This paper aims to define the Centre for intangible cultural heritage of Slavonia, Baranya and Syrmia in the context of the safeguarding of speeches, customs and historical and traditional cultural resources. Intangible cultural heritage of the Republic of Croatia is endangered and it is becoming extinct due to the influence of a number of factors. Since the formulation of the 1999 Act on the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Objects, intangible cultural heritage has been under special protection as objects of interest to the Republic of Croatia. Today, intangible cultural heritage is the subject of expert and scientific research, but it also concerns economic activities. Therefore, the establishment of the Centre for the conservation of intangible cultural heritage is extremely important for Eastern Croatia. The goal of the Centre is to document as many immaterial objects in one place, and through its marketing activities (for example quality promotion) also increase interest in cultural heritage of this region, which is often not sufficiently recognized. With the high quality promotion of intangible cultural heritage (for example presentation of cultural practices through a variety of performances, games, dances, etc.) the Centre could contribute to the development of tourism in Eastern Croatia, but with the educational content also in education. The the Centre's own revenues (those from donations, fees for the provision of services, sale of souvenirs, etc.) can significantly improve conservation of the intangible cultural heritage of Eastern Croatia and help develop its sustainability. The issue of sustainable development of intangible cultural heritage is complex, and as the major obstacles, we see the dispersion of the collected materials, deficiency of digitization, poor or unsatisfactory organization of the intangible cultural heritage in Eastern Croatia. The Centre would aim to connect the scientific approach with maximum use of modern technology for the digitization, processing and preservation, and economically justified model of permanent preservation of intangible cultural heritage. In order to maintain sufficient redundancy of the collected data database a distributed data storage together with secure local storage in the Centre is envisaged. The Centre would be the starting point of dissemination of the collected intangible items towards users with different interests, demands and needs.


Innovation is at the core of any market economy and it is necessary for any organization to survive in competitive environments. This article aims to discuss the current approach to innovation seen in most of the management and economics literature and it will suggest that this understanding, loosely based on Schumpeter's ideas on creative destruction, is not capable of representing the actual dynamism seen in the markets. In order to better understand that dynamism, the market process approach of the Austrian School is presented as a substitute. The comparison indicates that adopting the market process approach, in which entrepreneurship and innovation are endogenous and not-necessarily related to breaks or shocks, leads to a much better understanding of the innovation phenomena and, consequently, and opens new paths in the understanding of the entrepreneurial role. The work concludes presenting limitations and suggestions for future research in management, and economics, and finally, some pedagogical suggestions are also given.


Photofragmentation pathways of doubly ionized serine molecules are investigated and compared with those of cysteine. The main motivation for the study is to investigate if an atomic substitution within the same group of elements, namely, replacing sulfur (in cysteine) with oxygen (in serine), causes a major change in the C 1s core ionization induced dissociation pattern in the molecules of an otherwise identical structure. The results show that in serine there is a single completely dominant fragmentation channel producing the (CNH2–4+, COH1–3+) pairs, whereas in cysteine there are also many other fragmentation channels. The employed experimental method was the photoelectron–photoion–photoion coincidence (PEPIPICO) technique combined with synchrotron radiation tuned to ionize desired core levels. Molecular dynamics calculations were also carried out in order to extract information on the fragmentation and the neutral final fragments.


Injury to the meninges is not uncommon after traumatic brain injury (TBI), yet minimal research has been directed toward understanding the relevant biology. After a concussive event, the meninges are observed to abnormally enhance on post-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in some patients, but not all. The aim of this work is to identify genes differentially expressed in patients with meningeal injury. Patients presenting to the emergency room with suspected TBI received a standard research MRI and blood draw within 48 h of injury. Two groups of patients were included: those with and without abnormal enhancement of the meninges on post-contrast MRI, both without other imaging findings. Groups were compared on microarray gene expression in peripheral blood samples using Affymetrix (Santa Clara, CA) and Partek Genomics Suite (Partek, Inc., St. Louis, MO) software (false discovery rate, <0.05). Forty patients were enrolled with a time from injury to MRI/blood draw of 16.8 h (interquartile range, 7.5-24.1). We observed 76 genes to be differentially expressed in patients with meningeal injury compared to those without, such as receptor for Fc fragment of IgA, multiple C2 domains, transmembrane 2, and G-protein-coupled receptor 27, which have been previously associated with initiating inflammatory mediators, phagocytosis, and other regulatory mechanisms. Post-contrast MRI is able to detect meningeal injury and has a unique biological signature observed through gene expression. These findings suggest that an acute inflammatory response occurs in response to injury to the meninges following a concussion.


In this work the terms of complexity and uncertainty are defi ned based on contributions of the physics and the biology and, from them, the psychological meaning of both concepts is tried to determine. Several hypothesis are proposed: a) when a human being faces to the uncertainty of the environment, he responds advancing the interaction among the changes that could be given in the same one and the possibilities of his behavioural repertoire; b) the stimuli and situations universally known as beauty (symmetry and orderly repetition of the objects in the space or in the time) have in common the discriminative function to indicate the occasion in which the probability of change in the environment is low. A consequence of it could be that the symmetrical disposition of the stimuli performs the function to reduce the perception of uncertainty and the states of anxiety. Finally, some derived postulates of the present study are formulated, and possible investigation strategies are proposed with the purpose to confi rm or to refute the knowledge suggested in


One of the more important questions of the moment is whether specific antimicrobial agents should be prescribed for the patient ill with an infectious disease. The decision is complicated by a number of factors, not the least of which is the attitude of the patient or of his family. The average patient expects, and not infrequently demands, such treatment with no consideration of whether the causative agent of his particular infection is susceptible to any of the available therapeutic agents. Many physicians are currently choosing the easier course of prescribing supposedly specific therapy for practically all infections. Only when the disease is not terminated by the therapy or spontaneously in spite of it, is serious consideration given to more accurate diagnostic measures and in turn to truly specific therapy, if such is available. There are arguments to support such indiscriminate therapy, but in the opinion of most critical physicians the


Integrating several important technological elements required for long pulse operation in magnetic fusion devices, the Tore Supra tokamak routinely addresses the physics and technology issues related to this endeavor and, as a result, contributes essential information on critical issues for ITER. During the last experimental campaign, components of the radiofrequency system including an ITER relevant launcher (passive active multijunction (PAM)) and continuous wave/3.7 GHz klystrons, have been extensively qualified, and then used to develop steady state scenarios in which the lower hybrid (LH), ion cyclotron (IC) and electron cyclotron (EC) systems have been combined in fully stationary shots (duration ∼150 s, injected power up to ∼8 MW, injected/extracted energy up to ∼1 GJ). Injection of LH power in the 5.0–6.0 MW range has extended the domain of accessible plasma parameters to higher densities and non-inductive currents. These discharges exhibit steady electron internal transport barriers (ITBs). We report here on various issues relevant to the steady state operation of future devices, ranging from operational aspects and limitations related to the achievement of long pulses in a fully actively cooled fusion device (e.g. overheating due to fast particle losses), to more fundamental plasma physics topics. The latter include a beneficial influence of IC resonance heating on the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability in these discharges, which has been studied in detail. Another interesting observation is the appearance of oscillations of the central temperature with typical periods of the order of one to several seconds, caused by a nonlinear interplay between LH deposition, MHD activity and bootstrap current in the presence of an ITB.


Recent studies have shown that corn-derived cationic α-D-glucan nanoparticles, known as Nano-11, significantly increase the immune response when used as a vaccine adjuvant in mice and in pigs. Furthermore, the nanoparticles can be formulated with other immunostimulators such as poly(I:C), which further enhances the immune response. The current experiments were aimed at elucidating the mechanism of action of Nano-11 alone and in combination with poly(I:C). The effect of these adjuvants on porcine monocyte-derived dendritic cells (Mo-DCs) was determined by RNA-sequencing, supplemented with flow cytometry, cytokine analysis, and Western blots. Adsorption of poly(I:C) to Nano-11 reduced its cytotoxicity for Mo-DCs. Exposure of Mo-DCs to Nano-11 and Nano-11/poly(I:C) induced differential expression of 979 and 2016 genes, respectively. Gene Ontology enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis revealed many changes in gene expression related to inflammation, innate immunity, immune response to infections, and metabolism. Nano-11 and Nano-11/poly(I:C) induced maturation of the Mo-DCs as indicated by increased expression of costimulatory molecules and MHC II. Increased expression of genes downstream of p38 MAPK activation revealed a role for this signaling pathway in the activation of Mo-DCs by the adjuvants. This was confirmed by Western blot and inhibition of TNF-secretion upon incubation with the p38 inhibitor SB203580. These experiments provide insights into the mechanism of action of the novel adjuvants Nano-11 and Nano-11/poly(I:C).


We present new multiband imaging data in the optical (BVRI and Hα) and near-infrared bands (JHK) of 15 candidate ring galaxies from the sample of Appleton and Struck-Marcell. We use these data to obtain color composite images, global magnitudes and colors of both the ring galaxy and its companion(s), and radial profiles of intensity and colors. We find that only nine of the observed galaxies have multiband morphologies expected for the classical collisional scenario of ring formation, indicating the high degree of contamination of the ring galaxy sample by galaxies without a clear ring morphology. The radial intensity profiles, obtained by masking the off-centered nucleus, peak at the position of the ring, with the profiles in the continuum bands broader than those in the Hα line. The images as well as the radial intensity and color profiles clearly demonstrate the existence of the pre-collisional stellar disk outside the star-forming ring, which is in general bluer than the disk internal to the ring. The stellar disk seems to have retained its size, with the disk outside the ring having a shorter exponential scale length as compared to the values expected in normal spiral galaxies of comparable masses. The rings in our sample of galaxies are found to be located preferentially at around half-way through the stellar disk. The most likely reason for this preference is bias against detecting rings when they are close to the center (they would be confused with the resonant rings), and at the edge of the disk the gas surface density may be below the critical density required for star formation. Most of the observed characteristics point to relatively recent collisions (<80 Myr ago) according to the N-body simulations of Gerber et al.


The recent research on both the synthesis of membrane proteins by cell-free systems and the reconstruction of planar lipid membranes, has led to the development of a cross-technology to produce biosensors or filters. Numerous biomimetic membranes are currently being standardized and used by the industry, such as filters containing aquaporin for water desalination, or used in routine at the laboratory scale, for example the bacteriorhodopsin as a light sensor. In the medical area, several fields of application of these biomimetic membranes are under consideration today, particularly for the screening of therapeutic molecules and for the developing of new tools in diagnosis, patient monitoring and personalized medicine.


Immunoperoxidase-staining methods were used to examine the expression of hMLH1, hMSH2, and hMSH6 mismatch repair (MMR) proteins in 50 melanocytic lesions. Microsatellite instability (MSI), screened previously in these lesions by polymerase chain reaction–based microsatellite assay, showed low-level microsatellite instability (MSI-L) in 11 of 22 melanocytic dysplastic nevi (MDN) and two of nine primary cutaneous malignant melanomas (CMMs) but not in the benign melanocytic nevi (BN). Mismatch repair proteins were widely expressed in the epidermis and adnexal structures. All lesions showed positive immunoreactivity with a gradual decrease in the MMR staining values during the progression from BN to MDN to CMMs. The average percentage of positively (PP) stained cells for hMLH1, hMSH2, and hMSH6 in BN was 85.50 ± 1.95, 77.90 ± 4.50, and 87.11 ± 1.85, respectively. The PP cell values in CMMs were significantly reduced as compared with BN (75.22 ± 3.57, p = 0.01; 56.11 ± 8.73, p = 0.02; 65.22 ± 6.47, p = 0.0002 for hMLH1, hMSH2, and hMSH6, respectively). No comparable significant difference was found between microsatellite stable and MSI-L lesions (p = 0.173, p = 0.458, and p = 0.385), suggesting a lack of correlation between MMR expression and MMR function. There was a direct correlation between PP cell values of hMSH2 and hMSH6 (R = 0.39, p = 0.008), implying that their expression could be regulated by a common mechanism. Thus, an important finding of these studies was the reduction of MMR protein levels in CMMs; whether this reflects underlying genetic or epigenetic mechanisms is still to be determined.


In this work, 14 emotions, including 6 full-brown emotions: anger, boredom, fear, happiness, neutrality, and sadness, 8 underlying emotions: anxiety, despair, disgust, gratefulness, love, praise, shame, and surprise, are explored for emotion recognition study using speech processing and pattern recognition methods in the emotional space theory. A new emotional corpus, Mandarin Chinese Emotional Corpus 2010 (MCEC2010), is built up by 34 professional voice actors/actresses. This corpus consists of 19,136 short utterances recorded by voice actors/actresses and 472,017 emotional annotations labeled by 26 annotators who didnt participate in the voice collection. And all emotional expression of segments will be mapped into the PAD (Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance) emotional space. By this visualizing presentation, it can not only quantify different emotional expressions in the utterance, but observe the gradual changes of different emotional expressions during dialogue. I hope that the content of this book can improve your knowledge of speech processing and emotion recognition.


The role of the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (GPIIb/IIIa) receptor and the efficacy of GPIIb/IIIa receptor antagonists on reocclusion after arterial versus venous thrombolysis is unknown. We used a canine model of simultaneous carotid artery and jugular vein thrombosis to evaluate the effect of the murine monoclonal antibody 7E3 [7E3 F(ab')2] on intravascular thrombotic reocclusion after thrombolysis in both vessels. The left carotid artery and right jugular vein were instrumented with flow probes, a critical stenosis, and an electrode through which an anodal current was applied to induce formation of an occlusive thrombus. After persistent occlusion of both vessels, 7E3 (0.8 mg/kg, n = 7) or saline (n = 10) was administered intravenously (i.v.) immediately after the local administration of anisolylated plasminogen streptokinase activator complex (APSAC, 0.1 U/kg). Ex vivo platelet aggregation in response to ADP or arachidonic acid was inhibited completely, and bleeding time was increased threefold by 7E3. The administration of 7E3 did not affect the activated partial thromboplastin time as compared with control values. The time to reperfusion of either vessel was not altered significantly in the presence of 7E3. Arterial or venous thrombolysis after APSAC was achieved in 10 of 10 and 8 of 10 control animals, respectively, but rethrombosis occurred in both the carotid artery and jugular vein in each of the saline-treated animals. Treatment with 7E3 prevented cyclic flow variations and reocclusion in the carotid artery (p < 0.05) in all treated animals (n = 7). In contrast, 7E3 did not suppress cyclic flow variations in the jugular vein, and rethrombosis occurred in five of six vessels despite the presence of platelet inhibition as assessed ex vivo. Residual arterial thrombus weights were reduced by pretreatment with 7E3 (saline = 24 ± 4 mg, 7E3 = 11 ± 3 mg; p < 0.05), whereas residual venous thrombus weights were not affected (saline 25 ± 5 mg and 7E3 26 ± 11 mg). The results indicate that inhibition of the platelet GPIIb/IIIa receptor does not prevent jugular vein rethrombosis despite its ability to prevent rethrombosis in the carotid artery. Different thrombotic mechanisms are involved in forming arterial and venous thrombi. Interventions that modulate arterial thrombotic events need not affect occlusive thrombotic activity in the venous circulation.


Background Outcomes for stroke patients can be improved by rapid identification and assessment, but delays commonly occur due to the availability of clinical information and brain imaging. We sought to develop a novel paramedic-led intervention to reduce scene to needle time for stroke patients suitable for thrombolysis. Methods Over 12 months we undertook group interviews and consultation in North East England, North West England and Wales involving patient representatives (n=20), paramedics, emergency department and stroke service hospital staff (n=100). The primary aim was to understand the impact of organisational boundaries, service pressures and traditional professional roles upon a new paramedic approach to stroke assessment. Secondly, to develop a clinical trial protocol for later evaluation of the proposed new paramedic approach. All interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed and analysed using open then focussed coding. Results Participant feedback supported an intervention which transgressed organisational and professional boundaries. Modifications were made following participant views about logistical, ethical and governance issues: ▸ The protocol was changed to reflect operational barriers restricting paramedics taking patients directly to the CT scan room. ▸ Participants advocated obtaining research consent after admission in order to address concerns over treatment delays, and supported a trial protocol which allowed data collection from patients that died before consent was feasible. ▸ Paramedics would provide additional information at patient handover directly to the stroke team or A&E staff rather than attempt to convey more during pre-notification. Conclusions Following the interviews significant alterations were made to the intervention and protocol in order to improve trial feasibility, acceptability and data quality. This emphasizes the importance of engaging with ambulance services, other clinical teams and patients during the development of pre-hospital research protocols.


In January 2016, the IASB issued a new standard for lease accounting (IFRS 16). IFRS 16 will lead to the capitalisation of the majority of current operating leases by lessees. We analyse the impact of the new accounting model on entity's key financial, contributing to research by making significant changes in the Imhoff et al. (1991, 1997) methodology used by previous authors. We change how the lease term is estimated (more aligned with the final approved standard), and how the discount rate is obtained. Furthermore, we use a more comprehensive sample (646 quoted European companies). In line with previous research we find important systematic impacts on key balance sheet financial ratios (mainly leverage ratios), on a magnitude that depends on the operating lease intensity of the sector in which the entity operates. Our estimated impact is generally higher than that obtained in previous studies. The most affected sectors are retail, hotels and transportation. We do not find a consistent result with regard to the effect on profitability ratios.


A procedure for genetic transformation of the hybrid Eucalyptus grandis × E. urophylla using particle bombardment is described. Cotyledon- and hypocotyl-derived calli growing on SP medium supplemented with 2mthidiazuron or on MS modified (MSM) medium supplemented with 10 m 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2.5m6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), were used as target material for bombardment assays. Multiple preincubation and bombardment conditions were tested. Tungsten particles were coated with the plasmid pBI426 harbouring a β-glucuronidase (gus) and neomycin phosphotransferase II (npt II) gene fusion controlled by a double 35S cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) promoter. Four days after bombardment, the transient transformation efficiency was determined by expression of the gus gene. Fully GUS-positive calli were then obtained after 105 d in MSM medium supplemented with 2,4-D, BAP, and the selective agent kanamycin at 200 mg L-1. The presence of the gus gene in these kanamycin-resistant calli was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction analysis. Extensive experiments were performed aiming to identify conditions for the regeneration of these GUS-expressing calli. However, they were unable to regenerate transgenic shoots, suggesting that conditions suitable for regeneration are unsuitable for transformation and vice versa.


The development of a good biocompatible matrix for immobilization of cells is very crucial for improving the performance of functional biohybrids. The synthesis of solid inorganic materials from alkoxide, aqueous and polyol-modified silanes routes, as well as the incorporation of organic polymers, are further areas being developed to improve the viability of encapsulated cells. This emerging field of material science has generated considerable and increasing interest during the past decade. Recent advances in the field involving biomaterials, biohybrids, and functional nanomaterials provided novel materials, which have gained the attention of the scientific community, Governments and industrial companies. Overall, this review is intended to give an overview on the current state of the art of the patents associated to the immobilization of whole living cells in sol-gel derived hybrid materials and to describe the major challenges to be addressed in the forthcoming years.


The solubility of paracetamol in water-ethanol-propylene glycol binary and ternary mixtures at 25 and 30 degrees C was determined using flask shake method. The generated data extended the solubility database for further computational investigations and also was used to assess the prediction capability of the Jouyban-Acree model. A new version of the model was proposed for modeling the solubility data in water-cosolvent mixtures with the cosolvent concentration of <50% which is required in pharmaceutical formulations. The accuracy of the predicted solubilities was evaluated by the mean percentage deviation (MPD) between the predicted and experimental solubilities. The overall MPD of the Jouyban-Acree model and the log-linear model of Yalkowsky for the entire composition range of the cosolvents were 11.0+/-8.7 and 55.4+/-17.8%, respectively; the corresponding values for the predicted solubilities in mixtures having a cosolvent concentration of <50% were 12.0+/-9.1 and 22.0+/-11.0%.


We evaluated the utility and feasibility of customizing Asthma Control Test (ACT) items to generate a Korean Asthma Control Test (KACT) specific for Korean patients. We surveyed 392 asthma patients with 19 items, selected to reflect the Korean sociocultural context. Guideline ratings were integrated with the evaluations of specialists (i.e., using both guide base rating together with specialist's rating), and items with the greatest discriminating validity were identified. Stepwise regression methods were used to select items. KACT scale scores showed significant differences between the asthma control ratings generated by integrating ratings (r=0.77, P<0.001), by specialist's evaluations (r=0.54, P<0.001), or by FEV1 percent predicted (r=0.39, P<0.001). Specialist's and guideline ratings detected 56% and 48.6% of patients with well-controlled asthma, respectively. However, the integrated ratings indicated that only 34.3% of the patients in the test sample were well controlled. The overall agreement between KACT and the integrated rating ranged from 45% to 78%, depending on the cut-off points used. It is possible to formulate a valid, useful country-specific diagnostic tool for the assessment of asthma patients based on the original ACT that reflect differences in sociocultural context.


Background Mast cells release important chemical mediators, including histamine, for the regulation of allergic reactions and inflammation upon activation with IgE-mediated or non IgE-mediated stimuli. Recently, we reported using a murine mast cell line P815, that inflammation-induced mast cell activation would be modulated in vitro by amino acid concentration in culture milieu suggesting that nutrition-related factors might contribute to the modulation of mast cell function (Kawamoto et al, 2013). On the other hand, diet-derived natural PPAR agonists such as n-3 fatty acids are known to play an important role in regulating inflammation; however, the potential effect of PPAR agonists in mast cells in non IgE-dependent responses have been largely unknown. Objectives To evaluate the potential regulation of mast cell functions by PPAR signaling in inflammation. Methods The murine mast cell line P815 was cultured in vitro until reaching confluence. Cells were then pretreated or not with either a synthetic PPARα agonist fenofibrate or a PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone, and stimulated or not by IL-6 for 24 h. After the culture, levels of histamine release in the supernatant were measured using enzyme-linked immunoassay. Results First it was observed that stimulation of P815 mast cells with the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6 increased histamine level in the culture supernatant, as consistent with previous reports. In addition, the P815 mast cells treated with either of the PPAR agonists alone showed increased levels of histamine release. Pretreatment of the mast cells with PPAR agonist did not enhance the cellular response to IL-6. Conclusions Our results demonstrated that the mast cell function could be modulated in part via PPAR pathway. The findings support that synthetic and natural PPAR agonists would modify inflammatory responses via regulating mast cell functions. References Kawamoto M, Masuko K. (2013) Modulation of Mast Cell Function by Amino Acids In vitro: A Potential Mechanism of Immunonutrition for Wound Healing. J Nutrition Health Food Sci 1(1): 6. Acknowledgements The authors thank Ms Yuka Shimura for her excellent technical assistance. Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.4833


The text attempts to define the concept of connoisseurship («mysteztvoznavstvo») as both identified with and opposed to art history. Both categories are interdependent: a connoisseur produces knowledge, and an art historian reproduces and tests it. Here we focus on connoisseurship and art history as educational strategies that secure the reproduction of specialists in the respective fields. If art history is a part of humanities with its clearly defined methodology and theory, then connoisseurship is a practical branch of knowledge essential to basic education. If the first aims to teach future scholars, the second is aimed at future managers of creative industries: cultural makers, museum workers, curators, etc. Obviously, the use of any educational concepts in local educational institutions is an acquired form of permissions and restrictions, which are censored by systemic self-reproduction, i.e., demonstrates infrastructural conditionality — a set of socio-psychological, political, and economic factors which bring the ideal type into reality. In other words, there is a grounded gap in the integrity of the educational program and its quality in a specific area. Internal institutional life is a kind of gestalt consisting of interests, agreements, competencies, productivity, methodological tradition, and adoption. That is, under certain external factors, the teaching method or subject changes to a balanced form of mutual existence and serves as a tool for self-preservation. At the same time, it activates a problem of the professional distinction between the planes of art history and connoisseurship. The joint opposition claims regression and stagnation in one case and revival and status subordination in the other. The difficulties of overcoming both are demonstrated through particular examples. Ideally art history is the field of production of texts that refer to socio-psychological, aesthetic, artistic, political, and economic contexts. This approach was partially emulated by connoisseurship and shaped its thesaurus.


INTRODUCTION: Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte abnormality seen in the intensive care unit (ICU), and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Critically ill children with bronchiolitis are at risk of developing hyponatremia, due to impaired renal free water excretion and exogenous sources of excess free water intake. We hypothesize that the development of hyponatremia is associated with a more complicated clinical course in critically ill children with bronchiolitis. METHODS: A retrospective case-control study was conducted that included all children admitted to the ICU with bronchiolitis over a two year period (n = 59). Patients were divided into two clinical groups: those that were hyponatremic (serum sodium < 136 mmol/L) during their ICU stay and those that remained normonatremic (serum sodium ≥ 136 mmol/L). RESULTS: Forty-three children (73%) developed hyponatremia while in the ICU. Hyponatremic children were intubated more often than normonatremic children (OR 16.7; 95% CI 4.1-68.5); however, hyponatremia rarely developed before intubation (2%). Hyponatremic children also had a longer ICU length of stay (209 ± 137 hrs vs. 130 ± 85 hrs, p = 0.01). In a subset of intubated children (n = 44), thirty-eight (88%) developed hyponatremia. These intubated children had a lower mean serum sodium concentration (132.8 mmol/L vs. 137.3 mmol/L, p < 0.0001) than non-intubated children. CONCLUSIONS: Hyponatremia is a common comorbidity in children admitted to the ICU with bronchiolitis, and is associated with increased illness severity, as evidenced by a higher frequency of intubation and a longer ICU length of stay.


This paper describes a method of fingerprint classification using Eigen Block Directional Fingerprints. The method we propose dispenses off with the preprocessing stages such as segmentation, binarisation, thinning etc. We determine the block directional representation of a fingerprint and the location of the core points in a set of template fingerprints which belong to the same class. In the next step, we determine the most prominent eigen vectors of each template, which we term as the Eigen Block Directional Fingerprints. To determine the classification of a fingerprint, we extract the Block Directional Fingerprint of the query image and determine the alignment parameters between the template and the query images using eigen tracker which minimises the robust error. We declare the class of the query image as the class of the Eigen Block Directional Fingerprint which result in the least robust error norm.


The anti-CD154 antibody hu5C8 prevents acute allograft rejection and prolongs allograft survival after withdrawal of therapy in nonhuman primates. This study describes the use of hu5C8 as a rescue agent for rejection developing after the withdrawal of hu5C8. Twelve rhesus monkeys that had received renal allografts under hu5C8 induction and subsequently rejected were studied. Rescue with hu5C8 was analyzed based on the histological character of the rejection (acute versus chronic) and whether conventional therapy was received at the time of rescue or induction. The diagnosis of rejection and response to therapy was based on allograft function and histology. Four monkeys that had acute rejection associated with conventional immunosuppression and hu5C8 were not reversed by hu5C8 rescue. Four animals with isolated chronic rejection following prolonged rejection-free survival after the withdrawal of hu5C8 did not respond to hu5C8 rescue therapy. Hu5C8 rescue therapy effectively reversed acute rejection occurring in two monkeys after hu5C8 withdrawal. One of two animals with combined acute on chronic rejection responded to hu5C8 rescue therapy. Hu5C8 effectively reverses acute but not chronic allograft rejection and appears to have no synergistic effect with conventional rescue agents.


Proposes a method to schedule parallel execution of planning and action of a mobile robot. The method considers the following two types of parallelism: (1) acting while planning, if a partial planning result can be used to determine feasible actions, such actions can be executed while the planning process is still going; and (2) planning while acting, if the result of the current action is (at least partially) predictable, the planning for the next action can start in advance of the completion of the current action. The proposed method uses the notion of planning-action consistency to guide the scheduling. The method has been successfully applied to a mobile robot navigation problem under sensor uncertainty.


We prove that a generic C1 vector field on a closed 3-manifold either has infinitely many sinks or sources or else is singular Axiom A without cycles. Singular Axiom A means that the non-wandering set of the vector field has a decomposition into compact invariant sets, each being either a hyperbolic basic set or a singular hyperbolic attractor (like the Lorenz-like ones) or a singular hyperbolic repeller. An attractor is a transitive set which attracts all nearby future orbits, and a repeller is an attractor for the time-reversed flow. Our result implies that generic C1 vector fields on closed 3-manifolds do exhibit either attractors or repellers.


This article explores debates surrounding the controversial spiritual exercise of rābiṭa – the binding of the disciple with a Sufi master by envisioning the image of the master in different parts of the body. Despite being criticized as a non-Qurʾanic practice and as a form of idolatry, rābiṭa was made a ritual of prominence among the Khālidī-Naqshbandī suborder which took shape in early nineteenth-century Syria and spread throughout the late Ottoman Empire. Tracing defenses of the practice from Arabic sources in the early nineteenth century to Turkish language treatises in the twentieth century, I argue that the Sufi ādāb manual al-Bahja al-saniyya composed by Muḥammad b. ʿAbdallāh al-Khānī (1798-1862) established a repertoire of arguments that have been adopted and reused in Turkish language treatises until the present with little variation, revealing a remarkable continuity of apologetics over nearly two centuries. Additionally, the article considers the role of this ritual in defining the nature of master-disciple relationships and establishing hierarchies of Sufi devotion and obedience.


With the ever increasing man-machine interaction, automation of process and decline in hardware and software cost, the amount of digital data generated and used is increasing day by day. The big data referred here is the massive amount of digital data generated in each and every second in structured, semi-structured and unstructured format throughout the world. This emerging field of big data analytic has driven the researcher worldwide toward design, development and implementation of various tools, technologies, architecture and platforms for analyzing the huge volume of data generated day to day. Big data consist of data sets which is difficult for legacy database management system to analysis. This paper details some analysis like feedback analysis, sentiment analysis and word-count. Feedback are important for the system enhancement, finding loop holes and as well as for proper work distribution. Feedback is valuable information that will be used to make good decision. Feedback is important not only when it highlights weaknesses but also for strengths. If analysis of feedback is done in wrong way then the result of analysis will also be wrong. As a result, the pattern identified will also be incorrect thus making the whole system incorrect as a whole. We will be implementing this proposed system for feedback analysis using Map-Reduce framework for processing large data set and for storage we will use Hadoop.


Long-term ovine fibroblast cultures contain replicative-competent lentiviruses in a latent form. This in vitro phenomenon, never described previously for lentiviruses, was clearly demonstrated by activating the expression of latent viruses with various inducing cell treatments, some of which were efficient in inducing endogenous retroviruses or latent herpesviruses. Activated lentiviruses were highly lytic in ovine fibroblasts (type I), or they established persistent infections (type II) as described previously for field isolates from sheep with progressive pneumonia (Quérat et al., J. Virol. 52:671-678, 1984).


In 1986, Benga and coworkers clearly demonstrated for the first time the presence and location of a water channel protein in the human red blood cell (RBC) membrane among polypeptides migrating in the region of 35-60 kD on the electrophoretogram of RBC membranes, labeled with [203]Hg-p-chloromercuribenzene sulfonate (PCMBS) under conditions for the specific inhibition of water diffusion. I suggested that a minor membrane component that binds PCMBS is involved in water transport and also indicated the way in which the specific protein could be further characterized: by purification and reconstitution in liposomes. In the same year the labeling experiments were confirmed and extended, and in the following 2-3 years I described the novelty of our work in several reviews. Biomedical Reviews 2006; 17: ix-xi.


Vitamin D deficiency is a significant public health issue as it affects almost 90% of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) population. A bigger portion of this percentage is women due to the physiological changes throughout their life cycle. This study aims to assess the knowledge about vitamin D among women in the UAE. This is a quantitative cross-sectional study. Using snowball sampling, an electronic questionnaire was sent to women aged 18 years and above. Overall, 1537 women completed the questionnaire. The participants had mean scores of 49.4 ± 10.7 and 59.6 ± 14.6 for general and nutritional knowledge, respectively. Factors associated with higher scores included older age, marriage, higher educational level, and having tested their vitamin D levels. Factors associated with lower scores included the history of a chronic illness and being employed. Findings indicate that women in this study showed a low level of vitamin D knowledge specifically regarding the non-skeletal benefits of vitamin D and factors that affect vitamin D synthesis. Therefore, health education and promotion programs must be implemented across the UAE to improve overall awareness about vitamin D.


We prove the existence and uniqueness of positive analytical solutions with positive initial data to the mean field equation (the Dyson equation) of the Dyson Brownian motion through the complex Burgers equation with a force term on the upper half complex plane. These solutions converge to a steady state given by Wigner's semicircle law. A unique global weak solution with nonnegative initial data to the Dyson equation is obtained, and some explicit solutions are given by Wigner's semicircle laws. We also construct a bi-Hamiltonian structure for the system of real and imaginary components of the complex Burgers equation (coupled Burgers system). We establish a kinetic formulation for the coupled Burgers system and prove the existence and uniqueness of entropy solutions. The coupled Burgers system in Lagrangian variable naturally leads to two interacting particle systems, the Fermi–Pasta–Ulam–Tsingou model with nearest-neighbor interactions, and the Calogero–Moser model. These two particle systems yield the same Lagrangian dynamics in the continuum limit.


Enlarged fluid-filled cysts are a complication encountered with ovarian overstimulation. In order to hasten their resolution, and to avoid the possibility of adnexal torsion, we drained cysts greater than 4 cm in diameter by laparoscopic puncture.


Cooperative diversity systems rely on using relay nodes to relay copies of transmitted information to the destination such that each copy experiences different channel fading, hence increasing the diversity of the system. However, without proper processing of the message at the relays, the performance of the cooperative system may not necessarily perform better than direct transmission systems. In this paper, we proposed a distributed beamforming and power allocation algorithm which substantially improves the diversity of the system with only very limited feedback from the destination node. We also derive outage probability as well as study the outage behavior of this scheme.


The importance of contextually sensitive design is once again becoming recognized by the architectural profession. A contextual design is based upon an understanding of historical and social factors as well as the physical context of the project. This thesis is an exploration of the relationship between an existing environment and the design for a contemporary building. The design will be set on Boston's Beacon Hill, an architecturally rich area that has been designated as a National Historical Landmark by the National Parks Service. The site itself is a relatively large parcel of land located on the Hill's North Slope, an area of somewhat dilapidated houses, now undergoing considerable rehabilitation. The program chosen, that of a residential community for the area's older residents, will take advantage of the site's relatively large size to develop collective facilities as well as approximately 70-80 apartments. While the overall size and collective nature of this project distinguish it from the prevailing pattern of house size and organization on Beacon Hill, they serve to emphasize the need for traditional patterns to be modified and adapted to serve contemporary needs and lifestyles. The design exploration will be preceded by an examination of the historical, social, and physical features of Beacon Hill. Ways in which these aspects of the environment have been used to create contextually successful buildings will be briefly explored. Then the programmatic principles of congregate living environments for older people will be considered. Contextual decisions will be traced from site planning to building organization, focussing on the development of a formal vocabulary for the building exterior. The goal will be to create a new building, modern in execution, but compatible with the traditional forms of Beacon Hill. Thesis Supervisor: Richard C. Tremaglio Title: Adjunct Professor of Architecture


We investigate the Cauchy problem for ordinary differential equation (ODE) with fuzzy initial condition. We define a solution to this problem and propose a new method of how an approximate solution can be constructed. The proposed method is based on the technique of fuzzy transforms and ends up with a solution of a system of fuzzy relation equations. The approximate solution is expressed symbolically and the quality of approximation is estimated.


Context: Comprehensive data on various etiologies of proptosis is a necessity in guiding the ophthalmologists and physicians for early diagnosis and treatment. AIMS: This study aimed to describe the clinical presentation, spectrum of etiology, treatment modality, and outcome among patients with proptosis. Settings And Design: A longitudinal study was conducted in the department of ophthalmology of a tertiary care hospital, Karnataka, from December 2010 to December 2011. Participants And Methods: All the study participants who satisfied inclusion and exclusion criteria were interviewed with a pretested and validated schedule. Detailed clinical evaluation of proptosis was done after obtaining informed consent. Every case was followed up till the end of treatment. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences for Windows, Version 16.0. (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results were expressed as frequencies and proportions for categorical variables and mean and standard deviations for continuous variables. Results: Fifty patients completed the study and nearly half were in the age group of 41–60 years. Axial proptosis was the most common type. Nearly one-third required surgical treatment and was significantly high (P < 0.01) in neoplastic proptosis. More than one-third resolved completely. Conclusions: Thyroid eye disease and other inflammatory disorders were the major etiology of proptosis. Extremes of age and unilaterality and eccentricity of proptosis clearly distinguish neoplastic causes from that of inflammatory. Considering the diverse etiology of the diseases causing proptosis, definitive management varies accordingly. The site of lesion causing proptosis is of prognostic value during orbitotomies with higher complications occurring with intraconal lesions.


In this paper a new model for the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) is presented. The dynamic behaviors of the model on a heterogenous scale-free (SF) network are considered, where the absence of a threshold on the SF network is demonstrated, and the stability of the disease-free equilibrium is obtained. Three immunization strategies, uniform immunization, proportional immunization and targeted immunization, are applied in this model. Analytical and simulated results are given to show that the proportional immunization strategy in the model is effective on SF networks.


With the continuously increased speed of the high-speed train, the lateral aerodynamic performance of high-speed trains has attracted more and more attention. Under strong crosswinds, the aerodynamic performance of trains deteriorate and air drag, lift and lateral forces borne by trains quickly increase, which has an impact on the lateral stability of trains and even leads to train derailment. This paper adopted computational fluid dynamics theory to establish an aerodynamic model for a high-speed train, computed aerodynamic forces and moments acting on the high-speed train and obtained the unsteady flow field of the high-speed train. In the meanwhile, this paper combined with multi-body system dynamics theory to establish a system dynamics model for the train and analyzed the safe aerodynamic performance of the high-speed train under cross winds. Computational results showed: Under cross winds, the aerodynamic performance of the high-speed train had a random fluctuation. When wind direction angle was 90°, aerodynamic forces (drag, lift and lateral forces) and moments (overturning moment, shaking moment and nodding moment) borne by the high-speed train were the largest; train speed was a main factor affecting the size of positive pressures of train and cross wind velocity had no obvious impacts on the positive and negative pressures of train body; the aerodynamic forces and moments of the high-speed train had a random fluctuation within a certain range with time; the frequency for the peak value of power spectral density of lateral forces of head train was within 25 Hz and the peak value of power spectral density was the largest when the main frequency was 1.6 Hz; the frequency for the peak value of power spectral density of overturning moment of head train was within 20 Hz and main frequency was 0.57 Hz. When the cross wind speed was 15 m/s, all safety indexes of the high-speed train running at the speed of 250 km/h were within the range of limited values and satisfied design requirements. Aerodynamic performance of the high-speed train with the suction chamber under the cross wind was computed and compared with original results. Aerodynamic force and force moments of the high-speed train under cross wind will be reduced obviously and running safety of the high-speed train can be improved through application of the suction chamber.


For multi-input single-output output-error systems, the least-squares (LS) estimates are biased. In order to obtain the unbiased estimates, we present a recursive LS identification algorithm based on a bias compensation technique. The basic idea is to eliminate the estimation bias by adding a correction term in the LS estimates, and further to derive a bias compensation based recursive LS algorithm. Finally, we test the proposed algorithms by simulation and show their effectiveness.


It has been reported that the expression of TMEM65 is regulated by steroid receptor RNA activator (SRA). To date, however, the localization and function of TMEM65 remained unknown. We analyzed the intracellular localization of TMEM65. Immunoblot and immunostaining analysis revealed mitochondrial localization of TMEM65. Alkali extraction analysis and digitonin extraction test using isolated mitochondria revealed that TMEM65 is an integral membrane protein that localizes to the inner-membrane of mitochondria. Analysis using deletion mutants of TMEM65 suggested that the N-terminal region (1–20) of this protein is sufficient for mitochondrial targeting and that this mitochondrial targeting signal (MTS) is cleaved between the amino acid positions 35 and 64, which contain a putative recognition site of matrix processing protease (MPP). Together, these results suggest that TMEM65 is imported into the mitochondria, integrated into mitochondrial inner-membrane, and processed into its mature form by an MPP.


The purification of lactic acid based on the esterification of raw lactic acid from fermentation broth and then the catalytic distillation hydrolysis of methyl lactate simultaneously to achieve pure lactic acid is reported. The esterification kinetics of lactic acid with methanol catalyzed by strong-acid cation-exchange resins (Amberlyst-15,D001, D002, NKC, 002) was studied under the condition that simulates the real catalytic environment. Experimental results were correlated by a Langmuir-Hinselwood model and the nonideality of the solution was taken into account by using activities calculated by the universal quasichemical functional group activity coefficient (UNIFAC) method.A good agreement between the model and the experimental data was achieved. Continuous purification experiments were conducted to find the optimum column configuration and operation condition for the system. The effects of various parameters, e.g. the length of different section of the column, feed rate and ratio of reactants, packing material and catalyst type, were studied. This novel system shows good separation results in lab scale, and is potential for industrial application.


With the steadily increasing penetration of wind power into the grid, wind power is likely to displace the output of some thermal units and this can result in a reduction in fuel consumption and harmful emissions. On the other hand, due to the volatility of wind power, it brings great influences to power system frequency-regulating. Then, considering of the demand of system frequency-regulating, this paper focus on studying the changes of system reserve after wind generation participating in system frequency-regulating. And on this basis, the expressions of operation value of grid integrated wind power is obtained, considering of generating revenue, generating cost, ancillary service costs, environmental benefits and other factors. Then through the simulation of an actual power system, the method is verified to be useful and the influence on the operation value of grid integrated wind power whether wind farms participate in the grid frequency-regulating or not is studied. At last, it's concluded that the operation value of grid integrated wind power can be increased when wind farms participate in the grid frequency-regulating.


Background : Li-Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS) is caused by a mutation in the  TP53  tumour suppressor gene. This rare hereditary condition predisposes individuals to an increased risk of cancers including breast cancer in women at a relatively young age, which accounts for nearly 25%–30% of all LFS‑associated cancers. Studies have shown that breast tumours in women with a germline  TP53  deleterious variants are associated with a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive phenotype. Taken together, this study aimed to investigate the contribution of germline  TP53  variants and its association with tumour HER-2 status in a cohort of young women with breast cancer.  Methods : From 2002 to 2017, 4048 women with breast cancer treated at University Malaya Medical Centre or Sime Darby Medical Centre participated in the Malaysian Breast Cancer Genetics Study. Of which, 87 patients were diagnosed before 30 years of age. All patients were analysed for germline  TP53  single nucleotide variants, small insertions or deletions by amplicon‑based targeted sequencing and validated by Sanger sequencing. DNA from patients who tested negative for sequencing were subsequently evaluated for the presence of  TP53  exon deletions or duplications by multiplex ligation‑dependent probe amplification. HER-2 status of breast tumours was defined by immunohistochemistry, fluorescence  in situ  hybridisation and/or silver  in situ  hybridisation.  Results : 5 distinct  TP53  variants were detected in 5 individuals. 3 out of 5  TP53  variants were classified as frameshift mutations, one nonsense mutation and one in-frame duplication. Variants in other genes were detected in 17 individuals. No large genomic rearrangements were detected in the remaining 65 sequencing-negative patients. The assessment of HER-2 status will be presented.  Conclusions : Our results suggest that alterations in  TP53 gene were identified in approximately 5.7% (5/87) of this cohort of young women with breast cancer.  Although early-onset breast cancer accounts for approximately 2.1% of all breast cancer cases in this cohort, identification of  TP53  carriers is important as this group of patients should be closely monitored for other LFS‑related cancers. Finally, the data from this study may be useful in the selection of  BRCA1/2 ‑negative patients for  TP53  screening.


"Modern epidemiology" has a primary orientation to the study of multiple risk factors for chronic noncommunicable diseases. If epidemiologists are to understand the determinants of population health in terms that extend beyond proximate, individual-level risk factors (and their biological mediators), they must learn to apply a social-ecologic systems perspective. The mind-set and methods of modern epidemiology entail the following four main constraints that limit engagement in issues of wider context: 1) a preoccupation with proximate risk factors; 2) a focus on individual-level versus population-level influences on health; 3) a typically modular (time-windowed) view of how individuals undergo changes in risk status (i.e., a life-stage vs. a life-course model of risk acquisition); and 4) the, as yet, unfamiliar challenge of scenario-based forecasting of health consequences of future, large-scale social and environmental changes. The evolution of the content and methods of epidemiology continues. Epidemiologists are gaining insights into the complex social and environmental systems that are the context for health and disease; thinking about population health in increasingly ecologic terms; developing dynamic, interactive, life-course models of disease risk acquisition; and extending their spatial-temporal frame of reference as they perceive the health risks posed by escalating human pressures on the wider environment. The constraints of "the proximate" upon epidemiology are thus loosening as the end of the century approaches.


Human placental lactogen B (hCS-B) promoter activity is strongly stimulated by triiodothyronine (T3) in pituitary GC cells through interaction between the thyroid receptor and a thyroid receptor-binding element (TBE) spanning coordinates -67 to -41. This TBE is adjacent to the binding site for pituitary factor GHF1 (-95 to -68) which seems necessary for T3 stimulation of hCS-B promoter activity (M. L. Voz, B. Peers, A. Belayew, and J. A. Martial, J. Biol. Chem. 266:13397-13404, 1991). We here demonstrate actual synergy between the thyroid receptor and GHF1. Indeed, in placental JEG-3 cells devoid of factor GHF1, hCS promoter activity is barely stimulated by T3, while a strong response is observed in pituitary GC cells. In the latter, furthermore, neither the TBE nor the GHF1-binding site alone is sufficient to render the thymidine kinase promoter responsive to T3, while in combination they promote strong T3 stimulation. Close proximity between these sites is required for optimal synergy: T3 stimulation globally decreases with increased spacing. Furthermore, synergy occurs not only with a GHF1-binding site but also with all other factor recognition sequences tested (Sp1, NF1, CP1, Oct1, and CACCC boxes) and even with two other copies of the TBE. Nor is it specific to hCS TBE, since the palindromic sequence TCAGGTCA TGACCTGA (TREpal) also exhibits cooperativity.


This study was aimed at preparing dihydropyrans (DHPs) for the synthesis of 2,6-disubstituted tetrahydropyrans (THPs) in a diastereoselective manner.
In an attempt to develop a novel methodology for the synthesis of DHPs from δ-hydroxy-β-ketoester and thioamide in the presence of Lewis acid, unexpected dihydrothiopyran (DHT) formed as the sole product in the reaction instead of the expected DHP. A thorough investigation of the DHT forming-reaction showed that it is a promising method to synthesize 2,6-disubstituted DHT compounds. Various substituents at C2 and C6 positions were incorporated into the DHT by using different δ-hydroxy-β-ketoesters and thioamides.
This methodology was applied to the first total synthesis of citreothiopyrane A in 4% yield over three steps. The synthesis of a number of citreothiopyrane A analogs with different substituents at C6 position was also achieved.
N-heterocyclic carbene and quinuclidine were tested to promote the formation of δ-hydroxy-β-ketoesters form diketene, but the only product identified was the methyl acetoacetonate and stable quinuclidine-enolate respectively.
In the investigation of (-)-apicularen A synthesis, it was proposed that the THP core could be accessed by the asymmetric Maitland-Japp reaction, using Chan's diene and two synthesized aldehydes. However, it was found that the aldehyde with ketal protecting group is too unstable under Lewis acid condition. Further improvements are needed, such as using a more acid-stable protecting group, or by replacement of the aldehyde functionality.


Internal stenting of the upper urinary tract is a widespread urological surgery. Its frequency in modern practice is high and continues to grow due to the widespread use of endourological, percutaneous, and laparoscopic interventions. The presence of a stent in the patient's body often leads to a decrease in the quality of life due to the occurrence of stent-dependent symptoms, which often requires urgent hospitalization. According to various data, they are registered in at least 80% of patients. The most common stent-dependent symptoms are frequent and / or painful urination, urge to mix (up to imperative), nocturia, pain in the lumbar region, macrohematuria. According to existing data, a fair share of responsibility for the development of these symptoms lies with the distal (vesicular) curl of the internal stent, especially if the technology of its installation is not followed or the length of the drainage is incorrectly selected. The review describes methods for correct installation of internal ureteral stents by transurethral retrograde, antegrade, and laparoscopic approaches, as well as a method for installing and removing mono-pigtail drains. The internal drainage procedure is standard, so the focus is on the nuances and details of this widespread manipulation. The given cohort of patients and the range of surgical interventions indicate a significant experience of the authors in this issue. All illustrations are author's own and taken from the daily workflow. It should be noted that the modern understanding of the process and technological equipment ensure correct stenting when performing any interventions with any access. An adequate choice of installation method and correct positioning of the stent, knowledge of simple details and "secrets" allow not only to restore urodynamics, but also to effectively prevent the development of stent-dependent symptoms, thereby preserving patients quality of life.


Inflammation plays a critical role in pathogenesis of depression and can affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. Accordingly, in this study we investigated the role of hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor in mediating the effects of inflammation on behaviour of female and male Wistar rats. We studied the effects of lipopolysaccharide on the levels of glucocorticoid receptors and its co-chaperones FK506 binding protein 52 and FK506 binding protein 51, the levels of glucocorticoid receptor phospho-isoforms, pGR-232 and pGR-246, and glucocorticoid receptor up-stream kinases. In order to assess transcriptional activity of glucocorticoid receptor, we measured mRNA levels of several glucocorticoid receptor-regulated genes. We demonstrated that lipopolysaccharide induced depressive-like behaviour and elevated serum corticosterone in both sexes. However, it affected glucocorticoid receptor signalling in the nucleus of females and males differently – in females it elevated levels of glucocorticoid receptors, pGR-246 and FK506 binding protein 52, while in males it decreased levels of glucocorticoid receptor, both co-chaperons and pGR-246. Alterations in pGR-246 were associated with alterations of c-Jun N-terminal kinases. Altered nuclear levels of total glucocorticoid receptors and pGR-246 were accompanied by sex-specific reduction in brain-derived neurotrophic factor and cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA and sex-unspecific reduction in the expression of p11 and glucocorticoid receptor genes. These alterations may ultimately affect different glucocorticoid receptor -associated processes involved in depressive-like behaviour in males and females.


The canonical quantisation approach to the Kaluza-Klein theory is presented. In the case of the five-dimensional Kaluza-Klein theory the BRS symmetry for the cylindrical gauge is constructed. The temperature-dependent variational method based on the Bogoliubov inequality is developed. The instability of the Kaluza-Klein vacuum above a certain temperature T0 is shown.


Background: breast cancer in women is one of the commonest cancers in world. Features assessed by ultrasound of benign lesions like fibroadenoma may be overlying with those seen in a malignant tumor. So, we evaluated breast ultrasound examination in patients with diagnosis of fibroadenoma pathologically. Objective: To identify benign features of fibroadenomas by ultrasound and how we can make some difference between them and breast cancer. Method: This prospective study included 202 women mean age of 28.71 SD± 7.71 (ranging between 17 and 46 years old) with proved diagnosis of fibroadenoma by pathological study which had been enrolled outpatient clinic from January 2019 to June 2020. Result: In 202 women with 28.71 ± 7.71 years of age, all contributors were ordered as stage 4 on Breast ImagingReporting and Data System scale. Mean of 14.94 ± SD 7.834. Greatest no. of masses seen in upper outer quadrants of the breasts. Most masses were oval in shape with only 6.4% were rounded. The margin demarcation, 95.5 % were well defined while ill-defined masses were described in 4.5 %. About 93.6% of masses appear to be hypoechoic in the ultrasound. Masses with lobulation were in 20.8% of the masses. 6.4 % of them had calcification and 6.9% were heterogenic appearance. Conclusion: The most common features of fibroadenoma seen by ultrasound consist of a hypoechoic mass with a well-defined margin; although , many features that have similarity to malignant masses are also seen involving ill-defined margin, lobulation, existence of a posterior shadow, heterogenicity, and presence of microcalcification.


Confocal fluorescence imaging of samples of biological soil crusts from an arid zone yields a three dimensional view of the distribution of cyanobacteria within the crusts. The permeation of the crusts by oil immersion enables a clear view of their interior. Results show clusters of coccoid and f ilamentous cells within the crusts.


The current study investigated the coexistence of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and/or bruxism among 51 individuals seeking treatment in a tinnitus clinic. All participants completed a Hebrew version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), depression and anxiety questionnaires, and the diagnostic criteria TMD (DC/TMD) questionnaire. In addition to questionnaires, the participants underwent a clinical evaluation of the oral cavity, facial muscles, and the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Thirty-four participants (66.7%) were diagnosed with bruxism, while TMD was found in 14 (27.5%) of the cases. Patients with both tinnitus, TMD and bruxism scored the highest in the anxiety questionnaire. The severity of depression was found to be significantly associated with the tinnitus severity. These results emphasize the clinical bond between tinnitus, TMD, and bruxism.


OBJECTIVE Most patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) were Mild or Moderate. Severe patients progressed rapidly to Critical condition including multi-organ failure and even death. Identification of early predictive factors is urgently necessary to facilitate appropriate intensive care. METHODS We included all patient admitted to Wuhan Union Hospital and treated by the supportive medical team of Beijing Tongren Hospital as of March 20, 2020. Indicators of injuries for multiple organs, including the heart, kidney and liver, and glucose homeostasis were specifically analyzed for predicting primary outcomes (an intensive care unit (ICU) or death). RESULTS The data of 120 patients with a severity equal to or greater than Moderate, discharged or died were extracted. After excluding patients with history of diabetes, chronic heart, kidney, and liver disease, 69 patients were included in the final analysis. There were 26 cases with primary outcomes including 16 deaths. Univariable analysis indicated that fasting blood glucose (FBG), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBDH), creatine kinase and creatinine were associated with primary outcomes and death. Among patients with primary outcomes, although FBG levels were much higher on admission, they dramatically decreased subsequently, while in deceased patients they increased continuously. Multivariable Cox regression indicated that FBG≥7mmol/L was the only independent predictor for death (HR = 3.75, 95% CI 1.26-11.15). Cluster analysis found more proximities of FBG (at the time of admission) with LDH, HDDH or Creatinine (after 2-4 days of hospitalization) (r=0.43, 0.43 and 0.50, respectively, P<0.01 for all). Conclusions Blood glucose is a representative of the clustered indicators of multi-organ injury and earlier predictor for poor outcomes and death in the COVID patients. As it is easy to perform for clinical practices and self-monitoring, glucose testing will be much helpful for predicting poor outcomes to facilitate appropriate intensive care.


This thesis is a study of ordinary adult readers and their reading preferences in the USSR in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. Chapter One provides background information on Soviet policies towards reading and on the changes in Soviet society which have influenced reading habits over the last 30 years. This is followed by a description of the reader surveys used for the research and a discussion of some methodological problems. Chapter Two is concerned with all aspects of political control over reading, as it affects the writer, the publishing process, the book trade, libraries and ultimately the reader. Chapters Three and Four consider problems of the supply of reading matter through the retail trade and through mass (public) libraries. Chapter Five is an analysis of how various sociodemographic factors affect reading, and of the effect of television on reading. Chapter Six considers the relative importance of books, newspapers and journals, and the balance between fiction and non-fiction in readers' preferences. Chapter Seven is concerned with the reading of non-fiction, whether in books, journals or newspapers, and Chapter Eight provides an analysis of readers' preferences in novels, poetry and plays. The thesis concludes that the many, often contradictory, stereotypes of reading in the USSR all have some foundation in reality.


For many American households, buying a home is one of the largest sources of debt. We use mortgage data at the individual borrower level joined to their deposit account data to investigate the relationship between income shocks and default for borrowers with different levels of home equity, income, payment burden, and savings. First, we find that mortgage default closely followed a negative income shock regardless of a borrower's level of home equity, income, or payment burden (as measured by total debt-to-income at origination). This provides suggestive evidence against a simple model of strategic default where deeply underwater borrowers stop making mortgage payments only because they are underwater. Second, we find that deeper and longer duration negative income shocks were associated with increasing delinquency. To the extent that homeowners income recovered quickly, they promptly resumed making mortgage payments, while those who suffered longer, deeper income shocks fell further into delinquency. Third, default rates for homeowners with smaller financial buffers were higher regardless of their income level or payment burden. The default rate for borrowers with less than the one mortgage payment equivalent held in reserve was 7 times higher than the default rate for borrowers with at least four mortgage payments in reserve. Half of homeowners who defaulted had fewer than 1.4 mortgage payment equivalents held in reserves, and this was true across all levels of total DTI at origination. These findings suggest that a policy based on maintaining a minimum post-purchase financial buffer may be a better approach to default prevention than underwriting standards based on measuring the borrowers' static ability-to-repay at origination.


The all-IP DiffServ model is expected to be the most promising architecture for QoS provisioning in China's next-generation wireless networks, due to its scalability, convenience for mobility support, and capability of interworking heterogeneous radio access networks. This article focuses on efficient resource allocation in a wireless DiffServ architecture. Resource utilization efficiency is particularly important for China's wireless networks as the mobile user density in China is and will continue to be much higher than that in other countries. More specifically, we propose a novel buffer sharing scheme to provide assured service for real-time layer-coded multimedia traffic, which can guarantee the specific packet loss requirement of each layer with UDP as the transport layer protocol. An adaptive optimal buffer configuration can be applied to achieve maximum resource utilization over the time-varying channel. Assured service is also provided to TCP data traffic for guaranteed throughput, where the cross-layer coupling between the TCP layer and link layer is exploited to efficiently utilize the wireless resources.


In this study, an experimental investigation of machinability of steel/steel laminates using CO2 laser was presented. O2 assist gas was used for cutting of laminates. Laser power and feed rate were changed gradually as cutting parameters. Heat affected zone (HAZ) size and kerf width were measured. Effect of linear energy density (ratio of power to feed rate) was determined on the kerf width, the HAZ size, and the cutting surface quality. Also, the quality of surface was examined under optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. It is concluded that when linear energy density is increased, the kerf width and the HAZ size increase. Dross formation and surface irregularities increase with increasing laser power and decreasing feed rate.


In this paper, software system, design theories and human immune system (HIS) features are used to introduce a novel algorithm for the problem of preventing intrusions and healing the damage which they cause. The HIS features are analyzed and modelled to monitor network systems as to whether the inline activities are behaving abnormally or being attacked. The abnormal activities are prevented and healed by the presented algorithms. We show how the use of biological immune systems, which incorporate an innate, adaptive immune system and self-healing mechanism, can reduce the number of false alerts and heal the damage caused by intrusion. This autonomous system improves the performance of the current Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) and carries on system continuity by using the Self-Healing (SH) mechanism.


Introduction We investigated the frequency of detection and the prognostic and predictive significance of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with recurrent/metastatic (R/M) head and neck carcinoma (HNC) before starting systemic therapy. Patients and methods Using the CellSearch technology, CTCs were assessed prospectively in peripheral blood of 53 R/M-HNC patients. We performed spiking experiments to test the diagnostic performance of the CellSearch platform in identifying squamous carcinoma cells. Results CTCs were identified in 14 (26%) and 22 (41%) patients at baseline and at any time point, respectively. In univariate analysis ≥2 CTCs had a poorer prognostic role than 0–1 CTC. In multivariate analysis, the presence of one CTC or more was associated with a poor prognosis both in terms of progression-free survival (PFS) [Hazard Ratio (HR): 3.068, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.53–6.13, p 0.002] and overall survival (OS) [HR: 3.0, 95% CI: 1.48–6.0, p 0.002]. A disease control after systemic therapy was obtained in 8% of CTC-positive patients as opposed to 45% in CTC-negative ones (p 0.03). The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression was identified in 45% of CTC-positive patients. Discussion In conclusion, CTCs are detected in one out of three patients with RM-HNC. CTC detection is a strong prognostic parameter and may be predictive of treatment efficacy. The frequency of EGFR expression in CTCs seems to be lower than that expected in the primary tumor.


There is a robotic balancing task, namely real-time dextrous-hand grasping, for which linearly constrained, positive definite programming gives a quite satisfactory solution from an engineering point of view. We here propose refinements of this approach to reduce the computational effort. The refinements include elimination of structural constraints in the positive definite matrices, orthogonalization of the grasp maps, and giving a precise Newton step size selection rule.


The Crumbling Edifice of Prohibition and Proposals for Reform: The case of Guatemala The purpose of this text is to present the proposals of drug policy reform elaborated by the Beckley Foundation for the Government of Guatemala, as part of the agreement set between these two bodies. Amanda Feilding was invited by President Otto Pérez Molina to establish a Beckley Foundation Latin American Chapter in Guatemala in July 2012, and was requested to produce a rigorous, evidence-based analysis of the impact of current prohibitionist drug policies on Guatemala and the wider region. The Beckley Foundation was also asked to develop and suggest a series of alternative drug policy options. The proposals were submitted in January 2013 as a contribution to the development of drug policies focused on public health, crime prevention, and social harm-reduction. While the Foundation's proposals have been specifically tailored for Guatemala, elements of our research can serve as a model for other countries in the region and the hemisphere, and may nurture fruitful discussion and negotiation.


Samples, representing Si matrix with nanoformations of the semiconducting silicides beta-FeSi2 and Mg2Si are studied by Raman scattering. The unpolarized Raman spectra of the samples are interpreted in the framework of the appearance of interface-phonon polaritons. The theoretical dispersion relations of the interface-phonon polaritons in the system Si/silicide/Si are obtained from the Maxwell equations. The correspondence of the theoretical calculations and the experimental observations appeared to be sufficiently good. An evolution of the features in the Raman spectra on the experimental conditions is observed.


Seismic inversion refers to the process of estimating reservoir rock properties from seismic reflection data. Conventional and machine learning-based inversion workflows usually work in a trace-by-trace fashion on seismic data, utilizing little to no information from the spatial structure of seismic images. We propose a deep learning-based seismic inversion workflow that models each seismic trace not only temporally but also spatially. This utilizes information-relatedness in seismic traces in depth and spatial directions to make efficient rock property estimations. We empirically compare our proposed workflow with some other sequence modeling-based neural networks that model seismic data only temporally. Our results on the SEAM dataset demonstrate that, compared to the other architectures used in the study, the proposed workflow is able to achieve the best performance, with an average $r^{2}$ coefficient of 79.77\%.


The evolution of CdTe thin-film PV over the last 20-30 years has experienced several phases of technological breakthroughs during which the efficiency increased several percentage points over a short time period. Similarly, the past five years have seen a flurry of record cell and module efficiency improvements, driven by innovations at First Solar and General Electric, and this streak continues with First Solar having achieved a record cell efficiency of 22% and a record module of 18.6% (aperture) by the end of 2015.


Abstract. Subduction and exhumation are key processes in the formation of orogenic systems across the world, for example, in the European Alps. For geophysical investigations of these orogens, it is essential to understand the petrophysical properties of the rocks involved. These are the result of a complex interaction of mineral composition and rock fabric including mineral textures (i.e. crystallographic preferred orientations). In this study we present texture-derived elastic anisotropy data for a representative set of different lithologies involved in the Alpine orogeny. Rock samples were collected in the Lago di Cignana area in Valtournenche, in the Italian Northwestern Alps. At this locality a wide range of units of continental and oceanic origin with varying paleogeographic affiliations and tectono-metamorphic histories are accessible. Their mineral textures were determined by time-of-flight neutron diffraction at the Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics at the JINR in Dubna, Russia. From these data the elastic properties of the samples were calculated. The data set includes representative lithologies from a subduction-exhumation-setting. In subducted lithologies originating from the oceanic crust, the elastic anisotropies range from 1.4 to 5.0 % with average P-wave velocities of 7.01–8.24 km/s and VP / VS-ratios of 1.71–1.76. In the metasediments of the former accretionary prism the elastic anisotropies range from 4.7 to 8.2 %. This tectonic setting displays average P-wave velocities of 6.47–7.23 km/s and VP / VS-ratios of 1.60–1.76. Continental crust which is incorporated in the collisional orogen shows elastic anisotropies ranging from 1.8 to 2.8 % with average P-wave velocities of 6.42–6.51 km/s and VP / VS-ratios of 1.56–1.60. Our results suggest that mafic and felsic rocks in subduction zones at depth may be discriminated by a combination of seismic signatures: lower anisotropy and higher VP / VS ratio for mafic rocks, higher anisotropy and lower VP / VS ratio for felsic rocks and metasediments.


Abstract Metabolic adaptation to the host environment has been recognized as an essential mechanism of pathogenicity and the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in the lungs for decades. The Mtb uses CO2 as a source of carbon during the dormant or non-replicative state. However, there is a lack of biochemical knowledge of its metabolic networks. In this study, we investigated the CO2 fixation pathways (such as ko00710 and ko00720) most likely involved in the energy production and conversion of CO2 in Mtb. Extensive pathway evaluation of 23 completely sequenced strains of Mtb confirmed the existence of a complete list of genes encoding the relevant enzymes of the reductive tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) cycle. This provides the evidence that an rTCA cycle may function to fix CO2 in this bacterium. We also proposed that as CO2 is plentiful in the lungs, inhibition of CO2 fixation pathways (by targeting the relevant CO2 fixation enzymes) could be used in the expansion of new drugs against the dormant Mtb. In support of the suggested hypothesis, the CO2 fixation enzymes were confirmed as a potential drug target by analyzing a number of attributes necessary to be a good bacterial target.


The continuous production of drug delivery systems assisted by microfluidics has drawn a growing interest because of the high reproducibility, low batch-to-batch variations, narrow and controlled particle size distributions and scale-up ease induced by this kind of processes. Besides, microfluidics offers opportunities for high throughput screening of process parameters and the implementation of process characterization techniques as close to the product as possible. In this context, we propose to spotlight the GALECHIP concept through the development of an instrumented microfluidic pilot considered as a Galenic Lab-on-a-Chip to formulate nanomedicines, such as lipid nanocapsules (LNCs), under controlled process conditions. In this paper we suggest an optimal rational development in terms of chip costs and designs. First, by using two common additive manufacturing techniques, namely fused deposition modelling and multi-jet modelling to prototype customized 3D microfluidic devices (chips and connectors). Secondly, by manufacturing transparent Silicon (Si)/Glass chips with similar channel geometries but obtained by a new approach of deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) technology suitable with in situ small angle X-ray scattering characterizations. LNCs were successfully produced by a phase inversion composition (PIC) process with highly monodispersed sizes from 25 nm to 100 nm and formulated using chips manufactured by 3D printing and DRIE technologies. The transparent Si/Glass chip was also used for the small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) analysis of the LNC formulation with the PIC process. The 3D printing and DRIE technologies and their respective advantages are discussed in terms of cost, easiness to deploy and process developments in a GALECHIP point of view.


Tetracyclines are a group of important antibiotics with a common four-ring scaffold. While most tetracyclines are currently used only in animals, their leaching into the environment and residues in food have caused health concerns. Aptamers are an attractive way to detect tetracyclines, and all previously reported aptamers for tetracyclines were obtained by immobilizing target molecules. In this work, we selected a few DNA aptamers by immobilizing the DNA library using oxytetracycline as the target. We obtained new aptamers with no overlapping sequences compared to the previously reported ones, and a representative sequence named OTC5 had a dissociation constant of 147 nM measured by isothermal titration calorimetry. Similar binding affinities were also observed with tetracycline and doxycycline. Because tetracyclines are fluorescent and their fluorescence intensity was enhanced by binding to the aptamers, a label-free and dye-free fluorescent biosensor was developed with a detection limit of 25 nM oxytetracycline. The sensor was able to detect targets in milk after extraction. Fluorescence polarization measurement showed that this aptamer is insensitive to sodium concentration but requires magnesium. Finally, a strand-displacement biosensor was designed, and it has a detection limit of 1.2 μM oxytetracycline.


Abstract Background: 'Metabolic memory' of early hyperglycaemic environment has been frequently suggested in the progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells are crucial targets for DR initiation following hyperglycaemia. Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) has been long used as a traditional Chinese medicine in treating diabetes. In the present study, the preventive effects and mechanisms of APS on metabolic memory-induced RPE cell death were investigated. Methods: The expressions of miR-204 and SIRT1 were determined by reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Dual luciferase assay was applied to detect the potential targeting effects of miR-204 on SIRT1. SIRT1, ER stress and apoptosis related proteins were monitored using Western blotting. Apoptosis was assessed by TUNEL assay and Annexin V/PI staining followed by flow cytometry analysis. MiR-204 mimics and shSIRT1 were applied for miR-204 overexpression and SIRT1 knockdown, respectively. Results: High glucose exposure induced metabolic memory, which was accompanied with sustained dysregulation of miR-204/SIRT1 axis, high level of ER stress and activation of apoptotic pathway even after replacement with normal glucose. Pre-treatment with APS concentration-dependently reversed miR-204 expression, leading to disinhibition of SIRT1 and alleviation of ER stress-induced apoptosis indicated by decreased levels of p-PERK, p-IRE-1, cleaved-ATF6, Bax, cleaved caspase-12, -9, -3, and increased levels of Bcl-2 and unleaved PARP. The effects of APS on RPE cells were reversed by either miR-204 overexpression or SIRT1 knockdown. Conclusions: We concluded that APS inhibited ER stress and subsequent apoptosis via regulating miR-204/SIRT1 axis in metabolic memory model of RPE cells.


This study investigated whether basic details of the research process are mentioned in social science research articles. Five hundred empirical articles were sampled from the Social Sciences Citation Index. The frequency of omitted details was mixed. For central essential details, omission rates were: 0% for research purpose, 2% for data collection method, 8% for sample size, 20% for data analysis method, and 48% for sampling strategy. The analysis found that 56% of articles were missing one or more of these five details. For more peripheral details, omission rates were: 36% for limitations, 55% for ethical considerations, and 94% for foundational philosophy. Prevalence rates were varied when compared across different disciplines and between qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Possible causes for these findings include the use of secondary data, the view that certain details are not essential, and traditions in ethnographic writing. Those involved in academic publishing are invited to reflect on the basic details that are essential for their specialism and how reporting standards are enforced.


This paper presents a mixed-integer linear programming approach to solving the optimal fixed/switched capacitors allocation (OCA) problem in radial distribution systems with distributed generation. The use of a mixed-integer linear formulation guarantees convergence to optimality using existing optimization software. The results of one test system and one real distribution system are presented in order to show the accuracy as well as the efficiency of the proposed solution technique.


1. The effects of amiloride and ouabain on the regulation of the intracellular, free Mg2+ concentration ([Mg2+]i) were investigated in the taenia isolated from the guinea‐pig caecum, using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. 2. [Mg2+]i were mainly estimated from the separation of the alpha‐ and beta‐ATP peaks observed in 31P NMR spectra. In normal (physiological) and nominally Ca(2+)‐free solutions, [Mg2+]i was approximately 0.3‐0.4 mM. Application of either amiloride or ouabain in Ca(2+)‐free solutions significantly increased [Mg2+]i, with only a small change in ATP content. Washout of the drugs reversed the changes in [Mg2+]i. 3. Changes in pHi were estimated from: (1) the chemical shift of phosphoethanolamine, and (2) solving two relational equations of pHi and [Mg2+]i obtained from the beta‐ and gamma‐ATP peaks. Both estimations revealed some intracellular alkalosis during application of these two drugs. After correction for pHi, a significant increase in [Mg2+]i was still obtained 150 min after application of either drug. 4. In the presence of amiloride, simultaneous removal of extracellular Mg2+ and Ca2+ significantly depleted intracellular Mg2+. This result suggests the presence of an amiloride‐insensitive (or less sensitive) pathway which passively transports Mg2+ across the plasma membrane. 5. The intracellular Rb+ concentration was monitored as an index of Na(+)‐K+ pump activity, using 87Rb NMR. In Ca(2+)‐free solutions containing 5 mM Rb+, the intracellular Rb+ concentration was hardly changed by amiloride, but was depleted by additional applications of ouabain. Wash‐out of ouabain restored the intracellular Rb+ in the presence of amiloride. 6. These results are consistent with the presence of Na(+)‐Mg2+ exchange as an effective Mg(2+)‐extruding mechanism in smooth muscle. Although many other factors may cause changes in [Mg2+]i, it seems likely that amiloride directly inhibits the Na(+)‐Mg2+ exchanger, whilst ouabain does so indirectly through reduction of the Na+ gradient across the plasma membrane.


One visible spectrophotometric and one HPLC method have been developed for estimation of suprofen from bulk drug sample. Developed visible spectrophotometric method is based on formation of chloroform extractable coloured complex of drug with copper (II) acetate in presence of potassium chloride and acetate buffer pH 5.8. The coloured complex shows absorbance maxima at 682.0 nm. Beer's law was obeyed in the concentration range of 0-10 mg/ml of suprofen. Developed HPLC method was a reverse phase chromatographic method using inertsil C18 column and acetonitrile:water::35:65 pH 2.7 as mobile phase with detection at 254 nm. Caffeine was used as internal standard for HPLC method. Linearity was observed in concentration range of 20-250I¼g/ml of suprofen. Results of analysis for both the methods were validated statistically.


ABSTRACT Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a malignant soft tissue tumor of the pediatric population which is  rarely seen in adults. Metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma is even rarer. We present an unusual case of a 49 year old female presenting with palpitations and uterine bleeding. An Echo-cardiogram revealed a large oval mass on the posterior mitral leaflet and a Computerized Tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen revealed a uterine growth. Surgical excision of the cardiac mass was done and histological analysis of cardiac lesion confirmed it to be rhabdomyosarcoma with a primary source in the uterus. The patient became asymptomatic from a cardiac standpoint after excision of the mass and was scheduled for chemo/radiation therapy for the primary uterine malignancy. Metastatic cardiac rhabdomyosarcoma can be confused with a myxoma or any other primary or secondary cardiac tumors resulting in delayed diagnosis. However, its aggressive nature makes it a life-threatening tumor that requires an early diagnosis to prevent fatal consequences.


Confidence annotation allows a spoken dialog system to accurately assess the likelihood of misunderstanding at the utterance level and to avoid breakdowns in interaction. We describe experiments that assess the utility of features from the decoder, parser and dialog levels of processing. We also investigate the effectiveness of various classifiers, including Bayesian Networks, Neural Networks, SVMs, Decision Trees, AdaBoost and Naive Bayes, to combine this information into an utterancelevel confidence metric. We found that a combination of a subset of the features considered produced promising results with several of the classification algorithms considered, e.g., our Bayesian Network classifier produced a 45.7% relative reduction in confidence assessment error and a 29.6% reduction relative to a handcrafted rule.


Although the human computer interface continues to evolve by engaging sight, voice, sound, and touch to manipulate the environment, the marriage between mouse and graphic based operating systems remains one of the primary relationships through which we interact with the computer. With the advent of haptics it has become possible to enhance the GUI/mouse relationship with the sense of touch using a haptic mouse, opening new avenues of interaction, in particular for those with disabilities.
For the majority of users the mouse is an effective and proven device for human computer interaction. However it is not as well suited for particular groups with physical disabilities, leaving those with disabilities in search of an alternative input device. The haptic mouse can exist as one of those alternatives if an effective interface can be designed that compensates for the disability of the user.
An environment has been constructed that uses haptic effects, movement profiles, and a prediction algorithm to improve targeting for a group of users with physical disabilities. The research presented 23 individuals with motor disabilities affecting the arms with varying haptic and non-haptic desktop-like interfaces. Results of the experiments found greatly improved performance for most individuals in the haptic condition over the non-haptic when the target was a known quantity. In conditions where prediction was used to apply the haptic effect, results varied based on proximity to the actual target. Predictions made within two objects of the target resulted in either no effect or improved performance among individuals, while predictions made further than two objects from the target resulted in no effect or decreased performance. Analysis of the prediction algorithm has identified areas where improvement would be possible given the data collected during the experiments with the disabled group. This research concluded with a better understanding of how disabled individuals interact with a haptic computer mouse, Fitts' Law evaluation of the haptic mouse, effectiveness of compound haptic effects, and a new algorithm for predicting targets in a multi-columned multi-rowed environment, that results in improved performance for a group of disabled individuals in a desktop interface using a haptic mouse.


Introduction: The authors assessed clinical presentations and anatomic variants among patients with recurrent acute rhinosinusitis (RARS), chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) without nasal polyps (CRSsNP), and CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). Additionally, differences in the postoperative improvement of each category were evaluated. Methods: The authors performed an analysis of 304 patients who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery. They were divided into groups with RARS, CRSsNP, and CRSwNP. Patients had to complete the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-20) on surgery 1 day before and 6 months after surgery. Patient demographics and comorbidities were reviewed. We reviewed all patients' computed tomographic findings to analyze anatomic variants. Results: No significant differences were found among the average preoperative SNOT-20 scores of the 3 groups. Patients with RARS were significantly more likely to show agger nasi cells, Haller cells, and septal deviation on computed tomography. Those with CRSwNP had significantly smaller mean infundibular widths. All groups showed significantly improved SNOT-20 scores postoperatively. Conclusion: The different anatomic variants found among patients with RARS, CRSsNP, and CRSwNP can facilitate surgical prognostic evaluation.