A 24-m jumbo-piston core containing a 14 ka Holocene-Late Pleistocene sedimentary record was collected from Mac.Robertson Land during United States Antarctic Program cruise NBP01-01. This study uses environmental magnetism to trace the Holocene history of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), which is generally thought of as stable since it is grounded above sea level. Magnetic analyses are used to identify periods of terrigenous sedimentation from the EAIS, for example ice rafted debris layers or meltwater pulses. Terrigenous material contains magnetic minerals, which we expect to stand out from the dominantly biosiliceous sediment deposited along the East Antarctic Margin. Magnetic susceptibility is weak down core (approximately -2 to 5 *10'8 m3/kg) until approximately 10.0 ka where there is a steep increase in intensity, most likely due to sandy mud laminae and underlying diamict. Analysis of X-rays down core show periods of high and low frequency of laminations down core, until a varved layer stratigraphically above the diamict (5-16 laminations per 5 cm). Gravel grains are sparsely present down core until the diamict, where they are ubiquitous. These changes in lithology represent déglaciation following the last glacial maximum and the transition to an open marine environment at 14 ka. Based on ARM and SIRM data, the upper core (0.8-7.7 ka) exhibits a low abundance of magnetic material until approximately 7.7 ka, where there is an increase in fine magnetic material above the background until 10.4 ka. Magnetic assemblages for the upper core (approximately 0.8-9.0 ka) likely consist of magnetite and titanomagnetite based upon SIRM/% and S-ratio values of 0.1 12 kA/m and 0.90.95, respectively (Evans and Heller, 1999). The assemblage changes in the lower core (prior to 9.0 ka) with isolated peaks in SIRM/x suggesting magnetic iron sulfites (greigite and pyrrhotite) and also the presence of high coercivity minerals such as hematite and goethite. From 0.8 to 4.4 ka, ARM exhibits a zone of regularly spaced peaks occurring on a ~ 300-700 year scale, which is a cycle typically seen in the Antarctic Peninsula during the late Holocene (e.g., Domack et al., 2001 and references therein) and interpreted as a productivity signal. A magnetic-rich interval above the background ARM and SIRM levels is seen between 7.7-10.4 ka. This period partially coincides with an early Holocene warm period seen on the Antarctic Peninsula (Leventer et al. 2002). The magnetic enrichment could have been caused by increased terrigenous input through meltwater as the nearby ice sheet retreated. This has been observed on the Antarctic Peninsula and possibly other locations such as the Canadian Arctic, Chukchi-Alaskan margin, and other western Antarctic regions (Brachfeld et al., 2009; Leventer et al., 2002; Roberts et al., 2004; Vare et al., 2009). This promotes the idea that the Holocene Thermal Maximum is likely a global occurrence, rather than a local event.


The objective of the present study was to investigate the feasibility of stretching an arc discharge in produced water to increase the volume of produced water treated by plasma. Produced water is the wastewater generated by hydraulic fracturing of shale during the production phase in shale-oil or shale-gas exploration. The electric conductivity of produced water is in the range of 50-200 mS/cm, which provides both a challenge and opportunity for the application of plasmas. Stretching of an arc discharge in produced water was accomplished using a ground electrode and two high-voltage electrodes: one positioned close to the ground electrode and the other positioned farther away from the ground. The benefit of stretching the arc is that the contact between the arc and water is significantly increased, resulting in more efficient plasma treatment in both performance and energy cost.


The formation and growth of the intermetallic were frequently discussed since lead free solder took place replacing the lead solder. However, the effect of multiple reflow process on the intermetallic morphology that was subjected to aging still needs further investigation. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effect of second reflow towards the intermetallic compound formation and growth. Two types of surface finishes were used such as Immersion Tin (ImSn) and Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold (ENIG). Both test boards were reflowed once with Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu at the temperature of 225 °C and soaking for 8 seconds. Then, they were reflowed again at the same temperature for 25 minutes prior to an isothermal aging process for 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 hours at the temperature of 150 °C. The ProgRes C3 IM7200 Optical Microscope and ImageJ were used for the microstructural study, which includes morphology and thickness. Results indicated that IMC thickness formed between solder and ImSn surface finish increased significantly with 1.28 µm incremental when exposed to the second reflow. Whereas the IMC thickness of ENIG surface finish was increased for up to 0.15 µm. In addition, ENIG showed higher activation energy as compared to ImSn.


We present analyses of two solar flares observed with high spatial resolution at 86 GHz with the BIMA millimeter-wavelength telescope and at 17 and 34 GHz with the Nobeyama radioheliograph. The flares were observed on 1998 November 24 and 1999 May 1. At millimeter wavelengths these are impulsive events, and therefore they must be produced by MeV-energy electrons. The present study using simultaneous observations of two flares at 86, 34, and 17 GHz provides an excellent opportunity to study high-energy electrons with high spatial resolution observations at three optically thin frequencies. The morphology of millimeter emission can reveal both the properties of the MeV-energy electrons and the nature of the coronal magnetic field lines where they radiate. One of the two events we present is the first clear case of a λ = 3 mm source in which both footpoints of a loop are detected. In the second event the polarization image at 17 GHz also suggests a bipolar or looplike morphology. Such morphological observations can be used to constrain the nature of the magnetic field in the solar corona.


Conjugates of the L49 monoclonal antibody (binds to the p97 antigen on melanomas and carcinomas) were formed by attaching Enterobacter cloacae beta-lactamase (bL) to the L49-Fab' fragment using a heterobifunctional cross-linking reagent or by linking the enzyme to L49-sFv using DNA recombinant technology. The conjugates thus formed, L49-Fab'-bL and L49-sFv-bL, were designed to activate cephalosporin containing anticancer prodrugs at the surfaces of antigen positive tumor cells. Results from in vitro experiments using two lung carcinoma cell lines demonstrated that the conjugates were equally active in effecting the release of phenylenediamine mustard from the cephalosporin nitrogen mustard prodrug CCM. While treatment with either of the conjugates combined with the maximum tolerated doses of CCM led to cures of established SN12P renal cell carcinoma tumors in nude mice, only the L49-sFv-bL conjugate maintained its ability to do so at 1/4 the maximum tolerated dose of CCM. L49-sFv-bL was also superior to L49-Fab'-bL in the 1934J renal cell carcinoma tumor model and was shown to be quite active in two in vivo models of human lung carcinoma. These results demonstrate that the recombinant fusion protein leads to more pronounced therapeutic windows than the chemical conjugate and is active in an array of human tumor models.


At Ounjougou, a site complex situated in the Yamé River valley on the Bandiagara Plateau (Dogon country, Mali), multidisciplinary research has revealed a rich archaeological and paleoenvironmental sequence used to reconstruct the history of human-environment interactions, especially during the Late Holocene (3500–300 cal BC). Geomorphological, archaeological, and archaeobotanical data coming from different sites and contexts were combined in order to elaborate a chronocultural and environmental model for this period. Bayesian analysis of 54 14C dates included within the general Late Holocene stratigraphy of Ounjougou provides better accuracy for limits of the main chronological units, as well as for some particularly important events, like the onset of agriculture in the region. The scenario that can be proposed in the current state of research shows an increasing role of anthropogenic fires from the 3rd millennium cal BC onwards, and the appearance of food production during the 2nd millennium cal BC, coupled with a distinctive cultural break. The Late Holocene sequence ends around 300 cal BC with an important sedimentary hiatus that lasts until the end of the 4th century cal AD.


Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins are known to play important roles in post-transcriptional regulation in plant organelles. However, the function of the majority of PPR proteins remains unknown. To examine their functions, Physcomitrella patens PpPPR_66 knockout (KO) mutants were generated and characterized. The KO mosses exhibited a wild-type-like growth phenotype but showed aberrant chlorophyll fluorescence due to defects in chloroplast NADH dehydrogenase-like (NDH) activity. Immunoblot analysis suggested that disruption of PpPPR_66 led to a complete loss of the chloroplast NDH complex. To examine whether the loss of PpPPR_66 affects the expression of plastid ndh genes, the transcript levels of 11 plastid ndh genes were analyzed by reverse transcription PCR. This analysis indicated that splicing of the ndhA transcript was specifically impaired while mRNA accumulation levels as well as the processing patterns of other plastid ndh genes were not affected in the KO mutants. Complemented PpPPR_66 KO lines transformed with the PpPPR_66 full-length cDNA rescued splicing of the ndhA transcript. Arabidopsis thaliana T-DNA tagged lines of a PPR_66 homolog (At2 g35130) showed deficient splicing of the ndhA transcript. This indicates that the two proteins are functionally conserved between bryophytes and vascular plants. An in vitro RNA-binding assay demonstrated that the recombinant PpPPR_66 bound preferentially to the region encompassing a part of exon 1 to a 5' part of the ndhA group II intron. Taken together, these results indicate that PpPPR_66 acts as a specific factor to splice ndhA pre-mRNA.


Supervisory Committee Dr. Elizabeth Borycki, School of Health Information Science Supervisor Dr. Andre Kushniruk, School of Health Information Science Departmental Member Mary Alyse Capron, MN, School of Health Information Science Departmental Member Telenursing is a highly specialized area of nursing practice that has evolved in response to the advent of new technologies within the delivery of health care. Telenursing has been defined as "the use of communications and information technology [ICT's] to deliver health and health care services and information over large and small distances (CRNBC, 2016). Telenurses use health information systems (HIS) in the form of a Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) to assist callers with their health related concerns on a 24/7 basis. As decision making is an integral part of telenurse practice, particularly because they are using a CDSS while assessing the caller over the phone, it was important to understand the factors that influence the decision making process so as to better support telenurse practice in terms of education as well as other supports. This thesis identified those factors and used Rasmussen's Decision Ladder as a model in order to provide a framework for telenursing. It was found that there were several factors identified that influenced how telenurses made decisions while using a CDSS. Additionally, the decision ladder was validated as a framework to describe telenurse practice.


Background: The strain of MeCP2 tm1.1Bird mice is a broadly used model for Rett syndrome. Because males carrying the invalidated MeCP2 locus are sterile, this strain has to be maintained in a heterozygous state. All animals therefore have to be genotyped at every generation to discriminate those carrying the invalidated allele (+/-females and y/-males) from those that do not. This is conveniently carried out by PCR on tail genomic DNA but because the primer pairs described initially for this purpose yield very similar size DNA bands on the WT and the KO alleles, this requires to carry out two independent PCR reactions on tail DNA preparations from all animals.


In this article, the author contends that transparency and exchange of information on request became an international tax custom. The content of this new international tax custom is the exchange of information on request with regard to all tax matters for the administration and enforcement of domestic tax law without regard to a domestic tax interest requirement or bank secrecy for tax purposes with extensive safeguards to protect confidentiality of the information exchanged (the so called EOI Standard). The emergence of the EOI Standard as an international tax custom is a clear sign of change of the existing global tax governance. There is a realization that international organizations and global forums with expertise in tax matters (especially the OECD, UN, and Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes) are actually performing a fundamental role. They influence states' practices and opinio juris with soft law instruments and peer review procedures that ultimately influence the development of hard law in tax matters, a sphere traditionally conceived as being exclusive to states. The consequences of the emergence of new international tax customs are the submission of states to the international obligation to exchange information on request even in the absence of treaty provisions and the applicability of a state responsibility doctrine in the event of non-compliance. Therefore, if states intend to not lose their almost exclusive role in global tax governance, the role of the existing international organizations and other institutional players must be restrained. The disadvantage, however, is the inability to achieve cooperation in certain strategic matters in tackling double non-taxation arising from aggressive tax planning arrangements.
Global tax governance, international tax cooperation, transparency and exchange of information on request, international custom, customary international law, tax sovereignty.


Plant species have long been used as principal ingredients of traditional medicine in the Vindhya region of Eastern Uttar Pradesh in India. The present paper was made to analyze the ethnomedicinal plants used by the tribal communities, mainly Khairwar, Gond, Kol, Nutt, Manjhi and Mawasi. This paper addresses the integration of herbal medicine into a public health. Ethnomedicinal data from local people were collected through direct interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire following the WHO recommendations based on awareness and use of herbal medicine in different seasons of the year 2010-2012. The present study has resulted in the documentation of 61 medicinal plant species used by tribal communities into different disease groups like diabetes, wound healing, jaundice, kidney disorder and tuberculosis. Plant species Aegle marmelos (L.) (100%) secure highest FL and Jaundice aliment (0.85) secure highest ICF value. Ethnobotanical study of the Vindhya region of Uttar Pradesh in India explore the importance of traditional medicine to human health and suggested that clinical approaches is needed to evaluate the biochemical parameters of herbal medicine.


This chapter presents findings on revalidation of the Short Employment Hope Scale (EHS14) using a recently collected independent sample of 661 low-income jobseekers. This clientcentered measure captures an aspect of multi-dimensional psychological self-sufficiency (SS) as a process-driven assessment tool. The original employment hope metric was constructed as a 24-item six-factor structure from its earlier conceptualization resulting from client focus group interviews. The EHS measure was initially validated using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), resulting in a 14-item two-factor structure with Factor 1 representing 'psychological empowerment' and Factor 2 representing 'goal-oriented pathways'. In the following revalidation process using a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), this 14-item two-factor EHS was modified into a 14-item four-factor EHS-14, with two higher order components, based on the original theoretical suggestion. The CFA result on the modified model adds another evidence for generalization, indicating that EHS-14 is a consistent and valid tool.


Atomically thin 2D magnetic materials have attracted increasing attention due to their promising applications in spintronic devices. Although more and more 2D intrinsic ferromagnetic materials have been theoretically predicted, few of them have been experimentally synthesized due to the thermal fluctuations at finite temperatures, and unfortunately, they have either low Curie temperatures or low spin polarization, which is not beneficial to spintronic applications. Very recently, the predicted 2D ferromagnetic half-metal of 1T-FeCl2 with 100% spin polarization, high Curie temperature and large magnetic anisotropic energy has been grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. In this work, we propose a vertical 1T-FeCl2-based van der Waals junction of 1T-FeCl2/2H-MoS2/1T-FeCl2 with the electrode of 1T-MoS2, which has the advantage of clean interfaces compared to the lateral 2D heterostructures. Our calculated spin transport properties based on the first-principles and the nonequilibrium Green's function method indicate the excellent spin filtering effect and negative differential resistance effect as well as the high tunnel magnetoresistance ratio (up to 6300%). The physical mechanisms are discussed in terms of the spin-resolved junction density of states and the energy- and momentum-resolved spin-polarized transmission spectra. The standing wave pattern and the quantum-well resonances are observed in the junction. These results suggest the potential 2D spintronic applications for the experimentally synthesized atomically thin 1T-FeCl2, and will stimulate experimental and theoretical studies on van der Waals magnetic tunnel junctions.


Abstract The possibility of decreasing the Nordic countries' contribution to global warming in the future is examined. Anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are considered. Global average radiative forcing is used as a measure of the greenhouse impact caused by the emissions. Past emissions are included in the study because they have impact far into the future. The calculation method utilized in this study can be applied to any other country. Two hypothetical future emission development cases are presented, and the radiative forcing caused by them is calculated. In the higher emission (case A) CO2 emissions remain above current level, while N2O and CH4 emissions decrease. In the lower emission (case B) the emissions decrease to about one–tenth of the current emissions by the year 2100. Only if very strict emission reductions (case B) take place will the greenhouse impact of the Nordic countries return to current levels during next century. Likewise, the per c...


The formation of short Bragg gratings in SMF-28e non-hydrogen loaded pristine fibre using a cw Ar+ laser operating at 244 nm is reported. Mean refractive index changes >10-3 were obtained for a laser intensity of about 513 W/cm2 and a total dose of 5.9 MJ/cm2. Strong stress changes indicate a contribution of compaction to the refractive index change.


Median and tibial short latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) were studied in 54 stroke patients, 27 males and 27 females. Thirty-two patients had cerebral infarction and 22 had cerebral hemorrhage. Median SSEPs abnormalities correlated with the Barthel score (p = 0.005) as well as tibial SSEPs (p = 0.01). Both median and tibial SSEPs were very sensitive (sensitivity = 79.41% and 85.71%) and high positive predictive value (77.14% and 75%) in the assessment of neurological disability. However, normal median and tibial SSEPs did not exclude severe neurological deficits (positive predictive value = 63.16%, 64.29% and sensitivity = 60%, 47.37%).


Using Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) daily data, we show that the seasonal migration of the global zonal‐mean intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is not smooth, but jumps from the winter hemisphere to the summer hemisphere. The abrupt migration is within 10 days. Detailed analyses reveal that the phenomenon of the abrupt seasonal migration of the ITCZ mainly exists over particular tropical domains, such as Indian Ocean, western and central Pacific, and South America, which gives the rise of the jump of the global zonal‐mean ITCZ. Because the ITCZ constitutes the ascending branch of the Hadley circulation, we also examine whether there exists such an abrupt seasonal change in the Hadley circulation. It is found that the intensity of the Hadley cells evolves smoothly with time. However, the horizontal scales of the Hadley cells demonstrate abrupt seasonal changes, corresponding to the abrupt seasonal migration of the global ITCZ. The winter cell extends rapidly across the equator, while the summer cell rapidly narrows. This suggests that the solsticial cell is the dominant component of the Hadley circulation, and that the equinoctial symmetric pattern is ephemeral.


In this paper, physics, epistemology and the teaching and learning of physics are presented as a transdisciplinary system. With such an approach, the fundamental principles of contemporary physics considered in a qualitative form -epistemological principles- are postulated as a source of inspiration for Science Education. In this way, a new trend for fundamental educational research is defined.


A pattern of increasing frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall over land has been documented for several temperate regions and is associated with climate change. This study examines the changing patterns of daily precipitation at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, North Carolina, USA, since 1937 for four rain gauges across a range of elevations. We analyse seasonal total rainfall, number of rain days and the frequency of heavy rainfall. We compare these with several teleconnections, including the Bermuda High Index (BHI), the West BHI, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation. Our data show a tendency for increased variability, including major periods of drought, with fewer rain days recently, especially in summer. Only autumn tended to have increases in rainfall frequency and magnitude; this is the season when orographic enhancement is at its strongest. The major driver of precipitation at Coweeta is the strength of the Bermuda High. The strength of the NAO is important in summer. The results are relevant to the southeast United States in general, given that the region comes under the influence of similar air masses during the year. The findings are applicable to the wider Appalachian Mountains and to other mountainous regions where there is significant orographic enhancement.


Near-infrared (NIR) light is known to have outstanding optical penetration in biological tissues and to be non-invasive to cells compared with visible light. These characteristics make NIR-specific light optimal for numerous biological applications, such as the sensing of biomolecules or in theranostics. Over the years, significant progress has been achieved in the synthesis of fluorescent cyclophanes for sensing, bioimaging, and making optoelectronic materials. The preparation of NIR-emissive porphyrin-free cyclophanes is, however, still challenging. In an attempt for fluorescence emissions to reach into the NIR spectral region, employing organic tetracationic cyclophanes, we have inserted two 9,10-divinylanthracene units between two of the pyridinium units in cyclobis(paraquat-p-phenylene). Steady-state absorption, fluorescence, and transient-absorption spectroscopies reveal the deep-red and NIR photoluminescence of this cyclophane. This tetracationic cyclophane is highly soluble in water and has been employed successfully as a probe for live-cell imaging in a breast cancer cell line (MCF-7).


OBJECTIVES
The aim of the study was to obtain quantitative data on the effect of inhalation exposure to benzalkonium chloride (BAC) on the concentration of catecholamines and their metabolites in selected brain structures. Additionally, concentration of corticosterone (CORT) in plasma was estimated.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Wistar rats were subjected to a single (6-hour) or repeated (3 days, 6 h/day) exposure to BAC aerosol at ca. 30 mg/m3. The Waters integrated analytical system of HPLC was used to determine the plasma corticosterone. Qualitative and quantitative determinations of catecholamines and their metabolites: 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic (DOPAC) and homovanillic (HVA) acids were performed with the use of the Waters integrity HPLC.

RESULTS
The determinations have shown that in the BAC-exposed rats the plasma CORT concentration was several times higher than in the control rats. A significant increase of the concentration of dopamine (DA) (striatum and diencephalon) and noradrenaline (NA) (hippocampus and cerebellum) and a significant reduction of adrenaline (A) level (cortex, hippocampus, striatum and mesencephaloon) was found to occur in the brain of rats exposed to BAC compared to control. In the animals exposed to BAC, the concentration of DOPAC, a DA metabolite, was significantly reduced, but the change occurred mainly in the striatum. This resulted in a significant decrease of the DOPAC/DA and HVA/DA metabolic ratio in this structure.

CONCLUSION
It is assumed that the alterations in the concentration of catecholamines and their metabolites in the BAC-exposed rats were related to the unexpectedly strong and persistent activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis evidenced by the high plasma CORT concentration.


A state estimation scheme for power distribution systems, based on artificial neural networks (ANNs), is proposed. Despite the influence of measurement uncertainties, it allows quantities describing the distribution system operation to be identified on-line, thereby constituting neural "pseudo-instruments". Details of the design and optimization of such a neural scheme are discussed, underlining the importance of ANN tuning to achieve greater levels of accuracy. The performance obtained in a study case, for different types of operating conditions, was analyzed and confirmed the feasibility and the robustness of the proposed approach. This neural estimation scheme proves to be preferable to traditional mathematical approaches whenever there are online requirements, due to the typically high operating speed of ANNs.


OBJECTIVE
To demonstrate the efficacy of arterial coupling.

DESIGN
We report our experience in head and neck reconstruction with the Unilink Microvascular Anastomotic System (Synovis MCA, Birmingham, Ala). Data were collected in a consecutive series of 49 patients undergoing composite resection of head and neck tumors followed by free tissue transfer.

SETTING
All patient care took place at Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Conn, a university-based tertiary care facility.

PATIENTS
Forty-nine consecutive patients aged 43 to 85 years underwent a total of 50 microvascular free tissue transfers using the Unilink coupling device. There were 18 women and 31 men, and the following 3 types of flaps were performed: radial forearm (n = 36), fibula (n = 12), and rectus abdominus (n = 2).

INTERVENTIONS
The Unilink coupling device was used in this case series. Each arterial and venous anastomosis was performed with the coupling device. Free tissue transfers were monitored clinically and outcomes were recorded.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Flap survival and thrombosis of the arterial anastomoses were determined, as was median length of stay.

RESULTS
There were no flap failures in the series. Of the 50 coupled arterial anastomoses, the predominant coupler size used was 2.5 mm in diameter. Reconstructions included 36 radial forearm, 12 fibular osteocutaneous, and 2 rectus abdominus myocutaneous free flaps. One intraoperative arterial thrombosis occurred, requiring hand-sewn anastomosis, and another pulled away from the intact coupler in a steroid-dependent patient. There were no complications related to technical performance of the coupling device. The median length of stay was 14 days.

CONCLUSION
While hand-sewn anastomoses in free tissue transfer remain the preferred technique for many microsurgeons, use of the coupler is a viable alternative to sutured anastomoses.


Keywords can be used to query XML data without schema information. In this paper, a novel kind of query is proposed, top-k keyword search over XML streams. According to the set of keywords and the number of results, such query can retrieve the top-k XML data fragments most related to the keyword set. A novel ranking strategy for search result is proposed to represent the relativity of XML segments and the query. In order to efficiently and effectively process the top-k keyword query on XML streams, based on this ranking strategy, a stack-based algorithm is proposed to dynamically obtain the top-k results with the highest ranks at any time, with a filtering method to delete redundant elements. Extensive experiments are performed to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the algorithms presented in this paper.


In this paper a brief description is given to introduce the activities of the manufacturing technology using the synchrotron radiation light source in the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (NSRL). The light source in NSRL is a dedicated synchrotron radiation facility in China . Five beamlines and corresponding experimental stations , including soft x-ray lithography, have been constructed.The main experimental results obtained from the soft x-ray lithography station are reported .We have fabricated some devices using the synchrotron radiation lithography , for example, the high electron mobility transistor , high T c superconductor infrared detector-array, diffraction grating , and micro condenser zone plate. A simple method for the achievement of synchrotron radiation x-ray lithography mask will also be presented. The LIGA (German abbreviation for: Lithograpie, Galvanoforming, and Abforming )technique has been developed in NSRL . It is the most promising technique for the fabrication of three-dimensional microstructures . We are successful in making several microdevices by deep x-ray lithography and microelectroforming, such as microgearwheel, micro acceleration sensor.


The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is commonly used to establish Voice over IP (VoIP) calls. Mostly recently, Yoon et al. proposed a new secure and efficient SIP authentication scheme in a converged VoIP network based on ECC. In this paper, we first demonstrate that the recently proposed SIP authentication scheme is insecure against off-line password guessing attacks. Thereafter, we propose an enhanced SIP authentication scheme that enjoys provable security. And yet our scheme is simple and efficient. Therefore, the end result is more suited to be a candidate for SIP authentication scheme.


Stroke is the third leading cause of death in western countries and in the United States, after coronary diseases and cancer. World-wide is the second leading cause of death causing 10% of deaths. Furthermore, stroke is the leading cause of adult disability and functional impairments. Each type of ischemic stroke is related to high rates of morbidity and mortality.


Hydrotherapy is a procedure where water of different temperatures are used to relieve pain and treat illness. This review describes about different conditions of water treatments. Hydrotherapy can help treat a variety of conditions, including arthritis, stomach problems, sleep disorders, stress and depression. The theory behind hydrotherapy is that water has healing properties that can mitigate various ailments and conditions. Different states of water such as ice, liquid, and steam is used in the treatment of various conditions. Water cure therapies comprise enema therapy, gel therapy etc. and also includes colonic hydrotropic, sitz bath, hydro-massage, wraps and compress methods. Cryotherapy, cold water immersion or ice bath could be a new treatment method thatis used by physical therapists, sports medicine facilities and rehab clinics.
Bangladesh J Medicine July 2021; 32(2) : 138-141


In this paper we discuss the so called "quantum omelette" created by Bohr and Heisenberg through the mix of (ontic) objective accounts and (epistemic) subjective ones within the analysis of Quantum Mechanics (QM). We will begin by addressing the difficult relation between ontology and epistemology within the history of both physics and philosophy. We will then argue that the present "quantum omelette" is being presently cooked in two opposite directions: the first scrambling ontological problems with epistemological solutions and the second scrambling epistemic approaches with ontological questions. A good example of the former is a new type of argumentation strategy attempting to justify the use of decoherence, namely, the "For All Practical Purposes" (shortly known as FAPP) type of justification. We will argue that 'FAPP-type solutions' remain, at best, epistemological answers which not only escape the ontological questions at stake -regarding the quantum to classical limit- but also turn the original problem completely meaningless. The latter omelette can be witnessed in relation to some criticisms raised against the epistemic Bayesian approach to QM (shortly known as QBism). We will argue that QBists have produced a consistent scheme that might allow us to begin to unscramble -at least part of- the "quantum omelette". In this respect, we will show why the epistemic QBist approach is safe from several (ontological) criticisms it has recently received (see [42, 47, 48]). We end our paper with a discussion about the importance of ontological approaches within foundations of QM.


: According to virtually all major theories of conditionals, conditionals with a true antecedent and a true consequent are true. Yet conditionals whose antecedent and consequent have nothing to do with each other — so-called missing-link conditionals — strike us as odd, regardless of the truth values of their constituent clauses. Most theorists attribute this apparent oddness to pragmatics, but on a recent proposal, it rather betokens a semantic defect. Research in experimental pragmatics suggests that people can be more or less sensitive to pragmatic cues and may be inclined to differing degrees to evaluate a true sentence carrying a false implicature as false. We report the results of an empirical study that investigated whether people ' s sensitivity to false implica-tures is associated with how they tend to evaluate missing-link conditionals with true clauses. These results shed light on the question of whether missing-link conditionals are best seen as pragmatically infelicitous or rather as semantically defective.


Background Since the end of December 2019, a pneumonia outbreak has occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. An epidemiological survey showed that the pneumovirus infection was closely related to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, causing great panic among the general population. Through the isolation and whole-genome sequencing of the pneumovirus, an infection model of the pneumovirus in human airway epithelial cells was established, and the pneumovirus was identified as the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which belongs to the β-coronavirus genus. This study focus on lethiferous processes of infections associated with the new virus.Methods The data of 17 deaths from 13 hospitals in Wuhan were obtained, and the initial symptoms, clinical features during the progression of the disease, and treatment processes were well analyzed. Results At the early phase of the outbreak of 2019-nCoV, the lack of effective drugs for pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus has led to lethal results in people who are often elderly with multiple diseases. Males were affected more than females. Fever, dry coughing, shortness of breath are the primary presentations, but not all. Chest images showed viral pneumonia. Symptomatic supportive treatment did not improve respiratory distress, leading to a sudden deterioration in the condition. The development of diseases are different from the other two cronoviruses.Conclusions Older people are at high risk of death due to 2019-nCoV infection, and protecting high-risk groups is an effective way to reduce the number of deaths. A large number of viral pneumonia in Wuhan within a short period of time suggest the outbreak caused by a new virus, virus nucleic acid test will make accurate diagnosis, and the diagnosis based on clinical manifestations and imaging results provides a basis for early treatments.


The study aims to understand how undergraduate students perceive and use different information sources. The study will examine: (1) how students perceive and use different sources, (2) how the perception and the use of information sources are related, and (3) how the user characteristics and source use behaviors are related. Their relationships will be examined through correlations and profile analyses via multidimensional scaling.


Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine challenges faced by senior construction managers in managing cross-cultural complexity and uncertainty. The rationale was to identify the key strategies that are considered essential for managing cross-cultural complexity and uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach - Interviews with 20 senior construction managers, ten in Kenya and ten in the UK, were recorded, transcribed and entered into the qualitative research software NVivo. Validity and reliability were achieved by first assessing the plausibility in terms of already existing knowledge on some of the cultural issues raised by participants. The findings were presented to the participants through workshops and group discussions. Findings - The emerging key issues suggested that project leaders need to learn how to control their own characteristics and to use them selectively. An effective multicultural construction project team should focus on team output and attributes that characterise a multicultural team as a social entity. Practical implications - Findings indicate that the role of construction project managers has significantly changed over the past two decades. In order to deal with cross-cultural uncertainty, project leaders must have superior multicultural and interpersonal skills when managing global multicultural heavy engineering projects. Originality/value - The research shows that leaders of global construction project teams need a good understanding of their culture, environment and the value of their individual contributions. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.


Abstract Purpose: Anticipation of stuttering is defined as the speaker's proprioceptive and/or cognitive sense that he or she is about to stutter and prevalent among PWS (Alm, 2004). This research was motivated by the importance of the measurement of the anticipation effect in stuttering. Premonitory Awareness Scale in Stuttering (PAIS) ( Cholin et. al., 2016) was adapted to Turkish and psychometric properties of the scale in Turkish popoulation was investigated. Method: After the translation of the PAiS to Turkish, The PAiS-TR was administered to 60 children who stutter between 6-16 years of age and their age, gender, educational matched non-stutterer peers. Results: Results showed that the PAiS-TR had a high level of internal consistency. The reliability and validity measurements demonstrate that the Turkish version of the PAiS is a psychometrically valid and reliable instrument that can be used both for research and clinical practices.


Based on the physical model of atmospheric scattering and the optical reflectance imaging model, three major factors which affect the effect of fog removal are discussed in detail, dark channel phenomenon is explained via the optical model, and an approach for solving the parameter in the atmospheric scattering model is rigorously derived from a new perspective. Using gray-scale opening operation and fast joint bilateral filtering techniques, the proposed algorithm can effectively obtain the global atmospheric light and greatly improve the speed and accuracy of atmospheric scattering function solving. Finally, the scene albedo is recovered by inverting this model. Compared with existing algorithms, complexity of the proposed method is only a linear function of the number of input image pixels and this allows a very fast implementation. The simulation results show that the processing time of images with a resolution of 576*768 is only 1.7s, Results on a variety of outdoor foggy images demonstrate that the proposed method achieves good restoration for contrast and color fidelity, resulting in a great improvement in image visibility.


Linear time invariant control systems with time delays in both state and control variables are studied. The problem is to design a controller so that the system response will follow a given reference input with zero steady-state error. The reference input is assumed to be a polynomial function of time. The controller is based on feeding forward the reference input and its delayed values. A method is derived for determining the feedforward gain matrices. Necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of proposed tracking controller is also obtained. An example is given to illustrate the proposed method


A review of the literature, provided by a MEDLINE search from 1976 through April 1994 and review of selected journals published from April 1994 to November 1994, relative to reconstructive procedures of the mandible and maxilla in which endosseous implants have been placed in grafted bone was conducted. This review revealed that 591 patients received 733 grafts in which 2,315 implants were placed. The types of grafts reported were block, autogenous bone (nonvascularized or vascularized), and particulate with a variety of materials. Results of these grafts are presented with the different implant systems utilized. Wound dehiscence seems to have the most deleterious effect on implant survival rate.


We have proposed a "micro-beam" MEMS sensor for measuring the thermal conductivity of gases and liquids. It is a beam-shaped metallic foil sensor, approximately 10 μm in length, that is built over a trench on a silicon substrate. The principle of the measurement is to determine the thermal conductivity of a sample from the temperature rise of the sensor at a steady state, which is achieved within a millisecond. Potential application of the sensor would be gas sensors and gas chromatography, where the sensor is exposed to a gas flow. Hence the objective of the present study is to examine the effect of flow on the temperature of the sensor.A chip with a platinum sensor fabricated on its surface was embedded in a flat PVC plate and placed in the potential core of an air flow from a nozzle. The electrical resistance of the sensor was measured by a four-wire technique with heating the sensor with DC current. The results showed that the temperature rise at a given heating rate, which indicates the heat dissipating potential to the air, did not change with increasing the air velocity. It also agreed well each other irrespective of the angle of attack or the length from the leading edge. The results demonstrated that the temperature rise of the sensor was independent of the air flow, suggesting that the heat dissipation was governed only by the heat conduction to the air.© 2013 ASME


In the UK, a concern of prejudice, as well as a lack of gender identity and sexual orientation documentation, implies that LGBT persons mostly hidden to health-care providers. One of a review was carried out to examine primary literature on the psychological support requirements of LGBT cancer patients when receive treatment and after. Important findings: Key topics that have been mentioned include the negative impact on mental health, health care professional education and the absence of inclusive support groups, the pervasiveness of discriminatory practices within healthcare services. The research demonstrates how LGBT cancer patients are being failed by healthcare professionals in terms of psychological support, resulting in unmet requirements. There are some suggestions use to guarantee an LGBT inclusive atmosphere in cancer care, as well as the development of support programmes for LGBT people with cancer. Practical connotation: LGBT wellness and awareness education should be offered for HCP personnel. The registration and tracking of gender identity and sexual orientation is critical to ensuring that LGBT persons are not 'invisible' in cancer, radiation, and continued studies. LGBT cancer groups and services should be established, since information from the study indicated that LGBT individuals are actively seeking these services.


Baljon, in his Modern Muslim Koran Interpretation: 1880–1960, (published in 1961), devoted a section to the scientific exegesis of the Qur'an. In the seventies, the authors of three other major works which are devoted to, or are at least concerned with, modern Qur'anic exegesis – al-Dhahabī, al-Sharqāwī and Jansen – also allocated substantial space to an exposition and analysis of this trend in their studies on Tafsīr especially in the modern period. This paper is a continuation of such studies. It takes note of this trend and covers, to some extent, the same ground that has already been covered by other scholars. It focuses, however, on the study of this trend roughly during the last quarter of a century. In view of the linguistic proficiency of the writer in Arabic, English and Urdu, the inquiry is mainly confined to the writings in these languages and focuses on the Arab world, South Asia and the English-speaking countries.


Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a method that finds the effectiveness of an existing system using a number of input and output variables. In this study, we obtained energy efficiencies of construction, industrial, power, and transportation sectors in OECD countries for 2011 using DEA. It is possible to achieve the efficiencies in different sectors. However, we aim to find joint energy efficiency scores for all sectors. One of the methods proposed in the literature to obtain joint efficiency is network data envelopment analysis (network DEA). Network DEA treats sectors as sub-processes and obtains system and process efficiencies through optimal weights. Alternatively, we used a novel copula-based approach to achieve common efficiency scores. In this approach, it is possible to demonstrate the dependency structure between the efficiency scores of similar qualities obtained with DEA by copula families. New efficiency scores are obtained with the help of joint probability distribution. Then, we obtained joint efficiency scores through the copula approach using these efficiency scores. Finally, we obtained the joint efficiency scores of the same sectors through network DEA. As a result, we compared network DEA with the copula approach and interpreted the efficiencies of each energy sector and joint efficiencies.


Many believe that the urban underclass in America is a large, rapidly increasing proportion of the population; that crime, teenage pregnancy, and high school dropout rates are escalating; and that welfare rolls are exploding. Yet none of these perceptions is accurate. Here, noted authorities, including William J. Wilson, attempt to separate the truth about poverty, social dislocation, and changes in American family life from the myths that have become part of contemporary folklore.


Abstract Health justice is an aspirational north star for scholars, practitioners, and anyone who refuses to accept the status quo of profound inequity. But what does health justice mean? How ought we conceptualize it? There is no correct answer to these questions, but any robust rendering of health justice must account for power and politics. This article posits that the path to health justice requires political struggle taking (at least) two forms: (1) building power and (2) breaking power. Building power for health justice means cultivating the political capacity of people who are disproportionately harmed by health inequity, and who therefore have the most at stake. Breaking power involves weakening and destabilizing the economic and political forces that perpetuate health inequity. By surfacing and elaborating these crucial modes of political struggle, this article points to a way forward for achieving health justice.


Traditional quantum hydrodynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) is restricted by the continuity and Euler equations. The quantum Bohm potential (the quantum part of the momentum flux) has a nontrivial part that can evolve under quantum fluctuations. The quantum fluctuations are the effect of the appearance of particles in the excited states during the evolution of BEC mainly consisting of the particles in the quantum state with the lowest energy. To cover this phenomenon in terms of hydrodynamic methods, we need to derive equations for the momentum flux and the current of the momentum flux. The current of the momentum flux evolution equation contains the interaction leading to the quantum fluctuations. In the dipolar BECs, we deal with the long-range interaction. Its contribution is proportional to the average macroscopic potential of the dipole-dipole interaction (DDI) appearing in the mean-field regime. The current of the momentum flux evolution equation contains the third derivative of this potential. It is responsible for the dipolar part of quantum fluctuations. Higher derivatives correspond to the small scale contributions of the DDI. The quantum fluctuations lead to the existence of the second wave solution. The quantum fluctuations introduce the instability of the BECs. If the dipole-dipole interaction is attractive, but being smaller than the repulsive short-range interaction presented by the first interaction constant, there is the long-wavelength instability. There is a more complex picture for the repulsive DDI. There is the small area with the long-wavelength instability that transits into a stability interval where two waves exist.


The nonrelativistic energy loss suffered by fast electrons passing near dielectric interfaces of arbitrary shape is calculated by solving Poisson's equation using the boundary-charge method. The potential induced by a moving electron is expressed in terms of surface-charge distributions placed at the interfaces. These surface charges, obtained by self-consistently solving the resulting integral equation, act back on the electron producing a retarding force and hence energy loss. The dielectrics are described by frequency-dependent dielectric functions. Two particular cases are discussed in further detail: interfaces invariant under translation along one particular direction and axially symmetric interfaces. Previous results for simple geometries, such as planes, spheres, and cylinders, based upon analytical solutions, are fully reproduced within this approach. Calculations are presented for electrons moving near wedges, coupled parallel cylinders, coupled spheres, and toroidal surfaces.@S0163-1829 ~97!00848-5#


This article discusses the loading limits of high-voltage power transformers. It looks at the effect of cyclic loads and ambient temperature. It covers two types of transformer, those designed to British Standard (BS) 171 and those designed to Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) Specification 35.2 for emergency rated system transformers. The article attempts to clarify the different performance characteristics of these transformers which, from time to time, have led to some confusion amongst power engineers.


Emergence of dynamic patterns in the form of oscillations and waves on the cortex of single cells is a fascinating and enigmatic phenomenon. Here we outline various theoretical frameworks used to model pattern formation with the goal of reducing complex, heterogeneous patterns into key parameters that are biologically tractable. We also review progress made in recent years on the quantitative and molecular definitions of these terms, which we believe have begun to transform single-cell dynamic patterns from a purely observational and descriptive subject to more mechanistic studies. Specifically, we focus on the nature of local excitable and oscillation events, their spatial couplings leading to propagating waves and the role of active membrane. Instead of arguing for their functional importance, we prefer to consider such patterns as basic properties of dynamic systems. We discuss how knowledge of these patterns could be used to dissect the structure of cellular organization and how the network-centric view could help define cellular functions as transitions between different dynamical states. Last, we speculate on how these patterns could encode temporal and spatial information. This article is part of the theme issue 'Self-organization in cell biology'.


The early events that occur after treatment of the highly interferon alpha (IFN-alpha)-sensitive human lymphoblastoid Daudi cell line with human leukocyte IFN-alpha have been examined. IFN-alpha treatment of Daudi cells results in a rapid and transient increase in the cellular content of diacylglycerol, which occurs in the absence of inositol phospholipid turnover, or an increase in intracellular calcium concentration. Furthermore, IFN-alpha treatment results in a selective, time-dependent activation of the Ca(2+)-independent epsilon isoform of protein kinase C (PKC), while the alpha isoform is unaffected by IFN-alpha treatment. In contrast, IFN-alpha treatment of an IFN-resistant subclone of Daudi cells had no effect on the diacylglycerol content of cells and on the activation of PKC-epsilon. The selective PKC inhibitor staurosporine blocked the transcriptional activation of IFN-alpha-stimulated genes, the cytoplasmic accumulation of mRNAs for these genes, and the induction of antiviral activity by IFN-alpha against vesicular stomatitis virus in IFN-sensitive cells. These observations suggest that transmembrane signaling of IFN-alpha involves diacylglycerol production and activation of PKC-epsilon in Daudi cells.


Activation of thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP)/nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome plays a critical role in pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This study investigated the protective effects of verapamil on hepatic metaflammation in a rodent model of high-fat (HF) diet-induced obesity (DIO). DIO was induced in a subset of mice provided with HF diet (45% kcal fat). After 10 weeks of HF diet, verapamil was administered by intraperitoneal injection. The experimental groups included the following: (1) normal diet group, (2) normal diet + treatment with verapamil (VER) group, (3) HF control group, (4) HF+VER (25 mg/kg/day) group. After 1 week of each treatment, blood and liver tissues were collected, and glucose control, serum triglyceride (TG) level, inflammation, and TXNIP/NLRP3 inflammasome were analyzed. Verapamil administration caused no alteration in food intake. HF diet impaired glucose control and increased body weight and serum TG levels. Hepatic inflammation was aggravated in HF-fed mice, as demonstrated by increased levels of pro-inflammatory markers interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18 in the liver. On the other hand, verapamil administration significantly improved glucose control, body weight, and serum TG levels. Verapamil treatment also reduced pro-inflammatory marker levels. These improvements were accompanied by alterations in activation of TXNIP/NLRP3 inflammasome. The observed results demonstrate that verapamil ameliorates hepatic metaflammation by inhibiting TXNIP/NLRP3 pathways.


Large-scale crop type classification is a task at the core of remote sensing efforts with applications of both economic and ecological importance. Current state-of-the-art deep learning methods are based on self-attention and use satellite image time series (SITS) to discriminate crop types based on their unique growth patterns. However, existing methods generalize poorly to regions not seen during training mainly due to not being robust to temporal shifts of the growing season caused by variations in climate. To this end, we propose Thermal Positional Encoding (TPE) for attention-based crop classifiers. Unlike previous positional encoding based on calendar time (e.g. day-of-year), TPE is based on thermal time, which is obtained by accumulating daily average temperatures over the growing season. Since crop growth is directly related to thermal time, but not calendar time, TPE addresses the temporal shifts between different regions to improve generalization. We propose multiple TPE strategies, including learnable methods, to further improve results compared to the common fixed positional encodings. We demonstrate our approach on a crop classification task across four different European regions, where we obtain state-of-the-art generalization results. Our source code is available at https://github.com/jnyborg/tpe.


We present tube-leaky fiber with microstructured glass supports as a hollow core microstructured optical fiber. Attenuation constants of tube-leaky fibers are derived by using a ray optic method and designed the wall thickness of the fibers for Er:YAG laser which is often used for medical applications. From the loss measurements of Er:YAG laser, the tube-leaky fibers supported by microstructured glass made of borosilicate-glass can deliver laser with 0.85 dB/m despite of high material absorption around laser wavelength. The high power energy transmission results of the fabricated fibers are at the order of 80-120 mJ. These energies are enough to ablate biological tissues in surgical operations.


1. The peripheral ganglia of eighteen inoculated chimpanzees and thirteen uninoculated controls, and of eighteen fatal human poliomyelitis cases, were studied for histopathological evidence of the route of transmission of virus from the alimentary tract to the CNS. 2. Lesions thought to be characteristic of poliomyelitis in inoculated chimpanzees could not be sharply differentiated from lesions of unknown origin in uninoculated control animals. Moreover, although the inoculated animals as a group, in comparison with the control animals, had a greater number of infiltrative lesions in sympathetic as well as in sensory ganglia, it was not possible to make satisfactory correlations between the distribution of these lesions and the routes of inoculation. 3. In sharp contrast with chimpanzees, the celiac and stellate ganglia of the human poliomyelitis cases were free of any but insignificant infiltrative lesions. Lesions in human trigeminal and spinal sensory ganglia included neuronal damage as well as focal and perivascular inflitrative lesions, as is well known. In most ganglia, as in monkey and chimpanzee sensory ganglia, these were correlated in intensify with the degree of severity of lesions in the region of the CNS receiving their axons. This suggested that lesions in sensory ganglia probably resulted from spread of virus centrifugally from the CNS, in accord with considerable experimental evidence. 4. Two principal difficulties in the interpretation of histopathological findings in peripheral ganglia were revealed by this study. The first is that the specificity of lesions in sympathetic ganglia has not been established beyond doubt as being due to poliomyelitis. The second is that the presence of characteristic lesions in sensory ganglia does not, and cannot, reveal whether the virus reached the ganglia from the periphery or from the central nervous system, except in very early preparalytic stages or in exceptional cases of early arrest of virus spread and of lesion production.


Both magmatic and tectonic processes contribute to the formation of volcanic continental margins. Such margins are thought to undergo extension across a narrow zone of lithospheric thinning (~100 km). New observations based on existing and reprocessed data from the Eastern North American Margin contradict this hypothesis. With ~64,000 km of 2‐D seismic data tied to 40 wells combined with published refraction, deep reflection, receiver function, and onshore drilling efforts, we quantified along‐strike variations in the distribution of rift structures, magmatism, crustal thickness, and early post‐rift sedimentation under the shelf of Baltimore Canyon Trough (BCT), Long Island Platform, and Georges Bank Basin (GBB). Results indicate that BCT is narrow (80–120 km) with a sharp basement hinge and few rift basins. The seaward dipping reflectors (SDR) there extend ~50 km seaward of the hinge line. In contrast, the GBB is wide (~200 km), has many syn‐rift structures, and the SDR there extend ~200 km seaward of the hinge line. Early post‐rift depocenters at the GBB coincide with thinner crust suggesting "uniform" thinning of the entire lithosphere. Models for the formation of volcanic margins do not explain the wide structure of the GBB. We argue that crustal thinning of the BCT was closely associated with late syn‐rift magmatism, whereas the broad thinning of the GBB segment predated magmatism. Correlation of these variations to crustal terranes of different compositions suggests that the inherited rheology determined the premagmatic response of the lithosphere to extension.


Introduction Breast milk represents the optimal nutrition for a child and is recommended during the first six months. However, nipple pain often occurs during the onset of lactation and may affect breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding duration rates. Multiple treatments are available in the postpartum units of the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland) and are used empirically, according to caregiver preferences. Objectives The aim of this project is to implement a care plan for nipple pain according to best recommendations and evidence-based studies. Methods The project was developed using the Joanna Briggs Institute framework and Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System (JBI-PACES). Five audit criteria were used in pre- and post-audits to observe any changes in compliance with the recommendations. The Getting Research into Practice (GRiP) was used between audits to identify stakeholders, barriers and facilitators of the project. Results Compliance in four criteria improved, with no increase in pain experienced by breastfeeding mothers. More women received adequate information (from 47% to 64%) and support (from 47% to 58%). Each item under criteria 2 (adequate information) and 3 (adequate support) showed improvement. The adequate management of nipple pain also increased from 8% to 31%. However, it remains an important issue to consider. Conclusions Despite the limitations associated with small samples, the results of this project show that implementation of best practice is possible, even though it involved the withdrawal of unnecessary treatment. Another evaluation is necessary in the future to consolidate and improve these results.


In dairy cattle, mastitis is a disease of the mammary gland caused by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and algae. Mastitis causes economic losses to dairy farms as well as public health concerns. The reproductive efficiency of commercial dairy herds has important implications for the economic success of dairy operations and is strongly associated with the health status of cows. Mastitis has previously been linked with decreased fertility of dairy cows, but the effect of specific pathogens on the severity of fertility reduction is still unclear. In this study, cows diagnosed with mastitis caused by major pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Mycoplasma spp., and environmental Streptococcus) needed more artificial inseminations (AI) than did cows with mastitis caused by minor pathogens (coagulase-negative Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium spp.) and healthy cows. Cows diagnosed with mastitis, independent of what pathogen was causing mastitis, had more days open compared with nonmastitic cows. The percentage of cows that successfully established pregnancy at first AI was greater for the control group than for the major pathogens group but not significantly different from the minor pathogens group. Pregnancy loss was lower in the control group than in the major pathogens group; however, there was no difference compared with the minor pathogen group. Mastitis caused by gram-negative bacteria decreased the percentage of pregnancy per first AI and increased days open and pregnancy loss compared with the control group. Cows with mastitis caused by gram-positive bacteria also had increased days open compared with control cows. This study shows that different mastitis-causing bacteria can affect the fertility of cows differently. Mastitis events caused by major pathogens and gram-negative bacteria were associated with the greatest decrease in reproductive efficiency.


Racial inequality remains a persistent feature of American life. Despite the prominent place the idea of equality holds in the tradition of political philosophy, we remain without an effective conception appropriate for the experience of racial inequality. In this paper, I re-frame debates around equality and egalitarianism by reflecting on some of James Baldwin's more strident arguments in his 1965 debate with William Buckley. I suggest he presses two complaints that are fundamental to racial inequality: the complaints of democratic distance and of disaffection. I then argue that while contemporary egalitarian theorists such as G. A. Cohen, Ronald Dworkin, Richard Arneson, and Elizabeth Anderson all claim to have isolated in their work a preferred conception of equality, they are unable to respond to Baldwin's complaints, thus unable to effectively address the experience of racial inequality. I then leverage Bernard Williams's distinction between a technological view of equality and a human view alongside his writing on imagination to offer a framework for meeting the moral demands that arise from taking the experience of racial inequality as fundamental to considerations over social and political equality.


The purpose of the work is to analyze the role of the Ukrainian music and drama theatre in preserving and developing the cultural traditions of the Ukrainian nation in the last third of the XIX – beginning of XX century. Ukrainian music and drama theatre is being investigated as an integral part of Ukrainian cultural and historical heritage and bright national historical and cultural phenomenon, that serves as a focus for preservation and development of national traditions, spiritual knowledge and values. The research methodology consists in the use of historical-cultural, comparative methods and art techniques that make it possible to analyze the main aspects of the prominent Ukrainian figures' activity and highlight their contribution to the nationwide cultural treasury. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that it proves the nation-forming, ethnic-consolidating and ethnic-creating role of the Ukrainian music and drama theatre in preserving and developing cultural traditions of the Ukrainian nation in the last third of the XIX – beginning of the XX century. Conclusions. It was concluded, that despite state censorship and harassment, activity of outstanding theatrical figures was an important factor of the national culture development, formation of the national identity, promoted the ethnographic foundations and traditions of the Ukrainian nation and contributed to the preservation of national and cultural identity.


Abstract As the site of the first black republic and the center of the African diasporic culture of Vodoun, the island of Haiti undoubtedly plays a central role in the African American imaginary in multifaceted ways. Katherine Dunham, Zora Neale Hurston, and Maya Deren, each in turn, attempted to decipher the meaning of Vodoun and Hoodoo for the community of practitioners, for non-practitioners, as well as for themselves in the context of their lives as scholars and artists. Dunham's The Dance's of Haiti (1947) and Deren's Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti (1953) can be counted among founding texts on the anthropology and aesthetics of Vodoun. Zora Neale Hurston's work on the anthropology of the Caribbean led her to look closer to home and to explore Vodoun in Haiti and Hoodoo in Louisiana. Her Mules and Men (1935) and Tell My Horse (1938), as well as her publications in the Journal of American Anthropology, are among the first explorations in African American diasporic culture of Hoodoo, locating Louisiana's culture in the larger context of the Caribbean. Hurston declared New Orleans "the hoodoo capital of America" and determined that in Louisiana there are "great names in rites that vie with those of Haiti in deeds that keep alive the powers of Africa." This essay explores why African diasporic culture in the larger Caribbean was so powerfully attractive to Dunham and Hurston, both African Americans, and Deren, a Russian immigrant to the United States, as scholars and artists.


The long-term trend of manufacturing management to adopt "best practice" has had an expressed preference for Japanese production systems as a means of generating industrial success. While commentators have noted the lack of correlation between imitation and competitive advantage, one of the reasons for this failure—namely, the very range of operating methods among Japanese producers—has not been so fully explored. This article uses evidence from the U.K. automobile industry to illustrate the disappointing impact of Japanization and best practice, and it suggests that managers should concentrate on the development of strategic competencies and the aligning of manufacturing with corporate strategy.


Observations made with the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite between 1200 Å and 3000 Å have shown that the spectra of giant and supergiant stars later than about K O are dominated by emission from neutral atoms and singly charged ions. This is in contrast to the spectra of G-type and main sequence stars which show species typical of the solar transition region. The cool star spectra show many examples of photo-excitation, line-leaking and fluorescent processes, some of which are discussed here. There is evidence that the H Ly α and H Ly β lines play an important role in the production of emission from O I, S I and Fe II. Some lines which remain without satisfactory explanations in both the stellar and solar spectra are discussed.


Peripheral joint mobility of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) osteoarthrosis and internal derangement patients (n = 25) and of a control group (n = 29) was measured according to a rigidly standardized protocol, in order to study the relationships between TMJ osteoarthrosis and internal derangement and generalized joint hypermobility. No significant differences in peripheral joint mobility between the two groups were found. Therefore, generalized joint hypermobility cannot be considered as a predisposing factor for TMJ osteoarthrosis.


When physicists wondered about living state of matter, they envisaged that reductionist approach should eventually lead to uncovering complete understanding of this state vis-a-vis that of non-living matter (1). The rise of classical to quantum physics gave the newfound impetus in them to boost up this confidence (2). The issue of universality of biological framework became a topic of intense debate. These efforts eventually led to the dawn of the discipline of Molecular Biology, leading to the proposal of deterministic information flow from genes (DNA) to phenotype (protein) via a mediator system (RNA) across all units of living matter, the cells. Empirical basis of biological mechanisms got unfolded in multiple contexts in due course rapidly after the dawn of recombinant DNA era and genome sequencing efforts. Descriptive as well as analytical approaches were put to effective use for uncovering the intricate workings of sub-cellular, cellular, tissue and other higher scales of biology where system level cross talk elucidated very complex network of signal transduction pathways (3) that help sustain the living state in an "out-of equilibrium" active state, following which biosystems were equated to "active matter". Technology platforms, aided by powerful computational tool-kits, enabled the empirical science almost unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution to probe "active matter", in real time. Subsequently an information avalanche ensued, which is still continuing at a feverish pace and surely will continue to stay that course till paradigm shifts happen. We are now beset with the question of whether we comprehend the "active matter" (the cells), well enough that we can indeed begin "recreating" the same de-novo from the individual non-living constituents (4-7)! De novo reconstitution of living matter that can evolve into a dynamic, functionally active state and sustain itself, at least partially, would surely mark a major breakthrough for empirical science (4-7)! Is this anywhere close to getting realized or is there any possibility that this might indeed be achieved in some foreseeable future?


BACKGROUND
Postoperative residual curarisation (PORC) is a serious and underestimated problem and may occur even after relaxation with medium-acting non-depolarising agents.

METHODS
One hundred adult patients, scheduled for elective surgical procedures, were enrolled in the study. Atracurium or cis-atracurium was used for relaxation. Neostigmine was administered for reversal at the end of surgery, at the discretion of the attending anaesthesiologist. Neuromuscular transmission was not monitored in the operating room. In the recovery room, the presence of residual block was assessed by a blinded investigator using accelerometry (TOF-Guard, Organon, Holland) immediately after arrival (T-A) and after 45 min (T-B). Those who received neostigmine were allocated to group I (49 patients), and those who did not were allocated to group II (51 patients).

RESULTS
The mean duration of anaesthesia was 92 min in group I and 103 min in group II. The respective doses of atracurium were 78.2 and 72.0 mg; and of cis-atracurium--17.6 mg and 18.0 mg. Immediately after arrival, a TOF below 0.7 was detected in 26% of patients, and below 0.9 in 48% of patients. After forty-five minutes the TOF was still below 0.7 in one patient and below 0.9 in seven. The number of patients with residual block (TOF<0.9) did not differ statistically between those who received neostigmine and those who did not (3.92% and 10.2%, respectively).

CONCLUSION
The clinical assessment of neuromuscular blockade reversal did not allow for detection of PORC. Neostigmine was not fully effective in reversal.


A low-cost, innovative and non-invasive colorimetric test, which can be universally used, is proposed to detect pathogenic bacteria via the simple and fast detection of volatile metabolites released by enzymatic hydrolysis. The proof of concept is shown via three sets of experiments studying the release of the p-nitrophenol metabolite in solution in the E. coli cultures containing 4-nitrophenyl-β-d-glucuronide, the trapping efficiency of the gaseous metabolite by various tailored and functionalized xerogels, and the trapping and detection of gaseous p-nitrophenol released by E. coli bacteria.


Background/purpose: Ultraviolet-A radiation (UVA) of the oral mucosa after photosensitization with either systemic methoxsalen (8-MOP) or topical trioxsalen (TMP), i.e. mouth-PUVA, has been reported to be successful in the treatment of oral lichenoid lesions. In the case of PUVA treatment of skin disorders, local immune suppressive effects have been demonstrated, and the antigen presenting epithelial Langerhans cells (LCs) have been shown to be especially sensitive to ultraviolet treatments. Our aim was to compare the photobiological effects of PUVA in oral mucous membrane (OMM) using topical TMP or systemic 8-MOP photosensitization.

Methods: Rat OMM photosensitized with topical TMP or systemic 8-MOP was treated with PUVA using UVA doses of 1–8 J/cm2. The LCs were demonstrated in epithelial sheets of the treated OMM with ATPase staining.

Results: Both treatments caused a similar, dose-dependent depletion of ATPase-positive LCs, with a maximal depletion of 80% or 73% with 8 J/cm2 at 2 days after irradiation as photosensitized with TMP or 8-MOP, respectively. This contrasts with earlier published findings in human skin, where topical TMP is an order of magnitude greater a sensitizer than 8-MOP, and PUVA-induced depletion of LCs occurs maximally 5 days after irradiation.

Conclusion: The depletion of LCs of rat OMM after PUVA treatment is greater using topical TMP compared to systemic 8-MOP, but the difference is significantly smaller than reported earlier in human skin.


The research reported here was designed to investigate the critical role played by certain factors implicated in the mental representation of text, and to establish whether their role varies significantly as a function of developmental age. Specifically, it was decided to analyse, in a sample of 180 subjects was selected from three different age groups (7, 10 and 18 years of age respectively), the role of such factors in mediating and influencing the generation of the inferences needed to understand a piece of text characterised by a sequence of information which flows in a logical order, but leads to a conclusion which is contrary to the expectations evoked by the text. In line with this objective, it was decided to take into account factors related to encoding (added information about the key object – a title), those involved in recall (inferential tests regarding the object and action of change), as well as purely metacognitive factors, such as evaluation of one's own comprehension and awareness of textual incongruence, whose presence, according to our assumptions, should facilitate the formulation of inferential hypotheses. It would thus seem that inferential processing is powerfully influenced both by cognitive and structural factors, factors which can play a role during both encoding and recall. The results reported here tend to confirm the hypothesis that there is indeed a significant developmental trend in the role played by those factors involved in the coherent representation of text and in the formulation of inferences. The data suggest that children in the youngest age group obtain the greatest advantage from clues in reaching a more correct representation of the text concerned. It is concluded that inferential processes do not serve only to make connections between propositions, but to construct a coherent mental representation of text (Kintsh, 1994; Zwaan, 1994, 1996).
Key words: inference, reading, text comprehension.


Different modification process routes are used to improve the modified cellulose nanocrystalline (MCNC) with higher fatty acid by esterification reaction and graft polymerization to obtain certain hydrophobic properties. Two preparation methods, product structure and surface activity, are compared and explored. Experimental results show that the modified product is still at the nanometer level and basically retains the crystal structure of the raw cellulose nanocrystalline (CNC). The energy consumption of the two preparation methods is low; however, the esterification method with co-reactant requires short reaction time, and the degree of substitution of the product is high. The modified product prepared by grafting polymerization method has a high HLB value and amphiphilicity, which can effectively reduce the surface tension of water. Therefore, it can be used as a green and environmentally friendly surface-active substance.


Deep learning is an emerging research area in machine learning and pattern recognition field. Deep learning refers to machine learning techniques that use supervised or unsupervised strategies to automatically learn hierarchical representations in deep architectures for classification. The objective is to discover more abstract features in the higher levels of the representation, by using neural networks which easily separates the various explanatory factors in the data. In the recent years it has attracted much attention due to its state-of-the-art performance in diverse areas like object perception, speech recognition, computer vision, collaborative filtering and natural language processing. As the data keeps getting bigger, deep learning is coming to play a key role in providing big data predictive analytics solutions. This paper presents a brief overview of deep learning, techniques, current research efforts and the challenges involved in it.


In this paper we extend the plane blow-up results of Grundy & McLaughlin (1997) to the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations. Using a solution structure originally due to Lin we first provide numerical evidence for the existence of blow-up solutions on -∞ < x, z < ∞, 0 ≤ y ≤ 1 with boundary conditions on y = 0 and y = 1 involving derivatives of the velocity components. The formulation enables us to consider plane and radial flow as special cases. Various features of the computations are isolated and are used to construct a formal asymptotic solution close to blow-up. We show that the numerical and asymptotic analyses provide a mutually consistent global picture which supports the conclusion that, for the family of problems we consider here, blow-up in fact can take place in three dimensions but at an inverse linear rate rather than the faster inverse square of the plane case.


Kallmann syndrome is a rare genetic condition causing congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. It presents with delayed puberty, anosmia, and infertility. Here, we set out to identify a causative DNA variant for Kallmann syndrome in two affected brothers of Hispanic ancestry. The male siblings presented with a clinical diagnosis of Kallmann syndrome (anosmia, delayed puberty, azoospermia, and undetectable luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone levels). Genetic variations were investigated by whole exome sequencing. Potentially pathogenic variants were filtered and prioritized followed by validation by Sanger sequencing in the two brothers and their mother. A pathogenic variant was identified in the ANOS1 gene on the X chromosome: c.1267C>T; both brothers were hemizygous, and their mother was heterozygous for the variant. The variant is a single nucleotide change that introduces a stop codon in exon 9 (p.R423*), likely producing a truncated variant of the protein. This variant has only been reported twice in the literature, in the setting of finding genetic causes for other conditions. This result supports the clinical value of whole exome sequencing for identification of genetic pathogenic variants. Genetic diagnosis is the essential first step for genetic counseling, preimplantation diagnosis, and research for a potential treatment.


An attempt has been made quantitatively to assess the prospects for modifying warm fogs by seeding them with condensation nuclei. This has been done by calculating the time-dependent changes in the sizes and concentrations of fog droplets that are predicted by the ordinary equations of diffusion of water vapor to and from the surface of droplets. Their size, molality, and ambient water-vapor density are taken into account. Initial conditions consist of a homogeneous volume of air of specified height and aerosol content. An external cooling rate and seed dosage are specified. The effects of various combinations of cloud height and seed properties (such as size, mass density, and rate of injection) on the metamorphosis of the fog-droplet population are examined. Usually, the cloud-forming process (in which temperature decreases with time) was allowed to continue after the completion of seeding. It is tentatively concluded that the optimum-size seeding material is a function of the fog thickness; material smaller than about 4 pm in diameter should be excluded, and particles 20 to 50 pm in diameter are most suitable for seeding moderately thick (-100 m) clouds.


A cluster of 40 serotonergic cells in the rostral part of pedal ganglia of the terrestrial snail Helix lucorum was shown previously to participate in the modulation of withdrawal behavior and to be necessary during the acquisition of aversive withdrawal conditioning in intact snails. Local extracellular stimulation of the serotonergic cells paired with a test stimulus elicited a pairing-specific increase (the difference between paired and explicitly unpaired sessions was significant, p <.01) of synaptic responses to test stimulation in the premotor interneurons involved in withdrawal. This result suggested participation of serotonergic cells in mediating the reinforcement in the withdrawal network. Intracellular stimulation of only one identified Pd4 cell from the pedal group of serotonergic neurons paired with a test stimulus also significantly increased (the difference between paired and explicitly unpaired sessions was significant, p <.05) synaptic responses to paired nerve stimulation in same premotor interneurons involved in withdrawal. Morphological investigation of a cluster of pedal serotonergic neurons showed that only the Pd4 cell had branches in the parietal ganglia neuropile where the synapses of premotor withdrawal interneurons and of presynaptic neurons are located. The data suggest that a single serotonergic cell can mediate the reinforcement in the withdrawal network of the terrestrial snail. Patterns of responses of the Pd4 cells to tactile and chemical stimuli conform to the suggestion.


Hip-hop-based education (HHBE) research analyzes how hip-hop culture is used to produce favorable educational outcomes. Despite its richness, the work reveals little about how to prepare practicing K-12 teachers to use HHBE toward the critical ends reflected in extant HHBE literature. In this article, we challenge many tacit assumptions of HHBE research by examining the curricular and pedagogical wants and needs of in-service teachers who are interested in HHBE but who are not familiar with hip-hop's unique history and culture. Through a collaborative self-study with a teacher-educator, we, as Black male hip-hop insiders, reflect on the promises and pitfalls of preparing predominantly White teachers to incorporate hip-hop into their teaching and learning repertoire.


Among 272 gram-negative bacilli, regarded as strains with reduced susceptibility to gentamicin by the disc test, 156 strains were resistant (greater than or equal to f microgram/ml) by the agar dilution method. Altogether 76% of the 156 strains were cross-resistant to tobramycin, kanamycin, streptomycin and amikacin. Amikacin showed the highest antibacterial activity in vitro. 32 of the resistant strains produced acetylating or adenylylating enzymes, which caused resistance. The production of enzymes was not limited to any genera. Complete cross-resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics was recorded in 45%, 98% and 22% respectively, of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Ps. maltophilia and other gram-negative rods. Enzyme-producing strains were not cross-resistant to all aminoglycosides. Changes in MICs and inhibition zones with different inocula among enzyme-producing strains emphasize the importance of standardized inocula in susceptibility testing.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the clinical efficacy of R-EDOCH protocol in the treatment of newly diagnosed double expression lymphoma.

METHODS
The clinical data of 51 patients with newly diagnosed double expression lymphoma treated by R-EDOCH protocol were retrospectively analyzed in the period from May 2012 to October 2017, then overall remission rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS) rate and total survival (OS) rate were evaluated; moreover the patients were grouped according to IPI score and whether accepting hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(HSCT) and the clinical efficacy was compared.

RESULTS
The ORR was 96.08% (49/51) and DCR was 100.00% (51/51) in all patients. Six cases out of 51 patients (11.76%) relapsed and progressed during the followed-up. The followed-up showed that 2 year-PFS rate and OS rate were 84.31% (43/51) and 94.12% (48/51) respectively. The ORR, SD rate, 2 year-PFS rate and OS rate in the patients with IPI 0-2 and 3-5 scores were no statistically different(p>0.05); the 2 year-PFS and OS rates between patients in subgroup of IPI 0-2 and 3-5 scores also were not statistically different (p>0.05), no matter whether the patients received auto-HSCT or not. The comparison of 2 year-PFS and OS rates in auto-HSCT patients and non-auto-HSCT patients showed no statistical difference(p>0.05).

CONCLUSION
The R-EDOCH protocol in treatment of newly diagnosed double expression lymphoma possess the good overall clinical efficacy, the combination of R-EDOCH with auto-HSCT displays ascending trend of PFS.


Routine diagnosis of animal trichinellosis for food safety and trade relies on a method of artificial digestion to free Trichinella muscle larvae from meat for subsequent identification by microscopy. As part of a quality control system, the French National Reference Laboratory (NRL) initiated ring trials to determine the sensitivity of the test performed in the 72 routine diagnostic laboratories in France. A method was devised to obtain calibrated meat samples containing known numbers of capsules with Trichinella spiralis muscle larvae. This method was based on an incomplete artificial digestion of Trichinella-infected mice carcasses to allow the collection of intact Trichinella capsules. Capsules were placed into a meatball of 100 +/- 2 g of pork and horsemeat to produce proficiency samples. Three categories of samples were prepared: small (3 to 5 capsules), medium (7 to 10), and large (12 to 15). The sensitivity was expressed as the percentage of muscle larvae recovered from each proficiency sample. Reproducibility was tested with ring trials organized between two NRLs (France and Canada), and a reference sensitivity of 84.9% was established. National ring trials were then organized in France, with the 72 routine diagnostic laboratories each receiving four proficiency samples per session. After five sessions, an improvement in the digest test sensitivity was observed. Results at the fifth session indicated sensitivities of 78.60% +/- 23.70%, 81.19% +/- 19.59%, and 80.52% +/- 14.71% muscle larvae for small, medium, and large samples, respectively. This study supports the use of proficiency samples to accurately evaluate the performance of routine diagnostic laboratories that conduct digestion tests for animal trichinellosis diagnosis.


This paper presents the results of the spatial reuse mode performance analysis for millimeter-wave (mmWave) WPAN systems with steerable high-directional antennas. The practical approach to the spatial reuse problem solution is proposed and two spatial scheduling algorithms for spatial reuse mode implementation are presented. The system level simulations are used to estimate the performance of the proposed algorithms. It is demonstrated that the introduction of the spatial reuse mode for the indoor mmWave WPAN system with 8 parallel communication links will increase the overall mmWave WPAN system throughput in 3-5 times in comparison with conventional time division mode.


Background Arrhythmias in the early phase of reperfusion after myocardial infarction (MI) are common, and can lead to hemodynamic instability or even cardiac arrest. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are thought to play a key role in the underlying mechanisms, but evidence from large animal models is scarce, and effects of systemic antioxidative treatment remain contentious. Methods MI was induced in 7 male and 7 female pigs (Norwegian landrace, 35–40 kg) by clamping of the left anterior descending artery (LAD) during open thorax surgery. Ischemia was maintained for 90 min, before observation for 1 h after reperfusion. Pigs were randomized 1:1 in an operator-blinded fashion to receive either i.v. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) from 70 min of ischemia and onwards, or 0.9% NaCl as a control. Blood samples and tissue biopsies were collected at baseline, 60 min of ischemia, and 5 and 60 min of reperfusion. ECG and invasive blood pressure were monitored throughout. Results The protocol was completed in 11 pigs. Oxidative stress, as indicated by immunoblotting for Malondialdehyde in myocardial biopsies, was increased at 5 min of reperfusion compared to baseline, but not at 60 min of reperfusion, and not reduced with NAC. We found no significant differences in circulating biomarkers of myocardial necrosis, nor in the incidence of idioventricular rhythm (IVR), non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT), ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) between NAC-treated and control pigs during reperfusion. Conclusion Myocardial oxidation was increased early after reperfusion in a porcine model of MI, but systemic antioxidative treatment did not protect against reperfusion arrhythmias.


Isentropic compression experiments (ICE) using a high explosive pulsed power (HEPP) system have been developed to obtain isentropic equation of state data for metals at megabar pressures [1][2]. The HEPP system comprises a magnetic flux compressor, an explosively-driven opening switch and a series of closing switches; fast rising current pulses are produced, with rise times of ~500 ns at current densities exceeding many MA/cm. These currents create continuous magnetic loading of the metals under study. The success of these experiments depends on the precise control of the current profile, and that in turn depends on the precise timing of the closing switches to within 50 ns at currents of the order 10 MA and voltages of ~150 kV. We first used Procyon closing switches [3] but found their timing to be unacceptably imprecise for ICE with a jitter of typically 600 ns. We suspected that the switch timing was sensitive to applied voltage; this was subsequently confirmed by experiment, as we will show. A simple shock model was developed to explain the voltage sensitivity of closure time, dt/dV, and from the model we designed a low jitter switch that uses the shock-induced electrical conduction of polyimide. The predicted dt/dV was exactly equal to the measured value, thus confirming the model. This new switch design proved successful and met the 50 ns criterion; it is now used routinely in HEPP-ICE experiments.


Methuosis is a caspase-independent form of necrotic cell death in which massive accumulation of vacuoles derived from macropinosomes ultimately causes cells to detach from the substratum and rupture. This form of death was initially described in glioblastoma cells overexpressing activated GTPases, such as Ras or Rac1, but methuosis-like forms of death have since been reported in other types of cells exposed to different stimuli. We have been interested in developing small molecules that can induce methuosis because of the possibility that stimulating this alternative death pathway may represent a useful therapeutic strategy for cancers that are refractory to apoptosis. We now describe the synthesis and biological testing of a class of small molecules that can effectively induce methuosis in glioblastoma cells at low micromolar concentrations. Details of the design and synthesis of a directed library of these novel compounds will be presented, including complete chemical structures and definition of structure-activity relationships. Each compound was evaluated for its ability to induce cytoplasmic vacuolization and reduce cell viability in U251 glioblastoma cells, using phase contrast microscopy, MTT and colony-forming assays as readouts. The results highlight a lead compound with an EC 50 of approximately 1-3 micromolar, based on results from both MTT and colony-forming assays. Although the specific molecular target of these compounds is currently unknown, preliminary evidence indicates that they work at the level of endosome trafficking steps mediated by the Rab5 and Rab7 GTPases. The status of work toward target identification will be discussed. The potential significance of these studies is underscored by our recent observation that this class of compounds can induce methuosis in glioblastoma cells resistant to the front-line chemotherapeutic drug, temozolomide. This raises the possibility that the current lead compound may serve as a prototype for development of agents that could be used to trigger death by methuosis in drug-resistant cancers. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 666. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-666