Background: Traditional methods of the content and composition of fruits nutrients determining are labor-intensive and material-intensive, require grinding and special processing of biological material. The fluorescent method is one of the most modern and promising. It allows determining physiological and metabolic parameters without plant tissues destruction. Therefore, the patterns and causes of differences identification of the different apple varieties fluorescent properties is an important task, which will solve the problem of non-invasive determination of the composition and content of useful substances in fruits.

Objectives: The determination of the surface tissues fluorescent properties in the green area of the fluorescence spectrum of apple varieties with different coloring of exocarp is the purpose of the work.

Materials and methods: The object of the study is apples of four popular winter varieties, close in maturity, with different coloring of exocarp. The method of fluorescence spectroscopy of the apples surface tissues was used. The excitation was made by a semiconductor laser with a wavelength of 405 nm and a power of 36 mW, operating in a continuous mode. The apples coloring is defined as the coordinate a of the CIELAB color mapping system.

Results: It was found that the wavelength of the maximum in the green area of the fluorescence spectrum of different apple varieties surface tissues differs by approximately 8–18 nm. At the same time, the difference of wavelengths of the maximum in the red area for different apple varieties does not exceed 5 nm. It was found that wavelength of the maximum in the green area of the fluorescence spectrum differs in different varieties in accordance with the coloring of the exocarp. If green color prevails in the exocarp coloring the fluorescence maximum in the green area has a longer wavelength, and if red prevails it has a shorter wavelength, while if yellow prevails, the wavelength occupies an intermediate position.

Conclusions: The pigment composition of the surface tissues of apples affects on their fluorescence in the green area of the spectrum. Possible reasons for the differences of the maximum wavelength in the green area of the fluorescence spectrum are the variability of flavonols composition depending on the apple variety and the influence of red pigments.


The chromosomal location of a murine soluble epoxide hydrolase gene was determined using in situ mapping, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and simple sequence length polymorphism (SSLP) analysis. In situ hybridization to mouse metaphase chromosomes using a soluble epoxide hydrolase cDNA probe showed that soluble epoxide hydrolase maps at band D of chromosome 14. An RFLP found between Mus castaneus (CAST) and Mus musculus (MEV) was used to map the soluble epoxide hydrolase gene in CAST x MEV intersubspecific testcross progeny to 14 cM from the Np-1 locus on mouse chromosome 14. SSLP markers were then used to confirm the location of soluble epoxide hydrolase at 14.0 +/- 3.7 cM distal to Np-1 and 19.2 +/- 4.3 cM proximal to D14Mit7. This region of mouse chromosome 14 is homologous with human chromosomes 8, 13 and 14. Enzyme assays and immunoblotting results suggest significant quantitative differences in expression of soluble epoxide hydrolase among three mouse strains. Northern blotting analysis showed that soluble epoxide hydrolase mRNA levels were correlated with the relative level of soluble epoxide hydrolase enzyme activity and soluble epoxide hydrolase protein in all three mouse strains.


Sex-possessing organisms perform sexual reproduction, in which gametes from different sexes fuse to produce offspring. In most eukaryotes, one or both sex gametes are motile, and gametes actively approach each other to fuse. However, in flowering plants, the gametes of both sexes lack motility. Two sperm cells (male gametes) that are contained in a pollen grain are recessively delivered via pollen tube elongation. After the pollen tube bursts, sperm cells are released toward the egg and central cells (female gametes) within an ovule (Fig. 1). The precise mechanism of sperm cell movement after the pollen tube bursts remains unknown. Ultimately, one sperm cell fuses with the egg cell and the other one fuses with the central cell, producing an embryo and an endosperm, respectively. Fertilization in which 2 sets of gamete fusion events occur, called double fertilization, has been known for over 100 y. The fact that each morphologically identical sperm cell precisely recognizes its fusion partner strongly suggests that an accurate gamete interaction system(s) exists in flowering plants.


Educational expansion has reached the tertiary level; however, inclusive higher education remains an elusive goal despite the ratification, in more than a hundred countries, of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities since 2006. The Convention mandates inclusive education throughout the life course and thus increased access to universities. Enhancing accessibility requires us to remove barriers and defeat ableism. Analyzing contemporary trends in Europe and North America, this article compares universities' attempts to implement elements of the "UniversalDesignUniversity." Because universities serve as role models and provide community services, these organizations can and should implement universal design principles. Universities have myriad opportunities and responsibilities to enhance access to their programs. In embracing social and political paradigms of disability, in giving voice to diverse participants, and in implementing universal design principles, the university can engage and change public awareness and attitudes. Advancing the educational and social inclusion of persons with disabilities in higher education provides benefits far beyond the university campus.


Using the Guancun River, an underground stream‐fed river, in Rong'an County of Guangxi, China as a case study, the daily biochemical cycle was examined in this paper based on the data collected a weeklong via high resolution data logger monitoring and high‐frequency sampling. Furthermore, the loss of inorganic carbon along its flow path was estimated. Results show that chemical components of the groundwater input are quite stable, showing little change extent; while all of the chemical parameters from two downstream monitoring stations show diel variation over the monitoring period, suggesting that plant activity in the river has a strong influence on water chemistry of the river. The comparison of the input fluxes from the groundwater with the output fluxes of HCO–3 estimated at the downstream monitoring station during the high‐frequency sampling period shows a strong decrease of HCO–3, indicating that the river is losing inorganic carbon along its flow path. The loss is estimated to be about 1,152 mmol/day/m of HCO–3 which represent about 94.9 kg/day of inorganic carbon along the 1,350 m section of the Guancun River. It means that HCO–3 entering the river from karst underground stream was either consumed by plants or trapped in the authigenic calcite and thus constitutes a natural sink of carbon for the Guancun karst system.


Abstract In view of the limitations of synoptic analysis, a new statistical method has been developed and applied to the study of the structure of the westerlies. Preliminary investigations of the wind structure over central Canada and the British Isles are discussed. A detailed study of the structure of the westerlies over Great Britain, with use of data for Penzance, is described. Winter cross-sections, averaged in a coordinate system which moves with the 500-mb temperature field, are produced. These show clearly the fields of wind and solenoids in the troposphere and lower stratosphere, and confirm the relationship between the jet stream and the major frontal surface found by Palmen.


The unbalance of tourism development and comparative superiority of the tea industry brings new opportunities to the poor groups along Lijiang River Valley for improving their livelihoods. From the perspective of sustainable livelihoods, we analyze the problems in tea farmers' livelihoods, such as lack of fund, low capacity in price negotiation, and high cost of resisting various risks. Recommendations are put forward for tea farmers to improve their livelihoods through ways of enterprise cooperation, innovative marketing, brand cultivation, industrial integration and so on.


Aim The distribution of neotropical butterflies of the tribe Pronophilini (Lepidoptera, Satyridae) was analysed with the aim of determining (i) the elevational ranges of distribution of each species (ii) the elevational gradient in diversity, and (iii) the existence of parapatric distributions of some closely related species pairs.

Location The field study was carried out in the middle and upper section of the valley of the Rio Albarregas, a tributary of the Rio Chama on the southern slopes of the Serrania de la Culata, in the central part of the Cordillera de Merida, Venezuela.

Methods The material was collected along an elevational transect set on a trail leading from Merida to the Paramo de Los Conejos in the area known as Monte Zerpa. It consisted of a series of 32 collection sites set at every 25 m of altitude and covered an elevation from 2250 m to 3025 m.

Results The ranges of Lymanopoda obsoleta, L. albocincta, L. zapatoza, Corades chelonis, C. pannonia, C. medeba, Mygona irmina, Pedaliodes epidipnis, P. japhleta, P. montagna and P. panyasis were all restricted to the lower half of the cloud forest zone and L. diezti, C. pax, P. polla, P. ornata and P. ferratilis were all restricted to the upper part. Two species, Erethris porphyria and Steroma bega, crossed the entire elevational range of the cloud forest zone.The biodiversity, as measured by Shannon's index, attained a maximum at 2700 m, beyond which it gradually decreased. A parapatric distribution was confirmed for three pairs of closely related species: L. obsoleta and L. diezti, C. chelonis and C. pax and P. montagna and P. ferratilis.

Main conclusions The peak in diversity at middle elevations seems to result from the overlapping ranges of species distributed over lower and upper parts of the cloud forest. Correlation of species composition at particular transect sites with elevation showed that increase in elevation was associated with an increase in species composition difference. Post-mating isolation was suggested as a primary factor responsible for maintaining the parapatric distributions of species occupying the upper and lower zones and preventing their respective distributions from expanding.


Intranasal corticosteroids (INCSs) have been established as the first-line treatment of moderate to severe allergic rhinitis (AR). Compared with other monotherapies, INCSs are most effective at controlling underlying allergic inflammation and providing symptom relief. Although currently available INCSs show comparable efficacy in controlling nasal symptoms of AR, onset and duration of action are thought to be somewhat variable among the INCSs. The low frequency of side effects suggests that, at recommended doses, INCSs are safe for the treatment of AR. However, concerns remain regarding the long-term systemic side effects associated with INCS therapy. Recent clinical studies have indicated that ciclesonide provides effective relief from nasal symptoms of AR and may have a rapid onset of action. Moreover, the results of two clinical trials, including a 52-week study, have suggested that intranasal ciclesonide does not cause cortisol suppression. Furthermore, intranasal ciclesonide does not have an additive effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis function when administered in combination with inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs), indicating that intranasal ciclesonide can be used in combination with an ICS in patients with asthma and comorbid AR. Therefore, intranasal ciclesonide appears to provide an additional treatment option for patients with AR.


This study explores the possibility that the 2008 economic recession affected the availability of flexible work arrangements by comparing two surveys of organizations in the USA, one conducted prior to the recession and the other after its onset. Adaptation and institutional perspectives are contrasted, revealing different expectations for the effects of economic tumult on the availability of flexible work arrangements. Greater support is found for the adaptation perspective, as organizations offered fewer flexible work options in 2009 than in 2006. They also engaged in less promotion of alternate work arrangements. Analysis indicates that prior trends toward increasing availability of flexible work arrangements have shifted downward.


The structure of swine production has changed dramatically in the last four decades. Raw materials for swine feeds are often grown in regions other than where swine production takes place. Swine manure is mostly spread in the neighborhood of the facilities, which may lead to soil accumulation of minerals such as P, Cu, and Zn. Moreover, soil nitrate may leach and result in enhanced nitrate levels in ground and surface water. Large swine units generate odors, ammonia, and dust that can exceed tolerable levels. Negative effects of swine production on the environment have already led to new legislation that limits the use of animal manure or the expansion or localization of pig operations in some countries. The consequences of intensive swine production on the environment and possible solutions by means of nutrition are outlined. Also, discussed are experiences from the Dutch situation, forthcoming legislation, and environmental constraints on pig production in the future. Our approach centers more on the system level.


Special Issue 8, 2020 Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 51 *Address for correspondence E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Clinical efficacy of meridian-based massage as a rehabilitation therapy for pulmonary infection in stroke patients is explored, so as to provide new ideas and methods for the prevention and rehabilitation of stroke-associated pneumonia. Forty-six patients diagnosed as stroke complicated with pulmonary infection in The Third Affiliated Hospital of Qiqihar University are randomly divided into experimental group and control group, with 23 cases in each group. The control group is treated with medication and routine rehabilitation therapy, while the experimental group is treated with meridian massage on the basis of the control group. The results show that after 12 d of intervention, the pulmonary infection score of the two groups is lower than that before treatment, and the experimental group is obviously due to the control group (p<0.05). The total effective rate is 91.3 % in the experimental group, which is significantly higher than 65.2 % in the control group (p<0.05). Therefore, massage along meridians is effective in treating stroke-associated pneumonia. It can improve the level of interleukin 4 in serum of patients with stroke related pneumonia and the ability of autoimmune regulation. It can improve the total effective rate of treatment, and effectively control the symptoms and signs of pulmonary infection. It can be used as an effective rehabilitation treatment for patients with stroke-related pneumonia. Since only 12 d of observation and treatment are carried out in this study, the prognosis is more one-sided, which cannot achieve a systematic and comprehensive evaluation of the treatment effect. In the future, the analysis of therapeutic effect should be more detailed.


BACKGROUND Transfemoral intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TFIPS) can be performed to treat portal hypertension. However, few studies have evaluated the safety and efficacy of this technique. AIM To retrospectively evaluate the safety and clinical outcomes of TFIPS and compare them with those of typical transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). METHODS This retrospective study was approved by our hospital ethics committee. From November 2012 to November 2015, 19 patients who underwent successful TFIPS placement were included. In addition, 21 patients treated with TIPS during the same period were selected as controls. Data collected included the success rate and complications of TIPS and TFIPS. Continuous data were expressed as the mean ± SD and were compared using the Student's t test. All categorical data were expressed as count (percentage) and were compared using the χ2 test or Fisher's exact test. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to calculate cumulative survival rate and survival curves. RESULTS Baseline characteristics were comparable between the two groups. The success rate of TFIPS and TIPS was 95% (19/20) and 100% (21/21), respectively. Effective portal decompression and free antegrade shunt flow was completed in all patients. The portal pressure gradient prior to TIPS and TFIPS placement was 23.91 ± 4.64 mmHg and 22.61 ± 5.39 mmHg, respectively, and it was significantly decreased to 10.85 ± 3.33 mmHg and 10.84 ± 3.33 mmHg after stent placement, respectively. Time–to-event calculated rates of shunt patency at one and two years in the TFIPS and TIPS groups were not statistically different (94.7% vs 95.2% and 94.7% vs 90.5%, respectively). De nova hepatic encephalopathy was 27.5% (11/40) with five patients in the TFIPS group (26.3%) and six patients (28.6%) in the TIPS group experiencing it (P = 0.873). The cumulative survival rates were similar between the two groups: 94.7% and 94.7% at 1 and 2 years, respectively, in the TFIPS group vs 100% and 95.2% at 1 and 2 years, respectively, in the TIPS group (P = 0.942). CONCLUSION TFIPS may be a valuable adjunct to traditional approaches in patients with portal hypertension.


In 1994, after a failed attempt on his life, Mahfouz underwent a period of physical rehabilitation and entered the final phase of his literary career. His last work, a collection of dreams composed while his physical difficulties made writing impossible thus compelling him to dictate his last work, marked the writer's abandonment of the complex structure of the novel for short and fragmentary narratives. This paper proposes some reflections on Mahfouz' passage to the new literary genre, the choice of an essential and rapid style, and the offer of a deep private portrait. In this context, reminiscence and oneiric experience are considered as significant expressions of the writer's aesthetics where time had an essential role in determining plots and forms and in a philosophical research which only halted with his death. In addition, Mahfouz' late work is showed in relation to its precedents in classical and premodern Arabic literature and as a prelude to the rebirth of the very short narrative of the 2000s.


Abstract Electron back-scattering pattern (EBSP) analysis is shown to be capable of identifying polytypic groups (subfamilies) of hydrous phyllosilicates in a scanning electron microscope with spatial resolution far better than X-ray diffraction and with easier sample preparation than transmission electron microscopy. Polytypic groups are distinguished by the intensity distribution in the pattern. However, identification of individual polytypes in each group is difficult because the Kikuchi bands characteristic of each polytype are weak. In the case of 1:1 phyllosilicates and one-layer chlorite, the four and six groups, respectively, can be distinguished by the Kikuchi bands corresponding to reflections with h ≠ 3n and k = 3n (orthohexagonal cell setting). Practical application for identifying the polytypic groups distributed in a small crystal of cronstedtite, an iron-bearing trioctahedral 1:1 phyllosilicate, is described.


With the expansion of cities around the world there is a growing interest in the factors that influence biodiversity and ecosystem processes in urban areas. Fungi are exceptionally diverse and play key roles in ecosystem function, yet despite predictions of negative impacts due to urbanization, fungi have been generally overlooked in urban ecological studies. We surveyed fungi in 16 remnant river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis: Myrtaceae) woodlands along a gradient of 4–35 km from the city of Melbourne (south-east Australia). Using both sporocarp surveys and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP; primer pair ITS1-F-ITS4), we examined relationships between fungal community composition, landscape context (i.e. urbanization) and soil physicochemical properties. Community compositions from sporocarp data were significantly correlated with those from T-RFLP data, largely because of correlations with ectomycorrhizal sporocarps (Spearman rank correlation coefficients ρ 0.31–0.42) rather than saprotrophic fungi (ρ 0.18–0.21). Principal components analysis of soil properties and non-metric multidimensional scaling ordinations of fungal community composition showed no clear separation of sites according to urbanization, and there were no significant correlations between fungal community composition and urbanization. However, fungal community composition was significantly correlated with soil chemical properties (ρ 0.41–0.55). These data suggest that site-scale soil properties, and associated effects of past and current land management activities, were more important in determining fungal community composition than the landscape-level influences of urbanization.


The article deals with the becoming of clinical medicine in chronologic scope from 1800 to middle 1870s. The major scientific achievements related to the application of practical medicine such methods as clinical anatomical comparison, laboratory experiment, chemical analysis, physical, instrumental, functional, laboratory diagnostics are discussed.


(1) The cortical projection of the vestibular nuclei (LVN, MVN and IVN) was investigated by the evoked potential and unit discharge analyses in the cat anesthetized with alpha-chloralose and/or immobilized with gallamine triethiodide. (2) This projection field coincided well with that of the vestibular nerves, being principally contralateral by LVN stimulation but nearly symmetrical by either MVN or IVN stimulation. (3) Of 11 units responsive to vestibular nuclei stimulation, 6 reacted to stimulation of the visual association cortex (anterior part of the Clare-Bishop area). The response pattern of the cortical vestibular units by C-B stimulation was a sequence of excitation, inhibition and rebound. (4) Interaction of visual information with the cortical vestibular neurons was discussed.


This study aimed to determine the effect of concentration ethanol extract from tembelakan leaf (Lantana camara Linn)  on bacteria growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Extraction was done by maceration using ethanol 96% and then separated using rotary evaporator. Antibacterial activity test of the ethanol extract by Well agar diffusion method. Variation in crude extract saponin used in this study was 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and positive controls were used for comparison with Amoxicilin and Chloramphenicole concentration of 25 µg/mL and DMSO as a negative control. The results of antibacterial activity test is indicated by the formation of growth inhibitory region S. aureus and E. coli. The result of growth inhibitory regions was analyzed by One way ANOVA. One way ANOVA test results indicate that there are effects of ethanol extract concentration of tembelekan leaf (L. camara Linn) against S. aureus and E. coli. Effective concentration of ethanol extract tembelekan leaf (L. camara Linn) when compared with positive control to inhibit the growth of S. aureus and E. coli is at 25% with a relatively strong antibacterial activity. Test with phytochemicals screening method which is showed that tembelekan leaf contains the flavanoid, saponins, and tannins compounds as antibacterial


Diversification of livelihood activities minimizes households' vulnerability to shocks by reducing income variability. Livelihoods of rural Bangladesh is encompass both farm and nonfarm activities. This study investigated the patterns and extent of diversification of livelihoods in rural areas of Bangladesh. The study drew a random sample of 500 rural farm households in Bangladesh through a multi-stage random sampling technique. The primary data were collected using structured questionnaires coupled with interview schedules and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Simpson index. Result revealed that remittance contributed highest to the household income followed by business and caste occupation, and rice farming. Furthermore results showed that rural Bangladeshi households have diversified their livelihood activities at medium level. The small and medium landholding households are more likely to diversify their livelihoods compared to the functionally-landless and large landholding households. The implication is that non-farm employment opportunities should be expanded to combat poor households' vulnerability to shocks and income fluctuations. It is also suggested to give more attention to functionally-landless households for increasing and diversifying their income.


Driving facial animation based on tens of tracked markers is a challenging task due to the complex topology and to the non-rigid nature of human faces. We propose a solution named manifold Bayesian regression. First a novel distance metric, the geodesic manifold distance, is introduced to replace the Euclidean distance. The problem of facial animation can be formulated as a sparse warping kernels regression problem, in which the geodesic manifold distance is used for modelling the topology and discontinuities of the face models. The geodesic manifold distance can be adopted in traditional regression methods, e.g. radial basis functions without much tuning. We put facial animation into the framework of Bayesian regression. Bayesian approaches provide an elegant way of dealing with noise and uncertainty. After the covariance matrix is properly modulated, Hybrid Monte Carlo is used to approximate the integration of probabilities and get deformation results. The experimental results showed that our algorithm can robustly produce facial animation with large motions and complex face models.


In recent years, the safety problem of infant formula powder has provoked panic among Chinese citizens. One of the most notorious incidents was the 2008 Chinese milk scandal which harmed thousands of infants. Therefore the development of a fast, high throughput screening method towards melamine and other harmful chemicals is of paramount importance. Microsphere-based flow cytometry is a new multiplexing immunochemical method for food-testing. Through competition between the free analyte in the sample and analyte-coupled microspheres, the content of the analyte can be indirectly quantified by measuring the fluorescence emitted from labelled antibodies. This developed method of high sensitivity (limit of detection = 0.70 ng ml−1) has already been validated and successfully applied to screen for melamine in various brands of infant formula powder analysis fulfilling the legislated tolerance level in a simple, fast, high throughput and organic solvent-free manner.


Biotransformation of (1S)-2-carene and (1S)-3-carene by Picea abies suspension culture led to the formation of oxygenated products. (1S)-2-Carene was transformed slowly and the final product was identified as (1S)-2-caren-4-one. On the other hand, the transformation of (1S)-3-carene was rapid and finally led to the formation of (1S)-3-caren-5-one and (1S)-2-caren-4-one as equally abundant major products. The time-course of the reaction indicates that some products abundant at the beginning of the reaction (e.g. (1S,3S,4R)-3,4-epoxycarane and (1R)-p-mentha-1(7),2-dien-8-ol) were consumed by a subsequent transformations. Thus, a precise selection of the biotransformation time may be used for a production of specific compounds.


The phenomenon of human-caused climate change releases a ?cosmopolitan imperative? (Beck 2010, 258) that demands cooperation across boundaries: national, scalar, temporal, epistemological and ontological (cf. Hulme 2010, Urry 2011). However, many of the approaches taken today only reinforce such distinctions: for example, by insisting on a universal scientific understanding of climate change as a basis for policy (Jasanoff 2010a). In the People?s Republic of China, the world?s largest emitter of carbon dioxide (PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency 2007), the new leadership has made ?Beautiful China? and ?Ecological Civilization? two of their most prominent official slogans and enshrined sustainable development as core state policy (Geall 2012, Geall and Hilton 2014). This drive for ?low-carbon development,? like climate change more broadly, reveals a set of social, ecological and political concerns with interlocking, complex and uncertain dynamics. How we frame incomplete knowledge about such dynamic systems affects the political approaches that are taken to sustainability (Rittel and Webber 1973, Leach, Scoones and Stirling 2010). This dissertation uses ethnographic methods to investigate how Chinese environmental journalists make framing decisions around the science and politics of climate change. This reveals how reporters can find spaces for political engagement in a restrictive and changeable media and governance environment, one that not only reflects a changing history of attitudes towards the environment in China, but also an international arena dominated by technocratic and managerial approaches to sustainability. It finds that Chinese journalists have found sophisticated ways to map the complex interactions of human and natural systems presented by climate change ? and have addressed uncertainties in a fashion that points towards more open and plural pathways to sustainability.


The simultaneous doses of thermal and gamma-irradiation have been used as external perturbations for producing a controllable concentration of defects in a-As4Se3Te3. The investigation is made by systematic measurements of the electrical conductivity (over the temperature range from 350 K down to 77 K), X-ray diffraction (λ = 0.1542 nm), and DTA. Results present evidence for structural defects creation increasing with the dose rate till a saturation value is approached. At thermal annealing temperature Ta = 413 K, a-As4Se3Te3 went to saturation near 1.5 × 106 rad, and for Ta = 493 K at 3 × 104 rad. The change in the X-ray diffraction patterns and the DTA thermograms for samples irradiated at T ≲ Tg = 410 ± 1 K indicate an even relaxed "amorphous" state is produced. Radiation-induced structural transitions, however, have been observed upon annealing near or above the crystallization temperature Tc = 493-535 K, where the activation energy of crystallization is amounted to be 1.2 ± 0.1 eV.


Scoliosis is a three-dimensional deformity of the spine most prevalent in adolescent females. As the etiology is often unknown, treatment focusses on preventing curve progression and ranges from observation for mild cases to brace treatment and eventually surgery for the worst cases. This report consists of three di↵erent studies, which are aimed to develop a patient specific method to improve the e cacy of brace treatment for scoliosis patients. The first study consists of a literature review of applications of the Finite Element Method (FEM) in scoliosis research, with a focus on brace treatment. It is concluded that the finite element method has great potential to improve both surgical and brace treatment. However, it has only been applied in a few commercially available braces. Current methods are still quite inaccurate, and thus recommendations are made to improve the quality of FEM models. The second study aims to establish the forces experienced by spinal implant rods during intraoperative scoliosis correction, in order to validate and improve an existing FEM model of the scoliotic spine. The forces that were found were inconclusive, due to various measurement uncertainties. Therefore, validation of the FEM model based on this data was not possible. However, recommendations were made to improve the study, such that conclusive results should be found. In the final study a patient-specific FEM model of the scoliotic spine is developed and simulated to establish the location, magnitude and direction of force application for optimal curve correction. By varying the angle of the thoracic force vector over a 180° range in the transverse plane, the curve correction was established for these angles for four patients. The influence of the lumbar force on curve correction was found to be minimal. An optimization algorithm was subsequently employed to more establish the optimal force direction. The algorithm allowed more variables to be evaluated on a smaller scale, while maintaining a low computational cost. From the three studies it is concluded that FEM models of the spine can be a valuable addition to scoliosis studies. However, spinal behaviour is complex, and many elements such as material properties and interpersonal variation in sti↵ness remain unknown.


Abstract We develop a two-dimensional, plan-view formulation of ice-shelf flow and viscoelastic ice-shelf flexure. This formulation combines, for the first time, the shallow-shelf approximation for horizontal ice-shelf flow (and shallow-stream approximation for flow on lubricated beds such as where ice rises and rumples form), with the treatment of a thin-plate flexure. We demonstrate the treatment by performing two finite-element simulations: one of the relict pedestalled lake features that exist on some debris-covered ice shelves due to strong heterogeneity in surface ablation, and the other of ice rumpling in the grounding zone of an ice rise. The proposed treatment opens new venues to investigate physical processes that require coupling between the longitudinal deformation and vertical flexure, for instance, the effects of surface melting and supraglacial lakes on ice shelves, interactions with the sea swell, and many others.


Partial wave analysis is an important tool for determining resonance properties in hadron spectroscopy. For large data samples however, the un-binned likelihood fits employed are computationally very expensive. At the Beijing Spectrometer (BES) III experiment, an increase in statistics compared to earlier experiments of up to two orders of magnitude is expected. In order to allow for a timely analysis of these datasets, additional computing power with short turnover times has to be made available. It turns out that graphics processing units (GPUs) originally developed for 3D computer games have an architecture of massively parallel single instruction multiple data floating point units that is almost ideally suited for the algorithms employed in partial wave analysis. We have implemented a framework for tensor manipulation and partial wave fits called GPUPWA. The user writes a program in pure C++ whilst the GPUPWA classes handle computations on the GPU, memory transfers, caching and other technical details. In conjunction with a recent graphics processor, the framework provides a speed-up of the partial wave fit by more than two orders of magnitude compared to legacy FORTRAN code.


Insider trading is one of the most controversial aspects of securities regulation, even among the law and economics community. One set of scholars favors deregulation of insider trading, allowing corporations to set their own insider trading policies by contract. Another set of law and economics scholars, in contrast, contends that the property right to inside information should be assigned to the corporation and not subject to contractual reassignment. Deregulatory arguments are typically premised on the claims that insider trading promotes market efficiency or that assigning the property right to inside information to managers is an efficient compensation scheme. Public choice analysis is also a staple of the deregulatory literature, arguing that the insider trading prohibition benefits market professionals and managers rather than investors. The argument in favor of regulating insider trading traditionally was based on fairness issues, which predictably have had little traction in the law and economics community. Instead, the economic argument in favor of mandatory insider trading prohibitions has typically rested on some variant of the economics of property rights in information. This is a chapter from the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Law and Economics (2nd edition 2020).


Introduction. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a physical activity (PA) program on weight control, physical fitness, occupational stress, job satisfaction and quality of life of overweight and sedentary employees in high-tech industries. Methods. Participants in the intervention group (n = 37) were instructed to carry out a PA program at moderate intensity for 60 min/session, 3 sessions/week for 12 weeks. Those in the control group (n = 38) received no PA program and were asked to continue their routine lifestyle. Evaluations were performed at baseline and at the end of the intervention. Results of structured questionnaires and blood biochemistry tests and evaluations of physical fitness were analyzed. Results. The PA program effectively reduced the number of risk factors for metabolic syndrome and body fat percentage, and improved physical fitness such as flexibility, muscular strength and endurance and cardiorespiratory endurance. The intervention also significantly decreased levels of serum triglyceride, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Significant positive effects on work control, interpersonal relationships at work, global job satisfaction and quality of life were also demonstrated. Conclusion. This study showed that a PA program can be helpful in improving physical, physiological and psychological outcomes for overweight and sedentary employees in high-tech industries.


OBJECTIVES
To disseminate information regarding the annual pass rates for the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ACVECC) certifying examination. To compare the first-time pass rates (FTPR) of ACVECC residents trained in academic and private practice settings.

DESIGN
Retrospective study.

SETTING
ACVECC examination.

ANIMALS
None.

INTERVENTIONS
None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
Anonymized ACVECC examination performance data from 2010-2015 inclusive were analyzed. Overall pass rates and FTPR were calculated for all candidates and categorized by type of residency training program. The overall pass rate for all candidates was 64.3%. The median pass rate for the 6-year period was 63.8% [IQR 59.3-67.3%]. The FTPR for residents trained in academic programs was significantly higher than for residents trained in private practice (77.1% vs 47.2%, P < 0.0001). When residents were subdivided by species-focus of training program, there was no significant difference between academic versus private practice training programs for large-animal candidates (P = 0.2), but there remained a significant difference between residency training programs for small-animal candidates (P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS
Between 2010 and 2015 residents trained in academic training programs were significantly more likely to pass the ACVECC certifying examination compared to those trained in private practice training programs. The causes of this difference are uncertain, are likely multifactorial and warrant further investigation.


This essay takes the reader on a virtual walk through Rome to illustrate the city's deep immersion in Greek culture between Augustus and Hadrian. The five sections discuss the Palatine Apollo library as presented in Galen's Peri alypias, the Pinax ton didaskalon inscription viewed in its Roman context, the Tabulae Iliacae and their ties with Lycophron's Alexandra, the Hypogaeum of the Porta Maggiore, and the testimo- nies on the career and literary output of Lucius Iulius Vestinus.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the fracture resistance after the thermal and mechanical fatigue of feldspathic, lithium disilicate, and resin-modified CAD/CAM monolithic crowns cemented onto a universal post abutment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A right second mandibular molar was designed in CAD/CAM software, and 30 crowns were machined using three different materials (n = 10): feldspathic ceramic, finished only with a glaze cycle (G1); lithium disilicate, sintered and finished with a glaze cycle (G2); and resin, modified by nanoceramic and finished with rubber (G3). All crowns were cemented under a constant 50 N load, the excess cement was removed, and the crowns were light-cured for 30 seconds. After being immersed in deionized water for 7 days, the crowns were submitted to thermal cycling, which consisted of varying the temperature from 2 to 50°C for 350,000 cycles, and mechanical cycling in a fatigue simulator, where a 250 N load was applied for 1,000,000 cycles at 2 Hz. The resistance of each crown was verified in a compression-to-failure test at 1 mm/min in a universal test machine. The groups were compared using one-way ANOVA with a Bonferroni post hoc test and Weibull statistics.

RESULTS
The resin-modified group was the least resistant group (1755 ± 124 N), followed by the feldspathic (2147 ± 412 N) and lithium disilicate groups (2804 ± 303 N). The Weibull statistics demonstrated that lithium disilicate is the most reliable material and has the lowest fracture probability.

CONCLUSIONS
It was possible to conclude that all of the tested CAD/CAM materials can be used as monolithic, implant-supported molar crowns.


Abstract Right-to-work legislation continues to be debated at both the national and state levels. This paper seeks to inform the debate on the effectiveness of RTW laws as an economic development strategy. Using the 399 counties of Appalachia as a case study, and a model informed by the human ecology and the new urban sociology, this paper compares recent earnings change during the last three business cycles in counties from right-to-work and non right-to-work states in the region. The analysis combines shift-share analysis and spatial lag regression analysis and estimates the relative effects of a variety of measures on county earnings change. The analysis fails to detect any overall advantage in earnings growth from nationally expanding industries for counties in RTW states since 1980. Moreover, the analysis indicates that other factors are more important in stimulating earnings growth from nationally expanding industries, particularly education. Implications for policy and legislative action are discussed.


Building rich JavaScript applications that bring the desktop experience to the Web is now possible, thanks to powerful JavaScript engines and the CSS3 and HTML5 specifications. The key is moving state from the server to the client side, but that's no simple task. This book takes you through all the steps necessary to create state-of-the-art JavaScript applications, including structure, templating, frameworks, communicating with the server, and many other issues. Through practical, tutorial-based explanations, you learn how to create JavaScript applications that offer a much more responsive and improved experience. You'll work hands-on with an example application throughout the book to learn the concepts involved. * Explore MVC and how to best structure and manage dependencies inside your application * Get an introduction to templating and data binding * Learn about loading remote data, Ajax Level 2 and cross-domain requests * Use WebSockets and Node to create realtime applications * Accept dropped files and upload data with progress indicators * Learn about major frameworks and libraries, including jQuery, JavaScriptMVC and Backbone * Write tests and use the console to debug your applications * Get deployment best practices, such as caching and minification


An interesting wood-inhabiting pyrenomycete was discovered while collecting for the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory currently being conducted in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This species is unique in possessing superficial ascomata with reddish tubercles and ascospores that develop an apical swollen brown cell and a long, basal hyaline cell. Because these ascospore characters fit the traditional morphological circumscription of Cercophora, this species is described as a new species within this genus.


Given a Gaussian random walk (or a Wiener process), possibly with drift, observed through noise, we consider the problem of estimating its first-passage time $\tau_\ell$ of a given level $\ell$ with a stopping time $\eta$ defined over the noisy observation process.
Main results are upper and lower bounds on the minimum mean absolute deviation $\inf_\eta \ex|\eta-\tau_\ell|$ which become tight as $\ell\to\infty$. Interestingly, in this regime the estimation error does not get smaller if we allow $ \eta$ to be an arbitrary function of the entire observation process, not necessarily a stopping time.
In the particular case where there is no drift, we show that it is impossible to track $\tau_\ell$: $\inf_\eta \ex|\eta-\tau_\ell|^p=\infty$ for any $\ell>0$ and $p\geq1/2$.


The subject of the research considerations are the attitudes of early education teachers towards pedagogical innovation, being a response to the permanently changing reality and the related necessity to introduce changes to education. The conducted surveys and their analysis prove that the majority of teachers share the view that application of innovation in pedagogical practice is necessary, noticing both its impact on their professional activity and pointing to significant obstacles in the field of deployment and implementation of innovations at school.


Polycomb group (PcG) and trithorax group (TrxG) proteins are essential for maintaining epigenetic memory in both embryonic stem cells and differentiated cells. To date, how they are localized to hundreds of specific target genes within a vertebrate genome had remained elusive. Here, by focusing on short cis-acting DNA elements of single functions, we discovered, for the first time, to our knowledge, three classes of response elements in human genome: PcG response elements (PREs), MLL1/2-TrxG response elements (TREs) and PcG/TrxG response elements (P/TREs). We further demonstrated that, in contrast to their proposed roles in recruiting PcG proteins to PREs, YY1 and CpG islands are specifically enriched in TREs and P/TREs, but not in PREs. The three classes of response elements as unraveled in this study open new doors for a deeper understanding of PcG and TrxG mechanisms in vertebrates.


Histamine stimulates prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone (GH) release in the experimental animal. In order to evaluate the possible effect of histamine on these hormones in man, in our study, 9 normal volunteers underwent an intravenous histamine infusion (200 microgram in 15 min). Five of them also underwent an intravenous histidine infusion (200 microgram). Histamine induced a significant PRL release in 7 subjects, the maximum level reached being 36.2 +/- 12.09 ng/ml, while GH levels were not affected. Histidine was ineffective on both PRL and GH levels. It is known that histamine, administered peripherally, does not cross the blood brain barrier. This fact suggests that, in man, histamine stimulates PRL release by acting directly on the pituitary. In addition, since stressful situations may elicit both PRL and GH release, the fact that the latter was not affected by histamine, suggests that a mere stress-effect is not responsible for the PRL release observed in our subjects.


[1] The most energetic planetary collisions attain shock pressures that result in abundant melting and vaporization. Accurate predictions of the extent of melting and vaporization require knowledge of vast regions of the phase diagrams of the constituent materials. To reach the liquid-vapor phase boundary of silica, we conducted uniaxial shock-and-release experiments, where quartz was shocked to a state sufficient to initiate vaporization upon isentropic decompression (hundreds of GPa). The apparent temperature of the decompressing fluid was measured with a streaked optical pyrometer, and the bulk density was inferred by stagnation onto a standard window. To interpret the observed post-shock temperatures, we developed a model for the apparent temperature of a material isentropically decompressing through the liquid-vapor coexistence region. Using published thermodynamic data, we revised the liquid-vapor boundary for silica and calculated the entropy on the quartz Hugoniot. The silica post-shock temperature measurements, up to entropies beyond the critical point, are in excellent qualitative agreement with the predictions from the decompressing two-phase mixture model. Shock-and-release experiments provide an accurate measurement of the temperature on the phase boundary for entropies below the critical point, with increasing uncertainties near and above the critical point entropy. Our new criteria for shock-induced vaporization of quartz are much lower than previous estimates, primarily because of the revised entropy on the Hugoniot. As the thermodynamics of other silicates are expected to be similar to quartz, vaporization is a significant process during high-velocity planetary collisions.


Toll like-receptor-9 (TLR9) is an innate immune system DNA-receptor which is also widely expressed in breast cancer cell lines and in clinical breast cancer specimens. Although TLR9 ligands (such as bacterial DNA and synthetic, CpG-sequence containing oligonucleotides) induce TLR9-mediated invasion in breast cancer cells in vitro, the contribution of this protein to breast cancer pathophysiology remains unclear. We showed previously that tumor TLR9 expression is a highly significant prognostic factor in breast cancer, but only in tumors that are triple negative (TNBC). Specifically, low tumor TLR9 expression in TNBC is associated with a significantly shortened disease-specific survival. Our published, preclinical results further suggest that tumor TLR9 expression may be an important determinant of tumor immunophenotype and that patients with low-TLR9 TNBC may not gain the immunogenic benefit from chemotherapy. A possible mechanistic explanation for the change in the immunophenotype of low TLR9-TNBC tumors involves CD73, which is a 5'ectonucleotidase that converts extracellular adenosine monophosphate (AMP) into the highly immunosuppressive adenosine. CD73 is also expressed in breast cancer cells and in clinical specimens. High CD73 expression has been associated with poor prognosis, but similar with TLR9 expression, the prognostic significance was specific only for TNBC. There are no previous reports on TLR9 regulation of CD73 in any cancer. Interestingly, however, TLR9 deficiency was shown to promote CD73 expression of T-cells in a mouse model of diabetes. To begin to test the hypothesis that TLR9 affects CD73 expression in TNBC, we studied CD73 mRNA and protein expression in control and TLR9 siRNA TNBC cells in vitro. We discovered that TLR9 siRNA TNBC cells express significantly higher CD73 mRNA concentrations than control siRNA cells specifically in hypoxia. Similar findings were observed with immunofluorescence. Our results suggest that the lack or TLR9 in TNBC may allow high CD73 expression and through this mechanism result in an immunosuppressive phenotype of the tumors. The immunosuppression then would explain the poor prognosis associated with low TLR9-TNBC tumors. We are currently studying this with clinical TNBC specimens. Citation Format: Katri S Selander, Johanna M Tuomela, Mikko Mella, Joonas Kauppila, Jouko Sandholm, Gennady Yegutkin, Peeter Karihtala, Arja Jukkola-Vuorinen, Kirsi-Maria Haapasaari, Katri S Vuopala, Kevin W Harris. Toll like receptor-9 and CD73 may act on the same pathway to induce immunosuppression in triple negative breast cancer cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-04-13.


Objectives Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation efficacy in unipolar depression is known, but its efficacy in acute-phase bipolar depression is at best modest. Citing differential right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex hyperconnectivity implicated in BD, we aimed to study the effect of novel continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) targeting right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in a randomized rater blinded placebo control design. Material and Methods Nineteen patients aged 18 to 59 years (baseline Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [HAM-D] 17 severity score >18) were randomly allocated to active cTBS (n = 11) and sham cTBS (n = 9) groups using block randomization method. They received 15 cTBS sessions (burst of 3 pulses delivered at 50 Hz, repeated every 200 ms at 5 Hz, 600 pulses per session), 3 sessions per day (total of 1800 pulses) for 5 days in a week at 80% resting motor threshold. The HAM-D, Beck Depression Inventory, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, World Health Organization's abbreviated quality of life assessment, and Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire were assessed at baseline, after the last session, and at 2 weeks after repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. Intention-to-treat analysis was conducted and missing values (2 patients) were replaced using the last observation carried forward method. Results On repeated measures analysis of variance, a significant within-group time effect (from pretreatment to 2 weeks after TBS) for HAM-D (F = 15.091, P < 0.001), Beck Depression Inventory (F = 22.376, P < 0.001), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (F = 18.290, P < 0.001), Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire (F = 9.281, P = 0.001), and World Health Organization's abbreviated quality of life assessment (F = 24.008, P < 0.001). The integrity of the blind assessed by the guess matrix was good. When significant between group*time effect was compared, none of the variables retained statistical significance. No major adverse effects were reported, and none of the patients discontinued the trial because of adverse effects. Conclusions Our trial concludes that although safe and well tolerated, the therapeutic efficacy of intensive intermittent TBS in acute-phase bipolar depression is inconclusive. Choice of lower total number to sessions and smaller intersession interval along with small sample size limit the study findings.


The paper suggests that Peirce's late-phase metaphysical system aftermathed Emerson's basic philosophical ideas elaborated over four decades before him. Peirce, with characteristic brilliance, transformed Emerson's own luminous ideas into his categorial elaborations of abduction, cosmogonic synechism, universal semiosis, and the like. To illustrate this process of transformation, the paper provides a running synopsis of Emerson's last signifi cant writing, "The Natural History of Intellect" (1870), which was originally part of a team-taught lecture series at Harvard that Emerson shared with six others, one of whom was the young C. S. Peirce. The synopsis evidences that virtually all of Peirce's major metaphysical tenets had their precedent in Emerson. Among other places, Peirce acknowledged Emerson's infl uence (together with that of Schelling) in his 1892 essay, "The Law of Mind." Even before that, he referenced Emerson's poem "The Sphinx" in his "A Guess at the Riddle" of 1887-88, the turning-point in Peirce's career towarde metaphysical speculation. Peirce's conscious awareness of Emerson's philososphy and poetry traces back to many sources (including Emerson's long friendship with his father, Benjamin Peirce). The elective affi nity between his and Emerson's views allows us to appreciate that the two authors forged a central strain of idealistic-cum-realistic metaphysical thinking that framed the later Pragmatisms of James and Dewey, among others.


Grain growth experiments were performed on Inconel™ 718 to investigate the possible correlation of the annealing twin density with grain size and with annealing temperature. Those experiments were conducted at different temperatures in the δ supersolvus domain and under such conditions that only capillarity forces were involved in the grain boundary migration process. In the investigated range, there is a strong inverse correlation of the twin density with the average grain size. On the other hand, the twin density at a given average grain size is not sensitive to annealing temperature. Consistent with previous results for pure nickel, the twin density evolution in Inconel™ 718 is likely to be mainly controlled by the propagation of the pre-existing twins of the growing grains; i.e., the largest ones of the initial microstructure. Almost no new twin boundaries are created during the grain growth process itself. Therefore, the twin density at a given average grain size is mainly dependent on the twin density in the largest grains of the initial microstructure and independent of the temperature at which grains grow. Based on the observations, a mean field model is proposed to predict annealing twin density as a function of grain size during grain growth.


Techniques such as dynamic-angle spinning (DAS), double rotation (DOR), multiple-quantum MAS (MQMAS), and satellite-transition MAS (STMAS) may be used to obtain high-resolution NMR spectra of half-integer quadrupolar nuclei in powdered solids. These methods enable resolution of crystallographically inequivalent nuclei and also yield the quadrupolar coupling constant C-Q, quadrupolar asymmetry eta, and isotropic chemical shift delta(CS) of each crystallographic site. However, no information is obtained that relates one quadrupole tensor to another, such as internuclear distances or relative orientations. Here, we discuss a recently developed modification of the MQMAS NMR experiment that utilizes two-dimensional correlation of second-order (rank I = 4) broadened MAS line shapes to obtain the relative orientation of quadrupole tensors. This new method involves the insertion of a ``mixing time'', tau(m), into the MQMAS experiment such that magnetization transfer between two distinct nuclei within a crystallite during this period will result in a two-dimensional ``cross-peak'' correlating the two line shapes. The shapes of these cross-peaks are characteristic of the three Euler angles, alpha', beta', and gamma', that describe the relative orientation of the two quadrupole tensors. In this work we use the example of Na-23 (I = (3)/(2)) NMR of borax (Na2B4O7.10H(2)O) to discuss in more detail the nature of the magnetization transfer. We also derive an analytical expression for the rank I = 4 orientational dependence of the second-order quadrupolar interaction in terms of the relative orientation of two quadrupole tensors and simulate the effect upon the shape of the cross-peak when the angles alpha', beta', and gamma' are changed. Finally, the use of this novel technique is demonstrated in a Na-23 NMR study of sodium metasilicate pentahydrate (Na2SiO3.5H(2)O) and in a comparative 23Na NMR study of sodium tungstate dihydrate (Na2WO4.2H(2)O) and sodium molybdate dihydrate (Na2MoO4-2H(2)O).


Communicationis animportant factor inthe successful implementation ofgovernment policies and programs. Some findings fromprevious studiesandnews in mediaindicatethatthere arehealth policies and programsthathave notsucceeded inachievingtheirtargets,which may be due tothe ineffectiveness ofthe communication function. Therefore, the aim of this research was to analyze policy process and produce a formulation of communications policy (in the form of a guideline draft). Using qualitative methodology with descriptive type, data collection was conducted through in-depth interviews, focus group discussion, and literature analysis. The results showed that the communication functions that have been conducted haveprogressed, but there were still problems and challenges, both internally and externally. This includes the absence of a communications guidelineto be referenced in directing, controlling, and evaluating the implementation of tasks and daily functions as well as regulating matters of public relations fundamentally and thoroughly. It was concluded that communication functions executed by the Public Relations Unit of the Ministry of Health have not been optimally implemented. It is recommended to immediately realize guidelines to manage the communication functions in an integrated and comprehensive way in terms of institutions, activities, governance, and resource. It is hoped that the findings of this study will be adopted into regulation in support of the implementation of health development programs in Indonesia.


The purpose of this study was to analyze the development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of science teachers with different teaching experience on acids and bases and offer new domains of PCK which describe the relationship between PCK and emotional characteristics of teachers and their intellectual knowledge in science teaching. The research was carried out with the participation of six science teachers with different teaching experience. In the selection of participants, teaching the subject of acids and bases at least once, three and ten times, and being willing to participate in the study were the required criteria. Face to face interviews, videos and classroom observation forms, a pedagogical content knowledge form and academic follow-up forms are the assessment tools that were used in the study. It was found out that the teachers' intellectual knowledge and positive emotional characteristics contributed to their pedagogical content knowledge. Teachers who were able to create effective learning environments with sufficient level of intellectual knowledge and positive emotional characteristics had more qualified pedagogical content knowledge. These properties had a significant role in students' understanding.


Although researchers are actively investigating methods to improve fire detector performance, few studies have investigated fire detectors that detect the type of fire. Fire type detection serves a key role in quickly extinguishing fires and preventing their spread. We present a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR)-based dual-channel mid-infrared (mid-IR) method that can detect and classify aerosol particles and gases. 4.2 μm and 4.7 μm mid-IR light emitting diodes (LEDs) light sources with strong absorption for CO2 and CO are employed. and, and the mid-IR LEDs are modulated with 900 Hz and 1,000 Hz, respectively to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and reduce interference between the light sources. The modulated lights pass through the lenses and sample, and are acquired by a photodetector. The transmittances of the 4.2 μm and 4.7 μm lights are measured to detect the aerosol particles and gases, and the aerosol particles and gases are classified via hierarchical clustering using the measured transmittances and the ratio between the measured transmittances. Various aerosol particles and gases are detected by measuring the transmittance, and the aerosol particles and gases are classified by calculating the distance between clusters. Spectral transmittances analysis of different wavelength bands will enable the detection of various aerosol particles and gases, and further improve the classification accuracy. Furthermore, this method can be applied to fire detection to develop a highly useful technique that can detect and classify fire smoke and rapidly detect the type of fire.


It was not the intent of this paper to try to cover the entire subject of relay testing in complete detail, but, rather, to present some new material on the subject. It is hoped that the circuits here presented, together with the analytical methods used therewith, will lead to further new and useful circuits and test methods.


Murine monoclonal antibodies specific for neoepitopes expressed by C9 incorporated into membrane attack complexes and by membrane-bound C3b and iC3b have been prepared and characterised. These reagents were used to determine the extent and locus of complement activation in synovial-tissues obtained from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. In the four rheumatoid arthritis patients there was extensive deposition of C3 activation products and C5b-9 complexes onto the synovial membrane and the pattern of deposition of both neoantigens in serial tissue sections was very similar. There was less extensive staining for C3 and, particularly, C9 neoepitopes on the apical surface of vessel endothelia. In two of four osteoarthritic patients a similar pattern of C3 and C9 neoepitope deposition was found; in the remaining patients no C5b-9 could be located. Synovial vessel walls, but not synovial cells, from both groups of patients stained extensively for the complement regulatory protein CD59. In synovial membranes from patients with osteoarthritis, C9 appeared to be present predominantly in SC5b-9 complexes whereas in rheumatoid arthritis patients no evidence of S-protein incorporation into membrane attack complexes could be demonstrated, suggesting that in rheumatoid arthritis there is damage to the synovial membrane as a result of complement activation and C5b-9 deposition.


Tenascin-C, an extracellular matrix molecule of the tumor-specific microenvironment, counteracts the tumor cell proliferation-suppressing effect of fibronectin by blocking the integrin alpha(5)beta(1)/syndecan-4 complex. This causes cell rounding and stimulates tumor cell proliferation. Tenascin-C also stimulates endothelin receptor type A (EDNRA) expression. Here, we investigated whether signaling through endothelin receptors affects tenascin-C-induced cell rounding. We observed that endothelin receptor type B (EDNRB) activation inhibited cell rounding by tenascin-C and induced spreading by restoring expression and function of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), paxillin, RhoA, and tropomyosin-1 (TM1) via activation of epidermal growth factor receptor, phospholipase C, c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase, and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway. In contrast to EDNRB, signaling through EDNRA induced cell rounding, which correlated with FAK inhibition and TM1 and RhoA protein destabilization in the presence of tenascin-C. This occurred in a mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase-dependent manner. Thus, tumorigenesis might be enhanced by tenascin-C involving EDNRA signaling. Inhibition of tenascin-C in combination with blocking both endothelin receptors could present a strategy for sensitization of cancer and endothelial cells toward anoikis.


Control of aggregation, by lowering temperature and protein concentrations, can enhance the extent of successful refolding. The low temperature has been used in protein folding studies, as undesired aggregations often occur at higher temperatures. Therefore, it is very important to study the effects of low temperature on the native enzyme to help understand the factors that affect the structure of the proteins. In this paper, aminoacylase was studied at different temperatures by measuring enzyme activity, fluorescence emission spectra, and ultraviolet difference spectra. The results show that aminoacylase conformation changes as the temperature changes, becoming more compact at low temperatures, and having more secondary structural content. However, the activity is very low at low temperature, and totally diminishes at 4℃. Aminoacylase tends therefore to be more condense, with less residues exposed and low enzyme activities at low temperature. This observation might explain the self-protection of organisms under conditions of extreme temperature.


At GLC project, pair of liner accelerators will be built, facing each other as 33km total length and needs 18000pcs of 60cm X band accelerator structure. Now the manufacturing process of it is diffusion bonding with 72 hours, but we have to reduce process time. And so we tried direct bonding for 60 pcs OFC disk blanks with pulse current. Concerning this experiment, we developed new equipment which was an elastic electrode (CCE) for direct bonding. Then we got satisfied results on a basis experiment for accelerator structure manufacturing.


Representative groundwater samples were collected from the Kaffe community and environs to evaluate the concentrations and geochemical constraints for mobilizing cadmium (Cd) and selected heavy metals. Field-based in-situ measurements of physicochemical parameters were combined with Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer analysis of dissolved elemental concentrations. Pollution indices (i.e. heavy metal pollution index; HPI, heavy metal evaluation index; HEI, contamination degree; Cd, metal index; MI, synthetic pollution index; SPI, ecological risk index; ERI and Nemerow index; NI) evaluations highlighted the levels of heavy metals in the groundwater. Cadmium and iron (Fe) concentrations exceeded the recommended limits in 97% of the analysed samples, with an average pH of 6.3. Strong positive correlations were observed between cadmium and the computed pollution indices (p 0.774 to p 0.100), suggesting significant Cd pollution of the groundwater. Components analysis grouped Cd, Fe, and the pollution indices in the first PC. This was favourably compared to the correlation analysis result. Cluster analysis categorized Cd, Zn and pH in the first cluster consistent with the suggested dissolution and enrichment of Cd and Zn in the groundwater under similar geochemical conditions. The study area is medium and moderately polluted based on HPI, HEI, Cd, and NI.


A method to accurately measure the position and orientation of an acetabular cup implant from postoperative X-rays has been designed and validated. The method uses 2-D-3-D registration to align both the prosthesis and the preoperative computed tomography (CT) volume to the X-ray image. This allows the position of the implant to be calculated with respect to a CT-based surgical plan. Experiments have been carried out using ten sets of patient data. A conventional plain-film measurement technique was also investigated. A gold standard implant position and orientation was calculated using postoperative CT. Results show our method to be significantly more accurate than the plain-film method for calculating cup anteversion. Cup orientation and position could be measured to within a mean absolute error of 1.4 mm or degrees.


Abstract. In the framework of the INDESO (Infrastructure Development of Space Oceanography) project, an operational ocean forecasting system was developed to monitor the state of the Indonesian seas in terms of circulation, biogeochemistry and fisheries. This forecasting system combines a suite of numerical models connecting physical and biogeochemical variables to population dynamics of large marine predators (tunas). The physical–biogeochemical coupled component (the INDO12BIO configuration) covers a large region extending from the western Pacific Ocean to the eastern Indian Ocean at 1/12° horizontal resolution. The NEMO-OPA (Nucleus for European Model of the Ocean) physical ocean model and the PISCES (Pelagic Interactions Scheme for Carbon and Ecosystem Studies) biogeochemical model are running simultaneously ("online" coupling), at the same resolution. The operational global ocean forecasting system (1/4°) operated by Mercator Ocean provides the physical forcing, while climatological open boundary conditions are prescribed for the biogeochemistry. This paper describes the skill assessment of the INDO12BIO configuration. Model skill is assessed by evaluating a reference hindcast simulation covering the last 8 years (2007–2014). Model results are compared to satellite, climatological and in situ observations. Diagnostics are performed on nutrients, oxygen, chlorophyll a, net primary production and mesozooplankton. The model reproduces large-scale distributions of nutrients, oxygen, chlorophyll a, net primary production and mesozooplankton biomasses. Modelled vertical distributions of nutrients and oxygen are comparable to in situ data sets although gradients are slightly smoothed. The model simulates realistic biogeochemical characteristics of North Pacific tropical waters entering in the archipelago. Hydrodynamic transformation of water masses across the Indonesian archipelago allows for conserving nitrate and oxygen vertical distribution close to observations, in the Banda Sea and at the exit of the archipelago. While the model overestimates the mean surface chlorophyll a, the seasonal cycle is in phase with satellite estimations, with higher chlorophyll a concentrations in the southern part of the archipelago during the SE monsoon and in the northern part during the NW monsoon. The time series of chlorophyll a anomalies suggests that meteorological and ocean physical processes that drive the interannual variability of biogeochemical properties in the Indonesian region are reproduced by the model.


PURPOSE
To investigate the changes of pancreatic isoamylases in the serum of children with choledochal cyst.

METHODS
Serum and bile from 20 children with choledochal cyst were studied for total amylase activity and isoamylases. Using electrophoresis, the assay of pancreatic isoamylases was expressed by peak appearance rate (PAR) and ratio of isoenzyme activity (RIA). Serum from 20 healthy children and 12 adults with acute pancreatitis served as a comparison.

RESULTS
The total amylase activity in the serum of children with choledochal cyst was slightly higher than that of healthy controls, but dramatically lower than that of acute pancreatitis. The serum of children with choledochal cyst showed 5 pancreatic peaks (PAR: P1, 100 %; P2, 100 %; P3, 100 %; P4, 75 %; P5, 45 %) without any major peak. In healthy controls, only P1 and P2 were present (PAR: P1, 40 %; P2, 100 %) with the latter being a major peak (RIA: 81.8 +/- 25.3 %). These results in children with choledochal cyst differed from those of patients with acute pancreatitis who presented with the less common P4 and no P5 (PAR: P1, 100 %; P2, 100 %; P3, 91.6 %; P4, 8.3 %). The pattern of pancreatic isoenzymes in bile was similar to that in the serum from patients with choledochal cyst. These abnormal pancreatic isoamylases gradually disappeared after operation.

CONCLUSIONS
Abnormal pancreatic isoamylases, especially P4 and P5, are found in the serum of patients with choledochal cyst, which would point to a reflux of pancreatic juice into the biliary tract.


Emerging mobile technologies have significant educational benefits and raise several ethical concerns. This study examined the use and abuse of mobile phones by teachers in secondary schools in Tanzania. It employed a qualitative phenomenological research design that involved three secondary schools and 44 participants, including teachers, school heads, Teachers' Service Commission officers, Education officers, and students in Kinondoni District in the Dar es Salaam region. Data were sought through semi-structured interviews, Focus Group Discussions, and documentary reviews and were subjected to thematic data analysis procedures. The findings indicated that teachers do not fully utilise their mobile phones for academic purposes in schools. Also, abuse of mobile phones by teachers is commonplace in schools. The study recommends the need for a framework to guide teachers on the ethical use of the devices and for the curricula at all educational levels to incorporate content related to ICT use ethics.


A Federal judge in Baltimore today ordered the University of Alabama and four of its scientists to pay the Government and a researcher a total of $1.9 million for stealing her work and using it as their own to obtain Federal grants.
 The case, decided by a jury, was unusual because the researcher, Dr Pamela A. Berge, an epidemiologist who now works for Pfizer Inc, had gone to court under the Federal False Claims Act, a Civil War-era statute rarely used in cases involving scientific misconduct.
 ...Officials at Alabama, speaking for the university and the four scientists, said in a statement that the verdict was "not consistent with or supported by the evidence" and would likely be appealed.
 The jury found that each of the scientists had individually committed malicious acts of fraud against Dr Berge by claiming her work as his own, by using it to gain grants, and by publishing it in a scientific journal without crediting her. The university was held liable for aiding the fraud. The jury said the Government had been harmed by the fraudulent claims in applications for grants.
 The university was ordered to pay $1.66 million, of which Dr Berge's share would be $498 000 and the remainder the Federal Government's. The scientists—Drs Robert F. Pass, Sergio B. Stagno, Charles Alford, and Karen B. Fowler—were ordered to pay collectively $50 000 in compensatory damages to Dr Berge and $215 000 in punitive damages.


The technological changes in electronic channels, such as on-line access, will have an important impact on tourism, including marketing, consumer protection, information, education and employment. The demand for travel information is increasingly sophisticated and tourism industry employees need to learn how to use the technology for a proper response to a wide range of needs. Keywords: it system, technology, travel industry


The aim of the research was to determine the relationship between application of various concentrations of Ecklonia maxima extract and development of some morphological features, the SAD index as well as selected organic compound content in Festuca pratensis and Lolium perenne. The experiment was replicated three times and the following concentrations of the extract were used: control, 0.04, 0.4, 4.0 and 40%. 40 days after the extract was sprayed on the plants the following measurements were taken: the number of shoots, the length of leaf blades, the width of the leaf base, the relative chlorophyll index SPAD, and the amount of biomass. The content of protein compounds, simple sugars, lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose were determined after the harvest. The research showed that there was a relationship between a higher concentration of the extract and a higher number of shoots, longer leaf blades and an increase in their width. In consequence of those changes the amount of biomass also increased. The plants sprayed with higher doses of extract had a higher SPAD index, a higher concentration of both protein compounds and simple sugars, and a lower concentration of cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose.


Airborne multispectral videography has become a useful tool for classifying and mapping riparian vegetation because its spectral and digital format has high spatial resolution. This paper explains the processing steps and procedures required to use this type of spectral imagery for riparian vegetation classification and mapping. A description of the Utah State University airborne system is given, along with the image processing steps used for developing finalized products, because these are used in other articles in this volume. Examples of riparian applications using high‐resolution imagery are included.


Aims Global developmental delay is a significant delay in ≥ 2 developmental domains. The differential diagnosis is wide and clinicians are advised to tailor investigations according to history and examination findings. However, often there are no clinical clues which could lead to a wide variation in practice and the aetiology remaining undiagnosed. This is particularly significant for treatable causes, such as inborn errors of metabolism. In our region guidelines on investigation of global developmental delay exist to guide practice (2005). This study ascertained if regional guidelines were being referred to and followed and also reviews the evidence for investigation of global developmental delay, since biochemical and metabolic causes may be treatable. Methods An online questionnaire was emailed to 37 Consultant Community Paediatricians in our region. Respondents were asked if they accessed guidelines to appropriately tailor investigations of children with developmental delay. They were also asked to select investigations for a 3 year-old boy with global developmental delay, but no other clinical clues on history and examination. A PubMed search for guidelines AND developmental delay OR developmental impairment was performed. Reference lists of relevant papers were also searched. Results from the UK published within the last 10 years were used. Results 25 Consultant Community Paediatricians (68%) completed the questionnaire. 52% accessed regional guidelines and 56% accessed other guidelines. Figure 1 shows that approaches to the investigation of global developmental delay were inconsistent and did not follow regional guidelines. In the scenario given, the guidelines recommend full blood count, urea and electrolytes, liver function tests, creatine kinase, karyotype (2005), Fragile X syndrome test, ophthalmological and audiological assessment. Five published guidelines were identified which are largely based on expert opinion and which exhibit variation in investigations for our clinical scenario. Abstract G147(P) Figure 1 Conclusion There is a wide variation in the approach to investigating children with developmental delay in our region. New regional guidelines are being produced. The importance of detecting rare, treatable diseases needs to be carefully balanced with the implications of overinvestigation.


As a result of coal mining, the natural landscapes of the Kemerovo region are involved in the process of global technogenic transformation. As a result of open-pit coal mining, catastrophic changes occur in ecosystems, which are accompanied by the destruction of the litho logical basis, degradation, transformation and displacement of huge tracts of soil cover. The aim is to study agro physical, agrochemical, sanitary and epidemiological indicators of soil samples of technogenically disturbed territories of Kuzbass. Objects of research. Samples of the surface layer of the external rock dump of LLC "Korchakolsky Section" the dump rock and the surface layer of the nearby territory, of the forest belt of the processing plant of LLC "JV "Barzassky Partnership" and the Taldinsky coal mine. The samples of undisturbed lands selected near the museum-reserve "Tomskaya Pisanitsa" were used as a reference. Methods. Agro physical (hygroscopic humidity, wilting humidity, soil density, soil porosity) and agrochemical (water and salt pH, total alkalinity, hydrolytic acidity, sum of exchange bases, dry residue, content of Cl–, SO₄2–, HCO3–, NO3–, Ca2+,Mg2+, Al) analysis of selected soil samples, including the content of pollutants of anthropogenic origin. The sanitary and epidemiological indicators of the samples were studied. Methods of chemical and instrumental analysis (electrochemical, chromatographic, molecular absorption spectroscopy) were used for research. Results. The analysis of the degree of technogenic disturbance of the studied landscapes is carried out. Samples of LLC JV "Barzassky Partnership" can be attributed to sandy loam soils of a slightly alkaline type. The nickel content exceeded the MPC by 1.26 times; the BGCP index by 25.25 times. Samples of the Korchakolsky section are attributed to sandy soils of a slightly alkaline type. The content of mobile phosphorus exceeded the MPC by 3.40 times, zinc by 1.1 times, nickel by 1.22 times, arsenic by 2.15 times; the BGCP index by 29.41 times. The samples of JSC Taldinsky Coal Mine are classified as sandy loam with a neutral reaction. The content of the mobile form of phosphorus exceeded the MPC by 5.22 times; nickel by 1.5 times; arsenic by 1.67 times. The samples of the reference soil are attributed to clay soils of a slightly alkaline type. The content of the mobile form of phosphorus exceeded the MPC by 2.27 times; nickel by 1.17 times, the BGCP index by 62.62 times. Conclusions. Based on the analysis of the composition of dump and quarry landscapes of technogenically disturbed territories of the Kemerovo region, detoxification of soils with the use of biological reclamation is recommended.


Optical and electrical properties of cobalt oxide thin films obtained by ion-beam sputtering in argon atmosphere and argon with the addition of oxygen (PAr=1.1·10-5 Torr) has been investigated in the work. Optical properties investigations showed that, for films of cobalt oxide obtained in argon atmosphere, the optical band gap is independent of the film thickness and is 3.24 eV, which is in the range of given in the literature for the CoO phase values. For cobalt oxide films obtained in mixed atmosphere of argon with the addition of oxygen, two direct optical transitions with energies of 1.45 and 2.1 eV were detected. The presence of two direct allowed optical transitions is associated with the variable valence of cobalt in the Co3O4 compound and the presence of two valence states Co2+ and Co3+. The dependences of specific electrical conductivity of the synthesized films on the magnitude of the electric field were studied. It was found that for all investigated samples, the electrical conductivity does not depend on the electric field strength up to the value of E=106 V/m. The nonlinearity of the dependence of specific electrical conductivity of the synthesized films on electric field strength at E>106 V/m is discussed in terms of the hopping conductivity model and the trap ionization model described by the Poole?Frenkel effect. Keywords: oxide semiconductors, optical absorption coefficient, electrical conductivity, strong electric fields.


Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is responsible for several million hospitalizations and 199,000 deaths in young children worldwide. In 1960s clinical trials, children who were vaccinated with alum-adjuvanted, formalin-inactivated whole RSV (FI-RSV) developed vaccine-enhanced respiratory disease after RSV infection, resulting in tragic vaccine failure. There is no licensed RSV vaccine. The goals of my PhD thesis studies were to better understand pulmonary inflammation in vaccinated animals and to develop safe and effective RSV vaccines. In the first project, I investigated the vaccine efficacy of RSV fusion (F) proteins in a soluble form or on virus-like particle (F-VLP). F VLP preferentially elicited T helper type 1 (Th1) immune responses whereas alum-adjuvanted F protein induced Th2 responses. Despite lung viral clearance, F protein immune mice displayed weight loss and lung histopathology and high mucus production and eosinophils. In contrast, prime or prime-boost of F VLP prevented eosinophils' infiltration and vaccine-associated disease. An intrinsic property of F VLP to prime Th1 type immune responses appears to prevent RSV vaccine-enhanced disease after RSV challenge. In the second project, I investigated the adjuvant effects of monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL, a TLR4 ligand) and oligodeoxynucleotide CpG (CpG, a TLR9 ligand) on vaccine-enhanced respiratory disease after F protein prime vaccination and RSV challenge in infant and adult mice. Combination CpG+MPL adjuvant in RSV F protein prime vaccination of infant and adult age mice promoted the induction of Th1 type immune responses, and lung viral clearance after challenge. Importantly, CpG+MPL adjuvant plus F protein priming of mice was effective in preventing inflammatory lung histopathology and Th2 cytokine-expressing CD4 T cell responses after RSV challenge. In the third project, I found that inactivated and detergent-split RSV vaccines exposed neutralizing epitopes at higher levels than inactivated whole virus. Split RSV vaccination of mice induced less lung histopathology compared to FI-RSV after RSV challenge. Split RSV vaccination of mice with CpG and MPL adjuvants was found to be most effective in increasing Th1 type IgG2a antibodies, neutralizing activity, and lung viral clearance as well as modulating immune responses to prevent pulmonary histopathology after RSV vaccination and challenge. INDEX WORDS: Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Virus like particle, Fusion (F) protein, Detergentsplit RSV vaccines, Vaccine enhanced-disease, T helper type 1 and 2 CD4 T cell response, Histopathology, Adjuvants. EFFECTS OF VACCINE PLATFORMS AND ADJUVANTS ON PROTECTIVE EFFICACY AGAINST HUMAN RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS


In this paper we apply a fractional differintegral operator to a class of analytic functions and derive certain new sufficient conditions for the starlikeness of this class of functions. The usefulness of the main results are depicted by deducing several interesting corollaries and relevances with some of the earlier results are also pointed out.


It is important for the critical care nurse to consider the family of the patient in all phases of care to the individual within the critical care setting. The family's structure and usual patterns of functioning will be significantly altered by the illness of one member. By using an "Orientation to the Critical Care Unit" program for the family as well as the impact variables involved, the nurse is better able to assist the family cope with the situation within. (This video orientation program was implemented at a hospital in Northeastern Ohio in 1988 and is currently being shown to families of critical care patients. Feedback from nursing staff and family members has proven to be very positive.


The UK's national population structure in line with most Western societies is ageing rapidly. The combination of falling fertility and increasing longevity is having an impact on family structures and resultant relationships, with the emergence of long vertical multi-generational families replacing the former laterally extended family forms. This is occuring at a time when UK government policy is placing increasing reliance on families to provide health and social care and support for the growing number of frail older people. While there has been extensive research on family care within the majority white population, there is less understanding of the elder family care provision for the UKs growing older ethnic population. This paper discusses the changing demographics, new government policy on promoting independent living and its implications for family care provision, and reviews our current understanding of family care and support for older people within the UK's varied ethnic minority families.


A hybrid numerical scheme is developed to analyze the structural dynamic behavior of a large-diameter riser made of a laminated composite material. The global dynamic behavior of the riser, considered as a beam element subjected to a wave and current, is solved with the finite element analysis method in the time domain. The equivalent elastic modulus of a laminated composite riser for the global dynamic analysis is calculated from the stress-strain relation of a laminate structure with a different elastic modulus. For elements in large displacement and stresses estimated from the dynamic analysis, local structural analysis is performed with the finite element analysis method to examine the structural safety of the laminates of the composite riser, which is considered as a hexahedral element. The developed hybrid numerical tool can contribute to structural safety verification of large-diameter risers composed of laminated composites.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers and the main cause of cancer-related deaths. Notch1 might play a part in tumorigenesis of lung cancer. Here we explored the relationship of three SNPs (rs3124599, rs3124607 and rs3124594) in Notch1 with the risk and the survival of lung cancer in non-smoking females, including 556 cases and 395 controls. Chi-square tests, logistic regression analysis and crossover analysis were conducted to estimate the association between SNPs and the risk of lung cancer and the interaction between SNPs and environmental exposure. Survival analysis was conducted to explore the association between SNPs and survival of lung cancer. The results demonstrated that the polymorphism of rs3124599 was associated with the susceptibility of lung cancer in recessive model (AA+AG vs. GG). Compared to the those with AA or AG genotype, individuals with GG genotype had a 1.562-fold increased risk of lung cancer (P = 0.023, OR = 1.562, 95% CI = 1.062-2.297). In stratified analysis, the GG genotype of rs3124599 would increase the risk of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (P = 0.011, OR = 2.167, 95% CI = 1.193-3.396). However, no significant interaction between rs3124599 and cooking oil fume exposure was observed either in addictive model or multiplicative model. The results of survival analysis showed there was no significant association between SNPs and prognosis of lung cancer (P = 0.949 for rs3124599, P = 0.508 for rs3124607, P = 0.884 for rs3124594). Our study might indicate that rs312599 in Notch1 may be a novel biomarker for SCLC risk in Chinese non-smoking females


Historically, the preferred procedure for perforated diverticular disease is Hartmann's procedure (HP). Although reliably achieving source control, it's associated with a high rate of post-operative complications and a stoma which often becomes permanent. We reviewed our experience of patients undergoing HP vs primary anastomosis (PA) for perforated diverticulitis.

 All patients undergoing emergency resectional surgery for perforated diverticulitis between March 2015 and Jan 2021 were identified from the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data. Demographics were collected and the patient groups were case matched for age and Charleson Comorbidity Index (CCI), Computed Tomography (CT) appearance and intraoperative contamination data. Post-operative morbidity/mortality data was compared.

 105 patients were included. 15 patients had PA (without diversion) and 90 HP.
 In the PA cohort were 10 males, median age 52 (range 27–76). There were no anastomotic leaks. 30-day morbidities were superficial wound dehiscence (1) and early incisional hernia (1). Median post-operative stay was 9 days (range 5–25).
 HP control group (age below 76, Charlson score 10 and below, Hinchey 1–3 intraoperatively). Included 58 patients, 26 males, median age 60.5 (range 30–76). Median post-operative stay was 10.5 days (range 5–227). 2 patients required re-operation. 5 patients developed wound infections. At the time of the study 18 patients have undergone reversal, 6 are on active waiting-list for reversal.
 There was a single 30-day mortality (post-discharge).

 We have shown that PA is safe in selected cohort of patients and have identified that over 50% of patients undergoing HP could have been considered for PA.


The androgen receptor (AR) is a transcription factor essential for the proper development of the prostate and crucial for the pathogenesis of prostate cancer (PCa). Indeed, blocking the activity of the androgen receptor by androgen ablation therapies like chemical or surgical castration and/or the application of antiandrogens is a common therapy for the treatment of non-organ-confined PCa. Although the canonical AR signaling pathway requires the binding to its ligand dihydrotestosterone several alternative AR activation mechanisms have been identified which cause an androgen-independent activation of the AR leading to the recurrence of so-called castration-resistant prostate cancers (CRPCa). Epigenetic modifier like CBP/p300 or HDACs are essential for the induction of AR target genes. Thus we hypothesized that mechanism involved in the androgen independent activation of the AR might also influence its interplay with cofactors and might thus affect the expression of AR target genes. Since the IkappaB kinases (IKK) are known to modify the interaction between transcription factors and co-actovators/co-repressors and the AR is known to be activated by specific phosphorylations in an androgen-independent manner, we analyzed the role of the IKKs for the function of the AR in prostate cancer cell lines.

To determine the effect of the IKKs on AR we used the pharmacological IKK inhibitor BMS345541 as well as IKK specific siRNAs. Inhibition of the IKKs was paralleled by a decreased phosphorylation pattern of the AR while IKK1 and IKK2 were capable of phosphorylating the AR in vitro. Moreover, by mass spectrometry analysis we identified several IKK-phosphorylated AR-peptides including one harboring Ser308.

Blocking of IKK1 function by small molecule inhibitors or siRNA-mediated IKK1-knockdown attenuated AR-dependent target gene expression. Inhibition of IKK1 was linked to reduced nuclear localization, diminished DNA binding and reduced transcriptional activity of the AR. Furthermore, applying the CAM in vivo tumor model we observed an attenuated tumor size and proliferation as measured by Ki-67 staining upon treatment with the pharmalogical IKK inhibitor BMS345541. In addition, reduced Ki-67 staining was also observed after siRNA mediated knock-down of IKK1.

Currently, we investigate the potential function of the IKK-mediated AR phosphorylation for its interaction with epigenetic modifiers and its impact on the epigenetic regulation of AR target genes. Interfering with this IKK mediated AR regulation mechanism might be a novel approach for the targeted therapy of castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Citation Format: Lasse Marck, Garima Jain, Marcus V. Cronauer, Felicitas Genze, Ralf Marienfeld. IKK-mediated phosphorylation of the androgen receptor: A mechanism to modulate AR-cofactor interaction. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Chromatin and Epigenetics in Cancer; Jun 19-22, 2013; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(13 Suppl):Abstract nr B59.