Oral administration has been most versatile convenient and commonly employed route of drug delivery. Sustained release drug delivery system have started gaining popularity and acceptance as new drug delivery system due to better control over release for extended time. Conventionally there are two types of granulation methods i.e. wet and dry granulation. But these methods have number of disadvantages such as number of steps, equipments, labors, wastage of materials hence costly. Today's Pharmaceutical industry require minimum step, simple, continuous and efficient method. Melt granulation offers several advantages compared to conventional granulation since the liquid addition and subsequent drying step are omitted. Thus process is less consuming in terms of time and energy compared to other methods. Hence in this book an attempt has been made to develop sustained release tablet of Verapamil HCl using some lipophilic binders by melt granulation technique. Also effect of different process parameters such as concentration and type of lipophilic binders, methods of preparation, stirring time and different release enhancers on drug release was studied.


BACKGROUND
1,2:3,4-Diepoxybutane (DEB) is a substance classified to a group of carcinogens. The maximum admissible concentration (MAC) value for this substance in workplace air is not specified in Poland. Due to the fact that DEB has been used in domestic companies there is a need to develop a sensitive method for determining 1,2:3,4-diepoxybutane in the work environment.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The studies were performed using gas chromatography (GC) technique. An Agilent Technologies chromatograph, series 7890A, with a mass selective detector (5975C, Agilent Technologies, USA) was employed in the experiment. Separation was performed on a capillary column with Rtx-5MS (30 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 μm) (Restek, USA).

RESULTS
The developed method consists in passing the known volume of air through sorbent tube filled with activated carbon, desorpting the DEB vapor with dichloromethane/methanol mixture (95:5, v/v) and analyzing the obtained solution. The method is linear (r = 0.999) within the investigated working range of 0.09-2.06 μg/ml, which is equivalent to air concentrations of 5-114 μg/m3 for a 18 l air sample; limit of detection (LOD) - 9.89 ng/ml and limit of quantification (LOQ) - 29.67 ng/ml.

CONCLUSIONS
The described analytical method enables selective determination of 1,2:3,4-diepoxybutane in the workplace air in the presence of 1,3-butadiene, 1,2-epoxypropane, toluene, styrene and 1,2-epoxy-3-phenoxypropane. The method is characterized by good precision and accuracy and meets the criteria for measurement of chemical agents, listed in PN-EN 482:2012. Med Pr 2016;67(5):645-652.


The Interferon induced transmembrane proteins (IFITM) are a family of transmembrane proteins that is known to inhibit cell invasion of viruses such as HIV-1 and influenza. We show that the IFITM genes are a subfamily in a larger family of transmembrane (TM) proteins that we call Dispanins, which refers to a common 2TM structure. We mined the Dispanins in 36 eukaryotic species, covering all major eukaryotic groups, and investigated their evolutionary history using Bayesian and maximum likelihood approaches to infer a phylogenetic tree. We identified ten human genes that together with the known IFITM genes form the Dispanin family. We show that the Dispanins first emerged in eukaryotes in a common ancestor of choanoflagellates and metazoa, and that the family later expanded in vertebrates where it forms four subfamilies (A–D). Interestingly, we also find that the family is found in several different phyla of bacteria and propose that it was horizontally transferred to eukaryotes from bacteria in the common ancestor of choanoflagellates and metazoa. The bacterial and eukaryotic sequences have a considerably conserved protein structure. In conclusion, we introduce a novel family, the Dispanins, together with a nomenclature based on the evolutionary origin.


Introduction: Coronary artery bypass grafting is one of the primary treatment for coronary artery disease and is referred as one of the most common surgical procedure. This surgery has an impact on quality of life. Factors that affected it in patients underwent this kind of surgery are psychosocial, demographic factors and patient related characteristics. Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the quality of life of patients underwent coronary artery bypass graft after six months of it and to determine the factors influencing the quality of life of these patients. Material-Method: The sample was convenience and consisted of 84 patients underwent coronary artery bypass grafting surgery before six months in one hospital of a major city in Northern Greece. Data were collected with a questionnaire that included the SF-36 and socio-demographic characteristics. Data analysis was performed with the Statistical Package SPSS vers.15. Results: The sample was predominately male (n= 61, 72, 6%) and a high percentage of them is above 50 years (85, 7%). The domains of quality of life that have higher means are: role emotional (68, 25 ± 40, 71), role physical (55 ± 33, 13), vitality (53, 99 ± 20, 97) and social functioning (45, 09 ± 22, 71). Some of the factors that are significantly correlated with various domains of quality of life were patients' sex, nationality, occupational status smoking, family status, educational status and comorbities. Conclusions: The main domains of quality of life that affected are physical functioning, bodily pain, social functioning and mental health, so health care professionals have to plan interventions to improve it.


Temporal action localization is currently an active research topic in computer vision and machine learning due to its usage in smart surveillance. It is a challenging problem since the categories of the actions must be classified in untrimmed videos and the start and end of the actions need to be accurately found. Although many temporal action localization methods have been proposed, they require substantial amounts of computational resources for the training and inference processes. To solve these issues, in this work, a novel temporal-aware relation and attention network (abbreviated as TRA) is proposed for the temporal action localization task. TRA has an anchor-free and end-to-end architecture that fully uses temporal-aware information. Specifically, a temporal self-attention module is first designed to determine the relationship between different temporal positions, and more weight is given to features within the actions. Then, a multiple temporal aggregation module is constructed to aggregate the temporal domain information. Finally, a graph relation module is designed to obtain the aggregated graph features, which are used to refine the boundaries and classification results. Most importantly, these three modules are jointly explored in a unified framework, and temporal awareness is always fully used. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed method can outperform all state-of-the-art methods on the THUMOS14 dataset with an average mAP that reaches 67.6% and obtain a comparable result on the ActivityNet1.3 dataset with an average mAP that reaches 34.4%. Compared with A2Net (TIP20), PCG-TAL (TIP21), and AFSD (CVPR21) TRA can achieve improvements of 11.7%, 4.4%, and 1.8%, respectively on the THUMOS14 dataset.


Three cases of adenocarcinoma of the stomach, two in situ and one superficially invasive, and one of superficially invasive squamous-cell carcinoma of the esophagus are presented to illustrate the problems encountered in the diagnosis of early lesions of the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the contribution that cytodiagnosis can make. The symptomology and roentgenographic findings in these cases were largely nonspecific. While endoscopic biopsies were repeatedly negative in three of the four cases, endoscopic brushing cytology consistently indicated the presence of a malignancy. Surgery was finally performed on the basis of the cytologic findings, confirming the presence of early malignancy. The cytologic findings, with histologic correlations, are presented in an effort to define some specific criteria for the diagnosis of early malignancy of the upper GI tract.


DNA topoisomerases may play a role in regulating gene expression by maintaining the superhelical density of DNA and controlling the interconversions of DNA's topological states. In this issue, Tuteja et al. (pp. 2108– 2115) present evidence for the phosphorylation-dependent regulation of topoisomerase I from pea (Pisum sativum). The purified enzyme was phosphorylated by endogenous protein kinases present in pea nuclear extracts and by exogenous casein kinase 2 (CK2) and protein kinase C (PKC; from animal sources). Only Ser residues were phosphorylated. Topoisomerase I activity increased following phosphorylation with exogenous CK2 or PKC. These phosphorylation reactions were inhibited by heparin (an inhibitor of CK2) and calphostin (an inhibitor of PKC), suggesting that pea topoisomerase I is a bona fide substrate for these kinases. This study provided evidence that these classes of kinases may contribute to the physiological regulation of DNA topoisomerase I activity in plants.


For many years following the classic exposition of Barlow and the studies to which it gave rise, scurvy aroused little interest and was represented in the literature merely by a succession of case reports. Of late, however, this subject has become one of the most active from the clinical as well as from the experimental standpoint. This striking change in the status of this disorder is due largely to the publications of Holst and his co-workers, 2 who opened the field to experimental study by demonstrating that scurvy can be induced readily in the guinea-pig. It has received additional impetus through the war, which unavoidably led to the development of scurvy, not only among the troops, but among the civilian population. As there has been no account of this chapter of the medical history of the war, it seems of interest to review briefly, even at this early date, some


Progressive atrophy of the skin is an affection of great importance on account of the causes producing it and the conclusions which we can derive therefrom. Cases of this affection have been reported by Buchwald, Touton, Colombini, Elliott, Bronson, Pospelow, Neuman, Ohmann-Dumesnil, Popoff, Jadassohn, Unna, Krzysztal-owicz and others. In some of the cases the morbid process producing atrophy of the skin was known, in others it was perfectly obscure. From the study of all the reported cases Unna gave his classification of the atrophies of the skin as idiopathic and deuteropathic, calling idiopathic the cases where the skin is primarily affected, without progressed morbid process, and deuteropathic the cases of atrophy where the skin falls into atrophy secondarily on account of a tubercular, syphilitic or other process which has damaged its stroma. Our case belongs to the first group, the affection occurring primarily on the skin. The idiopathic atrophies


Abstract Under-reporting of food intake is one of the fundamental obstacles preventing the collection of accurate habitual dietary intake data. The prevalence of under-reporting in large nutritional surveys ranges from 18 to 54% of the whole sample, but can be as high as 70% in particular subgroups. This wide variation between studies is partly due to different criteria used to identify under-reporters and also to non-uniformity of under-reporting across populations. The most consistent differences found are between men and women and between groups differing in body mass index. Women are more likely to under-report than men, and under-reporting is more common among overweight and obese individuals. Other associated characteristics, for which there is less consistent evidence, include age, smoking habits, level of education, social class, physical activity and dietary restraint. Determining whether under-reporting is specific to macronutrients or food is problematic, as most methods identify only low energy intakes. Studies that have attempted to measure under-reporting specific to macronutrients express nutrients as percentage of energy and have tended to find carbohydrate under-reported and protein over-reported. However, care must be taken when interpreting these results, especially when data are expressed as percentages. A logical conclusion is that food items with a negative health image (e.g. cakes, sweets, confectionery) are more likely to be under-reported, whereas those with a positive health image are more likely to be over-reported (e.g. fruits and vegetables). This also suggests that dietary fat is likely to be under-reported. However, it is necessary to distinguish between under-reporting and genuine under-eating for the duration of data collection. The key to understanding this problem, but one that has been widely neglected, concerns the processes that cause people to under-report their food intakes. The little work that has been done has simply confirmed the complexity of this issue. The importance of obtaining accurate estimates of habitual dietary intakes so as to assess health correlates of food consumption can be contrasted with the poor quality of data collected. This phenomenon should be considered a priority research area. Moreover, misreporting is not simply a nutritionist's problem, but requires a multidisciplinary approach (including psychology, sociology and physiology) to advance the understanding of under-reporting in dietary intake studies.


The triangular ridged surface can improve the grip reliability of products, but the sharp edge of triangular ridge induces sharp and uncomfortable feeling. To study the effect of edge shape (sharp, round, and flat shape) of triangular ridges on brain activity during touching, electroencephalograph (EEG) signals during tactile perception were evaluated using event-related potentials (ERP) and non-linear analysis methods. The results showed that the early component of P100 and P200, and the late component of P300 were successfully induced during perceiving the ridged texture. The edge shape features affect the electrical activity of brain during the tactile perceptions. The sharp shape feature evoked fast P100 latency and high P100 amplitude. The flat texture with complex (sharp and flat) shape feature evoked fast P200 latency, high P200 amplitude and RQA parameters. Both of the sharp shape and complex shape feature tended to evoke high peak amplitude of P300. The large-scale structures of recurrence plots (RPs) and recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) parameters can visually and quantitatively characterize the evolution regulation of the dynamic behavior of EEG system along with the tactile process. This study proved that RPs and RQA were protential methods for the feature extraction and state recognition of EEG during tactile perception of textured surface. This research contributes to optimize surface tactile characteristics on products, especially effective surface textures design for good grip.


The present study was undertaken to analyze the changes in neuroendocrine cells of the human prostate induced by neoplasms and the effect of hormonal treatment. Samples of human prostate (n = 47) were obtained during surgery or removal of organs for transplantation. The cases analyzed represent normal prostates (n = 4); benign prostatic hyperplasias (n = 10; prostatic carcinomas with Gleason scores of 2-4 (n = 5), 5-7 (n = 10), and 8-10 (n = 3), and prostatic carcinomas treated with hormonal therapy (n = 15). Immunohistochemistry for chromogranin A was performed, and the density of neuroendocrine cells as well as the intensity of the immunostaining within their cytoplasms were evaluated using image analysis. Neuroendocrine cells showing chromogranin A immunoreactivity were identified in all cases studied. They were localized scattered in the acini, and no differences in their morphology were observed among groups. Interestingly, chromogranin A immunoreactivity was also present in typical epithelial cells of prostatic cancer with Gleason scores ranging from 8 to 10. The density of chromogranin A immunoreactive cells was higher in neoplastic tissue with respect to the normal prostate, reaching maximal values in prostatic carcinomas with Gleason scores of 8-10 which were hormonally treated. Regarding the intensity of immunostaining in the prostatic carcinomas with Gleason scores of 8-10 only, a significant increase in relation to the other groups was found. The present results demonstrate that the neuroendocrine cells have similar morphological features and distribution in normal prostate, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and prostatic carcinoma. Their density in prostatic cancer increases following hormonal therapy and varies in relation to the tumoral degree or histological evaluation, suggesting a role of neuroendocrine cells in human prostatic cancer.


A discrete dyadic wavelet transform used as a differential operator was introduced bu S. Mallat et al. (1992) and is a powerful analysis tool to measure the local regularity of a signal. Also an image reconstruction algorithm from the wavelet transform maxima was proven. Based on this theory the present authors propose an approach to map sharp transitions (singularities) and homogeneous areas in SAR imagery. This information in turn lends support in a unified manner to the implementation of speckle filters, segmentation and classification algorithms. Examples of the technique related to polarimetric SAR data processing are reported.


OBJECTIVE: The present study was aimed at evaluating the frequency of radiographic assessment of paranasal sinuses in pediatric patients in hospitals of Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Additionally, aspects regarding radiation protection conditions and radiographic parameters were evaluated, and entrance air kerma and organ doses were estimated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients' data and parameters of radiographic technique employed in the assessment of children in the age range between 1 and 16 years were collected in five examination rooms of four hospitals in Belo Horizonte, also taking into consideration the radiation protection aspects. Entrance air kerma calculation was based on the x-ray tubes output, and organ doses were estimated with the PCXMC software. RESULTS: Mean entrance air kerma values found in the five rooms were, respectively, 1398 μGy, 829 μGy, 877 μGy, 1168 μGy and 3886 μGy for patients with ages between 1 and 5 years. CONCLUSION: Most frequently, mento-naso and fronto-naso views are requested in conjunction in the majority of hospitals, which increases the radiation dose to the patients. It may be concluded that the risks for patients can be reduced by means of the utilization of an appropriate x-ray field, non-utilization of antiscattering grids, selection of high voltages and lower exposure times.


Abstract Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is one of the most common hepatic disorders worldwide. Given the high-calorie nutrition of children and adults, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is expected to become a major cause of cirrhosis and eventually liver transplantation. Familial clustering and ethnic differences indicate that genetic factors contribute to NAFLD. Recently, the common variant p.I148M of the enzyme adiponutrin (PNPLA3) has emerged as a major genetic determinant of hepatic steatosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis as well as its pathobiological sequelae fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular cancer. PNPLA3 encodes a lipid droplet-associated, carbohydrate-regulated lipogenic and/or lipolytic enzyme. Homozygous carriers of the PNPLA3 variant are prone to develop cirrhosis in the absence of other risk factors such as alcohol or viral hepatitis. Here we review the plethora of studies that unraveled the association between PNPLA3 and NAFLD in children and adults, discuss its distinct effects on liver and metabolic traits, and introduce the term PNPLA3-associated steatohepatitis (PASH) as a novel gene-based liver disease. Given the prevalence of the risk allele in 40 to 50% of Europeans, the authors conclude that PNPLA3 should be considered in the diagnostic workup of fatty liver disease and that homozygous risk allele carriers might benefit from careful cancer surveillance.


MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Around Australia today thousands of parents are struggling with how to combine work and family life and they're doing the sums on skyrocketing childcare costs. Last month the Productivity Commission released its draft report into the childcare system and today it begins public hearings around the country. The first will be in Perth. The report recommended a new subsidy be introduced to cover 90 per cent of the costs for childcare for families earning over $60,000. That would cost the Government an extra $800 million a year and the Productivity Commission wants to see Tony Abbott's paid parental leave scheme pared back to pay for it. Elizabeth Proust has held leadership roles in the private and public sectors for more than 30 years. She's currently the chair of Nestle Australia and also the Bank of Melbourne and I spoke to her a short time ago. Elizabeth Proust, is the availability and the cost of childcare the most pressing issue for working women? ELIZABETH PROUST: Yes, it is. A few years now since I've had to personally worry about that, but I'm a grandmother of two young children. I have personal experience of what that means for my daughter. And I know from talking to many women, both in the workplace and those who would decide to be in the workplace, that finding flexible, quality, affordable childcare is a key issue: not only whether many of them can work or not but also affects the quality of their working lives and their lives in general as they try to juggle and find good-quality childcare.


We report the first study of gas generation and thermal wave behavior during the performance of a novel nano-energetic system based on aluminum and bismuth hydroxide Al–Bi(OH)3. Thermodynamic calculations demonstrate that this system is comparable to one of the most powerful known nano-thermite systems, Al–Bi2O3, in terms of energy capacity per initial charge mass, and may generate more than twice the gaseous products: 0.0087 mol g−1. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis shows that homogenization of the as-received powder using mechanical activation is an essential step to reduce the decomposition energy of bismuth hydroxide by 30%. This results in nano-thermite with higher pressure discharge abilities. The mechanical activation with energy of 450–750 kJ g−1 is enough to transform micro-meter sized particles to sub-micro and nano-sized particles. The resulting nano-thermite generated a significant pressure discharge with a value of up to 5.6 kPa m3 g−1.


This paper discusses how haptic devices and physical modelling can be employed to design and simulate multisensory virtual musical instruments, providing the musician with joint audio, visual and haptic feedback. After briefly reviewing some of the main use-cases of haptics in Computer Music, we present GENESIS-RT, a software and hardware platform dedicated to the design and real-time haptic playing of virtual musical instruments using mass-interaction physical modelling. We discuss our approach and report on advancements in modelling various instrument categories instruments, including physical models of percussion, plucked and bowed instruments. Finally, we comment on the constraints, challenges and new possibilities opened by modelling haptic virtual instruments with our platform, and discuss common points and differences in regards to classical Digital Musical Instruments.


TGFbeta3 signaling initiates and completes sequential phases of cellular differentiation that is required for complete disintegration of the palatal medial edge seam, that progresses between 14 and 17 embryonic days in the murine system, which is necessary in establishing confluence of the palatal stroma. Understanding the cellular mechanism of palatal MES disintegration in response to TGFbeta3 signaling will result in new approaches to defining the causes of cleft palate and other facial clefts that may result from failure of seam disintegration. We have isolated MES primary cells to study the details of MES disintegration mechanism by TGFbeta3 during palate development using several biochemical and genetic approaches. Our results demonstrate a novel mechanism of MES disintegration where MES, independently yet sequentially, undergoes cell cycle arrest, cell migration and apoptosis to generate immaculate palatal confluency during palatogenesis in response to robust TGFbeta3 signaling. The results contribute to a missing fundamental element to our base knowledge of the diverse roles of TGFbeta3 in functional and morphological changes that MES undergo during palatal seam disintegration. We believe that our findings will lead to more effective treatment of facial clefting.


This paper proposes modified dual vector current control (DVCC) for the wind turbine application. As in case of conventional DVCC, it fulfills requirements for average unity power factor with suppressed oscillations in active power flow. However, uncontrolled increase in converter output current under unbalanced grid voltage conditions is prevented through imposing limit in its magnitude. Multilevel back-to-back converter is used in order to achieve full control of the turbine, as well as better power quality and lower torque and grid current oscillation


Abstract This article will outline a feminist interpretation for responses of the Roman Catholic Church to particular events in modern history, and sketch feminist proposals for solving the resulting problems of the Church today. The first section interprets the Church's initial response to scientific and philosophic discoveries and movements of the late Renaissance and the Enlightenment period as responsible for the feminization of the image of Roman Catholicism in the secular mind. The second section interprets the Church's response to liberalism in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as confirming for the secular, and increasingly popular, mind this feminine image of Catholicism. The third section depicts Vatican II as a contemporary attempt to create a more masculine image for the faith by moving the Church's sphere of action from the feminized private sector to the public world characterized by masculine rationality and technology. The final section sketches some ways in which modern feminist scholarship and its perspective can be a major and necessary contributor to the eradication of this feminine view of religion through the elimination of public/private dualism.


A72-year-old male patient with a medical history of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and alcohol abuse presented to the emergency department with a 3-day history of fever (38.5°C) associated with mild abdominal pain. During the previous week, he had experienced asthenia, anorexia, and weight loss. He denied a history of diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. A physical examination revealed mild tenderness in the upper right quadrant, and a liver edge was palpable 3 cm below the right costal margin. Laboratory analysis showed a blood glucose level of 381 mg/dl, a white blood cell count of 21.9 103 cells/ l (normal range, 4 103 to 11 103 cells/ l) with 91.8% neutrophils, and an increase of acute-phase reactants, with a C-reactive protein level of 21.91 mg/dl (normal range, 0.1 to 0.5 mg/dl) and a procalcitonin level of 10.63 ng/dl (normal range, 0.5 ng/ml). His liver function test results were abnormal, with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) values of 120 U/liter (normal range, 10 to 35 U/liter) and 75 U/liter (normal range, 10 to 35 U/liter), respectively. His alkaline phosphatase level was 197 U/liter (normal range, 44 to 147 U/liter). Urine analysis revealed glycosuria and ketone bodies. An abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated acute cholecystitis and a 7by 6.5-cm multiloculated abscess in the right hepatic lobe. The common bile duct was normal in caliber and did not contain stones. Ultrasound-guided percutaneous drainage of the abscess yielded purulent material, which was submitted to the microbiology laboratory for Gram staining and aerobic and anaerobic culture. The Gram stain of the specimen is shown in Fig. 1. The patient was empirically treated with Citation Recio R, Brañas P, Chaves F, Orellana MÁ. 2018. Photo Quiz: Isolation of a "friendly bacterium" from a pyogenic liver abscess. J Clin Microbiol 56:e00602-16. https://doi.org/10 .1128/JCM.00602-16. Editor P. Bourbeau Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved. Address correspondence to M. Ángeles Orellana, firstname.lastname@example.com. For answer and discussion, see https://doi.org/10 .1128/JCM.00603-16 in this issue. FIG 1 Gram stain of liver abscess (original magnification, 1,000). PHOTO QUIZ


The increasing cost of agricultural production coupled with issues of World Trade Organization is threatening the existence of marginal and small farmers in India. One could imagine the survival of Indian agriculture, especially for small and marginal farmers through the adoption of Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) on scientific lines. Traditionally, farmers in India had been practicing integrated system of farming. But, now there is a need to popularize scientific IFS models among farmers to tackle the present agricultural situation in India. However, the success depends upon the understanding of input-input and product-product relationships. The farmers are more vulnerable in selecting the right choices, owing to misunderstanding on whether the two outputs have complementary, supplementary or competitive relationships. There may be other reasons that are restricting the large scale adoption of IFS models by farmers under different agro-ecosystems. The studies on farming system enterprises, associated synergies and economic efficiency revealed higher returns and economic sustainability under integrated system of farming. The studies have also highlighted many constraints faced in the adoption of integrated farming system which needs government interventions so as to realise better economic returns from agriculture, besides higher social benefits.


Background: Nurses' excellent job performance is vital for the hospitals' healthcare services, particularly in achieving a standardized medical care comprising of patient safety. Studies have noted this preference by asserting that psychological capital is one of the antecedents of excellent work performance. Yet, little has been focused on the work performance of nurses in this aspect.
Aims: This study thus aims to analyze the relationship of psychological capital and work engagement among nurses attached to an urban general hospital in Indonesia.
Methods: A questionnaire (PCQ-24) was used to measure the psychological capital variable and work engagement (Utrecht Work Engagement Scale) among 165 clinical nurses working in the inpatients' ward. The simple random sampling approach was applied and a total of 91 questionnaires were found to be suitable for analysis. The descriptive values and linear regression were utilized for detecting the correlation coefficients of each variable.
Results: Findings indicate that most of the respondents were females (71.4%) who were mainly aged between 31-39 years old (42.9%) and the highest component in their psychological capital was hope (64.8%) while their work engagement was vigor (82.4%). Overall, it can be said that psychological capital was significantly correlated to vigor and dedication in work engagement (p<0.05). There was no correlation between hope (p=0.104), and resilience (p=0.159) with absorption of work engagement. Conclusion: Psychological capital variables were correlated to work engagement except for some variables. Low absorption in the nurses' work engagement could be caused by their high work load at hospitals. Nurses' job characteristics at the hospitals may be the cause of this finding.


The imperfection of channel state information (CSI) estimation in intelligent reflecting surface (IRS)-assisted multi-user systems may heavily reduce the network capacity. Therefore, in this paper, we first investigate the two-stage learning channel estimation (2S-CE) framework to enhance the accuracy of the three-phase channel estimation (3P-CE) algorithm in the literature. Then, we manage the actual transmitted data instead of sending all source data in IRSs-assisted multi-cast multi-group (IRS-MC-MG) systems to achieve high quality of service (QoS) and user satisfaction. Well-known zero-forcing (ZF) and block diagonalization (BD) techniques are adapted to achieve high-efficient solutions in IRS-MC-MG systems. Finally, we investigate adjustment algorithms to adapt to the environmental change and the channel estimation (CE) imperfection, thus can increase the received QoS and user satisfaction. Numerical results show our proposed framework decreases more than 38 times of error compared with the literature method, i.e., the 3P-CE algorithm.


Logistical infrastructure builds the backbone of an economy. Without an effective logistical infrastructure in place, the supply for both enterprises and consumers might not be met. But even a high-quality logistical infrastructure can be threatened by risks. Thus, it is important to identify, analyse, and evaluate risks for logistical infrastructure that might threaten logistical processes. Only if those risks are known and their impact estimated, decision makers can implement counteractive measures to reduce risks. In this article, we develop a network-based approach that allows for the evaluation of risks and their consequences onto the logistical network. We will demonstrate the relevance of this approach by applying it to the logistics network of the central German state of Hesse. Even though transport data is extensively tracked and recorded nowadays, typical daily risks, like accidents on a motorway, and extraordinary risks, like a bridge at risk to collapse, terrorist attacks or climate-related catastrophes, are not systematically anticipated. Several studies unveiled recently that the overall impact for an economy of possible failures of single nodes and/or edges in a network are not calculated, and particularly critical edges are not identified in advance. We address this information gap by a method that helps to identify and quantify risks in a given network. To reach this objective, we define a mathematical optimization model that quantifies the current "risk-related costs" of the overall network and quantify the risk by investigating the change of the overall costs in the case a risk is realized. Keywords: Logistics, risk, resilience, critical infrastructure


Zygapophysial or facet joints have been implicated as cause of low back, mid back, upper back and neck pain with referred pain. Cervical, thoracic and lumbar facet joints are innervated by the medial branches of the dorsal rami. Zygapophysial (facet) joints have been implicated as the source of chronic pain in 15% to 45% of the patients with chronic low back pain, 54% to 60% of the patients with chronic neck pain and 48% of the patients with thoracic pain. A systematic review of the evidence of effectiveness of radiofrequency denervation in the management of chronic spinal pain was undertaken. This review included randomized clinical trials, as well as non-randomized or observational studies in the analysis. Literature search included MEDLINE, EMBASE, systematic reviews, narrative reviews, cross-references to the reviews and various published trials; and peer reviewed abstracts from scientific meetings during the past two years. An algorithmic approach was followed in study evaluation with a description of inclusion and exclusion criteria. A set of high-performing scales or checklists pertaining to randomized clinical trials and observational trials derived from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) was utilized; Systems to Rate the Strength of Scientific Evidence. Qualitative analysis was conducted, using five levels of evidence for effectiveness of medial branch neurotomy. Our search strategy identified over 1,000 citations as the result of electronic and manual screening. A total of 7 randomized trials of radiofrequency neurotomy for spinal pain were identified. However, only 4 related to medial branch neurotomy. Two of the four met the inclusion criteria. Among the multiple observational studies considered for inclusion, 4 prospective evaluations were included in the systematic review. In addition, 3 retrospective evaluations were also included. Two randomized trials comprised of 27 patients receiving active treatment. The first study consisted of cervical facet joint pain and the second consisted of lumbar facet joint pain. Both studies showed positive results. Similar to randomized trials, prospective, as well as retrospective evaluations showed positive evidence, both in short-term and long-term. The results of this systematic review of 2 well-designed randomized trials, 4 prospective well-designed trials without randomization and 3 retrospective evaluations provided strong evidence that radiofrequency denervation offers short-term relief and moderate evidence of long-term pain relief of facet joint origin.


Background: Ascaris lumbricoides is a common parasite of the human gut, commonly found in communities with low standards of living in which inappropriate environmental sanitation and poor personal hygiene are common factors accounting for the prevalence of various communicable diseases, including helminths. Many helminthic infestations are sporadic and asymptomatic, affecting individuals, homesteads or a whole community. Heavy infestations, however, often lead to health complications ranging from malnutrition to surgical abdominal complications which occasionally lead to surgical morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this observational study was to document the surgical complications of Ascaris lumbricoides infestation, the commonest nematode helminth found in surgical patients as seen at Butare University Teaching Hospital, over a period of 4 years.
Methods: This was a prospective observational study, documenting all cases as they presented to us with surgical complications associated with Ascaris lumbricoides infestation. The cases in which the parasites were found incidentally during laparotomy were excluded from the study, if their presence had not caused any demonstrable surgical complication prior to surgery. In six of our cases, we were able to make a diagnosis of Ascaris lumbricoides using abdominal imaging (ultrasound and plain abdominal x-ray). All the surgeries were carried out by consultant surgeons, and the operative findings were well documented. All our patients were admitted and the postoperative events were closely followed and documented. Percentages were used to indicate the magnitude of the burden.
Results: Overall, 22 cases were included in the study. They all presented with surgical complications associated with Ascaris lumbriciodes infestation. Small gut obstruction was the commonest complication documented (64%); two patients died of postoperative complications related to bowel resection: short bowel syndrome following extensive small bowel resection; the pediatric population was more vulnerable (>60%). Other complications included biliary system blockage and anastomotic disruption.
Conclusions: Ascaris lumbricoides infestation caused various surgical complications, contributing to surgical morbidity and mortality. Infestation cut across all ages, but the pediatric population was more affected. Pre-operative diagnosis of Ascaris lumbricoides in these patients was possible through good imaging techniques. Surgical morbidity and mortality were related to the type of complication, extent of surgery, and postoperative care.


Abstract Development from early conceptus to a complex, multi-cellular organism is a highly ordered process that is dependent on an adequate supply of nutrients. During this process, the pattern of organ growth is robust, driven by a genetic blueprint and matched to anticipated body mass with high precision and with built-in physiological reserve capacity. This apparent canalisation of the developmental process is particularly sensitive to variation in environmental stimuli, such as inappropriate drug or hormone exposure, or pattern of nutrient delivery. Significant variation in any of these factors can profoundly affect fetal and neonatal growth patterns, with later detriment for physiological function and/or reserve capacity of the resultant adult, with potential health impact. This paradigm shift in science has become known as the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD). Over the last 30 years, many animal and clinical studies have vastly expanded our fundamental knowledge of developmental biology, particularly in the context of later effects on health. In this horizons article, we discuss DOHaD through the lens of nutritional quality (e.g. micronutrient, amino acid, NSP intake). The concept of 'Quality' was considered undefinable by Robert Persig in his book, 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'. Here, development and the art of nutritional maintenance will define quality in terms of the pattern of nutrient intake, the quality of development and how each interact to influence later health outcomes.


Due to their unique antimicrobial properties silver nanocrystallites have garnered substantial attention and are used extensively for biomedical applications as an additive to wound dressings, surgical instruments and bone substitute materials. They are also released into unintended locations such as the environment or biosphere. Therefore it is imperative to understand the potential interactions, fate and transport of nanoparticles with environmental biotic systems. Numerous factors including the composition, size, shape, surface charge, and capping molecule of nanoparticles are known to influence cell cytotoxicity. Our results demonstrate that the physical/chemical properties of the silver nanoparticles including surface charge, differential binding and aggregation potential, which are influenced by the surface coatings, are a major determining factor in eliciting cytotoxicity and in dictating potential cellular interactions. In the present investigation, silver nanocrystallites with nearly uniform size and shape distribution but with different surface coatings, imparting overall high negativity to high positivity, were synthesized. These nanoparticles included poly(diallyldimethylammonium) chloride-Ag, biogenic-Ag, colloidal-Ag (uncoated), and oleate-Ag with zeta potentials +45 ± 5, -12 ± 2, -42 ± 5, and -45 ± 5 mV, respectively; the particles were purified and thoroughly characterized so as to avoid false cytotoxicity interpretations. A systematic investigation on the cytotoxic effects, cellular response, and membrane damage caused by these four different silver nanoparticles was carried out using multiple toxicity measurements on mouse macrophage (RAW-264.7) and lung epithelial (C-10) cell lines. Our results clearly indicate that the cytotoxicity was dependent on various factors such as surface charge and coating materials used in the synthesis, particle aggregation, and the cell-type for the different silver nanoparticles that were investigated. Poly(diallyldimethylammonium)-coated Ag nanoparticles were found to be the most toxic, followed by biogenic-Ag and oleate-Ag nanoparticles, whereas uncoated or colloidal silver nanoparticles were found to be the least toxic to both macrophage and lung epithelial cells. Also, based on our cytotoxicity interpretations, lung epithelial cells were found to be more resistant to the silver nanoparticles than the macrophage cells, regardless of the surface coating.


Objectives There is paucity of data on venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) for ovarian cancer. We explored the incidence and predictors of VTE in this patient population. Methods We performed a retrospective review of women with primary ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal cancer who received NACT from January 2012 to October 2018. Patients with a history of VTE prior to cancer diagnosis were excluded. The primary outcome was incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) after cancer diagnosis and before interval debulking surgery. We explored demographic and clinical variables associated with VTE. Results VTE was diagnosed in 25 (28%) of 90 patients and 16 (64%) had PE. 67% of patients had VTE during NACT and 8 patients after their cancer diagnosis, before initiation of NACT. The majority of patients had stage III disease and serous adenocarcinoma. African Americans were 3 times more likely than other races to experience VTE (OR 3.22; CI 0.997–10.42; P = 0.051). Significantly more patients without VTE had debulking surgery (88% vs 60%, P = 0.005). The risk of DVT increased by 8.7% per year of age (OR 1.087; 95% CI 1.01–1.17). Obesity, smoking status, medical comorbidities, disease stage, histology, invasive diagnostic surgery, and length of NACT were not predictors of VTE. Conclusions The incidence of VTE during neoadjuvant chemotherapy is high. Older age and African American race may be potential risk factors for VTE. This information will help mitigate disparities in the treatment of advanced stage ovarian cancer.


In 1936 it was demonstrated that more than 50% of diabetic patients of both sexes and 15-25% of female diabetics were overweight by about 20 and 40% respectively (Joslin et al. 1936). Later studies revealed interrelationships between obesity and diabetes which can be studied best in small laboratory rodents exhibiting obesity-diabetes syndromes. In these animals obesity usually precedes diabetes. Hyperinsulinaemia, insulin resistance, increased adipose tissue mass and a diminished glucose tolerance are common in both the obese and the diabetic state. If, however, increased gluconeogenesis interferes with blood glucose regulation, inappropriate hyperglycaemia develops. This is characteristic of animal diabetes. However, not all types of adiposity show obesitydiabetes interrelationships. Cyclic obesity is part of an adaptation syndrome. Depending on the intensity of light, hibernators or migrating animals such as various birds or reindeer increase their energy intake and multiply their adipose tissue mass. At the beginning of arousal of the subsequent hibernation period or during the following migration, the adipose depots will be mobilized and body-weight drops. Thus, periods of over-, normalor even underweight succeed one another. A similar type of obesity is seen in animals living in desert or semi-desert areas. In times when plenty of food is available the animals become hyperphagic and store the surplus energy as adipose tissue. During dry spells when food becomes sparse the animals live on their fat depots. If, however, these animals are maintained under laboratory conditions with abundant food, the advantage becomes a disadvantage: the animals exhibit permanent obesity with hyperinsulinaemia and inappropriate hyperglycaemia. This type of obesity is present in sand rats, Spiny mice, and Djungarian hamsters and is suggested to be dependent on one or more traits called 'Thrifty gene' (Neel, 1962). The other type of permanent obesity which frequently precedes diabetes is also genetically determined and known to occur in small laboratory rodents. Mice and rats developing the obesity-diabetes syndrome are either monogenic or polygenic mutants (Table 1). Although these mutants have various metabolic phenomena in common, their phenotypes are more or less affected by factors such as strain, age, sex, the localization


Summary A time-lapse analysis was carried out to investigate the theoretical detectability of CO2 for the Shell Quest project. Quest is a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project in Alberta operated by Shell Canada Energy and its partners. The target formation for injection is Basal Cambrian Sandstone (BCS) which is a deep saline aquifer at an approximate depth of 2000 meters below surface in the Quest project area. The purpose of this study was to simulate the seismic response of the BCS after injecting 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 during a one-year period of injection. This was done using Gassmann fluid substitution and seismic forward modeling. A geological model for the baseline scenario was generated based on logs from well SCL-8-19-59-20W4. For the monitor case, Gassmann fluid substitution modeling was undertaken to model a CO2 plume within BCS. Numerical stack sections for both scenarios were obtained and subtracted to study the change in the seismic response after injecting CO2. The difference section shows the location and the spatial distribution of the plume. Based on these results the CO2 plume could be detected in the seismic data after a year of injection, providing the data have good bandwidth and a high signal-to-noise ratio.


TORCH pathogens are a group of globally prevalent infectious agents that may cross the placental barrier, causing severe negative sequalae in neonates, including fetal death and lifelong morbidity. TORCH infections are classically defined by Toxoplasma gondii, other infectious causes of concern (e.g., syphilis, Zika virus, malaria, human immunodeficiency virus), rubella virus, cytomegalovirus, and herpes simplex viruses. Neonatal disorders and congenital birth defects are the leading causes of neonatal mortality in Central America's Northern Triangle, yet little is known about TORCH congenital syndrome in this region. This review synthesizes the little that is known regarding the most salient TORCH infections among pregnant women and neonates in Central America's Northern Triangle and highlights gaps in the literature that warrant further research. Due to the limited publicly available information, this review includes both peer-reviewed published literature and university professional degree theses. Further large-scale studies should be conducted to clarify the public health impact these infections in this world region.


&NA; Expanding knowledge relevant to health disciplines due to advances in medical science and practice intensifies the needs of health care professionals for continuing education (CE). Traditional methods, such as workshops, do not always result in rapid dissemination of information and/or achievement of low costs. This is especially true for those providers in isolated/rural areas. The key question for this study is: Does a multimedia, self‐instruction educational package provide the same or similar learning results as received from a conventional CE conference? Also, which method is the most economically feasible? In both the traditional CE offering and the self‐instruction learning package, statistical improvement in scores was observed. Costs for the self‐directed approach, while more expensive up front, could prove, depending upon the situation, to be more economical in the long run. These results show that self‐instruction learning packages can be viable alternatives to workshops and conferences, saving time and money for the health professional.


Anorexia nervosa is a complex psychiatric disorder with endocrinologic manifestations primarily affecting adolescent females. The classic triad of presenting symptoms is weight loss in excess of 15% of ideal body weight, behavioral changes and amenorrhea (secondary or primary). The menstrual irregularities may cause the patient or family to seek gynecologic consultation before the diagnosis of primary psychiatric disorder has been made. Bulimia is a separate disease entity characterized by compulsive overeating binges followed by compensatory purging behavior to maintain a desired weight. Depending on the degree of psychiatric disturbance, purging, and ultimate body weight, such patients may or may not present with menstrual abnormalities. Hypoestrogenic hypothalamic amenorrhea in both types of patients may result in osteoporosis, stress fractures, and infertility. Obese women, in contrast to the above, most often have abnormally heavy bleeding patterns secondary to chronic anovulation. Their-short term gynecologic concerns may be cycle control or infertility, but over the long term they are at increased risk for endometrial hyperplasia and cancer.


Face detection using local successive mean quantization transform (SMQT) features and the sparse network of winnows (SNoW) classifier has received interest in the computer vision community due to its success under varying illumination conditions. Recent work has also demonstrated the effectiveness of this classification technique for character recognition tasks. However, heavy storage requirements of the SNoW classifier necessitate the development of efficient techniques to reduce storage and computational requirements. This study shows that the SNoW classifier built with only a limited number of distinguishing SMQT features provides comparable performance to the original dense snow classifier. Initial results using the well-known CMU-MIT facial image database and a private character database are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Materials for biodevices and bioimplants commonly suffer from unwanted but unavoidable biofouling problems due to the nonspecific adhesion of proteins, cells, or bacteria. Chemical coating or physical strategies for reducing biofouling have been pursued, yet highly robust antibiofouling surfaces that can persistently resist contamination in biological environments are still lacking. In this study, we developed a facile method to fabricate a highly robust slippery and antibiofouling surface by conjugating a liquid-like polymer layer to a substrate. This slippery liquid-attached (SLA) surface was created via a one-step equilibration reaction by tethering methoxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS-OCH3) polymer brushes onto a substrate to form a transparent "liquid-like" layer. The SLA surface exhibited excellent sliding behaviors toward a wide range of liquids and small particles and antibiofouling properties against the long-term adhesion of small biomolecules, proteins, cells, and bacteria. Moreover, in contrast to superomniphobic surfaces and liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) requiring micro/nanostructures, the SLA layer could be obtained on smooth surfaces and maintain its biofouling resistance under abrasion with persistent stability. Our study offers a simple method to functionalize surfaces with robust slippery and antibiofouling properties, which is promising for potential applications including medical implants and biodevices.


Vehicle tracking using airborne wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) for monitoring urban environments is very challenging for current state-of-the-art tracking algorithms, compared to object tracking in full motion video (FMV). Characteristics that constrain performance in WAMI to relatively short tracks range from the limitations of the camera sensor array including low frame rate and georegistration inaccuracies, to small target support size, presence of numerous shadows and occlusions from buildings, continuously changing vantage point of the platform, presence of distractors and clutter among other confounding factors. We describe our Likelihood of Features Tracking (LoFT) system that is based on fusing multiple sources of information about the target and its environment akin to a track-before-detect approach. LoFT uses image-based feature likelihood maps derived from a template-based target model, object and motion saliency, track prediction and management, combined with a novel adaptive appearance target update model. Quantitative measures of performance are presented using a set of manually marked objects in both WAMI, namely Columbus Large Image Format (CLIF), and several standard FMV sequences. Comparison with a number of single object tracking systems shows that LoFT outperforms other visual trackers, including state-of-the-art sparse representation and learning based methods, by a significant amount on the CLIF sequences and is competitive on FMV sequences.


The excitation of low frequency plasma waves in an expanding anisotropic cosmological model that contains a magnetic field frozen into the matter and pointing in the longitudinal direction is discussed. Using the exact equations governing finite-amplitude wave propagation in hydromagnetic media within the framework of the general theory of relativity, we show that a spectrum of magnetized sound waves will be excited and form large-scale " damped oscillations " in the expanding universe. The characteristic frequency of the excited waves is slightly shifted away from the sound frequency and the shift depends on the strength of the primordial magnetic field. This magnetic field dependent shift may have an effect on the acoustic peaks of the CMB.


A quick and accurate assessment of complexity for a given traffic scenario can help plan and schedule flights to alleviate traffic bottleneck and mitigate operation risks, especially for unmanned aircraft system traffic management where high traffic density or complexity is expected. This work introduces a traffic scenario complexity metric that was constructed based on the number of potential conflicts weighted by the conflict resolution cost associated. The cost associatedwith a conflict is calculatedbased on the corresponding conflict resolutionmaneuvers. To obtain the conflict resolution maneuvers, a Mixed Interger Linear Programming (MILP) based optimization is formulated with the vehicle model and conflict management parameters involved. To evaluate the complexity metrics, an approach of using measurements from highfidelity simulations is proposed. The complexity measurements for 920 randomly-generated scenarios were generated through high-fidelity simulations and treated as the ground truth. Two statistical methods: Pearson and Alternative Conditional Expectations were applied for analysis. The results show that the metric using the number of flights has low correlation with the scenario complexity according to the correlation coefficients calculated by both methods. The Alternative Conditional Expectations method shows that the proposed metric has better correlation with the complexity than the metric using the number of potential conflicts.


Harary's structural balance theory based on the idea of Heider explains social processes and is used to account for social actor's attitudes toward another. We propose a social value emergence model in the form of an agent-based simulation model. In this model, the structural balance theory is used to explain the feelings, attitudes and beliefs. Each agent is in effort to reach balanced states and communicates with each other. We analyze the effects between a social value emergence and agents' knowledge by using the proposed model.


The article reviews the empirical studies which emphasize that the factors influencing organizational
culture in Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA), which are very few, have been done in
Malaysia. The factors studied are job satisfaction, job content, and distributive justice, which are
studied towards the dependent variables (that is, organizational culture). In obtaining the employee
opinion towards this issue, a researcher has distributed 120 questionnaires to the respondents and
only 100 questionnaires were returned. A researcher has used the statistical packages for social
sciences (SPSS) version 14 to analyze the entire data. The data were analyzed by using Reliability test,
Descriptive analysis and Pearson's correlation analysis. The result shows that distributive justice
(Beta=0.504) and followed by job satisfaction (Beta=0.284) which influences organizational culture in
FAMA.


Aiming at optimizing the preparation of pepsin-solubilized collagen and investigating its properties, comparison between shark and pig skin collagens (SC and PC) was done. SC is not only more soluble in acetic acid but also more susceptible to pepsin-attack compared with PC. Solubilization of SC attained almost 100% at 20°C, while PC dissolved about 50%. SC has a small amount of collagen-associated peptides, which appeared transiently released from SC with pepsin at 20°C and disappeared ultimately. They are consisted of non-collagen and collagen origins. For preparation of pepsin-solubilized SC (PSSC), it is desirable to conduct the pepsin treatment at 20°C for more than 48 hours. Pepsin-solubilized PC (PSPC) mainly consisted of α chain, while PSSC mainly consisted of β chain. Elastic modulus G' and viscous modulus G" of collagen solution decreased suddenly with concomitant rapid increase in tan δ at a defined temperature, reflecting the typical denaturation process of collagen. G" of PSSC and PSPC was smaller than that of acid soluble collagen (ASC), and tan δ of PSSC and PSPC was also higher than that of ASC. It is suggested that the decrease of intermolecular interaction by removing telopeptide with pepsin. It is considered that the present dynamic viscoelasticity study could distinguish the difference between PSSC and PSPC, and hence provides an effective means of evaluating collagen materials.


The agile software development approach makes developing secure software challenging. Existing approaches for extending the agile development process, which enables incremental and iterative software development, fall short of providing a method for efficiently ensuring the security of the software increments produced at the end of each iteration. This article (a) proposes a method for security reassurance of software increments and demonstrates it through a simple case study, (b) integrates security engineering activities into the agile software development process and uses the security reassurance method to ensure producing acceptably secure-by the business owner-software increments at the end of each iteration, and (c) discusses the compliance of the proposed method with the agile values and its ability to produce secure software increments.


Polynomial Predictive Filters (PPFs) are capable of predicting future values of a signal that can be approximated as a piecewise polynomial. In addition to prediction, the magnitude response of PPFs can be shaped to block additive noise present in the signal. In this paper, we discuss the implementation of IIR PPFs using fixed point arithmetic. It turns out to be possible to choose the filter length so that the predictive capabilities of the infinite precision filter are preserved exactly. Furthermore, for such filter lengths, the magnitude response is robust to coefficient quantization errors, and very low number of bits can be used to represent the coefficients while maintaining a close match to the original magnitude response shape. Based on these results, we suggest a straightforward method for designing IIR PPFs for fixed point implementations.


Personalised and targeted interventions have revolutionised cancer treatment and dramatically improved survival rates in recent decades. Nonetheless, effective pain management remains a problem for patients diagnosed with cancer, who continue to suffer from the painful side effects of cancer itself, as well as treatments for the disease. This problem of cancer pain will continue to grow with an ageing population and the rapid advent of more effective therapeutics to treat the disease. Current pain management guidelines from the World Health Organisation are generalised for different pain severities, but fail to address the heterogeneity of mechanisms in patients with varying cancer types, stages of disease and treatment plans. Pain is the most common complaint leading to emergency unit visits by patients with cancer and over one-third of patients that have been diagnosed with cancer will experience under-treated pain. This review summarises preclinical models of cancer pain states, with a particular focus on cancer-induced bone pain and chemotherapy-associated pain. We provide an overview of how preclinical models can recapitulate aspects of pain and sensory dysfunction that is observed in patients with persistent cancer-induced bone pain or neuropathic pain following chemotherapy. Peripheral and central nervous system mechanisms of cancer pain are discussed, along with key cellular and molecular mediators that have been highlighted in animal models of cancer pain. These include interactions between neuronal cells, cancer cells and non-neuronal cells in the tumour microenvironment. Therapeutic targets beyond opioid-based management are reviewed for the treatment of cancer pain.


The purpose of this article is to describe the features of the religious  life of the North Caucasian emigrants, which to go to France in 1920- 1940. The author used the following groups of sources: written  (émigré's magazines "Russian Thought", "Latest News", "Illustrated Russia", "North Caucasus", "Mountainers of the Caucasus"), archival materials (archives of A.M. Topchibashi, A.A. Topchibashi, the family archives of Gadjemukov,  Abatsiev, the archives of the Grand Lodge of France), as well as the  materials of the Oral history (interviews with children of emigrants,  who were born in the 1930s in France, interviews with contemporary  North Caucasian emigrants). The author used a  method of historical description of religious life. This article examines the belonging of the Caucasians to Orthodoxy, Islam, Buddhism, as  well as the Armenian Church. The author separately studies cases of  transition from one religion to another (from Orthodoxy to Islam, for  example, kabardian Fedor N. Bekovich-Cherkassky, from Islam  to Orthodoxy, etc.). The author studies the cases of the adoption of  Orthodoxy by Armenians, Georgians and even Azerbaijanis. Religious values were for emigrants from the Caucasus an important part of  the mechanism of their adaptation. Religious values helped for  emigrants from the Caucasus to create a new community in the new  country. The author came to the conclusion that, meanwhile the  religious affiliation for the North Caucasian emigrants was not  decisive in the formation of the Caucasian (North Caucasian) identity in the European emigration in 1919-1939. In addition, religious  values were not an instrument of social and political struggle of the  Caucasian emigrants. The author of this article concludes that  religious values became elements of their everyday, private life.


A new back reflector comprised of an Al/(multi-layered stack)/ZnO structure is being developed to replace Al/ZnO used in manufacturing and boost conversion efficiencies with improved back reflector performance. Use of the multi-layered stack should lead to improved reflectivity that will in turn improve solar cell currents and efficiencies. Using TCOs with low indices of refraction between 1.6 and 1.7, AI(specular)/ML/ZnO back reflectors have been fabricated with reflectance values in the red portion of the light spectrum (600-1000 nm) that are close to those obtained with the AI/MgF/sub 2//Si/MgF/sub 2/ optical stacks and Ag/ZnO back reflectors. With the AI(specular)/ML/ZnO back reflector stacks, a 1.7 mA/cm/sup 2/ improvement in the red light short circuit current has been obtained for a-SiGe cells. However, the gain in red light efficiency is not as large as expected with textured back reflectors. Improvements should come through re-optimization of the multi-layer stack or use of different texturing schemes.


A unilateral infection of Listeria monocytogenes into the testis of mice induces not only Listeria‐specific T cells but also autoreactive T cells that can transfer experimental autoimmune orchitis (EAO) into naive mice. To investigate the characteristics of the autoreactive T cells, we established six testicular cell (TC)‐specific T‐cell clones from the spleen of the intratesticularly infected mice. All the clones expressed CD4 and T‐cell receptor (TCR) αβ, and four of the six clones expressed Vβ8. They showed proliferative response to TC in the presence of syngeneic spleen antigen‐presenting cells, but did not cross‐react to Listeria antigen (Ag). They produced interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) when stimulated with TC, but interleukin‐2 (IL‐2), IL‐4 and IL‐10 were undetectable. IL‐2 production was not detected even when they were restimulated with TC after a 10‐day resting culture without Ag and IL‐2, although they proliferated in the restimulation culture. Even in the presence of anti‐IL‐2 mAb, the TC‐specific T‐cell clones showed proliferative response against TC. The observations indicate that the TC‐specific IFN‐γ‐producing T cells proliferate in the absence of autocrine. Both intravenous and intratesticular injection of these clones transferred EAO in syngeneic naive mice. These results suggest that L. monocytogenes infection in the testis induces autoreactive orchitogenic CD4+ T cells without cross‐reactivity to bacterial Ag. Furthermore, these data demonstrate that CD4+ T cells with an atypical cytokine profile can efficiently cause EAO.


Programmers frequently create duplicate pieces of code in software projects by copying and pasting, either literally or logically. Such duplication may appear worthwhile, as it allows code to be reused; however, these copied code fragments, generally referred to as clones, can cause severe problems for software maintainers. When code must be changed, the existence of clones may result in an instance of a clone being properly fixed, while another instance remains faulty. In this study, we examine several versions of Rhino, an open source implementation of JavaScript written in Java, and determine that the cloning phenomenon is present within this software. We consider clone evolution – the changes observed in clones between each version of a software system. In addition, we consider the relevancy of certain common software metrics, such as the Chidamber & Kemerer suite, in predicting the existence of clones within software. We demonstrate that a correlation exists between certain metrics through the use of multiple linear regression.


This study was carried out to estimate the effect of adding pomegranate (Punica granatum L) and cactus pear (Opuntia ficus indica) juices as natural ingredients on physico-chemical characteristics, antioxidant activity, microbiological examination and sensory evaluation of stirred yoghurt. Stirred yoghurt was prepared by using cow s milk 3% fat, and pomegranate and cactus pear juices were added at the rate of 5%, 10% and 15% W/W. All treatments were inoculated with 2% of yoghurt starter and stored at 5°C up to the end of storage period (15 days) after complete a sulation. Physico-chemical properties of yoghurt samples such as total solids, protein, fat, pH, syneresis, viscosity was carried out .Also, microbiological examination and sensory evaluation were determined of all the treatments when fresh ,and then after 5, 10 and 15 days of cold storage at 5°C. The results showed that significant differences were found between the control and stirred yoghurt fortified with juices in the total solids, protein content, pH and titratable acidity up to the end of storage period(15 days). Addition of pomegranate and cactus pear juices led to significant increase in phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of yoghurt treatments compared with the control sample. In all samples, it was observed that the titratable acidity increased over the storage period. Low values for viscosity and high values for syneresis were belonged to yoghurt containing 15% pomegranate and cactus pear juices. Sensory evaluation results showed that there were significant differences among the yoghurt samples. Stirred yoghurt (control) and stirred yoghurt containing 5% cactus pear or pomegranate juices gained significantly highest flavour and texture scores compared to stirred yoghurt treated with 10% or 15% juices. The results of current study demonstrated that the addition of juices from pomegranate and cactus pear to stirred yoghurt milk, significantly improved the quality of yoghurt and will increase its healthy benefits.


B50 Resistance of breast cancer cells to the antiestrogen tamoxifen has been associated with activation of c-Src tyrosine kinase. However, not all tamoxifen-resistant cells overexpress active c-Src. Using high-throughput Western analysis, we compared protein expression of tamoxifen-resistant variants derived from MCF-7 cells, which differ in their expression of active c-Src, and parental MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Over 1000 antibodies against known proteins were used in this proteomic analysis. Only one protein was identified as differentially expressed in cells with active c-Src. This protein was the actin binding protein villin. Expression of villin was undetectable in proliferating MCF-7 cells but overexpressed in tamoxifen-resistant variants with active c-Src. Expression of villin in tamoxifen-resistant cells was decreased by estrogen (50%). However, inhibition of c-Src with PP2 did not decrease the expression of villin significantly. Thus, our results suggest that high levels of villin may regulate c-Src activation. If so, villin expression could be a biomarker of active c-Src tyrosine kinase and predict tamoxifen-resistant growth in breast cancer cells.


User inputs tend to change the execution characteristics of applications including their interactions with cache, network, storage, and other systems. Many attacks have exploited the observable side effects of these execution characteristics to expose sensitive information. In response, researchers have proposed countermeasures to protect against these attacks. However there is currently no systematic, holistic methodology for understanding information leakage. As a result, it is not well known how design decisions affect information leakage or the vulnerability of entire systems to side-channel attacks. The authors propose a metric for measuring information leakage called the Side-channel Vulnerability Factor (SVF). The SVF is based on the observation that all side-channel attacks - ranging from physical to microarchitectural to software - rely on recognizing leaked execution patterns. The SVF quantifies patterns in attackers' observations and measures their correlation to the victim's actual execution patterns and in doing so captures systems' predisposition to leak information. Thus, the SVF provides a quantitative approach to securing computer architecture.


A 2-stage plate forging process consisting of drawing and compression of tailored blanks having local thickening for the deep drawing of square cups was developed. A sheet having uniform thickness is drawn into a cup having a flange, and then is compressed with a punch and a flat die under fixture of edges of the flange to thicken the inclined portions. The degree of thickening was increased by controlling the punch stroke in the drawing stage, because the degree of thickening is small for a small stroke and folding occurs for a large stroke. The tailored blank having local thickening was drawn into a square cup. The limiting height of the drawn cup without fracture using the tailored blank was increased to 34 mm, whereas the height limit using the uniform blank was 18 mm. The limiting height of the cups for the tailored blanks formed by the drawing-compression having the 2 stages was almost similar to that formed by the bending-compression having the 4 stages, because the regions except for the target ones are thickened for the bending-compression. 2 shock lines appearing in the tailored blank were eliminated with a counter punch in the compression stage.


Experimental results on hydrocarbon formation during the combustion of hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen sulfide-toluene mixture in H2/O2-N2 flames under Claus conditions (Φ=3) are presented. Toluene is often present in acid gases (mainly H2S and CO2) from crude natural gas wells so that combustion of H2S/C7H8 mixture is of significant importance in Claus process that is used to recover sulfur and energy from acid gases. Role of toluene is isolated from direct comparison of the results from combustion of 100% H2S gas with that of 99% H2S/1% C7H8 gas mixture. The formation and destruction of hydrocarbons and other gas phase species during combustion of H2S and C7H8 mixture are presented. The results revealed decomposition of H2, H2S and the formation of SO2 during combustion of 100% H2S gas. Mole fractions of SO2 increased to an asymptotic value while simultaneously reducing the rate of formation of elemental sulfur. In contrast, combustion of H2S and toluene mixture reduced the rate of H2 oxidation and increased that of H2S, which is attributed to the additional amounts of H2 formation from toluene decomposition and also from the increased reactor temperature. This favored faster increase in SO2 formation to a peak mole fraction but the formed SO2 decomposed with axial distance along the reactor. The decay of SO2 is attributed to the reactions between SO2 and other sulfur containing radicals or formed hydrocarbons to produce elemental sulfur. Presence of toluene fostered the formation of methane, acetylene and carbon disulfide in the reactor. Rate of acetylene formation was observed to be faster than that of methane. Formation of carbon disulfide and hydrocarbons adversely impact the performance and efficiency of sulfur capture in a Claus process.


We prove the Hyers-Ulam stability of partitioned func- tional equations in Banach modules over a unital C -algebra. It is applied to show the stability of algebra homomorphisms in Banach algebras associated with partitioned functional equations in Banach algebras.


Hexamethylenediamine adipate and the half amide of glutaric acid and hexamethylenediamine are biodegradable N-containing compounds with soil flocculating properties. Hexamethylenediamine adipate added to soil medium prior to sowing improved germination of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L. cv. Manapal.)


Mugla is a town in southwestern Turkey that has for centuries been on the major trade routes. Property-society relations during the periods of the Anatolian Turkish Principalities and the Ottoman Empire have had a significant influence on the structuring of the town space, with its main evolution outside the fortress beginning in the 12 th century. Neighbourhoods first began to form arbitrarily around pious structures, following no particular plan, and this was the case up until the advent of the Ottoman Era. Thereafter, it was the Ottoman administration and property system that determined and controlled the organization of space in the commercial centre, the administrative centres and the residential areas in the town for many centuries. Waqf, mulk and miri lands were the main property types of the Ottomans and their implementation had significant repercussions on the urban space and fabric of Mugla. Property relations in the town transformed the social structure of the residential districts as well as shaped the built environment. This article begins by explaining the ownership structure in the times of the Anatolian Turkish Principalities and under Ottoman rule, and then delves into the historical evolution of Mugla and the transformation of urban space as a result of the changing property-society relations of different historical periods, including the first years of the Republic.


With the explosive growth in Internet traffic, requests have been overloading Web servers. Many ISPs and search engines employ a server cluster to build a cost-effective, scalable, and reliable server system. To make such a distributed-server system transparent to clients, architects usually place a switching device with one virtual Internet protocol (VIP) address in front of the server cluster as a common interface. We designed and implemented a content-aware switch based on an ENP2611 board that contains an Intel IXP2400 network processor (NP). A content-aware switch can optimize cluster-based server architectures by examining requests and distributing them to servers on the basis of application-level information. A network-processor-based switch can reduce HTTP processing latency and improve packet throughput


In a recent paper by Bradberry, Gentili and Contreras-Vidal published in Journal of Neural Engineering (2011, 8 036010), an interesting method for the control of a two-dimensional mouse cursor was proposed, which apparently attained excellent control and good speed with relatively simple techniques. We believe some of the results in the paper have been misinterpreted due to a failure in appreciating the self-fulfilling nature of the success criteria adopted. In this comment, we explain the nature of the problem and attempt to assess its influence on the results reported in the aforementioned paper.


Acid‐sensing ion channel (ASIC) serves important roles in the transmission of nociceptive information. To confirm the analgesic mechanism of dragon's blood resin, patch–clamp technique, in vivo animal experiments, and immunohistochemical staining were used to observe the effects of the three flavonoids (loureirin B, cochinchinemin A, and cochinchinemin B) isolated from dragon's blood resin on ASIC. Results showed that the three flavonoids exerted various inhibitory effects on ASIC currents in rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. The combination of the three flavonoids with total concentration of 6.5 μM could decrease (53.8 ± 4.3%) of the peak amplitude and (45.8 ± 4.5%) of the sustained portion of ASIC currents. The combination of the three flavonoids was fully efficacious on complete Freud's adjuvant (CFA)–induced inflammatory thermal hyperalgesia at a dose of 6.5 mM similar with amiloride at 10 mM. The analgesic effects of the combination could be weakened by an ASIC activator 2‐guanidine‐4‐methylquinazoline. CFA‐induced hyperalgesia was accompanied by c‐Fos up‐regulation in DRG neurons, and the combination rescued thermal hyperalgesia through down‐regulation of c‐Fos and ASIC3 expression in CFA‐induced inflammation. These collective results suggested that the flavonoids isolated from dragon's blood resin could be considered as the chemical compounds that exert analgesic effects on inflammatory thermal pain due to action on ASIC.


A xylanolytic and phosphate-solubilizing bacterium isolated from sawdust of Ulmus nigra in Salamanca was characterized by a polyphasic approach. The novel strain, designated XIL02(T), was Gram-positive, aerobic, catalase- and oxidase-negative, rod-shaped and non-motile. Phylogenetically and chemotaxonomically, it was related to members of the genus Microbacterium. According to 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, it is closely related to Microbacterium arborescens and Microbacterium imperiale; however, DNA-DNA hybridization showed reassociation values less than 70 % with the type strains of these species. In chemotaxonomic analyses, the major menaquinones detected were MK-12, MK-13 and MK-11 and the major fatty acids were anteiso-C(15 : 0), anteiso-C(17 : 0) and iso-C(16 : 0); the peptidoglycan was of the type B2beta. The G+C content determined was 69 mol%. Based on the present data, it is proposed that strain XIL02(T) (=LMG 20991(T)=CECT 5976(T)) be classified as the type strain of a novel Microbacterium species, for which the name Microbacterium ulmi sp. nov. is proposed.


Climate mitigation can bring health co-benefits by improving air quality. Yet, whether mitigation will widen or narrow current health disparities remains unclear. Here we use a coupled climate-energy-health model to assess the effects of a global carbon price on the distribution of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure and associated health risks across an ensemble of nearly 30,000 future scenarios. We find that pricing carbon consistently lowers the PM2.5-attributable death rates in lowerincome countries by reducing fossil fuel burning (e.g., China and India). Since these countries are projected to have large ageing populations, the greatest reduction in global average PM2.5-attributable death rate is found in elderly populations, which are more vulnerable to air pollution than the other age groups. In contrast, the health effects in higher-income countries are more complex, because pricing carbon can increase the emissions from bioenergy use and land-use changes, counteracting the mortality decrease from reduced fossil fuel burning. Mitigation technology choices and complex interactions between age structures, energy use, and land use all influence the distribution of health effects. Our results highlight the importance of an improved understanding of regional characteristics and cross-sector dynamics for addressing the interconnected challenges of climate, health, and social inequalities.


Introduction: Spinal tuberculosis is a destructive form of tuberculosis. It accounts for approximately half of all musculoskeletal tuberculosis, affecting mostly the young population in their productive years of life. Characteristically, there is destruction of intervertebral disc and adjacent vertebral bodies radiologically, leading to deformities and neurological symptoms. Common clinical manifestations include constitutional symptoms, back pain, spinal tenderness and neurological symptoms. Patients with tuberculosis affecting the lumbar and sacral region may be confused with benign conditions such as prolapsed intervertebral disc until late due to absent neurological symptoms. Magnetic Resonance Imaging is the most sensitive investigation for diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis. Material and Methods: From July 2014 to September 2014, all the patients presenting to the orthopaedic outpatient department with nontraumatic back pain were evaluated. Results: Out of 16 patients diagnosed as spinal tuberculosis 11 had lumbar and Lumbosacral, 3 had dorsal, 2 had dorsolumbar region involvement. Conclusion: MRI is most sensitive investigation to diagnose undefined back pain. These back pain are due to spinal tuberculosis. Lumbosacral tuberculosis is more common than dorsolumbar region.


The limiting procedure of special Kahler manifolds to their rigid limit is studied for moduli spaces of Calabi-Yau manifolds in the neighbourhood of certain singularities. In two examples we consider all the periods in and around the rigid limit, identifying the non-trivial ones in the limit as periods of a meromorphic form on the relevant Riemann surfaces. We show how the Kahler potential of the special Kahler manifold reduces to that of a rigid special Kahler manifold. We make extensive use of the structure of these Calabi-Yau manifolds as K3 fibrations, which is useful to obtain the periods even before the K3 degenerates to an ALE manifold in the limit. We study various methods to calculate the periods and their properties. The development of these methods is an important step to obtaining exact results from supergravity on Calabi-Yau manifolds.


Algodystrophy (reflex sympathetic dystrophy, Sudeck's atrophy) is a clinical syndrome, developing in most cases as a consequence of trauma and characterized by pain, swelling, tenderness, vascular and sudomotor instability trophic changes of the skin and stiffness. There are several controversial issues concerning algodystrophy in the literature: incidence of the condition (from 0.03% to 95% in various studies), the value of the diagnostic tests in its recognizing and efficacy of the various methods of the treatment. The causes of these discrepancies were discussed: various diagnostic criteria, its unrestricted use by authors and specificity of the natural history of the condition were considered as the main reasons. The features of algodystrophy and its importance in recognizing of the disorder were described in detail; the diagnostic value of the radiographic, static and dynamic scintigraphic examination and diagnostic sympathetic block were also discussed. Several clinical classifications of algodystrophy were presented; the usefulness of these classifications in providing more accurate assessment of the clinical groups and in facilitating of comparison between studies were underlined.


Three actinomycete strains, MC5-1T, MC7-1 and R1-1, were isolated from soil samples collected in Thailand. Their taxonomic positions were determined using a polyphasic approach. The chemotaxonomic characteristics of these strains coincided with those of the genus Micromonospora, i.e. meso-diaminopimelic acid and N-glycolyl muramic acid were present in the cell-wall peptidoglycan, the whole-cell sugars were of pattern D, the phospholipids were of type II and the cellular fatty acids were of type 3b. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed a close relationship between strains MC5-1T, MC7-1 and R1-1 (99.8 % sequence similarity) and Micromonospora auratinigra JCM 12357T (99.3 %). The three novel strains were clearly distinguishable from M. auratinigra JCM 12357T from the low DNA-DNA relatedness (< or =43.4 %). On the basis of the data presented, strain MC5-1T represents a novel species of the genus Micromonospora, for which the name Micromonospora chaiyaphumensis is proposed. The type strain is MC5-1T (=KCTC 19332T=JCM 12873T=PCU 267T=TISTR 1564T).


Decentralized search in networks is an activity that is often performed in online tasks. It refers to situations where a user has no global knowledge of a network's topology, but only local knowledge. On Wikipedia for instance, humans typically have local knowledge of the links emanating from a given Wikipedia article, but no global knowledge of the entire Wikipedia graph. This makes the task of navigation to a target Wikipedia article from a given starting article an interesting problem for both humans and algorithms. As we know from previous studies, people can have very efficient decentralized search procedures that find shortest paths in many cases, using intuitions about a given network. These intuitions can be modeled as hierarchical background knowledge that people access to approximate a networks' topology. In this paper, we explore the differences and similarities between decentralized search that utilizes hierarchical background knowledge and actual human navigation in information networks. For that purpose we perform a large scale study on the Wikipedia information network with over 500,000 users and 1,500,000 click trails. As our results reveal, simulations based on decentralized search with hierarchies created directly from the link structure of the information network are more similar to human navigation behavior than simulations based on hierarchies that are created from network-external knowledge.


This paper presents a method towards inferring personalized 3D spine models to intraoperative CT data acquired for corrective spinal surgery. An accurate 3D reconstruction from standard X-rays is obtained before surgery to provide the geometry of vertebrae through statistical embedding and image segmentation. The outcome of this procedure is used as basis to derive an articulated spine model that is represented by consecutive sets of intervertebral articulations relative to rotation and translation parameters (6 degrees of freedom). Inference with respect to the model parameters is then performed using an integrated and interconnected Markov Random Field (MRF) graph that involves singleton and pairwise costs. Singleton potentials measure the support from the data (surface or image-based) with respect to the model parameters, while pairwise constraints encode geometrical dependencies between vertebrae. Optimization of model parameters in a multi-modal context is achieved using efficient linear programming and duality. We show successful image registration results from simulated and real data experiments aimed for image-guidance fusion.


Background: Hyperoxaluria and calcium oxalate crystal deposition in the kidneys lead to overproduction of reactive oxygen species, resulting in the development of oxidative stress and renal injury. At the cellular levels, mitochondria and NADPH oxidase involved in reactive oxygen species production play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of hyperoxaluria-induced renal injury. Objective: The objective was to investigate the therapeutical effect of homoeopathic drug Berberis vulgaris, a potent antioxidant, upon regulation of NADPH oxidase against acute high-grade sodium oxalate-induced hyperoxaluria in rats. Materials and Methods: Hyperoxaluria was induced in male Wistar rats by administering a single dose of sodium oxalate (70 mg/kg body weight) intraperitoneally, and the treatment groups were pre-treated with homoeopathic drug Berberis vulgaris 6c (20 μl/100 g of body weight) ultra low dose for 7 days. Results: Berberis vulgaris significantly reduces hyperoxaluria-induced oxidative stress and restores antioxidant enzyme activities in kidney tissue. Histological analysis depicted that Berberis vulgaris treatment decreases renal epithelial damage and inflammation and restored normal glomerular morphology. Furthermore, immunoblotting analyses of NADPH oxidase revealed significant increased activity in the renal tissue of hyperoxaluric rats when compared to that of control rats. This has been brought back to normal by Berberis vulgaris treatment. Conclusion: Thus, our results emphasised that the Homoeopathy drug Berberis vulgaris has been effective in ameliorating sodium oxalate-induced acute hyperoxaluria in Wistar rats by modulating mitochondrial oxidative stress through the inhibition of NADPH oxidase.


A low-molecular-weight receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, 1-(6,7-dihydro-5H-benzo(6,7)cyclohepta(1,2-c)pyridazin-3-yl)-N3-((7-pyrrolidin-1-yl)-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-benzo(7)annulene-2-yl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-3,5-diamine (R428) with high affinity and selectivity for the growth arrest-specific protein 6 (GAS6) receptor Axl was used to study a potential role of GAS6 signaling in adiposity. In vitro, R428 caused a concentration-dependent inhibition of preadipocyte differentiation into mature adipocytes, as evidenced by reduced lipid uptake. Inhibition of Axl-mediated signaling was confirmed by reduced levels of phospho-Akt activity. In vivo, oral administration of R428 for 5 weeks to mice kept on a high-fat diet resulted in significantly reduced weight gain and subcutaneous and gonadal fat mass. This was associated with marked adipocyte hypotrophy, enhanced macrophage infiltration, and apoptosis. Thus, affecting GAS6 signaling through receptor antagonism using a low-molecular-weight Axl antagonist impairs adipocyte differentiation and reduces adipose tissue development in a murine model of nutritionally induced obesity.


A digital calibration technique based on the split-ADC is proposed to correct linear gain errors in a 10-bit pipelined A/D converter, which allows the use of low-gain amplifiers in conversion stages. Fabricated in a 0.35-µm CMOS technology, the core area of the ADC occupies 1.64 mm2. The opamp-sharing technique helps to reduce the core power consumption to 45 mW from a 3-V supply voltage at 50 MS/s. The SNDR and the SFDR of the calibrated output exhibit 55.2 dB and 67.0 dB, respectively. The proposed calibration system converges in less than 5×105 cycles.


The removal of natural organic matter (NOM) is a critical aspect of potable water treatment because NOM compounds are precursors of harmful disinfection by-products, hence should be removed from water intended for human consumption. Ultrafiltration using ceramic membranes can be a suitable process for removal of natural substances. Previously reported experiments were dedicated to evaluating the suitability of ultrafiltration through ceramic membrane for water treatment with a focus on the separation of natural organic matter. The effects of the membrane operating time and linear flow velocity on transport and separation properties were also examined. The experiments, using a 7-channel 300 kDa MWCO ceramic membrane, were carried out with model solutions and surface water at trans-membrane pressure of 0.2–0.5 MPa. The results revealed that a loose UF ceramic membrane can successfully eliminate natural organic matter from water. The permeability of the membrane was strongly affected by the composition of the feed stream, i.e. the permeate flux decreased with an increase in the NOM concentration. The permeate flux also decreased over the period of the operation, while this parameter did not influence the effectiveness of separation, i.e. the removal of NOM. It was observed that the increased cross-flow velocity resulted in the decrease in the membrane-fouling intensity and slightly improved the retention of contaminants.