Objective: To seek a neuropathologic signature of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) in a postmortem cohort by use of immunohistochemistry for specific markers of inflammation, gliosis, acute neuronal injury due to hypoxia, and blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption, enabling the generation of hypotheses about potential mechanisms of death in SUDEP. Methods: Using immunohistochemistry, we investigated the expression of 6 markers (CD163, human leukocyte antigen–antigen D related, glial fibrillary acid protein, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α [HIF-1α], immunoglobulin G, and albumin) in the hippocampus, amygdala, and medulla in 58 postmortem cases: 28 SUDEP (definite and probable), 12 epilepsy controls, and 18 nonepileptic sudden death controls. A semiquantitative measure of immunoreactivity was scored for all markers used, and quantitative image analysis was carried out for selected markers. Results: Immunoreactivity was observed for all markers used within all studied brain regions and groups. Immunoreactivity for inflammatory reaction, BBB leakage, and HIF-1α in SUDEP cases was not different from that seen in control groups. Conclusions: This study represents a starting point to explore by immunohistochemistry the mechanisms underlying SUDEP in human brain tissue. Our approach highlights the potential and importance of considering immunohistochemical analysis to help identify biomarkers of SUDEP. Our results suggest that with the markers used, there is no clear immunohistochemical signature of SUDEP in human brain.


The posterior cruciate ligament is an anatomically and biomechanically complex structure. PCL injuries are reported to occur in 1-40% of acute knee injuries, with isolated PCL tear, less common than PCL tears combined with other Iigament injuries. Controversy exists concerning the geatment of the PCL injures. Recently, arthroscopic techniques of PCL reconstruction are becoming nore refined and reproducible. Between July 1993 and May 1995, 25 operations for PCL rupture were performed in our hospital. At the follow-up examinations we noted mild to moderate posterior instablilty which was not noted at the time of operation and during the immediate postoperative period. We reviewed type (if injuries, amplitude of initial posterior tibia1 translation, surgical techniques, which seemcd to be in relation ivith the postoperative instabilities. At final follow-up, the mean Lysholm knee score was 86 points, and the posterior tibial translation 6.5mm on posterior stress radiographs. The ligament augmentation device provided no benefit. The ideal positioning and fixation of the graft and protection of the graft from abrasion seemed to be important to get a good results.


OBJECTIVE
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused dramatic changes in medical education. Social distancing policies have resulted in the rapid adoption of virtual learning (VL) by neurosurgeons as a method to exchange knowledge, but it has been met with variable acceptance. The authors surveyed neurosurgeons from around the world regarding their opinions about VL and how they see the future of neurosurgical conferences.

METHODS
The authors conducted a global online survey assessing the experience of neurosurgeons and trainees with VL activities. They also questioned respondents about how they see the future of on-site conferences and scientific meetings. They analyzed responses against demographic data, regions in which the respondents practice, and socioeconomic factors by using frequency histograms and multivariate logistic regression models.

RESULTS
Eight hundred ninety-one responses from 96 countries were received. There has been an increase in VL activities since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most respondents perceive this type of learning as positive. Respondents from lower-income nations and regions such as Europe and Central Asia were more receptive to these changes and wanted to see further movement of educational activities (conferences and scientific meetings) into a VL format. The latter desire may be driven by financial savings from not traveling. Most queried neurosurgeons indicated that virtual events are likely to partially replace on-site events.

CONCLUSIONS
The pandemic has improved perceptions of VL, and despite its limitations, VL has been well received by the majority of neurosurgeons. Lower-income nations in particular are embracing this technology. VL is still evolving, but its integration with traditional in-person meetings seems inevitable.


Uncooperative children with dental fear form a barrier in front of a pediatric dentist to provide appropriate treatment. This study reports a detailed management of a child with a previous bad dental experience and permanent immature necrotic molars. The painful phase of the treatment was accomplished under two sedation sessions and the molars were treated. The permanent molars were followed up for a year to verify the success of the treatment.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the pharmacokinetic interaction between oltipraz and silymarin after intravenous and oral administration of both drugs to male Sprague-Dawley rats.

METHODS
Oltipraz (single doses of 10 and 30 mg/kg for intravenous and oral administration, respectively), silymarin (single doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg for intravenous and oral administration, respectively, and 14 days oral administration of 100 mg/kg), alone and together were administered to control rats.

RESULTS
The pharmacokinetic parameters of oltipraz did not significantly altered by silymarin. However, after intravenous administration of the drugs together, the AUCs of unconjugated, conjugated, and total (unconjugated plus conjugated) silibinin were significantly different (32.7% decrease, and 32.1% and 27.2% increase, respectively), and total and (CL) and non-renal (CL NR ) clearance of unconjugated silibinin were significantly faster (49.4% and 61.1% increase, respectively) than those of silymarin alone (without oltipraz). After oral administration of silymarin with or without oltipraz, however, the pharmacokinetic parameters of unconjugated, conjugated, and total silibinin were comparable.

CONCLUSIONS
After single intravenous administration of the drugs together, the AUC of unconjugated silibinin was significantly smaller, but that of both conjugated and total silibinin was significantly greater. This could have been due to an increase in the formation of conjugates (glucuronidation and sulfation) of silibinin as induced by oltipraz. After simultaneous oral administration of the drugs, however, the AUCs (or AUC 0-12 h) of unconjugated, conjugated, and total silibinin were comparable.


Background: In CTCL, intratumoral T cells are functionally exhausted and are characterized by the expression of immune inhibitory molecules such as PD1 and PD-L1 (Cancer Immunol Res 6; 2018). These findings justify the evaluation of immune checkpoint inhibition to reverse T cell exhaustion in CTCL. To this end, we initiated a phase 1/2 clinical trial of lenalidomide and durvalumab to determine the safety and efficacy of this regimen. Durvalumab is a human monoclonal antibody with high affinity and selectivity for PD-L1, with mechanisms of action that target the exhausted T cells and distinct cells within their environment. Lenalidomide, an oral immunomodulatory drug and analog of thalidomide, has previously shown activity in CTCL (Blood 123; 2014). Durvalumab may restore an anti-tumor immune response, and the combination of durvalumab and lenalidomide may enhance immune checkpoint blockade-induced immune responses. Methods: A Phase 1 portion is ongoing to characterize the safety and tolerability of durvalumab and lenalidomide combination. Patients (pts) are enrolled in sequential cohorts to receive durvalumab (fixed dose at 1500 mg) and dose escalation of lenalidomide (cohort 1 = 10 mg; cohort 2 = 15 mg; subsequent planned dose increments of 5 mg) to evaluate safety, efficacy and antitumor activity. Serial skin and blood samples were collected to assess the impact on the tumor micro-environment. We examined the correlation between clinical response and resistance and the following biological factors: PD1 clustering at the single molecule level using super-resolution microscopy, and expression of PD-L1 and ICOS at the tissue level by means of multiplex immunohistochemistry on pre-treatment primary cells (migrated from skin explants), and skin tissue (formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded) from clinical trial subjects. Results: Six patients (5 males/1female, age 32-57 years) with refractory/advanced CTCL (mycosis fungoides/Sezary syndrome subtype), clinical stage IB (1), IIA (1), IIB (3), IIIA (1) have been enrolled as of July 2018. Duration time on treatment was 4 to 13+ months. Four patients showed improvement of skin disease with 2 patients achieved partial response with > 90% improvement of skin disease by mSWAT. Two patients developed progressive disease. No serious adverse events (AEs) were observed. The most frequently reported AEs were fatigue (n=6), skin pain (n=4), anemia (n=3) chills (n=4), and decreased appetite (n=3). All treatment-related AEs were Grade 1 or 2 in severity. One grade 3 fatigue occurred in one patient. No dose limiting toxicity has been observed to date. Using multispectral microscopy, we analyzed expression panels of several checkpoints: PD1, PD-L1, and ICOS on lesional skin biopsies at baseline. Strong PD-L1 and ICOS expression is observed from non-responders. Detectable levels of PD-L1, but low levels of ICOS is observed in responding patients. Quantitative super-resolution microscopy detected nanoscale clusters of PD1 in T cells from responders and no PD1 clustering was observed in T cells from non-responders. Conclusions: Durvalumab/lenalidomide has significant clinical activity in patients with refractory/advanced CTCL, which will be formally evaluated in the Phase 2 portion of this trial. Responses were durable and ongoing, and treatment was well tolerated with a low toxicity profile. Dose escalation is planned up to lenalidomide 20 mg daily. Our preliminary results from patients on trial demonstrated that immune signatures on skin biopsies at baseline may be predictive of response to checkpoint blockade and yield insights into mechanisms of therapeutic resistance.

 Querfeld: Acelion: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Kyowa: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bioniz: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Medivir: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Trillium Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.


How do informal groups emerge in adolescent communities? What distinguishes a group from just a set of students? Who will end up together in a group and who will be left out? Why are there more groups in some classrooms and fewer in others? What determines whether these groups overlap in their members or they are completely segregated, perhaps antagonistic? While a huge body of research in sociology and social psychology focuses on these questions, an integrated approach that is able to answer all of them is yet to be developed. Without realizing that these five issues are interrelated, we cannot hope to understand how groups influence individuals and how they shape our communities. This thesis proposes an integrative theory of informal group formation in communities. Based on the tradition of Social Network Analysis, it develops a framework in which interpersonal relations and reputations are formed through a process called informal status production. Groups emerge from this micro-process by the alignment of positive relations and agreement in peer-perceptions between actors. The main micro-mechanisms predicted by the theory are tested on a unique longitudinal network dataset from school classrooms. To this end, a new empirical procedure was developed, by which a few aggregated networks can be constructed from tens of relational items. This allows the analysis of rich network data with several relational dimensions. The empirical studies of multiplex network dynamics confirm that there are strong interdependencies between friendships and perceptions. Students who agree about their peers tend to become friends, but more so when they hold a minority opinion in the class. This contributes to group formation. Friends also influence each other's perceptions, but we manage to show that the presence of groups around them interferes with this process by moderating the influence of individual peers.


The interplay between adhesion receptors and proteolytic cascades is crucial for cell proliferation and migration in the (patho-)physiology of vascular function. Disregulated angiogenesis in diabetic retinopathy appears to be associated with the appearance of advanced glycation end products that disturb interactions between capillary cells and extracellular matrix. Vitronectin receptor-type integrins are expressed on angiogenic endothelial cells and contribute to unwanted vascular sprouting in the retinal tissue. In a hypoxia-induced retinal neovascularization model, intervention with low molecular weight integrin antagonist resulted in significant reduction of unwanted angiogenesis indicating that this angiostatic therapy appears to be promising also for late complications in diabetes.


A child had complete mandibular agenesis, with associated anomalies of microstomia, left choanal stenosis, and a cleft soft palate. This child had evidence of disruption in development at about the four-week stage by the persistence of several developmental remnants, specifically, the buccopharyngeal membrane, tongue remnants, and the laryngotracheal groove. The etiology of this condition is unclear at this time.


We examined intracellular and extracellular paralytic shellfish toxins (PST) in a strain of Aphanizomenon sp. (LMECYA31) isolated from a Portuguese freshwater reservoir throughout the growth cycle and under different conditions affected by temperature and nitrate and phosphate availability. PST concentrations and compositions were greatly influenced by cell density, growth stage, and temperature and nutrients conditions. On a per‐cell basis results showed (1) the enhancement of PST cell quota after the end of exponential growth phase in nutrient replete batch cultures, (2) the absence of a PST increment at late growth stages under phosphate limitation, (3) a rise in PST maximum cell quota under nitrate depletion, and (4) the enhancement of toxin production at higher temperatures. The relative proportion of the four toxins detected, neoSTX, dcSTX, STX and GTX5, also changed within and between culture settings. While growing under phosphate rich media cells produced mainly GTX5 and neoSTX, whereas under phosphate limitation the proportion of STX and dcSTX increased substantially with culture age. Large amounts of extracellular toxins were found in the culture medium, increasing during culture time. Extracellular toxin composition in each culture was fairly constant and always similar to the intracellular composition found at late stages of growth. This further supported other research that indicates that PSTs are released to the water through cell lysis, and a significant concentration of PST may be expected to remain in the water upon the collapse of a toxic bloom or after cells removal by water treatment.


In 2000, Costa Rica set a goal for accelerated rubella control and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) prevention in conjunction with its established measles eradication goal. To achieve this goal, a National Plan of Action for the integration of a measles-rubella (MR) vaccination strategy was implemented. The components of the national plan included conducting a national vaccination campaign with a single dose of MR vaccine for men and women aged 15-39 years, establishing routine postpartum MR vaccination of all previously unvaccinated women, maintaining high coverage among children with two doses of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, strengthening the integrated measles and rubella surveillance system, and developing a CRS surveillance system. This report summarizes the results of a successful adult campaign. Targeting MR vaccination appropriately and using the opportunity to strengthen surveillance for rash illness has benefits beyond accelerated rubella control and CRS prevention, including strengthening of the measles eradication program.


It is clear that 5G network resources would be consumed by heavy data traffic owing to increased mobility, slicing, and layered/distributed storage system architecture. The problem is elevated when multiple node failures are repaired to address service quality requirements. Typical approaches include individual or cooperative data regeneration to efficiently utilize the available bandwidth. It is observed that storage systems of 5G and beyond technologies shall have a multi-layer architecture in which base stations (BS) would be present. Moreover, communication with each layer would be subject to various communication costs and link constraints. Under limited BS assistance and cooperation, the trade-off between storage per node and communication bandwidth has been established. In this trade-off, two operating points, namely minimum storage, and bandwidth regeneration are particularly important. In this study, we first identify the optimal number of BS use at the minimum storage regeneration point. An explicit code construction is provided subsequently for the exact minimum storage regeneration whereby each layer may help the repair process subject to a communication link constraint.


Extended-duration space travel and habitation require recovering water from wastewater generated in spacecrafts and extraterrestrial outposts since the largest consumable for human life support is water. Many wastewater treatment technologies used for terrestrial applications are adoptable to extraterrestrial situations but challenges remain as constraints of space flights and habitation impose severe limitations of these technologies. Membrane-based technologies, particularly membrane filtration, have been widely studied by NASA and NASA-funded research groups for possible applications in space wastewater treatment. The advantages of membrane filtration are apparent: it is energy-efficient and compact, needs little consumable other than replacement membranes and cleaning agents, and doesn't involve multiphase flow, which is big plus for operations under microgravity environment. However, membrane lifespan and performance are affected by the phenomena of concentration polarization and membrane fouling. This article attempts to survey current status of membrane technologies related to wastewater treatment and desalination in the context of space exploration and quantify them in terms of readiness level for space exploration. This paper also makes specific recommendations and predictions on how scientist and engineers involving designing, testing, and developing space-certified membrane-based advanced water recovery technologies can improve the likelihood of successful development of an effective regenerative human life support system for long-duration space missions.


PH3 is studied to understand the superconducting transition and responsible stoichiometry under high pressure by means of Raman, IR, and x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, and theoretical calculations. It is found PH3 is stable up to about 8 GPa and then starts to dehydrogenate through two dimerization processes at room temperature as pressure up to 25 GPa. Two resulting phosphorus hydrides, P2H4 and P4H6, are verified experimentally and can be recovered to ambient pressure. On further compression above 35 GPa, P4H6 directly decomposes into elemental phosphorus. The superconductivity transition temperatures of P4H6 at 100 and 200 GPa have been predicted to be 13 and 67 K in agreement with reported results, suggesting it might responsible for the superconductivity at higher pressures. Our results clearly show that P2H4 and P4H6 are only stable P-H compounds between PH3 and elemental phosphorus, shedding light on the superconducting mechanism.


The present study was conducted to examine the effects of two protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors, genistein and tyrphostin 47, on an in vitro model of allergic asthma. Guinea pigs were sensitized with purified IgG raised against ovalbumin (OA). Isolated sensitized bronchial rings contracted in response to OA in a concentration-dependent manner, maximum contraction being achieved at 1 microg/ml. Genistein and tyrphostin 47 concentration-dependently (10-100 microM) inhibited OA-induced anaphylactic contraction of the bronchi, as well as release of histamine and peptidoleukotrienes from chopped lung preparations. Genistein, but not tyrphostin 47, significantly suppressed bronchial contraction to leukotriene D4 at 50 microM and to histamine at 100 microM. Daidzein, an inactive congener of genistein, did not alter OA-induced anaphylactic contraction. However, it slightly reduced bronchial contraction to leukotriene D4 and the OA-stimulated release of peptidoleukotrienes. The inhibitory effects were significantly weaker than those of genistein. Taken together, our results show that tyrphostin 47 inhibited anaphylactic contraction mainly by preventing mast cell degranulation, whereas genistein exerted inhibitory effects partly by blocking mast cell degranulation and partly by attenuating leukotriene D4-induced bronchial contraction. These findings suggest that protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors have a therapeutic potential as mast cell stabilizers in the treatment of allergic diseases such as bronchial asthma.


An important process in remote sensing is spectral unmixing which is used to obtain a set of species concentration maps known as abundance images. Linear pixel unmixing, also known as linear mixture modeling, assumes that the spectral signature of each pixel vector is the linear combination of a limited set of fundamental spectral components known as end- members. Thus end-member selection is the crucial first step in the spectral unmixing process. A conveniently parameterized method for determining the appropriate set of end-members for a given set of multispectral images is proposed. The end- members are obtained from a thematic map generated from a modified ISODATA clustering procedure that uses the spectral angle criterion, instead of the common Euclidean distance criterion. The centroids of the compact and well-populated clusters are selected as candidate end-members. The advantages of this technique over common mathematical and manual end- member selection techniques are, (1) the resulting end-members correspond to physically identifiable, and likely pure, species on the ground, (2) the residual error is relatively small, and (3) minimal human interaction time is required. The proposed spectral unmixing procedure was implemented in C and has been successfully applied to test imagery from various platforms including LANDSAT 5 MSS (79 m GSD) and NOAA's AVHRR (1.1 km GSD).


Aims. We searched for infrared flux excesses of planetary-mass candidates in the σ Orionis cluster (∼ 3M yr,∼350 pc). Methods. Using IJHKs data from the literature and the [3.6], [4.5], [5.8], and [8.0] IRAC images of the σ Orionis cluster from the Spitzer Space Telescope public archives, we constructed colour–colour diagrams and spectral energy distributions from 0.8 to 8.0 µm of cluster candidates fainter than J = 18.0 mag, i.e. the planetary-mass borderline for σ Orionis. Results. Infrared flux excesses are detected longward of 5 µm in seven objects (S Ori 54, 55, 56, 58, 60, S Ori J053956.8−025315 and S Ori J053858.6−025228) with masses estimated in the range 7–14 MJup. Emission at shorter wavelengths (4.5 µm) in excess of the photosphere is probably observed in S Ori 56 and S Ori J053858.6−025228. The faintest and least massive object, S Ori 60, exhibits flux excess only at 8 µm. We ascribe these infrared excesses to the presence of circumsubstellar warm discs, providing additional confirmation for the objects' membership of σ Orionis. The observed incidence of inner discs around planetary-mass objects is ≥50%, which is consistent with the measured inner disc frequency among cluster brown dwarfs and low-mass stars, suggesting that these objects share a common origin. However, there is a trend for the inner disc rate to increase with decreasing mass (from 10 M� through the substellar domain), which may be due to a mass-dependent timescale for the dissipation of the interior discs.


Mixed content is a primary feature of current TV program making and consequently real-time computer generated video in autostereoscopic format is important if 3D TV is going to make an impact. In this paper, an approach for computer generating 3D integral imaging frames is proposed. The method is based on a 3D integral imaging ray-tracer containing 3D integral imaging parser, 3D camera model, and a 3D integral imaging renderer.


In a series of paediatric patient population, thirty children presenting with spastic forms of cerebral palsy demonstrated certain differences in the brain bioelectrical activity. In hemiparesis patients, there was an unusual frequency of alpha-rhythm and slow-wave activity as per EEG recordings. Following applied electrical stimulation an increase was noted in brain electrogenesis rate as was improvement of corticosubcortical relationships. In patients presenting with hemiparetic form, changes in brain electrogenesis were believed to suggest activation of cortical mechanisms against the background of reduction in the activity in subcortical structures.


This study analyzed intuitive mathematics abilities of preschool children and to ascertain whether there was a difference between children who were educated according to the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) preschool education program and the Montessori approach. It was also examined whether the intuitive mathematics abilities of the children who were educated according to the MoNE program and Montessori approach showed a significant difference according to variables of gender, duration of pre-school education, and educational levels of parents. The study sample of the study consisted of 121 children (56 girls, 65 boys) aged between 60-72 months. The data was collected via "Personal Information Form" and "Intuitive Mathematics Ability Scale" developed by Güven (2001). Intuitive mathematical abilities of children who were educated according to the Montessori program were more developed compared to those of children educated according to MoNE program. There was no significant difference in intuitive mathematical abilities according to duration of preschool education, education levels of parents. As a result of the study, a significant difference was observed in the intuitive math abilities of the children trained according to the MoNE program in favor of the girls, whereas no significant difference was observed trained according to the Montessori approach. The results are discussed in light of the relevant literature.


Abstract Background Routine childhood immunization with varicella vaccine was first recommended in the United States in 1995 as a 1-dose regimen for children aged 12–18 months, with updated recommendations in 2006 for a 2-dose regimen (first dose at 12–15 months, second dose at 4–6 years). Our objective was to estimate the impact of the US varicella vaccination program. Methods We developed a dynamic transmission model to predict the impact on varicella vaccination on health outcomes in the United States. Vaccine coverage rates were extracted from the US National Immunization Survey (NIS); first dose varicella vaccine coverage went from 12% in 1996 to 91% by 2016 for children 18 months old, and second dose coverage starting in 2006 at 5% increasing by 2016 to 94% for children 5 years old; we assumed that 50% of children with no history of vaccination or infection by age 13 would become vaccinated. Interactions between age groups were empirically characterized, and the model was calibrated using age-specific pre-vaccination varicella incidence data.. Vaccine effectiveness was represented via vaccine take and waning immunity estimated from a 10-year trial. Results The model projected reductions of varicella incidence in all ages (and ages <15 years) of 46% (46%) in 2001, 76% (76%) in 2006, 78% (81%) in 2011, and 89% (93%) in 2016 (Figure 1). The projected reductions in varicella cases and varicella-related hospitalizations and deaths for all ages were 74%, 70%, and 66% by 2006 (one-dose era), respectively, increasing to 89%, 70%, and 69% by 2016 (two dose era), respectively (Figure 2). We estimate that between 1996 and 2016, 71,885,382 cases of varicella were prevented in the United States, together with 178,248 varicella-related hospitalizations and 1,496 deaths. Conclusion Our estimates are slightly lower than previously reported US surveillance data which identified a 97.4% (92.9%-97.9%) reduction between 1993–1994 and 2013–2014 in IL, MI, TX, and WV (WER 2016). Likely, this difference is related to under ascertainment of milder cases. This model can be used to estimate the public health benefits of varicella vaccination. The use of a dynamic transmission model does, however, have limitations, including assumptions about age-specific risk and severity of breakthrough disease and the use of a static population. Disclosures L. Wolfson, Merck & Co., Inc.: Employee and Shareholder, Salary. J. Kyle, Merck & Co., Inc.: Independent Contractor, Salary. B. Kuter, Merck: Employee and Shareholder, Salary. M. Levin, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.: Scientific Advisor, Consulting fee, Licensing agreement or royalty and Research grant. V. Daniels, Merck & Co., Inc.: Employee and Shareholder, Salary.


Ectodermal dysplasia is a large hereditary group of disorders which is usually manifested as X-linked recessive Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia (HED) and has a full expression in males, whereas females show little to no signs of the disorder. It is a genetic disorder affecting the development or function of the teeth, hair, nails and sweat glands. The two most common types of Ectodermal Dysplasias are the X-linked recessive Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia (Christ-Siemens-Touraine syndrome), and Hidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia (Clouston syndrome). Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia is characterized by hypodontia, hypotrichosis and hypohydrosis. Here in, we report case series of this rare entity of ectodermal dysplasia in a 15year old female and 42 years old male showing characteristic features of hypodontia,hypohidrosis, hypotrichosis.


OBJECTIVE
A case of adult mesoblastic nephroma is presented. The clinical features, treatment, histological diagnosis and outcome are discussed.

METHODS/RESULTS
A 68-year-old patient in whom a renal mass had been detected by ultrasound is described. The patient underwent radical nephrectomy. The anatomopathological analysis demonstrated a mesoblastic nephroma. No signs of recurrence have been observed at 3 years' follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS
Mesoblastic nephroma of adulthood has a benign behavior and recurrence is rare after surgery.


BACKGROUND
Vaccination is an important preventive measure for preparing against the influenza pandemics. This study investigated the attitudes and perceptions of influenza vaccination among doctors and medical students in Hong Kong.

METHODS
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 204 doctors and 242 medical students in a teaching hospital in 2009. Participants' demographic and job characteristics, and influenza experience and vaccination in the previous year were assessed in the questionnaire. Logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between uptake of influenza vaccination and the perceived benefits.

RESULTS
Medical students were more likely to have receive an influenza vaccination in the previous year (66.9 vs. 39.7%) and acknowledged the related benefits than doctors. Moreover, uptake of influenza vaccine was associated with perceived benefits of vaccination in both doctors and medical students.

CONCLUSIONS
The perceived benefits of influenza vaccination are an important factor in vaccine uptake for both doctors and medical students in Hong Kong, and should be reinforced in the professional training.


This study performs the bending and contact stress analyses for a pair of mating gears during rotation. The interested gears are used for a railway reducer. In general, the railway reducer needs high speed rotation, which leads to a large gear ratio. Thus, it is not easy to apply finite element method to investigate the strength performance, since the size of a gear is much larger than that of a pinion. In this study, the bending and contact stresses determined from FEM are compared with the values determined from the ISO code.


Although intratumoral heterogeneity has been established in pediatric central nervous system tumors, epigenomic alterations at the cell type level have largely remained unresolved. To identify cell type-specific alterations to cytosine modifications in pediatric central nervous system tumors we utilized a multi-omic approach that integrated bulk DNA cytosine modification data (methylation and hydroxymethylation) with both bulk and single-cell RNA-sequencing data. We demonstrate a large reduction in the scope of significantly differentially modified cytosines in tumors when accounting for tumor cell type composition. In the progenitor-like cell types of tumors, we identified a preponderance differential CpG hydroxymethylation rather than methylation. Genes with differential hydroxymethylation, like HDAC4 and IGF1R, were associated with cell type-specific changes in gene expression in tumors. Our results highlight the importance of epigenomic alterations in the progenitor-like cell types and its role in cell type-specific transcriptional regulation in pediatric CNS tumors.


Structural variations (SVs) are an important and abundant source of variation in the human genome, encompassing a greater proportion of the genome as compared to single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). This thesis investigates different aspects of SV analysis, focusing on copy number variations (CNVs) and regions of homozygosity (ROHs). It is divided into four main studies, each focusing on a different set of aims. In Study I, Identification of recurrent regions of copy-number variation across multiple individuals, we develop an algorithm and software to identify common CNV regions using individually segmented data. The identified common regions allow us to investigate population characteristics of CNVs, as well as to perform association studies. In Study II, Multi-platform segmentation for joint detection of copy number variants, we develop an algorithm to identify CNVs using intensity data from more than one platform. The algorithm is useful when researchers have data from multiple platforms on the same individual. In Study III, Regions of homozygosity in three Southeast-Asian populations, we identify ROHs in three Singapore populations, namely the Chinese, Malays and Indians. We characterize the regions and provide population summary statistics. We also investigate the relationship between the occurrence of ROHs and haplotype frequency, regional linkage disequilibrium (LD) and positive selection. The results show that frequency of occurrence of ROHs is positively associated with haplotype frequency and regional LD. The majority of regions detected for recent positive selection and regions with differential LD between populations overlap with the ROH loci. When we consider both the location of the ROHs and the allelic form of the ROHs, we are able to separate the populations by principal component analysis, demonstrating that ROHs contain information on population structure and the demographic history of a population. Last but not least, in Study IV, Statistical challenges associated with detecting copy number variants with next-generation sequencing technology, we describe and discuss areas of potential biases in CNV detection for each of four commonly used methods. In particular, we focus on issues pertaining to (1) mappability, (2) GC-content bias, (3) quality-control measures of reads, and (4) difficulties in identifying duplications. To gain insights to some of the issues discussed, we download real data from the 1000 Genomes Project and analyze it in terms of depth of coverage (DOC). We show examples of how reads in repeated regions can affect CNV detection, demonstrate current GC correction algorithms, investigate sensitivity of DOC algorithm before and after quality-control of reads and discuss reasons for which duplications are harder to detect than deletions.


OBJECTIVE
The aim: To provide an overview of the psychocardiological theories of Aristotle and discuss their implications in contemporary research and clinical practice.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Materials and methods: Specific keywords (brain, heart, cardiology, psychiatry, psychocardiology, Aristotle, cardiocentric) were subjected to list down and analyze the literature in PubMed and Google Scholar. All types of articles, including original research, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses, along with gray literature dating back to 1950. We excluded studies reporting a significant conflict of interest and findings dispersed through popular media instead of peer-reviewed journals. Out of all articles, as per inclusion criteria and readings, we selected 26 for further analysis and narrative to build.

CONCLUSION
Conclusions: Although this knowledge is currently outdated, revisiting his findings and methods is a source of lessons and inspirations for modern researchers and practitioners.


The document examines appropriate units for studying changes in familial relations and rural-urban ties, including the importance of the increasing interdependence of rural and urban contexts in family interaction. There have been two broadly contrasting approaches to the problems of urbanization and family change in Africa: (1) "one -way" model which postulates a generally progressive, undirectional Westernization and nuclearization of families as urban migration, industrialization, and other modernizing influences increase; (2) nalternationn model which concentrates on the interplay of tribe and town within a variety of urban settings. These two approaches often work at cross purposes, or explain different sets of data, even though both share a common set of analytical data. Since these models use the urban social system as an explanatory variable, it is then essential to show that such "urban" factors are not also found to some degree among similar rural residents of the area from which men have migrated. Tlie paper also examines some of the processes which generate household form among urban and rural samples of men and their families in Kenya. The major process of social change which influenced the study design is defined as the interaction by urban migrants in rural-urban networks of kin. An Abaluyia subtribe in Western Kenya, 230 miles from Nairobi, was chosen as a rural base. This area (Kisa) has a high proportion (55 percent) of its adult males working away in urban areas throughout East Africa, mostly Nairobi. As yet incomplete, these data evaluate whether or not the network is an arbitrary research creation. (KM)


The main issue in this article is computational probabilistic analysis and reliability assessment of the steel telecommunication towers subjected to material and environmental uncertainty. Such a discussion is important since very wide, frequent and relatively modern application of these structures, which are subjected to various sources of uncertainty and having at this moment no rich and time-dependent failure evidence. Numerical analysis is based on the generalized stochastic perturbation technique implemented as the Stochastic Finite Elements using the Response Function Method applied with the use of computer algebra system. A simultaneous usage of the engineering FEM system and mathematical package enables for a visualization of up to the fourth central probabilistic moments and characteristics for the structural maximum internal forces and eigenvibrations. The reliability index determination is provided using the First Order Reliability Method following directly the statements of Eurocode 0, and the external loadings are applied on the structures analyzed after other Eurocodes, but may follow other engineering codes as well. The proposed numerical technique may find its application in the stochastic forced vibrations of telecommunication towers, where physical parameters as well as the excitation spectrum may be defined as polynomial time series, for instance.


This study examined members of health issue-specific social networking sites (SNSs) for smoking cessation, hypothesizing that social identification, bridging and bonding social capital, perceived subjective norms, and social support would impact the relationship between participation and smoking cessation self-efficacy. Results (N = 252) of an online questionnaire revealed that participation significantly influenced each social factor, which in turn resulted in greater smoking cessation self-efficacy. By applying and extending traditional peer influence theories, a structural model predicting 5 underlying mechanisms of social interconnectedness that influence perceived behavioral control for quitting smoking was tested and supported. Implications for future research on health issue-specific SNSs are discussed.


We report a method of converting non-conductive plastic surfaces into conductive by plating either copper electroless or copper electroplating -carbon black containing bending Agent onto Perspex plastics . Various approaches have been studied in order to comparing properties of the plated copper for two methods such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM),thickness, roughness, porosity, tensile Strength and elongation. The results show that the surface of electroplating was uniform, compact, and continuous and it had an obvious metallic sheen, while the surface of plated copper for electroless for it had many pores. Also observed that the coating was composed of small cells. These cells have been deposited together closely. Thick copper layer was deposited a(38μm ) electroplating while (5μm) for electroless plating tensile strength and elongation of copper electroplating became greater compared with copper electroless, whereas the roughness and Porosity became smaller. The electroplating copper deposition process developed in this study may open up a new route of plating on plastics (POP) for printed circuit boards, electromagnetic interference shielding, and many other applications.


Oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) based bis-pyridinium derivatives show 'ratiometric' detection of heparin in water. For the first time, we present a dose-dependent, multi-color emission switching in the presence of heparin. The reversible self-assembly of probes with heparin as the stimulus is also exploited for the screening of heparinase I enzyme.


The authors' data on the weed species composition in 8 geographic regions of the Russian Federation were laid at the basis of this survey. The segetal flora comprised weeds of cereals, root crops, and perennial grasses. The composition and taxonomic structure of weed species were analyzed. The total number of weedy plants encompassed 686 plant species. The level of regional weed species diversity was positively related to the area planted. Altai Territory, Udmurtia, and Rostov Province had the greatest weed species diversity, with more than 300 species, while Vologda Province had the lowest diversity (193 species). Most species-rich plant families (Asteraceae Dumort., Poaceae Barnhart, Fabaceae Lindl., Brassicaceae Burnet), genera (Potentila L., Artemisia L., Veronica L., Chenopodium L., Silene L., Trifolium L.), their subsequences, contributions of singlespecies families (17–39%) and genera (57–74%) were relatively stable systematic structure indicators. Only 18% of the species were common for all the regions. In each region there were region-specific groups of species. Weed species compositions in geographically close regions – the European part of Russia and the Urals – showed the greatest similarity. As for geographically distant regions (Altai Territory and Rostov Province), their weedy species compositions were distant and contained large groups of region-specific species.


TO THE EDITOR: We read with great interest the paper by Lioe-Fee de Geus-Oei et al. (1). There is no doubt that the main objective of preoperative evaluation of patients with thyroid nodules is to avoid unnecessary surgery. This will pose no problem for patients with a positive result for cancer on fine-needle aspiration biopsy (2). However, fine-needle aspiration biopsy will fail to give either a clearly positive (malignant) or clearly negative (benign) result in an important percentage of patients; the result will instead be inconclusive. For these patients, diagnostic/therapeutic surgery may be indicated as the next step (3,4), but for most the final diagnosis will be that of a benign lesion. Therefore, a large number of unnecessary surgical interventions are still being performed around the world, adding to the morbidity and mortality of thyroidectomy. Lioe-Fee de Geus-Oei et al. (1) reported a negative predictive value of 100% for 18F-FDG PET in 44 patients (only 6 with cancer). Recently, our group addressed this problem using 99mTcmethoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) thyroid scanning (5), which is a less expensive and more readily available diagnostic test than 18F-FDG PET. Our results on 130 consecutive patients who had hypofunctioning thyroid nodules and underwent thyroidectomy (50 patients with proven thyroid cancer) showed that lack of 99mTc-MIBI uptake in the nodules always ruled out thyroid cancer (negative predictive value of 100%). Lioe-Fee de Geus-Oei et al. (1) concluded that 18F-FDG PET reduces the number of futile hemithyroidectomies and outweighs the costs of unnecessary thyroid surgery, but 99mTc-MIBI thyroid scans are considerably less expensive than 18F-FDG PET studies. We believe that 99mTc-MIBI scans should be the first study to be performed in the diagnostic algorithmof patientswith thyroid nodules and inconclusive cytologic results to avoid unnecessary thyroid surgeries. However, because of the higher resolution of PET over conventional g-cameras, research with 18F-FDG PET should be undertaken on patients with small-size incidentalomas to determine if the diagnostic test can help in the diagnostic algorithm of those patients.


Malaria vector control has been successfully achieved by the use of chemical insecticides. However, the evolution of insecticide resistance is rendering the standard approaches unsustainable. Biological control agents such as entomopathogenic fungi are being considered for adult African malaria vectors. In the present study, laboratory trials were carried out to determine the pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana RBL1034 to adult Anopheles gambiae s.l. Both male and female A. gambiae were exposed to targets inoculated with dry conidia of B. bassiana RBL1034 and the infection/mortality rates and relationship with concentration of conidia per inoculated target were determined. B. bassiana RBL1034 was observed to be pathogenic to both male and female A. gambiae with an average mortality of 80% in the treated compared to 10% in the untreated group. The median lethal time (MLT50) in treated and untreated groups was 8 days and >10 days, respectively. Mosquito mortality increased as conidial concentration increased. Fungal sporulation was observed in 87% of the mosquito cadavers in the treated group while no sporulation was observed in the control. This study indicates that dry conidia of B. bassiana RBL1034 are pathogenic to adult A. gambiae and could be a potential biological control agent for these mosquitoes.


Sensitive yet rapid methods for detection of rare earth elements (REEs), including lanthanides (Lns), would facilitate mining and recycling of these elements. Here we report a highly selective, genetically encoded fluorescent sensor for Lns, LaMP1, based on the recently characterized protein, lanmodulin. LaMP1 displays a 7-fold ratiometric response to all LnIIIs, with apparent Kds of 10-50 pM but only weak response to other common divalent and trivalent metal ions. We use LaMP1 to demonstrate for the first time that a Ln-utilizing bacterium, Methylobacterium extorquens, selectively transports early Lns (LaIII-NdIII) into its cytosol, a surprising observation as the only Ln-proteins identified to date are periplasmic. Finally, we apply LaMP1 to suggest the existence of a LnIII uptake system utilizing a secreted metal chelator, akin to siderophore-mediated FeIII acquisition. LaMP1 not only sheds light on Ln biology but also may be a useful technology for detecting and quantifying REEs in environmental and industrial samples.


Globalization in rural areas is commonly described in terms of both challenges and opportunities. Opportunities include increased communication and reduced distance. These factors, however, are also favorable for illicit activities such as increased opportunities for marketing drugs on the Internet and reduced barriers for transporting drugs. The drug industry is global and involves cross-site processes, but the drug problem is very local. This article discusses how drug activities infiltrate the work of professionals in rural places and the way this affects rural people and their living environment. In local communities, the police have the authority to counteract the spread and use of drugs, an authority that is described as geographically thinned. That is, police as well as other professionals combating the effects of drug abuse are affected as local cooperation, which is often encouraged by short distances, dense networks, and local knowledge, is weakened. Using a qualitative interview approach, this study argues that local practices related to prevention of drug-related crime are poorly equipped to deal with the speed and range of the contemporary drug trade.


This article connects the impairment of the public's trust in nonprofit organizations to managerial actions in five transactions that lie at the core of the relationship between the nonprofit and the public. For each core transaction it asks: What does the public trust mean? How may that trust be impaired by managerial action? What concepts in a relationship-marketing message might help restore that trust? What are the conditions or antecedents that might materially modify the results of any of these messages? This article offers important lessons to help clarify, manage, and restore the public's trust in nonprofit organizations when that trust is impaired by managerial action.


A gain-levered multiple quantum well (MQW) distributed feedback (DFB) laser with high FM efficiency is discussed. The device consists of three sections with different bandgap energy. It can be fabricated by a selective area metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) growth technique. Numerical analysis shows that a flat, red-shifted, and high FM efficiency of above 1 GHz/mA at 20-mW output power can be realized using the gain levering scheme.<<ETX>>


We report the generation of simultaneous multiband mid-infrared laser output by use of periodically polled lithium niobate pumped by the 1.54-microm output from a KTP optical parametric oscillator. The multiband source is capable of producing three mid-infrared wavelengths ranging from 2.5 to 4microm . In initial experiments we obtained output powers of 542 mW near 2.5microm and 453 mW near 4microm , with power conversion efficiencies of 30% and 25%, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of this kind in the literature.


This paper discusses the application of computational linguistics in the machine learning (ML) system for the processing of garden path sentences. ML is closely related to artificial intelligence and linguistic cognition. The rapid and efficient processing of the complex structures is an effective method to test the system. By means of parsing the garden path sentence, we draw a conclusion that the integration of theoretical and statistical methods is helpful for the development of ML system.


Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a term used to describe two chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract: Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn's Disease (CD). Although the efficacy of treatment is continuously improving, Quality of Life (QoL) in this illness population remains low with many patients suffering from psychological and psychiatric comorbidities. Psychological interventions aimed at improving outcomes in these patients have largely demonstrated little improvement. This thesis argues that this may be the result of poor understanding of the experience of living with this condition with too little focus on the adaptation of the patient to their illness. This thesis aimed to address this gap in the literature through four empirical studies. Firstly, Study 1 used a qualitative design to (n = 22) to explore the lived experiences of patients with IBD and to conceptualise adaptation to IBD. The results highlighted the importance of making sense of the illness and the impact and feelings associated with the illness. This was transcended by a notion of uncertainty which was resolved by employing coping mechanisms to restore equilibrium between their identity before and after diagnosis, resulting in a 'new normal'. Study 2 then employed a cross-sectional design (n = 307) to develop a new measure of adaptation to IBD (the A-IBD) which after psychometric analysis revealed four subscales including person identity, patient identity, acceptance and expectations. This study also explored the degree of association of the A-IBD with existing measures of sense making (BIPQ) and QoL (IBDQ), to assess the ability of the A-IBD in predicting QoL and ascertain whether it could predict QoL over and above sense making. The results suggested the A-IBD was not synonymous with these constructs and had utility as a predictor of QoL even when accounting for the predictive ability of the BIPQ. Finally, Study 3 used a combination of qualitative and quantitative design (n = 16). Patients scoring in the top and bottom 25% of the A-IBD from Study 2 completed the measure again to assess the dynamic nature of adaptation and were interviewed about the factors that either encouraged or inhibited their degree of adaptation. This analysis revealed that adaptation is indeed dynamic, and that antecedents of adaptation include 'engagement', 'resilience' and certain 'contingencies' including disease and social factors. Overall, the findings from this thesis indicate that the treatment of IBD must be approached in a biopsychosocial manner, that adaptation can be measured effectively with the new tool and that adaptation, with an emphasis on the notion of person, not patient, predicts quality of life.


Aim of the study was to investigate glomerular filtration rate in population of 25–45 years old young people of Novosibirsk city. Material and methods . A survey of Novosibirsk typical district's population has been carried out by the Institute of Internal and Preventive Medicine since 2013 to 2016. 1074 people (467 males and 607 females of 25–45 years old) have been included into the survey. The levels of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were chosen according to KDIGO (2012) recommendation, such as: GFR more than 90 ml/min/1.73 cm 2 – high or optimal, 60–89 ml/min/1.73 cm 2 – slightly reduced, 45–59 ml/min/1.73 cm 2 – moderately reduced, 30–44 ml/min/1.73 cm 2 – vastly reduced, 1529 ml/min/1.73 cm 2 – highly reduced, lower than 15 ml/min/1.73 cm 2 – terminal renal failure. Results and discussion . Average GFR (CKD-EPI) level in all age groups was 99,9 ml/min/1.73 cm 2 . Average GFR (CKD-EPI) was 104.41 ml/min/1.73 cm 2 in 25–34 age group. Male average GFR (CKD-EPI) levels in appropriate age groups were reliably higher comparing to female levels. Both male and female analyzed indicators turned out to be reliably lower in older group than in the younger one. 95.1 % of male participants at the age from 25 to 34 years old had GFR ≥ 90 ml/min/1.73 cm 2 , while female indicator was 76.9 %. The indicators in the age group from 35–45 years old were: for males – 86.4 %, for females – 58.3 %. Both male and female groups at the age from 35 to 45 contained people with GFR < 60.ml/min/1.73 cm 2 (2 men – 0,8 %; 1 woman – 0.4 %). While GFR calculating according to MDRD and CKD-EPI formulas two dissimilar results were revealed. The advantages of CKD-EPI formulas calculating for higher GFR indicators have been evidenced.


Treatment of CBA/j mice with Granulocyte Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF), a potent growth factor for dendritic cells can prevent and suppress ongoing experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT). GM-CSF treatment causes expansion of CD11c+CD8a− myeloid dendritic cells (DCs) with a consequent increase in CD4+CD25+ T regulatory cells (Tregs) in an EAT model. In this study, we investigated the significance of the expansion of CD8a− myeloid DCs by GM-CSF and its direct role in inducing CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T regs. Co-culture of CD4+ T cells with CD8a-ve DCs from GM-CSF treated mice in the presence of mouse thyroglobulin (mTg) induced an increase in the number of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells. These Foxp3+ T cells produced high levels of IL-10. These T regs could suppress the mTg specific proliferation of effector CD4+CD25− T cells, which was reversed upon addition of anti-IL10R antibodies. In contrast, GM-CSF treated CD8a+ lymphoid DCs failed to show a significant suppression of mTg specific T cell proliferation. In vivo experiments in a SCID mouse model revealed that GM-CSF treated SCID mice could induce increased numbers of Foxp3 and IL-10 expressing CD4+ T cells that were adoptively transferred from wild type CBA/j mice. These results indicate that GM-CSF acts directly on CD8a− myeloid DCs in the absence of T cells and renders them tolerogenic in that they cause expansion of CD4+Foxp3+ Tregs, which suppress mTg specific proliferation in an IL-10 dependent manner. NIH 1RO1AI058190


Background: Immunization of dendritic cells (DCs) pulsed with tumor antigen can activate tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) that are responsible for protection and regression. In this study, we examined whether the uptake of necrotic tumor cells could modulate DC phenotypes and whether the immunization of necrotic tumor cell-loaded DCs could elicit efficient tumor specific immune responses followed by a regression of established tumor burdens. Methods: We prepared necrotic tumor cell-pulsed DCs for the therapeutic vaccination and investigated their phenotypic characteristics, the immune responses induced by these DCs, and therapeutic vaccine efficacy against colon carcinoma in vivo. Several parameters including phagocytosis of tumor cells, surface antigen expression, chemokine receptor expression, IL-12 production, and NK as well as CTL activation were assessed to characterize the immune response. Results: DCs derived from mouse bone marrow efficiently phagocytosed necrotic tumor cells and after the uptake, they produced remarkably increased levels of IL-12. A decreased CCR1 and increased CCR7 expression on DCs was also observed after the tumor uptake, suggesting that antigen uptake could induce DC maturation. Furthermore, co-culturing of DCs with NK cells in vitro enhanced IL-12 production in DCs and IFN-γ production in NK cells, which was significantly dependent on IL-12 production and cell-to-cell contact. Immunization of necrotic tumor cell-loaded DCs induced cytotoxic T lymphocytes as well as NK activation, and protected mice against subsequent tumor challenge. In addition, intratumoral or contra-lateral immunization of these DCs not only inhibited the growth of established tumors, but also eradicated tumors in more than 60% of tumor-bearing mice. Conclusion: Our data indicate that production of IL-12, chemokine receptor expression and NK as well as CTL activation may serve as major parameters in assessing the effect of tumor cell-pulsed DC vaccine. Therefore, DCs loaded with necrotic tumor cells offer a rational strategy to treat tumors and eventually lead to prolonged survival. (Immune Network 2003;3(3):188-200)


The Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) is a Teleost fish, which offers several practical advantages concerning manipulation, maintenance and versatility as well as short life cycle, low cost and physiological similarity with most farmed species. Zebrafish have been used as model for several aquaculture-relevant infectious agents, since the cost of infections to aquaculture can be great, making failure of immunity a major risk for commercial fish farming. This have allowed scientist to understand pathogens biology as well as fish immune response against infection, and thus have helped to improve disease control in aquaculture. This review summarizes the recent reports and main knowledge concerning the cellular and molecular aspects of the immune response in zebrafish and its potential applications in the fish farming industry. Several research results in zebrafish and other teleosts reveal that mucosal tissues have a strong and well-structured immune response involving both innate and adaptive components. Together with the advantages of low maintenance cost, easy handling and genetic tools available, zebrafish comes up as a useful and reliable animal model for in vivo study of fish immune response and mechanisms as well as fish-affecting infectious and inflammatory diseases which are a cause of concern for the aquaculture industry. Also, vaccines development, drugs screening and immunologically focused fish food assessment seem to be promising fields where zebrafish model can be used to generate positive impacts to the aquaculture practice.


OBJECTIVES
Abdominal compartment syndrome is an infrequent clinical entity, the course of which has a rapid progression with multiorgan compromise leading to a fatal outcome if appropriate and urgent action is not undertaken.

METHODS AND RESULTS
We report the clinical case of a patient who developed the clinical picture after renal trauma. Diagnosis was obtained by CT scan and arteriography, afterwards the patient required ICU admission with intra-abdominal pressure monitoring, and several decompression laparotomies before definitive closure with a reabsorbable mesh.

CONCLUSIONS
Urologists should know the existence of this syndrome its appropriate treatment, because we manage patients who are candidates to suffer it. Due to the high mortality rate associated, it is essential to know how to recognize it in order to act fast.


Abstract Defection from North Korea to South Korea has increased dramatically, but little is known of its political consequences. Do North Korean defectors successfully adopt democratic norms, and if so, what factors aid this process? Through a novel survey of defectors, I find that national identification plays a significant role in motivating their fledgling sense of democratic obligation. Greater feelings of national unity with South Koreans lead to a stronger duty to vote and otherwise contribute to the democratic state. This effect is more powerful than that of conventional contractual factors, on which most state resettlement policies are based, and is surprising given that defectors' nationalist socialization mostly took place under the authoritarian North. The findings suggest the need to reconsider integration approaches toward North Korean defectors and similarly placed refugees elsewhere.


We further exploit the representational power of Haar wavelet and present a novel low-level face representation named Shape Primitives Histogram (SPH) for face recognition. Since human faces exist abundant shape features, we address the face representation issue from the perspective of the shape feature extraction. In our approach, we divide faces into a number of tiny shape fragments and reduce these shape fragments to several uniform atomic shape patterns called Shape Primitives. A convolution with Haar Wavelet templates is applied to each shape fragment to identify its belonging shape primitive. After that, we do a histogram statistic of shape primitives in each spatial local image patch for incorporating the spatial information. Finally, each face is represented as a feature vector via concatenating all the local histograms of shape primitives. Four popular face databases, namely ORL, AR, Yale-B and LFW-a databases, are employed to evaluate SPH and experimentally study the choices of the parameters. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach outperform the state-of-the-arts.


When platelets are stimulated by agonists, integrin alpha(2)beta(1) (GP Ia/IIa), one of the platelet collagen receptors, is activated to forms with high affinities for its ligand collagen. Here we describe our studies to characterize the binding kinetics of the activated integrin forms and the activation mechanism. Under low agonist concentrations, integrin alpha(2)beta(1) is activated through a mechanism involving ADP/ADP receptors; and under high agonist concentrations, multiple signaling pathways are involved in its activation. Such differences in mechanism at low and high agonist concentrations are also suggested in the activation of integrin alpha(IIb)beta(3), the platelet fibrinogen receptor. We describe our flow adhesion studies, from which evidence was obtained about the involvement of integrin alpha(2)beta(1) activation in the physiological function of platelets, adhesion and thrombus formation.


According to the mathematical model of fiber optic gyro(FOG),a step-by-step method is presented to calibrate the scale factor and the installation errors.Considering the non-linear relation between the scale factor and the temperature,the BP neural network is used and the result of this temperature compensation method is very good.


The annual moult of some 20 species of birds inhabiting the dry western section of New South Wales is studied, emphasis being on time of commencement, duration, finishing time, and the interrelationship of breeding and moulting. Primary feather replacement is taken as the main criterion.

The moult begins in most species in November and is completed in February or March. The duration ranges from about three to five months, being four to four and a half months in most species. This is materially longer than the six to eight weeks commonly taken by small passerines in the Northern Hemisphere. A longer, and more protracted moult is considered to be of adaptive value in a dry and somewhat unpredictable environment, reducing the physiological stress on the bird.

Migratory species have later, and somewhat shorter moults, than resident ones. Those of three aerial-feeding muscicapids are relatively short. Small birds commonly have shorter, and larger birds more protracted, moults.

The moult is much more regular in its occurrence than breeding, which can only occur in those springs when seasonal conditions are reasonably good. Thus the "postnuptial" moult takes place whether breeding has occurred or not. This suggests a measure of direct photoperiodic control. On the other hand there are instances of the moult starting up to two or three weeks earlier than usual when (a) there is an early termination to successful spring breeding and, (b) severe drought conditions render spring breeding impossible. The onset of the moult may apparently be delayed by up to a couple of weeks when (a) spring breeding is protracted or (b) it is delayed. This indicates a measure of antagonism between the "moulting" and reproductive hormones in some species.

Good rain in mid-summer will induce out-of-season breeding in many species, notwithstanding that they may be in full moult at the time. This particularly applies in years when spring breeding was impossible. No data is available as to whether or not this causes a slowing-down, or interruption, to the moult although, it will be noted, Carter (1923) suggests this to be the case. In some species "mid-moult" breeding did not mean any delay in the completion of the moult but, in others, it apparently did so. The ability to moult and breed simultaneously is obviously an important adaptation, permitting the birds to make maximum use of a time of food abundance.

Attention is drawn to adaptational parallels in the moult of certain dry country birds of Australia, Africa, and South America.


Rationale: Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis is an auto-immune and paraneoplastic encephalitis with prominent neuropsychiatric manifestations. The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor is located in the forebrain and hippocampus and plays a role in learning and memory. Patient concerns: A 29-year-old female patient with anti-NMDAR encephalitis, was reported and we also reviewed the literature and summarised the characteristics of the cases. Diagnoses: In the present study, we reported 1 patient with anti-NMDAR encephalitis diagnosed by the detection of anti-NMDAR antibodies in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Interventions: The patient received glucocorticoids and anti-epilepsy treatment as well as human immunoglobulin treatment. Outcomes: After treatment, the patient gradually regained consciousness and was discharged after 3 months of rehabilitation. At the follow-up 2 months later, the patient had the sequelae of memory impairment and limb movement disorders. Lessons: An accurate early diagnosis and active treatment are crucial to the improvement in the prognosis of patients with anti-NMDAR receptor encephalitis.


Antibiotic resistance occurs in the endogenous flora of exposed population in addition to pathogenic bacteria. This study was conducted to evaluate the distribution of antibiotic resistance genes among 63 isolates of Escherichia coli of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in diarrheic calves and poultry. According to the results, B1 and B2 were the most prevalent phylogroups of E. coli in calves and poultry carcasses, respectively. Antimicrobial resistance was observed in 76% of the isolates, and 62% of the strains were multi-drug resistant. Antibiotic resistance in E. coli strains obtained from calves strains was significantly higher than those obtained from poultries. Additionally, the strains of B1 and D phylogroups had the highest and lowest antimicrobial resistance, respectively. At least one encoding gene for integrone was detected in 23 strains (36.5%) and Class I integron had the highest prevalence. Accordingly, this study gave baseline information on the magnitude of the resistance problem and its genetic background in E. coli from domesticated animals of the Tehran, Iran. Moreover, the power of oligonucleotide array technology in the discrimination of different genotypes during a short time was confirmed in this study.


This presentation focuses on predicted probabilities for multilevel models for dichotomous or ordinal responses. In a three-level model, for instance, with patients nested in doctors nested in hospitals, predictions for patients could be for new or existing doctors and, in the latter case, for new or existing hospitals. In a new version of gllamm, these different types of predicted probabilities can be obtained very easily. I will give examples of graphs that can be used to help interpret an estimated model. I will also introduce a little program I've written to construct 95% confidence intervals for predicted probabilities.


&NA; FEBBRAIO, M.A. Does muscle function and metabolism affect exercise performance in the heat? Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev., Vol. 28, No. 4, pp 171‐176, 2000. It has been suggested that exercise performance in the heat is limited by the degree of hyperthermia, which, in some circumstances, compromises cardiovascular function and/or the central nervous system. However, this review presents evidence that a temperature‐induced dysfunction to skeletal muscle contraction may contribute to a reduction in performance during exercise in the heat.


1-Oxo-3-dialkylamino-1H-naphtho [2,1-b] pyrans substituted in positions 5, 8 or 9 with halogen, alkyl, alkoxycarbonyl, hydroxyl, methoxyl, by the Mannich reaction will yield the corresponding 2-dialkylamino-methyl derivatives when a correct amount of acetic acid is present in the reaction mixture. Excess acid will give rise to the formation of substituted 1-oxo-2-[(1'-oxy-3'-oxo-3'H-naphtho [2',1'-b']pyran-2'-yl)methyl]-3-dialkylamino-1H-naphtho [2,1-b] pyrans when the group in the 3 position is dimethylamino or N-pyrrolidyl. In a few cases Mannich bases were accompanied by an appreciable quantity of substituted 2,2'-methylenebis (1-oxo-3-dialkylamino-1H-naphtho-E12,1-B] PYRANS). Therefore, these compounds were synthesized with excellent yields by treating Mannich bases with acetic anhydride. The behavior of some compounds in the acidic hydrolysis was also considered. Some Mannich bases of 1-oxo-3-dialkylamino-9 methoxy-1H-naphtho-[2,1-b] pyrans showed a more specific anticonvulsant activity than the parent compounds.


We have analyzed the distributions of CO and temperature in a large suite of simulated molecular clouds, in order to help us understand how to interpret CO line emission from real molecular clouds. We find that most of the CO is located at densities over 10 3 cm -3 where the temperature is roughly 10–20 K independently of the mean density, metallicity and UV field strength. Although, most of the volume is in warmer and thinner regions where CO abundance is small. On that account, CO observations alone give a misleading view of the physical conditions in the clouds.


Chronic wounds are a common and costly complication of diabetes, where multifactorial defects contribute to dysregulated skin repair, inflammation, tissue damage, and infection. We previously showed that aspects of the diabetic foot ulcer microbiota were correlated with poor healing outcomes, but many microbial species recovered remain uninvestigated with respect to wound healing. Here we focused on Alcaligenes faecalis, a Gram-negative bacterium that is frequently recovered from chronic wounds but rarely causes infection. Treatment of diabetic wounds with A. faecalis accelerated healing during early stages. We investigated the underlying mechanisms and found that A. faecalis treatment promotes re-epithelialization of diabetic keratinocytes, a process which is necessary for healing but deficient in chronic wounds. Overexpression of matrix metalloproteinases in diabetes contributes to failed epithelialization, and we found that A. faecalis treatment balances this overexpression to allow proper healing. This work uncovers a mechanism of bacterial-driven wound repair and provides a foundation for the development of microbiota-based wound interventions.


In light of the bionics engineering point of view, we use the biological non-smooth surface in the surface design of the fan blade in order to reduce the fan noise and improve air flow and efficiency .We design several kinds of Sawtooth-shaped distribution, and apply the non-smooth form on the fan model. We analyzed the acoustic performance of various non-smooth fan blades that was reflected when the fan was rotating. Through the wind tunnel test, we obtained the spectrum map, wind comparison chart, efficiency curve and other important parameters that came from the comparison between smooth and non-smooth models and the noise of the fan. This paper will reveal that the non-smooth shape practically is good for preventing formation of off-body vortex, which is caused by turbulent boundary layer on the vane surface, and it will have reference significance for exploring the mechanism of noise reduction on fan vane. Key words: Owl; Bionic; Noise Reduction; Optimization Test


The Coulomb law of the Mohr theory of failure predicts a constant dihedral angle between conjugate failure planes regardless of the magnitude of the stress difference required for failure. The maximum principal stress bisects this angle. Experimental studies show that this angle actually becomes smaller as confining pressure is decreased. For low pressures, Nadai, enlarging on a suggestion by Leon, proposed a curved Mohr envelope which would intersect the normal stress axis at a right angle. If so, there could then be a critical stress circle tangent to the envelope only at the apex. The single plane of failure, lying parallel to the maximum principal stress, is a tension joint in the usual terminology (extension fracture). A slight increase in stress difference will move the critical circle off the apex, and it will then intersect the envelope at two points; the resulting conjugate fractures will enclose a small dihedral angle. Within a small range of increasing stress differences, the angle will increase to the usual angles for shear failure (about 60°). At least two field examples indicate that Nadai's proposals are correct. Parker's joint study in New York demonstrated a conjugate shear set with angles ranging from 0 to 20°. These joints have plumose surfaces that may be indicative of extension fractures. Similar jointing has been observed in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, as studies by Nickelsen and Hough, and by Ver Steeg indicate. Duschatko's studies along the Lucero uplift, New Mexico, show a single joint set being replaced along strike by a conjugate joint set with dihedral angle increasing up to 65°. This type of fracturing appears to be present in the Bighorn and Bear-tooth Mountains as well.


We have studied in a heavy ion storage ring at GSI Darmstadt, Germany, the time dependence of the orbital electron capture decays of H-like 140Pr, 142Pm, and 122I ions and found that the electron capture rate is not purely exponential but in addition time modulated with periods of T= 7.o6(8) s, 7.10(22) s and 6.11(3) s for 140Pr, 142Pm and 122I, respectively, measured in the laboratory system of the ions moving with 71% of speed of light (Lorentz factor γ= 1.43). The modulation amplitude is a= 0.20(3) in average for all three ions. Such modulation periods correspond to a small energy difference of 8.6x10-16 eV, and 7.5x10-16 eV, respectively, for a quantum beat type phenomenon. We attribute it to the mixing of massive electron neutrinos emitted in the decays with squared mass difference Δm2 = 2.20(3) x10-4 eV2. It is about 2.9 times larger than latest value reported by the KamLAND antineutrino oscillation experiment.


Vink analysed the basic elements of farm management in Indonesian smallholdings. General principles of farm management were tested in an economic environment, where social conditions had a large impact. The amount of influence on the individual farm enterprise was discussed for the various peasant societies of the Indonesian archipelago. Thereafter the use and allocation was described of the factors of production: nature, labour and capital on the smallholders' farm. A summary was given of labour analyses, carried out in cultivation of sawah rice and other crops. The types of labour and the distribution of labour within the family were described. The farmer's land assets were discussed with reference to land tenure and the size of holdings. The intensity of farming was considered in an extensive analysis of the exploitation and use of natural resources in the 'ladang system'. Special attention was paid to type and quantity of agricultural investments by the peasant farmer.


A microscopic theory is presented for piezoelectricity, electrostriction, and pyroelectricity in molecular crystals. The required coefficients are derived by combining a theoretical treatment of the dependence of molecular dipole moments on molecular displacement and a generalized elastic theory for internal strain.


Nine molecular markers derived from the heading date QTL Hd1 DNA sequence for cultivated rice were used to study the heading date allelic diversity of the cultivated Egyptian rice varieties. The results showed that among the nine simple sequence repeats (SSR) and sequence tagged-sites (STS) markers used, one SSR marker, Hd1AGC, amplified three polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fragments (alleles) of various sizes (441, 490, and 620 bp) in all rice varieties, while the rest of the markers amplified only one non-polymorphic PCR fragment. The study also exhibited that Hd1AGC amplified a unique PCR fragment (620 bp) linked to early heading date in Giza 177 and Sakha 103. Key words : Flowering time, simple sequence repeats, Oryza sativa L., heading date, sequence tagged-sites.


In order to promote the concentration and strengthen the animal pharmaceutical industry, as well assignificantly increasing the operating income and lowering the costs of animal and pharmaceutical enterprises,giving full play to the scale effects, and achieving the goal of enhancing the competition of enterprises andexpanding the share of market, the mergers and acquisitions are utilized to improve the industrial concentrationof animal medicine. Besides, during the actions of mergers and acquisitions, the interests of CEO, shareholders,government, and government officials, as well as CEO corruption, are analyzed. The research results show thatthe merger and acquisition and development of animal pharmaceutical enterprises have brought the impetus forthe development and quality improvement of animal-specific medicine, which has ensured the prevention andtreatment of animal diseases in China. The transparent on-the-job consumption of CEO can prevent the CEOfrom using the on-the-job consumption for power rent-seeking, which causes enormous wastes for merger andacquisition of animal medicine. The merger and acquisition of animal medicine have accelerated the reformpace of the pharmaceutical circulation system, promoted the structural adjustment of the pharmaceuticalcirculation system and the modernization of the management methods, accelerated the scale and intensivedevelopment of the pharmaceutical circulation field, and improved the market share and economic benefits.


We studied the influence of livestock waste leachate on oxidative damage and antioxidative responses in poplar clones in August which increase the demand of antioxidants because of high temperature and high light during this period. We measured ion leakage, antioxidant enzyme activities (APX, GR), and carotenoid contents. Oxidative damage and antioxidative responses by treated livestock waste leachate in poplar clones showed various results. We divided poplar clones into three groups using the criteria based on ion leakage which represent cell damage induced oxidative stress. Eco 28, 62-10, Bonghwa1 and Dorskamp belonged to the first group in which the cell damaged level was lower than that of the control. The results suggest that this group augmented for demand of antioxidative in summer because high concentration of nitrogen induced by treatment of live stock wastes acted as environmental stress. Consequently, they failed to keep up the homeostasis of reactive oxygen species. The second group in which the cell damaged level was similar to that of the control was Suwon, 72-30 and 72-31 clones. Finally, 97-18 clone belonged to the third group in which the cell damaged level was lower than that of the control group. In this case, nitrogen treated by livestock waste leakage decreased oxidative stress. 97-18 clone was the clones with the least damage in summer oxidative stresses treated by livestock waste leakage. These results suggest that the high concentration nitrogen due to the livestock waste leakage can act differently upon the clones. We speculate that the added oxidation damage in the summer (growing season) may have an effect on the total fresh weight and also influence the purification ability for livestock waste leakage. However, further studies are needed for the confirmation.


The effect of a tunnelling electron on the tunnel barrier shape is studied at the limit where a static image charge model is applicable. It is shown that the single-electron tunnelling current through an ultrasmall voltage-biased junction is not proportional to the junction area because of charging at the electrodes. Simple expressions are presented for the effective static barrier shape of a voltage-biased junction and of a junction in a circuit, the former of which accounts for the anomalous current scaling. A possible experimental arrangement for verifying the scaling relationship is suggested, with numerical results.


Introduction: Many factors influence bone health, but osteoporosis is viewed as a calcium deficiency disorder in which bone is resorbed to maintain the serum calcium levels. Dietary calcium supplements have been recommended for the prevention of osteoporosis in the elderly. Many forms of dietary calcium supplements are widely available in market, but products containing calcium citrate and calcium carbonate are the most common. Calcium lysinate, a new form of calcium preparation, may have a better absorption and can be a better calcium supplement. Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and bioavailability of calcium lysinate in comparison to other calcium supplements in improving the bone mineral density (BMD) status in osteopenia patients. Methodology: A total of 24 osteopenia patients were randomly divided into three groups of eight subjects in each. Anyone of the study drug, namely, calcium lysinate, calcium carbonate, or calcium citrate malate was administered to each group. Blood samples for the determination of serum calcium was taken, based on which the area under the curve (absorption profile) and relative bioavailability were calculated. BMD was assessed on the day 0 and at 8 weeks' post-treatment. Results: The relative oral bioavailability of calcium lysinate was 223.15%. There is a significant improvement in the T-score of BMD in all the groups. It was more significant in calcium lysinate group (P < 0.0004). Conclusion: The high oral bioavailability of calcium lysinate, high percentage of calcium content, and a good clinical improvement in the BMD T-scores of osteopenia patients suggest that calcium lysinate will serve as a better dietary calcium supplement.


This study concentrates on the preparation and characterization of some ionic liquids and their use in dimerization reaction of 2-methylpropene. Ionic liquids consist of cations and anions, and are commonly understood as green solvents. By definition their melting points should be lower than 100 °C. Prepared ionic liquids were used as catalytic solvents in dimerizations of 2-methylpropene to a high octane compound, isooctene. The monograph consists of two parts: the literature survey and the practical work. The literature survey reviews the preparation and characterization of ionic liquids as well as their environmental aspects, such as toxicity, biodegradability and recyclability. In addition, the acid catalyzed dimerization of butenes is discussed together with the dimerizations of light olefins carried out in ionic liquids. The practical work consists of three entities: The environmentally benign preparation of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium-based ionic liquids under microwave activation, the characterization of ionic liquids and the use of the ionic liquids in the dimerization reaction. Ionic liquids absorb efficiently microwave irradiation and the most beneficial aspect in the microwave-assisted preparations was the considerably shortened reaction time compared to the conventional methods. In addition to the microwave-assisted preparations, [Cnmim][InCl4] ionic liquids were prepared successfully without microwave irradiation. A special attention was paid to the characterization of ionic liquids since impurities are known to affect on the properties of the ionic liquids. Ionic liquids were analysed with the following methods: 1H and 13C NMR, MS(ESI+ and ESI-), GC and elemental analysis. Characterization of ionic liquids was done by determining the thermal stability, the melting point and the crystal structure of each solid ionic liquid. The determination of the liquid range of ionic liquid is necessary in order to know the temperature limits for each ionic liquid. Novel InCl3-based ionic liquids revealed to be the more efficient than Bronsted acidic ILs as a catalytic reaction media in the dimerization of 2-methylpropene. It was preferable to apply [C6mim]Cl/InCl3 (x(InCl3) = 0.55) as a catalytic IL since then the conversion of 2-methylpropene and the product distribution revealed to be good. In order to maximize the production and the separation of dimers reaction should be carried out continuously at temperature high enough, such as 160 °C. Neutral InCl3-based ionic liquid did not catalyze reaction of 2-methylpropene, but it had to be acidic x(InCl3) > 0.5. Excess of InCl3 did not leach out from the IL and the recycling of IL was possible.


The activities of the DNA repair enzymes O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase and uracil-DNA glycosylase, and the replicative enzyme DNA polymerase alpha, were measured in extracts of human fetal tissues at 18-20 weeks of gestation. In general, O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase activities in fetal tissues were in the same range as in the corresponding adult tissues, except for fetal liver which had approximately 5-fold lower activity. Uracil-DNA glycosylase was, surprisingly, approximately 4-fold lower in fetal tissues compared with adult tissues. Since a critical factor in carcinogenesis may be the rate of repair relative to DNA replication, the activities of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase and uracil-DNA glycosylase were compared with the DNA polymerase alpha activity in the same extract. When expressed in this way, O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase activity was lowest in liver and brain and 2- to 14-fold higher in kidney, lung, colon, stomach, small intestine and pancreas. The ratio of uracil-DNA glycosylase to DNA polymerase alpha varied less between different organs. These findings indicate that several fetal organs may be more sensitive than adult organs to some alkylating agents that are known to occur in the environment. Furthermore, the lower capacity of DNA repair is not restricted to repair of alkylation damage, since the activity of uracil-DNA glycosylase is also lower than in adult tissues.


Lignins from a steam explosion process in crude and purified forms and modified sulphur-free commercial lignin (Protobind 3000®) were characterised to establish their chemical compositions. Then, the lignins were tested again after treatment with hexamethylenetetramine (HMT). The resulting products were used to make rubber composites, and their mechanical properties were compared to rubber composites made with carbon black to test the possibility of using HMT-treated lignins as a partial replacement for carbon black in the production of rubber composites. In the crude lignin, a significant amount of impurities were detected, such as ash and residual polysaccharides, and these substances interfered in filler-elastomer interactions. The purified lignin maintained a high content of strongly polarised hydroxyl groups that interfered with the interaction of the filler and elastomer, resulting in low performance. Improvements in the mechanical properties were observed using Protobind 3000® lignin or purified lignin with HMT added during mixing with the rubber. Finally, the mixing of HMT-treated lignin with elastomers resulted in composites with higher reinforcement abilities compared to previously described rubber composites. However, in all samples, a poor and unsatisfactory dispersion of lignin in the polymeric matrix was observed. This is likely due to the incompatibility of lignin with the hydrophobic rubber, resulting in lower performances compared to the carbon black.


Landslide killed 99 persons in Guanling County ,Guizhou on 28th of June, 2010. It was influenced by local climatic conditions, geological conditions and topography conditions, and its formation mechanism and slippage were unique. The paper revealed the formation mechanism of this landslide through analyzing the formation conditions, developed characteristics and formation mechanism. Analysis showed that the landslide was triggered by rainfall, and the movement of landslide was partitioning that the bedrock glided after eboulis ordonnes sliding. In addition, landslide accumulation had the dual structure feature that landslide in the lower and the front part was gravel soil and block stone, while the landslide in the upper part of the accumulation was block stone. This structure was different with the accumulation of general landslide characteristics, and it was a typical evidence of twice landslides. The result was important for studying similar type of landslide and provided a reference for disaster prevention and disaster reduction in future.


In Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT) chip multiprocessors (CMPs), thread placement is performed today in a largely power-unaware manner. For example, consolidation of active threads into fewer cores exposes opportunities for power savings that have not been addressed in prior work. The savings opportunity is especially high in the emerging context where percore power gating (PCPG) is becoming viable. The use of the optimum combination of core-wise SMT level and number of active cores to achieve a desired power-performance efficiency is a knob which has not been explored in prior work nor implemented as part of the operating system task scheduler.


At many sites contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons, methanogenesis is a significant degradation pathway. Techniques to estimate CH4 production, consumption, and transport processes are needed to understand the geochemical system, provide a complete carbon mass balance, and quantify the hydrocarbon degradation rate. Dissolved and vapor‐phase gas data collected at a petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated site near Bemidji, Minnesota, demonstrate that naturally occurring nonreactive or relatively inert gases such as Ar and N2 can be effectively used to better understand and quantify physical and chemical processes related to methanogenic activity in the subsurface. In the vadose zone, regions of Ar and N2 depletion and enrichment are indicative of methanogenic and methanotrophic zones, and concentration gradients between the regions suggest that reaction‐induced advection can be an important gas transport process. In the saturated zone, dissolved Ar and N2 concentrations are used to quantify degassing driven by methanogenesis and also suggest that attenuation of methane along the flow path, into the downgradient aquifer, is largely controlled by physical processes. Slight but discernable preferential depletion of N2 over Ar, in both the saturated and unsaturated zones near the free‐phase oil, suggests reactivity of N2 and is consistent with other evidence indicating that nitrogen fixation by microbial activity is taking place at this site.


Students today are expected to read and master information from complex text in specific academic domains, such as science. Many students are ill prepared, however, to learn and study from informational text, and most content-specific teachers, although prepared to teach the content of their respective disciplines, are often not comfortable with using explicit strategies to aid student mastery. Once again, strategy instruction is being examined, and current publications have highlighted its positive effects on student learning. This paper links the teaching of science content, using active learning strategies, to a research-based, three-pronged, effective instructional framework: the teaching of specific text features and structures; the use of content enhancements; and the teaching of cognitive strategies.


Infection of C57BL/6 mice with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) stimulates major histocompatibility complex class I–restricted cytotoxic T cells (CTLs), which normally resolve the infection. Three peptide epitopes derived from LCMV have been shown to bind the mouse class I molecule H-2 Db and to stimulate CTL responses in LCMV-infected mice. This report describes the identity and abundance of each CTL epitope after their elution from LCMV-infected cells. Based on this information, peptide abundance was found to correlate with the magnitude of each CTL response generated after infection with LCMV. Subsequent experiments, performed to determine the antiviral capacity of each CTL specificity, indicate that the quantitative hierarchy of CTL activity does not correlate with the ability to protect against LCMV infection. This report, therefore, indicates that immunodominant epitopes should be defined, not only by the strength of the CTL response that they stimulate, but also by the ability of the CTLs to protect against infection.


This study explored the effect of NaFeEDTA-fortified soy milk on red blood cell counts of male Sprague-Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus L.). Using a completely randomized design (CRD), 25 rats were divided into five groups: the normal control group, which received standard food and water without the addition of soy milk or fortificant; treatment control group, which received extra soy milk without fortificant; and three treatment groups, which received extra soy milk containing NaFeEDTA as a fortificant at 2.7 (treatment group 1), 5.4 (treatment group 2) and 10.8 mg Fe/kg bodyweight (treatment group 3). All the five groups were treated for 21 consecutive days. Rat red blood cell counts were measured using a hematology analyzer. Oneway ANOVA and the least significant difference post hoc test showed that after 21 days of consecutive treatment, there was a significant effect on the red blood cell count in all the treatment groups compared with the normal control and treatment control groups. The highest increase in the red blood cell count was detected in treatment group 2 at t21, with a 19.70 % increase compared with the normal control group and 17.27 % compared with the treatment control group.