Recent drought events have caused substantial yield loses in Australia and therefore genetic improvement of drought tolerance has become a high priority in wheat breeding programs. As some Western Australian wheat varieties have shown high levels of water soluble carbohydrates (WSC) at anthesis, understanding the role of WSC in terminal drought tolerance has been the primary focus of our recent drought research. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the impact of stem WSC at anthesis on drought tolerance during grain filling and map the genes responsible for the accumulation of stem carbohydrates and grain yield. Two doubled-haploid (DH) populations, Westonia/Kauz (W/K) and Westonia*2/Janz (W/J), were studied in the field environment under conditions where water supply was manipulated. The analysis of grain yield data showed 3 to 5-fold variation in under drought conditions. Transgressive segregation was observed for grain yield in both populations. Stem carbohydrate concentrations at anthesis varied 2.5 fold with concentrations ranging from 200 to 500 mg per g stem dry weight. From the 32 wheat varieties tested, six varieties had drought tolerance (i.e. grain yield under drought relative to control conditions > 0.9). Varieties with <300 mg g-1 WSC, also had low drought tolerance (relative grain yield< 0.8). Genetic maps were constructed for W/J and W/K populations using 306 and 469 markers, respectively. QTL analysis indicated the presence of several genes for stem WSC concentration and content on chromosomes 3A, 4B, 4D and 7B for the W/J population, and 2D, 5B, 6B for the W/K population. Further results with the grain yield data and the breeding value of some of the wheat DH lines will also be discussed.


The goal of this paper is to evaluate the deep learning algorithm for people placed in the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) classification. ASD is a developmental disability that causes the affected people to have significant communication, social, and behavioural challenges. People with autism are saddled with communication problems, difficulties in social interaction and displaying repetitive behaviours. Several methods have been used to classify the ASD from non-ASD people. However, there is a need to explore more algorithms that can yield better classification performance. Recently, deep learning methods have significantly sharpened the cutting edge of learning algorithms in a wide range of artificial intelligence tasks. These artificial intelligence tasks refer to object detection, speech recognition, and machine translation. In this research, the convolutional neural network (CNN) is employed. This algorithm is used to find processes that can classify ASD with a higher level of accuracy. The image data is pre-processed; the CNN algorithm is then applied to classify the ASD and non-ASD, and the steps of implementing the CNN algorithm are clearly stated. Finally, the effectiveness of the algorithm is evaluated based on the accuracy performance. The support vector machine (SVM) is utilised for the purpose of comparison. The CNN algorithm produces better results with an accuracy of 97.07%, compared with the SVM algorithm. In the future, different types of deep learning algorithms need to be applied, and different datasets can be tested with different hyper-parameters to produce more accurate ASD classifications.


Abstract There are a number of physical restrictions that develop in the course of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). While loss of speech and motor control may be partially compensated by the support of assistive devices, swallowing difficulty and respiratory insufficiency require medical interventions (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, noninvasive, and invasive ventilation). Based on the data collected within the NEEDSinALS study, we found major differences in personal satisfaction with the financing, healthcare provision, medical infrastructure, and regulations of German and Polish ALS patients, despite minor differences in economic burden caused by the disease. In order to explain this phenomenon, we thoroughly reviewed the legal basis, structure and organization of the healthcare systems in Germany and Poland to determine the range of obstacles in the everyday lives of patients and their caregivers that are attempting to attain an assistive device or care after the start of medical interventions.


In preterm labor, tocolytics are used to stop uterine contractions and to allow the administration of corticosteroids for fetal lung maturation, nicardipine is a calcium channel blocker increasingly used for this indication. Several adverse effects have been reported during tocolysis using nicardipine, one of the most serious complications is Acute Pulmonary Edema. We report a case of a parturient who was admitted at 28 weeks pregnancy for preterm labor and developed a respiratory failure two days following tocolysis with nicardipine. Echocardiography and Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography (CTPA) ruled out a pulmonary embolism and a decompensated heart disease. The patient received oxygen therapy and diuresis for Acute Pulmonary Edema with favorable outcome. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the risk factors for occurrence of pulmonary edema after tocolysis, importance of etiologic investigation to exclude differential diagnoses and therapeutic options for management of this complication.


An acoustic projector array, which can be steered between ± 90 degrees backfire to endfire directions based solely on input frequency, is presented using a combination of transmission line (TL) analysis and negative index metamaterial ideas. An acoustic version of a leaky wave antenna, this TL structure is composed of acoustically loaded membranes (acoustic masses) and open channels (acoustic shunts). This type of TL structure had been shown previously to have broadband negative index behavior below a cutoff frequency, and positive index behavior above the cutoff frequency. By carefully designing the geometry of the acoustic elements, continuous scanning with no acoustic bandgap was achieved. The fast-wave radiation band of the antenna was determined using a lumped acoustic parameter method. Angle of radiation of the acoustic waves out of the acoustic shunts was continually scanned backfire-to-endfire, including broadside. Applications of this antenna structure include both source and sensing technologies. Finite element analyses and acoustic circuit analysis were used to predict the angle of radiation of the antenna which agreed with experimentally obtained results. [Work is supported by the Office of Naval Research.]


The all-nearest-neighbours (ANN) problem is a fundamental problem in computational geometry. In the letter a new two-dimensional triangular systolic array with mesh-connected cells is proposed for the ANN problem. This array can process a queue of ANN problems at a throughput of one ANN problem per time period, with an efficiency of 100%.


The study describes women's experience with prenatal care, their perceived impediments to care, and compares the impediments cited by the women with levels of care utilization. The sample consisted of 126 African American women. A structured interview and questionnaire were used. The results showed that pregnancy was unplanned in 78.6% of the women, and no one encouraged the women to obtain care in half the cases. Only 50.8% of the women made adequate utilization of prenatal care. The main impediments to care were transportation, long waiting time, having too many other problems, and fear of staff finding out about the women's use of substances. Five of the reported impediments significantly influenced the women's utilization of care. These were: substance abuse, fear of medical examination, the belief that prenatal care is not necessary, already knew of pregnancy, and no babysitter for other children.


We study the dynamic of shot during an ultrasonic shot peening process from two aspects. The first consists in running various calculations of spheres placed in a cylindrical chamber (radius 35 mm, height 40 mm) and propelled by a sonotrode (frequency 20 kHz, amplitude 25 μm). This allows for a better understanding of the minimal peening time needed to reach a stationary regime. The second aspect deals with the relationship between spatial impact distributions and normal impact velocities. Results show that after a specific peening time, initial conditions such as shot position and velocity have no influence on the calculation output. We also found that the surface impact frequency on a peened sample placed on top of a cylindrical or parallelepiped chamber with same inner volumes does not vary much, and that low velocity impacts are mainly concentrated at the edge of the chamber.


Objective: To investigate post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology in servicemen hospitalized 1942–1952. Method: Hospital files of servicemen (n = 590) were studied and PTSD symptoms in groups, based on service experience, were compared. Results: Based on their hospital files, 19% of servicemen were classified as having partial PTSD. No full cases of PTSD were identified, due primarily to the small number of recorded avoidance symptoms and the limited information in relation to the stressor criterion. Prisoners of war had the highest reported avoidance and lowest intrusive symptoms compared with other combatants. Conclusions: PTSD symptoms may have been common during and after World War II. At that time avoidance was not considered a symptom of disorder. Intrusive and arousal symptoms may be the core symptoms of PTSD and avoidance symptoms need to be reconsidered.


Abstract Buck Creek metatroctolites preserve evidence of three stages in the geologic history of the region: a relict igneous stage; a high-pressure, granulite-facies metamorphic stage; and a hydrous alteration stage. During high-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism, adjacent olivine and plagioclase reacted to produce complex coronitic textures. Relict olivine is surrounded by radial, columnar orthopyroxene, and plagioclase is rimmed by fine-grained symplectite composed of separate grains of clinopyroxene/ spinel, tschermakitic amphibole/spinel symplectite and minor clinopyroxene/sapphirine symplectite. Examination of textural relationships in back-scattered electron images and X-ray element maps of the symplectites demonstrates that amphibole/spinel and clinopyroxene/spinel symplectites grew simultaneously at high temperature to replace plagioclase in these rocks. Clinopyroxene/sapphirine symplectite grew in the latest stages of plagioclase replacement in some samples. A successful model for the main corona-forming reaction in sample BC7, 1.00 Pl + 1.72 Ol + 0.17 H2O = 0.59 Di + 0.17 Amp + 0.68 Spl + 0.79 Opx, results only if amphibole is included. The model predicts relative volumes of product clinopyroxene, amphibole and spinel that are generally consistent with the proportions in imaged symplectites. Proportions of clinopyroxene- and amphibole-hosted symplectite appear to have been governed by local mass-balance of Na and Al in plagioclase and/or availability of H2O. The most successful model for formation of the inner clinopyroxene/sapphirine corona, 1.00 Pl + 1.47 Ol + 0.17 H2O = 0.59 Di + 0.17 Amp + 0.30 Spr (10 ox.) + 0.57 Opx, also includes amphibole, which is present in association with clinopyroxene/sapphirine symplectite. Sufficient H2O for formation of symplectic amphibole must have been present in the intergranular fluid of relict igneous troctolites or have infiltrated during metamorphism at high P-T conditions.


We present a model of fixing or patching a software problem after the product has been released in the market. Specifically, we model a software firm's trade-off in releasing a buggy product early and investments in fixing it later. Just as the marginal cost of producing software can be effectively zero, so can be the marginal cost of repairing multiple copies of defective software by issuing patches. We show that due to the fixed cost nature of investments in patching, a software vendor has incentives to release a buggier product early and patch it later in a larger market. Thus, a software monopolist releases a product with fewer bugs but later than what is socially optimal. We contrast this result with physical good markets where market size does not play any role in quality provision.


Introduction There is a high prevalence of anxiety and depression among people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Anxiety and depression are associated with negative health outcomes and increased service use, particularly hospital admissions. Other demographic and health variables are also significant in this relationship. However, less is known about the nature of these relationships when COPD is advanced. Aim: To identify the relationship between anxiety and depression and service use in patients with advanced COPD, and the role of demographic and health variables. Methods: A population-based cohort of patients with advanced COPD recruited to the mixed–method Living with Breathlessness Study completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and reported hospital and community service use and experiences. Patient demographics and health variables were also collected. Quantitative analyses will explore relationships between anxiety and depression, service use, and demographic and health variables. Purposively sampled qualitative data analysed using a framework approach. Results 235 patients recruited: mean age 71.6 (SD 10.3); 61% male; mean MMRC dyspnea scale 3.68 (SD 1.040); mean CAT score 23.4 9 (SD7.5). Anxiety and depression scores (HADS) were higher than population norms. Relationships between anxiety and depression, service use, demographic and health variables will be reported quantitatively and qualitatively. Conclusion(s) This analysis will provide new evidence on psychological health and service use in patients with advanced COPD. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study this data will inform trajectories of change in patient psychological health and service use to enable responsive service planning.


Idotea rostrata sp. now This species is probably more nearly related to Idotea carinata Lucas J than to any other described Idotea. The head is excavated in front; the anterodateral angles are rounded and upturned. The eyes are lateral, large and very slightly projecting. Above the eyes the head is elevated. The head projects forward on the median line forming a tubercular rostrum. In the larger specimen the occipital suture is an irregular impressed line ; the entire surface of the bead is minutely rugose. The articles of the peduncle of the antenna are short and stout ; the length of any article not being more than two or two and one-half times its greatest width. The tiagellum on one side is composed of seven stout and distinct segments, on the other side of six.


The basis of pharmacotherapy requires knowledge of two properties of a drug: pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD). In the era of precision medicine, there is growing interest in determining between-individual variations in PK and PD. While these two dimensions of pharmacotherapy are key foci of investigation, a third property is also emerging as a critical factor in understanding how a drug affects an individual. This third property of a drug is known as phamacoadherence (PA). There can be wide variation in PA among people with diabetes, whether they are using oral or injectable medications. The use of new digital health interventions and telehealth communication tools, such as smart insulin pens, is now creating opportunities for health care professionals to have a more complete understanding of the PA of drugs, which allows for more personalized prescribing practices.


The simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in a single reactor using an activated sludge with cross-flow filtration was investigated. The reactor was a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR), operated on three phase conditions, phase I was continuous aeration, phase II was intermittent aeration and phase III was intermittent aeration with methanol addition. The microbial properties on the nitrogen removal processes were monitored by measuring the ammonia decreasing and nitrate production rate. The denitrification rate was also calculated from N20 gas production by acetylene inhibition method. The experiment results show that the nitrification was occurred during the aeration condition, both in the phase I and II. The denitrification was occurred in the anoxic stage (phase III). The nitrate decreasing rate in the anoxic stage (phase IIIA) increased gradually reach the value of 0.19 mg-N/1/min. on the 8 day operation. The nitrate decreasing rate increased to be 0.45 mg/l/min in the phase IIIB and reach up to 0.70 mg/l/min in the phase IIIC in which the methanol concentrations was increased from 762 mg/L to 1016 mg/L in the phase IIIB and phase IIIC, respectively. The increasing activity of denitrification resulted in decreasing the concentration of TOC in the reactor. More than 80% nitrogen removal occurred in phase III and TOC removal efficiency in phase III reach more than 90%.


The human resources' management in business systems comprises a selection of goals, a policy determination, as well as planning, organizing, coordination and control of activities in the field of human resources, by taking over the management actions, in order to achieve the selected goals and to realize the purpose of the management function, as a sub-system of an organization's operation. The basic tasks of the human resources management are: planning, knowledge managing, improvement of work process and quality, control and evaluation of achievements. The paper's goal is to point out to a significance, which it has for its successful business, according to an analysis and description of the most important activities of the human resources' management, as theoretically, as well as practically, in a concrete business system.


Due to the heavy influence church leaders have on the church community concerning gender-role belief, this study was keen to disseminate the gender-role belief among Christian church leaders. Christian leaders was chosen, due to the scarcirty of literatures, as well as discussions on gender-role equality issues among them. Church leaders (N=92) completed a gender-role belief questionnaire. Results reveal a tendency of egalitarian belief on domestic, employment, and ministry aspects, whilst other aspects, i.e. parental, marital, and church leadership show a relative balance. Gender equality campaigns among Christians are proposed to be conducted through discussing scriptures that support gender equality.


A novel algorithm for no-reference blur assessment in digital pictures is proposed. This metric is based on the evaluation of local phase coherence across the scales of an overcomplete wavelet transform. We compare the performance of the proposed method with four state-of-the art metrics using a large database containing both simulated and real blur.


Background

This study provides an assessment of the health effects due to exposure to particulate matter PM2.5 (diameter < 2.5 µm that cause the air to appear hazy when levels are elevated) in three medium size cities of north western Mexico (Los Mochis, Culiacan and Mazatlan). We computed the total avoidable premature mortality, avoidable cardiovascular disease, gains in life expectancy, as well as the economic costs by air contamination corresponding to PM2.5. To achieve this goal, the Health Impacts Assessment (HIA) methodology provided by the European Aphekom Project was used. People in these cities are exposed to high PM2.5 concentrations that exceed limits implemented in domestic and international guidelines.
Results

We determined the cost of the PM2.5 pollutant associated with health outcomes under two different scenarios: Official Mexican Standard (NOM, Spanish acronym) and World Health Organization (WHO). The mean PM2.5 concentrations in 2017 were 22.8, 22.4 y 14.1 µg/m3 for the cities Los Mochis, Mazatlan and Culiacan, respectively. The mean avoidable mortality for all causes associated to the exposure to PM2.5 in the three cities was 638 for the NOM scenario (i.e., with a reduction to 12 µg/m3) compared to 739 for the WHO scenario (reduction to 10 µg/m3). Complying with the WHO guideline of 10 µg/m3 in annual PM2.5 mean would add up to 15 months of life expectancy at age 30, depending on the city.
Conclusions

The mean economic cost per year of the PM2.5 effects on human life in these three cities was $600 (NOM scenario) and $695 million dollars (WHO scenario). Effective public health and industrial policy interventions are socially advantageous and cost-saving to promote better health.


In this paper, the effect of Ni-W alloy barrier layer on copper pillar/Sn IMCs evolution has been investigated. Additive W weight content of Ni-W alloy ranged from 16 to 18 at. %. Controlled thickness of barrier layer was prepared on Cu substrate. Then, excessive matte Sn electroplated on as-deposited Ni-W layer. Ni-W had compact microstructure in state of FCC solid solution, which means it had good diffusion buffering potential for copper pillar consisting of Cu/Ni-W/Sn Summarized from BSE pictures of samples done by High Temperature Storage, it can be observed that no Sn atoms can be found in Cu Phase during the whole of High Temperature Storage while "bright" layer appeared and grew linearly over time. Besides, Cu atoms permeated throughout the entire Ni3Sn4 IMC layer with storage time prolonged from 72h to 132h.


Objective: To evaluate the iron status among patients with diabetes mellitus and CKD stage 5, who have not started dialysis yet. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried on a total of 50 adult diabetic patients with stage 5 CKD, in the Department of Nephrology, BIRDEM General Hospital, Dhaka over 6 months. Results: Total number of patients was 50. Sixty two percent were male and 38% were female. Mean age was 55.22 (range 33-75) years. Mean± SD hemoglobin and ferritin levels were 7.61±2.54 mg/dl and 155.22±92.32 ng/ml respectively. Seventy percent of the study subjects had haemoglobin level d" 9 mg/dl. In 48% of the study subjects, ferritin level was less than 100ng/ml. Fourty six percent of the study subjects had TSAT level below 20%. Haemoglobin, serum ferritin and TSAT level in the study subjects had negative relationship with duration of CKD. Haemoglobin and serum ferritin levels were positively correlated with eGFR of the study population. TIBC level had negative relationship with haemoglobin level which was statistically significant. Serum iron, ferritin and TSAT level in the study subjects were positively correlated with haemoglobin level. Relationship of haemoglobin with serum iron and TSAT level was statistically significant. Statistical analysis showed relationship between eGFR with haemoglobin and serum ferritin level was significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: Most of the diabetic CKD stage 5 patients had reduced hemoglobin level and iron deficiency is one of the contributory factors and TSAT is the better indicator for iron deficiency than serum iron, TIBC and ferritin level. Birdem Med J 2013; 3(1): 5-10 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/birdem.v3i1.17120


Resveratrol (RES) plays a critical role in the fate of cells and longevity of animals via activation of the sirtuins1 (SIRT1) gene. In the present study, we intend to investigate whether RES could promote the self-renewal and neural-lineage differentiation in human umbilical cord derived MSCs (hUC-MSCs) in vitro at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 10 μM, and whether it exerts the effects by modulating the SIRT1 signaling. Herein, we demonstrated that RES at the concentrations of 0.1, 1 and 2.5 μM could promote cell viability and proliferation, mitigate senescence and induce expression of SIRT1 and Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA) while inhibit the expression of p53 and p16. However, the effects were reversed by 5 and 10 μM of RES. Furthermore, RES could promote neural differentiation in a dose-dependent manner as evidenced by morphological changes and expression of neural markers (Nestin, βIII-tubulin and NSE), as well as pro-neural transcription factors Neurogenin (Ngn)1, Ngn2 and Mash1. Taken together, RES exerts a dosage-dependent effect on the self-renewal and neural differentiation of hUC-MSCs via SIRT1 signaling. The current study provides a new strategy to regulate the fate of hUC-MSCs and suggests a more favorable in vitro cell culture conditions for hUC-MSCs-based therapies for some intractable neurological disorders.


The adverse effects of the accumulation of plastic on our planet are no longer sustainable; plastic is a major threat to all forms of life in all environments in addition to contributing to global warming. The academic world has been focusing on registering the damages caused by plastic pollution and finding solutions to refrain from and substitute plastic and its usages, which our consumer society is so heavily dependent on. A pathway towards limiting the use of plastic comes from the European Union 2019/904 Directive for limiting the production of single-use and oxo-degradable plastics. Currently, bioplastics are one of the major alternatives in substituting fossil-based plastics, but question remain about its use. as too what extent could bioplastics be a long-term solution to plastic pollution? Is it a misconception to consider bioplastics completely harmless to the environment? This short review article aims to draw attention to the counter effects connected to the limitations and mismanagement of bioplastics through their life cycle by collecting data not published until now. A review of several cradle-to-Grave Life Cycle Assessments has been made to analyse bioplastics from production to end-of-life options. The result produced from this review article shows that bioplastics do not represent a long-term solution to plastic pollution and, on the contrary, may seem to contribute to overall environmental endangerment. The novelty of this work lies in pointing out the misconception of bioplastics' healthy effects on the environment by thoroughly analysing all environmental impacts of current production and disposal of bioplastics and by providing a more sustainable production of bioplastic through wastewater treatment plants.


We studied the effects of systemic sepsis on peripheral microcirculatory fluid exchange by examining changes in flow (Qlymph) and lymph-to-plasma [L/P] total protein and albumin ratios from lymph draining, the efferent duct of a prefemoral lymph node in sheep, before and during surgically-induced peritonitis. After baseline study, peritonitis was produced by cecal ligation, perforation, and devascularization. By 24 hours blood cultures revealed a polymicrobial bacteremia. The hemodynamic response to the septic insult during the 72-hour study period was characterized by an increase in heart rate and an initial fall in stroke volume index; yet, the mean blood pressure remained unchanged from baseline levels throughout the study protocol. The intrapulmonary shunt fraction increased (p less than 0.05) by 48 hours, as did both the Qlymph (2.6 +/- 1.9 ml/hr to 6.8 +/- 4.6 ml/hr; p less than 0.05) and the calculated lymph albumin clearance (1.6 +/- 1.2 ml/hr to 3.1 +/- 1.7 ml/hr; p less than 0.05). Although the calculated serum to interstitial colloid osmotic pressure gradient fell (F = 4.37; p less than 0.04), both the [L/P] total protein and albumin ratios were unchanged from baseline throughout 72 hours of study. Further, [L/P] total protein ratios were unrelated to Qlymph (r = -0.20); as Qlymph (experimental/baseline) increased with sepsis, [L/P] total protein ratio (experimental/baseline) did not fall (r = +0.62). We therefore conclude that systemic sepsis, as represented by this model of bacterial peritonitis, results in increased peripheral microcirculatory fluid flux that is primarily a consequence of an increase in permeability of the peripheral microvascular exchanging membrane.


Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) promotes growth of blood or lymphatic vessels, termed angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis. These share several basal mechanisms, including cross-talk between VEGF-A, C and their receptors, which may be important in the development of malignancies. Study aimed to identify relationships between VEGF-A, VEGF-C and their impact in angiogenesis and metastases in thyroid cancers.We studied VEGF-A and VEGF-C mRNA expression in 123 thyroid cancers, 40 lymph node metastases and 7 non-malignant thyroid control tissues using qPCR. Protein expressions for both VEGFs were determined by immunohistochemistry.VEGF-A and VEGF-C mRNA over-expression was noted in 51% (n=62) and 27% (n=33) of the thyroid cancers respectively. VEGF-A and VEGF-C protein over-expression was also identified in 70% (n=86) and 62% (n=76) of the thyroid cancers. ANOVA showed significant expression differences for VEGF-A and VEGF-C in subtypes of thyroid carcinoma, lymph node metastasis and normal controls (P=1x10-6 and 1x10-5 respectively). VEGF-A mRNA was significantly higher in cancers with lymph node metastases compared to non-metastatic cancers (p=0.001) however, most metastatic tumors under-expressed VEGF-C (p=0.0002). Similarly, VEGF-A protein expression was higher in metastases and VEGF-C protein was higher in non-metastatic lesions, though not significantly. Finally, we used linear regression analysis to test previous proposals about physiological interactions of VEGF-A and VEGF-C expression. Our model indicated that in metastatic cancers, 32% of the expression of VEGF-A could be predicted by a positive influence of VEGF-C production (model p=0.0002). These findings add weight to previous hypotheses concerning VEGF-A and C interaction. Early lymphangiogenic events were proposed to regulate angiogenesis, and changes to VEGF expression in this cancer population bear this out, with VEGF-C in early tumors giving way to VEGF-A in metastases. The commonality of local metastasis in thyroid cancer makes it a useful model to further examine mechanisms of angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis in cancer metastasis. Keywords: thyroid cancer, VEGF-A, VEGF-C Citation Format: Ali Salajegheh, Robert A. Smith, Sahar Pakneshan, Vinod Gopalan, Alfred KY Lam. VEGF-A and VEGF-C: potential coregulators in angiogenic event in thyroid cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 381. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-381


We used positron emission tomography to examine retrospectively the effects of blood pressure on regional cerebral blood flow and oxygen metabolism in seven normotensive and eight hypertensive patients with a history of transient neurologic deficits. In the hypertensive patients, a decrease in regional cerebral blood flow was closely related to blood pressure; these changes were most pronounced in the supratentorial structures, especially the striatum and thalamus. In contrast, the regional cerebral metabolic rate for oxygen was less related to blood pressure. Consequently, the regional oxygen extraction fraction was increased in the hypertensive patients, while regional cerebral blood volume and the regional cerebral blood flow volume ratio were unchanged. Multivariate regression analysis confirmed that hypertension was an independent factor affecting regional cerebral blood flow. The analysis also disclosed that age, sex, hematocrit, smoking, and PaCO2 affected regional cerebral blood flow. These findings suggest that the hemodynamic reserve in hypertensive individuals is reduced, which may predispose them to cerebral ischemia and perhaps stroke, even during small decreases in cerebral perfusion pressure.


The worldwide introduction of new emission standards and new, more encompassing, legislating cycles have led to a need to increase both a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system's capacity and conversion efficiency. To this end, it is important for an SCR system to operate to the extremes of its temperature range which in many systems is currently limited by the temperature at which diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) can easily decompose without the formation of deposits. This paper analyses a new system for low-temperature ammonia provision to the SCR reaction. Ammonia Creation and Conversion Technology (ACCT) uses pressure controlled thermal decomposition of DEF followed by re-formation to form a fluid with greater volatility and the same ammonia density as DEF conforming to ISO 22241. A dosing strategy can then be employed where any combination of DEF or ACCT solution can be used to provide ammonia as a reductant over the whole activity temperature range of a catalyst. High-speed shadowgraphy data identifies both fluids' decomposition rates at several temperatures demonstrating ammonia production from 50 °C with rapid decomposition and full water vaporisation from 100 °C. This study has also equipped an optically accessible hot flow, diesel exhaust simulation rig with a prototype ACCT device. The optical components allow rapid visual verification of deposit growth for bench-marking urea-based system. At a variety of exhaust temperature and mass flow conditions, the study identified a minimum deposit limited working temperature for DEF of approximately 200 °C whereas ACCT solution was shown not to form any deposits and readily generate ammonia as low as 50 °C. Further to this, gaseous species quantification using FTIR techniques has shown ammonia release in an 800 mm flow path for ACCT solution to be in excess of 80%. The study has demonstrated the effectiveness of ACCT at extending low temperature operating limits of DEF based SCR systems thereby increasing the total possible NOx conversion.


OBJECTIVE
Obstetric anal sphincter injury (ASI) is associated with significant morbidity We conducted an ASI workshop for 20 obstetrics and gynecology residents and assessed its impact. Our goal was to determine and enhance residents' knowledge using a multimedia presentation, hands-on simulator and tests. We comment on trends regarding residents' knowledge bases and their retention of the material.

STUDY DESIGN
The workshop consisted of a pretest, lecture with slideshow, DVD, and 20 simulator stations. The porcine tongue simulator represented the human perineum, bungee cord the anal sphincter and a laceration created in each tongue an obstetrical ASI. Faculty members supervised the residents' suture repairs. We analyzed responses from identical immediate posttests and delayed posttests.

RESULTS
Out of a possible 18 points, the average scores were: pretest 9.1 (SD 2.32), posttest 17 (SD 1.34; P < .001), and delayed posttest 15.1 (SD 1.52; P < .001). On a 10 cm visual analog scale (VAS) evaluating the helpfulness of this exercise, the average respondent marked 9.0 (SD 0.95). On a VAS evaluating the comfort level in repairing ASI, the average pre-simulator score was 3.9 (SD 3.13) and the average post-simulator score 5.2 (SD 2.96; P < .001).

CONCLUSION
Relevant structured workshops with simulators for ASI repair could help improve residents' background knowledge and skills in repairing such injuries.


A dramatic change in agricultural crops is needed in order to keep pace with the demands of an increasing human population, exponential need for renewable fuels, and uncertain climatic changes. Grasses make up the vast majority of agricultural commodities. How these grasses capture, transport, and store carbohydrates underpins all aspects of crop productivity. Sink-source dynamics within the plant direct how much, where, and when carbohydrates are allocated, as well as determine the harvestable tissue. Carbohydrate partitioning can limit the yield capacity of these plants, thus offering a potential target for crop improvement. Grasses have the ability to buffer this sink-source interaction by transiently storing carbohydrates in stem tissue when production from the source is greater than whole-plant demand. These reserves improve yield stability in grain crops by providing an alternative source when photosynthetic capacity is reduced during the later phases of grain filling, or during periods of environmental and biotic stresses. Domesticated grasses such as sugarcane and sweet sorghum have undergone selection for high accumulation of stem carbohydrates, which serve as the primary sources of sugars for human and animal consumption, as well as ethanol production for fuel. With the enormous expectations placed on agricultural production in the near future, research into carbohydrate partitioning in grasses is essential for maintaining and increasing yields in grass crops. This review highlights the current knowledge of non-structural carbohydrate dynamics in grass stems and discusses the impacts of stem reserves in essential agronomic grasses.


Background: Gayo Lues is a regency in Aceh Province having the second place of the lowest PHDI (Public Health Development Index) grade in Indonesia. Gayo Lues get low scores in almost all of PHDI absolute indicator, such as imunization coverage and child weighing. Gayo Lues have high percentage of poverty more than national average and the low percentage of village midwife number, made Gayo Lues categorized as MUD (Mentoring of Underdeveloped District). The research goal to identify the change of inovation or new breakthrough to increase the IPKM grade. Method: Observation, foccus group discussion and structured interviews using questionnaire to midwife and housewife using posyandu (Maternal and Child center) also indepth interview for directur and staf of health institutions. Result: The sweeping of child weighing is one of programme handling by midwife to increase the child weighing coverage, so in the end of 2012, the coverage have been going almost 100% until 100%. Conclusion: The result it can be concluded that The Goverment of Gayo Lues have been made some breakthrough for the increasing of IPHDI grade. Recommendation: Breakthrough and movements that teach people about the importance of monitoring the health of children by weighing needs to be improved, among others, could empower community leaders.


This article is an ethnographic account of the various stages of a trial of local army collaborators accused of perpetrating massacres of civilians. The defendants were municipal-level paramilitaries; the complainants were survivors, and the prosecution was conducted by the state. International human rights lawyers used evidence from these cases to build a national-level case for the prosecution of the intellectual authors of state violence, but did not provide assistance for the prosecution of the local-level material authors. The case is used to highlight some of the tensions between the interests of communities and the practitioners of international human rights law, in the context of both groups' efforts to hold a criminal state accountable. The author argues that, in some cases, local-level trials are an essential component to postwar community reconstruction and that these cases should receive support from the international human rights community.


Until recently, the subject of child abuse in Saudi Arabia received very little attention. It was only in the 1990s that cases of child abuse and neglect began to be reported by the Saudi medical profession. A comprehensive, systematic review of the published literature available since that time is presented here. The paucity of research conducted to date is reflected in the fact that only nine articles were found that satisfied the selection criteria, plus four others identified through a search of grey literature. An appraisal tool was used to assess the quality of these studies. The relevant work that has been published indicates that child abuse, of various types, exists within Saudi Arabia but the research does not provide sufficient statistical evidence to be able to determine the extent of the problem. However, there are indications in the published literature of some of the factors that may contribute to child abuse in the Kingdom. These include cultural and societal attitudes, and income and educational levels of parents. Another contributing influence on child abuse in Saudi Arabia appears to be the lack of legislation or legal clarity to protect the rights of minors. Although the review found that there are some government and private initiatives aimed at addressing the issue, these remain inadequate because no formal unifying organization yet exists. A summary of the findings and their implications is followed by a discussion of where further research is needed to fill the gaps in present knowledge of the child abuse problem in Saudi Arabia. Recommendations for future work are made in the hope that this will lead to increased awareness of this important and long-neglected issue among professionals and public alike.


AbstractIn an adsorption process, spontaneous accumulation of molecules takes place at the surface of solids as compared to the bulk phase. Adsorption is used for the recovery of undesirable components from a liquid mixture by establishing van der Waals bonds between the solid surface and the attracted components. Nowadays, adsorption is recognized as one of the major significant separation processes amid the physical, biological, and chemical processes. Activated carbon adsorption has been widely used for the purification of water and wastewater and for the treatment of numerous environmental problems. In this work, polyurethane (PU) foam-activated carbon composites were synthesized and characterized. The mixing of a number of well-defined ingredients produces flexible foam of alveolar structure after polymerization reactions. The prepared PU-powdered activated carbon composites were used to investigate the sorption of raw crude oil. Multiple experimental manipulations were combined to understand this be...


The study objective is to provide data on the use of the Hedgehog signaling pathway inhibitor (vismodegib) in the treatment of recurrent locally advanced and metastatic basal cell skin cancer at the N. N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology.Materials and methods. Clinical data of 10 patients who participated in a multicenter, non-randomized clinical trial of phase II ERIVANCE BBC (ClinicalTrials. gov NCT833417). Patients took the daily studied drug vismodegib orally at a dose of 150 mg daily until disease progression or intolerance due to side effects. Efficiency and safety assessment was carried out once every 4 weeks.Results. Complete regression was achieved in 7 patients, while the average duration of use of the drug was 240 ± 65 days. Stabilization was observed in 2 patients, the minimum duration of the drug was 336 days. One patient showed progression after 728 days of taking the drug. Side effects of the 1 grade according to CTCAE (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events), v. 3.0 were observed in all patients, in 9 they were expressed in muscle cramps, alopecia and changes in taste sensitivity, and in 1 patient isolated in the form of muscle cramps.Conclusion. The results show a good safety profile of vismodegib, which allows it to be used in elderly patients with concomitant pathology. The frequency of response to treatment, including the achievement of complete regression in 70 % of patients, makes vismodegib an acceptable treatment option for metastatic form of basal cell skin cancer and relapse of locally advanced forms.


Nontargeted metabolite fingerprinting is increasingly applied to biomedical classification. The choice of classification algorithm may have a considerable impact on outcome. In this study, employing nested cross-validation for assessing predictive performance, six binary classification algorithms in combination with different strategies for data-driven feature selection were systematically compared on five data sets of urine, serum, plasma, and milk one-dimensional fingerprints obtained by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Support Vector Machines and Random Forests combined with t-score-based feature filtering performed well on most data sets, whereas the performance of the other tested methods varied between data sets.


This paper presents an accurate state of charge (SOC) estimation algorithm using a recurrent neural network with long short-term memory (LSTM) for lithium-ion batteries (LIB) performing under real conditions. With its self-learning ability, this data-driven approach is able to model the highly non-linear behavior of LIB due to changes of environment and working conditions all along the battery lifetime. It is shown that the LSTM approach outperforms common physical-based models using Extended Kalman Filters (EKF) regarding accuracy and stability. To demonstrate this benefit for real-world applications, the provided network is trained and tested with data gathered from commercial industry applications in the domain of energy storage. The LSTM is evaluated and compared with an equivalent circuit model (ECM) using EKF under different working conditions. For dynamic loading profiles, the ECM-EKF achieves an error (RMSE) of 9.5% whereas the LSTM achieves an error (RMSE) of 5.0%.


We show how the iterative decoding threshold of tailbiting spatially coupled (SC) low-density parity-check (LDPC) code ensembles can be improved over the binary input additive white Gaussian noise channel by allowing the use of different transmission energies for the codeword bits. We refer to the proposed approach as energy shaping. We focus on the special case where the transmission energy of a bit is selected among two values, and where a contiguous portion of the codeword is transmitted with the largest one. Given these constraints, an optimal energy boosting policy is derived by means of a protograph extrinsic information transfer analysis. We show that the threshold of tailbiting SC-LDPC code ensembles can be made close to that of terminated code ensembles while avoiding the rate loss (due to termination). The analysis is complemented by Monte Carlo simulations, which confirm the viability of the approach.


The current study addresses the peculiarities of expressing the linguistic category of emotivity on the basis of the English literary works of the XIX c. and XXI c. written by the female authors. The analysis focuses on the syntactic expressive means, particularly, exclamatory sentences, repetitions and partial constructions. The conducted research suggests that the impact of the latter leads to better perception of an emotionally coloured certain life situation that is depicted by a narrator with the help of the corresponding language means. The authors aim to explore the samples of the syntactic expressive means from the literary works under investigation and to reveal the correlation between the syntactic structure and the emotivity of the text.


Zinc plays an important role in cell-mediated immune function. Altered cellular immune response resulting from zinc deficiency leads to frequent microbial infections, thymic atrophy, decreased natural killer activity, decreased thymic hormone activity, and altered cytokine production. In this study, we examined the effect of zinc deficiency on IL-2 and IFN-gamma in HUT-78 (Th0) and D1.1 (Th1) cell lines and TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, and IL-8 in the HL-60 (monocyte-macrophage) cell line. The results demonstrate that zinc deficiency decreased the levels of IL-2 and IFN-gamma cytokines and mRNAs in HUT-78 after 6 h of PMA/p-phytohemagglutinin (PHA) stimulation and in D1.1 cells after 6 h of PHA/ionomycin stimulation compared with the zinc-sufficient cells. However, zinc deficiency increased the levels of TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, and IL-8 cytokines and mRNAs in HL-60 cells after 6 h of PMA stimulation compared with zinc-sufficient cells. Actinomycin D study suggests that the changes in the levels of these cytokine mRNAs were not the result of the stability affected by zinc but might be the result of altered expression of these cytokine genes. These data demonstrate that zinc mediates positively the gene expression of IL-2 and IFN-gamma in the Th1 cell line and negatively TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, and IL-8 in the monocyte-macrophage cell line. Our study shows that the effect of zinc on gene expression and production of cytokines is cell lineage specific.


This paper presents a feasibility investigation of a zero-voltage switching (ZVS) pulsewidth modulation (PWM) dc-dc converter with secondary-side phase-shifting power control scheme. The ZVS-PWM dc-dc converter treated here can achieve soft commutation in all the power devices under the wide range of output power variation. By the phase-shifting control that is based on the secondary-side rectifier linked with a high-frequency planar transformer, the effective reduction of idling power in the primary-side inverter as well as snubber-less rectifications in the secondary-side rectifier can be actually attained. The essential experimental data obtained from a 100-kHz/2.5-kW prototype are described herein to validate the soft-switching circuit and control scheme, and then the effectiveness of the dc-dc converter is discussed and evaluated from a practical point of view.


Abstract The Neogene snake fauna from the central and eastern regions of Eurasia is still largely unknown. This paper reports on a unique snake fauna from the late middle Miocene of the Baikadam and Malyi Kalkaman 1 and 2 localities, northeastern Kazakhstan, which represents the best-documented Miocene snake assemblage in Central Asia. Previous studies admitted that snake fauna could be homogeneous over a large part of Eurasia during the Miocene, with the late middle to early late Miocene assemblages similar to snake assemblages that inhabited Europe in the late early and early middle Miocene. This assumption is partially supported by the presence of Texasophis bohemiacus and Coluber cf. hungaricus, as well as vipers of the 'V. aspis' complex. However, the presence of taxa which are (1) probably not related to European representatives ('Colubrinae' A and B), (2) probably never occurred in Central and Western Europe and (3) are closely related to species recently inhabiting southern Siberia (Elaphe aff. dione, Gloydius sp.) indicates that faunal dissimilarity was relatively high within Eurasia during the late middle Miocene. This assumption is in accordance with studies of small mammal assemblages which show a decreasing homogenity in the Eurasia in the course of the middle Miocene.


The observed luminance of most light sources is many orders of magnitude higher than the luminance of surrounding objects and the background. With the dynamic range of single photographs limited to 8 to 10 bits, both dark and bright values are radically coerced to the limits. This problem is usually circumvented with the use of High-Dynamic-Range (HDR) imaging, assembling multiple photographs of the same scene made at different exposures. But in some situations, or due to equipment limitations, HDR imaging might not be possible. This research is aimed at the extrapolation of luminance peaks within oversaturated Low-Dynamic-Range (LDR) images. The proposed method of extrapolation relies on the identification and analysis of Fraunhofer diffraction patterns created by the aperture. The algorithm is tested on a set of HDR images containing one or two lamps. These images are converted to LDR at a custom saturation cap, then extrapolated to restore the original peaks with relative success.


The pure and mixed oxide materials, such as manganese oxide (MnO) and tellurium dioxide (TeO2), in the form of thermally deposited thin films were studied in terms of their susceptibility to gamma radiation exposure. Radiation‐induced changes in their electrical properties indicated the level of radiation damage. These thin film devices showed increase in values of current by the increase in the radiation dose. The dose response was found to be composition‐ and thickness‐dependant.


The mapping of protein-protein interactions of a determined organism is considered fundamental to assign protein function in the post-genomic era. As part of this effort, screenings for pairwise interactions by yeast two-hybrid system have been used popularly to reveal protein interaction networks in different biological systems. Through the identification of protein interaction partners we have successfully obtained interesting functional clues for Ki-1/57, a human protein with no previous functional annotation, in the context of RNA metabolism. We briefly discuss here the way we approached protein-protein interaction data to conduct and interpret further molecular biological and cellular studies as well as structural analyses on this protein. Our data suggest that Ki-1/57 belongs to the family of intrinsically unstructured proteins and that the structural flexibility may be crucial for its capacity to interact with many different proteins. A large fraction of these proteins are involved in pre-mRNA splicing control. Finally, Ki-1/57 is localized to several subnuclear domains, all of which have been described to splicing and other RNA processing events.


The purpose of this study was to determine whether intrinsic contraction-relaxation properties of coronary arteries are altered during acute gram-negative endotoxemia. Coronary vascular smooth muscle (VSM) was evaluated in vitro using large and small left circumflex coronary ring preparations isolated from dogs 4 h after administration of either saline (control; C) or 1.5 mg/kg Escherichia coli endotoxin (ET). ET dogs exhibited marked systemic hypotension and cardiovascular depression throughout the 4-h in vivo phase of the study accompanied by reduction in total left ventricular myocardial blood flow. Isolated coronary vessels were stretched to the apex of the length-contractile tension curve; no differences were observed in length-active or length-passive tension (vessel compliance) relationships between C and ET vessels. Isometric contractions produced by K+ and prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) were similar in C and ET coronary arteries. VSM relaxant responses to nitroprusside (NP; 10(-10) to 10(-4) M) were also similar in C and ET vessels. In contrast to the apparent lack of effect of ET on directly acting VSM agents, relaxation responses to the endothelial-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine (ACh) were significantly less in ET vessels. Impaired vasodilator response to ACh was not improved by in vivo treatment with the combination antioxidant therapy of allopurinol, superoxide dismutase, and catalase. We conclude that both depolarization (K+) and receptor (PGF2 alpha)-mediated contractile mechanisms, as well as basal cGMP (NP)-mediated vasodilator mechanisms, remained functional in coronary vasculature during acute endotoxemia. Inhibition of ACh-mediated relaxation in ET vessels suggests altered endothelial-dependent vasodilation in coronary arteries during endotoxemia, but this change did not seem to be associated causally with oxygen free radicals.


Background To describe suicide rates in the indigenous and non-indigenous populations of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO) in 2002–2012, as well as associated socio-demographic characteristics. Study design Retrospective population-based mortality study. Methods Data from autopsy reports were used to identify 252 cases of suicide in the NAO in 2002–2012. Data on socio-demographic characteristics of these cases were obtained from passports and medical records at local primary health care units, and were then linked to total population data from the Censuses in 2002 and 2010. Suicide rates for the indigenous Nenets population and the non-indigenous population were standardized to the European standard population. The rates were also estimated according to different socio-demographic characteristics and compared by calculating relative risks. Results The crude suicide rates were 79.8 per 100,000 person-years (PYs) in the Nenets population and 49.2 per 100,000 PYs in the non-indigenous population. The corresponding standardized estimates were 72.7 per 100,000 PYs and 50.7 per 100,000 PYs. The highest suicide rates in the Nenets population were observed in the age group 20–29 years (391 per 100,000 PYs), and in females aged 30–39 years (191 per 100,000 PYs). Socio-demographic characteristics associated with high suicide rates in the Nenets population were age 20–39 years, male, urban residence, having secondary school or higher education, being an employee or employer, and being single or divorced. Males aged 20–29 years, and females aged 30–39 and aged 70 years and above had the highest suicide rates in the non-indigenous population (137.5, 21.6 and 29.9 per 100,000 PYs, respectively). The elevated suicide rates observed in the non-indigenous population were associated with male sex, rural residence, secondary school education, being an employee or employer, and being single or divorced. Conclusions Suicide rates in the NAO were substantially higher among the indigenous Nenets population than the non-indigenous population, and were associated with different socio-demographic characteristics.


Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) was an important economic crop in China. A survey in Yunnan Province in the last several years showed that the incidence of tobacco root rot was 3 to 30%. In July 2021, root rot symptoms were observed with an average incidence of 5% on tobacco (cultivar Yunyan 87) in Dali (25.61° N, 100.27° E). Typical disease symptoms included plants stunted at early stages, brown-colored withering lower leaves and roots that became brown. Under high humidity conditions, symptoms of rot expanded in the roots, also the whole plant became wilted and stunted, and some plants ultimately died. Infected pieces of stem tissues and root were dissected and then sterilized with 2% NaOCl for 30 s, rinsed three times with sterile distilled water, and dried with sterilized filter paper. Three pieces were plated onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) for 3 days at 25°C with a 12-h light period. Colonies on PDA were characterized by white to pale yellow flocculent aerial mycelium, and a pink to red pigment in the agar. To induce sporulation, mycelium on PDA was transferred to carnation leaf agar (CLA) medium. After incubation for 7 days, a single spore was isolated from representative isolate 21DL16 for morphological and molecular analyses. Macroconidia observed on CLA were falcate, slightly curved, three to five septate, measured 33.1 to 53.7 × 3.2 to 4.6 μm (n=50), with a typical foot shaped basal cell. Morphological characteristics of the fungus were in agreement with the description of Fusarium graminearum (Leslie and Summerell 2006). For further identification, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region rDNA, translation elongation factor 1ɑ (EF-1α) and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2) gene were amplified and sequenced using primers ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), EF1/EF2 (O'Donnell et al. 2015) and RPB2-5F/RPB2-7cR (Reeb et al. 2004), respectively. Although the ITS sequence (GenBank accession no. OM392025) cannot distinguish F. meridionale from F. graminearum, combined phylogenetic analysis of the sequence of TEF1 (ON062055) and RPB2 (ON211932) clearly showed that the pathogen is F. meridionale that the sequences were 100% similarity, 0.0e-value and 100% query coverage to F. meridionale. Pathogenicity studies were conducted on six-leaf-stage tobacco seedlings cultivar Yunyan 87. A conidial suspension (1×105 spores/mL) was poured over the roots of tobacco seedlings. Three seedlings were treated with sterile water that served as controls. All 10 seedlings were maintained at 25°C at 70% relative humidity. After 5 days, the lower leaves showed symptoms of wilting and the roots of all inoculated seedlings become discolored, that were similar with the original symptoms, whereas the control seedlings did not develop symptoms. The fungus reisolated from the inoculated seedlings was identical to F. meridionale using the EF-1α gene sequence. To date, Fusarium root rot on tobacco in China was caused by F. oxysporium (Chen 2013). However, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of F. meridionale causing root rot on tobacco in China. Identification of F. meridionale as a root rot agent might provide important insight for disease management practices on tobacco caused by Fusarium species.


Distribution patterns of invasive Monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) in an urban habitat.— Several invasive species have been shown to have a marked preference for urban habitats. The study of the variables responsible for the distribution of these species within urban habitats should allow to predict which environmental variables are indicative of preferred habitat, and to design landscape characteristics that make these areas less conducive to these species. The Monk parakeet Myiopsitta monachus is an invasive species in many American and European countries, and cities are one of its most usual habitats in invaded areas. The aim of this paper was to identify the main factors that determine distribution of the Monk parakeet in Barcelona, one of the cities in the world with the highest parakeet density. We defined our model based on eight preselected variables using a generalized linear model (GLZ) and evaluated the strength of support for each model using the AIC–based multi–model inference approach. We used parakeet density as a dependent variable, and an analysis restricted to occupied neighbourhoods provided a model with two key variables to explain the distribution of the species. Monk parakeets were more abundant in neighbourhoods with a high density of trees and a high percentage of people over 65 years. This is interpreted by the fact that parakeets use trees as food sources and support for the nests, and that older people often feed the species. Data support the 'human–activity' hypothesis to explain how invasive species can successfully establish in a non–native habitat, and stress how limiting food resources, especially food supplied by humans, may be the easiest way to exert some control on Monk parakeet populations.


Our first reading of Burke was in The Times when one's immediate reaction was to question the precise nature of Munby J's judgment – were it and its consequences directed to the specific problems of providing and withdrawing artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) from dying patients or were the judge's observations and conclusions to be read as being applicable across the whole spectrum of medical care of the terminally ill? Was it indeed the case, unlikely though it seemed, that a right to treatment had been established with scant regard for the attendant resource implications? It was assumed that these questions would be answered when the full transcript was available – and the major aim of this analysis is to discern whether or not this assumption was justified.


Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is often associated with renal dysfunction, as measured by plasma creatinine levels and hemodialysis rates. Aim. To compare creatinine clearance (CrCl), estimated with the Cockroft and Gault formula, between patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) versus on-pump CABG (on-CAB). Material and methods. Between April 2008 and April 2009, 119 patients underwent coronary bypass graft surgery. Fifty-eight (58) of these patients underwent OPCAB while 61 had on-CAB. Creatinine clearance, plasma creatinine levels, and clinical outcome were compared between the groups. A creatinine clearance value of 50 mL/minute was accepted as the lowest limit of normal renal function. Results. There were two hospital deaths caused by sepses after pulmonary infection. Creatinine clearance (Preoperative OPCAB 73,64±33,72 x on-CAB 75,70±34,30mL/min; discharge OPCAB 75,73±35,07 x on-CAB 79,07±34,71 mL/ min; p=0,609), and creatinine levels (Preoperative OPCAB 1,04±0,38 x on-CAB 1,13±0,53 mg/dL; discharge OPCAB 1,12±0,79 x on-CAB 1,04±0,29mg/dL; p=0,407) did not show statistically inter-group differences. Conclusion. Deterioration in renal function is associated with higher rates of postoperative complications. No significant difference in CrCl could be demonstrated between the groups.


Purpose: The recent development in logistics due to the dawn of Logistics 4.0 has made global logistics providers more dependent on intelligent technologies. In this era, these technologies assist in data collection and transmission of logistical data and pose many security and privacy threats in logistics management systems. The customer's private information, which is shared among the logistics stakeholders for optimal operation, faces unauthorized access due to a lack of privacy. This, amongst others, is a critical problem that needs to be addressed with blockchain. Blockchain is a disruptive technology that is transforming different sectors, and it has the potential to provide a solution to the issues mentioned above, with its unique features such as immutability, transparency, and anonymity. Method: This study designed a blockchain-based logistics management architecture on a decentralized peer-2-peer network using Ethereum smart contracts. The proposed system deployed the Rivest–Shamir–Adleman (RSA) asymmetric encryption method to protect the logistics system from cyber-attacks and secure customers' private information from unauthorized access. Findings: Furthermore, the security and privacy of the proposed system are evaluated based on the theorem. The proof shows that the system can provide security to the logistics system and privacy to customers' private data. The performance evaluation is based on throughput and latency. It shows that the proposed system is better than the baseline system, and the comparatives analysis shows that the proposed system is more secure and efficient than the existing systems. Implication and Limitation: The proposed system offers a better solution to the security/privacy of the logistics management system and provides recommendations to key stakeholders involved in the logistics industry while adopting blockchain technology. Apart from the study's methodological limitation, it is also limited by a lack of reference materials.


The 21 papers (from 61 submitted) published in the Special Issue "Radar and Sonar Imaging Processing" highlighted a variety of topics related to remote sensing with radar and sonar sensors. The sequence of articles included in the SI dealt with a broad profile of aspects of the use of radar and sonar images in line with the latest scientific trends. The latest developments in science, including artificial intelligence, were used.


Indonesian democracy is rich in traditions, religions, cultures, and ethnic languages. To keep the nation unified with diversity, Indonesia must prepare its citizens with skills of perspective taking, constructive debate, and evidence-based reasoning to engage in a robust democracy. Historically, a rigorous study of the Liberal Arts held promise for creating a strong democracy and a well-educated citizenry. Currently, politicization of the term "Liberal Arts" attracts unjustifiable criticism and diverts attention away from a serious comprehensive study of literature, science, the arts, history, and mathematics. Narrowness in education of students toward technical and professional degrees appears not to align with the Indonesian goal of Unity in Diversity. The term Citizenship Education is proposed to encompass learning outcomes and skills honed through a student-centered rigorous study of the Liberal Arts in Indonesian higher education. When instructors structure student-centered academic controversy as part of the expected university classroom experience, students may be more likely to practice perspective taking, deal with difficult ethical conflicts, and hone skills for working with diverse opinions and peoples. Citizenship Education will help Indonesia continue to achieve peaceful, cooperative, respectful solutions in a well-educated and highly diverse democratic society. Presentation and Structured Controversy Workshop at Universitas Indonesia 1. Thank you for inviting me to speak. I am grateful to Dr. Alhadi Bustamam and Rector Prof. Dr. Ir. Muhammad Anis, M. Met., for their invitation to share some ideas about my work on the Liberal Arts with Prof. Chaedar Alwasilah, Ph.D. of the Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI). I thank UPI for allowing me to teach 60 S2 and S3 students this semester, and I thank my university (Northern Michigan University) for my sabbatical leave to work in Indonesian higher education. I am happy to be with you today. Terima Kasih! 2. Two weeks ago on November 22, 2014, Prof. Alwasilah and members of seven universities launched a society to enhance Indonesian higher education through rigorous study and innovative teaching with the Liberal Arts. Historically, a Liberal Arts education has prepared citizens for active participation in a democracy. Today, Universitas Indonesia (UI) plays a leading role in preparing Indonesian citizens through higher education. 3. Let us think briefly about the history of Indonesian education starting with colonial education of Europeans and local privileged children and moving to where Indonesian education is now, with free public education for all Indonesian children through 12 grade starting in fall 2015. 4. Let us think, too, about the MKDU, which began as Liberal Arts classes, only to be whittled down to a mindnumbing series of unsatisfactory courses and boring lectures with a potential threat of passive indoctrination (Setiadi, Hakam, & Effendi, 2006, p. 3 ). UPI recently eliminated art from the MKDU because of difficulty assessing an inconsistent curriculum of various art and music experiences. The current Indonesian MKDU lacks its original clarity of focus on the Liberal Arts and needs a much stronger focus on student-centered instruction and assessment of learning outcomes. 5. Prof. Alwasilah and I conducted research at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI) and Universitas Pasundan (UNPAS). We found that students generally are dissatisfied with the MKDU and are dissatisfied with the narrowness of coursework sharply focused on technical, business, and professional programs. Such narrowness in specialization appears not to align with the Indonesian national goal of Unity in Diversity. In our research, we found that 95.7% of S1 students and 86.4% of S2 students were interested in diversifying their studies with Liberal Arts coursework. 6. Currently, politicization of the term "Liberal Arts" attracts unjustifiable criticism, diverts attention away from a serious study of broad knowledge of literature, science, mathematics, history, and art, and severely limits the skills necessary of citizens in a participatory democracy. Instead, Indonesia has an encroaching immersion in technical or professional knowledge and skills, which threatens Indonesian unity and citizens' skills of communication, ethical reasoning, problem solving, and critical thinking. The expanding number of issues in Indonesia – overcrowding, corruption, rampant cigarette smoking, poverty, rising obesity, lack of knowledge about nutrition and basic health (e.g., sneezing in one's hands instead of sneezing in the elbow), burning plastics and rubbish within city limits, undrinkable tap water, traffic congestion, air and noise pollution – requires Citizenship Education aka the Liberal Arts. Perhaps Citizenship Education is a more acceptable term to encompass the learning outcomes and skills honed through a student-centered rigorous study of the Liberal Arts in Indonesian higher education. 7. In the USA, most universities and colleges have Liberal Arts programs. Students take about 1/4 of their coursework in the Liberal Arts, and students have the opportunity to choose Liberal Arts courses of high interest to them within Liberal Arts categories. 8. Whereas in Indonesia, less than 10% of students' coursework is the MKDU. The remaining coursework is in students' degree programs. The result is a narrowness of students' educational exposure to Liberal Arts knowledge and skills. 9. Indonesian higher education is poised for change. UI could be at the heart of this change. Indonesia is ready to move toward international recognition of educational excellence under Anis Baswedan's leadership as Minister of Education and Culture. Minister Baswedan (President of Paramadina University in Jakarta) is a Fulbright Scholar, as is Prof. Chaedar Alwasilah, and Prof. Mayling Oey-Gardiner of Universitas Pembangunan Jaya (UPJ) who invited me to Jakarta, and all three are advocates of the Liberal Arts. 10. The Liberal Arts experience produces graduates who can think well. Liberal Arts students tend to be genuinely excited to hone skills of critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, and speaking. Liberal Arts lecturers tend to be genuinely excited to teach with a student-centered focus. I have numerous emails from S3 lecturers at UPI who are eager to learn more about "teaching for learning" and engaging students in honing skills for civic engagement and a rigorous study of the Liberal Arts. 11. Students who study the Liberal Arts and lecturers who teach with student-centered learning of the Liberal Arts are able to achieve the former Ministry of Education and Culture's Curriculum 2013 learning goals (#67 and #70). Curriculum 2013 goals required the use of student-centered teaching strategies, creative innovation, interactive learning, group and community collaboration, and honing interpersonal and leadership skills. Curriculum 2015 will provide even better preparation for Indonesian Citizenship Education, which is exactly what a rigorous study of the Liberal Arts promises to offer! 12. In today's highly weaponized world, Indonesia's greatest threat is to educate citizens narrowly without knowledge of the Liberal Arts focus on literature, history, ecology, culture, the arts, and science and mathematics, and without skills of debate, logic, and evidence-based reasoning. Indonesians should understand the power of music, rhetoric, and social influence to affect human emotion and the power of social criticism offered by the arts. 13. Indonesians should be able to apply mathematics and evidence-based scientific inquiry to all aspects of life, and Indonesians should read the Great Books of Indonesia. 14. Current Indonesian students in higher education are narrowly educated. My S2 and S3 students arrived in my UPI classroom without honed skills of debate, conflict resolution, or constructive controversy. They lacked confidence in their opinions and knowledge of art, literature, mathematics, and science. I assigned my S2 and S3 students a homework assignment to write letters to the Indonesian Minister of Education and Culture on an educational issue of their choice. My students shared how they grappled with fear that initially paralyzed them from voicing their opinions. In an Indonesian democracy, citizens have the right to ask for what they want. Knowledge of your rights is power. Indonesians must practice speaking up and participating in their democracy (Standar Nasional Pendidikan Tinggi, 2013). 15. The hope of Indonesia is a highly educated Indonesian citizenry with skills to build a peaceful, environmentally healthy, cooperative, respectful, safe, and economically fair and transparent society. You, as Indonesian students of higher education, are Indonesia's treasure! You must hone skills of perspective taking, moral and ethical reasoning, critical thinking, and creativity through active learning and a rigorous study of the Liberal Arts. Skills and knowledge of the Liberal Arts provide a foundation for Indonesian Citizenship Education and the democratic skills of constructive controversy, debate, logic, and problem solving. 16. In conclusion, we must thank the entire academic community for seeking to unlock the potential of active learning with Citizenship Education, critical thinking, and the Liberal Arts. We must thank everyone in the audience for taking time from busy schedules to be here to experience a structured controversy, so let us start! Terima Kasih!


Basins located in loess hilly–gully regions often suffer flood disasters during the flood season. Meanwhile, the underlying surface of the region can increase the rainfall losses, thereby reducing the flood volume. Therefore, the prediction of rainfall losses on the underlying surface is necessary for scientifically and reasonably forecasting the flood volume. The relationship between the rainfall losses and underlying characteristics was investigated and a method for predicting the rainfall losses using HEC-HMS was presented in this paper with a case study in the Gedong basin, a typical loess hilly region of western Shanxi Province in northern China. Results showed that HEC-HMS could be applied to loess hilly–gully regions. The loss computation results suggested that the losses of sub-basins varied with the density of rainfall. The analysis of influences of rainfall losses, including forestland percentage and slope, indicated that the former had a positive impact, while the latter had a negative influence. The impact of forestland percentage is larger than that of slope. Furthermore, with the increase of forestland percentage, its correlation with rainfall losses was enhanced, and the correlation coefficient ranged between 0.64 and 0.84 from the 1970s to the 2010s.


Summary The hypothesis that water flow into tomato fruits is affected similarly by osmotic potential of the nutrient solution and potential transpiration (shoot environment) via their effects on stem water potential, was tested through experiments carried out in two glasshouses where climate was controlled to maintain a desired potential transpiration rate (normal and depressed, respectively). This climate treatment was factorially combined with a root zone osmotic potential treatment, whereby two values of osmotic potential were compared in each experiment. Data showed that water uptake per unit leaf area was not affected by osmotic potential of the nutrient solution. The hydraulic resistance within the plant, deduced from measurements of leaf and stem water potential, was independent of the transpiration flow and was not affected by the osmotic potential of the nutrient solution. Water import into the fruit was affected by both treatments and was correlated with the water potential gradient between the stem and the fruit. Since fruit osmotic potential was relatively constant at a given concentration of the nutrient solution, the stem water potential appeared to be a good indicator of fruit growth rate.


We explored the underlying mechanism for South Korean university students' negative responses to English-medium instruction (EMI) courses. Specifically, English language anxiety and confidence, and EMI course attitudes and avoidance were analyzed using survey data from 187 Korean university students. Results showed that English language anxiety played a key role in both EMI course attitudes and avoidance, and also affected student achievement in EMI courses. Students' English language confidence and their perceptions of their instructors' English language competence were found to be unrelated to EMI course attitudes and avoidance, but were negatively related to English language anxiety. In addition, students' EMI course content understanding and grades did not directly influence EMI course avoidance, but did indirectly influence course avoidance through EMI course attitudes. Our results highlight the importance of addressing students' emotional challenges and attitudes to improve their motivation to take EMI courses.


Almost all of the energy-aware routing protocols that have been proposed for wireless sensor networks aim at optimizing network performance while relaying data to a static nan gateway (sink). However, mobility of the gateway can make routes established through such contemporary protocols, unstable and non-optimal. The use of mobile gateways introduces a non-traditional trade-off between the need for frequent re-routing to ensure optimal network operation and the desire for minimizing the overhead of topology management. In this paper, we propose an energy aware mechanism for efficient and continual data delivery to a moving gateway. Our approach tracks the distance of the gateway from the last hops to the gateway, and dynamically adjust the routes either via increasing the last hop nodes' radio ranges or introducing new forwarder nodes as part of the routes. Rerouting is triggered when the current routes become unacceptably inefficient. The presented approach is validated in a simulation environment.


Two experiments provide the most precise picture to date of how an excited state of carbon decays into three helium nuclei.


MESODIF-II is a variable trajectory plume segment atmospheric transport model designed to predict normalized air concentrations and deposition of radioactive, but otherwise non-reactive, effluents released from one or two levels over the same position in an xy-plane. In such a model, calculated particle trajectories vary as synoptic scale wind varies. At all sampling times the particles are connected to form a segmented plume centerline; the lateral and vertical dimensions of the plume are determined by a parameterization of turbulence scale diffusion. The model development arose from the need to assess the radiological effects of routine operations of commercial nuclear power reactors. The purpose of the present document is to make MESODIF-II and its peripheral programs available to those who wish to use it directly. The theory and mathematics in the model are explained. A user's guide, which treats not only MESODIF-II descriptively, but also other programs that have to be used to generate the input wind and stability data is included. Two other peripheral programs that are used in conjunction with MESODIF-II are also described. One is Program Stagg, the other is Program RERITE. A complete test run of MESODIF-II is included, as is the complete code for the programmore » and the control cards used on the CDC-6400. A glossary for the MESODIF-II code, and a reference list arealso provided.« less


Introduction Greater than twenty known opportunistic infections have been associated with HIV infection and usually patients experience co-infections during the stage of illness, HIV-related opportunistic infections are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Methods A hospital-based retrospective study was conducted in HIV-infected adult patients on antiretroviral (ART) from April to June 2017; secondary data were collected from review of clinical records. A total of 400 study participants selected through a systematic sampling technique and a pre-tested checklist was used to collect data from records of study subjects. The data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results A total of 400 patients included in the study, in which more than half (51.0%) were females. The mean age of patients was 34 (standard deviation [SD] ±1.96) years. The overall of opportunistic infections (OIs) among HIV/AIDS patients on ART was 55.3%. The highest rates of OIs observed were oral candidacies 11.0%, followed by herpes zoster (10.8%) and tuberculosis (TB) (9.5%). The odds of having college and above educational levels were less likely to developed OIs compared to illiterate (AOR=0.007; 95% CI=0.053, 0.634). The odds of having OIs in WHO clinical stage I were less likely to have OIs compared to WHO clinical stage III and V (AOR=0.001; 95% CI=0.000, 0.015 and AOR=0.00; 95%CI=0.00 respectively). Conclusion There was a high prevalence of OIs observed in this study. Illiterate educational level and advanced WHO clinical stages were found to be predictors of OIs. Interventions were aimed at promoting early HIV testing and ART enrollment of HIV-infected.


Administration of the Madras Government Museum for the year 1893-96. Madras, 1896. BATHER, F. A.-On Uintacrinus; a Morphological Study. Extr. Proceeds. Zool. Soc., London, 1895. From the author. Bulletin, No. 40, 1896, Hatch Exper. Station. From the Station. Bull, Nos. 96-97, 1895 and 98-99, 1896. New York, Agric. Expr. Station. Bulletin 37, 1886, Agric. Exper. Station, Rhode Island. Circular, No. 9. U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. From the Dept. CLARK, W. B.-The Eocene Deposits of the Middle Atlantic Slope in Delaware and Virginia. Bull. U. S. Geol. Surv., No. 141, 1896. -The Geology of the Sand Hills of New Jersey. Extr. Johns Hopkins Univ. Cir., Vol. XVI, 1897. From the author. COHEN, S. S.-Some Thoughts Concerning Disease and Recovery, in their Relation to Therapeutics. Address delivered in Baltimore, 1896. From the author. Eighth Annual Report of the Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station, 1895. Pt. II. From the Station. ELLIOTT, D. G.-On Sundry Collections of Mammals. Field Columbian Museum, Pub. II. Chicago, 1896. From the Museum. FERGUSSON, A. W.-Spanish Translation of Circular 14. Dept. Agric. Div. Entomol. U. S. From the Translator.


ABSTRACT Tong, T., 2020. Study on the development of marine cultural industry in Gokarna: A coastal rural area of India. In: Yang, D.F. and Wang, H. (eds.), Recent Advances in Marine Geology and Environmental Oceanography. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 108, pp. 298–300. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The Indian coastal rural marine culture industry has developed rapidly in recent years. Relying on ocean resources, the marine industry has gradually become a new engine allowing India to transfer surplus labor force and promote national economic and social development in coastal rural areas, but there are still many shortcomings. Taking Gokarna as an example, this article briefly introduces the natural and human economy, marine culture, and tourism development of Gokarna, and puts forward the issues of marine cultural industry development: excessive development of marine cultural resources, scattered and disordered enterprise layout, still small scale. These problems are not consistent with the current situation of the sustainable and development of the marine economy; it is urgent for the government to guide and intervene. The countermeasures are to (1) strive for financial support, adhere to sustainable development, innovate marine cultural products, and establish awareness of the integrated development of the urban and rural marine cultural industry; (2) issue a special plan for the development of rural marine cultural industry in coastal areas as soon as possible; and (3) actively play a cultural driving function. The cultural industries in rural areas should be developed based on innovation of science and information technology.


We introduce 5-(thiophen-2-yl)-1,3-thiazole [5-TPTZ] as a novel core for the design of luminescent organic materials. Donor–acceptor–donor–acceptor (D–A–D–A) tetrads based on [5-TPTZ] exhibited solid state red emission, positive solvatochromism, large Stokes shift, and aggregation induced emission (AIE) behaviour. The observed photophysical properties of these multifunctional materials were elucidated by crystal structure analysis, computational studies and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.


Amyloid plaques are the principal features of Alzheimers disease (AD) pathology and are considered to be a major factor in the disease process. These fibrillar deposits are composed primarily of the 40-42 residue amyloid-beta (Abeta) peptide which is a proteolytic product of a larger membrane precursor protein. Electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction have revealed that the mature amyloid fibrils are assembled as a highly beta-sheet polymer that has a well-defined protofilament quaternary structure. This organization is observed for amyloid fibrils from a wide variety of disorders and appears to represent a structural superfamily. Amyloid plaques also contain a number of other components such as proteoglycans that contain highly sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains. These amyloid-associated elements may contribute to the aggregation and/or stabilization of Abeta as insoluble fibrils. We have recently developed an aggressive model for Abeta plaque formation in transgenic mice that exhibits an "early-onset" phenotype. Immunocytochemistry has demonstrated that even with this rapid progression, Abeta deposits within the neuropil and cerebrovascular system all co-localize with heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG). These findings indicate a number of structural features that can be targeted as potential sites for the development of amyloid inhibitors. In addition, the use of small compounds that interfere with the proteoglycan-amyloid pathway may be effective therapeutic agents that can be assessed through the use of these transgenic models.


During mammalian embryogenesis changes in morphology and gene expression are concurrent with epigenomic reprogramming. Using human embryonic stem cells representing the pre-implantation blastocyst (naïve) and post-implantation epiblast (primed), our data demonstrate that a substantial portion of known human enhancers are pre-marked by H3K4me1 in naïve cells, providing an enhanced open chromatin state in naïve pluripotency. The naïve enhancer repertoire occupies nine percent of the genome, three times that of primed cells, and can exist in broad chromatin domains over fifty kilobases. Enhancer chromatin states are largely poised. Seventy-seven percent of naïve enhancers are decommissioned in a stepwise manner as cells become primed. While primed topological associated domains are unaltered upon differentiation, naïve domains expand across primed boundaries, impacting three dimensional genome architecture. Differential topological associated domain edges coincide with naïve H3K4me1 enrichment. Our results suggest that naïve-derived cells have a chromatin landscape reflective of early embryogenesis.


The lucrative enterprise of money laundering, the threat it poses to the integrity and stability of financial sectors as well as to the democratic societies themselves, and the means to counteract it, all have long been the object of academic debate across the globe. However, interested parties in Israel, such as law enforcement agencies, banks and legal scholars, have not played a vociferous role in this debate, and Parliament for its part has refrained so far from introducing anti‐money‐laundering legislation. Recently a Bill entitled 'Prohibition of Money Laundering' ('the Bill') has been introduced to the Israeli Parliament. The Bill has passed first reading, and it is cur‐rently being debated in the committee stage before being brought to second and third readings. It is not unlikely that the Bill will crystallise into legislation in the near future. The proposed legislation bears far‐reaching legal, economic and policy implications. It is thus surprising that it has not sparked off an extensive debate in the legal literature. This paper will, hopefully, aid in stimulating such a debate.


ABSTRACT Lysinibacillus sphaericus produces mosquitocidal binary toxins (Bin toxins) deposited within a balloon-like exosporium during sporulation. Unlike Bacillus cereus group strains, the exosporium of L. sphaericus is usually devoid of the hair-like nap, an external filamentous structure formed by a collagen-like protein, BclA. In this study, a new collagen-like exosporium protein encoded by Bsph_0411 (BclS) from L. sphaericus C3-41 was characterized. Thin-section electron microscopy revealed that deletion of bclS resulted in the loss of the filamentous structures that attach to the exosporium basal layer and spread through the interspace of spores. In vivo visualization of BclS-green fluorescent protein (GFP)/mCherry fusion proteins revealed a dynamic pattern of fluorescence that encased the spore from the mother cell-distal (MCD) pole of the forespore, and the BclS-GFP fusions were found to be located in the interspace of the spore, as confirmed by three-dimensional (3D) superresolution fluorescence microscopy. Further studies demonstrated that the bclS mutant spores were more sensitive to wet-heat treatment and germinated at a lower rate than wild-type spores and that these phenotypes were significantly restored in the bclS-complemented strain. These results suggested novel roles of collagen-like protein in exosporium assembly and spore germination, providing a hint for a further understanding of the genetic basis of the high level of persistence of Bin toxins in nature.


The assimilation of a plane laminar jet into symmetrically aligned non‐uniform external flows varying as xm is discussed. Exploiting the conservation property of a plane jet, a formulation is developed which facilitates a comprehensive solution for the flow field downstream of the jet. New jet‐like solutions of the Falkner–Skan equation have been identified. A stability analysis of these solutions indicates that, over a specified range of values of m, they provide a valid representation of the asymptotic flow downstream. Numerical computations confirm this assertion.


The purpose of this study is to analyze the concept of caretaking behavior for children. This study adopts the methode of Walker and Avant in analysis. Based on the results of the study, the attributes, precedents, and consequences of caretaking behavior for children are follows ; 1. The affirmative attributes of caretaking behavior are affection binding, nutritional guidance, education, caring, protection moral training and acquisition of parents' role. The negative attributes of caretaking behavior are inconsistent moral training, incapability of affection binding and overprotection. 2. The precedent of caretaking behavior are postpartum contact with their babies, cognizance capacity of child-caretaking, economic support, level of preparation for child-caretaking and self-consciousness as parents. 3. The affirmative consequences of caretaking behavior are promotion of child growth and development, formation of maternal-infantile attachment, development of children sociality, satisfaction of parental role and reinforcement of relationship between the members of family. The negative consequences of caretaking behavior are burden and conflict to parental role, children's illness, role conflict and role stress among the members of the family and family breaking up.


There are few reports about the arthroscopic lavage of RA knees. The aim of this study was to evaluate the postoperative results of arthroscopic lavage for RA knees. Forty six knee joints of 32 RA patients were included in this study. The average age at surgery was 60.5 years old (range, 22 to 83), the average follow-up time was 46 months (range, 12 to 98). The X-ray grade by Larsen's criteria immediately before surgery, any joint effusion and joint pain were analyzed. For one year after surgery, all patients, who had been evaluated at Larsen grade 0 or 1, were assessed as having satisfactory results (regarding joint effusion and joint pain). However, the results were unsatisfactory in cases which had been Larsen grade 2 or 3. The good effectiveness and duration for joint effusion and pain were achieved in patients who were lavaged with 10L in comparison with 3L. Arthroscopic lavage for RA knee is useful as a time saving operation before considering TKA.


Setosphaeria turcica is a heterothallic fungus that is the causal agent of northern leaf blight (NLB), which is a devastating foliar disease of sorghum and maize. Despite of its adversary to crop production, little is known about the genetic diversity and population genetic structure of this pathogen from sorghum. In this study, we explored the utilization of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) molecular markers and three mating type-specific primers to analyze the genetic diversity, population genetic structure, and mating type distribution of 87 S. turcica isolates that had been collected in sorghum production areas from three provinces, including Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi in China. The populations are featured with moderate genetic diversity and relatively equal mating type distribution of MAT1-1 and MAT1-2. The genetic differentiation was significant (p < 0.05) among different populations except those from Henan and Shanxi provinces that showed particularly frequent gene flow between them. Neither the maxinum likelihood phylogenetic tree, nor principal coordinate analysis, nor genetic structure analysis was able to completely separate the three populations. The relatively low genetic distance and high genetic identification were also observed among the three populations. Nevertheless, the genetic variation within populations was the major source of variation as revealed by AMOVA analysis. The findings of this study have improved our current understanding about the genetic diversity, population genetic structure, and the distribution of mating type of S. turcica, which are useful for unraveling the epidemiology of NLB and developing effective disease management strategies.


ABSTRACT Bacillus subtilis mutants with high expression of the bacilysin operon ywfBCDEFG were isolated. Comparative genome sequencing analysis revealed that all of these mutants have a mutation in the scoC gene. The disruption of scoC by genetic engineering also resulted in increased expression of ywfBCDEFG. Primer extension and gel mobility shift analyses showed that the ScoC protein binds directly to the promoter region of ywfBCDEFG. Our results indicate that the transition state regulator ScoC, together with CodY and AbrB, negatively regulates bacilysin production in B. subtilis.