Error diffusion is widely used in digital image halftones. The algorithm is very simple to implement and very fast to calculate. However, it is known that standard error diffusion algorithms, such as the Floyd Steinberg error diffusion, produce undesirable artifacts in the form of structure artifacts, such as worms, checkerboard patterns, diagonal stripes, and other repetitive structures. The boundaries between structural artifacts break the visual continuity in regions of low intensity gradients and therefore may be responsible for false contours. In this paper, we propose a new halftone method to reduce the structural artifacts and to improve the gray expression, called hybrid error diffusion, by using the concept of "error diffusion by perturbing the error coefficient with a mask." The proposed algorithm consists of two steps in each pixel position. In the first step, a perturbation is calculated using the internal pseudorandom number and a selected 4 x 4 mask, similar to a dither mask. In the second step, error diffusion weights are calculated with the criterion for each pixel value. The proposed hybrid method can reduce the structural artifacts while keeping the advantage of the error diffusion. This paper discusses the performance of the proposed algorithm with experimental results for natural test images. Then, objective assessment results are given using statistical tools and the structural similarity measure for color images.


User centric noise source ranking is proposed as an extension to the conventional machinery noise ranking methodology. It focuses on the improvement of the machinery operator and additional personnel working conditions. Similar to the conventional noise ranking methodology, the partial noise sources are identified and their joint effect is evaluated. In the user centric noise ranking, the location where the combined noise effect is evaluated is the user or operator position. The operator may be inside a cabin, or directly exposed to the noise. Additionally, the noise data is analysed with psychoacoustic methods to obtain the noise annoyance for the experienced noise. This approach has been evaluated with acquired data from hard rock mining equipment working in real conditions. As an additional requirements, user centric noise source ranking also limits the used component analysis methods and ways to acquire the noise data, and some signal source separation methods do not work properly. Psychoacoustic analysis methods employed require acquisition of sound pressure as a time series, and this limits the available algorithms. This creates new demands for the data acquisition and analysis methods, but the possible benefits will outweigh them.


The work undertaken in this project had the purpose of determining what needs existed within Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) units concerned with the planning, design and operation of the state maintained highway system. It discusses the process of interviews used to determine the needs for visualization technology and capabilities that might exist within the various operation units. The report also reviews the existing automation resources of the department and their ability to produce visualization products. The findings of the investigations are reviewed and the needs as identified are described. In the concluding sections, a benefit to cost assessment and a demonstration project using 3-dimensional graphics as a design tool are presented to compare and illustrate the needs for visualization capabilities. The report concludes that visualization technology (3-dimensional graphic environments) has numerous benefits for TxDOT and will likely become the design environment of the future. Implementation, on the other hand, should be staged beginning with the units identified as having the highest immediate pay back costs. This strategy also allows TxDOT to evaluate the tools more carefully while developing a more detailed strategy for implementation.


Today's cloud tenants are facing severe security threats such as compromised hypervisors, which forces a strong adversary model where the hypervisor should be excluded out of the TCB. Previous approaches to shielding guest VMs either suffer from insufficient protection or result in suboptimal performance due to frequent VM exits (especially for I/O operations). This paper presents CloudVisor-D, an efficient nested hypervisor design that embraces both strong protection and high performance. The core idea of CloudVisor-D is to disaggregate the nested hypervisor by separating major protection logics into a protected Guardian-VM alongside each guest VM. The Guardian-VM is securely isolated and protected by the nested hypervisor and provides secure services for most privileged operations like hypercalls, EPT violations and I/O operations from guest VMs. By leveraging recent hardware features, most privileged operations from a guest VM require no VM exits to the nested hypervisor, which are the major sources of performance slowdown in prior designs. We have implemented CloudVisor-D on a commercially available machine with these recent hardware features. Experimental evaluation shows that CloudVisor-D incurs negligible performance overhead even for I/O intensive benchmarks and in some cases outperforms a vanilla hypervisor due to the reduced number of VM exits.


In this paper, we present Google, a prototype of a large-scale search engine which makes heavy use of the structure present in hypertext. Google is designed to crawl and index the Web efficiently and produce much more satisfying search results than existing systems. To engineer a search engine is a challenging task. Search engines index tens to hundreds of millions of web pages involving a comparable number of distinct terms. They answer tens of millions of queries every day. Despite the importance of large-scale search engines on the web, very little academic research has been done on them. Furthermore, due to rapid advance in technology and web proliferation, creating a web search engine today is very different from three years ago. This paper provides an in-depth description of our large-scale web search engine to define the values and traditional techniques of data in hypertext. Apart from the problems of scaling traditional search techniques to data of this magnitude, there are new technical challenges involved with using the additional information present in hypertext to produce better search results. This paper addresses this question of how to build a practical large-scale system which can exploit the additional information present in hypertext. Also we look at the problem of how to effectively deal with uncontrolled hypertext collections where anyone can publish anything they want.


Glucocorticoid treatment of fibroblasts from late gestation fetal bovine ligamentum nuchae resulted in a time- and dose-dependent selective increase in elastin production. Tropoelastin levels increased 2-3-fold in the presence of 10 nM dexamethasone while total protein synthesis and the rate of cell division decreased with glucocorticoid exposure. Two tropoelastin bands of molecular weights 64,500 and 61,000 were identified by immunoprecipitation and sodium dodecyl sulfate gradient-gel electrophoresis and both bands increased to an equal extent in the presence of dexamethasone. Undifferentiated cells from early-gestation animals did not synthesize elastin after hormone exposure, even though glucocorticoid receptors were demonstrated by nuclear-translocation experiments. These results indicate that glucocorticoids stimulate elastin production in elastin-producing ligament cells but do not induce elastin synthesis (differentiation) in undifferentiated cells.


We study the problem of online multiclass classification in a setting where the learner's feedback is determined by an arbitrary directed graph. While including bandit feedback as a special case, feedback graphs allow a much richer set of applications, including filtering and label efficient classification. We introduce Gappletron, the first online multiclass algorithm that works with arbitrary feedback graphs. For this new algorithm, we prove surrogate regret bounds that hold, both in expectation and with high probability, for a large class of surrogate losses. Our bounds are of order $B\sqrt{\rho KT}$, where $B$ is the diameter of the prediction space, $K$ is the number of classes, $T$ is the time horizon, and $\rho$ is the domination number (a graph-theoretic parameter affecting the amount of exploration). In the full information case, we show that Gappletron achieves a constant surrogate regret of order $B^2K$. We also prove a general lower bound of order $\max\big\{B^2K,\sqrt{T}\big\}$ showing that our upper bounds are not significantly improvable. Experiments on synthetic data show that for various feedback graphs, our algorithm is competitive against known baselines.


The analysis of intergenerational conflicts, their nature, causes, forms of manifestation, consequences, and methods by which they can be settled and prevented, is of great importance both in formulating family policy and in understanding the characteristics of the social structure of Russian society, the institution of the family, and the social processes of interaction between the generations. In 2003, staffers in the department of the theory and methodology of social work at Moscow State University of Service carried out a sociological survey on the theme "Intergenerational Conflicts in Today's Family." The survey, involving 1,482 respondents, was carried out in Moscow (46 percent of the respondents) and Moscow Oblast (54 percent) on a random sample. A total of 32 percent of the respondents were male and 68 percent were female; 41 percent were young people between the ages of sixteen and thirty, 39


The effect of muscular exercise by bicycle ergometer on erythrocyte purine nucleotides was investigated in 6 athletes. Muscular exercise increased the concentration of inosine monophosphate from 5.9 +/- 1.1 to 7.3 +/- 1.3 nmol/ml in venous erythrocytes and from 5.7 +/- 1.0 to 6.8 +/- 1.4 nmol/ml in arterial erythrocytes, respectively, while it decreased the concentrations of adenosine diphosphate and adenosine monophosphate from 189.3 +/- 42.7 to 141.2 +/- 26.9 and from 26.0 +/- 7.8 to 15.7 +/- 4.3 nmol/ml in venous erythrocytes and also decreased their concentrations from 195.1 +/- 51.0 to 141 +/- 29.2 and from 26.5 +/- 9.6 to 14.8 +/- 3.0 nmol/ml in arterial erythrocytes, respectively. The muscular exercise also increased the concentration of inorganic phosphate in venous plasma from 1.12 +/- 0.12 to 1.46 +/- 0.22 mmol/l, that of NH3 in blood from 41.90 +/- 6.91 to 150.22 +/- 50.80 mumol/l, that of lactic acid in blood from 7.90 +/- 1.71 to 61.03 +/- 18.43 mg/dl and that of hypoxanthine in venous plasma from 1.32 +/- 0.36 to 18.14 +/- 4.87 mumol/l, respectively. Therefore, in vitro study was performed to investigate whether inorganic phosphate, NH4Cl, lactic acid or hypoxanthine affects nucleotides in erythrocytes. After 2 hour-incubation, 2 mM inorganic phosphate increased the erythrocyte concentration of inosine monophosphate 1.6 fold but decreased the erythrocyte concentrations of adenosine monophosphate and adenosine diphosphate 0.72 and 0.89 fold, respectively, in the suspension (pH 7.35), as compared with 1 mM inorganic phosphate. However NH4Cl, lactic acid or hypoxanthine did not affect erythrocyte purine nucleotides.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Several clustering algorithms have been proposed during the last decade within the context of ad hoc and sensor networks. They allow adding some organization to an otherwise disorganized network. Although the virtual organization attained by clustering has been typically designed within the scope of routing algorithms, clusters can also enable the use of conventional highly efficient medium access control (MAC) protocols to support heavy traffic loads. In this paper we adopt a novel approach to calculate the saturation throughput of a single- hop ad hoc network when using a MAC protocol embedded in a passive clustering mechanism based on the Carrier Sensing Multiple Access (CSMA) protocol. The DQMAN protocol is considered as a study case to validate the proposal.


Pediculosis is one of the most conspicuous and important type of contagious disease among school children. Lice infestation is always accompanied with different clinical manifestations. Thirty lousy school children were clinically examined. The common manifestation was pruritus with or without lymphadenopathy. The least common manifestation was erythema. Other manifestations as excoriation, bite reaction, impetigo contagiosa, crusts behind ears. Conjunctivitis and psoriasis were also seen. It was concluded that school children are the group at high risk for lice infestation.


This paper addresses two main problems in two different domains by integrating them into one interdisciplinary project. Software engineering graduates lack the necessary skills and experience required by employers to address real-world problems. Students enrolled in organic chemistry course often struggle with the content due to its visual nature and its requirement for several learning skills (visual, logical, mechanical). To address these two seemingly non-related educational issues, the investigators in this project have devised a "business" relationship between the students in an upper-level software engineering course and the students in an organic chemistry course. The software engineering students have been "hired" to design and develop a mobile application to help tutor and teach the organic chemistry concept of "functional groups" by involving multiple avenues of learning. By enabling this business relationship we attempt to provide the software engineering students with authentic experiences involved in developing software and to provide organic chemistry students with a tool that helps them learn fundamental concepts in organic chemistry.


Cognitive decline is a major symptom in Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is strongly associated with synaptic excitatory-inhibitory imbalance. Here, we investigated whether astrocyte-specific GABA transporter 3/4 (GAT3/4) is altered in APP knock-in mouse model of AD and whether this is correlated with changes in principal cell excitability. Using the APP NL-F/NL-F knock-in mouse model of AD, aged-matched to wild-type mice, we performed in vitro electrophysiological whole-cell recordings combined with immunohistochemistry in the CA1 and dentate gyrus (DG) regions of the hippocampus. We observed a higher expression of GAD67, an enzyme that catalyses GABA production, and GAT3/4 in reactive astrocytes labelled with GFAP, which correlated with an enhanced tonic inhibition in the CA1 and DG of 12–16 month-old APP NL-F/NL-F mice compared to the age-matched wild-type animals. Comparative neuroanatomy experiments performed using post-mortem brain tissue from human AD patients, age-matched to healthy controls, mirrored the results obtained using mice tissue. Blocking GAT3/4 associated tonic inhibition recorded in CA1 and DG principal cells resulted in an increased membrane input resistance, enhanced firing frequency and synaptic excitation in both wild-type and APP NL-F/NL-F mice. These effects exacerbated synaptic hyperactivity reported previously in the APP NL-F/NL-F mice model. Our data suggest that an alteration in astrocyte GABA homeostasis is correlated with increased tonic inhibition in the hippocampus, which probably plays an important compensatory role in restoring AD-associated synaptic hyperactivity. Therefore, reducing tonic inhibition through GAT3/4 may not be a good therapeutic strategy for AD


HIGH-QUALITY EARLY CHILDHOOD education and care (ECEC) programs have the potential to ameliorate socioeconomic status (SES) gradients. In the Australian ECEC market, however, there is no guarantee that children from low SES backgrounds access high-quality ECEC programs. This study tested the influence of family SES on the selection of ECEC program quality. Participants were 2494 children enrolled in up to 1427 ECEC classrooms (mean age at entry = 43 months, SD = eight months). The study controlled for a range of child, family, home and community-level background factors. Both cross-sectional (linear regression) and longitudinal (growth models) methods are used. The study confirmed that children from lower SES families were more likely to attend lower quality programs. Longitudinal modelling showed the largest quality gap before kindergarten. To narrow SES-related achievement gaps there is a need to significantly improve aspects of program quality that influence children's development, and specifically to do so in programs for younger children. There is a particular need to target ECEC programs in lower SES areas to ameliorate the observed SES quality gradient. The findings further challenge current policy directions from the Productivity Commission inquiry into child care and early learning.


Objective To explore the relationship of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome(OSAS) with hypertension.Methods Patients who complained of snoring and apnea during sleep and daytime sleepiness were given polysomnography examination(PSG).Those who had blood pressures coincident with diagnostic criteriaa of hypertension were enrolled.The apnea / hypopnea index(AHI),nocturnal lowest SaO_2(SaO_2),blood pressures before and after sleep and after treatment with coutinuous positive airway pressure(CPAP) were analyzed.Results The blood pressure of OSAS patients soon after getting up in the morning was significantly higher than that before sleep(P0.001).The diastolic pressure after sleep in the morning was negatively correlated with SaO_2 during sleep at night(P0.05).The SaO_2 was negatively correlated with AHI(P0.05).The body mass index was negatively correlated with SaO_2(P0.05) but positively correlated with the morning diastolic pressure(P0.05).After CPAP for 6~8 weeks,the blood pressure after sleep in the morning was significantly decreased as compared with that before treatment(P0.001).Conclusions The obesity and repeated apnea during sleep was correlated with hypertension in OSAS patients.CPAP treatment was effective for such kind of hypertension.


Abstract  Since 1973 new data have been obtained on the maximum extent of glaciation in High Asia. Evidence for an ice sheet covering Tibet during the last glacial period means a radical rethinking about glaciation in the northern hemisphere. The ice sheet's subtropical latitude, vast size (2.4 million km2) and high elevation (6000 m a.s.l.) are supposed to have resulted in a substantial, albedo‐induced cooling of the Earth's atmosphere and the disruption of summer monsoon circulation. Moraines were found to reach down to 460 m a.s.l. on the southern flank of the Himalayas and to 2300 m a.s.l. on the northern slope of the Tibetan Plateau, in the Qilian Shan region. On the northern slopes of the Karakoram, Aghil and Kuen‐Lun Mountains, moraines occur as far down as 1900 m a.s.l. In southern Tibet, radiographic analyses of erratics suggest a former ice thickness of at least 1200 m. Glacial polish and roches moutonnées in the Himalayas and Karakoram suggest former glaciers as thick as 1200–2700 m. On the basis of this evidence, a 1100–1600‐m lower equilibrium line has been reconstructed, resulting in an ice sheet of 2.4 million km2, covering almost all of Tibet. Radiometric ages, obtained by different methods, classify this glaciation as isotope stage 3–2 in age (Würmian, the last glacial period, ca 60 000–18 000 years ago).


Industrial symbiosis (IS) involves networks of organizations collaborating through flow exchanges. Scientific research has shown that such systems are able to provide benefits at the environmental level. Structural organization and stability were also studied, as they are linked to resilience (maintenance of activity over time), especially with ecological network analysis (ENA), which considers several dimensions in the assessment of a network organization. Studies combining ENA and environmental assessment are lacking in the literature; therefore, the links between the two dimensions are not well documented. The intention of this study was to fill this gap by analyzing structural and environmental performance simultaneously using ENA and a life-cycle-analysis-based approach focusing on the structural topology of IS. The results show that the two dimensions do not strictly influence each other. Structural performance was found to vary depending on the network structure topology, whereas environmental performance was influenced by the network complexity. To ensure the continuation of IS benefits, the two dimensions should be considered in the decision-making process in IS planification, even if they are independent evaluation criteria. Tradeoffs should be based on IS development possibilities and territorial needs.


Computer-aided prediction of rodent carcinogenicity for the external test set consisting of 293 chemicals was performed by PASS (Prediction of Activity Spectra for Substances) and by CISOC-PSCT. The set included 64 carcinogens from ISS Carcinogens Data Bank and 229 noncarcinogens from the Prestwick Chemical Library. We calculated the accuracy of carcinogenicity prediction by PASS and CISOC-PSCT in apart, and by the two programs together (the consensus model). Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy (concordance) were calculated for the external test set by PASS (0.81, 0.74, 0.76), by CISOC-PSCT (0.36, 0.89, 0.77) and by the consensus model (0.69, 0.86, 0.83). Thus, taking into account the prediction results of two computer programs for rodent carcinogenicity the consensus model increases the accuracy of prediction.


Quantification of 7 2 hydroxyethyl guanine 7 HEG adduct in DNA of livers and lymphocytes of male Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to 300 ppm ethene by inhalation 12 h a day for three consecutive days was performed to evaluate the potential of ethene to produce DNA adducts in these tissues. The persistence of 7 HEG in livers and lymphocytes was studied in rats sacrificed 0, 1, 5, and 20 days after the last exposure. DNA samples from control and treated animals were analysed for 7 HEG and 7 methylguanine 7 MG adducts by thin layer chromatography TLC combined with a high pressure liquid chromatography HPLC assay. After a 3 day exposure to ethene, 7 HEG accumulated to a similar extent in liver and lymphocytes, with the mean adduct level of 7.0 0.7 adducts per 107 nucleotides in liver and 7.4 0.7 adducts per 107 nucleotides in lymphocytes of rats sacrificed immediately after cessation of exposure. The approximate half life of 7 HEG was 5 days in liver and 3 days in lymphocytes, which is consistent with the loss of adduct primarily by spontaneous depurination. In addition, the background levels of 7 HEG and 7 MG were determined in the liver and lymphocytes from the control rats.


Objective: To investigate the incidence, risk factors and prognosis of post-contrast acute kidney injury (PC-AKI) and to evaluate the usefulness of serum cystatin C (sCysC) and serum creatinine (sCr) for the prediction of PC-AKI after endovascular interventions. Methods: The clinical data of 404 patients who underwent endovascular procedures from August 2014 to October 2018 in the Sixth People's Hospital South Campus, Shanghai Jiao Tong University were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received 0.9% sodium chloride through an angiographic catheter during the procedure. Patients with an estimated GFR (eGFR)<60 ml/(min·1.73m2) received a continuous intravenous hydration with isotonic saline from 6 hours before to 12 hours after an endovascular procedure. The level of sCr, eGFR and sCysC were measured at 1-2 days pre-procedure and at 48, 72 h, and 7 days post-procedure. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify risk factors of PC-AKI. A receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the usefulness of various factors for the prediction of PC-AKI. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis. Results: Thirteen patients (3.2%) developed PC-AKI. All patients were divided into PC-AKI group and no PC-AKI group for statistical comparison. Wilcoxon signed rank sum test revealed that sCr levels at 7 days post-procedure [63.0 (56.0, 74.0) μmol/L] were significantly lower than pre-procedure sCr levels [65.6 (56.2, 77.0) μmol/L] in patients without PC-AKI (P<0.05). Meanwhile, eGFR levels were significantly higher at 72 h [114.9 (96.3, 135.0) ml/(min·1.73m2)] and 7 days [116.7 (98.5, 139.9) ml/(min·1.73m2)] post-procedure than eGFR levels before endovascular procedures [112.3 (94.1, 133.5) ml/(min·1.73m2)] in patients without PC-AKI (P<0.05). However, there was an increase in sCysC at 48 h [0.9 (0.8, 1.1) mg/L] after endovascular procedures than pre-operative sCysC [0.9 (0.8, 1.1) mg/L] in patients without PC-AKI (P<0.05). SCr, sCysC, levels were significantly increased at 48 h [108.0 (95.3, 125.0) μmol/L, 1.5 (1.2, 2.0) mg/L] and 72 h [123.4 (91.3, 143.0) μmol/L, 1.6 (1.1, 2.0) mg/L] post-procedure than SCr, sCysC, levels before endovascular procedures [81.6 (63.1, 111.0) μmol/L, 1.1 (1.0,1.7) mg/L] and eGFR levels were significantly decreased at 48 h [55.8 (48.9, 77.6) ml/(min·1.73m2)] and 72 h [52.7 (47.7, 63.9) ml/(min·1.73m2)] after endovascular procedures than eGFR levels before exposure to CM [88.8 (65.6, 100.7) ml/(min·1.73m2)] in patients with PC-AKI (P<0.05). SCr, sCysC and eGFR in PC-AKI group tended to levels before an endovascular procedure within 7 days. The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) analysis showed that preoperative sCysC and sCr levels had high discriminatory power for evaluating the risk of PC-AKI after an endovascular procedure. ROC analysis showed that sCysC before endovascular procedures was useful to predict the risk of PC-AKI with a satisfactory sensitivity of 69.2% (9/13), specificity of 77.5% (300/387), positive predictive value (PPV) of 9.3% (9/96) and negative predictive value (NPV) of 98.7% (300/304). The incidence of PC-AKI was low in patients with a pre-procedure sCysC<1.09 mg/L. The sCr was predictive of PC-AKI with a satisfactory sensitivity of 69.2% (9/13), specificity of 76.7% (300/391), PPV of 9.0% (9/100) and NPV of 98.7% (300/304). The incidence of PC-AKI was low in patients with a pre-procedure sCr<77.6 μmol/L. Results of univariate analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that sCysC before endovascular procedures was an risk factor for PC-AKI (OR=13.917, 95%CI:1.666-116.237, P=0.015). The one-year, three-year and five-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with PC-AKI was 50%, 30% and 30% respectively. The median survival time was 6 (0-26) months. Conclusions: The sCysC before endovascular procedures is an independent risk factor of PC-AKI. SCysC and SCr before an endovascular procedure with a cut-off value of 1.09 mg/L and 77.6 μmol/L may help to rule out patients at lower risk of PC-AKI.


Background: Globally millions of people are affected by urinary tract infections. Susceptibility results of various laboratories indicated that most of the bacteria are developing resistance to the commonly used antimicrobial agents. Regular reviews of susceptibility is necessary for the use of specific antibiotics to avoid resistance. Objective: To ascertain the distribution of the bacterial strains and their susceptibility to the commonly used drugs. Material and Methods: The data of retrospective study was collected from microbiology laboratory of Peshawar Medical College from 1st May 2018 till 31st October 2018. The data obtained was statistically analyzed by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Results: Urinary tract infection was most common in females (70.80%) as compared to males. It is common among the age group (21-40years). Most commonly isolated bacteria are gram negative bacteria. 71.4% of the cases among gram negative bacteria were of Escherichia coli (E.coli). Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated that we have a very high percentage of urinary tract infections caused by E. coli which is mostly multi drug resistant infection. Therefore to prevent the development of further resistance, antibiotics should be prescribed after proper bacteriological examination along with culture and sensitivity.


The purpose of this article is to deepen and structure the statistical basis of marine population dynamics. The starting point is the correspondence between the concepts of mortality, survival and lifetime distribution. This is the kernel of the possibilities that survival analysis techniques offer to marine population dynamics. A rigorous definition of survival and mortality based on their properties and their probabilistic versions is briefly presented. Some well established models for lifetime distribution, which generalise the usual simple exponential distribution, might be used with their corresponding survivals and mortalities. A critical review of some published models is also made, including original models proposed in the way opened by Caddy (1991) and Sparholt (1990), which allow for a continuously decreasing natural mortality. Considering these elements, the pure death process dealt with in the literature is used as a theoretical basis for the evolution of a marine cohort. The elaboration of this process is based on Chiang´s study of the probability distribution of the life table (Chiang, 1960) and provides specific structured models for stock evolution as a Markovian process. These models may introduce new ideas in the line of thinking developed by Gudmundsson (1987) and Sampson (1990) in order to model the evolution of a marine cohort by stochastic processes. The suitable approximation of these processes by means of Gaussian processes may allow theoretical and computational multivariate Gaussian analysis to be applied to the probabilistic treatment of fisheries issues. As a consequence, the necessary catch equation appears as a stochastic integral with respect to the mentioned Markovian process of the stock. The solution of this equation is available when the mortalities are proportional, hence the use of the proportional hazards model (Cox, 1959). The assumption of these proportional mortalities leads naturally to the construction of a survival model based on the Weibull distribution for the population lifetime. Finally, the Weibull survival model is elaborated in order to obtain some reference parameters that are useful for management purposes. This section does not deal exhaustively with the biological and fishery reference parameters covered in the specialised monographs (Caddy and Mahon, 1996; Cadima, 2000). We focused our work in two directions. Firstly, the principal tools generating the usual reference parameters were adapted to the proposed Weibull model. This is the case of biomass per recruit and yield per recruit, which generate some of the important reference points used for management purposes, such as the F MSY , F 0.1 , F med . They also provide important and useful concepts such as virgin biomass and overexploitation growth. For this adaptation, it was necessary to previously adapt the critical age as well as the overall natural, fishing and total mortality rates. Secondly, we analysed some indices broadly used in all population dynamics (including human populations) but only marginally dealt with in fishery science, such as life expectancy, mean residual lifetime and median survival time. These parameters are redundant with mortality rates in the classical exponential model, but are not so trivial in a more general framework.


In this paper I will refer to power as in the power struggle between red terrorism and the Italian state in the 1970s, which saw the Italian state victorious thanks to the special legislation on repentance that was passed at the end of the 1970s (I will explain later on this legislation in detail); the violence is the violence that resulted from this struggle, which culminated with the kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro, the secretary of the Christian Democratic party by the Red Brigades, and the language is that of cinema in the 1990s and Third Millennium, which represented these events...


MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNA class and perform regulatory functions at the post transcriptional level as tumor suppressors or oncogenes. miRNAs are effective in cell differentiation, cell proliferation and apoptosis regulation in normal development processes. miRNA gene variations associated with gene silencing mechanisms, , pri-miRNA, pre-miRNA, mat-miRNA gene variations, genetic cariations in target sites of miRNAs have been identified. Significant changes may occur in miRNA expression levels as a result of genetic variations defined in miRNA genes. Therefore, it is thought that genetic variations in miRNA genes may be biomarkers that can play an important role in cancer formation, prognosis and progression. MiRNA function disorder due to miRNA-mediated dysregulation in target genes that may occur as a result of miRNA gene variations in the diagnosis and progression of various types of cancer should be evaluated. In addition, determining miRNAs and miRNA gene variations in target genes that affect drug behavior in increasing the effectiveness of drugs is very important in terms of developing new treatment methods and different therapeutic strategies for various cancer types. In this review, it is aimed to examine the potential roles of miRNAs and miRNA gene variations in cancer development, progression and treatment.


This study characterized sites of degraded land along Kaduna-Abuja expressway in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State for the purpose of planning for the restoration of such sites. Aerial photographs, satellite imagery, topographical sheets and ground data were used. Also examined were types and sizes of degraded sites, distance from major roads and existing land use and cover on an area of 800km2 (40km/20km) in a GIS environment using on screen digitization classification scheme as well as both descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The results revealed four on-going types of degradations in the area namely; soil erosion at 14 sites, excavation of top soil (42), deforestation (75) and loss of biodiversity (91); while on the basis of size, very small (< 0.5ha; 59 occurrences), small (0.51 – 1ha; 28), medium (1.1 – 1.5ha; 21), large (1.51 – 2ha; 18) and very large (> 2ha; 96) respectively. These are scattered all over the study area and are mostly lands that are not used for any economic and ecological purposes. The correlation revealed an inverse relationship of -0.7 between the distances of degraded sites from the expressway and the frequency of occurrence. The characterization shows that degraded sites are located randomly, but are closer to major roads. The main agents of degradation are the removal of top soil and indiscriminate wood harvest. It is therefore proposed that restoration should start from areas adjacent to major roads, targeting unused land, stopping soil loss and providing a better approach to wood harvest which can be achieved through agroforestry system of agriculture.


Here we report the construction of highly functionalized chiral 1,1,2,3-tetrasubstituted arylcyclopropanes of medicinal chemical importance using Pd(II)-catalyzed arylation via directing group-mediated C(sp3)-H activation. The key aspect for the effective arylation was control of the substrate conformation based on the characteristic steric and stereoelectronic features of cyclopropane by manipulating the protecting group at the hydroxyl. The arylation with good functional group tolerance is pivotal as the first entry to chiral 1,1,2,3-tetrasubstituted arylcyclopropanes with wide variety of aryl groups, including heteroaryl groups.


Robot-assisted milling permits more precise preparation of the proximal femur, without necessarily optimizing stem placement. Currently propagated implantation concepts involving maximized implant-cortical bone contact may result in major biomechanical disadvantages, such as unphysiological load transfer in the proximal femur and increased stiffening in this region and subsequent stress shielding. While equipment procurement and running costs are higher, evidence of longer prosthetic life over the long-term has not been forthcoming. Against this background, present efforts to propagate this system for general use in hip replacement surgery cannot be justified.


Objective This study aims to investigate whether pre-operative Homeostasis Model Assessment Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) value is a predictor in non-diabetic coronary artery bypass grafting patients in combination with hemoglobin A1c, fasting blood glucose and insulin levels. Methods Eighty one patients who were admitted to Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic at our hospital between August 2012 and January 2013 with a coronary artery bypass grafting indication were included. Patients were non-diabetic with <6.3% hemoglobin A1c and were divided into two groups including treatment and control groups according to normal insulin resistance (HOMA-IR<2.5, Group A; n=41) and high insulin resistance (HOMA-IR>2.5, Group B; n=40), respectively. Pre-operative fasting blood glucose and insulin were measured and serum chemistry tests were performed. The Homeostasis Model Assessment Insulin Resistance values were calculated. Statistical analysis was performed. Results There was a statistically significant difference in fasting blood glucose and HOMA-IR values between the groups. Cross-clamping time, and cardiopulmonary bypass time were longer in Group B, compared to Group A (P=0.043 and P=0.031, respectively). Logistic regression analysis revealed that hemoglobin A1c was not a reliable determinant factor alone for pre-operative glucometabolic evaluation of non-diabetic patients. The risk factors of fasting blood glucose and cardiopulmonary bypass time were more associated with high Homeostasis Model Assessment Insulin Resistance levels. Conclusion Our study results suggest that preoperative screening of non-diabetic patients with Homeostasis Model Assessment Insulin Resistance may improve both follow-up visit schedule and short-term outcomes, and may be useful in risk stratification of the high-risk population for impending health problems.


A simple analytical study is given for the relativistic equations of motion of an electron in a uniform magnetic field and a circularly polarized microwave electric field. This study allows, in an easy way, for the investigation of the effect of the different factors on the energy exchange between the electric field and the electron, and the state of motion of the electron with respect to the electric field. The jump of electron energy with the change of initial phase of the electron motion is studied in detail. Optimum conditions for energy exchange are derived.


Nucleoporin Nup98, a 98‐kDa protein component of the nuclear pore complex, plays an important role in both protein and RNA transport. During its maturation process, Nup98 undergoes post‐translational autoproteolysis, which is critical for targeting to the NPC. Here we present high‐resolution crystal structures of the C‐terminal autoproteolytic domains of Nup98 (2.3 Å for the wild type and 1.9 Å for the S864A precursor), and propose a detailed autoproteolysis mechanism through an N–O acyl shift. Structural constraints are found at the autocleavage site, and could thus provide a driving force for autocleavage at the scissile peptide bond. Such structural constraints appear to be generated, at least in part, by anchoring a conserved phenylalanine side chain into a highly conserved hydrophobic pocket at the catalytic site. Our high‐resolution crystal structures also reveal that three highly conserved residues, Tyr866, Gly867, and Leu868, provide most of the interactions between the autoproteolytic domain and the C‐terminal tail. These results suggest that Nup98 may represent a new subtype of protein that utilizes autoprocessing to control biogenesis pathways and intracellular translocation.


Abstract Molecular beacons (MBs) are a novel class of nucleic acid probes that become fluorescent when bound to a complementary sequence. Because of this characteristic, coupled with the sequence specificity of nucleic acid hybridization and the sensitivity of fluorescence techniques, MBs are very useful probes for a variety of applications requiring the detection of DNA or RNA. We survey various applications of MBs, including the monitoring of DNA triplex formation, and describe recent developments in MB design that enhance their sensitivity.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Bladder cancer is the fifth most common malignancy in the US. We recently reported that bladder cancer stem cells isolated by cell surface markers (i.e. CD44/CD90/CD49f) express a higher level of the intermediate filament cytokeratin 14 (CK14). Importantly, patients with a higher fraction of CK14+ cancer cells correlated with worse survival outcomes. Therefore, this CK14+ cancer cell subpopulation warrants further functional evaluation and characterization.

In the current study, we report the generation and characterization of a lentiviral reporter construct that carries the gene promoter region of human KRT14 gene upstream to a red fluorescent protein (tdTomato; Tm). With this reporter stably integrated into the genome of bladder cancer cells, the viable CK14+ cancer cell subpopulation could be isolated by FACS and visualized by fluorescent microscopy. We first validated the reporter by demonstrating that Tm+ cancer cells indeed express a higher level of KRT14 mRNA and relatively lower levels of differentiated cell markers (i.e. KRT18 and UPK1B) by qPCR. Next, we verified both in vitro and in vivo that CK14+/Tm+ cancer cells have functional properties of cancer stem cells by demonstrating their enriched sphere-forming ability and proficient engraftment as xenograft tumors in immunocompromised mice. Since neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a well-established treatment approach in patients with high-risk bladder cancer, we investigated CK14+ and CK14- cancer cells' response to the cytotoxic chemotherapy, gemcitabine/cisplatin (GC). FACS-purified CK14+/Tm+ cancer cells were more resistant to GC chemotherapy in vitro than CK14-/Tm- cancer cells. These findings were confirmed with in vivo studies using both patient-derived xenografts and immortalized bladder cancer xenografts. GC treated xenografts demonstrated a greater expansion of CK14+ cancer cells than vehicle treated controls. Additionally, we obtained a panel of human bladder cancer specimens from patients before and after neoadjuvant GC chemotherapy (n=15) and evaluated the CK14 status. An expansion or persistence of an infiltrating pattern of CK14 in post-neoadjuvant GC chemotherapy tumor specimens was associated with worse overall survival.

Collectively, these findings verified the unique intrinsic biological properties of CK14+/Tm+ bladder cancer cells and their response to GC chemotherapy. Ongoing experiments using fluorescence live imaging will evaluate Tm+/- bladder cancer cells' response to chemotherapy. The capacity to observe this CK14+/Tm+ subpopulation and their trace response to cytotoxic chemotherapy in these studies will open up new avenues to study the mechanisms of chemoresistance.

Citation Format: Philip L. Ho, Antonina Kurtova, Jing Xiao, Ross Krasnow, Erica Lay, Senthil Pazhanisamy, Seth P. Lerner, Keith S. Chan. Reporter construct for functional and real-time evaluation of cytokeratin 14+ bladder cancer stem cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1928. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1928


In an attempt to characterize blologlc properties of green turtle fibropapillomatosis (GTFP), blood cells, dermis of normal skin, dermis of cutaneous fibropapillomas, and visceral fibroblastic nodules of green turtles Chelonia mydaswith cutaneous fibropapilloma were examined by flow cytometry. DNA of each sample was stained with propidium iodide and histograms were recorded utilizing a FACSCAN flow cytometer. All samples examined had similar histograms, indicative of normal cell cycles and diploid profiles. Small S phase and G,M fractions (<5%) indicated a low mitotic activity and a nonproliferating state. Statistical analyses were performed on the coefficient of variation (CV) of the G1 peak for the various tissues analyzed. The mean CV for blood from all the unaffected turtles lvas 3 21 while that from turtles afflicted with GTFP was 3 43. CVs of normal skin from healthy turtles and turtles afflicted with GTFP were 4.25 and 4.41 respect~vely. The mean CV for fibropapillomas was 5.27. a number which, though higher than either blood or normal skin, probably reflects the difference in stain uptake characteristics between fibropapillomas and the other 2 tissues rather than any inherent DNA or ploidy difference.


Dynamically controlled construction of microstructures was demonstrated using a spirobenzopyran-containing poly(N-isopropylacrylamide). Under patterned light irradiation, the polymer accumulated at the irradiated area from a uniformly dissolved state and formed micro-patterned structures based on phase transition. Furthermore the microstructures were collapsed due to redissolution of the precipitated polymer when light irradiation was stopped.


BACKGROUND
Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been increasingly suggested as biomarkers for numerous diseases. The aims of this study were to evaluate the expression of plasma miR-27a/b in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE) and determine the possibility of miR-27a/b as diagnostic biomarkers for APE.

METHODS
Seventy-eight APE patients diagnosed by computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and 70 age and gender matched normal volunteers were included in this study. The levels of miR-27a and miR-27b were measured by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and the concentrations of plasma D-dimer were measured using immunoturbidimetric assay.

RESULTS
The levels of plasma miR-27a and miR-27b were significantly higher in APE patients (P<0.001) compared with normal controls. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses showed that plasma miR-27a was superior to miR-27b for the diagnosis of APE (AUC=0.784, AUC=0.707, respectively). Combining miR-27a or miR-27b with D-dimer significantly increased the diagnostic capacity of APE.

CONCLUSIONS
Our results showed that circulating miR-27a and miR-27b might be potential novel diagnostic biomarkers in APE patients.


Habitat loss and soil organic carbon (SOC) stock variations linked to land‐cover change were estimated over two decades in the most densely populated biodiversity hotspot in the world, in order to assess the possible influence of conservation practices on the protection of SOC. For a study area of 88 484 km2, 70% of which lie inside the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot (WGBH), land‐cover maps for two dates (1977, 1999) were built from various data sources including remote sensing images and ecological forest maps. SOC stocks were calculated from climatic parameters, altitude, physiography, rock type, soil type and land‐cover, with a modelling approach used in predictive learning and based on Multiple Additive Regression Tree. The model was trained on 361 soil profiles data, and applied to estimate SOC stocks from predictor variables using a Geographical Information System (GIS). Comparison of 1977 and 1999 land‐cover maps showed 628 km2 of dense forests habitat loss (6%), corresponding to an annual deforestation rate of 0.44%. This was found consistent with other studies carried out in other parts of the WGBH, but not with FAO figures showing an increase in forest area. This could be explained by the different forest definitions used, based on ecological classification in the former, and on percentage tree cover in the latter. Unexpectedly, our results showed that despite ongoing deforestation, overall SOC stock was maintained (∼0.43 Pg). But a closer examination of spatial differences showed that soil carbon losses in deforested areas were compensated by sequestration elsewhere, mainly in recent plantations and newly irrigated croplands. This suggests that more carbon sequestration in soils could be achieved in the future through appropriate wasteland management. It is also expected that increasing concerns about biodiversity loss will favour more conservation and reinforce the already prevailing protective measures, thus further maintaining C stocks.


ranging from 150 to 360 days). Two patients had lesions affecting the upper third of the face, and symmetry was achieved after unilateral treatment of the frontalis muscle. Three patients had injury in the middle third; their treatment depended of analysis of the deviation vectors when smiling and frowning, as to decide which muscle groups should be treated (vertical: upper lip lifter muscles; upper oblique: lifters of the angle of the mouth muscles; and horizontal: risorius muscle). Four patients were affected in the lower third (inferior deviation vectors) and were treated with 2 points to paralyze the lower lip depressor muscles. Correction of asymmetry was achieved in all cases. Recovery from the nerve injury and BTXA application occurred symmetrically in both sides of the face in the following months. All patients with early onset of BTXA therapy (<30 days) had complete recovery of facial symmetry with a single application, evidence of neuropraxis. Patients with lesions of the upper third, those with late onset of BTXA treatment (>30 days), and those with >1 affected nervous branch presented definitive lesion, with partial recovery or improvement, and needed BTXA treatment every 6 months.


High density chitosan membranes were produced via a novel manufacturing process and used as implantable resorbable surgical membranes. The innovative method utilizes the following three sequential steps: (1) casting an acidic chitosan solution within a silicon mold, followed by freezing; (2) neutralizing the frozen acidic chitosan solution in alkaline solution to facilitate polymerization; and (3) applying coincident compression-dehydration under a vacuum. Resulting membranes of 0.2–0.5 mm thickness have densities as high as 1.6 g/cm3. Inclusion of glycerol prior to the compression-dehydration step provides additional physical and clinical handling benefits. The biomaterials exhibit tensile strength with a maximum load as high as 10.9 N at ∼2.5 mm width and clinically relevant resistance to suture pull-out with a maximum load as high as 2.2 N. These physical properties were superior to those of a commercial reconstituted collagen membrane. The dense chitosan membranes have excellent clinical handling characteristics, such as pliability and 'memory' when wet. They are semipermeable to small molecules, biodegradable in vitro in lysozyme solution, and the rates of degradation are inversely correlated to the degree of deacetylation. Furthermore, the dense chitosan membranes are biocompatible and resorbable in vivo as demonstrated in a rat oral wound healing model. The unique combination of physical, in vitro, in vivo, and clinical handling properties demonstrate the high utility of dense chitosan membranes produced by this new method. The materials may be useful as surgical barrier membranes, scaffolds for tissue engineering, wound dressings, and as delivery devices for active ingredients.


Short periods of breath-holding (BH) occur frequently during various kinds of sports activities. Increased minute oxygen uptake (VO2), increased minute carbon dioxide output (VCO2) and increased minute ventilation (VE) are some of the typical responses just after breaking the BH and resuming breathing and these parameters return to their steady levels over time. This study examined the properties of the restitution processes of lung functions after BH. Exercise tests were carried out with a bicycle ergometer for seven healthy male athletes and the ventilation activities and expired gases were measured with a breath-by-breath based aeromonitor. The respiratory responses to 25 s BH were tested during continuous cycling at three exercise loads (2 W, 22 W and 102 W). A single exponential decay function with two parameters: initial amplitude (A) and time constant ( ), was fitted to the data of VO2, VCO2, VE, expiratory tidal volume (TVE) and respiratory rate (RR) after cessation of the BH. It was found that, except for RR, A was increased and was decreased with increasing the exercise intensity. The A of VCO2 was smaller and was longer than those of VO2 at all load intensities. The difference in the time courses of VO2 and VCO2 may be explained by the different buffer mechanisms of oxygen and carbon dioxide within the body.


The early twenty-first century has witnessed forgeries of antique silver coins (including Japanese coins, Qing Dynasty coins, Yuan-Shikai-era coins, and Republic of China coins). Some forgers wallow in extravagant profits from illegal trading in fake coins with correct weights that combine some silver with cheaper metals. Exceptional forgers can deceive coin collectors by delivering mostly silver pieces of the same weights and sizes as genuine silver coins. Specific gravity is the ratio of masses for equal volumes of different substances; even though numerous forgers understand coin weights and thus deliver fake products with the correct weights, the aforementioned forgery process cannot counterfeit the specific gravity values of silver coins. Hence, the specific gravity values of silver products can be used to distinguish genuine coins from counterfeits. This paper explains a multistep process for distinguishing genuine from counterfeit silver coins. Calculations of specific gravity are combined with a nonlinear constraint method to estimate the ingredients of alleged silver coins. When the ingredients of a coin have been ascertained, whether a coin is genuine or counterfeit can be proven.


Pangi Binangga Nature Reserve is one of the conservation sites geographically located at Parigi Moutong District Central Sulawesi Province. The reserve is known to be the host of many protected species of flora and fauna including orchids. However, species richness of orchids decreased over time due to habitat degradation as well collection for commercial purposes as ornamental type of vegetation to improve community's income. This research was to endeavor characteristics of the host trees for the orchids living in the reserve. The research was conducted from November 2014 to January 2015 using line transect methods. Transects were placed on the line purposively. Observation transects form were Quadratic with size of 20 m x 20 m. The research (applying 5 observation plots) revealed that there were 12 tree species that function as host. In general, most orchids like to have host with thick bark, coarse and scratches as well as wide canopy to cover orchids reproduction. Interestingly, it was found that each host has different orchid species (12 species).
Keywords: host tree characteristics, orchids, Pangi Binangga Nature Reserve


Background The purpose of this study was to identify circulating tumor cells (CTCs) through single cell sorting using DEPArray technology in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from an advanced gastric cancer (AGC) patient with leptomeningeal seeding. We also demonstrated intra-patient heterogeneity of CTCs isolated from CSF samples at the single cell level. Methods We used the DEPArray system to identify and align single enabled CSF and CTCs based on a multi-parallel fluorescence analysis. The CSF samples were stained with an antibody cocktail recognizing DAPI, cytokeratin, EpCAM, and HER2. The stained cells were sorted and identified into a single, variable cell based on a multiparametric fluorescence analysis. The CSF and CTC subpopulations were quantified for absolute cell counts and relative frequency. Based on the stained morphology of each single CSF and CTC, five groups were identified. Results We stratified the CTCs to evaluate the character of the CTCs isolated from the CSF, according to CK, EpCAM and HER2. In total, 78.2% of the CTCs isolated from the CSF showed HER2 overexpression, which was consistent with the status of HER2 in the patient's primary gastric tumor. The most common types were HER2 positive, CK positive, and EpCAM positive CTCs (56.6%). On the other hand, 21.8% of the CTCs isolated from the CSF did not show HER2 overexpression, which was inconsistent with the primary tumor. Her2 negative, CK negative, and EpCAM positive CTCs were the predominant types among the CTCs without HER2 overexpression (19.7%). Conclusions We enriched the CTCs through a single cell sorting process with DEPArray technology in CSF samples of an AGC patient with leptomeningeal seeding. We also demonstrated intra-patient heterogeneity of the CTCs at the single cell level.


The Antarctic nematode Panagrolaimus davidi can survive intracellular freezing. Genetic studies indicate the culture strain (now designated as Panagrolaimus sp. DAW1) is a different species to the P. davidi of field origin. This paper reports further attempts both to isolate DAW1 from Antarctic soils and to culture P. davidi itself. Sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene of 151 individuals indicates that DAW1 is rare in the field, but characterising two new isolates shows that, nevertheless, it is present. Panagrolaimus davidi is common in the field, but cannot be cultured using the media tested here. These two species are difficult to distinguish morphologically, apart from the absence of males in DAW1 and its longer recurved tail. Whilst it is possible that DAW1 is an introduced species, the sites at Shackleton's hut at Cape Royds are dominated by P. davidi , which is clearly an endemic species.


565 Many molecular targeted therapeutic strategies against cancer are based on monoclonal antibodies to tumor associated antigens. Among other mechanisms, monoclonal antibodies can initiate complement-dependent cell lysis. However, malignant cells are usually resistant to complement through the enhanced expression of complement control proteins. In previous studies we have shown that non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells produce and bind factor H, an inhibitor of complement activation, as a mechanism to escape the activation of the alternative pathway of complement. In this study, we examine the role of factor H and CD59, a cell membrane complement inhibitor, in the regulation of the classical complement pathway. First, we generated polyclonal antisera to NSCLC cell lines A549 and H1264 by immunizing rabbits with these cell extracts. Flow cytometry studies revealed that both cell lines reacted with their respective antiserum. Single-cell suspensions of both cell lines were first treated with their corresponding rabbit antiserum and, in a second step, with normal human serum. To evaluate the activation of complement, we examined by flow cytometry the deposition of C3 (a key element in the complement cascade). We also analyzed complement-mediated lysis by a calcein-AM cytotoxicity assay. Our study revealed deposition of C3 fragments on both cancer cell lines but a limited cell lysis (less than 10%). These results are in agreement with previous studies in which a high resistance to complement-mediated lysis in NSCLC cells had been described. However, when factor H activity was blocked by neutralizing antibodies (MoAb OX-24), deposition of C3 fragments from normal human serum was more efficient, and the susceptibility to complement-mediated lysis increased moderately. On the other hand, when CD59 activity was blocked by neutralizing antibodies (MoAb YTH53.1), cells were more susceptible to complement-mediated lysis, enabling lysis of up to 50% of H1264 cells and 75% of A549 cells. A combined treatment with anti-factor H and anti-CD59 antibodies was much more effective in increasing cell susceptibility to lysis, with up to 90% of the cells lysed by complement. Finally, in order to evaluate the in vivo role of factor H, we knocked down factor H expression on A549 cells using shRNA silencing of the gene. In vitro growth of these cells was not affected when compared to cells transfected with an siRNA targeted to a scramble sequence. However, growth of xenograft tumors in athymic mice was reduced to 50%. In summary, we have shown that lung cancer cells are able to prevent significant complement activation upon their cell membrane. Furthermore, we demonstrate that lack of activation can be prevented by combined factor H and CD59 inhibition. Our results suggest that complement-mediated immunotherapy based on modulation of complement activation is an attractive strategy for lung cancer treatment.


Multicarrier (MC) CDMA systems have been developed and rapidly gained popularity as they capitalize on both MCM (multicarrier modulation)'s resilience to multi-path fading and direct-sequence (DS) CDMA's simplicity in multi-access and synchronization design to mitigate both multiple access interference (MAI) and the inter-symbol interference (ISI) caused by time dispersive channels with the aid of cyclic prefix (CP). Nevertheless, the elimination of ISI in the MC-CDMA communications systems is at the cost of significant loss in bandwidth efficiency. Additionally, due to the time varying nature of the multipath channel, the training sequence needs to be transmitted periodically, causing further loss of channel throughput. Therefore, blind channel estimation methods which avoid the use of training sequence or even the CP are more attractive due to the increasing demand for high-bit-rate transmission. In this paper, a blind linear prediction based multiuser detection method which avoids the use of CP is proposed for MC-CDMA communications systems. Compared with some existing blind methods, our newly proposed method has better performance. Computer simulations are presented to verify its effectiveness.


Trauma care has evolved into a hybrid form of medicine in which a robust performance improvement (PI) method is necessary to evaluate clinical outcomes. We are measured by standards that have been driven by military and civilian efforts alike in order to utilize data to measure outcomes with benchmarking capabilities. Through structured processes and naming conventions, we continue to strive for the optimal system to catalog judgment results.


Commenced in 1992, a validation study involving 118 patients who underwent sentinel lymphadenectomy, then immediate complete regional node dissection, confirmed that the histological status of sentinel nodes (SNs) accurately reflects the status of regional nodes. Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy was found to be valuable in determining the number and position of SNs and demonstrated several previously unsuspected lymphatic drainage pathways. The greatest accuracy was achieved by using both blue dye and a gamma probe (to detect radioactivity in SNs after lymphoscintigraphy the previous day). In experience to date, SN positivity has been related to primary tumor thickness (<1.5 mm, 5%; 1.5-3 mm, 14%; >3 mm, 24%). In 827 patients, with a median follow-up of 37 months, recurrence (at any site) has occurred in 47% of SN-positive patients but only 12% of SN-negative patients. Already 30% of SN-positive patients have died of melanoma, but only 6% of SN-negative patients. Although sentinel lymphadenectomy provides accurate staging and important prognostic information, its therapeutic significance has yet to be determined in clinical trials.


This study evaluated the efficacy of hydroxyurea treatment in the prevention of vaso-occlusive crises among children and teenagers with severe sickle cell anemia and sickle cell beta-thalassemia. Nineteen children and young adults with severe sickle cell disease were enrolled to the hydroxyurea treatment trial. The incidence of vaso-occlusive crises, acute chest syndrome, hemolytic crises, splenic sequestration episodes, blood transfusions, and hospital days in the 2 years before hydroxyurea (HU) treatment were compared with the same parameters in the first 2 years of treatment. The patients received a mean dose of 21.3 mg/kg/day daily and were treated during a mean period of 40.3 +/- 14 months (range 20 to 68 months). Significant increases were observed after 1 month in the Hgb, MCV, MCH, and MCHC levels and were more notable after 3 months. The increase in the Hgb F level became important after 3 months of HU therapy and was highly significant (p < .001) beyond 6 months. No differences were observed in the RDW, reticulocyte count, Hgb S, and Hgb A2. Severe neutropenia was observed in one case. A decrease in the frequency of vaso-occlusive crises, acute chest syndrome, hemolytic crises, blood transfusions, and days spent in the hospital was demonstrated during the HU treatment period compared to the same period before. The clinical and laboratory response to HU was dramatic in severely affected sickle cell anemia (SCA) patients. The response to HU in children and teenagers with severe sickle cell anemia is similar to the response in adults, and no severe adverse effects were observed.


One of the most enduring and intensively studied problems of x-ray astronomy is the disagreement of state-of-the art theory and observations for the intensity ratio of two Fe XVII transitions of crucial value for plasma diagnostics, dubbed 3C and 3D. We unravel this conundrum at the PETRA III synchrotron facility by increasing the resolving power 2.5 times and the signal-to-noise ratio thousandfold compared with our previous work. The Lorentzian wings had hitherto been indistinguishable from the background and were thus not modeled, resulting in a biased line-strength estimation. The present experimental oscillator-strength ratio R_{exp}=f_{3C}/f_{3D}=3.51(2)_{stat}(7)_{sys} agrees with our state-of-the-art calculation of R_{th}=3.55(2), as well as with some previous theoretical predictions. To further rule out any uncertainties associated with the measured ratio, we also determined the individual natural linewidths and oscillator strengths of 3C and 3D transitions, which also agree well with the theory. This finally resolves the decades-old mystery of Fe XVII oscillator strengths.


Oscillatory behavior is a key property of many biological systems. The small-gain theorem (SGT) for input/output monotone systems provides a sufficient condition for global asymptotic stability of an equilibrium, and hence its violation is a necessary condition for the existence of periodic solutions. One advantage of the use of the monotone SGT technique is its robustness with respect to all perturbations that preserve monotonicity and stability properties of a very low-dimensional (in many interesting examples, just one-dimensional) model reduction. This robustness makes the technique useful in the analysis of molecular biological models in which there is large uncertainty regarding the values of kinetic and other parameters. However, verifying the conditions needed in order to apply the SGT is not always easy. This paper provides an approach to the verification of the needed properties and illustrates the approach through an application to a classical model of circadian oscillations, as a nontrivial "case study," and provides a theorem in the converse direction of predicting oscillations when the SGT conditions fail.


It is supposed that the fractional difference equation , has an equilibrium point and is exposed to additive stochastic perturbations type of that are directly proportional to the deviation of the system state from the equilibrium point . It is shown that known results in the theory of stability of stochastic difference equations that were obtained via V. Kolmanovskii and L. Shaikhet general method of Lyapunov functionals construction can be successfully used for getting of sufficient conditions for stability in probability of equilibrium points of the considered stochastic fractional difference equation. Numerous graphical illustrations of stability regions and trajectories of solutions are plotted.


The swiss neurosurgeons were asked to give their own politics on prophylactic antibiotics. The results of this enquiry are given. Post-operative infections in the Neurosurgical Clinic of Geneva in a four-year period were at a satisfactorily low rate and demonstrated the importance of many factors of risk. Guide lines for a reasonable prophylaxis in three groups of operations are given, with a precise schedule for each group. It is suggested that ones own surgical technique be severely criticized before considering prophylactic antibiotics.


This article thinks about citizenship and media in the context of the recent "financial crisis," and the role of a collapsed real estate market in the crisis. Specifically, the article examines the transformations and recent legacy of what the author refers to as realty TV, a vein of Reality TV programs oriented toward the virtues, pleasures, and rewards of capitalizing on home improvement and investment during the first decade of the 21st century. The article considers the historical contradictions of realty TV's demonstrations of the virtues of the home makeover (as self-enterprise, self-actualization, and self-investment) before 2008, and the contradictions of realty TV's role in reproducing a new "moral economy" of self-responsibilization in the wake of the subsequent financial crisis. This latter moral economy developed partly in response to the rapidly increasing number of home owners who were unable to meet the requirements of their mortgages and who then voluntarily abandoned their homes and mortgages because of their inability to recoup equity in these homes. The article is particularly interested in how this recent history of realty TV provides a perspective for thinking about the recent financial crisis in different terms and examples typically used to explain the crisis by political economists. By examining how a moral economy for managing financial crisis has been produced through television "programs" which serve as technical resources for maximizing personal financial security and for managing the insecurities and instabilities of house and home as "investment opportunity," the article also suggests ways that television is being reinvented within new technologies of self-government and citizenship. And in that way, the article considers historical determinations shaping TV and its relation to other media/technologies not typically addressed in media studies.


Today's ethics of privacy is largely dedicated to defending personal information from big data technologies. This essay goes in the other direction. It considers the struggle to be lost, and explores two strategies for living after privacy is gone. First, total exposure embraces privacy's decline, and then contributes to the process with transparency. All personal information is shared without reservation. The resulting ethics is explored through a big data version of Robert Nozick's Experience Machine thought experiment. Second, transient existence responds to privacy's loss by ceaselessly generating new personal identities, which translates into constantly producing temporarily unviolated private information. The ethics is explored through Gilles Deleuze's metaphysics of difference applied in linguistic terms to the formation of the self. Comparing the exposure and transience alternatives leads to the conclusion that today's big data reality splits the traditional ethical link between authenticity and freedom. Exposure provides authenticity, but negates human freedom. Transience provides freedom, but disdains authenticity.


The data on the solvolysis of orthophosphoramidates are collected and rationalized into two groups: a mechanism involving a unimolecular decomposition of the compounds where nitrogen contains a positive charge, and a bimolecular one for molecules with uncharged nitrogen involving the entering and leaving groups at right angles to each other. The first mechanism is invoked for all acid catalyzed reactions and the decomposition of monoamidophosphoric acid, the second for all mononanions and acids except monoamidophosphoric and possibly the 7V-arylphosphoramidic.


ABSTRACT Objectives : The present study was designed to investigate effects of Ssa nghwa-tang (Shuānghuā-gēng) on oxidation/reduction reaction-related and aging-related enzymes in vitro. Methods : We performed MTT assay, collagenase inhibition assay, elastas e inhibition assay, tyrosinase inhibition assay, DPPH free radical scavenging assay, SOD-like activity an d xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibition assay.Results : The 50% ethanol (EtOH) extract of Ssanghwa-tang (SHT) showed 55% inhibition of collagenase activity, and 42% inhibition of elastase activity at 1 mg/ml co ncentration. Also it's treatment showed 18% inhibition of tyrosinase activity, to relate whitening effect, at the same dose of 50% ethanol extract of SHT. Antioxidant activities were determined by DPPH radical scavenging, XO inhibiting activity and SOD-like activity. These scavenging, XO-inhibiting and SOD-like activiti es were measured in 80%, 75%, and 28% inhibitions, respectively, at a 1 mg/ml treated dose, compared to those of control. The inhibitory effects of 50% EtOH extract on aging and oxidation-related enzyme activities were higher than those of water extract and 95% EtOH extract.Conclusions : Taken together, our findings suggest that the SHT has potenti al and applicable benefits for development of cosmetics to have anti-aging (anti-wrinkle and whitening) and anti-oxidation functions.Key words : Ssanghwa-tang, anti-aging, anti-oxidation, collagenase, elast ase, tyrosinase


OBJECTIVE
To assess the effects of glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1-based therapies (ie, GLP-1 receptor agonists and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors) on microvascular function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

APPROACH AND RESULTS
We studied 57 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (mean±SD age: 62.8±6.9 years; body mass index: 31.8±4.1 kg/m(2); HbA1c [glycated hemoglobin] 7.3±0.6%) in an acute and 12-week randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial conducted at the Diabetes Center of the VU University Medical Center. In the acute study, the GLP-1 receptor agonist exenatide (therapeutic concentrations) or placebo (saline 0.9%) was administered intravenously. During the 12-week study, patients received the GLP-1 receptor agonist liraglutide (1.8 mg daily), the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor sitagliptin (100 mg daily), or matching placebos. Capillary perfusion was assessed by nailfold skin capillary videomicroscopy and vasomotion by laser Doppler fluxmetry, in the fasting state and after a high-fat mixed meal. In neither study, treatment affected fasting or postprandial capillary perfusion compared with placebo (P>0.05). In the fasting state, acute exenatide infusion increased neurogenic vasomotion domain power, while reducing myogenic domain power (both P<0.05). After the meal, exenatide increased endothelial domain power (P<0.05). In the 12-week study, no effects on vasomotion were observed.

CONCLUSIONS
Despite modest changes in vasomotion, suggestive of sympathetic nervous system activation and improved endothelial function, acute exenatide infusion does not affect skin capillary perfusion in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Twelve-week treatment with liraglutide or sitagliptin has no effect on capillary perfusion or vasomotion in these patients. Our data suggest that the effects of GLP-1-based therapies on glucose are not mediated through microvascular responses.


Programming activities for the control of venereal diseases implies certain difficulties in Latin American countries owing to the lack of basic information and resources. It is perhaps for this reason that such programs have so far failed to achieve an adequate epidemiological impact. In late 1975 a new program was set up in Costa Rica with the following objectives: 1) reducing the incidence of venereal diseases; 2) detecting cases at an early stage in order to begin treatment; 3) developing a far-reaching hygiene education program; 4) establishing appropriate epidemiological surveillance machinery including border-area programs; 5) integrating control activities with the general health services; 6) training personnel; and 7) carrying out research. Among the activities planned for the attainment of the aforementioned objectives was the detection of cases by means of voluntary presentation; surveillance of contacts; serological testing of pregnant women blood donors and applicants for health care identity cards and other types of examination. Outpatient treatment was planned for all cases detected. Where epidemiological surveillance was concerned it was proposed that improvements be made in morbidity report procedures data analysis and border-area programs. Plans were also made for integrating control activities into the basic health services and for reviewing the existing legislation with a view to expediting the implementation of the program. Steps taken to that end included the establishment of a more effective coordination of such activities with the Costa Rican Social Security Institute an entity which attends the health needs of 80% of the population; a follow-up program for cases detected in the hospitals included in the program and preparation of a flow diagram to be used for that purpose by such institutions. Other aspects considered were the distribution of treatment manuals and information on epidemiological interview methods and laboratory techniques for the diagnosis and control of venereal diseases. In addition posters and audiovisual modules were designed for use in public health education campaigns. (authors modified) (summaries in ENG POR FRE)


Objective Identifying gene mutation signatures will enable a better understanding for the occurrence, development, and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and provide some potential biomarkers for clinical practice. This study investigated the mutated genes in HCC patients and assessed their relationship with tumor mutation burden (TMB) and prognosis. Methods The somatic mutation annotation format (MAF) document, mRNA expression matrix, and clinical information of HCC patients were obtained from the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The differences of TMB between the mutant type and the wild-type genes were detected using the Mann–Whitney U test. The link of gene mutations with prognosis was explored by the Kaplan–Meier analysis. The proportion of 22 immune cells' composition was measured using CIBERSORT algorithm. Results The two databases screened 16 common mutated genes, which included TP53, TTN, LRP1B, ZFHX4, MUC16, OBSCN, CSMD3, FLG, CSMD1, SYNE1, SPTA1, USH2A, KMT2C, PCLO, HMCN1, and FAT3. After a series of analysis, MUC16 mutation was found to be highly correlated with TMB and was regarded as an independent factor predicting HCC. Furthermore, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) indicated that the MUC16 mutation was significantly involved in HCC cell metabolism. Conclusions MUC16 mutation seems to be a valuable potential biomarker for HCC development and its overall survival.


Fish bile poisoning may damage human liver and kidney, causing degeneration and necrosis. Can also damage brain cells and heart muscle, resulting in nervous system and cardiovascular system lesions. This paper reports a case of a patient who developed multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) after oral administration of fish bile with Xiexin folk prescription for eye disease. In January 2020, he went to the poisoning and occupational diseases department of the emergency department of Qilu hospital. After receiving hemoperfusion, continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) and symptomatic support treatment, the patient was improved and discharged. CRRT combined with HP is one of the rapid and effective methods for the treatment of acute fish bile poisoning.


The vertebrate immune response consists of humoral and cellular immune
reactions, which are mediated mainly by immunoglobulins (Ig) and Tcell receptors (TCR)
respectively. The organization of Ig and TCR genes has been well established. Each of
the lg and TCR genes consists of multiple germ line gene segments that rearrange during
lymphocyte development to generate diverse receptor structures expressed on mature B
and T cells. The transcriptional regulation of Ig genes has been well studied. The
octamer motif in the lg gene promoter or enhancer, the E-box and the KB site have been
functionally characterized. The regulation of transcription factors that bind to these
sites is well understood. The transcriptional regulation of TCR genes is not as well
studied as that of lg genes. TCR-α, -β, -γ, -δ gene enhancers and a TCR α gene
silencer have been reported. Some of the transcription factors that bind to these ciselements
have been cloned. A T cell-specific transcription factor, GATA-3, may play
an important regulatory role on the expression of TCR genes in T cells. The promoters
of TCR genes also have been investigated, however, the transcription factors that
interact with them have not been characterized. The aim of this thesis was to isolate
and characterize transcription factors that function in TCR gene transcription. A eDNA clone htβ, encoding a zinc finger protein that binds to the promoter
region of the human TCR gene Vβ8.1, was cloned from a human peripheral blood T cell
library. The region of this protein containing four zinc fingers of the class Cys_2-X_(12)-
His_2 may be responsible for DNA binding to the TCR Vβ8.1 promoter sequence
GAAGTTGGGGGTGGTG. A putative transcriptional activation domain that is highly
negatively charged has also been found in htβ. Analysis of expression of htβ mRNA
reveales similar expression levels in Hela cells, Jurkat T cells, Ramos B cells and U -937
monocyte line. In addition to binding to the human TCR Vβ8.1 promoter, htβ also can
bind to the mouse TCR gene α silencer. The comparison of htβ binding sites between
the human TCR Vβ8.1 promoter and the mouse TCR gene α silencer reveals a core
sequence of the CACCC box. Gel-shift assay analysis of five repeats of the CACCC
box with bacterially expressed htβ protein indicates that htβ can bind to the CACCC
box. Gel-shift assays of the CACCC box with nuclear extracts from various cell lines
reveal four common bands in T cell, B cell, monocyte and Hela cell lines, and one extra
band in Hela cell extracts. CAT assay analysis indicates the CACCC box is essential for
efficient transcription of the Vβ8.l promoter. Cotransfection with a htβ expression
plasmid and a reporter plasmid show that htβ can activate human TCR Vβ8.1 gene
transcription. Htβ also is able to counteract the silencing effect of the TCR α silencer.
Htl3 may have an interaction with the cAMP response element binding protein (CREB)
to negatively regulate human Vβ8.1 gene transcription in Hela cells, and that negative
effect is not significant in Jurkat T cells. The CACCC box has been found in almost all
Vβ8 subfamily members (4 of 5 Vβ8 members in human, and 2 of 3 Vβ8 members in
mouse), and both TCR α and β enhancers in human and mouse. These results suggest
that the CACCC box binding protein may have an important function in the immune
system. A murine zinc finger protein (M-zif) has been isolated and characterized. It has
four fingers in the zinc finger domain, the putative DNA binding domain. Also, a
glutamine-rich region was found, which may be involved in transcriptional activation.
A previously reported eDNA molecule was shown to contain in opposite orientatioins the
coding regions of both the interleukin-2 receptor α (IL-2Rα.) and M-zif genes. The
results presented here indicate that the cDNA is a chimeric molecule resulting from
cloning artifact. The zinc finger domain of M-zif is highly homologous to that of htβ, a
human T cell receptor Vβ8.1 promoter binding protein. They may have a similar DNA
binding site. M-zif is not the mouse equivalent of htβ.


Background The limited evidence on gender differences in outcomes in PMR suggests females experience a more severe and protracted course of disease. Females have longer duration of symptoms, higher relapse rate, higher cumulative steroid dose, and more steroid complications. Objectives To determine gender outcome differences in the first two years of PMR by analysing an existing database. Methods The analyses use data from a UK multi-centre prospective cohort study (2000-2005) of 129 patients (77 females, 52 males). Patients received standard care of, tapering oral prednisolone treatment in-line with current BSR guidelines. Clinical and patient-reported outcomes were assessed prior to starting treatment and at five assessments during two year follow-up. Health-related quality of life was measured using mental and physical component scores of the SF-36. Statistical analysis was done using multivariable linear and logistic regression to examine differences in outcomes by gender. Analyses were adjusted for socio-economic status, age, co-morbidities, and pre-treatment differences in the relevant outcome measure. Results At presentation females had worse mental quality of life (p=0.01.) There was no evidence of a difference in physical quality of life (p=0.54.) During follow-up females had significantly less improvement in physical quality of life (p=0.04 at 12 months, p=0.01 at 24 months). There were no statistically significant differences between females and males in improvement in mental quality of life (p=0.38 at 12 months, p=0.65 at 24 months.) The percentage of females who relapsed in the first two years was higher but non-significant (57% versus 44%). The cumulative steroid dose was higher in females despite their mean 13% lower body weight (3930mg versus 3548mg). Females had twice as many steroid related adverse events as males. Conclusions Females with PMR have worse mental quality of life at initial presentation, a difference that remains during follow-up. Although relapse rates were not significantly different in females and males, there were significant differences in outcome in terms of physical quality of life. Cumulative steroid dose was higher in females despite lower body weight and steroid related adverse events were double those of males. Our findings add to existing evidence of worse outcomes in females and suggest the need to consider alternative approaches to treatment. Disclosure of Interest: None Declared


A14 While traditional immunohistochemistry (IHC) methods have been used for diagnostic tests, the current assays do have significant limitations: They are limited to a bin-based scoring system which relies on subjective assignment, thus final diagnosis can vary significantly between operators, locations and methods. For a clinical diagnostic assay, the ideal platform must be able to produce normalized/standardized data derived from objective quantitative assignment. We have developed an AQUA® scoring system which provides a continuous variable measuring protein expression in defined regions of formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue samples. This approach combines fluorescent immunoassay sensitivity and dynamic range with the location information typically provided by traditional IHC. In order to fully realize the potential of this system for widespread use in a regulated environment, we have now developed an automated platform which provides standardized AQUA® analysis results. This is a complete solution encompassing the immunoassay, acquisition hardware and analysis software. The platform consists of an automated fluorescence microscopy system which is controlled by a PC which also includes analysis and data quality control software. Slides are stained using standard immunochemistry techniques with an assay that can be readily configured for different biomarkers of interest. Minimal operator interaction is required for set-up and acquisition of stained slides (either whole tissue sections or tissue microarrays (TMA)), while the hardware and assay are configured to produce standardized results correcting for variations in the assay, microscopy and imaging of samples. Results can then be compared across multiple testing sites and even to other analysis platforms (i.e. ELISA). This is a crucial step in facilitating the leap from biomarker identification to practical diagnostic use. This presentation will describe how this new platform is capable of repeatedly producing diagnostic assay results which provide maximal predictive value and reliability.


Financial development plays an important role in the structure of the trade balance and promoting economic development. Trade literature suggests that differences in economies' endowments of labour, land, physical capital and technology explain the dynamics and patterns of international trade flows. More recent literature argues that it is the heterogeneity in productivity of firms which mainly accounts for the decision and survival in the international markets. Given the growing importance of Global Value Chains and Regional Production Networks in the emerging economies, financial development is essential to support credit facilities for the traders and provide hassle free transactions. In this context, this study attempts to examine the impact of access to finance on firms' export decisions in the Asia-Pacific countries. In particular, we have studied whether financial development and institutional quality that support financial access promote international trade. The study found that access to finance plays a significant role in promoting firm's ability to export. Unlike institutional quality, financial development indicators positively interact with access to finance to promote firm's ability to export. The study also found that infrastructure bottlenecks negatively affect firms' export decisions.


The in vitro susceptibility of 363 strains of Salmonella isolated in Honk Kong to various antimicrobial drugs was tested, and the minimum inhibitory concentrations of ampicillin, mecillinam, and six cephalosporins (cephalexin, cephradine, cefamandole, cefoxitin, cefuroxime, and Ro 13-9904) for these strains were determined by an agar dilution method. Although strains of the typhoid and paratyphoid group remained susceptible to most antibiotics tested, many strains of the gastroenteric group of salmonellae were found to be resistant to multiple antibiotics, including ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and, occasionally, trimethoprim. Mecillinam and cefamandole, although active against most of the Salmonella strains tested, were shown to be less active against ampicillin-resistant strains. By contrast, Ro 13-9904 exhibited remarkably uniform and high activity against all the Salmonella strains tested, irrespective of their ampicillin resistance.


Legitimacy has become a central concern in international law. This article analyses an important aspect of the concept, namely the often-presumed link between legitimacy and the stability of institutions and norms. The explanatory role of legitimacy hinges on the descriptive elements attributed to legitimacy because, only by fixing those elements, a causal link can be established. The article contends that due to its conceptual features legitimacy cannot be circumscribed descriptively, making the tracing of its relationship to the stability of institutions and norms in the international legal order an intractable task. The article suggests that international lawyers should embrace the open-ended nature of legitimacy and focus on its dynamic dimension: legitimation. Legitimacy is treated as a rhetorical tool whereby actors try to pursue certain courses of action. The importance of legitimacy then lies in its employment for the shaping of perceptions with regard to how institutions ought to be.


Side weirs are flow diversion or intake devices that are widely used in irrigation and drainage networks and urban sewage systems. Labyrinth weirs have a proven hydraulic advantage due to their increased discharge rate at the same head for a given design condition. A labyrinth weir is defined as a weir crest that is not straight in plan-form. The increased sill length provided by labyrinth weirs effectively reduces upstream head to the particular discharge. In this study, a comprehensive laboratory study was conducted in a physical model of a semi-circular labyrinth side weir and the model is evaluated for three heights and three radii. In this particular study, the hydraulic effects of this shape of side weir in increasing discharge capacity was investigated. The discharge coefficient of semi-circular labyrinth side weirs was determined and the results were analysed to find the influence of the dimensionless parameters of weir height ( w/b ), weir length ( r/b ), nape height (( y 1 −w)/r ), and upstream Froude number ( Fr 1 ) on discharge coefficient ( Cd ), based on the experimental conditions and previous studies. It was found that the discharge coefficient of the semi-circular labyrinth side weir gives a relatively high discharge coefficient value compared to other types of classic side weir positioned on a straight channel. Additionally, reliable equations for calculating the discharge coefficient ( Cd ) of semi-circular labyrinth side weirs are proposed. According to the proposed equation, Cd depends on dimensionless parameters, which are the ratios of r/b, r/w , ( y 1 −w ) /r , ( y 2 −w )/ r and Fr 1 . Keywords: side-weir, discharge coefficient, semi-circular labyrinth side weir, subcritical flow


Introduction Moisture damage (MD) exposure at work has been shown to increase the risk of new onset asthma and exacerbation of asthma. However, most of the studies in this field have been questionnaire studies. A small proportion of MD-exposed workers are diagnosed with asthma. Many patients with MD exposure at work referred to secondary healthcare report intermittent hoarseness, loss of voice or difficulty to inhale, referring to functional or organic problems of the larynx. For accurate treatment, proper differential diagnostics is paramount. We present an ongoing observational study in which we describe the prevalence of respiratory, voice and other symptoms related to MD at work in patients referred to secondary healthcare. Case-control setting will be used to evaluate the frequencies of the background factors, bronchial hyperreactivity and laryngeal findings. Methods and analysis The study sample consists of patients with workplace MD exposure and associated respiratory tract and/or voice symptoms referred to Tampere University Hospital. The clinical tests conducted to the study patients included comprehensive lung function tests, laboratory and skin prick tests, imaging and clinical evaluation by specialists of respiratory medicine, oto-rhino-laryngology and phoniatrics. The exposure assessment was performed by an occupational physician. The study patients filled out a questionnaire on previous illnesses and other background factors, which for comparison was also sent to 1500 Finnish-speaking people in the same hospital district randomly selected by the Finnish Population Information System. To explore how common laryngeal disorders and voice symptoms are in general, a part of the tests will be conducted to 50 asymptomatic volunteers. Ethics and dissemination The regional ethics committee of Tampere University Hospital approved the study. All study subjects gave their written informed consent, which is required also from the controls. The results will be communicated locally and internationally as conference papers and journal articles.


A method for measuring the lifetime of minority carriers in germanium is described. Basically, it consists of liberating the carriers optically on a flat face of a crystal and measuring the concentration of minority carriers as a function of distance from the point of liberation. The mathematical model is analyzed and experimental results are presented here.


We extend the notion of orbital stability to systems of nonlinear Schrodinger equations, then we prove this property under suitable assumptions of the local nonlinearity involved.


Abstract Fluvial deposition occurs in response to changes in relative sea level and can therefore be predicted within a sequence-stratigraphic context. In this presentation only fluvial deposition within the Type 1 sequence will be considered. Widespread fluvial deposition is believed to occur during the late highstand when the seaward shift of the shoreline or bayline results in a seaward shift of the point to which stream profiles are adjusted (i.e., the mouth of the stream). The initial response of the stream will be to straighten and deepen its channel to adapt to a lengthening of its stream profile. Ultimately the original stream pattern should re-establish itself, however, and result in a seaward shift of the steam profile. This seaward shift of the stream profile creates subaerial accommodation between the initial position of the equilibrium profile and the new shifted position of the profile. During early lowstand systems tract time, which is characterized by relative sea-level fall, stream rejuvenation and downcutting occur. At this time fluvial deposition does not occur. Subsequently, when sea level stabilizes and starts to rise, fluvial deposition once more occurs. At this time, however, fluvial deposition is restricted to within incised valleys. Once again fluvial deposition is believed to occur in response to a seaward shift of stream equilibrium profiles. Fluvial deposition ceases with the onset of the transgressive systems tract. At this time incised valleys are flooded and the mouths of the streams are shifted landward. It is suggested that the streams respond by maintaining a steady state condition of no net erosion or deposition. Modern analogues are presented to illustrate the proposed fluvial response to changes of base level. These include examples of the effects on streams of changing water level within man-made reservoirs as well as examples of the hypothetical response of streams to changing base level.