BACKGROUND
The relationship between uveitis anterior in childhood and juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA, respectively JRA) has been known since 1950. In a review, the clinical picture of uveitis anterior, its prevalence, pathogenesis, prognosis and current therapy of ocular complications are presented. In addition, we will report our results of a clinical study.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
In a cross-sectional study, 64 patients with juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) had an ophthalmological screening for eye complications either from the disease itself or from the treatment.

RESULTS
In 16% of the patients, an iridocyclitis was found, in one case acute, in 9 cases chronic. The cases of chronic uveitis anterior showed in 43% a combination with the classic risk factors (ANA-positive, oligoarticular, female). At the beginning of uveitis, the patients had a mean age of 81 months, at the beginning of JCA disease a mean age of 37 months. Four of 10 patients (= 40%) had eye complications from uveitis (cataract, posterior synechiae, glaucoma). Complications from therapy were found in 27%, mostly cataract as a complication of systemic and topical steroid treatment. Eighteen % had a visual acuity of 0.4 or less.

CONCLUSIONS
Because of the often asymptomatic progression of chronic uveitis anterior, the risk of severe undetected eye complications is high. Therefore, an intensive interdisciplinary cooperation between rheumatologists, pediatrics and ophthalmologists is required.


Although medically inoperable patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer cells (NSCLC) are often treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy, its efficacy can be compromised due to poor radiosensitivity of cancer cells. Inhibition of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) using LY364947 and LY2109761 has been demonstrated to radiosensitize cancer cells such as breast cancer, glioblastoma, and lung cancer. Our previous results have demonstrated that another potent and selective inhibitor of TGF-β1 receptor kinases, SB431542, could radiosensitize H460 cells both in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, we investigated whether SB431542 could radiosensitize other NSCLC cell lines, trying to explore the potential implication of this TGF-β1 inhibitor in radiotherapy for NSCLC patients. The results showed that A549 cells were significantly radiosensitized by SB431542, whereas no radiosensitizing effect was observed in H1299 cells. Interestingly, both H460 and A549 cells have wild-type p53, while H1299 cells have deficient p53. To study whether the radiosensitizing effect of SB431542 was associated with p53 status of cancer cells, the p53 of H460 cells was silenced using shRNA transfection. Then it was found that the radiosensitizing effect of SB431542 on H460 cells was not observed in H460 cells with silenced p53. Moreover, X-irradiation caused rapid Smad2 activation in H460 and A549 cells but not in H1299 and H460 cells with silenced p53. The Smad2 activation postirradiation could be abolished by SB431542. This may explain the lack of radiosensitizing effect of SB431542 in H1299 and H460 cells with silenced p53. Thus, we concluded that the radiosensitizing effect of inhibition of TGF-β1 signaling in NSCLC cells by SB431542 was p53 dependent, suggesting that using TGF-β1 inhibitor in radiotherapy may be more complicated than previously thought and may need further investigation.


Around the world, phenology — the timing of ecological events — is shifting as the climate warms. This can lead to a variety of consequences for individual species and entire ecological communities. Grand Teton National Park biologists have identified this topic ("effect of earlier plant flowering on pollinators and wildlife") as one of their priority research needs. We assembled phenological observations of first flowering dates for 49 species collected by Frank Craighead, Jr. in the 1970s, before significant warming occurred. In 2016 we began standardized phenological observations of these same species, plus an additional 61 for a total of 110 species, in the same locations. First flowering date for 65% of the species with historic records correlated significantly with mean spring temperature; these species are therefore expected to flower earlier now than in the 1970s. Early spring flowers had the largest shifts in phenology, emerging an average of 21 days earlier now relative to the 1970s. Yet not all species are emerging earlier. In particular, phenology of late summer/early fall flowering plants was largely unchanged. In 2017, we initiated pollinator collections at our key phenology sites. Additional years of observations will allow us to better understand plant-pollinator interactions and identify potential phenological mismatches.

Featured photo by Shawna Wolf, taken from the AMK Ranch photo collection.


Aim. To evaluate the incision width and implantation time of different IOL models using three preloaded and one manual injector. Material and methods. 146 patients (160 eyes) including 94 females and 52 males were included in a prospective study. Group I – Isert® (28 patients, 32 eyes); Group II – Multisert® (27 patients, 30 eyes); Group III – Autonome® (45 patients, 50 eyes) and Group IV – Monarch® (46 patients, 48 eyes). mean age of patients was 71.8 ± 11.7 years, follow-up period – 3 ± 0.2 months. Results. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between the groups when comparing the incision width before IOL implantation. After lens implantation, the incision width in group I was significantly higher than in groups II (p = 0.04), III (p = 0.037) and IV (p = 0.029). There were no significant differences in incision width after IOL implantation between groups II, III, and IV (p > 0.05). The average increase in corneal incision width in group I was 0.6 mm, and for groups II, III, and IV it ranged from 0.2 to 0.3 mm. Groups II, III, and IV showed lower values of surgically induced astigmatism compared with group I (0.47 ± 0.06, 0.41 ± 0.06, and 0.44 ± 0.07 D compared with 1.12 ± 0.17 D, respectively; p < 0.05 for all groups). No significant differences were found between groups II, III, and IV. Minimum implantation time was observed for groups II and III, maximum for groups I and IV, with a mean difference of about 30 seconds. Differences when comparing the mean IOL implantation time were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion. This paper presents the first worldwide comparative analysis of four IOL implantation systems, including Isert®, Multisert®, Autonome®, and Monarch®. The new Multisert® IOL implantation system has similar advantages to the known monofocal IOL injectors with respect to corneal incision width, surgically induced astigmatism magnitude, and time required for IOL implantation. IOL implantation time did not depend on the type of implantation (hydro- or viscous) and the type of injector. Keywords: cataract, injector, Isert®, Multisert®, Autonome®, Monarch®, surgically induced astigmatism


Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) is a logical consequence of the digital sound carriers such as Compact Disc and Digital Compact Cassette. In a later stage it may replace the traditional radio systems such as FM, leading to CD quality audio reception under almost all circumstances. The authors describe the design issues of a channel decoder for a DAB receiver and its path to an efficient ASIC implementation.<<ETX>>


The polarization tomography problem consists of recovering a matrix function f from the fundamental matrix of the equation Dη/dt = πγ̇fη known for every geodesic γ of a given Riemannian metric. Here πγ̇ is the orthogonal projection onto the hyperplane γ̇⊥. The problem arises in optical tomography of slightly anisotropic media. The local uniqueness theorem is proved: a C1-small function f can be recovered from the data uniquely up to a natural obstruction. A partial global result is obtained in the case of the Euclidean metric on R3.


Accurate knowledge of certain collision-induced absorption continua of molecular pairs such as H2-H2, H2-He, H2-CH4, CO2-CO2, etc., is a prerequisite for most spectral analyses and modelling attempts of atmospheres of planets and cold stars. We collect and regularly update simple, state of the art computer programs for the calculation of the absorption coefficient of such molecular pairs over a broad range of temperatures and frequencies, for the various rotovibrational bands. The computational results are in agreement with the existing laboratory measurements of such absorption continua, recorded with a spectral resolution of a few wavenumbers, but reliable computational results may be expected even in the far wings, and at temperatures for which laboratory measurements do not exist. Detailed information is given concerning the systems thus studied, the temperature and frequency ranges considered, the rotovibrational bands thus modelled, and how one may obtain copies of the FORTRAN 77 computer programs by e-mail. As well, one can download all programs mentioned in Tables I and II from http://www.astro.ku.dk/--.aborysow/programs/. *Unpublished report updated annually https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19990053341 2019-11-20T16:32:41+00:00Z


Indigenous southern Thai non-glutinous rice varieties Kaab Dum, Khai Mod Rin, Yar Ko, Yoom Noon, and Look Lai made under four different processing conditions, white rice, brown rice, germinated brown rice, and rice grass, were assessed for antioxidant components and in vitro antioxidative activities. According to the findings, rice's antioxidant components and antioxidant activity were considerably impacted by both variety and processing. High levels of total extractable phenolic compounds (164–314 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/kg, dry weight (dw)) and carotenoid (0.92–8.65 mg/100 g, dw) were found in all rice varieties, especially in rice grass and germinated brown rice, indicating that milling to generate white rice had an adverse effect on those components. Additionally, after germination, a higher γ-oryzanol concentration (9–14 mg/100 g, dw) was found. All rice varieties had higher ascorbic acid, phenolic compound, and carotenoid contents after sprouting. Overall, Yoom Noon rice grass had the highest total extractable phenolic content (p < 0.05). The rice grass from Yoom Noon/Look Lai/Kaab Dum had the highest ascorbic acid content (p < 0.05). The total carotenoid concentration of Look Lai rice grass was the highest, and Yoom Noon's germinated brown rice had the highest γ-oryzanol content (p < 0.05). All rice varieties' aqueous extracts had remarkable ABTS free radical scavenging activity, with Khai Mod Rin reaching the highest maximum value of 42.56 mmol Trolox equivalent/kg dw. Other antioxidant mechanisms, however, were quite low. Compared to germinated brown rice, brown rice, and white rice, rice grass often tended to have stronger antioxidant activity. Yar Ko rice grass was found to have the highest DPPH free radical scavenging activity (3.8 mmol Trolox equivalent/kg dw) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) (4.6 mmol Trolox equivalent/kg dw) (p < 0.05). Khai Mod Rice grass had the most pronounced metal chelation activity (1.14 mmol EDTA equivalent/kg dw) (p < 0.05). The rice variety and processing conditions, therefore, influenced the antioxidant compounds and antioxidative properties of Thai indigenous rice. The results can be used as a guide to select the optimal rice variety and primary processing in order to satisfy the needs of farmers who want to produce rice as a functional ingredient and to promote the consumption of indigenous rice by health-conscious consumers.


Increased Feed-in of renewable energy sources and an increase of sales of electric vehicles (EVs) complicate balancing of demand and supply. EVs are considered core enablers for dealing with intermittency due to their storage potential. This does however require that these EVs are charged according to smart charging protocols, which is a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. Options exist for designing such a system. However, due to the gathering of personal (transactional) data, and the involvement of monetary assets, ethical concerns such as privacy and trust issues are assumed to arise at or after the introduction of such a technology. This has been the case with for instance smart meters. The effects of such ethical concerns on the usage of smart charging systems are unknown. The main research question for this thesis is: "How can a smart charging system be designed which is both used on the short- and long-term and fulfils ethical values of EV owners?" The purpose of this thesis was to explore and assess different smart EV charging system designs concerning factors contributing to system performance and possible ethical concerns. The research was conducted by creating an integrated framework of both the capability approach and complex adaptive systems. Agent-based modeling was used as the main research method in order to model the behaviour of EV owners within an smart charging environment. The model aims at providing valuable insights concerning which system design performs best with respect to system performance and ethical value fulfilment. Several architectural design decisions are elaborated on with respect to a decentralised or a centralised system. The research outcomes indicate possible short- and long-term ethical concerns of users with respect to the designed system. The effects of these concerns are at this point unknown, but are considered to have an ongoing effect on the performance of the system. The research objectives involve the identification of four key architectural design decisions which consist of both decentralised and centralised alternatives. The conceptual framework built upon the capability approach, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), and complex adaptive systems is used as conceptual basis for the agent-based model. The experimental design revolves around comparing three experimental design alternatives: a (1) public centralised system, (2) public decentralised system, and (3) a private decentralised system. The public centralised system describes a system which is controlled by a single authority, and in which data is stored within an external database. Furthermore, participants are free to participate. The public decentralised system describes a system which is not controlled by a single authority, and in which transactions are validated through shared consensus. Within the private decentralised system, power is exerted towards a single facilitator, which is authorised to whitelist participants. Aside from whitelisting privileges, the platform is not controlled by a single authority. The combined theoretical framework induces a wide variety of uncertain parameters. Therefore, the experimental designs are explored through an EMA study. The main purpose of this EMA study was to assess the three designs with respect to system usage, system performance, and ethical value fulfilment across a wide range of possible scenarios. The model outcomes provide knowledge regarding promising design directions as well as directions for further research. The developed model describes the interactions between EV owners and the smart charging platform. The performance of the system is based on three constructs originating from UTAUT. These constructs are: performance-expectancy, effort-expectancy, and social influence. The total performance of the system combined with the personality traits of the EV owners determine whether an EV owner uses the system. Effort-expectancy describes the degree of effort needed to participate on the platform. Social influence is rooted within the capability approach and incorporates a combination of effects resulting from direct and indirect interaction between EV owners. Electricity is traded through the use of the platform which creates demand and supply. For model experimentation the KPIs for assessment are: the number of system users, the number of transactions, the number of traded kilometers, and the selected ethical values. Regarding ethical values, the experimental outcomes provide strong indications that a decentralised system scores best on privacy, security, anonymity, and confidentiality. The scores indicate that problems regarding these ethical values are less expected on the short- and long-term as compared to a centralised system. When aiming to design a decentralised EV charging platform, special focus should be placed on achieving trust, as indications are present that trust issues could arise for decentralised systems. Concerning the KPIs related to system usage and performance, the results indicate that a centralised system is highly preferred. For each of the KPIs (number of users, enabled users, number of transactions, and number of traded kilometers), a centralised system scores higher. However, due to the large number of users, centralised systems have high oscillations in demand and supply. Concerning the main research question, the research outcomes indicate that when designing a smart EV charging system, one should consider both decentralised and centralised design elements. Both elements are needed as solely focusing on either centralised or decentralised systems has implications for value fulfilment as well as system performance. The optimal combination of design elements is at this point uncertain. The research outcomes clearly indicate that extended research in this field is justified. It is important to further identify which system components in both centralised and decentralised systems positively contribute to the chosen KPIs. These components can then be combined in order to work towards an optimal system design. The operationalisation of the capability approach opens new possibilities to assess these combined design alternatives with respect to system usage and ethical values. In that sense, this thesis provides a tool for assessing the designs of smart charging platforms by providing an integrated framework of the capability approach and agent-based modeling. The research described in this thesis has several implications for designing smart EV charging systems. The capability approach was found to be a proper method for assessing ethical values concerned with the usage of technology. Furthermore, it was found useful to extent the capability approach with other theories and methods such as the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, complex adaptive systems, and agent-based modeling. Using this approach for assessing smart EV charging systems helps to keep focus on the actual well-being of system users, rather than solely focusing on technological performance. Furthermore, the approach is long-term oriented. Directions for further research are presented. Essentially, these directions stimulate the further exploration of feasible smart charging system designs by extending the scope of design alternatives, further explore the integrated approach of CA and CAS, and further quantify the agent-based model.


This paper describes the application of the Continuous Fracture Modeling (CFM) workflow to the Sabria field in Tunisia. This workflow consists of four steps. The first step in the workflow is to interpret key seismic horizons and use them in high resolution inversion and spectral imaging to create impedance and frequency-dependent seismic attributes. The second step consists of building seismically constrained geologic models of lithology and other petrophysical properties. The third step consists of using the derived geologic models along with all the post-stack seismic attributes and additional geomechanical models to derive high resolution 3D fracture models. The fourth step is to use the derived fracture models in a reservoir simulator to verify the validity of the models by their ability to match past individual well performances and to design optimal well trajectories that intercept a large number of fractures and produce economical oil rates. This workflow was applied to the Sabria field in Tunisia and was followed by actual drilling. The seismic attributes and the appropriate geologic and geomechanical models were used as input in REFRACT, a fracture modeling software, to create accurate 3D fracture models. The resulting fracture porosity and permeability were input in a reservoir simulator. All the past individual well performances were matched, confirming the reliability and accuracy of the derived fracture models. The resulting simulation and fracture models were used to plan multiple horizontal boreholes, drilled underbalanced from a single platform. The resulting oil production from the boreholes and the recorded logs confirm the validity of both the fracture and simulation models.


A sample of 150 rural school going children (80 male and 70 female) age ranged between 7-13 yrs were selected by following purposive random sampling method from 6 villages of Parbhani District. The data pertaining to the study were collected by personally interviewing the sample rural school going children based on open ended interview schedule cum checklist after developing rapport with them. Similarly all the sample children's parents also were interviewed based on the open ended interview schedule cum checklist for obtaining information additionally required for the study. It is clear from the results that relatively a higher percentage of rural school going children (37- 50%) were found to view TV Programmes telecasted on Big Magic channel followed by Channel-2 (28 - 42%) and Channel-3 (24 - 32%). Irrespective of gender, about 98 percent of rural school going children reported that they are more interested in viewing view cartoon serials. More than 70 percent of them had their TV sets in living rooms and a higher percentage of them observed to be maintaining 5-7 ft from TV sets while viewing TV programmes. Irrespective of gender, the findings of the study indicate that significantly a higher percentage of rural school going children (72 – 88%) used to view TV programmes enormously. A higher percent of rural school going children used to view TV programmes by sitting on floor or on cot (47 - 50%). Irrespective of gender, chitchatting (35 - 46%) and eating (38 - 43%) were observed to be the most common concurrently done activities of rural school going children while viewing TV programmes. As compared to the rural school going girls, their counter parts boys used to view TV programmes along with their friends and mothers.


beta-glucan, one of the major cell wall components of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been found to enhance immune functions. This study investigated in vivo and in vitro effects of beta-glucan on lymphoproliferation and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production by splenic cells from C57BL/6 female mice. All experiments were performed with particulate beta-glucan derived from S. cerevisiae. Data demonstrated that both, i.p. administration of particulate beta-glucan (20 or 100 micrograms/animal) and in vitro stimulation of splenic cells (20 or 100 micrograms/ml of culture) decreased lymphoproliferation and IFN-gamma production induced by concanavalin A. These results suggest that beta-glucan can trigger a down-modulatory effect regulating a deleterious immune system hyperactivity in the presence of a strong stimulus.


Study Design. Systematic review. Objective. To determine evidence-based guidelines for the management of locally recurrent spinal chordoma. Summary of Background Data. Chordoma of the spine is a low-grade malignant tumor with a strong propensity for local recurrence. Salvage therapy is challenging due to its relentless nature and refractoriness to adjuvant therapies. There are currently no guidelines regarding the best management of recurrent chordoma. Methods. We combined the results of a systematic review with expert opinion to address the following research questions: (1) For locally recurrent chordoma of the spine without systemic disease, if surgery is planned, should en bloc resection be attempted if technically feasible with acceptable morbidity? (2) For locally recurrent chordoma without systemic disease, in which wide en bloc excision is not possible, what is the treatment of choice? (2) Should adjuvant or neoadjuvant radiation therapy be used in the treatment of locally recurrent chordoma? Results. A total of nine surgical and seven radiation therapy articles met study criteria. Evidence quality was low or very low. Recurrent disease is associated with predominantly poor outcome, regardless of treatment modality. As for primary chordoma, resection with wide margins appears to confer an advantage with respect to local control, although this effect is attenuated in the setting of relapse. Postoperative radiation therapy likely reduces the rate of further relapse. Conclusion. (1) For locally recurrent chordoma of the spine without systemic disease, when surgery is planned, wide en bloc resection should be performed if technically feasible with acceptable morbidity. Strong recommendation, Low Quality of Evidence. (2) For locally recurrent chordoma without systemic disease, in which wide en bloc excision is not possible, partial resection is the treatment of choice. Weak recommendation, Very Low Quality of Evidence. (3) For the treatment of locally recurrent chordoma, high-dose conformal radiation therapy should be administered postoperatively to reduce the risk of further recurrence, and may be considered as a primary therapy. Strong recommendation, Very Low Quality of Evidence. Level of Evidence: 2


Fluid‐rock interaction in low‐permeable clay‐rich seal units is an important topic for the evaluation of the long‐ term seal integrity during geological storage of CO2. In low‐permeable sealing units, the diffusion of CO2 into the matrix is a slow process, and studies of CO2‐initiated fluid‐rock interaction in seals are challenging. In this paper, we present an overview of CO2 transport mechanism and fluid‐rock interaction processes that might alter mechanical and transport properties of seals. The review includes theoretical considerations and simulations, experimentally demonstrated processes, and field examples of flow and fluid‐rock interaction in intact clay‐rich seals as well as for fractures. For clay‐rich seals dominated by minerals like quartz, illite, and smectite, the reactivity due to drop in pH is found to be low, and most reaction observed is found to involve calcite. Only minor porosity changes are observed, and implications for flow and CO2 transport are uncertain due to limited data available. Swelling and shrinking property of smectites due to CO2 sorption and CO2 alterations within fractures in clay‐rich seal is hardly addressed in the literature. 1Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), Oslo, Norway 2Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway 3The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Longyearbyen, Norway AQ1


At any given time, rates of suicide tend to increase with increasing rurality. The most recent AIHW Mortality Report shows that 15-24 year old males in regional areas are 1.5–1.8 times more likely to end their life by suicide than their urban counterparts. The incidence is up to six times higher in very remote areas. The inter-regional comparison is almost as bad for the next age group (25-44 years where national rates for males are highest), and it is also worse in non-metropolitan areas among 45-64 year old males. Inter-regional differences for males 65 and over are less obvious.


A publish/subscribe system filters and routes events from their sources to multiple recipients according to each individual user's interests. As a communication paradigm, publish/subscribe has unique and powerful features such as anonymity, asynchrony, multicast, and adaptability. As such, it has been a target of both scientific research and commercial implementation in the past. However, traditional publish/subscribe systems suffer from several limitations, which we identify and address in this thesis.
After a brief taxonomy of current publish/subscribe technologies, we present three types of enhancements. First, we extend system architectures to include replication and partitioning. Replication increases system robustness, but introduces consistency issues which have to be dealt with. Workload partitioning allows the system to handle complicated monitoring tasks, and to scale to high volume of input data. We propose a method of partitioning that is universally applicable and facilitates load balancing. Second, we introduce a systematic way to allocate and maintain state information in publish/subscribe servers, in order to efficiently handle a large class of stateful subscriptions. Specifically, we extend the subscription language with parameters, which are refreshed automatically by the servers. Finally, we extend the publish/subscribe scheme to mobile operating environments. We look at the challenge of mobile users connecting and disconnecting frequently from the core system. We also modify existing publish/subscribe protocols to adapt to the ad-hoc mobile environment, whose unique characteristics demand a fresh look at even the fundamental premises of current systems.


Due to the rapid development of Web technologies, Internet applications increasingly use different programming languages and platforms. Web services technologies were introduced to ease the integration of applications on heterogeneous platforms. The quality of Web services has received much attention as it relates to the service discovery process. However, less work has been done on issues related to the quality of composite services. This study uses the selection model along with the concept of workflow quality of service (QoS) in order to improve the quality of service performance of current Web services in the discovery process. It also uses a selection model as the foundation for selecting Web services, conducting simulations to measure the overall workflow QoS performance when implemented in sequence. However, optimal solutions to service composition selection require exponential time in the number of services. We therefore apply genetic algorithm to quickly find the best-fitting service composition. Finally, we score and sort each service composition based on the service requesters' preferences towards QoS. The results of the experiment show that considering workflow QoS in selecting service composition improves the actual QoS performance. At the same time, using genetic algorithm to optimize the service composition provides an improvement in the solution time.


Estrogen is known to influence glucose homeostasis with dominant effects in the liver, but the role of estrogen receptors in muscle glucose metabolism is unknown. In the present study, we investigated the expression of the two estrogen receptors, ERα and ERβ, and their influence on regulation of the glucose transporter, GLUT4, and its associated structural protein, caveolin-1, in mouse gastrocnemius muscle. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that ERα and ERβ are coexpressed in the nuclei of most muscle cells, and that their levels were not affected by absence of estradiol [in aromatase-knockout (ArKO) mice]. GLUT4 expression on the muscle cell membrane was not affected by loss of ERβ but was extremely reduced in ERα-/- mice and elevated in ArKO mice. RT-PCR confirmed a parallel reduction in GLUT4 mRNA levels in ERα-/- mice. Upon treatment of ArKO mice with the ERβ agonist 2,3-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propionitrile, GLUT4 expression was reduced. By immunofluorescence and Western blotting, caveolin-1 expression was higher in ArKO mice and lower in ERβ-/- and ERα-/- mice than in WT littermates. GLUT4 and caveolin-1 were colocalized in WT and ArKO mice but not in ERβ-/- and ERα-/- mice. These results reveal that ERα is a positive regulator of GLUT4 expression, whereas ERβ has a suppressive role. Both ERβ and ERα are necessary for optimal caveolin-1 expression. Taken together, these results indicate that colocalization of caveolin-1 and GLUT4 is not an absolute requirement for muscle glucose metabolism but that reduction in GLUT4 could be contributing to the insulin resistance observed in ERα-/- mice.


The β-carboline moiety, substituted at the C1 and C3 benzylic positions with a leaving group, has been demonstrated for the first time as a photoremovable protecting group for time-dependent sequential release of two (same or different) carboxylic acids upon one- and two-photon light irradiation. Density functional theory calculations suggest that the electronic environment of the β-carboline moiety at C1 and C3 positions plays a key role in the rate of photorelease.


In this paper, a procedure for the identification of piecewise affine ARX systems is proposed. The parameters of the individual subsystems are identified through a least-squares based identification method using multiple models. The partition of the regressor space is then determined using standard procedures such as neural network classifier or support vector machine classifier. The same procedure can be applied to identify nonlinear systems by approximating them via piecewise affine systems. Extensive simulation studies show that our algorithm can indeed provide accurate estimates of the plant parameters even in noisy cases, and even when the model orders are overestimated.


While surgical resection (±radiotherapy) is standard treatment for localized soft tissue sarcomas (STS), chemotherapy is the mainstay for managing locally advanced and metastatic disease. Expanding knowledge of the biologies and sensitivities of STS histotypes, in conjunction with results from a growing collection of retrospective reviews and prospective randomized studies, point to the importance of treating in consideration of histological subtype. Doxorubicin ± ifosfamide continues to be standard first-line therapy for most STS subtypes. Main options for second- or later-line therapy include trabectedin, dacarbazine, gemcitabine combinations, pazopanib and, most recently, eribulin. Using illustrative case studies, treatment options are reviewed for three of the more common STS subtypes - uterine leiomyosarcoma, liposarcoma and synovial sarcoma - with a focus on use of trabectedin.


Spin-glass systems possessing the hierarchical tree-like structure of thermodynamically relevant metastable states are considered. A renormalisation-group scheme for the calculation of the partition function is proposed, and a systematic method for the calculation of the renormalised Hamiltonian with increasing scale in the space of states is derived. The renormalisation-group equations for the parameters of the renormalised Hamiltonian (which contain all powers of the spin variables) are obtained. For the model with infinite-range Gaussian interactions, the well known results for the phase transition are recovered.


Frontal bone fractures are rare as it is well protected due to prominence of the nasal pyramid and may present with facial deformity and compromised asthetics. It occurs with high impact maxillo facial trauma, maybe associated with ocular discomfort. A three dimensional computed tomography scan may be useful in diagnosing the case and treatment planning. While treating the frontal sinus fracture, patency of the fronto nasal duct is important to avoid formation of mucocele as a late complication.

Keywords: Frontal bone fractures, Supra orbital fractures, Frontal sinus fractures, Three dimensional imaging.


In many energy-rechargeable wireless sensor networks, sensor nodes must both sense data from the environment, and cooperatively forward sensed data to data sinks. Both data sensing and data forwarding (including data transmission and reception) consume energy at sensor nodes. We present a distributed algorithm for optimal joint allocation of energy between sensing and communication at each node to maximize overall system utility (i.e., the aggregate amount of information received at the data sinks). We consider this problem in the context of wireless sensor networks with directional, non-steerable antennas. We first formulate a joint data-sensing and data-routing optimization problem with both per-node energy-expenditure constraints, and traditional flow routing/conservation constraints. We then simplify this problem by converting it to an equivalent routing problem, and present a distributed gradient-based algorithm that iteratively adjusts the per-node amount of energy allocated between sensing and communication to reach the system-wide optimum. We prove that our algorithm converges to the maximum system utility. We quantitatively demonstrate the energy balance achieved by this algorithm in a network of small, energy-constrained X-band radars, connected via point- to-point 802.11 links with non-steerable directional antennas.


The paper comprises descriptions of Tournaisian trilobites from the neptunian dykes on Dalnia Hill in the Holy Cross Mts. One new genus Globusia is established; 6 species and subspecies are new, viz. Phillibole nitida annosa subsp. n., Ph. drewerensis latipalpebratta subsp. n., Ph. prenes sp. n., Globusia dalniana sp. n., G. glabrina sp., Liobolina? oblativa sp. The supposed signification of some cephalic adaptations as well as some taphonomic aspects of the trilobite assemblages are also discussed.


The identification of a microbial isolate to genus level only amounts to a partial characterization of the isolate, but this can tell us a lot about that organism. Knowing the species allows the laboratory access to the body of knowledge that exists on that species. Identification schemes using phenotypic characteristics such as colony and cell morphology, Gram reaction and other staining characteristics, nutritional and physiological requirements for growth and metabolic characteristics have been developed and improved over many decades to a point where laboratories are able to identify isolates to species level using simple conventional methods. This phenotypic method however have some limitations apart from being laborious and time consuming, some organisms may however be misidentified either at genus or species level. This work aims at looking directly at the genome of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and from this identifies some species using its genotypic and phenotypic characteristics. These bacteria species were identified by sequencing specific sections of ribosomal DNA the 16S rRNA gene, after amplification by PCR, and then comparing the results to sequences stored on a related database. The results from both conventional and molecular methods were then compared. Twenty (20) Lactobacillus plantarum were isolated from spontaneously fermented cereals made into "Ogi" and identified using classical methods. They were further characterized using molecular methods by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of 16S rDNA genes to confirm their identities. The genotypic characterization however showed that 85% of the organisms identified using conventional method as L. plantarum correlated, while 15% did not correlate; 2 were identified as Lactobacillus pentosus and one unidentified Lactobacillus sp. The method is a rapid and reliable way of producing a large number of copies of a specific DNA sequence for the identification of LAB. This method is however, able to solve the problem of poor identification that is usually associated with the identification of this fastidious organism that is regularly used as probiotics, starter culture and biopreservatives in fermented foods that are consumed and in biotechnology because they are generally regarded as safe.


Colon cancer is one of the most frequent solid tumor and simultaneous diagnosis of primary colon cancer and liver metastases occurs in about one fourth of cases. The current knowledge on epigenetic signatures, especially those related to hydroxymethylation in primary cancer tissue, synchronous metastasis, and blood circulating cells is lacking. This study aimed to investigate both methylcytosine (mCyt) and hydroxymethylcytosine (hmCyt) status in the DNA of individual patients from colon cancer tissue, synchronous liver metastases, and in cancer-free colon and liver tissues and leukocytes. Patients undergoing curative surgery (n = 16) were enrolled and their laboratory and clinical history data collected. The contents of mCyt and hmCyt were determined by a liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method in DNA extracted from primary colon cancer, synchronous hepatic metastatic tissues and homologous cancer-free tissues, i.e., colon and liver tissues as well as leukocytes. The mCyt and hmCyt levels were compared between cancerous and cancer-free tissues, and correlations between leukocytes and colon/liver tissues for both the mCyt and hmCyt levels were evaluated. The mCyt levels were similar in primary colon cancer and liver metastasis tissues (4.69 ± 0.37% vs. 4.77 ± 0.38%, respectively, p = 0.535), and both primary and metastatic tissues were hypomethylated compared to cancer-free colon (4.98 ± 0.26%). The difference in the mCyt content between cancerous and cancer-free colon tissues was significantly lower in primary colon cancer (p = 0.004), but not in liver metastasis (p = 0.148). The hmCyt content was similar in primary colon cancer compared to liver metastasis (0.035%, C.I. 0.024–0.052% versus 0.035%, C.I. 0.021–0.058%, respectively, p = 0.905) and markedly depleted compared to the cancer-free colon (0.081%, C.I. 0.055–0.119%) with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) for both comparisons. The mCyt levels showed a borderline correlation between leukocytes and colon cancer tissue (Pearson's correlation coefficient = 0.51, p = 0.052) while no correlations were detected for the hmCyt levels. In conclusion, primary colon cancer and synchronous liver metastasis tissues showed a similar epigenetic status but were significantly hypomethylated and hypohydroxymethylated as compared to homologous cancer-free colon tissues.


The usefulness was tested of selected adjuvants: Vivapur 112, Carmellose calcium, Calcium carbonate CA 740, Calcium carbonate CA 800, Hypromellose as carriers of a dry extract of common ivy (Hedera helix L.) leaves in the process of direct tableting. The quality of the produced tablets was determined by examining their appearance, diameter, thickness, mass resistance to abrasion, crushing and disintegration time. Furthermore, the rate of release of biologically active components from the produced drug form to acceptor fluid was tested in accordance with the requirements of Polish Pharmacopoeia VII (PPVII). An attempt was made to estimate the effect of the used adjuvants on the course of this process. The applied adjuvants and acceptor fluid osmolarity decide significantly about the pharmaceutical availability of the therapeutic agents contained in the extract. The obtained model tablets are characterized by controlled release of biologically active substances, in majority of batches they fulfil the requirements as regards physicochemical properties. The formulation composition of the first batch (Extr. Hederae helices e fol.spir. sicc., Vivapur 112, Carmellose calcium, Sodium Stearyl Fumarate) appeared to be the most effective. The worked out method is optimal and provides technological reproducibility and high durability of the drug form.


Background Previous research has demonstrated an association between emotion recognition and apathy in a number of neurological conditions involving fronto-striatal pathology, including Parkinson's disease and brain injury. Aims In line with these findings, we aimed to determine whether apathetic participants with early Huntington's disease (HD) were more impaired on an emotion recognition task compared to non-apathetic participants and healthy controls. Methods We included 43 HD participants from the TRACK-HD study who had an apathy score >1 on the Problem Behaviours Assessment – short version (PBA-S), 67 HD participants who reported no apathy, and 107 controls matched for age, sex and level of education. During their baseline visit, participants completed a battery of cognitive tests that include an emotion recognition task, the Hospital Depression and Anxiety Scale (HADS), and the PBA-s. Results Compared to the non-apathetic HD group and the control group, the apathetic HD group were impaired on the recognition of happy facial expressions, after controlling for depression symptomology (HADS) and general disease progression (UHDRS total motor score). This was despite no difference between the apathetic and non-apathetic groups on overall cognitive functioning assessed by a cognitive composite score. Conclusions Impairment of the recognition of happy expressions may be part of the clinical picture of apathy in HD. While shared reliance on fronto-striatal pathways may broadly explain associations between emotion recognition and apathy found across a number of patient groups, further work is needed to determine what relationships exist between the recognition of specific emotions, distinct subtypes of apathy, and underlying neuropathology.


INTRODUCTION
Diabetes self-management education (DSME) programs that engage the families of patients with diabetes have shown to be effective in improving diabetes-related outcomes of the patients. The health effects of these "family models" of DSME on participating family members are rarely studied. Opportunity exists for the participating family members to benefit from the healthy lifestyle recommendations offered through such programs.

METHOD
Using data from a randomized controlled trial to assess the effect of family DSME compared to standard DSME among Marshallese adults with Type 2 diabetes, this study examined baseline to 12-month changes in A1c, body mass index (BMI), food consumption, and physical activity among participating family members, comparing outcomes of family members based on attended at least 1 (n = 98) versus attended no (n = 44) DSME sessions.

RESULTS
Overall, family member attendance was low. There were no differences in the level of change from baseline to 12 months for A1c, BMI, food consumption, and physical activity between groups. After controlling for attendance and sociodemographic measures, lowering of BMI was the only significant predictor of not having an A1c level indicative of diabetes at 12 months.

DISCUSSION
Future research on family DSME should consider ways to improve family member attendance; have them set their own health improvement goals; and integrate healthy lifestyle education, such as healthy eating and being physically active, along with the DSME core content to create an added benefit of diabetes prevention for participating family members. The limitations of this study and recommendations for future research are provided. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).


In the Kalman-Bucy filter and other trackers, the dependence of tracking performance upon the quality of the measurement data is well understood in terms of the measurement noise covariance matrix, which specifies the uncertainty in the values of the measurement inputs. The measurement noise and process noise covariances determine, via the Riccati equation, the state estimation error covariance. When the origin of the measurements is also uncertain, one has the widely studied problem of data association (or data correlation), and tracking performance depends critically on signal processing parameters, primarily the probabilities of detection and false alarm. In this paper we derive a modified Riccati equation that quantifies (approximately) the dependence of the state error covariance on these parameters. We also show how to use a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve in conjunction with the above relationship to determine the detection threshold in the signal processing system that provides measurements to the tracker so as to minimize tracking errors. The approach presented in this paper provides a feedback mechanism from the information processing (tracking) subsystem to the signal processing subsystem so as to optimize the overall performance in clutter.


Objective To study the efficacy of Chinese medicine combined with fixed "quadruple therapy" on Hp positive chronic gastritis. Methods Totally 375 patients with Hp positive chronic gastritis were assigned to the control group (group A) , syndrome differentiation group (group B) and Kangyou Mixture group (group C). All the patients received quadruple therapy; patients in group B took TCM Decoction; patients in group C took Kangyou Mixture . The treatment lasted for 14 days intotal. The symptom scores were observed before and after treatment. The positive rate of Hp was reviewed at 1 month after treatment. Results The eradication rates of Hp in group B and C were increased compared with group A (P <0. 01 , P <0. 05). The symptom scores of each group were decreased after treatment (P <0. 01). Compared with group A, the improvement rate of symptom scores were increased in both Group B and Group C after treatment(P <0. 05). Conclusion Chinese medicine combined with fixed "quadruple thera- py" could improve the eradication rate of Hp.


Data security has become one of the major challenges in computing. Among them cryptography is one of the various methods in data security, although many algorithms of cryptography are in use since long but every algorithm has its own set of problems. Similarly all these algorithms have broken up by hackers. An algorithm which is safe with minimal problems is yet to be developed. For the development of such an algorithm one should understand the strengths and weaknesses of current algorithms. This paper discusses various problems of the existing cryptographic schemes and proposes a new scheme RKE.


I begin this chapter by tracing the discursive turn's emergence in social psychology with reference to my personal trajectory. I identify two characteristic themes: critique of the unitary rational subject of traditional (cognitive) psychology with its sealed off view of mind, and the enduring question about the relative effectivity of inner and outer influences in forming subjectivity. I then focus on the widespread criticism of discursive psychology for failing to theorise subjectivity, therefore falling into a reductionist external account. I keep a dual perspective on theory of subjectivity and empirical methodology, aiming to show how these are inextricable and how methods can hide (and reveal) important facets of subjectivity. This leads to an account of how some discursive psychologists have used psychoanalysis to make good their 'empty subject' and I give a brief account of the rationale for my development of psychoanalytically informed interviewing and observation methods. This is illustrated by detailing the principles underpinning the design of an empirical research project on identity change, after which I return to the key notion of positioning as a lens through which to discuss some differences between a discursive and psycho-social approach.


Wireless body area networks (WBANs) are an important application in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Specifically, in healthcare monitoring systems, it is important to screen the patient's biometric signals. For example, the elderlies' vital signs, such as ECG (Electrocardiogram), blood pressure, heart rate, and blood glucose, can be used as measures of their well-being and are all critically important for remote elderly care in tracking their physical and cognitive capabilities. Therefore, WBANs require higher energy efficiency and data transmission. This paper proposes a cluster-based routing protocol which is suitable for WBANs while analyzing energy efficiency issue in data transmission. Considering the importance of sensor nodes in a specific environment for improving the network's lifetime, the protocol based on the LEACH (low energy adaptive clustering hierarchy) algorithm is proposed. Due to its avoidance of long-distance transmission, the clustering technique is an efficient algorithm for prolonging the lifetimes of sensor networks. Therefore, this paper suggests an enhanced LEACH-dual fuzzy logic (ELEACH-DFL) protocol based-on clustering for CH (cluster head) selection and cluster configuration in wireless sensor networks. The simulation and analysis results address that the enhanced algorithm reduces the energy consumption effectively and extends the lifespan of the entire network. For wired sensors, attaching sensors to the user may cause problems and inconvenience of mobility. This leads to the use of wireless sensors to proceed with body sensors, which should consider the problem of battery efficiency, which concerns the configuration of wireless sensors. The LEACH protocol is energy efficient until the first node dead is generated. However, there is a sharp drop in energy efficiency after that. The ELEACH-DFL protocol has the advantage of maintaining energy efficiency even after the first node dead is generated, with the utmost consideration being given to stability in consideration of cluster selection and cluster head selection. In a field of 50 × 50, the FND efficiency improvement rate of ELEACH-DFL versus LEACH protocol is approximately 32%. In addition, in a field of 50 × 150, the FND efficiency improvement rate of ELEACH-DFL versus LEACH protocol is approximately 159%.


Several human skin diseases and disorders are associated with two groups of fungi, the dermatophytes and Malassezia. Although these skin-related problems are not generally life threatening, they are among the most common diseases and disorders of mankind. These fungi are phylogenetically divergent, with the dermatophytes within the Ascomycota and Malassezia within Basidiomycota. Genome analysis indicates that the adaptations to the skin environment are different in these two groups of fungi. Malassezia are dependent on host lipids and secrete lipases and phospholipases that likely release host fatty acids. The dermatophytes encode multiple enzymes with potential roles in modulating host interactions: polyketide synthases, nonribosomal peptide synthetases, LysM, proteases, kinases, and pseudokinases. These two fungal groups have maximized their interactions with the host using two very different mechanisms.


Measurement of skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration requires invasive biopsy to obtain a muscle sample. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) mitochondrial protein content appears to reflect training status in young men; however, no studies have investigated whether there are training-induced changes in PBMC mitochondrial respiration. Therefore, we determined whether PBMC mitochondrial respiration could be used as a marker of skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration in young healthy men and whether PBMC mitochondrial respiration responds to short-term training. Skeletal muscle and PBMC samples from 10 healthy young (18-35 yr) male participants were taken before and after a 2-wk high-intensity interval training protocol. High-resolution respirometry was used to determine mitochondrial respiration from muscle and PBMCs, and Western blotting and quantitative PCR were used to assess mitochondrial biogenesis in PBMCs. PBMC mitochondrial respiration was not correlated with muscle mitochondrial respiration at baseline ( R2 = 0.012-0.364, P > 0.05). While muscle mitochondrial respiration increased in response to training (32.1-61.5%, P < 0.05), PBMC respiration was not affected by training. Consequently, PBMCs did not predict training effect on muscle mitochondrial respiration ( R2 = 0.024-0.283, P > 0.05). Similarly, gene and protein markers of mitochondrial biogenesis did not increase in PBMCs following training. This suggests PBMC mitochondrial function does not reflect that of skeletal muscle and does not increase following short-term high-intensity training. PBMCs are therefore not a suitable biomarker for muscle mitochondrial function in young healthy men. It may be useful to study PBMC mitochondrial function as a biomarker of muscle mitochondrial function in pathological populations with different respiration capacities. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Research in primates has suggested that peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) may provide a less-invasive alternative to a muscle biopsy for measuring muscle mitochondrial function. Furthermore, trained individuals appear to have greater mitochondrial content in PBMCs. Here we show that in healthy young men, PBMCs do not reflect skeletal muscle mitochondrial function and do not adapt in response to a training intervention that increases muscle mitochondrial function, suggesting PBMCs are a poor marker of muscle mitochondrial function in humans.


Abstract To what extent is it possible to interpret the data of pronouncing dictionaries of the 18th century in sociolinguistic terms? Several answers are provided by resorting to Labov's concepts of change from above and change from below the level of awareness. A systematic investigation of John Walker's Critical Pronouncing Dictionary (1791, 1809), the most complete and cumulative of all such dictionaries of the time, makes it possible to show that an orthoepist like Walker often reflects the pressure in favour of change from above for vowel quality and resistance to such a change in matters of stress placement. By preferring analogy to conservative pronunciations due to his bias in favour of a rational pattern, Walker also links analogy to the "vernacular instinct", promoting variant forms witnessing a change from below. And many other changes under way in his time, which pass unnoticed in the orthoepist's discourse and transcriptions, properly deserve to be treated as changes from below, thus making his dictionary the common ground for pressures from above and pressures from below. Walker's prescription is a complex combination of both promotion of, and resistance to pressures from above according to criteria that reflect the ideals of the upper middle class.


This is a study of muscle function in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a disease that primarily affects the synovial membrane of joints. Muscle weakness, atrophy and pain occur in adult RA. This may be a consequence of joint pain, stiffness and immobility. Muscle inflammation and neuropathy occur as complications in adults. Muscle function in JIA has been much less studied. The aim of the study was to examine whether muscle weakness and atrophy also occur in children with JIA. This was a longitudinal study over a two-year period, where muscle strength and thickness were measured repeatedly in a group of 20 children and teenagers with JIA. Muscle strength was measured using different methods and in several muscle groups. Muscle biopsies were obtained and nerve conduction velocity studies performed. The study concludes that, compared to healthy people, children and teenagers with JIA have as a group reduced muscle strength and muscle thickness. For most of these children and teenagers, muscle strength is only slightly lower than expected, but a few have marked muscle weakness. This is most apparent in patients with severe polyarthritis where the weakness seems to be widespread. Patients with isolated arthritis may also have greatly reduced strength and thickness of muscles near the inflamed joint. There is a risk of decreasing strength in patients with polyarthritis and in muscles near an active arthritis. Minor changes are common in muscle biopsies, and findings may indicate immunological activity in the muscles. Atrophy of type II fibres, as in adult RA, was not found in JIA. No patient had signs of neuropathy.


This study was conceived to assess the agreement between self- and other reports of egoistic (E) and moralistic (M) self-enhancement (SE). A self-report scale assessing E-SE and M-SE was filled out by 304 participants (mean age = 39.11, SD = 10.12, 54% female). The scale, with items worded in third person, was also completed by 304 informants (one for each target participant). Data were subjected to a correlated-traits correlated-methods model. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded two distinct factors for both self- and other ratings of E-SE and M-SE. A significant correlation across raters was observed for each factor. Proportion of trait variance was .58 for E-SE and .35 for M-SE. Proportion of method variance was .24 and .41, respectively. E-SE and M-SE were substantially correlated within each data source. However, the two measures became orthogonal after method variance was partialed out. Measures of E-SE and M-SE include both trait and artifactual components of variance, which are likely to reflect individual differences in the style of self-presentation and response bias (i.e., tendencies to exaggerate agentic and communal qualities). The trait components of E-SE and M-SE represent two unrelated tendencies that can be captured and distinguished not only through self-judgments, but also by an external observer.


Entecavir is a guanosine analogue with activity against hepatitis B virus. The aim of this 4-year trial was to evaluate entecavir treatment in nucleos(t)ide-naïve HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients. Forty-nine patients received entecavir and nine of them withdrew from the trial at the end of week 96. The initial mean value of alanine aminotransferase was 79.4 +/- 41.5 IU/L, and at the end of the 4-year study period, 90% of patients had alanine aminotransferase values within the normal range. At week 96, 91.7% of patients had HBV DNA < 300 copies; at month 48, 90% of patients had HBV DNA < 50 IU/mL. HBeAg loss was recorded in 7.1% of patients at week 96 and in 12.5% at month 48. The rate of HBeAg seroconversion was 4.8% at week 96 and 7.5% at month 48. The rate of HBsAg seroconversion was 2.1% at week 96 and 2.5% at month 48. Entecavir as a potent and safe agent leading to continuous viral suppression proved to be safe and well tolerated therapy.


History and Objectives: The inaccuracy of available diagnostic methods leads to an unacceptable high negative appendectomy and perforation rate. Our objective was to determine the value of clinical symptoms/signs and WBC differential count in the diagnosis of appendicitis in order to improve the accuracy of clinical diagnosis.

Materials and Methods: In a clinical trial study, 914 consecutive patients with a clinical diagnosis of appendicitis, the value of abdominal pain and tenderness, pain shift, anorexia, vomiting, fever, tachycardia, leukocytosis and neutrophilly determined on the basis of PPV and NPV then analyzed by Chi-square test.

Results: From total of 914 patients evaluated, 61% were males and 39% females. The mean age was 24.7±12.4 years. Pathology revealed 700 positive appendicitis (Cases) and 214 negative appendectomy (Control). The most accurate diagnostic factors were neutrophilly leukocytosis and pain shift. Neutrophilly had a PPV=85 which means 15% diagnostic failure. In had NPV=38 which means 62% of patients who have not neutrophilly will have positive appendicitis (P<0.0005), so this factor has a poor diagnostic value. Obviously other clinical and laboratory factors will have lower accuracy than neutrophilly, thus none will have any diagnostic value by themselves alone. For this reason, diagnostic values of more common symptoms were examined in combination for diagnosis of appendicitis. The most common and accurate factors were the combination of pain shift, anorexia, vomiting, leukocytosis and neutrophilly with PPV=92.4 and NPV=36, which means only a 7.6% diagnostic failure.

Conclusion: None of the clinical criteria and leukocytosis alone could have diagnostic power to predict appendicitis, however, the combination of several factors have more accurate predictive value and reduce the false appendectomy rate. The study revealed that with more attention to clinical symptoms, signs, leukocytosis and neutrophilly can improve clinical diagnosis and result in lower negative appendectomy and perforation rate significantly (P<0.0005).


The empirical and theoretical analysis of the personal income distribution begins with Pareto's celebrated study of the revenue curve, but it was Corrado Gini to provide the first convincing measure of inequality. Many summary indices have been scrutinised ever since. Preferences vary, but a consensus has been reached that alternative indices have a distinctive informational content, and relying on a single measure is bound to provide a partial view. The absolute/relative dichotomy is still an open issue, calling for further research. The paper surveys some indices and illustrates their properties, using examples drawn from applications to Italian data spanning a period of over a century.


The emergence of GIS and the availability of high resolution geographic data have improved our ability to investigate the residential segregation in cities and to identify the temporal changes of the spatial phenomena. Using GIS, we have quantitatively and visually analyzed the correspondence between land-use distribution and Arab residential patterns and their changes in the period between 1983 and 2008 in five mixed Arab- Jewish Israeli cities. Results show a correspondence between the dynamics of Arab/ Jewish residential patterns and the spatial distribution of various land-uses. Arab residential patterns diffused faster towards areas with relatively inferior land-uses than towards areas with more attractive land-uses, in which a gentrification process occurred. Moreover, large-scale non-residential land-uses act as spatial partitions that divide between Arab and Jewish residential areas. Understanding the association between the urban environment and residential patterns can help in formulating an appropriate social and spatial policy concerning planning of land-uses and design of the built environment in mixed cities.


EXPERIMENTAL IMPACT TESTING AND ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITE FAN CASES By Andrew Joe Vander Klok For aircraft engine certification, one of the requirements is to demonstrate the ability of the engine to withstand a fan blade-out (FBO) event. A FBO event may be caused by fatigue failure of the fan blade itself or by impact damage of foreign objects such as bird strike. An uncontained blade can damage flight critical engine components or even the fuselage. The design of a containment structure is related to numerous parameters such as the blade tip speed; blade material, size and shape; hub/tip diameter; fan case material, configuration, rigidity, etc. To investigate all parameters by spin experiments with a full size rotor assembly can be prohibitively expensive. Gas gun experiments can generate useful data for the design of engine containment cases at much lower costs. To replicate the damage modes similar to that on a fan case in FBO testing, the gas gun experiment has to be carefully designed. To investigate the experimental procedure and data acquisition techniques for FBO test, a low cost, small spin rig was first constructed. FBO tests were carried out with the small rig. The observed blade-to-fan case interactions were similar to those reported using larger spin rigs. The small rig has the potential in a variety of applications from investigating FBO events, verifying concept designs of rotors, to developing spin testing techniques. This rig was used in the developments of the notched blade releasing mechanism, a wire trigger method for synchronized data acquisition, high speed video imaging and etc. A relationship between the notch depth and the release speed was developed and verified. Next, an original custom designed spin testing facility was constructed. Driven by a 40HP, 40,000rpm air turbine, the spin rig is housed in a vacuum chamber of Φ72inx40in (1829mm×1016mm). The heavily armored chamber is furnished with 9 viewports. This facility enables unprecedented investigations of FBO events. In parallel, a 15.4ft (4.7m) long Φ4.1inch (105mm) diameter single stage gas gun was developed. A thermodynamic based relationship between the required gas pressure and targeted velocity was proposed. The predicted velocity was within ±7%. Quantitative measurements of force and displacement were attempted. The transmitted impact force was measured with load cells. The out-of-plane deformation was measured with a projection grating profilometry method. The composite panels and fan cases used in this work were made of S2-glass plain weave fabrics with API SC-15 toughened epoxy resin using the vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) method. Using the gas gun, the impact behavior of the composite was investigated at velocities ranging from 984ft/s to 1502ft/s (300m/s to 458m/s) following a draft ASTM testing standard. To compare the ballistic protection capability of different materials, a new parameter EBL, the projectile kinetic energy at the target ballistic limit normalized by the contact area of the projectile, was proposed. S2-glass/epoxy composite is ranked very high in EBL per areal weight. Finally, a testing method for replicating spin pit testing with a gas gun test was developed. Major differences between the two tests are the initial conditions of the blade upon contact with the target. In spin testing, the released blade has two velocity components, rotational and translational whereas in gas gun testing, the projectile has only the translational velocity. To account for the influence of the rotational velocity, three projectile designs were experimentally investigated. The results show that to generate similar damage modes in gas gun testing, it is critical to ensure the deformation of the projectile before testing is similar to that of a released blade. With the pre-bent blade, the gas gun experiment was able to replicate the damage modes of the fan case in FBO test on flat composite panels. Copyright by ANDREW JOE VANDER KLOK 2016


Abstract Self-managed abortion holds particular promise for revolutionizing people's access to quality reproductive care in Africa, where the burden of abortion-related mortality is the highest globally and where abortion remains criminalized, in violation of various internationally and regionally recognized human rights. Increasingly safe and effective, self-managed medication abortion is still subject to many restrictions, including criminal laws, across the continent. Drawing on recent evidence and human rights developments around self-managed abortion, this paper explores whether and to what extent Africa's regional legal framework builds a normative basis for the decriminalization of self-managed abortion. We conclude that the region's articulation of the rights to dignity, to freedom from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, and to nondiscrimination, among others, provides strong grounds for decriminalization, both concerning individuals who need abortions and concerning the constellation of actors who enable self-management.


ABSTRACT Our goal is to understand the pathogenesis of amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain. We established a cell culture system where central nervous system-derived neuronal cells (CAD cells) produce and accumulate within their processes large amounts of Aβ peptide, similar to what is believed to occur in brain neurons, in the initial phases of AD. Using this system, we show that accumulation of Aβ begins within neurites, prior to any detectable signs of neurodegeneration or abnormal vesicular transport. Neuritic accumulation of Aβ is restricted to a small population of neighboring cells that express normal levels of amyloid-β precursor protein (APP) but show redistribution of BACE1 to the processes, where it colocalizes with Aβ and markers of late endosomes. Consistently, cells that accumulate Aβ appear in isolated islets, suggesting their clonal origin from a few cells that show a propensity to accumulate Aβ. These results suggest that Aβ accumulation is initiated in a small number of neurons by intracellular determinants that alter APP metabolism and lead to Aβ deposition and neurodegeneration. CAD cells appear to recapitulate the biochemical processes leading to Aβ deposition, thus providing an experimental in vitro system for studying the molecular pathobiology of AD.


Apressin (2.5 mg/kg), obsidan (10 mg/kg), and diprazine (10mg/kg) caused an increase in the content of NAD + NAD.H2, without affecting their ratio, in the liver and brain of intact animals. These drugs, taken in the same doses, especially when used together, caused an increase in the NAD + NAD.H2 level; as to NAD/NAD.H2 ratio--it decreased in the state of hypoxia. The authors believe the antihypoxic action of apressin, obsidan, and diprazine to be connected with the rise in the total nicotinamide adenine denucleotide content and with increase of its oxidized form.


Two traditional theorems of welfare economics posit a trade-off between a government redistribution targets and efficiency. We propose a third 'claim' of welfare economics, stating that in closed economies the actual efficiency costs associated with redistribution are small. We then examine the claim in the current phase of 'hyper-globalization'. On the one hand, a race-to-the-bottom in taxation restricts the capacity to tax high-earners and the associated brain drain may affect a country's long-run growth. On the other hand, demand for social insurance should be particularly high in an open economy, especially with advancing digitalization. Xenophobic sentiments may, however, offset this demand. We also discuss the impact of globalization on wage equalization and productive efficiency. We conclude against the idea that the welfare state is intrinsically unable to carry out its redistributive function in an era of globalization. However, its strategies and tools of intervention must be rethought.


Experience-dependent synaptic plasticity refines brain circuits during development. To identify novel protein synthesis-dependent mechanisms contributing to experience-dependent plasticity, we conducted a quantitative proteomic screen of the nascent proteome in response to visual experience in Xenopus optic tectum using bio-orthogonal metabolic labeling (BONCAT). We identified 83 differentially synthesized candidate plasticity proteins (CPPs). The CPPs form strongly interconnected networks and are annotated to a variety of biological functions, including RNA splicing, protein translation, and chromatin remodeling. Functional analysis of select CPPs revealed the requirement for eukaryotic initiation factor 3 subunit A (eIF3A), fused in sarcoma (FUS), and ribosomal protein s17 (RPS17) in experience-dependent structural plasticity in tectal neurons and behavioral plasticity in tadpoles. These results demonstrate that the nascent proteome is dynamic in response to visual experience and that de novo synthesis of machinery that regulates RNA splicing and protein translation is required for experience-dependent plasticity. Highlights The nascent proteome changes dynamically in response to visual experience Newly synthesized candidate plasticity proteins were identified using MS/MS Visual experience induces de novo synthesis of synaptic and cytoskeletal proteins Synthesis of RNA splicing and translation machinery is required for plasticity eTOC Blurb Liu et al. show that the nascent proteome changes dynamically in response to plasticity-inducing visual experience. Functional analysis reveals that visual experience-dependent synthesis of RNA splicing and protein translation machinery is required for plasticity.


History has a vital function in shaping the personality of the nation, the quality of humans, and the people of a country. However, one factor that influences learning behavior that could be improved is the students' interest in learning. The use of game-based learning has been proven to be effective in making activities to be more fun to do. Moreover, augmented reality technology also shows enormous potential in the world of education. This research developed a game-based historical learning application using augmented reality to enhance user experience in learning history. The application is built using the Unity Game Engine and Vuforia. Furthermore, the application was tested and evaluated by measuring the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use following the guidance in the Technology Acceptance Model. The result shows that the application achieves 89.5% for perceived usefulness and 86.33% for perceived ease of use.


Micromachine airflow tilt sensor which can be sensitive to tilt angle is described. Adopt micro-machined technique two deep groove are corroded on the silicon plate, and two cantilever beams of metal film heated hot wire is set up at each deep groove. Semicircle airtight space forms sense elements. Through Wheatstone bridge, we get the tilt output voltage. Single-chip computer and temperature sensor constitute compensation circuit to achieve temperature compensation and linear compensation. The test showed the sensor's performance is as follow: measuring range is ±30,resolution<0.1°, working temperature is better than 50ms ,nonlinear<0.1%.The sensor is not only in small size but also in simply crafting. It is good in sensitive organ's output consistency, and suitable for mass production.


The modification of method of linear systems' identification according to the transient characteristics extending the area of its use is offered. The research results for example of a linear dynamic stationary discrete system are presented.


The authors present parallel algorithms for recognizing and parsing context-free languages on the hypercube. This algorithm is both time-wise and space-wise optimal with respect to the usual sequential dynamic programming algorithm. Also, the number of nonoverlapping interprocessor data transmissions for the recognition phase is small. It is noted that this is desirable since communication cost in reality is a function of the number of transmissions as well as transmission length. The authors present another recognition algorithm that achieves the same time and space bounds but employs a dynamic loading balancing technique to increase processor utilization. The results of implementing these algorithms on a 64-node NCUBE/7 MIMD hypercube machine are also given. The experimental evidence indicates that, while both recognition algorithms exhibit acceptable speedups, using load balancing results in significantly better performance. The authors obtain parallel algorithms with the same time and space bounds as above for the polygon triangulation problem and the matrix product chain problem. >


Selected mapping (SLM) and partial transmit sequence (PTS) are well-known techniques for peak-power reduction in orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM). We derive a simplified maximum likelihood (ML) decoder for SLM and PTS that operates without side information. This decoder exploits the fact that the modulation symbols belong to a given constellation and that the multiple signals generated by the PTS or SLM processes are widely different in a Hamming distance sense. Pairwise error probability (PEP) analysis suggests how SLM and PTS vectors should be chosen. The decoder performs well over additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels, fading channels, and amplifier nonlinearities.


Optimum thickness of polycrystalline semiconductor multialkali photocathodes is studied by the exponential attenuation rate of the radiation intensity and formulas for the quantum yield spectra and optical absorption coefficient of multialkali photocathodes. It has been found that if I(alpha )/IO > 0.4, photocathode optimum thickness D will be in excess of around 1000 angstroms and if I(alpha )/IO increases further, D will tend to increase too, while photoelectrons excited by energetic photons will appear in the inner surface of the photocathode. Furthermore, D should be in the vicinity of 300 angstroms for the first kind of photocathode (S-20, S-20R, and S-25) and 900 angstroms for the second kind of photocathodes (new S-25, Varo, and LEP). It is suggested that the optimum photocathode thickness D be studied by the spectral response peaks of multialkali photocathodes. We came to the conclusion that photoelectron escape depth and incident wavelength tends to increase and along with it the optimum photocathode thickness. It has been calculated that the optimum thickness of multialkali photocathodes possessing good response in visible and infrared light must be in the vicinity of 1200 angstroms.


The limitations to the accuracy achievable by optical interferometers when they are used to measure sub-nanometric path differences are discussed, and techniques for realising the optimum performances from these instruments are described. An optical design for a two-beam interferometer is proposed that would maintain the accuracy of the instrument when resolving with subnanometric sensitivity and, in addition, facilitate the alignment of the optical and mechanical axes of the measurement system.


Paget's disease of bone (PDB) is characterized by focal areas of increased and disorganized bone remodeling. The brain, spinal cord, cauda equina, spinal roots, and cranial nerves can be affected in Paget's disease due to their anatomic relationship to the relevant bones and associated bony canals. We describe here a 58-year-old Bangladeshi male who presented with neurological complications of the disease. Before he was correctly diagnosed, his presentation was mistakenly ascribed to several other diseases by different physicians that resulted in prolongation of his sufferings. He responded promptly to bisphophonate therapy after being correctly diagnosed. Bangladesh J Medicine Jan 2017; 28(1) : 46-49


A general-purpose virtual audio system called the Audio Reality Engine (ARE) is proposed in
this paper. Based on the investigation of the addition of spatial-localized sound to virtual
environments, we discuss in detail the design and implementation techniques, including HRTF
model based on neural network, the simulation of moving sound sources, the simulation of Doppler
effects, and room acoustic simulation based on dynamic mechanisms. Experimental results illustrate
the efficiency of our system.


In this paper, we propose new dereverberation method for underwater speech communication. The speech signal generated by a fixed one source. Then the signal received on 9 horizontal sensor array in shallow water environment. Finally, received signals are processed dereverberation. The received signals achieved delay-and-sum beamforming and then, signals calculates time delay both each signals. Next, we calculate Hilbert envelope using time delay information and LP residuals. At last, we acquire new LP residuals using various parameters. Proposed technique shows better performance than previous dereverberation technique.


In this paper, the impact behavior of repaired cracked plates was investigated experimentally. single edge cracked aluminum plate having crack length to width ratios of 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 was repaired with four different patch configurations namely: 3 layer GRP, 5 layer GRP patch, 2/1 FML patch and 3/2 FML patches tested in Charpy impact and the energy absorbed by specimens were compared together and compared with the unrepaired cracked plate. FML patches were made of thin layers of glass/epoxy composites of 0.2 mm thickness with phosphor bronze sheets of 0.2 mm thickness. The patching was single side. The composite and FML patching was more effective in repairing the specimens with greater crack length. Placing 3 GRP and 5 GRP patches increased the absorbed energy by only 3 to 4 joules respectively as compared to unrepaired plate. The use of 2/1 and 3/2 FML patches could increase the absorbed energy two to four times depend on crack length.


The objective of this research was to determine source and level of organic matter on growth of Aloe vera Mill Random complete block (RCB) design was applied where two sources of manure i.e. lamb and cow dung and two kinds of mulch i.e. rice husk and sawmill dust were used. The results showed that application of manure significantly increased the plant height and the number of leaf Lamb dung gave better responses than cow dung, here the best level of lamb dung was 1 kg per plant. Effectiveness of manure application was 4 months, afterward need another application. Mulching did not affect both plant height and number of leaf significantly. Key words: Aloe, Organic manure, Sawmill dust, Rice husk


BACKGROUND
With recent advances in mass spectrometry instrumentation, HRMS is of increasing interest for quantitative bioanalysis due to its high sensitivity, rapid acquisition of full scan data, and advanced software for metabolite identification. In particular, there is strong interest in use of HRMS for simultaneous quantification of parent drug and metabolites without authentic metabolite standard materials.

MATERIALS & METHODS
Rosiglitazone and 5-hydroxy rosiglitazone in rat plasma were analyzed using LC-Q-TOF by both direct and indirect quantitative analysis. Direct quantitative analysis used an authentic metabolite standard (5-hydroxy rosiglitazone). Indirect quantitative analysis firstly used the parent drug (rosiglitazone) calibration curve to provide a semiquantitative measure of metabolite concentration. A correction factor was then applied to the original data to re-calculate the 5-hydroxy rosiglitazone metabolite concentration.

RESULTS
The ratio of the calibration curve slope of rosiglitazone to that of 5-hydroxy rosiglitazone was determined to be 2.09 ± 0.28 using different batches of mobile phases and columns. The correction factor 2.09 was then used to correct for the 5-hydroxy rosiglitazone concentrations found from the semiquantitative results using the rosiglitazone calibration standard curve. The concentrations of 5-hydroxy rosiglitazone found by direct and indirect quantitative analysis were highly comparable (within ±8%).

CONCLUSION
Indirect quantitative analysis provides an alternative approach for metabolite quantification for discovery PK studies.


Magnetoresistance measurements were made on Thin Films of InxGa1-xAs from Electrical resistivity and Hall Effect measurements. Films used in this study were grown on single crystal GaAs substrate by Molecular Beam Epitaxial method. Measurements were made at room temperature and up to field strength of 5.5KG. Resistivity of GaAs and In0.14Ga0.86As at room temperature are 65.3 Ohm-cm and 7.77 × 10-1 Ohm-cm respectively and for samples with x ≈0.185 and ≈0.205 resistivity at room temperature are 1.06× 103 Ohm-cm and 2.54 × 103 Ohm-cm respectively. Hall coefficients were calculated for all samples. Temperature variations of these values are presented in a temperature region 273K to 323K. From the measurements it is found that GaAs and In0.14Ga0.86As samples ΔR/R0 show a linear variation with magnetic field. But for In0.185Ga0.815As and In0.205Ga0.795As films ΔR/R0 initially decreases and then increases with increasing fields. Results obtained are explained in the light of the existing theories and they are found to be in good agreement with theories and also with the published results of other workers.


Prion diseases are a unique category of illness, affecting both animals and humans, where the underlying pathogenesis is related to a conformational change of a normal self protein called cellular prion protein to a pathological and infectious conformer known as scrapie prion protein (PrPSc). Currently, all prion diseases lack effective treatment and are universally fatal. Past experiences with bovine spongiform encephalopathy and variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease mainly in Europe, as well as the current epidemic of chronic wasting disease in North America, have highlighted the need to develop prophylactic and/or therapeutic approaches. In Alzheimer's disease that, like prion disease, is a conformational neurodegenerative disorder, both passive and active immunization has been shown to be highly effective in model animals at preventing disease and cognitive deficits, with emerging data from human trials suggesting that this approach is able to reduce amyloid-related pathology. However, any immunomodulatory approach aimed at a self-antigen has to finely balance an effective humoral immune response with potential autoimmune toxicity. The prion diseases most commonly acquired by infection typically have the alimentary tract as a portal of infectious agent entry. This makes mucosal immunization a potentially attractive method to produce a local immune response that partially or completely prevents prion entry across the gut barrier, while at the same time producing modulated systemic immunity that is unlikely to be associated with toxicity. Our results using an attenuated Salmonella vaccine strain expressing the prion protein showed that mucosal vaccination can protect against prion infection from a peripheral source, suggesting the feasibility of this approach. It is also possible to develop active and/or passive immunomodulatory approaches that more specifically target PrPSc or target the shared pathological conformer found in numerous conformational disorders. Such approaches could have a significant impact on many of the common age-associated dementias.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Elevated anti-double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) antibody and C-reactive protein are associated with proliferative lupus nephritis (PLN). Progression of quantitative anti-dsDNA antibody in patients with PLN has not been compared with that in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) without LN before diagnosis. The temporal relationship between anti-dsDNA antibody and C-reactive protein elevation has also not been evaluated.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS
This case-control Department of Defense Serum Repository (established in 1985) study compared longitudinal prediagnostic quantitative anti-dsDNA antibody and C-reactive protein levels in 23 patients with biopsy-proven PLN (Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 1993-2009) with levels in 21 controls with SLE but without LN matched for patient age, sex, race, and age of serum sample. The oldest (median, 2601 days; 25%, 1245 days, 75%, 3075 days), the second to last (368; 212, 635 days), and the last (180; 135, 477 days) serum sample before diagnosis were analyzed.

RESULTS
More patients with PLN had an elevated anti-dsDNA antibody level than did the matched controls at any point (78% versus 5%; P<0.001), <1 year (82% versus 8%; P<0.001), 1-4 years (53% versus 0%; P<0.001), and >4 years (33% versus 0%; P=0.04) before diagnosis. A rate of increase >1 IU/ml per year (70% versus 0%; P<0.001) was most specific for PLN. The anti-dsDNA antibody levels increased before C-reactive protein did in most patients with an antecedent elevation (92% versus 8%; P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
Elevated anti-dsDNA antibody usually precedes both clinical and subclinical evidence of proliferative LN, which suggests direct pathogenicity. Absolute anti-dsDNA antibody level and rate of increase could better establish risk of future PLN in patients with SLE.


A low-cost, highly efficient and durable photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting system can be realized through designing a hierarchical core/shell nanostructured photoanode entirely composed of Earth-abundant elements. Herein, we report the rational design of a core/shell nanostructured photoanode with a TiO2 nanorod (NR) array as the core and a highly active Earth-abundant NiFe oxyhydroxide ((Ni1−xFex)OOH, NiFeOOH) oxygen evolution catalyst (OEC) as the shell for PEC water oxidation. Specifically, the NiFeOOH nanosheets were prepared via a facile, one-step electroless deposition method for a short reaction time of 10 min at room temperature. The TiO2/NiFeOOH core/shell nanostructured photoanode exhibits an unprecedented enhancement in photocurrent density (3.85 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode, (RHE)), no decay in photocurrent density over 24 h, and an obvious cathodic onset potential shift of 133 mV compared to the TiO2 NRs (0.73 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE). The electron transfer mechanism is discussed through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies and calculated band alignments via ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy characterization. This work not only suggests a simple, room temperature electroless strategy for integrating Earth-abundant catalysts with photoanodes, but also accelerates the development of rationally designed core/shell photoanodes for efficient and durable solar water oxidation.


We here report our observations of the intense lightning events during ~15:00, 23 September to ~12:00, 24 September 2008 along the fault of Wenchuan-Beichuan counties in Sichuan Province, China where a 8.0 magnitude earthquake strike on May 12th, 2008. This intense lightning period had the highest density in all available the lightning monitoring data of Sichuan. The altered lightning pattern is unlikely to be a coincidence. We also found that the spatial-temporal characteristic of lightning in Sichuan has changed after the earthquake. We studied the correlations and analyze the data between lightning and earthquake in order to understand the seemingly unrelated events.


The regulatory bounds of Hungarian Civil Code were broadened by the development and phenomena of the market economy, which also led to the development of different legal "formations" relying on the contractual freedom declared by the great codices of natural law of the ninetieth century: – the professional, businesslike management (the regular producing, service providing, commercial activity in order to get profi t), the establishment and application of newer and newer contracts became possible because of the so many fi nancial connections and connection among goods, the enormous investments, the cross-border relations of legal transactions, and – new contractual techniques appeared which exceeded the traditionally institutionalized basic types of contracts: these are too detailed, self-regulating agreements tending to unifi cation, standardization. The need of the establishment of the group of atypical–different from those contracts expressly mentioned by name in the Hungarian Civil Code–contracts arose because of the economic changes and changes in the legal practice in Hungary at the end of the 20th century. The characteristics of these contractual relationships are the following:1 a) Atypical agreements has no Hungarian names generally, their names have foreign origin (e.g. leasing agreement, franchise agreement, concession agreement, syndication agreement, licence agreement) or they are designated in a complicated way that does not express the essence of the legal relationship precisely (e.g. consort agreement as an agreement with the purpose of taking part in the group of consumers; timesharing agreement as an agreement with the aim to acquire the right of utilization of a real estate for a defi nite and repeated period of time). b) The "Express contracts" (Part Four, Title III) of Hungarian Civil Code does not dispose of atypical contracts, they cannot be ranked among the contracts mentioned by their name. It must be noticed that this feature is relative: a new situation can evolve by the amendment and the recodifi cation of the Hungarian Civil Code. c) The foreign patterns of practice and legislation and the domestic customs had a very important role in the establishment and development of the rules referring to atypical


Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most prevalent cancers in the world. Changes in the composition and abundance of oral microbiota are associated with the development and metastasis of OSCC. To elucidate the exact roles of the oral microbiota in OSCC, it is essential to reveal the evolutionary relationships between the dysregulated genes in OSCC progression and the oral microbiota. Thus, we interrogated the microarray and high-throughput sequencing datasets to obtain the transcriptional landscape of OSCC. After identifying differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with three different methods, pathway and functional analyses were also performed. A total of 127 genes were identified as common DEGs, which were enriched in extracellular matrix organization and cytokine related pathways. Furthermore, we established a predictive pipeline for detecting the coevolutionary of dysregulated host genes and microbial proteomes based on the homology method, and this pipeline was employed to analyze the evolutionary relations between the seven most dysregulated genes (MMP13, MMP7, MMP1, CXCL13, CRISPO3, CYP3A4, and CRNN) and microbiota obtained from the eHOMD database. We found that cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4), a member of the cytochrome P450 family of oxidizing enzymes, was associated with 45 microbes from the eHOMD database and involved in the oral habitat of Comamonas testosteroni and Arachnia rubra. The peptidase M10 family of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP13, MMP7, and MMP1) was associated with Lacticaseibacillus paracasei, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, Streptococcus salivarius, Tannerella sp._HMT_286, and Streptococcus infantis in the oral cavity. Overall, this study revealed the dysregulated genes in OSCC and explored their evolutionary relationship with oral microbiota, which provides new insight for exploring the microbiota–host interactions in diseases.


The administration of an accurate and effective POCUS course is a crucial tool in improving health education and thus the health care system in low- to middle-income countries. The development of the ultrasound curriculum in these countries during the pandemic era is a major challenge for medical educators. Therefore, this study aims to survey the learner experience after implementing the POCUS curriculum for first-year emergency medicine residents. All learners responded to the survey. Our results demonstrated that the ultrasound rotation and our ultra-sound learning materials were useful tools which showed a positive impact on POCUS knowledge for our learners. However, some obstacles of POCUS learning were identified to assist in closing faculty development gaps, including the availability of handheld devices, as well as the re-modeling of the ultrasound rotation course, which should be managed according to the feedback we received. This study demonstrated a clear need for constant updates in higher education, medical program development, accuracy of local learning materials, and the explosion of virtual and online learning platforms during this decade.