Background
 Although the median age of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) is 70-74 years, recruitment of frail older patients to clinical trials is poor. The International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) frailty score predicts survival, adverse events and treatment tolerability using age, the Katz Activity of Daily Living, the Lawton Instrumental Activity of Daily Living, and the Charlson Comorbidity Index, rather than age alone. Despite IMWG score prognostic biomarker capability, to date no evidence exists of its predictive biomarker potential. The UK-MRA Myeloma Risk Profile (MRP) has also been shown in both clinical trial and real-world populations to be a prognostic biomarker in transplant ineligible patients but prospective comparisons of the two scores have not been previously conducted.
 Study Design/Methods
 The FiTNEss trial (Myeloma XIV, NCT03720041, Figure 1A) is a UK-MRA phase III, multi-centre, randomised controlled trial for newly diagnosed MM patients not suitable for stem cell transplant. The primary objectives are
 1) to compare early treatment cessation (<60 days from randomisation) between patients randomised to standard (reactive) and frailty-adjusted (adaptive, based on IMWG score) induction therapy delivery with the triplet ixazomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone (IRd)
 2) to compare progression free survival for maintenance lenalidomide plus placebo (R) and lenalidomide plus ixazomib (IR).
 The FiTNEss trial is designed as an all-comers study with few exclusion criteria other than necessary for safety including some haematological and biochemical parameters, but there is no exclusion based on renal function. Patients with grade 2 or greater baseline peripheral neuropathy, current systemic infection or recent surgery or other cancer are excluded. Here we report the demographics for the first patients recruited, including IMWG frailty assessments and MRP to demonstrate the feasibility of recruiting frail patients to randomised phase III clinical trials.
 Results
 The FiTNEss trial opened on 04/08/2020 during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. At the time of data cut off (14/07/2021) recruitment is active at 84 sites, with 180 patients randomised.
 Baseline characteristics for the randomised patients are shown in Figure 1B. The median age of patients is 77 years (range 64, 93) with 36.1% aged 76-80 and 26.1% over 80. In keeping with the older patient population 26.6% have an ECOG performance status of 2 or 3 and 31.7% ISS stage III. The IMWG frailty classification at baseline is FIT 43/180 (23.9%), UNFIT 53/180 (29.4%) and FRAIL 84/180 (46.7%).
 The effect of using age groups on the definition of patient frailty was explored. The IMWG frailty score defines all patients over 80 as FRAIL whilst an age of 76-80 contributes one point to the score. An analysis of patients' frailty was repeated with the contribution of age removed. For those aged over 80 years (n=47, 100% FRAIL) we found that 20 (42.6%) would have been re-classified as FIT and 18 (38.3%) as UNFIT, with only 9 (19.2%) retaining the FRAIL category. For those aged 76-80 (n=65, 53.8% UNFIT, 46.2% FRAIL) all 35 patients previously classified as UNFIT became FIT (53.8%) whilst 19 (29.2%) classed as FRAIL became UNFIT with 11 (16.9%) remaining FRAIL.
 The MRP classification, using age as a continuous variable, was Low-risk 45/180 (25.0%), Medium-risk 46/180 (25.6%), High-risk 75/180 (41.7%) and not available for 14/180 (7.8%) patients. Concordance between the IMWG frailty score and the MRP occurred in 48.9% of patients (88/180). 37.2% of FIT patients were classified as MRP Low-risk, 32.1% of UNFIT patients as MRP Medium-risk and 65.5% of FRAIL patients as MRP High-risk.
 Discussion
 The FiTNEss trial demonstrates the feasibility of recruiting older, less fit patients to clinical trials. Recruitment of patients classified as FRAIL was very high despite the COVID pandemic, likely due to the all-oral nature of the regimen under investigation enabling patients to avoid attendance at hospital day units for treatment and associated exposure risk. In the population recruited to date we found age to be a key contributor to the FRAIL category of the IMWG frailty score. Concordance between IMWG frailty score and MRP was highest in FRAIL/High-risk patients. The first interim analysis of the primary objectives is planned when 50% of required participants for R1 have reached 60 days post R1, which is anticipated in Q2 of 2022.
 Figure 1 Figure 1.

 Cook: Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Honoraria; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Oncopeptides: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Pawlyn: Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene / BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria. Royle: BMS: Research Funding; Merck Sharpe and Dohme: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding. Coulson: BMS / Celgene: Honoraria; Merck Sharpe and Dohme: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding. Jenner: BMS/Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy. Kishore: Sanofi: Other: Attending fees; Celgene: Other: Attending fees; Takeda: Other: Attending fees; Jannsen: Other: Attending fees. Rabin: BMS / Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel support for meetings; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel support for meetings; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel support for meetings. Best: BMS/Celgene: Research Funding; Merck Sharpe and Dohme: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding. Gillson: BMS / Celgene: Research Funding; Meck Sharpe and Dohme: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding. Henderson: Takeda: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Merck Sharpe and Dohme: Research Funding; BMS / Celgene: Research Funding. Olivier: Merck Sharpe and Dohme: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Celgene / BMS: Research Funding. Kaiser: AbbVie: Consultancy; GSK: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy; Amgen: Honoraria; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy, Other: Educational support; Janssen: Consultancy, Other: Educational support, Research Funding; BMS/Celgene: Consultancy, Other: Travel support, Research Funding. Drayson: Abingdon Health: Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company. Jones: Janssen: Honoraria; BMS/Celgene: Other: Conference fees. Cairns: Merck Sharpe and Dohme: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Celgene / BMS: Other: travel support, Research Funding. Jackson: celgene BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; GSK: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; J and J: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; oncopeptides: Consultancy; Sanofi: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau.

 Frailty-score adapted dosing strategies


Food and nutrition insecurity remain serious African concerns, reflecting government failure to meet global and regional human rights obligations to assure food availability, accessibility, utilisation, stability, sustainability, and agency. According to recent data, more than one-third of people facing severe food insecurity around the world live in Africa. The numbers may continue to rise in the absence of deliberate and human rightscentred solutions. The second biennial review report of the African Union on the Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods conceded that the continent is not on track to meet the targets set out in the Declaration to end food insecurity and improve nutrition. This article investigates and advocates for a human rights-based approach to food andnutrition security. It highlights the critical links between the six main elements of food security, namely, availability, access, utilisation, stability, agency, and sustainability, and the normative obligations of states on the right to food and its interdependence with other fundamental human rights. It critically analyses the available legal frameworks on addressing foodinsecurity and its challenges, and proposes a human rights-based approach.


There has been increasing reliance on policy directives as instruments for shaping clinical practice in health care, despite it being widely recognized that there is a significant translation gap between clinical policy and its implementation. Self-Determination Theory, a widely researched and empirically validated theory of human needs' fulfilment and motivation, offers a potentially valuable theoretical framework for understanding not only why the current policy environment has not led to the anticipated improvement in the quality and safety of clinical care but, importantly, also provides guidance about how organizations can create an environment that can nurture behavioural change in the workforce. We describe an alternative approach to clinical policy-making underpinned by Self-Determination Theory, which we believe has broad application for the science of clinical implementation theory.


AIM
Measurement of neopterin in the serum of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
59 patients with verified RA diagnosis (22 cases of joint lesion stage I-IIa, 27 of stage IIb-IIIa, 10 of stage IIIb-IV established roentgenologically, 48 patients were seropositive by IgM-rheumatoid factor) were examined for concentrations of serum neopterin and C-reactive protein (CRP). The activity and prognostic factors were characterized by modified Wilke method, the severity index was calculated. 100 healthy donors served controls.

RESULTS
Immune inflammation in RA develops with growing neopterin concentration in the serum. This concentration well correlates with inflammation activity and intensification of systemic symptoms.

CONCLUSION
Neopterin measurements may be important for determination of inflammation activity in RA. Further efforts should be made to ascertain relationships between neopterin hyperproduction and disturbances of cellular immunity in RA, clinical value of neopterin assays compared to the other laboratory evidence, feasibility of using neopterin levels to define prognosis and efficacy of on-going therapy.


A red pigment produced by the actinomycete strain B 4358 was identified as butyl-meta-cycloheptylprodiginine (4) by *H, 13C and correlation via long range coupling NMR spectra. It shows striking spectroscopic similarities to butyl-orMo-cycloheptylprodiginine (1), the structure of which needs to be revised.


This article focuses on whether it is beneficial for firms to invest in the general skills of their workforce or whether these training investments merely encourage personnel turnover. Estimation results derived from a sample of 2833 Dutch pharmacy assistants show that participation in general training does not induce employees' intention to quit, as predicted by human capital theory. We find that a firm's investments in general training significantly contribute to the perceived support in employee development (PSED) among the workforce, as predicted by social exchange theory. Moreover, we show that PSED is negatively related to employees' intention to quit the firm; however, this effect is to a large extent mediated by employee job satisfaction. Our findings support the importance of social exchange theory in explaining turnover behaviour as a consequence of personnel development practices.


A bacterium identified as Pseudomonas sp. was found to be a better source of oligogalacturonide transeliminase (OGTE) than Erwinia aroideae.The OGTE of Pseudomonas sp. differed from that of Erwinia aroideae in the following respects: (1) The activity was maximal with tetramer and followed by trimer, dimer and polymers. (2) The OGTE of Pseudomonas sp. degraded the saturated uronides as rapidly as, or a little more rapidly than, the corresponding unsaturated uronides. (3) Calcium ion stimulated considerably the OGTE activity.Both oxidized and reduced acid-soluble pectic acids were resistant to the action of the OGTE.With the purified enzyme preparation, 4-deoxy-5-keto-d-glucuronic acid was the end product of the OGTE action on oligo- and polygalacturonides. 4,5-Unsaturated galacturonic acid is probably the intermediate in the formation of 4-deoxy-5-keto-d-glucuronic acid.


This paper explores how publishers might mitigate a fall in revenues caused by the rise in ebook sales and the associated decline in book prices. By ending their historical reliance on selling single formats to undifferentiated classes of consumer (the 'one-size-fits-all' model), and instead producing formats tailored to specific types of customer, at different price points, might publishers maintain revenues? Lessons drawn from the experiences of the music industry suggest that live events such as literary festivals and author tours might have a key part to play in new business models; they might also offer a cost-effective means of generating enhanced content to add value to premium products.


This study identifies the key determinants of the development of the assistive technologies market in Russia and the trends that are expected to determine the dynamics of the Russian market over the next 10-15 years. Based on an analysis of international research experience and data obtained from in-depth interviews with Russian experts in areas associated with assistive technologies and devices (ATD, or technical rehabilitation aids (TRA)) (such as the manufacturers of assistive devices, representatives of the Federal Bureau of Medical and Social Expertise, representatives of disabled people's organizations and policy makers dealing with the issues related to the social support of disabled people), the key determinants of the market have been classified into demographic, economic, political, social, technological, and infrastructural. The study of the determinants and trends is implemented in the context of their impact on the supply and demand for ATD, taking into account the fact that for various groups of the population demands are determined by different needs (from the desire for social inclusion to the desire to be independent) and the fact that supply of different types of assistive devices may be affected by various groups of factors. The interaction of various agents operating in the ATD market in Russia is analyzed within the theoretical framework of Porter's five forces.


Background Syphilitic alopecia (SA), which mimics other types of alopecia, is an uncommon manifestation of secondary syphilis. Trichoscopic features may facilitate its diagnosis. However, studies on SA and its trichoscopic characteristics remain limited. Objective To investigate the epidemiological, clinical, and trichoscopic findings and laboratory results, treatment, and outcomes of SA in Thai patients as well as to comprehensively summarize all trichoscopic features of SA through a systematic review. Methods Data on patients diagnosed with SA between December 2010 and December 2021 were obtained from their medical records and analyzed retrospectively. A systematic review of trichoscopic data, both from our institution and from studies registered in the PubMed, MEDLINE, and Embase databases, was conducted. A descriptive summarization was performed to comprehensively study the trichoscopic features of SA. Results Of the 205 patients with secondary syphilis, 23 patients with SA (symptomatic SA: 20, essential SA: 3) were included. The mean age was 27.6 ± 8.8 years, and male predominance was noted. The moth-eaten pattern was the most common SA presentation, and the parieto-occipital scalp was the most commonly affected area. All patients with SA achieved significant hair regrowth within 3 months of antibiotic therapy. Trichoscopic images were available for 20 patients with SA from our institute and were included in the systematic review. Fourteen articles provided information on 21 patients. Overall (N = 41), 26 (63.4%), 8 (19.5%), and 7 (17.1%) patients had moth-eaten alopecia, diffuse alopecia, and mixed alopecia, respectively. The most frequent trichoscopic finding was short regrowing hairs (78%), followed by decreased hair per follicular unit (75.6%), and empty follicles (51.2%). Unique features included flame hairs, bent tapering hairs, reddish-brown background, and brown rings around the perifollicular areas, each described in one case. However, the results were based only on case reports and small case series. Conclusions Given the progressively increasing frequency of SA, trichoscopic examination may be valuable when SA is suspected in patients with idiopathic alopecia; however, our findings are quite non-specific. The absence of exclamation mark hairs may help in the diagnosis of SA. Further comparative studies on other types of alopecia are required to determine the most useful diagnostic features.


GLS is a new distributed location service which tracks mobile node locations. GLS combined with geographic forwarding allows the construction of ad hoc mobile networks that scale to a larger number of nodes than possible with previous work. GLS is decentralized and runs on the mobile nodes themselves, requiring no fixed infrastructure. Each mobile node periodically updates a small set of other nodes (its location servers) with its current location. A node sends its position updates to its location servers without knowing their actual identities, assisted by a predefined ordering of node identifiers and a predefined geographic hierarchy. Queries for a mobile node's location also use the predefined identifier ordering and spatial hierarchy to find a location server for that node.
Experiments using the ns simulator for up to 600 mobile nodes show that the storage and bandwidth requirements of GLS grow slowly with the size of the network. Furthermore, GLS tolerates node failures well: each failure has only a limited effect and query performance degrades gracefully as nodes fail and restart. The query performance of GLS is also relatively insensitive to node speeds. Simple geographic forwarding combined with GLS compares favorably with Dynamic Source Routing (DSR): in larger networks (over 200 nodes) our approach delivers more packets, but consumes fewer network resources.


Although the effect of levocarnitine (L‐carnitine) on hyperammonemia has been reported in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC), its effect on sarcopenia remains to be elucidated. We assessed the effects of L‐carnitine on sarcopenia in patients with LC. We retrospectively evaluated 52 patients with LC who were treated with L‐carnitine for more than 3 months between February 2013 and June 2017. Computed tomography was used to measure the cross‐sectional area of the skeletal muscles at the level of the third lumbar vertebra. The relative change in skeletal muscle index (SMI) per year (ΔSMI/year) was computed in each patient. We evaluated the relationship between ΔSMI/year and various parameters, such as age, sex, liver functional reserve, and dose of L‐carnitine. The median ΔSMI/year for all patients was −0.22%. The ΔSMI/year values in Child‐Pugh classes A, B, and C were not significantly different among the three groups. There was no significant relationship between ΔSMI/year and sex, age, body mass index, and sarcopenia. Multivariate analysis showed that only a high dose of L‐carnitine (odds ratio [OR], 4.812; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.233‐18.784; P = 0.024) was associated with increased muscle mass. The L‐carnitine high‐dose group included a significantly larger number of patients with increased muscle mass compared with the low‐dose group (OR, 3.568; 95% CI, 1.138‐11.185; P = 0.027). Administration of L‐carnitine led to a significant and gradual reduction in serum ammonia levels. Conclusion: L‐carnitine seems to suppress the progression of sarcopenia dose dependently, and this was noted to be associated with the improvement of hyperammonemia in patients with LC.


Abstract Ni-based brazing coatings with tungsten or chromium carbides are used for wear and corrosion protection in various applications. Steam turbine blades especially present a highly stressed application in which in particular the resistance to erosion and corrosion is essential. Therefore, novel tape architectures of brazed coatings have been developed and investigated within this study. In contrast to the use of powders, the application by means of tapes offers a high potential with regard to later use in industry due to the reproducible handling and automation. In this work, different coating systems were successfully deposited by means of vacuum brazing on X12CrNiMo-12 steel substrate. In order to achieve a sufficient fracture toughness of the coatings, pure nickel powder was added to the tapes. The influence of this additive on the mechanical properties was analyzed by means of three-point bending tests. A positive effect has been observed when adding a volume fraction of φ(Ni) = 25% of nickel, increasing the flexural strength up to σf = 580 MPa. Furthermore, the surface hardness of the coating has been analyzed depending on coating architecture and post-deposition treatment by grinding.


Summary: Polymer nanocomposites formed from organically modified montmorillonite offer the promise of greatly improved properties over those of the matrix polymer, provided the organoclay can be dispersed, or exfoliated, into the polymer matrix to generate high aspect ratio particles. The exfoliation of organoclays in two series of ethylene-based polymers, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers and sodium ionomers of ethylene-methyacrylic acid copolymers, is described along with the properties of these nanocomposites.


In this paper, we propose a new feature extraction method, which is robust against rotation and histogram equalization for texture classification. To this end, we introduce the concept of advanced local binary patterns (ALBP), which reflects the local dominant structural characteristics of different kinds of textures. In addition, to extract the global spatial distribution feature of the ALBP patterns, we incooperate ALBP with the aura matrix measure as the second layer to analyze texture images. The proposed method has three novel contributions, (a) The proposed ALBP approach captures the most essential local structure characteristics of texture images (i.e. edges, corners); (b) the proposed method extracts global information by using Aura matrix measure based on the spatial distribution information of the dominant patterns produced by ALBP; and (c) the proposed method is robust to rotation and histogram equalization. The proposed approach has been compared with other widely used texture classification techniques and evaluated by applying classification tests to randomly rotated and histogram equalized images in two different texture databases: Brodatz and CUReT. The experimental results show that the classification accuracy of the proposed method exceeds the ones obtained by other image features.


Telescopic aortic arch is a consequence of aortic dissection in Marfan's
syndrome, which has not been reported previously. This paper presents
the first case of telescopic aortic arch secondary to chronic aortic
dissection, as an incidental finding of a forensic autopsy. Here we
present a sudden death of a 20 years old male due to cardiac tamponade
sourcing from the rupture of ascending aorta. At autopsy, there
was a haemopericardium of 800 cc, which comprised blood and clot.
The ascending thoracic aorta was dilated and a 1.2 cm ragged linear
complete rupture was noticed on the medial side of the front wall of
ascending aorta. Examination of aorta showed a second/inner aortic
arch just as a tube lying inside the aortic arch. The inner aortic arch
was arrised 2.5 cm above aortic valves and lasted at the beginning
of the descending aorta. It was 10 cm in length with a lumen 2 cm
in diameter and was associated with truncus brachiosephalicus, left
common carotid, and left subclavian arteries.


A large segment of the therapy population consist of those who are in denial or retreat from their traumatic experiences. Here, drawing on attachment-based research, the author provides clinical techniques, specific intervention strategies, and practical advice for successfully addressing the often intractable issues of trauma. Trauma and the Avoidant Client will enhance the skills of all mental health practitioners and trauma workers, and will serve as a valuable, useful resource to facilitate change and progress in psychotherapy.


BACKGROUND
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is one of significant extracellular matrix catabolic enzymes, which is known to relate to the initiation, progression and growth of the tumor. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of MMP-9 antisense oligonucleotide (ASODN) on the apoptosis and metastasis of human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cell.

METHODS
MTT was used to analyze the effect of MMP-9 ASODN transfection on A549 cell growth. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the cell cycle and apoptosis. MTT chromometry and scratch migration were used to observe the capability of adhesion and immigration of the A549 cell.

RESULTS
MMP-9 ASODN inhibited the survival rate of the A549 cell and the action was concentration-and time-dependent. The peak concentration of MMP-9 ASODN was 600 nmol/L at 48 hours after transfection. After transfection of MMP-9 ASODN to A549 cell, the percentage of A549 apoptosis cell was significantly higher than that of control group (P < 0.01), but the adhesion and migration cut down predominantly (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS
MMP-9 ASODN can depress the adhesion and migration and inhibit proliferation of adenocarcinoma A549 cell effectively, and can promote apoptosis of the A549 cell.


Reef-building corals are among the largest producers of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), an essential compound in marine biogeochemical cycles. DMSP can be catabolised in coral mucus by a wide diversity of coral-associated bacteria, where it can either be demethylated, leading to the incorporation of sulfur and carbon into bacterial biomass – or cleaved by lyases, releasing the climatically-active gas dimethyl sulfide (DMS). It has been demonstrated that thermal stress increases DMSP concentrations in many coral species, however the effect of increased DMSP availability on coral-associated bacteria has not been explored. Here we performed thermal stress experiments to examine how changes in DMSP availability impact bacterial degradation pathways in the mucus of Acropora millepora. DMSP concentrations increased with temperature, reaching a maximum of 177.3 μM after 10 days of heat stress, which represents the highest concentration of DMSP recorded in any environment to date. Bacterial communities in coral mucus were significantly different from the surrounding seawater, yet they did not vary significantly between temperature or time. However, during thermal stress, when DMSP concentrations increased, a significant increase in the abundance of both the demethylation gene dmdA and the cleavage gene dddP were recorded. Importantly, our results show that for the highest DMSP concentrations recorded (above 30 μM), the cleavage pathway became more abundant than the demethylation pathway. This suggests that under high DMSP concentrations characteristic of heat stress, a larger fraction of the DMSP pool in the coral mucus is likely catabolised through the DMS-producing cleavage pathway.


Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare macrophage-related histiocytic disorder that occurs primarily in lymph nodes or extranodal sites. Primary splenic lymphoma is an even rarer form of malignant lymphoma exhibiting characteristic diagnosis, treatment and outcome that have been poorly documented. Documentation of a rare case of primary splenic diffuse large B-cell lymphoma concomitant with isolated thymus RDD is reported in a 42-year-old male patient who was admitted to our hospital for persistent fever and splenomegaly after diagnostic thymectomy. On pathological review of the patient's resected thymus tissue, notable characteristics of thymus RDD were observed. The patient's condition quickly deteriorated, and the spleen progressively enlarged over the course of steroid treatment in our facility. Subsequent diagnostic splenectomy results indicated that non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (nongerminal center diffuse large B-cell lymphoma) was present in splenic tissues. Results of the current case study suggest that early exclusion of possible lymphoma is necessary in RDD patients who exhibit limited or no response to steroid therapy.


The oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions of Upper Cretaceous chalk have been studied from a large number of outcrops and boreholes in the Danish sub-basin and the North Sea Central Graben. The carbon isotopic compositions vary from +0.50%o to +3.00%oδ13C which correspond to the expected carbon isotopic composition of carbonate precipitated from normal sea water. The oxygen isotopic compositions of samples from outcrops and near-surface drilled sections fall in the range from —0.50%o to — 2.00%oδ18O, which is close to the expected values for carbonate produced by coccoliths in the Late Cretaceous sea. A geographic distribution exists in the Danish sub-basin showing relatively heavy oxygen isotope values in the centre of the basin and slightly more negative values in the eastern part of the basin. Primarily the phenomenon is thought to reflect minor variations in the oceanographic parameters in the Late Cretaceous sea.

The deep subsurface sections represent a depth interval of 0–3100 m. Mechanical compaction in the uppermost part of the sequences apparently has no influence on the isotopic composition. Chemical compaction dominates at greater depth, leading to temperature-induced isotopic re-equilibration in the water-rock system. In these sequences the oxygen isotope values range from − 1.50%o to — 7.50%oδ18O and are significantly correlated with depth of burial, cementation and porosity. The data indicate that pressure-dissolution, recrystallization, reprecipitation and ion-exchange between solid carbonate phase and pore water, are all actively involved in the oxygen isotope re-equilibration process. This process is believed to take place in a diagenetically closed system and is tentatively divided into two phases: 1) an early diagenetic phase which takes place at porosities down to approximately 20% in which the chalk possesses a pore-water controlled isotopic re-equilibration system and 2) a late diagenetic phase at porosities below 20% in which the re-equilibration process increasingly becomes influenced by the rock-introduced isotopic change in the composition of the formation water.


In this paper, we introduce the personalized recommend system for E-commerce and propose a new recommend system model based on user's browse behavior to mine his interests and gives its flow chart and mining algorithms in detail.


The project based industry is a fast-changing industry that incorporates special tasks for the supply chain. Especially the cruise-ship industry is striving for solutions to handle the advanced demands, flexibility, time pressure and innovations. As a result, companies in this industry have to adapt to these changes also with respect to decisions that involve collaborating well with certain customers and suppliers. Therefore, the antecedents of the preferred supplier and preferred customer concept are studied in this thesis. Based on an extensive literature review, as well as a case study different levels of criteria are identified: (1) relationship initiatives, (2) financial and economic factors, (3) market factors and (4) technological factors. Contrary to the assumption, the dependence is not a decisive criterion but rather a driver for attraction. Furthermore, gaining the preferred customer status as well as the preferred supplier status at the same time were found to be possible and additional supportive for receiving preferential treatment. The case study revealed five action points for a project-based company to improve the possibility of gaining preferential treatment of customers and suppliers. These points include relationship values, spontaneous behaviour, market analysis, cooperation and the use of the preferred supplier and preferred customer concepts.


The differences between Augmented Reality (AR) systems and computer display based systems create a need for a different approach to the design and development of AR systems. To understand the potential of AR systems in real world tasks the technology must be tested in real world scenarios. This case study includes two qualitative user studies where AR was used for giving instructions to users in a hospital. The data show that the users in the context of medical care are positive towards AR systems as a technology and as a tool for instructions in terms of usefulness and social acceptance. The results indicate that AR technology, should it be introduced as technical support in this context, may become an accepted, and appreciated, part of every day work.


Exact decoupling of positive- and negative-energy states in relativistic quantum chemistry is discussed in the framework of unitary transformation techniques. The obscure situation that each scheme of decoupling transformations relies on different, but very special parametrizations of the employed unitary matrices is critically analyzed. By applying the most general power series ansatz for the parametrization of the unitary matrices it is shown that all transformation protocols for decoupling the Dirac Hamiltonian have necessarily to start with an initial free-particle Foldy-Wouthuysen step. The purely numerical iteration scheme applying X-operator techniques to the Barysz-Sadlej-Snijders (BSS) Hamiltonian is compared to the analytical schemes of the Foldy-Wouthuysen (FW) and Douglas-Kroll-Hess (DKH) approaches. Relying on an illegal 1/c expansion of the Dirac Hamiltonian around the nonrelativistic limit, any higher-order FW transformation is in principle ill defined and doomed to fail, irrespective of the specific features of the external potential. It is shown that the DKH method is the only valid analytic unitary transformation scheme for the Dirac Hamiltonian. Its exact infinite-order version can be realized purely numerically by the BSS scheme, which is only able to yield matrix representations of the decoupled Hamiltonian but no analytic expressions for this operator. It is explained why a straightforward numerical iterative extension of the DKH procedure to arbitrary order employing matrix representations is not feasible within standard one-component electronic structure programs. A more sophisticated ansatz based on a symbolical evaluation of the DKH operators via a suitable parser routine is needed instead and introduced in Part II of this work.


Active immobilized alpha-amylase was obtained when applying AE-cellulose chromatography and glutaric dialdehyde. The time of the enzyme interaction with the carrier, amount of glutaric dialdehyde necessary for binding, optimal enzyme: carrier ratio as well as the methods for desiccation of the immobilized amylase preparations were specified. Conditions are selected for alpha-amylase stabilization with the presence of glutaric aldehyde. Immobilized amylase as compared to free enzyme is shown to be more pH-stable in the acid and alkaline zones of pH (2.0-3.5 and 10.5-12.0), thermostable (within a temperature range of 20-60 degrees C) and resistant to the effect of 5.5 M urea.


Purpose. The paper examines the organic production as a business model corresponding to the spheres of CSR regarding society, environment, human capital and work conditions, knowledge and education. The focus in on sustainable business practices in organic production assessed in the study from the point of view of management, environment, human resources, public relations and business environment considered in five dimensions: economic, social, environmental, cultural and accountability. Methodology. Experts' focus group discussions and assessments of identified criteria regarding the conformity of organic production business model to the corporate social responsibility issues interlinked with sustainable development according to their knowledge and experience in the Republic of Bulgaria. Results. Current investigation's main results, although based on the specific situation of organic sector development in the Republic of Bulgaria, show that the business model of organic production fits very well to the key point of the concept of CSR being a sector implementing integrated and holistic management activities of all the processes in the whole production cycle, i.e. having "a built-in and self-regulated mechanism" working according to the requirements of the strong legislative base and standards which is expressed by the certification procedures assuring consumers' and society trust in organic. The theoretical contribution. As a result of the main discussions a definition of organic production business model is given as follows: organic production business model is a holistic production and managerial method in sustainable agriculture ensuring overall management and answering a number of requirements regarding environmental protection, food quality and safety and human health which responsibly uses, protects and restores natural resources, supports the preservation of the components of environment (soil, water, biodiversity, landscape), stabilizes ecosystems and creates opportunities for positive economic and social growth. Organic production is a way of investments in production processes creating employment in environmentally friendly activities, providing information and increased social consciousness in connection to the principles of sustainable development. Practical implications . Organic production is a green oriented sector applying sustainable business practices and implying an overall management of processes and integrated approaches – the monitoring and control are not focused on the final products but on the system functioning. It is a business model implying the principles of corporate social responsibility in five main directions: management, environment, human resources, public relations and business environment, which are influenced by the specific development of countries and regions underlining the importance of relevant state policies encouraging CSR applied in different sectors and initiatives, as well as the broad community participation. Keywords: sustainable development, accountability, sustainable management practices. Paper type : Research paper.


Chromosome translocations are among the most common genetic abnormalities in human leukemia. The mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) gene was identified as a common target of chromosomal translocations associated with human acute leukemias; it is located on human chromosome 11 band q23 and on mouse chromosome 9. More than 50 different loci are rearranged in11q23 leukemias involving MLL, resulting in either acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In general, MLL rearrangements are associated with a poor prognosis. MLL-ELL and MLL-ENL resulting from t(11;19)(q23;p13.1) and t(11;19)(q23;p13.3) respectively are two common examples of these rearrangements. These two fusions are frequently involved in human AML, while MLL-ENL is also involved in human ALL. There is a common observation that important biological properties are often conserved across species. Cross-species sequence comparison has been widely used to infer gene function, but it is becoming apparent that sequence similarity is not always proportional to functional similarity. To determine the function of a gene precisely, therefore, we need to investigate not only its sequence characteristics but also its expression characteristics. Model organisms have contributed substantially to our understanding of the etiology of human disease and the development of new treatment methodologies. However, although genetically engineered mouse leukemia models have been established for many years, there are few systematic studies to identify and study the genes that exhibit similar abnormal expression patterns in both human leukemia and mouse leukemia model cells. To perform an interspecies gene expression comparative study in leukemia, we used the serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) technique to examine gene expression profiles between MLL-ELL or MLL-ENL myeloid leukemia progenitor cells and normal myeloid progenitor cells in both humans and mice. We obtained 484,303 total SAGE tags for the nine samples and a total of 103,899 unique SAGE tags from five human and 60,993 from four mouse samples. We identified 88 genes that appeared to be significantly deregulated (32 up- and 56 down-regulated) in both human and murine MLL-ELL and/or MLL-ENL leukemia. Fifty-seven genes have not been reported previously. A large-scale quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay was performed to validate the candidate genes, and 84% (36/43) of the tested SAGE candidate genes were confirmed. The most up-regulated genes include several HOX genes (e.g., HOX A5, HOXA9 and HOXA10) and a HOX cofactor MEIS1; their overexpression is a hallmark of MLL-rearrangement leukemia. The top down-regulated genes include LTF, LCN2, MMP9, S100A8, S100A9, PADI4, TGFBI and CYBB. Remarkably, up-regulated genes have a much higher percentage of enrichment in Gene Ontology (GO) terms related to gene expression and transcription, whereas down-regulated genes are more enriched in GO terms related to apoptosis, signal transduction and response. Thus, the up-regulation of genes responsible for gene expression and transcription but down-regulation of genes responsible for apoptosis, signal transduction and response, can promote cell proliferation and inhibit apoptosis, and thereby contribute to the development of leukemia. We showed that the CpG islands of several significantly down-regulated genes including LIF, TGFBI and G0S2 are hypermethylated. We also examined the expression of microRNAs from the mir-17–92 cluster, which are overexpressed in human MLL-rearrangement leukemias, and showed that seven individual microRNAs (i.e., miR-17-5p, miR-17-3p, miR-18a, miR-19a, miR-20a, miR-19b and miR-92) within this cluster are also overexpressed in mouse MLL-rearrangement leukemia cells. Nineteen putative targets (i.e., APP, RASSF2, SH3BP5, DBN1, ELK3, FLT1, GNAI1, HIF1A, ITGA6, MN1, POU4F1, RB1, RGL1, RNF167, SASH1, SLC24A3, TNFRSF21, WWP1 and YES1) of these microRNAs were reported and/or confirmed by our qPCR to be down-regulated in MLL-rearrangement leukemias. We further confirmed both APP and RASSF2 as direct targets of miR-17 through luciferase reporter and mutagenesis assay. The identification and validation of gene expression changes in MLL-rearrangement human and murine leukemia provides important insights into the genetic pathways that are important for MLL fusion-induced leukemogenesis.


This paper offers an alternative approach to the repeated occurrence of Middle East "energy conflicts." Our analysis centres around the process of differential capital accumulation, emphasizing the quest to exceed the "normal rate of return" and to expands one's share in the overall flow of profit. With the evolution of modern capitalism, the dictates of differential accumulation become an ever stronger unifying force, drawing both state managers and corporate executives into increasingly inextricable power driven alliances. The Middle East drama of oil and arms since the 1970s has been greatly affected by this process. On the one hand, rising nationalism and intensified industry competition during the 1950s and 1960s forced the major oil companies toward a greater cooperation with the OPEC countries. The success of this alliance was contingent on the new atmosphere of "scarcity" and oil crisis, which was in turn dependent on the progressive militarization of the Middle East. On the other side of the oil arms equation stood the large U.S. and European based military contractors which, faced with heightened global competition in civilian markets and limited defense contracts at home, increased their reliance on arms exports to oil rich countries. Over the past quarter century, the progressive politicization of the oil business, together with the growing commercialization of arms transfers helped shape an uneasy Weapondollar Petrodollar Coalition between the principal military contractors and petroleum companies. As their environment became intertwined with the broader political realignment of OPEC and the industrial countries, the differential profits of these companies grew evermore dependent on the precarious interaction between rising oil prices and expanding arms exports emanating from successive Middle East "energy conflicts." At the same time, these companies were not passive bystanders. This is suggested firstly by the very close correlation existing between their arms deliveries to the Middle East and the region's oil revenues and, secondly, by the fact that every single "energy conflict" since the 1967 Arab Israeli War could have been predicted solely by adverse setbacks to the differential profit performance of the large oil companies!


The matching hypothesis asserts that it is the matching of the employee and the firm rather than the qualifications of the employee alone that matter. Using a unique and large data set of college football coaches, we perform two different tests of the matching hypothesis. The relative accuracy with which performance in college football is observed allows for a direct test of matching. We find that matching is a significant factor in team performance. A good match accounts, on average, for approximately a 5 percent improvement in performance. We also find that the hazard rate is increasing for the first five years and then subsequently decreasing over a coach 's tenure. Our evidence is consistent with a four- or five-year contracting period for college football coaches.


Background: Adolescent pregnancy, particularly in low-income settings, is associated with adverse health and social outcomes for both mother and child. Nepal has the second highest rate of adolescent pregnancy in South Asia alongside high rates of maternal depression and suicide. While the maternal morbidity risks of adolescent pregnancy are well researched, impacts on everyday lives, including behaviors and predictable patterns are less well-known. Passive sensing (geographic movement, physical activity, and proximity to infants using Bluetooth technology) is an emerging technology that can enhance the detection of behavior patterns. Given the risk of the postpartum period in LMIC settings, we sought to characterize normal behavioral patterns via passive sensing technology. Methods: We collected passive data over a two-week period with 22 mothers using phone-based GPS, accelerometry, and Bluetooth technologies. Passive data was aggregated for each mother, collapsed into hourly readings, and descriptively summarized. We triangulated this information in a constant comparative approach with a range of qualitative data including multiple in-depth interviews, a daily diary, and systematic fieldnotes. Results: Passive data illuminated a range of behaviors that varied across our participants. Women, during the average time window of 4am and 8pm, spent more than 80% of the day with their infants, were detected as 'active' 10-20% of the time in any given hour with peaks in the morning and mid-afternoon, and traveled fewer than 1675 meters from their homes. Household work, instrumental childcare, and household support, paired with the infant's age, appeared to drive activity patterns. Women with higher amounts of activity and GPS movement had more household support for chores and childcare. Women with young infants had smaller amounts of activity and GPS movement. Women that had nearly no time away from their infant expressed overwhelming responsibilities and increased stress, but also role fulfillment in that time with their infant was an indicator of good mothering. Conclusion: We reveal typical behavioral patterns of rural adolescent mothers and highlight opportunities for integrating this information to improve health and well-being.


Solar-powered photochemical water splitting using suspensions of photocatalyst nanoparticles is an attractive route for economical production of green hydrogen. SrTiO3-based photocatalysts have been intensely investigated due to their stability and recently demonstrated near-100% external quantum yield (EQY) for water splitting using wavelengths below 360 nm. To extend the optical absorption into the visible, SrTiO3 nanoparticles have been doped with various transition metals. Here we demonstrate that doping SrTiO3 nanoparticles with 1% Rh introduces midgap acceptor states which reduce the free electron concentration by 5 orders of magnitude, dramatically reducing built-in potentials which could otherwise separate electron-hole (e-h) pairs. Rhodium states also function as recombination centers, reducing the photocarrier lifetime by nearly 2 orders of magnitude and the maximum achievable EQY to 10%. Furthermore, the absence of built-in electric fields within Rh-doped SrTiO3 nanoparticles suggests that modest e-h separation can be achieved by exploiting a difference in mobility between electrons and holes.


We present photoluminescence, reflectivity and Raman scattering measurements on a GaAs Fabry-Pérot bulk microcavity. A strong enhancement of the Raman scattering efficiency is observed when either the incident or the scattered photons are tuned to the cavity mode. Resonance curves are obtained for scattering by both transverse and longitudinal optical phonons, and analysed in terms of the optical amplification due to confinement of the electromagnetic field. Resonance effects as strong as that observed in microcavities with embedded quantum wells are observed. Single and double resonance Raman profiles are calculated and a good agreement with measurements is obtained.


Path tracking system plays a key technology in autonomous driving. The system should be driven accurately along the lane and be careful not to cause any inconvenience to passengers. To address such tasks, this research proposes hybrid tracker based optimal path tracking system. By applying a deep learning based lane detection algorithm and a designated fast lane fitting algorithm, this research developed a lane processing algorithm that shows a match rate with actual lanes with minimal computational cost. In addition, three modified path tracking algorithms were designed using the GPS based path or the vision based path. In the driving system, a match rate for the correct ideal path does not necessarily represent driving stability. This research proposes hybrid tracker based optimal path tracking system by applying the concept of an observer that selects the optimal tracker appropriately in complex road environments. The driving stability has been studied in complex road environments such as straight road with multiple 3-way junctions, roundabouts, intersections, and tunnels. Consequently, the proposed system experimentally showed the high performance with consistent driving comfort by maintaining the vehicle within the lanes accurately even in the presence of high complexity of road conditions. Code will be available in https://github.com/DGIST-ARTIV.


The background of this research is the result of six people found mild mental retardation students of class VII/C SLB Binar Tarusan who have difficulty in following the fish processing skills lessons. This is because the classroom teachers deliver the subject matter has not been performed in accordance with the process of learning steps anchovy. So far, only the teacher demonstration method in providing skills subjects, thus making students often forget or become less understand what the teacher explained. By the time the fish processing children have difficulty doing salting, boiling, and separation. The purpose of this research is to improve fish processing skills through the project method for mild mental retardation children of class VII/C. This pebelitian type is action research class (classroom action research) that takes the form of collaboration.


Evidence is produced that Bhutanese citizens are adopting many of the media and communication technologies and practices common in more developed countries, and that the government has the political will to encourage this with infrastructure spending. This article links the two and reports that infrastructure spending and legislative encouragement, especially through unique social and cultural structures, appears to enhance the growth and emergence of media enterprises, a key driver of diversity and democracy. Key limitations on further expansion are identified as the remote location of the country and the low teledensity evident in this village-based society.


Fracture toughness, strength, and elastic modulus of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)and poly(buty1 methacrylate) (PBMA)-impregnated alumina ceramics were measured as a function of polymer volume fraction, mean polymer particle size, and interfacial bonding between the polymer and ceramic. Fracture toughness was found to increase with increasing polymer volume fraction and decreasing polymer particle size. Interfacial bonding played a very important role in determining the fracture mode, which was interparticle and intraparticle when the interface was coupled and uncoupled, respectively. Poly(methy1 methacrylate) increased the fracture toughness of the ceramic 1.5 to 2 times more effectively than poly(buty1 methacrylate). The elastic modulus was found to be unaffected by impregnation. The previously reported Bowie model was modified and proved to be useful. Singleand double-crack versions of this model predicted strengths somewhat higher than those measured. This discrepancy and the scatter in the data were explained by the crack-path tortuousity and the possibility of different mechanisms operating in different samples. Fractographs of the selected bend specimens were taken to support this argument.


Atmospheric aerosol and chemistry modules are key elements in Earth system models (ESMs), as they predict air pollutants concentrations and properties that can impact human health, weather and climate. The current uncertainty in climate projections is partly due to the inaccurate representation of aerosol direct and indirect forcing. Aerosol/chemistry parameterizations used within ESMs and other atmospheric models span large structural and parameter uncertainties which are difficult to assess independently of their host models. Moreover, there is a strong need for a standardized interface between aerosol/chemistry modules and the host model to facilitate portability of aerosol/chemistry parameterizations from one model to another, allowing not only a comparison between different parameterizations within the same modeling framework, but also quantifying the impact of different model frameworks on aerosol/chemistry predictions. To address this need, we have initiated a new community effort to coordinate the construction of a GeneralIzed Aerosol/chemistry iNTerface (GIANT) for use across weather and climate models. We aim to organize a series of community workshops and Hack-a-thons to design and build GIANT which will serve as the interface between a range of aerosol/chemistry modules and the physics and dynamics components of atmospheric host models. GIANT will leverage ongoing efforts at the U.S. modeling centers focused on building next-generation ESMs and the international AeroCom initiative to implement this common aerosol/chemistry interface. GIANT will create transformative opportunities for scientists and students to conduct innovative research to better characterize structural and parametric uncertainties in aerosol/chemistry modules, and to develop a common set of aerosol/chemistry parameterizations.


Electronics Engineering program at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Bogota - Colombia has been renovated following the guidelines of the CDIO philosophy. Currently, as a result of this process, a five years comprehensive and flexible curriculum is being implemented, based on the guidelines of the twelve CDIO standards. This curriculum reform is part of the strategies of continuous and systematic reflection and improvement of the School of Engineering; it is consistent with competitive schemes of quality with positive impact in the country. This paper describes tools generated to evaluate the CDIO Program in Electronics engineering. Initially, we describe the process of curricular integration, preliminary objectives for each year, the incorporation of CDIO skills in courses in accordance with the proficiency defined in the curriculum proposal and the gradual progression in learning along the five years of the program. Then, we describe the construction of holistic rubrics which validate the competence level reached by the students at the end of each year. Finally, we propose a model that relates the learning assessment for each course with the holistic rubrics; the latter provide the skills value measure and knowledge achieved by a cohort of students during an established academic term. The development of holistic rubrics for each year of the program took into account the gradual progression in learning. This gradual structure was proposed in the conception and design of the curricular structure according to Benjamin Bloom's cognitive taxonomy and David R. Krathwohl's affective taxonomy. These assessment strategies are essential for the School of Engineering along the processes of adjusting the curriculum reform, and for the planning of the fourth national certification in 2020 and ABET international accreditation in 2015.


In 1871, Huerter, described the epineural suture and introduce the importance of free tension anastomosis.Years after, Alexis Carrell, in 1899, introduced the first vessel anastomos is technique by triangulation and thevein graft inter position to substitute damaged vascular tissue; these achievements got him the 1912 Nobel Price.1,2 In 1922, Holmgren introduced the binocular microscope Zeiss for medical use but it was until 1960 that Jacobsen and Suarez improved the outcome in small vessel anastomosis with new surgical equipment and microsurgical techniques. Based on this, in 1964, Smith, Michon and Marse established the bases of nervous microsurgery.1,3


A country is destroyed or unsuccessful towards a welfare state not because of a shortage of natural resources (SDA) or a lack of human resources (HR), but because a country has been infected with a virus of corruption that has spread throughout the life line. is a corruption of passive bribery carried out by a judge Judge Heru Kisbandono who received bribes from one of the families of the defendants who were caught in a corruption case. The misappropriation of the official car budget of the Grobogan Regency DPRD Secretariat, with case numbers 26 / Pid.sus / 2013 / PT. TPK. Smg. The formulation of the problem in this study is Proof of acts of corruption in case No.26 / Pid.sus / 2013 / PT.TPK.Smg and legal considerations by the judges in deciding cases of corruption in cases number: 26 / Pid.sus / 2013 / PT. TPK. Smg. In view of the type of this research is Normative legal research. Whereas seen from its nature, this writing is descriptive that is in the sense of giving a picture along with a systematic explanation. Proof of criminal acts of corruption in case Number: 26 / Pid.sus / 2013 / PT.TPK.Smg is carried out by appellate judges. the defendant's actions In the primary indictment of the defendant Heru kisbandono he was charged with violating Article 12 Letter c of Law number 31 of 1999 as renewed by Law number 20 of 2001 concerning the eradication of criminal acts of corruption Jo Article 55 of the Criminal Code in conjunction with the Law Number 8 of 1981 concerning KUHAP and other articles of other laws and regulations. It has been fulfilled and proven legally and has also been linked to witness statements, letters, instructions and observations of the defendant in accordance with the provisions of the evidence in article 184 of the Criminal Procedure Code which was initially submitted by the public prosecutor beginning with evidence, witness statements, expert testimony , the instructions and statements of the defendant have proceeded accordingly and correctly. Legal considerations of the Judge in giving case verdict Number: 26 / Pid.sus / 2013 / PT.TPK. The defendant has previously considered all the facts revealed at the trial including the evidence that was carried out by the public prosecutor by presenting witnesses and submitting evidence at the trial, so as to prove the guilty charges against the defendant. And the million majlis judges have considered the information from the defendant himself who acknowledged it. Before making a decision to the defendant, the panel of judges first considers the matters that determine and alleviate the defendant.


The usage of fossil fuels to generate energy and the lack of wastewater treatment in Mexico are two issues that can be addressed at the same time while developing wastewater treatment technologies that incorporate energy recovery in their process train. We carried out a systematic review based on the PRISMA methodology to identify and review studies regarding energy recovery using wastewater as a substrate in Mexico. Peer-reviewed papers were identified through Scopus, Web of Knowledge, and Google Scholar, using a timeframe of 22 years that represented from 2000 to 2022. After applying the selection criteria, we identified 31 studies to be included in the final review, starting from 2007. The kind of energy product, type of technology used, substrate wastewater, amount of energy produced, and main parameters for the operation of the technology were extracted from the papers. The results show that methane is the most researched energy recovery product from wastewater, followed by hydrogen and electricity, and the technology used to archive it is an up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor to produce methane and hydrogen. In addition, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were preferred to produce electricity. According to our data, more energy per kgCOD removed could be obtained with methane-recovering technologies in the Mexican peer-reviewed studies compared with hydrogen recovery and electricity production.


Sm,-The M.R.C. Working Party's report on the clinical effects of so-called " anticoagulants " (Journal, March 28, p. 803) will be studied with the most intense interest. In some ways the committee must have our sympathy in their hard task. The late Professor Topley remarked that once a treatment was accepted as orthodox the organization of a controlled clinical trial became almost impossible. The committee deserves our praise in their effort to overcome these difficulties. Nevertheless withdrawal from the trial was frequently determined by the occurrence of severe cardiac infarcts, and we must appreciate sympathetically the desire of the investigators to apply effective " treatment " at that stage. But it is thus clear that the trial could not be of the true " double-blind " variety, as the investigators must have been aware of which patients were on high and low dosage. A slight bias towards a favourable report may thus have influenced the observations. Nevertheless we have a most valuable documentation which will repay the closest review, and the high professional standing and integrity of the committee members will command respect as well as the most detailed interest in the findings. In view of the immense magnitude of the problem and the costly repercussions of the conclusions, we are c duty bound to ask if all the arguments and observations will stand up to critical commentary. If satisfactory replies are forthcoming to any queries that may be raised the report may compel many radical changes of medical attitudes. As the difference in mortality in the treated and untreated series was too low to satisfy statistical standards, emphasis is laid on the high frequency of recurrent infarction in the control group. While features for recognition of the original infarction are stringently defined, there is no similar statement of criteria for the recognition of recurrences. A definition would be most helpful, for as clinicians we are often perplexed about the possible meaning of relapses of anginal pain in these patients; only too often further electrocardiograms and study of other clinical features are indecisive. If I understand Tables V and VII correctly, in the 45-54 age period there were 30 control patients with recurrent infarcts, of whom 11 died, while in the high dosage group there were only 7 recurrences, of which 6 were fatal. This could mean that a recurrent infarction under treatment is twice as likely to be lethal. The rarity of non-fatal recurrent infarction in the treated group must indeed be a rather unique and exceptional experience. Suzman (personal communication), though most favourably disposed to the use of long-term anticoagulants, found an almost equal incidence of relapses in his very large series of treated and untreated patients, though they were less fatal in the treated. This is the converse of the M.R.C. findings. In a statistical trial the results should speak for themselves without special pleading. In the discussion, however, it is stated that the patients whose lives are saved by anticoagulants may survive with more serious heart damagethan the untreated patients, thus creating a disparity in death rate unfavourable to anticoagulants after a year or so. This argument is indeed strange when we look at Table XI, which seems to indicate that, if anything, the treated patients were in a slightly better state than the untreated. In any case, if further coronary occlusion is really prevented by anticoagulants, heart damage should be less and not more severe. I am also uncertain of the statistical propriety of separating off the women and the patients over the age of 55 to make the results look better. In any ideally conducted statistical trial separate groups should surely be defined before the trial is begun rather than afterwards. In most therapeutic trials which have vindicated a remedy it is improvement and reduction of mortality in the patients at greatest risk that compel recognition of the achievement. This applied, for example, in malignant hypertension and in tuberculous meningitis. One would therefore feel that the older age group with more severe atheroma and a greater liability to recurrent clotting should have given a more convincing proof of the efficacy of treatment than the younger group whose disease is likely to be less extensive and whose course is thus more variable. Your leading article (p. 838) says that anticoagulant therapy in the acute stage " reduces the mortality rate by approximately one-half." The actual reduction found by Wright' was from 23.4% to 16%, and there are other well-known reports by Honey and Truelove2 and by Richards3 indicating very little benefit at the acute stage. The post-mortem evidence in Gilchrist and Tulloch's series45 showed no significant difference between treated and untreated in the incidence of recent clots: similar findings come from the Presbyterian Hospital, New York.' The matter therefore is far from settled. However, if anticoagulants will turn the balance even slightly in favour of the patient it is of course our duty to use them, but we should neither exaggerate the benefits we are conferring, nor must the public in general or the patient in particular be led to believe that a miracle is being achieved. Most of our profession will feel disturbed that this therapeutic trial has given us such indecisive reasons for holding on to a difficult, trying, costly, and often, in practice, disappointing prophylactic regime.-I am, etc.,


The human nose is a very complex entity with a great amount of variation among and within different human populations. Even though the morphology of the nasal pyramid and its soft tissue coverage is principally known, a standardized nomenclature does not yet exist. The past two decades have witnessed a considerable increase of new studies on the functional morphology of the external nasal anatomy. Detailed anatomic and clinical knowledge about the external nose is a prerequisite for successful rhinosurgery, thus this report deals with the basic structures necessary for functional and aesthetic rhinoplasty.


This article focuses on the models of body parts that were dedicated in Classical healing sanctuaries in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. My interpretation builds on, but goes beyond, the traditional reading of the votive body parts, which sees the visual form of these objects as serving
(only) to illustrate the part of the body that was ill or malfunctioning. I argue that these objects can also be read as representing the fragmentation or disaggregation of the human body, and I introduce
evidence which indicates that the ancient dedicants themselves recognised and explored this aspect of the votive imagery. In order to reconstruct the significance of these anatomical fragments in the social and religious context of Classical Greece, I call upon a range of contemporary images
and texts from both within and beyond the healing sanctuary. I suggest that the fragmentation of the body in the sanctuary served as a metaphor which gave visual form and social meaning to the otherwise intensely personal experience of illness. Furthermore, I argue that this symbolic dismemberment also played a dynamic functional role in the process of healing, which was itself metaphorically conceived as the reintegration of the dedicant's broken body.


Objectives: Physician-assisted death (PAD), also known as medical assistance in dying, of patients with a psychiatric disorder (PPD) is a global issue of debate. In most jurisdictions that allow PAD, irremediable suffering is a legal requirement, how to apply the concept of irremediability to PPD remains challenging. The aim of this article is to identify the main arguments concerning irremediability in the debate about PAD of PPD and give directions for further moral deliberation and empirical research. Methods: Systematic searches in MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO were combined with 4 additional search strategies. All conceptual-ethical articles, quantitative and qualitative empirical studies, guidelines, case reports, and commentaries that met the inclusion criteria were included, and a qualitative data synthesis was used to identify recurring themes within the literature. The study protocol was preregistered at the Open Science Framework under registration code: thjg8. Results: A total of 50 articles met the inclusion criteria. Three main arguments concerning irremediability were found in the debate about PAD of PPD: uncertainty, hope, and treatment refusal. Conclusions: Uncertainty about irremediability is inevitable, so which level of certainty is morally required should be the subject of moral deliberation. Whether PAD induces or resolves hopelessness is an empirical claim that deserves clarification. Treatment refusal in search of PAD raises questions about treatment efficacy in this patient group and about decision-making in the context of the physician–patient relationship. Going forward, more attention should be given to epidemiological research and to specific challenges posed by different psychiatric disorders.


New experimental data on the thermal conductivity of 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene (R1234yf) and trans-1,3,3, 3-tetrafluoropropene (R1234ze(E)) are reported that allow the development of wide-range correlations. These new experimental data, covering a temperature range of (242 to 344) K for R1234yf and (203 to 344) K for R1234ze(E) at a pressure range of (0.1 to 23) MPa, are used to develop correlations for the thermal conductivity. The experimental data reported here have an uncertainty of less than 1 % for liquid measurements and for gas at pressures above 1MPa, increasing to 3 % for gas at low pressures (less than 1MPa). On the basis of the uncertainty of and comparisons with the present data, the thermal-conductivity correlations for R1234yf and R1234ze(E) are estimated to have relative expanded uncertainties of 3 % at a 95 % confidence level.


The origins of Molecular Biology and Bacterial Physiology are reviewed, from our personal standpoints, emphasizing the coupling between bacterial growth, chromosome replication and cell division, dimensions and shape. Current knowledge is discussed with historical perspective, summarizing past and present achievements and enlightening ideas for future studies. An interactive simulation program of the bacterial cell division cycle (BCD), described as "The Central Dogma in Bacteriology," is briefly represented. The coupled process of transcription/translation of genes encoding membrane proteins and insertion into the membrane (so-called transertion) is invoked as the functional relationship between the only two unique macromolecules in the cell, DNA and peptidoglycan embodying the nucleoid and the sacculus respectively. We envision that the total amount of DNA associated with the replication terminus, so called "nucleoid complexity," is directly related to cell size and shape through the transertion process. Accordingly, the primary signal for cell division transmitted by DNA dynamics (replication, transcription and segregation) to the peptidoglycan biosynthetic machinery is of a physico-chemical nature, e.g., stress in the plasma membrane, relieving nucleoid occlusion in the cell's center hence enabling the divisome to assemble and function between segregated daughter nucleoids.


Background:
 Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a genetic, progressive, vascular disease that affects approximately 100,000 children and adults in the US. Vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs), also referred to as pain crises, are a primary complication of SCD. VOCs are caused by several factors, including inflamed, damaged vasculature and increased cellular adherence to the endothelium and other cells, resulting in occlusion of the microvascular systems. VOCs have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality.
 Healthcare visit data partially reflect VOC and SCD outcomes for children and provide understanding of healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), but miss the breadth and depth of the burden of SCD, and fail to capture daily variations of pain and other quality of life (QoL) concepts. This is particularly problematic for children, who may experience less frequent VOCs and may have lower HCRU, but will likely experience progressive non-VOC SCD-related symptoms and impacts as they age. Further, evaluating HCRU data underestimates the burden of SCD; patients who avoid seeking care outside the home are not represented.
 The Sickle Cell Pain Diary - Caregiver Report (SCPD-C) is a daily observer-reported outcome (ObsRO) measure for use with caregivers of patients with SCD under 12. Two diary versions were developed for SCD caregivers: one for school age children (SCPD-CS) and one for non-school age children (SCPD-CN). The diaries were designed to capture the frequency and severity of pain during and outside of a VOC and to examine the impact of SCD-related pain on other QoL concepts. The objective of this study was to investigate the content validity of the SCPD-CS and SCPD-CN.
 Methods:
 Two rounds of 90-minute in-depth, hybrid concept elicitation and cognitive debriefing (CD) interviews and one round of 60-minute CD interviews (N=22) were conducted in person (n=8) and by phone (n=14) with caregivers of SCD patients aged ≤11. Interviewers used a semi-structured guide to explore concepts relevant to caregivers' observations of VOC in children, and to test the diaries.
 The CD portion of the interviews required caregivers to state their thoughts while reading the diary aloud; interviewers elicited feedback on the diary instructions, recall period, items, and response choices. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded and analyzed.
 Results:
 Round 1 interviews (N=6), confirmed the relevance of the SCPD-C for most caregivers; however, several items were reported as not relevant for patients aged ≤3 years. Therefore the SCPD-C was split into the SCPD-CS for school age children and SCPD-CN for non-school age children. Other changes resulting from round 1 included: adding 8 items, removing 1, and wording edits for clarity and consistency.
 In round 2 interviews (N=3), only the SCPD-CS was tested and 2 items were added for electronic programming purposes. Round 3 (N=13) tested both the revised SCPD-CS and the SCPD-CN. Caregivers confirmed the relevance and comprehensibility of both diaries; no new items were added. Minor wording revisions were made to improve readability. Final changes to the diaries included adding skip logic to ensure transition to an electronic format. Saturation analyses revealed that no additional interviews were needed.
 Conclusions:
 This study provided evidence that supports the content validity of the SCPD-CS (formerly SCPD-C) and SCPD-CN, observer-reported daily diaries focused on capturing daily variations of pain in SCD. While we intended to evaluate the content validity of a single caregiver diary (SCPD-C) for SCD patients aged ≤11 years, we found that two versions were required to accurately capture caregivers' perspectives relative to their child's age and school attendance status. Evidence gathered during caregiver interviews indicated that the SCPD-CS and SCPD-CN are valuable measures of VOC-related pain frequency and severity and the impact of this pain on other QoL concepts including fatigue and emotional health. In addition, the diaries capture the QoL of patients outside of HCRU, providing a more holistic view of the impact of VOCs and SCD. Future work includes development of scoring algorithms and user's manuals, and conducting psychometric validation. Use of the diaries in clinical trials with caregivers of patients who experience VOCs is anticipated, to capture the QoL impacts of new interventions designed to reduce the frequency and intensity of VOCs

 Bailey: Novartis: Employment. Stebbins:Optum: Employment; Novartis: Research Funding. D'Alessio:Novartis: Employment. Mitchell:Optum: Employment; Novartis: Research Funding. Saucier:Optum: Employment; Novartis: Research Funding. White:Optum: Employment; Akcea: Research Funding.


Nephthene hydrocarbons, a naphthalan active component, were tried for ability to change permeability of erythrocytic and vascular membranes for dyes. It was established that this preparation can return to normal hyperpermeability of biological membranes induced by radiation. Its mechanism of action is suggested to be participation in biosynthesis of adrenal steroid hormones and activation of some enzymatic systems.


A highly specific antisera was produced in New Zealand white rabbits against nisin Z, a 3400 Da bacteriocin produced by Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis UL 719. A dot immunoblot assay was then developed to detect nisin Z in milk and whey. As few as 1·5 10−1 international units per ml (IU ml−1), corresponding to 0·003 μg ml−1 of pure nisin Z, were detected in carbonate‐bicarbonate buffer within 6 h using chemiluminescence. When milk and whey samples were tested, approximately 0·155 μg ml−1 (7·9 IU ml−1) of nisin Z was detected. The detection limit obtained was lower than that of traditional methods including microtitration and agar diffusion.


The article describes the results of the determining of the most effective offset of wells in the row regarding the next row during the formation of well spacing. Rational grid dimensions of hole charges blasting, which consider the average radius of the crater grinding, coefficient of anisotropy and the angle between the direction of maximum destruction and slaughter line are offered


The phosphorylation of an M(r) 20,000 myosin light chain (MLC20) promotes the generation of contractile force through actin-myosin adenosine triphosphatase in most agonist-mediated vascular smooth muscle cell contraction. However, the role of calcium-mediated contractile processes in sustained arterial narrowing after subarachnoid hemorrhage remains unknown. In a femoral artery model of vasospasm, whole blood was applied to arteries in 54 rats for periods of 2 to 10 days; the contralateral artery treated with platelet-rich plasma served as matched control. During the early stage of vasospasm (Days 2-5), in the media of arteries exposed to blood, MLC20 phosphorylation (including diphosphorylated forms) increased significantly (30-38%; P < 0.05); total medial MLC20 during this interval was comparable to that in controls. After 5 days, however, total MLC20 decreased markedly (> 90%; P < 0.01) compared with controls; phosphorylated MLC20 was undetectable during this interval. MLC20-mediated contractile processes may be prominent in the early stages of arterial narrowing after subarachnoid hemorrhage; later stages are associated with the loss of MLC20 and the possible persistence of arterial narrowing by other mechanisms.


Summary
Coliphage φW and its female-specific host range mutants φ3 and φ4 were grown on Escherichia coli B and strain D31, an LPS mutant of E. coli K12. Comparison of phage samples from centre and halo of single plaques indicates that host-range mutants of φ3 type are enriched in halos on strain D31. For φW there was a decreased adsorption to full-grown cells, for φ3 there was only a minor change. Caesium chloride gradients have shown that φ3 is denser than φW and φ4. After growth on strain D31 both φW and φ3 produced non-infectious tail-less particles, and burst sizes were reduced correspondingly. It is suggested that the assembly of the tail could be blocked by an assumed LPS precursor.


This paper discusses the role of case studies in systems engineering and systems management, especially case studies that involve systems acquisition. We first provide a brief overview of case studies, including some of the analysis techniques useful for the conduct of case studies. Next, we discuss a two-dimensional framework for systems engineering and management case studies. The framework is in the form of a 9 row by 3 column matrix. We present a number of vignettes of case studies, at least one for each of the 27 cellular entries in this matrix. The hope is that this will be a stimulus and precursor of additional systems engineering and management case study efforts, both in terms of appropriate frameworks for these and in the actual conduct of case study research. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng 7: 84–97, 2004


A multiple baseline across participants design was used to examine the functional relation between the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) intervention and the on- and off-task behaviors of high school students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). The results showed that all four students significantly increased on-task behaviors and decreased off-task behaviors and all four participants maintained the increase of on-task behaviors and the decrease of off-task behaviors after the intervention was withdrawn. All four students made progress toward their goal of implementing on-task behavior in the classroom and generalized on-task behavior to a second general education classroom. The study provides evidence of effective self-determination instruction that supports students to improve their behavior in a general education classroom. Implications for practice and future research are provided.


Reflecting upon Max Neuhaus and Alvin Lucier's first electronic works on electro-acoustic feedback, I will consider how their researches on live electronic music, meant to be performed on stage, announce a whole other form of creation, which is paradoxically emancipated from the concert hall and essential to the emergence of sound art: sound installations. If both musicians first appropriated the electronic medium for its possibilities in sound transformation (Neuhaus's interpretations of the avant-garde's percussion repertoire; Lucier's collaboration with the Sonic Arts Union), it appears that these experimentations, and more precisely those using feedback, quickly extended into other areas than research on tones and the live dimension of electronic performances. Indeed, electro-acoustic feedback, as a phenomenon of retroaction, goes beyond the mere relationship to the instrument: by manifesting itself in the looping of the electro-acoustic chain (microphone-amplification-speakers), it straightaway inscribes the electronic device in a spatial dimension that is linked to the propagation of sound. Highly unstable and unpredictable, feedback's variations indeed result from the interaction of numerous parameters: acoustics, volume, the architecture of a space, as well as the technology employed and its positioning in space, or the mass and movements of bodies within it. Any work implying this type of feedback can thus only be in situ: it depends upon how sounds wander in space. By analyzing Neuhaus and Lucier's first experimentations with feedback, the specificities of their apparatuses and the experiences they aim at and foster, this presentation wishes to question the role they played in the emergence of both musicians' concern with space, which is at the core of any understanding of their later works. And beyond these singular paths, we will reread the history of live electronic music in the light of its bifurcations and lines of flight, in order to explicate the birth of a certain art of sound installation, in which the liveness of live electronic music, far from being deserted, seems to lead into other forms of creation and specific aesthetic stakes. If live electronic music can be considered as one of the conditions of possibility for the emergence of sound installations, we will also have to consider, on a broader scale, the relations that the history of sound art practices have with electronics and their ambiguous emancipation from experimental music.


We introduce a new construction technique for orthomodular lattices. In contrast to the preceding constructions, it admits rich spaces of states (=probability measures), i.e., for each pair of incomparable elements a; c there is a state s such that s(a) = 1 > s(c). This allowed a progress in many questions that were open for a long time; among others we prove that there is a continuum of varieties of orthomodular lattices with rich state spaces and solve a problem formulated by R. Mayet in 1985. As a by-product of this research, the uniqueness problem for bounded observables (posed by S. Gudder in 1966) has been solved. As a tool, we introduce also a new construction | identiication of atoms in an orthomodular lattice | which may be of separate interest.


By incorporating aspects of coordination and collaboration, workflow implementations of information systems require a sound conceptualisation of business processing semantics. Traditionally, the success of conceptual modelling techniques has depended largely on the adequacy of conceptualisation, expressive power, comprehensibility and formal foundation. An equally important requirement, particularly with the increased conceptualisation of business aspects, is business suitability. In this paper, the focus is on the business suitability of workflow modelling for a commonly encountered class of (operational) business processing, e.g. those of insurance claims, bank loans and land conveyancing. A general assessment is first conducted on some integrated techniques characterising well-known paradigms structured process modelling, object-oriented modelling, behavioural process modelling and business-oriented modelling. Through this, an insight into business suitability within the broader perspective of technique adequacy, is gained. A specific business suitability diagnosis then follows using a particular characterisation of business processing, i.e. one where the intuitive semantics and inter-relationship of business services and business processes are nuanced. As a result, five business suitability principles are elicited. These are proposed for a more detailed understanding and (synthetic) development of workflow modelling techniques. Accordingly, further insight into workflow specification languages and workflow globalisation in open distributed architectures may also be gained. *Part of this work has been supported by CITEC, a business unit of the Queensland Government's Department of Public Works and Housing (formerly the Administrative Services Department).


Melanins are common pigments with a non-repeating primary structure that is generally accepted to be composed of dihydroxyindoles. However, despite intensive research the secondary structure defining the minimum functional unit (protomolecule) remains elusive. We have revisited eumelanin formation in-situ during the non-enzymatic auto-oxidation of 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine by using the fluorescence of thioflavin T; an extrinsic probe known to report on sheet structure. This approach obviates the complex intrinsic fluorescence and reveals a sigmoidal temporal dependence of assembly that is consistent with protomolecule formation and assembly into a stacked sheet structure rather than a randomized heteropolymer formed by monomer addition.


We compare the sensitivity of WIMP detection via direct separation of possible signal vs. background to WIMP detection via detection of an annual modulation, in which signal and background cannot be separated on an event-by-event basis. In order to determine how the constraints from the two different types of experiments might be combined an adequate incorporation of uncertainties due to galactic halo models must be made. This issue is particularly timely in light of recent direct detection limits from Edelweiss and CDMS, which we now demonstrate cannot be made consistent with a recent claimed DAMA annual modulation observation, even by including halo uncertainties. On the other hand, we demonstrate that a combination of these two techniques, in the event of any positive direct detection signal, could ultimately allow significant constraints on anisotropic halo models even without directional sensitivity in these detectors.


Abstract Octacyanometalates K4[Mo(CN)8] and K4[W(CN)8] are completely protonated in superacidic mixtures of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride and antimony pentafluoride. The resulting hydrogen isocyanide complexes [Mo(CNH)8]4+ [SbF6]− 4 and [W(CNH)8]4+ [SbF6]− 4 are the first examples of eight‐coordinate homoleptic metal complexes containing hydrogen isocyanide (CNH) ligands. The complexes were crystallographically characterized, revealing hydrogen‐bonded networks with short N⋅⋅⋅H⋅⋅⋅F contacts. Low‐temperature NMR measurements in HF confirmed rapid proton exchange even at −40 °C. Upon protonation, ν(C≡N) increases of about 50 cm−1 which is in agreement with DFT calculations.


This letter gives an efficient algorithm for tracking the solution curve of sparse logistic regression with respect to the regularization parameter. The algorithm is based on approximating the logistic regression loss by a piecewise quadratic function, using Rosset and Zhu's path tracking algorithm on the approximate problem, and then applying a correction to get to the true path. Application of the algorithm to text classification and sparse kernel logistic regression shows that the algorithm is efficient.


ABSTRACT Acute lung injury (ALI) is a clinical syndrome characterized by hypoxia, which is caused by the breakdown of the alveolar capillary barrier. Interleukin 1&bgr; (IL-1&bgr;), a cytokine released within the airspace in ALI, downregulates the &agr; subunit of the epithelial sodium channel (&agr;ENaC) transcription and protein expression via p38 MAP kinase–dependent signaling. Although induction of the heat shock response can restore alveolar fluid clearance compromised by IL-1&bgr; following the onset of severe hemorrhagic shock in rats, the mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we report that the induction of the heat shock response prevents IL-1&bgr;–dependent inhibition of &agr;ENaC mRNA expression and subsequent channel function. Heat shock results in IRAK1 detergent insolubility and a disruption of Hsp90 binding to IRAK1. Likewise, TAK1, another client protein of Hsp90 and signaling component of the IL-1&bgr; pathway, is also detergent insoluble after heat shock. Twenty-four hours after heat shock, both IRAK1 and TAK1 are again detergent soluble, which correlates with the IL-1&bgr;–dependent p38 activation. Remarkably, IL-1&bgr;–dependent p38 activation 24 h after heat shock did not result in an inhibition of &agr;ENaC mRNA expression and channel function. Further analysis demonstrates prolonged preservation of &agr;ENaC expression by the activation of the heat shock response that involves inducible Hsp70. Inhibition of Hsp70 at 24 h after heat shock results in p38-dependent IL-1&bgr; inhibition of &agr;ENaC mRNA expression, whereas overexpression of Hsp70 attenuates the p38-dependent IL-1&bgr; inhibition of &agr;ENaC mRNA expression. These studies demonstrate new mechanisms by which the induction of the heat shock response protects the barrier function of the alveolar epithelium in ALI.


Background Several epidemiological studies have assessed the association between the use of antibiotics and cancer risk, but the results were inconsistent. Objective The objective of this study was to perform a meta-analysis to further evaluate possible association between antibiotic exposure and the risk of cancer. Methods We searched PubMed,Embase,Web of Science,and Chinese databases for studies on the association between antibiotic use and cancer without time restrictions. The risk estimates (hazard ratio (HR) or relative risk (RR) or Odds ratio (OR)) with their corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. Results A total of 23 observational studies with 19 case-control and 4 cohort studies were included in the meta-analysis. Exposure to antibiotics significantly increased the risk of cancer with an OR of 1.20 (95%CI 1.13-1.27, P=0.000). Subgroup meta-analysis by gender showed that the effect of antibiotic use on cancer risk was greater in male (34%) compared with that in female (19%). On the other hand, the risk of cancer increased with an increasing number of antibiotic prescriptions and the increasing cumulative days of antibiotic exposure. Moreover, of the 7 antibiotic types included, the six classes of antibiotics (penicillin, macrolides, quinolones, sulfonamides, tetracycline, cephalosporins) were associated with the increased risk of cancer. Further, of the 16 separate cancers included, exposure to antibiotics increased the risk of eight common cancer types (liver cancer, colorectal cancer, stomach and small intestine cancer, lymphomas, breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, and renal and bladder). Conclusions Exposure to common antibiotic types may increase the risk of the eight common cancer types in the studies population, especially in male, and the cancer risk increases with increasing antibiotic exposure intensity.


Primary salivary type lung cancers are extremely rare intrathoracic malignancies. Mucoepidermoid tumor is one of the salivary gland tumors that originates from submucosal glands of the tracheobronchial tree. These are very slow-growing low-grade malignant tumors. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment and rarely requires adjuvant therapy. In this case report we describe a 65-year-old woman who presented with a solitary cough yet on further investigation was found to have a mucoepidermoid tumor originating from the hilum of the left lung.


Severe infection with Burkholderia pseudomallei (formerly Pseudomonas pseudomallei), the bacterium causing melioidosis, is a common cause of acquired septicaemia in south-east Asia and northern Australia. A few cases of infected travellers returning to European countries have been reported. Melioidosis is a tropical disease, the clinical presentation ranging from asymptomatic infection to fulminant sepsis. Predisposing conditions such as impaired cellular immunity, preexisting renal failure or diabetes mellitus seem to enhance the severity of the disease. For a definite diagnosis the bacterium has to be isolated. The antimicrobial treatment of choice is ceftazidime in combination with co-trimoxazole or doxycycline. Even with correct antibiotic treatment the mortality rate is high in cases of fulminant sepsis. We report a 29-year old man with Type I diabetes who acquired melioidosis during a vacation in Thailand. After returning to Austria he was admitted to the intensive care unit with multiple organ failure. Despite intensive care treatment the patient's infection proved lethal. Burkholderia pseudomallei was isolated from the blood and bronchoalveolar lavage.


When human cells enter mitosis, chromosomes undergo substantial changes in their organisation to resolve sister chromatids and compact chromosomes. Despite the fundamental importance of this phenomenon to genome stability, we still do not fully comprehend the timing and coordination of these events. To address these questions, we need to evaluate the progression of both sister chromatid resolution and chromosome compaction in one assay. We achieved this by analysing changes in configuration of marked chromosome regions over time, with high spatial and temporal resolution. This assay showed that sister chromatid resolution is an iterative process that begins in late G2 phase and completes in prophase. Cohesins and WAPL antagonistically regulate sister chromatid resolution in late G2 and prophase whilst local enrichment of cohesin on chromosomes prevents precocious sister chromatid resolution. Moreover, our assay allowed quantitative evaluation of the timing and efficiency of condensin II and I activities in promoting sister chromatid resolution and chromosome compaction, respectively. Thus, our real-time assay sheds new light on the dynamics of mitotic chromosome resolution and compaction.