A large area antenna generates a plasma by both inductive and capacitive coupling; it is an electromagnetically coupled plasma source. In this work, experiments on a large area planar RF antenna source are interpreted in terms of a multi-conductor transmission line coupled to the plasma. This electromagnetic treatment includes mutual inductive coupling using the complex image method, and capacitive matrix coupling between all elements of the resonant network and the plasma. The model reproduces antenna input impedance measurements, with and without plasma, on a 1.2 × 1.2 m2 antenna used for large area plasma processing. Analytic expressions are given, and results are obtained by computation of the matrix solution. This method could be used to design planar inductive sources in general, by applying the termination impedances appropriate to each antenna type.


ABSTRACT: A literature review was conducted to evaluate existing knowledge of incivility in the nursing workplace through the lens of nursing ethics and spirituality. Study articles presented a consistent theme of improved organizational commitment and job satisfaction when spirituality was injected into the workplace. It seems plausible to suggest a positive correlation between spirituality and more civil environments in nursing workplaces.


We assessed the reproducibility and validity of a self-administered physical activity questionnaire used in a prospective study of 51,529 men. The questionnaire was administered by mail twice to 238 participants 2 years apart. During this interval, the participants completed a past-week recall and a 1-week activity diary at tour times corresponding to different seasons throughout a year. Also, a step test was taken by a subset of the study participants. The intraclass correlation coefficients used to measure reproducibility were 0.39 for inactivity, 0.42 for nonvigorous activity, and 0.52 for vigorous activity. The correlations between diary-based and questionnaire-based activity scores, adjusted for variation in the diary measurements, were 0.41 for inactivity, 0.28 for nonvigorous activity, and 0.58 for vigorous activity. The distribution of activity scores was similar between the questionnaires and the average of past-week recalls, indicating the participants' ability to incorporate seasonal variation into their recall on a questionnaire. The correlation between vigorous activity and resting pulse was –0.45, whereas, for the pulse rate after stepping, the correlation was —0.41. These data indicate that this physical activity questionnaire is reproducible and provides a useful measure of average weekly activity, particularly vigorous activity, over a 1-year period.


A 79-year-old man was diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer (cT3, N1, M0, cStage II B) showing regional bulky lymph node metastasis. Invasion of the pancreas and common hepatic artery was suspected. He was treated with S-1/CDDP plus trastuzumab therapy as a neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) regimen. After two courses, significant tumor reduction was observed, and the patient underwent distal gastrectomy with D2 dissection. S-1/CDDP plus trastuzumab therapy as NAC for HER2-positive, advanced gastric cancer appears to be an effective treatment.


Response of RADFETs manufactured at Tyndall National Institute to protons with energies of up to 60 MeV has been studied. RADFET response is compared for different biasing configurations and the effect of package lids is investigated.


Few switching transitions in high power and medium voltage application of Power 11 converters are desirable. The selective harmonics elimination (SHE) pulse width modulation offers 12 a better quality waveform with lower switching transitions and hence lower switching losses. The 13 SHE is a pre-programmed modulation technique where certain amounts of lower order harmonics 14 are removed and fundamental voltage is controlled. After Fourier analysis of output waveform, a 15 set of nonlinear transcendental equations is obtained which exhibits, multiple, unique or no 16 solution in different range of modulation index (MI). In this paper, an iterative method based on 17 the Jacobian estimate is proposed to solve a highly non-linear set of SHE equations. The proposed 18 technique is easy in implementation and can solve a large number of such equations as 19 computation of the Jacobian matrix in the subsequent iteration is estimated from the previous 20 values. Moreover, the proposed method also removes the singularity problem, especially for large 21 SHE equations. High accuracy in the initial guess is also not essential for this method and can 22 converge to the solution with any random initial guess. The computational and simulation results 23 are given to validate the concept. The hardware result is provided to confirm the computational 24 and simulation results. 25


The appraisal system, which was founded by Martin, White and other scholars in the 1990s, completed the interpersonal function of Systemic Functional Linguistics. It includes three major sub-systems, namely the engagement system, attitude system and graduation system. At present, the appraisal system is widely used in the study of various texts. As a business card of foreign exchanges, national image plays an important role in enhancing national competitiveness and promoting international cooperation and development. As a special type of film and television, a documentary takes real life as the material, people and real events as the objects and tries to convey the most authentic information to the audience. The documentary series, A Bite of China toke the Chinese diet culture as the core and left a deep impression on the Chinese audience through the relaxed and lively narrative rhythm. What's more, its English version, translated by BBC, shows the daily diet of Chinese to an overseas audience. In this way, Chinese culture got dissemination, and also it shaped the Chinese national image. At present, most of the studies on documentaries are derived from the perspective of translation and communication science, while from the perspective of appraisal systems to study documentaries are few. Therefore, the author intends to study the construction of the Chinese national image of the English version of A Bite of China (I) from the perspective of the appraisal system.


Gaussian processes (GPs) provide a nonparametric representation of functions. However, classical GP inference suffers from high computational cost and it is difficult to design nonstationary GP priors in practice. In this paper, we propose a sparse Gaussian process model, EigenGP, based on the Karhunen-Loeve (KL) expansion of a GP prior. We use the Nystrom approximation to obtain data dependent eigenfunctions and select these eigenfunctions by evidence maximization. This selection reduces the number of eigenfunctions in our model and provides a nonstationary covariance function. To handle nonlinear likelihoods, we develop an efficient expectation propagation (EP) inference algorithm, and couple it with expectation maximization for eigenfunction selection. Because the eigenfunctions of a Gaussian kernel are associated with clusters of samples - including both the labeled and unlabeled - selecting relevant eigenfunctions enables EigenGP to conduct semi-supervised learning. Our experimental results demonstrate improved predictive performance of EigenGP over alternative state-of-the-art sparse GP and semisupervised learning methods for regression, classification, and semisupervised classification.


PURPOSE
To elicit end-user and stakeholder perceptions regarding design and implementation of an inpatient clinical deterioration early warning system (EWS) for oncology patients to better fit routine clinical practices and enhance clinical impact.

METHODS
In an explanatory-sequential mixed-methods study, we evaluated a stakeholder-informed oncology early warning system (OncEWS) using surveys and semistructured interviews. Stakeholders were physicians, advanced practice providers (APPs), and nurses. For qualitative data, we used grounded theory and thematic content analysis via the constant comparative method to identify determinants of OncEWS implementation.

RESULTS
Survey respondents generally agreed that an oncology-focused EWS could add value beyond clinical judgment, with nurses endorsing this notion significantly more strongly than other clinicians (nurse: median 5 on a 6-point scale [6 = strongly agree], interquartile range 4-5; doctors/advanced practice providers: 4 [4-5]; P = .005). However, some respondents would not trust an EWS to identify risk accurately (n = 36 [42%] somewhat or very concerned), while others were concerned that institutional culture would not embrace such an EWS (n = 17 [28%]).Interviews highlighted important aspects of the EWS and the local context that might facilitate implementation, including (1) a model tailored to the subtleties of oncology patients, (2) transparent model information, and (3) nursing-centric workflows. Interviewees raised the importance of sepsis as a common and high-risk deterioration syndrome.

CONCLUSION
Stakeholders prioritized maximizing the degree to which the OncEWS is understandable, informative, actionable, and workflow-complementary, and perceived these factors to be key for translation into clinical benefit.


Spectrofluorimetry experiments using synthetic trisaccharides indicate that in compounds that display affinity for antithrombin III (AT-III), a unique trisaccharide sequence plays the key role in the early recognition, and the first step of AT-III activation. Added to previous observations, these new results suggest that the two-step binding mechanism previously proposed (Olson et al., J. Biol. Chem., 1981, 256, 11073-11079) might involve, in the first place, a conformational change of the protein, induced by the trisasaccharide -->4)-O-(6-O-sulfo-2-sulfoamino-2-deoxy-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl)-(1 -->4)- O-(beta-D-glucopyranosyluronic acid)-(1-->4)-O-(3,6-di-O-sulfo-2-sulfoamino-2- deoxy-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl)-(1-->, then would follow the fitting which ends in the locked complex. These observations support the new paradigm invoking specific oligosaccharide sequences in selective interactions of glycosaminoglycans and proteins.


tscrtmtnatton on the basis of race, ethnicity, and gender has been one of the most enduring social problems experienced in the United States. It has generated a legacy of hardship and diminished hopes for innumerable women and minority group members who have borne the weight of its burden. While it is true in many respects that progress has been made in the struggle against injustice and prejudice (Tuch & Hughes, 1996), we still periodically encounter blunt reminders that the problem of discrimination is yet to be eliminated. Perhaps the most dramatic example to emerge recently was the revelation of racial prejudice within the highest executive levels of the Texaco corporation in the fall of 1996 (Eichenwald, 1996), but the tenacious nature of discriminatory behavior has also been documented by various government studies, including recent reports by the U. S. Merit Systems Protection Board (1992, 1996) and the comprehensive review of federal affirmative action


Diazocines are azobenzene derived macrocyclic photoswitches with well resolved photostationary states for the (E)- and (Z)-isomers, which improves their addressability by light. In this work, effective procedures for the stannylation and borylation of diazocines in different positions are reported. Their use in Stille cross-coupling and Suzuki cross-coupling reactions with organic bromides is demonstrated in yields of 47–94% (Stille cross-coupling) and 0–95% (Suzuki cross-coupling), respectively.


Abstract. We study Cr/Sc-based multilayer mirrors designed to work in the water window range using hard and soft x-ray reflectivity as well as x-ray fluorescence enhanced by standing waves. Samples differ by the elemental composition of the stack, the thickness of each layer, and the order of deposition. This paper mainly consists of two parts. In the first part, the optical performances of different Cr/Sc-based multilayers are reported, and in the second part, we extend further the characterization of the structural parameters of the multilayers, which can be extracted by comparing the experimental data with simulations. The methodology is detailed in the case of Cr/B4C/Sc sample for which a three-layer model is used. Structural parameters determined by fitting reflectivity curve are then introduced as fixed parameters to plot the x-ray standing wave curve, to compare with the experiment, and confirm the determined structure of the stack.


This paper analyzes thirty-two cases including alliances, merger consortiums, acquisitions and partnerships between diverse major Italian companies in the Local Public Transportation Sector. In order to single out the principal trends, special attention has been paid to the aims of the players, their needs and the strategies implemented. The actions taken by the institutions and the competent authorities regarding the regulations have also had a very important role, mostly after the Law 422/97 (Decreto Burlando), that, by introducing transparent public selections, has forced Local Authorities to modify players' strategies to become more efficient and sustainable by promoting, liberalizing and modernizing the service.The players, accustomed to a competition-free framework, have had to face the change by M&A processes establishing alliances and collaborations, proactively redefining their positions, to ward off the threats of liberalization.


In this paper we demonstrate the feasibility of an extended and flexible SDN control plane that allows to overcome the limitations of the Openflow protocol by achieving distributed and intelligent network services in SDN networks. This extended control plane is designed according to the following reference guidelines;1)the concept of generic and programmable network nodes usually known as "white boxes". They integrate a generic engine to execute the service and a library of elementary components as basic building blocks of any services;2)a fine grained decomposition logic of network services into elementary components, which allows the services to be designed and customized on the fly using these building blocks available on each network node in libraries;3)a mechanism for re-configuring or redefinition on the fly of the network services on generic nodes without service interruption;4)some smart elementary agents called SDN controllers elements to provide and distribute the intelligence necessary to interact with the data plane at different levels of locality.This SDN control plane is illustrated in a proof of concept with the implementation of a distributed monitoring service use case. The monitoring service can act and evolve in a differentiated manner in the network depending on traffic requirements and monitoring usage.


Two hundred and thirty-six febrile episodes of one hundred and twenty leukemic patients seen at Department of Pediatrics,  Srinagarind Hospital , KhonKaen University during June 1984-May 1989 were studied. The age ranged from 7 months-14 years (mean 6.6 years).Male to female ratio was 1.5 :1 .The majority of them was acute lymphoblastic leukemia (66%). One hundred and twenty-one episodes were associated with neutropenia (Absolute neutrophil count <1000/mm 3 ). Themost common cause of fever was infection (65%), followed bymalignancy (14%) , anemia (3%) chemotherpy (2%) and unexplained fever (16%) Infections were found in 77% of neutropenic and 53% of non-neutropenic patients (p<0.0002).The infections commonly involved respiratory tract, gastrointestinal system, skin subcutaneous and blood stream respectively. Ninety-six percent of infectious organism were bacteria, most of which (73%) was gram negative especially E.coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus were the common gram positive bacteria. Overall fatality rate was17 % (20 cases) . 17 of 20 cases (85%) died from infections


The jet structure of short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) has been controversial after the detection of GRB 170817A as the electromagnetic counterparts to the gravitational wave event GW170817. Different authors use different jet structures for calculating the afterglow light curves. We formulated a method to inversely reconstruct a jet structure from a given off-axis GRB afterglow, without assuming any functional form of the structure. By systematically applying our inversion method, we find that more diverse jet structures are consistent with the observed afterglow of GRB 170817A within errors: such as hollow-cone, spindle, Gaussian, and power-law jet structures. In addition, the total energy of the reconstructed jet is arbitrary, proportional to the ambient density $n_0$, with keeping the same jet shape if the parameters satisfy the degeneracy combination $n_0 \varepsilon_\mathrm{B}^{(p+1)/(p+5)} \varepsilon_\mathrm{e}^{4(p-1)/(p+5)} = \mathrm{const.}$. Observational accuracy less than $\sim 6$ per cent is necessary to distinguish the different shapes, while the degeneracy of the energy scaling would be broken by observing the spectral breaks and viewing angle. Future events in denser environment with brighter afterglows and observable spectral breaks are ideal for our inversion method to pin down the jet structure, providing the key to the jet formation and propagation.


The first genetically modified plant (GMP) was a tobacco resistant to antibiotics in 1983. In 1996, the first genetically altered crop, a delayed-ripening tomato was commercially released. In the year 2003, the estimated global area of GM crops for was 67.7 million hectares. To produce such a plant a gene of interest has to be isolated from the donor. Together with a promoter, terminator sequence and marker gene it has to be introduced into the plant cell which is then stimulated to generate a whole GMP expressing new characteristics (herbicide/insect resistance, delayed ripening). The last few months have seen a strong public debate over genetically modified organisms which has raised scientific, economic, political, and ethical issues. Some questions concerning the safety of GMPs are still to be answered, and decisions about their future should be based on scientifically validated information.


The Table displays the rate ratios and hazard ratios for the 2 age groups separately and combined. For example, the rate ratio of colorectal cancer incidence is 0.68 in the 50to 54-year age group and 0.83 in the 55to 64-year age group. However, for the 2 age groups combined, the nonstandardized (unadjusted) rate ratio is 0.88, which is higher than the agespecific analyses and obviously incorrect. This artifact is well known in the meta-analysis of randomized trials and the reason why individual data from different trials cannot be naively pooled into a single data set. Rather, effect estimates are obtained separately in each trial and then pooled into a single measure. That is approximately what we did via standardization by age group. The Table shows that standardization (using the screening group as the standard) or age adjustment via a Cox model provide similar results.


An all-digital CMOS ultra-wideband (UWB) pulse generator which complies with FCC regulations is presented. The proposed pulse generator generates a single UWB pulse satisfying FCC regulations without any filtering. The average power consumption of the whole circuit is 15.4 mW and 675 /spl mu/W at the pulse repetition frequency of 500 and 1 MHz, respectively.


Clinical observations of 247 patients with ulcer disease of the stomach younger than 30 years of age were analyzed. Ulcers of the body and the proximal part of the stomach were diagnosed in 39 patients, associated gastroduodenal ulcers--in 37 patients, pyloric and propyloric ulcers in 171 patients. Conservative treatment was effective almost in 2/3 of the patients. Surgical treatment included resection of the stomach and vagotomy with draining operations. Vagotomy used in gastric ulcer can be considered valid in patients of young age.


Irrigation development as a completed process, need monitoring and evaluation mechanism. It is use to help and to learn development dynamics. This research aimed for financial evaluation of irrigation project and to know economic efficiency of maintenance and operation irrigation facilities. Financial evaluation study did in Sumber Kedung Kandang irrigation sector, Kademangan village on November 2000. Completely randomized sampling did on 40 : 60 proportion, 95% probability limit and standard error 15%. From this condition, respondent must be interviewed is 41 person. This result showed production increase after irrigation facilities established, i.e. 5 – 7%. Financial evaluation showed it is feasible project, from the IRR value, i.e. 12% and the NPV value, i.e. Rp. 2.041.687.650,31. The BEP time of irrigation structure is 5 years, 6 months, and 11 days. The depreciation of it is Rp. 420.000 on 25 years period and residue value is Rp. 4.500.000. the operation and maintenance activities economically good enough, with IPL value after project increase for corn, sugar cane and rice from 0,10 to 0,11; 0,0127 to 0,0161 and 0,059 to 0,069 respectively. Keywords: irrigation facilities, financial evaluation, irrigation development


Tachykinins constitute one of the largest peptide families in the animal kingdom and exert their diverse actions via G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). In this study, the Bombyx tachykinin-related peptides (TKRPs) were identified as specific endogenous ligands for the Bombyx neuropeptide GPCR A24 (BNGR-A24) and thus designated BNGR-A24 as BmTKRPR. Using both mammalian cell line HEK293 and insect cell line Sf21, further characterization demonstrated that BmTKRPR was activated, thus resulting in intracellular accumulation of cAMP, Ca(2+) mobilization, and ERK1/2 phosphorylation in a Gs and Gq inhibitor-sensitive manner. Moreover, quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis and dsRNA-mediated knockdown experiments suggested a possible role for BmTKRPR in the regulation of feeding and growth. Our findings enhance the understanding of the Bombyx TKRP system in the regulation of fundamental physiological processes.


Hepatitis E virus is emerging viral hepatitis with hyperendemicity in many countries. Data on the burden of disease is not available in Palestine. This study aims to determine the seroprevalence and the risk factors of the HEV among the general population of the West Bank, Palestine. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 432 sera samples from 40 localities in the eleven districts of the West Bank and Jerusalem, Palestine, during the period of March 2015 to March 2017, were tested for HEV-IgG. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data of the participants' demographics and disease risk factors. The overall seroprevalence was 3.7%. Level of education was significantly inversely associated with HEV seropositivity (P=0.04). Purely spatial analysis did not detect any significant cluster related to the distribution of HEV-IgG cases; however, living in the southern West Bank is shown to be significantly associated with HEV. Age was also associated with HEV seropositivity. The young (<19 years) and adults (>40 years) had the highest prevalence, compared to those between 20 to 39 years old (P=0.12). Furthermore, males and those in contact with animals were associated with HEV seropositivity (P=0.1 and 0.3, respectively). In conclusion, the seroprevalence of HEV IgG in the West Bank, Palestine is low. Several well-investigated risk factors cannot be supported by our results due to the small number of the positive HEV-IgG samples. Finally, this study is useful for providing a first look into the seroepidemiology of HEV in Palestine.


Abstract : It is tempting to call a mechanism that works by itself autonomous. The common dictionary definition of autonomy supports this temptation. According to Webster's Ninth New College Dictionary, autonomy is "the quality or state of being self-governing". But governance implies more than simple perpetual motion. Does the earth's rotation around the sun constitute an autonomous trajectory? Probably we would not commonly think so. What if an asteroid suddenly appeared in the earth's path? What would the earth do about it? Would the earth modify its trajectory and avoid the impending collision? Not likely. A collision would confirm for us that the earth was not autonomous. Now take a laboratory robot equipped with a SONAR array. The output of the SONAR array could be used to steer the robot away from looming obstacles, thus avoiding many potential collisions, Would we then say that the robot was autonomous? Many robotics developers, based on the titles and texts of their documents, do indeed say that obstacle avoidance is an autonomous behavior. Those very same robots, however, usually have an on-off switch. When that switch is in the off position, the robot cannot avoid a looming object and a serious and destructive collision is likely to occur. The on state of the robot could also be compromised by depletion of the robot's energy reserve, again making it vulnerable to environmental calamities. Something similar could happen to us when we are asleep or are otherwise not paying particular attention. Should we say then that autonomy is a state-dependent attribute?


Bis-aldehyde monomers 4-(4′-formyl-phenoxy)benzaldehyde (3a), 3-methoxy-4-(4′-formyl-phenoxy)benzaldehyde (3b), and 3-ethoxy-4-(4′-formyl-phenoxy)benzaldehyde (3c) were synthesized by etherification of 4-fluorobenzaldehyde (1) with 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (2a), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (2b), and 3-ethoxy-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (2c), respectively. Each monomer was polymerized with p-phenylenediamine and 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether to yield six poly(azomethine)s. Single crystal X-ray diffraction structures of 3b and 3c were determined. The structural characterization of the monomers and poly(azomethine)s was performed by FT-IR and NMR spectroscopic techniques and elemental analysis. Physicochemical properties of polymers were investigated by powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), viscometry, UV–vis, spectroscopy and photoluminescence. These polymers were subjected to electrical conductivity measurements by the four-probe method, and their conductivities were found to be in the range 4.0 × 10−5 to 6.4 × 10−5 Scm−1, which was significantly higher than the values reported so far.


Abstract 3741 Poster Board III-677 LNH98.5 was the first randomized study with the addition of rituximab to CHOP in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. 399 patients were randomized, 197 in CHOP arm and 202 in R-CHOP arm. Patients were aged between 60 and 80 years (median 70 years), had disease stage II to IV, and no contra-indication to one of the drugs. 60% had poor risk lymphoma according to IPI. Response to treatment and early survival analyses were previously presented with 2 years and 5 years median follow-up (NEJM 2002;346:235 and JCO 2005;23:4117). With a median follow-up of 10 years, median age of surviving patients is 78 years, oldest patient being 91 years old. Only 4 patients were lost for follow-up, defined as not seen during the last 18 months, at 5, 7, 8, and 8 years. No event was observed in 105 of the 399 patients, 37 (19%) in CHOP arm and 68 (34%) in R-CHOP arm. Relapse was observed in 73 (59%) and 51 (34%) of CR patients, and death without progression in 16 and 33 patients, respectively. Death occurred in 71% and 56% of the patients, most of them from disease progression but 21 and 20 cancers were observed, representing half of the deaths without progression. Most frequent cancers were colon and lung; two MDS were observed in CHOP arm and one AML in R-CHOP arm. One patient with CHOP presented a multiple myeloma 10 years after DLBCL. During the last 3 years, 10 additional patients relapsed, 4 in CHOP arm and 6 in R-CHOP arm, these late relapses representing 4% of CR patients. Median overall survival was 37 months in CHOP arm and 7 y 9 m in R-CHOP arm with 10-y survival of 28% and 43%, respectively (p This analysis showed that the benefit of combining rituximab with CHOP chemotherapy persists with a median follow-up of 10 years and that over 40% of elderly patients are alive 10 years later confirming these patients could express long-term survival if treated like younger patients. However, late relapses do occur and new strategies should be developed to prolong the response of these patients. Disclosures: Coiffier:Roche: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Gisselbrecht:Roche: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Bosly:Roche: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Herbrecht:Roche: Research Funding. Bouabdallah:Roche: Research Funding. Morel:Roche: Research Funding. Van Den Neste:Roche: Research Funding. Bordessoule:Roche: Research Funding. Haioun:Roche: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Tilly:Roche: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Salles:Roche: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.


fulfilled the dimensional criteria. By measurement of flow rates and viscosities in a model, he determined the equivalent viscosity for the sediments arriving at a value which is in reasonable accord with determinations by other means. The experiments by Griggs and the thermodynamic development of the physics of stressed solids by Goranson in recent years have interpreted the physical properties of rock material, in terms of long time stresses. This work has clarified and evaluated certain fundamental properties such as "strength," "plasticity," etc. that are directly applicable to the fluid mechanical postulate of salt-dome formation. Finally, recent extensive geophysical work and drilling around salt domes have revealed the frequent existence of rim syn- clines which are a natural consequence of the fluid-mechanical theory and which were relatively unknown or unrecognized as such at the time of the earlier paper. All of this work seems to confirm the general hypothesis that salt-dome formation is largely a fluid-mechanical process. A dynamic model illustrating the fluid mechanics of dome formation will be avail able when the paper is given, and it is hoped it can be seen in operation in connection with other exhibits of the convention. The salt domes of Bienville Parish, Louisiana, are classic examples of the shallow or piercement-type dome, and have been prominent in the geologic literature of the Gulf Coast since the discovery of Cretaceous fossils at King's Dome in 1X67. Detailed surface mapping shows the domes to be round to oval in plan, with progressively younger sediments exposed in concentric rings outward from a central depression. Rim synclines and partial rim anticlines are also evident. Deformation of Pleistocene deposits serves to date the last period of uplift on most of the domes. Neither the ring of upturned sediments nor the adjoining anticline has been ade quately explored by drilling on most of the domes, so they may still be considered as potential producers. Statistical Analyses of Crude Oils of Tertiary slopes and dips are functions of sediment load. In general, the greater slopes and dips are toward localities of greater loads of sediments within the basin. The conclusion is that, at comparable locations with reference to the shore, the pre-Trinity deposits in South Texas are thicker than in Kast Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Some criteria are suggested for locating the Jurassic shore line. Importance for pos sible oil and gas production along the continental shore, and the shores of peninsulas and islands, is stressed. Probability of the presence of undiscovered salt domes in South Texas is pointed out. Plymouth field Patricio County, Bend Plain. Plymouth 5,500-foot sand. seismograph eighty-eight wells 1942. The field 3,000 surface acres 21,631,000 barrels of 1942. The field is located on strike with the most prolific lower Catahoula (Frio) sand fields of the Coastal Bend province. The sand conditions are excellent along this strike and reach their maximum thickness a short distance downdip from the Plymouth field. The structure is an elongate flat dome of moderately low relief. The maximum proved closure is approximately 100 feet. The dome is bounded on the southwest flank by a graben. The structural uplift is probably caused by a deep, buried salt core. The dome becomes more pronounced and steeper with depth; on the Greta sand there is only a broad nosing, on the 5,600-foot sand there is a broad flat dome, but on the 6,100-foot sand there is a very pronounced doming with steeper dips. There is good evidence of at least one erosional unconformity. There are four producing oil sands: (1) Plymouth sand, 5,500 feet; (2) lleep sand, 5,600 feet; (3) Magnolia sand, 5,800 feet; (4)


Distinguishing outliers from normal data in wireless sensor networks has been a big challenge in the anomaly detection domain, mostly due to the nature of the anomalies, such as software or hardware failures, reading errors or malicious attacks, just to name a few. In this article, we introduce an anomaly detection-based OPF classifier in the aforementioned context. The results are compared against one-class support vector machines and multivariate Gaussian distribution. Additionally, we also propose to employ meta-heuristic optimization techniques to finetune the OPF classifier in the context of anomaly detection in wireless sensor networks.


Registration between 3-D volumes and 2-D fluoro images for Electrophysiology (EP) is a challenging task due to the lack of corresponding features between 2-D and 3-D data. This paper presents an automatic, accurate and workflow-friendly 2-D/3-D registration method specially designed for patient movement correction during EP procedures. Firstly, 2-D spines are enhanced by exploiting the temporal information in the EP fluoro sequence and by removing the moving structures (i.e. catheters) that can negatively affect the registration accuracy. Secondly, digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) are computed efficiently from the segmentation of the 3-D spines using GPU-based method. Thirdly, special 2-D/3-D registration scheme is proposed, including an initial pose adjustment of the 3-D volume via automatic estimation of the spine orientation, a nonlinear histogram mapping between DRRs and X-ray images that maximizes their similarity in intensity distributions, and a gradient difference-based similarity measure that is tailored for comparing spine structures. Experiments on real clinical data demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method.


We describe a young man who initially presented with stroke and febrile illness. He was eventually diagnosed with Tropheryma whipplei endocarditis. This is a very rare condition and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first documented case of T. whipplei endocarditis in Australia and New Zealand regions. This report aims to increase awareness of clinicians of this very rare but potentially treatable condition. It is reasonable to exclude T. whipplei endocarditis when dealing with high-risk patients who are suspected for "culture-negative" endocarditis.


Purpose: Tracheobronchial fungal infection (TBFI) is a life-threatening complication in immunocompromised hosts, but is rarely reported. Early diagnosis of TBFI before microbiologic and pathologic analysis has not been established. This study seeks to analyze the bronchoscopic features of TBFI and their roles in the diagnosis of TBFI. Methods: The demographic, clinical, and bronchoscopy data of 53 patients diagnosed with TBFI were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Lung cancer and tuberculosis are the primary diseases associated with TBFI. The most common characteristics of Aspergillosis were bronchial stenosis, mucosal edema, yellowish-white necrotic material-plaques, suppurative secretions, edematous irregular mucosa, ulcerative appearance or uneven surface, white-colored nodules, grayish-white mucous plaque, grayish-black pigmentation, and granulation tissue. The mainly bronchoscopic characteristics of Mucormycosis included bronchial stenosis, mucosal edema, ulcerative appearance or uneven surface, yellowish-white necrotic material-plaques, and white necrosis. The bronchoscopic characteristics of Cryptococcosis included stenosis, swelling, uneven of mucus, purulent discharge overflow, and viscous secretions. Conclusion: The bronchoscopic features of Aspergillosis , Mucormycosis, and Cryptococcosis may be helpful for the early diagnosis of tracheobronchial fungal infection.


The dose dependent antiproliferative effect of an alkaloidal substance extracted from the sponge Amphimedon viridis was tested on Leishmania mexicana promastigotes. Sponges were collected in Isla Larga, Venezuela (10°20'20" - 10°24" N, 64°19' - 64°22' W), cut and dipped in methanol for vacum filtering extraection every 24 hr. The aqueous extract was separated by chromatography over silica gel. The parasites were from the Venezuelan NR strain. Their growth rate was reduced by 50 % with a dose of 10 μg/ml in 48 hr, whilst concentrations of 30 and 40 μg/ml induce leishmanicidal action after 110 and 20 min, respectively. Lysis is preceded by an immediate increase in cellular volume associated with progressive damage of cellular content and the destruction of organelles. These findings suggest that one important factor associated with the antiproliferative effect of this alkaloidal substance on L. mexicana promastigotes is the loss of the plasma membrane selective permeability.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
A low or absent CO2 reactivity is considered indicative of a compromised hemodynamic compensatory capacity in patients with internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis or occlusion. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether patients with preoperatively decreased or absent CO2 reactivity show an improvement of CO2 reactivity 3 months after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and whether the preoperative CO2 reactivity is correlated with clinical classification and hemodynamic factors.

METHODS
A group of 65 patients with > 70% ICA stenosis was studied. CO2 reactivity was measured by bilateral transcranial Doppler sonography before and 3 months after CEA.

RESULTS
The preoperative CO2 reactivity was not significantly different in subgroups formed according to the presenting clinical symptoms. Patients with severe ICA stenosis with contralateral ICA occlusion had mean low preoperative CO2 reactivity on both sides. Furthermore, patients with reversed flow in the ophthalmic artery had low mean preoperative CO2 reactivity on the same side. The CO2 reactivity was not significantly different in the subgroups of patients with signs of collateral blood flow through the anterior or posterior communicating artery. In particular, patients with low preoperative CO2 reactivity (approximately < 30%) showed an evident increase after the operation. Such an inverse correlation was found bilaterally, although it was more pronounced on the CEA side.

CONCLUSIONS
CEA can increase CO2 reactivity in both hemispheres. This effect is most pronounced in patients with low (< 30%) preoperative CO2 reactivity. If this group represents patients who would be at risk from low-flow stroke, then testing of CO2 reactivity might help select a subset of patients with an especially high probability of benefit from CEA.


This paper describes a partícip.tol)' maize breeding program that is a coll.boratíve project between BiTS, Agricultural Universíty and the KRlBHCO Indo-British Rainfed Farming Project (Enst). At the beginning ofthe project, a base population was produced in Ihe rainy season of 1997 by making nine crosses between tbree yellow-endospermed flinl varieties (Suwan, Birsa Makka 1, and Chandan 3) and three white-endospermed flint varieties (GDRM 187, Shweta, .nd Rudarpur local). The parental varielies were selected either because farmers in the project area had accepted Ihem or because they contributed complemental)' trails to the.population. The population has becn randomly m.ted for tive cycles by hiJI-planting seed derived from the original nino erosses .nd det.sseling 50% ofthe plants. After the initial random mating, eaeh eyele was planted from pale yellQw grains that sbould be heterozygous at the locos controlling endosperm color. Three composite varieties have been extracted from cyeles !bree and fOUT by nmdom mating of early-maturing plants (75 to 80 days) with eitheryellow or white grains. Preliminal)' resolts show !hat these populations are superior to local checks for multiple traits. lnterv.rietal hybrids were also made from farmer-preferred vaneties. Farmer-managed partí.ipatol)' researeh (FAMPAR) trials conducted in the rainy season.of 1998 showed that farmers preferred the BM 1 x Suwan intervarietal hybrid lO the local varieties. Further evaluations ofhybrids in on-farro and station trials are being condocted.


Abstract Teachers in a large, non-urban school system completed one or more positive psychology questionnaires assessing strengths of character; happiness; orientation toward pleasure, engagement, and meaning as three different paths to happiness; explanatory style; orientation toward teaching as a job, a career, or a calling; and job satisfaction. These results of these 170 participants are compared with those obtained from an Internet sample of 2,538 teachers on four of the same instruments. Correlations between the results for each of the two samples are examined. The resulting profiles of the two samples are compared, and suggestions are made as to possible uses of such data to guide improvement in large school systems.


A classification scheme for remote sensing devices (RSDs) is included in the draft revision of IEC 61400-12-1 "Power Performance Measurements of Electricity Producing Wind Turbines" to enable the traceable assessment of uncertainty in RSD measurements. An assumption of the classification scheme is that the environmental variables (EVs) against which an RSD is classified are uncorrelated. The standard acknowledges that this assumption is not always valid and mitigation is permitted. A method for mitigation is however not included. The effect of correlation between environmental variables in the classification scheme is presented along with a method for mitigation that removes the duplicate uncertainty components caused resulting in a lower and it is proposed more representative uncertainty assessment for the RSD. Correlation between environmental variables in the classification test has the potential to produce increasingly unrepresentative uncertainty assessments in the verification and application tests following the standard as the wind conditions across the tests diverge. The impact of correlation between EVs in terms of the maximum theoretical total standard uncertainty (TSU) for the RSD is therefore also investigated. An accuracy class result in the range 3 – 7 is obtained for the lidar after mitigation with associated uncertainty in horizontal wind speed of around 2%. Consistent results are obtained across 44 verification tests and 20 application tests carried out using the classification. These place wind speed total standard uncertainty in the range 2-3% across the wind speed ranges tested in non-complex terrain.


Aim: Single incision diagnostic laparoscopy (SIDL) may be an alternative procedure to multi-incision diagnostic laparoscopy (MDL) for penetrating thoracoabdominal stab wounds. The purpose of this study is sharing our experience and comparing two techniques for diaphragmatic status. Materials and Methods: Medical records of 102 patients with left thoracoabdominal penetrating stab injuries who admitted to Istanbul School of Medicine, Trauma and Emergency Surgery Clinic between February 2012 and April 2016 were examined. The patients were grouped according to operation technique. Patient records were retrospectively reviewed for data including, age, sex, length of hospital stay, diaphragm injury rate, surgical procedure, operation time and operation time with wound repair, post-operative complications and accompanying injuries. Results: The most common injury location was the left anterior thoracoabdomen. SIDL was performed on 26 patients. Nine (34.6%) of the 26 patients had a diaphragm injury. Seventy-six patients underwent MDL. Diaphragmatic injury was detected in 20 (26.3%) of 76 patients. The average operation time and post-operative complications were similar; there was no statistically significant difference between MDL and SIDL groups. Conclusion: SIDL can be used as a safe and feasible procedure in the repair of a diaphragm wounds. SIDL may be an alternative method in the diagnosis and treatment of these patients.


Synthesis and structural characterization of half-sandwich rare-earth metal tris(trimethylsilylmethyl) anionic complexes bearing one 1-phenyl-2,3,4,5-tetrapropylcyclopentadienyl ligand are achieved. These soluble anionic compounds show good reactivity in the stoichiometric reaction with dibenzoylmethane (DBM) to give the salt-free half-sandwich complex bearing two chelate DBM ligands. More importantly, they can serve as excellent and general catalyst precursors for the addition of different types of amines including primary aromatic amines (ArNH(2)), acyclic (RR'NH, ArRNH, and ArAr'NH; R, R' = Alkyl group, Ar, Ar' = Aromatic group), or cyclic secondary aliphatic amines to carbodiimides yielding efficiently guanidines. Acyclic secondary amines of the general formula ArAr'NH and ArRNH cannot be achieved efficiently by the previous rare-earth catalysts because of their weak nucleophilicity and steric hindrance. Our results show clearly the reactivities of anionic trialkyl precursors are comparable with the corresponding neutral alkyl complex in the stoichimetric reaction but exhibit better catalytic activity than the known catalysts.


Kraske procedure is an option that can be chosen to treat rectal tumours in elderly patients with multiple co-morbidities, in order to minimize complications and stress caused by surgery. In the past six years, 382 rectal resections were performed in our department: 154 abdominoperineal rectum resections, 219 anterior rectum resections and 9 Kraske procedures in high anaesthetic risk patients. Kraske resection was applied for mid- and lower third rectal cancers, providing a short term survival for more than half of these patients. The authors discuss their experience with the Kraske procedure.


The following is a response to J.L. Schellenberg's argument from the fact of divine hiddenness for unbelief in God. If God is capable of making a vast number of distinct universes, then God might be justified in allowing universes to exist that are fundamentally natural in how they can appear to a great many sentient beings in those universes. A reductio ad absurdum argument is presented, based on the assumption of the moral principle that it is wrong for God, or anyone else, to allow universes to exist that are ambiguous in regard to the question of whether they are naturally or divinely originated. Adopting such a principle implies that one must either contradictorily assert that we cannot know God's existence, or that we have a moral obligation to prevent the continuation of sentient life in this universe by any ethical means available.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this article is to undertake a study on developing a prototype of a smart card that, when swiped in a system with access to the radiation exposure monitoring server, will locate the patient's radiation exposure history from that institution or set of associated institutions to which it has database access.

CONCLUSION
Like the ATM or credit card, the card acts as a secure unique "token" rather than having cash, credit, or dose data on the card. The system provides the requested radiation history report, which then can be printed or sent by e-mail to the patient. The prototype system is capable of extending outreach to wherever the radiation exposure monitoring server extends, at county, state, or national levels. It is anticipated that the prototype shall pave the way for quick availability of patient exposure history for use in clinical practice for strengthening radiation protection of patients.


UNLABELLED
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of Lactobacillus plantarum, isolated from table olives "Bella di Cerignola," a traditional variety of Apulian region (Southern Italy), as a starter for this kind of food. We focused on the interaction of the starter with the natural occurring microflora, the quantitative/qualitative composition of yeast population, the decrease of pH, and the content of organic acids. After a preliminary characterization, 3 strains of Lb. plantarum, selected for their probiotic and technological performances, were used as a multiple-strain starter and inoculated (approximately 2%) in olives, processed according to Spanish style, brined at 8% and 10% of NaCl and added with 0.5% of glucose. The combination of the starter and glucose assured a correct fermentation course, decreasing the pH up to a safe value (4.3 to 4.5) and controlled the growth of yeasts. The concentrations of both L- and D-lactic acids increased throughout the fermentation, while citric and malic acids (both the isomers D and L) remained at low levels (0.2 to 0.4 g/L). Concerning yeast species, Candida guilliermondii was mainly isolated at the beginning (7 to 14 d), while C. famata prevailed at the end of fermentation.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
To the question "How to standardize and maintain quality of "Bella di Cerignola" olives (Southern Italy)" we can suggest the following answer: use Lb. plantarum and a low amount of glucose (0.5%). The result is a decrease of the pH below the safety break point.


Chimeric repressor gene-silencing technology (CRES-T) is a powerful tool that has recently been developed for the functional analysis of plant transcription factors and for the genetic manipulation of plant traits. For CRES-T, a transcription factor is converted to a strong repressor by fusion with an SRDX repression domain, which is then expressed in plants to induce a loss-of-function phenotype. However, the traditional CRES-T vectors are inconvenient for gene cloning and promoter exchange. In this study, we developed new CRES-T vectors that are efficient and convenient to use by employing the Gateway system, a new vector backbone and a terminator derived from the heat shock protein 18.2 (HSP) gene. Our test experiments revealed that the CRES-T vector containing the Gateway linker sequence within the transcribed region showed reduced efficiency of CRES-T when compared with the traditional CRES-T vector. However, the HSP terminator compensated for the negative effect of the Gateway sequence and improved the efficiency of CRES-T in all cases tested and resulted in the highest efficiency achieved to date. We found that the HSP terminator increased transcription efficiency or transcript stability; in contrast, these factors were negatively affected by the Gateway linker sequence in our vector system. We, therefore, propose that the appropriate CRES-T vector should be chosen depending on situations and purposes.


Between 2015 and 2017, at the Research and Development Station for Plant Culture on Sands Dăbuleni, were studied three varieties of sweet potato to determine the influence of environmental factors on some plant metabolic processes and, consequently, on the production achieved. The varieties studied were Yulmi, Juhwangmi and KSP 1. The results revealed the influence of the variety, the planting season and the climatic conditions on the development of physiological processes, their intensity influencing the quantity and quality of production. The best results on the production were recorded at the variants cultivated under the climatic conditions of the 2016 year, detaching the variant cultivated with the Juhwangmi variety, with an average production of 43.6 tons. At Yulmi and KSP 1 varieties it was obtained the highest production at variants grown in the first epoch of 2016 year (May 10-15), respectively 34.3 tons at Yulmi variety and 31.7 tons at KSP 1 variety.


Historically, IC testing and board testing have been considered two separate subjects. However, today's increasing complexity in both design and technology has given rise to a number of efforts to produce a consistent test strategy that smoothly couples both types of testing. This article describes one such effort by Philips, a design for testability methodology for semicustom VLSI circuits. The methodology is based on the partitioning of a design into testable macros, hence the term ¿macro testing.¿ The challenges in this approach are the partitioning itself, the selection of a test technique suited to the separate macros and the chip's architecture, the execution of a macro test independent of its environment, and the assembly of macro tests into a chip test.


The leadership pattern  of the head a  madrasah is very influential  in improving the quality of education in an educational institution. This research was conducted  at  the  ma  muhammadiyah  lamongan  10  palirangan  solokuro formulation with the following problems: (1) what is the pattern of leadership of the madrasa heads in improving the quality of education at ma muhammadiyah 10 palirangan solokuro lamongan? ; (2) what is the achievement of quality education at   ma   muhammadiyah   10   palirangan   solokuro   lamongan?   ;   (3)   what   are   the supporting factors  and obstacles to the  pattern  of leadership of the  madrasa leaders in improving the quality of education at ma muhammadiyah lamongan 10 palirangan solokuro ?. The method used in this study uses a qualitative approach. To the type of phenomenological research and collection of data through observation techniques, interviews, documentation and questionnaires. As for the results of this study is the leadership pattern of the head of the madrassa by using an autocratic pattern has succeeded in improving the quality of education


The analytical method of estimation of frame construction life prediction in terms of creep by strain failure criterion is suggested. The linearization of stochastic rheological energy equations, is made, the estimations of uptime under the assumptions on the limit values of creep are obtained. The checking of accordance of the method with the experimental data for the creep of samples made of 12Kh18N10T steel under T = 850 ℃ is implemented. There is agreement between the calculated and experimental data.


Cigarette smoke contains many harmful chemicals, which contribute to the pathogenesis of smoking-related diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer and cardiovascular disease. The cytotoxicity of cigarette smoke is well documented, but the definitive mechanism behind its toxicity remains unknown. Ingredients in cigarette smoke are known to deplete intracellular glutathione (GSH), the most abundant cellular thiol antioxidant, and to cause oxidative stress. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism of cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-induced cytotoxicity in B16-BL6 mouse melanoma (B16-BL6) cells using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. CSE and ingredients in cigarette smoke, methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and crotonaldehyde (CA), reduced cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner. Also, CSE and the ingredients (m/z 70, each) irreversibly reacted with GSH (m/z 308) to form GSH adducts (m/z 378) in cells and considerably decreased cellular GSH levels at concentrations that do not cause cell death. Mass spectral data showed that the major product formed in cells exposed to CSE was the GSH-MVK adduct via Michael-addition and was not the GSH-CA adduct. These results indicate that MVK included in CSE reacts with GSH in cells to form the GSH-MVK adduct, and thus a possible reason for CSE-induced cytotoxicity is a decrease in intracellular GSH levels.


Abstract Dustfall simulation experiments were conducted to estimate the ground-level deposition pattern. Batches of different size glass microspheres (50–200 μ) were continuously released into the atmosphere from an elevated point source. Samplers were placed at ground level along arcs downwind from the stack and the particles were subsequently identified and counted. Measurements of wind speed, gustiness and temperature gradient were made. The data and data obtained by previous investigators were compared with theory. Two mathematical models were used in the comparison: a three-dimensional classical model by Denisov (comparable to Rounds's two-dimensional solution), and a three-dimensional statistical model by Csanady. Both models assume steady-state conditions, horizontal homogeneity, linear growth relationships for the plume dimensions, and complete particle retention at the ground. It was found that the deposit pattern can be predicted reasonably well by the statistical model but should be restricted ...


Six cases representing the spectrum of haematological complications due to systemic administration of Thorotrast are reposted. Two patients suffered from acute leukaemia, one patient had marrow failure and three patients presented with haematological features of hyposplenism; two of these also had solid tumours. The literature is reviewed.


Hashing methods have sparked a great revolution in cross-modal retrieval due to the low cost of storage and computation. Benefiting from the sufficient semantic information of labeled data, supervised hashing methods have shown better performance compared with unsupervised ones. Nevertheless, it is expensive and labor intensive to annotate the training samples, which restricts the feasibility of supervised methods in real applications. To deal with this limitation, a novel semisupervised hashing method, i.e., three-stage semisupervised hashing (TS3H) is proposed in this article, where both labeled and unlabeled data are seamlessly handled. Different from other semisupervised approaches that learn the pseudolabels, hash codes, and hash functions simultaneously, the new approach is decomposed into three stages as the name implies, in which all of the stages are conducted individually to make the optimization cost-effective and precise. Specifically, the classifiers of different modalities are learned via the provided supervised information to predict the labels of unlabeled data at first. Then, hash code learning is achieved with a simple but efficient scheme by unifying the provided and the newly predicted labels. To capture the discriminative information and preserve the semantic similarities, we leverage pairwise relations to supervise both classifier learning and hash code learning. Finally, the modality-specific hash functions are obtained by transforming the training samples to the generated hash codes. The new approach is compared with the state-of-the-art shallow and deep cross-modal hashing (DCMH) methods on several widely used benchmark databases, and the experiment results verify its efficiency and superiority.


The cytological analysis of meiotic chromosomes is an exceptional tool to approach complex processes such as synapsis and recombination during the division. Chromosome studies of meiosis have been especially valuable in birds, where naturally occurring mutants or experimental knock-out animals are not available to fully investigate the basic mechanisms of major meiotic events. This review highlights the main contributions of synaptonemal complex and lampbrush chromosome research to the current knowledge of avian meiosis, with special emphasis on the organization of chromosomes during prophase I, the impact of chromosome rearrangements during meiosis, and distinctive features of the ZW pair.


Nowadays, huge quantities of data are produced and published on the Web, coming from individuals, connected objects, and organizations.
Uncertainty happens when combining data from different sources that contain heterogeneous, contradictory, or incomplete information.
Today, there is still a lack of solutions in order to represent uncertainty that appears on the Web.
In this paper, we introduce the concept of uncertain RESTful resource and propose a model and an algebra to interpret such resources.


Abstract Based on a series of laboratory experiments the effects of four rhyparochromids (Heteroptera: Lygaeoidea: Rhyparochromidae) species on seed germination of four species of figs (Moraceae) were tested. Rhyparochromids considerably reduced seed germination depending on the species and the species of fig; it varied from 60 to more than 90%. Seed germination was also affected by agaonids (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae); the proportion of seeds damaged by agaonids varied from 44 to 63%.


Under certain condition, wet cement can cause skin chemical burns, which belongs to alkaline burns. As the symptoms are insidious in onset, the patients may be initially unaware of the injury until several hours later. It often causes full-thickness burns especially in knees, the lower limbs, and ankles. The prevalence of wet cement burns may be hugely underestimated. This article reviews the definition, occurrence, progress of injury and pathogenesis, clinical characteristics and diagnosis, and treatment and prevention of wet cement skin burns, in order to promote its prevention.


Background In RELESSER (Spanish Society of Rheumatology Systemic Lupus Erythematosus-SLE-Registry) bacteremia is the main cause of death by infection. The available information about this severe infection in SLE patients is scarce. Methods Retrospective nested case-control study of SLE patients (ACR97 criteria) with at least a bacteremic episode and random controls from RELESSER. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analysis (logistic regression). Results 114 bacteremic episodes in 83 patients were found. Incidence rate: 2.7/1,000 patient-years (total n:3658). At the time of the bacteremia: median age: 40.5 (8Ð90)years, 88.6%female, disease duration:9.7 (IR16.7), medianSELENASLEDAI:4 (IR8), severe flare (SFI criteria):66%, active nephritis:16.7%, median SLICC/ACR DI: 3 (IR4), any comorbidity:64% (McCabe-Jackson criteria: 28.1% rapidly/ultimately fatal), more frequently renal failure (15.8%) or diabetes (11.4%). SLE treatment at bacteremia: 88.6%corticosteroids (68,6%>10 mg/day), 57%immunosuppresors (mycophenolate17.5% and cyclophosphamide (CYP)12.3%), 27%antimalarials. 44.7% suffered invasive procedures, more frequently intravascular catheter (24.6%). Nosocomial bacteremia in 35.1%, more frequently urinary source (27.2%). 64% developed systemic inflammatory response syndrome, 35% needed intensive care unit admission, 22.8% had multiorganic failure. The most frequent microorganisms were E.coli (29.8%), Staphylococcus aureus (16.7%) (22% methicillin-resistant) and Salmonella spp. (10.5%). 16% of the gram-negative enteric bacilli were extended- spectrum b-lactamase positive. 17.5%were multidrug resistant. 68.4%started the antibiotherapy before blood culture results, resulting finally active in susceptibility testing in 56 (71.8%), indicating an appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy in 49%. The bacteremia-related mortality was 14%. Risk of death was higher in patients with severe sepsis (Pitt index >8) (OR: 13, 95% CI: 3.71 to 45.17). Bacteremia was recurrent in 26.3%. Associations with bacteremia in bivariate analysis (114 bacteremias vs 688 controls) are shown in table 1. Antimalarials were protective. In the multivariate analysis (adjusted for disease duration), only elevated creatinine (OR: 1.31 (95% CI: 1.01 to 1.70) p=0.045), diabetes (OR 6.01 (95% CI: 2.26 to 15.95) p=0.000), cancer (OR: 5.32 (95% CI: 2.23 to 12.70), p=0.000), immunosuppressors (OR: 6.35 (95% CI: 3.42 to 11.77) p=0.000), CYP (OR: 9.37 (95% CI: 5.12 to 17.14) p=0.000) and SLICC/ACR DI (OR: 1.65 (95% CI: 1.31 to 2.09) p=0.000) remained statistically significant. Conclusion Bacteremia occurred mostly in active SLE, frequently in the context of a severe flare. Gram negative bacilli predominated, with high rate of multidrug resistance. The empiric treatment was inappropriate in a half of the cases. Recurrence and mortality were high. Immunosuppressors use, comorbidity and damage were all associated to bacteremia.Abstract S5D:5 Table 1


【In the study of the Relaxation therapy of Qi-gong, the results were as follows: 1. Although there are various ways to practice qigong, the following three elements should always be included. There are regulation of mind, body and respiration, among which regulation of mind is the most important one. Regulating the mind into a state of tranquility. is the most fundamental skill in qigong therapy. So smoothing the circulation of meridians, strengthened Essential-material(精), Qi(氣), Sprit(神). 2. The Qigong therapy makes the body and mind relaxed, and it is helpful of preventation of disease and mental health. And it treats neurosis, somatoform disease, and it uses resoluton of stress. As a result, The Qigong-therapy is preservation of health, raises the resistance of disease. 3. The Qigong therapy is more effective by application of music, aroma, taping-therapy.】


This paper draws on two points about the difficulties of conducting research between two languages and cultures which are scant in social science research: one is reflecting on the notion of "making sense" and how prevalent it has become to make sense for a western audience. This process is complicated and leads to more meanings lost in translation, so it is important to unpack it specifically during the research process. The second point I discuss in this paper is the notion of "situated auto/biography" that is not specific to an author or a researcher, but deals with all parties involved in the process of knowledge production. I argue that translation acts as a creative space for thinking and not just conveying meanings, but that through a dialogical and transversal act, it can help in creating new meanings.


The current paper aims with the powder egg quality (integral powder) stored in conditions imposed by producer (Lc powder egg packed in polyethylene bags, stored at temperature of +4°C and MC=80%) and powder egg stored in nonconforming conditions (Lexp-1 powder egg packed in polyethylene bags, stored at room temperature t=+22÷+32°C and MC=50÷70% and Lexp-2 powder egg packed in paper bags, stored at room temperature t=+22÷+32°C and MC=50÷70%), storage time being 150 days. The analysed parameters were pH value, solubility, content in water, dry matter, proteins and fats. pH values recorded for fresh product (day 0), in comparison with the ones determined at the end of those 150 storage days were higher with 0.99% at powder egg samples from lot Lc, with 7.18% at lot Lexp-1 and with 8.28% at lot Lexp-2. Regarding solubility of powder egg, obtained values at the end of those 150 storage days were lower with 4.20% at lot Lc, with 8.84% at lot Lexp-1 and with 25.55% at lot Lexp-2, in comparison with the specific levels of fresh product. Experimental factors affected only water content of product and the one in dry matter without inducing modifications at the level of analysed components (proteins, fats). Effectuated investigations lead to the conclusion that packing modality, and also the assured factors during storage influenced the quality indicators reaching to depreciate the product in a quite short time.


Stress is a response to time pressure or negative environmental conditions. If its stimulus iterates or stays for a long time, it affects health conditions. Thus, stress recognition is an important issue. Traditional systems for this purpose are mostly contact-based, i.e., they require a sensor to be in touch with the body which is not always practical. Contact-free monitoring of the stress by a camera [1], [2] can be an alternative. These systems usually utilize only an RGB or a thermal camera to recognize stress. To the best of our knowledge, the only work on fusion of these two modalities for stress recognition is [3] which uses a feature level fusion of the two modalities. The features in [3] are extracted directly from pixel values. In this paper we show that extracting the features from super-pixels, followed by decision level fusion results in a system outperforming [3]. The experimental results on ANUstressDB database show that our system achieves 89% classification accuracy. Keywords— Stress Recognition, Facial Expression, RGB Images, Thermal Images, Super-pixels.


This paper describes a case study that integrates an environmental performance analysis workflow with a design approach. This is achieved with the utilization of various energy simulation tools and software packages for a hypothetical office building located in New Delhi, India. After the initial set-up of the base building energy model (BEM), steps were taken to improve on various aspects such as (1) building design, (2) shading and daylighting, (3) building envelope, (4) lighting controls, (5) HVAC, (6) natural ventilation, (7) thermal coupling, (8) indoor air quality, and (9) site renewable energy. The outcome of these strategies resulted in a 71% reduction in building energy use intensity (EUI) from the base case. The intent is to help designers and energy modelers consider a step-by-step process that promotes the consideration of passive strategies in high performance building design, together with a relevant suite of software packages to conduct the required analysis.


A chronic toxicity of cefpiramide (CPM) was studied in Cynomolgus monkeys. Groups of 4 males and 4 females were given daily doses of 100, 300 mg/kg or 600 mg/kg by intravenous administration for 26 weeks. Another group of 4 males and 4 females was given physiological saline and served as the control. In CPM groups, diarrhea or soft feces was observed after the commencement of administration at every doses. The frequency of these signs decreased as the study progressed and animals at lower doses returned to normal earlier. There were no treatment-related changes in body weights, fecal occult blood and electrocardiograms. A female in the 600 mg/kg group died after 13 weeks of treatment. The cause of death was assumed to be an acute myocardial necrosis resulting from thromboarteritis. It was not considered to be treatment-related. Ophthalmological examination revealed no abnormalities attributable to the treatment. Erythrocyte counts, hemoglobin and hematocrit values decreased in 3 animals receiving 600 mg/kg of the drug. The changes, however, were transient at least in 2 of these animals. There were no effects on plasma biochemical and urinalysis parameters. Small yellow spotes were noted in the renal cortex of 2 monkeys in the 600 mg/kg group at necropsy. Liver and kidneys were slightly heavier in animals receiving 600 mg/kg. Histopathological examinations revealed focal nonsuppurative interstitial nephritis in 1 animal given 300 mg/kg and 5 animals given 600 mg/kg. No treatment-related changes were observed in other organs and tissues. From these results, the maximum non-effective dose level of CPM was considered to be 100 mg/kg.


The biophysical simulation code PARTRAC was extended by a module to handle ions heavier than alpha particles. Cross sections for ion-electron interactions were taken from He(++) ions of the same velocity and scaled by Z(eff(2))/4. Calculated linear energy transfer values, radial dose distributions and secondary electron spectra were found in agreement with experimental results. DNA damage due to irradiation of human fibroblast cells by several light ions from H to S was calculated for various energies complemented by 220 kV(p) X rays as reference radiation. With increasing linear energy transfer, the calculated total yield of double-strand breaks per dose showed saturation behaviour at about twice the value for reference radiation. When data analysis methods for experimental double-strand break yield determination were applied to the simulated DNA damage patterns, the two data sets were found in accord. The calculated patterns of DNA damage clusters were analysed on local and regional scale finding regional clusters in closer correlation to experimental cell inactivation data.


Electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) has been used to investigate arrhythmia mechanisms in various conditions. Data on normal human subjects, especially in Europe, are scarce. Dynamic characteristics of ventricular activation and recovery during sinus rhythm have not been assessed before.

 To examine cardiac electrophysiology and its dynamic aspects in normal subjects using ECGI, in order to provide a range of normal patterns and values for activation (AT) and recovery times (RT), activation-recovery intervals (ARI, a surrogate for action potential duration) and their dynamicity.

 11 Subjects (age 57±7 years, 27% male, all normal LVEF) with atypical chest pain who underwent a cardiac CT-scan as part of clinical care but who were negative for any pathology on full examination were included. A validated non-commercial potential-based formulation of ECGI was used to reconstruct unipolar electrograms (EGMs) on the epicardial surface for three sinus beats within minutes from each other, per individual. ATs and RTs were determined as the maximum negative upslope during QRS, and maximum positive upslope during T wave of the local EGMs. Additionally, we determined locations of first and last activation and recovery. Inter- and intra-individual differences were computed.

 Subjects had normal 12-lead characteristics without ST-deviations, and an average QTc interval of 415±18ms. Figure 1, panel A shows ECGI during sinus rhythm for 3 representative subjects, and panel B summarizes all findings on the entire epicardium. The first epicardial activation breakthrough typically occurred on the right ventricle (RV), consistent with the concept that the thinner RV wall accounts for a faster transmural activation. Last activation was mostly on the base of the left ventricle (LV), on the inferior to lateral wall. Earliest recovery occurred predominantly on the anterior surface, while latest recovery occurred on the inferior surface. Complete activation of the epicardial surface (from earliest to latest AT) took 41±8ms, while recovery (earliest AT to latest RT) took 317±24ms and average ARI (local AT to local RT) took 232±23ms. Thus, inter-individual variation of recovery duration was higher than of activation. Intra-individual differences between beats in ATs, RTs and ARIs of distinct sinus beats were small (2.3±3.1ms, 9.7±8.8ms and 9.8±9.1ms, respectively) suggesting that ECGI enables stable reconstruction quality (Figure 1, panel C).

 In this cohort, noninvasive ECGI provides novel insights in ventricular electrophysiology. Electrical recovery is more variable than activation, both intra-individually and inter-individually. Overall, AT, RT and ARI differences between sinus beats were low. ECGI appears suitable to assess dynamic electrical patterns during cardiac pathology.
 Figure 1

 Type of funding source: None


Growth and respiration of ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with dwarf shrubs likely contribute significantly to carbon cycling in arctic tundra soils dominated by this vegetation type. Despite their importance little is known about how these fungi might respond to global warming. While previous studies have shown that some ectomycorrhizal fungi can tolerate or retain viability across a fairly wide range of temperatures little is known regarding their metabolic responses to temperature shifts. The present study was undertaken to examine the comparative physiological responses in vitro of arctic and temperate isolates of a common ectomycorrhizal fungus to shifts in growth temperature. Isolates of Cenococcum geophilum from Alaska and Maryland were grown at 12 and 20oC in liquid culture to study the process of temperature acclimation. Measurements on each isolate at the two growth temperatures included linear growth rates, dry weight accumulation, oxygen consumption and the specific activities of the soluble enzymes glucokinase, phosphoglucose isomerase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. In addition the response to growth temperature of glucokinase kinetic parameters (Ea, Km and Vmax) were also evaluated. Increasing the growth temperature tended to decrease the length of the observed lag phase; however, the growth rates in dry weight at 20oC closely paralleled those at 20oC. Both isolates demonstrated lower respiration rates when grown at 20 versus 12oC. Thus for oxygen uptake each isolate demonstrated a phenotypic response known as ideal rate compensation. That is growth at 20oC resulted in oxygen uptake rates at 20oC that were similar to those measured at 12oC for 12oC-grown mycelium. This strategy, if common in ectomycorrhizal fungi, would reduce the expected carbon demand placed on the host and decrease the amount of carbon dioxide released by respiration in response to anticipated increases in soil temperatures. Differences in overall respiration rates by 12 and 20oC grown mycelium could not be explained by changes in activities of soluble enzymes examined. Likewise few differences were observed in glucokinase kinetic parameters associated with growth temperature. Examination of soluble enzyme activity ratios as influenced by growth temperature suggests the potential exists to alter relative fluxes through primary metabolic pathways and warrants further investigation. Future studies of temperature acclimation should examine a wider range of ectomycorrhizal fungi and employ techniques such as DNA microarrays and metabolomics.


Stand-up forklift collisions with storage racks are a known hazard in the material-handling industry. When the height of the first rack beam from the floor is close to or above the height of the forklift's operator compartment — and is at a height that is lower than the forklift's overhead guard — the rack beam can intrude into the forklift's operator compartment. These collisions are typically referred to as "horizontal intrusion incidents," also known as "underride" incidents. When the forklift is not equipped with horizontal intrusion guarding, these occurrences often lead to serious (if not fatal) injuries. This paper presents physical testing and analysis of one major forklift manufacturer's accident database records, which show rear-mounted posts are effective guards in reducing or preventing the consequences of horizontal intrusion incidents. Further, this paper shows these rear post guards met and exceeded design requirements of the material-handling industry standards.


An impressive array of cellular and molecular adaptive responses achieves homeostasis. The inflammatory reaction is an adaptive response triggered by an insult to culminate into the overt cardinal signs of inflammation, eventually leading to resolution and returning the organism back to its original centered state. This article focuses on some aspects of the lipoxin A4 signaling pathway during the resolution phase, to better understand molecular mechanisms by which a neutrophil directs an inflammatory reaction to switch off and resume homeostasis. Defining the resolution state of a neutrophil at the molecular level will aid in treatments of diseases that are associated with an exaggerated and uncontrolled inflammation.


One of the most common ways of tuning the stability, electronic structure, and optical behavior of semiconductors is via composition engineering. By mixing multiple isovalent elements at any cation or anion site, new compositions may be generated with markedly different properties than end-point compositions, and not always lying within a predictable trend. In this work, we explore the trends in lattice constant, electronic band gap, formation and mixing energy, and optical absorption behavior in a series of II–VI zincblende semiconductors with Cd/Zn at the cation site and S/Se/Te at the anion site, using multiple levels of density functional theory approximations. We find that while the GGA-PBE functional reproduces all trends correctly, full geometry optimization with the HSE06 functional predicts band gaps with much higher experimental accuracy. We find that all mixed S–Se and mixed Cd–Zn compounds show linear trends in band gap, rising from Se to S and Cd to Zn, respectively, whereas all Se–Te mixed compounds exhibit band gap bowing. All mixing energy curves, calculated based on decomposition to end point compositions, show inverted bowing behavior but with small positive mixing energy values <50 meV per formula unit, indicating robust stability of all solid solutions. Formation energies, calculated based on decomposition to elemental species, always show linear trends and remain sufficiently negative for all binaries, ternaries and quaternaries, whereas lattice constants show expected linear trends. We further report trends in optical absorption spectra and relationships between PBE and HSE computed properties, which reveal equations that can be used to accurately predict higher fidelity data. This work lays out systematic trends in the stability and optoelectronic characteristics of Cd–Zn–S–Se–Te alloys and enables the selection of optimal compositions for desired applications.


Introduction By adhering to host cells and colonizing tissues, bacterial pathogens can successfully establish infection. Adhesion is considered the first step of the infection process and bacterial adhesion to anti-adhesive compounds is now seen as a promising strategy to prevent infectious diseases. Among the natural sources of anti-adhesive molecules, the membrane of milk fat globules (MFGs) is of interest because of its compositional diversity of proteins and glycoconjugates. However, few studies have focused on the bacterial molecules involved in MFG- mediated inhibition of bacterial adhesion to enterocytes. Methods We used three pathogenic Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains (O26:H11 str. 21765, O157:H7 str. EDL933, and O103:H3 str. PMK5) as models to evaluate whether STEC surface proteins are involved in the affinity of STEC for MFG membrane proteins (MFGMPs). The affinity of STEC for MFGMPs was assessed both indirectly by a natural raw milk creaming test and directly by an adhesion test. Mass spectrometry was used to identify enriched STEC proteins within the protein fraction of MFGMs. Bacterial mutants were constructed and their affinity to MFGs were measured to confirm the role of the identified proteins. Results We found that free STEC surface proteins inhibit the concentration of the pathogen in the MFG-enriched cream in a strain-dependent manner. Moreover, the OmpA and FliC proteins were identified within the protein fraction of MFGMs. Our results suggest that FliC protein participates in STEC adhesion to MFGMPs but other STEC molecules may also participate. Discussion For the first time, this study highlighted, the involvement of STEC surface proteins in the affinity for MFGs. The mechanism of STEC-MFG association is still not fully understood but our results confirm the existence of receptor/ligand type interactions between the bacteria and MFGs. Further studies are needed to identify and specify the molecules involved in this interaction. These studies should consider the likely involvement of several factors, including adhesion molecules, and the diversity of each STEC strain.


Elevated postprandial glycaemia has been linked to CVD in a number of different epidemiological studies involving predominantly non-diabetic volunteers. The MiniMed continuous glucose monitor, which measures blood glucose every 5 min, over a 24 h period, was used to investigate changes in blood glucose readings before and after instigating a diet with low glycaemic index (GI) for 1 week in free-living healthy individuals. Nine healthy people (age 27 (sem 1·3) years, BMI 23·7 (sem 0·7) kg/m2, one male, eight females) completed the study. A reduction in GI (59·7 (sem 2) v. 52·1 (sem 2), P<0·01) occurred in all nine subjects while energy and other macronutrients remained constant. A significant reduction was also observed in fasting glucose at 06·00 hours (5·4 (sem 0·2) v. 4·4 (sem 0·3) mmol/l, P<0·001), mean glucose (5·6 (sem 0·2) v. 5·1 (sem 0·2) mmol/l, P=0·004), area under the 24 h glucose curve (8102 (sem 243) v. 750 (sem 235) mmol/l per min, P=0·004) and area under the overnight, 8 h glucose curve (2677 (sem 92) v. 2223 (sem 121) mmol/l per min, P=0·01). The present study provides important data on how a simple adjustment to the diet can improve glucose profiles that, if sustained in the long term, would be predicted from epidemiological studies to have a favourable influence on CVD.


The natural polyamines putrescine, spermidine and spermine are intimately involved in growth-related processes. More and more evidence indicates that the excessive accumulation of putrescine and spermidine favors malignant transformation of cells. Selective depletion of putrescine has been shown to restore in some transformed cells the normal phenotype. Inhibition of polyamine formation appears, therefore, a rational target in chemoprevention. Clinical trials with 2-(difluoromethyl)ornithine, a selective inactivator of ornithine decarboxylase, a key enzyme of polyamine biosynthesis, are promising. Structural analogs of the polyamines with polyamine-mimetic or antagonist properties, and calmodulin antagonists are other types of drugs which affect several key reactions of polyamine metabolism, and appear to be candidates for the prevention of carcinogenesis especially of the gastrointestinal tract.


Regular intensive exercise is associated with a plethora of electrical, structural and functional adaptations within the heart to promote a prolonged and sustained increase in cardiac output. Bradycardia, increased cardiac dimensions, enhanced ventricular filling, augmentation of stroke volume and high peak oxygen consumption are recognised features of the athlete's heart. The type and magnitude of these adaptations to physical exercise are governed by age, sex, ethnicity, sporting discipline and intensity of sport. Some athletes, particularly those of African or Afro-Caribbean (black) origin reveal changes that overlap with diseases implicated in sudden cardiac death. In such instances, erroneous interpretation has potentially serious consequences ranging from unfair disqualification to false reassurance. This article focuses on ethnic variation in the physiological cardiac adaption to exercise.


This research examined a program of concurrent high school-university studies aimed at promoting students living in underprivileged areas to continue on to higher education. High school students attended university once a week for learning enrichment or participating in full academic courses. Data were collected through interviews and documented meetings with students and their parents, university lecturers, and school staff. The high-achieving students were primarily interested in learning advanced topics in the exact sciences; formal rewards such as raising their probability of being accepted to the university after graduating from high school or credit for future studies at the university were of second priority. The low-achieving students perceived the program as being a window of opportunity to higher education; they truly enjoyed the courses that were anchored in their life contexts, for example, Medicine, Law, and Economics. The most successful courses were those that consisted of class activities, group work or projects, rather than the delivery of content by the teacher. Two principal factors influence the success of a concurrent high school-university studies program: close cooperation between the school and the university in designing courses that match the needs of students from a wide spectrum of scholastic achievements; and close supervision by the school of the students studying at the university and the provision of adequate support in case of difficulties.


Germline genetic variation can strongly influence lifetime cancer risk and somatic variation can influence prognosis and treatment. However, variants are difficult to interpret, even when they occur in cancer-associated genes. Multiplexed assays of variant effect leverage deep sequencing to enable the experimental assessment of thousands of genetic variants simultaneously. The resulting large-scale variant functional data can be used to drive variant interpretation, empowering the use of genetic information in cancer prevention and treatment. We are developing multiplexed assays of variant effect that can be deployed widely, with the ultimate goal of measuring the effect of most variants at most disease-related genes in the human genome. Citation Format: Douglas Fowler. Combining multiplexed assays of variant effect and modeling to drive variant interpretation [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Diagnosis, and Imaging; 2021 Jan 13-14. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2021;27(5_Suppl):Abstract nr IA-11.


Regulation of TNF-α by 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 in human macrophages from CAPD patients. Background We have previously reported that 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 [1α,25(OH) 2 D 3 ] accumulates in the dialysis fluid of uremic patients treated by continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). It has been reported that this metabolite regulates the production of cytokines by monocytes/macrophages. Since tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) initiates an inflammatory cascade during peritonitis, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of 1α,25(OH) 2 D 3 on the production of TNF-α by human peritoneal macrophages (HPMs). Methods HPMs were obtained from patients on CAPD. Cells were incubated with various concentrations of 1α,25(OH) 2 D 3 , 1α,24(S) dihydroxyvitamin D 2 [1α,24(S)(OH) 2 D 2 ] or 25-hydroxyvitamin D 3 (25-OH-D 3 ) for 16 hours. This was followed by lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 1 μg/mL) incubation for 2.5 to 6 hours. TNF-α protein production was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. TNF-α mRNA was assayed by the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction procedure, using internal synthetic mRNA standards for quantitative results. Results Incubation of HPMs with 1α,25(OH) 2 D 3 prior to stimulation with LPS dose dependently inhibited the expression of TNF-α on both mRNA and protein levels. Similar results were obtained with the less calcemic vitamin D 2 analogue 1α,24(S)(OH) 2 D 2 . Incubation of HPMs with 25-OH-D 3 also revealed a down-regulation of TNF-α expression. Since this down-regulatory effect was blocked by ketoconazole, it is likely that this effect was caused by the conversion of 25-OH-D 3 into 1α,25(OH) 2 D 3 by HPMs. Conclusions 1α,25(OH) 2 D 3 has a potent inhibitory effect on the production of TNF-α by LPS-activated HPMs. We hypothesize that 1α,25(OH) 2 D 3 may constitute a regulatory mechanism that, by controlling the intensity of the inflammatory response of the peritoneum, will moderate tissue damage during peritonitis.


Abstract The Red Hills salamander (Phaeognathus hubrichti), a large fossorial plethodontid endemic to south-central Alabama, was listed as federally threatened in 1976. To determine the seasonal and daily activity patterns of this species, I counted the number of salamanders present at burrow entrances, recorded the amount of time individual salamanders spent at entrances, and measured five abiotic variables to determine how they correlated with the number of salamanders at burrow entrances. Red Hills salamanders were present at burrow entrances all months of the year, displayed a unimodal daily activity pattern, and spent a mean of 12.3 continuous hours at an entrance each day. Regardless of season, time spent at an entrance remained relatively constant. Air temperature had the highest correlation with the number of salamanders present at entrances. Burrow entrances play a prominent role in the lives of these salamanders. When estimating population size for conservation efforts, surveys should be conducted at night and at multiple times and dates during the warmer months of the year because not all salamanders are present at entrances at any one time.


Booklists from Notarial Records as a Valuable Source for Researching the Religious Life of Jews in Chełm during the First Quarter of the Nineteenth Century

The article presents an edition of booklists extracted from notarial records focusing on two collections of Jewish religious books belonging to Dawid Wajnberg (ca. 1757–1824) and Nute Mojsze Rubinsztein (ca. 1783–1824), two merchants from Chełm. The records have been identified through historical transcriptions of the local Ashkenazi Hebrew, and the article examines the patterns found within these documents. One such pattern is the consistent placement of Talmud treatises at the beginning of the booklists, following the order of the Mishnah. The author stresses the fact that alongside essential Midrashic, Halakhic, and ethical works, there are also unusual books present, such as the Hebrew-Latin Liber Cosri by Yehuda Halevi (1075–1141), published in Basel in 1660. As a result, the article confirms the popularity of certain religious works in Eastern Europe at that time, and explores the significance of these unique items within the collections, considering their connection to the activities of Halakhic and Maskilic centers in the area.


The present invention relates to compounds of formula (Ⅰ), and pharmaceutically acceptable salts of these compounds, wherein A, B, D, E, K, G, R


We explore the structural and kinematic properties of the outskirts of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using data from the Magellanic Edges Survey (MagES) and Gaia EDR3. Even at large galactocentric radii (8◦<R<11◦), we find the north-eastern LMC disk is relatively unperturbed: its kinematics are consistent with a disk of inclination ~36.5◦ and line-of-nodes position angle ~145◦ east of north. In contrast, fields at similar radii in the southern andwestern disk are significantly perturbed from equilibrium, with non-zero radial and vertical velocities, and distances significantly in front of the disk plane implied by our north-eastern fields. We compare our observations to simple dynamical models of the Magellanic/Milky Way system which describe the LMC as a collection of tracer particles within a rigid potential, and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) as a rigid Hernquist potential. A possible SMC crossing of the LMC disk plane ~400 Myr ago, in combination with the LMC's infall to the Milky Way potential, can qualitatively explain many of the perturbations in the outer disk. Additionally, we find the claw-like and arm-like structures south of the LMC have similar metallicities to the outer LMC disk ([Fe/H]~−1), and are likely comprised of perturbed LMC disk material. The claw-like substructure is particularly disturbed, with out-of-plane velocities >60 km s−1 and apparent counter-rotation relative to the LMC's disk motion. More detailed N-body models are necessary to elucidate the origin of these southern features, potentially requiring repeated interactions with the SMC prior to ~1 Gyr ago.


Abstract The paper attempts a comprehensive review of in situ weathering of rock used in civil engineering construction. It also presents some new data on weathered rock from Britain which have been used to develop a proposed tentative Rock Durability Indicator scheme. This is based on simple engineering tests to help assess the potential performance of the rock in service. It is concluded that weathering in geological time can have significant influence, under certain circumstances, on the durability of aggregate or stone in-service. Durability is defined as the rock material's ability to resist degradation during its working life and is considered to be dependent on a number of parameters; viz. the original stage of weathering of the rock mass; the degree of imposed stressing during winning, production, placing and service; the climatic; topographical and hydrological environments in-service. The production and construction procedures can have an important influence on the mechanical strength of the material. Physical weathering processes and imposed loading generally have the most significant effect on deterioration but chemical weathering could be of significance in-service, especially in hot, wet climates. No one engineering test can be used as an absolute predictor of performance. Combinations of common mechanical and physical tests such as water absorption, specific gravity, point load strength, modified AIV and magnesium sulphate soundness can be used in various combinations to help assess potential durability. For a more complete evaluation, environmental factors such as the climate, topography and hydrological regimes need to be taken into account.


The test programme involves the analysis, using two and three-dimensional photoelastic model techniques, of an epicyclic gear assembly incorporating typical features of production gear units. Two three-dimensional models are tested, one subjected to torque loading, i.e. tooth forces, alone and the other to combined torque and inertia loading. Particular attention is devoted to the analysis of contact loads and load distribution, maximum sub-surface stresses, maximum root fillet bending stresses and the geometry of the lines of contact. An extensive two-dimensional test programme is reported in which stress concentration factors in the root fillet radii due to shear, bending and radial loads are evaluated. It has been found convenient to express the stress distributions around the fillet boundaries in terms of the stress concentration factors and details are given of the various attempts which have been made to derive a simple analytical procedure for adequately defining the gear deformation behaviour. Evidence is produced of "proximity effects" associated with load positions near the fillets, particularly in the tensile fillet; efforts made to isolate and quantify the effect are reported. A theoretical analysis has been carried out and a computer programme produced which enables the results of the stress concentration factor tests on the two-dimensional models to be used as the basis for the prediction of the maximum root fillet stresses present in a three-dimensional helical gear configuration. Correlation with the results of the three-dimensional model tests is excellent. Proposals are made for the application of the programme to a new design procedure for the prediction of bending strengths of helical gears.