Philosophical Rhapsody" (Characteristicks, II, l05-247). But on its own terms, what is happening in this scene? What activity is Fanny engaged in? First of all, she is standing with Edmund, her cousin and dearest "friend" next to her own brother William--the person she loves nearly most in the world, her kindred spirit, her other self. And Fanny takes the deepest pleasure in this togetherness: as the others leave, she "had the pleasure of seeing him continue at the window with her, in spite of the expected glee" (112-13). …


Systems biology is the study of the interactions between the components of a biological system and the way these interactions lead to a specific function and behavior of that system.The Handbook of Research on Systems Biology Applications in Medicine presents concepts of the applications of systems biology in medicine, leading students and advanced researchers to an understanding of current ideas in the complex field of systems biology, analysis of data, and development of models, simulation, and drug development. With over 50 incisive research contributions from international experts, this unsurpassed compendium of critical research is an indispensable resource for medical libraries worldwide.


Abstract. We study what effect a possible surface conductivity of Mercury has on the closure of magnetospheric currents by making six runs with a quasi-neutral hybrid simulation. The runs are otherwise identical but use different synthetic conductivity models: run 1 has a fully conducting planet, run 2 has a poorly conducting planet ( m ) and runs 3-6 have one of the hemispheres either in the dawn-dusk or day-night directions, conducting well, the other one being conducting poorly. Although the surface conductivity is not known from observations, educated guesses easily give such conductivity values that magnetospheric currents may close partly within the planet, and as the conductivity depends heavily on the mineral composition of the surface, the possibility of significant horizontal variations cannot be easily excluded. The simulation results show that strong horizontal variations may produce modest magnetospheric asymmetries. Beyond the hybrid simulation, we also briefly discuss the possibility that in the nightside there may be a lack of surface electrons to carry downward current, which may act as a further source of surface-related magnetospheric asymmetry. Key words. Magnetospheric physics (planetary magnetospheres; current systems; solar wind-magnetosphere interactions).6


Changes to commodity programs in the 2002 Farm Bill increased the value of crop base acreages on which decoupled payments are received. The bill also expanded the availability of key conservation programs. This paper compares the value of payments from commodity programs (along with continued crop production) to the easement payment (and recreational lease revenue) available under the Wetland Reserve Program. A net present value model using risk-adjusted returns is employed in the analysis for Mississippi delta cropland containing rice, cotton, and soybean base. Sensitivity analysis is conducted on some of the key variables affecting the decision.


Germans from the former Soviet Union have been migrating to Germany with renewed impetus since 1988. What has become of these migrants, almost 20 years after their arrival? Has policy been pivotal or marginal in shaping their mobility and settlement? In which manner have first generation migrants acculturated and how successfully have they accessed the labour market? Addressing a decade of scarce research outputs, this article takes stock in 2015, using in-depth ethnographic and interview data collected between 2006 and 2012, parallel to a study on co-ethnic returnees in Greece. Exploring these migrants' specific integration scenario, it argues that challenges endure particularly in acculturation and employment. The tenacity of integration problems can be found in a complex interplay of policy rhetoric and expectations, socialisation, cultural difference and structural impediments. As a result, the first generation is still trying to find its feet in Germany, and increasingly back in the FSU.


Background and objective Transcatheter arterial embolization is an alternative to surgical management when dealing with recurrent bleeding from a peptic ulcer after a failed endoscopic treatment. The purpose of this study is to analize the ffectiveness and outcomes of transcatheter arterial embolization and identify the factors that influenced morbidity and mortality rates. Materials and methods A retrospective single-center analysis was performed of 20 patients who underwent transcatheter arterial embolization for acute upper astrointestinal bleeding from gastroduodenal ulcers from 2012 to 2015 at the Republic Vilnius University Hospital. We analyzed the association of early rebleeding and mortality with sex, age, number of units of blood components administered to the patients, length of hospital stay, time passed until embolization, therapeutic or prophylactic embolization. Results The embolization procedure had a technical success rate of a 100%. 14 (70%) were prophylactic embolizations and 6 (30%) were therapeutic embolizations. Three patients (15%) had an episode of rebleeding following embolization, 5 (25%) patients died. Patients that died received statistically significant larger number of blood components (p=0.04 for frozen plasma; p=0.01 for packed red blood cells) and patients that survived had a shorter hospital stay (p=0.05). No associations were observed between rebleeding and factors analyzed. Conclusions Transcatheter arterial embolization is a feasible method for the treatment of rebleeding in gastroduodenal ulcer after endoscopic treatment, resulting in high rates of technical and clinical success and low complication rates. Further prospective randomized trials are needed to obtain more evidence.


The use of duplex stainless steels (DSS) in energy related applications is well known. Nowadays, DSSs become more favorable than austenitic steels due to the outstanding mechanical properties, the good corrosion resistance and the lower nickel content.However, the use of the duplex grade in acidic environments such as seawater can lead to a severe degradation in the structural integrity of the steel by hydrogen-induced/assisted cracking mechanisms, which can eventually result in premature failure. Hydrogen assisted degradation and cracking of steels remains unclear even though this topic is intensively studied for more than a century. The main gap lies in the validation of the proposed theoretical models at the sub-micron scale. Industrial and the research communities define a need for an accurate method by which it is possible to image the distribution of hydrogen in the microstructure. Among the very few available methods nowadays, Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) provides precise mapping of hydrogen in the microstructure. Moreover, the powerful combination of ToF-SIMS with multivariate data analysis (MVA), electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) for providing a the structural information and the use of data fusion techniques can contribute to a better understanding of the hydrogen induced degradation processes in the material.

In the present work two types of duplex grades were chosen as a case study (standard and lean DSS). The duplex class, consist of equivalent amounts of ferrite and austenite, was investigated by ToF-SIMS and EBSD during and after electrochemical deuterium charging in order to simulate the service of a component in acidic environments. Deuterium is known to act on the steel similarly to hydrogen and therefore was used as a tracer for hydrogen. The results show that the ferrite was affected almost identical in both steels whereas in the austenitic phase significant differences were observed in the lean duplex in comparison to the standard duplex. The advantage of the combined techniques is reflected by the ability to correlate the hydrogen distribution in the microstructure to the resulted structural changes.


The knowledge about gene mutations causing permanent hearing impairment (HI) is rapidly increasing, offering clinicians the possibility of analysing different gene mutations in relation to various phenotypes. This study examines a possible relationship between U-shaped audiograms and mutations in the GJB2-gene, coding for Connexin 26 (Cx 26). Thirty-eight subjects at a median age of 42 years, range 18-60 years with symmetric U-shaped audiograms classified as sensorineural were included in the genetic investigation. The gender distribution was 13 males and 25 females. No subjects had any indication of syndromic HI, and any possible exogenous factor that might cause HI was excluded. Three subjects had self-reported prelingual HI and 34 subjects had self-reported postlingual HI. Thirty-five subjects had one or more family members with HI. In 19 subjects the entire Cx 26 gene was examined, whereas 19 subjects were investigated for the 35delG mutation only. One female with mild HI and postlingual onset of the HI was heterogeneous for the L90P-mutation in the Cx 26 gene. In all other subjects no mutations in the Cx 26 gene could be identified. Mutations of the Cx 26 gene are very rare among subjects exhibiting a U-shaped phenotype of the audiogram. However the majority of the investigated subjects (35/38) had a family history of HI and it seems therefore reasonable to ascribe U-shaped hearing deficit to genetic factors which has to be searched for in alternative gene mutations.


The "off-the-top" findings of the air-defense experiments conducted in RAND's Systems Research Laboratory between 1952 and 1954 were the training principles that are the basis of the system training program being implemented by the System Development Corporation.

There are, however, other theoretical and methodological implications.

The desired performance of complex systems can be realized only through designing and managing them for operational flexibility. This can be done by harnessing the learning ability of men in organizations. Conditions for encouraging men to adapt system's resources to most efficient use follow from the organism analogy---a key notion for explaining the behavior of the four crews studied.

In addition, the simulation techniques developed in the course of the research provide a means for continued "head-on" attacks on a crucial problem of the present day---that of better understanding the adaptation process in organizations, so that it can be used and controlled.

The paper is in the form of a report of a scientific search. The story of experimental mistakes, modifications in method, and successive insights is presented to convey the essence of an ambitious investigation at the frontier of knowledge where the terrain is not well-mapped and the research tools are being developed as needed.


SP-40,40, a human plasma protein, is a modulator of the membrane attack complex formation of the complement system as well as a subcomponent of high-density lipoproteins. In the present study, the positions of the disulfide bonds in SP-40,40 were determined. SP-40,40 was purified from human seminal plasma by affinity chromatography using an anti-SP-40,40 monoclonal antibody and reversed-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The protein was digested with trypsin and the fragments were separated by reversed-phase HPLC. The peptides containing disulfide bonds were fluorophotometrically detected with 4-(aminosulfonyl)-7-fluoro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (ABD-F). The peptides containing more than two disulfide bonds were further digested with Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease and lysylendopeptidase, and the fragments were isolated by HPLC. The amino acid compositions and the amino acid sequences of the peptides containing only a disulfide bond were determined. Disulfide bonds thus determined were between Cys58(alpha)-Cys107(beta), Cys68(alpha)-Cys99(beta), Cys75(alpha)-Cys94(beta), and Cys86(alpha)-Cys80(beta). Since there was no free sulfhydryl groups in the SP-40,40 molecule, Cys78(alpha) and Cys91(beta) should also be linked by a disulfide bond. It is notable that all of the disulfide bonds in SP-40,40 are not only formed by inter-chain pairing, but also appear to form an antiparallel ladder-like structure between the two chains. The unique structure could be related to the functions of SP-40,40.


Eight patients were monitored three times daily for 3 consecutive days. Plasma calcium fluctuated slightly, whereas phosphate varied more and in two patients fell below 0.08 mmol/I. Necessary calcium and phosphate supply for adults was estimated to be 0.15 and 0.25 mmol per kg body mass per day, respectively. Plasma ionized calcium could be estimated form total calcium, albumin and pH with a standard deviation of 0.05 mmol/l. This is 5 times higher than by direct measurement with a new combined pH-pCa electrode system.


Cotton is the main source of renewable fiber in the world and is primarily used for textile production. This study analyzed 3,487 papers on cotton research published during 1990 to 2021 from the agronomy category of the Web of Science (WoS). Papers were mainly written in English (96.329%), from 8,860 authors, 87 countries/territories, 1,661 organizations, and published in 107 journals and book series. The top five core journals were Crop Science (433, 12.418%), Agronomy Journal (310, 8.89%), Weed Technology (205, 5.879%), Field Crops Research (203, 5.822%), and Euphytica (189, 5.42%) with each publishing more than 189 papers. The top five countries and regions were the U.S., Peoples Republic of China, India, Brazil, and Australia. The top five organizations were USDA ARS, Texas A&M Univ., North Carolina State Univ., Univ. Georgia, and Cotton Incorporated. The top five authors were Johnie N. Jenkins, Don C. Jones, Jack C. McCarty, Jr., Jinfa Zhang, and C. Wayne Smith, with each publishing 72 papers or more. Visualizations using VOSviewer were conducted on WoS data to determine co-occurrence and clusters of connected publications, country input, organizations, and author collaboration (coauthorship) as well as clusters of all keywords of interrelated research topics. Based on the analysis of the network map of VOSviewer, there is cooperation among authors, organizations, and countries or regions. All keywords of the cotton research papers published during 1990 to 2021 from WoS agronomy category separated into six clusters based on different research topics.


This paper is dedicated to the R package FMM which implements a novel approach to describe rhythmic patterns in oscillatory signals. The frequency modulated M\"obius (FMM) model is defined as a parametric signal plus a gaussian noise, where the signal can be described as a single or a sum of waves. The FMM approach is flexible enough to describe a great variety of rhythmic patterns. The FMM package includes all required functions to fit and explore single and multi-wave FMM models, as well as a restricted version that allows equality constraints between parameters representing a priori knowledge about the shape to be included. Moreover, the FMM package can generate synthetic data and visualize the results of the fitting process. The potential of this methodology is illustrated with examples of such biological oscillations as the circadian rhythm in gene expression, the electrical activity of the heartbeat and neuronal activity.


Observations were made of oceanic currents, hydrography, and microstructure in the southern Yermak Plateau in summer 2007. The location is in the marginal ice zone at the Arctic Front northwest of Svalbard, where the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC) carries the warm Atlantic Water into the Arctic Ocean. Time series of approximately 1-day duration from five stations (upper 520 m) and of an 8-day duration from a mooring are analyzed to describe the characteristics of internal waves and turbulent mixing. The spectral composition of the internal-wave field over the southern Yermak Plateau is 0.1‐0.3 times the midlatitude levels and compares with the most energetic levels in the central Arctic. Dissipation rate and eddy diffusivity below the pycnocline increase from the noise level on the cold side of the front by one order of magnitude on the warm side, where 100-m-thick layers with average diffusivities of 5 3 10 25 m 2 s 21 lead to heat loss from the Atlantic Water of 2‐4 W m 22 . Dissipation in the upper 150 m is well above the noise level at all stations, but strong stratification at the cold side of the front prohibits mixing across the pycnocline. Close to the shelf, at the core of the Svalbard branch of the WSC, diffusivity increases by another factor of 3‐6. Here, nearbottom mixing removes 15 W m 22 of heat from the Atlantic layer. Internal-wave activity and mixing show variability related to topography and hydrography; thus, the path of the WSC will affect the cooling and freshening of the Atlantic inflow. When generalized to the Arctic Ocean, diapycnal mixing away from abyssal plains can be significant for the heat budget. Around the Yermak Plateau, it is of sufficient magnitude to influence heat anomaly pulses entering the Arctic Ocean; however, diapycnal mixing alone is unlikely to be significant for regional cooling of the WSC.


This essay comments on William Klein's Criteria for Good Laws of Business Association. Klein bids us to cull, modify, and restate a set of proposed criteria for good corporate law so as to state the law's goals more clearly. This essay takes up the invitation. It suggests that the criteria on which we can agree lie at a high level of generality: Corporate law makes us all welfare consequentialists who agree that good corporate law is about encouraging productivity. We differ over the means to that end in debates that have over time evolved away from the ideological and toward the functional. Within this framework, corporate law has two core and generally accepted objectives - freedom of action for management and the minimization of the cost of capital. The firm's legal boundaries follow from these core objectives, and adherence to them triggers resistance to theoretical calls for social responsibility and constituent empowerment. In contrast, corporate law's core subject matter, the terms of the shareholder-manager agency relation, implicates tensions between the dual purposes of freedom of action for management and the minimization of the cost of capital. Corporate law mediates these tensions with open-ended terms and piecemeal resolutions. Although theorists have offered meta level means to resolve the tensions, the practice has never responded by endorsing the theories. Absent an ex ante set of empirically verifiable formulas for productive business organization, this debate will continue unresolved.


In 25 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes and without microangiopathic complications the main hemostatic inhibitors antithrombin III, alpha-2-macroglobulin, and alpha-2-antiplasmin were examined before and after an optimal compensation of the carbohydrate metabolism was achieved. The patients were treated for 24 hours with the help of an artificial endocrine pancreas--biostator. The initial mean value of hyperglycemia of 15.61 mmol/l fell significantly to a mean value of 5.67 mmol/l at the end of the 24 hour treatment. During this 24 hour period the levels of the indices followed up did not change significantly. They were as follows: antithrombin III--98.48%, alpha-2-macroglobulin--112.25%, alpha-2-antiplasmin--110.68%. The lack of changes in the hemostatic inhibitors is explained by the short term biostator treatment.


Curvature describes how much a line deviates from being straight or a surface from being flat. When curvature is used to interpret gravity and magnetic anomalies, we try to delineate geometric information of subsurface structures from an observed nongeometric quantity. In this work, I evaluated curvature attributes of the equipotential surface as functions of gravity gradients and analyzed the differences between the theoretical derivation and a practical application. I computed curvature of a synthetic model that consisted of representative structures (ridge, valley, basin, dome, and vertical cylinder) and curvature of the equipotential surface, gravity, and vertical gravity gradient (which is equivalent to the magnetic reduction-to-the-pole result) due to the same model. A comparison of curvature of such a geometric surface and curvature of different gravity quantities was then made to help understand these curvature differences and an indirect link between curvature of gravity data and actual structures. Finally, I applied curvature analysis to a magnetic anomaly grid in the Gaspe belt of Quebec, Canada, to illustrate its useful property of enhancing subtle features.


This paper presents the information form of the decentralized and distributed Kalman filter. Use of the Information filter allows straightforward fusion of new observations. The minimal communication of information between reduced order, globally optimal fusion centers is explained using a transformation diagram.


Bacteria are responsible for the precipitation and accumulation of some significant carbonate deposits; prime examples are hot spring travertine accumulations. Bacteria induce precipitation of carbonate minerals immediately surrounding their cell walls and, in doing so, entomb themselves within the crystals. Subsequently, a generation of abiotically precipitated clear spar commonly cements cell colonies as well as the initial bacterially induced carbonate. The relatively rapid decay of the bacterial fossils, consequently, results in localized abundances of unconnected microporosity. This submicron- to micron-size porosity is not normally detected by standardized porosity evaluations. These pore systems, which are especially abundant in hot spring travertine deposits, can influence density measurements and, therefore, any calculations in which density is a factor. The pores have been found to be abundant within different bacterially induced features, such as shrubs, peloids, and oncoids. Other forms of porosity common in hot spring travertines include shelter porosity, foam rock, and some highly irregular early dissolution of the carbonate caused by the abundance of nonmarine waters coursing through these rocks.


Heat transport in bulk semiconductors is well understood, and during the last few years, it has been shown that it can be computed accurately from ab initio calculations. However, describing heat transport in micro- and nanodevices used in applications remains challenging. In this paper, we propose a method, based on the propagation of wave packets, for solving the phonon Boltzmann transport equation parametrized with ab initio calculations. It allows computing the thermal conductivity of micro- and nano-sized systems, without adjustable parameters, and for any materials. The accuracy and applicability of the method are demonstrated by computing the cross plane thermal conductivity of cubic and hexagonal silicon thin films as a function of their thickness.


Abstract Building energy demand for heating and cooling has a complicated relationship with different environmental conditions surrounding the building sector. Many projects aiming to improve thermal performance in existing buildings in Jordan suggest that roof insulation will improve thermal performance. In this study we try to prove that minimizing building infiltration is more effective and provides a lower cost solution in low-income houses in Jordan. This work introduces a comparative analysis of the infiltration rate and insulation techniques applied to standalone low-income houses in Jordan to identify the energy efficiency of those techniques for different climate zones in the country. A building simulation presenting the common building configuration used in was developed to test the effectiveness of various insulation scenarios (Roof, Wall, Roof and wall together) and infiltration rate scenarios. The results show that in different climates the reduction of infiltration to half (0.75 air changes per hour (ACH)) shows a similar potential to reduce energy demand as 10 or 12.5 cm roof or wall insulation. Also, the reduction of infiltration rate to a low level (0.25 ACH) can decrease energy demand more effectively than 12.5 cm insulation in the roof or walls.


Non-invasive samples of animal dung are being collected for use with DNA-based capture–recapture analysis to estimate the abundance of the species. A typical sampling strategy involves repeated sampling of transects or grids to search for dung. Searches performed on different transects or on different occasions are often considered the capture sessions for capture–recapture analysis. It is possible that multiple samples of dung from the same individual are found within an occasion. Most current capture–recapture models do not account for this additional data. We present a generalization of the geographically and demographically closed population capture–recapture models that use the numbers of dung found for each individual during each sampling occasion to help estimate heterogeneity in capture probability. We demonstrate that in the face of heterogeneity caused by unequal amounts of dung available per individual, the estimator developed here out performs standard capture–recapture abundance estimation. The estimator allows the benefit of using all data collected while not adding additional costs to the study. We present an example using dung-based capture–recapture data from African elephants to demonstrate the method.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) using bipolar electrocautery and physiologic saline is a new technical advancement in the field of surgical management of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of this new technique and to compare the results with those of conventional monopolar TURP.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
This study included 60 patients who were randomized 1:1 to bipolar (group 1) or monopolar (group 2) TURP. Bipolar TURP was performed with the Vista CTR resectoscope and generator (ACMI Corp.). Preoperatively, patients were assessed by symptom score, uroflow, and transrectal sonography, and the two groups were comparable with regard to these measures and age. The preoperative and postoperative parameters studied included resection time, amount of tissue resected, irrigant amount, blood loss, fluid absorption, and change in serum sodium and hemoglobin. Postoperatively, patients were assessed for symptoms, symptom score, and uroflow rate at 1 and 3 months.

RESULTS
There was no difference in resected tissue amount, irrigant amount, fluid absorption, duration and amount of postoperative irrigation, or fall in hemoglobin. The mean resection rate was 0.61 g/min in group 1 and 0.74 g/min in group 2. Serum Na dropped by 4.6 Eq/L in group 2, whereas it fell only 1.2 mEq/L in group 1 (P < 0.001). Improvement in symptom and QoL scores and Q(max) were similar in the two groups. Postoperative dysuria was less common with bipolar resection.

CONCLUSION
Bipolar resection of the prostate is as effective as monopolar TURP. Moreover, it does not lead to any change in serum Na and causes less postoperative dysuria.


A patient with long-standing progressive systemic sclerosis developed calcification of the suprapatellar pouch. Chalky white synovial fluid from the knee joint contained many crystals that were characterized as apatite by X-ray diffraction. In this case massive amounts of cystals were presumably shed into the fluid from the heavily calcified synovium.


The aim of this study is to establish functional relationships between site index (dominant height at a total age of 100 years) and site properties, which can be used for predicting site index in forestry. The functions are derived from a mathematical growth model, assuming that the effects of different growth factors interact in a multiplicative way. Data selected from the National Forest Survey and comprising more than 3 000 plots are used to estimate the parameters of the model by means of regression analysis. In total, 10 functions are constructed-6 for Scots pine and 4 for Norway spruce. These functions are checked by an examination of residuals and by a comparison with data not used for constructing the functions. The checks gave fairly satisfactory results, and the functions seem suitable for their purpose. However, site indices predicted have an accuracy considerably lower than when using site index curves in stands suitable for that method. Hence, the use of the functions should be restricted to situations where site index curves cannot be applied.


Guidelines recommend that head-injured patients who require life-saving decompressive surgery should undergo surgery within 4 h. To assess the compliance with this recommendation 100 consecutive head-injured patients admitted to a regional neurosurgical unit (RNU) were studied. Time points from head injury to craniotomy were documented and analysed. Twenty-four patients underwent emergency craniotomy, only one being operated on within 4 h. In this cohort of patients there was no relationship between timing of surgery and outcome. In order to investigate whether it is possible to reduce delays in transportation time, theoretical models were created to determine whether direct transfer to the RNU would be faster by land or air ambulance.


In this paper, the "two body abrasive wear characteristics" have been studied for the cylindrical samples of pure epoxy and chemical treated coir fibre filled epoxy polymer composites of the size of 10 mm and 32 mm at different sliding speeds in multiphase conditions. The wear characteristics have been estimated by following two parameters, the normal load and sliding speed in a single pin-on-disc wear testing machine. It has been found that the wear characteristics decreases by increasing the sliding speed in both the cases / samples, pure epoxy and treated coir fibre filled epoxy respectively. Finally, we get that the rate of abrasion for composite is slightly less as compared to pure epoxy polymer composites.


An extremely high concentration of zinc in the plasma (hyperzincemia) was found in five out of seven members of one family and in two out of three second generation indiviuals, an indication that the condition is heritable. The excess zinc in the plasma appears to be bound to serum proteins, with no apparent clinical symptoms or abnormalities.


The business success of pharmaceutical companies in achieving sales targets amid increasingly fierce market competition is highly dependent on the presence of a strong and efficient marketing team. This study aims to explore the impact of talent management on medical representatives' performance in Indonesia, as well as to analyze the mediation role of employee ambidexterity and work engagement. This study used a quantitative approach involving 167 medical representatives as a sample. Data were collected through questionnaires distributed online and offline. The paper used structural equation modeling-partial least squares (SEM-PLS) for data analysis. The study's results partially show that talent management, employee ambidexterity, and work engagement can significantly increase medical representatives' performance (< 0.05). Furthermore, talent management significantly increases employee ambidexterity and work engagement (< 0.05). In addition, an indirect effect was found, where talent management can significantly improve medical representatives' performance mediated by employee ambidexterity and work engagement (< 0.05). Employee ambidexterity can significantly increase medical representatives' performance mediated by work engagement (< 0.05). These findings prove that talent management, employee ambidexterity, and work engagement are essential to improve medical representatives' performance. In addition, these results also can develop more efficient marketing and human resource management strategies in the pharmaceutical industry in Indonesia.


Latent transforming growth factor-β-binding protein (LTBP)2 is a member of the fibrillin/LTBP superfamily of extracellular matrix proteins, and has been demonstrated to exhibit tumor-promoting and tumor-suppressive functions in different types of cancer. However, the function of LTBP2 in gastric cancer (GC) remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression and molecular function of LTBP2 in GC, and to evaluate its prognostic value for patients with GC. The results revealed that the expression of LTBP2 was upregulated in GC tissues and cell lines. Increased LTBP2 expression was associated with poor overall survival in patients with early-stage [tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) I/II] and late-stage (TNM III/IV) GC. Furthermore, silencing of LTBP2 effectively suppressed the proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in GC cells. These results suggested that LTBP2 may be considered as a potential therapeutic target and a promising prognostic biomarker for human GC.


In 2006, the FDA set a minimum age requirement of 18 for saline-filled breast implants and 22 for silicone breast implants. As a result, adolescent women who do not meet the age requirement are unable to receive implants for augmentation or reconstructive purposes. The FDA reasons that the age requirement will allow women sufficient time for their breast tissue to develop and will prevent adolescents from making an emotionally immature decision. This age limitation affects all adolescents considering augmentation procedures whether one is considering augmentation to align with their new gender identity, to enhance their breasts solely for cosmetic reasons, or to gain a new sense of confidence after receiving a mastectomy due to breast cancer. This case explores the purpose, structure, and approval process of the FDA and examines the varying motivations of adolescent women electing to undergo breast enhancement. Is the FDA limiting the population of women that can undergo breast augmentation by setting a legal age requirement for surgery? Does this affect an adolescent's control over her bodily autonomy? How does the legal age requirement affect options available to younger transgender individuals and cancer patients? Do teens consider cosmetic breast augmentation procedures for the right reasons?


A new theory explains why large polymer molecules sometimes migrate toward the coldest regions of a fluid, while the smallest ones move toward the hottest.


Superpixel segmentation method designed for aerial images for controlling segmentation with low failure rate is suggested for detecting vehicles from aerial maps with high resolution and accuracy. For greater efficiency of practice and recognition, significant areas are extracted based on segmented superpixel centers. After segmentation, iteration strategy of sample selection based on scattered provision is used to provide a small and complete training subset of the original set. Selected training subset is a method that has the ability to distinguish and differentiate to detect vehicles. Training and detection for the features network of histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) is used to extract features.


The spatial hole-burning effect (SHB) has been known to limit the performance of conventional DFB laser diodes to relatively low power operation. In order to ensure a stable single longitudinal mode (SLM) operation, DFB structures with modifications in the corrugation are considered. Namely, the inclusion of phase-shifts (PS) and non-uniform coupling coefficients is presented with a comparative analysis of the laser performances in the above-threshold regime.


National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant No. 61704015; General program of Chongqing Natural Science Foundation (a special program for the fundamental and frontier research) under grant No. cstc2019jcyj-msxmX0108.


From Nietzsche's statement that "the tragedy born of the tragic chorus, and was originally chorus and nothing but chorus" (GT, 7), we will try to show how, since the first Nietzschean conception of tragedy, this fundamental element of his thought can be characterized, beyond next differences, as an ever transient overcoming of nihilism. Thus, by analyzing the aphorisms 7 and 8 of The Birth of Tragedy, we will show how these elements appear through Nietzsche's interpretation of the tragic chorus.


Gross job and worker flows in Russian industry are studied using panel data from a survey of 530 firms selected through national probability sampling. The data permit examination of several crucial measurement issues, including the timing and definition of employment and the role of reorganizations, and they contain rich information on firm characteristics. We find that new and reorganized firms display larger flows than unreorganized enterprises. Product market dispersion and managerial and dispersed outsider ownership are associated with greater worker churning, and unionization and concentrated outsider ownership with less. There is little evidence that the average firm's employment adjustments have become more responsive to adjustment costs during the transition, but private ownership and product market competition appear to increase responsiveness.


Preeclampsia, the major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in developed countries, is associated with abnormalities of placenta function due to shallow invasion of the maternal decidua by trophoblasts. Data suggest that TGF-beta may play a role in inhibiting trophoblast outgrowth or invasion, or both. We report that placental TGF-beta 3 expression is high in early pregnancy but falls at around 9 weeks' gestation. This pattern is inversely correlated with trophoblast outgrowth and fibronectin synthesis, markers of early trophoblast differentiation toward an invasive phenotype. We demonstrate that TGF-beta 3 is overexpressed in preeclamptic placentae. In contrast to control placentae, explants from preeclamptic pregnancies fail to exhibit spontaneous invasion in vitro. Significantly, antisense-induced inhibition of TGF-beta 3 expression, and inhibition of TGF-beta 3 activity with antibodies, induces the formation of columns of trophoblast cells, which migrate out of the explant into the underlying Matrigel. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that the hypoinvasive placental phenotype characteristic of preeclampsia can be essentially normalized in vitro by biochemical manipulation. We speculate that a failure to downregulate expression of TGF-beta 3 at around 9 weeks' gestation results in shallow trophoblast invasion and predisposes the pregnancy to preeclampsia.


We study numerically bubbles bursting at a free surface and the subsequent jet formation. The Navier-Stokes equations with a free surface and surface tension are solved using a marker-chain approach. Differentiation and boundary conditions near the free surface are satisfied using leastsquares methods. Initial conditions involve a bubble connected to the outside atmosphere by a preexisting opening in a thin liquid layer. The evolution of the bubble is studied as a function of bubble radius. A jet forms with or without the formation of a tiny air bubble at the base of the jet. The radius of the droplet formed at the tip of the jet is found to be about one tenth of the initial bubble radius. A series of critical radiuses exist, for which a transition from a dynamics with or without bubbles exist. For some parameter values, the jet formation is close to a singular flow, with a conical cavity shape and a large curvature or cusp at the bottom. This is compared to similar singularities investigated in other contexts such as Faraday waves.


BACKGROUND
Several types of human papilloma virus (HPV) have been associated with increased risk for epithelial malignancies. In light of a recently available vaccine that protects against persistent infection by certain HPV types (6, 11, 16, 18) and resulting neoplasias, the prevalence of HPV types was investigated in a cohort of people with a suspected viral infection.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The studied material consisted of genital or oral scrapings obtained from 263 consecutively referred Greeks (aged 18-64 years) with a clinical indication of HPV infection. DNA samples isolated from scrapings were tested by PCR, using consensus primers for at least 50 HPV types. In cases of detected viral DNA sequence, HPV typing was performed by restriction analysis using 4 enzymes and confirmed by DNA sequencing.

RESULTS
215/263 (81.7%) of the samples were HPV-positive. HPV types associated with high risk for neoplasias were detected in 91/215 (423%), intermediate risk types in 64/215 (29.8%) and low-risk types in 60/215 (27.9%) of the positive samples. A total of 85/215 (39.5%) were positive for one of the vaccine-related types. Furthermore, types 16 and 18 comprised about the same proportion of the high-risk types detected in this study (35/91, 385%).

CONCLUSION
The observed high prevalence rate of high-risk types underlines the importance of testing individuals with an indication of a possible HPV infection. In addition, there is a need for prevention strategies, such as the annual Pap smear screening of women, as well as wider use of HPV molecular screening and vaccines targeted at common HPV types.


Heregulins (HRGs) are epidermal growth factor (egf) domain containing polypeptide growth factors that bind and activate several members of the ErbB receptor family. Although HRG can bind to ErbB3 and ErbB4 homodimers, the highest affinity and most intracellularly active receptor complexes are hetero-oligomers containing ErbB2. The HRGβ egf domain was displayed on the surface of M13 phage to facilitate mutagenic analysis and optimize for binding to a homodimeric ErbB3-immunoglobulin (IgG) fusion. Nine libraries were constructed in which virtually the entire sequence was randomized in stretches of four to six amino acids. These were selected separately for binding to immobilized ErbB3-IgG. Analysis of the resulting sequences revealed some areas that diverged radically from the wild-type, whereas others showed strong conservation. The degree of wild-type conservation correlated strongly with the functional importance of the residues as determined by alanine scanning mutagenesis (Jones, J. T., Ballinger, M. D., Pisacane, P. I., Lofgren, J. A., Fitzpatrick, V. D., Fairbrother, W. J., Wells, J. A., and Sliwkowski, M. X. (1998)J. Biol. Chem. 273, 11667–11674). Some variants from several libraries showed significant improvements in binding affinity to the ErbB3-IgG. These optimized segments were combined in various ways in the same molecule to generate variants (containing up to 16 mutations) that had >50-fold higher affinity than wild-type HRGβ. The optimized variants stimulated ErbB2 phophorylation on MCF7 cells at levels similar to wild-type. This indicates wild-type affinity is optimized for potency and that factors other than affinity for ErbB3 are limiting. These variants showed enhanced affinity toward the ErbB4 homodimer, suggesting these receptors use very similar binding determinants despite them having 65% sequence identity.


Background Listening to Mozart's Sonata for two pianos in D major (K448) has been found to enhance higher brain function such as spatial temporal reasoning and to have an anti-epileptic effect, demonstrated on EEGs (electroencephalograms). Aim The aim of this study was to establish if the anti-epileptic effect of Mozart music on EEGs is present in children. Methods Forty five children aged 0-18 with EEGs showing epileptiform activity were included in the study. They were selected opportunistically, from those attending for routine EEG analysis who had epileptic EEGs. Mozart's Sonata for two pianos in D major (K448) and an age-appropriate control music were used. Epileptic EEG activity was measured in five states, each lasting 5 minutes; before Mozart music (baseline), during Mozart music, after Mozart music/before control music, during control music and after control music. The results were analysed manually. Results A significant reduction (p<0.0005) in the frequency of epileptic discharges was found during listening to the Mozart music compared to the baseline. No significant difference was found between the baseline and the other three states. No significant difference was found between during listening to the Mozart music and during listening to the control music. Conclusion This study confirms an anti-epileptic effect of Mozart music on EEG activity in children, with a significant reduction in the frequency of epileptic discharges during listening to the Mozart music compared to the baseline, which was not present when listening to the control music. This study warrants further investigation into whether this effect could be achieved with other similarly structured music to Mozart. It opens doors to investigation into the long-term use as a therapy for epilepsy and to enhance understanding of epileptogenesis. Given the large proportion of children suffering from refractory epilepsy and the financial burden of epilepsy medication, a new therapy would be welcomed.


The prevalence of bone metastases from colorectal cancer (CRC) is quite low and the presence of isolated osseous metastases at the time of diagnosis or the onset of bone metastases without other organ involvement during follow-up is even lower. Here, we present an interesting case of diffuse skeletal metastases from CRC in which both the atypical presentation of the metastatic spread and the presence of infective comorbidities created some troubles in getting the final diagnosis.


Most anorthosites of the massif type crystallized in the episode 1.7-1.2 Gyr, with a pronounced peak of the age distribution near 1.4 Gyr. They were emplaced anorogenically at depths as shallow as 7 km, where the ambient temperature of country rocks was probably less than 250'C. Depths of emplacement may have been as great as 25 km or more in rare cases; the greater depths of equilibration estimated from granulite facies metamorphism may be incorrectly interpreted as emplacement depths, but in any case they are demonstrably not required or characteristic of anorthosite emplacement. Penetrative deformation and metamorphism of anorthosites are post-emplacement accidents of the local geologic history, and are not directly caused by the presence of anorthosites. Granitic rocks (mangerite-charnockite suite) associated with anorthosite are in general later or contemporaneous products of crustal anatexis, with chemical and isotopic signatures distinct from the anorthosites and their residua. Such granitic rocks should not, therefore, be summed with the anorthositic rocks to obtain bulk compositions. The magmas that produced most anorthosites were dry, as shown by high-temperature mineralogy and anhydrous mineral assemblages in contact aureoles. Residua from their crystallization are ferrodiorites to ferrosyenites typical of closed-system fractionation. These residua were locally and frequently ejected into contemporaneously molten granite, where they formed pillows and cooled rapidly. The overall chemistry of anorthosites and residua is broadly tholeiitic and consistent with derivation from the mantle. Olivine-bearing magmas locally ranged from leucotroctolite (anorthosite) to later but coexisting picrite or melatroctolite in the same pluton, confirming a wide spectrum of magma types. A signal feature of troctolitic and noritic magmas is their low augite content, implying high content of spinel component. Large anorthosite complexes such as Nain and Harp Lake consist of many plutons representing repeated injections of separate magma batches with varying chemistry. The abundant true anorthosites, richer in plagioclase than magmas cosaturated with a mafic phase, must represent plagioclase enrichment by either mechanical or chemical processes or both. The role of kinetics in nucleation and solidification of such rocks may be centrally important. It is proposed that hyperfeldspathic (plagioclase-supersaturated) liquids were generated by quasi-isothermal extraction of mafic minerals from tholeiitic magma enroute to and at the site of emplacement, and that such a kinetic process was uniquely permitted in an environment of aborted continental rifting. Anorthositic rocks may have much to say about the episodic versus continuous geochemical evolution of the earth's mantle.


This study reports on the development of a platform based-on a Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and suitable for high speed measurements and enhancement of QEPAS sensitivity.


The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has significantly risen all around the world. Although visceral fat mass has been identified as an independent risk factor for NAFLD, the association of other ectopic fat depots, such as Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), with the disease has not been fully elucidated. The aim of the current study was to systematically review all available human studies conducted on the associations between EAT and NAFLD. All human studies published in English, which examined the association between the thickness or the volume of EAT and the incidence of NAFLD were systematically searched on PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar search engines, from inception up to April 2021. Eighteen studies that met inclusion criteria were included in the final review. A total of 86 studies were found through searching the databases. After excluding duplicates, seventy six remained studies were scanned by title and abstract, out of which, 58 were excluded. Finally, eighteen articles (thirteen cross-sectional studies and five case-control studies) published between 2008 and 2021, were included in the review. According to the results of the reviewed articles, EAT was associated with the presence and progression of NAFLD. Furthermore, NAFLD patients with thicker EAT may need a more intensive hepatic follow-up. However, we suggest further investigation to find out the underlying mechanisms describing the observed association.


In both developing and developed regions, depression is women's leading cause of disease burden. The burden of mental illnesses, including depression, has been seriously underestimated by traditional approaches that measure mortality and not disability. While psychiatric conditions are responsible for little more than 1% of deaths, they account for almost 11% of disease burden worldwide.


Motivation: Modeling transcriptional regulation using thermodynamic modeling approaches has become increasingly relevant as a way to gain a detailed understanding of transcriptional regulation. Thermodynamic models are able to model the interactions between transcription factors (TFs) and DNA that lead to a specific transcriptional output of the target gene. Such models can be 'trained' by fitting their free parameters to data on the transcription rate of a gene and the concentrations of its regulating factors. However, the parameter fitting process is computationally very expensive and this limits the number of alternative types of model that can be explored. Results: In this study, we evaluate the 'optimization landscape' of a class of static, quantitative models of regulation and explore the efficiency of a range of optimization methods. We evaluate eight optimization methods: two variants of simulated annealing (SA), four variants of gradient descent (GD), a hybrid SA/GD algorithm and a genetic algorithm. We show that the optimization landscape has numerous local optima, resulting in poor performance for the GD methods. SA with a simple geometric cooling schedule performs best among all tested methods. In particular, we see no advantage to using the more sophisticated 'LAM' cooling schedule. Overall, a good approximate solution is achievable in minutes using SA with a simple cooling schedule. Contact: email@example.com; email@example.com Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Recent research on the history of Platanus reveals that hybridization phenomena occurred in the central American species. This study has two goals: to help resolve the evolutive puzzle of central American Platanus, and to test the potential of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detecting ancient hybridization.

METHODS
Sequencing of a uniparental plastid DNA marker [psbA-trnH((GUG)) intergenic spacer] and qualitative and quantitative single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping of biparental nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) markers [LEAFY intron 2 (LFY-i2) and internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2)] were used.

KEY RESULTS
Based on the SNP genotyping results, several Platanus accessions show the presence of hybridization/introgression, including some accessions of P. rzedowskii and of P. mexicana var. interior and one of P. mexicana var. mexicana from Oaxaca (= P. oaxacana). Based on haplotype analyses of the psbA-trnH spacer, five haplotypes were detected. The most common of these is present in taxa belonging to P. orientalis, P. racemosa sensu lato, some accessions of P. occidentalis sensu stricto (s.s.) from Texas, P. occidentalis var. palmeri, P. mexicana s.s. and P. rzedowskii. This is highly relevant to genetic relationships with the haplotypes present in P. occidentalis s.s. and P. mexicana var. interior.

CONCLUSIONS
Hybridization and introgression events between lineages ancestral to modern central and eastern North American Platanus species occurred. Plastid haplotypes and qualitative and quantitative SNP genotyping provide information critical for understanding the complex history of Mexican Platanus. Compared with the usual molecular techniques of sub-cloning, sequencing and genotyping, real-time PCR assay is a quick and sensitive technique for analysing complex evolutionary patterns.


Commenting source code has long been a common practice in software development. Compared to source code, comments are more direct, descriptive and easy-to-understand. Comments and sourcecode provide relatively redundant and independent information regarding a program's semantic behavior. As software evolves, they can easily grow out-of-sync, indicating two problems: (1) bugs -the source code does not follow the assumptions and requirements specified by correct program comments; (2) bad comments - comments that are inconsistent with correct code, which can confuse and mislead programmers to introduce bugs in subsequent versions. Unfortunately, as most comments are written in natural language, no solution has been proposed to automatically analyze commentsand detect inconsistencies between comments and source code. This paper takes the first step in automatically analyzing commentswritten in natural language to extract implicit program rulesand use these rules to automatically detect inconsistencies between comments and source code, indicating either bugs or bad comments. Our solution, iComment, combines Natural Language Processing(NLP), Machine Learning, Statistics and Program Analysis techniques to achieve these goals. We evaluate iComment on four large code bases: Linux, Mozilla, Wine and Apache. Our experimental results show that iComment automatically extracts 1832 rules from comments with 90.8-100% accuracy and detects 60 comment-code inconsistencies, 33 newbugs and 27 bad comments, in the latest versions of the four programs. Nineteen of them (12 bugs and 7 bad comments) have already been confirmed by the corresponding developers while the others are currently being analyzed by the developers.


BACKGROUND
The aim of this work was to study the influence of steam cooking on pectin methylesterase (PME) and endogenous α- and β-amylase activities in different tissues (cortex and pith) of raw and heat-treated potatoes cv. Agria. Three different cooking temperatures were chosen (55, 70 and 85 °C). For each cooking trial, time-temperature profiles were recorded and the degree of cooking was expressed in terms of cooking factor.

RESULTS
Steam cooking contributed to significantly activate PME at 55 °C and to reduce its activity at the final processing temperature (85 °C), with the highest amount in the cortex (0.3745 ± 0.0007 µmol galacturonic acid (GA) g(-1) fresh weight (FW) min(-1) ) compared with the pith (0.2617 ± 0.0012 µmol GA g(-1) FW min(-1) ). The presence of heat-labile and heat-stable isoforms of PME in the considered potato tissues was also assumed. Heat treatment by steam resulted in a significant decrease in endogenous α- and β-amylase activities in both tissues compared with the raw potato, though without complete deactivation. Starch-degrading enzymes were also found to be differently distributed in the raw tuber.

CONCLUSION
Steam cooking affected in different ways the assessed residual enzymatic activity in the considered tissues of potatoes cv. Agria. Further research is needed to confirm the results obtained.


The aim of this article is to propose some principles and practices for truth-seeking during research into violent conflict. To achieve this aim, an argument is deployed by analysing the theoretical concepts "truth", "myth" and "oral culture" as sources of knowledge. This conceptual analysis precedes a discussion on community-based participatory research (CBPR) as a research methodology to access the knowledge of lived experiences embedded in the oral culture of the San community of Platfontein, near Kimberley, South Africa. It was found that CBPR contains good practices to use in research to judge the probable truth about disputes. The CBPR process is ideal for determining the accuracy of data in the context of a specific culture, considering the norms, spiritual influences and personal considerations of knowledge-holders that accompany a unique cosmology. A variety and equity of worldviews and perspectives of what happened during violent conflict successfully challenges hegemonic power relationships, paradigms and narratives, ultimately leading to informed judgements of what is probably true about a conflict. CBPR with the San of Platfontein revealed principles that can be used as guidelines for researching disputes where oral culture is involved.


There have been many displacement sensing methods based on optical fibers such as using mode scrambling of multi-mode fibers or intensity change of single mode fibers due to coupling mismatch[l2]. In this work, we used as displacement sensing the mode excitation change caused by spatial variation of input beam. A single mode fiber is used as a point-like input beam source for a multi-mode fiber. Since the core size of the multi-mode fiber is about 10 times larger than that of the single mode fiber, if two fibers are closely located and the multi-mode fiber is sufficiently long, the input beam from the single mode fiber excites many modes of the multi-mode fiber without power loss. In that case, the complex amplitude of output beam is expressed ad31


The paper attempts to integrate the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) method in the New Product Development (NPD) cycle. We propose a methodology to evaluate the voice of the customers in designing innovative products. The results presented after applying the methodology focus on the first stage of requirements capture for both the design phase and for the development of the actual product phase. There was considered as case study an innovative, newly patented product, a biometric identification system for emergency cases. The research methodology is inter, multi, transdisciplinary approach for the development of innovative products. In the context of our study NPD was the pathway for the research steps to follow, and QFD the logic glue among the specialists from different fields, like quality management, electronics, computer programming and medicine. The methodology follows the general steps of the QFD formalism and consists in developing a mathematical model that quantifies by an overall index, that we call offset, the level of customer requirements achievement by the technical characteristics of the designed or developed innovative product. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/ peer-review under responsibility of Academic World Research and Education Center.


A novel technique aimed at increasing the image contrast of a structure surrounded by a scattering medium, using optically active molecules as molecular contrast agents, is presented. Specifically, enhanced target detection was obtained by doping the surrounding medium with molecular contrast agents, consisting of aqueous glucose molecules, in conjunction to advanced polarimetric imaging techniques. The outcome of this study opens new horizons in the areas of molecular imaging, early disease detection and cancer identification.


Background Antibiotic prophylaxis in obstetrics and gynaecology (O and G) surgery is known to be effective in reducing postoperative infections, hospitalisation and costs. In 2008, local guidelines on antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery were published as a result of a multidisciplinary work group (including hospital pharmacists) which involved seven hospitals in the Lombardy Region. However, guidelines give general indications and the implementation into clinical practice is not always efficient. Purpose To evaluate the impact of the introduction of local guidelines on antibiotic prophylaxis in elective O and G surgery 7 years after implementation. Material and methods A multi-centre retrospective study was conducted involving three centres which had implemented the guideline in 2008 and was still in use. Medical records of patients undergoing elective surgical procedures in 2006 (pre-guideline) and 2015 (post-guideline) were reviewed by collecting data about patients, surgeries, postoperative infections and antibiotics. Data, collected from medical records, were transferred to a specifically designed database application in Filemaker Pro. Statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS and R. Comparisons were analysed using Chi square tests, multivariable logistic regression and analysis of variance. The effect estimate was reported in risk ratio (RR) and pooled using a random effects model. Results A total of 585 patients who underwent elective O and G procedures (caesarean section and vaginal hysterectomy) were analysed: 304 procedures for 2006 and 281 surgeries for 2015. 'Adequate' antibiotic prophylaxis substantially changed after guideline implementation (RR 1. 21; 95% CI: 1.14 to 1.29, p<0.001): variation was more significant in elective caesarean section (hysterectomy vs. caesarean section: OR 4.059, 95% CI: 2.028 to 8.126, p<0001). Guideline implementation has resulted in an important improvement in terms of compliance to all elements of antibiotic administration: selection (7.2% for 2006 and 56.9% for 2015), dosing (20.4% for 2006 and 84.6% for 2015) and duration of prophylaxis (57.6% for 2006 and 81.5% for 2015). Conclusion Our data suggest that the introduction of the local guideline on antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery substantially improved the use of antibiotics in O and G units 7 years after publication. The success of the guideline implementation could have been influenced by the active participation of hospital pharmacists in periodically training healthcare workers and auditing after publication. No conflict of interest


The MP7 processor card is an all-optical signal processor based on mid-range Xilinx Virtex-7 FPGAs (XC7VX485T or XC7VX690T) in a 1927-pin package. The current version of the card uses the large serial bandwidth of these FPGAs to provide a 0.75+0.75Tbps bidirectional interface, although changes are currently being implemented to push the bandwidth to 0.94+0.94Tbps. The MP7 card was designed before Virtex-7 Engineering Silicon was available and so a lot of design work relied on preliminary documentation and discussion with Xilinx engineers. The MP7 card was, therefore, the first card in the CMS experiment to use Xilinx 7-series FPGAs. The experience of designing for and powering the Virtex-7 are discussed, along with lessons learned. The challenges associated with cooling an FPGA dissipating of-the-order 40W is also discussed.